mini-post monday

I doubt that this will be a recurring theme, but I felt like making a post to update those of you who seem to enjoy reading about the lives of others (I know I do, 'cause I'm nosy like that). Today my boyfriend and I are celebrating our one year anniversary! It's incredibly exciting. I'll spare you all the cheesy lines about how happy I am, yadda yadda, and leave it at the fact that I am quite happy about it.

On topic with the blog, I would like to remind everyone first off of the posts to come:

• Certainly my boyfriend will have a post sooner rather than later, since he did so well on his first post
• The post in defense of feeders and feedees, dedicated to my friend, AKA Spencer. If you read the comments, most likely you will have seen his name by now.
• CHANGE! I wanted to write this post when the title and reoccurring theme would have been more relevant, but alas, I'll just have to accompany this post with a picture of Slowpoke. The change will be related to the changes I've incurred over the past year, and some other important changes.

Bear with me in the coming months, as I will be undergoing one transition after another as I attend another school in the Spring semester, and hopefully yet another school for the coming Fall semester. More on that in the change post.

And last but not least, I would like to thank Sociological Images for linking to my post after I suggested that they cover Risk's manification. Please go here to see their post regarding Risk, or go here to simply view their awesome photoblog.

Now, because I'm curious... Here's a poll that I would love some responses to!



xxla

ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH TO ADHERE TO GENDER ROLES!?

So I'm going to make the assumption that everyone reading this is familiar with the board game Risk. If not, Wikipedia would be more than happy to explain the nature of this board game with the object of world domination. Alright, those who clicked the Wikipedia link, caught up to speed now? Good, good. In my opinion, Risk has always been one of those games high up with Clue and Monopoly, where if you haven't at least played it, you could find a box with ease at a friend's house, a garage sale, or your neighbor's house. For some, the greatness of Risk surpasses games like Battleship, or the above mentioned thoughtful classics. When my boyfriend first found out that Risk was getting a new look, and ditching its older, outdated style, he looked at it with a positive view, saying that he was excited about it. Being someone with a goal of world domination as well, I too was interested at the idea of this new and supposedly improved Risk game. I went to the Hasbro website, where he and I were both immediately disappointed with the images we were being bombarded with. Sure, I expected a more modern look, but what I saw was little more than blatant sexism, enforcing the gender roles expected of men full force. Now I know what you're thinking... "Now now, we see a lot of bad things enforcing silly gender roles, it can't be THAT bad!" Oh yes, naysayers. Yes it can.

The first image you are greeted with on the official Risk website is this:


And for those lovely tidbits you can't see, here's this gem close-up:And yes, that says "bring your foes to their knees..." That ellipsis only furthers the implication that one might think up when seeing things telling players of a game, which apparently you have to be male to play, to "get on their knees" for them. Yyyyeah.

And towards the bottom is this picture, which isn't in the first screen cap:
ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH TO PLAY A BOARDGAME!?!?
A: Unfortunately no, as I was born without a penis. *cries* I guess I just can't take the risk of hurting my fragile female psyche. I'll just go back to the kitchen and make you manly men a sandwich for your intense game... of the board variety. (Also, just noticed this... Is that a pickup truck bed right above the arrow furthest left?)

On this website, the Board Game Geeks review the game before its mainstream release. While browsing through their photo gallery, I came across a card from this game that is also incredibly relevant.

In case the point wasn't driven home enough by the phrase "ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH?" being dropped everywhere like ticker tape in a welcome home parade, they apparently wanted to avoid any possibility of confusion. The winner will be a man. And he gets to demand that people refer to him as sir. I guess the game of Risk is now all about declaring one's self the alpha male.

So, why do I make such a big deal out of all of these things? For one, I hate hate hate gender roles. The idea that playing this game will allow boys to become MEN is ridiculous, because it seems like the only thing it promotes is combat. Since apparently all men want to fight each other all the time, and constantly compete. You're apparently not a man if you don't wish to do that, or so it implies. Another issue I have with this, is that I don't think it's any different from the sexualization of Strawberry Shortcake, as seen and discussed in more detail on Sociological Images. Whereas classic girl things are becoming more "feminine" to fit today's standards, the boy toys are doing the same thing. True, Risk would be intended for an older crowd, but it still puts forth the Axe logic, that men must be demeaned and called something other than men so that they feel inadequate and must purchase said product. Lastly, this frustrates me a great deal because I feel like, as a woman, new Risk doesn't even want my business. Ask anyone who knows me past pointless short talk, and they will confirm that I am quite interested in the prospect of world domination. A game like Risk is right up my alley! But apparently Hasbro (Now with more 'bro!') doesn't feel that women are worth trying to market Risk to. I'll just buy one at a garage sale if I ever want a copy, then.

Sure, this has nothing to do with fat acceptance specifically. But as my ideas and opinions evolve, I wish to keep my blog evolving while I do. Also, I feel I must add that there are so many other things I find annoying with this ad campaign and design overhaul, that I'd rather not get into full detail about, lest it lose the tie-in with gender roles and become a generalized rant. I would like to at least mention, though, based on the overall design (also, pickup truck?) it seems like it's trying to emulate the design of the GO ARMY type campaigns we have in the US. Before, the game of Risk was alright in that aspect, because the characters were set in a time where expansion, conquering, and imperialism were the norms. Seeing this game made modern, and using a United States type army to achieve world domination seems like a very incorrect statement to be making during the time in which we currently live.

What do you feel about the new Risk design change? Both female and males alike, I would love to hear how the images and messages at this site make you feel. Take your comments in any direction you would like; about the gender role norms this reinforces, about how it might work to alienate women, the implications of some of the images and phrases used (i.e. "on their knees" and the pickup truck), or how it makes you feel that they seem to be promoting US world domination.

xxla

Introduction and Speculation

Hi, I am XXLA’s Boyfriend.

I picked this moniker because I think it is ironic for a man to be primarily identified by his relationship to a woman, when for centuries the reverse has happened because of patriarchy, male privilege, etc.

So now you know two things about me

1) I have a horrible sense of humor

2) I am a pretentious douche

All joking aside, it is great to be blogging here. It is good to be involved in FA and feminist movements, even if my only contributions are rambling on like a Castro speech and making bad jokes.

First topic: Subcultures, Generalizability, and FA

I wanted my first blog post to be analyze the issue “Is the Nerd subculture more prone to fat acceptance than other subcultures or mainstream culture”, but then I got sidetracked by more general questions about the generalizability of subcultures. This question came to mind because, frankly, I am a Nerd and an open FA (FA meaning Fat Admirer in this context). I have shared my preference with my close Nerd friends and they are all really cool and accepting about the whole thing.

So I was going to make some kind of post questioning if my experience can be generalized into the proposition that FA (Fat Acceptance) will be well received most in Nerd social circles, asking the readers of this blog their experiences with Nerds and FA etc. . But this train of thought eventually led me to a more abstract question about what makes people think they can generalize about a subculture and that subculture will react to certain ideas. Do the tenants of ANY subculture either promote or condemn Fat Acceptance in all its members?

Because of my interest in philosophy I am really good at raising questions, but not as good at answering them. I want to know what you the reader at home thinks about this issue.

A quick question, and some small commentary.

I have a post I plan on putting up both on here and on Facebook soon enough, but until the inspiration strikes to write it, this shall have to do. First things first, I have a couple of things to announce.
1. My boyfriend is officially an admin on this blog, which means that hopefully he shall begin posting once his workload for school dies down.
2. If you don't already, follow me on Twitter!
3. Another post I plan on writing shall be about a more controversial 'issue' related to fat admirers, about feeders and feedees, dedicated to a friend of mine who has been wanting me to defend his particular niche in the community since he read my post in defense of fat admirers.
4. I shall be two decades old in 20 days. Madness I say!

Now, on to the question for all of you that I'd like to pose, first with a comment. Whenever I judge how good I look, I find that, regardless of how good I feel about my identity as a fat girl, my judgment will almost always be based off of the opinions that might be shared by everyday society... So in other words, I judge how good I look in something based on how 'flattering' it is, 'flattering' meaning how much thinner it makes me look, how much more of a shape it gives me, or how much bigger my chest looks. In essence, the socially accepted version of what is flattering and what is not. My question for you, then, is this: Do you do this as well? Do you find that you judge how good you look in an outfit based on how slimming it is? If so, do you find this to be rather disheartening, that despite all efforts to work towards the opposite, there are still ideals within ourselves that purport the socially acceptable ways to appear? Do you find this to be a feminist issue as well? Or, do you not feel that this is a problem, and that there's nothing opposing about being happy with your body, and happy with an outfit that makes you appear slimmer/more of an hourglass figure?

Thanks in advance for your input!

xxla

A thank you, and a call to arms.

Thank you all for you amazing and kind comments, and even those of you who presented an opposing viewpoint, I thank you for weighing in on the subject as well. I am doing alright health wise, although I need to eat better and recognize that fact. I am still in awe at the amount of support I received from all of you, and will continue to keep you all posted as any developments go on.

As you can see, there is a new design on my Blog. I didn't make it myself, but I do plan on making another logo. I feel that since my life is changing and evolving, my blog should reflect that and take on a new attitude and subject matter so to speak. While I'm taking care of some important things in real life, my blog will continue to be waiting for its evolution to begin. Also, soon my boyfriend will be getting a blogspot account and posting as well, so be on the lookout for that! And, for any Twitter users, keep up with me all the time at http://twitter.com/xxla.

Also, I would like to remind all of you to vote tomorrow! Personally I feel that Barack Obama's stance on various issues such as health care, which recently became even more important to me once I was diagnosed with diabetes, abortion, which I have always considered myself pro-choice about, and other various things that I feel would make him a better choice for president. Honestly though, I care not who you choose to vote for, because it is all about who speaks to you the most. I just don't feel like I will get good health care under McCain's plan, and the same may apply to countless others with similar problems. Anyway, regardless of your political affiliation, please get out and vote tomorrow, unless you did an absentee ballot like me. We can change things for the better if we all care enough to do what we can to change things :)


Promise to post again soon, as soon as I don't have two papers auf Deutsch and a CIV paper due, heh... ^^;

And for inspiration:



Also, sorry if this post didn't make much sense or didn't flow well; my visual snow//depersonalization/derealization has been kinda bad today ^^;;;

Later all,

xxla