Renouncing 'Sisterhood'

Anyway, about the title. So I was sitting in a hotel room last week. I was by myself, eating Chinese take out bought from a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in a very seedy part of Winston-Salem. As I enjoyed my Kung Pao Shrimp out of a styrofoam container with a plastic fork with a tall glass of water (ok, plastic cup) on the side, I began flipping through the channels to see what was on.

Not used to having movie channels, I was excited to find out I had both free HBO and Showtime. Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing on ... nothing but "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants". I once made a promise to myself that I would never watch any movie with the word 'sisterhood' in the title (or anything even remotely resembling a 'chick flick') but there I was, by myself in a hotel, 200 miles from home, no kids and only a tenuous connection with T via YahooIM holding me together. What can I say, I was weak.

I watched the whole insipid thing, amazed that anyone would think that a movie full of such stunningly unoriginal stereotypical cliches should even be made. I felt oddly ill afterwards, mostly from the saccharine sweetness. Ok, maybe a little from the MSG but really? The movie sucked. Is it just me?

I guess I just don't work like most women my age ... or any age for that matter. Even though my life has, at times, resembled one, I don't watch Lifetime TV movies. I don't get all weak for romance movies or ballads. I don't swoon for Brad Pitt or other pretty boys. I don't like lace and ruffles and pearls and sequins and beading and I have never wanted to play dressup like a princess.

When I was little, I played with the other kids in my neighborhood. We played football and kickball and tag and 'Lost in Space' (oh, yes, I was the robot ... "Danger Will Robinson!"). As we grew up, the girls wanted to get together and do each other's hair. I opted to play with the boys and, consequently, became the best punter in the neighborhood. Rainy days, I stayed in and read ... sunny days, I climbed trees or walked alone into the woods and read.

I never liked the 'flock' mentality that most girls had. I didn't need a network of females to lift me up. I didn't need anyone, thank you very much. That's been my battlecry, anyway. So when I see a movie like "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" or "Under a Tuscan Sun" (which was on tonight), I feel a definite disassociation with the women they portray. And then I get angry because I am reminded of how broken I am, how definitely, utterly broken I continue to be.

Sisterhood? No thanks. As my favorite movie psycho once said "Go sell crazy someplace else. We're all stocked up here."

EDIT: As if you needed any more evidence, just look at the newest item on my Amazon wishlist. How hot is THAT?!?!