Ana’s Comments (group member since Jan 08, 2016)

Ana’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

There'll be an announcement soon, Mary! :) Please stay tuned.

Hey, Hermione! You can upload your artwork here, if Twitter isn't working for you. :) Just go to the Photos section and there they go. :)

Trans men too, BTW. :) Sorry for not mentioning both in my previous comment.

Ahhhh, if I have to be perfectly honest, I would equally freak out if I took a taxi driven by a female and she started making weird, invasive questions. I would not find it funny, at all, and I would most likely tell her to stop at the next traffic light and hop off. For all I know, she could be into women AND a creeper (unrelated facts, just in case someone takes me wrong), and I don't have to put up with that.
That being said, Astrid had a point with the male driver being potentially more dangerous. To me, it's all about the physical force. A man is likely to be stronger than me and will therefore have it easier to force me to do whatever he wants. Admittedly, though, if someone plans to hurt you, they're gonna do whatever they can to get away with their intentions. However...well, odds are higher for women to bump into a male psycho.
In fact, this is one of the reasons why I oppose online dating, for the most part at least. I just cannot bring myself to trust people that easily. I would hate to meet some random guy from a dating app / the Internet IRL and then find myself in some unpleasant situation. I'm not even talking rape, abuse or murder. The guy assuming he's entitled to any sort of physical contact in the first date would be enough for me to regret everything. I know, I'm bound to end up alone in this technology era, but hey, I can't help it.
Back to taxis and Gloria Steinem and transsexuals. 'Issue' is probably too strong of a word choice here, or at least I'd like to think so, because it would be weird to show so much empathy for everybody and then boom, she's got issues with transexuals. But I agree that she probably does feel somewhat uncomfortable with regard to this topic. There's the taxi anecdote and I think there's something else I read, perhaps in Wikipedia, about some incident that derived from her words and she had to step in and apologise. I'll try and find it.
It would be a pity, in any case. Trans women are still women in every sense of the word - they simply were born in the wrong body. Well, you know, 'simply.' I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and fear coming from such a realisation.

Time will tell about Emma's life projects, as it should, don't you think so? :) In the end, aren't we all the same? Always wondering what future will bring us. It's best if we look at it that way. :)

Wait no more, Lisa! Please head over to the Bookshelf section and add the book to the list - if it isn't there already that is! :) Katelyn has done an amazing job gathering all the books from the Master List into a Listopia. :)

Well, I can raise this suggestion up to the mod team, see the feedback. :)

PS OK, this is already being discussed by the admin team! I will keep you informed of any feedback. :) In the meantime, thanks a lot for the input.

Also, Ty, because you were still addressing me in previous questions. Some others have already replied before I have and so you can already anticipate my reply. However, I still feel the need to answer, and this will be my last word on the subject.

I cannot decide whether you actually stand by your statements or don't. If it's the latter, then you came to this forum with a very obvious goal, and I will not add a word to Katelyn's fair warning - I already had to hold myself when I initially saw your comments. However, even if you actually stand by your stance, you are still wrong. You are classifying people in strict folders from which they are not allowed to stand up and prove that, in fact, there are as many types of women and men as human beings are.
Male feminists, whether they choose to identify as such or not, because at the end of the day it's mostly about their actions and the thoughts that they reveal and/or prove, are not weak. Women who 'enjoy power' are not bullies, which inevitably brings me back to that double standard by which the same attitude is judged differently for men and women. Gender equalist women who date gender equalist men, and the opposite way, are seeking for an equal, loving relationship. And that's all there is to it.
As for Emma, well that would be surprising, if she was going into all of this headache and effort out of stubbornness and a longing for power. Because of this book club solely, she is already receiving a fair share of negative, unnecesary comments. I would hope she's in this because she wants to.

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That's it. This is my final answer on this thread regarding this conversation. I would like to apologise to the other mods and members if they believe I am doing nothing but prolonging the issue. However, I just felt the need to answer, because this is an important space to me and I would like to contribute to others having an equally good experience here. That is all.

James wrote: Oh and if being a Feminism women is a requirement to be part of your little privet Minority club then i reject your little elitist hate group.

You will have to excuse me, James, but this is what you have been doing since the very beginning in this group. Rejecting any argument that tried to at least make you consider other points of view. Look, it is very clear that you are against feminism. Not part of the movement, not one wave, not some of its representative figures. The whole thing altogether. You must be wondering whether you are or not entitled to your own opinion and the answer would be, yes, yes you are. However, in a debate, even more so if you take into account that there are so many voices in here, you are still supposed to consider your opponent's views. This is something that you have consistently failed to do. I am going to be honest with you now - we have received many complaints with regard to your participation in this group. Each and every time we have declined the request to ban you out of this group. Why? Because we believe in everybody's right to have their opinion. That being said, your participation in this forum so far has caused more than a few people to feel angry and frustrated. Because, as difficult as it might be for you to understand, there are people who care greatly about these topics, either because of their past experiences, their personal circumstances or just the set of values by which they carry on with their lives. Believe me when I say that your refusal to engage in a fruitful debate and learn from others can hurt some people.

'Little elitist hate group.' Why oh why do you still refuse to understand that feminism, at least the branch of feminism that we overwhelmingly defend in this space, is an all-welcoming movement. Acknowledging our privileges is as important and helpful as claiming the rights that we may be deprived of. There is nor elitism nor hatred in defending gender equality. There is, indeed, firmness and willingness to be heard and take action. That these should be confused and taken as the former seems more like a deliberate misunderstanding than as an uninformed mistake.
Perhaps this is indeed not the place for you, as you will not even consider to change your views and no, people who are here will most likely not change theirs because of your arguments either. If you find this is the case indeed, you can leave.

I can relate so much to your feelings, Tanya. It's an equally worrying and beautiful moment when you realise how much you are missing out on a certain field that interests you and, at the same time, how much greatness is still in store for you. I had the same realisation with Wilma.

Ty wrote: "Strong women or alpha females want to deal with those who can handle them. The only type of female that date those male feminist types are bullying types where they just want someone to push around, they don't want a relationship that's equal. "

But that's still...wrong. Being in a relationship with a feminist male would most likely lead to the exact opposite of what you are stating. Also, why should that woman exert her inner bully with a feminist male and push him around? That is simply not true. As I said, I do not want to get too personal, but I'll just say this - it did not work that way for me.
To be honest, I am not *that* horribly offended by the use of those words. I think I already told you that I love my slang in the right moment and place (i.e., 'homegirl' and its masculine version 'homeboy', along with plenty of other stuff, and English is not my mother tongue so I actually had to go out of my way to learn them!). I do know that some people, however, could and will take offence if I use such words in the wrong context. Check the meaning of 'chick' in the online Cambridge dictionary and you will realise that, without elaborating on the reasons, it is a tricky word. For me, it's all about context. A feminist book club might not be the right place, as you may or may not discover with regard to these words. But I am not for opressing anybody, and there are bigger battles.
I have read 1984 indeed! :D I hope we're all more open-minded than that.

'With high expectations', sorry. I'm on my iPad and don't know how to edit. Still, equally wrong, if only because we should always have high expectations towards our partners.

Ty, when I said 'I'm sure you have plenty of interesting thoughts to share with this group', well, this is not what I was thinking of.
I don't even know where to start from. I guess that I can do it from the very beginning. Women / young girls feel attracted towards people because of a combination of traits, just like pretty much everybody out there does. If we're talking straight women, then apply this to men. For some, feminism will be an important deal, for some others, not so much. As long as they're respected as equals, they probably won't even think much about that, which is fine, BTW. However, where did you read that male feminists are weak? Where did you read that women would turn male feminists down because blergh, so weak? I don't want to get too personal here, but that's wrong.
And while we're at it, please do not make assumptions for other members of the group, be them Emma or any of us regular members. It's not fair. 'Clingy and high maintenance', this is so derogatory.
I must also insist, even at the risk of being obnoxious, that you ditch the 'chicks' and 'dudes' languages. You are an English major, I am a graduate in Translation and Interpreting Studies. We both know words matter.
Please don't take this personally - for the sake of the forum, we must be firm sometimes. :)

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

¡Y otro hilo para hablar del libro! :D

Hello! This is a Spanish-speaking thread. :) Non-native Spanish speakers are still welcome to join the conversation! This is a trial thread by means of which the admin team is hoping to check foreign languages needs at Our Shared Shelf. In the meantime, kindly refrain from initiating multiple threads in foreign languages. Kindly note that this is a multicultural forum. Participation in English is still highly encouraged for all those who are able to communicate in this language, regardless of their level, for the sake of keeping our current atmosphere. Many thanks!

¡Hola! Este es un hilo en español. Los hablantes no nativos están invitados a unirse a la conversación. :) Aviso para navegantes nativos: ¡esta no es una comunidad cerrada! Los hilos en español son un apoyo para aquellos cuyo nivel de inglés supone un verdadero obstáculo a su participación en el foro. Si puedes comunicarte en inglés (mejor o peor), esperamos verte también en el resto del grupo. Por favor, no iniciéis nuevos hilos de conversación en español por ahora. Este es un "hilo piloto" para comprobar la necesidad de otras lenguas en el grupo. Podéis mandar un mensaje privado a Ana para sugerir nuevos hilos. ¡Muchas gracias! :)

Aquí puedes compartir con otros tus impresiones acerca de My Life on the Road, las memorias de Gloria Steinem que han sido nuestra lectura de enero. ¿Has terminado el libro? ¿Por dónde vas? ¿Cuáles son tus citas o pasajes favoritos? ¿Te ha inspirado el testimonio de Steinem? ¡Todo cabe aquí!
P.S. ¿Spoilers? Por favor, utiliza estos códigos para mantenerlos ocultos del resto: (view spoiler)[... (hide spoiler)] ¡Muchas gracias! :)

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

¡Aquí tenemos algo nuevo! :) Quedáis invitados a echar un vistazo. :)

Hello! This is a Spanish-speaking thread. :) Non-native Spanish speakers are still welcome to join the conversation! This is a trial thread by means of which the admin team is hoping to check foreign languages needs at Our Shared Shelf. In the meantime, kindly refrain from initiating multiple threads in foreign languages. Kindly note that this is a multicultural forum. Participation in English is still highly encouraged for all those who are able to communicate in this language, regardless of their level, for the sake of keeping our current atmosphere. Many thanks!

¡Hola! Este es un hilo en español. Los hablantes no nativos están invitados a unirse a la conversación. :) Aviso para navegantes nativos: ¡esta no es una comunidad cerrada! Los hilos en español son un apoyo para aquellos cuyo nivel de inglés supone un verdadero obstáculo a su participación en el foro. Si puedes comunicarte en inglés (mejor o peor), esperamos verte también en el resto del grupo. Por favor, no iniciéis nuevos hilos de conversación en español por ahora. Este es un "hilo piloto" para comprobar la necesidad de otras lenguas en el grupo. Podéis mandar un mensaje privado a Ana para sugerir nuevos hilos. ¡Muchas gracias! :)

¿Qué es el feminismo para ti? ¿Cuáles son los conflictos a los que crees que se enfrenta el movimiento? ¿Por qué la oposición a la palabra "feminismo"? ¿Te consideras feminista? Comparte tu visión y tus experiencias aquí. :)

Hi, Tanya! We're close to making the announcement for February, so stay tuned! :) We're hoping it will be easier to find at libraries. :D

Thread closed. Please revise already existing threads before opening a new one! Thanks! :D

Could we maybe bring this thread back to its original topic? I think it has derailed a bit and now we're discussing highly hypothetical possibilities.

Hi, Ty! :) Sorry, these days I am a bit more absent because paperrrrrwork. Ugh.

Anyway! Glad to see that you are starting to use the neutral male / female terms, at least combined with the slang. See, while I do understand that this is just your way of speaking, well, in a forum like this someone might not like it if you use 'dude' and 'chick' a lot. This comes from someone who actually loves her slang, haha, but there's a place for everything and we try to steer clear of potentially problematic stuff here (which does not go to say we do not encourage debate here, the whole board is a huge debate!).
That being said, I think you probably have plenty of interesting points in here, although not all of us will agree with them. It's just that as mods, we'd much rather have you expose them in the appropriate thread. Not because 'mod power', mind you, but because prior to Emma's interview with Gloria we will most likely have to compile all the questions received and do our very best to incorporate them to the London event. If everybody started yet another debate here, well, this would make our task significantly more difficult later on. :) It's a lot of people here, as you have surely noticed already.
We're waiting for your questions here of else, just your thoughts and contributions at the many many threads that we've got rolling on here, haha. Happy reading! :)