The circus used to be such a big deal. We can’t even remember when, because for our entire lives, its heyday has been in the past.
Makes sense; we can explain its descent to ourselves–as we get around so easily now, as we don’t really believe in caging animals so much now, as ogling human spectacles makes us uneasy now. Trapeze is still neat. So we have Cirque de Soliel: no sawdust, and no elephants die.
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What is the difference between men and women anymore? A shocking number have people have tried to tell me there is none. I guess that’s what happens when a movement’s messages get lazily passed down through a few generations. At least that’s what I tell myself, to stave off the terror of a future made of idiots.
We can explain what differences we still think there are to ourselves–something about the brains of each, about multi-tasking. That’s what I usually hear.
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From NBC News.
“BOULDER, Colo. — Researchers in Colorado have made a startling discovery. Fish, apparently male, are developing female sexual organs. Scientists believe it’s the result of too much estrogen in the water and they’re finding estrogen in rivers across the country.”
Could that explain this terrifying little bit of zeitgeist? Just wondering, because back when I was a tomboy, very few people talked about effeminate sons.
How freakishly ironic would it be if birth control was emasculating future generations? Has been for over ten years? (The NBC News report was in 2004.)
Ani DiFranco has been worried about this for a long time. I understand her concern.
This article from Scientific America offers some tips and raises a few other concerns.
Coffee filters maybe?
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It’s interesting to think of ourselves as a processing part of the ecosystem. Is this why my vitamins make my urine green? Because it’s actually Miracle-Gro?
Women have been after lower-dose birth-control for years. Some have even told me that birth-control pill formulation is a tool of male oppression.
(No, this article was not sponsored by Trojan.)