Thursday, April 7, 2011

WATER

Seventy percent of the Earth is covered with WATER. Your body is fifty to sixty percent water. With all that water around, you'd think we would take it for granted. But that is not true; the water we drink reveals a lot about us. In the 1980s Perrier was practically synonymous with urbanity and male homosexuality, despite their best efforts (NSFW). This was not true for female homosexuals. Light beer in a can was the signifier for female homosexuality. Perhaps what we drink is significant is because it comprises so much of who we are, not just metaphorically, but literally.

The gendering of water runs parallel to the push to get Americans to drink more processed beverages. I mean, you can't charge for tap water. And most of the waters sold in this country are owned by the same multinational corporations that sell us the oceans of soda pop that Americans so love to swill. Pepsi owns Aquafina and SoBe Lifewater, which is really just punch, and Coke owns Dasani. Even the mineral water overlords San Pellegrino and Perrier are owned by Nestle. At Whole Foods you can buy BPA-free bottles that you can fill with the water of your choice. Exclusive of external decoration, the bottles remain unisex. These vessels serve not as signifiers of gender or sexual orientation, but instead are markers of class, and even perhaps, political affiliation.

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