Today in archaeology

A common sight in Angkor temples. What is it? It's a lingam on a yoni. What's that, you ask? It's a sacred representation of the infinity of Shiva, the primary deity in most Angkor temple prior to the conversion of the Khmers into Mahayana then Theravada Buddhism. You want a simpler explanation? 

It's a cock (lingam) penetrating a vagina (yoni). 

Freud was right!

Party tips that we all should know

It’s either the end or the beginning of spring break (methinks schools conspire with each other to have spring break on different weeks so that there isn’t a massive influx of young people.) It’s also probably the last quarter for many students. So naturally, Spring is the time to live it up and party. There is nothing wrong with going to a good old kick back with beer pong (unless it’s the fifth one you’ve been to that week and you haven’t been to class) but there are still responsibilities one must take to ensure we create a rape free zone.

1. Be aware of people’s body gestures and speech: One of the easiest ways to see if a person is interested in being around is to pay attention to their body language. If they seem distant, they avoid eye contact, use protective actions (like crossing arms or step back a little), if they respond with short indifferent answers, then its best to move on. Find other people to talk to and perhaps they will be more receptive of you. If you see someone who is uncomfortable by your friend's presence, pull your friend away and take them somewhere else.
2. Don’t be insistent: There is that one guy who is a total jerk ass who doesn’t respect people’s boundary and insist they do what he wants and destroys the party. Don’t be that guy.
3. Respect boundaries: Know what people want. If they are strangers to you, don’t go slapping their asses, giving them huge bear hugs or go “Man that’s one nice piece of ass”. Greet them with a handshake, share a few words and see if you click. You really should only do those things to people that you know will accept it. Don’t assume everyone will see your approaches the same way you do.
4. Don’t take advantage of a drunken person: Don’t try to have sex with a person who is too drunk to say yes or know what they’re doing. Just don’t. Use the golden rule here. If you are not sure if someone is capable of saying yes or capable of self-awareness, err with the side of caution. Assume they are not. If you see someone talking a drunken stranger with them, stop them or go with them. Even if all they were doing was making sure that person has a safe place to sleep, you’ll have the satisfaction of know that you help contribute to that safety. If you noticed that both parties are too drunk, just stop them. It is better that they both know and consent to sex than it is to have total confusion in the morning.
5. Consent can be retracted: Yes isn’t yes forever and no one is obligated to have sex. If a person wants to stop half way, then stop. And frankly it’s better if both parties are enthusiastic about it the whole way through.
6. Have fun, but be nice: Go out and have a drink, share laughs, own people at pong, light a joint, puke on the yard, forget that you had an important meeting in the morning. Do all that but don’t be a jerkass to others. Parties should be fun for everyone not just one person. And trust me; you’re not making the party fun by disrespecting people’s personal boundaries or violating them. If a person is not interested in you than just go somewhere else and enjoy your time. And don’t take it personally either. They don’t know you and they don’t know you’re intents. It’s not about you, and you should respect that.

Transphobia and video games

In general, our society is still very transphobic. There's elements of it that lingers in the LGBT community, because all to often people don't want to remember the T part. Video games are no different. More often then not, it reflects the gender normativity of our society that often portrays androgynous or abigious people negatively. I can't claim to know much about the transgendered experience, but I try my best to understand their posistion. (And don't get me wrong. I love the RE series yo. But I can love them and critique them at the same time.)

In Resident Evil Code: Veronica and Resident Evil Dead Aim, transgendered people are portrayed as in the stereotype of being obsessive (which is why they changed their gender), vain, and untrustworthy. Alfred for RE CV is the obsessive part. He's crazy and obsessed with becoming what he's not (his sister). The idea that transgendered people are what they are "not" has been used to justify the vilification of them. Morpheus is also an obsessive who transform into a female like creature in order to obtain beauty, which is another stereotype of transgendered people (that they are always trying to be beautiful). Sometimes, transgender chose to change their sex because they are trying to become what they truly believe they should be. They're not doing it to become what they are not, because to them they are that way.

Archäologie

Sometimes it's easy to assume that a large tomb is a that of a king or a male ruler. Because of our current culture, we tend to associate the ruling class with men. It's all part of our blindness to the privileges we give to masculinity. However, through out history, men did not have the monopoly on power.
The Silla Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period of Korea, was one of the countries vying for supremacy on the Korean peninsula. It's was largely thought that the tombs left behind by Silla was of male rulers. However one of the tomb has been argue to be a female co-ruler based on historical accounts as well as the images and goods left in the tombs.
The assumption that the tombs of the rulers were all male is an example of how our ideology can bias archaeology. We assumed that the Silla rulers were all men because we falsely correlated power with masculinity.