CBC

Montreal Gazette

'speculums open you up less than sex' *loud incorrect buzzer noise* what kind of sex? Not all kinds of sex involve penetration. Why are you assuming that everyone who has a cervix is having penis in vagina sex?

'if you can have penetrative sex you can get basic medical care' ok. If I can't have penetrative sex then what??

there is a widespread assumption that if you are an adult with a cervix then you will be having penetrative sex and that, therefore, vaginal penetration in a medical context will be no big deal for you.

this is untrue as a) not everyone is having penetrative sex and b) not everyone who is having penetrative sex finds penetration in a medical context painless and untraumatic.

the result of this is that people for whom cervical smears are significantly painful and/or emotionally distressing are not universally properly accommodated and supported in medical settings.

-have penetrative sex regularly

-do not have penetrative *vaginal* sex as it is emotionally distressing (dysphoria) and physically painful (intersex)

-cannot physically fit an ultrasound wand intended for children without tearing as a 30 year old adult who is not a virgin and that has had PIV in the past but had to stop due to exactly this problem

It is not possible for me to have this performed while awake without significant trauma to the area itself or without mental distress. My doctors so far have thus declined to perform this exam because of this problem, there is no speculum that will fit that will not cause this problem.

If you ever wondered why they call tattoos and piercings "unprofessional" and "unsophisticated"

I have been pretty blown away by the temperaments of the berners I've met (for the most part) but didn't want to deal with the hair and grooming requirements, and was lamenting to my friend @molosseraptor about how I hate grooming but wanted a dog with a temperament like a berner and she recommended a swissy, which I had never heard of.

Swissies are really great dogs all around. I find that a lot of people who think they want a lab actually want a swissy- they want a relatively low effort dog that is down for just about anything you recommend but also ok to just chill on your couch or following you around the back yard as you do chores. Active enough to take for a walk or run when you're feeling inspired, happy enough to just hang out if not. Relatively non-combattive and dog-friendly (males can be bad with other male dogs though not guaranteed), good with kids and small animals, will bark at the door but not typically an actual danger to humans.

Really the cons are the size (more difficult to figure out what to do with a dog that can weigh upwards of 150lbs), being prone to neophobia (Sushi is not the exception to the rule here), and some difficulty with potty training as youngsters though most grow up to be just fine as adults (pee rivers........... they pee while walking including inside of your house)

@coastalpath

Potty training I'm unsure. Neophobia however yes, I have seen the same problems in berners as swissies. Really it can range from very mild to very major- Sushi is weirded out by things that she feels should not be there and things that she has never seen before- but is also capable of getting over it quickly once she is able to assess that it's fine and not dangerous.

As a teen she would let out a single BOOF at the trash cans on trash day, because they moved from the location where she normally saw them in the garage, and were located instead down on the street for the sanitation crew to pick up. For some reason this was A Big Deal that the trash cans had magically grown legs and walked down the driveway. She would then go back to ignoring them when they relocated back to the garage. She hated the gigantic Uncle Sam statue but was fine with other statues. Afraid of the wacky inflatable arm man but fine with flags and laundry on clothes lines.

These days she's seen a little of everything so she's much more even keel, which was what had impressed me so much about berners, but definitely as a youngster she regarded new things as strange and potentially dangerous. I am strongly suspicious that her confusion and dislike of doors stems from this too- she's seen enough doors to understand that it's not going to hurt her, but she definitely wants to move away from doors and doesn't understand why humans keep touching The Wall That Moves.

Measles is the 2nd most eradicable disease in humans.

We already eradicated the 1st one.

We eradicated measles' close cousin (rinderpest) in ungulates, including in the wild.