UK Douche

The vice chancellor of Buckingham University, Terence Kealey, spoke recently about the "perks" of being a professor in an article in the UK Times Higher Education.

Normal girls - more interested in abs than in labs, more interested in pecs than specs, more interested in triceps than tripos - will abjure their lecturers for the company of their peers, but nonetheless, most male lecturers know that, most years, there will be a girl in class who flashes her admiration and who asks for advice on her essays. What to do?
Enjoy her! She's a perk. She doesn't yet know that you are only Casaubon to her Dorothea, Howard Kirk to her Felicity Phee, and she will flaunt you her curves. Which you should admire daily to spice up your sex, nightly, with the wife.

When women became upset with his comments, he responded that this article was actually (surprise) a joke!

I guess I just didn't get it. But that's probably because I'm too busy trying to get a dick in my mouth than pay close attention to anything that has to do with using my mind.

where do i begin?

Every so often, when the subject of feminism, or women's rights comes up among my friends and I, there is some cringing. Most of my male friends are aware of my stance on women's rights, and, though they may not say it out loud, (all the time), I believe they think I'm full of a lot of hot air. Women have it way better now, I don't know what the big deal is. You can't hate all men (because that's what feminism is about, right?). I'd like to direct your attention to the movie in the picture. Though it pains me to have to promote this movie in an effort to get my point across, fuck it, it'll feel good to ream the hell out of this misogynistic bag of SHIT.

The opening sequence of the trailer begins with a girl, in a bar, kneeling in front of a turtle's tank (what this is doing in a bar, I'm not totally sure). The lead male character, Tucker Max, walks up beside her and kneels, too, asking her something along the lines of "what are you doing?" And she responds, smiling, "talking to the turtle." To which he says "is he telling you to kill that fat chick behind us, cause that's what he's telling me." The camera then pans over to an overweight girl sitting at the bar. The turtle girl stands up and walks away in agitation as Tucker calls to her "what?! Fat girls aren't real people!"

The movie is a cornucopia of slams against strippers, whores, ugly girls, pretty girls, fat girls, virgins, sluts. Basically, if you have a vagina, you are a target. I am not even mentioning, and haven't the time to detail all of the racist remarks regarding black people and Mexicans.

Protesters have popped up across the country against this movie. Women, men and everyone in between seem to have issues with the themes in this movie. But, in a Q&A session of the screening of the movie in Raleigh, NC, Max pleads an excellent case when he is asked to address the issue of rape culture:

“Fucking rape sucks, dude,” Max said. “It’s, like, not a joke, and I feel like [the protesters'] hearts are probably in the right place, to be honest. But I fell like they’re fucking it up, man, because what they’re doing is really kind of devaluing the seriousness of an actual crime. . . . Dude, I mean, the discussion about where consent lies and doesn’t lie is an important one, and should be had, but this is not the fucking forum. And, uh, and that’s never been an issue for me, so, I don’t know man, I feel like if that’s an issue to you, that’s great, and you should pursue it, but pursue it with the people who it needs to be pursued with. And not with me.”

It is nearly impossible to separate this man's beliefs with his actions. He may state in these conferences, his aversion to the mistreatment of women, but the quotes in his movie, (which is based on his autobiographical sexual accounts), do not seem to mirror this: “Get away from me or I’m going to carve a fuck hole in your torso.”

This is the type of ammunition many unstable, (and "stable"), young men are looking for right now. Not only is this movie being released and promoted in this country, this is an arena for men, (and women?), to not only watch the mistreatment of women, based on a true story, but also to openly laugh at these downright terrifying words against women.

The worst part is that this guy is not the only one out there, he was just fortunate enough to be able to write a successful blog, book, and now a movie and make a ridiculous amount of money off of being a dick to every woman he meets.

right direction

I had a moment last night on the metro, a good one.

I was standing & reading & I looked up at Woodley Park/Adams Morgan and got this strange sensation that I was exactly where I was supposed to be at that moment. I don't know that I've ever gotten this before, but it was very comforting.

Life may be nuts right now, but hopefully this might mean it's on the right track.

1960 parenting

I was reading an old parenting book from 1960 yesterday. Not sure if my mom or grandmother read this at any point in their lives, they may have. Lucky for me my mom & grandmother are tough bitches. Nevertheless, I knew this book would be full of gems...

On the topic of masturbation it says that this is an unfortunate thing that adolescents do that they should feel ashamed of. However, it should clear itself up as they get older. Apparently masturbating is something you "get over" as an adult... I wish I had read this book sooner. Now I know there's definitely something wrong with me.

Of course the book addresses the difficulties associated with boys being called "sissies." It discourages one boy who enjoys playing mostly with his older sisters over the boys in his neighborhood. In order to keep up appearances and ensure that he is a proper and normal boy, it's preferable for him to play with the boys and develop a more combative relationship with his sisters than to maintain his current friendly relationship with them. We wouldn't want people getting the wrong idea that a boy would prefer to play with boys rather than girls. [It's a damn shame we can't just let kids do whatever the fuck they want.]

I haven't even mentioned the fact that the entire book avoids any attempt at gender neutrality. Every child is addressed as "him."
In order for him to develop interests and measure his ability, you must allow him to be creative. As for the girls, one section offers advice to a young girl who is angry with the position of her gender, and takes this anger out on men. It implores this girl to keep her thoughts to herself, if she shows a disagreeable nature she will never be popular which is very important. She is better off than her grandmother ever was, so what is she complaining about?

I don't know about you, but my problems are solved. I'd much rather be popular than concern myself with equality. It's never gonna happen, so why not just keep my mouth shut?

feeling unmotivated

I really don't feel like doing shit lately.
Ton of work to do at work - don't wanna do it.
Shit to pack - don't wanna.
Books to read - don't wanna.
I'll get out of it, just coming down from an internet binge. Have you ever felt super-ambitious and you start looking up a bunch of stuff you want to do and then you're like Jesus this is overwhelming!! Too much internet make Jenna sad and inadequate.

I was reading a little bit about Betty Friedan and her life. It's intimidating to want to make such a big impact on society, she had her work cut out for her and she didn't even know it. Or at least I don't think she did. If you want to make a difference you have to be willing to work hard and you have to be comfortable with who you are.

I'm going to go home now and do nothing. :)

homeless

Every day I walk down the street of the richest area of NW, DC, to get to work. I pass Pink, the Mayflower Hotel where I once saw Danny DeVito & Rhea Pearlman, and Burberry.

And every day there are strategically placed homeless men sitting with their backs against the store fronts holding ragged Starbucks cups, jingling loose change toward each passerby.

It's a strange dichotomy, but one you expect to see in any city. If I were poor, this is probably where I'd go to ask for money, too. Although, after days of rich white people sneering at me as they pass, or pretending they don't see me as they walk quickly by in their Armani shoes and tailored jackets and khaki slacks, I would probably choose another corner.

You would think people who were dripping with money should have an understanding of world issues like poverty. Wait, no you wouldn't think that, never mind. But why not? Why the fuck not?

Would it kill them to drop a dollar or hell, even a hundred dollar bill into their cup? Certainly not. But it would mean the world to a homeless person.

But they'll buy drugs!
They'll buy alcohol!
I don't want them using my money for dirty things!

What the fuck ever. You're probably already using your money for these things, anyway. Or your sons & daughter are, perhaps. If I were homeless, I'd probably want to put myself in another state of mind on a regular basis. Bodily sustenance? Hell no, whatever makes me go quicker would be fine with me.

This is a particularly harsh post. Let me lighten this up by saying I sometimes will give the homeless men food I have in my bag when I walk by.

Today, all I had was a fruit leather. You know those little "fruit snacks" you get from trader joe's that's chock full of fiber and leaves an awful aftertaste. I decided not to give it to him.

I imagined his reaction if I had chosen to bestow him with this leather.

"...thank you...for burdening me with this BULLSHIT"

Wherever you are right now, sir, I promise I'll try to have something better for you on Monday.

email to Indonesia

Here's an email I sent to my buddies John & Mattie in Indonesia. I feel like more and more of my friends are in other parts of the world. Pretty soon I just may have to join them.


I'd like to find out more about that site that John was making arrangements with. Once you find out what the cost includes we can think about whether or not it's a good idea. I talked to my friend from Sao Paulo and it turns out she's going to be in Spain during the time we'll be in S. America! :( So we don't need to stay in Sao Paulo if you're not interested. Not a ton to see there and it's a bit sketchy from what I've heard.

I've been thinking [less so about this than about our trip] about moving to S. America for a couple of months to practice my Spanish, etc. I may try to make some connections with people through this website I found (Expatriates Argentina) while we're down there.

I have also lowered one (of many) of my student loans which will help me save money. Hell, I'm going to pay for this shit for the rest of my life anyway, and I'd never take back my education so fuck 'em! Interest doesn't scare me! :)
I also should start teaching for CASA again soon, we have a meeting tomorrow night. How has teaching been for you guys? I'm sure at this point you know a lot more than me, but teaching has taught me how little I know about the English language, lol!

This email is all over the place, I am chock full of caffeine and am completely without direction right now. I've had a ton on my mind lately, but who doesn't have that problem?

We've talked to Jamie via gchat & email and she seems to be doing great! She's had some of the pangs of homesickness but she's holding strong so far, I'm super proud of her!

My dear soon-to-be New Yorker, Jeffcott, leaves on Friday. A Columbia law student with a goatee, can you imagine? He's about as excited as he can get about anything in his life. We've got a place to stay in NY now! :)

Well I'm winding down and trying to get the [beep] out of this place and sit on the metro for an hour. Can't wait for my move to Bethesda, I'm looking at about 2 weeks now. I hope Pearl & Bea Arthur handle the transition well, I'm sure it's nothing my lovely new roommate can't handle. :)

I cannot WAIT for you guys to get back, it will be here so soon, i know it!

And - oh YES! We got your package you sent back in April!!! Dusty loved, loved, loved the blow-dart-contraption. We've got holes all over our dining room wall. I love my wrap and Meagan's excited about her scarf. Haven't gotten Katya hers yet, but not to worry, I will see her soon. The skin-whitening ad was particularly disheartening but comical. Thank you soooo much! It could not have come at a more perfect time.

I will talk to you soon. Give Mangly my love!
-Jenna