Presenting...

So, how was your Halloween? Were there lots of kids coming to your house? We had a crazy night here; turns out Tori didn't like her hat much (I forgot to take pictures--luckily, Sarah didn't).

Oh, I'm sorry--did you want to discuss something else? Like the new title of this blog and the new masthead?

Heh.

If you can't see it, hit the shift key and the refresh button.

As you can see, Charlie was the winner. He is being awarded, I assure you. Thank you again to everyone that suggested names and voted! I was rooting for "Limited Vocabulary" but it was clear early on that Writ Large and Uppercase Woman were the favorites (with a Stiff Think a strong third). But I'm thrilled with the new title!

It's funny--the new blog name has made me think about the idea of being a woman. Growing up with a strong feminist mother gave me a different sense, I think, about what it meant to be a woman.

My mom made it clear to me that we had to fight to make sure women had the same rights as men. I wasn't allowed to play with Barbie dolls because they both reinforced negative female stereotypes and they also contributed to a negative female body image. I knew the women could drive cars just as well as men did, no matter what the comedians on TV said. My mom told me that women could be astronauts, lawyers, doctors, and even president of the United States. She pushed me to think hard when it came to women's rights; for instance, when a friend in Middle School turned out to be a Mormon, my mother spoke at length about the sexism of that faith sect. When I protested that my friend's mother worked as a dental hygienist, my mom said, "Why not a dentist?" I was encouraged to really GET how women had been held back, and was taught to fight to change it.

But it wasn't until later I realized that being a woman wasn't all about fighting and scrambling to get a fair share. It's about so much more than that. And I don't just mean the obvious things like being a mother or having sexual organs on the inside of your body (although that does ROCK). It's about the fact that as a woman, I can choose to be pretty. I can also choose to be strong. Being a woman, I get to sometimes be pretty AND strong. Men don't really get to have that option (not without great difficulty, anyway).

The pretty and strong thing might come off as simplistic or trite, but I think it sums it up well. Having the freedom to explore my female-ness is a wonderful thing, and makes me glad to be a woman (even with all the crap that comes with it).

The "uppercase" portion of the new blog title is funny. I love the fact that it plays on "upper class," and that it refers to my tendency to SHOUT. But Pete, Sarah's husband, told me last night that the reason capital letters are called "uppercase" goes all the way back to Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. Since lowercase letters were used much more often, the actual lead letters were kept in a case at the printer's feet, right in handy reach. But the capital letters were kept in a case overhead because they were used much less often--hence, "uppercase" letters.

I love that. I love that after years of this blog being about my infertility struggle, it's now moved to a different place--a different case, if you will.

So, my dear friends and long time readers, welcome to my new blog "Uppercase Woman." I will shortly have the domain name uppercasewoman.com hooked up here, so feel free to change your favorites or your blog reader subscriptions. But don't worry, your current way of finding the blog won't change. But if you get the chance, change it up, would you?

And thus begins my month of daily posting. Yee-ha!

Comments

[Jen (yup, another one)]

Hey, Cecily, I love the new name and the picture of Tori on the slide KICKS ASS! Can't wait to keep reading your UPPERCASE posts. However, the blue on black design is VERY hard to read, even for people with decent eyesight. For anyone with visual difficulties, it would be impossible. (Can you tell I just left a meeting with the coordinator for students with disabilities?) In particular, the links are practically invisible. My $0.02 - but don't lose the fact that I love the new name amidst the constructive criticism!

[Susan]

Welcome to your new home! I love the font on title, and I think Uppercase Woman is perfect.

[Andrea in IN]

Oh my gosh.. I LOVE IT! The new look and title is awesome. I absolutely love the font and the picture you put next to your title!

Congratulations to you! (raising sparkling grape juice up to toast you)

[Wabi]

Love it! Especially that photo of Tori bombing down the slide. Perfect.

[Bobbi]

Love it! It looks beautiful, and although my choice was not the winner, I love the new blog name too. I am looking forward to reading your daily postings this month...

[A]

I love the new design and the darker background color! The only comment I have is that the text is a little hard to read -- perhaps a bit lighter shade of blue-grey would be better?

[Ashley]

Love the title, but yes, the colors are hard on the eyes. Can you do something lighter?

[PhotoLori]

Looks great! I love the masthead. However, it's really hard to read. I had a hard time getting through. Maybe white letters would help. :)

LOVE THE TITLE!

[Melissa]

Loving the new look and the new name. I'm off to change my blog as we speak!!

[Sarah]

Can I say "I told ya"?
LOL!

(Love you!!)

[Kathleen]

I love the fonts for the title. Beautiful.

The blue on black is hard for me to read. Perhaps lighten that up for those of us whose eyes are entering their fourth decade?

[Sarah]

OH! And folks won't be able to see my pics of Tori unless they are on my Flickr Friends list. Sorry!
I can create a guest pass and people can email me for it or something?

[Emily]

Love it!

[Kier]

I'm loving the new look!!!

[Beth]

Love the new title/design but I can't see Tori's Halloween pics! Wah! Can you post them here?

[Janice]

My favorite won!!!!!!!
Like the rest, it hurts my eyes...think you will have more readers if the colors are changed a little.

[Essie]

The masthead is beautiful and the picture of Tori - precious! I can't see the Halloween pic of Tori, though. :(

[Cathy]

Love it! And I'm looking forward to reading your essays *every day* for a month!

[Anne]

okay so I haven't even read your post today b/c all I could think was, "WOW I like the new look!"

[marlou]

I love it! The title AND the look! You rock!! (Btw, if you received any visitors from The Netherlands recently, it is because I mentioned you on my blog (here: http://marlou.punt.nl/#420187) on something called international blogging day (or something to that effect). I don't think it really exists, taht day, but there you have it.

Love
Lou

[Catherine]

I love the new name and the masthead is pretty! I agree with whomever said the blue on black type is extremely difficult to read. In fact, I have actually removed all blogs that are on black from my blog list because they give me eye strain. I will keep reading yours, but I'll have to cut and paste into a Word document to do it! Please consider changing it, and in the meantime, everything else is great!

[Donnie]

Your mom will be happy to know that I have Mormon girlfriends (and mentors) who are university professors, lawyers, and yes, dentists.

That choice you speak of is so very crucial. Strong AND pretty- there's nothing wrong with that! Feminist AND a home-maker- nothing wrong with that, either.

Respecting women's rights means respecting their beliefs and choices. I'm glad your mom taught you that, too.

Great new look, by the way.
:)
-D.

[Suz]

I love it. I really love it...but can I just say a quick little thing? (You say "yes" - I hope). I find the blue against the black really hard to read...I know that many folks don't, but my eyes, in addition to just plain sucking, have a hard time distinguishing letters against dark backgrounds, especially if there's not a lot of variance. I really enjoy your take on things and reading your blog and will try to read it through bloglines, but just wanted to say that it's a little hard.

[Heather]

LOVE IT!!!

[Jen]

i was another girl who wasn't allowed to play with barbies for the same reasons. i felt like i was missing out at the time but now, i feel like feminism is one of my rock-solid core values - you know, one of those things that you just know is true and never question it - and that's totally due to my mom. good post - rock on! oh and even though i was pulling for limited vocabulary too, i really do like the new title and design. :)