Tock's Scrapbook - Eccentric Ramblings

(This is a thread from Mizahar's fantasy role playing forums. Why don't you register today? This message is not shown when you are logged in. Come roleplay with us, it's fun!)

The player scrapbooks forum is literally a place for writers to warm-up, brainstorm, keep little scraps of notes, or just post things to encourage themselves and each other. Each player can feel free to create their own thread - one per account - and use them accordingly.

Tock's Scrapbook - Eccentric Ramblings

Postby Montaine on September 14th, 2012, 10:20 am

I don't know why I keep coming back to this. I guess it's one of the few things that I'm actually not apathetic about. A quick jaunt over to Wikipedia gives this 2006 quote from the APA:

The American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and National Association of Social Workers stated in 2006:
“ Currently, there is no scientific consensus about the specific factors that cause an individual to become heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual—including possible biological, psychological, or social effects of the parents' sexual orientation. However, the available evidence indicates that the vast majority of lesbian and gay adults were raised by heterosexual parents and the vast majority of children raised by lesbian and gay parents eventually grow up to be heterosexual.[2]


I remember watching a documentary a few years back about a pair of identical twins, raised with the same DNA in the same environment, but one was gay and the other was not. One of the suggestions they came up with was that both of them had the 'gay gene', but it only activated in one of them.

If we're talking environmental factors, the way we were raised has little effect. I suspect that the way these factors affect our sexuality is haphazard enough to be random, or subtle enough to go unnoticed. For example, in the potential reasons you posited for your own heterosexuality I could agree to pretty much all of them myself. My first pre-pubescent crush was a girl, and my second too. It wasn't until sexual attraction came into play that I turned to guys. I was exposed to just as many images of women, after all they tend to be more often objectified by the various media we have around. There's a stereotype played up by the other side that overbearing mothers, distant fathers, an abundance of female friends, and an interest feminine things lead someone to turn gay. My parents were both there, neither overbearing nor distant, during my teenage years I had no female friends at all, and my biggest interests have always been video games, science fiction and books, non of which are typically feminine.

I could accept the idea that I possessed a gay gene that was activated instance of random chance. But there was nothing in my childhood that was different from my straight brother, or my straight friends.

It's also interesting to note, as no one has brought this up yet, that the more kids you have, the more likely one will be gay. And it's not just probability, as it is the youngest is who is most likely. Current theory, I believe, implies this is nature's 'limiter'. Alas, with seven billion on our planet and growing, it isn't working.
User avatar
Montaine
The Glass Boy
 
Posts: 399
Words: 306099
Joined roleplay: April 6th, 2012, 9:23 pm
Location: Zeltiva
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 2
Donor (1) Extreme Scrapbooker (1)

Tock's Scrapbook - Eccentric Ramblings

Postby Minerva Agatha Zipporah on September 17th, 2012, 2:46 am

Now for a lighter topic:

Zombies!

Yes, zombies.

Gotta love it when the government is making actual announcements on the subject of zombies.
Minerva Agatha Zipporah
Quirky Gadgeteer
 
Posts: 2027
Words: 1329519
Joined roleplay: April 21st, 2012, 4:50 am
Location: Zeltiva
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 3
Donor (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
One Million Words! (1)

Tock's Scrapbook - Eccentric Ramblings

Postby Nai'shee on September 17th, 2012, 6:46 pm

Lol. Just lol. I have no other comments. o.o
ABSENCE
Common
Fratava
Image
User avatar
Nai'shee
One day, you'll all know my name
 
Posts: 479
Words: 240186
Joined roleplay: December 30th, 2011, 7:22 pm
Location: IC: Zeltiva
Race: Human
Character sheet
Scrapbook
Plotnotes

Tock's Scrapbook - Eccentric Ramblings

Postby Minerva Agatha Zipporah on September 17th, 2012, 6:47 pm

And yet a "Lol" says so much by itself. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a good Lol has to be worth at least 360 words just by itself.
Minerva Agatha Zipporah
Quirky Gadgeteer
 
Posts: 2027
Words: 1329519
Joined roleplay: April 21st, 2012, 4:50 am
Location: Zeltiva
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 3
Donor (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
One Million Words! (1)

Tock's Scrapbook - Eccentric Ramblings

Postby Verilian on September 17th, 2012, 8:33 pm

I know that you've moved on to zombies, but I just wanted to throw out my point of view on the whole LGBT issue, because I haven't seen it posted yet. Firstly, I will say that I am pro-gay marriage because I am 100% pro-being able to do what you want to do. If gays want to marry, let them. In the US, where I live, we are supposed to live in a country that allows religious freedom, and separates the church from the state. Now, of course being gay isn't necessarily a religious belief, but in my opinion, it should fall under the same protection as religious freedom. The number one argument against same sex marriage is that it's sacrilegious. Yes, they find other ways of putting it, but that's why they are arguing. They think it's a sin.

Okay.. so you think gays and lesbians are sinners. Good for you. What does that have to do with the government? The government is supposed to protect our freedom to believe in things, not enforce the things we believe in. The government should look at it from a neutral, non-religious point of view. Sadly, I doubt the government will ever do that, on any issue. But anyway, that's not the point I was trying to make.

I am pro all that stuff. I personally am pretty much straight.. meaning that I have never desired to enter into a relationship with a man. That's not to say that I'm against it, or haven't been sexually attracted to a man.. because I have. But that's another story, and that is just on a purely sexual level.

The entire point of what I'm trying to get to, I guess, is that while I do support LGBT rights, there are some things I just plain don't get. Like.. I don't get how anyone, gay or straight, can only ever be attracted to one or the other sex. Not physically.. I'm talking mentally. I'm generally not attracted males physically. I don't like muscles, or hair, and

Okay, just as I was typing that line, I realized that I was lying. Because I have found muscular men attractive, but mentally unattractive. So really, it doesn't matter what they look like, and I can't say I'm not attracted to male minds because everyone is different. They all think different, they all look different. So my attraction is purely on a case by case basis, and I have been attracted to both sexes, though in general I do prefer women over men. Even outside a intimate relationship. Most of my friends, even on Miz, are women. But anyway, I keep forgetting my point.

My point is, that I don't always understand. I don't understand how a gay man can only be attracted to men, or a straight man can only be attracted to women. I don't understand how someone can feel that they were born in the wrong body either. I get that you feel feminine, that you have a female "gender" but how could you want to change your body. I am personally against all non-necessary cosmetic procedures.. and by personally, I mean, myself. As in, I would never do it to myself. I don't care what other people do. If you want a sex change, get it. I have a friend who is actually doing that, and I am supportive of him. If you want a boob job, get it. If you think your nose is too big, get it fixed. I don't care.

But I don't get it. How can you be a woman trapped in a man's body? You are you, in the body you were born in. How can you think you were meant to be something else? If you were meant to be a female, you would have been. Your mind and your body are two different things. Nature has been around for billions of years. I think it knows what it's doing. So I just don't understand how somebody can think they are the wrong gender.

I'm that way with a lot of stuff. I don't see why women think they need boob jobs. Some do it for the attention, but my wife has talked about it because she doesn't like hers. They aren't big enough, in her opinion. I honestly don't care how big they are. I like them the way they are naturally, and would rather her not alter herself cosmetically (not that we can afford it, anyway.) But if we could afford it, and she truly wanted to, I wouldn't stop her. But.. I just don't get how people could want to make their bodies into something they aren't.

Some people hate their bodies because they are fat, but that is something that can be fixed naturally. But to pay millions of dollars because your nose is to big? That just doesn’t make any sense in my mind. And the same goes with sex change. I just don't understand it.

Yes, you can explain to me their point of view, and yes, in a general sense I do get what they are saying. But for me, on that very personal level only I can possibly understand, it just doesn't make sense.

Now finally to my real point. It doesn't make sense for me, and thus, I don't understand it. Now, being the extremely open guy that I am, I honestly could care less if you want to do something I don't understand. You do what you want, I do what I want. I realize that my way is right for me only, and it might not be right for you.

But other people aren't the same. They don't understand things, and they think that their way is the right way for everyone. So because, like me, they don't understand your beliefs, unlike me, they think that they should force their beliefs onto you (you being the LGBT population in general.) They think that if it's right for them, it must be right for you.

..okay.. so I honestly have no idea where I am going with all this anymore. I know my point was in there somewhere, but as with all my posts like this it probably got lost somewhere in the shuffle. Anyway, I hope that those of you who read this see the point I was trying to make, and I hope I didn't accidentally offend anyone. I am not against anything I don't understand, I just don't understand it.

I believe that what's right for me is right for me, and what's right for you is right for you, and beyond that it shouldn't matter.

So.. that is all I have to say. >.>

~V
Forecast for tonight... Dark
-----
Wind Reach---Wind Reach Lore---WR Request Thread
User avatar
Verilian
Retired Staff
 
Posts: 2342
Words: 1113582
Joined roleplay: December 23rd, 2010, 9:53 pm
Location: AS of Wind Reach
Race: Staff account
Storyteller secrets
Office
Scrapbook
Medals: 4
Featured Contributor (1) Trailblazer (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) Extreme Scrapbooker (1)

Tock's Scrapbook - Eccentric Ramblings

Postby Minerva Agatha Zipporah on September 17th, 2012, 9:11 pm

Verilian wrote: I know that you've moved on to zombies, but I just wanted to throw out my point of view on the whole LGBT issue...


That is just an awesome sentence. I guarantee no one has ever said that before in the history of the world. ^.^

On the issue of gay marriage debates, I mentioned this once in Monty's scrap, but I'll repeat it here: Today, a lot of the debate is supposedly about "preserving the concept of marriage" and "holding onto the meaning of the word marriage." Which is why some people say "civil union" should be enough. However, what I feel is that those people are simply filled with hate and prejudice, and they're trying to decorate the issue with fancy terms.

See, if someone says, "We can't let the queers get married because God says so," that person is immediately seen as prejudiced and closed-minded. So someone got the idea to claim it's about tradition and meaning... after all, trying to preserve tradition and meaning seems like a noble cause, right?

It's like needing to read the fine print. Needing to look past the argument that they make and realize they're fighting for a bad cause. I think a lot of the people who oppose gay marriage might be persuaded to change their views, except people play it up as if they have the 'righteous' side. That makes it harder to convince them, because they don't see the prejudice. They see this sugar-coated view where they think they're 'protecting' something. And that's sad.

The language we use to discuss such a topic is important. Because when someone phrases an argument the right way, they can convince otherwise good, wholesome people to take the wrong side, because the phrasing makes it sound good. And they need to be shown the other side of it, in order to understand the flaw in their argument.

On to the rest:

Verilian wrote: I believe that what's right for me is right for me, and what's right for you is right for you, and beyond that it shouldn't matter.


I think this is a good summary. It should all be about acceptance and equality. And I think it's okay to 'not get' something, as long as you still accept it and don't treat people badly just because they're 'different.'

There are a lot of things that I don't get either. That's one of the reasons I'm in this Communicating Gender class. A lot of it is philosophical. It's about communicating the ideas, exploring them, and trying to gain a better perspective. It's not about answers, or about what's right and wrong. It's about spreading awareness through education. Because just talking about it and thinking about it helps a lot.

Have we made any major revelations in this scrapbook discussion? Not really. There was nothing here that I think will alter people's lives. But people asked questions. People offered different perspectives. And if anyone gained just a little understanding, or saw a side of things they hadn't seen before, then I think this was a worthwhile discussion. We all got to see views from people who were gay, straight, male, female, and even some things that don't fit quite into those categories. I'd love to learn that at least one person brought these subjects up to people in their offline lives, even if it was just a simple discussion. Because talking about it helps.

Along those lines, there's a fascinating article I just read for this class: The Five Sexes. It's a discussion about how humans aren't just male and female, and it talks about the way this has been addressed legally and in the medical community. Anyone who is interested in learning more should read it. I found it very enlightening... though of course, it left me with more questions than answers. Philosophy can be like that.
Minerva Agatha Zipporah
Quirky Gadgeteer
 
Posts: 2027
Words: 1329519
Joined roleplay: April 21st, 2012, 4:50 am
Location: Zeltiva
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 3
Donor (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
One Million Words! (1)

Tock's Scrapbook - Eccentric Ramblings

Postby Minerva Agatha Zipporah on September 18th, 2012, 4:28 am

Image
Minerva Agatha Zipporah
Quirky Gadgeteer
 
Posts: 2027
Words: 1329519
Joined roleplay: April 21st, 2012, 4:50 am
Location: Zeltiva
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 3
Donor (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
One Million Words! (1)

Tock's Scrapbook - Eccentric Ramblings

Postby Cascade on September 19th, 2012, 8:23 am

Bwahaha, love it.

I had a straight day today. Whatever the hell that even means.

EDIT: AH! I just put on a jacket. I have a straight jacket on. Geddit? No? Oh... okay. :(
User avatar
Cascade
The Demi-Goddess
 
Posts: 760
Words: 182001
Joined roleplay: April 1st, 2012, 3:07 am
Location: DS Of The Suvan Sea
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Medals: 2
Featured Contributor (1) Extreme Scrapbooker (1)

Tock's Scrapbook - Eccentric Ramblings

Postby Wart on September 19th, 2012, 8:42 am

There was this girl in my drama class. Her name was Karenn. When asked 'what she was' she would always answer "**** you I'm Karenn-sexual."

With everything that entered my mind reading all of this stuff and the awesome replies I've missed out on, I think that sums my whole response pretty well.

(Except the zombie stuff. I don't even know what to say about that. Except that Zombie walks are awesome.)

So she'd have a "Karenn Marriage" "Karenn lunch" and "Karenn park" her car. Which I personally think is the only way needed to Karenn classify anything.

Oh and Cascade, that was brilliant. :D
Image
User avatar
Wart
The Pissy Artist
 
Posts: 234
Words: 151302
Joined roleplay: June 20th, 2012, 6:14 am
Location: Zeltiva
Blog: View Blog (5)
Race: Human, Mixed
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 1
Extreme Scrapbooker (1)

Previous

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests