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

MeerderWörter’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

Some member brought up the issue of terminology, so I thought about giving it a go. This might be edited in the future to add further terminology.

First the good terminology:
intersex: stresses the fact that it's between the sexes, and is used by many of the intersex community to identify themselves.
variations in sexual development: same as intersex, it stresses the fact that it'ss outside of the male/female binary (or should I rather say, in-between;) ?)

Now the terminology that is debated within the community (and I think for obvious reasons):
DSD (Disorders of Sex Development): So far I haven't seen/heard anyone use this, and I think for obvious reasons. I mean, that is so hurtful, "disorder" is such a strong word, and I hate that one.
hermaphrodite: I really advise you to not use that word unless you have the permission of the individual you talk about to use it. Because it refers to a state that is not possible in humans. A hermaphrodite is an animal or plant that has either sex characteristics of male and female in themselves, and that is not possible in humans.
And now the last wording that I came across:
a blind pouch vagina: refers to a vagina that does not end in the cervix. But still, come on, a BLIND POUCH? A vagina is no bloody purse! How is that in any way sexy?!

Sorry to chime in here, but I think I need to set a few things straight:
(or maybe not so STRAIGHT;) )


Benarji wrote: "It would be bad for the human race as we lose the desire to procreate and populate the world with our offsprings. Robot sex basically takes woman out of the equation. As it is, the new generation a..."

I don't think it takes only women out of the equation, because the same could be said for men, since women also would buy such sex robots, I'm quite sure of that. And as Gerd said, humans are humans, our hormones take care of us in many ways, also of our sex drive. I don't think you can actually stop your sex drive, unless you really interfere with your hormones, which is not something you do every other day.

Then, homosexuality is actually an advantage in the fight for survival, because the homosexual individuals in a species take care of the offspring in case the parents died. Then again, homophobia is found only in the human species, while homosexuality is found in many species. Homophobia is a choice, homosexuality is not. I also don't think that we lose the ability to love and court one another, although the ways we do change. But then, most ideas about love and such that we have nowadays aren't older than from the 1830s, which is a drop in the ocean of evolutionary time, isn't it? Same applies to family btw, the model of breadwinner, wife and children only ever really existed in the 1950s, before there were totally different constellations of family widespread.
I agree with you tho that robot sex shouldn't be considered a solution for sexual based crimes. I fear they only might trigger more such behaviour.
I also don't think that objectification of women is a minor problem, it is a huge one, objectification in general is bad, or can you tell me one advantage of objectification? And I also need to disagree with you that we become void of emotions, just because things change doesn't mean we lose our capacity to feel.

Cat wrote: "As much as I want to say that whatever a person does in her/his personal time, as long as he/she isn't hurting anyone in any way, is that individual's freedom, I can't shake this feeling that by ma..."
I don't think you overthink this at all, companies need to think of all the outcomes that their products might produce. When this would increase the numbers in people with such sexual behaviour, that is a real concern, I mean, children are harmed because of it.

Ross wrote: "Benarji wrote: "Gerd, how do we reply and quote to comments? I can't find any buttons here to do so from the app.

Anyways, overpopulation is another issue and nature have it's own means of slowin..."
Where did you find that census? I'd really like to look into it:=)
We can't say it for sure, but unless the sex robots become really really realistic, I also doubt that they will have much influence on procreation; and we're overpopulated anyways, so...
And as you say, sex has never been only about procreation, and btw, gays definitely can, and most trans people I think too, and intersex people are being made infertile, most of us are actually fertile when we're born, in some way or another;)
And again, I agree with you, it will intensify objectification of women, and isn't this something feminists have fought against and still do, although the means have changed?

Ross wrote: "Good news from Elle UK, two-thirds of young women in UK now identify as feminist. The message and the word itself are being reclaimed. :)

http://www.elleuk.com/life-and-cultur......"

That's really good news! I doubt they're as high over here in Austria, but I don't know.

Emma wrote: "That's awesome!! I wonder how those numbers compare to other countries and similar age groups of women. "
Sounds like some work for sociologists, human, why can't we have more money to do stuff like that?

Denise wrote: "I think the debate around intersex sports is going to become tricky in the next few years and will give more publicity to the issues we have been discussing worldwide. Could be bad or as some say, ..."

Yeah, I think so too. I just hope that for once they stop using only testosterone levels, because that is really short-sighted. They have to come up with a better solution, because in my opinion, not only the level but also the sensitivity towards testosterone must be taken into account, and then other hormone levels need to be considered too. And it's strange how only testosterone is being looked at, but not for example estradiol, which is the most important estrogen from what I know, and somewhat the "female" equivalent to the "male" testosterone. And then the discussion hasn't even touched anatomy, what do we do with people who have mixed gonadal tissue, meaning both ovarian and testicular tissue? Should that be taken into account or not? I am not sure about the last thing, I just know that something needs to change, because what they do to intersex people now is horrible.

Ross wrote: "I was reading that in Canada the term and life style gender fluid is becoming excepted even common. In such a place being intersex though never easy would at least be less of a trial people moving between gender roles would not be so unusual so finding, or choosing one (or none) would be at least be simpler."

I believe that it definitely helps - if people recognise that gender isn't binary they might as well come around the idea that sex isn't a binary either. It's great to hear such news from Canada.

Emma wrote: "Do you know of any other countries/locations/cultures that are more accepting to intersex people than others? Here in the US, I think it is a mostly unknown/taboo issue (from what I have experienced). "
Oh, the irony, because if I figured that right then Native Americans/First Nations with their Two-Spirit are way more accepting of all the forms that fall outside of the heteronorm. I'm not sure, but I'd say they are more accepting when it comes to this. I don't know about any other countries, but the interesting thing is that intersex people are referenced in the Bible (not under the name intersex of course, but what we today classify as intersex).

Keith wrote: "I haven't seen this linked as a resource anywhere:

http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womeninthe...

Quite a number of relevant stories to this thread and it seems to update daily"

Seems to be a really good website. I shall check it out from time to time.

Emma wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "I just wanted to tell everyone that I got mail from the women's petition in Austria;) Expect me to ninja around and rub it into everyone's face that there's a petition. I will..."

You cannot sign, it's the one where I translated all demands some pages earlier here. Although I think they would be happy about a bit more money, that's always useful.
I'll keep you updated!

I just wanted to tell everyone that I got mail from the women's petition in Austria;) Expect me to ninja around and rub it into everyone's face that there's a petition. I will distribute the stickers in the coming weeks, should be fun!

Btw, all in all 175.000€ were collected via crowdfunding, isn't that really nice?!

Keith wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "Look what I came across here:
https://www.interfaceproject.org/stor...
She's so great;)
Keep fighting body buddy, we'll succeed! "

Meerder,

A fascinating website.

For all..."

The video aso appears in here and I love this panel, it's so awesome!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htktx...

One of my sociology heroes is Käthe Leichter, because she was suing her university in Vienna to be able to study there( yeah, Austria sucked back then;( ). She was conducting research about working-class women in the end of the 1920s, beginning of the 1930s and I'd really like to read them once. She fought agains the Austrian fascism (yeah, we had it even before Hitler came, Hitler made it only worse). She was a political activist for her whole life and also a feminist, and I'm pretty proud of her. Of course the Nazis didn't like her (she was also Jewish), and killed her.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A4...

She also reviewed a study about working-class people called "Marienthal-Studie". That one's really huge, it's still seen as one of the best about unemployment, because they used so many different methods and it was conducted over a few months, which is a lot of time back in 1930. I wanna read that one as well.

Keith wrote:"By Nthabiseng Mokoena

Thunder, lightning and storms as the heavens ululate and sing for the arrival of a child, a soul, a person…a human being.
Joy, excitement and hope as the father anticipates and wishes for the birth of a boy, a male, an heir….a son.
Emotions run high and thoughts run wild as the mother prays and pleads to deliver a girl, a woman, a baby girl…a daughter.
As she screams and scratches, pants and prays, she pushes once more to usher into the world the child, the soul, the person…the human being.
Questions, queries, thoughts and assumptions run through their minds as midwives. They stare in confusion, they wail and lament as they turn to the ancestors and ask; what is this that you have given us?
Villages, towns and townships run amok with rumours and riddles, tales and teachings of the cursed child, the hermaphrodite, the tranny…the “it”
Stares and snares, whispers and worries follow the child through every stage, every street, every corner…and every room.
The coldness and crudeness,
The isolation and ignorance.
All these constructed and contributed to me becoming the ‘I’
I who is mistreated and misunderstood.
I who is ignored and not included.
I who is butchered and mutilated.
I who is intersex.
I who is in the perfect form, state and variation.
I exist! "

Look what I came across here:
https://www.interfaceproject.org/stor...
She's so great;)
Keep fighting body buddy, we'll succeed!

Jo wrote: "Wowsa! No wonder she took a while to reply - this interview itself is as epic as her book!
I love it. It's so thoughtful, personal and insightful.

Big thanks to Dr. Estes!"

I totally agree, so honoured that she answered my question, and of course it took her a while, her answers are massively long.

Emma wrote: "Wow, this is awesome! I hadn't heard about this (and I live in the US!)."

I wouldn't have heard about it wouldn't I be a member of Avaaz.

I was pretty excited when I found out that 21 children would sue Trump over climate change.
I'm even more happy that I got this email today:


Dear friends,

Thanks for your recent donation in support of the 21 American children suing Donald Trump and the U.S. federal government for action on climate change!

The court has already ruled for the first time in U.S. history that there is a U.S. Constitutional right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life. Now a trial date has been set to hear the full case -- February 5, 2018!

These 21 youth are supported by "Our Children's Trust", an NGO that works with youth and lawyers on similar climate litigation claims against governments around the world. All actions are youth-led and based on a scientific solution to fight climate change.

"Our Children’s Trust" is working with plaintiffs and lawyers in India, Australia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Uganda, Ukraine, the Philippines, France, UK, Norway, Switzerland, and others, and hopes soon to help launch similar actions in 2017 with partners in Canada, Germany, and Sri Lanka.

If you'd like to stay up-to-date with developments on the case against Trump, and other actions that are part of Our Children’s Trust’s global campaigning, please click here.

Thanks again for your support!
Alice, Oli, Spyro, Marigona, Martyna and the whole team at Avaaz

PS: This is the page of the campaign you have supported.



Avaaz is a 44-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

You became a member of the Avaaz movement and started receiving these emails when you signed "Community Petitions Site" on 2016-05-25.
To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to us at https://www.avaaz.org/en/contact/?footer or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).

I will keep you folks updated about it! What wonderful news!

Sascha wrote: "Have you ever heard of the Gulabi Gang or Pink Sari Gang in India? I have never heard of them until half an hour ago when I found an article about them in the german magazine Der Spiegel. Now if yo..."

She reminds me of the woman that we read about in Half the Sky, where all the women and girls would warn her that someone was looking for her when in fact it were the authors of the book who wanted to talk to her.
Some people are so brave!

Catrina wrote: "Just started reading it, I guess I need to catch up quickly! I love this book club!"

Let yourself time, don't hurry. Discussion usually continues on for a few weeks normally.

Laure wrote: "Thanks for sharing this petition. It needs more signs!!"

I totally agree with you, I signed it weeks ago.

Keith wrote: "Kate wrote: "http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...

Hi! This is a really interesting documentary about the murder of over decades of more than ..."

That one works, thanks.

Keith wrote: "I don't see how it can't be a feminist issue. Inequality and brutal suppression must be fought, irrespective of gender.

During a research session on the subject, I came across this article: https..."

As I said, it doesn't really surprise when I look at the countries that have opposed it. One step forward, two steps, isn't it? Well, at least the judge was on the right side of history. Do you know how the trial turned out to be? As it is so at hand of the topic.
Speaking of populations: Did you know that Native Americans are only allowed to vote since 1983? And in order to do that they were robbed of their status of the respective nation they belonged to? Which is bad because now they can't negotiate as a People with another People (them and the US) anymore, which made their position only worse.
A win isn't always a win, sometimes a win turns out to be really a loss.

Sascha wrote: "Yes I personally think that the situation and living conditions of indigenous women is of course relevant for feminism. But I also think the issue is not as easy as it seems to be on the first view..."
I totally agree with you, which is why I think intersectional feminism is so important. It's not a single-term solution, it's a complex one. But most importantly we need to listen more than we need to speak. Otherwise we may do more harm than good.

I go with this: If someone asks for help, my hand is there, but I won't tell them what to do, they are the experts, I am the one who needs to listen.

Debbie wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "

Dear MeerderWörter,

Thank you very much for your kind words and prompt support !
I see these German publishers as new opportunities, it helps me a lot !
I will send you a ..."

I could translate it;) And it would be awesome to have such a game here in Austria/Germany, our cards all look a bit boring!

I'm really fond of the Germans that you want to include, they were so brave! Especially since both died at the hands of Nazis, Anne in a concentration camp and Sophie was executed for resistance against the Nazis (she knew Nazi-Germany had to lose the war in order for it to get better, the Nazis weren't very fond of that, she went to quite extreme measures as I recall from her biography)

It's cool enough that this actually is so far, again, if I can help, just ask.