I took this photo before there was lolcats! The quote is from salami_salome.

Ladies, Your attention please.

I wish I could repost all the immensely hilarious comments on this article my friends have been bandying about, but for now I'll just say:

Ha, Jack, you sucka! You have to clean the catbox forevermore!!!

Now I'm gonna go burn up some tobacco "to pre-stunt my pre-zygote's growth", to quote a friend. Paging Dr. Atwood, indeed.

It's 30 degrees in the office. Instead of complaining about this, which I would not even think of doing since it's been approximately 120 degrees celsius in the office since May, I decide today is a good day to go get a new hoodie on my lunch break. Apparently not. I troll several places and end up, against my better judgement, at the Hot Topic. I quickly notice a hoodie with a pink drum kit screen printed on the front! Score! Cheers HT, I think; you've successfully read my subconcious hoodie desires. Then the cashier helpfully informs me that it has writing on the back. Some of you may have already guessed, but indeed the sweatshirt says on the back: "I'm with the drummer."

In my head, I cordially invite the people who manufacture hoodies for HT to bite a turd.

I ask if maybe they have a hoodie for boys that says "I AM the drummer" which I can rebel from the right-side-man-clothes left-side-girl-clothes arbitrary dichotomy and purchase. No dice. All the "male" marketed hoodies have like, Insane clown Posse logos on them and other things I literally wouldn't be caught dead in. The cashier, after hesitating, tentatively offers that they have a t-shirt I might be interested in. I noticed she looked me up and down, so I think what she wanted to say was "but we don't carry them in size Pudgy". In my head I offer her a bite of turd as well. There's plenty of turd to go around, honey. I go look, and there in a stack of about 50 "with the drummer" t-shirts there are two lonely t-shirts printed in blue* that say "I'm with I AM the drummer." Awww. This would be cute except they are in XS and S respectively. I couldn't make a pair of panties out of these shirts. I'm hoping this is because there are legions of girl drummers out there who already snapped up the cooler M-XL shirts. I also hope They end up losing money on these stupid I'm-defined-by-who-I'm-with shirts.

This rant has taken over my desire to blog the weekend. I'll get to that later.

*I'm not sure what the implication here is. It's feminine to be with the drummer, but masculine in a powder-blue way to be the drummer?

The quote from Bitch magazine (an article on anti-sexism in the punk movement) I wanted to post earlier:

"Another woman told me how frustrated she was that men always alert her whenever other men say something sexist, instead of simply confronting and calling out the behavior themselves."

Word, another woman.

OK, this is creepy, offensive, and tongue-in-cheek, insulting, depressing, YET awesome all at the same time.

http://www.wrnr.com/

WRNR has changed its call letters and format for the day to all-women rocking WOMB.

It's creepy and all that stuff because it brings up how depressingly sexist popular music still is, and because of the creepy baby on the website and joking yet pointedly appropriate* equating of women with their body parts, but it's nice to have this just for a day. Though I hate Garbage and Portishead. :D

All in all I say, cheers RNR.

*pointedly appropriate because it COULD be intended in the way i'm taking it, to send up sexist stereotyped media geared towards women.

I was weirded out yesterday hearing an ad on the radio for a military school. I forget which one, but the ad just went on and on about "does your son this, does your son that, your son needs this, your son needs that, he, he, he". And it got me thinking about single-sex education; if I recall correctly, the private school I attended actually had separate classes through grade 3 or something, perhaps they still do, I'm not sure. (Hrm - they don't mention it on the webpage, perhaps not.) Either way, I never attended at an age when that happened, or any school that had it. It seems anathema to me, particularly for younger children.

But then I think, I really wish I had attended a women's college. (In the alternatve universe version where I still get to keep all my awesome friends and loves.) Hollins, for example. In some weird way, given the way my personality developed, I feel it would have been a thousand times better for my academic performance and focus. (Subtext: I fucked up college over a boy.) Why do I think it's ok as a near adult but not for little kids? I think in my truly ideal world, in the one where gender roles are so fluid as to be nonexistent, this would be a moot point. But we don't live in that world, so I wonder. Some research says it offers less pressures of stereotype. Some say the opposite... But doesn't it just reinforce gender stereotypes? Of course it does.

Anyone here actually endure/participate in single sex education? What are your thoughts on it? Even if you didn't? Should such a thing even exist?

(Reading some of the research, I can already tell I'm way over my head on this question...)

I rented Iron Jawed Angels, the HBO film about the suffrage movement. If anyone wants to come over tonight and watch it with me they are more than welcome.

I have to admit, I about had a heart attack when I saw the DVD cover. What the f. is that about?

Prompted by, and in answer to, something at We Have Brains...

As fluid as "guys" is, I try not to use it (often in vain, it is deeply ingrained in my vocabulary) because its counterpart, "gals" is not as fluid. This may seem kind of arbitrary, but thinking about this particular language foible, I wondered how most men would react to being called "gals" when in a multi-gendered group. I envisioned at least some recalcitrance, and so I decided using "guys" probably isn't the best thing to do, although like I said I'm not as strict with it as I could be. I also virtually never get offended when someone refers to a group I am included in as "guys" because really, I just have so many other things I'd rather rail against.

I think my example about "gals" is a vital one, though, and I'm interested to see if it would be proven out. Is there a double standard involved in this little word pairing? Is it troublesome that we default to the male of that pairing when talking about a mixed group? Sure it probably doesn't cause any immediate harm to, well, anyone, but it is something to consider.

I don't mind people who deconstruct and criticize our use of language. I enjoy it. I just don't really practice it myself all that often. And if pressed, will usually give way to a view I think is perfectly valid, because it is just not that hard to think about changing my language, and even sometimes a welcome challenge.

Does anyone else have the problem that when you are really, really angry, just burning with fire and righteous fury, ready to rip a new asshole into the person that has wronged you or your loved ones, and so filled with conviction and seriousness that you want to open your mouth and rain burning verbal sparks on someone searing their very flesh, you find that what actually happens is that you open your mouth, your voice cracks, and you burst into tears? Yeah, it sucks. It has not happened to me today, but I was just reflecting on past times it has happened. Once when I was ready to fire someone during a summer job in college. He laughed at me. It sucked. Oh CHEDS, how I do not remember you fondly. Except working with Becki, that was cool. I hope Becki is doing okay, I really need to write her back. That is one of two letters that need to go out, that one and one to my cousin.

Last night I went to Tea early so I could eat before it was time to go home. I got to bed on time and I am not tired today! And had a little chat with dj_ango about cruelty, the military, and tear gas training that was interesting. And someone asked about my book at the bar - why do people always ask me about what I'm reading when I loathe it?

In the feminist online discussion arena, I posted an answer on We Have Brains that was kind of half-assed and not well thought out. Turns out Victoria, another contributor, had a much better conceptualization of the scope of the question, and thus a better answer, so I'll just link to that.

I can't pretend to be something I am not, and I can't really pretend not to be something that I am.

...but I'm glad it did. So I'll pass it on.

Can you dress like a porn star and still be a feminist? Virginia Vitzthum considers women's sex clubs, amateur strippers, and little girls in playboy t-shirts and wonders if do-me feminism is all done

I ask whom the bad, damaging feminists are. Long pause, then Kramer says, "Valerie Solanas", the author of the SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) Manifesto. That satiric rant calling for the death of all males was published in 1971 only because its author had shot Andy Warhol; to call Solanas a representative feminist is like calling every Beatles fan a Mark David Chapman. Gallagher tosses out "All intercourse is rape," the ubiquitous summary of Andrea Dworkin invariably trotted out to discredit all feminists.

It's dismaying to hear feminists writing off their second-wave foremothers, without whom they likely wouldn't have the opportunity to start a female-sexuality-based business.

And I do not recognize this sex negativity. Over the years I've read Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, Gloria Steinem, bell hooks, Susan Faludi, Naomi Wolf, Eve Ensler, Kathleen Hanna, and even snarly Andrea Dworkin, and not one has ever shamed me about sex or discouraged me from loving men. Gallagher says the list above, Ensler excepted, has nothing to do with sex, but all those writers taken together have reassured me to trust my gut that the double standard is hypocritical and that sexual pleasure is mine to enjoy with my regular-looking body.

Lesbian reports gang rape in Logan Circle

Woman says attackers called her ‘dyke,’ dragged her into alley

By LOU CHIBBARO JR.


A 22-year-old lesbian said six men raped and beat her after pulling her into an alley near 14th and R Streets, NW, shortly after 2 a.m. on September 28. She said the men shouted anti-gay taunts as they took turns assaulting her.

The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the incident happened while she was walking alone to her Logan Circle home from the Black Cat nightclub at 14th and T Streets.

so last night, when it was actually kind of slow, i figured out what i want from tiffany's. good for me. i don't know why i do this to myself.

last night we hit la gringada for gene's birthday. i hope he enjoyed it! i did but would have enjoyed it more if i could have taken part in the pitchers of margaritas. there was much discussion of tantric sex and uh funny but i don't remember what else. when we got back to my place a huge debate broke out about use of the word cunt. i left mad, but i have to just let it go.

been thinking alot about my "defensive" brand of feminism. i wonder if it tosses my whole philosophy in the trash to be so passive about it. (i bet someone is thinking as they read this, "passive my ass"...) i just... i got into alot of debate this week and gave some advice to people (sometimes i didn't give the advice, i just thought the advice) about how to cope with anger. sometimes i wonder if, no matter who you ostracize, it's better to stay angry. but at the same time, it will eat you up. i don't know.

there is a voicemail on my cell phone that is completely unintelligible, except for the fact that i can make out that this person says that my package is ready? or that they have something for me? it's a huge mystery.

i am so proud of myself. i fucked with php enough to make it put all the lj icons i have ever made or stolen on one page in a table. i mean, i didn't write the php but i figured out how to change something jack made to do what i want. and really, that's pretty amazing considering the fact that i am utterly code-challenged. i want to change some stuff about it but until then here it is.

here's today's exciting ebay find, yet another 70s interior design book. i have a whole shelf now. i'm trying to read a second sherlock holmes vs jack the ripper book, but this one sucks and i don't like how they are characterising abberline, who i like to think of as super-cool and looking like michael caine. if it gets much worse i'll go back to harry potter, even though i forgot most of what the hell is going on in the harry potter-verse. i'm more stuck in the joey potter-verse right now.

$400 bucks of car work, and I can't even get the damn thing until tomorrow. Oh well, I am counting my blessings, it could be worse. I told him to put off the timing belt 60K mile replacement until next month or the month after. With the amount I've been driving, it's not like I'm going to put that many miles on it! Sheesh!

Friday overnight crew breakfast was fabulous as usual. Lou, Todd and Dave all participated and we touched on music, politics, and cars. Much devil's advocate was played.

I thought to myself this morning how arbitrary seperate bathrooms for men and women seems to me. Sometimes I may live too much in an ideal world in my mind.