I Affirm and Promote:

*The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
*Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
*Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth;
*A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
*The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process;
*The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
*Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

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Sunday, 15 August 2010

  • Go, and Rape No More

    Tired of reading rape prevention tips that focus in encouraging women to stay home and lock the doors, or else remember to carry their concealed weapon under their burqa at all times?  Fret no more!  I've been inspired by reading a recent list, Top 9 Ways Christian Teen Girls Can Prevent Rape, and updated it for today's society's diverse needs:

     

    Statistics show that 1 out of 4 women will be victims of rape by the time they graduate from college. Christian teens are no less likely to become victims of rape. However, there are some things that people of all religious orientations can do to protect themselves and prevent a potential rape or attempted rape. Here are 9 things we can do to keep ourselves from being a statistic:

    1. Know that It CAN Happen to You

    Some Christians don't believe they can actually be a rapist. Anyone can be a rapist, so you need to be aware of what is going on around you. You can go over "what if" scenarios in your mind so that you can be prepared if you find yourself in a questionable situation.

    2. Communicate Boundaries

    One of the risk factors for rape is not communicating your lack of respect for others' personal boundaries. Since most rapists are an acquaintance or boyfriend, it is in your best interest for those you know to understand your casual disregard for others' limits. Then you need to pay attention to clear boundaries about what your partner will and will not do and where you should and should not go.

    3. There's Strength in Numbers

    While many articles on dating discuss avoiding temptation by going on group dates or going out with a group of people, there is also a lowered risk of rape when you make sure there are plenty of witnesses around to keep you honest. Also, avoid being leading your date into places where you are alone or isolated. Staying with the group means staying out of prison.

    4. Don't Tamper with It if She Poured It

    Date rape drugs are becoming more rampant. While you think you can control your date by slipping in alcohol or drugs, you cannot always control where she will report you afterward. To prevent yourself from slipping your date a date rape drug, you should not have access to drinks that she did not bring or pour herself.

    5. Actually, Don't Drink at All...and Don't Use Drugs

    Alcohol plays a huge role in rapes, and drugs are not far behind. While you may not choose to drink since you are underage, it does not mean the people around you will abstain. Christians can be rapists even if they are sober and the victim is not. However, you are more likely to fight your way out of the urge to rape if you are sober.

    6. Bring Cash or Your Own Car

    When you are on a date with someone, try to think of ways that you can easily leave. Bring enough money for a taxi so you can get out of any tempting situation quickly. If you have your own car it makes it easier to leave any situation that makes you feel like raping.  If you don't have access to a cab or a car, make sure you have a cell phone to call someone close by to pick you up.

    7. Trust Your Gut

    Common sense will get you a long way in preventing rape, but so will your God-given intuition. Sometimes things may just give you a funny feeling. Don't ignore the feeling. If you sense something is "off" then get out of the situation immediately.

    8. Use Your Ears

    "No!" means "NO!" is a common saying associated with rape education, but it is an important part of preventing a rape. Many times men are told that women can be coy and will say "No!" even when they mean "Yes." However, a firm "NO!" is your cue to exit, especially when followed by "Stop it. This is rape." Sometimes you may not even think your actions are considered rape. If that is the case, and she feels you are about to rape her, she may yell "Fire!" while attempting to burn you with a cigarette.  It is more likely to bring attention to your situation than "Help!"

    9. Protect Your Body

    If all else fails and you are still raping, there are self-defense moves she can use to teach you a lesson you won't forget. Whether you are a stranger or someone she knows, the your body is vulnerable to certain moves that can immobilize the rape long enough for her to get away. Two teen girls recently put together a free self-defense video called Just Yell Fire! to teach teens how to get away if they are attacked. The video can be downloaded or shipped with no cost.  Watch it and ask yourself "is attempted rape really worth the risk of such punishment happening to me?"

     

Monday, 07 June 2010

  • Femininity as a Performance Art

    Sometimes I have two back-to-back blog posts in my Google Reader mix that aren't anything special alone, but by coincidence work so well together.

    Item #1: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/03/miley-cyrus-does-girl-on_n_600188.html

    Prepare to yawn if you click on that link.  Miley Cyrus pretends to kiss a girl and they call it "news".  My initial reaction was "The only news here is that this story is even considered 'news'. Why care about a silly pseudokiss?"

    Enter Item #2: http://blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com/2010/06/05/hugs-twisty-womans-sex-appeal-is-unbearable-to-knob-coworkers/

    There’s a femininity tightrope that all public women are forced to walk, and she [Larenzana] got bounced off, into the vat of boiling misogyny below. Whenever a public woman fails to balance the following factors just right, the some dick jounces the rope, and splat she goes. To wit:

    Public women should be X amount feminine, X amount motherly, X amount hot, X amount beautiful, X amount young, X amount confident, X amount helpless, X amount exotic, X amount educated, X amount intelligent (required: the last two values < the men in the office), X amount gay (the last value almost always = 0). The ratios are fluid, shifting from day to day at the whim of public sentiment, so that a woman may think she’s got it pretty well sewed up, only to wake up one fine spring morn to discover that the parade being thrown in her honor has suddenly vanished. Later she finds out it’s because she stupidly forgot she was a member of the sex class, and had dared to imagine that she would be judged on merit rather than her ability to do femininity right.

    Eventually we all fall off the rope.

    Why does anyone care about Miley's bicurious pseudokiss?  Because she miscalculated her X values for hotness, youth, confidence, and gay, among other variables; she is now in danger of being bounced off the rope.

Saturday, 15 May 2010

  • 53 secrets this girl wrote to make money

    Shame on you, Jane Hoskyn.  Women have been fighting for equality in areas such as publication, and you take advantage of your privileges by kicking us in the shins?  Shame!

    Well... maybe the title is misleading.  Maybe this is a feminist pièce de résistance.  Let's begin to work our way through it and see if maybe you got some of them right:

    1. When we get whistled at in the street, we feel uncomfortable and we’ll always tut and roll our eyes. But we’re awesomely flattered and we’d be gutted if it stopped.

    Oh HELL no!  Woman!  I...  What were you...  Do you have any idea...  AAAARRRGGG!!!  http://www.stopstreetharassment.com/  Read it.  Let it sink in.  Come back and apologize to woman kind for the lie you've told.  Don't worry, we'll be right here waiting.

    2. We will never grow out of our fascination with pop stars. A guy can be completely ordinary-looking, but we will fancy him if he’s in a band.

    3. We are more likely to fancy a guy if his ex-girlfriends are really pretty.

    4. We can be put off a guy by finding out that his ex-girlfriends are a bit ugly.

    5. When we look through your Facebook photos, we’re looking to see how pretty or ugly your ex-girlfriends are.

    Guys can be ordinary-looking, but he'd better be dating pretty women?  What if she's an ordinary-looking pop star?  Or an ugly but ingenious scientist?  Sigh... decades of women fighting to be judged by our works, and you reduce us all to pretty (or not-so-pretty) faces.

    7. Here’s how to make us fall for you. One day, come on to us so strong that we’re a bit weirded out by it. Then totally fail to ring us. We’ll wonder what we did wrong, and we won’t be able to stop thinking about you.

    8. The above strategy isn’t foolproof. We may just lose interest. It depends on how much we liked you in the first place. 

    9. We often don’t know how much we liked you in the first place. We may have to wait until you don’t phone us. If we’re disappointed, it proves that we fancy you. If we’re not, it proves that we don’t. It’s like when you toss a coin to help you make a decision.

    At this point, I get the feeling that you don't have a clue what you want in a date.

    10. Stop trying to understand how our minds work. Even we don’t understand how our minds work.

    And at this point, I get the feeling that you don't have a clue, period.

    18. We say “we’re not manipulative” because we’re really good at being manipulative.

    19. We only manipulate your feelings because you manipulated our feelings first.

    Hold on, are you trying to fall in love with someone, or are you trying to turn your life into a bad daytime drama?  Because if you think that manipulation is the way it's done, you're Doing It Wrong.

    25. We leave our legs unshaven on a first date so that we won’t end up in bed with you.

    26. We wear big knickers on a first date so that we won’t end up in bed with you.

    This has never worked.  If it works, let's hope you pass on that second date, because the person you're with is way too shallow to have a girlfriend.

    29. We suspect that you like our bodies more when we’re carrying a few extra pounds, but we always feel better about ourselves when we lose weight. However we hate that our boobs look deflated, and we’re disgusted by the injustice of it.

    Welcome to the patriarchy, enjoy your stay!  Keep in mind that any and all attempts to be a healthier person must be framed as the desire to look thin and boinkable, or else your value as a woman is forfeit.

    35. When we’re at a party we clock the sexy girls far quicker than we clock the sexy guys.

    36. We find female strippers sexier than male strippers. But that doesn’t mean we want to snog any of them.

    37. However we do wish we were gay sometimes, if only to get oral sex from someone who really knows what they’re doing.

    There's a word for people who think this way: bisexual.  Straight women notice men, find male strippers sexy, and want oral sex from men.  Also, the only way to get good oral sex is from someone with lots of practice, gender aside.

    42. During breakouts we get up at 6am and cover our spots with concealer while you’re sleeping.

    43. We don’t want you to stay for breakfast. We want you to leave immediately so that you don’t have time to register how dog-rough we look in the morning.

    This is called bait-and-switch.  You sell him one thing, then months down the road he realizes you are an entirely different person.  Resentment results.

    48. If you’re not very well endowed, your girlfriend won’t tell her friends. She’s as embarrassed about it as you are. However if you dump her, she’ll tell everyone.

    Seriously?  And I bet you'd be thrilled if he told all his friends about how your vulva is shaped!

    49. We fake orgasms so that you’ll stop and let us go to sleep.

    Sigh...  I'm done here.  Just promise me one thing: that you'll never write again. 

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