- Women who are freaking out over New Moon the movie, and the Twilight series in general. Ok, I admit I've read all the books. I thought the first one was good, and that the fourth one was decent in the way all the loose ends were tied up. There are reasons why these books are bestsellers; not everyone who's read them is an idiot, ok? But here's the thing. This series is about an obsessive relationship, so it's most appealing to people who have obsessive personalities. I just didn't realize there were so many women like that. I find it really disturbing. I find it particularly disturbing to see women who are supposedly in a healthy marital relationship and should know better obsessing over these books/movies. Obsession is not healthy, ladies. It's not true love. Obsession blinds you to to things like, oh, for example, your lover is a controlling, blood-sucking monster and you're being a jerk to all the people around you because of your attachment to him. Obsession warps your ability to see things clearly, and that is a bad thing. Stop investing yourselves in unhealthy, obsessive fantasies. Stop shelling out money to support a movie industry that already churns out increasingly worse rom-coms. And PLEASE stop the squealing.
- Women at BYU who are freaking out over BYU's recent decision to close the Women's Research Institute. See this article, "BYU students rally to champion women's research" from the Salt Lake Tribune. This quote from Sara Vranes made me laugh:
It is significant, if only in a nominal way, that the only space at BYU explicitly dedicated to disarming the hurtful effects of silencing women will now be, beyond argument, silenced.
First of all, has this person heard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? It's really into this charity thing, getting people to recognize their limitless divine worth, and highlighting the importance of each gender in the Plan of Salvation. Every part of the Church, including BYU, is prepared to "disarm the hurtful effects of silencing women"—or any other group that deserves to be heard (which would be any group that believes in peaceful discourse, regardless of differences in belief or opinion). The presence or absence of this institute is irrelevant to the Church's viewpoint towards women, which has always been and will always be one of great care and respect.
My second thought is, it's strange how the people who fight for equal rights seem to be the last ones to realize that winning the fight means being treated like everyone else. You're not special anymore. Whatever hurts and indignities your group has suffered are over with, they're history. You are not entitled to extra money and attention just because of something you were born to. I wonder how long Sara Vranes will feel personally victimized by silencing she has never had to endure. I went to BYU. I never interacted with the WRI and hadn't even heard of it until I read about this, actually. I never felt like BYU, the administration running it, or any person I met there presented any barriers whatsoever to my happiness or success because I was a woman. The fight is won, ladies. If we still want money and attention, why don't we do something that merits it, huh?
Fortunately, the members of these two groups do not represent a significant number, if any, of my closest girlfriends, so I plan to completely enjoy our Ladies' Night Out tomorrow!
