Televisual treats: Amish gap years, homocidal University staff and parental gender desires.

• Rizzoli and Isles had a storyline about a murderous pimp who happened to be a residence advisor - beware all those heading to University this fall - your local, friendly helping-hand could be your worst nightmare!
• Amish: World's Squarest Teenagers was another fly-on-the-wall documentary where the participants were clearly prepped about what controversial things to say or do, yet it was still eye-opening and warming, unexpectedly so. I learned about bundling, the different types of Amish clothing options (and how Becky wore shorts on the beach!) and how dancing for joy (and to glorify God) can be life changing.
• 8 Boys and Wanting a Girl talked about PGD and the controversy. But no-one mentioned whether it was selection of a foetus based on gender, for which I can understand people's concerns. Or whether it was sperm selection (using centrifuge to spin off the light from the heavier sperm, since one type is mostly male) and then swamping a syphoned ovum in that selected sperm, or whether they actually selected a specific spermatozoa to implant in an ovum. This latter technique seems less controversial, but presumably it is more expensive. Also the feature was about women wanting girls in a family of men. I have two questions:
• Do those with gender disappointment tend to wish they had girls? Are there more mothers wanting mini-me's than there are fathers wanting little girls? Are there a similar number of dads in feminine families wanting some male company?
• Do these parents realise that even if they do conceive the longed for daughter or son, that they may turn out just the same as the other children - tree-climbing, gun-loving, football-playing, or doll-dressing, tea-making, pink-wearing? There is no assumption that the preferred gender will meet the cultural desires the parents want fulfilled. Mummy may not be able to go shopping for girly dresses with the daughter - she might want combats. Daddy may not get to go camping with his son, if he would rather stay home and play house. Do they prepare for this mentally? What if the kid is gender dysmorphic or sexually queer? Are they prepared for this? Does fulfilling the desire for a certain gender simply mean that the child must have the right genitalia? Would these mothers be happy with a gay son who wants to go to the gymkhana, discuss hair styles, or whatever else these women assume their imagined daughter would do? Would a father be okay with a butch daughter who can throw a ball, rugby tackle and make armpit burps with the best of them? I guess not. I think these parents are longing for a cultural stereotype that is unrealistic. They are hoping for a certain stereotype of personality rather than the genetic gender. Would any of their children feel pressure to be other than their current gender - do any of them consider transvestism or a transgendered identity more readily due to familial pressure? 

Okay, I have four questions actually: 

• Why don't any of these families consider adoption or fostering? Do they want a little version of themselves so badly?

•  What happens if the child is sick or disabled? They would be the right gender but the parents wouldn't be able to do all the 'gender-appropriate' activities - is that child still valid in their eyes as fulfilling the category they so badly desire? Would another healthy child of the right gender be needed to adequately satisfy this hunger?

Iranian women's rugby team take to the field wearing modesty-preserving headscarves and tracksuits: do their bodies really need this much protection?

Iranian women's rugby team take to the field wearing modesty-preserving headscarves and tracksuits | Mail Online

I wonder about these burhkinis and other modest sports clothing. I know little about Arabic or Muslim culture, but what I have read suggests that body covering is to protect the women from:
lascivious thoughts from the men they encounter;
having their reputation tarnished by being seen as a floozy if they are not covered;
being judged on appearance rather than what they say or do...

and to protect the beauty and glory of a woman's body and hair for her husband (to be).

Now are these women really all so gorgeous that non-covering will reduce men to baying wolves? What value is their reputation other than in finding a husband - does it stop you getting a job? Doesn't judgement based on clothes not character happen anyway? They may not be seen as sexy and dim, but rather as prudish and uptight - which is worse?

As for retaining one's true beauty for their husbands, I find this offensive. A beautiful woman might save her beauty for herself, her best friends, her family, her God. Why is there this assumption that a woman must marry a man? Lesbianism is illegal, I assume. But is celibacy and spinsterhood frowned upon, too?

Maybe these women cover up so that they can revel in their own bodies alone behind closed doors and know that the secret of their bodily truth has been preserved.

As for the sporting clothes - I understand that getting Muslim women involved in such activities is hard, as they are seen as immodest in of themselves. What would these women (and their families) rather they be healthy and stepping outside cultural norms, or locked away and perhaps have a lower quality of life? What is more important to them? How they meet these doctrines or how their fit their life is? Is the worldly experience important, or is it the after-life (which will be good if they follow doctrine) that matters?

Foucault's peripatetic lifestyle

Foucault's meteoric rise to infamy and academic success was astonishing for a gay man and one who most deliberately kept beyond the confines expected of a scholar. A lively sense of style - he was famous for his kimono, leather jacket, corduroy suit, turtle necks, green cape. He caused scandal when he appointed his lover, Daniel Defert as his assistant in the University setting. He conceived of a new way of perceiving theory through action: an 'ontology of the present'. Foucault moved between institutions and turned down job offers in equal numbers according to Eribon (1991). He spent time in Tunisia, Iran, Poland and in the GIP, which he ended up running from his apartment, but when the prisoners' developed their own representative organisation, it disbanded - just as, I suspect, was Foucault's intention - for the convicts to find their own voice. The research (surveys, etc.) Foucault instituted to ascertain the true nature of prison life was foundational in initiating Foucault's belief in the 'strategic importance of information' (Foucault's New Domains, Mike Gane & Terry Johnson), which in turn led to him supporting the Libération newspaper. In learning about Iranian political life, Foucault decreed that modernity and secular ways were considered corrupt and archaic by the people. He stated that wearing the veil had become a strong political gesture. Later with the Iranian Revolution, his activist friend, Ahmed Salamatian, had to flee the country and it is not recorded whether Foucault was reconsidering his position on the Iranian government.

His trip to Poland to support the popular cause in September 1982 was 'an attempt to establish information centres, and liaisons between intellectuals and unions.' (Foucault's New Domains, Mike Gane & Terry Johnson). This period stimulated his thinking over the 'art of government' and whether he ought to write something about 'governing in a different way' (Eribon 1991: 306). Practical concerns (whether France was being governed smartly) were linked to his intellectual project on governmentality: 'On governmentality' (1978, 1979).

Moving forward, his concerns of governing shifted from institutional perspectives inwardly to the more personal - the governing of oneself. These concepts of defining and confining a life, a lived experience, through one's own actions would play out through his drug taking and sexual exploits. He carved for himself a life and a death from his own folly (some would say), with his demise being attributed to an AIDS-related complication.

So where were we...?

Ages ago I read some interesting things and meant to upload some links. I failed. So to fix matters, I have created the list. Here it is:


Bromosexuals: gay men gravitating towards masculine drag, getting mistaken for straight (NY Observer):

The clinical name for the bromosexual shift is enantiodromia, a Jungian kind of law of physics: Too much of anything makes its opposite grow in popularity. Hippies become yuppies, private-school alpha brats become slacker trustafarians, housewives become cougars.

Thank goodness for the the Norwegians! A real seed vault is being planned in case of Day After Tomorrow-type apocalypse happens. Species will not be wiped out - the plants will survive. Hooray!


From porn to fashion magazine: the Dutch-duo show how it's done. Butt's owners have branched in Fashion Man and most recently, The Gentlewoman - a ladies' version. This new addition to the stableblock is edited by Penny Martin, who was with ShowStudio for seven years and is the Rootstein Hopkins Chair of Fashion Imagery at the London College of Fashion.

This web page at the NY Times has a beautiful slideshow of Alexander McQueen's final collection. You really need to see these garments - they are works of art.


No, it wasn't April Fools Day - I checked. This article describes how kind words and a more positive attitude might help one appear younger and more radiant. The research was based on work by Dr Emoto, which of course, sounds like a fake name that someone looking into the power of emotions would choose when logging into a healthy and beauty chatroom. However, being nicer to oneself is a recommendation I can wholeheartedly get behind.


Ugly Betty's nephew played by Mark Indelicato celebrated his 16th birthday with castmates. Two things to note here: a) His outfit is rocking! b) His co-stars look like lots of fun and as if they really care that he has a nice time. Now it could all be a PR stunt and the whole thing was only 20mins long, but still - it looks great.


How much does Juanita W. Goggins (pictured here in an Associated Press shot in 1974, when she became the first black woman elected to the South Carolina legislature) (who sadly died in low temperatures) look like Dr Bailey (Chandra Wilson) from Grey's Anatomy? The answer = LOADS!

Finally, two music items. Lady Gaga and Beyonce's official music video premiere and Florence and the Machine "DOG DAYS ARE OVER" Music Video from LEGS MEDIA.

Fashionable politics

These gorgeous-looking ladies may be gathered for a dubious parade in France, because Sarkozy made some questionable invitation decisions to African dictators/leaders, but they do look fabulous. If you've married a man who is or has become a dictator, then you might not be gorgeous on the inside, but outside, these ladies shine. They also look happy and healthy on the whole, whilst Carla Bruni looks so thin in comparison. Yet, if asked to run after a bus or haul bags of groceries home from the supermarket, I am hard pushed to decide whether the guests or the hostess would be better at the task.

I wish there were fashions like these available in the West. Colourful, expressive, comfortable looking. I love them! This photo is courtesy of the DailyMail and the article on Bastille Day.

Fashion forward

Cultural and costume historians agree that the mid-14th century marks the emergence of recognizable "fashion" in Europe. From this century onwards Western fashion changes at a pace quite unknown to other civilizations, whether ancient or contemporary. In most other cultures only major political changes, such as the Muslim conquest of India, produced radical changes in clothing, and in China, Japan, and the Ottoman Empire fashion changed only slightly over periods of several centuries.

There have been many styles that are so obscure to us today that we wonder how they ever became popular. What is more worrying is that the majority are directed at women and seem to hinder their progress and movement in not so subtle ways. Here is a list of the top ten extreme fashions from history.

Now we have fashions appearing and disappearing hourly - promoted then torn down by media commentators and the general public with their opinions writ large on the internet.

I wonder what latest fashion trend is emerging right now?

Fashion fastness fails

Now, here I was thinking some very clever thoughts and then NewScientist goes and puts out an article on the same topic and I feel less Eureka-like :(

But my thoughts were about fashion. I love vintage clothes. I love the uniqueness of an outfit not being something ANYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD could possibly be wearing (1940's dress, contemporary Primark heels, plus bag from 1980's that belonged to my mum and a necklace from Africa that is made of porcupine quills that was a gift from my old boss). I also enjoy the greenness of it all. Recycled, reused fabrics and items save our planet by refusing to add to the landfill and cause more waste! Hurrah! Plus I love the old cloths, the way of fastening a bag that seems rudimentary now and thusly obsolete, but which I think is just fab.

Now we are lucky to have fabrics that lasted from prehistoric times - little scraps that sit on mummified bones from Egypt. However, these are simple natural fibres - maybe this made them longer-lasting. My worry is that contemporary fashion is so fleeting (deliberately so to encourage profligacy and spending to help profit margins) that nothing will survive. We wont value it, so we wont keep it. Trunks of treasured items no more. They will be in the charity shop, then in the 'clothes for Africa' rag pile, then sold in Taiwan to poor families, then used as cleaning cloths when they are no longer wearable. Plus the items themselves are not built to last. In built obsolescence like washing machines (it is possible to build one that will last - it would be expensive and commercial suicide, but it is possible and would save our scrappage and subsequent re-mining for more raw materials) is resulting in poor quality clothes. A few washes and the cloth is pilled. A few more uses and the seams might go, embroidery unravels, beads fall off, printing fades. Still more use and the zip might break, a button will get lost and the elastic waistband gives way.

What will happen in 2110? One hundred years hence? Will they know what was fashionable? Will they look at trends? Will they know which tailoring styles were preferred, which fabrics, which colours? Will certain brand names remain: Gucci, NewLook, Nike? Could we look at different genders, different countries, different socio-economic groups and know what they would have worn or aspired to wear? What would these surviving clothes, textiles, magazines, catalogues, photographs, etc. tell us about the work that was conducted by these people? The type of homes they lived in? The social events they attended and the families they belonged to/created? History is excitingly discursive thus far and we can learn a lot about trade, class, etc. through people's wardrobes. Will be able to do this in the future?

I was wondering all this as we dawdled along a road and everyone seemed to be wearing something with Lycra in it - stretchy skirt......black, opaque tights.........fitted blouse.........neon leggings with the obligatory flat ballet pump. These elasticated items will shrivel and the elastic will degrade. The shape of the items might well be lost, how we wore them will be forgotten.

Satisfyingly sturdy craftsmanship sounds retro and expensive, but if we want to preserve our sartorial selves, we might need to think beyond the immediate. Savvy production now will help the fashion historians of the future.

 

Along the same vein, I am wondering how our current icons will be received in the eons to come. Will Helen Mirren be as memorable as Greta Garbo or Elizabeth Taylor? Ms. Mirren is held in high-esteem for her talent and her fortune to remain youthful and attractive in her advancing years. There is a lot of press coverage and we are moving towards her being part of the starry firmament with Dames Eileen Atkins and Judi Dench

What of Mary Portas? Her cinnamon bob is memorable as are her confident outfits and clunky shoes. She is her own woman (as we all should be) which I applaud and she looks fashionable, though I would say that she doesn't look stylish. There are a lot of her clothing choices that I don't think suit her. But it isn't any of my business; she doesn't care what I think and neither should she. But she is becoming an icon.


This emerging iconography is very interesting. How will the subjects see themselves in decades' time? 'Ooh, I can't believe I wore that red swim suit.' 'Where are those enormous rings that I used to port?' How will we respond as the audience?

Already we have some idea. One of the woemn in the public eye has aged and altered as expected since her 1980s debut. Madonna is another unique person who has been developing a varied personal style and stage presence, much to her credit. A fish that doesn't keep swimming dies - is that the old phrase? I think we have enjoyed Madonna's variety and braveness.

I wonder who will be the next icon with longevity enough that we can map their progress and enjoy the changes in their personna personnified. I think Tilda Swinton is a good bet. She will only get more beautiful as she ages. Though I think her style is unlikely to change much. She has a happy berth, wide enough for creativity but within a range of cuts that keeps her looking like Tilda. If we ever saw her in cropped top with padded bra, miniskirt and heels, we would be confused. That isn't where she sits on our radar. 'Genderbending-simplicity-on-a-genuinely-lithe-frame' is what we expect.

Actually, I might be wrong; Ms. Swinton doesn't look that unexpected in this outfit:

Gabby Sidibe being awesome!

Gabby Sidibe being awesome on the red carpet - I need not say any more - that is enough.




As much as I love this clip and like that pansexual/fluid sexual decisions are okay/normal/not weird/suitable for the red carpet, I am a bit tired of the orgy/threesome trope being touted during many discussions of non-homo/non-hetero attraction.

Sunday thoughts...

Amazing new technology allows pre-birth bonding with baby.
@Queerty has awesome flowchart of arguments for/against gay marriage.
Eye-tracking posterboard allows viewer interaction.
Kodak stops supplying an old-style film product - end of an era?
Women in Iran and shoes

The new curtailments of expression are for our benefit, or are they?

• Burqhas are unnecessary concealment of women, or a protection from sexual oppression?
• Kissing banned in schools is a safety net for too-young sexual activity, or stopping expression of self?
• Avoiding swine flu risk, or denying people religious expression with no more communion wine?
  

Today's trifles

I really wanted to love Glee - and for many reasons (good tunes, beautiful cast, Jane Lynch, LGBTQ themes) - however, there were a couple of things I didn't love. The disabled character Arty/Artie (there is no consistency in spelling thus far) is played by an able-bodied actor which makes his use of his wheelchair inaccurate and begs the question, why not hire someone who actually uses a wheelchair day-to-day? This has already been noted on Media dis n dat (UPDATE: and would in months' time be noted in Bitch). Also his was the only audition to the Glee club that we never saw. The fantastic pianist was never named, so I cannot identify the performer - even imdb.com does not help.

Yet Kurt will be openly gay (and an ace football player later in the series), plus the potentially-lesbian Tina, Arty's weird semi-campness, Rachel's two gay dads, the ex-teacher Sandy Ryerson and Lynch's sport-mad Sue Sylvester may well represent the gayest cast list on modern mainstream television.

I might be taking my team out clubbing next week and we are planning on wearing hilarious late 1980's/early 1990's rave clothes. I think I am taking the theme a bit far though, because I'm growing my eyebrows into a Brooke Shields' style for the occasion - they are a bit patchy right now. Eventually they will be just like hers.



















I bought some candy from Ye Olde Sweet Shoppe to find that they reminded me of Greenclaws' seeds and now I've eaten too many - I need to go have a long drink of water.

TTYL

I have to be honest; others have it much worse...

Imagine the scene with Tom Hanks in The Green Mile when he is in so much pain that he falls on his face and has to beg John Coffey to stop calling him (but he doesn't and ends up taking the pain away).

It was like that today; I had to leave the dining hall as I was in so much pain when I swallowed even water I didn't want to freak the students out, nor faint/cry in front of them, so slowly made it back to my office where I have been ever since.

I love eating and to be denied that pleasure because I took bad doctor's advice, damaged my oesophagus, and now am reduced to a liquid diet for goodness knows how long, is just a damn shame. But, I could have it much worse and I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and do some bloody work.

However, even the smallest mouthful is causing me grief.

Too much liquid and I might burst the tiny tear or burgeoning aperture that my mind's eye can see in my gullet.

Too little and the chance increases of swallowing air with the bolus and thus causing indigestion and gas which throws up stomach acid onto the abraded tissue and again causes pain.

No win situation.

However, on the bright side I finished Norah Vincent's excellent 'Self-made Man' - I recommend it to everyone with an interest in gender diversity.

Cooped up on the sofa, I have also managed to find, repair and hand wash my only piece of truly queer clothing - a black t.shirt with DYKE written on the front in purple sequins! Huzzah!

Finally, I was pondering in the shower whether I could write a piece about the development of queer stereotypes and queer-empathy in North American popular media (as a commentary on the same within popular culture) by mapping the LGBTQ storyies, jokes and lines in the entire Friends television series. Having grown up watching it, I can think of no other show that is as long running and influential as that show - wide audience, constant repeats.

When I have time from the rest of my responsibilities that will be the next task: 'I'm right on top of that, Rose'

It could so easily be true...

Ex-midwife delivers own great-grandchild using 1940s training. I find this inspiring and creepy in roughly equal proportions. I am pretty sure I wouldn't want any member of my family at the 'business end' during birth, probably not even in the same room. I want to grunt and gurn alone then be visited babe-in-arms looking beatific and beautiful. However, having a grandmother myself with surgical theatre nurse training, I think at a push (get it! Gosh, I am SO funny today!) I could be happy with her assistance.

Losing our rights left and...right - Pensioner asked how his council was spending his taxes and was threatened with a mini-ASBO!

Beauty of the soul: Saudi pageant judged on morality when contestants sign-up in burqhas

Need better storage...doesn't everyone? tszuji have the answer:


Plus if you enter 'Bargain Club' at checkout until May 28th 2009 you get a 10% discount thanks to the Daily Mail.

Also those of a bisexual fluid pansexual, no boxes kinda nature might like these buttons from BiNetUSA:

I must, I must improve my...

Darlinks! Here are the tippity-tip-toppiest tips EVER!

Lexicon improvement from Queers United: "Gynaeotrope" is an unpopular and outdated term for a lesbian that was used in the 1940's to counter the negative connotations of the word homosexual. You learn something new every day!

More autostraddle.com goodness in the form of Ms. Beals who incidentally presented a half hour show on Pablo Neruda after the Il Postino surprise hit movie.

Gay happiness in China with supportive parents but name trouble thwarts those with individual identifying monnikers as the Chinese government was bureaucracy to deal with only a limited set of Chinese characters.

Fashionable boundaries broken in First Amendment challenge over boy wanting to wear a rainbow wrist band

Facebook feed is actually occasionally useful as it lead me to discover Spotify the shiny rival to lastfm.com

Visual display of stereotypes and assumptions

Queer is as queer does... Why the term 'bisexual' isn't for everyone

Fellowship Friday...

Twitter much? Then Monitter.com might be useful for those wanting to check what other people are tweeting. If you miss the Fail Whale, then check out this supportive website which tells you all you need to know and provides great graphics...

Mapping out the celesbians (from Queerty)

Female soldiers at risk of rape and assault from male colleagues (@DailyMail)

Lesbian author falls in love with a gay man: modern sexuality and relationships at their flexi-best

The fabulous Susan Boyle wont be getting an L.A. make-over is Amanda Holden has anything to do with it, but she might be helping a worthy cause - 1000 CD's were bought for a charity back in 1999 - and Miss Boyle features on them singing Cry Me a River - with a very sexy voice - the Scottish newspaper the Daily Record has an exclusive player that let's you hear her sumptuous tones. That make-over presumably was to concentrate on her eyebrows, but we've read my thoughts on hirsuteness before, including a link to that razor advert, but luckily the talented Sarah Haskins has a useful video response.

Back to the idea that women are women for their own pleasure not as sex tools or toys for men (or other women!) - lads' mags are increasingly sending out the wrong vibe about women's sexuality and William Leith (@DailyMail) has a thoughtful article on the problematic issue.

Finally, Miss Drew Barrimore really might be the hottest girl on Earth right now, for rocking all these different looks recently...

Thursday Thrills...

Celebrities looking normal? Never! Well, actually, yes, sometimes:

• Barefaced cheek of celebrities to 'bravely' appear in French vogue sans fard et maquillage
• Normal-looking celebrities turn out con kiddies to study boss and founder of CAC for Easter egg hunt
• Sadly, there seems to be an expectation for women to be frightening un-hirsute - hair-free as a pre-teen - how paedophilic! Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman had hairy arms - did you fancy her less? The Muffia feminist artists explore society's disapproval of female body hair. Recently, Sienna Miller's latest movie has been panned because... she apparently needs an upper-lip wax.
• More stereotypes of accepted female personas: spinster librarians, bimbo footballer wives, etc.
  

Colourful clothes cheer up the economically depressed?

• First there were the boys in candy-coloured underwear
• Then, Su Pollard from Hi-De-Hi appeared in her usual fabulous garb
• Now, Primark are selling their Barbie-esque courts like hot little Easter pancakes
• Plus, Katy Perry is spotted again and again in tremendously cheery clobber - hooray!

(Thanks to DailyMail website for the photographs)

• Reasonable response from a transsexual woman: Calpernia Addams' informative video tells nosy-parkers all they need to know about how not to ask the wrong questions!
• This was a link from a fantastic article by a transitioning woman who had been back and forth across the transitioning spectrum: the link to her article is here (@Feministe)
  
• From HuffPo, an environmental reason not to support the ban on same-sex marriage - save trees!

Now, I know EVERYONE is posting about Susan Boyle, but I cannot help but join - she is a marvel: check out the video of her astonishing performance here. And, yes, like Kathie Lee Gifford, I cried, too.

You also have to love these cute kissing anteaters and Cat on the Prowl from AfterEllen starring Riese/Autostraddle.com's gal-pal, Haviland Stillwell.

Women taking over the world? I've written about female domination before, but now there is scientific proof via nature itself - a colony of female only ants. These Amazonian insects (well, it had to be Amazonian, didn't it?) are asexual, breeding through clones of the Queen.

Female takeover might not come quick enough for Afghan women struggling under new law that permits marital rape if wives fail to submit to new legal demands by husbands that they have sex every four days. Protesters were pelted with stones for having the temerity to object.

For those who don't know enough about queer theorist and activist, Eve Sedgwick, click on this link to see articles since her death to breast cancer.

Finally, a game of which I was only partially aware 'no homo' has been deconstructed on Feministe. Click this link to check out the useful and funny video about it.

Thursday Lite Bite!

Lots of lovely links:

Cynthia Nixon's Australian interview about motherhood (@Babble.au)

Boys in colourful underwear beat the recession blues (@DailyMail)

An amazing opportunity for woman anywhere in the world to attend a conference in the USA and get a scholarship to do so. Women & Power: Connecting Across the Generations, a conference to be held September 11-13, 2009.

Alex@Bilerico's report on new femme book plus a chance to win a copy of the book if you follow them on Twitter!

A fascinating map of the latest web trends laid out through a copy of the Tokyo subway map- it lists the latest significant people and places on the Internet...

I don't know how this escaped my notice but British boy band Boyzone released a music video showing a gay band member in a romantic clinch with a...man! Hurrah! See this link to watch the video - the link is from the kiddies' section of the BBC news site - progressive, eh?

Oh, I couldn't resist: Scotland's #1 male Barbie? This Aberdonian fellow is all kinds of special! The link takes you to a BBC3 video excerpt and it is fabulous!

If I have not already advised you to check out the new super-terrific e-zine for intellectual queer types, then I have been extremely remiss... Polari is smart, funny, cultural, beautifully designed, easy to navigate, with quick loading times and great links. You must read it, and join their facebook fan page!

Random, quite simply random...

Fabulous sartorial suppliers... King and Allen

More state stalkerishness...

So, as a Born-Again Virgin, I am seeking a woman who will be happy to wait until we are married to have sex. So I think GayChristians and RainbowChristians are good places to start. Waiting to marry...not so that all sexual connectivity will be for the procreation of children (unless miracles occur), but lesbians waiting to make love to that one special, true lady. I guess that they do not have to be a queer Christian, per se, just someone who values sex, believes it to be sacred.Someone with faith and joy. We don't even have to have the same religion, as long as they are not a fundamentalist who thinks that my version of The Higher Power is wrong and therefore we cannot be together.

Questions for the LGBTQ community:

• Do some lesbian couples have their kids call one of them (maybe the birth mom, or the most femme) Mother and the other, Father, Dad, Pappa, or whatever? Could this wesbite provide an answer? Or maybe an academic paper by Polly Pagenheart? See: Pagenhart, Polly. "Lesbian / Dad: Masculine Mother, Feminine Father" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Women's Studies Association, TBA, St. Charles, IL, Pheasant Run, Jun 28, 2007 . 2009-03-24

Quotation from that paper:

Abstract: Nonbiological lesbian mothers challenge traditional notions of motherhood; that’s plain to see. Take a few steps farther back, though, and you’ll notice that lesbian parenthood revises and extends fatherhood just as much. Indeed, for a lesbian parent like me, "Both/and!" is the only answer to the either/or question: "Are you mother or father?" This essay, part memoir, part analysis, explores that rich parental space that exists at the crossroads of those two roles, and proposes that not just feminism and gender studies, but every parent—woman or man; queer or straight—stands to gain from the insights found there.

• Are FTM transpeople having their cake and eating in - childbirth then penis-ownership - do we applaud? Or ask them to chose the joys of one gender only, and stop being greedy in the experiences...?

Get ready for the advice column! Suggestions to improve life such as... Peeing like a ninja - quietly in bathroom stalls, also to allow you to pee in a urinal or whilst standing like a man... Too dry? Lick the tampon end first to make sure the applicator glides in.

Formal Friday

Compare the original Grant Woods to the irreverant remake featuring Lyndsay Lohan and Sam Ronson.

The B*R*A will be delighted by the news that there are more ladies exploring sapphism than ever before.

Surprisingly cute Japanese Lolita fashions are not just about sex.