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Watching It, Watching Me: It's All About the Sisterhood
[The following is an editorial column by contributor Alison Coffey and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Austinist staff. --The Editors]
Sorry I'm late. A couple of mis-strokes on my keyboard made me lose half the column and it took me a couple of days to regroup. Sometimes you suffer for your art. Sometimes you lose two paragraphs and run to the bed and cry instead of taking a deep breath and starting over. Sometimes you get a little beaten up during a jam and you have to sit out the rest of the game.
Those Lonestar Rollergirls know what I'm talking about. The bang-ups and bruises can be hard. So much so that those cool, strong women may ask themselves if it is worth it. But then they look around at the cheering fans and fellow skaters and say hell yeah, bitches. At least I'm hoping they do.
Boy, Rollergirls on A&E has really gotten interesting. More than interesting, it's gotten philosophical! While I've never been to a Derby, nor quite have a handle on how the game is played, I've taken to the way of life the girls lead, and their dreams and ambitions, heartache and frustrations. I have no tattoos or bruises and a life of customer service is (hopefully) a few years behind me, but I certainly recognize the need for glory in a culture where fame and fortune has become the definition of success.
Take Punky Bruiser, for example. She works at The Gap by day and The Texas Chili Parlor by night. She's got personality coming out the wazoo, but is lacking direction. The greatest thing in her life (assuming we trust the show's editors) is Rollergirls. Rollergirls is her glory, but more than that it gives her a sense of purpose. And even greater than a sense of purpose, it gives her a community.
I envy that. I may finally have some sense of direction in my life (it took a decade!), but I'm still yearning for a community.
Sister Mary Jane plans to move to Hawaii and have a new adventure. She's working on some stuff--being less controlling, more at peace in the world. She's a superstar among the Rollergirls and has found a haven among like-minded women. She says she never liked girls until she found a bunch of girls that also didn't like girls.
Rollergirls has given her confidence and it has given her glory, but it has also given her a place to be the part of herself that her roles as teacher, older sister, and daughter has not been able to nourish. That part of us that is feisty and badass. Some girls can live it everyday, but some of us hide it behind politeness and fear. Most of the time I'm the girl that gets walked on. The yes girl. The girl that doesn't speak up when being ignored or taken advantage of. This is not good. This means that every once in a while I flip and freak out in public at Amy's Ice Cream after waiting in line for 10 minutes only to have some dude cut in front of me. Perhaps I could use some Roller Derby action.
Now, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, Sister Mary Jane. She's my fave. Not only is she a rockstar on the rink, she's introspective and funny and not afraid to openly discuss her shortcomings.
So far the overriding theme of many of the Rollergirl's episodes has been the importance of friendship and connection amidst all the petty things life throws at us as well as the heavy stuff, too. We may not know where we are going, but it's great to have good company for the ride.
