My Love Affair with Marriage

And 1,685 Backers present

in a film by Signe Baumane

My Love Affair With Marriage

Sakhalin Island, 1970

Prelude - INCEPTION

Mom!?

I’m hungry!

Seven years and nine months ago,

Zelma: Age 7 the several hundred million of Zelma's

father’s sperm cells, each carrying an entirely different set

of his genetic information, entered Zelma’s mother’s body.

Within minutes most of the cells turned out

to be unfit to continue the journey.

Following the trail of heat emitted by the fallopian tubes

the remaining 375 cells crossed through the passage of the cervix

into the uterus,

but only 97 were vital enough to reach the entrances

of the two fallopian tubes.

After a brief struggle, 32 sperm cells pushed their way into one of the tubes.

There they momentarily paused to catch their breaths

and assess the direction of a chemical trail.

Following the trail, 23 of them encountered

Zelma’s Mother’s egg cell ready for fertilization.

The egg cell contained a random selection

of one half of her Mother's genetic information.

In the race to be the first to penetrate the egg

there was only one winner.

The most vigorous sperm cell fused with the egg.

The tightly packed chromosomes in the tiny sperm cell then began to unpack.

The randomly picked chromosomes of Zelma’s father’s half set

combined with randomly picked chromosomes of Zelma’s mother’s half set

forming a new full set of chromosomes

a unique and unrepeatable genetic combination

that was the basis of building Zelma’s body and personality.

Zelma! Come home at once!

Mom will be be angry!

I’ll come right away, but later!

The chance of Zelma having the same genetic makeup

as her sister born to the same parents two years before

was one in one hundred trillion.

To prepare Zelma for survival in an environment familiar to her parents

the process of turning on and off the 23,000 genes carried by the chromosomes

was influenced by the fact that both Zelma’s parents in their childhoods

had lived through the trauma of air raids,

battle-field violence and post-war starvation.

Although at the time of Zelma’s conception

the peace had lasted for 19 years and 3 months

Zelma's fetus was developing a body and brain

amply capable of reacting to external attacks.

For nine months, Zelma’s fetus

received food and oxygen from her mother’s bloodstream.

Zelma and her mother were biologically linked,

their heartbeats in tune with each other.

It was a complex mother-fetus unity

that left an impact on Zelma’s brain development.

Before there was night

Before there was day

We humans were created

Out of clay.

Oh, we were so strong

So smart, full of charms

With two beautiful heads

Four legs and four arms.

The gods looked down And saw we were a threat

The magnificent creatures They would rather forget.

The gods licked their lips

And swords they drew

They sliced us with might

And split us in two.

Now weak and lost

Our halves wobble around

Searching for unity on every ground.

When two halves connect

It feels just right

This special event we call

Love at First Sight.

Marriage is your Destiny

You should patiently wait.

You're not a complete person

Without your Soul

Mate!

I am in the air! I don’t care!

Because of her hyperactive hypothalamus

by age seven Zelma knows the basics of staying alive.

But basic survival is just one part of life.

Part one - FORMATION

Age 8

After a ceremony officially opening the new school year

I entered the 2nd grade, class B, of 35 pupils.

As the new addition to the class, I was to be the 36th.

In an instant, I noticed that the class was clearly divided into two groups.

The first three rows were occupied by girls

and the last three were taken by boys.

No one but the 34 other pupils noticed the abuse.

It was a scene staged just for me with rules I didn’t know yet

but felt the script required me to act.

What are you doing?

Cut it out!

I said stop! Enough!

Stop it!

It was not the first time I felt my life was in danger.

I always knew how to fight my way out.

But this time I sensed I had made a mistake.

There were 34 pairs of cold eyes looking at me unforgivingly.

And then, I saw him.

Green eyes like green grass full of promise.

Skin smooth like a warm porcelain cup.

Cheeks rosy as if he, too, was in flames with fever.

I felt a ZAP!

In an instant, I realized that until this moment I was incomplete.

Here, in this classroom, was a person that had powers I didn’t know humans had.

I wanted to melt into, merge with the boy.

I wanted to become...

Complete!

She is not a girl!

She fights!

She is not a girl!

She is not a girl!

What does it mean - I am not a girl?

Hi.

Is it because I fight?

Why are you looking at her?

I'm a girl and have a girl repertoire.

Be like me

Borrow a move or two

From my library.

I don’t show that I know.

I always miss.

Ignorance is a girl’s bliss.

I am bad at English.

Do you like me now?

I'm a girl and I wear sleek dresses

Smart skirts and snazzy boots.

Tight jerseys, trendy pants and racy suits.

But I can’t run in those!

Good girls don’t run.

Being elegant is more fun.

Any form of attention

Is the right form of attention.

I am delighted to be in your consideration:

I’ll give you my full cooperation.

But what about my self respect?

ANY form of attention is a delight.

Do you like me now?

I am pretty, pretty easy on the eye

Like a sugar cup

And I know I am going to be pretty

Beautiful when I grow up.

I am not too short to be overlooked

Not too tall to smite with my height

Not too short and not too tall

I am just right!

I'm a girl and I'm weak

Just the thought of hard work makes me meek

I don’t carry heavy things

I leave that for kings.

But I feel strong. Is that wrong?

Here’s the deal: No one cares how you feel.

All that matters is how you look.

Be a good girl

Emulate, imitate, simulate by my book.

I’ll be the best girl I can be.

Do you like me now?

To make sense of the new environment that seemed full of unfamiliar dangers,

Zelma’s still developing limbic system tagged the boy

as a potential reward for overcoming her status as an awkward newcomer.

This reward is great motivation for Zelma to practice to be the girl

she hopes the boy will like.

I am a girl and I am weak.

I don’t smite.

I am pretty... meek.

Quiet and submissive

I don’t fight.

Look how this particular circuit of neurons synchronize

their activity pattern.

As Zelma repeats her new gestures

those neural connections get strengthened until they form a pathway.

Unused neurons and synaptic connections get pruned

to make neural transmissions efficient.

Zelma is effectively changing herself.

Let’s take a look at how the outside world responds to her learning.

Age 9

He was coming to tell me that all the attention he was giving to other girls

was a ploy to distract our enemies.

The one that he really loved was me.

Hi.

He was so close we breathed the same air.

The molecules that touched him

were also touching me.

I would give everything I have for you to love me.

Except for just one thing.

I don’t have special talents

No need to compete

Boys hate to feel small

When girls cause their defeat.

But I can do it in secret.

Age 12

Want to walk with me?

I didn’t need friends.

I was saving myself for love.