Thursday, February 5, 2009

Life, the Feminist Universe, and Everything

Lauredhel at Hoyden About Town links to a fascinating interactive graphic showing linkages in the feminist blogosphere. Kittywampus is on the map, much to my surprise! It's cool to be part of the feminist universe, even if I'm a white dwarf or a nebula. Heck, I'm just pleased not to be a black hole.

The map was part of a presentation at the Feminism 2.0 conference. If you're curious, you can check it out here. (You'll need to log in with username= fem2pt0 and password= linkfluence.) I haven't figured out the methodology behind it, but it seems to be based on ingoing and outgoing links, and I suspect this includes one's blogroll. They've also got a ranking of the top 30 feminist blogs, again based on links, as far as I can see. It's hard to tell how inclusive the map actually is, since the map structure doesn't allow for a comprehensive list of all the blogs it depicts. I saw lots of familiar names but missed a couple, too.

So my blog is apparently healthier than I am. However! I felt distinctly better today. My hands are steadier, and so is my brain. For the first time since my illness started on January 20 (yes, Inauguration Day) I gave a lecture without feeling like it was an out-of-body experience. I don't know if this improvement will continue, but I'm feeling greatly cheered.

I also saw my doctor again, and we're running lots more tests - twelve vials of blood yesterday, and two more tomorrow - so I feel like the medical wheels are turning. Up to now, the blood tests have been relentlessly normal. My doc is going to try to get neurologists who are experts in MS and vasculitis to take a look at my MRI. (There's really only one type of vasculitis that I could plausibly have, a fairly rare condition called benign angiitis of the central nervous system. If you follow the link, note that the scarier variants don't fit my symptoms, nor is anyone about to do a brain biopsy on me! BACNS is highly curable with strong steroids, and it doesn't normally recur.)

In short, I'm feeling stronger, physically, and hopeful, emotionally. After the dark places I've visited recently, it's the most brilliant feeling in the galaxy.

5 comments:

Smirking Cat said...

I kept getting a message to log in to see that feminist web. Is there a way to visit it without a log in?

Hope you are feeling better soon. I'm not a fan of doctors (who is?) but hope they are able to take good care of you.

Sungold said...

Hi Smirking Cat! You do need to use the login information, which is in the second paragraph of my post (in parentheses).

Thanks so much for the well wishes. You know, I got into my research topic (history of childbirth) due to frustrating experiences with medicine while I was in my mid-20s. By now, I've got so much miscellaneous knowledge that I can be pretty proactive about my care (at least, as long as I'm alert and aware!) and I've noticed doctors often respect that. You have to be careful not to totally self-diagnose, but I don't want to be the patient of any doctor who won't regard us as partners in my care.

That should *always* be the case, including with the majority of patients who don't come with a bunch of random medical knowledge ... which is why I really like our pediatricians, because they talk directly with our kids and treat them as intelligent human beings.

amy009 said...

The feminists lost the sexual revolution (by agreeing that women should be disposable sex objects).

"Sexual freedom" lead to a lot of girls getting used and tossed out.

The sexual revolution was a catastrophe for women.

Bet your feminist teacher never told you:

* Women’s lib has "liberated" men from having to commit, "freed" women from marriage, and often "unshackled" women from having a family.

* More than ever, women in their twenties and thirties live alone, are discarded by boyfriends after "living together," and are watching their biological clocks tick past the point of no return.

* Women still prefer men who are breadwinners and can protect them physically.

Men and women don't have to be the same to be equal.

Sungold said...

My goodness! And they say feminists are bitter?

amy009 said...

Sungold, obviously you and I have had very different experiences with men. Neither is a more or less valid way of feeling about men, just different.

Of course half of all married people are men, it's also interesting to note how much marriage has dropped off since sex became more easily available to men i.e. "Sexual freedom", which in my experience just lead to a lot of girls getting used and tossed out.

Personally I am really sick of players that lie and hurt people. They don't have any respect for themself or others. I don't have time for people like that in my life.

Many guys are determined to boycott marriage and children - at least as long as possible - they don't really have any desire for children. Men DO however enjoy rooting around.

All I can say is, you are very lucky if this is not your experience with men.