“There was such a terrible sense of urgency”: Guest Post on AIDS Activism by Ingrid Nelson and Liz Highleyman

ACT UP
There are some amazing events happening in San Francisco this weekend, commemorating important events in the early AIDS activist movement (specifically, the 25th anniversary of the 6th International AIDS Conference in San Francisco, and ACT UP’s week of protests). This is important and fascinating history, well worth knowing and remembering. If you’re interested in queer history or the history of street activism, and you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend, I urge you attend at least some of these events if you can.

There’s a great article in the Bay Area Reporter by Liz Highleyman about ACT UP, 6th International AIDS Conference protests, the history of AIDS activism, and the reasons behind this weekend’s commemorative events. (A full calendar of the weekend’s events is in the article.) She interviewed my wife, Ingrid Nelson, a nurse practitioner specializing in HIV — but as is almost always the case with reporting, only a small portion of the interview was quoted. Liz and Ingrid have given permission to quote the interview here in full.

Liz Highleyman: Why were these events so important at the time?

Ingrid Nelson: Because people were desperate for scientific information. There was no Internet! These were the early days of patients learning to be their own advocates. They wanted to find out what drugs were being studied, what clinical trials they might qualify for. And they wanted input into where the research should be focused in the first place. There was such a terrible sense of urgency, and so little access to information. It was a terrifying time.

Why is it important to remember them now 25 years later?

It would be such a shame if all this history were lost. Our community was so traumatized, and I think it’s too painful for a lot of survivors to talk about now. People lost their lovers. Multiple times. They lost entire circles of friends. And many were estranged from their families of origin. It was like a war, except it was invisible to the rest of society. I think those of us who are still here, who are able to, feel a sense of obligation to speak up about it. We want people now to learn from what we accomplished, and also from our mistakes. And we are passionate about honoring and remembering our fallen comrades.

What did the protests accomplish?

We did get passes into the conference for people with HIV and AIDS. Many conference attendees — medical providers and scientists — stood up and publicly joined their voices with the activists, during Peter Staley’s speech. Research protocols became more open, and parallel tracking speeded things along. We got tons of news coverage that was very much on message. We brought issues of race, immigration, poverty, and sexism into the discussion. And huge numbers of queers from the community showed up and got arrested for their first time, and became lifelong activists starting with that week.

Do we still need AIDS activism today and if so why? What issues remain?

silence equals death poster
We didn’t have the word “intersectionality” back then, but that’s what the ACT UP/SF philosophy was all about. It wasn’t enough to just demand “drugs into bodies,” like the treatment activists used to say. You had to ask “whose bodies?” One of our fears was that AIDS might become a two-tiered epidemic, and that’s exactly what is happening now. We have effective treatments, but we don’t have equal access. If you have HIV but you are poor, or a person of color, or trans, or a woman, or a youth, or in prison, or mentally ill, or a drug user, or an immigrant, or homeless, or a sex worker, or live in an isolated rural area or a resource-limited country, you are more likely to get sick and die. There is still tremendous stigma and shame and invisibility. People have this idea that HIV is a problem that has been fixed. We need to shatter that myth. We need to educate the public about the “cascade of care,” and realize that the biggest gap is in retention of patients in primary HIV care.

Any anecdote or event you found particularly inspiring?

There are so many. The INS protest was amazing. The PISD caucus going over the barricades was such powerful symbolism. Seeing so many men getting arrested at the women’s demo was extremely important and meant a lot to me personally as a member of the ACT UP Women’s Caucus. I also loved the red paper chains that the women wrapped around themselves — that was a wonderful visual. Peter Staley’s speech from the podium was huge, and possibly the first time a person with HIV had spoken from the main stage. I remember Peter asking the con attendees to stand up and chant with us, and a lot of them did. I remember him saying (not exact words, but close) “someday, people will talk about how there used to be a terrible disease. But there were some very brave people who fought back.” I will never forget shouting down Louis Sullivan. Our feelings about that were complicated — we believed in free speech, and we didn’t like the idea of a group of mostly white people shouting down a black man. But we talked through all that, and we ultimately decided that the federal government’s inaction was so grotesque, and so criminal in the face of so much suffering and death, that in this case it was justified. That symbolizes so much about how we all felt then — that we were literally fighting for our lives, and that therefore all bets were off and the old rules didn’t necessarily apply. Drastic action, as long as it was nonviolent, was absolutely called for and was entirely appropriate.

I also remember when the con was over, and we all marched to Market Street and essentially crashed the Pride parade. We always refused to get any type of permits for our protests — it was against our principles, and we made no exception for Pride. We didn’t know exactly what the crowd’s reaction would be — there were some people in the LGBT community who disagreed with our tactics. But that march felt like our own ticker tape parade. We got nothing but cheers and thumbs up the whole way. I remember turning and saying to someone marching next to me, “it’s such a lie that this community hates us.” We did our usual routine of “dying in” at regular intervals, and drawing chalk outlines around each other’s bodies. It’s one of my most vivid and proud memories of those times.

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

“There was such a terrible sense of urgency”: Guest Post on AIDS Activism by Ingrid Nelson and Liz Highleyman
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8 Awesome Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris

If you’ve read anything about the blossoming atheist movement, there’s a good chance it was about Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. And if you’re a reasonably progressive person who cares about sexism and racism, and you’ve read about Dawkins or Harris, there’s an excellent chance that the top of your head came off.

There’s this pattern with media coverage of organized atheism. When a media outlet decides that atheism is interesting and important, they all too often turn to Dawkins or Harris. Then, when Dawkins or Harris puts their foot in their mouth — again — the reporter cries out, “Atheism needs better leadership! Why doesn’t atheism have better leaders?”

Atheism does have better leaders. Plenty of them. Organized atheism has hundreds of leaders, arguably thousands — leaders of support organizations, charitable organizations, advocacy groups, online communities, local groups, and more. I’d like to introduce you to eight of them.

1 Rebecca Hensler 150
2 Debbie Goddard 150
3 August Brunsman 150
4 Muhammad Syed 150

5 Sarah Morehead 150
6 Mandisa Thomas 150
7 Noelle George 150
8 Amanda Metskas 150

*****

Thus begins my latest piece for AlterNet, 8 Awesome Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. To find out who they are and to find out more about them, read the rest of the piece. Enjoy!

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

8 Awesome Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris

Godless Perverts Social Club Thursday June 18: Secular Sexual Transcendence

godless perverts social club graphic for 6-18-15

The next Godless Perverts Social Club is Thursday, June 18! We’re picking a discussion topic ahead of time — and this time, the topic is Secular Sexual Transcendence.

Sexual experiences can have a lot in common with what people describe as religious experiences: an ecstatic high, heightened sensory perception, being intensely present in the present moment. In fact, some religions see sexual experiences as inextricably linked with spiritual experiences, and incorporate sex into their practices. How can atheists and other non-believers frame these experiences without thinking of them as supernatural? And how can we discuss and share them with believers? What common grounds, if any, can sexual experiences allow both the theists and atheists to reach?

Our co-moderator for the evening, Ali Faruqi works a researcher at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Ali grew up in Karachi, Pakistan in a Muslim family. He has struggled with faith since end of his high school and considers himself to be an agnostic for all practical purposes. He is interested in science, philosophy and history and believes that religions can best be analyzed in light of these disciplines. He is also interested in understanding and exploring sexual identities, orientations and practices, free from religious dogma.

So please join us! Community is one of the reasons we started Godless Perverts. There are few enough places to land when you decide that you’re an atheist; far fewer if you’re also LGBT, queer, kinky, poly, trans, or are just interested in sexuality. And the sex-positive/ alt-sex/ whatever- you- want- to- call- it community isn’t always the most welcoming place for non-believers. All orientations, genders, and kinks (or lack thereof) welcome. Admission is free, but we ask that you buy food and/or drink at the cafe if you can: they have beverages, light snacks, full meals, and milkshakes made of literal awesome sauce.

The Godless Perverts Social Club meets on the first Tuesday and the third Thursday of every month, 7-9 pm, at Wicked Grounds, 289 8th Street at Folsom in San Francisco (near Civic Center BART). Admission is free, but we ask that you buy food and/or drink at the cafe if you can: they have beverages, light snacks, full meals, and milkshakes made of literal awesome sauce. Continue reading “Godless Perverts Social Club Thursday June 18: Secular Sexual Transcendence”

Godless Perverts Social Club Thursday June 18: Secular Sexual Transcendence

The Irresistible Woman: A Micro-Horror Collection, Part 7

Content note: fantasy/horror violence, and plenty of it. Also some references to sexism, misogyny, misogynist violence, and some sexual content.

In response to this post on Facebook, from dating coach Jonathon Aslay:

How a Woman Becomes Irresistible To a Man… She chooses to set high standards for herself. She’s clear on what she wants. She knows the value of friendship before sex. She comes from a place of gratitude (not expectations). She is confident and willing to ask a man out on a date because she knows a relationship is a two way street. She demonstrates trust and respect by accepting him for who he is. She’s in no hurry to get to the destination. She can take of herself, she doesn’t need a man. She shows up interesting and interested. She comes from a place of compassion (not entitlement). Lastly, she knows how to inspire a man, because she leads by example. Did I miss anything?

Facebook feminists bring you: The Irresistible Woman. Part 7 of a series. All micro-stories reprinted with permission of the authors, credited and linked to (or not) as they requested.

DISCLAIMER: References to violence, death, destruction, physical torment, psychological torment, supernatural torment, world domination, eternal nightmares, or the warping of the entire space-time continuum to exact revenge on one sexist jerk, are all intended as metaphor. These are fictional expressions of rage and mockery, aimed at the impossible, contradictory, ever-shifting standards of female desirability, and at the barrage of advice given to women about how to meet those standards. None of the authors actually want to do these things, or think they should happen. No, really.

*****

It’s not even about the list at this point. It’s this torrential outpouring of surreality only vaguely provoked by the initial words, mostly provoked by life lived under the thumb of a culture that demands that women be always pleasant, always accessible, and always always responsible both for their actions and the reactions of others. Always beautiful. Always kind. It’s tiresome in its neverending crush. Sometimes you lose the desire to rage. Sometimes all you can do is cough back an equal amount of nonsensical madness, providing yourself and your friends a little amusement, a brief reprieve before we go on to be criticized by our relatives, our doctors, the things we watch and read, before we click away and find another and another and another puff piece telling us how *we* should be, when all we ever wanted was equality and yet *we* are already so put upon to be and be and *be* this thing and the other thing and the next thing here. Decent is how everyone should be. It is not difficult to grasp that these are attributes that literally everyone should possess. But by saying “woman,” you gently echo what we hear every day: that we are not ideal, that we are not trying hard enough, that things fall apart and it is our fault, that we must “share responsibility”, not be demanding, not be entitled. And by saying man, you draw a box around that group of women that not only want relationships, but want them *with men.* Forgetting that even though men love women, women love women, too. Forgetting that some people are neither men nor women, even, if that was a fact you ever knew. And that grates. And then, that women should strive to be irresistible followed by a list that reflects only basic human decency . . . and this is framed as a thing to which we must *aspire*. A goal. A thing we are not presumed to have already. We are presumed to need these lists. This is fair advice, for the most part, though presented as a groundbreaking new observation, that we all — sorry, that *women* — be excellent to each other. To men. Because of course we are directing our actions at men. And yet . . . it rubs wrong. Tastes bitter, a flavor like being so tired you can’t stand up, but too exhausted to sleep. And when sometimes it takes only a feather to tip the scale and send everything spilling. A million tiny acts, tiny words, tiny interactions that we must smile and nod through and fight to find the “meaning well” that lies at the center, and suddenly, the weight of a sesame seed sends everything crashing into chaos. Some lash out in irritation, and that is . . . less than ideal, though certainly understandable. Others, though, are simply inspired to utter surreality. It may seem even more senseless than the anger, but at least it is beautiful. What can you do but laugh? What can we ever, ever do but laugh? –Amanda Gannon Continue reading “The Irresistible Woman: A Micro-Horror Collection, Part 7”

The Irresistible Woman: A Micro-Horror Collection, Part 7

The Irresistible Woman: A Micro-Horror Collection, Part 6

Content note: fantasy/horror violence, and plenty of it. Also some references to sexism, misogyny, misogynist violence, and some sexual content.

In response to this post on Facebook, from dating coach Jonathon Aslay:

How a Woman Becomes Irresistible To a Man… She chooses to set high standards for herself. She’s clear on what she wants. She knows the value of friendship before sex. She comes from a place of gratitude (not expectations). She is confident and willing to ask a man out on a date because she knows a relationship is a two way street. She demonstrates trust and respect by accepting him for who he is. She’s in no hurry to get to the destination. She can take of herself, she doesn’t need a man. She shows up interesting and interested. She comes from a place of compassion (not entitlement). Lastly, she knows how to inspire a man, because she leads by example. Did I miss anything?

Facebook feminists bring you: The Irresistible Woman. Part 6 of a series. All micro-stories reprinted with permission of the authors, credited and linked to (or not) as they requested.

DISCLAIMER: References to violence, death, destruction, physical torment, psychological torment, supernatural torment, world domination, eternal nightmares, or the warping of the entire space-time continuum to exact revenge on one sexist jerk, are all intended as metaphor. These are fictional expressions of rage and mockery, aimed at the impossible, contradictory, ever-shifting standards of female desirability, and at the barrage of advice given to women about how to meet those standards. None of the authors actually want to do these things, or think they should happen. No, really.

*****

In response to someone named Aaron, who called the others in the thread “killjoys”:

The irresistible woman kills all your joy. –Yvonne Rathbone

The irresistible woman kills all joy and then reignites it with her flaming wings, but not Aaron’s joy, never Aaron’s. The irresistible woman will leave Aaron without joy forever. -Amy Lou Renner

The irresistible woman would never kill your joy, for she needs it alive in order to continue feeding on it. Rather, she keeps it under lock and key, visiting when she needs to siphon screams from its pulsating form, promising only what she must in order to ensure that it remains alive still, throbbing, nectar-sweet. You will never see it again, but she will give it hope, for it is foolish joy, without forethought. -Gertrud

She is known by many names, all sobriquets. For every moniker by which she is known, there are always three more to be discovered. None are her True Name, though, for to know that would be to stare into the Abyss and know madness, and to speak it would undo the Cosmos. –Scott David Weitzenhoffer

The irresistible woman is not a person at all, but a force like gravity. Or magnetism. All will love her & despair, for to deny her does not change the laws of physics. –Kassiane

The irresistible woman doesn’t eat your food. She dines on pulsars and shipwrecks. –Yvonne Rathbone

She not only puts up with you. She opens up with you. Opens so far that you see vast plains and stretches of sky, and stars stretching for infinite distance. You fall in. Before you know it, you find yourself on a strange new world, inhabited by creatures made only of teeth and talon, with no regard for the silly plaything that you call “life.”

Desperately you try to cling to the last vestiges of humanity, recalling your shape, your skin, your name. Nothing. You are one of them now. -Gertrud

Her straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. She drinks your milkshake!

::slurping noises::

She drinks it up! . -Gertrud

And they’re like…
“Oh, God, somebody, please, help me!”

Damn right, it’s better than yours.

She can teach you to feed on the souls of the living, but she’ll have to charge. -Kitt McKenzie Continue reading “The Irresistible Woman: A Micro-Horror Collection, Part 6”

The Irresistible Woman: A Micro-Horror Collection, Part 6

Caitlyn Jenner, and a Brief Rant on Second Wave Feminists Policing Women’s Bodies

No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

I am so very sick of feminists insisting that every other woman do womaning the same way they do.

caitlyn jenner vanity fair cover
To Ellen Goodman at the Boston Globe, and to Elinor Burkett at the New York Times, and to all the second-wave feminists taking it on themselves to tel Caitlyn Jenner how to be a woman:

Do you really not understand that your experience, as a woman who’s been seen as a woman her entire life, is radically different from the experience of a woman who is finally, after decades of suppression, expressing her femaleness in way that she chooses?

Do you also not understand that trans women are in a nasty double bind? If they present in a traditionally feminine manner, they get told that they’re a caricature of femaleness, or that their gender presentation isn’t sufficiently feminist. If they don’t present in a traditionally feminine manner, their trans identity is called into question.

And to Goodman in particular: why on earth does it matter what “most women” are thinking about at age 65? isn’t the point here that every women gets to decide for herself what it means to be a woman, and how she wants to experience and express that? Caitlyn Jenner is not telling you how to be a 65 year old woman. Why are you telling her — and by extension, any other trans women who might be reading this — the right way to be a woman?

I did not become a feminist to listen to women policing other women’s bodies. Whatever happened to “Our bodies, our right to decide”?

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

Caitlyn Jenner, and a Brief Rant on Second Wave Feminists Policing Women’s Bodies

Greta Speaking in Richland, WA (Columbia Area) June 16! Plus Columbus OH; Manteca CA; San Juan Puerto Rico; and Winnipeg Manitoba

Hi, all! I have some speaking gigs coming up in Richland WA (Columbia area); Columbus OH; Manteca CA; San Juan Puerto Rico; and Winnipeg Manitoba. If you’re in or near any of these cities, I hope to see you there!

CITY: Richland, WA
DATE: Tuesday, June 16, 2015
TIME: 6:00 pm
TOPIC: What Can the Atheist Movement Learn From the LGBT Movement?
SUMMARY: The atheist movement is already modeling itself on the LGBT movement in many ways — most obviously with its focus on coming out of the closet. What else can the atheist movement learn from the LGBT movement… both from its successes and its failures?
LOCATION: Riverfront Shilo Inn, International Ballroom, 59 Comstock, Richland, WA
HOST: Tri-CIty Freethinkers
CO-SPONSORS: Mid-Columbia Pride and the Mid-Columbia Coalition of Reason
COST: Free
EVENT URL: https://www.google.com/calendar/render?eid=YzF1NW5laTNsMWltcjQ3OHN1ZzExcWdvaHMgZnJlZXRoaW5rZXJqZW5uQG0&sf=true&output=xml#eventpage_6 Continue reading “Greta Speaking in Richland, WA (Columbia Area) June 16! Plus Columbus OH; Manteca CA; San Juan Puerto Rico; and Winnipeg Manitoba”

Greta Speaking in Richland, WA (Columbia Area) June 16! Plus Columbus OH; Manteca CA; San Juan Puerto Rico; and Winnipeg Manitoba

“What a good thing it is”: Guest Post by Marsha Botzer for SSA Week

SSA Week logo

This is a guest post by Marsha Botzer for SSA Week.

What a good thing it is to be involved with the Secular Student Alliance!

I’ve been an out and proud Atheist since I was a young adult and went through a lonely summer of doubt, confusion, and intellectual struggle, emerging as many of us do with a firm realization that all religions are created by people, and most often as systems of control rather than systems of comfort.

These days I spend most of my time working for social justice issues, with a focus on LGBTQ, especially Trans* and Gender Non-conforming concerns. So far it has been a great life, one that I did not expect and was not prepared for by my family, school or first work, but one I truly love. What changes we have made! We have gone – in some areas of the world at least – from the days of simple survival as a trans person to today when trans people are leading organizations and taking on strong roles in politics and social change.

When I first heard transitions were possible and that I wasn’t alone in my feelings about self and gender it was a time of surprise and hope. Like a lot of LGBTQ people early on I had the fear I might be the only one or one of a few having such different feelings and thoughts. Very much like coming out Atheist, actually.

That time for me was during the 1968 Workers and Students uprising in Paris. Among all the turmoil and struggle I met some great people who were leading actions, creating change and art, and we had many conversations. During one night of talk I heard someone say they knew of a person who made a gender change! Later, as I traveled I met another activist who also knew of someone else who’d transitioned. The knowledge I wasn’t alone made a difference, and I came back home with real hope of finding help.

There was no help – at least none I could access our use. I spent a lot of time trying to find people, but “they just did not know what to do” in the best cases, and “don’t contact me again” in many other cases. Again, I see this can be a lot like coming to understand our secular selves within systems that have other ideas: in one world they only allow ridged ways for gender to be expressed, and in another there is only a very limited option for how you should think about the universe. Neither of these ways worked for me.

What happened is that I finally realized what I knew all along: If it isn’t there we must make it ourselves. That is, we must bring together others who are asking such questions and learn from one another and make the changes we need to make. I began to put the word out for others, not for already existing systems, and that led to founding Ingersoll Gender Center. Ingersoll, named after Robert Green Ingersoll, has been serving the Trans* and Gender Non-Conforming Community, our families and friends, for over 35 years.

And here is Secular Students Alliance doing something similar! Creating a way and a place for people to pursue their true selves and their real understandings. As I speak about gender issues with other organizations these days I often mention secularism and freethought as valuable allies in creating safe and healthy spaces for people to discover all parts of themselves. And people respond! I see so many opportunities for our groups to work together, so many people who are excited about including both our areas into their work, and who want to help LGBTQ and Secular organizations.

I say: Why shouldn’t we – LGBTQ and Secular – be a primary core around which other groups can gather? Once Labor joined together different progressive groups in the United States, now Labor has been weakened. Where is a core for all to gather around today? Why not us?!

There are already good people at work on these ideas, the amazing Greta Christina for example. Let’s build on this work. What better way to spend your heartbeats than in building a better world, a freer world?

This week is Secular Students Week, when we are all celebrating the fantastic work the SSA is doing to empower students. Their goal is to get 500 donations this week, and if they do they will receive a $20,000 challenge grant! Help them keep up their amazing work by giving this week.

Thanks to everyone involved in Secular Students Alliance. I am proud to join you in your work. Like Robert Ingersoll said: “The Time to be Happy is Now”, and together we can make this so!

Marsha Botzer

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

“What a good thing it is”: Guest Post by Marsha Botzer for SSA Week

The Irresistible Woman: A Micro-Horror Collection, Part 5

Content note: fantasy/horror violence, and plenty of it. Also some references to sexism, misogyny, misogynist violence, and some sexual content.

In response to this post on Facebook, from dating coach Jonathon Aslay:

How a Woman Becomes Irresistible To a Man… She chooses to set high standards for herself. She’s clear on what she wants. She knows the value of friendship before sex. She comes from a place of gratitude (not expectations). She is confident and willing to ask a man out on a date because she knows a relationship is a two way street. She demonstrates trust and respect by accepting him for who he is. She’s in no hurry to get to the destination. She can take of herself, she doesn’t need a man. She shows up interesting and interested. She comes from a place of compassion (not entitlement). Lastly, she knows how to inspire a man, because she leads by example. Did I miss anything?

Facebook feminists bring you: The Irresistible Woman. Part 5 of a series. All micro-stories reprinted with permission of the authors, credited and linked to (or not) as they requested.

DISCLAIMER: References to violence, death, destruction, physical torment, psychological torment, supernatural torment, world domination, eternal nightmares, or the warping of the entire space-time continuum to exact revenge on one sexist jerk, are all intended as metaphor. These are fictional expressions of rage and mockery, aimed at the impossible, contradictory, ever-shifting standards of female desirability, and at the barrage of advice given to women about how to meet those standards. None of the authors actually want to do these things, or think they should happen. No, really.

*****

The irresistable woman only wears short skirts and long jackets, and has the theme song from “Chuck” in her head right now. She also has the intersect, and is even now foiling a nefarious terrorist plot while being charmingly unaware of how hard she is falling for you. Because you are a man. A studly, studly man, who has the power to 3D print an a la carte woman who strangely lacks any dimension that doesn’t point directly to you. -Emily Moskal

Somehow you manage to obtain one of those 3D printers that prints cartilage, prints meat. You program it painstakingly, designing her in a modeling program, equal parts Angelina Jolie and Marilyn Monroe, long legs and a round bottom, not *too* well endowed up top, but ample enough. You make her eyes blue, but with just a hint of green around the pupils. Her fingernails, you think, are the crowning touch. So delicate, so perfect. You. You created her in your mind and bring her forth with a touch.

You load the printer with the flesh gel and set it into motion with the click of a mouse, close out the progress window and leave. The suspense is too great.

You come back when the process is complete, a few dollars poorer and a few beers heavier, proud of yourself for respectfully not bragging about her when she isn’t even born. You open the door, throw the keys into the bowl, and notice an immediate metallic, salty odor.

You don’t know what it is, actually. Not blood, you’d recognize that. Something else. The carpet squishes under your shoe — you can’t feel it but you can hear it, a slippery squelch. You wonder for a moment if another pipe has broken, flooding your apartment with the upstairs neighbor’s bathwater, but when you flick the light on you see the truth.

She is here. She is everywhere.

Flesh spun like cotton candy or spiderwebs, over the walls, bunched in the corners, eyes and orifices, mouths, tongues, reasonably-sized breasts. It spreads like a colony of slime molds throughout the apartment.

Some yellowish fluid saturates the rugs and furniture; amniotic fluid, lymph, you have no idea how to tell which. The horror of it is overwhelming.

You stagger backward toward the door, doorknob banging painfully against your back. You reach for it, twist, feel the latch disengage but the door will not move.

You turn, and see that she has spread over it, gossamer tissue creeping, thickening, forming something. A knot of flesh, a *face*, lips parting in a sweet, sensual smile. A perfect, upturned nose, a beauty mark placed just so on that youthful but chiseled cheek.

Her eyes open. They are blue, with a little green just around the pupil. She is everything you asked for, and so much more.

You look into her many eyes and you love her. You love her so much. Her little fingers pluck at your sleeve, demanding you remove your battered Steelers jacket, and beckon you toward the bedroom.

She does not speak — you never intended her to do that — but you can sense it. How she wants to show you how grateful she is for her existence. Without you, she would be nothing. She loves you. And she needs you.

She needs you *so much.* –Amanda Gannon

In response to someone named James, saying they loved the thread: Continue reading “The Irresistible Woman: A Micro-Horror Collection, Part 5”

The Irresistible Woman: A Micro-Horror Collection, Part 5

Greta’s Secular Students Week Blogathon! Episode 9: Invisibility or Flying? Plus Final Cat Pics!

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My mini-blogathon today for Secular Students Week hereby comes to an end — but you can still help out!

This week is Secular Students Week, when people around the Internet are celebrating the fantastic work the Secular Student Alliance is doing to empower students. Their goal is to get 500 donations now through June 17th: if they do, they’ll receive a $20,000 challenge grant! Help them keep up their amazing work by giving this week. A gift of $5, $10, or $20 will go a long way towards helping them reach this goal and empower secular students: please give today!

In today’s mini-blogathon, I’ll post a new blog post once an hour, from now (a little after 9:00 am Pacific time) until 5:00 pm Pacific time. In addition, for every donation that’s made today via my blogathon, I’ll post a new cat photo!

This hour’s post (and the final one for this blogathon): Invisibility or Flying?

The question “would you rather be able to fly, or be able to be invisible?” is widely discussed. I’m not sure why, although it is true that these two superpowers loom large in human imagination, and have been central to stories and myths for millennia. And the answer you give is often seen, in a reductive pop-psychology way, as a sign of your personality and character. (There was even a This American Life episode about it.)

So since it’s the end of the blogathon — sure. I’ll take this on.

For me, it’s flying. No question. But it’s not because flying itself would be so mega-awesome. (Although it would: I used to have flying dreams all the time, and they were always delightful. In them, I almost always was a non-flyer who figured out how to fly in the course of the dream — usually it was something really simple and (in the dream logic) obvious, like “notice when there are updrafts and step into them.” The learning curve was sometimes scary, but once I got the hang of it, it was really fun. I miss them.) But that’s only part of why I’d pick flying.

I’d pick flying because the only uses I can think of for invisibility would be unethical. Everything I can think of doing with invisibility — spying, theft, getting into things without paying — are things I think are wrong. I mean, maybe spying in some circumstances could be good — if I were spying on a person or organization I thought was really bad, for a person or organization I trusted to be really good — but even then, it’d be a “lesser of two evils” kind of good. If I’m going to pick a superpower, I wouldn’t want one that was morally ambiguous.

That being said, I’m not sure what kind of good I could do with flying. I guess it depends on how fast I could fly: if I could fly really fast, I guess I could race to fires and stuff, before the fire department could get there. And of course, I could travel pretty much wherever I wanted. (How quotidian is it that one of my first thoughts is, “I could fly to speaking gigs, and the host organizations wouldn’t have to pay airfare”?) But for some reason, I’ve always assumed that the “flying” option meant “flying at about the speed of a strong wind,” since that’s how I used to fly in my dreams — it was more like gliding on the wind. So that doesn’t get me anywhere faster than driving. Maybe I could rescue people from high, difficult-to-reach places?

But mostly, I’d want to fly just because it would be fun. And not unethical. I like non-unethical fun things.

What about you? Flying, or invisibility?

And since we got a couple more donations since the last set of cat pics — here are three more cat pics! Here’s Talisker in elegant profile:

Talisker in profile

Here’s Comet the contortionist (as Ingrid says, she looks like she’s hanging onto me like I’m the last lifeboat on the Titanic):

Comet contortionist

And here, as an extra special bonus, is Ingrid, with both cats on her lap:

Ingrid with both cats

Once again — please support the Secular Student Alliance! My little blogathon is over, but you can still help them get their challenge grant of $20,000 by reaching their goal of 500 donations now through June 17th. Even small donations help. Please support them today!

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

Greta’s Secular Students Week Blogathon! Episode 9: Invisibility or Flying? Plus Final Cat Pics!