Well, my apologies. Due to general craziness in my life, this kind of slipped my mind. I still want to create this list, based on the nominees on this previous post: http://feministatsea.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/nominate-your-favorite-mras/
You can vote as many times as you want and you can still add add nominees in the comments. I will add them to the poll.
It has happened again folks. I have been troll-link-bombed. Today I broke my own record of site hits (the current count stands at 440), all thanks to this little website called Captain Moron (not the actualy name). The site is primarily focussed on complaining about people they don’t agree with having the gall to post anything at all on the internet.
But I must say I have much more respect for this new group of trolls, than I did for the last batch, which prompted me to write my comment policy and my troll post. At least this new batch took the trouble of reading my short version of the comment policy at the top right of the screen. So far it is only a troll-link-bomb, but not a troll-comment-bomb.
I am taking advantage of my 400 hits a day, and rising, to draw attention to some older posts that people were particularly interested in, starting with my post about gynecology. As I point out in that post, I never go to a gynecologist, unless I am having a problem and women might be interested to know that pelvic exams and pap-smears are often over-used and unneccessary. I recommend reading the comment section as well. There is a lot of information available about reproductive health-care for women in the comments and a lot of great links too. I thank all of the comment contributors. It’s been a good discussion.
Women’s weight is also often fussed about and this post has also created a nice discussion. Basically you don’t have to feel like shit if you aren’t thin. You don’t have to feel bad mentally or physically, because being strong and feeling good about yourself has nothing to do with your weight and what other people think of it, your lifestyle is far more important. Dances with Fat has some great resources that show what’s really up with the “weight debate” and how much money and bullshit is really at the source of all the bullying.
Do you like sex? So do I, but on my own terms. Here is a post about “foreplay” and to continue this topic, I don’t like the word “virginity” either and here is why. The final post I wish to draw attention to on this topic is abortion. The only tragedy of abortion is not being able to get one or being ostracised for getting one.
Oh, yes! The new batch of trolls made all the same mistakes as the last one. They failed to see the point of social justice (read: feminism) and a long time ago I also created a lovely post for that too. It’s about how if you make any mistakes you seem to lose the right to fight for equality. Another frequent complaint about women is that we don ‘t know how to drive. Being an excellent driver myself, I call bullshit, especially with all the horrible accidents that are caused by irresponsible male drivers.
I also don’t agree with how the patriarchy expects women to dress these days (or in the past) and how muslim women are often treated by both men from their own cultures as well as men from wetsern cultures. You can’t tell if someone is empowered by looked a their clothes.
So there you have it folks. This is basically a link round-up. In part this is an experiment to see how usefull a link-bomb can be. Most of the current hits go directly to the main page of my blog, so this will be the first post they see. Let’s see what kind of an effect it will have.
I will keep you posted. ;)
Edited to add: I am truly sorry that due to time constraints I haven’t had more time to participate on the Radical Feminist Hub. I hope that the administrators have time to remove me from the authors’ list, because I’d feel uneasy claiming credit for work I haven’t done.
Posted in Good News, Women's Resources
I have a confession to make. Contrary to the advice I have received all my life while I was growing up I don’t ever visit a gynecologist. I don’t get pap-smears or examinations of my reproductive organs on a regular basis, or whatever else you can get done at a gynecologist’s office.
Yet, from how I was introduced to gynecology during sex-ed in highschool you’d think that it is as normal as going to a dentist, which most people in my country do every six months. While I received sex-ed in school we were also told that when we turn 18 there would be a mandatory check-up by a gynecologist the same way you get vaccinated several times during your childhood. We were to receive a letter for such a check-up and I remember that when I was told I felt revulsion. In no way did I want some doctor poking around in my vagina and I had already decided that I would get out of it somehow. The letter never arrived and I think the government got rid of those mandatory check-ups. It is too ridiculous for words; the mandatory annual school doctor check-ups were creepy enough as it was.
About a year after I first started menstruating I ran into some health problems. While my first few periods were light and caused hardly any trouble, the subsequent once increased in intensity. My blood flow became much heavier and at one point I had to change pads every fifteen minutes; they were thick pads, but I bled them full in just a quarter of an hour. My cramps made doing anything other than lie down impossible and my mood could be described in simply one word: “depressed”. I also had severe headaches when I wasn’t feeling lightheaded. Later it turned out that because I had anemia my menstruation got worse and worse and because I lost so much blood during menstruation my anemia got worse, it was a vicious cycle that has taken me until my twenty-fifth year to be rid of completely. It was when I finally started eating properly.
Initially however I did not know that heavy bleeding was related to anemia and I also did not know that during the first few years or even the first decade of menstruation these problems can occur and I and my family thought that there must be something seriously wrong with me. This resulted to a trip to the doctor and a referral to a gynecologist. The gynecologist, big surprise, was a man. His idea of trying to diagnose me was to use a camera on a stick and to stick that contraption in my uterus. I immediately felt very uncomfortable about that idea. He said: “Not to worry. I get many young girls in hear who never had sex before and I stick them on that thing without much trouble.” With sex of course he meant p.i.v. I didn’t trust him and declined. After all, what would a man know about a vagina? I never pretended to know what a penile probe must feel like. I asked this guy for the pill instead, which did reduce some of the symptoms and introduced a whole other range of problems. At least my bleeding wasn’t as bad anymore and my body could recover a little.
Since that first unsettling meeting with the creepy male gynecologist, I have never gone back to see another. I got my pills from our regular doctor who was all too happy to prescribe them without prying and as I got older and finally started eating normally my menstruation regulated itself out and now it’s fairly manageable.
I am not sure how I would feel about a female gynecologist should I ever feel the need to visit one again, but I definitely do not trust men to understand the level of pain that can accompany from having anything at all in your vagina. Before I even had an idea, the creepy male gynecologist certainly showed no proof that he was even willing to consider the discomfort, and really why go for regular check-ups? I am not intending to use my reproductive organs anyway and it is by no means the only body part that can develop cancer, yet we women are expected to have regular inspections preformed on it like it is some kind of engine to be maintained. And why are there so many male gynecologists? Why would a man even choose such a profession? My own experience has taught me that caring about the welfare of women does not necessarily have to be a motivation.
Do men go in for regular check-ups of their reproductive organs? Do they have a special doctor for those organs? And if this is the case, then how come I have never heard of it?
Posted in Politics, Right to Bodily Autonomy, Taboo, Women's Resources
Here is an artist that was first brought to my attention, because another radical internet feminist link one of her Youtube videos on her blog. Unfortunately I don’t remember her name, but I have since then occasionally checked Kris Kitko’s Youtube channel and every now and then she puts up a new awesome song.
The first video I ever saw of her was this one:
When I checked again today this song had gotten a sequel, entirely composed out of the hate mail she received for the first one. Go check it out:
And besides that there is this awesome song about how we women are not freaking wall-mart and are not available for men’s sexual consumption at all times. Here it is:
Here are two funny videos that I also greatly enjoy:
The people who have been sending Kris Kitko hate mail are trying to stifle free speech, because they can’t handle the truth. Please bring some attention to work like this. Spread the word and let people know, because there are too few artists who actually dare to question western society and put any meaning in their songs.
