Feminist pub XIX: The Bluestocking meanders into May

[YonicScrewdriver]

We're running at about six weeks per pub at the moment! So if you want chat with a feminist flavour, or with fellow feminists, or just want to admire our patriarchy blaster cannon and goat - welcome!

Last pub Here

Then the people around you must be truly amazing paragons of patience! I have seen you on thread after thread display an amazing level of patience and forbearance, you put me to shame!

I drove through Codicote yesterday and they have a pub called The Goat which made me think of the pub.

I have a little gripe. I have spent most of the daylight hours this weekend doing jobs in the garden (which I enjoy) and listening to gardening podcasts so I can find out what I've done wrong after I've done it

The frequency with which plants that either pollinate easily or tend to pollinate with other varieties as "flirtatious" or "tarty" is extremely irritating

Ha ha, there are chapters in the bible about your sort, I think Buffy. Clear instructions not to talk... But stellar job on other threads, everyone, I thought you were the very model of measured even when clearly furious, Buffy

I need a gin please, I've got to hand in papers for my progression panel on Wednesday and DS has got a temp and has been chucking up. It's DD's birthday on Monday and the GPs are all in a weird tiff over who gets to give her an effing scooter. My mate with a teeny baby and a 3yr old has been spiralling into madness because her DH is away, so I've invited her to stay. Unfortunately I, my DP and children live in a one bedroomed flat. It's a mark of how desperate she is that camping out on our sofa seems like her best bet right now. I am pulling my hair out trying just to make sentences which you know, make sense, because if I don't progress, we'll not be able to pay our rent. Aaaaaargh!

A feminist initiation ceremony?

Do we swear solemnly to fight the patriarchy in all its forms and chant "I reject patriarchy" three times?

Or do we just ceremoniously present the new initiate with a corkscrew and agree to support the Great Sisterhood?

Academic types, a question for you please regarding the ethics of studies. DD2 (7yo) came home from Sunday school yesterday with an envelope in her book bag inviting her (via us, obviously) to take part in some psychology experiment at the local university. I'm guessing someone involved in Sunday school is connected to the psychology dept.; I don't know cos we've only been going to this new school for 2 weeks.

Anyway, all fine and we'll, except that I've checked with DH, no one spoke to him about this, and no one has spoken to me, and yet DD2 is all excited about doing this study because apparently she has been promised a medal and certificate for taking part.

Please advise me on the ethics of promising children rewards for participating in studies before the parents have even been consulted about their child taking part.

Oh, and one the subject of "Sounds Appliances Make", our fridge moos.

Hello. I've not posted much lately. The last "All feminists are bastards, and the ones on FWR are the biggest bastards of all" jag made me want to say rude, biting and nasty things, just to show how nice we all are usually.

Anything I can do to help out Outs? Practically or in the feminist pompoms line, just yell. Would be nice to use the gunge between my ears for something constructive.

Sera I'm pretty sure that's not on, but I have no real experience of ethics committees, so I could be wrong. We weren't allowed to do stuff like that though.

Buffy you need some sort of medal for ceaseless reasonableness in the face of extreme willy waving.

I was wondering if it were a student who didn't know any better, Buffy, but the letter is signed by a PI, a research fellow and an RA.

God thanks Buffy and Puffins I don't know if there'll be anything TO read by tomorrow afternoon. My supervisors have really unhelpfully sent me separately commented statementsstatements which conflict somewhat - where one has written 'this bit's good' the other has written, 'are you sure that's what you mean?' One of them kept writing, couldn't you say this earlier in the context of a bloody form which tells you where and in what order to put everything. That sort of thing. So I'm basically negotiating those comments and cobbling together 'sample material' which is an effing nightmare because there is no criteria for it, it's not mentioned anywhere, I've just been told to hand stuff in. So I'm lurching between thinking two scripts of presentations I've given plus about 4000 words is fine, actually, and thinking it's actually totally pitiful for two terms' work. Aaaaargh. Bloody set some criteria and I'm a genius but don't fucking ask me to use my bloody judgement!

Caffeine all the way for me tomorrow

Thanks Buffy. I will have gentle words next week. DH suggested that they may have spoken to the other parents before we joined. So I won't go in all guns blazing. But it didn't seem very ethical to me and I wanted to check on the ethics standpoint before I talk to them.

R.e. noisy appliances - I have a friend whose toaster not only burns the logo of his favourite football club into every slice of toast, it also plays the club's song when the toast is finished. It made me jump the first time I was around when toast was happening.

Had a very irritating morning trying to buy a new pair of hiking trousers only to find that they all seem to expect women to have tiny tiny thighs. I expect this from jeans etc but for goodness' sake, the reason I have muscles the size of sperm whales in my upper legs is because I do sport - it would be nice if the clothes for said sport could accommodate that!

And I will certainly be contacting the PI if I don't get satisfactory answers. The study involves two hours out of our already over-busy lives, and subjecting DD to an EEG, which would freak out most 7 year old, I think. So I'm not keen to participate. But now I'm Bad Mummy cos I won't let her do this thing that would get her a medal! I'm fuming!

No doubt someone named HoVis is interested in matters relating to bread.

You can buy medals from Mothercares with the Early Learning Centre inside, Sera. Maybe give her one for something else - swimming, champion room tidying etc??

So DD2 woke us up at 6am with stomach ache and hasn't stopped throwing up since. Which is bad enough in itself. But unfortunately it also means DH will miss my graduation ceremony tomorrow. Gutted.

Oh shit no Sera . What a massive shame for all of you

HoVis - I got a pair of Peter Storm convertibles recently which seem quite capacious in the thigh. The other thing that's annoying is sporty clothes which don't seem to allow for women to have any arm muscles (let alone in combination with a bit of larding).

Can I come in an bang things about a bit and generally be grumpy? I've been struggling to remain professionally aloof at work all day despite one of my colleagues behaving like a petulant child. I really don't need this shit at the moment...

Bang away - though it may just be you and the goat in tonight.

Hope you got some sleep after the therapeutic banging about HLF

I am so relieved it is election day at last and all the troll political threads will hopefully stop