If Only I Had Teeth Down There . . .

Posted on June 22nd, 2006 by gail helen.
Categories: Relationships, Politics, Feminism, Technology, Current Events.

Medgadget reported back in September ‘05 on a device by South African inventor Sonette Ehlers intended as an “anti-rape female condom” named “Rapex,” a “device bristling with internal hooks designed to snare rapists.” Apparently inspired by a rape victim’s comment that if only she “had teeth down there,” it is designed to both disable the rapist and force him to seek medical attention in order to have the device removed, after which hospitals and clinics could turn the perp over to police. Apparently the story was originally reported by the L.A. Times, but I wasn’t able to discover a permalink to that article. Some of the more ridiculous comments surrounding this story are that we should “be concerned at how normal rape has become” (duh!) and that this device is comparable to a chastity belt. Historically, a chastity belt isn’t within the woman’s power to remove, while the Rapex device is supposedly inserted and removed with a tampon-like applicator. Some worry that rapists will be more likely to kill their victims in revenge, although the pain of this device sounds pretty disabling. Probably won’t do much to deter a group of men from killing their victim, but it might stop one.

I felt like blogging this today because the BBC was reporting that Amnesty International has called upon the Jamaican government to do something about the “widespread sexual violence and discrimination against women and girls,” saying that “women’s freedom of movement, and therefore their freedom to work, to study and to access health care, can be severely restricted. Women are also more vulnerable to ‘protectors’ who may ensure safe passage in return for sexual favours.” Amnesty’s report “details the case of a 15-year-old, Enid Gordon, whose family filed a complaint after she was raped by two men. A week before she was due to testify in court, she was found dead, strangled with her school tie, in the same place where she had been raped.” Although Rapex sounds like a hoax, it doesn’t change the sad fact that in places like the Sudan this device might be worn 24 hours a day. Even in America, 15-year-old girls aren’t safe from the reality - at home, on the street, at school - that your average man could easily overpower her if that was his intent. Screw teeth, screw justice — where’s the wrath of God when it’s needed??

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Chubby Bunny

Posted on June 15th, 2006 by gail helen.
Categories: Personal, Feminism, Omnia Vanitas.

As anyone who’s seen me in the last several years knows, I am a chubby bunny. Not that I was ever a skinny kitty, as even in high school I was a bit ‘thick,’ but the inevitable freshman fifteen seemed to recur yearly for me, although some strenuous self hate and crash dieting helped keep that in check. But then I moved to California and put on another 40 lbs, for which I of course blame the guy I was living with, ’cause god knows it wasn’t my idea to follow three slices of deep dish with a dozen Krispy Kremes and a four hour nap. Ok, it was, but do you know what that kind of weight gain (in less than six months!) does to a body? It ain’t pretty. For the first time in my life, it wasn’t my chest and hips that made dressing a problem (which was fine, because at least I looked decent in the buff), but rather my waist and my rapidly expanding rear. I shed a tear in many a dressing room, trust me. But since I started my Life Altering Path To Enlightenment (quit smoking, work out, FOMYL), I’ve had some success. Down 20 lbs, about to drop below the 200 lb mark, and cigarettes are basically a thing of the past. You would think that after quitting smoking, losing weight would seem like a walk in the park, but they don’t really have a fried cheese patch to help with the withdrawal, and once you take smoking out of the mix, the only social activity I engaged in was eating out. In fact, 60% of my income has gone straight to my ass. I started the NutriSystem program last week, which is going OK, although in about a month I’ll probably go nuts in the mall and start stealing little kids’ ice cream cones and Auntie Anne’s pretzels.

What really concerns me, however, is that so much of my time has been devoted to improving my appearance that everything else, including figuring out my life (FOMYL) has taken a back seat. Baby steps in the future department, StairMaster in the looks department. Damn, I am the worst feminist EVER! Blame society, folks, I’m the victim here. ;)

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Life Without Fraser . . .

Posted on June 12th, 2006 by gail helen.
Categories: Relationships, Personal.

I know I haven’t posted very much, despite the triumphant declaration of my return to blogging. I’ve just been so busy with work and hanging out with my best friend, a toddler with an M&M addiction and a fetish for tummies. My nephew was away with his parents for the weekend, leaving me bereft of the sunshine and puppies feeling he always inspires in me, even when he is defecating in public or lobbing plastic zebras at my head. I have more fun with him than I ever did in college, and somehow his endless prattle about dinosaurs going to get us and his new ‘bestofriend’ or hot dogs is far more engaging than listening to most of the adults I consort with. Except for you, of course. The worst part about him being gone is that it reminds me that, due to the various and sundry choices I have made in my life, I will probably never have a little Fraser all of my own. Logically, I know that the idea of me having spawn anywhere near as cool or gorgeous as my sister’s is unlikely, but ah! what we’ll never know, eh? At least I have him on loan whenever I’m feeling down, and as the few parents I know never cease to tell me, kids are a lot more fun when you can fill them up with sugar till their heads spin and then drop them off at home before they puke. And that is why I’m the bestoauntie, no doubt about it.

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