Things that make me smile

I'm gonna get it!
Originally uploaded by madgiddy.

Hehehehe...how can you not love a garden statue of a dog's ass?

Things you don't expect...

...to see at the movie theater: the paper plate you're pretzel is being cooked on bursting into flame. Yes, my pretzel started a fire at the theater last night. I know...I should be famous or something. The guy cooking my pretzel had never done it before and put the paper plate in the pretzel warmer with the pretzel. Next thing I know, my paper plate and pretzel are on fire, and I am forced to wait another 10 minutes while the guy gets chewed out and then makes me another pretzel. It was quite an experience really. Although I think they need to attach a warning to paper plates: Flammable! Do not put in pretzel warmer! May catch fire.

Quote for the day

I just read a quote from Mae West, an actress in the 1930's, that made me feel warm and squishy inside.
"Every man I meet wants to protect me. Can't figure out what from."
I'd never heard of her before I read this quote, and now I love her!

Things that make me smile...

A bumper sticker that reads, "Stupidity should hurt."

Truth and Lies

In my Sociology of Sexuality class, we've been talking about the idea that sexuality and gender roles are constructs of society...there's those academic words again. Meaning that the definitions of sexuality and gender are malleable and change depending on what society or time period they are located within. So pre-marital sex is considered bad now, but it hasn't always been. Ancient Romans considered pre-marital sex to be healthy...at least before Constantine came around (kill-joy!). So it is only because of how our society is set up, that pre-marital sex is considered bad.
Within this conversation, my professor gave a quote by a famous sociologist, W.I. Thomas. He said, "What is seen as real, is real in it's consequences." My professor elaborated on this by exploring the idea that the paradigm that we choose to view life is often as powerful as any truth. So even if something can't be "proven" as true, it can still hold powerful sway with it's consequences. I thought of patriarchy. Although it cannot be proven that men are better in any way than women, the idea that men are better than women has had powerful effects on our society. The fact of its falsity does not negate the immensely real consequences that patriarchy brings. So if enough people believe that a lie is true or real...then the consequences of that action or theory can create a power that rivals what has been proven true.
You know, for all our "scientific objectivity", we sure have a hard time telling lies from the truth.

Academic Ramblings

My brain is filled with academic ramblings of words like dichotomy, binary, analysis, social location, gender roles, socialization, androcentrism, essentialism, and patriarchy. My thoughts are filled with ideas of post-positivist realist theories of identity, drag as gender performance, structural oppression, medicalization of bodies, sexual and gender “deviance,” and identity politics. These are some of the ideas and terms that I play with on a daily basis within my Women’s Studies classes. These are terms that have come to change the ways that I feel about being a woman and about being myself. These are the ideas and terms I have used to learn about my anger. See, I am studying Women’s Studies so that I can understand why I’m so angry, so often. I’m studying it to gain words to express my anger at the way I’m treated and talked to because I am a woman. I’m studying it to gain knowledge and words to express the fear that comes with being a woman. These are the ideas that I hope will help me understand and communicate why inhabiting a body that has a uterus, a vagina, and a pair of boobs does not make me a second-class citizen, a sexualized object, or an emotional, irrational disaster.
But these words and ideas do not translate well into the real world. These ideas and terms must be twisted and reworked many times over in order to make sense in any situation other than academia. In fact, they require several forms of translation before I can make them more than just a paper I’m writing or a theory I’m reading. Incorporating these ideas into tangible forms of living is difficult. They are academic terms and ideas that can be amazing and mind blowing and intriguing, yet they are often very distanced from the situations I encounter on a daily basis.
And so I find that my anger has not subsided. I still do not fully possess the words and the skills to express my anger and release it. I feel I am much closer, but true release eludes me because I am left with ideas and theories that only make sense in the academic realm of my life. Where is my Women’s Studies handbook that will translate academic terms and theories into ideas and terms that make sense in the world around me? Oh the money I’d pay for such a book!

True Beauty

So what does it take to be beautiful? According to this site true beauty can only be found (even for the super skinny models) after a few clicks of the mouse. Real live women are never beautiful enough. Enhancements and detractions must be made.

A fantastic joke...

My sister-in-law, Steph, sent me this joke a long time ago. I love it so much that it has been sitting in my inbox for over a year and every now and then I read it for a good hearty laugh.

The other night I was invited out for a night with "the girls." I told my husband that I would be home by midnight, "I promise!" Well, the hours passed and the margaritas went down way too easy. Around 3 a.m., a bit loaded, I headed for home. Just as I got in the door, the cuckoo clock in the hall started up and cuckooed 3 times. Quickly, realizing my husband would probably wake up, I cuckooed another 9 times. I was really proud of myself for coming up with such a quick-witted solution, in order to escape a possible conflict with him. (Even when totally smashed...3 cuckoos plus 9 cuckoos totals 12 cuckoos = MIDNIGHT!)
The next morning my husband asked me what time I got in, and I told him "Midnight". He didn't seem pissed off at all. Whew! Got away with that one! Then he said, "We need a new cuckoo clock." When I asked him why?, he said, "Well, last night our clock cuckooed three times, then said, "Oh. shit.", cuckooed 4 more times, cleared it's throat, cuckooed another 3 times, giggled, cuckooed twice more, and then tripped over the coffee table and farted."

dove evolution

Got this from Feministing...amazing!

More on Violence

So I found this article written by Bob Herbert on misogyny and the pervasive acceptance of violence against women and girls. Check it out...it's good.

A phrase to repeat...often.

So I was reading in one of my articles for my Geography/Women's Studies class, and I came across this great phrase. It's one of those phrases that just makes me happy and resonates with me. It almost makes me as happy as ice cream...almost. The article was talking about the goods and bads of living in the city vs. suburbs. Towards the end the author says that although the city can provide many women with work and activity outside of the home, it should not be considered something that will release them from "the straightjackets of domesticity." Oh it's so perfect!

Why don't you just change it?!

I have been thinking a lot about safety, my safety, women’s safety, etc. I co-lead a class discussion today about women’s safety in the city. We touched on many different points about safety and violence against women. One of the main points was that different people will feel different places are safe or dangerous depending on their race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, age, etc. Many of the women in my class shared stories of times they were followed, stalked, threatened, intimidated, attacked, or just plain scared. The few men in the class were very respectful of what these women feared and why. But there was one (there always is, isn’t there?) who made a statement that angered me. We were talking about how women respond to threatening situations differently then men do, because of how we’ve been socialized to be passive, receptive, and “ladylike”. Standing up for ourselves and challenging threats is not something most women learn as we grow up. Also, women have much more to fear from threatening situations because of sexual assault and rape, which happens more to women than men (although it does happen to men and that is a serious topic in itself). So this guy's response to our discussion was “So why don’t you just change it?” and he said this in a way that implied we were stupid for being afraid and not being as bold and brave as he is. I wanted to holler “What the fuck do you think women have been doing for the last 30 years? You think those rape crisis clinics and domestic violence help lines were started by men?” But my personal goal in this class has been to hold back and use my arguments and reasonings I’ve been learning to make my points instead of lashing out in anger and rage. So, the women in the group attempted to point out why we can’t “just change” our responses to violence and threats.
But his response underpins a huge issue within the topic of violence against women. He assumed that it was our job as women to toughen up and take it like a man. He assumed it was our job to change the problem as women. Not his job as a man. Men commit the crimes, can we not expect them to take responsibility for their actions and try to change? Now I don’t mean to use the term "men" to mean all men, cause I know there are men who do not commit violence against women and put effort into educating themselves and other men. But a larger majority of men aren’t making that effort and don’t even think about it. Women’s safety is a women’s issue to them. We need to protect ourselves and not get into vulnerable situations. Women need to do all the work to change a society that tacitly approves of the violence that happens to them, while men sit on their asses and ignore the atrocities their fellow men are committing. It’s a load of bull shit.
For any men who may be intereseted in the role they can play in ending violence against women, check out the book The Macho Paradox by Jackson Katz.

Gauntlet

While playing the Xbox game Gauntlet, there were many strange things that were hollered aloud. Many of these things were quite embarrassing shortly after they had been spoken and the laughter went on and on.
"I love my rocks!"
"I've got a vibrator here!"
"Look guys I'm tapping the monkey!"
And the one that rules the evening,
"I have to hold my skirt up while I come."
Tehetehetehe.

Things you don't expect to hear...

...coming from your living room: "Hey, you killed me with a noodler!" This was stated quite loudly by Josh while he was playing Halo2 with Souren and Paul. I thought to myself, "Hmmm, there's something you don't hear everyday."

Spacey

Spacey
Originally uploaded by madgiddy.

Josh took this photo from a building he's been working in recently. Isn't it gorgeous?!

Another day of Craziness

School has begun. Along with school comes constant homework and extra issues to think through and ponder. I have come to realize how much school changes the way I think. I am in Women's Studies because I love it. The information I learn is great, and the way it stretches my mind makes me feel like I'm constantly shifting. As much as I love this feeling, it takes up much of my time. Not only do I think about what I learn in classes so I can pass tests and write papers and make presentations, but much of what I learn I have to struggle with internally inorder to decide what I my opinions are on that subject and should I adjust my actions and lifestyle accordingly. Much of what I learn doesn't get just cateloged for test use, but becomes a part of who I am and how I see the world. This takes up lots of extra time that I would normally dedicate to hobbies. I have a harder time fitting in blogging, photography, reading, collaging, or hobbies of any sort. So my posts here may be a little scarcer, but I'm gonna try to make posts on things that I learn in my classes and other little tidbits that strike my fancy. All this to say, this blog is an experiment for me. I suppose we will see what will become of it in time.