she is exactly right, you guys.

as even more proof that she is as lovely as she appears, miss frl. zucker caught wind of my (borderline creepy? i'm bad at the internet, i think) post in which i basically confessed my complete and utter adoration of her and used it not to toot her own horn (although it is a horn which deserves as much honking as the one on her supercute bike gwenog jones), but to bouy the self-esteems of her fellow ladies, writing this:

anything i can do you can do too. i neither have a secret talent nor am i gifted. i'm not trying to be modest, this is truly my honest opinion. reading this also made me think of how i am constantly comparing myself to others aswell, how i always think others are so much greater than me, draw better than me, do much cooler things than me, are happier and prettier than me, etc. i don't believe this is a healthy habit. you and i aren't any better or worse than the people around us, i am slowly learning this. everyone can make something from nothing everyday in their own way. you don't have to watch people doing cool things, you can be the one doing those things! you've got the power! seriously.

and you know what, folks? she's right! while i don't think there's anything wrong with admiring someone or a quality of theirs, what do we gain from comparing ourselves to anyone else? nothing, but a one-way ticket to FROWNTOWN (population: you and those annoying hyenas from lion king that really got on my nerves). we have enough shit thrown at us on the daily to waste what's left of our energy on feeling bad about ourselves or what we have to offer! we should be focusing on what we're good at and what makes our boats float. then we should try to get rich and buy me a pizza oven. or not, that's really your call.

but don't get bogged down with what you can't do and look at what you can! pretty please? with sugar and a maraschino (like the cherry?) on top? yes, THANK YOU! i can't even believe this is a lesson we have to keep learning over and over again, but it is and we do. ah well. sisters are doing it for themsellllvessss!

ALSO: sarah and i are working on something super rad and totally bitchin'! so far we're just fleshing out the idea skeletons but if we cna put it on the internet, i think it'll be a big hit. you're gonna love it, pinky promise.

E

this is better than a marathon of degrassi with pink buttercream icing!

let's just get this out in the open: i get way way way jealous of ladies on the internet nowadays. they are so enviably twee. and let me also say this: i fucking love twee. camera obscura, los campesinos! winterkids, the postmarks, the positions, etc etc etc. but eventually you start growing up and there's less and less time for vintage pillbox hats and floral tights. that's when you turn to the internet to twee-out vicariously through the adorable fashions and mannerisms of those much cuter and happier than i.

now that we've gotten that out of the way, i can freely admit that i have been majorly internet stalking this lady named frl. zucker for the LONGEST. she's so cute, my bones ache whenever i go to her blog, DEAR DIARY;. but it's a good hurt, like in that episode of weeds when shane gets shot and doesn't want to take any painkillers. this making sense? GOOD GREAT WONDERFUL. anyway, she's totally the business and a side of rice and beans because she's a lovely little feminist with a whimsical sense of style and illustrations that make me cry so hard out of happiness that blood pools in the corners of my eyes. (MEDICAL CONDITION THANKS LEAVE IT ALONE). plus she loves bikini kill and harry potter. AND she makes little zines you can color in (shown above)! and they're only eight dollars if you live in the US. way cheaper than the indie rock coloring book that someone should really purchase for me for christmas. she's basically the person i want to be but never was because i don't have the balls and none of my friends dress like that and it'd just be like WAY TO STICK OUT like the sorest fucking thumb in the city, erika!!!

but anyway look at me just prattling on. here are some of her precious drawings! PHOTO EVIDENCE that compels you to want to make snow angels in pink chalk dust and spun sugar!


how seriously fucking cute is this?! HOW CUTE?! i want to know this drawing in real life and get strawberry milkshakes with it at the soda fountain! i don't even like milkshakes!!!

she has a bike name gwenog jones! and it has a bell and a basket and a mirror. SWOON I DIE THE END.

LE MOTHERFUCKING SIGH.

is it weird to dream of being frl. zucker? is it okay to wear yellow tights in the US? is there some kind of shelf life and/or domestic dis/approval for yellow tights? will i even live past 2012? all things to consider here! but in the meantime, feel free to head to this lovely lady's blog, put your cheek in your palm, and sigh till your lungs fall out. because that's what i'll be doing? yeah, because that's what i'll be doing.

E

Shit!

I love to swear. I try to incorporate "curse words" into my daily vocab as much as possible. I swear in my dreams, on paper, out loud, and in my thoughts. Nothing feels as satisfying as a good, well deserved "Shut The Fuck Up!" It's awesome. Mostly because I think it's sort of interesting and humorous that a few choice four letter words can make some people so uncomfortable. Honestly, with all the other words created to make people wriggle in their seats (enema, cum, cunt, bulge, squelch, and my personal issue word, juggernaut), why take offense to ones that sound so silly? Have you ever heard a toddler swear? It's fucking adorable!

The best thing about cuss words is that they have characters of their own. If some badass chick with a badass attitude said, "Aw, hell naw!" it would pass as acceptable. People would nod or shake their heads in agreement. But if some squeaky clean, penny loafer wearing Brady Bunch extra type girl was to say it, you know everyone would say "Shut up" or just give her the side eye. I find swears fascinating. Up until I was about 7, I thought "shoot" was a cuss word too. I would hesitate when people said "shoot the ball" or when I wanted to ask them something and they said "shoot!"

But once I hit middle school, language in all its forms was free game. And I haven't washed this mouth out with soap since. I love Rated R movies because they swear so much. I watch things on FX because there's less censoring. When I meet a man who can use "fuck" casually and effortlessly, I melt a little. That's what I like so much about V. Anyone heard her speak in real life? That girl's got quite the potty mouth and I love it!

My fave swear is "shit." It's so useful! Like, "oh shit!" or "shit is going down!" or "everything's gone to shit!" When I'm around my mother I have to sub "crap" in, but mentally I'm using "shit." But "bitch" is a promising runner-up. Unless it's used in contempt, the word is pretty much perfect. Ever been called a bitch during sex? It's really hawt! When I see my friends, I go "what up bitches?!" A lot of women seem to get offended by the use of bitch in common everyday settings, although I don't see why. Isn't this another one of those taking the word back from "the man" type sitches? Whatev.

Swear a lot world. I like to hear it!

Catch you bitches later and shit,
Erika

Whew...I Think It's Finally Over...

This, according to Google, is what feminism looks like apparently.

So over here at The Disco, we believe in women helping women. I personally like to think of this blog as a way for women to interact and commune with other women in a positive and uplifting manner. Even if that is just talking about bowling in three-inch heels. But still, I like to think that somehow, in some way, I'm bringing women who may never ever speak to each other, together to chat and relate to each other. I hope.

Honestly, I'm sure I'm a feminist. In the most modern sense, I guess. I believe women are smarter than society gives us credit for, and that women deserve to be independent of stereotypes and labels that old-world culture continue to give us. Women who sleep around are not sluts, and women who may strip to pay for bills and school are not necessarily whores. Men can turn to a life of crime and be glorified in some gangster movie while a woman chooses to take her clothes off in a safe setting with very tangible limits on what can and can't be done, to pay for her daughter's medical bills, perhaps, but she is a whore. Personally, I don't really know enough about the past, or the present for that matter, to make snap judgments about other women and their decisions or actions, based on some strict and concrete vision of what women should do or think, rather I like to try to understand all points of view and not necessarily judge someone because of what I believe is right. Because my standards are not another woman's standards. I don't think that just because I would rather watch Project Runway than CNN that I'm setting women back. I watch Headline News, btw, but I just think that the whole "setting women back" is an excuse to preach what you believe and refuse to accept the fact that women are not all about being cultured, well-educated presidents-in-training. Although, they can be if they so choose. See feminism, to me, is all about choice. But we seem to forget that.

Anyway, all of that prose was just to sort of lead into what I really have to talk about. Almost a month ago, Tracie Egan (Oh yes, the revered Slut Machine!) and her Jezebel compatriot Moe Tkacik appeared on Lizz Winstead's talk show, "Thinking and Drinking." Beforehand, and during the show, Tracie and Moe got a little drunk...well it sort of sounded like Moe got more than a little drunk, but that's just me, and proceeded to answer Winstead's really heavy queshes about feminism and date rape. Which, by the way, are really hard things to talk about while you're inebriated. Cause dudes, I can't even get through a sentence without cackling obnoxiously when I'm under the influence.

So after that there was a bit of a terrible backlash of comments and statements and really evil words on Slut Machine's blog, One D At A Time. I pretty much watched the whole thing pan out and was really disappointed with how women were literally spewing bile at Tracie while refusing to even talk about the issues raised during Lizz's show. It was sort of sad. Because you would think, hope, that while women would disagree with what was said on the show, they could at least discuss it in a very mature, progressive way. Really, women on women violence is the last thing we need in a world where women are still viewed as less than men. I watch episodes of Maury where women are controlled by the boyfriends and husbands, who in turn call them their "property." So the last thing we need right now is to tear each other down.

But today Tracie posted a final hurrah, if you will, saying her final piece about the, I don't know, incident. Here's a small excerpt:

Before my time at Jezebel, I worked at a feminist publication for several years. I think about this shit—feminism, sexism, etc.—constantly. So a couple of weeks ago, when I was pretty much lambasted for some (albeit drunken) public statements I made, the main thing that pissed me off was that people were trying to like revoke my Feminist Club membership or something. (And honestly, I don't want to even talk to about that shit anymore, but I'm not allowed to do so on the site I work for, as absolutely fucking retarded as that is, and I need to get this one last thing off my chest.) In the wake of all that hullabaloo, I realized that maybe this is a good thing, a jumping-off point to open up a discourse about how feminism is not monolithic. It's kind of like Christianity, in that there's this one core belief—that women are people, too—but there are all these different sects and theories as to what's the best way to practice that belief.

Here's the whole post.

And now she can get back to talking about fucking. Hooray! Because that's what I like to read!

Deuces,
Erika