....Which was okay, because their "Oh no we just insulted the girl who is doing our web site!" look was enough to keep me amused for a while. They continued to ask me how on EARTH I could be pro-life, and what on earth was a nice girl like me doing with such a radical (in their eyes) view of abortion?! I refused to get into the conversation because I wasn't there to debate - I was there to do their web page. Besides, I wanted to keep a good working relationship with them. The issue was dropped and our working relationship did not suffer.
I get that quite a bit - the "YOU'RE pro-life" or "YOU'RE conservative?" statements. Why? Because I don't appear as a mean, angry person? Or because I don't carry a Bible with me? (not that carrying a Bible is a bad thing! I just don't carry one, and everyone seems to think pro-lifers all carry Bibles) Or is it because I listen to heavy metal music and throw myself into mosh pits? Or perhaps it's because I look amazingly ....like an average person. Or at least the majority of people tell me I look and act like an average person. (I am sure there are those of you out there who think I appear as a "right-wing extremist")
This is one of the goals of the Rightgrrl site: to break down stereotypes. Stephanie and I were tiring quickly of everyone assuming that conservatives or pro-lifers were all the same - that we were all stodgy angry people with no life. This is untrue - there is no stereotypical pro-lifer or conservative...we are all different and more "mainstream" than people realize. And that is what inspired us to create Rightgrrl back in March/April 1997. (Steph and I first met in person in August 1998).
Breaking down such stereotypes doesn't mean we think people will then agree with us. However, perhaps if people look past such incorrect stereotypes, they might be more willing to listen to what we have to say.