 Thread: Interesting conversation at school... |
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Just to be clear, I sadly, don't have the time to devote to a proper position, as I'm there to learn and to get out of there in a timely manner with decent marks, to move on to SFU where I can finish my degree. I won't sugar coat that...I'm not there to make friends. If it happens that I do make a friend or two, that's fantastic, but on a whole, this isn't high school anymore and I'm paying to be there, social activity time will be limited to whatever I have between classes and perhaps maybe one or two outings that they plan. I barely have enough time for my partner, let alone myself.
I don't assume that all people who are visibly ethnic brush me off as clearly white, but a good majority of people have in past, and I base my judgement on that (but like I said, I KNOW that's not what everybody does...). I suppose I should have elaborated on my time visiting the POC's on campus space. I wandered in (there is are lock codes on all doors of groups on campus that you have to trek up to the CSU building to obtain, it’s for safety reasons) and sat down looking at all the walls and a couple of people walked in and looked at me funny. I smiled at them and said hello, and received a curt greeting back, and they went to sit on the other side of the room, ignoring me.
That was fine. I know that kids in College are sometimes just as bad as they were in high school, cliquey and wary of new people, I can deal with that. A few more people wandered in and I had the same thing happen...over...and over...and over...until somebody asked me if I was in the right place.
I replied to them that I thought that this was the POC room, and they replied that it was....and gave me a look like, "So why the hell are you here...."
I didn't feel like justifying my ethnic heritage so I left.
I'm half Chinese and half white. I understand that, that's a combination that's not always the most prevalent visibly, but still, if the attitude to a person who may be white (which they assumed of me) is so ill (I don't generally think of myself as a person who looks like I'm there to cause trouble) and unwelcoming, how would one even hang out there as an 'ally'? It made me sad.
I use the term white washed, only because I've been called that before. I've been told that I don't reflect my roots visibly so I have been 'white washed'...
What do people expect me to do to *look* more Chinese? Wear chopsticks in my hair and traditional Asian silk tops? I don't know.
I just thought it was interesting.
And just as a bit of an add on, it’s not related so much but:
When I walked in to the queer centre as a very, obviously femme woman, I was accepted no questions asked…which was nice for a change!
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| Thread: Interesting conversation at school... |
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I was sitting in the queer collective room in at my school today and I overheard an interesting conversation.
Right now at my school there are elections for the CSU (Student's Union) members (example: Environmental liaison, Queer liaison, Campus Unity liaison ect...). I overheard the Queer Liaison (she won by default) talking to an Environmental candidate that there was nobody running for the Students of Colour Liaison. Both of them, white, were in a room of 'seemingly white people' and they were just talking in general about how sad it was that nobody wanted the position and perhaps there weren't enough people in the collective to take the job.
I spoke up saying that it wasn't like there was a lack of people of colour at the school but perhaps that there was little interest in taking up such a profiled position, where they would surely be highlighted. I said that people like myself, bi-racial people who are not visibly bi-racial, are not generally welcomed in that collective, which was sad, because they could possibly open up that position to more people then (And sadly it’s true about not being welcome, I've been to that collective and people were looking at me like I was crazy).
They said that I (or the other person that was hanging out in the room, that indicated they were bi-racial but not visibly) should run for the position.
I then said to them, "Do you honestly think, somebody who looks like me would be welcome in the running for that position? Do you not think that people would cry that the position would be 'white washed'"
They thought about it and realized yes, that it probably would cause a stir. And the queer liaison stayed back to talk to me about how I felt about being bi-racial but not being visibly part of that collective. I told her that it was interesting when people don't realize you are of another race (on both sides, in a group of white people or a group of people of colour) how things manage to slip in to conversation that are of questionable content. About how all my life I've had to alert people that I am not just a 'white' girl.
She was really interested, and it was nice. She seemed to understand that, no matter what people 'perceive' me to be, I am in fact, still two colours, and even if I know that, something like the student's of colour position would never be something I would be allowed to participate in because I am *too white washed*.
Eh, it made my day a bit more interesting. A lot more mentally stimulating then the conversation about roommates who have loud sex that followed the conversation!
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| Thread: Queer Content on TV |
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Would it be so bad for them to write in an openly gay character in to the regulars though? 
I mean...if we're all sitting around watching all the debauchery and killing on the show, and we're drawn to it every week...I'm sure most of the audience is open-minded enough to have regular gay character on the show xD At least..I hope so. o_O
A tidbit of un-useful tv knowledge (I’m full of it):
On Friends, way back in probably it's first or second season? There was a couple of episodes where Pheobe is dating two men at the same time. A fireman and sort of a geeky guy. They end up finding out about each other and decide they don't want to date her anymore (not before though, a rather humours mad dash for her to not let them to know about each other).
Those two men? On Queer As Folk together.
The Fireman = Drew The Foot Ball Player that loves and leaves Emmitt.
The Geeky Guy = Ben Bruckner that marries Michael.
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| Thread: FtF: Female to Femme |
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So lets face it...anybody who's met me, and that's a fair few of you, know that I look pretty femmey. I like wearing skirts, I adore putting on a pair of good high heels, I rarely leave the house without at least one coat of mascara, and I don't 'own' a baggy shirt. Most of my stuff is fitted...I love showing my curves off. I like to shop, talk and be 'pretty'.
But anybody who's gotten to know me, can say, without a doubt, I'm not girly in attitude. I don't really know how to be...except, well if there are bugs in my room and I want them squished. I sometimes have a stereotypical masculine persona. Now I'm sure many would argue because any stereotype is still up for debate as to what it 'is'. I don't want to be taken care of. I'm fiercely independent. I tend to be the one that wants to provide. I don't have a lot of natural maternal skills, I don't coo over babies. I'm not...soft. I can be cold with my emotions. I am able to roll with the guys, take the punches and I don't always break in to tears.
But.
I still call myself femme. Why? Because for me, it's about how I look on the outside and I like being a pretty girl. I don't want to have my outside match my inside. I don't want to fit myself in to either one box or the other.
I generally list myself as in-between, because that's the truth. I am in-between. What I'm between, I’m not quite sure. But I know that's where I am...and where I belong, because that's where I'm comfortable.
The problem I have a lot of the time is that, people seem to think I can't conceivably call myself a femme when I don't act like one. There is no such thing as the fierce femme...one who is independent and free of having to act girly. Though I'm sure Kona wouldn't agree, and I don't blame her, as she is a fierce femme for sure. But a mass majority believe that femme girls coincide with a girly attitude.
When I came out, I'll admit, I chopped my hair. I had shoulder length hair and it went to my ears....it wasn't your typical dyke andro cut, but it was definitely shorter. I tried to do the whole andro thing (Because I've never been a full out butch), but it didn't work for me. I didn't like how I looked. I used to have one ex that used to argue with me about which one of us was 'butcher'. It became a joke.
I'm looking around my school cafeteria now, and I see a lot of andro figures. Boys and girls, all colours and creeds. I'm pretty sure that not all of them are queer (that would be all too easy 
). It seems to be that being andro is a FAD right now. It's not just tied to the queer scheme of things.
My thoughts are a bit mangled, as I'm tired and I'm trying ot make my way through a three hour break between classes, but I think I got my point across...I hope at least heh.
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| Thread: Queer Content on TV |
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Both CSI and Law and Order (typically SVU) have a shady track record of featuring anybody from the LGBT community. There have been several articles written about how they handle these characters and how the seem to make us all out to be crazies.
Here is one of the articles that I mentioned above: http://www.afterelton.com/archive/elton/TV/2005/5/csi.html
For example:
http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/sea...h_changes.shtml
In Ch Ch Changes, it features the brutal stabbing murder of a trans woman in her car, leading to a very, very disturbing scene where a trans woman is splayed out, dead, on a gurney in a STORAGE unit where they were performing SRS on her, and it went very, very awry. The scene is one of the more gruesome ones I’ve seen on the show.
http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/sea..._entitled.shtml
In The Accused is Entitled, a ‘movie star’ is surprised to learn that the two beautiful asian women he’s brought to his hotel room to have a threesome with are not both woman, as one is a bio woman and the other is a pre-op trans woman. Not wanting his ‘fans’ to find out about the mistake, he kills them both, having his lackey dump the body of the trans woman in a golfing sand pit (I’m not sure what those are called…sand traps?)
http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/season4/jackpot.shtml
In Jackpot, a young gay man’s head is found severed from it’s body, which is buried up to the neck in the woods (an animal helped with the severing part, but not without a bit of blood bait). The reason he’s so cruelly murdered? He’s in love with his roommate’s dad…and not his roommate.
http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/sea...ds_lovers.shtml
In Friends and Lovers two lesbians are found to have bludgeoned their boss to death (a dean of a school) because he is threatening to expose them and ruin their careers and lives.
It’s sad to see that most of the time in these situations, we’re either the victims or we’re portrayed as mad.
On the flipside there have been episodes within the show Grey’s anatomy which have featured Hermaphrodite children (and what happens when one finds out that they could be a boy OR a girl…it’s actually quite the cute episode…a little different, I know then the LGBT community is about, but She was just so happy she could be a boy…made me happy) as well as a set of gay parents of a boy who is a patient at the hospital. I’m sure there’s more but I’m tired, and should be in bed so, I can’t quite think of any else.
In the first season of The OC (yeah, yeah, get your yucks in now) one of the mainish characters finds out his dad is gay. In the second season of The OC they deal with a bisexual girl and what then becomes a fun, but short lived lesbian relationship. Teen drama…what can I say?
The cancelled show Dead Like Me (HBO, but can be seen on Showcase or Bravo…can’t remember which one) also features a story line or two about LGBT, the one that sticks out to me is the episode where the gay couple have Mason visit their home.
I’ve only watched the first season of Carnivale (Damn HBO for cancelling all the GOOD shows) and at the end their they start touching on some Lesbian plotlines (I don’t know how deep they go in to them in the second season…sadly the show only made it that far).
I’ve heard that Big Love will be touching also on some lesbian issues in the new season, between two of the younger women on the show. They’ve already touched on one possibly gay male character that is closeted and self hating. (This show is about a polygamist family living in a LDS neighbourhood and their trials and tribulations as such). It’s quite good, but if something like that bothers you, I’d suggest avoiding it.
I don’t watch a lot of TV (believe it or not) I just have a LOT of TV On DVD, because I don’t have the time to watch the shows when they’re first on, so I buy them later and watch when it’s more convenient for me heh.
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| Thread: Nudity |
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In my own room with the door closed, I'm usually partially undressed. When my parents and sister go on vacation or away for a few days, I wander around the house partially undressed usually as well. I like watching TV in my underpants! XD Probably an overshare. >_> 
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| Thread: Kiss Morgan Good-bye |
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Sad to see it go Morgan, but good luck with your writing and preforming! 
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| Thread: FtF: Female to Femme |
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I saw FtF and I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it. I tired talking to my friend about it tonight and still couldn't convey what I was feeling.
I stayed for most of the panel but had to sneak out as it was getting on in time and we had somewhere else to be, but I wanted to say congrats to the panel members, ya'll did a great job. 
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| Thread: Almost back to school |
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| quote: |
Originally posted by iheartyourkiwi
| quote: |
Originally posted by arachnia
It's awesome that you're going back to school!
Ewww.. why math and geography? Geography like geomorphology or more like human geography?
If you need to fulfil a science credit requirement you could take geology.. I hear the class rocks!
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I'm super excited. Tired of working jobs that I know are never going to go anywhere. My parents were worried at first (I sometimes am a bit flighty and indecisive) but they see now, how well I've gotten my act together in setting my goals, researching different avenues...ect...I'm really set on doing this...so much so that I'm toying with the idea of getting a Master's Degree after I'm done doing my BA. (Spending time around such smart and wonderful minds such as sexybelly helps with that....)
And Math is needed to work as a teacher, it's required sadly, or else I would not be taking it. I worked in accounting for three years and I've had enough math for quite the while!
And this Geography course I'm taking fills the requirement to get in to the program for teachers, so it should be okay. I picked up my text books recently (OUCH! Why does higher education cost so much!) and flipped through it...it looks interesting. The biggest thing that's sticking out in my head was plate tectonics....if that helps with your question at all haha.
| quote: |
Originally posted by RedneckAngel
I'm a college drop out heading back to go in a COMPLETELY different direction.
I'm 4 courses short of my poli sci degree, and realized I will NEVER use it professionally, and have no desire to take the damn "required" courses in subjects I can't stand (math and science mostly). I fell in love with my grunt work trades job I started at last September, so gave up on trying to scrimp and save and battle my way through college while trying to afford to eat.
So my boss is paying for me to take some trades courses. September is Motor Controls electrical. After that, we'll see where it goes. I'm hoping to talk him into a Millwright apprenticeship. Yup, my boss pretty much rocks my socks these days- I give 2 weeks notice so I can move, and he offers me a HUGE raise and to pay for courses and training. Guess I'm not going anywhere for a while 
And the best part of it all? My MOM is going back to college for the first time this fall
Now THERE'S an impressive return to school story
52 years old and heading into college
We're all pretty proud of her.
kiwi- I went back to college after 4 years being out. It's nerve wracking as all hell, but TOTALLY worth it. And yes, being in a bunch of first year classes with a bunch of 18 year olds does suck, but there's always a handful of more mature students- latch onto those for all you're worth! |
Congrats redneck! That's super swell (did I just type that...? XD) that both you and your mum are going back to school. I've been trying to convince my mum to do that, but no luck yet.
My best girlfriend from high school, she did the trades course at BCIT which basically gives you a taste of everything and she took a shine to plumbing, so she went and did more schooling for that and ended up getting a job as a plumber! (How fun is that to tell people, 'Well MY BEST FRIEND is a PLUMBER!!!') She got tired eventually of not having any finger nails (she had a lot of toilets and pipes dropped on her poor fingers....) so she's in the middle of getting her education to become a photographer (She does a bit of side work as a wedding photog) and (I just found out today) she got accepted to a program for Dental Assisting at VECC this fall.
I'm glad to hear it's worth it
I've already found a few nice people through my ABE courses (Adult Basic Education, my Math Courses are fundamental classes), and they're a few older people, so that makes me happy
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| Thread: Almost back to school |
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I'm returning to school after an almost five year hiatus. I went to film school right out of High school, and nothing ever came out of it. I decided just this year that it was a good idea to go back and actually get a degree that would be useful. Short-term goal is to obtain my English Degree (not sure what my minor will be); long term is to become a teacher (possibly elementary). However right now, I’m just worried about going back to school with a bunch of 18 year olds xD
I'll be attending Capilano college in September (again, ack!) and I'll be taking a myriad of English courses, a geographical science course (ugh) and a math course (double ugh). I'll eventually transfer to SFU.
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| Thread: Queer Film Festival, anybody? |
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So did anybody attend tonight's screening of Shelter Me? I'm...having mixed feelings about it.
Woo! Itty Bitty tomorrow, which I have been anticipating for months and I'm very excited.
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| Thread: Another bitchy
rant from a cyclist |
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| quote: |
Originally posted by arachnia
Just so we're clear here, I don't support cyclists who feel they can ignore stop signs, run traffic lights (a few days ago for 5km I rode behind a guy who did this at every intersection effectively cutting off drivers each time!), weave all over the road, "race" cars, verbally abuse drivers, run into pedestrians, fail to dismount on a busy sidewalk or otherwise endanger others. |
As a driver (and I know I've posted to you before on your rants
) I am sorry for those of us who are ass holes and make it a hard time for you guys to ride on the road. I do find it hard though when there are people who do the above and make it very dangerous for themselves. I think sometimes bikes forget when they do stuff like the above that the people in the cars AREN'T GOING TO BE HURT IF WE MAKE IMPACT WITH THEM. It will be the person on the bike, not the driver, that will be going to the hospital.
Recently I was driving down a fair big hill that had a two way stop at the bottom of the hill, going the other ways (I didn't have a stop sign in other words). I saw a pedestrian going across the street in front of me so I slowed down because I figured if I slowed down further up the hill I wouldn't have to stop at the bottom by the time I got to the intersection. They finished crossing and I took my foot off the break, noting that a car that was also crossing the same intersection had stopped at the stop sign and intended to wait for me to go across as I had the right of way. From behind the car, and weaving in between the stopped car and the parked cars a bike zipped straight through the intersection. I screeched to a stop just in time and he paused and gave me a non-apologetic wave and kept going.
Had there not been a pedestrian there, and I was slowing down for them, I would have easily hit him.
I was so annoyed that not only had he put himself in harms way (It was very obvious that the car was stopping for more then just a pause because of the sign, and it's not like I wasn't visible) but that he was so unconcerned that I nearly hit him.
It's things like this, that make me want cyclists off the road. I don't want to end up hurting somebody because somebody else was being careless.
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| Thread: Queer Film Festival, anybody? |
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I'm going to the opening gala tonight (I won free tickets as well as a stay in a hotel's PENTHOUSE
)
I'll also be attending:
One Night Stand
Wild Tigers I Have Known
Shelter Me
Itty Bitty Titty Committee
Picture of Dorian Gray
FtF: Female to Femme
I may also be attending Deep Lez Film Craft, but not for sure.
Should be super fun!
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| Thread: Free Tickets for OOS! |
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Well I'm already going to:
One Night Stand (After missing out last year to see the twenty foot vags on screen, how could I not?)
The Itty Bitty Titty Committee
Shelter Me
The Picture Of Dorian Grey
FtF: Female to Femme
And I just grabbed a pair of tickets to see Wild Tigers I have known.
I'm excited to see so many movies this year.
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| Thread: Free Tickets for OOS! |
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That time of year again, free tickets for out on screen showings!
http://www.outonscreen.com/freetickets2007/index.php
Tickets this year are $9.50 so if you get a pair, you'll be getting $19.00 Dollars worth free (you still have to buy a membership, but last year they were two dollars, I can't imagine they're much more this year). They've still got a a fair few left, so head on over! Can't beat a free movie.
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| Thread: illuminares |
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I went, it was a nice relaxing evening. They normally have fireworks as well, but those were sadly canceled. The lanterns were all very pretty lit up. I got some neat pictures.
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| Thread: independance |
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| quote: |
Originally posted by arachnia
I was walking to school by myself at the age of 5 and it was about a 30 minute walk. Then again, it was Salt Spring Island and I doubt my parents were worried about the aging hippies kidnapping me to join the Rainbow Warriors and forcing me to play the flute around a campfire. |
*Snortgiggle*
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| Thread: Queers in the OKanagan? |
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Us queers down here in Vancouverland miss you!!
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Originally posted by sexybelly
So, I'm up in Vernon/Kelowna for another month, and have no idea where to find the fellow queer folk. I have a friend moving up here within the next month, and she's asked me where they hang out. We know we aren't alone, but just have no idea where to start looking for the queers up here! Any suggestions? (And while finding single queers may be appealing to some, like my friend, finding any fellow queers is also a good thing!)
thanks. |
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