Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[saya_leviathan]

Is the president of the Czech Republic a pen stealer?

I find his expression amusing when he pocketed the pen and then, acted as if nothing happened.

[SeijiSensei]

J. Crew secretly campaigning to make transgendered children more acceptable

Stories like these make me embarrassed to be an American. I wonder if Crunchyroll is rethinking its decision to carry Hourou Musoko.

(I had trouble getting this Daily Show episode to play. I think it's just a transient server load problem, but you will need to disable ad blocking to watch this.)

[ganbaru]

Trademarks for Sarah, Bristol Palin head to approval
http://content.usatoday.com/communit...terstitialskip

[flying ^]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

J. Crew secretly campaigning to make transgendered children more acceptable

I saw that picture few days ago on L.A. times...

dat hair alone makes me think he's a girl

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

J. Crew secretly campaigning to make transgendered children more acceptable

Stories like these make me embarrassed to be an American. I wonder if Crunchyroll is rethinking its decision to carry Hourou Musoko.

(I had trouble getting this Daily Show episode to play. I think it's just a transient server load problem, but you will need to disable ad blocking to watch this.)

Hmm, I have no problem with it, but I'm hesitant to just say it's 'okay.' Nail polish is generally associated with females in our culture, and I could care less if a man or woman enjoys using it. But there are some examples of gender confusion during developmental years leading to seemingly unrelated mental issues later in life.

Now, I'm not saying this is the case here, but I think it's worth considering. Even if you're approaching the subject from a completely tolerant mindset, there are still some lines of reasoning that suggest it might not be the best idea. Now, nail polish in and of itself in a purely objective sense obviously has nothing really to do with gender. But in a cultural sense - a sense children learning about the world around them are keenly in-tuned to, it is certainly considered a feminine thing. I doubt this child will have problems due to such a benign incident, but we can't discount the information we have, for instance, regarding serial killers and people with MDD and gender confusion early in life (of course, gender confusion in such cases is usually compounded with abuse. But we can't deny the correlation). I think it's not an issue at all, but I don't see it in black and white. There are some reasons to be cautious in accepting the toenail painting as perfectly fine, as silly as it seems.

Of course, the bizarre and ignorant response by the media has nothing to do with the issue I'm bringing up and seems to stem more from intolerance than psychological inquiry.

[flying ^]

here's a moving piece by Keith Ablow , MD

If you have no problem with the J. Crew ad, how about one in which a little boy models a sundress? What could possibly be the problem with that?

Well, how about the fact that encouraging the choosing of gender identity, rather than suggesting our children become comfortable with the ones that they got at birth, can throw our species into real psychological turmoil—not to mention crowding operating rooms with procedures to grotesquely amputate body parts? Why not make race the next frontier? What would be so wrong with people deciding to tattoo themselves dark brown and claim African-American heritage? Why not bleach the skin of others so they can playact as Caucasians?

Why should we hold dear anything with which we were born? What’s the benefit of non-fiction over fiction?

Well, the benefit is that non-fiction always wins, in the end. And to the extent that you take flights of fancy into masquerading through life, life will exact a psychological penalty.

The fallout is already being seen. Increasingly, girls show none of the reticence they once did to engage in early sexual relationships with boys. That may be a good thing from the standpoint of gender equality, but it could be a bad thing since there is no longer the same typically “feminine” brake on such behavior. Girls beat up other girls on YouTube. Young men primp and preen until their abdomens are washboards and their hair is perfect. And while that may seem like no big deal, it will be a very big deal if it turns out that neither gender is very comfortable anymore nurturing children above all else, and neither gender is motivated to rank creating a family above having great sex forever and neither gender is motivated to protect the nation by marching into combat against other men and risking their lives.

Maybe we’ll all have shiny, colored lips, though, and pierced ears and perfect eyebrows and mommies who get applause from their J. Crew friends at the park for parading their sons through the streets in costume.

Jenna Lyons and J. Crew seem to know exactly what they’re up to. That’s why the photograph of Jenna’s son so prominently displays his hot pink, neon toe nails. These folks are hostile to the gender distinctions that actually are part of the magnificent synergy that creates and sustains the human race. They respect their own creative notions a whole lot more than any creative Force in the universe.

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by flying ^

here's a moving piece by Keith Ablow , MD

Haha, I especially like this part...

Originally Posted by Loony

...
and neither gender is motivated to protect the nation by marching into combat against other men and risking their lives.
...

Of course the world needs more people like him, loonies who are overly concerned with war in an age where a nuclear apocalypse is an option. Maybe just a subconcious thing, but I really want to know how marching into combat has to be against other men. The way this is formulated really shows what the author expects from certain genders to do. This is so backward, I didn't know such people could be medical doctors in psychology.

[Urzu 7]

Yeah, just another dumb schmuck associated with Fox News. I can see why some people would dislike the J. Crew ad, but people like Ablow don't have to be so extreme and over dramatic about these sort of things.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

J. Crew secretly campaigning to make transgendered children more acceptable

Stories like these make me embarrassed to be an American. I wonder if Crunchyroll is rethinking its decision to carry Hourou Musoko.

(I had trouble getting this Daily Show episode to play. I think it's just a transient server load problem, but you will need to disable ad blocking to watch this.)

Definitely should have used blue polish, so as not to put her son's virility in doubt.

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Person on my User CP

"but I think it's worth considering" no it's not end of story, a child can't even tell gender really until 12 on average.

You should really leave your name on that one, so I can find a target for my laughter. Whoever you are, you suggest that a child does not know their gender? I'm fairly sure my 7 year old brother is well aware of him being a male. Considering he can speak, read, and is learning basic math, it'd be pretty damn difficult to simultaneously not know the difference between male and female. That's just a completely ridiculous statement to make. Do you (whoever you are) recall your childhood? Do you recall being so completely ignorant to your surroundings and identity that you did not know your gender?

Given your propensity to disagree without providing your name, I doubt you care much about what I have to say. But I'll link you to an interesting study on the subject, in this case a male that lost his penis during circumcision as a baby and was thus raised as a female. Here's a very interesting study and for another look at a different case: Here's an analysis.

Originally Posted by study

Mother recalls: "As soon as he had the surgery, the doctor said I should now start treating him as a girl, doing girl things and putting him in girl's clothes. But that was a disaster. I put this beautiful little dress on him, . . . and he [immediately tried] to rip it off. . . I think he knew it was a dress and that it was for girls and he wasn't a girl."

. . .

Girl's toys, clothes and activities were repeatedly proffered to Joan and most often rejected. Throughout childhood Joan preferred boy's activities and games to those of girl's; she had little interest in dolls, sewing or girl's activities. Ignoring the toys she was given, she would play with her brother's toys. She preferred to tinker with gadgets and tools and dress up in men's clothing; take things apart to see what makes them tick. She was regarded as a tomboy with an interest in playing soldier. Joan did not shun rough and tumble sports nor avoid fights.

. . .

"There were little things from early on. I began to see how different I felt and was, from what I was supposed to be. But I didn't know what it meant. I thought I was a freak or something; . . . I looked at myself and said I don't like this type of clothing, I don't like the types of toys I was always being given, I like hanging around with the guys and climbing trees and stuff like that and girls don't like any of that stuff. I looked in the mirror and sees my shoulders are so wide, I mean there is nothing feminine about me. I'm skinny, but other than that, nothing. But that is how I figured it out. [I figured I was a guy] but I didn't want to admit it, I figured I didn't want to wind up opening a can of worms."

In direct opposition to your assertion, not only did "Joan" know she was supposed to be female, as told by her parents and doctors, by the age of 9 he/she was so perceptive that he/she was already aware they may in fact be a male.

What's suggested by the studies is that gender identity indeed has some component during socialization and childhood learning, but also some genetic, inherent component, and that the issue is far too complex to fully understand - in stark contrast to your laughable claim that a child can't tell gender until the age of twelve. Maybe you're thinking about sexuality; I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that to be the case. If you're really so delusional as to believe a child is unaware of their gender until 12... well, I'm surprised you even have the ability to type a message on this forum in the first place.

I can't help but wonder why you took offense to my post. I made it quite clear my concerns were medical in nature and not from an intolerant perspective. This goes in line with my posts in the sexuality thread, gender identity thread, and probably others that I can't think of at the moment. I'm curious about the medical component - but I could care less how people live their lives (and as long as you're not hurting someone else in the process, I'm of the opinion you can live your life HOWEVER you want. I'm a big proponent of personal liberties, to a point some might consider radical). Then again, your statement about children not understanding their gender until the age of 12 certainly illuminates a lack of reasoning skill on your part, so I suppose your misinterpretation is quite consistent and to be expected.

Anyways, feel free to reply under your username in this thread. The cowardly method you chose screams of an inability to actually defend your claim. And that's certainly justified - since your claim is so bizarre and ludicrous it's comedic.

[ganbaru]

Candidate made it ‘crystal clear’ he had no sympathy for terrorists, Tories say ...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1986256/
but he hosted a televised tribute to the Tamil Tigers last fall.

[GundamFan0083]

Vegetable Banditos strike again!!!

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/ar...es-frozen-meat

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

I doubt this child will have problems due to such a benign incident, but we can't discount the information we have, for instance, regarding serial killers and people with MDD and gender confusion early in life (of course, gender confusion in such cases is usually compounded with abuse. But we can't deny the correlation).

We can't deny the correlation? Even though you've offered no sources to indicate a correlation between serial killers and gender identity disorders even exists? Also, why would you even mention that? Are you suggesting that a mother painting her son's toenails is evidence of a gender identity disorder in the son, and further that it suggests a possibility of him growing up to be a serial killer?

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

We can't deny the correlation? Even though you've offered no sources to indicate a correlation between serial killers and gender identity disorders even exists? Also, why would you even mention that? Are you suggesting that a mother painting her son's toenails is evidence of a gender identity disorder in the son, and further that it suggests a possibility of him growing up to be a serial killer?

No, I'm just suggesting it may be a traumatic event. Take my post into context, I also said I doubt it would be an issue to her son. Just that we shouldn't lightly dismiss it as okay. And no I was operating under the context of him being cisgendered thus he would not want to be dressed as female. But who knows, he might have one. If he did, then it might be a good thing. I'm just speculating.

[ganbaru]

Mmm? Ice cream-maker to sell breast milk treat
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...rticle1919086/

[SeijiSensei]

Five-year-olds have a transitory interest in all sorts of things. It might be pink toenails today and Harry Potter Legos tomorrow. There really is very little reason to think events like these have serious long-term "consequences" of any kind. I speak from experience here.

The critics are pushing a different agenda, one that says social tolerance of even the slightest form of deviation from some putative heterosexual norm is dangerous. I find that attitude itself much more dangerous than the behavior they're criticizing.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by flying ^

here's a moving piece by Keith Ablow , MD

yeah, it moved me to roll my eyes and wonder how embarrassed other doctors might be - especially ones who know better than to comment outside their expertise.

[SaintessHeart]

Miku Drift

One of Russia’s top drifters has lately been attracting attention for not only driving a full Hatsune Miku itasha at events, but also having a paint-job which goes so far as to display Miku’s trademark shimapan on the bonnet…

The car (a Nissan 180SX) has been present at a variety of races, most notably the 2010 Russian Drift Series.

Wait, isn't that illegal in the USSR? Part of USA's defiling capitalist imperialism?

Heck, in Russia, Miku Itasha car rides you!

[ganbaru]

Porn company amasses nearly a quarter of all 1-800 numbers in U.S. and Canada
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1990835/

[Ithekro]

Expanding from all their 1-900 numbers?