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@scousebirdprobs
Liverpool
Scouse bird with a vodka dependency and an acute sense of social observation. Always self deprecating, always blunt. Follow me on twitter WARNING: Non-scousers may not understand language of this blog.
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Sunday 14 April 2013

Being Scouse Bird


Well I’ve now just past the 1 year mark of having the Scouse Bird account. I’ve already alluded to what a roller-coaster ride it’s been in the 2012 round up but new things happen all the time. 

It’s not all plain sailing, I have my share of critics and haters which I have to deal with and it’s very hard to keep a level head and to not to get caught up in all the hype. On the one hand you do get people calling you a celebrity and treating you like a celebrity which is very strange cos on the other hand YOU know you’re not and no one would even look twice at you walking down the street. To be honest I’d hate all that anyway, I find the attention quite embarrassing at times but it is what it is. As for the hate tweets, well it just comes with the territory really doesn’t it? The higher you climb the more people will try and bring you down. I just ignore them...occasionally one will get to me and I’ll go to write a reply and then think “Hang on, am i actually assed what they think? No.” and delete it. Why give them attention?
The way I see it is that Scouse Bird is a character, I’m just her creator. I write her. I’m no one special or famous, I’m not more or less Scouse or perfect than the next girl walking down the street. She is though. She’s the epitome of Scouse. She’s a little bit of me now, a bit of me from the past, a bit of my friends, a bit of my enemies, a bit of celebrities, a bit of overheard conversations - she’s like a patchwork quilt of the whole city. I’m not her in the same way Brendan O’Carroll isn’t Mrs Brown or Ricky Gervais isn’t David Brent. In a way she doesn’t exist except in our imaginations. Even I talk about her as if she’s another person, I don’t say “I think this” i say “No I don’t think Scouse Bird would think this”.

This brings me on to the Circle of Sheow. Most people love it and appreciate it for what it is - a superficial critical assessment of an outfit or a shoe, but some people genuinely take offence to it and call it cruel. It’s critical not cruel and magazines have been doing it for years, it’s not a new concept. Right, here’s how i see it - I make sure ‘Scouse Bird’ is never personal, she never attacks people’s looks or weight, NEVER, she also makes sure to show as little of the person as is possible while still demonstrating the point she’s trying to make and she NEVER shows the face. I’ve had people create captions for pictures they’ve snapped and sent in which are making fun of people for being fat or whatever and i’ve explained there’s no chance I’m using them. Now if i put a picture up saying a shoe is horrid or a dress is vile some people do then take it upon themselves to go personal with it and leave nasty comments, I’m not there to censor or police that - that’s up to the individual. Someone suggested I have a responsibility to stamp out bullying the other day...I disagree. I’m not pro-bullying, far from it, I’ve been bullied myself in the past, it’s just 1. I don’t see the Circle of Sheow as bullying, it’s one isolated comment about something extremely superficial which like or not we all do. We all make comments to our friends when we’re out like ‘look at her shoes’ or ‘state of that, wtf is that she’s wearing’ and I see Scouse Bird as someone people recognise in themselves or in their mates. I get sent in about 20+ circle of sheows a day. I don’t use most of them. and 2. When exactly do I get this responsibility bestowed on me exactly? Was it at 10k followers, 50k followers? Did someone come along and go right that’s it now, you can’t say what you want anymore because someone might get offended? Because I must have been hungover and missed that. I’ve been doing ‘circle of sheow’ pictures of kitten heels etc since the account started, it’s only now I’m hearing dissent (and mostly off Facebook users *rolls eyes*). It’s not me personally sitting here dishing out judgements, I’ve worn enough dodgy outfits in the past to be in the Circle of Sheow a few times myself (and have actually put myself in there once) and I’ve as much chance of anyone as being snapped and sent in to Scouse Bird. I frequently change my outfit 3 times before I leave the house nearly having a breakdown over whether Scouse Bird would like it or not - I’ve created a monster! I’m frightened of her. In every one of us, like it or not, there’s a fashion critic - no one knows best, we all have our own personal style. If it makes you feel uncomfortable then I urge you to press the unfollow button, go free my crank.

So what’s next for me and Scouse Bird? Well there are new offers coming in all the time and I feel a bit like I’m spinning plates in the air, and I love it! I’m always busy (which means I have to say no to a lot of things) and I don’t often get time to chill out and do nothing (and even when I do I get fidgety) - she’s literally changed my life, even though it’s like I’m working 2 full time jobs at the moment. I do have one very big project I’m working on at the moment which hopefully I can make an announcement on in the next couple of months BUT I don’t want to jinx it - when I know, you’ll know. But it’s VERY VERY exciting indeed. Dream big! And haters, you can shove it up your jacksy, I’m not arsed what you think ;-)

X O X O 

Scouse Bird