Some women are innately feminine from birth and do not need a role model :-)
Some aim higher than Earth for their role models :-)
For the Catholic among us, we have a great role model at out disposal.
Hail Mary, full of Grace...
Grace?
Can we emulate grace here on Earth?
Um, let's see.
Grace of gait and stance
A feminine gait is a pleasure to behold. Or at least, it should be, to men.
This is an art that definitely took me a long time to master. Being what is universally accepted as tall, I used to use my height as an excuse for my lack of a graceful gait for a long time. But there are taller women than me who I could easily call 'graceful' when they walk.
A good example is tennis player Maria Sharapova. At 6 ft 2, she is taller than me. And yet, her fluid, almost languid walk is quite graceful.
I do wish I had been a dancer at some point in my life. I notice that dancers (ballet, ballroom) not only have good posture, they also walk gracefully. Alas, other sports can help correct this problem, so all is not lost for the non-dancers amongst us :-)
Another very good example of graceful gait is exhibited by the actress Sophie Marceau in the film 'Firelight'. Throughout this film, one marvels at how she moves. She really does appear to glide. Quite fascinating to watch. And I am sure this adds to her appeal.
Erm, quite apart from her 'shelf' or synonym thereof...
:-)
By the way, one does not even have to be human to be graceful.
I notice that our cousins from the feline branch of the family are very graceful when they walk. They don't so much walk as 'strut' in fact.
Cats, lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs...all of these animals seem to exude grace in a way that puts me to shame.
Dogs, deer, pigs and sheep do not seem to have this grace in as much abundance as our feline cousins.
Is this why there is no such thing as 'Dogwoman' or 'Pigwoman' in the lineup of male fantasy sirens, whereas 'Catwoman' and 'Pussygalore'** are longtime favourites?
Of course 'Dogwoman' and 'Pigwoman' otherwise known as 'b*tch' and 'Miss Piggy' are never terms of loving endearment. At least not in the way most women would perceive them to be.
Grace of action
Again, I wish I were better at this than I actually am. But 'room for improvement' is always nice to have :-)
I have always marvelled at how some women seem to exude grace even without trying. They are rare, these women, yes, which makes them even more special. Surprisingly, they are not always older than me. I don't know why I would expect a graceful women to be older necessarily, but I just do.
And then a younger woman proves me wrong and I am delighted, every time.
Grace of thought
I am not sure I can define 'graceful thinking' because I have not experienced it myself :-)
But I can guess as to what it might entail.
I think a hallmark of 'graceful thinking' is understanding. Not so much in the sense of comprehension as compassion. I think the reason for my own lack of 'graceful thinking' is that I need to know (as in have knowledge of) something before I can understand it. Extensive knowledge about a subject precedes my understanding of (or empathy with) said subject.
That is why I think I keep asking for something to be explained to me 'like I am a 6 year old'...
I know there are some women who will understand without the need for knowledge. They are not necessarily 'naturals' but they are certainly blessed with a certain 'grace'. I think it is a beautiful thing to witness.
And again, it is rare.
Grace of attitude
This follows on directly from 'graceful thinking', and is equally refreshing to see. Simply put, it is a woman without guile. She is not without her faults - no-one is perfect afterall, but she is patently above the petty b*tchiness that pervades the female reality.
Women who exhibit this trait appear self-contained and 'behind a wall' with their emotions but I think that is just a sign of their incredible self-discipline. They are (due to their emotional honesty) actually quite transparent, in that they are not too scared to show you when they are happy, sad, angry or annoyed, if you are close enough to them to matter to them.
Grace of demeanour
This is an easy one to assimilate in one's everyday life. It doesn't take much more than a few minutes of reflection to embrace these little 'actions' as part and parcel of one's daily routine.
I have noticed that it really is the tiniest things in life which make all the difference. Things that should be part and parcel of every little girl's 'education' now only gets dispensed if one attends the best Swiss finishing school, for the highest price.It needn't be so.
For example, retrieving an object from the floor. It used to be that every girl was taught to bend the knees when doing this. Not so anymore.
Some 'intolerable' offences against etiquette are perhaps more and more forgivable nowadays given our hectic lives. It used to be that a lady was never to be found drinking directly from a bottle (or even a can) or eating in the streets. But for practical reasons, these are perhaps lesser crimes than ever..although it is said that the former bestowes an unfortunate image, and the latter has perhaps contributed to the obesity crisis as it amounts to 'unauthorised' snacking.
A worse crime than the above two will remain always a particularly bad crime, both against fashion and etiquette. And that is, failing to manoeuvre oneself correctly in and out of a car when in a short dress...
Some might argue that the first crime there is the choice of short dress in the first place...
How high (or low in the case of tops) is appropriate for acceptable levels of decorum?
Speaking of dress, how much of 'grace' is depicted by grooming?
Is modesty the same as 'tasteful'?
Can one have one without the other?
No-one curtsies anymore. Sometimes to the Queen, yes. But more often than not, this is bypassed...
A loud voice...
It used to be that girls (especially in Catholic Irish boarding schools run by extra-strict nuns) would get beaten several times a day just for having a naturally loud voice. The idea was that a loud voice attracted the wrong kind of attention...
Cruel to be kind? Or plain harsh?
One thing's for sure. Grace as a whole is definitely missing in our current world, except in some pockets of glorious femininity.
It will be missed, for sure.
Hope it makes a comeback.
Wake me up when it does :-)
Although this post may seem like a venture into a 'ladies only' locker room, I think in fact men have a lot to contribute here, because afterall if men are the 'audience' of displays of femininity, then they more than women are primed for 'sniffing out' displays of 'grace' or lack thereof.
Am I right on this?
Or are men simply primed to sniff out 'hot' whatever their age?
In this regard, should men be divided into 'SMP-orientated (hot) and MMP-orientated (hot + other feminine qualities)?
Is there an alternative/better classification we could use?
The many faces of Grace: All of these women have the name 'Grace' :-)
Grace Bol (model)
Grace Kelly/Princess Grace of Monaco (actress)
Grace Hightower (wife of Robert De Niro), actress
Grace Jones (actress)
Grace Park (actress)
Maggie Grace (actress)***
Nancy Grace (prosecutor/journalist)
Ha! Took the words right out of my mouth :-)
**Oh God, what have I done?
:-)
*** Maggie Grace was apparently nicknamed 'Maggie Graceless' for a while growing up. I can so identify with this!
Having the limb coordination of a wooden puppet for most of the adolescent years is not necessarily fun.
Anyone remember the awkward teen years?
