Bitchin' Blog Posts
Links from the ‘Oh, you’re kidding, right?’ department
by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | January 08, 2010 | Friday at 9:42 pm | 66 CommentsFirst, from Kristen Painter, My New Pink Button, a dye to down your nether lips (or neither lips, whichever you currently possess) back to a lovely pink, should the normal process of aging and hormonal changes mean that your downthere is a bit more brown or red in color.
A: OMG, this MATTERS?! I’m filing this under ‘Really? You bleach your anus? Why?’
B: I better see some seriously florid and elegant descriptions of nether lips that reference the color. I barely pay attention to what my own hard-to-see parts look like, but I darn well want to know what a romance heroine’s hey-nanner-nanner looks like beneath the hood, k? Synonyms for pink: get on it!
Second, from JKR, I bet this guy cares a LOT about the color of your meat curtains.
Third, from anonymous, who says she is cringing over and over, comes this announcement: the admins of an online fanfic community devoted to Twilight have announced a new publishing company. Of course, yes, they are specializing in romance. After all, how hard can it be?
The twist on this one? Omnific is “a publishing company specializing in the publication of authors with a proven track record of online success in transformative works.”
How does one measure “online success” as a writer of transformative works? Hits? Number of people telling you you’re awesome? The owners of the press really, really liking your stuff?
But the real amazing part for me:
Omnific Publishing is a publishing house with a myriad of resources for author development and promotion, including post submission editing with Certified Editors, associated art development, publication in various media, national marketing, and profitability.
“Post submission editing?” Isn’t that kind of the point? And what exactly is a Certified Editor? Many, I’m told on twitter, are “certifiable” but Certified?
I found one such certification through a site called Grammatika but I’ve never seen that seal of wtf on anyone’s site before, either. Certified by WHOM? Half of their staff is listed as being among the “certified” but no reference of the certification source. Are there certifications for editors I’m not aware of?
Can I declare myself Certified Awesome? Certified Carnival Ride?
If it weren’t so irritating, it would be hilarious.
Filed: General Bitching, The Link-O-Lator
Tagged: wtf, twitter, twilight, romance, promotion, people, make the burning stop, get the eyewash station, authors
Carin said on 01.08.10 at 10:02 PM • [link]
I think you can declare yourself Certified Smart Bitch. And, if you want to make some money on the side, perhaps you could start a School of Bitchery where BiTs (Bitches in Training, of course) could become fully certified Bitches. There is money to be made with this! Now you just need a logo, mascot, mission statement…
militaryspouse said on 01.08.10 at 10:04 PM • [link]
Hey, my main squeeze is happy to get near the “nether” regions that he doesn’t care what they look like, or how they are coloured.
Are they going to come out with a cream for the purple plum of men?
I don’t even want to know what the cream feels or smells like.
spamword: reason42: I can think of at least 42 reasons to avoid this product like the plague:
1. chemicals near my ladybits??
Tasha said on 01.08.10 at 10:17 PM • [link]
The Editors’ Association of Canada has a certification program that I’m told is well respected. I assumed that’s what was meant here. But if they mean that Grammatika crap . . . ::shudders::
As far as the dye . . . This is surprising, why? In an age where many young men honestly don’t realize women have pubic hair (because there apparently isn’t any in pr0n these days), is it really that big a leap for skin/flesh color to become an issue?
Melissandre said on 01.08.10 at 10:21 PM • [link]
That Twilight fanfic site seems to have a lot of ties to Cassandra Clare. I don’t know too much about the issue, but I thought her name was verbotten in many fanfic communities, you know, due to her habits of plagiarizing and extorting money from her readers. Interesting…
Meanwhile, anyone else want to join me on the Omnific staff page for a little game of Spot the Padded Resume?
JamiSings said on 01.08.10 at 10:24 PM • [link]
Anal bleaching, I understand, is mostly a preference of homosexual males and all porn stars/models. Same probably goes for dying the vulva or any other lower elements.
liz m said on 01.08.10 at 10:32 PM • [link]
You know there are surgeons who sculpt the lady parts to be more ‘youthful’. Is there really any doubt that prepubescent but with big fake hooters is the ideal woman we’re all being sold? This is a peeve of mine, akshully.
Manna Francis said on 01.08.10 at 10:33 PM • [link]
See, part of my brain is going, well, if people to dye their mouths with lipstick, I guess this isn’t technically any different to that. If aliens landed, they’d probably think they were both pretty odd things to do. And then rest of my brain is busy going WTF? WHYYYY?
Leslie Kelly said on 01.08.10 at 10:35 PM • [link]
Considering I just wrote a book with a serial killer who wears that same King mask, I have to say those pictures gave me a real chuckle.
Cat S said on 01.08.10 at 11:00 PM • [link]
The BK guy scares the living cr*p out of me. Whenever one of his commercials comes on TV, I run screaming from the room like an arachnophobe who has seen a spider. My husband thinks this is hilarious because I love horror movies…
Lori said on 01.08.10 at 11:05 PM • [link]
It strikes me as interesting that Omnific seems to be operating under the assumption that success with “transformative works” in some way equals quality of original works. The problem is that it really doesn’t work that way. Some people are skilled at both fic and original works, but from what I’ve seen most aren’t. That makes the basis of their entire venture pretty shaky.
IOW I won’t exactly be waiting breathlessly for their offerings.
ghn said on 01.08.10 at 11:19 PM • [link]
Pink dye for “down there”???
Suuure… apply, wait for allergic reaction to blossom, wash off. Now, I have never even contemplated actually _doing_ this, because I _do_ have allergies, and they are emphatically _not_ fun. And when you develop an allergy, you are stuck with it.
Just imagine scratching the affected area until you bleed. Not exactly conductive to nookie.
Icky is barely the beginning…
Kalen Hughes said on 01.08.10 at 11:29 PM • [link]
Y’all have seen the ad for “Vulva” the true scent of a woman, right? *shudder* I can’t quite decide if it’s a joke or not, and that truly is SAD.
Hey!T said on 01.08.10 at 11:29 PM • [link]
I think the thing to remember when dealing with a lot of the TwiFandom is that for many this is their first real fandom experience so they have little to no knowledge of the wanksplosions that have come before.
Cara McKenna / Meg Maguire said on 01.08.10 at 11:37 PM • [link]
I already knew my husband kicks ass, but any time anal bleaching comes up (and if you’re a Dan Savage follower it’s not that rare a topic) I love him even more heartily than usual. I mean, he’s pressuring my to stop dying the prematurely gray hair* on my head. Something about unleashing the SIlver Fox…
*And there’s a lot of it. I started going gray at sixteen, and I’m thirty now and I’m about 50% gray. I swore 2010 would be the year I stopped dying. Plus, better now than when I have a baby a little further down the road—I don’t imagine I’ll want to be waddling around with swollen feet and an aching back and four-inch silver roots.
Silver Fox, activate!
ghn said on 01.08.10 at 11:40 PM • [link]
@Cara McKenna
Your husband rocks!!
Cara McKenna / Meg Maguire said on 01.08.10 at 11:47 PM • [link]
Oh, he’ll be so excited to know his rockingfulness rated at the Bitchery.
raj said on 01.09.10 at 12:16 AM • [link]
Lori, it’s not just that some people don’t successfully make the jump from derivative to original. It’s that some fan fiction is really popular while still being really bad.
I know a lot of published original fiction is of dubious quality as well, but generally fan fiction gets popular based on a variety of factors not necessarily related to its quality.
Silver James said on 01.09.10 at 12:28 AM • [link]
Okay. The BK guy just creeps me out. On every level. As for netherparts dying? Yeah, somebody would die for sure for even trying to get close!
Does anyone else see a problem with publishing fanfic? Uhm…copyrights? As if pirates aren’t bad enough, now we have to worry about people taking our characters, doing whatever the heck they want with them, and getting paid to do so? On the one hand, yes, it’s flattering (sort of) when one’s creative endeavours engender such fandom, but…when people take those characters places they were never meant to go? I’m sorry Harry/Draco slash fanfic is all over the place and I don’t know how JK Rowling doesn’t just split her head open from pounding it on her desk.
Cara, your husband deserves the “He rocks!” chorus.
Heh! Spamword is lines56. Yes, there were at LEAST 56 lines crossed!
India said on 01.09.10 at 12:28 AM • [link]
WTF is a “Certified editor”? I suggest one- , two- , and three-martini Certifications….
JamiSings said on 01.09.10 at 12:30 AM • [link]
@ Liz
Now see, way I see it is if it makes you feel better about yourself, do it, just don’t go to an extreme and don’t lie. I’d have plastic surgery in a heart beat if I could afford it. And NOT just because of weight issues. I have scars on my face due to ingrown facial hairs and adult acne (caused by my PCOS) that I’d love to have lightened/removed for instance.
In fact, I firmly believe plastic surgery should be covered by health insurance so everyone can afford it. Sometimes you can’t fix your inner problems until you fix the outer ones. Sort of like how you can’t fix that huge pothole in the road until you remove the big old dead tree blocking it.
Melissandre said on 01.09.10 at 12:51 AM • [link]
Silver, I think Omnific is only accepting original work. I think you’re right; the authors of the original characters would be out for their blood if they tried to publish fanfic.
awasky said on 01.09.10 at 12:52 AM • [link]
Oh man, I am so amused by that link to Omnific. They have plenty of Certified Editors, but you know what they don’t seem to have? Production, publicity, sales, any sort of legal/contracts type of job, accounts payable… I know these things can be folded in to other jobs at a small company, but they have as many editors listed as some major publishing companies, and I can tell you, the editorial staff is the tip of the iceberg. Editing a book is the teeniest tiniest part of publishing it, and being an editor requires a lot more than just knowing how to edit. So, um, I wish them luck with that…
Also, Silver James, they do say they want original works only. So they’re not publishing fanfic. Their FAQ implies that it’s okay to retool fanfic into something original and submit that, but that goes on all the time anyway.
Mollyscribbles said on 01.09.10 at 01:25 AM • [link]
Agreed that the fic-based publisher bears a resemblance to Cassandra Claire; I can’t believe she went from being known as one of the most infamous fic authors out there (not just for the plagarism, but the ‘Draco in Leather Pants’ issues) to bestseller lists. There is no justice in the world.
Barbara said on 01.09.10 at 01:40 AM • [link]
Melissandra…. where do you find the links to CC?
I survived the HP Shipping Wars, so I know what’s coming if she’s involved (and couldn’t wish it on a better fandom than Twilight).
I’m not seeing the link to CClaire?, though.
Chicklet said on 01.09.10 at 01:58 AM • [link]
Ha! I’m not in HP, but I am a Bitter Old Fandom Queen, and I know exactly what you mean.
teshara said on 01.09.10 at 01:59 AM • [link]
I wish I could say the dye stuff was completely insane and sexist, but I know more than one lass that has kicked a lad out of bed and told him not to return until he rid himself of his foreskin.
All I can say is: hey, it isn’t surgery that requires stitches.
Second, the moderated fanfic site and the inclusion of the publishing site is pretty normal for the fandom. It’s been going on since the Star Trek fandom gained speed in the 70’s. My friends mum put her 2 kids through grad school because of stuff like this.
Sure, is isn’t for everyone and the idea of someone going through my writing and ‘fixing’ it makes me bristle, but some writers and readers just don’t care. (Sweet Valley Twins, anyone?)
MichelleR said on 01.09.10 at 02:31 AM • [link]
You guys never read the fictional story about Courtney Cox’s assistant that alleges, again fictionally—well, I suppose you can read it:
http://www.jillsoloway.com/cc.htm
Mireya said on 01.09.10 at 02:33 AM • [link]
It is VERY easy to open a publishing house. Anyone can do it, literally. What is difficult is to actually be able to make it a profitable, self-sustaining business. To be able to deal with the BUSINESS aspect of it. It sounds so cool to say “I am an editor” ... what’s not so cool is having to deal with the bills, with attitudes, etc.
I’ll just watch as I usually do. All those degrees in this and that do not impress me either.
JamiSings said on 01.09.10 at 02:45 AM • [link]
@teshara
Who says she’s got to do it for a man, though? What if she’s doing it for herself? Because it gives her that extra kick of confidence that people keep claiming pretty panties give?
This is just one thing I don’t get. People go around saying a woman can do what she wants with her body, even sell it if she choses, but the minute she wants to get anything akin to plastic surgery or anal bleaching or whatever done then suddenly it’s “Wrong” and “sexist” and “she needs help.” What happened to “Her body, her choice”?
Miranda said on 01.09.10 at 02:59 AM • [link]
Choices aren’t made in a vacuum. We are all influenced and shaped by society. There is nothing wrong with analyzing and even criticizing those choices and the surrounding societal conditioning.
I can’t think of a non-sexual reason for wanting to dye your hooter, (maybe to match your purse and shoes?) but that’s just me.
Melissandre said on 01.09.10 at 03:28 AM • [link]
Barbara, I went to their parent website http://www.twilighted.net and saw that Cassandra Clare was one of the authors who was closely associated with the site. I don’t know much about the issue, but I did read up on it after her name was mentioned (unfavorably) here. While the Twilight fandom may be new, I still find it interesting that this site did not vet her (or chose to ignore her past history with Harry Potter fanfic). I mean, the issue has it’s own Wikipedia page, for God’s sake, so it’s not exactly an obscure scandal.
GJ said on 01.09.10 at 03:34 AM • [link]
Yikes, I think I’d buy the mints (google: linger mints) before the dye. At least you’d get a little something besides a rash from the former.
As far as corresponding Male enhancements? Have you seen that LOLCatz thing with the glow sticks going around. I’m just saying…might keep a fella from stubbing his toe in the bedroom. What is it Alton Brown says? Something about no one trick ponies?
JamiSings said on 01.09.10 at 03:50 AM • [link]
@Miranda
But that doesn’t answer my question.
For example - on a message board a couple of years ago someone posted a link to an article about a college student who was auctioning off her virginity to the highest bidder to pay her college tution. Her sister was paying for her college by stripping. In both cases women of the board said “It’s their bodies, they cal sell them if they want to.”
I mentioned in a discussion about breasts that I’d like to have mine reduced a half cup size because no bra fits me properly. (I am, according to Victoria’s Secret, a 38 DDD cup. I’d like to be closer to a DD.) And the skin tightened up so they don’t sag so much. I don’t expect perky, but just a little less saggy. Those same women who said a woman can sell her body to pay for college turned around and told me I “need help” and that I was wrong for wanting plastic surgery. Basically told me I had NO choice when it came to MY body because THEY declared I was “sick in the head” for wanting breast augementation.
Yes, part of it is because I want to look in the mirror and like myself more. The other part is because no amount of diet or execercise will ever fix saggying breasts. (I did the research.) But no matter the reason, I WANT TO DO IT FOR ME. Not for a man. Not for society. For ME.
Which brings me back to my original question.
Why is it that if a woman chooses to say - tattoo her entire body in a paisley print - she can because it’s “her body, her choice.” But if a woman wants to have her double chin liposuctioned off she’s “sick in the head”? Why the double standard. Where is the “her body, her choice” then?
If a woman wants to dye her netherbits then let her. It’s not really any different then putting on lipstick, coloring your hair, or wearing a lace thong.
Just an Anon said on 01.09.10 at 03:53 AM • [link]
Melissandre, I have to from a website-owner perspective, it looks like a mutually favorable marketing thing, rather than Claire being behind the whole thing somehow.
Just an Anon said on 01.09.10 at 03:56 AM • [link]
That is, _say_ from a website-owner perspective—and one that’s aware of CC from her fandom days. I think it’s fair to focus on the company’s lack of experience as a warning flag, of course, but I’m not sure that an interview and judging sort of thing is the big issue here.
Melissandre said on 01.09.10 at 04:09 AM • [link]
And you could be right, Anon. Like I said, I have almost no participation in any fanfic communities. But even with my lack of participation, I knew Clare’s reputation. As an outsider, her contribution to another fanfic community makes me doubt that community’s credibility. To me, their relationship with her, however tenuous, is also a warning flag; no matter her current success as a published author, she’s tainted in my eyes by her Internet history. I’m sure she’s benefited from advertising and contributing to their site, and I’m sure they’ve benefited equally from her popularity as a YA writer. I merely find it interesting that this site and this fandom has ignored her past reputation. If someone with no involvement with fanfiction is turned off by her involvement, I imagine there are many more writers and readers who have had similar reactions.
anthrograd said on 01.09.10 at 04:14 AM • [link]
That’s interesting about Cassandra Claire, I remember reading her Draco Veritas series and enjoying it only to be surprised later when reading a few comments randomly on the internet about a controversy surrounding her. She did use Buffy quotes within her fanfiction, but always listed them at the bottom of the fic. I remember being underwhelmed by what those commentors years ago listed as her indiscretions, but then again they only mentioned just a few things and there may be bigger issues out there. I was also underwhelmed by her first original work that was published. I only read her excerpt on her webpage, but after enjoying Draco Veritas (right or wrong) I was pretty disappointed in her writing style. So maybe there is something to be said for the controversy afterall. ; )
Although, she completely removed her fanfics from as many sites as possible when she was trying to get get published. Is that normal? Do real authors look down on fanfiction and not want to be seen as attached to the genre? Considering all the published Buffy and Star Trek and Star Wars books, that aren’t written by their original authors it seems like fanfiction can be profitable with the ok from the right people. But if she was taking money from readers as a simple writer posting on fanfiction.net, that would have been a big issue since everything I have ever read always starts with “the characters aren’t mine, I make no money from them, please don’t sue me”
I think I may go read the wikipedia page and re-live my fanfiction fan days of high school, haha : )
Sorry for the off topic!
The dye reminds me of that episode of Sex and the City where Samantha stops shaving because Smith likes ...a mature woman. She soon realizes that she’s turning grey down there, but when she dies it it turns orange. I learned my lesson, strong chemicals and ‘the lady’ should never be too close together! : )
AM said on 01.09.10 at 05:25 AM • [link]
I find this thought pretty depressing. Is the capacity of our mind and spirit so limited that we can never overcome our physical limitations (or certain ones) to live our lives? I can’t help but think that people adjusted in the ages before safe, widespread surgery. Maybe not always well, but they did adjust.
To stretch the road analogy till it cries uncle, maybe the road doesn’t actually need fixing it all. Maybe the road is great as it is—and this part certainly has extra character. And maybe the only thing that’s necessary to do when we’re ready to move on is to walk around it.
This isn’t an arguement for or against plastic surgery for any reason. I think those squads going around fixing cleft lips on children in 3rd countries do fantastic work. Just a little wary of the world view contained within this thought…
Dionne said on 01.09.10 at 05:28 AM • [link]
Wow. Twilight fandom is really asking for it.
Any publishing company formed from the ranks of a fanfic site that chooses to engage in a symbiotic relationship with Judith Rumelt, (aka. Cassandra Clare, aka. Cassandra Claire, Cassie Claire, CC, formerly Epicyclical and now TheGrayBook on LiveJournal) is *already* engaging in unethical practices by associating with an author who plagiarized several published authors and never admitted it or apologized. Just because she did so without monetary gain does not absolve her of lifting creative property from the writing community and passing it off as her own.
The fact that Holly Black and their agent have helped her to get a career in writing is positively disgusting, and I would never want to be associated with a website that even tangentially benefits from her name.
If you want to read a short summary of the CC Plagiarism Debacle, there’s a short summary on FWW (wiki DOT fandomwank DOT com / index.php / Plagiarism_and_All_That), with links to the longer, more detailed time line at the bottom, listed under the community name bad_penny on JournalFen.net.
As for dying one’s body, I think that many women buy into trends that say something negative about the way we view our bodies, but I wouldn’t personally criticize them for wanting to feel beautiful.
ohyoudo said on 01.09.10 at 05:50 AM • [link]
My punch line was very much like yours
f-ingoverit said on 01.09.10 at 05:57 AM • [link]
the lips thing is interesting to me. scary but interesting.
i think grey hair is beautiful. go with it girl.
as far as omnific goes i must say a few things.
1) there are, up on their site RIGHT NOW, stories that are pieces of finished twilight fanfic where the authors have simply changes the names in order to post them with Omnific. recently a number of authors pulled their stories from ff.net and twilighted for the sole purpose of posting them with Omnific.
2) the main people running this site and “editing” these stories are TERRIBLE writers. I have read fic from each other of them and in every case was either bored, horrified by the lack of ANY likable characters or just shaking my head at how bad the over all story was.
3) they are taking submissions from a small group of fic writers who became popular through shady means and high school popularity games. none of it was ever based on quality.
HOWEVER I am all for this site if it keeps these ass writers from submitting to legit agencies and publishing houses :)
SB Sarah said on 01.09.10 at 06:12 AM • [link]
I love how vag dye evolves to a discussion of plastic surgery. LOVE.
Body image is such an almighty fucked up thing that no matter how much you’re told that you are ok the way you are, the standard of beauty is something else entirely. Whatever you are, the standard of beauty is not you. From clothing sizes for women that aren’t consistent to the horrors surrounding body hair, living in a female body is a hot mess of confusing, conflicting messages.
Now, I’ve had plastic surgery several times, from a breast reduction (OH THANK YOU LORDY YES YES YES) when I was 19 to comprehensive reconstruction on my face following a car accident (OH THANK YOU LORDY YES YES YES). The breast reduction was probably one of the most empowering things I’ve ever done for myself, and I have never regretted it. I was so shy and angsty and I had these GIANT ENORMOUS BOOBS when I was in 6th grade - oh, the angst multiplied. Talk about confusing, conflicting messages about sexuality. I don’t think that adhering to an external standard apart from what my body looked like on its own has done me any damage. Totally worked for me.
Of course, in the US, we can’t figure out a viable plan for national health coverage for the country, so forget discussing what cosmetic surgery options should or should not be covered. That said, I find it absolutely jaw dropping awful that only recently was it mandated by federal law that health insurance companies must cover breast reconstruction following mastectomy. There again, external standards of appearance are important to well being.
I am all about boobs tonight, apparently.
MichelleR said on 01.09.10 at 06:26 AM • [link]
Joss Whedon is convinced that there is a deep-seated, pathological loathing of women, and I agree. What kind of insanity is it to tell have the population that they’re not good enough and to act like the worst thing they can do is age past a certain point that we’ll call 35? Damned if you look you age, damned if you get work done, damned if you have cellulite, damned if your nose has a bump. Damned if your vagina isn’t a perfect pink and able to crush walnuts, and your tummy isn’t free of stretch marks. In, fact, damned if your body reflects you’ve had kids, but damned if you don’t have kids.
Doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for thinking, does it? Gee, why do girls have poor math and science scores?
raj said on 01.09.10 at 07:04 AM • [link]
anthrograd, not to let this devolve into a discussion of Cassandra Cla(i)re’s actions, but she lifted a heck of a lot more than just a few Buffy quotes now and then, and nowhere near all of what she lifted was cited. You can read a long and sordid history of it here.
Suze said on 01.09.10 at 07:17 AM • [link]
Henceforth, I am calling my vagina The Nutcracker.
JamiSings, I’m hearing you. While there are some bizarre-looking victims of vanity surgery out there in the world, I really don’t understand the hatin’ that gets directed toward people who are interested in cosmetic surgery. Feeling hideous can be debilitating. And having enormous, saggy boobs is NOT fun.
liz m said on 01.09.10 at 10:47 AM • [link]
@ MichelleR - He saw Dollhouse? (Sorry, I had to. I am ready to break up with Joss over Season One)
@ JamiSings & Suze - It’s not plastic surgery per se, it’s the never ending procession of things that are wrong with women and require correction. You want to cut the boobs down, push them out, whatever? Your body, your choice. However, my feelings about the societal constructs that drive that train and then push women to consider if their labia is attractive enough without surgical intervention falls under my mind, my thoughts. And I think it’s vile. Our bodies, ourselves. Our bodies under constant attack, our selves under constant attack.
MichelleR said on 01.09.10 at 01:10 PM • [link]
Miracle Laurie—Joss Whedon had the courage to make Miracle Laurie a doll, even though she’s plus-sized by the crazy standards of Hollywood.
AM said on 01.09.10 at 04:10 PM • [link]
Yes, but this was always true. Women have done countless odd and damaging things to be “attractive”. (Corsets, foot binding anyone?)
And to a certain extent men feel this too. (Wigs, long hair, short hair, high heels, stockings.)
There’s unfortunately only one solution: stop worrying about what other people think and live your life.
I’m not against plastic surgery but the idea that it must happen before women can feel good about themselves again makes me skiddish.
Suze is not the only person who felt the pain of other’s opinions in middle school. I had like 2 friends in middle school because I overweight, awkward, plain, and got A’s in a small rural town. I distinctly remember still sitting down in the 8th grade and having people move away like I was a leper.
There’s no plastic surgery for overweight and awkward. The greatest truth is that the beauty and happiness are inside jobs. Outside work can sometimes make the inside work easier, but there’s no skipping over it entirely.
There are people who use plastic surgery to avoid the inside work. As in, “I’ll feel good about myself once xx happens.” Then once xx happens they notice some other unsatisfactory area and self acceptance must wait until some indefinite moment in time…
As a practical matter, I would prefer not to help pay for that type of surgery. I have no problems with helping to pay for birth defect and accident reconstruction. This might make me leper here -*grin*, but I do see how reconstruction after mastecomy lives in the grey area between the miracle (face reconstruction) and the frivolous (botox).
teshara said on 01.09.10 at 05:03 PM • [link]
Maybe I will feel differently after, but I know I will have to have a mastectomy and I consider the reconstruction frivolous.
There are a lot of women that are completely flat as a board. If we are to buy into the ‘women come in all shapes and sizes’ credo we’re going to have to face that.
Giving me a reconstruction after I lose my boobage while overlooking a woman that’s been flat-chested her whole life, saying my life will be negatively effected by my boob size and hers won’t, has always struck me as bewildering.
For the record, they’re huge.
Miranda said on 01.09.10 at 05:31 PM • [link]
“of years ago someone posted a link to an article about a college student who was auctioning off her virginity to the highest bidder to pay her college tution. Her sister was paying for her college by stripping. In both cases women of the board said “It’s their bodies, they cal sell them if they want to.””
My response would have been that it’s too bad that there aren’t other options for covering tuition or more financial aid as opposed to acts with high potential for danger, particularly auctioning off the virginity. Perhaps an extra paragraph or two regarding virginity fetishes, and the mysticifcation of sex where losing virginity is SOME BIG DEAL as opposed to biology.
I have no idea why they said what they did. You’d have to ask them. However, expressing their opinions doesn’t take away yor or anyone’s choice. They aren’t passing laws, they’re typing on a message board.
FD said on 01.09.10 at 07:34 PM • [link]
I feel that absolutely we should discuss why people do things like mutilate themselves (ala Joscelyn Wildenstein) with repeated cosmetic surgeries. And see no reason why people shouldn’t have and express opinions on it, both pro and anti.
Disapproval does not equal prevention. Prevention I would frown on.
As an aside, I come down as pro-availability, but distressed at how many women have surgery because they feel that they ‘aren’t good enough’ in their natural state. And icked out by the fact that instead of being reduced, the creeping low-self-esteem-crud seems to be spreading to include men, where historically it has been a primarily female problem. Anorexia is on the rise in boys. Western society has a serious problem, imo.
JoAnn Chartier said on 01.09.10 at 07:56 PM • [link]
The first thing that hit me between the eyes (since I don’t know anything about CC or fanfix) was “a myriad of resources” to make sure your work cleaned up good. Really. Aren’t “a” and “of” redundant and wouldn’t a really good editor resource excise the unnecessary?
Bugs me when people say/write that. I’ve seen/heard it myriad times, really, almost as much as confusion over sink/sank/sunk—as in “she sunk to the sofa”—like, how’d she DO that?
I think/thank/thunk I have to lay/lie down now that I’ve read the part about nether/pinker/fatter ladybits.
Maggie P. said on 01.09.10 at 10:48 PM • [link]
can someone please tell me wtf a “transformative work” is?
Ken Houghton said on 01.09.10 at 11:18 PM • [link]
Maggie P - Short version: fanfiction and its professional counterparts (e.g., Scarlett or Lo’s Diary). Transform a work by taking a piece of it and view it in a different way. (The mashup of Dangerous Minds and HP where Hermione ends up teaching in an underresourced, underprivileged wizarding school would be a video example.)
Playing the Bio Inflation at Omnific Game: can someone tell me what “holds a doctorate level degree” (CJ Creel, Developmental Editor) means? Either you have a Doctorate (Ph.D., LLD., Ed.D., etc.) or you don’t (exception noted for JD, which is really Master’s level). That she puts the Thomas Covenant rape fantasies series in the list of her influences would be worrisome, if I were going to take “Developmental” as a serious position.
A publishing company that can’t write its way out of a paper bag and is based in TX is at best not long for this world and more likely intended to separate fools from their money.
Stacia K said on 01.10.10 at 06:25 AM • [link]
@ JamiSings:
TOTALLY agree with you. I don’t see plastic surgery as “empowering” necessarily, but neither do I see it as being a slave to The Man or to public opinion or societal pressure or anything else. If it makes someone happy to get something done, what’s wrong with that? How is it any different from dyeing my hair bright red for fun and to give myself a little lift? Or buying new shoes, or losing a few pounds? Why is it okay for me to wax my ladyparts if I choose, but not to dye them? Or it’s okay to wear a waterbra but not to get implants, or to wear false eyelashes but not to get my eyelids lifted?
Why not do it, if you think it would be fun?
Stacia K said on 01.10.10 at 06:28 AM • [link]
Oh, and also. People who would never dream of making rude comments about someone’s weight, or thin hair, or man-hands, or whatever, will happily pick apart a woman who’s had any kind of cosmetic surgery, even though that’s no more anyone else’s business than her weight or menstrual cycle. I think that’s sad.
Anna said on 01.10.10 at 06:30 PM • [link]
@anthrograd
As someone who was around at the very start of the CC plagiarism debacle, she never gave credit to the original source until after she was called out about it.
I don’t believe she ever took money for fanfic directly but she did at one point ask her ‘fans’ to buy her a laptop/iPod etc after a ‘break in’ so that she could continue to write. And IIRC, they did.
anthrograd said on 01.11.10 at 04:12 AM • [link]
@Anna,
Ah, ok. I must have come in a little late then. That seems like a silly trick to pull off when you are writing fanfiction of all things. In the first place you are already using other people’s characters, so you should know about attributing sources. People who read the books and probably read/watch similar things (e.g. Buffy) are reading your work. Why in the world would you think it’s ok to just gank whole lines of dialogue from your favorite show and why would you think you wouldn’t get caught?
To me the money thing could be more of a gray area because people aren’t paying for access. But I could see the argument of why this is a pretty bad error for her.
Thanks for shedding more light on things. It would be interesting to know if she learned from her mistake or has had any other issues with her original novels. From the posts, some of the commentors seem pretty wary of things with Clare’s involvment. If she learned from her mistakes and has been keeping her nose clean and producing truly original material, is she allowed a do-over? Or if someone has shown that they’ve plagirized, does that mean they are person non-grata for some people? I wonder what other people think especially considering the emphasis and research that Smart Bitches did with the romance writer (can’t remember her name off the top of my head) who stole lines from all over the place to fill her books.Though of course, that example is extreme and she was making a living off her plagiarism.
My first reaction is to give a second chance. But on the other hand, in my field credibility is mandatory and any shadow of impropriety can keep your research from being taken seriously.
BTW, the article that the Times (or some other news org) did on her stealing from an article on ferrets (or maybe some other small-ish ferret like animal) and this website’s research into what else she plagiarized is actually what led me here the first time, so I’m really glad the Smart Bitches were being so diligent : )
Juls said on 01.11.10 at 09:34 AM • [link]
I’m all for plastic surgery. If you need it. If and that’s a big if, you think its the only thing that will help you. I myself am a big woman, and come from a family of big women who all have big tattas, I unfortunately do not. There are 2 and only 2 women in my family who don’t have them. Myself and my mother’s sister who was also lucky enough to be born with a great metabolism, so for her having a smaller breast size was good, for me not so much. She’s like a size 2.
I went through high school being teased cause of my size.
My mother keeps telling me she wished I was small through her whole pregnancy, my response to her was always when you got half your wish, my upper half sure as shit is small but you gave a big ass, so how’s that working out for you.
I know that if I had the money, I would definitely get my breast done. I have to much trouble and not to mention frustration getting bras that fit half way decent. But to put a somewhat toxic chemical near my cat just so it will look pretty? Don’t think so. But if that’s what you want to do, who the heck am I to say your wrong?
spam word: well 47. well here’s the 47th reason I want bigger boobs, cause my winter sweaters would look better.
Vuir said on 01.11.10 at 02:21 PM • [link]
Cosmetic surgery is in a different league to lipstick and hair dye, since surgery is a non-trivial matter.
Breast reconstruction after a masectomy is in a different league again, since there are many flat chested women, but few one-boobed women. I believe that reconstruction can be carried out straight after the masectomy, while you’re still knocked out, which cuts down on the risks.
Dionne said on 01.12.10 at 03:59 AM • [link]
@anthrograd
Cassie Edwards != CC / Judith Rumelt / Cassandra Clare
Cassie Edwards (real name unknown) committed both commercial copyright infringement and plagiarism and is/was a popular romance writer who appropriated Native American cultures to exoticize/fetishize people of color with really bad writing. SBTB exposed her.
Cassie Cla(i)re (Judith Rumelt) committed plagiarism while writing fan fiction, a derivative form of fiction that falls into a legally gray area (fans can sue original authors for using their plot executions—this happened to Marion Zimmer Bradley—and their works may not be reproduced in toto w/out permission, like original fiction authors, but they cannot make a profit from their work and technically can be sued for making fanfic public). Within fanfiction circles, there is a HUGE ethical difference between doing the background research like you would for an original story and using the characters or setting from another person’s work in homage to the original work and *copying someone’s words, line by line, without attribution.* The latter is what CC did, several times, without apology or retraction.
liz m said on 01.12.10 at 05:03 AM • [link]
@ teshara - I had a partial on one side and rejected reconstruction - I have met a number of women who had the reconstructions done but none (yet) that didn’t. There was a lot of pressure that our ‘self image’ would be too badly harmed after cancer treatment unless we rebuilt ourselves as closely as possible to our originals. I like my scars, they show I Went Through Some Serious Shit. I don’t want to deny that. Whatever you decide, I hope it goes well for you - there’s an ‘after’ to this but it takes forever to get here.
anthrograd said on 01.12.10 at 05:34 AM • [link]
@Dionne,
Cassie Edwards! That’s the name, the first time I heard of her issues and of this site was on a Times article where the author discussed how his biology article on the black footed ferret (or something) was written into one of her Native Exploitation books.
annalicious said on 01.12.10 at 01:39 PM • [link]
@ Jami and Stacia K
I totally agree with you. I think the main distinction however is that while I totally agree that there is nothing wrong with you for getting plastic surgery, it is not the choice for me.
I was recently in a heated debate with a girlfriend of mine regarding stripping as a profession, she said “I dont agree with women becoming strippers because I am a feminist.” I said, “WTF!?! I have no problem with women being strippers because I am a feminist. Women should be able to do whatever they want with their bodies. Would I want my daughter to beocome a stripper? No. Do I think it a poor life choice? Yes.” When we tell people what they can do with their bodies is the moment their bodies no longer belong to themselves. Like, I almost had to withdraw my friend card because of that discussion!
I dont have a problem with women having plastic surgery. If a boob job will make you feel better about yourself, more power to you. I think its sad that some people think fixing their outside is the only way to make themselves feel better, but if it works for them more power to them!
My grandmother had a full mastectomy on her left breast about 25 years ago. I was 6, so no one thought to talk to me about the repercussions about the scars or not having both breasts - it doesnt seem to have bothered her much though. I think scars are cool, this coming from a girl that has no major disfiguring scars, but I think this issue is a very personal one and I do think women should have the option to have reconstructive surgery. Another girlfriend of mine chose to have a double mastectomy in her mid 30’s, because she had a pre-cancerous growth in her breast and her genetics predisposed her to having breast cancer - she decided to get breast implants WAY bigger than the ones she originally had. Kind of figured that she might as well! Of course every time i look at her I think her rack is way too bigh for her frame, but she feels good about herself.
I think my main problem with the plastic surgery issue is the way women deny having any done. Sharon Osbourne had ridiculous amounts of plastic surgery done and looks amazing and admits it! I think thats great! I get annoyed when these women get work done and then pretend that its just good living that keeps those lines off their face. Of course a family member works for Dr. 90210 as a surgical nurse, and boy howdy has she seen a lot!
liz m said on 01.14.10 at 08:20 PM • [link]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvzhvKm_15k&feature=player_embedded
Obviously, this conversation enabled Jennifer Love Hewitt to share. How, exactly, does one get the crystals to stay on? And wouldn’t a glue that strength be, um, painful during - well - use?
karen said on 01.24.10 at 09:57 PM • [link]
But wait! Did anyone go to the Pink button site and check out the marketing? I quote:
And for “shy beginners”:
I am in the land of plastic surgery, so I have to laugh. I think plastic surgery should be used for reconstruction from an accident/disease, not to make your rack larger (who wants the sagging and back pain that goes with THAT?).
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