sundries

[rm]

Patty still has a cold, but is recovering. I wish I looked that good when I have a cold.

I have neglected to mention that several nights ago, due to the Doctor Who tie-in novel I am currently reading, I had to ask Patty if neanderthals sounded like parrots. Then she Googled. Then we found some wacky BBC documentary theorizing on the voices of neanderthals and laughed ourselves sick. Parrots sound better.

gulf_aid_now: Fandom auction to benefit the Gulf.

Restrictions on journalists around BP spill finally making mainstream news.

After a fire aqeldroma needs some help.

US state department now recognizes transgender people's accurate gender on passports even if they are pre- or non-op. ETA: Useful details for dealing with this process here (includes template letter for doctors). update via tenacious_snail.

For US LGBT people with foreign partners, the choices are heartbreaking.

Charges dismissed against Warren Jeffs. Jeffs is evil and I know waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much about this topic.

The truth about The Biggest Loser is that it's dehumanizing and dangerous.

deepad takes on the latest round of RaceFail with satire. Stay for the comments.

Natural perfumers.

Oh, suburban Maryland has another moment of grotesque rich boy sexism and predation.

But aside from my "those fucking assholes" reaction to this piece, it made me think about something tangental I've been noodling on for a bit now -- which is how women don't get to play sexual games (either destructive and predatory, or *gasp* normal and healthy) with a peer group, because a woman is always going to be labeled a slut for that sort of thing.

What that thought came out of? What I do and don't get to say on a con panel vs. the men and how it's dictated by my gender presentation. The only reason no one calls me a whore for the ridiculous sex-related bullshit that comes out of my mouth on semi-appropriate con panels is because I'm not wearing a dress. FUCKED UP.

verasteine has thinky thoughts about the UK coalition government, all the RPS in the news, and homosexuality as a punchline.

Torchwood fic rec (god, there are like five GREAT fics today, but I've not time to talk about all of them): Cops & Robbers, Cowboys & Indians by solsticezero. Ianto and Sarah Jane have tea. Totally G rated, completely lovely. Broke my heart into tiny little pieces, and I bet you can all guess at what line.

Comments

[xtricks.livejournal.com]

On your thing about gender and presentation and expectations ...

Blagovitch has been asked to stop showing any expression at all. My take on that being partly the fact that men are generally not allowed to express much, or to gesture much -- unless it's anger.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100610/ap_on_re_us/us_blagojevich_trial_gestures

(note: this by no means I'm supportive of Blagovitch, it was an interesting example to me of the gender games men are expected to play, or be penalized).

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

I was reminded of the flipside of that while reading comments on a post that cropped up on friendsfriends - the post was generally about "blaming moms", but one commenter piped up with the urban legend of "refrigerator moms" - based upon the notion that all mothers/women are expected to be emotional and empathetic and that's why they're the ones who do all the parenting (never mind what role the fathers may play without acknowledging it).