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

MeerderWörter’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

Ashley wrote: "While you make a good point and it would be nice to get more books as you described, I'd also like to point out that the group so far has read a total of 14 books (which means roughly 14% of the bo..."

I get what you want to say. And, as you can read, I do not complain that we do not read enough such books. My reasoning of writing this post comes from another point. Within the acronym, some letters are widely accepted and known, some are less, and with some, they are even unheard of.

I just think we cannot omit a demographic that makes up between 1 in 2000 and 1,7 per cent of the population.
And as Keith said, two important days are coming up. I really think OSS should read one. To be honest, I am sad that I read everywhere we should be more inclusive but then we still don't talk about intersex people, who are an as diverse group of people as it can be. It does no good to live in the shadows, face human rights violations, not being allowed to exist, I could go on...
You don't fight for all women if you only fight for a certain proportion of women, those who you deem are "women."


And so I say again:
Let's be bold, let's be daring.

My dear OurSharedShelf family!

I joined OurSharedShelf on January 8th, 2016 and I really like to be around here and discuss and help some members out when I can.
In my opinion, we've had a rather diverse reading list so far - we've had authors of colour, we've had autobiographies, fiction and non-fiction, we've had old books and newer books, and I learned a lot from reading nearly all of them. I have to say I didn't read all of them, but that's not why I created this topic.

I see OurSharedShelf as a space where everyone should feel welcome and respected, and we're doing fairly good on that. But there is something I miss.
I know, we swapped to bi-monthly books in summer last year, and therefore we cannot read as many books... and that is okay because I've seen OSS change and adapt according to the needs of us members.

I do miss something in our reading list, and it is LGBTQIA+ books. Now I know we've read The Argonauts last year in May, and that one taught me a bit new stuff, and we read Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl in July and August last year. I also really appreciated that one. So you might say: But we did read such books. And it is true, we did, but so far we have only read books for two letters in the acronym.
What I miss, and I really see this as an opportunity to prove how intersectional and diverse OurSharedShelf can be and should be, are intersex books.

When we pride ourselves as a group in being inclusive and accepting and willing-to-learn, which I think we are, then it would be very sad in my opinion to not read such a book.
In doing so, we truly embrace intersectionality as a concept.

Let's be daring.

Giulia, it might not fit perfectly into what you look for, but Robert Galbraith's Career of Evil is partially written from a male perpetrator's perspective. It also deals with rape and sexual assault, if my memory serves right.
It's a very well-written book, and while it is the third book in a series, you can still read it without having read the first two books (which are really good in their own way, not that I don't want you to read them as well).

I hope the work on your thesis goes well!

Leslie wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I'm up there in years too - born in the 40s, teenager in the 50s (I was around for the beginning of rock and roll!), and young adult in the 60s.
I have seen a l..."

Try a university's library - that's where I got mine from!

Leslie wrote: "I'm up there in years too - born in the 40s, teenager in the 50s (I was around for the beginning of rock and roll!), and young adult in the 60s.
I have seen a lot, and experienced a lot - some of w..."

I'm reading that one right now, and being born in the 90s, it really shocks me to read what I read in there.

^^^We've got your back Emma. Haters gonna hate, we can't change that.

NIX wrote: "My new psychologist told me that people with non-binary gender identities are also classed as intersex. He said that's the medical term for such people. I'd never heard this before, as previously a..."

Doctors are weird... why not stick to non-binary as a term already? It's not a bad term in my opinion, it's one that says what it is.

Now, most people in the intersex community see someone as their own when their sex characteristics do not align with what their society perceives as either male or female and the cause for it is congenital, meaning it can manifest later on in life but it is not caused by a tumor or something else.
(Why I say many is because there is this debate going on about "who is intersex enough", but I think that's not a question to ask. Everyone is equally intersex, regardless of what makes them intersex, it's just that when it comes to IGM those who survived it have to have the lead. But apart from that, I will never exclude someone because "they're not intersex enough". That's pretty vile to say I think. Everyone who falls out of the norms regarding sex characteristics and the cause is congenital is allowed to identify as intersex in my opinion. Otherwise it's like saying trans women are not allowed to identify as women because they're not "enough womanly", which is total crap.)
I feel weird too now, I mean, don't the doctors see that the one umbrella term is about GENDER and the other one about SEX? The two are not the same, I mean, that we found out a few decades ago already.

Ross wrote: "London Metro newspaper Thursday 12/10/2017 reports gender campaigner has been given permission to take home office to Court over gender neutral passports. This is significant step in recognition of..."

Now that makes me unbelievably happy!

Robert wrote: "Https://www.reuters.com/article/us-us....

It's about damn time!!"

It is! I never know why they made such a deal out of it anyways. Here in Austria it's normal that boys and girls do that stuff together

Marianne wrote: "Hi - I just joined. My name is Marianne and I’m a bit older than you young ladies. I was a child of the 60’s - a teenager of the 70’s and a woman of the 80’s.

I grew up when Virginia Slims’s cele..."

Welcome in the group!
Ah you know, older folks have knowledge that is important for us youngsters.
And Perks is a really good book;)

Dagny Moland wrote: "A recommendation from Gloria Steinem:

“Trauma and Recovery,” Judith Herman

From shell shock in World War I to childhood sexual abuse today, the reality of trauma has been denied. But as this indi..."

With enough force we bring them to their knees.
It is all a matter of dedication, determination and deliberation. We can do it if we know how to. If we have enough people with us, we are a force.

Astrid wrote: "@MeerderWörter: "the moral right of the author has been asserted" - what does that mean?"

I have no idea, I only ever read it in English books. But let me see...
Oh wait, it's nothing bad:
Das Urheberpersönlichkeitsrecht wurde festgestellt. Mensch, und ich dachte es heißt sowas wie, dass sie eh moralisch in Ordnung ist. Puh, da hab ich echt was falsch übersetzt... tztztz:)

Emma wrote: "Keith wrote: "James wrote: "Wait? What Myths? :) Yes, it was a joke. "

Here are but a few:

https://listverse.com/2015/07/08/10-m...

Some are quite bizarre,..."

What I like about them is that you see that it's not always a bad thing, but sometimes a very powerful thing. I mean, to be the only one who can defeat that bear?

Agnes Szalkowska wrote: "07/09/2017 – 21:00 (UK time)
Attendees:
MeerderWörter (Austria, Chair)
Quoc Huy Pho (Santerro) (France)
Shayesteh Khosravi (Iran)
Robert Smart (Massachusetts, USA; Chair)
Emma Clement (Maryland via..."

It's really long this time. It really was emotive, but also a very good talk.

Astrid wrote: "@MeerderWörter: Career of Evil: Good read, yes! And I was really surprised how much the author was able to see all the subtle nuances of what rape can do (with the victim) and how it is possible to..."

She has "the moral right of the author has been asserted". That gives an impression of how crass this book is. Yeah, she's really good with character development.

Astrid wrote: "The third book of the Cormoran Strike series (Galbraith / Rowling) is also about this problem: Is it good for the victim to report rape? and it is treated in a very subtle way (Criminal Career is t..."

Career of Evil is a really good book! It's somewhat creepy, but it is really good!

Kate wrote: "http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article...


Should both boys and girls be taught about periods? I agree. I believe it wou..."

Definitely! We need a way more profound sex-ed than what we have now. Way more diverse.

I got mine as well, no problems at all!

~When something else is more threatening than the fear itself you become fearless~
MeerderWörter

I thought I join the group as well;)

For Austria:
Women's telephone: 01 71 71 9
https://www.wien.gv.at/menschen/fraue...
This organisation only works in Vienna, but I am sure they can help you and direct you to other institutions:
It's for women and girls that are 14 years or older (also for same-sex-relationships), that have to endure violence and those who had to endure this in the past.
It is also for friends and relatives, it is in general for people who want to know more about violence against women and how to help these women.
The counselling is either via e-mail, phone, or personal.
In case that the counsellors are not capable of a language, interpreters are available.
What I personally think is really good is that they accompany you to go to the police/hospital/court...
They work 24/7 and their service is free.

For everyone under 14:
Rat auf Draht (advice on the ball)
www.rataufdraht.at
This organisation provides answers to all kinds of questions, that teenagers and children have, including (sexual) violence.
They also have a FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/147rataufdra...
And they also have a chat:
https://www.rataufdraht.at/online-ber...
And you can call them anytime for free, simply 147. (If it is really important rather call, because they are working off the chat one after another, it might take some time to get an answer)