Knitting for “Real Women”

[tychoish]

So there’s this book of knitting patterns called “classic knits for real women”

I am naturally hesitant to get behind a book that’s presupposes some notion of “real womanhood,” right? but this book has middle aged women on the cover which bodes well (white, admittedly, though it’s a British publication from a pretty rurally located company). 1

And

Comments

[legolastn]

I suspected upon reading the title that the "real women" refers to size - and the subtitle confirms, it's for "plus sizes." It's a little disturbing that the women on the cover, while certainly "average" don't strike me as "plus," but maybe that's more of a comment on the skewed nature of categorization of women's sizes these days? I don't know as I am not in the habit of shopping for women's clothing on a regular basis.

In any case, it's still problematic language, but I think the intent is to resist dominant cultural messages about woman==anorexic, so I'd be willing to give them a pass. I say buy it.

[tychoish]

interestingly the male counterpart to this book (from the same publishers) is called "knitting for him" and the design team is 50/50 M/F, the designs are very wearable and attractive and there isn't any of the creepy "girls go knit for your man" rhetoric in that one. (nor is there any of the creepy "men are you man enough to knit?" stuff either) so wins all around. On the other hand it's just a design collection, so there's less room for editorializing.

I've done more investigation of the boy book than of the girl book, and while I think I'd probably recommend both, I'm not likely to buy either one, because I don't really buy such books, but conceputally I'm with you.

[anonymous]

Oooh oooh oooh. Does this mean that "real women" are "broads for pleasure"?

[tychoish]

I don't know who you are, likely judy, but I agree and I like the way you thin,

for the rest of you, there's a song in the folk tradition called "the holmfirth anthem," presumably from the same town that begins with the phrase:

"abroad for pleasure,"

which when you're singing, sounds the same as "a broad for pleasure,"

which we have often agreed would make a great t-shirt. don't you?