#august rants

If anyone was wondering why I hate on doodle owners...

This was the completely felted pelt of a labradoodle.

He had to be sedated to be groomed because he's over two years old and has only been groomed once before. He's not aggressive, but he panicked so hard the last time (a year ago) that he busted a vessel in his eye. The risk of him injuring himself is too high to groom him awake.

His owner was wearing a very nice suit and a fancy watch and driving a Lexus. He probably spent upwards of $2,000 to buy this dog, and then promptly began neglecting it.

The dog was so covered in his own urine that the rubber gloves we wore while shaving him turned yellow.

Do other breeds of dog end up this neglected? Yes, of course. But doodle owners consistently do things like this. While they aren't all as extreme as this, I can tell you that out of the 30 or so doodles we have at the clinic, I can only think of two whose owners get them haircuts before they get so matted that we have no choice but to shave them.

These same people, who never brush or comb their dogs, who frequently don't even teach them basic commands like 'sit', will complain about the shaving that we had no choice but to do.

If you're such an agnostic/atheist why are you not only okay with religious propaganda, but spreading it yourself? Your being neutral about religion always ends up benefitting religious people/institutions. Why are y'all not questioning this bias?

It's like y'all didn't grow up with it so it didn't fuck you up for life, and it didn't fuck up your siblings for life, and it didn't traumatize and ruin you on any level... And bc of that you're only willing to speak for religious freedom in the context of people being religious?

Why are you okay with religious freedom but not with freedom to not have religion?

Every time I hear ex-religious people discuss how horrible their experiences were, there's always some happy camper never-even-been-to-a-sermon/mass who wants to come and say everyone should have the right to believe whatever they believe.

Like sure, believe whatever you want, but the second your beliefs infringe on other people's human rights maybe it's time that we stop pretending that's acceptable and neutral in society.

People who grow up mostly culturally free of religion should see their privilege for what it is and ensure that others get the same luck in the future.

Not pretend that it's not dystopian to see churches post "demure" memes on TikTok, or that the Vatican's mascot is an anime character. These religious groups are trying to recruit children. They want to appeal to younger audiences. They want to brainwash more people so that they get to stay rich and powerful.

I want people to start admitting that butch and femme are gender identities.

Self proclaimed radical feminists be out there performing extreme femininity and calling themselves femme as if it's innate behavior... As if femme is gender, and as if gender is innate.

The same goes for butches, though I tend to be less critical of butch gender performance because it is gender non conforming for women and usually takes way less time and energy (and doesn't involve purchasing make up and the like).

However I don't think gender is good for anyone, and I don't think any gender is innate, not even butch/femme as gender expressions. The religion of gender takes more than it provides.

I truly believe allowing ourselves to be ourselves without the shackles of gender and without the pretense of "being born" performing certain social/external rituals is the best way to be liberated as lesbians.

I haven't seen this picture posted in a positive light so here we go... Here's a woman who's been putting her resources into women's rights (at great personal cost, might I add).

And the UK women have won!!! In the UK, the word "woman" finally has meaning again.

Here's to hoping this will have practical repercussions that make women's lives better, and here's to hoping other countries will follow suit.

And to the people who think this is bad news... JK Rowling believes in women's rights. JK Rowling has never called for the harm, physical or otherwise, of trans people.

If you believe that protecting women's rights is in some way violence against trans people, then I invite you to question why ensuring female safety would hurt anyone else. And bring that, who is it that would hurt those people? Does excluding transwomen from female spaces cause harm, or does it expose transwomen to male spaces where males will harm them? Fight for your rights, do not infringe upon ours. If life isn't safe for transpeople, who is the greatest threat to transpeople?

JK Rowling (and Kathleen Stock, and Julie Bindelu, and other feminists) have been made into scapegoats. The people hurting transpeople, the people killing transpeople, are (statistically speaking) NOT WOMEN. Please do your fucking research. Redirect your anger and resources. Statistically speaking, a man is much more likely to cause anyone physical or psychological harm.

Now, to the trans identified females out there... If you realize that it is impossible for your groups to target men for their threat to trans people, then consider who it is that is part of your group. Are trans identified males really your allies? Who are they truly allied to?

That is for you to figure out.

For us women, we have taken a small step towards regaining our right to be seen as full human beings whose lives and experiences cannot be adopted or claimed. Of fucking course we're celebrating!!!