BlogHer - So Mighty, So Deadly, So Bershon - Comments

On my mind, obviously

suebob — Tue, 08 May 2007 07:46:00 -0500

Last night I had a dream where I went into a used bookstore and found a vintage card that said "Sue Bershon" printed on it, as if that were someone's name.

I had to have it. After all, hadn't I been Sue Bershon for about half my life?

happy to oblige, hehe, after

blueshi — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:30:27 -0500

happy to oblige, hehe, after all I've only spent most of my afternoon rereading my archives in an attempt to find the pics (doubtless much to the dismay of my boss)
my afro is resplendently displayed in the january 06 archives http://1blueshi1.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_archive.html

Madame Blueshi, on the matter of your Bershon child...

Grace Davis — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 11:40:48 -0500

...I don't know if your shiny, happy kid would qualify. He's too sweet, too sunny, too good.

Bershon is bad as in badass.

Now, I'm going to have to insist that you find those afro pics.

Thanks for commenting!

Grace Davis
BlogHer Bershon Watchdog
State of Grace

Ms K - awesome Bershon...

Grace Davis — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 11:38:01 -0500

...in your flickr contribution:

"spirit week" circa 1987

It chilled me to the bone when I saw this. The look on your pal gives new meaning to the Journey lyrics, "Oooo, Sherrie".

Way to go!

Grace Davis
BlogHer Bershon Watchdog
State of Grace

bershon perfection

blueshi — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 11:06:11 -0500

I heart this post. It inspired me to run over to my blog and search for the fabulously afro hair that I had in my third grade school picture--I wasn't able to find that one, but there are a couple of completely Bershon shots of my son in the august archive (http://1blueshi1.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html)
come view and enjoy! as I reflect on the hideousness of inflicting Bershon on my tender and innocent offspring.

Too bad it's only a

kperfetto — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:57:29 -0500

Too bad it's only a mannequin head. (I guess I should change my avatar). Mannequins are naturally bershon, I think.

I added the semi-bershon (a little smirky) to the Flickr pool.

Five Dollar Camera

I dunno, Ms. kperfetto...

Grace Davis — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 23:43:08 -0500

...I see some intense Bershon in your profile pic. That's hardly "spaz"! That's lean, mean Bershon!

Grace Davis State of Grace

I only found one picture of

kperfetto — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 16:59:47 -0500

I only found one picture of myself that's even marginally bershon. Apparently, I come from a long line of people who spaz out in front of the camera.

Five Dollar Camera

Oh, Grace, you nailed it.

ninjapoodles — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:51:54 -0500

Oh, Grace, you nailed it. (Cringing at the realization that I actually saw Flock of Seagulls LIVE IN CONCERT.) Off-the-shoulder tops, Flashdance-inspired fashion, slouch boots with bandanas tied around the ankles, Hammer pants...dear Lord, I was SO cool. ;-P

Belinda

Another Early Bershon!

Grace Davis — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:10:28 -0500

Belinda, I'll bet Bershon was your middle name.

As for Bella, it only gets worse, year after year. I suggest you turn her over to the poodles and let them raise her. (I like that! Raised by poodles.)

Looking forward to seeing your 80s pics. I'm hoping you had a New Wave phase and coiffed your hair in the 'Flock of Segulls' fashion. Oh, the delicious horror.

Grace Davis
BlogHer Contributing Editor
Member, BlogHer 07 Advisory Board
Blogmistress, State of Grace

I honestly can't locate any

ninjapoodles — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 03:17:35 -0500

I honestly can't locate any of my yearbooks right now, or I'd have you rolling in the floor (I smiled in almost every picture in high school, but OH the fashion tragedies of the 80's). In my stead, may I present my daughter Bella, Bershon at age four, taken earlier tonight:

Belinda

So Mighty, So Deadly, So Bershon

Grace Davis — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 23:35:58 -0500

Behold the perfect "Bershon", delivered with silent rage by Ms. Sarah Brown, circa early 1990s: "It was the last day of 8th grade, and my mother had the nerve to try and take my picture before I flounced out of the house with my yearbook and purse. This face says, 'GOD! I am WAY TOO BUSY having a mouthful of braces and a hot-rolled ponytail to smile for you, Mom! GOD!'"

I did it. You did it. We all did it.

Any female who grew up in Western Culture did it.

No doubt any female growing up in other cultures did it, perhaps under the cloak of their burqa or into the folds of their sari.

What did we do?

BERSHON, baby. We did Bershon.

The long time blogger and universally loved Sarah Brown deserves the credit and any academic citations for characterizing the look, the 'tude, the "Oh my GOD, do I HAVE TO?" mystique of Bershon. Though she did not coin the actual term (for which Sarah attributes to those "cool girls in middle school rolling their eyes and saying...like, ohmyGOD, whatever, Iâ€™m SO BERSHON." in her introduction to the flickr set, "I'm So Bershon"), it is Sarah's concise defintion in her estimable blog, Que Sera Sera that stands as the last word on the subject:

...the spirit of bershon is pretty much how you feel when youâ€™re 13 and your parents make you wear a Christmas sweatshirt and then pose for a family picture, and you could not possibly summon one more ounce of disgust, but youâ€™re also way too cool to really even DEAL with it, so you just make this face like you smelled something bad and sort of roll your eyes and seethe in a put-out manner.

Christmas sweatshirt. Two simple words that, when combined, has the power to trigger those ugly flashbacks of posing unwillingly for the family holiday picture.

But, you fought back. You were determined to ruin that Kodak moment for time immemorial. So, you deployed the bitter adolescent's most powerful weapon, that poison dart of youth's contempt, the Bershon:

Classic Bershon deftly executed by a young Eden Marriott Kennedy of fussy fame. Note the jaunty Fair Isle sweater, first cousin to the dreaded "Christmas sweatshirt".

Sarah's three year old blog post continues to serve as the universal reference point for all matters Bershon. A Technorati search of this post reveals a bounty of Bershon related links and its vast teenage wasteland of bloggers in their permed hair youth sneering at you from scanned portraits of sullen glares.

As my editorial duty to BlogHer readers, I plunged into the icy waters of the Bershon blogosphere and surfaced bearing these chilly specimens:

I actually sucked in my breath and shuddered involuntarily when I encountered the adolescent Alice Bradley in this quintessential beaut of a Bershon, revealed in a recent finslippy post. It looks like a lovely summer day in that pic, but Alice's frosty countenance says, "Baby, it's cold outside."

The always awesome graduation shot, complete with the Bershon stare-down in its full flower. The disdain is palpable. A worthy contribution to the genre by Tracie of the hysterically funny emotionaltoothpaste ("Once it's out, there's no getting back in the tube.")

Watch out! Updo and date (with eyes closed!) coming at you via the obligatory pre-prom photo op! This truly killer Bershon was culled from the flickr photostream of blogger Heather L. Hunter/This Fish Needs a Bicycle. Pondered Heather of this occasion du Bershon: "I don't know why I look so unhappy... I mean, who with such a hairdo could be anything but thrilled?"

I agree wholeheartedly with BlogHer stalwart Mary Tsao that Bershon can appear as early as pre-school. Here's Mary's daughter Emily, giving Bershon x 6. That's a lot of attitude, and she's only three.

Finally, my 15 year old daughter Molly continuing the proud tradition of Bershon into the 21st century. While the rest of the group chats merrily on the blanket, Molly avoids eye contact, my camera's lens, and pretty much anything to do with our beach party. She just doesn't want to be there. Now, that's Bershon.

And so, BlogHers, what of your Bershon past? Where are your Christmas sweatshirt/junior prom/high school graduation/candid snapshots of Bershon gloom? Share the misery and post those "ohmyGod MOM!" portraits. You'll have plenty of company.