I rather like to think of it as “what am I in the mood for today”.

                A POEM FOR PRINCE IASON

There was once a young prince from a land far away,
of the masculine type, cos I’ve heard that they say
that he wrestled with dungeons and dragons each day,
and frequented a jailhouse infested with bears
whom he skewered on a pole, then sent back to their lairs,
and concerned himself mainly with manly affairs;
that’s the gist of the things that they say.
So I don’t think the prince could be gay.

So although I confess he drank Cosmos not beer,
and when Pride came along, was a keen volunteer,
and he frequently swam in the skimpiest gear,
I don’t care that he boogied to seventies disco.
So what if he wanted to see San Francisco,
or, next to his bed, had a bucket of Crisco?
Oh, why do you get the idea
that our masculine prince might be queer?

Now, his father, the king, was a little irate
that he never took ladyfriends out on a date;
but preferred to retire to his room with a mate.
Why he holed up with boy-chums, he wouldn’t confide
(they were strangely dishevelled when coming outside)
so his Dad planned to buy him a mail-order bride,
and was sure it’d really be great.
For the prince was most certainly straight.

Now the princess arrived with intent to be wed
and peculiar buns on the sides of her head,
but alas, he was charmed by her brother instead.
With a ripple of muscles, Luke swung from his horse
and it seemed he was certainly using the force
(and his light-saber leapt into action, of course)
and the prince turned surprisingly red,
as he offered to show him his bed.

In a frenzy with envy, the princess was green;
for it seemed her fiance was not very keen.
She ran into the chamber and witnessed the scene:
she feared her fiance may soon be her ex
as the Jedi in bed was preparing for sex
so she ripped off her robe to show abs, glutes and pecs
all defined with a glistening sheen,
for the princess was really a queen.

Now our posturing prince was a bit of a player,
he saw the princess and he wanted to lay ‘er.
Poor Luke was ignored as they ran to the mayor.
The married at once then they danced in the square
then they feasted on sausage and similar fare.
The king thought they’d soon be producing an heir.
Now our hero is happy with Leia;
the pair of them couldn’t be gayer.

Oh sweetness, I do miss you

There has been a lot of chatter about the origin of the video. Some claim it’s true source is the girls parents but it is all speculative comments on Youtube, not what I consider reliable information.

The video is tied to HonestGirlScouts.com which seems to have an axe to grind with everything from contraception to homosexuality. In short: anything percieved as sexual.

I do not find it very important to find out really. As previously discussed the transgender issue can be complicated and subtle. I am not sure if I have got it right myself. I do believe that transgendered people wants to and should be percieved as the the gender they identify with. This does require a slight mental twist. Even now I am referring to “transgender people” how else would I even be able to discuss this issue?

I can understand why the GSUSA would choose to stay silent about transgender kids in their groups in order to give these kids what they need the most: recognition and the ability to spend uncomplicated time with other girls.

I was very touched by a lot of the video responses posted by people who saw the original video. They are thoughtful, caring and very measured (ok, occasionally sharp). So I’m just going to share some of those.

Takes three attempts to like it. But then you really like it!

Egentlig overrasker det mig ikke at mange vælger at stemple Sofie’s opråb som klynkeri. Både Maria og Sille sidder godt fast i et hektisk liv som de kæmper hårdt for at få til at fungere; så kan det godt virke provokerende når Sofie kommer og spørger om det nu også behøvede at være sådan.

Jeg mener fortsat at det vigtigste i Sofie’s indlæg er beskrivelsen af det paradoksale i at have et fuldtidsstudie samtidig med at det forventes at man arbejder. At de studerende skal arbejde er der ikke nogen tvivl om. Samfundet har ikke råd til at både stille gratis uddannelse til rådighed og forsørge dem som benytter sig af muligheden. Vi kan bruge de studerendes arbejdskraft til meget både indenfor fag der er relevante for det som de studerende laver men som Sille også siger så er der ingen skam i at stille varer på hylderne i Fakta. Men ville det ikke være bedre hvis man ikke behøvede at skulle gå på sit studiejob uden at vide at man vil komme dårligt forberedt til næste forelæsning eller læsegruppemøde og at der ikke vil være forståelse for det?

Sofie Rye (det er en anden Sofie) skriver at “når vi har travlt med at pege fingre så glemmer vi at pege fremad” og det syntes jeg er sandt. Det er også ganske sandt at ordet “fattigdom” kan virke provokerende at bruge i vores velfærdssamfund men skal det nu betyde at vi ikke kan sætte spørgsmålstegn ved hvordan det system fungerer?

Maria og Sille har efter eget udsagn “taget ansvar”. De har prioriteret og fået deres liv til at fungere. Men når de langer så hårdt ud efter Sofie viser de at det ikke er et godt liv de har fået ud af det. De har ganske simpelt fået skyklapper på. De kan ikke se ud over rammerne i det system som de bruger al deres energi på at leve op til. Som Sofie Rye siger:

“Men jeg synes, det er på tide, at vi som danskere tager et valg: Tænker og lever vi for at udvikle samfundet og gøre det bedre, eller er vi kun interesserede i at fortælle, hvordan andre tager fejl, skal være taknemmelige, tage sig sammen og stoppe med at klynke? “

Den her debat bør handle om hvordan vores uddannelsessystem fungerer og hvordan vi kan forbedre det. Ikke om hvis budget der fungerer, priser på smør og andre småligheder.

Jeg har gået på et studie hvor man arbejder i døgndrift. Morgen, dag, aften. Søvnløse nætter og weekender. Sådan er kulturen og der er ikke nogen der stiller spørgsmålstegn ved det for som ny studerende kommer man hurtigt ind i vanen. Man ser de ældre studerende gøre det og ens lærere lave små sjove bemærkninger om det. Det skal nok passe at andre studieretninger er knapt så krævende men uanset hvor du kommer hen så er en uddannelse i Danmark et fuldtidsjob. Skemalægning antager at du står til rådighed alle ugens dage (ja, også i weekenderne. Det er i hvert fald hvad jeg læser i det når man modtager en opgave fredag som skal afleveres mandag) og der er ikke nogen forståelse fra noget niveau i universitetssystemet hvis du siger at du ikke har prioriteret uddannelsen højest.

Jeg ved faktisk ikke hvem der fik ideen til uddannelsesstøtte (SU’en) eller hvilken motivation der lå bag. Som ovennævnte indlæg i Politikken illustrerer meget fint så er det ikke noget man kan leve af (man kan “klare sig” men som indlægget også viser rigtig godt er at det at “klare sig” ikke altid er en ordentlig måde at leve på) og jeg mener heller ikke det er noget man bør leve af. Hvis vi forestiller os at studerende er 100% statsfinansierede kan man let ende med at være på overførselsindkomst en tredjedel af ens liv hvis ikke mere. Det lyder ikke som en holdbar model.

Men det er heller ikke en holdbar model når de studerende på den ene side står med et universitet der kræver ens fulde engagement og på den anden side må anerkende at et job ved siden af er en nødvendighed. Det som jeg syntes at indlægget i Politikken viser rigtig godt er at det store billede er helt forkert sat sammen og hvad det betyder for en studerende helt nede i de små intime detaljer i hendes liv.

Hvad med at vi forestillede os en struktur hvor de studerende er en vigtig del af arbejdskraften og de videregående uddannelser er tilrettelagt derefter? Det er en løsning af den kaliber jeg ser Sofie V. Jensen ønske sig. I hendes indlæg viser hun hvor sårbar hun er og formår samtidig at påtale en problematik. At affeje det som klynkeri er, for mig at se, at vise at men egentlig ikke gad læse hvad der stod (eller mangler kapacitet til at forstå hvad der bliver sagt).

Hvis Danmark fortsat vil betegne sig selv som et vidensamfund og samtidig være velfungerende så er det, efter min mening, vigtigt at vi gør op med den nuværende form vores videregående uddannelser har. Vi gør alt for meget fordi det er sådan vi altid har gjort og fordi at ændre det ville betyde at man nærmest skal starte forfra. Men hvis det er det der skal til for at de studerende ikke længere skal studere under fysiske forhold som ville være uacceptable på en arbejdsplads, for at det at være studerende ikke skal være en konstant kamp for at leve værdigt og for at vi ikke samtidig skaber grundlaget for en uholdbar samfundsmodel… så er det hele besværet værd.

Tak Sofie. Fordi du turde skrive om dig selv. Fordi du påpeger en problematik der er både så stor og så lille at den er blevet overset alt for længe. Og fordi du viser at bare fordi et system virker betyder det ikke at det ikke kan genovervejes og at bare fordi man klarer sig betyder det ikke at man har det godt.

(og nu ved jeg bare at Sofie skriver tilbage og siger at det slet ikke var det hun mente. Typisk)

The Randi Spent her turn-of-the-year in The Gay House where she produced this monstrosity:

A very Randi new year to you too.

I should say: this transphobic tampon commercial is taking a lot of heat. There is a lot of focus on the rights and ethics concerning transsexuals these days and it doesn’t always leave a lot of room for humour or attempts at humour. Here in Denmark transsexuals are still considered mentally ill and just recently a Danish blogger caught the same wave of indignation that is now washing over the tampon company.

Homotropolis is on the beat as always but maybe a little fast when it comes to labelling the much debated video. When the headline of a post states that “transphobic commercial demanded off the net” it’s not really leaving a lot of room for reflection. What would be constructive would be to talk about why this commercial comes off as transphobic, rather than just rage, label and start collecting protest signatures.

In my opinion the commercial could have been hilarious if not for a couple of small missteps:

Despite attempting to describe a humorous situation there’s a tension between the two ladies in the video. Tension and conflict. It sets the stage for a winner and a looser. An unpleasant situation and also a confusing one. Unpleasant because the lady on the left is clearly being antagonistic, as though she has something to prove. Confusing because the other actor is swinging between looking very uncomfortable and then getting into the contest.

The most serious pitfall though is a small choice of looks. Choosing first to use a woman that people on sight identify as transgender and then selecting an outfit that amplifies her aggressive behaviour is, in my opinion, the root of the problem.

Imagine if this video had depicted a girl and her good friend in drag. They are having a good time at the party and head to the ladies room where they, laughing as friends does, have their little contest (and then perhaps change the slogan to “your secret weapon”). Situation defused.

The main issue is simply that the actor in question looks too much like a woman (as opposed to a drag who looks like a guy dressed up as a kind of woman-monster) and that this sets the stage for an unpleasant conflict. I can understand why transsexual women watching this feel offended. I imagine it must be like a short film describing their everyday struggle for recognition… except that they are cast as the villains and loose as villains are prone to do. Simplified even more the message is: you are not a woman and you never will be.

I don’t believe this was the intention of the commercial. Simply because it seems to me that the agenda is to sell tampons, not participate in a larger debate about gender. Intention is, to me, important. It is the factor that decides if I react with indignation or temperance. I do not think outrage is all that constructive so, again, watch this – talk and think about it rather than giving in to the knee jerk reaction to shoot it out of the sky.

As always Penny Arcade is spot on in their observations.

In SWTOR choosing how your character acts is a big deal. You choose between Light and Dark (capitals, yes!), how you interact with people and what your companions think of you. The choice you are faced with the most is dialogue options. Three ways to react in a conversation.

Recently my jedi consular Mae-Lin was facing a dilemma. Two choices was before her:

1: tell a lie on behalf of another person, for a noble reason.

2: insist that said person do the right, although hard and potentially dangerous as it may be.

Now Mae-Lin is a good jedi but not an emphatic person. She sticks to the high and narrow and does not understand how anything else is a choice. I decided it would not be in her nature to choose to lie (deciet is, after all, a trait of the Sith) and so I picked the second option. I was very surprised to see my characters face contract into an omnious mask as she adopted a threatening pose. “You WILL do what I say” was the response I saw my character deliver. Barely bothering with disguising the “or else”. Dark Side points followed.

This was very distressing to me since it was not indicated at all in the dialogue option that this would be what she said or how she would act. Rather the option I had hinted at a mildly scolding tone what I wanted to say was: “do what is right”. Luckily you have the option of abandoning a mission and start over before the effects of your choices are applied. It feels like cheating but that is, to me, better than feeling that I had been cheated myself.

Meanwhile, on another planet, Kean the bounty hunter is standing in an office and the secretary refuses to let him in to see the important person. Three choices are on display and I choose the rude one resulting in my gun pointing at the man behind the desk. Not intended. Afterwards, as the mistake has been taken care of and Kean is allowed to go see the important person, I want to scold the secretary but end up cracking a bad joke.

SWTOR is focusing heavily on these conversations. It is amazing that each and every quest is acted out in voice and all (a feature that truely raises the bar) and the storytelling you experience when doing an instance is very captivating (yesterday poor Torill was so absorbed in the story she forgot to survive quite often). But I feel frustrated when I have three options to pick from and I know none of them are going to be what comes out of my characters mouth. They set a tone, certianly, but as I have tried to exemplify above that tone is often misinterpreted. I want to know when my character is going to pull a gun inside an office and I want to be warned in advance if picking “Alright” will actually turn into insulting the angry Sith lord.