The socio-cultural deck seems stacked against parents who strive to raise their children free from “obligations” of gender. How do we combat that?

I’ve found listening (metaphorically of course!) to the posts and comments here have caused me to rethink some of my views. I, at times, can overvisit because I want to see what other comments have arrived since I pressed the reset button.

In particular I wouldn’t mind a further analysis/rehash of the porn post that evolved from Becky’s stint at Bitch. It was one that definately caused me to rethink of a number of issues.

More stuff about bodies. JennyK’s idea for the post about beauty standards would be great. And other posts akin to the ones recently on body hair of the non-head variety, and the one about hair on the head.

I would love to share my absolute fascination with Donna Haraway (especially her conception of cyborg), Luce Irigaray, and Elsbeth Probyn (her stuff on affect, and reinserting the biological body into feminist discourse is interesting).

I’d like to over-share with the harpy tribe:
* some of the things that happened, especially comments that were directed at me, when I was in my first full-time job. * what is was like to deal with a partner with an adiction, and how being a feminist helped get me through it.
* being the eldest daughter, and second oldest child of a very large family; in particular how that paved the way to feminism
* my mum and how she taught me to care for myself (emotionally, physically, psychologically and sexually).

For fun, the federal opposition leader here in Australia, Tony Abbott, comes out with some unbelievable comments eg the piece of advice he would give to his daughters is “female virginity is a gift to the person you marry, don’t give it away” (I’m paraphrasing here); how would you like your dad giving you sex advice like that through the MSM?. Maybe a section about some of the things that male politicians put there, especially the redonkulous.

(2) an examination of the way that rape victims/survivors are often treated as “marked” or “other” in some way even by close friends and supporters. (As a very vocal survivor myself) I’m convinced that because of our society’s reluctance to identify and name rapists for what they are, survivors are often treated as though they alone are responsible not just for THEIR rape, but for the very existence of rape.

I have a number of sympathetic friends and family members who have never, ever blamed me for my rape. They don’t participate in the culture of victim blaming by any stretch. But they’re uncomfortable with the topic in general, and often that discomfort gets projected onto me. I come to represent something horrifying, something they don’t really want to think about. So I’d like to examine – especially with contributions from other survivors, if they’re willing – the ways that women who have been raped are treated as “marked” even by those who intend to be supportive.

I’m an employee at a major greeting card company. As such, I spend a lot of time thinking about how the greeting card industry is yet another (fairly unexamined) place where gender is policed. (This happens with race also. This particular company has a “special” line of cards for black customers that are, I suppose, meant as progress. But the cards instead work as another means of defining black customers as “other” and “non-standard”.)

(2) an examination of