Archive for January 2009
x12 (sketchy mcsketcherton)
So, I ran into one of my ex’s at Wal Mart today (he apparantly now works there). My dad saw him and started trying to get his attention. I was absolutely mortified and told him to stop. It floored me that my dad would try to get the attention of my ex boyfriend – granted, we dated in middle school, but still! – and when he asked me why (“Oh, but he’s such a nice guy, I always liked him, why won’t you talk to him?”) I told my father that he had gotten “sketchy”.
“Well, no more sketchy than C—– is, right?”
I was furious.
Let me explain: C—– and were friends in high school. She is L–’s sister. We met when I was 14 and she was 13. When I met her, she was a he. We have lost touch with each other, but she’s still a really nice girl. After she had made the transition, we spent most of our time together at her place because her parents were OK with the transition and mine were not. Even though she would come to the house with long hair and in skirts and heels, my parents (particularly my father) always made a point of using male pronouns. This statement about C—– was clearly a jab at her and the fact that she is trans.
I then proceeded to explain to my father that no, C—– is NOT sketchy. Her brother IS sketchy, however, because he attempted to rape someone he went on a date with (not me, thank goodness).
My father’s response: “Yea, but he could still be a good guy, right?”
Whoa, whoa, WHOA. So because someone is GLBTQ, they are automatically sketchy… but if a guy tries to violate a girl in a date rape situation, he has a chance at redemption because he’s straight?
1 comment 23 January 2009
x11 (here she is, ms. america!)
Alright. This is going to start out as a (mostly) unfounded, un-researched rant. Mostly. Because I do have a *little* bit of knowledge on the subject. I am not going to pretend to know everything, and eventually (when I am not lazy) I will do more research on this.
Toddler pageants. (There you go, Jon.)
I think teen pageants are bad enough. I should know – I did one. It was the “Miss Worcester County’s Outstanding Teen” pageant through the Miss America circuit. I did it because I have a friend who is MTF (male-to-female transgendered) who was really interested in pageants, but could not compete in Miss America because she was born biologically male. Could she have entered another pageant circuit? Yes. Would it have been a good idea? No. There are various other pageant circuits, and they all have different requirements for the title and different prizes awarded to the title holder. From what I know already, it is my personal opinion that Miss America is the most respectable pageant out there. Miss America is a scholarship pageant. The adult circuit is free to participate in – contestants only pay for their outfits for the pageant – and the participants earn a good amount of scholarships to go towards college. What also makes Miss America unique is that the largest basis for judging (I believe it is between 40% and 50%) is the platform interview. This means that the Miss America contestant chooses a socioeconomic issue that is near and dear to her heart, and her year of service is dedicated to doing volunteer work and raising awareness on that issue. Talent is the next largest area to be judged, and the evening wear and swimsuit have minimal points awarded. The board in charge of the current Miss America rules and regulations is very conservative and is looking for ways to promote Miss America instead of helping the contestants. This is why trans women cannot compete, and this is why evening wear and swimsuit competitions are still permitted (and in fact, encouraged in televised events).
Miss America and the Miss America Outstanding Teen pageant circuit are unique in that they are based in volunteer work. Most other pageant circuits (the other famous one is Miss USA, owned by Donald Trump) are truly beauty pageants, and the largest judged area is (you guessed it) the swimsuit competition.
As I was getting at earlier, Miss America is pretty much the only trustworthy pageant circuit out there. And guess what? They don’t have toddler pageants!
Think of everything that the modern person thinks is detestable about beauty pageants. Now, imagine all that being pushed on a toddler who is not old enough to really understand what she is doing, and who is being pushed into an untrustworthy pageant circuit by a stage mom who is pissed because she lost some pageant she was in because she was drunk and 19.
Again… more research coming. But come on. Toddler pageants… Chinese Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ on Ice Skates…
1 comment 10 January 2009
x10 (it rips my knittin’)
Maleficent
You know what really rips my knitting? People who aren’t vegetarians but who can’t stand watching animals hunt.
I am a vegetarian and soon-to-be vegan because I love animals. I don’t want to kill an animal or wear their skin because I think that’s gross. I also think that the way humans keep animals in captivity and slaughter them for food or clothing is cruel, unnecessary, and wasteful. If we were living back in the good ol’ days and people hunted for food that they needed or clothing that they needed, then I would be ok. I would feel really, really bad for killing an animal. But people back then recognized that they needed to do it to survive, and they were grateful for what they were able to provide themselves with. We are in an era where we can replace animal based foods and animal byproducts with other and sometimes healthier alternatives, so I don’t believe it is necessary for me to use animals in that way. Other people do, and I respect their decision and don’t rip on them for it.
Now, think about it.
You people ignore cows and chickens and pigs and whatever else being kept in cramped living conditions and being slaughtered. You people ignore that the leather in your shoes is NOT an animal byproduct, but from a cow or bull or cat or dog or whatever else that was killed for its skin alone and NOT its meat. You throw away the meat that you eat instead of using it for leftovers or putting it in a compost pile. And yet, when you watch Animal Planet or the Discovery Channel or National Geographic, you cringe when a lion – who has no other choice for its own survival – kills a gazelle. You feel bad for the seal who is eaten by a hungry shark. You wipe a tear from your eye when a fox eats a duckling.
WTF?
Ok, I’m a vegetarian, and I’m fine with it! These animals need to kill and eat other animals to survive. Nature is rough. We are pampered Americans living in luxury, so we don’t have to deal with what it’s like for these animals – or even people living in third world conditions – to survive on a daily basis. We kill animals and use their byproducts in a wasteful manner because we are a lazy, throw-away, me-me-me society. People living in barren conditions or animals living in the natural world do these supposedly “awful” things because they need to in order to survive. You do the same thing or worse to animals, and you ignore people who live in the same conditions, and yet you feel bad when the big mean kitty eats the little birdy?! Seriously, people. It’s the circle of life. Get used to it.
On a happier note, one of my friends gave me a stuffed Maleficent dragon for my birthday. She got it for 75% off at the Disney Store, and it is three and a half feet tall. I love stuffed animals that are the size of small children… they amuse me. 
1 comment 4 January 2009
