Helen Boyd Kramer's journal on gender and stuff
Since people have asked, here’s a picture of the young Hemingway in a dress with his pretty long hair. Note the caption.
& While we’re at it, & it’s Friday, here’s a photo of a “Hemingway cat,” otherwise known as a polydactyl cat. What you non-cat people might not know is that cats normally have five toes on their front paws, four on their back, so this kittoi has two extra toes!
There’s a bunch more at Wiki.
I’m very excited to have gotten a copy of Rachel Kramer Bussel’s She’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission. I’ll be reviewing it here in a couple of weeks.
The good news is that Louise Slaughter (D, NY) reintroduced the Prevention First Act:
“I am proud to reintroduce this bill which serves as an innovative and comprehensive approach to protecting women’s reproductive health, decreasing the spread of STDs, and reducing the number of unintended pregnancies,” Rep. Slaughter said of the bill in a Senate press release. “If we want to reduce the number of abortions in this country, the methodology is clear — empower women to prevent unintended pregnancies through education and access to contraception.”
Sounds reasonable, but considering yesterday’s news, I’m going to guess it won’t pass. There really are some people in this country who think the only answer is abstinence.
25 days until your taxes are due, folks: just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood bookkeeper.
& BTW, your taxes need to be postmarked the 16th this year, since the 15th falls on a Sunday, which will give some of you the extra 24 hours you need to finish them, no doubt.
More good news during Women’s History Month: the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals just found that Union Pacific’s health insurance plan – which includes no contraception or pregnancy planning coverage – is not discrimination based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on gender.
The logic was that the health insurance plan doesn’t cover condoms, either, so it’s not discriminatory not to cover anything for women.
But, duh, MEN CAN’T GET PREGNANT.
US Judge Kermit Bye, the lone dissenter, objected to this logic because Union Pacific’s contraception policy only affects preventative care for women. Because men cannot become pregnant, it makes sense that the health care plan does not cover pregnancy prevention for men. Therefore, Judge Bye found that while the policy might be “officially gender neutral,” it is still discriminatory, according to the Associated Press.
But here’s the real kicker: the Union Pacific plan does cover Rogaine and Viagra.
So the guys have health insurance for their full heads of hair and hard dicks, because you know, those are important and vital medical concerns, but the women of UP can’t take birth control to prevent pregnancy, because, you know, that’s a minor matter and hardly important to a woman who works for a living.
If this is Women’s History Month, then I suppose we all should have worn orange on St. Patrick’s Day.
I contributed to a book by Mattilda called Nobody Passes, and I will be doing a reading on Wednesday, March 21st with other contributors tomorrow at the bookstore Bluestockings at 7PM.
& In the meantime, Namoli Brennett is playing Mo Pitkins on Tuesday night, 3/20, $5 cover.
Okay, for whatever reason, the recent set of Quiznos ads plays while a lot of my Law & Order (my stories!) is on TV, & I cringe every time the Prime Rib on Garlic Bread one comes on.
That woman, at the end, is like nails on a chalkboard to me. No lack of meat, just what a real woman needs. Ugh.
What this real woman needs is for them to stop running that damn commercial.
South Carolina wants women who are considering an abortion to view the ultrasound first.
I say okay if women who aren’t considering abortion have to take tours of foster care and chat with Child Services first, too, then have their finances and future earnings analyzed by a forensic accountant, and their support network (extended family, friends, etc.) evaluated for soundness.
Ditto for the father. (Who?)
Maybe a short spiel on population control and global carrying capacity might be in order, too.
There’s been a huge recall of cat & dog food, so please check the list & make sure it’s none that you own, as consumption of the recalled products can be fatal.
On tonight’s Law & Order:Criminal Intent
“Is crossdressing something people kill for these days?”
and later
“This is a straight guy who can only get excited by wearing women’s clothes. Tranvestism usually goes hand in hand with masochism.”
& Now Goren is interviewing the two prositutes who are explaining forced feminization.