"Every moment of one's life, one is growing into more or retreating into less." - Norman Mailer

Monday, April 28, 2008

El Primer Hombre Embarazado/The First Pregnant Man

I found this article while doing Spanish homework. It can be found in situ aquí on terra.com. Really interesting stuff:

Beatie, cuyo aspecto actual es el de un hombre embarazado de cinco meses, se sometió a una operación para eliminar sus pechos femeninos y a tratamiento de testosterona en su proceso de cambio de sexo, aunque conservó sus órganos reproductores. Esta pareja formada hace más de diez años siempre quiso tener un bebé, pero la mujer de Beatie, Nancy, sufrió una endometriosis hace 20 años y por culpa de la enfermedad se le practicó una histerectomía que le impide tener hijos.

Una vez que alcanzaron una situación económica acomodada la pareja tomó la decisión de que Beatie fuera el encargado de gestar el bebé de ambos.

“Habían pasado ocho años desde mi última menstruación, pero mi cuerpo ya se regulaba a sí mismo y no tenía que tomar estrógenos ni progesterona, ni siquiera medicamentos para favorecer la fertilidad con el fin de ayudarme en el embarazo”, aseguró Beatie.

El plan de este matrimonio se encontró entonces con la oposición de la comunidad médica, sus vecinos y familiares.

“Los doctores nos discriminaban por sus creencias religiosas, algunos se negaban a llamarme por mi nombre de varón y a reconocer a Nancy como mi mujer. Los recepcionistas se reían de nosotros y la familia y los amigos nos negaron su apoyo. Gran parte de la familia de Nancy no sabía que yo era transexual”, explicó Beatie.

“¿Cómo se siente un hombre embarazado? Increíble. Estoy estable y seguro de mí mismo como el hombre que soy. Técnicamente me veo como un sucedáneo de mí mismo, aunque mi identidad sexual es de varón. Yo seré el padre, Nancy la madre y seremos una familia”, confesó Beatie, que le pregunta a la sociedad qué es ser “normal”.

EFE/Terra USA


picture courtesy of The Advocate.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Land of the Free?

I recently read this article on feministing.com about college date rape. It always hurts me afresh when I learn of specific instances when justice fails a woman seeking it, although I am able to keep such a disturbing reality at bay much of the time (not that I am proud of this). Perhaps the most disturbing thing about the article was found in the comments. Someone shared her own experience. It's outrageous. It follows, and the original article can be found by clicking the above link.
a few years ago, i was date raped at the college i was attending. they pulled similar shit! when my rape kit and police report weren't enough to get the guy on criminal charges (yah i learned that its pretty fucking hard to get your rapist arrested if he used a condom and claimed it was consensual, guess i just went through that hellish exam and trip to the ER and police station for kicks), i pursued the case within the college's own judicial system. they couldn't find him guilty of the assault for some bullshit reasons, but they did expel him based on his admitted drug use during the assault. problem is, to make it "fair" and "legit" for them to expel him, they also had to put on the record that they charged ME with drug use also. although i didn't get any true suspension/expulsion, i still got that shit put on my academic record. when i left the school, i refused to sign the paperwork for it, so they put a hold on my transcripts from there. I didn't really have the energy to fight it anymore, because I was sick of all the unfairness and defeat. I was also pretty scared that i'd be slut-shamed to death if i had fought any more or sought a civil case. I had had enough, and all i wanted was to get the hell out of there and get on with my life. Sometimes i get angry with myself for not fighting more, but i've recently come to accept that i really did do all that i could at the time. Damn this really boils my blood!


But we're all equal and free now, right?

Friday, April 25, 2008

Graduation present

These are some random cool dolls that I found online. They are too expensive for me to justify buying; however, if one were to be inclined to buy me one as a graduation present, I would certainly be okay with it.

:)

They are so cute!!!!!


http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5507100

Thursday, April 24, 2008

An unintentional nod to Michael Feldman

Married To The Sea
marriedtothesea.com
aka "Things You Learned In School Had You Been Paying Attention"

Saturday, April 19, 2008

My Dad's famous and stuffs--or at least, getting known...

A Catholic University president who wants to understand Catholicism within a larger quest for truth and human communion. It's refreshing. Check it out:

By HOLLY WAGNER
Quincy Herald-Whig Staff Writer
The pope told Catholic educators that both faith and reason are integral to a Catholic education, Quincy University President-elect Robert Gervasi said Thursday.

His message was consistent with the tone he set at the outset of his papacy, Gervasi said. That is, that "God is love."

Gervasi was invited to attend Pope Benedict XVI's address at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in which he spoke to more than 400 heads of U.S. Catholic universities, colleges and schools.

"It was a very, very inspiring address," Gervasi said. "It really was wonderful not only to see and hear the Holy Father but to be in the company with Catholic (educators) from throughout the country."

Gervasi understood the pope's message to be one that was both "very encouraging but certainly challenging as well," he said.
Conservatives were expecting Benedict to accuse educators of abandoning the faith to conform to an increasingly secular world. The nation's Catholic colleges and universities have been at the center of a tug-of-war within the church for decades over religious identity and free expression.

The pope told them that academic freedom has "great value" for the schools, but it does not justify promoting positions that violate the Catholic faith.

"(The pope's) fundamental message is that Catholic education is the culture through which we want to encourage students to have that personal encounter that really changes their lives," Gervasi said. "(We can) provide the culture in which that can happen in a shared search for truth, employing both faith and reason."

Gervasi quoted the pope as saying the Catholic identity can't be measured in statistics or course content, but by faculty and staff who model the experience of love and joy in their own lives and invite students into it.

"I think that speaks well to institutions like Quincy University where half of our students are not Catholic but all I think are welcomed into that culture of caring that makes genuine learning possible," Gervasi said.

Gervasi, an education consultant and former president and CEO of the Institute for Study Abroad in Indianapolis, was selected in December as the first lay president of Quincy's 147-year-old Franciscan university.

He was in Quincy last weekend participating in the Bridge the Gap race, and he plans to return for graduation the weekend of May 18-19. Gervasi will move to Quincy in June and spend the summer getting to know the school and community.

"I know Quincy University has been through some trying times, but I'm determined to look forward and encourage everyone to celebrate the good that QU has done in 150 years," he said.

-- hwagner@whig.com/221-3374
Created: 4/18/2008 | Updated: 4/18/2008

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Claude Levi-Strauss

Almost 100 years of perfection!

Did you know that on November 28 of this year, Claude Levi-Strauss will turn 100 years old???!!! Let's all root for him to make it to 100 years old!Woot woot! Go, father of structuralism! (PS "root for" doesn't seem to be a written verb. I'm really not sure how to spell "root/route/rute.")

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Israel is the victim?

Victims of IOF Attacks on Gaza rising: 77 Killed; including 19 Children

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continued its attacks on Gaza today. IOF's military operations have killed 47 Palestinians in Gaza today. Of those 27 were civilians; including ten children and three women. Since Wednesday 27 February 2008, IOF killed at least 77 people and inured approximately 130.

Al Mezan's fieldworker in north Gaza reported that a few people who were injured during IOF's incursion in the eastern parts of Jabalia are still in the streets until now. IOF prevents the area's residents or ambulances from reaching them.

At approximately 4.30pm today, 17-year-old Nirmeen Abu Saif was injured from IOF fire while she was inside her family house. The family called the ambulance service to collect her. Palestinian health officials contacted the Israeli army requesting security clearance for an ambulance to reach the area. They received a positive response after two hours. However, according to the ambulance driver Mustafa Saidawi, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the ambulance when it tried to approach the area and hit its body and one of its wheels.

At approximately 5.30pm, IOF launched three missiles at the house of Khalid Atallah, a 23-year-old Hamas activist, destroying it. Atallah's mother, 60-year-old Su'ad, and brother, 35-year-old Ibrahim, were killed in the attack. Nine other people were also wounded.

Later, at approximately 8.30pm, IOF fired missiles towards the police station in the town of Khan Younis . Two policemen were killed and many injured in this attack; including one in a critical condition.

As the IOF's incursion into east Jabalia continues, some 40,000 people in the area have been without water or electricity since dawn. IOF prevent the authorities from reaching the area and operate the water wells in it. Two other blocks in the neighboring Jabalia refugee camp have also been without water.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the conducts of IOF in Gaza , which deliberately target civilians and prevent rescuing them. These acts represent flagrant breaches of international humanitarian law, which oblige the occupation forces to refrain from targeting protected persons and objects; including health teams.

Al Mezan also condemns the inaction of the international community and demands it to uphold its moral and legal obligations and bring to an end to Israel 's crimes. International intervention is urgently needed as the Israeli aggression is escalating and its victims rising.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

WHY isn't someone impeaching Bush?

It makes me sad that the Bush administration even has to be reminded that we do not live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. Please see John Yarmuth's response to an email I sent regarding US military action against Iran.

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns regarding Congress’ role in preventing a potential war with Iran. I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter and am pleased to report that we are in agreement.

In fact, I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.Con.Res. 33, legislation which expresses the sense of Congress that the President should not initiate military action against Iran without first obtaining authorization from Congress. This legislation clarifies that obtaining congressional authority prior to taking military action against Iran is not discretionary; it is a legal and Constitutional requirement.

H.Con.Res.33 is currently pending in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. I am hopeful the legislation will move soon, and will certainly do all I can toward this end. Clearly, the debate in Congress regarding Iran is far from over. As the situation develops in the weeks and months ahead, I hope I can continue to count on the benefit of your advice. Thank you again for sharing your views, and please do not hesitate to contact me in the future with any issue of concern.

If you would like to learn more about my work in Washington and in Louisville, please visit my website at www.yarmuth.house.gov where you will find the latest news, my weekly schedule, video from hearings, and information about constituent services. You can also sign up for my e-newsletter to receive periodic updates on important issues and services for your family.

Sincerely,

John Yarmuth
Member of Congress