Feminist Pub VII - Chat, questions, random thoughts too small for a thread ...

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Just setting this up while we finish off the last few posts on the old thread. Come in and pull up a bar stool!

Ezinma, bugger the public! Unless you're of such vast proportions that by leaving the house your wobbly bits would suffocate everyone in a five mile radius, and I'm pretty sure people don't come that big even in America.

That said, I still won't wear skirts so as not to inflict my legs on the general public.

Yes, it's not going to stop me. But the abuse gets to me, and it makes all the lesser stuff — the looking, and the looking away — more hurtful.

Thanks all for thoughts on "women and children" issue. It was on one of the anti-anti-eastern european poster thing I saw, about "these Poles, coming over here and protecting our women and children" in WW2. While I agree with the sentiment it felt a bit weird about "protecting our women and children". As if women are weaklings that need protecting, and as if women are somebody's possession.

And YY about men putting their palms on the small of your back. Yuck.

hmm uptoapoint, that is a bit weird.

It also ignores the women that were part of the war effort themselves and that many men wern't fighting either

sorry but belated and and to Buffy Well done, good to see you back.

That's what I thought RFFU.

That does sound weird Copper. I'd far rather be busy helping with the emergency instead of being packed off with the children. It does make sense that the children and elderly need carers though, and women are conditioned to do that far more than men are.

I've just been to the new parents' information evening for dd2 starting reception in September and I think I may have ruffled a few feathers. When I filled in our details to get a place I deliberately put dp's name first because he works closer to school than I do (he can be there in 5 mins, it would take me at least 30mins), but getting the details form to check tonight he's not even on it - I am! So I asked questions. Then we had to write phone numbers to sign up for the texting service and again I wrote dp's number and everyone was very concerned that he might not pass messages on to me. I think they wrote me off as a disengaged parent when I replied that I don't care if he gives me the messages, he's a big boy and perfectly capable of dealing with school related things. EVERYONE assumed that I should be the person interested in school stuff, not a single person questioned the fact that he wasn't with me, but I'm sure there would have been questions asked if he'd been there without me. They were rather surprised that he would be at home for the home visit as well and I won't be - I'll be at work. Someone even asked if I couldn't just take the day off - no, that's far easier for dp to do, and he has a weekday off every week anyway so I made the appointment for his day off. It really annoyed me that he isn't expected to be involved, but I am expected to be interested in every little thing. Dd2 will be fine, I don't need to know the minutiae, dp can deal with it.

I see this is your dd2, dragonlette, so you have presumably been through this sort of thing already with older children, but my dc1 started reception this academic year and I have really struggled with dealing with everything to do with it - partly because of this sort of thing.

I am reading A Passage To India and it is such a weird mix of brilliantly subtle and sensitive writing, and utterly unconscious misogyny. It is fascinating. I will write more when I have finished it.

Urgh dragonlette

I had some brilliant feminist insight to share with you, but it appears to have fallen out of my brain.

Hello pub people. Can I get some quick advice about internet stuff?

Year 7 12 year old boys. Would you want to know if your DS was accessing porn and/or execution clips?

(Sorry, this might rain on the sunny pub vibe).

Has anyone ever discovered feminist insight down a sofa?

Wow, lionheart. Yes, I would very much want to know.

Okay, a quick word with someone at the school do you reckon?

lionheart Yes, I would want to know.

Annie Feminist insight can be found everywhere.

That's what I thought but sometimes my super sensitive feministy radar makes me doubt my own perceptions.

And that's before I've had a drink.

Bloody hell, yes, I would totally want to know. He's one month, so hopefully I have a while before I need to worry about the internet though...

It's like a peculiar toxic cloud. Aside from what it might do to the children involved, it means that the others also get to hear about it all in great detail.

I think you have some time to decide on your security settings, Penguin.

And congratulations.

There's a thread about home ed at the moment, which I mention because I have a lovely little boy whom I don't want to go to school, partially because of the porn thing. One kid with a smart phone is all it takes... And schools are horrible, sexist environments, aren't they, anyway? DS's female friends were happy enough to have him around til they started nursery, then suddenly it was all, "You can't do this/ come here/ join in, this is for girls only!" AIBU to think of home edding for these reasons?

*horribly sexist