Midweek materials

[silveradept]

On the subject of a federal marriage amendment: For now, toasted. However, the vote was too close for comfort - 49 aye to 48 nay. The Republicans, however, seem to believe that the Congress is not representing the will of the American people when it votes in such a manner. I hope they're right, and that there are a lot more people in the country who want to see any amendment of this sort whipped, scourged, tarred, feathered, run out of town on a rail, then drawn, quartered, shot, and shot again in case it survives. Of course, the tale of the state legislatures says otherwise, but despair causes significant problems in one's energy.

Another corporation not to shop at (if you still shop at any these days): Macy's, and if you want, all the stores owned by the parent company, Federated Department Stores. What's their problem? They removed two gentlemen mannequins from a displaypromoting the Boston gay pride festival because a conservative group complained. They may have also covered up the websites of the groups on the display. The lack of logic astounds, but not so much as to cover up the lack of brains displayed. Obviously, Macy's agreed to house the display, so why are they suddenly pulling the mannequins because they look like the events that are being promoted? Not to mention that they've revealed where they stand on this particular issue. I won't be surprised if the whole thing disappears in a few days. I also won't be surprised if there are a lot of angry people demanding the return of the pair to their rightful platform. There's also likely to be the sound of several accounts closing and business being taken elsewhere. If Federated Department Stores wants customers back, they're going to have to court them, homosexual or no.

Speaking of sexuality, here's an additional, short opinion about Purity Balls, the wastes of time that put a girl up in front of her peers and her father and make her swear never to have any of that icky sex until she's married, and him to swear that he'll make sure she doesn't have any of that icky sex until she's married (likely enforcement with guns and baseball bats and such). The title is Christian Virgins Are Overrated, and it puts forward the idea that sexually liberated women make people harder to control, for one thing, and makes it much harder for the government to get angry and/or repressed men to fight wars and/or obey authority. If the girls are liberated, then the guys will tell the government to fuck off when it comes to recruitment for the latest oil campaign. As well as not having their anger at not getting laid/not being able to get laid transformed into hatred for "others" like liberals, Muslims, or whomever we're at war with. It's a pretty good line of thought. Don't know how much I think it's a true line of thought, but it's probably truer than I think. The last sentence stands out, for multiple interpretations, too: "The middle east would be a much different place if the Arab women could trade their burqas for tank-tops and short shorts." That it would, friend, that it would.

From different places: Actors dinking around, which can produce some very interesting results, and the body is less you than you think, which says that human cells are in symbiosis with a lot of other organisms. A lot.

Among college students, iPod more popular than beer. Wow. Disposable income for the win, I suppose.

Earlier start tomorrow, with a bit of a staff day, since we have visiting librarians from Germany. Should be nice to see things from a different perspective, if we get to talk to them. I should probably ask torakiyoshi how to say hello, and if they ask if I speak German, how to say, "No, but my English isn't half-bad." (And whether that would be taken as a joke.)

I appreciate all the replies I've had so far to last night's post. It's nice having a thoughtful, insightful bunch of people who will mercilessly poke holes in my arguments that I use to put myself down.

Comments

And Now, the actual comment..

[annaonthemoon.livejournal.com]

I don't understand the big deal about the Macy's display and why it was offensive. From the photo shown, it was just two men in the window display next to the sign of events. Nothing overly gay about that, other than it being two men as opposed a man and a woman. The one man had a pride flag wrapped around his waist, which I think was fitting and instep with the whole theme of the window. Calling a flag a "skirt" is ridiculous. I'm sure you can tell by looking at it that it wasmade of flag material. How is that different from the manequins they use for swimwear and they drape a towel over the male manequin's waist? And so what if the male manequins had "slightly enlarged breasts"? Perhaps Macy's was merely finally catching onto not everyone being one size and not liking looking at manequins that represent that ideal body?

Libereated women are frightening? No, we're not. And being libereated doesn't nescesarily mean that the women aren't still virgins. My opinion on the saving yourself bit is that it's a nice sentiment, but rare to actally happen by choice. I think there are more virgin's out there who would "give it up" if they had the chance over virgins who are prim and proper and waiting for their husbands/wives. I also never undestood why it's such a big deal for the girls to make these pledges, but not the boys. It's such a double standard. Sexually liberated women get such a bad reputation - "whore", "slut", "scarlett woman" - and it's simply NOT fair. I digress. Sorry. These "purity balls" are ridiculous. Personally, I think it's downright gross to have the father make a pledge to protect his daugter...it gives me the creeps reading the part that called the father the "high preist of the home"....What?! I'm a firm believer in proper sexual education and in letting each and every person make their OWN informed descisions. If a girl wants to go out and shag the entire football team -- let her, but for goddess sake, give the students proper sex ed so they can protect themselves.

The actors dinking around link won't load for some reason, and I've tried at least 5 times.

Glad to see the iPods being more popular. Granted it has a lot to do with the level of disposeable income the students have at one time I sppose, but you have to admit that listening to music is a much better option to getting drunk.

I'm glad the ban didn't pass, but I'm dissapointed that it was by such a close margin.

We poke holes, because we care ;)

I hope your day with the Germans is going well!

Re: And Now, the actual comment..

[silveradept]

The Macy's display is a fiasco. The things done in the name of one group, against the potential of many other groups, is strange. Especially since Federated should know that there are probably more active gay rights groups than conservative, gay-fearing ones. From the sounds of things, they also just alienated a significant portion of their consumer base, which is stupid business.

Boys don't need to be pure, because boys will be boys, of course, and it's studly and manly of them to be aggresively sexual and to conquer any girl who he has his eyes on. Girls, of course, must resist those temptations or be branded a whore for indulging herself.

Re: And Now, the actual comment..

[annaonthemoon.livejournal.com]

So..you're a stud and I'm a whore? waitaminute...THAT'S certainitly not fair.

*nods* Macy's is one of the preferred store of the gay folk. (Ugh. never go shopping with a gay man. so tedious)

Re: And Now, the actual comment..

[silveradept]

No, it's not fair, but that's what happens when patriarchy has been the dominant form of government for the current incarnation of recorded history. Makes certain things very hard to break out of if attention isn't called to them. Which will often bring down the rain of bottles and cries such as "Woman, get back in the kitchen, make me some pie, and then come over here and service me yourself!"

Re: And Now, the actual comment..

[annaonthemoon.livejournal.com]

I'd just laugh in someone's face if they ever said that to me. Did i tell you what happened to me at work on Monday, i think it was? I called and got a man on the phone and asked him to participate in the study and he told me his wife would, so I Went into my spiel about how we have an oversampling of female responses and could really use his input and he said to me "You know why you're only getting female responses? It's because the men are out at work all day and the woman's place is at home, making dinner for her husband." My response? "thank you sir. have agood day." and I hung up on him.

this doesn't mean I wo'nt cook for a man or anything like that, but DAMNIT, I better damn well be your equal.

Re: And Now, the actual comment..

[silveradept]

People like that are probably good for statistical diversity, but I hope to $DEITY that someone like that is an outlier rather than on the bell curve with that kind of view.

Re: And Now, the actual comment..

[annaonthemoon.livejournal.com]

It depends on what kind of statistics you're gathering. If you want statistics on Misogyny, then sure. Ok, maybe Mysogyny is the wrong word, but certainitly anti-feminist. And bizarre to say that over the phone to a woman who is working for a living. It really offended me, more than if I had read it in someone's blog, since it almost felt like he thought I ought to be at home cooking some man his dinner.

I've had afew people on the phone ask me how my husband felt about me asking those types of questions (the sex ones), and I'm usually able to laugh it off when i tell them I'm not married..one woman told me she was sorry I wasn't married...that kind of bothered me.

But it's amazing how much of society feels as though women ought to take care of the kids and husband. It's the little comments that people say to you, and you almost wish they were a part of the data you were collecting so you could analyze it.

Being a feminist is rough.

Re: And Now, the actual comment..

[silveradept]

Some people were brought up the way that you see. I'm not sure if there are any people that decided to become that way that didn't become something like serial rapists or something of that nature. Many of those kinds of people, I would wager, don't even understand that they might be offending someone.

Like people who don't realize "God bless" could be vehemently offensive to someone.

Re: And Now, the actual comment..

[annaonthemoon.livejournal.com]

And the number of times I hear that phrase...oi. even things like singing "God Bless America" at the beginning of a meeting annoy me. Likewise with praying at a public meeting. Not everyone prays to the same god or prays in the same way.

but really. If it came right down to it, I'd love to stay at home all day and take care of the house and cook for my family, etc. but that's just not the way it's going to work out unless I somehow marry a rich man, and if I do that, i'd probly havea housekeeper to do that stuff.

it's like the time one of my co-workers was on the phone and said "so you're just a homemaker?" and the woman lashed back about how she was not just a homemaker and really started lecturing her aboutit.

Re: And Now, the actual comment..

[2dlife.livejournal.com]

I would wreak serious havoc if my future wife didn't let me cook. Serious havoc.

Re: And Now, the actual comment..

[annaonthemoon.livejournal.com]

yes, and you are a good cook (or at least, make really good cookies!). any woman who doesn't let you cook is nuts!