Happy Blogday To Me! Greta’s 10th Blogiversary

cake with ten candles
Happy blogday to me
Happy blogday to me
Happy blogday, dear Greta
Happy blogday to me!

As of today, I have been blogging for ten years. (Technically it was ten years ago yesterday, but my very first blog post on May 30, 2005 basically just said “I have a blog!”, so I’m not counting that.) My first real blog post was posted on May 31, 2005. It was… well, okay, this makes me a little sad now, what with everything that’s happened in organized atheism in the last ten years including Richard Dawkins revealing himself to be a giant douchebag, but my first real post was a brief review of Richard Dawkins’ book, “Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder.”

For a trip down memory lane, here are a few posts from my first year of blogging that I’m particularly proud of and that I think still stand up today:

Reading diary, 7/11/05: Existentialism and Human Emotions (note: if I were writing this today, I wouldn’t be as hard on modern philosophy as I am here, I’d be more precise in my criticism)
How to get married (although I really didn’t know how to do pics in my first few months!)
JT LeRoy and Hoaxes
Porn and Musicals: An Analogy
On the Rhythms of Writing and Fucking Off
Art diary, 4/18/06: LACMA, MOCA, and Why All Art Would Be Improved by Snarling Bears

Here’s to the next ten years!

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.

Happy Blogday To Me! Greta’s 10th Blogiversary
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The Irresistible Woman

Content note: brief violence, mentions of explicit sex including kinky sex.

A couple of weeks ago, dating coach Jonathon Aslay posted this gem to his Facebook page:

“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?”

The response from feminists was… let’s say, “unusual.” The comment thread was quickly transformed into an impromptu collaborative outpouring of fantasy horror micro-fiction, meditating on the true nature of the irresistible woman, and on the terrifying nature of what it would even mean to be irresistible. I’m in process of compiling all of it now — but in the meantime, I thought I’d share this story, one of my own contributions.

*****

The Irresistible Woman

The irresistible woman wakes at noon with the familiar ache in her loins — well, whatever passes for “loins” in her true body. She puts out the call, a series of clicks and chants, signalling “Open for Business.” At once her supplicants quietly put down what they’re doing, and appear at her door.

She sorts them quickly: looks each in the eyes for a nanosecond, sees them, SEES THEM. The ones who do not find favor in her eyes… well, that’s an uncomfortable topic. Waiting at her door, her supplicants don’t much like to think about that. Although it does add a frisson, a note of apprehension that gives the anticipation some edge. They wonder a bit why they came here, why they’re taking such a risk, they know what could happen if… Did they even choose this? Did she enchant them, hypnotize them, use feminine wiles, subliminally write “I AM IRRESISTIBLE” in their pictures of ice cubes? In a cause and effect world, is free will even a coherent concept? The irresistible woman has an instinctive understanding of the true nature of cause and effect and freedom, has had it since she was a child. But it would take too long to explain, and right now, she has more important things to do.

The ones who do not find favor in her eyes, she handles quickly. We’ll get to that in a bit. It’s an unpleasant business.

The ones who do find favor in her eyes, she counts. She effortlessly divides herself into perfect copies, one for each — or, okay, two for some, or three, or occasionally more. She takes each favored one to a private room. They can see only her, they only have eyes for her — but she sees all of them at once. She is separate yet whole, the perfect Trinity, three in one, or twenty-seven in one, or a hundred, or six thousand that one time. She’s got this. She closes all the doors. Continue reading “The Irresistible Woman”

The Irresistible Woman

#mencallmethings: “fat ass,” “bitch,” “rot in hell”

Content note: misogynist, homophobic, ableist, sizeist harassment

Asshole in email (no, Im not going to name him), replying to my recent essay on AlterNet, 7 Things People Who Say They’re ‘Fiscally Conservative But Socially Liberal’ Don’t Understand:

How the hell are you qualified to write ANYTHING about conservatives? You should pull your head out of your fat ass before touching a keyboard. Conservatives that support the removal of the gay marriage restrictions do so only because the government should not discriminate against any group, no matter how deviant. Since homosexuality is merely a “behavior” (show me the gay gene that doesn’t exist, therefore your are NOT born that way as you libtards like to claim – of course without any scientific proof as usual). But many consrvatives are syill willing to change all the rules for a “behavior”. You make me sick. Not surprised you don’t believe in God – you libtards are way too smart for that. So I am encouraged to know you will rot in hell. Hope that day comes soon and is full of suffering for you and your entire famly bitch

#mencallmethings

Note 1: Yes, this is definitely going to make me re-think my position on fiscal conservatism. I hadn’t considered the possibility that I might be a fat-ass deviant libtard bitch who will rot in hell, and that therefore conservative fiscal policy might be more sound than I’d previously thought. /sarcasm

Note 2: Re “I am encouraged to know you will rot in hell. Hope that day comes soon and is full of suffering for you and your entire famly”: Why, precisely, should my entire family suffer because I’m queer and/or an atheist?

Note 3: It’s interesting to note that I actually said very, very little in this piece about homosexuality, and nothing at all about same-sex marriage. The piece was mostly about poverty and race. It’s interesting how people with passionate hatred will zero in on the object of their hatred, even when it’s entirely tangential.

Continue reading “#mencallmethings: “fat ass,” “bitch,” “rot in hell””

#mencallmethings: “fat ass,” “bitch,” “rot in hell”

7 Things People Who Say They’re ‘Fiscally Conservative But Socially Liberal’ Don’t Understand

money closeup

Social and economic issues are deeply intertwined.

“Well, I’m conservative, but I’m not one of those racist, homophobic, dripping-with-hate Tea Party bigots! I’m pro-choice! I’m pro-same-sex-marriage! I’m not a racist! I just want lower taxes, and smaller government, and less government regulation of business. I’m fiscally conservative, and socially liberal.”

How many liberals and progressives have heard this? It’s ridiculously common. Hell, even David Koch of the Koch brothers has said, “I’m a conservative on economic matters and I’m a social liberal.”

And it’s wrong. W-R-O-N-G Wrong.

You can’t separate fiscal issues from social issues. They’re deeply intertwined. They affect each other. Economic issues often are social issues. And conservative fiscal policies do enormous social harm. That’s true even for the mildest, most generous version of “fiscal conservatism” — low taxes, small government, reduced regulation, a free market. These policies perpetuate human rights abuses. They make life harder for people who already have hard lives. Even if the people supporting these policies don’t intend this, the policies are racist, sexist, classist (obviously), ableist, homophobic, transphobic, and otherwise socially retrograde. In many ways, they do more harm than so-called “social policies” that are supposedly separate from economic ones. Here are seven reasons that “fiscally conservative, socially liberal” is nonsense.

*****

Thus begins my latest piece for AlterNet, 7 Things People Who Say They’re ‘Fiscally Conservative But Socially Liberal’ Don’t Understand. To read more, 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.

7 Things People Who Say They’re ‘Fiscally Conservative But Socially Liberal’ Don’t Understand

The “Mad Men” Finale, and Why Peggy and Stan Are Not Going to Have a Storybook Ending

mad-men-finale-peggy-stan 1

I’ve been reading reviews and analyses of the “Mad Men” series finale, “Person to Person.” And there is an important thing about the Peggy-and-Stan romance that ABSOLUTELY NOBODY IS GETTING RIGHT.

Yes, I am right and they are wrong. This is not opinion, this is OBJECTIVE FACT, and I will stand by it until my dying breath, or until someone in the comments persuades me that I’m wrong.

Okay. Everyone keeps talking about how the Peggy-and-Stan romance in the finale is a happy ending, all tied up neatly in a bow. The only debate I’ve seen is over whether this plot resolution is narratively acceptable and well-written, or whether it’s drippy and contrived fan service. Emily Nussbaum at The New Yorker described it as “satisfying but also borderline cornball” and said it “felt like the final scene of every romantic comedy that has ever been filmed”; Rob Sheffield at Rolling Stone called it “sodden shtick” and said “Poor Stan and Peggy — they deserved a moment that didn’t feel like a cynical series-finale gimmick”; Tim Goodman at The Hollywood Reporter described it as “Peggy’s touching and comic realization that Stan loves her and she also loves him”; Matt Zoller Seitz at Vulture called it “one of the most shameless and satisfying examples of fan service I can recall.”

NO. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. NO!!!!!

Why is nobody questioning this relationship?

I have serious doubts about whether Peggy is really in love with Stan. And I have serious doubts about whether their relationship is a good idea, even if she is in love with him. In fact, during their entire phone conversation when they declare their love, I wasn’t thinking, “Awwwww, how sweet, they finally got together, they’re obviously right for each other, lovey lovey love love.” I was thinking, “Ummmmmmm… hang on. This smells like trouble.”

Here are some things that jumped out at me about that phone call. (Transcript of phone call at the end of this post.) Think about how hesitant Peggy is at first. How she says, “I think I’m in love with you” — emphasis on “I think” — before she finally says, “I love you.” How she then says, “I really do”: not I really am in love with you, but I really do think I’m in love with you, like she’s talking herself into it. Think about how she describes her feelings for Stan — saying, “you make everything okay. You always do.” That definitely sounds like friendship-love, but it’s not so obviously romantic love. Could be — but it’s hardly a slam-dunk.

And in particular, think about how she says to Stan, “I must be [in love]. Because you’re always right.”

I think I’m in love. Really. I must be in love. Because you’re in love with me, and you’re always right.

It seems to me that Peggy is making the exact same mistake with Stan that she made with Abe. She’s letting his romantic love for her bowl her over — and she’s letting his love for her convince her that she feels the same.

And now, think, carefully, about the things Stan says right before he declares his love. He says “I get the person I want to talk to” only when they talk on the phone. He says he misses her when they’re not together — but “every time I’m face to face with you, I want to strangle you.” He says, “When I’m standing in front of you, I bring out something terrible.” It’s not clear whether he means that he brings out something terrible in her, or in himself — but either way, ew.

Will somebody please explain how any of that is romantic? Will somebody please explain how that’s anything other than desperately sad and bug-fuck creepy? Continue reading “The “Mad Men” Finale, and Why Peggy and Stan Are Not Going to Have a Storybook Ending”

The “Mad Men” Finale, and Why Peggy and Stan Are Not Going to Have a Storybook Ending

“Great ideas for living life in the face of our mortality”: Amazon Customer Review of “Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God”

Got a really nice customer review on Amazon of Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God. Five stars out of five. (In fact, the book now has 21 Amazon customer reviews, and 18 are either four or five stars.) Here’s what O. Blacklock had to say:

Great ideas for living life in the face of our mortality

Good nonreligious way of coping with our inevitable death.

Thanks, O. Blacklock! And if any of you have read Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, it’d be awesome if you’d post a review.

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 200 JPG
The Kindle ebook edition is available on Amazon (that’s the link for Amazon US, btw — it’s available in other regions as well); the Nook edition is available at Barnes & Noble; and the Smashwords edition is available on Smashwords. All ebook editions are $2.99. You can get the audiobook on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. The audiobook is $2.99 (discounted slightly on Amazon, of course). (The print edition is scheduled for the fall.)

Here’s the description of the book, and some wonderfully flattering blurbs: Continue reading ““Great ideas for living life in the face of our mortality”: Amazon Customer Review of “Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God””

“Great ideas for living life in the face of our mortality”: Amazon Customer Review of “Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God”

To Block Or Not To Block: A Social Justice Question

Please note: This post has a different comment policy from the usual one. That policy is at the end of the post.

hand on keyboard
I have a question for all you other Social Justice Warriors out there. When people say racist, sexist, classist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. crap in our online spaces — should we block them? Or should we engage with them, and try to educate them?

Let me narrow that down somewhat. I’m not talking about when people say crap that’s aimed at us, at a marginalized group we’re part of. I’m talking about when people say crap about another marginalized group. I’m talking about what white people should do when people say racist crap; what men should do when people say sexist crap; what cis people should do when people say transphobic crap; etc. I’m talking about how to ally.

I’ve seen very good cases made on both sides of this question. I’ve read very good pieces by African Americans saying, “Please block the assholes saying racist shit in your Facebook page already, why on Earth are you tolerating that?” (Alas, I can’t find the pieces I read saying this — I really need to learn to bookmark this stuff. Links in comments would be appreciated.) And I’ve read very good pieces by African Americans saying, “Don’t just block these folks. That’s the easy way out. We don’t have access to these people, you do, we can’t educate them — so as painful and difficult as it is, it’s up to you to do that.” (Here’s one example of this, the one that keeps getting cited when this topic comes up.)

It’s one thing when people demand, “Educate me!” — and then ignore, derail, move the goalposts, argue without listening, repeatedly ask questions they could get answered with ten seconds of Googling, and generally show bad faith and a complete lack of interest in being educated. I’m not talking about when willfully ignorant fools demand, “Educate me!” I’m talking about when people I’m working to ally with point to those fools and say, “Educate them!”

Please note: I’m not asking whether I have the right to block people. I know I do. I’m not talking about what I have the right to do. I’m talking about what’s the right thing to do. I’m finding myself somewhat stymied, and I want to hear from people I respect.

Here’s the conundrum I’m experiencing. Continue reading “To Block Or Not To Block: A Social Justice Question”

To Block Or Not To Block: A Social Justice Question

“For anyone interested in exploring sexual psychology and the human condition”: Amazon Review of “Bending”

I’ve gotten some nice Amazon customer reviews for my book Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More — now out in print, as well as ebook and audiobook! Here’s a good one, five stars out of five. (As of this writing, the book has ten customer reviews, and nine are 5-star reviews, with one 4-star.) Here’s what Alysa H. had to say:

A wonderfully kinky intellectual exercise

Reading this book was, for me, less about reading erotica and more of an amazing intellectual exercise. That is, I enjoyed these stories as pieces of writing but only occasionally as erotic. And this has naught to do with the author’s abilities to convey desire, eroticism, etc. I mean, I’m giving this book 5 Stars, see?! I’ve got a “Your Kinks Are Not My Kinks, And That’s OK” mentality, and the author’s (sometimes repetitive) kinks as on display here may or not overlap with yours or mine, even in cases where the differences are in the minutiae — which can be pretty darn important when it comes to kink! — but no matter what your kinks, this book is for anyone interested in exploring sexual psychology and the human condition.

Thanks, Alysa! And if any of you have read Bending, it’d be awesome if you’d post a review.

***

Here, by the way, is ordering info for the book! Continue reading ““For anyone interested in exploring sexual psychology and the human condition”: Amazon Review of “Bending””

“For anyone interested in exploring sexual psychology and the human condition”: Amazon Review of “Bending”

Godless Perverts Social Club, Thursday May 21!

godless perverts social club may 21 2015

The next Godless Perverts Social Club is Thursday, May 21! This is one of our Casual meetups — we’re not picking a topic ahead of time, we’ll just chat about whatever comes up. Usually related to sex, sexuality, gender, atheism, religion, skepticism, science, etc. — but not always.

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.

Godless Perverts presents and promotes a positive view of sexuality without religion, by and for sex-positive atheists, agnostics, humanists, and other non-believers, through performance events, panel discussions, social gatherings, media productions, and other appropriate outlets. Our events and media productions present depictions, explorations, and celebrations of godless sexualities — including positive, traumatic, and complex experiences — focusing on the intersections of sexuality with atheism, materialism, skepticism, and science, as well as critical, questioning, mocking, or blasphemous views of sex and religion.

Godless Perverts is committed to feminism, diversity, inclusivity, and social justice. We seek to create safe and welcoming environments for all non-believers and believing allies who are respectful of the mission, and are committed to taking positive action to achieve this. Please let the moderators or other people in charge of any event know if you encounter harassment, racism, misogyny, transphobia, or other problems at our events.

If you want to be notified about all our Godless Perverts events, sign up for our email mailing list, or follow us on Twitter at @GodlessPerverts. You can also sign up for the Bay Area Atheists/ Agnostics/ Humanists/ Freethinkers/ Skeptics Meetup page, and be notified of all sorts of godless Bay Area events — including the Godless Perverts. And of course, you can always visit our Website to find out what we’re up to, godlessperverts.com. Hope to see you soon!

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.

Godless Perverts Social Club, Thursday May 21!