I do love it when we get our preconceived stereotypes blasted out of the water. I suppose because it challenges our thinking and opens us up to how wrong we've been all along.
The youtube currently doing the rounds of a young nun belting out an Alicia Keys song on the Italian version of The Voice does just this. I did notice she'd been severely criticised on some of the comments. One comment suggested she's prostituted herself singing a worldly song and dishonoured God and her vows.
Nuns are good fodder for stereotyping. I know as a child I was brought up on a good solid dose of nun material from movies and TV. The Flying Nun, Sound of Music, Airport to name a few.
I did know real nuns weren't as beautiful as movie nuns though!!
My favourite nun who did this for me back in 1992 was Sister Wendy. I loved Sister Wendy's Odyssey and seeing her leave her little caravan where she lived her consecrated hermit life, and travel the great art galleries of Europe giving us a commentary on masterpieces. I loved how this tiny little unassuming woman would stand before over sized scenes of naked, muscular gods and men, and talk about the rapes, passions and lusts and all the worldly stories and emotions that went along with them. I love art commentaries, but this one was so different.
Sister Wendy wasn't naive, uneducated, unintelligent, foolishly innocent just because she was nun, something I might have easily assumed. Maybe some criticised her too for pursuing worldly, self-interested projects in her art documentaries, I don't know.
Anyway, I though she was great and I love to be reminded that we can't just presume we know people by their outward appearance, their job, where they live. People are so gloriously surprising.
