Nothing exciting here, just birdies!

Hello my pretties.
Just a mundane update for you today.

It is a snowy yet sunny Friday afternoon here in Moncton. The thin coat of snow outside makes me yearn all the more for sweet, sweet Vegas....5 days!

I'm sitting around with mom watching some movies and playing with the animals. The house is now a zoo. 3 birds, and a portly lil doggy. My little bluebird with balls of steel, Kira, is very curious about this big white puffy thing...and has been trying to groom her all morning. Above is my mother , giggling at Kira climbing up her leg to get to Honey.

Agua and Audrey, ever in love...Shes grooming his head here....so cute it hurts me. Could also be mistaken for zombie-birds...Brains nom nom nom.

Tonight, as previously blogged, Eddie Vee and I are seeing Nunsense this evening, then attending the Rock'n Rebels CD release show.

My apologies for this poor excuse for a blog entry.

I am now off to finish watching St. Trinians with my mother....Rupert Everette in drag, you just can't go wrong with that. Pure entertainment.

Cookies are goddamned fantastic, especially when they tell me good things.

I have to say, this is the most appropriate fortune I've ever had.

The cookie was also delicious.

Also, many thanks to all the people that have reposted my last fat-activism entry. Thank you for the kind emails and messages. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and that some of you found inspiration from it.

XO

Lenora

Let me teach you a lil' something, my pretties.

The time has come to explain a few things.

I have lost count of just how many times someone has questioned my self-identifying as a fat activist.
Let me clear it up for you, dear readers.

I am a fat activist.




I am an activist, who is fat.
I am an activist for those who are fat.
I am an activist and advocate for acceptance of all bodies, shapes, sizes, colors, genders, etc.


I use the word “fat”.as a neutral descriptor. “ Fat” is an adjective. I do not put any negative connotations on the word. As many other stigmatized words, it is being taken back, and used in new ways. I will not let the word “ Fat” be used against me as a negative. Saying “ Shit, bitch, you look fat today” computes as “Shit bitch, you look white/female/human today.” Your negativity will not cut me, and I will fight like hell to stop it from cutting others.


I do not promote obesity.
I do not deny that there are many health problems linked to obesity.

I DO NOT BUY INTO THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF BODY HATRED.

I do not believe that all fat bodies are unhealthy. (This is SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN, people. Look into the “Health and Every Size” movement.) Just as I don’t believe all extremely thin bodies are unhealthy.

I do not believe all the “research” (propaganda) out there that is preaching the evils of being even slightly overweight. (When reading statistics- look into who conducts the studies. Studies can be highly biased, often results are swayed in the direction the conductor wants, usually for financial gain. Ha, gain, see what I did there?)

I am not a “skinny bitch” hater. Skinny bitches are beautiful. Fat bitches are beautiful. In-between bitches are beautiful. Non-bitches are beautiful…HUMAN BEINGS ARE GODDAMNED BEAUTIFUL IN ALL THEIR VARYING FORMS! ! It is okay to say this, and mean it!

I believe that discriminating someone based on their body is shameful, disgusting, and a huge HUGE problem in our world today.

I believe a person has the right to occupy as much or as little space as they want, without being made to feel guilty.


I believe all these things and more….and wish so very hard that more people would challenge their views on bodies in general.

Why?

We experience the world through our bodies. A positive, healthy relationship with our bodies is key in a fulfilling life.

My body is how I’ve learned, grown, lived, loved, hated, explored and hidden.
All these experiences and more are near and dear to me- I cherish them deeply…and know they would not have been the same in any other body. I have experienced hardships with my body, and because of my body , and yet I love each and every inch of myself, and I will not let anyone tell me I shouldn’t.

I am truly saddened when a woman, who has just finished praising me for my confidence, then utters “ I wish I could feel as good….” YOU CAN! YOU SHOULD! PLEASE DO! This is not an impossible task.


I am fat.

“Coming out” as fat was a huge deal.
I was met with so many “ Oh , no , you’re not fat! You’re chubby/porky/pleasantly plump/curvy”… How dare you try and deny me my own self-identity?

I am not a big slothy slob. I go to the gym 3 times a week, I eat a well balanced diet, and am health conscious. I camp, I fish, I go canoeing, I am a certified lifeguard. I am not married to my couch, glued to a bag of chips with pizza man on speed dial.

The sad thing? I have to tell you these things to get your respect.

I break boundaries.
I make people think twice about what a fat person can and can’t do.
I encourage other fat people to do the same.
I encourage all people to challenge notions about what a “normal” body is and can do.


I could go on and on.

I would like to share another rant that is extremely appropriate to this topic. This woman’s writing has inspired me greatly, and this entry in particular feels as if I could have written it myself from my own heart. Please take the time to read it in its entirety. It is not what you think. http://bloginatrix.com/?p=498 . Here is a bit that I particularly enjoy:

“The people who told you that my fat is a failing on my part? They were lying.
The people who told you that fat is the same thing as weak and lazy and stupid? They were lying.
The people who told you that morality has a place in conversations about mass? They were lying, too.
And the people who told you my size is your business, that you have the god-given right to judge me based on my shape, my dimensions? Liars.
All of these people lying to you… about me.

The point is money. The point is power.
They lie because they wanted you to buy things.
They lie to you, about me, about what fat means, because they want you to be scared of becoming me.
..I am sorry that you believe being me would be so terrible. (It isn’t.)
…I am a human being who has a body, and I manage that body the absolute best way I know how.
I’m sorry they’ve made that so very easy for you to forget”


Does all this answer your questions?

No longer do I seem like some fat girl prancing about screaming “ Yaye fatties, be fat, fuck ya’ll skinny bitches, if I say fat is okay, I’ll feel okay about myself, but I‘m secretly lying.”

No.

The bottom line is, when I step out into a world that hates me…instead of curling into a big squishy ball and letting the hate and ignorance perpetuate itself….I do something about it. I say something about it. I put my big fat foot down.

At the end of the day…. I can stand totally naked in front of my mirror, looking at every fold, stretch mark, curve, dimple and “imperfection” . I can see and feel the power , grace and creativity my body possesses., and I say “ I like this” …. “ I am beautiful” .

And when I stand there, free of the pressure of what the world wants me to be….all I can think of is how much I wish that every other person out there, could look into their mirrors or step into the street and say and feel the same things about themselves….

And mean it.


photocredit: http://www.definatalie.com

I debate the porn industry with my mother

My loving parents have arrived safely. After living in the US for two years, they will once again call this small-town home .



I haven't seen my mother since Christmas time...so what is the first conversation we sit down to have?


Why, debating the porn industry, of course!



Now, let me give you a little background about my mother. She was born and raised in a very small town in New Brunswick, called Bathurst- a tiny French town with nothing to do at all. She grew up poor, and weird. Tall, blonde, slim and blue eyed, she won the Miss Bathurst Pageant when she ran as a joke,much to the dismay of the popular rich girls who also ran. She is a strong, intelligent, extremely kind and giving person, with a sick and twisted sense of humour like my own (sometimes!). She has been with my father (the black haired once-upon-a-punk rocker) since highschool, they moved to Toronto, and had lil ol' me.

(Here is the best google result for Bathurst, New Brunswick... ha ha how very stereotypically-East Coast Canadian.)

(No, no one actually dresses like those lil kids on the back of the cart, that is just a tourist trap, recreating the "old days")



Oh did I mention her name is Sandra-Dee? She refuses to go by this name, insisting on Sandy instead. She was in highschool when Grease came out, and was teased endlessly....this lead me to never be allowed to watch Grease in the house growing up. Needless to say she wasn't too pleased when I revealed the cursive letters permanently inked into my forearm that spell out......Sandra Dee.....



All in all, I consider my mother to be the pinacle of womanhood and everything I could aspire to be in one way or another. Despite her occasional dabblings in crazy-town, I love her and admire her. She is extremely liberal in many ways....except her views on porn.

My dear mother is dead-set against the porn industry, saying that all porn is extremely degrading to women.



I remember growing up, exploring my sexuality, and becoming very curious about pornography...and vividly remember the extreme embarassement and shame I was made to feel when she found my porno stash. If only she knew just how big of a pervert her little baby girl turned out to be. (I had to play the "lets hide the mountain of sex toys/whips/canes/floggers/rope/chains/etc" game this morning before her arrival)


I have blossomed into an extremely liberal and forward-thinking woman. My mother often proclaims her pride for me, and encourages and supports me in all my alternative-lifestyle choices....but tonight, I hit a chord with her.


We started discussing Newfoundland's campaign to respect women. Mom automatically went on her tangent- "Well, that is great. will they destroy all the porno, too?"



No, mother. It is 2010. The porn industry has made leaps and bounds. I started to tell her about sexual activism. Those with alternative bodies and genders, using those bodies as sites of social change. The amazing work, particularly in the Trans community, and size-acceptance communities- giving voice to entire groups of people through the most basic and raw of human activities; sex.


Her face told it all : "Does not compute" .



Her confusion turned to anger and denial... claiming that it was all just money in the pocket of woman-exploiters.



Oh mommy. I love you...but times have changed.


The conversation has ended....for tonight.



I think I will make it my mission to show her the amazing things happening for women these days. I'm not saying I'm going to sit her down and show her an April Flores porn...no...that would be a tad too awkward, even for me...but I think I'll be doing some searching for the right literature to pass her way.





If anyone has any suggestions of some reading to push her way, by all means, hit the comment button below!



Thanks, as always, for reading.


xo
Lenora

Newfies teach their kids how to be gentlemen.

While I wait for my lovely parents to arrive home from Minnesota , why not update my blog, hmm?





Firstly, Newfoundland is running a great campaign right now. It is very simple, and not something I would have expected.

Pretty neat, huh? They have print ads and TV commercials. You can see all the other ads, as well as the commercial on their site.

Check out the website at http://www.respectwomen.ca/

The little feminist in me nods with approval. Good on ya', Newfies for teaching your children how to be gentlemen. Thank you.

On my net-surfing adventures today, I came across a beautiful painting by Pierre August-Renoir , done in 1910.

"Bather Admiring Herself in the Water".

Beautiful... I have to say, I'm a big fan of any curvy-gal art and this is the best I've seen in awhile. I adore the curve and swell of her hips, and how well the artist captured the softness of her flesh.

and with that, my dear readers, I shall retire my "pen" .

xoxo

Poorly photoshopped motivational posters---Reality can suck it.

Well hello there, pretties.
As the poorly photoshopped picture above shows...I'm currently packing for Vegas.
7 days lay between me, currently sitting on my ass on this couch (not) studying...and stepping onto a plane headed for Nevada.

I am tickled every color you could think of...especially pink. Yes. Especially pink,indeed.




This is what I *should* be doing. I have a psychology midterm this evening at 7pm. I could care less, to be honest...I am quite glad this semester is almost done, so I can just write it off, take the summer to rebuild my mental health, and come the fall...I will be back to my 3.9 GPA self (hopefully!).




Friday evening, Miss Eddie Vee and I will be attending the local highschool's production of Nunsense...She made the puppet for the play and scored some free tickets, so why not. It will be nice to wander the halls of my old highschool I suppose...it is a beautiful building built in the 1900s.



Afterwards we will be going to our friend's CD Release party. This causes me great anxiety. As a few of you know, I hate going out in Moncton these days. The small-town mentality, the overwhelming drama and immaturity, the shitty nightlife in general...Ah! However, it is to support friends, so. I shall bite the bullet.
(The poster above is for the Halifax show). So, any Maritime folk reading, why don't you skip on over to the Manhattan Bar and Grill to check out the best (and only...) psychobilly this town has to offer.

With that, dear blog-o-sphere, I bid you good-afternoon. Time to hit the books and finally do a little cramming.

....I'd much rather be elbow-deep in bins of vintage clothing looking for that perfect dress I know is hiding, just for me, somewhere. Ah thrift shopping, you bring me such joy.

XO!

I'm alive, I bitch, and I'm going to Vegas.

Hello internet-land.

2 years later, I write to you again. My crippling twitter-addiction has satiated my pseudo-blogging desires thus far…however this rainy March afternoon, 140 characters just isn’t cutting it for this sass-pot.

I write to you from a laptop - perched upon my psychology text book. I should be studying. Tomorrow evening’s psych midterm is quickly inching closer, but , I admit dear blog-o-sphere….I care not. Many things have changed for me this semester- mostly my mental health, I am not too proud to admit. My hard-earned 3.9 GPA from last semester will surely plummet….but, all things considered, things could be worse.

2010 has brought blessings and curses. Most notable being my best friend and I surviving flipping my car upside-down at the end of January. Something or someone must have been looking out for us both, since we both walked away without any physical damage, and for that I am truly thankful.

Flipped car. Oh hey!


For a brief time it gave me a renewed love for life. That has fizzled and died for a bit…leaving me with crippling anxiety, and second guessing everything in my life. Now I stand at an unhappy crossroads. Do I run to find something to live for?

My mundane East-Coast-Canadian life is far from fulfilling when I venture out of my bubble.


But, I digress. I shall not have this post be a giant pity-party cluster fuck. No one wants to read that, correct?

One of the things that gives me a reason to get up in the morning lately is my fast-approaching trip to LAS VEGAS!



My beautiful, talented and hilarious lady-wife and best friend Eddie Vee ( from car-flipping-companion fame) and I will be attending Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender #13.



At the risk of making this entry far too long…..A quick list of the fantastic activities shall include: A trip to the Neon Graveyard, seing Dita Von Teese perform at the Crazy Horse, seeing Chuck Berry and Wanda Jackson live, the giant carshow, burlesque show, staying at the Flamingo, shopping…etc etc. I promise to update with photos when I come home!



That being said…I will try my best, dear blog-o-sphere, to update my blog semi-regularly with witty banter, random photos, and as much positivity as possible. I’m hoping this little pet (blog) of mine will inspire me to see some good in my ridiculous small-town life once more.

Good day, beautiful internet-folk!

Xo
ps- Should you wish to follow me on Twitter...look up LenoraLeNoire