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Are you "obvious"?
I never feel like I'm "crunchy", or what people would consider a hippie, but one of my friends says how it is so obvious that I am "crunchy". I think she gets it from my cloth diapering and because I don't wear a ton of makeup (like her). Most people know I cloth diaper and that I'm a vegetarian, but other than that I don't think they really have a clue - because for instance, I get a lot of stuff for gifts that I would never touch (like unnatural bath products, especially for the kids), or junk foods etc. I could be wrong though - my friends think being a vegetarian is a big deal, when I don't really think about it.
What do you think other people's perceptions of you are in terms of being green? And is it based on looks, lifestyle, etc?
Re: Are you "obvious"?
I don't think I am, but I think I am more than I think! It would also depend on what I'm wearing, etc. Like I might be in a suit for a work conference, and I don't think anyone would think of me as all that crunchy, but then on my own time might be running around in some organic yoga pants and a t-shirt with a (semi-discrete) environmental message and tevas...
And of course if you see me getting out of my SUV...
Oh I so come off as crunchy. When I give rides to people, or mention my car, almost every person says, "Oh OF COURSE you drive a Prius!" I don't wear much makeup, don't dye my hair, have tons of cute reusable everythings (bags, food containers, drink bottles, etc...), and still eat vegetarian at work. I don't like lying that I came off it back in April, but since we only eat free-range, humanely raised meat I refuse to eat nasty deli sandwiches or whatever they're serving at lunch, and would much prefer they ensure a vegetarian option is available. I almost always have leftovers for lunch, and people are constantly commenting on it. I'm like, no I don't eat Lean Cuisine, that stuff is nasty. I'll talk about the Farmer's Market to anyone that will listen, and often to people who won't. I'm not afraid to call people out on doing ungreen things ::cough laptop in the office kitchen trash can cough cough:: or if they say something about the environment that's not correct. I speak my mind, always have, and have no intention of changing that.
ETA: Was there any doubt as to my answer to this question?
To the people that know me at work, yes they know our lifestyle. Everything I have is reusable and I never eat food from the cafeteria but I dress "normal"...
Most of our friends are the same way (we are looking forward to canning parties from our gardens, go to farmers market together on Sunday, we all get our meats from the same farmers etc.) so it's kinda a given.
Although the surprise bday party my friends threw for me in December was "green themed" with all organic foods, live potted plants to take home, and a cake shaped like a globe! So maybe more than I think haha!
But I share this "vice" w/Alisha... does my conserve wildlife license plate count for anything?
I feel that I am a lot less 'crunchy' than some of my friends, but I try very hard. I think it also helps that I am surrounded by people who are 'green'. I was an Environmental Science major in undergrad and now in grad school focusing on human interactions with wildlife habitat stuff, so my whole ideology kind of revolves around doing what is best for the planet.
I have basically turned my back yard into a garden (I would love to have chickens, but H might kill me), shop at the farmers market for almost everything else. In the winter when there is no farmers market, I participate in LocallyGrown, only carry reusable bags, bottles, etc. drive a Prius (H has an X-terra that I am trying to get him to get rid of...) but we do ride our bikes almost everywhere when we can. I will only eat farmed or hunted meat, not commercial, and free-range eggs from our local woman. I don't really wear makeup and live very simply wardrobe-wise (I don't have a 'real' job, so I don't have to worry about dress clothes yet). We use recycled toilet paper and paper towels and use all 7th generation cleaners. I guess when I list it all out it feels like I do a lot, but I still feel like there's so much more I could be doing.
Well I wear a suit most days and work for an insurance company, so I don't really look "crunchy." I do stick out as being a lot more liberal than most of my coworkers, but I try to stay out of political talk. I do get comments though on the fact that I ride the bus to work and bring "weird" lunches. I don't see what's weird about eating leftovers, but most of my coworkers eat Lean Cuisine type things at lunch. One of my coworkers actually asked me once if my DH and I ever ate just hamburgers and french fries. Of course we do, but that wouldn't be something I'd make EXTRA of for leftovers.
Oh and when we have work lunches, i always ask for vegetarian even though I'm not veg, bc I am so grossed out by all sandwich meat.
I'm really just now getting in to trying to make changes and become more "crunchy" (and I didn't even realize it was called being crunchy until I started lurking here, lol) and I'm trying so hard not to be one of those people who makes a big deal out of it. My dh is pretty anti green movement, so I'm hoping if I don't make a big deal out of stuff he won't start calling me a hippie again like he did when I bought my first reusable bag.
Also though it's still kind of rare here. I've seen only a handful of people with reusable bags and I've only ever really been around a few vegetarians - I was actually at a wedding last weekend and in line for the buffet a girl mentioned being veg and people looked at her like she had 3 heads..... and I'm still wondering what she ate since it was a BBQ buffet with no vegetables at all and only 3 sides to pick from - one of which had meat in it.
Well, I don't think I am, but in reality it is jsut that all my family and friends are also crunchy.
At my SIL's "super awesome" wedding, I was ranting to DH that no one ate my quinoa salad, opting for the nasty hot dogs instead. He was like "honey, you do realize that none of them probably even knew what quinoa is, right?". Oh...... right......
To say the least I couldn't wait to get back to my hippy crunchy world.
alisha i don't think you really come across as crunchy, even when you are casual.
i don't think i ever come across as crunchy. lol
yes, i stick out like a sore thumb
once someone finds out i follow a vegan diet, i am automatically labeled a hippy, and i'm ok with that
i also tend to be the one in any group that speaks up when someone makes a sexist, racist, or just flat out ignorant comment...sometimes i get the eyeroll, but oh well (then i get labeled the flaming liberal, and once again, i'm ok with that) :-)