Fresh New Post of Awesomeness!

Good morning, everyone, on this bright and lovely Thursday morning! Can I just say I feel all kinds of amazing this morning? Well, I do. I woke up naturally just about at nine AM to a gorgeous ray of sunshine peeking in where my dog nudged the blinds over. Seriously, that's some Disney princess stuff going on there, and I live for moments like that!

First off, did you see what I did there? Like, right up there? Before you answer that, I'd like you to give a think about all the words you normally hear to describe feminists. Just a sample of the ones I've heard are "angry", "dramatic", and "negative." Basically, it's like people think feminists are just horrible little hags who look for things to be upset about and can't stand it if anyone's smiling. Guess what! Your bullshit alarm should be going off right about now. Okay, now did you see what I did up there? I'd draw an arrow up to the first paragraph in a neat little animation, but I don't know how to do that, so please just imagine a red arrow pointing from the word 'there' to the first paragraph...

Process my case of the morning crazies how you will, but the bottom line is that there is GOOD STUFF in life. No, I'm not going to blow any smoke up your skirts (or trousers or kilts or what have you) - there is a lot that we need to get on getting fixed. And yeah, I guess you could choose to go about being angry and negative about it. The way I see it, though, that sets us all back. If you approach something just being upset, you're less likely to sit back and organize. I'm not saying all the good stuff outweighs the bad, because I'm sensing a serious lack of balance in our world. It's not bad enough, though, that all we can do is wail and lament and gnash our teeth.

Just for kicks, here's a list of totally awesome stuff to think about today. It might be directly related to feminism, and it might not. Really, it's just things that are fun to think on because they'll make us happy. And, seriously, if you're here to put a negative spin on everything, please refrain from commenting on this part of the article. This stuff makes ME happy, so I'm trying to get you to think about things that make YOU happy.

• The strides that we HAVE made: votes for women, moves toward workplace equality, women moving into the public eye and refusing to get out of it.
• The good things that people do when it seems like everybody sucks, on any scale you can think of - whether it's helping ducklings cross the street, giving your seat to somebody who looks like they've had a hard day, or establishing privately-funded programs to make sure that girls are not shipped from core countries to be forced brides in semi-periphery or periphery countries.
• The confused look on your mom's face when she realizes the folks in Hot Topic are the nicest people in the mall. (Happened to me when I was 13!)
• That moment when you're short and a guy dressed as a pretty-close-to-movie-quality Darth Vader hands you the sword you can't reach.
• The existence of creatures that just look like they were put here to make us laugh: aardvarks, armadillos, aye-ayes (this is not an animal alliteration association, I promise) and the king of funny-looking critters - the platypus!
• Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

Okay! That's enough of that! Nobody wants to hear me sing showtunes before 10 in the morning! If you do, I might just make a video if I get enough comments! Yeah, I just became that blogger. Heh, it might be funny... Here's another thought: how about y'all tell me in the comments all kinds of things that make YOU happy!?

Moving on... I just wanted my new post after not having internet for two days to be about things that there are to feel good about in life. This wasn't meant to be cliche or a collection of platitudes - I really want y'all to think about stuff that makes you happy. Yes, there is always something to be angry about, and I'm not telling you to ignore it or anything. Just maybe, if we rearrange our energy, we can use the positive things that do happen to make more positive things happen. It helped Sailor Moon last for five seasons! It's probably just not as effective to go into it thinking, even subconsciously, that there's so much bad happening that good just can't win.

In the words of Yoda, in regards to making things happen, "Do or do not. There is no try."

Yoda's pretty hard to follow, but this is Marigold, wishing everyone a happy Thursday!

Another Apology Post!

Sorry, in the first place, for a short post today.

In the second place, I have been without internet since Monday.

Be prepared for a lovely blog entry right here on Magical Girl Power! on Thursday!!!!

Loves from Marigold!

I will punish you in the name of the moon! For REAL!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/13/new-feminism-defying-shame

Read that before you proceed with this. Don't worry, I'm patient - I'll wait.

Do you know what this means, ladies and gents and everyone in between? It means that we are not unnoticeable. People who want to change the world are getting up and DOING! This time last year, I would not have formally backed vigilantism. Now? There are things that are necessary and it all comes in levels. Whether it is the Gulabi Gang in India, beating men who beat women with sticks while dressed in pink saree, or one cosplayer at one con going "GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER BEFORE I REMOVE THEM FOR YOU!" I do not advocate violence, when violence can be avoided, because violence tends to beget the same. However, it is now the time for us to do what we have to do to make oppression, fringe status, and marginalization stop.

I am a fan of musical theater, in case you didn't figure out by now. I have cosplayed Elphaba, the main character of Ozian fan-fiction-turned-musical Wicked multiple times. Everyone's favorite/the most well-known song from that musical seems to be "Defying Gravity." Take that song in a new context - Elphaba is doing the same thing as these women in this article. She is standing up and defying wrongdoing and shame. We all, nerds especially, have a responsibility to do this in our own lives. Those of us within the nerd community have had too much done to us over the years to let wrongdoing go unnoticed. Laurie Penny writes in the article linked above, "Sexism often functions as a pressure-release valve in times of social unrest – and when it does, it takes different forms, depending on local values."

The entire world, from what I gather, is in a time of social unrest, and it has been for a very long time. A good part of that social unrest is those who have been marginalized and oppressed standing up and saying "Fuck you, we're not taking your shit anymore!" Think about all the movements against bullying, whether they're comprehensive or specific to a particular fringe group. That is a terrific example of "Eff you and your bigoted bullcrap." I'm all about that. I keep saying, and I'll say it over and over and over, as long as I need to: Change starts with US - with YOU and ME.

This kind of in-your-face radicalism is certainly not for everyone, and radical actions can be dangerous. I'm not saying for a second that everyone should drop what they're doing and be radical in their daily actions. Try exploring radical thoughts, though. How about we all take a second to examine why some thoughts ARE considered radical. Take a moment and think of why it is considered a radical notion to say "Sex is good for you" or "Gender has no bearing on your worth as a person." It is, frankly, frightening that those notions can be considered radical. Take the "zero sum" mentality when it comes to the entitlement of rights: i.e. the notion that for one group to "gain" rights, the group in power must "lose" some of theirs.

Pick up these radical thoughts and play with them. That, I will advocate every day of my life. Take thoughts of extreme equality and tolerance and see what they feel like. Give an honest effort at shedding preconceptions, even to the point of your concept of "sin" or "goodness." To change the world, minds must change.

Keep in mind, in no way am I expressing a desire to homogenize the world. No. There will always be someone who has something that you don't have. To make everyone in this world the exact same would be tragic. How about, though, instead of marginalizing, demeaning, and suppressing difference, we celebrate it! Celebrate how beautiful someone is, no matter what ethnicity, social group, fandom, or religion they belong to! Learn about someone who is different from you! I'm going to tell you the same thing my mom taught me: you don't have to like everybody, but you do have to be respectful to them. Nothing gets solved with hate.

I really don't have a neat resolution to today's entry. Trust me, if I had a neat resolution to this entire issue, this blog wouldn't NEED more than one entry! And if somebody had neat solutions to all these things, I'm sure they would have done it a long time ago. All I can say to wrap things up is an encouragement to keep fighting. Fight bigotry and meanness where you see it. Yell at the top of your lungs when you see something not right, and don't shut up. It is entirely beneficial to the oppressive system when we're scared and quiet and acquiescent. Don't let them have it that easy. We are nerds. We are not convenient. We get things done.

Marigold, singing the song of angry men, wishing you all an honorable fight.

Every Body is Okay.

I admit, I was having trouble thinking of something to blog today. Then I was on Twitter and I saw a link in a post by @SockDreams (if you love socks, you should follow them!) that helped. "The Problem with Skinny Bashing" by Ali Berman really spoke to me, but the link they posted was its follow-up piece: Body Bashing: 5 Ways to Fix It. Both pieces make me super-happy, as I detest just pissing and moaning without offering viable solutions. For my part, I would like to do a somewhat nerd-based follow-up to both.

First, I'd like to address where the problem of female body-bashing comes from at the root, and it's not pretty at all. The bottom line is, in our society, female and female-oriented bodies are public property. Remember my previous posts about "hollering" and my follow-up to female cosplayers being excellent to each other? It's the same subject. If you identify as female, all of a sudden it is completely okay for anyone to say just whatever they please to you. I am calling some serious shenanigans, mule muffins, horse hockey, and BULLSHIT here!

Refuse to take this. Men and women and everyone in between - when you see body-bashing, do not let it pass uncommented-upon. Yes, that is a word now. Say "That is totally none of your business" or "That was really mean" or anything to call to attention the inappropriate nature of the comment. Change starts with YOU. I'm serious, y'all. Leonardo da Vinci wrote "He who does not punish evil commands it to be done." It's entirely too true, and waiting for someone else to do the right thing means one will be waiting rather a long wait. DO IT YOURSELF.

It is entirely a person's own business who they choose to cosplay. If someone who is not the body type you find personally attractive is wearing a costume you find revealing, you know what? THAT'S COOL! And no, this is not where you get all patronizing and say "Oh, that's so BRAVE of her to wear this or that." Nyet! Nope! That's backhanded body-bashing. Saying that a plus-sized woman is brave to wear whatever is saying that she has a societal obligation to be ashamed of her size. Sorry, not sorry - fuck the hell out of that. Her body and her cosplay are none of your dang business, and if you don't like it, refer to my other articles. Same that goes for a skinny or "conventionally attractive" woman cosplaying something revealing. No, you are still not entitled to yell about it. Whatever she looks like, her body's not your business.

Let's try another tack here: look at her cosplay. Has she done the character in a way you haven't seen before? Is there a particular piece of her outfit you're interested in the making of? That's cool! Ask her how she got the pleats in her Sailor Moon skirt so perfect. Maybe she has reproduced Rikku's signature hairstyle to a tee - tell her that! There's a zillion things to comment constructively on about any cosplay besides the wearer's body. I'd say probably the most personal you should go is "You look just like -insert character here-" just to be on the safe side.

I know there's things out there we cannot change. Off-hand, all I can think of is the sun rising, the tide moving, and the Earth rotating. Until we get out there and start trying, we have no idea what we can really do. And I don't mean try once or twice and then chuck it. I mean get out there and bust your tail for change each and every day. I mean take up for people when you hear someone being nasty. I mean flag comments as abusive when they are. I mean read Ms. Berman's piece and take those five things to heart!

Second, I'd like to re-state something for the record, for however many times I need to say it: every body is a good body. I want everybody who has a body to respect and love and own their body! Take care of it! Be healthy and happy! Do you have to find everyone the hottest thing ever or be sexually attracted to everyone? No. That's absurd. You do, however, if you promote body positivity, have an obligation to recognize that everyone's view of beauty is bound to be a little different. Must you promote choices that are clearly unhealthy or destructive? No, that's crazy too. However, recognize that everyone's choices are their own. All you can do is constructively promote health, activity, and acceptance instead of shame, dismissal, and blame. That's what I'm trying to do and I invite you all to do it with me!

Marigold, wishing everyone love and hugs, saying "Have a good night!"

Apparently, it is "Love Day"...

Hello, my dears, I'm sure you know what today is. Red hearts everywhere, a fairly forgettable Bing Crosby number, and half-price chocolate tomorrow - everyone knows what it's all about. No, I'm not going to give you a history lecture or whatever. There's probably a few different origin stories for all this stuff anyway. Either way, there's a lot of very strong feelings going on about the 24-hour period marked on our calendars as February 14th.

Some people love it - and we love to hate people who love it. Anyone who dares to get openly lovey with their special someone is met with a barrage of glares and spiteful cynicism. Yes, I'm sure some of that does come from jealousy. No, I'm not putting a value judgment on that, because there's really no point to that. It's human to feel jealousy or to feel upset or unhappy when someone else has something you want or feel was denied you. I'm just saying - as with anything else, if you have nothing constructive to say, you have two things to do. First, you need to keep non-constructive comments to yourself. Second, you need to examine honestly within yourself why someone else's business has that much bearing on your own happiness.

Some people hate it - and for some reason, we love to hate those people too. We like to get on our high horses and say how bitter and cynical they are, while WE, of course, are nothing like that! Yeah, no. It's your own thing, whether or not to enjoy a particular "holiday." I put it in quotations because this one is pretty well constructed. So if you don't agree with someone on their view of the day, it's probably better to agree to disagree and leave it at that.

One thing I would like to note, though: I dislike when people refer to today as "Singles' Awareness Day." One, the implication is usually pretty hetero-normative - that is to say, implying that straight relationships are the norm and ignoring the issues of people outside that norm. I think that's not cool. Two, it puts a value judgment on having a relationship. I don't think that's right either. I have issues with being in a relationship for any reason other than "I care for this person." It shouldn't be about status or whatever else. When you make a relationship about anything other than "I care about this person" then I believe it objectifies that person and makes them less important than your own wants. I understand that self-care is necessary, but learn to really make that SELF-care. I would advise that you not enter a relationship in an attempt to approximate self-care.

What I would really like to see, if we must commemorate February 14th in some way, would be a thing called "Love Day." I know that sounds all kinds of cheesy. This may be where you (if you are of age!) might want to go get some wine to go with it. I mean it, though. I'd love to see an entire day to celebrate love - the love of friends, family, significant others, whoever! You can keep the candy hearts and decorations and overpriced lingerie too! It's a great thing to celebrate love, but let's try to make it INCLUSIVE, because when it comes down to it, the Beatles had it right.

All you need is love.

Marigold, wishing you a lovely evening with whomever you wish, saying good night from her blanket fort!

Audio-animatronics, Automatons, and RealDolls.

Good (rainy) Tuesday afternoon, my lovely readers! I don't know where you are in the world, but where I am, it's wet and cold and I am more than ready for spring to be sprung. This isn't a weather blog, obviously - are there any of those, by the way? - but I figured it bore mentioning . Today, I have a subject that is inherently, particularly a feminist nerd issue. No matter your gender, you can probably say you have heard this term: "Fake geek girl." You can substitute "nerd" or "gamer" or whatever your fandom term is in there and it still applies.

You see the title? To my mind, that is the only way to produce a "fake" geek girl - literally, a non-living representation of a female human being in a fandom. This is just me, personally, but I find the mental image to be somewhat funny. Brand-new niche market, right here! Sort of like Chobits, but... You know what, I'm crashing that train of thought right there.

Seriously, though... Stop it. I do get that there are different levels of nerdism, fandom, and geekery. That's where it needs to stay, though: difference of levels. You and your particular level of nerdism are no better than anyone else and theirs. It's one of my pet peeves, the people convinced of the "one twue way!" And I misspelled that on purpose - the way they carry on, they end up sounding like cartoonish, spoiled children. The way I see it, there is no right or wrong way to be a fan of something, as long as you're not doing anybody any harm. (Another article may not be long in coming on the difference between "hurt" and "harm"... but that's another show!)

Why does the nerd-ish community target girls and women for this sort of backlash? PLEASE tell me it's not some sort of deep-seated childhood-stemming problem that sings the tune of "Girls are icky!" Oh, oh! Right! I know the answer! Of course! It's "They're just doing it for attention!" - the same way that anyone who visibly expresses their fandom is "just doing it for attention." Like how everyone who ever turned up for a Harry Potter premiere in costume was "just doing it for attention." No? That's not the answer? Oh! I get it! It must be "They just want to get laid and can't get real guys!" Riiiiiiight... I'm not even touching that. Because no guy has ever gone to a con for the specific purpose of getting laid! Hmm... Let's see, what other vitriolic, woman-hating garbage have I heard on the subject of geek girls...

Forgive me. I could go on and on sarcastically on this all day. One paragraph is probably sufficient, since I don't usually hold with just pissing and moaning. I try not to do that without offering some reasonable solutions that I see to the problem itself. Well, here's one: before you say anything that starts with "You're not a real nerd/fan/geek/whatever if...", stop. Nothing constructive is going to come after a remark like that. Do not push your own opinions as true and proven fact. Nerdism and fandom and geekery are so subjective that they're like love. No, they are love - their own kind of love. If there's anything I know about love, it's that love (therefore nerdism/fandom/geekery) is different for every person. I hope I'm right in assuming you wouldn't tell someone "You can't love a person and..." because you don't know them or their situation or how they feel. That wouldn't be right, would it?

Okay, small note: yeah, there probably are people who go to cons and whatever because they lack personal or sexual gratification in other areas. You know what, though? That is entirely their business. Male or female, it is totally their choice. If they're going to pay their money to be at a con or play a game or do whatever it is they're doing, then they have the right to be there, same as you. Certainly, you are not required to interact with them on a more than polite level - just please, remember your manners. That's all anybody is really asking, I think, to be acknowledged and treated as a human being who has the same right to be there. If they're being openly jerkish about it, don't respond by throwing your own temper tantrum. It just doesn't help.

I've said it so much, but I'm going to say it again. Cons in particular are supposed to be a safe space. You can't complain about there being no women in the convention scene if you know for a fact the scene is treating women like crap. Make a change, because it has to start with you. If you hear someone going on about "fake geek girl", unless they're talking about an artificial person made in China or Japan or something, get on their case about it! Everybody loses when we alienate our own with vitriol and just petty meanness. If you're playing an online game and misogyny starts up ("There are no women on the internet"/"Tits or GTFO"/shit like that), say something. Flag the offender. Make it known that they are part of the problem. This is one of those situations where you truly cannot have it both ways. You're not going to have nerd girls at all to befriend and have in your lives if you're aware of the problem and either contribute to it or passively let it go on. Don't let the assholes win. I would dearly like to think that we as nerds are better than that.

Nerds have always had it hard enough. We're not mainstream (do not give me the bullshit about "Nerds are cool now!" because it's crock) and we've all had problems fitting in. Those of us who find the bravery to be openly nerdy/geeky/fanboys and fangirls often have a really hard time. We still have trouble making friends in school and work. Some of us face backlash from our families. We're looked down on a lot of the time, still. With all that crap going on, we really should take a step back and think "Do we really want to do that to our own people?"

Marigold/Hyper-chan, hoping the answer is "no" and wishing everyone a good evening!

Give A Little Whistle!

Good morning, my darlings! Yes, you get a blog post before noon because I am somehow awake before noon on a Thursday. Anybody recognize the title of this post? Well, besides being one of the more annoying Disney songs to me, it's a subject I hadn't thought about in years. In conversation with a friend last night, though, it got brought up. Side note: Yes, I will continue to focus on ladies from Les Mis and Rurouni Kenshin, but probably as random spotlight pieces. A writer's mind can be entirely too spastic to stick on one subject for weeks at a time. Yes, yes, I know that other times we fixate on things for months, but right now, I've hit on one subject: whistling.

I don't mean whistling while you work, or whistling a happy tune and making believe you're brave, but I will give bonus points to anyone who caught that second reference. I mean an oft-parodied form of street harassment. Who here grew up watching Looney Tunes? Who remembers Tex Avery's classic zoot-suited Hollywood Wolf? Heaven only knows I did, and I do! Remember how a gal (or Elmer Fudd in a dress) would get whistled at and the whistler's head turned into a wolf's head? This, friends - in case you didn't know/infer from context clues - is called a wolf whistle.

You may call me a "bad" feminist or whatever (refer to my saying on "You can't be a feminist and..."), but I personally don't mind them. I have occasionally been whistled at in public, but to be perfectly honest, I find it a little cute and mostly funny. Maybe I did watch too much television as a child, but hey, even Mickey Mouse has whistled at Minnie before. I hate street harassment. I don't think it's cute or funny in any way. However, apparently childhood cartoons mostly produced before 1950 knocked the bone out of my head that qualified whistling as harassment. It's also endearing with people you know well who "get the joke" - i.e. they are Looney Tunes/early Mickey fans too.

Of course, not every woman is going to feel the same as me and there are certainly women who would think whistling is just as offensive as any other form of harassment. I definitely would not recommend actually whistling at a stranger in public. What is printed above refers to my own feelings and mine alone. Read: Don't try this at home. We all knew I would get to a "don't try this at home" moment eventually, so let's have a slow clap or something...

On the subject of street harassment, I say again: no, it's not cute or funny. A lot of people say there's fuzzy lines or gray area or wiggle room here. This is just me, but I would prefer to err on the side of caution. In the interest of full disclosure, I am not perfect. I am guilty of rolling down my car window to yell "YOU'RE HOT!" at a male jogger. In my absolutely non-water-holding defense, he looked like Ryan Gosling - that's still not an excuse, I repeat. Backtracking a bit, though, just... refrain from doing things like that.

What is street harassment? In general, it's "hollering" at women on the street or otherwise in public: whistles, catcalls, shouts of "give me your number"/"call me" or a variant thereupon, comments on their person, leering, following, things of that nature. Now, before you jump on me that these are extreme situations, sit down. No, they most certainly are not. I cannot think of a woman I have talked to who has not had this happen to her. And it makes the majority of us incredibly uncomfortable. Yes, there is the occasional lady who says she doesn't care, but let's again err on the side of caution.

Bottom line, it's rude. Everyone, regardless of their bits and pieces, has the right to walk about in public without being shouted at like their body is public property. The way my mom taught me, you should not stare or make personal comments on someone.

First: staring/leering. Okay, I get it that humans are very visually-oriented. I've read the biology books, y'all. We have binocular vision and walk upright because our eyes are our main sensory input - that's how we get information about the world around us. In my book, though, there is a great big difference in the very human trait of observation and leering or staring. It is entirely human, natural, and normal, to look at the people around us. Our brains send us input like "Cool T-shirt!" and "Person with pack of children" and "Lady with a walker" and things like that. It's how we distinguish where we are and, on some level, whether anyone in the vicinity is a threat to us.

Staring/leering, on the other hand, is just rude. I do understand that we all do it sometimes, I really do. The best thing to do in that case is catch yourself and apologize if you are caught. Please, though, try to check yourself in your actions so that you don't make people uncomfortable. And it doesn't matter if it's a woman wearing a shorter skirt than usual or a person in a wheelchair. Staring is just plain rude, and it makes people very uncomfortable. Exercise some consideration for the people, regardless of gender, race, ability, whatever qualifier you have, and check your behavior.

Second: comments. I am not for a minute telling you to keep your head down and your mouth shut, never looking at or talking to anyone. No, seriously, I've had a dude go off on me about that once he learned I was a feminist. Chill your buns, everybody. That's not what I'm saying, so listen: it is a very nice thing to do to give people compliments as long as you're sincere. I can't think of anyone who doesn't like to hear "Your T-shirt makes my day" or "Cool shoes". To my mind, those are not personal comments. That is to say, you should not comment on the body of someone you do not know well.

Seriously, don't do it. Again, it's just a matter of not making people uncomfortable. People have all kinds of things that they're just kind of quirky about regarding their bodies. No, the answer is not "grow a thicker skin" or "toughen up and ignore it." Everyone has the right to go about and mind their own darn business without someone calling them out in public about their body. That means even if you think you are being complimentary, refrain from comments like "Nice legs". And for heaven's sakes, do not comment on a lady's chest or behind if you do not know her very well! If you see an attractive person and you want to give them a compliment, find something else. I'm sure there's a million other things that you can say that do not run into harassing/discomfort territory.

• "Cool shirt! I love that show/band/quote/critter/whatever."
• "How did you get your hair to do that?"
• "Your *insert item of clothing/accessory* is my favorite color."
• "Pardon me, where did you get that *insert item here*? It's really cool!"

People really like to get it that you noticed something about them other than their body, since I'm sure we all have our self-consciousness quirks. I know I put something up there about hair. I personally do not qualify that as a "personal" comment, since there is intentional non-verbal and cultural communication happening through how we wear our hair. Most people do something with their hair, even if it's just pulling it up to get it out of the way. And I can't think of a single person I have ever met who doesn't like to hear that their hair looks awesome.

Oh, and this is a little prologue to a subject I WILL touch on later: don't ever ask a girl you do not know why she's not smiling. Short answer to why: it implies that women must always signal availability, and that's annoying. Seriously, it gets really old to be expected to be bubbly and chipper all the damn time. If we want to sit in a corner with Cloud and Vincent and have a "brood all day" party, we're fucking welcome to do so. Sometimes we really do just want to be left alone. And if she's reading... Let me quote Captain America: "Son, just don't." No, really. "Reading" does not mean "doing nothing and therefore open to attention." I'll come back to this. Note: if any person looks as though they are distressed, it is a totally human thing to do to ask "Are you okay?"

Well, I hope I cleared up a few things for y'all! I'm not trying to lay down the law here: I'm just telling you how my mom raised me and good ways not to cause discomfort in others. People keep complaining that consideration for others is going out of the window. In my eyes, there's an easy way to start fixing that: show consideration for others in what YOU do. It doesn't take terribly long and it isn't painful. This is the American South, so the default interaction is "smile and wave" - I don't know how it is where you are, but a smile with no words at all is a good way to make someone's day. So if you aren't sure if what you're trying to say will come out right or cause discomfort, just smile! We all smile in the same language, as far as I'm aware. (Humans anyway - don't smile at monkeys or apes in the zoo because to them "showing teeth" is "aggression or fear." So don't do that.) Just take a second or two, and if there's doubt, probably don't say it.

And if the Ryan Gosling look-alike I shouted at in Jacksonville is reading this, by any chance, I'm sorry I scared you!

Marigold, sitting up in bed on a rainy Thursday, smiling and bidding you all a lovelier day than this!

Ten long years.

Hello, my darlings! I'm sure you saw the title of today's post. "Ten long years..." is a running theme of one of my favorite anime series in the history of anime. I know at least one of my readers is also a long-time fan of Rurouni Kenshin (love you, Katie!). Last night, I had a friend over and we decided to start watching Kenshin again from the beginning. If you don't know the story of the love between me and Kenshin (the series - the character will not be italicized) then I won't bore you. If you know it, then you know it - my personal back-story on the series is neither here nor there. However, last night gave me the idea to follow up with one of the ideas on the list!

Today, I give you a spotlight on the ladies of Rurouni Kenshin and why they are important to a feminist nerd. To keep it easier, I think I'll be doing just one at a time. Yes, I'll be doing protagonists and "villains." And so, without further blathering from me, ONWARD!

This, ladies and gents, is Kamiya Kaoru. (Note: In case you don't know, the Japanese language puts last names first - Smith John. In the English dub, she is referred to as Kaoru Kamiya.) You see her for the first time in the pilot episode and she is the main female protagonist of the series. She has been orphaned and lives alone in her father's dojo.

Here, we come to point badass the first! Kaoru is the assistant master for the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu/Style (Japanese to English) of Japanese swordsmanship. Her father founded the style as a way to use swordsmanship to revitalize the human spirit. Let's look at this: the year is 1878 and a woman is the assistant master of a Japanese swordsmanship style. Sound badass yet? Here's more - she's 17. If it sounds demeaning that she is only the assistant master, remember this: her father died before he could formally pass down the title. The fact that she is allowed a nameplate as assistant master and can, in fact, train her own students, is pretty progressive for the time.

Kaoru is tenacious as hell. There are many examples of her being strong even to the point of recklessness - she will stand up for what she believes to be right no matter what. She has a natural trust of people, but she isn't stupid about it. Though she is a strict teacher and very skilled in her style, she does not give up her femininity. She is depicted in screen time (and in the manga) about equally in her gi and hakama (short kimono and loose trousers) and her full furisode (kimono of an unmarried woman). This, I believe, is only one of her design factors that make her a very human character. The other, is something some people may believe detracts from her. Honestly, it annoyed me for a very long time, but then I stepped back.

Kaoru is very emotional. Many people use "emotional" as a way to make women not matter. How many times have you heard, "Oh, you're just being emotional?" as a way to devalue your feelings? It does not make someone less sane, rational, or worthy to have strong emotions. It also does not render a person any less capable of competent, coherent thought. Frankly, it is a dangerous idea to believe that it does. Yes, Kaoru cries a lot, but nowhere near as much as some girls in some other series, and when things are serious, so is she. She has her dark moments - at one point, she falls into such a deep depression that she cannot get out of bed. Here's the thing, though: she accepts help from her friends and gets up to do what she needs to do. There is also a monologue of hers that I will touch on in another entry where she explains how little gender matters in what she does.

I get that anime is a very stylized form of entertainment. The characters are very often larger-than-life in ability, personality, appearance, and so on. Kaoru seems to be a wonderful counterbalance to all the over-the-top characters, particularly the guys, in Rurouni Kenshin. Kenshin himself is nearly invincible as a swordsman. Sanosuke is a brawler with close to superhuman strength. I could go on about the men of Kenshin all day. Several people have heard me do so. However, Kaoru and the rest of the ladies of the series bring balance to the dynamic. No, her swordsmanship does not verge on the magical and, yes, she does have a few qualities that probably make people want to smack her. To me, that just makes her more human. She doesn't have unreal proportions or a crazy eye color. There's no sparkly transformation sequences or Care-Bear-Stare-esque magic attacks. Through her successes and failures, I find her exemplary as a strong female character.

Marigold, encouraging you all to go watch Rurouni Kenshin, over and out!

Apologies.

I'm afraid, my dears, that this is a post about not-posting, and that's not nearly as Zen as it should be. You see, I am a full-time college student, and I have found myself in a bit of a bind. Tomorrow, I have a quiz on the classic Greek tragedy, "Antigone" as penned by Sophocles. Guess what? I have been a bit of a derp this weekend and... well... not read it. There's really kind of no excuse for that, but I've managed to make up several.

You know what? I think I'll do a post about Antigone after the quiz tomorrow, soon as I have a computer back in front of me. I do apologize again for my lack of anything quotable or pithy this weekend, but I absolutely must put my schoolwork first.

Marigold, hiding behind her book, wishing you a good rest of your weekend.