The myth of virginity

The transition from Quiverfull to The Purity Myth was really easy, since the last chapter in Quiverfull was about the daughters of this movement and touches upon what The Purity Myth is about, the sexualization of young women and reducing them to their hymen.
This is something near and dear to me, as I have a daughter. I have to undo a lot of what other people tell her about herself, and help her grow into an adult with a healthy attitude about her body and sex in general.
The kid knows the basics of her body, she knows all the parts, and she knows that when she gets older those parts will change and she'll get breasts (she informed me that she doesn't want "fat boobs" like mine, but small ones. I told her that I had no control over that, but I would hope that she didn't get large breasts anyway). In teh next year or so I will teach her the mechanics of sex, then at puberty we'll start with birth control and protection, and having sex when you are ready, and how to enjoy it. If it sounds like a battle plan that's because it is. I'm fighting against the rest of the country who are telling my daughter her only worth is her vagina.
If that seems really disturbing, that's good, because it is. Our daughters are paying a dear price for the sexual obsessions of a few old men.

Bowing out

Can I just say how silly it is to see the wingnuts trying to debate protocol regarding Pres. Obama's bow to the Saudi king? These people wouldn't know a salad fork from a regular fork and they are qualified to say what is the correct way to greet a king?
And they are trying to say the guy who had it right is Bush? The man who wanted to throw the Queen of England a BBQ. And who had to be convinced that he had to wear a tux to his state dinner with her.
Jesus Christ!

Quiverfull Part II

So, I am now almost done Quiverfull, and an interesting point has struck me.
This movement of male domination within churches actually started to draw men back to church. The various Christian evangelical movements needed men in the pews, so they used the Bible to give men what they wanted, an almost porn senario, where your wife can never say no to anything you do and must constantly do anything you say. You have free access to everything, her mind and her body, and you get to control it all.
That kind of domination being offered within these churches will attact a certain kind of man, one who is prone to abusing women. When the women are then abused at home, they are abused by their church, who tells them what their abuser told them, it's all their fault they are being hit/raped/or otherwise injured. It is a circle of abuse that surrounds these women.
Then they have children, and then children are abused. The girls are raised to accept abusive behavior as normal and accepted. The boys are taught that it is expected that they take charge of their families in anyway possible. Instead of just one family doing this though, it is whole churches, and they are raising many many children to perpetuate this system.
The women in this system are dehumanized. They are reduced to a vagina. They are only there to give birth as many times as possible and to submit to their husband.
Interestingly, the language used within these churches is exactly the same as language used is DS/SM porn. It is the same system, just one admits what it is and the other hides behind God. As much as these people want to scream that they are not like the secular world, they have managed to recreate porn quite handily.
Sometimes women do get out of this system, just like sometimes women get out of abusive marriages in general. The difference with the Quiverfull women is that they have no friends. None. Their friend is their husband, it is considered a sin to have any other friends. So she literally does it by herself if she leaves. She will most likely have to leave her children behind. And it is a terrible idea for a mother, even one that is beaten down.
My heart goes out to these women. I actually read the book in small sections, I can't just gulp it down, because it breaks my heart. The interviews with the women part of this movement are awful.
I can not recommend this book enough, just to open your eyes as to how bad this movement has gotten, and what it is doing to thousands of women. Dogs are treated better than they are.

Quiverfull

I started reading Quiverfull last night. So far it's really thought provoking, and kind of disturbing. This isn't just some movement by a bunch of crazy people, this was well thought out, which means it was a well thought out way to abuse women (it really can't be honestly said any other way, these men abuse their wives). It's also terribly disturbing that these women go along with it. There are so many resourses to get women out of abusive marriages, I really think sometimes we need to start some kind of extensive outreach into communities like these.

Funny guys get the babes?

CNN has an article here about why funny guys attract more women. Apparently women believe that funny guys are more intelligent.
I'm going to break something to you. I don't tend to think funny guys are intelligent. I think smart guys are intelligent. Funny guys are funny. Sometimes they overlap, but having one doesn't mean you have the other.
I have a really strange sense of humor, so I probably wouldn't find these guys they had in the study funny anway. I think Ben on Lost is the funniest character on television. (He is! Very dry sarcastic humor. Great stuff.) I also have actual standards for intelligence, which I have found not all women have. I don't want you to just be able to watch Cash Cab and get the occassional answer right. I want to have conversations with you about things like history, art, literature, religion, etc. I will require you to think. If you don't think you will bore me, and that is when the relationship is over, no matter how freaking funny you are (or think you are).
This is a generalization study, and I hate those. It's out there to make men feel better, not provide an actual answer to a very complex question like attraction. This is almost a typical geek dream, that the dorky looking but smart and funny guy gets the really hot babe. Here is a study showing that happens!
Look, guys, I love you geeky dorky guys (see above), but only after you have grown out of the geeky dorky phase. Which means not until you're about 30-35. Until then, no matter how smart you are, or how funny you are, we'll be staying in the "just friends" rotation. After you start to get a hold of yourselves, then you can go ahead and see if this study has legs.
Right now it should be very clear to everyone why I'm single! Hah!

Lost Blogging

So, it's Kate's fault that Ben is like he is. Why am I not suprised that it is her fault. I did so love how uncomfortable she looked when Richard noticed her and started sizing her up. If they really are going to play him as a god and/or minor diety I suppose anyone would be a smidge uncomfortable when he notices them. I think the whole reason why Ben doesn't remember Sayid is a little too pat, but heck, it's also doable.
Also, is the whole time travel thing really that hard to understand? I got teh feeling like the conversation between Miles and Hurely was very meta, like they were explaining it to us. Dude, it's not that hard to figure out.
And lastly, the look on Ben's face when he saw Locke? Goes to show how awesome an actor Emerson is. That was one hell of a complicated moment, and that was one hell of a good scene, especially considering one of the actors had no lines.

Random funny

One of my many jobs here at work is to get bills of lading for customers. These are just glorified shipping invoices that let us know what was on a truck when we moved it.
Occasionally they say things that make sense to the shipping industry only. Occasionally they say things that make no sense at all.
Such as the one recently that offered this sound advise:
"Do not hump trailer"
Thanks! Now I know not to!