Abroad for a While

Manzanita, OR

Our entire society, feminists and puritans alike, pushes the idea that sex is uniquely powerful and dangerous, capable of inflicting The Worst Trauma or the Highest Fulfillment, and that’s…just flat out untrue. Other experiences can cause similar trauma: violence, disasters, war, instability. Other experiences can result in transcendent pleasure: trance states, live music, non-sexual intimacy, tattoos.

I think this is where the disconnect in perception about sex positivity comes from, because the phrase itself makes people who already view sex as being uniquely powerful think sex positivity means viewing sex as uniquely good, when actually…it’s mostly about taking sex off that pedestal. Normalizing sex. Making it into just another thing people do. Because that’s the first step in making sure people can engage with sex on their own terms in a healthy way.

Taking sex off its cultural pedestal was the thing that allowed me to overcome the deeply-instilled shame I developed from being raised within Christian purity culture, and from being queer, and from existing as a woman. I think a failure to do that, in feminist circles, often leads to an overblowing of the (very real) harm that sex has the potential to do at the exclusion of other problems facing women and other marginalized groups, which often leads to more shaming rhetoric - just rhetoric that shames different people for different reasons.

This one takes a little bit more effort, but I have found it to be very rewarding. Try air drying your laundry! For people living in established homes, your clothes dryer is the appliance that consumes the most energy after your refrigerator. If you have the necessary space, you can use clothespins and clotheslines, which pretty inexpensive. Nowadays there are both electric and gas clothes dryers. The link at the bottom provides some more information about the differences between both of them, including expenses.

For college students living in an apartment or dorm, try using something similar to what’s in the picture at the top! From personal experience, each drying load on average costs about $1.25-1.50. This energy-efficient way can save both money and the environment. Yes, it does take about a full day to dry, and if you’re in a hurry, this might not be convenient for you. Even if you’re not able to do this every time you do laundry, every little bit helps. Give it a shot :).

http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/appliances/dryers.html

If you’ve got the space/means go for one of these, you’ll fit more of a load on it. Growing up we always owned a minimum of two of these so the entire load could be hung up for air drying. 

Don’t be ashamed to stick ‘em outside, if you’ve got an outside, depending on where & when it’ll cut down drying time to 3-4 hours, and sun dried clothes smell awesome

When hanging clothes outside, do hang ‘em up inside out so you aren’t color fading them in the sun 

Give everything a good shake before bringing back inside

You don’t need a rack to air dry, use your clothes hangers to hang wet shirts and pants in doorways, and on your shower rod, and/or pretty much anything else that’s tall enough 

leave at least 4 inches in between

the less space there is the longer it’ll take to dry, and you risk getting that smell you get if you forget your laundry in the washing machine for too long

you will likely scuff up your door frames, unless you’re super careful putting them up and taking them down 

I personally recommend asking for the clothes hangers every time you purchase shirts or pants because they allow for more flexibility in finding places to hang them than most of the clothes hangers available for purchase at reasonable prices

Also, doesn’t hurt to throw your clothes in the dryer for 5 or so minutes, if you’ve got one, after you’ve finished air drying 

We always did this after hanging outside just in case (dust/critters)

Certain fabrics will feel stiff after air drying and a couple minutes in a dryer will undo that.

It’s always a balancing game of doing what’s right for you/the environment/your wallet. 

Anti-elitism:

Criticizing class barriers to getting into academia

Criticizing lack of resources to help students with physical or mental health issues

Calling out racism and sexism in academia

Calling out people who treat others badly for being less educated

Calling out people who believe academia is the only way to gain knowledge

Anti-intellectualism:

Being opposed to academia as an institution

Acting like everyone in academia is a rich and privileged white man

Acting like their opinions shouldn’t matter because of this

Assuming that any specialised language exists only to make things difficult for a layperson to understand and couldn’t possibly be necessary in order to explain a complicated topic

Assuming that if a specialist can’t explain what they’re doing to a non-specialist in five minutes then what they do is nonsense

Shaming people for taking pride in their academic and intellectual achievements

there are certainly issues with higher education not being effective, an inflation of degrees, not enough people in positions without a uni degree ... but it is not an issue that can be simplified.