gdp's Comments

Womanist Musings : Snow Venus de Milo Causes Uproar

Sun, 7 Mar 2010 12:00:56 +0000

How sad this whole story is. Apart from the fact that I'm completely fed up with snow, I'd love to have this on my street. The Venus de Milo is a fabulous marble sculpture and this is a fabulous snow sculpture! Our world's societies have recognised this lovely statue as a wonderful piece of art for centuries and the fact that our societies today can get so sadly wound up about a tribute to it shows we're not advancing as a culture, we're regressing in some key areas. How sad.

Womanist Musings : Tune in Tuesday: Cyndi Lauper True Colours

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:16:33 +0000

I've been a huge fan of Cyndi Lauper for a looooong time. I like her music, I like what she stands for and I like her for the way she is just who she is and not what others want her to be. True Colours is one of my favourite songs of hers... It has always spoken to me about who the true person is within the people I love and it's spoken to me about the real me inside the person people see. I find it hugely positive and wonderfully uplifting and it's always been one of those songs I turn to when I am feeling down or when I am thinking about the person I love the most. What a lovely song!

Womanist Musings : Buying A Trophy Orphan Is Just Part Of The Game

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:27:30 +0000

That's truly shocking! Who on Earth is sick enough to come up with this stuff???

Womanist Musings : Tune in Tuesday: I will Survive Gloria Gaynor

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:28:18 +0000

I love this song on so many levels. It's pulled me out of depressions, it's pushed me through tough times and it's given me hope time and time again. I can't think of another song I play quite as much as this one when I just need that special song to help me in a tough situation. In case you haven't guessed, I'm quite a fan of this song! :)

Womanist Musings : Vampire Hotties

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 11:40:46 +0000

I have to admit that I'm quite a fan of the vampire genre and loved True Blood (I've not seen Vampire Diaries so far, but assure you I will!) Alexander Skarsgård is definitely the True Blood hottie for me, but being bi, leaning more towards women, I was disappointed that the female vampires in True Blood at least were either of the hopelessly indept variety (Jessica, for example) or one-dimensionally evil, without the depth of character, flaws and aspirations of characters such as Eric Northman or Bill Compton. <WARNING: SOME SMALL SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPHS> Luckily, there are some good female characters such as Sookie, who is now showing a nicely growing strength which is a pleasant change to the continued situations of having to be gallantly rescued (which did get a bit tiring in the first couple of seasons), and Tara Thornton, who has a lovely depth and passion. Unfortunately, even though these are principal characters, so far the plotlines for both characters have been very heavily centred on their relationships with their male partners and I'd have loved to see them evolve to a more equal status with the men in the show. This could be veeery slowly happening with Sookie as we know more about what she is, and may happen with Tara now that Eggs is no longer there... Fingers crossed for some more independence of Tara and Sookie and some more rounded female vampire characters in the next season! I'd actually love to see Tara become that strong female vampire character... I think that Rutina Wesley could really carry that off. She's impressed me a lot more than Anna Paquin and I loved how she played the gleefully/evilly hedonistic role when she was possessed.

SistersTalk : Ms Magazine: You Didn\'t Want Us Then, We Don\'t Want You Now

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:28:38 +0000

That's a strong letter and just the right way to get the message across!

SistersTalk : Some Pro Cater Semenya Feminists Are Annoying the Hell Out of Me

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:45:32 +0000

Thank you! That's so well said.

SistersTalk : Is a Straight Guy in a Dress Considered Transgender?

Wed, 9 Sep 2009 10:00:53 +0000

@LanceWorth: That's the way I prefer to see things, too, since I see there being a huge difference between a transsexual person and a transgender person (though I do admit that a lot of transsexual people try to live with crossdressing, often hoping that will be enough to hold off transition). Unfortunately, the world sees transsexual people and transgender people as one group (hence the 'transgender' umbrella term), though the motivations and the path followed are hugely different, which means that acting as he does above paints us all with the same brush and I do hate that.

Womanist Musings : First The Burka and Now The Burkini, C’est Viva La Difference dans France

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:30:40 +0000

Ann: There's no White privilege in Europe--Europe is the HOME of White people. It's like saying that Black people are privileged in Africa over Asians, etc... Oh, come on... Europe is the home of white privilege! We have millennia of white privilege ingrained into this place and we have millennia of experience in stomping it into the regions around us! I, or any other woman, in order to enter ANY mosque in France would have to cover my head or I would not be kicked out. So why do they demand special rights???? There's a huge difference between being asked to change what one wears in a public space and in a religious space! Of course it's normal to follow the customs of a religious space when you enter it... It's what one's expected to do in a public space which is so much more discriminatory in Europe.

Womanist Musings : First The Burka and Now The Burkini, C’est Viva La Difference dans France

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:37:57 +0000

I'm really disappointed by this. The discussions we had last year about burqas and head-scarves in schools was held at a much more rational level. France is a secular state and wearing any overtly religious clothing or jewellery is banned in state-run institutions (schools, courts, public buildings). That was at least on the surface a serious discussion of keeping religious tensions out of these places (with a hefty dose of Islamaphobia underneath, of course, because unless an example needs to be made, wearing a cross, rosary beads and carrying a bible, all at the same time, won't get a comment). However, this discussion is purely about controlling how a woman can turn up to a swimming pool, a completely public space. I'm white: I could turn up in a kimono with a pink carnation in my hair and they wouldn't trouble me. This all happened in a public space where what one wears, as long as it is appropriate, should have no import. Yes, I can understand them wanting to stop people swimming in their street clothes (apparently the way they could justify this as unhygienic), but the burkini is made for swimming and is no more unhygienic than a swimming suit: It's the same material, but just covers a bit more skin! Pure, classic discrimination and unabashed Islamophobia added to it. Merci, Sarko! Encore une fois, j'ai honte d'être une francophile!

SistersTalk : APA Warns Therapists: Stop Suggesting Sexual Orientation Can Be Changed

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 08:22:21 +0000

I'm really happy that the APA have taken this step. However, will this really stop the reparative therapy movement within the psychiatrists/psychologists? Does the APA have any teeth when it comes to this issue?

SistersTalk : Firefighter Shoots Cyclist in the Head

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:01:36 +0000

I can understand people getting wound up at things and having heard rants of equal intensity on cyclists as well as car drivers, I can see how polarised people are about this. But shooting cyclists???? What is the world coming to???? I honestly don't understand this... What could possess someone to actually shoot at someone else because they're riding a bike? I'm just hugely relieved that this cyclist wasn't injured... Were his helmet just a little less well made or the bullet a little lower, this would have been a huge tragedy. I'm totally, unbelievably shocked by this story!

Womanist Musings : Why Masturbate When You Can Have A Fling?

Wed, 20 May 2009 08:07:52 +0000

Part of the problem is that pink does sell. In the IT industry, when a range of colours are provided, of the more 'interesting' colours (i.e. the non-boring blacks and greys), the pink is normally the best-seller. From the market research we did, it came out that some of these are certainly going to people aware of the irony of carrying a pink notebook (and I seem to remember that this included some men), but the majority did go to women who identified it as a colour they like (and some of this is probably due to years of 'programming' that they should like it). That said, I think doing a pink product to 'feminise' it is the cheap and easy way. In the IT industry, the problem is that it has all been focussed on selling primarily to the 25-40 year old male geek and they're scrabbling to get out of the hole that this put them in. Companies like Apple and Sony have created some lovely products which do away with the need to throw pink on the product (though Sony do make it available as well) by avoiding the easy feature-focussed design which sells to the core male demographic. Clean lines and honest design is more difficult to do than adding features and go-faster stripes, but creates a product which appeals to both men and women. The day that Apple create a pink Macbook will be the day that I stop buying from them! I like my white Macbook and think they've got the design balance just right. They're a good example to learn from.

Womanist Musings : The Sad State Of 5%

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 13:18:10 +0000

As I've said several times, it's sites such as yours which help us hugely. We have our own voices and some people not in the trans community do discover some of our sites, but it's when an ally, such as you, has the courage to speak up that people outside of the community hear. My heartfelt thanks for that 5%, Renee.

Womanist Musings : Amanda Marcotte Speaks On International Womens Day

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 15:32:09 +0000

@Amanda: Thanks for clarifying that... It isn't a man or woman deciding to transition, it is a trans man or trans woman deciding to come out as who they really are. I agree that "can't help it" is something which has been relied on too much and that we need to take back control of our destinies in our fight for our rights.

Womanist Musings : Amanda Marcotte Speaks On International Womens Day

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 11:22:05 +0000

That was a fascinating interview and whilst the phrase "a man decides to transition to a woman" annoys me (showing the view that too much of feminism has of what goes on when a transgendered person transitions) the answer to the last question so closely meets what I would like to see feminism bring about that I will definitely be reading Amanda's posts on Pandagon from now on!

Womanist Musings : International WOC Day: Monica Speaks

Sun, 1 Mar 2009 20:12:36 +0000

Thanks for foing this interview, Renee... Monica's done a lot of good for WOC, women in gerneral and for trans people and I'm really glad to see her recognised for it.

Womanist Musings : Family Business

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:43:35 +0000

@Asada: To a certain extent I agree... Even though I am trans, I rarely use the word 'tranny' since I find it terribly demeaning (in fact, I tend to only use it for effect) and I sometimes wish people wouldn't use it at all, even in the trans world. However, I don't feel I have the right to tell other trans people not to use the term (as well as several other cringe-worthy words in our community) since they have the right to call themselves what they will. I guess that I feel those words are more loaded than some other people do so it's only my personal judgement that I find these words inappropriate even in the trans community.

The Jaded Hippy : Gametes and RadFems

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:36:06 +0000

Thanks for that post... Your last but one paragraph touched me deeply. It is all that I could hope to hear from someone when it comes to accepting who I am.

Womanist Musings : Family Business

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 08:51:24 +0000

@TR Xands: I think your idea of printing this and passing it around is a great idea! There are a few people I know who should definitely get a copy from me. Thanks, Renee... You've said what needed to be said, as usual.