STATEMENT: anne wizorek and her outcry against sexism (#aufschrei) - alltagshelden / everyday heroes.

hi dears!

on the 17^th of february i already told you that i'm participating in the blog-series 'alltagshelden / everyday heroes', initiated by the blogger lounge on facebook.

yesterday it was anna and saras turn and tomorrow innocence89 will go on.

so who exactly is an everyday hero?

the question is easily answered … anyone. anyone can be an everyday hero. people who help. people with courage.

unfortunately many people these days do not have enough courage to help. they do not get up to offer their seats to the old lady with the many grocery bags. and they look away when somebody gets bothered in the subway… but not every people are like that.

everyday heroes can help on a grand and small scale – but no matter how little the contribution: they can change the world !

… just like anne wizorek. when the debate came up about rainer brüderle, who had to face the admonition that he molested a journalist in a hotel bar one year ago, anne wizorek called women and girls up to talk and write about their experiences with everyday sexual harassment and sexism, indifferent where they needed to face it – on the streets, at work, etc – everything tagged under the slogan #aufschrei (in eng.: outcry) and thousands and thousands of women participated.

GENDER DAYS: givenchy is sexist.

... why do i state this ?

for this we have to look upon perfume as an entity, as a subject for itself.

perfume is one of the aspects where the diversity between men and women or the binary system of society is deeply routed.

... why else are perfumes for women shaped as the perfect male or female body? you can also see this clearly with gaultiers perfume 'le male' or 'classique'. the shaped body of the male flacon and the classical body of the female flacon. unisex perfumes do not sell good enough. thus we increase this diversity between the one sex and the other by not reconsidering such brainwashing.

we're born into, we're pitchforked into this society which expects us to be the 'perfect' citizen. by not breaking ranks and perfectly fitting into a binary and homogeneous society. there is no gender equality at all. if i look upon bi***es such as daniela katzenberger, jessica simpson and so on, i could vomit. those chicks and girlies of this new generation with their guiding principles of 'be smart, be silly' perfectly destroy all these goals which alice schwartzer or simone de beauvoir and many other feminists tried to achieve. women should be sexy and successful, dressed in perfectly shaped dresses which stress their female body - a new form of women being the object of the male gaze. and there is nothing we do against that.

now let's come to givenchy. why is givenchy sexist? what leads me to state this?

givenchy also has a perfume with a stylises the perfectly shaped female body. it is called 'organza'. i didn't know that back then. organza long time ranked among my favourite perfumes.

but then, some days ago i discovered something which shocked and annoyed me much more.

givenchy has a perfume named pi. it is inscribed with the symbol of the mathematical constant pi about which i reported earlier. 

... and this very perfume is not available for men and women - no, it is only avaiable for men !!!

thus i asked myself: is pi some entity which only males could be interested in? is mathematics only reserved for men?

this is such absolutely binary, patriarchal thinking. there are loads of stereotypes classifying the perfect man or the perfect woman. the clichés number: girls only like pink, girls play with barbies, boys like physics and chemistry and cars and technology. and ... mathematics.

... what about marie curie, who was a physician and chemist, famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity for which she also received the nobel prize.

... and what about ada lovelace, the first women and human being ever inventing a coding language? she was a mathematician. she inspired konrad zuse to invent the very first personal computer, some hundred years afterwards.

now isn't it backwards that givenchy sells the perfume pi and his successor, pi neo, only for men? what leads them to do so ?!?

the perfume from 2008 is described as 'multi dimensional woody masculine fragrance', 'Innovative. Scientific. Precise.' and 'futuristic and adventurous'. well, but this isn't futuristic, this is obsolete, discriminating and absolutely ridiculous!

... well, i wrote them a nice e-mail.

this is the complete text:

'Dear Sir (or Madam),

I’m contacting you with this E-Mail because I’m concerned about something.

This refers to your intention about the development of your fragrance ‘Pi’, which I discovered several days ago.

Me as a woman, I do like mathematics very much and I’m also interested in rather mannishly areas of knowledge, for example natural sciences or modern technologies.

When I discovered your fragrance, I was happy - first. I appreciate it very much that a fragrance is devoted to the mathematical constant Pi, also because it is my favourite number.

Thus I was quite eager to order it immediately.

But there was a little problem: this fragrance is apparently only available in a man’s edition.

First I was confused, and then I was upset.

What did you intend in creating a fragrance only available for men, which is clearly inscribed with the name of a famous mathematical constant? Do you believe that only men are interested in Pi? Do you think that mathematics is unfeminine? Do you believe that women should only be draped in vanilla and orchids and pink coloured dresses?

I really do ask myself what’s the point of that?

When I read the description to your fragrance ‘Pi Neo’ of 2008 my terror and annoyance have multiplied by 3,14. So you really do believe your fragrance is the perfect fit for the hero of the 21^st century?  For the modern man discovering the future? Oh yes. Well this must actually be an advance of the old, dirty, sad and dark past – a glorification of the old patriarchy, a discrimination of the modern woman and a degradation of the improvements made by feminism and gender equality !!!

Why shouldn’t mathematics and natural sciences not only be available for women, too? Why shouldn’t Pi be available for women, too (you can take this absolutely literally)?

Do you believe this is avant-garde, modern, future-oriented ?!

What about all the heroines of the past, the present and the future? … Did you miss them out deliberately?

The question also came up if your obsolete attitude is also reflected in the effeminate design of your fragrance ‘Organza’? … Which actually classed among my favourite fragrances for a very long time? Well, this now really is a thing of the past, because my dismay shall be reflected in denying your label.

There is no other option left than this one.

I do not expect any answer from your side, although I would be interested in hearing what you have to say to this.

With disappointed regards,

Dahi Koch

P.S. I will also comment on this on my blog, strangenessandcharms.blogspot.de – this is an international fashion blog with now about 620 followers via Google Friend Connect and 1500 Fans via its Facebook Fanpage.

You should keep this in mind.

Thanks.'

... and a nice screenshot:

i haven't received any answer yet ... and i'm not expecting any answers, though - although i would be interested in what they have to say to defend their former intention

until then, i will boycott givenchy. i will not encourage a sexist company like this.

GENDER DAYS: a hommage to π.

hi peeps! ... people who know me also know the fact that there's a part of my soul that's really geeky. i'm actually sometimes a real nerd. i love to wear my glasses, nerdy shirts and a load of books in my arms. i like maths and chemistry, the latter i also chose as one of my advanced courses in school. i love carboxyl groups, futurama, the lovely android. i'm good at handy stuff and i also fixed my own laptop two times with linux because it was virus laded.

but what i love the most is pi, or acthually π (as a minuscule in the greek alphabet) or π (as a mathematical constant).

GENDER DAYS: castratos and counter tenors.

in the long history of mankind many cruelties took place. 

some of them to please cravings for revenge, or out of pure evilness, or maybe to crusade other religions and 'the savage' or ... also the lovers of the fine arts. 

thus happend with the castratos, those beautiful men singing with angelic voices, equivalent to those of female soprano or mezzo soprano singers ... and above the usual pitch which a male adult person could sing. 

castratos were eunuchs, disposed of their male genitals when they were little boys, so that their voices could not break in their puberty phases. many of them died after this violent act, but those who did not became some of the first superstars of music, such as farinelli, senesino and pacchierotti ( ... see the resemblance to luciano pavarotti, one of the three tenors who died some time ago). 

those men had no sexuality, they were mere objects of desire for women and for those who loved the fine arts ... there is also a movie about farinelli from the year 1994 - you should watch it, it is worth seeing !

... back then people thought that men must be asexual so that they could keep their high voices. thus they were turned into eunuchs.

in recent years those castratos became famous again, due to their counterparts, the counter tenors. those tenors weren't disposed of their male genitals, but they still have the ability to sing as their female counterparts in mezzo soprano and contralto, due to a new singing technique which they acquired in long years of practice. among them such wonderful singers such as philippe jaroussky, andreas scholl and others.

my mother heard andreas scholl sing at klassikradio, and believed this was a contralto female singer. she wanted me to buy a CD for her featuring 'andrea scholl'. i had to tell her that this was actually a male singer and finally she got her CD. 

thus, men can remain their genitals and still sing with such wonderful, high pitched voices, just like women. and well, andreas scholl actually doesn't look that bad. he looks like a 'real man', as you like it ... but ... there is a question. we have to ask us, what is a male voice, then? and what is a man, if a man can sing like a woman? or a woman can sing like a man (listen to nina simone and alto singers)? or a woman can look like a man? or a man look like a woman (as seen with andrej pejic) ?

what do you think?

GENDER DAYS: loveandpride.com

loveandpride.com contacted me some weeks ago ... as if they knew that there would be the gender days soon to find on my blog. now we're right in the middle of the gender days and what could be better than an introduction to a shop which is specialized in equality, diversity and tolerance. what makes loveandpride.com so unique and precious is that they are very much concerned with the freedom of the human race in its whole. they are a 'worldwide venture founded to celebrate the transformative powers of passion, creativity and action'. their jewellery collections include engagement, commitment, wedding and anniversary rings, necklaces, pendants, earrings, watches and other accessories for tolerant women and men from high end designers such as cartier, marc jacobs, fossil, diesel, dolce & gabbana and many others.

tolerance and equality means tolerance of the sexes - every sex, every 'gender', be they homosexual, transgender, bisexual or members of other groups differring from that what most people consider 'normal' but which i consider binary, homophobic, intolerant or insular.

proceeds from the sales at loveandpride.com are donated to non-profit organizations that support full equality and civil rights for our community. their partners, the 'matthew shepard foundation', the 'human rights campaign' and others are shaping a better future for each of us by helping to create a society that is truly diverse and tolerant.

they support gay marriage and equal rights for every gender found in this world!

there is an 'erase hate pendant' - 100% of the net proceeds go to the 'matthew shepard foundation' to support quality for the LGBT community.

if you wear love and pride, you take a stand for equality of the human race as a whole!

Silver 3-Ring Erase Hate Pendant

BOOM - The Renagade - White and Green

Rainbow Ring, Grey Titanium Rounded Ring with Rainbow Groove

Apothia L Eau de Parfum - 50ml

Silver and Rainbow Enamel LOVE Tags

Stainless Steel LOVE Dog Tag Friendship Necklace

Michele Keeler Home - Turkish Hand Towel - "Pinks"

GENDER DAYS: andrej pejic.

... who is andrej pejic?

a (role) model and one of my latest idols. why? ... because he is a very controversal person indeed. he is courageous and modern. why? he's a model ... but he is a very special model - he is the only person modeling for men AND women's fashion (!). people are fascinated because he actually can look like a 'real' woman or a man (with slightly feminine characteristics).

now there are people who say, that he is not a 'real' man.

but there is a question: ... what is a man, actually? and what is a woman?

he stands for the abolition of the traditional gender distribution, a a step in the right direction, which i absolutely appreciate - during my university years i fiddled with cultural studies, gender studies and feminism and thus i learned, that there are no differences between the sexes. we have learned that there are only two sexes, male and female, and that everything else is factitious. but this is a discrimination against all of those who differ from this learned naturalness. male and female are constructed through society, their values, their traditions. culture is something in which we are born into. so many things we learn are constructed, not naturally given by nature. but we take them for granted. male and female are filled with social meanings, which musn't actually be correct. in fact, there are NO biological aspects which make men and women differ from each other - expect for the fact that women have a vagina and can bear children and men have a penis. it is only societal pressure and traditions which want to make us fit into characteristics or identities which society represents as 'the real man' or 'the real woman'. sex is a biological term which states that males have male genitals, females have female genitals. but if you like high heels, dresses, automobiles or modern technology it doesn't tell if you're female or male. those characteristics which society fills into sexual terms is called 'gender'. gender is a term, which expresses the societal and artificial construction of male or female or what we think those words should express. the real man or the real woman are stereotypes. the real woman is a patriarchial construction which needs to be reconsidered. and, as i said in the beginning, there is not only male and female, but lots of transgenders in between.

gender is artificially produced within a binary society, all those differences between men and women just do not exist at all. 

body and mind of men and women alike are shaped through society. identity is artificially constructed.

i had to reconsider the whole of my thoughts through those university years. and i believe that lots of people would be well advised if they also fiddle with all those texts and controversities. it would open their minds and souls.

i'm open to anyone who is courageous enough to break through old traditions and norms. andrej pejic is a person like this.

in an interview he said, that he had proclivity for women's dresses and make up when he was a child, which also didn't cause a stir because he was a child. his mum and dad allowed him to dress just as he wanted. but when he became older, the discriminations began. when he became a teen, he realized that he was different. this binary society tried to make him into a homogeneous young man, becoming 'the real man', tried to make him fit into this binary society. if he wanted to fit, he couldn't any longer behave or dress or think as he wanted. 

but they didn't succeed.

andrej pejic didn't bow his head to uniformity and homogeneity - and now he is one of the hottest models of our time. a human being standing for the modernisation of old stereotypes and for a new inflamation of the gender discussion. a human being, standing for modernity.

now he is also modeling for the new zign collection, which is available at the zalando online store. in this spot he wears different shoes as a woman, and at the end one as a man. FHM, a magazine for men, also voted him onto place 98 of 100 of the sexiest women of the world.

an inspiring person.