tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post7211306664522025480..comments2023-07-29T09:26:45.820-05:00Comments on Write About Here: Flashback Friday: All 80s Retro Nightcinnamon gurlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05363288586285868779noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-85843522074278089512006-10-29T13:18:00.000-05:002006-10-29T13:18:00.000-05:00Yes, that's the thing, Penny. So many women shy aw...Yes, that's the thing, Penny. So many women shy away from a word that others have turned against them when it ought to be a word that works for them and with them and for each other. I don't pretend for a moment that all feminists are a chiming, harmonious sisterhood but I do think the word "feminist" is a damn fine tool and the cork to a wonderous bottle of philosophy, ideology, and political practice. That's the genie I'd like to see uncorked.<br /><br />And CG? This comment here makes it #17. That's the most I've ever, ever gotten. Congratulations! It's enough to make a gal dizzy. (And yes a good 1/3 of the comments are from me. Sheesh.)Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-69121591210292247022006-10-28T20:01:00.001-05:002006-10-28T20:01:00.001-05:00how's that for deep? ;)how's that for deep? ;)karengreenershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02488069680575426742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-55399664301263245182006-10-28T20:01:00.000-05:002006-10-28T20:01:00.000-05:00Feminist - capitol F - here.
it means different th...Feminist - capitol F - here.<br />it means different things to different women, and I was glad to read of mad's experiences, and the ensuing gender genie discussion! <br />God, we women put up with a lot of shit.karengreenershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02488069680575426742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-76045172197726251682006-10-28T13:23:00.000-05:002006-10-28T13:23:00.000-05:00I live in Alberta.
And, (shhh) I think I am a fem...I live in Alberta.<br /><br />And, (<i>shhh</i>) I think I am a feminist.<br /><br />And, I'm thinking of coming out of the closet.<br /><br />I've been in University for three years now, studying sociology, philosophy and psychology and over the course of my courses, I've come to realize and be made aware of some very shocking truths in our world.<br /><br />I had a choice to make last week as I researched gender equalization. Be angry. Be very very angry. Or, decide to change things, if I can. (insert: Serenity Prayer)<br /><br />I feel like my thirty-three years of frustration has just been led to a window. Enlightening, infuriating and inspiring.<br /><br />I wish feminism wasn't such a dirty word in our society. But, as it turns out, why wouldn't it be, aren't all words associated with female qualities. The positive qualities of women, as defined by society, seem to be innately oppressive in their semantics.<br /><br />Glad to have found you.<br /><br />I'll be back.<br /><br />My question is, why don't more women lobby for change in all aspects of their environment. What are we all afraid of?SuperP.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06830641369098524799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-50886128623607272662006-10-28T10:52:00.000-05:002006-10-28T10:52:00.000-05:00No offence taken whatsoever!!! I was giggling the ...No offence taken whatsoever!!! I was giggling the entire time I was working to debunk it.Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-48059715917588545112006-10-28T08:42:00.000-05:002006-10-28T08:42:00.000-05:00I'm so glad you added that last comment. I was a b...I'm so glad you added that last comment. I was a bit worried I'd offended you and I only meant it as a bit of fun.<br /><br />And Yippee! My first double digit dance; even if half the comments are my own... I love comments!cinnamon gurlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05363288586285868779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-86310372143553346302006-10-27T21:16:00.000-05:002006-10-27T21:16:00.000-05:00Oh, and thanks for doing this Sin. I didn't know a...Oh, and thanks for doing this Sin. I didn't know about the gender genie and I found it hilarious to be run through it.Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-22385387849937524292006-10-27T21:14:00.000-05:002006-10-27T21:14:00.000-05:00Hokey dokey, the keener librarian needed to look i...Hokey dokey, the keener librarian needed to look into this. Apparently the gender genie uses an algorithm developed by a team of Israeli scientists. The tool was meant to analyze works of fiction and non-fiction but was never intended for use on the net. In its analysis it looks at word choice, particularly the use of pronouns, rather than subject matter. <br /><br />I found an article on it written by Leah McLaren in the Globe and Mail in 2003--in the Style section no less. Apparently McLaren is a man just like me. <br /><br />I also found an article in the Journal of Sociolinguistics called Gender and Genre in Weblogs. The authors used the gender genie to analyze the text in numerous blogs according to the following categories: diaries and filters. It so turns out that diary blogs are more often gendered female whether or not they were written by a man or a woman and the filter blogs were more often gendered male, once again despite the sex of their author. <br /><br />Me, I am smelling a pile of hooey here. Artificial intelligence research sometimes seems no better than good old fashioned 19th century phrenology--good in thory; disasterous in practice. <br /><br />Oh and it is certainly not the first time that learned individuals have worried about "manly" style vs "womanly" style. Before Ellis Bell was revealed to be a TB-suffering, curate's daughter from the moors, all the reviewers criticized the manly style of Wuthering Heights. It was roundly assumed that the novel was written by a man and a deranged man at that. One reviewer wrote that the novel was the "vision of one who has eaten toasted cheese at night and dreamed of Lucifer."<br /><br />So bring it on gender genie! Tell me I am a man. I will simply bitch-slap you back to the oblivion of pseudo-science.Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-90134903265567449122006-10-27T13:21:00.000-05:002006-10-27T13:21:00.000-05:00poo, my attempt at html didn't work... the gender...poo, my attempt at html didn't work... the gender genie is here http://www.bookblog.net/gender/genie.phpcinnamon gurlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05363288586285868779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-46100039142664718062006-10-27T13:20:00.000-05:002006-10-27T13:20:00.000-05:00So now for the postmodern meta analysis... I just ...So now for the postmodern meta analysis... I just discovered this <a <br />href="http://www.bookblog.net/gender/genie.php">gender genie</a>, which uses some algorithm to determine whether the post was written by a male or female. So I put your post in, with none of my editorial blather, and it came up male. Funny, huh?cinnamon gurlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05363288586285868779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-9208236408320665542006-10-27T10:44:00.000-05:002006-10-27T10:44:00.000-05:00Oops, that was me. Hit the wrong button. ;-)Oops, that was me. Hit the wrong button. ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-12213827387493237972006-10-27T10:43:00.000-05:002006-10-27T10:43:00.000-05:00Wow, I love this: "I can say now that I have been ...Wow, I love this: "I can say now that I have been a feminist for 20 years but in doing so I don't want to make it sound as if I have always known who I was and what was right or wrong about the world around me." I have been hesitate to use the "feminist" label because I have felt that I was too uncertain about my own thoughts, too much a work-in-progrss to identify with a label that to me represents pride and self-confidence that I sometimes lack. I love that your story identifies you as a feminist who has had -- and continues to have -- awakenings about feminism and its meanings as a cultural phenomenon and to each of us individually.<br /><br />Thanks for a great post, MH. And to Cinnamon Gurl for being a welcoming hostess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-22365501497806643872006-10-27T09:34:00.000-05:002006-10-27T09:34:00.000-05:00Mad, Sin, love this idea, and was captivated by w...Mad, Sin, love this idea, and was captivated by what you wrote. what a powerful and horrific time in your development. and yes, Mad, you found your voice. and it sounds lovely and fierce all at the same time.Girlplustwohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07056576921114387218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-4731637965583008922006-10-27T09:28:00.000-05:002006-10-27T09:28:00.000-05:00So now that I've read the rest of your post (gah!)...So now that I've read the rest of your post (gah!), my earlier comment seems pretty silly.<br /><br />I remember the shooting, but I don't remember what I felt about it at the time. I think it happened around the time of Kristen French and other girls my age (at the time) disappearing... I really can't believe it happened in the 80s though; it feels fresher to me than the rest of the 80s, more 90s... <br /><br />Thank you, Mad, for sharing your flashback.cinnamon gurlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05363288586285868779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-64316480149446076912006-10-27T08:37:00.000-05:002006-10-27T08:37:00.000-05:00Just got your email. Thanks.Just got your email. Thanks.Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-18799638618465036462006-10-27T08:36:00.000-05:002006-10-27T08:36:00.000-05:00Hi Sin,
Um er, I don't know how to say this but th...Hi Sin,<br />Um er, I don't know how to say this but the last part of the post is missing. Did it get lost in the ether? I will email it to you again.<br />MHMadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31853698.post-84143959845162287102006-10-27T08:32:00.000-05:002006-10-27T08:32:00.000-05:00A couple of things: my English studies ten years l...A couple of things: my English studies ten years later were eye-opening because the canon really had changed and the courses I took reflected it. I remember I had read most of Jane Eyre several years before, but I gave up a few hundred pages in, mostly because it seemed like nothing was ever gonna happen. Discovering the politics now surrounding analyses of the woman in the attic really rocked my world.<br /><br />Second, I was 11 or 12 in 1987, and every year our school would go to the local fair for an afternoon. That year, there was a pro-life booth giving out their propaganda with all the photos. My mom was furious when I got home. Not because I saw these photos and was exposed to this difficult issue for the first time, but because there was no pro-choice booth to balance my exposure.cinnamon gurlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05363288586285868779noreply@blogger.com