Birth or not DOT COM

from cakewrecks.blogspot.com

So Gawker.com  brought this story to my attention and it has really got me reeling.  The basic gist is that a couple in MN have created a website where people can vote on whether or not they keep their baby.  The vote on the website will "heavily influence" their decision.  It's unclear whether their motivations are personal or political, but they are most certainly, to quote South Park (the greatest show of our time)... DUMbDUMbDUMbDUMbDUMb!

I think this website devalues everyone's position on reproductive choices.  Voting for this couple to keep or abort their child as a way for people to voice their pro-life or pro-choice sentiments is illogical.  I think most pro-choice advocates are not sitting around waiting for the chance to counsel every pregnant woman that comes their way to ABORT ABORT ABORT. I also think most pro-lifers are not hoping people like these will give them the option to "save life" via a like/unlike poll button that then allows them to be parents without looking at other options such as adoption. These people obviously have another agenda going and I really hope that it's a stunt and this woman is not really pregnant...b/c I agree with gawker's assessment: THESE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE PARENTS or on the internet...ew gross...can we vote them off the internet?!?!

http://www.birthornot.com/

UGGGHHHH

So this is very dated and I'm sure most of you have read this by now...but for those of you who haven't

http://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/dating-blog/overweight-couples-on-television

No wonder Fat Activism is necessary.  I don't even like her apology.  While I give her credit for acknowledging her own issues with food/body image and her obvious inability to see others in a healthy light, WHY IS SHE A WRITER FOR A WOMEN'S MAGAZINE!?!?!  This is seriously scary.  I guess we can now see why the images from these magazines are so skewed...so are their creator's minds!!

I also take issue with this because I happen to adore who Melissa McCarthy who plays Molly (and was also on Gilmore girls in a role that didn't focus on her weight and all and HORROR just focused on the characters fun personality!!!) and thinks any guy (or gal) would be lucky to make out with her on or off screen!

HEY MODERATELY OVERWEIGHT WORLD...

THIS IS WHAT MAURA KELLY THINKS OF YOU

Drag Kings in Afghanistan

Interesting article.  I am intrigued looking at how different cultures use cross-dressing, especially when it is to fulfill a societal advantage (i.e. sonless families need son to raise social status) and not in connection with one's sexuality (as we are trained to react in the US). I remember someone telling me that in some part of the world it's not unusual for families without daughters to pick a son to dress up as a girl and help his mother out around the house...but I cannot remember where this happened.  I'm pretty sure Kate was the one telling me this story so she should post an article about that!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/world/asia/21gender.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&emc=eta1

Young adult novel RAVE

So I'm at best ambivalent about Twilight, and it's what all the kids are reading these days, so I started to worry that there was no good stuff out there for kids to read, and then a friend of Clare's recommended The Hunger Games, and I was in Sacramento visiting family and went to a Borders, and I picked up a copy to read the first couple pages, and then I was in line buying it and then we went to my grandparents' house and instead of, you know, talking to beloved family who I don't see very often, I lay on the living room floor and read it in a breathless gulp.

Then a few days later I went to the Sacramento airport and was pissed to find that none of the bookstores there had the sequel (Catching Fire) but fortunately I had a layover in Minnesota (praises upon Minnesota!) and one of the bookstores there had it. And again with the breathless gulp.

Now I am desolated to report that the third and last book won't be out til August 24th. Nobody should plan on hearing from me on August 24th.

Oh, what's that, you want some details? Well, it's set in a dystopian future US (I guess there's not really any such thing as a dystopian past) where a central government demands tribute from each of 12 Districts each year. The tributes are children, and to punish the Districts for a past rebellion, the children are sent into an arena to kill each other. The main character is a girl from District 12 (which we can deduce is where Appalachia used to be) who volunteers to replace her beloved sister as tribute. And I'm not going to tell you anything else except to say that it is awesome. (Although my extreme love for Fahrenheit 451, Blade Runner, Nineteen Eighty Four, Neuromancer, and other futuristic/dystopian-sci fi-with-political/social-commentary does not make me the most impartial judge.) But it has fantastic characters, a very well-conceived world, excellent plotting - and reading it made me realize that actually, Twilight kind of sucks. (Ha - I didn't mean to do that, but still, funny. I will elaborate on these thoughts later, after Jess is done with Twilight and [hopefully!] I have persuaded her/others to check out these books.)

Glamour is all accepting and stuff b/c they'll put a size TWELVER on the cover: It's ALL GOOD

Can you tell which one is size 2, size 12, or whatever?!?!?

I can, but only because I LOVE Chrystal Renn (in the pink) who I know is supposedly the size 12, because she's the world's highest paid plus size model.  This picture was sent to me by my lovely friend Margaret, who very reasonably asked the question "which one is the size 12?" I actually don't think Renn photoshopped here all that much, but just like ME her weight tends to fluctuate and at the moment this picture was taken she may not have been a size 12.  Her rep answers the question here.  Regardless I find it a little annoying that they are claiming to have a wide diversity of body types and bathing suits to fit, when all the women pictured, while obviously having differences, don't really represent variety (of body types, body colors, or taste in bathing suits...where's my one piece?)  Funnily all the women appear to be BOTH curvey and skinny here and would all probably look really good in almost any suit they tried on.

Legislating Clothing...

In more rape apology news, politicians in India are calling for a ban on bikini's as a response to the rape of foreign women and girls.  The article is at the WIP(The Women's International Perspective).  It brings up some very valid points.  The most obvious being that just because a woman wears a bikini does not legitimize a man raping her, regardless of his cultural upbringing.  I don't care if he's never seen a naked woman and one appears in front of him...it doesn't make the heterosexual male a hormonally charged monster who cannot help himself to the buffet of naked skin.  The way men are described in countries that cover women is insulting, basically equating them to thoughtless sex zombies who at the tiniest glance of female skin will be ready to pounce.

Dot at the end of a sentence.

I actually think this is an interesting marketing campaign.  Although I wish the quote of "40% of people are uncomfortable with tampons" were more prominent.  I do get tired of the commercials stressing the secrecy and grossness of periods.

Fat Acceptance and my schizophrenic response to it

So if you've talked to me the past few days I've probably brought up Donna Simpson, a 42-year-old mother from New Jersey who has already set the record for being the heaviest/fattest mother and is now on a mission to be the world's heaviest woman.  She currently weighs around 600lbs and her goal is 1000lbs.  She is able to afford her $900 a week food bill from her website where men pay to watch her eat large amounts of junk food.  Hearing this story reminded me of the copious amount of articles I've been reading about the Fat Acceptance (FA) movement lately and how my response to them is super mixed.