A · Tome · of · Knowledge · and · Self-Expression

Yesterday, while wandering around downtown, I happened upon a golf shop, and I strolled inside. In golf, it seems that people are either "men" or "ladies". I found very few references to "women". Of course, women's items are often pink. I hate pink. I'm not really a fan of pastel colours in general. Even still, that word "lady" jumped out at me every time I saw it and it felt like I was being patronized and treated like a weak, delicate flower.

They had a club testing area, where, apparently, they had a teacher who would help people work on their swing. He invited me to try a few shots, and of course, he gave me a "ladies'" club. I've been to a driving range before, and I noticed that I had a huge slice. This was true when I tried shots in the store, too. I felt as though I was bending over too much, and I mentioned this to the teacher. I mentioned that I was 5'10", and he seemed shocked. Apparently, he didn't notice that I was taller than he was. Go figure.

I'm not a lady. I'm a woman. I am strong, powerful, and independent. I am not docile or demure, and I refuse to be treated like a doormat. Women are the largest minority group in the world. We make up 51% of the population and are still treated like second-class citizens in many places, some closer to home than we might care to admit. You know, it's the little things that can get to you, and sometimes they're more important than they seem.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I'm generally against censorship, but I'm not entirely anti-ratings or anything. What irks me are senseless ratings systems like that of the MPAA. So much as the flash of a nipple automatically rates a film PG-13 or higher, as if nipples are evil devil spawn or something. Almost everyone has nipples, so why are some considered bad and some considered good?

What bothers me about this is that Livejournal exhibits the same nonsensical approach to morality. This picture was apparently banned as a default userpic because it shows a breast. You can read the woman's letter to the LJ Abuse Team and their response here. They said, Because LiveJournal is a privately held company, it can choose to set and enforce guidelines for use that are more strict in places than United States law would otherwise be. Specifically, default user picture icons are prohibited to contain overt violence, or a direct, unobstructed view of any primary or secondary sexual characteristics, regardless of the content of the icon itself.

Now let's have a look at exactly what secondary sex characteristics are. By that logic, any picture of a man with a beard should be banned as a default user icon. Ugh. What's with all the hang-ups with breasts, anyway?

The following image was created by Rob Boyte in 1991 (according to this page), and I think it sums up my feelings quite well.

Thoughts?

I want to go to college and train to become a paramedic. That has nothing to do with linguistics, and I don't think my degree will have any bearing on any of it. Therefore, I'm somewhat inclined to just drop all my courses this semester and get back over $1200 from school. That ought to set me on my way until college.

My mom was none too happy about hearing this, though. She doesn't want me to throw away all the time I've spent at uni when I'm so close to finishing. She does, however, say that I should do whatever's right for me.

*sigh*

Now, I myself like the word "cisgender", because it creates a level playing field, much like the term "heterosexual" when used in opposition to "homosexual". The author of the blog article to which I have linked seems to think that the word is yet another tool of male oppression, because of course, the trans movement is part of the men's movement. Second-wavers just don't get it! She also misses the point by a mile. (Note that I only assume that the author is a second-wave feminist by her self-identification with the term "womon", and how she uses the word "his-tory" in the comments section.) She seems to think that the word "cisgender" has to do specifically with her being a woman, and in fact it can be applied equally to men. Get a grip. Trans people are not oppressing you.

How long will it be before all the second-wavers die of old age?

This is what men need to understand. I don't care how well-intentioned you are, approaching some random woman and making a pass at her is going to freak her out. It's nice that you never have to be worried about being raped, but to most women, every unknown man (and sometimes even known men) represents a potential threat. It's nothing personal, it's just how things work. Better safe than sorry, you know.

I haven't seen this in ages... American Pie meets Phantom Menace...

My guess is that this is a .com file, i.e. a DOS application, and if I were to have tried opening it on a PC, god knows what horrors would have been unleashed on my system. Now, the friend from which I received this IM is certainly not malicious, and I have reason to believe that this is something infecting her computer which is trying to propagate itself, so I'll let her know as soon as I can.

This totally justifies the inordinate amount of money I spent on my computer, and despite having zero money for a period of time, I now feel very happy that I made that purchase.

For example... ( Cut for horrific, deplorable violence )

My Sim Personality

Find out your Sim personality at PersonalityLab.org!

Why the hell are you still reading this? Go see it!

*sigh*... oh well... since you're lazy and don't want to move from your seat, I guess I'll give you the story.

Today, I went to see Transformers with morganxpage. The theatre was fairly empty, which was probably a good thing, because no one complained about our excessive gasping and general fangirl squeeing. This movie had everything. Fighting robots, a plethora of weaponry, sweet special effects, and hot chicks with brains. Go see it! Have I said that already?

Okay, so it's not going to win any Academy Awards. However, there have been very few, if any, Academy Award-winning movies that have made me want to cream myself right there in my seat. Such a good movie. Oh god...

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	4.8
Mind:	5.3
Body:	6.6
Spirit:	5.5
Friends/Family:	0.9
Love:	2.1
Finance:	4.8
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Compare this to the one I took about three months ago.

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	5.4
Mind:	5.8
Body:	6.8
Spirit:	5.9
Friends/Family:	2.1
Love:	2.9
Finance:	4.8
Take the Rate My Life Quiz