Aug. 11th, 2020

mesotablar: Echidna on leaves (Default)
Most people learn how to walk once in their life. Most people, though I don't know how common it is, have to learn to walk several times in their lives. I myself have had to learn several times. Some times it was easier than others because of the conditions I had to overcome, and thinking about it I have to point out that 'learning to walk' is not always the baby's first steps which generally pops into everyone's mind.

There are three* different conditions of learning to walk:
1. Blank Slate. The brain has to learn balance, movement and control. Eg. Baby's first steps, brain injuries
2. New Equipment. Something alters the walk which has to be altered or completely relearnt. Eg. Wearing heels, prosthetics, being pregnant
3. Uncrippling. Something has happened over time which has lead to unnatural movement, then the condition is relieved and you have to learn to move again. Eg. Knee/hip replacement, Muscle wasting, arthritis

Arguably muscle wasting could be classified as Blank Slate....depending on how walking is recovered. 

I Blank Slated as a baby, with wedge shoes and stilettos I have New Equiptmented twice (and it feels every time I put heels on I have to do a refresher course) and then there is the Uncrippling...well I have done that in a major way at least twice and in a minor way at least twice more. 

So that is the framework of thinking that I use. Which led me to my medicated thought, I was in pain and watching a heavily pregnant woman waddle which made me think of the time I got around walking on the balls of my feet because my knees were so bent I could not get my heels down and keep my balance. Because I have had to learn to walk so many ways, and arguably women in general have to learn to walk many more times in their lives than men, would it give us a benefit if we had to learn to walk again? Learning to adjust walking patterns surely must strengthen an internal dictionary of walking information. New adjusted balance, new rhythms, new movements, repeated learning of control. 

We have to learn new or adjusted skills through focus, but once humans get the hang of something it is generally relegated to background levels of the brain so that it can just 'happen' and we can use our brains to focus on other things, information on this is not hard to find, just think of all the parents who have to teach their kids to drive and suddenly feel lost. Each type of learning to walk has its own difficulties, but my own experiences with Uncrippling was the worst because it is so hard not to fall back on bad habits because they hurt less or get you there faster. Though with that I have a much safer balance now than ever before simply because I had to spend so long focusing on it. If I had to learn to walk again I would hope that some of that information is stuck in my brain and I would unconsciously retain some patterns. So all those people who trained themselves to stride in stilettos, have waddled under the weight of a baby, have gone to physiotherapy for professional guidance in structurally healthy locomotion, will we (re)learn faster in the future? 


*Three at least, there are probably more. 
mesotablar: Aromantic flag as text (Aromantic)
I have been watching and listening to quite a bit of true crime shows and podcasts recently.  Mostly just because it is there and other people seem to be consuming it too which means more articles pointing me at it and it is higher on entertainment rating lists. One common theme that pops up fairly frequently at least in serial killers and cult leaders is repressed sexuality. Why repressed? well parents and society was and is super harsh on stuff they don't like. It just so happens that homophobic male-fixated male serial killers get shows made about them. Lots of shows. 

Repressing things does warp you inside. I thought I was broken for over a decade because I negatively reacted to dates and I didn't actively seek them out. I am SURE that being aromantic but not knowing what aromantic is did contribute to low self esteem and my sense of belonging and community. If I lived in a more dictatorial society (Aka my family 90 years ago) I would have been married off at 19, and even as a theoretical I have no idea how I would have survived....though at least I can take comfort in the fact that with my health I wouldn't have lived to 16. How warped is that? I find it comforting that theoretical me would never have been married. But to know of Aromanticism and be told it is bad and wrong?

I wonder how many people broke under the strain of internalised hate, of feeling isolated, of feeling wrong.
I wonder how many people would make different choices if they knew about Aromanticism and Asexuality.
I wonder how many domestic violence victims and survivors are aromantic or asexual. 
I wonder how many domestic violence perpetrators are aromantic or asexual. 
I wonder how many pick-up artists are aromantic or asexual. 
I wonder how many incels are aromantic or asexual.

Profile

mesotablar: Echidna on leaves (Default)
Mesotablar

April 2022

S M T W T F S
      12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 7th, 2025 02:45 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios