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

MeerderWörter’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

Emma wrote: "Thanks for explaining!"

No problem... definitions are very important - not to lose track of what is actually being talked about.

Emma wrote: "Faith wrote: "“A man told me for a woman, I was very opinionated. I said, for a man you’re kind of ignorant.”-Anne Hathaway

Go about this day with bravado, fight the stigma, and rebuke the ill me..."

Yep...

It is not such an easy question to answer in my opinion.
With books, I agree, it is easier, because in most cases they are written by one person and so not buying the book will only hurt this one person...

With a movie or a series it is different - because there are more people involved. I don't know what to do in this case - shall I harm everyone in the whole movie because there is one bad apple in the pie? Why shall I let other great actors suffer for something they are not guilty of, in any way...
It is difficult... but I think everyone has to find a solution for themselves. And a reason they can stand behind, and one that they actually do defend and follow.

As Pam said, in the end we have to make a decision how far we go...

Faith wrote: "Meerder,

That was absolutely beautiful!! xoxo"

(blush)
It was just some scribbling, some thoughts...
It's what I believe in - in the diversity of womanhood.

If I may add one last thing:
No matter whether you bleed or not - you are a woman.

Emma wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "Ester wrote: "Florian wrote: "Sascha wrote: "@ Florian & Lewis:

Could you please explain to me what you mean by making a difference between racism on the one hand and discrim..."

Lewis already explained it. Today, racism is more about different cultures, not anymore about actual biological characteristics. (Although I personally would say that some people still do that...)

MaryJane wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "Ana wrote: "This entire conversation could be in Arabic and I would get a similar percentage of it!!! O//O Glad to see some very deep scientific content being discussed here!"..."

HRT is a tricky issue - the bad thing is that once gonads are removed you are dependent on HRT for a lifetime, or at least when that happened when you were young...

You are a woman:

No matter your karyotype... XX doesn't make you a woman - you are a woman
No matter the length of your hair - you are a woman
No matter the length of your digit finger and ring finger - you are a woman
No matter how you dress - masculine, androgynous, feminine - you are a woman
No matter whether you're a tomboy or not - you are a woman
No matter whether you like men, women, women and men - you are a woman
No matter what people throw at you - whether it's words, or objects - you are a woman
No matter what people think you have to do - cosmetic surgery, HRT, losing weight or gaining weight - you are a woman
No matter whether doctors think they have to slice you up and castrate you or not - you are a woman
No matter whether you need a wheelchair, glasses, a feeding tube or not - you are a woman
No matter whether you are brown, black or white - you are a woman
No matter whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hopi or not - you are a woman
No matter whether you are rich or poor - you are a woman
No matter whether you are 21 or 89 - you are a woman
No matter whether you are 5'2'' or 6'4'' - you are a woman
No matter whether you are a soldier or not - you are a woman
No matter whether you are cis or trans - you are a woman
No matter whether you are a mother or not - you are a woman

So go show the world today what a beauty you are - as a woman!
Diversity is beautiful!

MeerderWörter wrote: "Ana wrote: "This entire conversation could be in Arabic and I would get a similar percentage of it!!! O//O Glad to see some very deep scientific content being discussed here!"

;)

Okay, I asked so..."

So yeah, it is a lil complicated:)
But maybe we could break it down for every variation... (Which will take a little while, but hey... we aren't going anywhere soon!)

Ana wrote: "This entire conversation could be in Arabic and I would get a similar percentage of it!!! O//O Glad to see some very deep scientific content being discussed here!"

;)

Okay, I asked someone who is more familiar with HRT than I am:
Question: By any chance, do you know how that is with HRT and convertion of hormones and so on?
Answer: Depends..... on your biology and what hormone we are talking about :)
My answer: I knew someone would know an answer to that:)
Damn, our bodies are amazing:)

Yes, our bodies ARE amazing!

Ester wrote: "Florian wrote: "Sascha wrote: "@ Florian & Lewis:

Could you please explain to me what you mean by making a difference between racism on the one hand and discrimination on the other hand? Why do yo..."

Nowadays racism in academia is defined as discrimination against one's culture, but culturalism is a term that hasn't really come into use.

Leslie wrote: "I've loved Buffy Sainte-Marie for many years. I had her albums in the 1970s. I'm happy she's from Canada."

She's awesome:)
Especially her song Starwalker, I really like that one...

Emma wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Meagan wrote: "In Canada, I am not aware of our own history in terms of race relations (with the exception of our First Nations groups, and a number of other "m..."

She writes about treaties and stereotypes and all kinds of interesting things. Things that settlers need to know for modern-day Canada. I really look forward to reading it.

Okay, I'm rather busy these days but I really want to reply to what Sascha and Laura have said, as I think both of you stated very important things...

First to Sascha:
Your first paragraph. Yes, yes, and most definitely yes. For many reasons, people from Eastern Europe countries and Ex-Yugoslavia face discrimination in Austria. For reasons such as religion (in the case of people from Ex-Yugoslavia) or stereotypes for all of them...
I know a few refugees from Afghanistan, and they have my highest respect for all what they had to endure and that they are trying their best now to learn German, because hey, it's a difficult language to learn, especially since you have to learn to write as well...(one of them had to learn to write in general, he couldn't write at all, while the other one could at least write in Farsi, but she's still having problems with the Latin alphabet).

I agree with you, racism is a thing here, it's just not being looked at, at least officially or in a bigger sense in the public... Well, we will have to, you can't have 100.000 refugees from the Middle East in your country and say racism is not a thing, that won't go well...
The "new racism", based on culture, instead of biological factors, is really a problem, and it also explains attacks on refugee homes and more... Why, oh why is it so bad that they have a different culture? But the thing is, what for me means enrichment of the country I live in, for others they see it as a threat to their way of life. And I think that is a really important thing to remember and it also helps us to understand the whole situation better.

I can't think of any person of colour that I know that is in a leading position in a company or even a boss of one. Which is quite telling - most foreigners are in low-wage-jobs, and in jobs that are generally considered ones Austrians don't want to do. Well, let's be honest, we can afford us this luxury now, but is that really a luxury? There are many reasons why the situation on the job market is as it is, and while inequality might not show up on the first look, it will for sure on the second or third one.

I can't say anything to your next paragraph, but really, it doesn't surprise me, not much at least...

I don't meet people of colour that much either... at least where I am studying, and that is quite telling. And when I meet them, then where I really wouldn't wanna change positions with them. I'm not saying that every person of colour in Austria is poor and has to look how they come through the month, but this is the vast majority I think. It also doesn't help at all that there are no statistics, although I have my thoughts on this and think I know why that is not the case... not saying it is a perfect solution... And see, if not a certain family member wouldn't help some refugees to learn German, I wouldn't even notice them, because really, there are not that many around that you would bump into one every other day...
Yes, I agree with you, it IS quite the complex issue, and I think that it really doesn't help that we don't know how many of persons of colour there even are in Austria. (I really don't mean that in a way negative, as I think this might have to do with Austria's past, but you know, my point is: How can you help a group of people, if you don't even know how many of that group of people are in your country, and erasing identity is racism too...)

Now to Laure:
I don't have a clue about how many people of colour are living in Europe either. Now I know there are countries that have more of them and less of them, but that isn't enough...
And in academia: I know there can't be THAT many people of colour in Austria, but really, how many people of colour are in academia and how many there must be in the general public - that doesn't correlate at all.
The only person of colour I interacted with in an academic setting was a professor who came from Nigeria... and one student from the US in an exchange programme. That was it.
I totally agree with what you think helps solving the problem: That still doesn't solve the problem though that we don't have any data to see how big the problem really is. And as I said, since Europe is so diverse, I think that the problem looks differently in most countries.

Leslie wrote: "Meagan wrote: "In Canada, I am not aware of our own history in terms of race relations (with the exception of our First Nations groups, and a number of other "minority groups" that live locally), b..."

For Canada, you can read Indigenous Writes by Chelsea Vowel. I look very much forward to reading it.

Ismail wrote: "Hi.l like listening to lndian music.l really appreciate it.Thank you for sharing."

Speaking of it, I think we should always always remember these two songs:

Now that the Buffalo's Gone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCWJY...

Universal Soldier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYEsF...

What a fierce FN woman she is:)

Emma wrote: "Lewis wrote: "It's an interesting discussion but, as an IT engineer, I don't understand anything on this subject.

I know several woman who take hormones to limit menopause symptoms and they said m..."

For sure it is! Have a too low dosage of estradiol and you go through menopause... have a too high level and it won't do you good either!
Read None of the Above and you see what a too low estrogen level does, it's awful. And a too high level? Can give you cancer...
No, you really have to be careful when it comes to hormones...
they regulate our body after all

Meagan wrote: "Hi!
This year and last year I have really been working on learning about FNMI in Canada. I do not know as much about Black History in Canada, though!"

See? We can always learn more... it's literall around the corner:)

Also, I finally ordered my copy today... look forward to reading this book.

Meagan wrote: "In Canada, I am not aware of our own history in terms of race relations (with the exception of our First Nations groups, and a number of other "minority groups" that live locally), but I stumbled a..."

You know about FNMI? (For all the Non-Canadians, non-Indigenous people: First Nations, Metis and Inuit)
I follow a few on Twitter, and they really have changed how I view issues when it comes to history and "race" and so on.

Monical wrote: "Wow, this is an amazing discussion! It is my understanding that the body will metabolize the introduced hormones to provide some of the others (estrogen to estradiol etc). For women with a uterus, ..."

I know that testosterone is being converted to estrogens when the body is insensitive to androgens (that's the case in AIS).
I also know that 1 in 8 women get breast cancer in their life. I know that the risk of AIS women getting testicular cancer is around 5%, and now sorry for being so blunt, but: Do we chop off every woman's breast simply because she has a (not so small) chance of developing breast cancer in her life? No, we don't, of course not! But why is it then that AIS women get castrated all the time? That is more a problem of the perceived sex binary, than an actual medical one. And since these women are then dependent on HRT for the very rest of their lives...

I just wanted to throw that in there.
It depends on the woman, not every woman is the same, not even biologically.

This are all facts we have to consider when talking about this... it's primarily a women's issue, but men have to deal with it as well.

Pam wrote: "I know nothing about this. I assume given how treatment works for other drugs, is that you have to find the correct dosage for the individual. It's easier to do that with a monoculture than with tr..."

Oh yes, the dosage is very important. You don't want to have a 21-year-old girl going through menopause, right?;)
My point in asking is: Is one hormone enough? Is estradiol for example enough, or would it be better when the body gets the other estrogenes and maybe progesterone as well? Because my thinking was that every hormone is there for a specific reason, thus 1 hormone alone wouldn't be enough. But then our bodies can transform testosterone to estrogene or the other way around (they differ only very little chemically), so maybe 1 hormone IS enough, as the body would aromatize the rest as it needs it?
That's the question haunting ma head...