no boys allowed in the room!!!!

I have that rant about men who want to get past you in public like a bar or something, who touch you ON THE HIP OR WAIST, which is totally NOT a public touching zone, and is a pretty good way for a total stranger to get his drink spilled/be asked to never accidentally touch you again.

I am not above poking people in the back or shoulder with a stiff finger if they haven't moved after the 2nd or 3rd "excuse me", but that bears no resemblance to the proprietary waist-nudge.

On a similar note before I leave work, how often in old movies do you see a man motion for a woman to go somewhere in front of him and then put a hand in the small of her back to move her there?? Does anyone still do this? I haven't noticed but I discourage people who are not my friends or family from touching me so I wouldn't.

Ugh, like thin/skinny women aren't real?

"Real Women" is well, well on its way to becoming the new term for "fat women." I expect that we'll see the plus-size section of clothing stores renamed the "real woman" section sometime in the next few years.

Sort of relatedly I have this whole rant about men who touch you when they talk to you or when they want to move past you.

I've seen more women then men do this, actually.

i get pretty aggravated by that happening in bars. my favorite is when dudes try to give me directions somewhere when i haven't even asked. i was booking it to the neighborhood post office the other day and arrived with a bag full of packages just about 30 seconds after they locked the door, and was standing there all pissed off because now i had to get a bus to the postal station with late hours. dude walks out of the store next door and says "you look lost." i said (quite evenly, not angry at all) "I'm not lost. I live here." he gets all offended and is like "i was just trying to help. you look lost." arrrgh! how many people are lost who are obviously going to the post office, now?!

i just.. i have always had to be pretty self-sufficient and feel like i get this knee-jerk reaction a lot, as if not needing people to do things for me is off-putting/intimidating/problematic

"I was just trying to help you get lost, girlie."

"Real Women" is well, well on its way to becoming the new term for "fat women." I expect that we'll see the plus-size section of clothing stores renamed the "real woman" section sometime in the next few years.

Lane Bryant already refers to its rewards program as "Real Woman Dollars" which is like item #19852 on my list of Shit I Hate about Lane Bryant (in no particular order).

But "eat a sandwich" is straight bullshit bc it's just another example of people policing women's bodies.

I was getting my nails done today (blue glitter :D) and I was thinking about how we're going to take the AC units out of the windows tomorrow and how I have bad timing bc I don't want to chip a nail in the process and then this mocking voice pipes up in my head "Oh no! I can't help you life something! I might chip a nail!" and it was just like, dude.

sometimes when the 'eat a sandwich' brigade sees you eat a sandwich (as you had done all along without their input) and still not gain weight they will then accuse you of bulimia.

<3 blue glitter

Or just call you a fat slob because don't you know how many CALORIES are in SANDWICHES????

Oh I just got a blue nail polish. I got a really dark navy one that's flat and another that isn't glitter but has some crazy pearly action going on. Normally I don't go for that sort of thing but it looks pretty awesome.

I got dark deep navy on my toes, light blue glitter on my fingas. The pearly sounds pretty!

i can never comment on other people's weight, even if i know they have been really trying to lose weight and they have succeeded it makes me cringe, i can't say the words, i find the whole topic too offensive.

i think that's the way to do it, honestly. friends of mine have been hurt that i haven't congratulated them on lost weight, but i can't do it either. i end up saying, "you look great. you always looked great," which can be awkward, but whatever.

i wonder what one could say instead, when you want to tell a friend they look good but don't want to be making a weight comment. "you look happy"? "you look confident"?

can't you just say "you look good"? so many times i've gotten "have you lost weight?" when i absolutely haven't and i suspect i just look awesome and people are trying to tell me that.

Haha yes! People often ask me if I've lost weight, usually saying 'You look good. Have you lost weight?" What, can a fat woman not just look good? Damn.

I have a strict non-engagement with diet talk/negative body talk qua negative body talk (as opposed to talking about why we talk about our bodies negatively iykwim)/weight loss talk. I think it irks some of my coworkers, but they will get over it. Or not. I don't really care that much.

Yeah my mom-in-law does that when it's so obvious I haven't.* I just ask her not to even talk about weight with me. She's this tiny old willowy hippie and she'll pull her belly out of her shirt and hold it in both hands and say, "look at this, I used to be beautiful." Oh god lady just calm down.

*Also the one time I did lose a bunch of weight she told her son I was having sex with strange men to earn money for speed, because she's a drug and alcohol abuse counselor and can tell these things *_*

holy crap, your mother-in-law. i am sorry.

Yeah that is not the way to engage with people.

(The drug and alcohol counselor angle reminds me of my dad's ex-wife who once said to me over dinner when I was about 12 that she could tell I was going to be bulimic because she counseled girls with eating disorders.)

http://thehairpin.com/2011/11/women-struggling-to-drink-water

I mean, what do you say? I can tell you're an idiot because I'm sitting right here and I can hear you?!?

I'm not good at non-confrontational conflict resolution, in fact I keep quiet when I shouldn't because the responses that come to mind are escalation. Escalationary. Escalative. Fucking shit up. Maybe I should go with the escalation for a while and see how it feels, then figure out my next step.

I bought some blue nail polish last week. It's called Phallic.

Ugh, like thin/skinny women aren't real?

The Dove Real Women look exactly like models looked like 25-30 years ago.

ATTN AMANDA: http://www.sockdreams.com/products/accessories/sock-garters/

THANK YOU! I not only "need" but geniunely need those. Droopin socks is nagl.

agh the irrationality of pms just kills me sometimes, like today. where even though i know its pms and i know my rage is going beyond the call of duty, all this awareness, it does nothing

i'm back home now and i don't plan to leave the house again today tbrr

Blergh I feel you.
I just had to cancel my annual OB-GYN exam due to period starting today. I have had to do this with every exam for the past four years. I am beginning to think it's one of my maladaptive superpowers like blowing out left speakers in all of my stereos and headphones.

hahaa
but you need to reschedule! i also need to go get one of those soon...

i drank some PMS tea and ate some stolen (mmm) and am listening to music (both speakers) and not reading the internet

i keep putting off making ob/gyn appointments (haven't been in 10 yrs, i think?) - i'm afraid they're gonna tell me i have cancer.

DUDE

SARAHEL

Have you ever had any irregular paps in the past that would make you think you're at-risk for cervical cancer (I assume that's what we're talking about here)?

GOOOOOO!!!!!!

no, it's one of those totally irrational beliefs/fears!

Think that's bad? My first pap smear was in 1991, and the next one I had was in 2010. (Lack of health care access, not fear of what I could find.)

Sarahel - I'm sure you're fine but you probably should go just to make sure. 10 years is a long time.

You should go just to make sure. Then eat your favorite thing for dinner or something similar so you associate going to the gyn with something positive!

Jenny did I make this up or were you talking about a golden speculum award recently??

that's a good idea, Jenny! when i finally went to the dentist after 15 yrs, i used trips to my fave bookstore and record store (which are both a few blocks from the dentist's office) as a motivator.

xp Why yes I was. My gyn received such a thing last Thursday at a gala fundraising event for a women's health org on whose board I am.

That sentence is tortured. Let me try again. I'm on the board of a women's health org. They had a fundraiser on Thursday. They gave my gyn a golden speculum award.

I wish you were in Chicago, sarahel, because this org gives the best annual exams in at least a tri-state area. I'm not even kidding! Also: sliding scale from $5 to whatever the high end is.

OB-GYN is usually my favorite/least stressful health appointment of the year. I just have to make sure I see a woman. I saw a guy OB-GYN in May and I realized I have a real problem with authority figures who are male saying basically anything to do with my reproductive organs. Totally my own problem but a real problem nonetheless. It was a meltdown. Anyway, I rescheduled.

one nice thing about Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley, btw, is that I didn't feel out of place walking down the street and book-shopping with a partially swollen face and a dazed expression.

I PCP does my annual and he's a guy and I'm fine with that. I've had women too - either one is OK with me but I understand that some ppl have a firm preference.

My PCP not "I"

Oh, btw I googled "Feminist Therapy Boston" today and found a place not too far from my home. I emailed and left messages for two of their therapists. Hope I hear back soon.