Femininity And Muscles

Relna Brewer Mcrae (1919-2017) doesn't look like the Superwoman she was in reality. That fact gave her some special chances of using both her remarkable muscle-strength and her good, very feminine looks. Most other body-builder-women have not had that chance, as the general attitude is that they lost what's considered "femininity" by gaining all those muscles. People feel that a man who is strong is attractive, but women are not. The female gender is supposed to supplant physical strength with gracefulness, otherwise people may assume that they are lesbian "butch types".

As to Relna Brewer Mcrae then she, being 5ft, 115 pound, didn't look as strong as she was which made it possible for her to become the/one of the stuntwomen of the very feminine beauty icon Marilyn Monroe. At the same time, she excelled in weightlifting and bodybuilding, ripping telephone books without any difficulties.

I've always said, that women are stronger than they are aware of, but still not as strong as the male gender: Men are supposed to have 61% more muscle mass, especially in the upper part of the body with up to 90% more muscle mass: The strength of the arms are 75% more than in women. As I like to think that Nature runs by some kind of logic, I do find that surprising as well as not a little annoying. However, normally the male and the female genders of all species don't fight each other, but only persons of their own gender, unless they are locked in, e.g. in cages or the male is out to chase and kill the cubs of the female. (In the world of the humans, to be "locked in" might e.g. be in a marriage which may lead to partner violence).

These women exhibit both strength and femininity, and I take it that nobody might assume that they are "butch", lesbians or not. However, it's interesting that muscles and looks of physical strength signal a sexual preference for some people. It's even more weird that this is/has been used to sort of "shaming" women for looking - and being - strong.
 

I don't know the name of this vintage beauty, but it's obvious that she meant business: "Come and smell my glove at your own peril!!!!" If her adversary was a man, she was up against someone who must have been able to hit harder than her. Her only chance of coming out as the winner of such a fight would be "dirty tricks", smart moves, and luck ....

https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/blog/articles/the-original-girl-gone-strong-part-2-relna-brewer-mcrae/

https://www.venicepaparazzi.com/recent-events-covered/local-celebrity-highlight-relna-brewer-mcrae/

Wikipedia

Female Jokes

 

I don't consider Mae West to be a great actress, but she sure knew how to make a splash, both by acting and giving her opinion on whatever topic she felt needed a female comment by her. That's not as easy for a woman as just opening her mouth and talk, which is obvious when one considers the nature of certain kinds of jokes. As most of these jokes are targeting women, they are made by and for men. To turn them around and use them for women, but targeting men, doesn't really work.

Boobs attain their own place in the male jokes, as does blonde hair, Mother-in-Laws and female car-owners. Many by now old and tired jokes have obtained their special place in the annals of male jokes, and they may still be loved by men, whereas most women find them more or less silly. Maybe those women would like to try their hand at making jokes about men the same way they did about the female sex, but they soon find out that that's difficult for one specific reason: The language and the set imageries have been "masculinized". To talk about blonde guys, fathers-in-law or male car-owners don't set off any torrents of laughter: These topics are not funny to most people because they lack the backdrop of a confirmed humor and a shared language. Boobs, on the other hand, do, but only in a certain context.

Well, male boobs fit more into a derogatory comment than a (more or less) harmless joke, so that wouldn't work as a plan for being swept away in torrents of laughter, even though it may be fun to some. 

No, men and women don't always see eye to eye when it comes to humor: What's fun for a man may not be fun for a woman, who may even be offended by some "innocent" boobs-blonde-Mother-in-Law-car-owner-joke. However, once there was a woman, who knew how to make jokes that were both funny and very special. Many of them are still alive, even though she died many years ago: MAE WEST

Her jokes almost always are a bit "risky" without being vulgar. I would say that they are more of a "suggestive nature" than anything else, but one can't harbor any doubt about what they are about: Men, Sex, and Everything In Between. Some are more like statements and not real jokes, but still funny as they are a clever playing with words and sentiments.

Brooding The Dates That Count

I know it's silly, but I've always felt that some dates are special, so to speak. It's a kind of superstition that I have to confess to, and which I don't know how to explain - not even to myself. However, the fact that the calendar of each year - except leap years - contain the same set of months, weeks and days that is repeated year by year, but most often on different weekdays, intrigues me. To me, it somehow adds to the mystery of time and fate, which actually only is a mystery because I chose to see it that way. For instance, I've always found it "symbolical" that Adolf Hitler died on the date, (but not the year) of my birthday: It feels good, like an achievement ....

This gentleman, Karl Marx, who was the spiritual father of Communism, died on the 14th of March 1883, i.e. 142 years ago. That was after the birth of the last zar of Russia, Nicholas II (1868-1918), and they never met, although the ideas of Karl were used against Nicholas and his family when they were killed. Somehow I find it interesting, that Nicholas abdicated on a date very close to the anniversary of the death of Karl: The 15th of March 1917. On that day, the more than 300 years old Russian Empire vaporated, so to speak. 

As we know from William Shakespeare, the 15th of March is a very special day of the calendar: In his play about Julius Cesar we find the famous quote by a fortune-teller "beware the Ides of March" which is just another way of writing this specific date. Somehow, that date has been associated with misfortune and doom, which it certainly was for Julius Cesar who was murdered in 44 BCE on the 15th of March. However, I suspect that it only had its bad reputation because of Shakespeare, as I'm not sure when this superstition started out.

 

When it comes to "bad days", the Danes have an expert on dangerous days in the nobleman and astronomer, Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). He made a special calendar of 32 days that he saw as ominous, just "bad" or unlucky: Something to watch out for. 

Based on the Julian calendar:

 

January 1, 2, 4, 6, 11, 12, 29

February 11, 17, 18

March 1, 4, 14, 15

April 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 29

May 10, 17, 18

June 6

July 17, 21

August 20, 21

September 16, 18

October 6

November 6, 18

December 6, 11, 18

(From Wikipedia)

These specific days were supposed to be unlucky to perform certain tasks such as getting married, starting a journey, and so on. 

Superstition? Yes, and I hope that nobody let themselves get caught up in it in modern times, but at the same time I'm glad that my birthday was of a date very close to, but not the same as, one of the "unlucky days" .... 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_15 

 

https://www.idm314.org/ 

 

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-honesty-day-april-30 

 

https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/March-14 

 

https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/news/the-assassination-of-rasputin/ 

 

Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

Previously Published on Yahoo 360, March 2007: "Uncover Your Left Shoulder ...."

 

Marianne Larsen (born 1951) is a very well-known, Danish poet - but at the same time she is not very well known. The critics love her, her fans love her, but she is not one of those writers who "make a stir" in the media. No, somehow she is not as well known as e.g. the more flashy Pia Tafdrup who is another acclaimed poet in Denmark of 2007. Marianne Larsen is not as highly profiled, even though she is still considered one of the very best Danish poets today, i.e. in 2025.

 

"Uncover your left shoulder

Press your lips against something missing there

Maybe close your eyes

Slowly sit down on the floor

in the corner of an empty room 

Stay in that position all day long

Fall asleep in that position

Stay where you are, even when you're asleep

You may open your eyes, if you wake up" 

 

In the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s she was a decidedly political poet, but still with her own distinct voice, actually making her the only major Danish, political poet of that time. However, the intent may be clear, but the tone is not what one expects in a political poet. No simplistic and poetically inept hailing to the socialist state or ideologies, but an indignation at ordinary humans' lives and general circumstances in modern society. Even at that time, she had a somewhat naive faith in language as the means of setting free the human spirit, and thus the humans themselves. Language and words always were some of her favorite themes, and she tests their power and impact over an over again.

 

"We put our arms around each other

A Pair of ordinary tax-paying human arms

Not to rest them

But to harden them 

A pair of ordinarily hugging

Human Arms

We put them around each other

They are health-insured and ordinarily dressed

A pair of ordinary love-interpreting

Human arms

How strong they are

Sovereign, independent -

No matter where

No matter What the hour

No matter what the season

Suddenly, and for all time 

Human arms

Without speculation

We put them around each other

As if to show that their powerlessness

doesn't exist" 

 

In the 1990s she published four autobiographical novels, "Guess Who Loves You", "Alien Happiness", "Gallery Reality", and "Guests of Each Other" which tell the story of a young girl, by the name of Bodil, who grows up in the country in the 1950s and 1960s, and moves on to the political and artistic circles of the 1970s and 1980s. I don't think these novels come up to the level of her poetry, but they are interesting to read as gateways to her life and personality.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Larsen

 

Strange And Scandalous Ongoings In Denmark In The 18th Century

This blond and buxom lady is the English-born Queen of the Danish king Christian VII (1766-1808), Caroline Mathilde (1751-1775). She was a both tragic, and scandalous figure, but somehow she didn't lose her popularity with the Danes. Her brother, "Mad King George" III (1760-1820), was worried when she, at the tender age of 15, sailed off to marry the Danish king who was reputed to be rather "weird", although in some respects a quite accompliced, young man. Presumably some rumors of the king's odd behavior had reached England before the wedding, but married they were, and they had two children, Frederick VI of Denmark (1768-1839) and Princess Louise Augusta (1771-1843) whom she doted on.

King Christian VII and his queen, Caroline Mathilde

Both of the royal children were officially "legit", although everybody knew that the princess, Louise Augusta, was in reality the daughter of the King's German physician, Johann Friedrich Struensse (1737-1772). The King had met him when he went on an extended tour of Europe in 1769. By then, it was obvious that the poor, young man on the royal throne of Denmark and Norway was suffering from something that to modern doctors looks like a kind of Schizophrenia. As a child he had received a most brutal handling of a cruel governor, which may have led to a very unfortunate development of his illness. 

Johann Friedrich Struensee

Nobody knew how to handle a sick man who was also a king, except Struensee, who also took hand of Caroline Mathilde, so to speak. She, who was young and full-blooded, fell in love with the German charmer, and, on the evidence of portraits, it's obvious that he, and not the king, was the biological father of the Princess Louise Augusta. 

 

The Princess Louise Augusta

Struensee rose to an almost absolute power over the King, and he practically ruled the country. He even had the Council of State abolished, and from then on he gained more and more power. In many ways he was a most gifted as well as a very charming man, but the Danes hated him for instituting a lot of reforms that were far ahead of time and which they didn't understand or saw as "un-Christian". However, as he didn't even bother to learn the language, he became a sitting pigeon to his many enemies at court. 

"Bootee-Katherine" (c. 1745-1805)

While this happened the King got totally besotted with a prostitute, "Støvlet-Katrine" (: "Bootee-Katherine") who actually may have been of royal blood. Her father might very well have been her godfather, Prince George Ludwig of Brunswick-Bevern, who supported her as a child. As to her mother, then she was a boot-designer who may have been of African origin. Anyway, Bootee-Katherine and the King had fun, touring bars and brothels, until she was evicted and booted out of the country. 

I doubt that this scandal was considered worse than what the Queen did: She rode out with her lover, but not using a "lady saddle" or dressed appropriately for a woman: She wore some kind of Jodhpur which was considered extremely immoral.

 

Caroline Mathilde with her daughter, her lover and her husband

Between March 1771 and January 1772 Struensee issued no less than 1069 cabinet orders, i.e. three or even more a day. One of his reforms was the abolishment of all censorship, which led to a flood of pamphlets against him, his rule and his behavior. Not quite grasping the political turmoil he gave rise to, he ended up being arrested by the King's stepmother, The Dowager Queen, Juliana Maria, who was the mother of the King's disabled half-brother, Prince Frederick. One of his friends and closest affiliates, Edward Brandt, (who at one point had given the King a beating!), as well as the Queen, Caroline Mathilde, were arrested.

Struensee and Edward Brandt were executed in a very inhuman manner - probably after extended torture - and the Queen, Caroline Mathilde, was sent into exile in Celle in Germany. Without ever seeing her beloved children again, she died a few years after at the tender age of 23. However, her daughter, Louise Augusta, married Frederick Christian II. Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, and their daughter, Caroline Amalie, became the queen of Denmark when she married King Christian VIII. To me, that's a quite strange development of the scandalous love story of a queen and a German doctor who gained power of a country whose language he didn't speak and who was executed in a most barbaric manner.

Queen Caroline Amalie, the granddaughter of Queen Caroline Mathilde and Struensee 

https://historiskerejser.dk/caroline-mathilde/ 

 

https://kvindebiografiskleksikon.lex.dk/Caroline_Mathilde 

 

https://graenseforeningen.dk/leksikon/louise-augusta-1771-1843-prinsesse-hertuginde-af-augustenborg 

 

Wikipedia

"50 Shades of Hay"

 

Yes, of course, "50 Shades of Hay" must be a bestseller in the horse community! I wonder who wrote it, but I suspect that the author of this erotic masterpiece may be some retired, but sprightly spinster horse, out of her harness, and still full of "IT". As it is, several human spinsters, like e.g. Jane Austen and the Bronte-sisters, have proved that what it takes to write truly passionate stories is a good imagination and the way with words that conduct that feeling to the readers. 

The fairest filly of the stable may be blushing, although we can't see it for the fur on her cheeks. She is full of Oomph, and just about to neigh her approval of the horsey writer and her bestseller. Hay is the name of the game!

 

Even the most innocent and even virginal of all the pretty "My ponies" are impressed with the unbeatable imagination of the writer. However, I bet that her brother, Biggy Pony, strangely enough, wouldn't understand what it's all about. Just as it is in the world of humans, women understand the porn of men. They may not like it, but they do understand it. Men, on the other hand, will not be able to appreciate what in its very nature is porn for women. 

 

The European Femicide of the 17th Century

In Europe, we had our own equivalent to the Salem witch craze. Over the years some 1000 people were burnt at the stake in Denmark, which at that time can't have had an estimated population of more than e.g. 3-4 million. Both men and women were killed as witches, but 90% of the victims of this insanity were women, and the majority were menopausal. Not that a beautiful, young woman couldn't end her life at the stake, but the fact is that most of them were more than 50 years of age. That makes me think of the fairy tale witch, ugly, warty, cruel, and murderous. In a patriarchal society, such a woman, definitely may have had cause for revenge, but what was the reason for her society to persecute her? What had she done to deserve something like torture and execution? Well, first of all she must have been a scapegoat for much of what people were taught to fear at that time, like e.g. the age-old enemy, Satan, who was supposed to be out hunting for souls all the time. 

The witch hunt was considered legit as it had a religious bearing. One of the milestones in Denmark was the public decree "Om Troldfolck oc deris Medvidere" (: "About Witches and Their Accomplices") which was published in 1617. This decree is connected with one of the most ardent, Danish witch hunters of them all, namely the King Christian IV (1588-1648). His sister, Anna, was married to another royal super witch hunter, the Scottish king James I/VI. When she left Denmark in 1589 to join her future husband, her journey was made impossible by a violent storm. This unforeseen misfortune convinced Christian of foul play, and a couple of misfortunate women were burned at the stake as witches because they were seen as the culprits who had raised the vicious storm.

Christian was a full blooded Renaissance man who had become king at the tender age of 11. When he wasn't making babies - and he had 23 or maybe even more by several women - he waged wars or built beautiful castles. However, he really had it in for witches and took a personal interest in burning everyone who was convicted. 

The witch craze wasn't the invention of King Christian as long before his birth on April 12, 1577, it had started. The first ones went in 1540 which is a few years after The Reformation of the Danish church. When we went from being Catholic to becoming Protestant, the character of Satan came into focus. All of a sudden, people had to accept another kind of personal responsibility than The Catholic Church demanded. The king at that time, Christian III, took the church riches and jailed the Catholic arch bishops in a new tupsy turvy world that played havoc on the minds of the ordinary people of the country. They must have felt threatened by all those "bad women who were Satan's handmaids". People were confused, and they became obsessed with the (imaginary) need of reporting each other.

Some unfortunate (and innocent!!!) woman might be accused of "stealing the butter luck" of someone else who found that she couldn't churn butter anymore. Another well-known "crime" was milking a cow from far off or ruin the beer.
 

A way to discern between ordinary women and witches was to hide a needle or a pair of scissors under her seat. If she seemingly found it hard to sit, that was a "waterproof" sign of her being a witch because they were assumed not to be able to abide steel. What's even more strange, is that in some cases, all it took was someone else dreaming about her being a witch.

The last one to be burned at the stake as a witch in Denmark was Anne Palles. In 1693 she had the audacity to threaten the bailiff, who evicted her and her husband from their farm, by turning around and pee into the farmyard. That was seen as one of the witch ways of bringinga loads of calamities upon the farm and the people who evicted her, and when Anne was tortured she confessed that she had been visited by Satan in the shape of a black cat. This nonsense from a tortured human being lead to her death at the stake, but the king at the time, Christian V, showed her mercy as he saw to it that she was beheaded before being burned.

As it is, there have been more witch cases after Anne Palles execution, but they were of a more private nature: Both in 1722 and 1800 a woman was murdered for "being a witch", and as late as 1934 the last witch accusation was submitted.