Unofficial What are you Reading Thread?

[Eve]

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

[Mangrove]

Secret Agent 666 by Richard B Spence.

Spence's previous book on espionage lead to many parallels & overlaps with Crowley. Seems that AC's claims to have worked for Intelligence services were, for once, based on fact and not the product of his drug addled mind.

[Cainad (dec.)]

The Chanur Saga by C.J. Cherryh

[Kurt Christ]

Temporary Autonomous Zone by Hakim Bey, and Foundation by Isaac Asimov.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

The Chanur Saga by C.J. Cherryh

C. J. Cherryh is my favorite author.

I'm reading Freedom and Necessity by Stephen Brust and Emma Bull.

[Honey]

Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. 

& thanks for the insights about the Illimunatus! Trilogy - I realized why I was getting annoyed with certain parts.  Living through the hippy parties when I was in high school just about did me in for conspiracy theories.  The people at that time were abut 10 - 15 years older than I was, smoking weed in their living rooms, passing it from person to person using roach clips attached to car antennas.  It just got old & tired after a while, listening to them spout their home-grown conspiracy theories.  It really wasn't very funny at the time, it was kinda desperate.  Also I could get better weed at half the price at my high school, & that made me wonder?  Unless they grew it themselves & then it was really bad (usually)

I did read the Principia Discordia tho & preferred that writing style & humor.  Although I still prefer the BIP for cultural relevance & the fact that it's still evolving (what could be more relevant?) 

[Cainad (dec.)]

The Chanur Saga by C.J. Cherryh

C. J. Cherryh is my favorite author.

I'm reading Freedom and Necessity by Stephen Brust and Emma Bull.

What a coincidence, Stephen Brust is one of my favorite authors.

[The Littlest Ubermensch]

I have pretty much stopped reading entirely. I love books, but my ability to maintain a narrative has disappeared (admittedly, it's been in a steady decline since I was 12). Last thing I read was Whipping Girl by Julia Serano, which is a very intelligent examination of transsexuality, feminism, and a bit of the author's life. I recommend it to pretty much everyone (mostly because the more people that are understanding and accepting of transsexuality, the better.)

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I am in favor of acceptance of transsexuality, but not so much of surgical gender reassignment, because I believe that perception of transsexuality as a "disorder" is a result of our constrictive society and the development of gender reassignment surgery is a symptom of that constriction.

But I'm just a bloody primitive.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

I don't know, if I were a man I think I'd be annoyed at having breasts and would be happy to get rid of them.  My best friend is a FtM, and he wants to take down his chest a few notches.  I don't know if he wants to do anything about his uterus though.  I would say that surgery is less about treating a disorder, than making the owner of the body happier. 

[The Littlest Ubermensch]

Sexual Reassignment Surgery isn't a symptom of society viewing being trans as a disorder. Srsly. A lot of transgirls (and transmen, even though they're pretty fucked when it comes to getting a penis*) really can't stand their given genitalia, and it's not because they're trying to conform to some constrictive gender role. And there's lots of transwomen who really aren't too emphatic about getting a fancy new vagina, but would like to anyways, just because it's more fulfilling than having an annoying reminder of your chromosomes swinging in between your legs. There's even some trans people trying to make it seem more "normal" by just saying that being trans is a birth defect, and nothing more, so it and attempts to transition should be treated like any other birth defect and attempts to correct it. (But I'm all for delivering a big "fuck you" to the "let's all try to be really normal" community.)


*phalloplasty, the surgery that gives transmen dicks, is still a not so great alternative to having a vagina, which is why there's more non op FtMs than MtFs. While vaginoplasty can create very natural looking genitalia, phalloplasty tends towards some really weird looking pen0rz.

Fake edit: RBG's post reminded me that I completely forgot about top surgery, but then I remembered that essentially the same argument applies, except transwomen grow them naturally with hormones and transmen need a mastectomy.

[Cain]

Gotta agree with TLU here.  I have a transsexual friend from University who was exactly as he described, and as I understand it, her feelings on the matter are pretty much the norm within the transsexual community.

[Voodoo]

I have read that a lot of transmen (am I using this correctly?) have the top done but never actually finish the bottom.  i wonder if that is because phalloplasty seems like a nasty business or for other reasons.  Only transman i have know didn't finish bottom. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I understand all of the arguments for GRS in modern Western society, but transgendered people have existed for the entirety of human existence, and in cultures which accepted trans people as a third or fourth gender, there are no such reports of disgust with one's natural body, and to me that speaks volumes.

From my perspective, and I don't want to get all woo-woo on you here but it's not an uncommon view from people raised in native American religions, it's sad and a waste when people feel they have to destroy such a rare gift by changing their outside bodies.

I say this despite knowing many trans people and supporting their decision to choose surgery in order to make them happy in the here and now... I just feel that requiring surgery for this happiness is something that our society has coerced.

[LMNO]

In the "history" you speak of, Nigel, it was impossible to physically change yourself.

Now it's possible, and some people want to do something about it.

I dunno about the body being a "rare gift" -- it can be a pretty ugly sack of meat and pain, sometimes.