If Men could Menstruate

- hahaha I don't have penis-envy at all!

- hmm...I dont really think sanitary supplies would be federally funded. I mean, Viagra isn't.

- Wow, some of those sayings like giving blood to take it sounded very plausible! That's crazy!

- I never really saw my period as a way to connect to the universe. That's kinda far-fetched.

Breast Buds and the "training" Bra

- I really don't think breasts as a female sexual part didn't become popular until the WWII era. I'm sure big breasts were preferred long before then. So I don't know where she's getting her information. - I'm sure cleavage was popular too! I mean the female characters in Gone with the Wind and Pride and Prejudice! I've seen paintings of women with cleavage! Where is she getting this idea?

- I mean, women with very large breasts usually have back pain because of they heavy weight it has to support. You can't tell me women didn't have anything to hold their breasts up to help fix that problem until the 1930s?

- That's interesting that homemade clothes are simply made to fit you, but store-bought clothes are made to fit a norm that girls feel they must fit into. Buying clothes is always a trigger for me to feel fat if I don't fit into my normal, small size.

- I asked my mother for a bra when I was seven years old! Talk about pressure to be feminine at a young age! For some reason, I really thought I was growing breasts and needed one! She bought me two and after experiencing how uncomfortable they were, I was done! I can't believe I thought that I needed a bra when I was that age!

- I think training bras are terrible! That's such bullshit what they doctor says about needing them medically! I can't believe mothers actually measured their daughters' breasts. That's completely ridiculous. - I don't understand how they convinced thin girls to wear a girdle- there's nothing to hold in or hide!

- My mom taught me to bend over and lean into my bra! I never thought anything of it. I thought it was just so my breasts were completely in the support of the cups! - Wow, if this stuff is true with the calorie-counting booklet, it's really disgusting. No wonder girls are still dealing with the implications of this shit from way back then today and are now cutting their bodies or starving themselves to keep their "junior figure control."

- As embarrassed as I am do admit it, I once spent a lot of money on breast-enhancement pills and cream and it was a complete waste. They just promise you so much and I've had many issues with being unhappy with my body. I was willing to do almost anything if they promised me larger breasts. I was soooo stupid. Part of it was also because guys I had dated had commented on my small breasts so I didn't feel like a real woman unless I had them. I looked like an adolescent girl. It brings up lots of negative thoughts again and makes me very bitter that things I did to my body and my ball-and-chain still to the unhappiness connected with it.

Hermaprodites with Attitude

- I think parents just worry when their baby has ambiguous genitalia because they want he/she to have a normal, happy life and not have to worry about being rejected by society as a freak. I think that's something to legitamitely worry about. I would worry too!

- I can't believe they do that to babies and children! Expand the vaginal opening? That's disgusting! I can't imagine how traumatized the kid would be.

- So many things can go wrong or not develop properly. You can have all different variations. My mom once dated a man with Klinefelter's and I never knew until two years after they broke up and she told me. It made sense because he didn't have a deep voice and had small breasts, but I thought that was just because he was heavy.

- People don't try to change their babies with down syndrome because they claim "that's how God made her." How can they say that and then justify cutting their baby's genitals??

Inscribing Gender on the Body

- So are they suggesting we reject these notions of beauty? That sounds like a good plan, but is it worth being outcasted by our peers and society?

-I didn't know that about muscle dysmorphia or that many women have it.

- A lot of people are uneducated about EDs and don't take them seriously as a real disease like cancer or diabetes. They didn't mention that in here.

- People have worn makeup and jewelry dating back to Eygyptian times- it's just part of our nature almost.

Women, Sexuality, and Social Change in the Middle East

- So glad we are finally looking at international issues! I don't know much about it and really want to learn more. - This is shocking about the Qur'an! It sounds nothing like the one that's publicized so much. It's really awesome. I wonder who wrote the Qur'an. - So basically they mostly do exactly opposite what they Qur'an condones? Christianity does this too! So much people just make religion what they want it to be and use it to control and rule people. - I can't believe they gave girls virginity tests. And they could get expelled! You would never expect that in modern times today. - Really sad how women in the middle east already had all these rights and they were taken away from them. It makes me wonder how they were able to change the belief system of Islam to fit their needs for control. - So women have fought this movement destroying their rights and have gained some back. This is reassuring and leaves hope.

I was a cosmo deviant

I scored 19 so I guess I'm normal. I totally agreed with this essay. It's ridiculous the way those teen magazines tell girls they "should" live and bullshit about sex.

Biphobia

- I dated a bisexual guy last year and I didn't feel that he was hypersexual- he just was more open about his sexuality. I found it fun that we could check out guys together! It did start to bother me though that I think he was attracted to me because I was thin and not curvy. He used to tell me I should cut my hair very short. It made me uncomfortable that he wanted me to look like a boy. I never felt worried about him cheating than any other guy I've dated- it just worked with men or women. He told me about his homosexual experiences and I was okay with it.

- Never thought about the possibility that gay people could be suppressing their bisexuality so as not to be rejected from the gay community! It's a tough position to be in.

- So aren't people who are bi and choose a lifetime partner of either the same or opposite sex "choosing" a side to be on- to join the straight community or not? If they choose one of the opposite, then are they just permanently rejected from the gay community? How can they still identify as bi if they have to pick one or the other?