Yes, another Latin blogger, two in a row even! Anyway, this is a subtle take on an issue that has always annoyed and plague me personally:

via sugar butch via creative xicana

Chivalry is deeply feminist to me. When in femmes, I expect femininity to be deliberate, done with the whole knowledge of the compulsory heteronormative restrictions which dictate that women must be and do certain things, particular that we must wear high heels, delicate cloth, restrictive clothing. Femininity is not made for comfort or movement, it is made to accentuate the sexualization of a woman’s body - and that’s why things like holding her doors open (so she doesn’t dirty her white gloves or expensive manicure), pulling her chair out (so she doesn’t have to awkwardly move a bulky piece of furniture, and risk getting it caught on her skirt or stockings and ripping something) or holding her coat (so she doesn’t have to reach around and risk ripping the tight seams in her shoulders or upper back) are necessary to me, as an acknowledgement of how restrictive femininity can be, and of how difficult it is to walk around the world in these clothes, as a celebration of the beauty of femininity on the body, and with deep respect for the courage to costume and perform femme to begin with.

I’m a total slob at home, I lounge around in utterly unsexy clothes unless I’m about to have that kind of sex and need the lingerie on first. At work I have a little bit of flare, but generally I’m pretty oblivious to fashion and trend. But when I step out in High Society, I turn it on. It’s just what you do. I’m totally cognisant of “the whole knowledge of the compulsory heteronormative restrictions” and yes, that’s the whole point. Women can be cruel to themselves, but sometimes when they do it’s a conscious choice for a purpose that outweighs the negative impact of conforming to those restrictions.  Read more 

Don’t know how many people have been following this case; I thought I posted on it last week but apparently left it in a comment. My bad. Anyway, I’d rather frontpage good news than bad, even if this good is just a correction of a previous bad. From the AL news roundup:

Openly gay Patricia Todd was reinstated Saturday as the Democratic Party’s nominee for a seat in the Alabama Legislature.

It must be admitted, sigh, that the problem was apparently a racial one (Todd is white) rather than sexual orientation. In a relentless mood of optimism I choose to look at even this as a good thing. Can you imagine a Republican state party having so many black members that a fight like this could break out?  Read more