I spent several hours working (at day job stuff) this morning, then signed onto Twitter, only to discover that in the intervening hours, I had missed some crucial (okay, maybe not crucial, but interesting) stuff. Then I signed onto Tumblr, which I don't usually use but have been experimenting with lately. More missed stuff. And don't even get me started on Facebook. Additionally, when I got my latest issue of Curve in the mail (I'm a longtime reader), it felt a little outdated. I'm not sure if this had to do with layout, format, or content. This led me to wonder what BW readers like to read (well, besides Butch Wonders, obviously). Whether or not you ID as butch, I'd love it if you could take this poll. (And if you check "other," please tell me what the "other" is.) I'd also be interested to know what's changed for you in the last 2-3 years re: how you get your queer media news and content. Personally, I rely more on specialized sites, as well as particular people (e.g., on FB and Twitter), and less on national news sites (except NPR, which I listen to almost daily). I read blogs more than I used to, and read magazines less. How about you? And: do you access queer-related content differently from how you access other media content?
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__As you've probably noticed, I have a heading called "Excellent Reads" in the sidebar. It features links to some of the blogs I particularly enjoy. We're barely into January, but there have been some great posts in 2012, and I thought I'd share a few:
This post at Invisible Education discusses one queer teacher's surprising reaction to an anti-homophobia training for faculty members at her school. Susan at DapperQ suggests that we all commit to quality and craftsmanship in 2012. Sounds good to me! Now I just need to save my pennies for some of those pieces she recommends... I love Pretty Butch, written by a butch trying to make it as an actress in LA. It's extremely well-written, and I particularly enjoyed this post about the ongoing difficulty of coming out to one's self as butch over and over. Butch on Butch is a new blog about a butch who's starting to date other butches (and with recent luck, too!). She recently wrote this post about women who identify as women, are not trans, and want to have top surgery. Amanda of Is This Thing On makes resolutions for 2012, as does the soon-to-be-published Wendi Kali of A Stranger in This Place. _Thus far, my 2012 has been characterized by two rounds of pancakes and four episodes of "Breaking Bad" (we're halfway through season 4). This has been typical of the past week (just add Bananagrams, cookies, and friends, and you'll get the picture). And although I'm a tad embarrassed to own up to this orgy of gluttony and sloth, it's been a wonderful relief to give myself permission to take some time off.
I'm not much on New Year's resolutions. I make resolutions all the time. Sometimes I stick with them, sometimes not. For example, I was once a vegetarian for a month and a vegan for a different month. For three weeks, I wrote every day. When my resolve peters out, I tend not to feel bad, but look at the resolutions more as experiments. "Interesting that I no longer feel so compelled to keep vegan," I might think to myself while chowing down on a buffalo burger. Maybe my approach has been too forgiving. In any case, I usually keep my resolutions to myself. I don't want anyone bothering me about them, and to be totally honest, I don't want to be embarrassed in front of other people if I fail. But this year, I've decided not only to make some resolutions for 2012, but to post them here. Maybe y'all will help keep me honest (and maybe my attempt to stick to these will produce some interesting fodder for the blog). RESOLUTION #1: Post something (basically) every day. I love writing Butch Wonders and would love to reach more readers. So I'm committing to writing 300 posts in 2012. Sure, I may sometimes cop out and just post a sentence or two, but still. 300. Big commitment. Because I love you. RESOLUTION #2: Finish various writing projects. I won't bore you with the details, since it's not related to BW, but it includes some articles, a novel, and a creative nonfiction piece. I've got my work cut out for me. RESOLUTION #3: Support my DGF through the remaining five months of her new job's probationary period, even when it is hard and various circumstances compromise my support abilities. My DGF had the courage to start a new career post-40 (she's a little older than me), and I really admire her for it. Plus, she is awesome and totally worth it! RESOLUTION #4: See my parents about once a month. They only live two hours away from me, and I want to see them more, even if it's just to meet halfway for a quick lunch on a weekend. My life is pretty different from theirs, and I think sometimes that makes it easier for people to grow apart. But I'm committed to not letting that happen. RESOLUTION #5: Lose 20 lbs, in part by trail running. Being overweight zaps your energy and is bad for your heart. My body hangs onto weight about as tightly as Marcus Bachmann hangs onto his heterosexuality. Plus I'm not willing to completely give up Ben and Jerry's. So this one will be a challenge. I should probably lose more than 20, but it's a start. (Also the least imaginative resolution ever.) Trail running will help me with this goal. It will also make my dog reeeeally happy. Hm. That's all I can think of now, though I'm sure there are others. I'd like to list things that are wackier and more exciting: Climb Mt. Kilamanjaro! Become a hand model! Learn to play the Didgeridoo! But I suppose this is a list of resolutions, not a bucket list, so I'm allowed to keep it pedestrian. Did you make any resolutions for 2012? My hosting site keeps track of the searches that get people to Butch Wonders. I never paid much attention until this month, when "turned butch dyke mind control stories" caught my eye. Bizarre that this would lead someone to BW, and more bizarre to imagine what this particular Googler was seeking. I was horrified/delighted by some of the Google searches that got people here. My favorite from this month:
Highest # of visits on a single day: 1522 Lowest # of visits on a single day: 355 Number of countries from which people have visited: 83 Countries with the most BW readers:
Cities with the most BW readers:
And here are some surprising places that aren't in the top 10, but from which I have WAY more visitors than I would have expected:
In any case, it continually blows me away to see how many people read my little five-month-old blog. I love writing it and really appreciate that you read it. Thank you! Dear Mom,
It's only been about 12 hours since I sent you the url of this blog. During that time, I've checked my email about 20 times to see if you've written back. Boy, was it hard to send that. I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm afraid you won't like my writing, or that you won't like the topics, or that the whole "butch" thing will weird you out. I mentioned this to a friend, who suggested I write a letter to you on the blog. I thought it was an awesome idea, so here I am. I hope you weren't upset about that last post (or any of the others). Reading over it, it occurred to me that sometimes we like to talk about the challenging parts of our upbringing. Being (semi-)confident adults, it's interesting to look back and ponder the ways we didn't fit in as a kid. I think it helps us make sense of who we are, and how we got here. But sometimes the negative or neutral stuff is so elucidating that we don't focus as much on the positive stuff. I've been thinking about that positive stuff a lot today, and wanted to thank you for a bunch of things, including the following:
There's more, of course, but lists should always have a nice round number of items. What if I'd written a list with 6 items? Or worse, 13? Preposterous. Anyhow, Mom, this Butch Wonders thing is going pretty well. It's been up for only a few months, and I'm getting at least 300 readers every day, and growing. Yesterday was 642. Kate Clinton (a famous lesbian comedian) recently endorsed me on her Facebook page, and I also got an invitation to do a radio interview in October. Not bad, eh? I'm really enjoying it. I get to hear from readers (gay, straight, male, female) from all over the place. The best part is when I learn that something I wrote affected them: helped them come out to their parents, resolve a conflict with their girlfriend, or even figure out what to wear to a wedding. It's really amazing to feel like I'm making a difference (especially since my day job can, as you know, be pretty abstract). I hope to hear back from you soon, and I hope you don't mind hundreds of strangers reading my note to you. Love, "BW" |
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