Homeless guy just chatted me up. Least awkward conversation I’ve ever had while listening to him talk about how its too cold in Seattle in the morning and at night, how he’s sleeping in someone’s car and spends the money he earns on speed and heroin.
He talked about it like he knew it was all stupid but he was so matter-of-fact.
He wasn’t crazy. He didn’t guilt me or ask me for anything, just wanted to talk to someone. He was nice.
What the fuck is wrong with this world. Rhetorical question.
Showing some love for legs both shaven and hairy.
I’m trying to be more “post political” about this stuff. I used to keep my legs hairy because I wanted to make a statement: many beauty standards are fabricated for profit and we shouldn’t ostracize people who don’t adhere to them. I still believe this wholeheartedly and believe that doing things to make a statement is great.
But damnit, sometimes I feel like shaving my legs. I’m tired of worrying that if I don’t shave, mainstream people will think I’m gross and if I do shave, radical people will see me as a sell out. I want to find a balance between fighting for a more accepting world on one hand and making decisions based on what makes me happy on the other.
An anecdote.
At Amanda Palmer’s most recent show in Seattle, someone in the crowd yelled, “Amanda, do you shave your armpits?” and Amanda responded, “No,” and then added dryly, “EXCEPT when I fucking feel like it.”
Full on truth.
(via sexinthecinema)
Why I’m Not Married » Sociological Images
“I’m not married because I don’t want or need the state’s approval of my relationship and I certainly don’t want it interfering if we decide to part.
I’m not married because the history of marriage is ugly and anti-woman; because I don’t like the common meanings of the words “wife” and “husband”; and because even today, and even among couples that call themselves feminist, gender inequality in relationships is known to increase when a couple moves from cohabitation to marriage (and I don’t think I’m so special that I’ll be the anomaly).
I’m not married because I’m opposed to the marriage industrial complex. It’s exploitative, stereotypical, and wasteful.
I’m not married because I value the fact that my partner and I decide to be together every day, even though we don’t have to jump through legal hoops to do otherwise.
I’m not married because I don’t want to support a discriminatory institution that has and continues to bless some relationships, but not others, out of bigotry.
I’m not married because I don’t believe in giving social and economic benefits to some kinds of relationships and not others. I don’t believe that a state- or church-endorsed heterosexual union between two and only two people is superior to other kinds of relationships.”
We just did these shows in Europe and you would look out and - I would say almost, for as many masks and colored hair, and costumes and rayguns that they would make out of cardboard that you would see - you would still see a kid, in a great way, like, holding it down in a Black Parade uniform. Like “this is my jam, this is what I love”. And I dig that too.
Gerard Way from this interview with Fox All Access.
Mostly I just thought this was funny because I was wondering how many fans would “switch over” to this new style of Danger Days, and I actually noticed a lot of people at shows “holding it down” with the black styles.
He goes on to say, “That’s what it’s about. It’s about - we’re not telling you who to be or what to do… you get to choose. It’s like, you choose who you are. It’s your deal.”
Which I agree with, but it sounds entirely like bullshit after that quote about how the Danger Days kids dress and how the Black Parade kids dress. Truth is, although My Chem’s work is about celebrating individuality, there is a TON of appropriation in that scene on the side of the fans.
It’s obviously not the band’s intention at all. If I were to point a finger, I would do so at Warner Bros., who do a fabulous job at turning the My Chem style and message into wearable commodities, but even without that, I think there would still be a lot of copying. I don’t entirely get why or have a thought on whether this is healthy or not. The interesting thing, at least with Danger Days, is that while many of the fans are donning a post-apocalyptic colorpunk persona, they get to do it individually, which is a really great outlet for creativity and self-expression.
It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.
Karl Marx
If that gets you excited, check out my other blog, The Muck of Ages.
I’m listed in Tumblweeds under sociology, socialism, feminism
I’m listed in Tumblweeds, a user-generated community directory that rates Tumblr bloggers by their number of followers. Find me listed in #sociology, #socialism, #feminism
“Is homosexuality a choice?”
I was checking out the tumblr posts tagged “anthropology” and ran across a student doing a survey, so I took it.
This is how I answered that question:
“Tricky, still under scientific debate AND politically hot. Anti-LGBTQ folks prefer it to be a choice because it means people are responsible for their sexuality and can decide NOT to be anything but het. They are both to blame and fixable.
LGBTQ (and allies) prefer the biological argument because it absolves them from blame and attempts at fixing them (not that it’s something to be ashamed of in the first place).
I personally suspect that sexuality, like most human traits, is a characteristic created from both nature and nurture. I would LOVE to understand exactly how.
On the other hand, I’m also of the mind that we’re essentially “victims” of both our psychological and biological realities - So in the end I would say there is no choice.”
Funny, I could get hanged for that on both sides probably, but I consider myself at least a Q in LGBTQA. Thoughts?
With due respect to jecoart who rocks, I really don’t agree with this sentiment. We can’t raise a generation that “knows how to live on what they’ve got” until we raise a generation that can survive on what they have and that isn’t manipulated by advertising and society into thinking that they need more.
Spending money you don’t have is not only permitted but encouraged. We’re taught to want what we don’t have because we’re taught that what we have - and what we ARE - is not enough.
This recession is about corporate greed and manipulation, not citizen frugality. Again - due respect to everyone who’s passed this on, I’m just not into blaming the victim.
(via jecoart)
Just purchased Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality. I’ve been picking through or have finished a lot of books in this and similar themes including:
- The Myth of Monogamy
- The Ethical Slut
- Nature Via Nurture
- The Genius in All of Us
- A People’s History of the World
- The Compassionate Brain
- The Blank Slate
- Myths of Gender
- Marriage: A History
They may seem a bit varied, but most every book on the list is a study of human potential, whether it be about peace on earth or in our sexual lives. I’m intensely curious about how Capitalism, patriarchy and other institutions have shaped our lives, our psychology and our relationships in a damaging way. Are people “naturally” violent or greedy? Is monogamy really the only “right” kind of relationship? Does history reveal a greater potential to decrease suffering in the world?
From the reading I’ve done, I’ve come to believe that we as a species have immense potential to build a more nurturing world, which would in turn eradicate unnecessary suffering, save the planet and liberate us from unhealthy social habits. We exist because we are a cooperative and adaptable species - and our brains are built to be rewired - we CAN change who we are and another world IS possible.
TED TALK Denis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty
Super uber duper fascinating talk. I can’t agree, however, with Dutton’s assertion that aesthetic preferences are universal and not (ever) culturally specific, but the entire argument may be a bit misleading.
My initial response was, “then what explains culturally different preferences like mainstream culture’s preference for skinnier white women with large breasts and urban culture’s preference for larger black women with large asses? Or my preference for men with beards and long hair and my friends’ preference for men with shaved faces and short hair?” Granted it’s entirely possible that these varying tastes are still evolutionarily based, they are also culturally and individually specific.
Then an old friend whispered in my ear, “Hey, it’s me, Marx”. And I was like, “Oh yeah! Hey Marx!”. Marx theorized that the mode of a production of a society (ie the meas of sustaining oneself) determined its social relations. He may have also said that therefore cultural preferences are also heavily influenced by a society’s mode of production, but I’m not sure. I have read however, that painters during the Renaissance/Baroque period showed a preference for larger (“Rubenesque”) women because this indicated a woman of wealth (read: health and fertility). This theory falls in line perfectly with Dutton’s assertion - because what’s more appealing than wealth when it has become a major or sole mode of survival?
As always, I’m probably not 100% accurate, but this is my take at the moment.
Hatsune Miku - World Is Mine. This is one of the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Not as shocking to me since I’m a Gorillaz fan - but the difference seems to be that Miku isn’t voiced by someone that’s already famous - not only that but her voice has been completely digitized with the vocoder effect and pitch correction. I really think the idea of a digital aidoru is awesome - a great opportunity for animations and costume design and all sorts of possibilities… but it does creep me out a bit because of the whole anime fetish and unrealistic digital beauty issues.
At the same time, it fascinates me because people are reacting to this digital image as though it’s alive - as though it’s a real girl named Miku. We’re told that we treat computers and other inanimate things like humans so a human avatar shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but it does make me wonder how far it can be taken.
I often wonder how it’s psychologically and emotionally possible for me to develop such deep crushes and emotional attachments to characters in anime and comic books (and how different is that from doing the same with a television or movie character versus someone in real life?). Fascinating stuff.
