October 31, 2014

This seems to be the best thread to express this sentiment to all my fellow infidels

Happy Extort Complete Strangers for Junk Food with Random Threats of Vandalism Day!!!



Whether you are going to a party, taking some kiddos trick or treating, Driving fundies crazy, or simply staying home watching scary movies may your activities tonight be fun filled and most importantly safe!

October 26, 2014

Asexual Awareness Week

For a long time I was confused about my sexuality.

I thought I was straight, but something just was not right with that identity. While I did feel an attraction to the opposite gender, something about this attraction did not feel like the attractions my friends felt. In fact it was different from the attraction every other person I knew seemed to have.

Then, around the time I first joined DU, I came across a series of articles on the huffington post about asexuality. It was eye opening and drew a picture that looked like me in a lot of different ways. It led me to look up more information from the Asexuality Visibility & Education Network and then to make a post here on DU asking about asexuality.

Even now, a year later, I still find the whole thing confusing. How do you know that you are lacking sexual attraction if you have never experienced it? How does one separate sexual attraction from romantic attraction or sensual attraction? But the more I thought about it, the more certain I have become that I simply do not have any desire to engage in intercourse.

Starting today, October 26, and ending November 1st it is Asexual Awareness Week, and I wanted to mark the occasion by making a post here in the LGBT group about the hidden orientation:

[div style='color: purple;font-size: 2.5em;'][center] Asexuality [/center]

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[div style='color: purple;font-size: 1.25em;'][center]What exactly is asexuality?[/center]

Asexuality is a sexual orientation in which a person (sometimes called an Ace) does not experience sexual attraction or sexual desire directed toward others. This is in contrast to celibacy where one experience sexuality but chooses to refrain from engaging in sexual activity due to some reason other than lack of desire or attraction.

For instance they might abstain because of their religious views or wanting to save one's self for marriage. To put it another way, celibacy is a choice; while asexuality, is not.

[div style='color: purple;font-size: 1.25em;'][center]What do you mean by sexual attraction?[/center]

Sexual attraction is an attraction one person has toward another for the purpose of having sexual intercourse.

This is different from romantic attraction, in which one desires an emotional relationship with another person. It is also different from sensual attraction in which one desires physical contact (such as cuddling) with another person, but not necessary sex.

There is also yet another type of attraction that one can experience called an aesthetic attraction. This is an attraction to another person not based on any type of desire to do anything with the other person.

[div style='color: purple;font-size: 1.25em;'][center]Does that mean an Asexual can be romantically attracted to someone but not sexually?[/center]

Exactly!

Again, Asexuals, by definition, do not experience sexual attractions or desire toward others. However, an asexual may (or may not) experience romantic or sensual attractions to other people. An asexual who experiences romantic attractions to others can be designated as heteroromantic, homoromantic, gynoromantic, androromantic, or a variety of other terms. Conversely, when one does not experience romantic attraction/desire that person could be classified as being aromantic.

As an example, an asexual man who is romantically attracted to another man could be described as an homoromantic asexual or an androromantic asexual. Similarly, an asexual person could experience no romantic attractions at all, in which case they might identify as an aromantic asexual or aro-ace for short.

[div style='color: purple;font-size: 1.25em;'][center]So asexuals never engage in sex? Or if they do, then they are no longer asexual?[/center]

Incorrect. Many (but not all) asexuals actually do engage in sex; however, they do so not out of desire but usually for other reasons.

For example, an asexual may choose to engage in intercourse to please a romantic partner or because he/she/that one wishes to have children. Regardless of the reason, just because an asexual chooses to engage in sexual relations does not mean they are no longer an asexual.

Asexuality is an orientation and so long as one does not experience sexual desire or attraction they are still asexual.

[div style='color: purple;font-size: 1.25em;'][center]What if I do experience sexual attraction but its very low? [/center]

Asexuality, like sexuality, exists on a spectrum. Some people experience low sex drive or low sexual attraction. Others only experience these feelings only time to time. These people sometimes choose to identify as Grey A.

Still, others only experience sexual attraction once they have a deep emotional bond with another person. These people may choose to identify as Demisexuals. These are just a few of the many labels that one can find under the asexual umbrella.

[div style='color: purple;font-size: 1.25em;'][center] Do you know of some resources where I learn more about asexuality?[/center]

You can find more about asexuality and Asexuality Awareness Week below:

http://www.asexuality.org/home/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asexuality

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/asexuality/

http://asexualawarenessweek.com/

https://www.facebook.com/aceawareness

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mandyw9/things-that-you-should-know-about-asexuality-9e2q

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So, in conclusion, I would like to thanks the LGBT group here at DU for your time and help you gave me over a year ago; and I would like to wish you all a happy Asexual Awareness Week!

Now, anyone up for some cake?

[center] [/center]

[p class=post-sig style=margin-top:0px;text-align:center;]

October 23, 2014

After talking about Gamergate actress Felicia Day has private information leaked to public

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]Actress Felicia Day Opens Up About GamerGate Fears, Has Her Private Details Exposed Minutes Later[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]Instead of greeting two male gamers wearing Halo and Call of Duty shirts, prominent gamer and actress Felicia Day crossed the street.

“Seeing another gamer on the street used to be an auto-smile opportunity, or an entry into a conversation starting with, ‘Hey, dude! I love that game too!’ the Supernatural actress wrote on her Tumblr. But for the first time maybe in my life, on that Saturday afternoon, I walked towards that pair of gamers and I didn’t smile. I didn’t say hello. In fact, I crossed the street so I wouldn’t walk by them. A small voice of doubt in my brain now suspected that those guys and I might not be comrades after all. That they might not greet me with reflected friendliness, but contempt.”

That change is GamerGate — an online movement where a small subset of gamers have harassed female media critics, developers and bloggers with violent and graphic death and rape threats.

Feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian, who was driven from her home by gamers’ threats, recently had to cancel a speaking engagement at Utah State University after a letter threatened a massacre if the school did not cancel its event. While the written threat was jarring, Sarkeesian cancelled her talk because of Utah’s concealed carry laws, which meant the school couldn’t guarantee her safety. Game developers Brianna Wu and Zoe Quinn have also had to leave their homes because of the massive amount of death and rape threats.

More at link.

This happened minutes after posting this article:


[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]The Only Thing I Have To Say About Gamer Gate[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]I had a day off this weekend from shooting Supernatural, and I was walking around downtown Vancouver on Saturday, sampling all the artisan coffee I could get my throat around. At one point I saw a pair of guys walking towards me wearing gamer shirts. Black short-sleeved, one Halo and one Call of Duty.

Now in my life up until this point, that kind of outfit has meant one thing: Potential comrades. I love games, I love gaming. If it’s Friday night, I’m not out hanging at a club, I’m diving into a new game I downloaded on Steam. And I am blessed with the fact that my career is largely built upon that love, which I channeled into fiction so many years ago with “The Guild”. If there’s anything I’m proud of in this world, it’s the fact that I’ve had people come up to me on the street and at conventions over the years to tell me that they feel confident to call themselves a gamer because of my work, where before they were ashamed. Hearing that kind of stuff has kept me going, against the mainstream, against all odds.

So seeing another gamer on the street used to be an auto-smile opportunity, or an entry into a conversation starting with, “Hey, dude! I love that game too!” Me and that stranger automatically had something in common: A love for something unconventional. Outsiders in arms. We had an auto-stepping stone to hurtle over human-introduction-awkwardness, into talking about something we loved together. Instant connection!

But for the first time maybe in my life, on that Saturday afternoon, I walked towards that pair of gamers and I didn’t smile. I didn’t say hello. In fact, I crossed the street so I wouldn’t walk by them. Because after all the years of gamer love and inclusiveness, something had changed in me. A small voice of doubt in my brain now suspected that those guys and I might not be comrades after all. That they might not greet me with reflected friendliness, but contempt.

More at link.

Its ridiculous that people are having their private information leaked and their lives threatened just for asking for a little respect or even daring to have an opinion!