Feminist Pub 17: The Bluestocking frolics in the fells and fens of feminism

[AKnickerfulOfMenace]

This is the 17th incarnation of the Feminist Pub!

Here be goats, cannons and chat on feminism and related themes. Also snacks. And booze, copious booze.

Welcome!

I wore a dress when I went to a friend's profession (and later to his final vows). Think I wore jeans and a t-shirt for the consumption of copious amounts of beer the night before part of proceedings (twas a Belgian monastery -would have been wrong not to drink some beer).

A dark suit would seem reasonable to me for a woman too. Can you ask your friend?

Can I join the ones rocking in a corner? My DSs are monsters.

I would wear whatever you would wear to a graduation or any other professional award ceremony - smart but not tipping into weddingy iyswim. I have attended many Roman catholic ceremonies including the conferring of a papal knighthood and it was generally just smart but not too sober. A woman wearing a suit would be fine, as would a dress or top/skirt or top/trousers with nice jacket or cardigan

Smart but not too wedding-y seems doable. I'm going to go and peruse my wardrobe for inspiration...

I've also emailed my friend asking if there is a dress code.

I would tend to cover my shoulders in RC churches on the continent, seems to be less of a requirement in the UK, though I doubt that's an issue in February!

I realise I have assumed RC from "mass" but it might not be...

Mine are ill monsters LordCopper. We can jibber together.

Yes RC is correct. I'm assuming they haven't installed a new heating system in the church since I last went, so no chance of bare shoulders! In fact, I'm considering a full-on winter coat over my outfit and maybe gloves too...

And now the fucking boiler has decided to conk out. Bastard.

Can I join the corner gibberers? We move house in 5 days.

I think it's the stupid thermostat. I hate the thermostat. I hate winter.

I want to go somewhere warm but without fucking mosquitoes.

Ignore this lordc if you've already ruled it out (or it's really patronising), but if it's wireless have you checked the batteries don't need changing?

Upto That sounds annoying, having the heating conk out. My heating doesn't so much conk out as gets switched off because dp is a tight-arse who thinks we should manage without heating, whatever the temperature . We can afford to heat the house, just he thinks we shouldn't bother It's a constant battle of wills in our house, with me switching it on and him switching it off.

I'll join the gibberers in the corner. I've had the week from hell already and it's only halfway through. I've had a parents' evening, been sworn at by a pupil, had another pupil ask a completely inappropriate and sexually explicit question, dealt with other pupils demanding to know why I had X excluded when it was clearly a joke, and I've had to explain again why it's completely unacceptable to use gay as an insult. I'm being observed tomorrow as well, which is another stress I could do without. And I've had a headache since Monday morning.

Thanks Petula, but not wireless. I think the batteries connection is dodgy.

Watching Wolf Hall. May have to read the book...

Dragon

can I have a wine? Actually just got one and boy is it going down fast.

Another whisky house?

But didn't they have low tops to allow for breast feeding? And breasts weren't seen as overtly sexual, whereas ankles were incredibly racey!

Surely women of sufficient status to be at court would have had wet nurses and not so much breast-feeding?

I'd wear whatever you usually wear to Mass to a Mass celebrating a profession/Final vows. Smart, but not wedding IYSWIM?

And IIRC, boys of noble birth tended to be farmed out to other households to learn their weapons and girls were sent to large households to learn how to be ladies, Places at the 'best' households were fought over, because, having been tutored in the womanly arts by, say, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk's household, meant that they would be introduced to a better class of men and make more advantageous marriages. Didn't work out too well in the end for Catherine Howard though....

I think I'm right in saying that this went on until the Victorian period, when the cult of the nuclear family came into being, and even then a promising child from a poorer branch of a family, might be sent to live with better off relatives. Even though the romantic idea of family life was built around Victoria, she almost certainly only saw her children once a day, when they would have been presented to her to recount their day, and that carried on well into the 20th century.....

Eeeek! And here endeth the first lesson.... sorry.

My parents' generation and younger wear jeans etc to regular mass tbh. My grandparents wear Sunday best. I would go with Sunday best for this particular celebration