“If you could live in any time period…”

ofpaperandponies:

When I was a kid I used to fantasize about living in the Victorian Era. My family was white and solidly middle-class, and I had no feelings about the fashions (though they did seem a bit uncomfortable), but the social directives. Doing *this* plus *that* would equal response A, B, or C, which had their own tree of directives!

They were so CLEAR. So understandable. Oh, sure, as a headstrong and forward female, I didn’t always AGREE with the way Victoriana went about social engagements and personal interactions, but even that! Even that was something I wanted! If I’d been a placid and studious woman of high etiquette, I could have filled a role that had unambiguous assumptions and responsibilities. If I’d bucked those trends, maybe I’d go down in history as a trailblazer!

It took a very long time to realize that a hundred years from now, there will almost certainly be books written about us that make things seem as simplistic and understandable as the Victorian era was to me. Sure, back then there were fewer roles women were allowed to fill.
Things may have been simpler. But that doesn’t mean they were better - or that they were anywhere near as proscribed and simplistic as many books after the fact have made it seem.

I kind of hate that. I wish it were that simple. It was nice to have a time period to fantasize about, some period simpler than the current era, a time where Interaction A plus Interaction B led to Reaction A or Interaction C.

But life is more complicated than that. And it’s clear to me that it’s way more beautiful than that. But it’s so easy to get caught up in a desire for social simplicity while you’re still in middle school. That place is a labyrinth of social nightmares and hormonal minotaurs.