the gender game

[Sunshine1]

I wrote this along time ago but thought it might be fun to bring up again. I see gender as a fun game and was wondering if that is just me?

thanks,

Aimee

[miriam]

Some people see war as a fun game... I guess gender is as much a fun game as war is.

Groeten, Miriam

[prince....ss?]

I see gender as a disease; it has symptoms but no cure.

I guess most people are infected. I hope I don’t catch it.

[Meadow]

I see gender akin to a game of chess. Most often it is a civilized game, the players are either clearly black or white, and the game consists of an opening, middle, and end game. But then, you always have to have those rogue players that are unpredictable and play all over the board!! Playing with rogue players can be a challenge, but, in the long run, will definitely improve your game and makes everything SO much more interesting!!

Hmmm . . . chess with variations in colours. What a potential twist!

[prince....ss?]

King’s (Gender) Gambit

White 1 P-K4 ... Black P-K4 …….. White 2 P-KB4 ... Black PxP

“Black accepts the gambit. He knows he’s in for trouble, and he means to fight back as hard as he can. Right here you can see how important a player’s opening attitude is. If he begins a mood of indifference or ignorance, he may be smashed by the gambit before he ever finds out what’s happening to him. On the other hand, if he knows the score he’s prepared from the very start to fight hard. Consequently, the resulting difficult positions don’t come as a great shock to him”

Reinfeild, Fred. The complete Chess Course , 1953

[Meadow]

Why, Prince....ss?, I'll see your gambit and raise you one!!

Since my last post, my mind running while I mindlessly paint cabinets, I have constructed a whole new set of chess rules. Rules that emulate life. Now, the players are given the usual sets of pieces, but the twist here is that from a box of pawns, or bishops, etc., they have to blindly draw their pieces. Now, they may get the ones they expect, a typical black or white. Or, they may get one of another colour, or striped!! Imagine getting a piece that is "trans", and then, in the middle of the darn game, now they are a piece for the other side!! The possibilities here are endless!

What is it that is said? "An idle mind is the devils playground!!"

Back to painting . . .

[prince....ss?]

Very well then Meadow I accept.

I suggest a gray Court Chester piece. With the movements of a queen and king, but is limited to half of the queens xx by the kings xy. So a four square per move limitation will be bestowed upon this Chester.

Both black and white should have the opportunity to move this one piece. Being that both genders are trying to control it. Therefore, white moves first then white/gray then black then black/gray and so on. It would be interesting to find if this piece will be of help or hindrance to the two genders.

I suggest the Chester have a starting position on white line 3 of any chosen position of the white player. And his piece will have immunity from being taken out by all the pieces except the King and Queen. All other rules of protection apply such as you can’t move into check by taking the Chester.

This piece is death to both genders within a four space radius. It would be interesting to play defense and offence on the same piece. What a wiled card.

OK I have set the rules for an IS Chester. Perhaps you would like to design a piece to potentially be drawn from the magic box of mystery pieces

Perhaps this should be called a Prince….ss? piece. Hmmm.

[MelissP]

Does anyone remember the chess rules from 'The Prisoner"?
As I recall, all the players/pieces were unmarked, and you didn't
have any clues until you tried to move one. Or something like that.

[Meadow]

Prince....ss?, I do agree that the Chester piece is an intriguing addition to play. However, why should we stop with pieces that are IS or TS? I suggest that we add pieces that are "co-dependent!" These pieces must be kept no further than two spaces apart, lest both shall fly to pieces and have to be removed from the board and excused from play.

And thus, a perfect and classic game has suddenly been reduced to that of the level of human foibles. What a shame . . .

MelissP, I had not heard of that version of chess. Keeping what the pieces were in one's head would indeed be a challenge.

Perhaps I need a hobby . . .

[MelissP]

I wrote this along time ago but thought it might be fun to bring up again. I see gender as a fun game and was wondering if that is just me?

thanks,

Aimee

I just thought of something a little more trendy than chess ...
Now showing on a cartoon near you, it's "Yu-gi-oh : Summoning the Genders"

All you need to do is design a deck with some custom cards :-)

[Sunshine1]

All the posts made me smile and I learned about chess. Design cards? I like that idea.


Aimee

[Betsy]

This seems like a fine place to post this story which leads around the gender and sexuality assumptions of knitting:

^BC-IL--Male Knitters, Bjt,620
^ILLINOIS STYLE: Male knitting a case of boy meets purl
^Eds: Also moved in advance and for Sunday
^fndilelgnh
^By KATHALEEN ROBERTS= ^The Elgin Courier=
ST. CHARLES, Ill. (AP) When Mark Hensel pulls out his lunchtime knitting needles, his hard-hatted colleagues cast doubts about his manhood as quickly as he casts on.
``Right off the bat, they think I'm gay,'' the St. Charles electrician said with a laugh. ``Sometimes I roll with it. What I usually say is, 'Before I started knitting, I really liked women and now I look at men. I'd like to see you after work and hold hands and talk about my feelings.'''
The 30-year-old Hensel started knitting two years ago after learning from his mother. Despite his co-workers' jibes, his chunky wool scarves symbolize a trend weaving across college campuses and yarn shops throughout the country. Men are joining women in the yarn store aisles, going public with their knits and purls and their balls of yarn.
The Craft Yarn Council of America keeps no numbers on guys who knit. But a recent survey showed the percentage of women between 24 and 34 who've knitted climbed from 13 percent in 2002 to 33 percent last year.
Usually derided as the musty pastime of old ladies, knitting has suddenly become hip as stars such as Russell Crowe, Laurence Fishburne and Bill Cosby go public with their hobby. Knitting clubs for boys have cropped up in shops and schools across the nation.
``We know that we have a significant number,'' said Mary Colucci, executive director of the Gastonia, N.C.-based Craft Yarn Council of America. ``The council is in touch with retailers across the country. What we're seeing is a lot of younger guys are coming in teenagers.''
Many take advantage of free patterns and streamed instruction videos on the Internet, she said. Some members of a Connecticut basketball team started a club after spotting a teacher wielding needles and looping yarn at lunch.
Thirteen-year-old Anthony Tucker of St. Charles wanted to learn how to knit after watching his grandmother. He also plays football and soccer. He's been knitting for ``three or four years'' now.
``If I'm bored or something, or I have free time, I'll sit down and knit,'' he said. ``I tell my friends,'' he added. ``They're like, 'That's real cool.' I made a scarf for my girlfriend.''
Nine-year-old John Vislisel of East Dundee wanted to learn how to knit as soon as he spotted the jewel-toned sweaters and Christmas stockings dangling from the displays at The Gifted Purl in West Dundee. His younger brother, Caleb, 7, jumped at the chance as he watched his mother, Rachel, refresh her technique with an employee. But John, who also plays football, basketball and soccer, held back.
``At that time, I thought it was sort of a girly thing,'' he said. ``But it's both because men started it and then women took over.''
Now both boys click their needles.
Neil Edmondson, 53, grew up in the north of England surrounded by knitters his mother and all his aunts.
``They would throw needles and yarn at me just to keep me quiet,'' he said. ``had a reputation as something of a pyromaniac.''
Today he's married to Lesley Edmondson, the owner of Wool and Company, a Geneva yarn shop. When he helps out in the store, some of the female customers are surprised to learn he knits. He's working on a bolero jacket that will be used as a display sample. And his future son-in-law has taken up the family lineage by designing a pattern for a man's hat.
``It's relaxation,'' Edmondson explained. ``My regular job is high-pressure corporate sales. I do two things as a hobby: I fish and I knit. It's close to the earth, and you're using natural fibers.''

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)