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Women shouldn’t have to be the only gatekeepers

Heteronormative disclaimer.  I’m writing from my experience as a het-, cis- woman.

Leaving aside the horrible finger analogy, I tried to follow this advice.  I really did.  I read it and disagreed with it, but I happened to have a date that very evening and thought maybe I’d give it a try.  The first date, drinks at a local watering hole, had turned into a 3 hour marathon conversation that neither of us really saw coming.  Great!  We both work in social justice to some degree, had some things in common, and seemed to get along.  At the very least, we could talk for hours without running out of things to say.  He walked me to my car, and at the very last possible minute, after me hesitating hopefully, he kissed me.  Not in the passionate, “I want you so badly” way, but in the “I’d better make this quick so that we don’t wind up making out on a busy street and how is she going to respond, I’ll just walk away after and wave” kind of way.  So, not a great start.*

Then there was this second date.  We went to dinner, talked, joked, laughed, and afterwards, went home together.  I really figured we’d talk, make out, maybe dry hump (yuck, I do not enjoy that term- partly because in my experience if I’m doing it right, it’s not dry).  So we’re sitting on the couch talking and then things progress ...

Goodbye Infomania- You made a humorless feminist laugh

The Clip Show.  It’s one of my favorite motifs for catching up on/mocking reality TV that I wouldn’t be able to sit through on a regular basis, even with my DVR helping the process along.  It’s how I’ve come to know the cast of the Jersey Shore, the Real Housewives (other than the OC- which I find myself watching and eye-rolling at but cannot seem to escape), and other mercilessly mocked “entertainment.”  I am, however, in mourning for what I’ve always considered the crème de la crème: infomania.

Found on Current TV, it’s this show that for me was the ultimate.  From it’s days with Conor Knighton and “Target Women” with Sarah Haskins, to its current (pun intended) line ...

The Clip Show.  It’s one of my favorite motifs for catching up on/mocking reality TV that I wouldn’t be able to sit through on a regular basis, even with my DVR helping the process along.  It’s how ...

LD 1046- Maine “bathroom bill” in committee on Friday

If you’re in Maine, you may have heard a lot about LD 1046. This bill would make business owners the principal decision-makers with regards to whether trans individuals can use the bathroom of their gender or their “biological” sex (what about intersex individuals? Does this mean we’ll need roughly 42 differently-assigned bathrooms?). This is being done as a guise to “protect women and children.” Um, I go into the bathroom to USE THE BATHROOM; so do trans individuals. Why do we think that someone who is breaking the law by sexually assaulting/harming someone would automatically obey the law about which bathroom to use?  And most perpetrators ...

If you’re in Maine, you may have heard a lot about LD 1046. This bill would make business owners the principal decision-makers with regards to whether trans individuals can use the bathroom of their ...

Pink nail polish makes you trans, but a pink tie is a-ok

I noticed a little something in a few of the clips shown of Keith Ablow (yes, he of the gender-panic diatribes against the adorable J. Crew ad where a mother and son are shown and the boy’s toe nails are painted pink).  In multiple clips on Fox News, he is wearing a pink tie (see Valentine’s Day, and April 13 specifically).  So painting a boy’s toenails pink causes him to grow up to become gay or trans, but an adult male who claims this mother is doing harm can wear a pink tie without any sense of irony or hypocrisy?  “Pink is for grown men- see, I know I’m not gay, so it’s cool for me to wear.  But you, ...

I noticed a little something in a few of the clips shown of Keith Ablow (yes, he of the gender-panic diatribes against the adorable J. Crew ad where a mother and son are shown and the boy’s ...

Everything you need to be happy forever?

While shopping at Target for a card for a bride-to-be, I came upon this card.  “Everything you need to be happy forever” includes a toaster, a mixer, a blender, a tea kettle, a wine glass and a frying pan.  I opened the card, hoping it would include a message like “at least in your kitchen” or “as long as the two of you are together.”  But no such luck; it was something along the lines of “Congratulations to the bride-to-be.” As someone who has never been a bride-to-be, but may be some day, I can attest that receiving this card would make me laugh, and possibly shoot punch out of my nose upon opening it.  I ...

While shopping at Target for a card for a bride-to-be, I came upon this card.  “Everything you need to be happy forever” includes a toaster, a mixer, a blender, a tea kettle, a ...