Call it a skirt, call it a kilt, call it whatever you want, but I dare someone to call this anything less than masculine!
Bad-Ass in a Utilikilt
When Right ≠ Legal
there have been times throughout American history where what is right is not the same as what is legal. Sometimes to do the right thing you have to break a law. Edward Snowden
Is Sexual Orientation a Choice?
So I was just pondering the statement that “straight” people don’t choose to be straight. Of course, the über-religious will say that’s because it’s the natural order of things…the way we’re created. But if someone is physiochemically wired a certain way, doesn’t that imply that God either makes mistakes or that God is a watchmaker rather than a timepiece? To avoid that theological quagmire, they equate homosexuality with sin and since sin necessarily depends on choice, sexual orientation must therefore be a choice as well. It seems to me that the blindly religious are spending way more energy trying to avoid the theological heavy lifting than it would take to just sit patiently and meditatively for understanding to come. Theophilosophy shouldn’t weaken one’s faith; it should strengthen and deepen it. As an axiom, a sovereign deity cannot err and all people must have the same free will. So shouldn’t it be the case that if heteros don’t choose to be hetero, homos don’t choose to be homo?
Brant Hansen’s Tedx Takeaway
Misandry – Hatred or Disfavor of Males
People probably know of “misogyny,” but what about “misandry”? This Psychology Today article explains.
A Meme to End All Memes
A Guy’s Guide to Getting Skirted
Words do not adequately describe a skirted man’s enhanced comfort in the sweltering summer months. While comfort is an enormous justification for donning a work-appropriate skirt, comfort is neither the sole benefit nor the sole justification, as I have pointed out in “Why I Wear Skirts” and other posts about men and skirts. Skirts need not be frilly, froufrou, or feminine, and skirts can indeed be very masculine if a person first understands the basic design characteristics and uses this knowledge to make some sensible selections.Continue Reading
Internet Coverage of Skirted Men
Instances of men wearing skirts in non-traditional regions is nothing new, but the world is finally noticing the inevitable, acknowledging the legitimacy and resolving the disconnect. Continue Reading
What Is Gender Nonconformity?
As noted in another post, sex and gender are not the same thing. Sex is typically seen as a binary trait that flows from reproductive function whether that be regarded as genital, chromosomal, gonadal, hormonal, or structural. There are, of course, biologically intersex persons born with karyotype disorders, androgen insensitivity disorders, and/or genital dysgenesis disorders. According to the U.N. World Health Organization, as much as 1% to 2% of persons are born intersex worldwide. Gender, however, is more complex and is not a monolithic construct.Continue Reading
The Fundamental Flaw in HB2
As do countless citizens and corporations, I fundamentally disagreed with North Carolina’s 2016 legislation now known commonly as HB2. It was as much hateful as it was an egregious violation of federal law. I have pointed out in other posts that treating all females as frail victims incapable of defending themselves or speaking for themselves is supremely misogynistic just as it is supremely misandrist to presume all males to be menacing predators. In fact, I argue that the same mental processes which make a particular person (man or woman) a predator are the very same mental processes that make a comparable person a hero. You see, while a predator perceives a given set of circumstances as a potential victim to be exploited, a hero perceives those exact same circumstances as a potential victim in need of defense. And in this the old cartoons got it right! The hero and the villain wear identical hats and the color merely reflected the content of their character. Apart from these extremes, though, most males just go about their own business and their presence is neither good nor evil.Continue Reading
Hey Google….DBAA
Some time ago I created a Tasker profile called DBAA (Don’t Be An Asshole). Basically, this profile watched for certain keywords in wireless network names and then put the phone on vibrate based on the assumption that ringing in those locations would be undesirable (specifically, it looks for church, mosque, synagogue, shrine, theater, cinema, movie, patron, library, academy, school, elementary, middle, high, auditorium, lecture, recital, and hall). It isn’t perfect; some places might not have wifi or the wifi name might not contain one of the hotwords. Still, if it helps anywhere, it’s a benefit. But why, I wonder, hasn’t Google implemented this sort of functionality tied to Android’s location awareness? That would be easy enough and much more reliable. Of course, nothing should be forced upon the user so, like Do Not Disturb mode, a user should have the option to enable or disable. Better still, why not prompt the user to enable silent mode upon arriving at such a location?
Pro-Choice on Abortion, but What About Circumcision?
To be clear, this post is not about abortion but rather a sociocultural contradiction and hypocrisy revealed by the political lens of abortion. A few weeks ago I was struck by the irony that those who advocate “pro-choice” regarding women’s bodies fail to extend that philosophy to men’s bodies.Continue Reading
There Is No Single Divinely-Appointed Marriage Partner
For quite some time it has been a popular Charismatic Christian belief that God creates one perk perfect mate for each person. I have long believed that this is not true but I now believe it could not be true for additional reasons.Continue Reading
Circumcision Fiction
For many decades of the twentieth century, American physicians both recommended and presumed consent for routine infant circumcision. The American Academy of Pediatrics sharply revised its policy position (1999) to hold that circumcision was strictly a cultural and/or religious consideration with no medical consideration. A decade later, the AAP again revised its policy position (2012) citing two medical benefits—reduced risk of UTI for the first year of life and reduced risk of STI/STD later in adulthood. (There might also be an indirect risk reduction of penile cancer due to reduced risk of HPV (as an STI), but the HPV vaccine is now approved for males). However, the 2012 policy revision acknowledged that the data only showed that the statistical benefit was greater than the statistical risk of the procedure. Infant circumcision was therefore categorized as an acceptable medical procedure only; the data dud not establish infant circumcision as a necessary medical procedure.Continue Reading
Senator McKoon, Tear Down Your Wall
Georgia Senator Joshua McKoon has proposed a state constitutional amendment to require that all government business be conducted in English and it makes no good sense. As a citizen with one foot still in Georgia (and the other foot looking for better soil to trod), this moronic initiative bothered me when I first heard of it, but it has really stuck in my craw and I must now speak out.Continue Reading
On the Age of the Cosmos
A fundamental problem in articulating the age of the universe is that time has not always existed. Whether one subscribes to the big bang or to creationism, there is evidence that time was not constant throughout the universe’s existence.Continue Reading
The Purpose of Prayer
Not too long ago I found myself in a discussion with a Puerto Rican pastor about prayer. I dare say that most Christians believe that prayer changes our circumstances, but I say that prayer is designed to change our perceptions.Continue Reading
On Teachers’ Striking Over Salary
It has been said that the government which governs least also governs best. And as a libertarian, I think the government’s interference with those things which can be handled locally should be avoided. I have often remarked that the federal government should not be involved with school lunches. But the recent spate of teacher strikes makes me wonder where this nonsense will end.Continue Reading
Government-Run Healthcare for Children and the Boat That Obama’s A.C.A. Missed
How much federal involvement should we permit and how much involvement should we require in the lives of American children? The quick answer is “as little as possible” but I think there should be an exception for healthcare.Continue Reading
Corporate Retailer Gender Policies
USA Today reports that Target does not stand alone in its respect for non-cisgender persons. Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, and Hudson Bay (Sacks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor) all condone customer election of the facility that matches that customer’s gender identity. Sears (as well as its Kmart subsidiary) is not as outspoken, but condemns all forms of discrimination. Read the full print article here
And there is evidence that other companies agree. CBS affiliate KTVT reports that Ross Dress-For-Less and TJX (TJ Maxx, Marshall’s) also endorse facility election based on that customer’s gender identity. The station also reports that Walmart has no specific gender policy one way or the other. Read the full story here.
The History of Skirted Men
In the not all to distant past, men wore unbifurcated garments and while few would want to dress like Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, it is not a novel concept that men should not be confined to trousers. Little by little, journalists, sociologists, and artists are looking into the history of skirted men and sharing their findings:
- Bustle: The History of Men & Skirts
- 1883 Magazine: Men in Skirts
- NY Metropolitan Museum of Art: Bravehearts: Men in Skirts
- Victoria and Albert Museum: Men in skirts
How “Chick” Came To Refer To Female Humans
Humans are not covered in downy feathers, they are not yellow or mottled, and they, usually, do not chirp. Obviously, no one would confuse a human with an adorable baby bird so how did chick come to refer to female humans?Continue Reading
Heroes, Villains, and Toilets
The old cartoons with the heroes in white hats and villains in black hats were pretty much right on the money. Heroes and villains can dress alike, look alike, and even act alike and if not careful, the hero can be lumped in together with the villain. Continue Reading
Black Gospel Puts the Soul in the Soul
Another Man’s Skirt Conversion
