Meme from homais
So, Jon posted a meme in which he chooses 7 interests listed in a friend's profile, and said friend goes on to post with explanations of each interest. Here are mine, below. Feel free to comment here and I will be happy to talk about more interests from my profile, ask you about yours, or both.
Androgyny: There is something about androgyny that I find utterly appealing, for no reason I can easily name. When I listed that as an interest it referred mostly to sexual/appearance-related characteristics; I guess it still does. I can't deny that I find people who appear androgynous to be attractive, and that includes men who look feminine, women who look masculine, and people of any other gender who look... well, who look like they don't fit neatly into any particular category. Partly, I just think it's sexy. Partly, I think, it's my feelings of relating to those who don't seem to fit perfectly into any one group or category. I have always felt like an outsider in nearly every situation I've been in. I think, at this point, that's just part of my view of the world. But it makes me feel a connection. Beyond that, I just like it when people don't fit themselves into one or the other gender norms just because. Not that I have anything against anyone who happens to have mostly feminine/masculine characteristics, but I like balance. I like whenone person has both masculine and feminine traits. Also, I like contrasts, and it makes me happy to see people who seem to be contrasts.
Ayn rand: I had a teacher in high school who was obsessed with Objectivism or, more accurately, Natural Law philosophy. He gave us extensive lectures on Natural Law and spent the rest of each of the two years I was in his class having us apply the philosophy to everything we studied. It was a heavy-handed and highly biased way to teach the material (but he constantly encouraged us to think critically and to argue with him), but it was certainly influential. He also assigned one of Ayn Rand's novels, Anthem, to us and had us write papers. For some reason, Objectivism resonated with me, particularly in my second year with this teacher, which was 11th grade. One of my friends and I both read Rand's work endlessly. I've read all of the fiction she has published, including her play and a collection of short stories published post-humously, and some of her non-fiction essays as well. I still love The Fountainhead, in spite of all of her flaws. Like my high school teacher, I find Ayn Rand to be heavy-handed, extremist, and unrealistic. But even so, I appreciate her ideas, up to a point. Immersing myself in her work to the point of absorption, like I did, helped me to adopt an attitude of self-respect that I still have. Even though my self-confidence varies wildly, even though I'm frequently insecure and unhappy with myself, I never allow people to mistreat me. When I had my first painful break-up, the summer before my senior year of high school, I consoled myself by saying to myself, "I don't want to be with anyone who doesn't really want me. I'm better than that and I can and should have more." And I still believe all of that. And I developed it by being temporarily obsessed with Ayn Rand.
(Disclaimer: I never had the urge to move to Galt's Gulch, become a pirate, or start my own business.)
Queer culture: Round about 12th grade, I started to identify as bisexual. It was a big part of who I considered myself to be when I went off to Oberlin, and I got pretty involved in the LGBT community my freshman year, including being co-chair of Kinsey 1-5 for some time. These days, I don't really identify my sexuality as anything in particular. I'm mainly attracted to men and with one exception (*waves*), all of my relationships have been with men. But I am still attracted to women and I do still consider myself queer. Partly, it's a mindset. When I considered myself to be part of the queer community, it helped me adopt a really open mind about sexual preferences, practices, and identities. I still have that and I like it. I find the culture both fascinating and comforting and I really miss being a part of it. I'd like to find a way back in some time.
Rings: To be honest, I don't even remember listing this as an interest. I'm guessing it's from the brief period in my life when I found it entertaining to wear a ring on every finger. That was short-lived, and even if I wanted to still do that, I couldn't--far too much contact with children. Still, rings are pretty. Perhaps some day I'll wear some again.
HP fanfiction: Harry Potter fanfiction saved my sanity in college. I read the novels for the first time during freshman year winter term. A few days later, catling42 sent me a link to what is the now-infamous Draco Trilogy fanfiction series. I read it and it made me laugh, at a time when I was feeling lonely, isolated, and trapped. I got hooked, and was a regular reader of Harry Potter fanfiction pretty much up until I read the final book. It also helped me bond with some of my friends, primarily catling42 and ladypimpernel. Which made it even more awesome. I have never read fanfiction from any other fandom, and never will.
Cinnamon oil: It smells awesome. What other reason does one need? I used to wear cinnamon oil constantly in college, to the point where it became something of a signature. Certain people still refer to me as the one who always smells good. I still have a bottle of it, and wear it when I get the chance (which is to say, when I go places besides work, because smells might bother my students).
Touch: I can't live without touch, both being touched and touching other people. Hugs, massages, kisses, and cuddling are essential to me. Although not to the degree to which this is true for certain other people I know (*cough*xoder*cough*). Physical contact is an important form of communication, not to mention a healthy, nurturing thing. Way back when I was a freshman I used to write about "tactile poetry" and other such fanciful things related to touch. My forays into adulthood have left me neglecting such poetic turns of phrase, not to mention neglecting my poetry (all of which I regret, and hope to rectify some day soon), but my need for contact is as strong as ever.
(Also, my psych-geek brain is fascinated by the studies of baby animals who have moms to cuddle with, stuffed things to cuddle with, and/or nothing to cuddle with. Plus, it's a relevant topic in autism.) I like touch.
Thanks, Jon! I enjoyed doing this!
Androgyny: There is something about androgyny that I find utterly appealing, for no reason I can easily name. When I listed that as an interest it referred mostly to sexual/appearance-related characteristics; I guess it still does. I can't deny that I find people who appear androgynous to be attractive, and that includes men who look feminine, women who look masculine, and people of any other gender who look... well, who look like they don't fit neatly into any particular category. Partly, I just think it's sexy. Partly, I think, it's my feelings of relating to those who don't seem to fit perfectly into any one group or category. I have always felt like an outsider in nearly every situation I've been in. I think, at this point, that's just part of my view of the world. But it makes me feel a connection. Beyond that, I just like it when people don't fit themselves into one or the other gender norms just because. Not that I have anything against anyone who happens to have mostly feminine/masculine characteristics, but I like balance. I like whenone person has both masculine and feminine traits. Also, I like contrasts, and it makes me happy to see people who seem to be contrasts.
Ayn rand: I had a teacher in high school who was obsessed with Objectivism or, more accurately, Natural Law philosophy. He gave us extensive lectures on Natural Law and spent the rest of each of the two years I was in his class having us apply the philosophy to everything we studied. It was a heavy-handed and highly biased way to teach the material (but he constantly encouraged us to think critically and to argue with him), but it was certainly influential. He also assigned one of Ayn Rand's novels, Anthem, to us and had us write papers. For some reason, Objectivism resonated with me, particularly in my second year with this teacher, which was 11th grade. One of my friends and I both read Rand's work endlessly. I've read all of the fiction she has published, including her play and a collection of short stories published post-humously, and some of her non-fiction essays as well. I still love The Fountainhead, in spite of all of her flaws. Like my high school teacher, I find Ayn Rand to be heavy-handed, extremist, and unrealistic. But even so, I appreciate her ideas, up to a point. Immersing myself in her work to the point of absorption, like I did, helped me to adopt an attitude of self-respect that I still have. Even though my self-confidence varies wildly, even though I'm frequently insecure and unhappy with myself, I never allow people to mistreat me. When I had my first painful break-up, the summer before my senior year of high school, I consoled myself by saying to myself, "I don't want to be with anyone who doesn't really want me. I'm better than that and I can and should have more." And I still believe all of that. And I developed it by being temporarily obsessed with Ayn Rand.
(Disclaimer: I never had the urge to move to Galt's Gulch, become a pirate, or start my own business.)
Queer culture: Round about 12th grade, I started to identify as bisexual. It was a big part of who I considered myself to be when I went off to Oberlin, and I got pretty involved in the LGBT community my freshman year, including being co-chair of Kinsey 1-5 for some time. These days, I don't really identify my sexuality as anything in particular. I'm mainly attracted to men and with one exception (*waves*), all of my relationships have been with men. But I am still attracted to women and I do still consider myself queer. Partly, it's a mindset. When I considered myself to be part of the queer community, it helped me adopt a really open mind about sexual preferences, practices, and identities. I still have that and I like it. I find the culture both fascinating and comforting and I really miss being a part of it. I'd like to find a way back in some time.
Rings: To be honest, I don't even remember listing this as an interest. I'm guessing it's from the brief period in my life when I found it entertaining to wear a ring on every finger. That was short-lived, and even if I wanted to still do that, I couldn't--far too much contact with children. Still, rings are pretty. Perhaps some day I'll wear some again.
HP fanfiction: Harry Potter fanfiction saved my sanity in college. I read the novels for the first time during freshman year winter term. A few days later, catling42 sent me a link to what is the now-infamous Draco Trilogy fanfiction series. I read it and it made me laugh, at a time when I was feeling lonely, isolated, and trapped. I got hooked, and was a regular reader of Harry Potter fanfiction pretty much up until I read the final book. It also helped me bond with some of my friends, primarily catling42 and ladypimpernel. Which made it even more awesome. I have never read fanfiction from any other fandom, and never will.
Cinnamon oil: It smells awesome. What other reason does one need? I used to wear cinnamon oil constantly in college, to the point where it became something of a signature. Certain people still refer to me as the one who always smells good. I still have a bottle of it, and wear it when I get the chance (which is to say, when I go places besides work, because smells might bother my students).
Touch: I can't live without touch, both being touched and touching other people. Hugs, massages, kisses, and cuddling are essential to me. Although not to the degree to which this is true for certain other people I know (*cough*xoder*cough*). Physical contact is an important form of communication, not to mention a healthy, nurturing thing. Way back when I was a freshman I used to write about "tactile poetry" and other such fanciful things related to touch. My forays into adulthood have left me neglecting such poetic turns of phrase, not to mention neglecting my poetry (all of which I regret, and hope to rectify some day soon), but my need for contact is as strong as ever.
(Also, my psych-geek brain is fascinated by the studies of baby animals who have moms to cuddle with, stuffed things to cuddle with, and/or nothing to cuddle with. Plus, it's a relevant topic in autism.) I like touch.
Thanks, Jon! I enjoyed doing this!