Problematic Stuff

[Scot Dutchy]

Nice diagram to think about:



http://keepmyncsafe.com/gender-spectrum/

[JimC]

Having dabbled in some of the ...er...murkier areas of sexual activity myself in the dim and distant past I think I can say that in the 'right' circles it is all very fluid and nobody much gives a toss. Just go for it and forget labels.

Hehehehehe hehe hehehehehehehehe hehe hehe hehe hehehehe...

hehehehe hehe hehehehehehehe...

hehehe hehe hehe hehe....

You said "toss"... hehe hehe hehe...

hehehe hehe hehe hehehe hehehe hehe hehe hehe hehe....

[JimC]

Nice diagram to think about:



http://keepmyncsafe.com/gender-spectrum/

I love Venn diagrams...

I may not understand all the various regions, being an old white heterosexual male, but I respect their right to identify as whatever the hell they want to...

[Brian Peacock]

Looking at that diagram I think I might be amphibious.

[laklak]

So you swim around, splooging at will, hoping to hit some eggs?

[Brian Peacock]

[JimC]

So you swim around, splooging at will, hoping to hit some eggs?

Actually, male frogs grasp the female from behind (an activity known as amplexus) and release sperm over the eggs as the female releases them...

At uni, I used to do a scientifically interesting but ethically dodgy artificial fertilisation procedure. First, get a gravid female frog, pith her, and dissect out the eggs into a petri dish full of pond water. Then, pith a male of a different but closely related species, dissect out his testes, squash them and add to the eggs. The percentage of viable eggs was an indicator of the closeness of the evolutionary relationship (this was in the dark ages before comparative DNA analysis...)

[laklak]

Jim, I'm trying to get the mental image of you smooshing frog testicles out of my head.

"Pith". What a strange word.

[JimC]

I was as smooth as silk with a scalpel in my hand...

[Seabass]

My god, Jim, some day the rabbits and frogs will rise up and take their revenge against you.

[JimC]

They'll prise my scalpel from my cold dead hands!

[Brian Peacock]

They will have their revenge...

[Cunt]

It it's the government's business to 'stick it's nose in' if/when people or organisations discriminate on the basis of these private matters?

I don't know what kinds of discrimination are allowed in the US, and where. I am endlessly surprised at how weird it is, after getting used to Canada.

You said that these private matters are things you wouldn't want the government to stick its nose into. Why do we now have to talk about specific governments here? Are these private matters only private in specific jurisdictions, or do you only want governments to stick their nose in in some jurisdictions but not others?

While I don't know where the line is drawn in the US, I know I would prefer that the government didn't stick it's nose in when people, businesses or organizations discriminated.

If I don't want the government to know what sex/gender/sexual orientation/race you are, how could they do a decent job of it anyway?

That's not addressing the question I asked is it(?) If a business wants to discriminate on the basis of these private matters is it right for the government to stick it's nose in 'without permission' - and who would they need permission from otherwise?

I would say let businesses choose for themselves. If they choose to be racist, there is a good chance they won't win your business, but that's the risk.

Nonetheless, you clearly do think the government can stick its nose into these private matters where discrimination is concerned, but only by instituting a special gender police.

I was joking. I think they should stay out of it. If people discriminate, let them. Let them also suffer the consequences of discrimination.

If I am to assume that you comment has some relevance to the question then do you also think it would take special race police to deal with racial discrimination, a special disability police to deal with discrimination against the disabled, and a special geography police to deal with discrimination against those from the wrong side of the tracks?

No, I would let them discriminate.

Abolish the human rights offices (haven't seen much good come out of them) and let communities use their dollars to vote against things they don't support.

You know it's pretty pointless trying to talk about these things if you're going to continue to be so forgetful about what you've already said and instead respond to the posts of others as if they're the start of a conversation devoid of prior context.

Please feel free to have another go.

Aside from joking that we need gender-police (we don't) I was clear. I don't think government should be able to ask those questions. One good reason, is that they shouldn't be allowed to discriminate based on those characteristics.

Nice diagram to think about:



http://keepmyncsafe.com/gender-spectrum/

Everything in this diagram could be treated as a persons private life and ignored, as far as I can tell.

What possible reason could this information be needed outside of arranging seating charts at an orgy?

[JimC]

Cunt wrote:

...What possible reason could this information be needed outside of arranging seating charts at an orgy?...

The key is understanding that many of the people who belong to the categories in the diagram are often regarded either as freaks, or that they are pretending for some weird left-wing reason. Given that this categories are real, it is important that they are recognised and accepted as legitimate expressions of personal expression...

[Cunt]

Cunt wrote:

...What possible reason could this information be needed outside of arranging seating charts at an orgy?...

The key is understanding that many of the people who belong to the categories in the diagram are often regarded either as freaks, or that they are pretending for some weird left-wing reason. Given that this categories are real, it is important that they are recognised and accepted as legitimate expressions of personal expression...

Yes, their PERSONAL EXPRESSION.

It doesn't have to have anything to do with the broader public. Unless they want everyone involved in their sex life, that is.

Why not leave it where it belongs - a private matter?

If I want to listen to punk, that shouldn't make anyone treat me different, but if I want to wear unwashed leathers, lots of piercings, and listen to it loudly at work, it is absolutely ok to treat me different - by wearing freak-gear in public, I'm a participant in this 'difference'.