Gender Studies I

[unofan]

To people who were young this millennium: do kids still play spin the bottle? And if they do, do they still observe the "no same sex kiss" rule or are they lightening up?

I last played spin the bottle during the Nixon administration (2nd term, jerks); 2 boys and 2 girls, which made it less interesting, and the rule was nearest member of the opposite sex, which I suppose made it really less interesting. But in my elementary and middle school years the absolute worst insult you could come up with was "gay," and demanded immediate physical retaliation. I have heard that the latter is no longer much of a thing, and in fact the phobe will more than likely find himself (and it's always a guy) shunned. But then again my sources are not exactly from a cross-section of American utes, so that may not be the case in the backwaters.

Graduated high school in 2000. We did not play spin the bottle, at least in my clique which admittedly was not the popular crowd.

As others have said, "gay" was synonymous with lame for the most part. Though the worst insults I can think of back in that time were still probably the slurs derived from that (one was a word that rhymes with "maggot" and the other involved performing an act on a part of the male anatomy). Those were not routinely used, but if someone dropped one of them, everything else stopped until a response occurred.

[Kepler]

Graduated high school in 2000. We did not play spin the bottle, at least in my clique which admittedly was not the popular crowd.

Kids in high school do not play spin the bottle. They f-ck.

Kids in junior high school play "x minutes in paradise," which had not yet been discovered when I was 14. Dang it.

Kids in elementary school played spin the bottle. The lucky winners went to the Fantasy Suite where they played doctor. I want to know whether they still do or did Pornhub ruin the mystery?

[MissThundercat]

Knowing my biological father has passed, knowing my stepfather is basically human Paraquat, and feeling like most of the cishet men in my life wouldn't understand... I guess I'll never have a father-daughter dance.

[Kepler]

Knowing my biological father has passed, knowing my stepfather is basically human Paraquat, and feeling like most of the cishet men in my life wouldn't understand... I guess I'll never have a father-daughter dance.

#notallcishetmen

I'll bet there are a half dozen cis het men on this forum who would be honored to give you a father daughter dance, MissT. :-)

[MissThundercat]

#notallcishetmen

I'll bet there are a half dozen cis het men on this forum who would be honored to give you a father daughter dance, MissT. :-)

Starting with you?

[Kepler]

Starting with you?

I've already offered.

[MissThundercat]

I've already offered.

Cues up "The Nearness of You" and takes your hand.

[Kepler]

Cues up "The Nearness of You" and takes your hand.

:-)

[MissThundercat]

Thank you Harper's, for giving me a list of 140 people who are trash and whose opinions are trash. A whole lot of transphobes on this list.

[MissThundercat]

Today, in "people are awful:"

Tomorrow is my consultation for breast augmentation. Every time I mention that the size of my breasts gives me massive dysphoria, cis women come out of the woodwork to tell me I'm lucky, how I don't need an augmentation, and how theirs are just the worst. Tonight, they laid it on thick. So much for "my body, my choice," right?

[Kepler]

Today in people can be good.

[MissThundercat]

Tuesday, I had a consultation for a breast augmentation. Found out what all is involved, found out this doctor runs on informed consent, and found out the cost isn't all that prohibitive at $6175. In December, I'll be on break from school, so I'll be having my boobs done then. One of my best friends is taking me as well.

Today, I found a nice way to make men run away from me: demand intimacy and affection. Watch em squirm and head for the exit!

[MissThundercat]

And what that "Bob" dude did for me was protected me for 35+ years. He ran marathons to get me out of harm's way. He got a job at Sam's Club because he knew a supervisor there would understand and be supportive when Amber Marie could take over. He brought me to Holland because help would be here, including people who were just like me. He took us out of church in Muskegon because that place did not treat trans people kindly. He warmed up to Alicia and Donna at Tyson because they understood. He befriended the HR manager at Tyson to ensure I would be protected for the most part. He kept going back to Grand Rapids for solace because 5 particular women saw something was up and Bob was never happy. And those 5 women, not knowing what else to do or ever having been introduced to this before, stayed with Bob until he could get the help I needed. And Bob, as I was learning to stand up, walk around, stretch my legs, and get ready to face the world, stayed with me until the team at Out On the Lakeshore and Gender SAFE could take me in and give me the help I needed. He was elated when the teams at Grace Episcopal and PFLAG joined the ranks of support for me.

And in the time between November 2017 and March 2018, Bob stayed nearby in case I needed anything else. But on March 13, 2018, Bob knew it was just about time for him and I to completely part ways. He was in the room at Out On the Lakeshore the day I was approved for hormones, as I excitedly shared the news with the entire OOTL Community Center Team. And he smiled. He knew the next day, he would fade to gray and disappear completely. On March 14, 2018, he and I walked to the CVS counter at Target, we grabbed my hormones, and we left for home. We walked up the stairs to my apartment, and knowing he would be gone in a few minutes, said "let's do this." He observed as I took my first dose of Spiro and applied the patch of Estradiol. As I sat in a dining chair, feeling a sense of relief that the journey was over, Bob completely faded out, knowing his work here and his time here were done, proud of me and knowing I'd be working wonders soon!

[MissThundercat]

Ben Shapiro: "Star Wars is a little boy's property."

Not surprised; Ben Shapiro is about as useful as decaf coffee or non-alcoholic beer, and his listeners have 5 wilted leaves of cabbage for a brain.

[Kepler]

It was a good run, but this about wraps it up for men.