If you accept that a month can last 5 weeks. I’m a little late writing this up so am extending to cover the period from Christmas to today. My initial thoughts as to my spending are that I am actually pretty crap at not buying stuff. I appear to have got quite a lot of things this last month, but they seem to be mostly consumables, and in the most are not objects that sit around gathering dust, unused. Here goes:
Comics, both new and second hand from a friend.
A new zip for one of my (bought for 20 quid off a friend) boots – necessary as the boot was unuseable but otherwise in perfect condition. The decision was between throwing out a pair of very good, very comfortable and very warm boots, or getting the zip replaced. Granted the new zip cost me £24, and if the other one goes I’ll have spent £58. I could buy new boots for less than that but they wouldn’t be very good quality, they wouldn’t fit as well and it would just be wasteful. So I opted to get the zip replaced, and man was I glad about this when the snow started yesterday.
Train tickets.
2 tickets for the Victoria and Albert museum. I’m going to see an exhibition of Russian court clothes, spanning two centuries. I’m very excited about this.
3 packets of bleach – 2 have been used, one is sitting there waiting till my hair grows and will be used to redo the roots.
Blue hair dye. Unused. This was a wasteful thing as I now have no intention to use it. In an attempt to rectify this situation I will give it to a friend.
Beer. Not so much beer as last month though (my liver cries hooray!).
A new mobile phone battery from an independent trader. This purchase turned out to be pointless as it ended up that my then current phone was buggered, and not the battery. This then led to me getting…..
A new phone and being thoroughly niged by the guy at 3mobile. My new phone isn’t as good as my old one and the camera is crappy. And the memory is miniscule. This will mean I will have to buy a memory card if I go on holiday because 40 photos is fuck all. Still, the phone was free.
£45 on a replacement filling. God I hate going to the dentist. This was to replace an old filling that fell out on new year’s day, and may have to have a crown attached to it at a later date. My teeth suck ass.
Lunches at work
Taxi ride home from a pub.
Diva magazine. This was interesting, (as per usual). It was the love issue and had an article about ‘the men we’d go straight for’. There followed a discussion about how and why some lesbians fancy men, how this was received within the community and how some individual lesbians felt about liking men. My initial thought was duh, you’re bisexual, stop hiding. However, that’s a bit flippant because the article was basically talking about the differences between being culturally Lesbian and your sexual orientation being lesbian, without actually stating it as so. Incidentally I’m going to be getting rid of my Diva magazines (from the last 2 or 3 years) if anyone wants them please email me at s_green24 at yahoo dot co dot uk.
2 books – Fontamara by Ignazio Silone and a women’s press one – A piece of mine by J California Cooper. Both second hand, one from a charity shop, one from a second hand bookshop in the City. The Fontamara one is very good.
A bra. I now have one that fits, hurrah.
A notepad. It’s gonna be my food diary that will encourage me to fit easily into bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding in March. I need the motivation.
Dental floss – to reduce the chances of further fillings. Yeah right.
Conditioner
Anti histamines
A hair cut (been waiting 3 months for that)
Metal Hammer – a UK magazine about heavy metal. This shouldn’t have been allowed but I buckled because I got a free CD with it. After the success of last year’s free CD I was craving some new music and I have no idea where else to look to source new good metal. This CD was well worth getting as there are several bands on it I like – Deathstars, Lacuna Coil, Exodus (very very fast), Nevermore and The Hollow Earth Theory.
Buffy seasons 1 to 7 on DVD, from ebay, secondhand but unused – an unwanted Christmas present apparently. I have my doubts as to whether I’ll receive it as the seller seems rather clueless, we’ll see. I justified this by saying that it will free up so much shelf space – 7 seasons on VHS take up a lot of room. I will give the videos to a friend, who will watch them, and I know I’ll watch the DVDs.
So yeah, I think I’ve bought a lot of things. However, they are mostly useable, or reuseable, and none of it is junk as such – they won’t sit around and gather dust. I haven’t managed to save any more cash, but I have got to the end of the month with a few quid in my bank account, which is a bloody miracle I tell you.
I was wondering whether it was responsible in a recession to actively try to not buy things. Having said that, I’ve still got the same amount of cash going out, it’s just that it’s now spread over a full month, not the first 2.5 weeks of the month, which is making life easier for me, and it’s being spent on different things. Must reduce urge to collect.
I do still think I prefer buying from the independent stores rather than big chain shops or department stores. With new redundancies and companies going into administration every day I think it will be harder for the sole traders or SMEs to stay afloat, and they bring a welcome richness and variety to the retail landscape. I’m sick of city and town centres having the same old high street shops everywhere you go. The areas end up looking identikit and that really is soul destroying.
I don’t think I’m in any way morally superior for not buying so much junk, I feel better in myself, less sordid, but I don’t think I’m better than anyone else. I do think that this pledge of mine is forcing me to have a more in depth look at why I want to purchase items - what will I get out of them and what do I hope to achieve with owning it.
Showing posts with label Diva. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diva. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Magazines and messages
Diva magazine is a UK magazine for lesbians and allegedly bisexuals. When you search for it in google the tagline reads 'Diva Magazine - Lesbian Bisexual Lifestyle'.
Now I really like Diva, it's my link to the gay community and is a really refreshing feminist friendly magazine that deals with a lot of issues and never ever criticizes women for being too fat or not trendy enough, like the straight media does EVERY SINGLE ISSUE. For the November issue that did a naked cover shoot of 60 of their women readers. When they put an ad out for it I thought that looks interesting, I could do that.
Well I'm quite glad I didn't now, the editorial comment on the cover said it was 60 naked lesbians. Despite the fact that one of the women who took part described herself as bisexual.
So, obviously as a bisexual I wouldn't have fitted in. I am not included and I am not welcome among their readership.
This wouldn't be so much of a problem if there were other magazines catering for bisexuals, but there is NOTHING. So Diva really could and should make more of an effort. The odd token article or 'bisexuals are welcome' piece doesn't really cut it when the rest of the magazines ignores us.
Yet what can I do? As I've found it rather difficult to find UK based bisexual blogs and news feeds, it's the only link I've got to UK non straight culture.
On a happier note, I bought Company magazine the other month and was pleased to find a straight feminist magazine. No articles promoting changing or loathing your body. No diet plans. Nothing on how to improve yourself to get a man. Instead there are articles on:
Contraceptive options and how the UK health service is failing women
Cyber bullying
Enterprising women
Celebrities views on 'should you dress for your man' (Peter Andre says no, Katie price says yes), Eating disorders
How a widowed woman is moving on with her life
Interviews with 7 female cabinet members on their partying years
Date rape danger
And the usual articles on the hot new fashions - but without the criticism.
I was stunned and very impressed. My only criticism is that there weren't enough pictures of clothes. I'd like Company's editorial policy with Glamour's pages and pages of clothes.
Also, it is apparently national blog month. I shall therefore attempt to post at least daily, or if I miss a day, to post extra stuff the next day.
Now I really like Diva, it's my link to the gay community and is a really refreshing feminist friendly magazine that deals with a lot of issues and never ever criticizes women for being too fat or not trendy enough, like the straight media does EVERY SINGLE ISSUE. For the November issue that did a naked cover shoot of 60 of their women readers. When they put an ad out for it I thought that looks interesting, I could do that.
Well I'm quite glad I didn't now, the editorial comment on the cover said it was 60 naked lesbians. Despite the fact that one of the women who took part described herself as bisexual.
So, obviously as a bisexual I wouldn't have fitted in. I am not included and I am not welcome among their readership.
This wouldn't be so much of a problem if there were other magazines catering for bisexuals, but there is NOTHING. So Diva really could and should make more of an effort. The odd token article or 'bisexuals are welcome' piece doesn't really cut it when the rest of the magazines ignores us.
Yet what can I do? As I've found it rather difficult to find UK based bisexual blogs and news feeds, it's the only link I've got to UK non straight culture.
On a happier note, I bought Company magazine the other month and was pleased to find a straight feminist magazine. No articles promoting changing or loathing your body. No diet plans. Nothing on how to improve yourself to get a man. Instead there are articles on:
Contraceptive options and how the UK health service is failing women
Cyber bullying
Enterprising women
Celebrities views on 'should you dress for your man' (Peter Andre says no, Katie price says yes), Eating disorders
How a widowed woman is moving on with her life
Interviews with 7 female cabinet members on their partying years
Date rape danger
And the usual articles on the hot new fashions - but without the criticism.
I was stunned and very impressed. My only criticism is that there weren't enough pictures of clothes. I'd like Company's editorial policy with Glamour's pages and pages of clothes.
Also, it is apparently national blog month. I shall therefore attempt to post at least daily, or if I miss a day, to post extra stuff the next day.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Things that go MMMMM (magazines)
Magazines.
Me, I been reading a few lately. Diva I tend to get every month and last month it did a gender issue. Tres interesting. Articles on drag kings, passing as a man, trans issues, butch v femme, lesbian books, unisex toilets, muff operations, facial hair and why lesbian pole dancing is not a good thing. Twas good to read.
My only complaint, as usual, is that it very rarely looks at bisexuals. We sit neither here nor there, I'm not entirely relaxed in straight company and neither am I entirely relaxed in gay company. I sit in my office and hear the odd joke or comment (nothing outright homophobic) that very promptly 'others' anyone not straight. The few times I go out with gay people I am always assumed to be straight.
I am only truly comfortable with a few friends who firstly remember that I like women and secondly know that's it's not a big deal. And it would be be nice to have a magazine that recognises this, especially as the reason I started buying Diva regularly was because I was having a bit of an identity crisis. You know, we really need some prominent bi people in the public eye, not girls snogging each other to get in the papers. Woulda made my life a lot easier growing up.
But then I read in the editorial Diva's comment on that stupid research I talked about a while back. And they also asked where did this leave bisexuals, hurrah! I'm not invisible!
I haven't found anything in the current issues that recognises Bi people though :/
From the lesbian contingent to the thoroughly straight contingent. Glamour. Christ. At least Diva recognises feminism and there is this underlying assumption that anyone reading it is feminist, and knows that feminism is a good thing. Lesbians - more self assured than hetero people anyone? Probably not. But maybe more self assured about some things. Or maybe that's a very dumb thing to say.
Anyway. the editorial in Glamour rocked! It talked about the media fabricated female rivalry between, well any successful woman int he public eye. It talked about how it's a myth made up by men to demean us all. It talked about the vileness of criticising women simultaneously for being too fat or too thin and the horrible double standard applied to men and women who have sex (Rod Stewart and Ulrika Jonsson being given as examples). It mentioned how despite what some (men) may think or want to think, we are not competing against each other for a bloody man. It even suggested the swap the gender game, where when you read an article trashing women, put men's name in instead and see how ridiculous it is.
Sublime! And then it gets ruined by focusing purely on shopping, marriage, the new rules of sexy, a vile interview with P Diddy who shows himself to be a homophobic dickwad, and dating rules. ugh. But this wouldn't be a problem if we had women's magazines that weren't dedicated to the above. At least Glamour doesn't circle perfectly normal bits of women's bodies with For Shame! printed in big letters. It doesn't put women down for being fat or ugly, and it provides info on work stuff.
But my god it's just fluff. And the underpinning basis of the magazine is that you must buy clothes and make up and look hot. And you must do so in an up to the minute and utterly fashionable way.
Ugh!
Me, I been reading a few lately. Diva I tend to get every month and last month it did a gender issue. Tres interesting. Articles on drag kings, passing as a man, trans issues, butch v femme, lesbian books, unisex toilets, muff operations, facial hair and why lesbian pole dancing is not a good thing. Twas good to read.
My only complaint, as usual, is that it very rarely looks at bisexuals. We sit neither here nor there, I'm not entirely relaxed in straight company and neither am I entirely relaxed in gay company. I sit in my office and hear the odd joke or comment (nothing outright homophobic) that very promptly 'others' anyone not straight. The few times I go out with gay people I am always assumed to be straight.
I am only truly comfortable with a few friends who firstly remember that I like women and secondly know that's it's not a big deal. And it would be be nice to have a magazine that recognises this, especially as the reason I started buying Diva regularly was because I was having a bit of an identity crisis. You know, we really need some prominent bi people in the public eye, not girls snogging each other to get in the papers. Woulda made my life a lot easier growing up.
But then I read in the editorial Diva's comment on that stupid research I talked about a while back. And they also asked where did this leave bisexuals, hurrah! I'm not invisible!
I haven't found anything in the current issues that recognises Bi people though :/
From the lesbian contingent to the thoroughly straight contingent. Glamour. Christ. At least Diva recognises feminism and there is this underlying assumption that anyone reading it is feminist, and knows that feminism is a good thing. Lesbians - more self assured than hetero people anyone? Probably not. But maybe more self assured about some things. Or maybe that's a very dumb thing to say.
Anyway. the editorial in Glamour rocked! It talked about the media fabricated female rivalry between, well any successful woman int he public eye. It talked about how it's a myth made up by men to demean us all. It talked about the vileness of criticising women simultaneously for being too fat or too thin and the horrible double standard applied to men and women who have sex (Rod Stewart and Ulrika Jonsson being given as examples). It mentioned how despite what some (men) may think or want to think, we are not competing against each other for a bloody man. It even suggested the swap the gender game, where when you read an article trashing women, put men's name in instead and see how ridiculous it is.
Sublime! And then it gets ruined by focusing purely on shopping, marriage, the new rules of sexy, a vile interview with P Diddy who shows himself to be a homophobic dickwad, and dating rules. ugh. But this wouldn't be a problem if we had women's magazines that weren't dedicated to the above. At least Glamour doesn't circle perfectly normal bits of women's bodies with For Shame! printed in big letters. It doesn't put women down for being fat or ugly, and it provides info on work stuff.
But my god it's just fluff. And the underpinning basis of the magazine is that you must buy clothes and make up and look hot. And you must do so in an up to the minute and utterly fashionable way.
Ugh!
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