Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Why would anybody scrap THAT??!!!

"Why would she scrap THAT!"
"Who would want to take pictures of THAT! I feel sorry for her kids"
"I wouldn't waste my paper scrapping something like THAT!"

I don't know how many times I've heard those comment being made about some other scrapbooker's choice of memories to preserve. If I don't include the numerous times I've caught myself thinking those exact words, I'm sure that it would still be safe to say that it's been said a lot more times that is justifiable. I'm not ashamed to admit that there's a small part of me that often forgets that scrapbooking is a personal interpretation of the multitude of episodes that make up our lives. I am a little ashamed, however, to say that sometimes I find myself forgetting that the significance of another person's "episodes" is beyond my right to control. Fortunately, I've managed to catch myself before my thoughts become spoken or written language...but I have slipped before. For that I apologize.

I chastise myself for 'judging' layouts whenever I become aware of it (or whenever I am feeling particularly guilty without provocation). That's just me. I can't even begin to dictate what other people should think or feel. I certainly can't tell them how to treat other people. All I can do is explain my standpoint on this particular scrapbooking faux pas and hope that I get a lot more yea's than neigh's.

In my own defense, I have to say that most of the layouts that I find myself passing unsolicited judgement on are those that strike a cord in my personal life. I think any psychiatrist will agree that our personal experiences help paint the way we interpret the world around us. As a person who was molested as a child, I have a severe sensitivity to seeing pictures of scantily clad and inappropriately posed children...especially when they are used in a layout that is provided for public consumption. I'm not saying that those bath-time bubble shots shouldn't be taken...I'm saying that the sharing audience should be strictly controlled...i.e., they really shouldn't be put on the Internet/sexual deviant playground. I share a similar view when it comes to layouts that glorify violence, drinking, substance abuse or sex...but that's just me. Call me a prude...but that's just me.

Now, I said "most" of the layouts because there are some layout subjects that fall clearly into the Miscellaneous WTH! File. They are as follows:

*Layouts that feature anyone, fat or fit, traipsing around in their underwear. Generally, I only take objection if the subject has been "captured" while in the process of "adjusting" or "scratching". I don't care if you're Channing Tatum, once you start scratching, you propel yourself, butt-first, off the "can-crush-crackers-in-my-bed' list. Not saying that scratching is wrong, though I often wonder how my husband has any hind skin left (sorry...TMI), I'm just saying that somethings should just be a given without photographic evidence of it's existence.

*Layouts that feature waste products. This includes vomit, doggy patties and cat chewies and even the so called "cute" baby poop. No form of waste body waste is granted a reprieve here. While we're at it, I don't particularly understand the toilet bowl's presence in layouts either. I feel very strongly that while waste products and the toilet bowl go hand in hand...there is no need to document 'proof'...at least not on a public layout.

*Layouts featuring food items that carry more calories than I'm allowed to consume...in a day/week/year/decade/lifetime. I find these layouts just cruel to those of us who have ass-sets that may one day be required to have their own passports to travel abroad. I know food like that is out there, it is written that there is real evil in this world... in my mind, food like that is pure evil. I cope with this knowledge by painting my mental picture of the offending food stuffs a nice murky grey and covering it with something inedible (like chickpeas or asparagus). The very act of putting a layout of that double decker, triple fudge, death by chocolate, life by cellulite devil's food cake would be sent before some Crimes Against Humanity Tribunal somewhere...if I ran the world. But again...that's just me...and my thighs.

*Layouts about blood, whether accident related or Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom related just make me queasy. Queasy is the last feeling I want to feel when I'm looking in a layout gallery. I'm sure that if God intended for blood to be glorified, he wouldn't have allowed for the creation of band-aids. Snapping a picture is the last thing on my mind when my husband's/child's/friend's/neighbor's/cat's body starts spewing the red stuff, but we're talking about someone who fought to have the boogers retouched out of her daughter's school pictures because it peaked her grossness quotient(how hard is it to tell the subject to wipe their nose before you snap the shutter?).

*Layouts that feature me (or any of my body parts). It's no secret to my friends and family that I am my own worst enemy. I don't like to scrap myself. I don't like to see my mugshot at all, but the act of adorning it with pretty papers and journaling is very difficult for me (so much so that the few "ME" layouts have only come to fruition because of some scrapbooking challenge somewhere). I consider it my responsibility to keep my likeness off of the WWW as much as possible. I know that sounds bad...but, be rest assured, I am actively working on my self perception...I plan to have my self esteem properly in tact before I die.

So...what the heck am I getting at? Well, I'm going to try to say this without using the word "should" or any other word that might lead people to believe that I'm playing judge:

All joking and TMI aside, I think that the industry's manner of labeling what is "beautiful" and "appropriate" for the scrapped page has opened the door for the judgemental spirit in all of us. It's up to you to decide whether or not to walk through that door (or stand with one foot on either side like yours truly). It's one thing to be curious about the motivation for the layouts that we share with each other...it's something completely different to play judge, jury, executioner. I think that remembering that each scrapper is a different person who interprets her/his life's episodes differently would only serve yo strengthen the weakened bonds between others who share this hobby with us. I'm sure that somewhere out there is a person who loves to document the exfoliating benefits of scratching, has the metabolism of a squirrel on crack, is holding nightly vigils in hopes of the resurrection of the Vampire Slayer Chronicles, or simply likes me as is. It's not my place to judge them, it's not even my job to understand where they were coming from, rather it's my place to accept their individual interpretation.

Look Ma!, I didn't say "should"!