Archive for September, 2005

Misogyny on Board

September 30, 2005 | Pop Culture

It’s time for the promised post about my experience on RSVP. First of all, let me say that I think all queers should experience a gay cruise. It’s like living at the heart of Pride 24/7 for a week. I had a fantastic time despite some interpersonal concerns. However…lesbians might not be as welcome as the company would like you to believe.

Nobody said that, of course. In the “newlywed game” they had a lesbian couple, and announcers and emcees for various events often referred to the women in the audience. There were only 147 women (and 1700 men), though, so with less than 10% of the passengers being female there was bound to be lots of testosterone flying around. Unfortunately, RSVP only offered one activity for women - a poorly-attended social hour where we stood around sipping drinks and chatting - and they really could have done much more.

The real problem for women on this trip wasn’t anything RSVP had control over - it was the misogyny I could feel in the air at many events. I got a few strange looks that I’m certain were due to being female, and I heard plenty of anti-female jokes and jabs throughout the week. Cabaret singer Amy Armstrong played with this the best she could, getting physically close to members of the audience and forcing them to acknowledge that she was female. (This was usually done by clutching their hand to her breast while she sang, but she threatened to make some of them touch her pussy.) By the way, I was pretty much the only femme lesbian on board who was not an entertainer. As a result, I was accused of being straight - you can read that story here.

It’s no wonder that women overwhelmingly choose Olivia for their luxury vacations. This is really a self-perpetuating cycle, in that women have heard about the atmosphere on “mixed” cruises and would rather go for an all-female vacation, which means that the “mixed” cruises end up being mostly men, which creates that atmosphere…you get the point. But it really was a wonderful vacation despite this; I made some friends onboard and I do hope to have the chance to do it again.

Lesbian Gamers

September 29, 2005 | Pop Culture

The magazine Killer Betties has an article entitled Girl-on-Girl Gaming: Exploring Communities, Questions and Concerns of Lesbian Video Gamers. Pretty cool, and touches on more than just the Sims. (Which is probably the only game that can really have lesbian characters.)

Via Game Girl Advance, which is a worthwhile blog in its own right!

Student Expelled

September 26, 2005 | News Reports

This is somewhat shocking - a Canadian girl was expelled from school because her parents are lesbians. It’s a religious school, of course, but the girl herself hadn’t done anything wrong. So much for preaching tolerance, eh?

Also, it looks like Olivia is expanding. They’re looking at the market for retirement communities, and might also expand their travel services to gay men. I’d love to go on an Olivia cruise just to be able to compare it with RSVP, which was 93% male and had a definite air of misogyny.

Yearbook Settlement

September 25, 2005 | News Reports

It’s really a shame it had to come to this, and it’s surprising to hear a story like this in 2005 - but then again, this is Florida. At the end of the last school year, Jacksonville senior Kelli Davis posed for her yearbook portrait like all of her classmates. When presented with the drape (that dress-like thing girls are given for yearbook photos), she opted to wear the boys’ tux instead. Apparently the photographer had no problem with this, and the picture made it to the yearbook…where the administration refused to allow it to be printed. Finally, six months later, a
a deal has been reached with the school administration. The mediated settlement changes the way senior portraits are handled, and faculty and staff must be provided with training regarding sexual orientation.

CyDy’s Hello Kitty Video

September 21, 2005 | CyDy Network

The CyDy Specials section has some of the network’s most unique feature galleries and videos. This time it’s a video of Sapphire testing one of the Hello Kitty vibrators - the most famous one, which is stick-shaped (read about its history here!). I have two of them, and I’ve only used one of them (the other is part of my HK collection!). I only used it once or twice, though, because it just wasn’t for me. It’s not strong at all - I’m more a Hitachi Magic Wand kind of girl.

Sapphire, though, feels differently. She uses the opposite end from what I’ve used - I held onto Kitty and used the smooth end, but she holds onto that end and uses Kitty! (Which makes for a very perverted visual, if you’re me…) She really seems to enjoy it even though we can’t hear her - that orgasm is authentic, I can tell!

Network Update: Posteriority

September 20, 2005 | CyDy Network

What a unique update at Posteriority! Alystin and Savoza wrote to Cyber Dyke and expressed an interest in becoming models. Reportedly Savoza likes anal play, so they ended up on Posteriority. I think these pictures were taken by a friend, rather than a CyDy photographer, but they look great! Savoza is in a great bodice that gives her awesome cleavage, and Alystin is in an eclectic semi-Western outfit (plus she has purple hair!). There is some awesome dyke cock sucking action - the dick is not realistic, which makes the pictures really special (I think they’re hot!). I am pretty sure Alystin’s harness is the Corset Harness - can anybody confirm/deny this?

This is a really nice update. These two women love each other, their own bodies, and pleasing each other. It’s a hot set of more than 100 pictures, and if you’re not already a CyDy member this is a good gallery to sign up for and check out!

UK Civil Partnerships

September 14, 2005 | News Reports

I want to write about my experiences on RSVP - let’s just say I was accused all week of being straight, good grief - and I want to check out what’s been happening over at CyDy while I’ve been gone, but for now I am just going to give a link to the New Zealand-based article UK to legalise gay marriage! The Civil Partnership Act will take effect in December and was designed to be as close as possible to heterosexual marriage. It is only for same sex couples, has no religious component, and will require a form of divorce to be dissolved.

Lesbian Pulp Fiction

September 8, 2005 | Literature

From Duke University comes this page on lesbian-oriented pulp novels from the 1950s. There are several titles and descriptions and a few scanned cover pictures, but more fun is also available from the links at the bottom of the page. I’ve never read Beebo Brinker but I do hope to!

Isle of Lesbos

September 6, 2005 | Cool Links

It’s a relief that the owners of “sappho.com” did something good with it! The site is called Isle of Lesbos and it features art and literature about lesbianism. There is both classic artwork and also vintage images, as well as poetry, letters, and journals. One of my favorite pieces is an 1890s-era photograph called View From Behind, which looks like the women really were lovers rather than just two women posing together. (Am I the only one who wonders about that kind of thing when viewing antique lesbian photos?)

Away Temporarily

September 5, 2005 | CyDy Network

Hey everybody! As you read this, I am on Holland America’s ship Oosterdam with 1600 gay men and 150 lesbians. I was contacted by RSVP, the gay travel company, and invited to serve as a sign language interpreter for their September trip to Alaska. But thanks to the miracle of scheduled posting - and the fact that I figured out how to do scheduled posting! - I am able to keep sending you updates even while I am away. So stay tuned this week for some fun lesbian links!