Oh the trials and tribulations of having a penis.

[meowmeowmeow]

If I do something considered masculine like say replace my alternator, and I have done this, people can just look at me and say, well he's a guy. I almost feel pity for heterosexual men and women in that you get pigeonholed into only being allowed to do one gender's activities.

I'm so glad my bf ignores that.I think it's just that he's so intimidating that no one would dare ask anything about his love for RHCP, Hedwig or being made up. I'm pans(closest definition at least) and I think because of that I could never find interest in anyone who thought their gender was significant to what they could and couldn't do.

The scariest thing I've ever read was this article by a 19 year old girl; riddled with solecism.Powerfully creepy stuff.What is now excluded are the 30+ or so pictures of her drinking with other underage "princesses" from myspace.The even scarier thing is that my bf's reason for running like hell out of the Los Altos suburbs as soon as he turned 18 is that essentially every girl he met in HS was groomed to be that way.

[saracidaltendencies]

My dad's name is Kim and he gets mail for women's leadership conferences. He got an ad for tampons directed specifically at him once.

Someone made the statement earlier about gender roles. I hate gender roles. One of the things that I enjoy about being gay is that, at least to people who know that I'm gay, I don't have to conform to any gender role. Should I do something feminine, I get the, "Well, he's gay" thing. If I do something considered masculine like say replace my alternator, and I have done this, people can just look at me and say, well he's a guy. I almost feel pity for heterosexual men and women in that you get pigeonholed into only being allowed to do one gender's activities.

Of course this isn't necessary and depends entirely on the individuals willingness to stand up against societal norms. But wouldn't it be nice if they just didn't exist. If men wanted to knit, and women wanted to fix cars, it would be so nice if they could just do it without being thought of as odd. So many wonderful things we potentially miss out on because society says that our genitals aren't suitable for it.

That's exactly why I make it a point to let my kids know that boys can do "girl" things and girls can do "boy" things and that some men love each other and some women love each other, also that some men would rather be women (just the other day my daughter and I watched Breakfast on Pluto together, she loved it as much as I do!) and some women would rather be men and each dress accordingly. My kids are 5 and 8. The way I see it, the younger they are taught tolerance and diversity, the better!

[newamy]

Have you read this before?
http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/2...in-sodomy.html

[meowmeowmeow]

Have you read this before?
http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/2...in-sodomy.html

My jaw literally dropped.Like I said.I guess aside from not being exposed to the present, a lot of people never learned manners either.Seriously, prison?Makes me wonder how does she figure out how to put her pants on in the morning.

I've been asked equally shocking things by -of all people- my bf's mother."You're Mexican?So does that like...mean like ...-Do you even have a father?" And suddenly I understood why he said things like "I refuse to believe I'm not adopted.

[ArtLady1981]

So sweet of you to 'take the time' to help! Lots of folks, men or women, would wait, pay, and go.
"Not my problem" they'd rightfully think...so it was generous of you to take time!

[mathwizard]

People looking at my online name figure I am a guy, woooo. I am the most female you have ever seen. Very feminine but just happen to have excellent math skills to the tune of a Master of Science in Math. I have got hit on by lots of women just because of my name. I didn't think mathwitch was a good one and as I like science fiction and would like to have magical powers that a wizard was a good choice. My dearly departed DH thought my name was good choice and he used to laugh at the weird (yes I call them that) emails.
>> My other pet peeve is prejudice against crochet. I go to my LYS knitting group and take my knitting and crochet with me. I work on both while there. The knitters are always borrowing my hooks and other crochet stuff to fix or help with their knitting because I always have crochet equipment with me. Only one of the ladies acknowledges my skills and interest in crochet which I have been doing since I was 13. I will be 60 this year. There is another lady there who used to crochet and whenever she lies about her skill her eye starts to twitch. To her lace crochet is a collar she found in an Interweave magazine but it isn't. There are many different kinds of lace crochet which are just as beautiful as the knitted version. Thanks for listening as prejudice against male knitters or crocheters really ticks me off!
>> Have you ever noticed that the knitted stitch has similarities to the chain stitch?

[trvvn5]

My other pet peeve is prejudice against crochet. I go to my LYS knitting group and take my knitting and crochet with me. I work on both while there. The knitters are always borrowing my hooks and other crochet stuff to fix or help with their knitting because I always have crochet equipment with me. Only one of the ladies acknowledges my skills and interest in crochet which I have been doing since I was 13.

We have a local meet up that is designated for yarn workers. So we get a number of knitters, crocheters, and cross-stitchers. I will admit that its mostly knitters though. I don't really have a prejudice against crocheters, I just know absolutely nothing, short of how to make a chain stitch and how to use the hook to fix my knitting.
So I think that I talk less to the crocheters because I don't want to come off looking stupid.

In your honor though mathwizard, next meetup I will make the effort to sit next to one of the crocheters and learn more.

[Crycket]

I used to work with a woman who always stated that she hated generalizations, and gender roles. It was funny too cause she was a huge hypocrit too...but I digress...

Stereotypes immerge from places, and for every rule there is the exception. One would hope and think that in this day in age, these stereotypes would be shed. Ppl are certainly more open minded...but universal open mindedness is....well...a dream...

[suzeeq]

Have you ever noticed that the knitted stitch has similarities to the chain stitch?

Yep and there's a 'newish' type of crochet called slip stitch crochet that's kind of a hybrid of knit and crochet. Start with your regular chain and slip stitch in the back loop, sometimes the front loop depending on the stitch pattern.. It's done with a much larger hook than you would normal use for the yarn weight and goes faster than regular crocheting.

[MMario]

hee-hee! So funny to hear that described as "new-ish"....it's a very very old technique.

But yes, the knit stitch does have commonalities with a chair stitch...and I've used that similarity to do some "faux crochet" while knitting -