Thursday, 22nd July, 2004

I feel like poo

I think I went off on a bit of a rant last night in the chatroom. Sorry if I lost the plot a little. It was quite an interesting discussion, but as usual, numpty here had far too much wine and ended up babbling about her usual rants.

My head really hurts — but despite that, I felt really happy as I was driving to work. The sun was shining, I had the wind in my hair, and everything seemed right with the world I blame Katie — it's her fault that everything is lovely.

...

You'd be forgiven for thinking that I did nothing all day to be honest, except look at pretty dresses on the internet. Of course, I don't — I've been doing a stack of work this morning, but inbetween putting the plates in the Big Machine™ and getting them out, I tend to have nowt to do.

So I sit and look at dresses that I want:

Buy it for me! Go on!

Natalie writes:

You might feel like poo but you didn't go off on a rant at all last night.

We watched the chatroom start to show a little anti-lesbianism and homophobia and I think you splashed just the right amount of caustic-cleaner around the place.

I do wonder at some TV's drooling after guys while yelling, "I'm not gay, you know." Of course you're not, dear..... it's just a phase

ET writes:

Crap, I missed it... Post it here!

Well, it was that old "I'm lesbian trapped in a man's body" chestnut

Now, let's just analyse that statement to see exactly how wrong it is...

First of all, what's it trying to say? What does it mean. Well, as I read it, it's a rebuttal to the "You're a tranny, you must be gay" thing. (There's a whole world of other rantage in that one, but let's not go off-topic). It's saying, "No, I'm not gay, I'm attracted to women, but since I look like a woman, that must make me a lesbian", it's also a bit of a bastardisation of that straight-man "I wish I was a lesbian" bollocks.

But that's so wrong! And offensive! For a start it demonstrates a complete lack of understanding about lesbianism, feminisn, and for that matter, transgenderism. It's making a joke out of being all three. It's a reference to the top-shelf-lesbianism that inhabits porn mags — the only thing that would make it worse is if we said "I'm a lesbo trapped in a man's body"

I have had so many arguments with lesbian friends about this one, and been ostricised by practically the entire community because of Eddie Izzard using the phrase. It makes me furious every time I see it.

It's lazy, it's shorthand, it's uninformed, it's offensive, and it pisses me off. I mean, to use homosexuality as a joke to define your straightness, eh? What? It's just totally daft.

What we mean is that our sexual orientation isn't necessarily defined by what we wear. No-one can make a judgement about who someone else goes to bed with on the basis of whether they're wearing a skirt or not — just as no-one can make a sweeping judgement about anyone if they're wearing trousers.

'Scuse me for getting ranty again, it's just that that phrase, I think, is as insulting and as mocking and as misunderstanding to lesbians, as it is when a crowd of people stand in the street, pointing at a transvestite shouting "Bloke in a dress" and laughing their heads off.

If we want the world to take us a bit more seriously, then I think we have to take the rest of the world just as seriously.

------END OF RANT------

I guess this means that no-one is going to buy me that dress then

Geena writes:

Mmmmmm I want to buy that dres for ME!