Pencils and Erasers

Forgive me.  I should take a step back.  I started off blogging in such a hurry, with so much excitement to get right into the meat of the theme of this blog. I jumped RIGHT in, dissecting the futile quest to be effortlessly perfect.  I completely disregarded the fact that many of my readers may not be familiar with the term effortless perfection.  As a term coined at Duke, effortless perfection is something I, and my peers I’m sure, are not unfamiliar with, in terms of both the definition and the pressure.  But as a blogger, I overlooked the most important thing – making sure my readers know what I am talking about. I am sorry for that and apologize if you were confused. Keep in mind though, I am not perfect ;).  However, I hope to clear up the confusion now, but I get any further in my blogging.

So as I take a step back, I’ll clue you in on what ‘effortless perfection’ really means, from the campus where the term (not the idea however) originated.  2003.  What happened in 2003? The war in Darfur begins.  The first case of SARS is identified in Vietnam.  Hu Jintao begins his reign as President of the People’s Republic of China. Ruben Studdard wins American Idol, defeating Clay Aiken.  Elizabeth Smart finally returns home.  2003 is the year of origin of the term effortless perfection at Duke University.  In 2003, Duke defined Effortless Perfection rather eloquently (with the definition and the aura of the term still “eloquently” present and applicable today):

“According to the Women's Initiative report, "effortless perfection" is a social environment described by the 'expectation that one would be smart, accomplished, fit, beautiful, and popular, and that all this would happen without visible effort.' The noun-phrase "effortless perfection" has taken on the characteristics of an entity in and of itself. "Effortless perfection" is not just an idea at Duke, the report implies by using the term in this manner, it actually exists.”

As much as I’d like to be proud that I go to school where some new hot term originated, but unfortunately in this context, it is not something to flaunt.  The pressure to be perfect is paramount, undeniably tangible. “[W]omen at Duke expect themselves to be perfect, and beyond that, perfect without effort. Doesn't that sound a little problematic?”  

What do you think? Do you think this phenomenon presents a problem, now that you know what I am talking about now?  It is certainly a sticky subject; an elephant in a room full of female students that I would argue exists outside the confines of Duke’s campus.  But spoken in the words of a true male Dukie, “No one is perfect... that's why pencils have erasers.”