1976 School Magazine

REFLECTICINS orn REFLECTIONS Shiny bits of metal or glass or the still surface of a pond have fascinated human beings and animals alike for centuries, as in them they can see them- selves (or somthing very similar). What a surprise it must have been when an animal came down to drink and found himself face to face with another creature, who did exactly the same things as he did (only back to front, silly beast) and refused to go away until he did. However, the ones who have al- ways been the most intrigued by these amazing hal- lucinations are women, especially the younger type. They have perfectly good reason to be, for when they look into a mirror they usually see a much morc pleasant sight than many other individuals. (Of course, some would say that this is a matter of opi- nion). Every woman (or girl) almost alwap wants to know what she looks like at various times, for various reasons. Those furtive glances at the shop windows as she walks down a busy slreet are not because she is really particularly interested in the factthatWoolworths is have yet another sale, or that the butcher is selling veal chops at ninety cents a pound. It's far more likely that she is checking up to see that her hair hasn't fallen down, or her makeup isn't smudged. What's more, it has probably taken her years to perfect the art, because although not many people notice, it takes a great amount of prac- tice to walk down the centre of a crowded pavement and at the same time look into the windows without seeming too obvious, and also without knocking over wery person she passes. At the age of about one this training begins, when, in prams the young girls delight in looking at them- selves as their mothers wheel them on the rounds, fascinated by their beauty and poise. Later, as tod- dlers they learn the tactic of pressing their noses against the mirror, so that they can see any little mark on their faces (as well as an extremely strange nose) and later, when their social life begins they en- joy twirling around to see their frilly skirts billow around their knees. Thus, by the age of ten most girls are prohcient in the basic techniques needed to continue their studies and to increase their exper- tise. After the age of about seven it becomes less desir- able for a girl to openly show any interest in herself, and therefore, if she is to save herself from many an embarrassing situation, she must be competent in lwo very important fields. Firstly, she must be capa- ble of taking in every little detail in one swift glance and secondly she must be able to spend a longer period of time studying herself if in doubt, but with- out being detected. She must be an excellent actress (as most women are) to make everybody believe that, she is really looking at the maitership of the painting (not her reflection in the glass mv-ering it) and that it was just by chance that she happeneil to look in the direction of a mirror at a certain mo- ment. If educated in this way, by the time the teenager emerges a girl is perfectly trained in keeping track of her appearance at almosthll times, and with practice this skill improves until such expertise is attained that even the most self-conscious of females muld be thought by the general public to be completely uncaring about her appearance. J.C. 4 E

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