skinartia on Cherrystems

It's Raining Men...

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 22:21:00 -0500

For reference: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/23/living/male-ideal-body-image/index.html

I initially clicked the above article as it was listed on the Fit2Fat2Fit.com website (which project, by the way, is incredibly rad) and I was glad I did. I thought it would be about weight loss and such, but it's much more. Basically, it discusses how the "ideal" male image has changed over the years, etc. More importantly, it shines a light on the fact that men have as many issues with insecurity about appearance as women do; they just don't talk about it as openly as the ladies.

My Dude (FYI, that's what I'll likely refer to him from now on when blogging ;)) said to me a couple weeks ago, "Does this shirt make me look fat?" I shook my head because I knew he was dead serious and not making a joke. It's a question that, in our 9 years together, I think I've rarely ever uttered to him so he has asked it more times than me. This self-doubt over appearance amongst men is something I never considered before my Dude and I moved in together.

Why is it that men don't talk about these insecurities over looks? Why is it that everywhere we turn it's all about women and our constant struggle with appearances, yet no mention of men going through the same thing? There's the argument that it's not "manly" to talk about it...yet the majority of them are going through it and "manorexia" is becoming more popular, which is not cool. Very strange. It's something that I hope continues to get more public awareness and support.

As I Wanted You To Be...

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:04:00 -0600

I have been failing at blogging here at the lovely CS. I hope you can forgive me. :)

Well, I have some good news! Back in December, I blogged that I was back in school (via distance education). I'm happy to report that I've completed my first course with an amazing outcome that I did not expect. From an e-mail from my professor: "This is the first time one of my students had a final mark of 100%." Holy dinosaurs! I'm very stoked, to say the least. I think I'm going to take a temporary break before signing up for another course for two reasons:

(a) I just want a bit of a breather as I started a new (and awesome) job in January.

(b) Some of the courses I'd like to take first aren't available right away.

So, yeah, that's awesome possum.

It's everyone's favourite time of year...taxes! Okay, no, it's not everyone's favourite time of year. However, I'm luckily getting some money back and I'm trying to decide between Black Milk Clothing leggings or a fun toy from Come As You Are. Decisions, decisions.

Merry Xmas To All!

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:37:00 -0600

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Xmas, everyone! A Happy (belated) Winter Solstice, Pagan friends! And a Joyous Kwanzaa!

Hot For Teacher...

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:51:00 -0600

My first attempt at posting this blog disappeared! :(

I recently enrolled in distance education through Red River College. I start...um...now, I guess.

For a few years now, I've wanted to get some more education under my belt. However, with working full-time, having a mortgage and house expenses (and pets) to pay for, and still paying off my student loan, the idea was left to sizzle on the back burner. Plus, I didn't know what program(s) I would want to take so there wasn't much point in looking at anything.

Earlier this year, I got that much anticipated letter congratulating me for paying off my student loan. Woohoo! Maybe that's when the seed started to sprout. Add to the mix an abundance of life/work stress and finally something just snapped in my mind that said, "Fuck it. It's time to look into this more seriously and just fucking do it already."

And just like that, I found a program that interested me and I signed up straightaway. Right now, I'm only taking one course to get my feet wet and see how it goes. If I feel it's going well, then I'll consider taking more than one course at a time. I didn't want to go full balls in and it maybe not go the way I thought, ya know?

The last time I was in school was '03/'04 at Robertson College. Admittedly, while my grades were pretty good, I slacked off. A lot of the content bored me and I'm someone that if I'm bored, none of that knowledge gets absorbed. It's gone ASAP. I also took the view that if I was paying to go to school that should entitle me to decide how often I wanted to show up. *lol* So, needless to say, my attendance was not the best in class. Besides having a full-time job, I think this is what appeals to me the most about distance education. I can study from the comfort of my home (which, hopefully, won't prove to be a distraction) and relatively at my own pace. The flexibility and freedom is very, very appealing.

I'm excited and nervous with this new adventure. I'm nervous because I've been out of the formal education routine for quite awhile and I have a lot of self-doubt (i.e. "what if I can't do this?", "what if I fail?", "this textbook looks overwhelming already...", "I don't think I'm all that bright...", etc).

I'm excited to (hopefully) prove myself wrong.

Skinartia learning at home. That's mah learnin' face right there.

Vulva!...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:57:00 -0500

Honestly, yeah, not a fan of the word vulva. But, what can ya do?

So, yeah, a friend of mine recently told me she ordered a custom pendant of her vulva. Pardon? Yes, she took photos of her vulva and an artist is going to sculpt a pendant for her based on her lady bits. How intriguing!

Here is an interview with the artist of Vulva Love Lovely, who has her own website and there's a link to it in the article. She also has an Etsy shop where you can order a pre-made lady bit pendant or order a custom one using your own.

It's definitely interesting! Would I wear a pendant of my vulva? I'm not sure. Maybe! I mean, if the pendant looked as lovely as I think my bits look then there would be a good chance I'd wear it from time to time. What about you?

Disillusion, Thy Name Is...

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:20:00 -0500

You know what really grinds my gears?

I remember when I first saw the Suicide Girls' website roughly 9 years ago and thought to myself, "Wow, what a refreshing change from the norm." Beautiful girls of all shapes and sizes with body modifications and shot glamourously - what wasn't to like as a modified girl?

But now...oh, but now. I'm scrolling through their Tumblr and all the girls more or less look exactly the same. Right down to all having about the same breast size (looks to be about C to DD cups).

Sigh...

I'm so disappointed that they've lost their way over the years or have given into a somewhat more mainstream idea of beauty (they just happen to have tattoos and piercings, if those are even real on the models).

This makes me appreciate CS so much more.

I'll Show You Mine...

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:09:00 -0500

In my Lunapads newsletter today, I saw a blog post about this new (Canadian) book titled I'll Show You Mine. I followed the link to the book and here's a synopsis:

"I'll Show You Mine" is a photo study of female genitalia and a window into women's experiences of their genitals. The book contains 120 photographs of 60 women, with all women photographed from the same two positions. Each woman was photographed in exactly the same conditions and the photos are shown in the book in true-to-life size and colour, as this is the best method to accurately display the diversity of female form. Accompanying each woman's photos is text written by the woman, detailing her challenges and/or successes as pertains to her relationship with her genitals. The photos in the book demonstrate and celebrate the wonderful diversity of the vulva; the stories illuminate the range of experiences that women have relating to the genitals in a world where mass media and pornography increasingly set the standards for sexuality and the look of all body parts, even our genitals.

This looks like a great book because a lot of young women are very self-conscious about how their vagina looks. I watched a documentary a couple of months ago called The Perfect Vagina and the woman doing the documentary asked numerous women what they liked or didn't like about their vaginas. She also followed a young woman before, during (graphic), and after having labiaplasty done all because her sister had made fun of her labia minora sticking out further than her labia majora.

This is definitely comparable to how men feel about their penises, there's no doubt about that. However, I don't think statistically more men are running out to have "corrective" surgery done, yet the rate of labiaplasty is steadily rising. Just who decides what a vagina "should" look like? Even if one uses the argument that women idealize what porn stars have (as that's more often than not where a hetero woman would see other women's vagina), porn stars don't all have the same vagina! Heck, before Jenna Jameson got out of porn, her vagina was remarkably different looking from when she first started. Genitalia changes with age, unfortunately, just like every other body part.

I bet this is the most you've read the word "vagina" in one little article. ;)

RIP and Alcohol...

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:16:00 -0500

Maybe I shouldn't be, but I'm shocked that Amy Winehouse has been found dead. She was so talented and it's like she just threw it all away. Her song You Know I'm No Good always hit me with how powerful her voice was. I also love her version of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.

I stopped drinking in April '04. I remember my last drink very clearly and I choose not to share such an intimate moment via a blog post. As a sober person, I can't tell you how often I've been called out over my choice, everything from jokes to full on aggressive confrontation (i.e. someone actually tried to pour alcohol in my mouth). Even if someone is politely curious, I sometimes get offended because I don't see why I should have to justify myself. What if I had been a raging alcoholic and turned my life around? What if I just choose not to drink? What difference does it make?

My struggles with being a sober person have not been within (meaning I haven't struggled with choosing not to drink; I really don't want alcohol at all, ever). My struggles have been, and continues to be, being around people who are drinking/drunk. I try not to be judgmental, but when a person starts getting buzzed, my hackles go up and I immediately start withdrawing and becoming very uncomfortable (even if the person is a "happy drunk"). I still haven't figured out how to deal with that, or even if it's at all possible.

I wish people would know that sober is sexy. You don't need to be inebriated to have a good time; you don't need to be hammered to fit in. Let people see and know the honest, clean you.

Marijuana is a different story, but is something that is a very rare treat.

Safe Sex In Entertainment...

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:49:00 -0500

I'm a big supporter of safe sex practices being showcased in entertainment (whether that be TV, film, books, etc). I think it's important and should be more prominently shown. I often find myself giving a little cheer when I see people using condoms in a TV show or movies. *lol* It just makes sense.

I was pleased to find this article where a psychologist pointed out that most romance novels lack safe sex and will have the heroin pish-posh condom use. While it might be a stretch to say that romance novels are dangerous because of this, writers and filmmakers should consider incorporating safe sex practices into storylines. Not getting an STD or pregnant is sexy; herpes and a screaming unwanted infant are not sexy.

Earth Day...

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 19:33:00 -0500

Alright!

Earth Day is fast approaching us (April 22 to be exact). While the cliche of "every day should be Earth Day" rings true, it's nice to have a specific day where we can reflect on what changes we can make to improve our environment.

I think I do pretty well myself. I'm vegan and have been for 4 years (a "wow" actually just ran through my mind when I typed that *lol*); I've been an avid recycler since I was about 8 years old; we got a compost bin the first summer of being in our house; we planted a veggie/berry garden last year and intend to do that again this year; I attend the St. Norbert Farmers' Market when it's in season; I like to buy local (or at least Canadian) when practical, etc.

But is there more I can do? The answer, of course, is yes, always!

My favourite vegan cookbook author, Sarah Kramer, posted a link on her FB yesterday called "Give It Up for Earth Day 2011". That immediately made me think of Lent, but I decided to look into it anyway. The campaign site offers many great environmentally-friendly ideas that we can all take part in. As part of this, I've decided to "give up" the following things:

- Give up toxic cleaning products (for 4 weeks); and

- Buying nothing new for 1 week (aside from essentials).

I've been slowly trying to phase out toxic cleaning products anyway so now I'll just pay more attention to what kind of cleaners I'm using and if there's a "green" alternative I could use instead.

Ideally, I'd like to "buy nothing new" for the whole month as that is honestly very challenging for me. I would love to participate in a "swap stuff" party with friends (clothes could be a problem since I'm smaller in frame and height than most of my friends). With "buy nothing new" in mind I actually started thinking about all the books I buy. Wouldn't buying an eReader be much more environmentally-friendly? It would potentially be cost saving, books wouldn't keep taking up space, and I wouldn't be buying a paper product. It's very interesting and with that in mind I'm spending this month saving up for an eReader.

Anyway, there is a ton of suggestions and articles on the site so ch-ch-check it out! http://www.earthday.ca/giveitup/index.php

Crafty Bitch!...

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 13:13:00 -0600

I just bought myself a sewing machine last week. I have to admit, I hadn't used a sewing machine in at least 10 years or so. However, when I did use it, I was pretty good and, in fact, I still wear the pair of PJ pants I made in Home Ec class in grade 8, hahaha! I should also point out they're still in awesome condition and none of the hem lines have come undone or anything like that.

Basically, I'm re-teaching myself how to sew. So far, I think I'm doing fair well. The first thing I did was fix my jacket pocket (the damn thing got caught on the Club when I was getting in my car and tore :() then the next day I reconstructed a men's medium shirt by making it a form-fitting 3/4 sleeve boatneck shirt. Not too shabby to say the least!

I want to start tackling other projects to build up my sewing skills and confidence. Are there any other seamstresses on here with suggestions as to what sort of projects I could practice with? I found a tutorial online of how to turn an old t-shirt into panties and I definitely want to give that a try, but I'm not sure I'm "there" yet, ya know?

Progress!

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 18:01:42 -0600

I started going to the gym at the beginning of the month (4 - 5 times per week) as I was certain I had put on weight and I was tired of feeling weak and getting winded easily doing things like grocery shopping. This is a bit of bragging, but I feel I've earned it. I'm much stronger now, my cardio is much better, and I've lost weight. Now to put on more muscle mass! I'm very excited about this journey I've started and can't wait to have the bod I've always wanted but was too lazy to put the effort in for.

It's Called S.A.D. ...

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:58:00 -0500

It's one thing for the weather to be turning to fall a bit earlier than I was anticipating. I can start accepting that I can't use my scooter for the daily commute as the mornings are too cold for scooting. I can embrace putting on sweaters and dressing a bit warmer. However, days of rain AND cold?! This makes for a very miserable Skinartia. :( Any other S.A.D. sufferers out there?

Life Motto...

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:16:00 -0500

I'm a big fan of "The Sopranos". I was quite sad when the show came to an end. However, there is a quote by Tony Soprano that will ring true forever. "Who gives a fuck what people say when they don't have the balls to say it to your face."

Work...

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:50:00 -0500

How many people can honestly say they love their (main) job? I truly believe most people don't and it's simply a means to pay the bills. Kind of depressing in a way, but I would guess it's been the case since currency became necessary, haha.

Gross...

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:31:00 -0500

I hate toenails. I think they're the most useless things for us to have. Humans should have evolved out of them by now. That is all.

Mods...

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:21:21 -0500

I wonder if I judge people without body modification as much, perhaps more than, they judge me for being so modified.

First Entry...

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:31:01 -0500

Oh, what the hay bale. I'll do a blog on here since my first photo series has gone up! The weekend is finally upon us. My Friday evening has consisted of domestic chores such as pulling some weeds from the garden (way too time consuming and an impossible feat to pull them all out) and gave one of the dogs a hair cut. Speaking of hair, tomorrow I'm getting mine changed up yet again. I went to my favourite hairstylist at The Hive Hair Co in Osborne Village earlier this week and got a mohawk done. I figure I'd like to do the "out there" hairstyles while I'm still young, ya know? I've had old(er) people comment how they like my green hair, the cut I had, and that they wish they were "still young enough to do stuff like that". Anyway, now rockin' a mohawk, I figure it's time for a change of colour as well since I've had green and black for a few months now. This time will be black with pink chunks so I'll become a "Punk My Little Pony". All I need is a "My Little Pony" name and I'm set.