Saturday, January 25, 2003

Football I’m not a football fan. I know, to be a proper lesbian I am supposed to like sports. But I don’t. Never really have. There’s a few sports I don’t mind watching in person; I’ve even been known to attend a football game, but I don’t like watching any sports at all on television. I dislike the inane commentary, abhor the commercials, and get bored easily by the parts not good enough for instant replay. I prefer to read, play on my computer or do just about anything else than watch the game. But this is a problem, because by subtle (and not so subtle) pressure I’m made to feel that I’m not a full card-carrying lesbian if I don’t go crazy over the game! But, this isn’t just a lesbian phenomena, I also know some men who don’t particularly like football and it’s not easy for them either. In some crazy way, football is related to sexual identity! At this time of the year however, everyone is swept along by football mania. The Super Bowl Party is a yearly tradition, having become as important as the fourth of July party. But, what is different about a lesbian Super Bowl party than the one the guys next door are having? I asked the members of our local online social group, Brevard Lesbians, and this is what I heard: You know it’s a lesbian Super Bowl party when: Your Ex and your Ex's new girl and her Ex all come to the party and you still have a good time. Instead of chips/dip and hot wings, the menu includes vegetarian pinwheel sandwiches, organic semolina pasta salad and a variety of sushi items. A big cheer goes up every time the camera pans over the cheerleaders. The hostesses have been cleaning, shopping and cooking since Saturday morning. You’re in a room full of women that know the players names, the coaches names, and what all the hand signals mean. The guest towels are out in the bathroom. Everyone watches the game action and then talks during the commercials about shopping, pets, children and grandchildren. You’ve dated everyone in the room at one time or another. 7:46:29 PM    comment []

It is way too cold to sit at this computer! It’s not supposed to be like this. Florida is the land of sunshine, beaches, oranges, girls in short shorts and crop tops all year long--not bone chilling winds, drafty houses, and icicles where sprinkler systems were frozen in the middle of their daily ritual. My 1930s spanish stucco is supposed to have character, not icicles! It snowed here yesterday, just light little flurries, but enough to get all the kids excited. I’m over it! Snippets from this week's news One generation to change the world--good luck! Worldwatch Institute has declared that the human race has only one or possibly two generations to rescue itself. In their State of the World 2003, they summarize by saying, “If we are going to reverse biodiversity loss, dampen the effects of global warming, and eliminate the scourge of persistent poverty, we need to reinvent ourselves–as individuals, as societies, as corporations, and as governments.” (we don't stand a chance with the oil-heads we have in office now!) Lesbian relationship recognized by the government Kenneth Feinberg, the ultimate word on the Sept. 11th Victim Compensation Fund, approved compensation to Peggy Neff for the loss of her partner Sheila Hein. This decision is the first time the federal government has recognized a gay or lesbian relationship for compensation. There are 22 other claims that have been filed by same-sex partners of Sept. 11 victims. It is hoped that the decision in Neff’s case will set a precedent for the other cases. We are so glad to see you go! Jerry Thacker, who was appointed by Bush to sit on the AIDS advisory panel has withdrawn. You might remember him as the dim-bulb who called homosexuality a ‘deathstyle’ instead of a ‘lifestyle’. After he and his wife contracted HIV as a result of a blood transfusion that she received in 1986, they were reported to be more worried about being identified with the ‘sin’ of homosexuality than of the health consequences that they would face. (Thacker, we’re so glad to see you step down!) 8:18:07 AM    comment []