Thank you all for your comments, both public and private, and for voting on whether to continue our contests. It appears that the polling will go on!*
Someone let it be known that my support of women's rights and women's causes was invalidated by having a contest where women were pitted against one another. A couple of other people said that if in general, I didn't want women judged on their looks, I shouldn't hold a contest in which men were judged on the same. (I thought dropping the swimsuit competition, and calling the contests "scholarship pageants" had taken care of that, but evidently not.) Still another voice cried foul, insinuating that I rigged the contests every year. There were more, but you get the idea.
(This is why you got this tattoo, Kim. . . Find your center and stay there.)
Point taken on the first two objections. Would one contest with all nominees, both male and female, in the same draw be a remedy for the first one?
As for the second, perhaps "Hunk" and "Chick" aren't the best words to use. We could go with "Ideal Knitting Companion (Male)" and "Ideal Knitting Companion (Female.)" Or "People To Whom We Would Gladly Extend An Invitation For A Light Lunch, Good Conversation, and Knitting."
I know everyone's Bulls*^t and Nonsense Meters have been overloaded this week. There are much more important fights we could all be fighting right now. If my dopey little sideshow offends you, I apologize. If there are changes that you think could be made to improve it, I'll listen. In the meantime, it's still the 10th Anniversary year, and there will still be special events. Stay tuned.
*Bridget, you have no idea how close I came to running your suggested poll. Really. Majorly razor-thin-ly close.
4 comments:
HA! You know, people always have the choice to stop reading/listening/watching something that offends their delicate sensibilities. But they seldom do.
And as for pitting women against each other, I call bullshit on that. It's like the statement that all knitters are wonderful. Having worked in a yarn store, I can tell you that isn't true.
OK, I'll shut up. But to quote a friend of mine, all of this "really jacks my jaws!"
Let the games begin!!!!!
Hunk and chick are exactly what the game is about. It's called having fun and looking at gorgeous creatures.
And thanks, Bridget - "jacks my jaws" is now part of my vocabulary!
I'm not seeing how the contest fails to square with supporting rights for all- it's about who you'd like to knit with near or for, and you are allowed to choose who you'd prefer without it meaning anything more. Besides, I defy anyone to look at the rooster of winners (and contestants) and tell me that the winners are some cookie cutter version of goodness/beauty/virtue. They are diverse and wonderful. I think you should be proud of the way the contest goes. I know I personally drool over certain contestants- but does having those feelings make me shallow? I say it's part of what makes me whole. I don't drool just because of looks either, mind you. I don't think you need to mixed the contests into one unless you want to. You go through a lot of work to give us a fun community event- it's yours to decide what to do with. But I do want to say it brings a great deal of bright fun to my life! So thank you. If you want to change the name- do what you want. I'm not offended either way. I am sad, however, that some have chosen to attack you about this.
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