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I think most people who aren't knitters have no idea just how popular knitting has become. You will find people of all genders, ages, ethnicities, and classes knitting all over the world making it a uniting force for some. As has been said by other posters, knitters have been known (with in some circles) to, collectively, give large amounts of money to various charities with more frequency than people who don't knit. There is also a large and strong group of knitters who knit things like hats or mittens for people who otherwise would have had none.

We're are very lucky that the Pacific NW seems to be a bit of an epicenter for knitting and fiber arts. We have festivals like Black Sheep Gathering (in Eugene), Sock Summit (in Portland), Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (in Canby), Madrona (in Tacoma), and this year SOAR (Spin Off Autumn Retreat) will be in Sunriver. All of these festivals attract a number of brilliant instructors and some of them have attracted participants from around the world.

posted 3 years, 10 months ago
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I was really pleased to hear that you were going to be focusing on trans people today. I am a 21 year old FTM who is currently living in New York for school but I'm originally from Portland. I started transitioning when I was 15 or 16, started testosterone when I was 17 and had chest surgery a few months after my 20th birthday.

One of the really interesting things that I've encountered regarding being a trans person who passes 100% of the time is taking part in conversations surrounding what it's like to be male (specifically a black male). I get asked about this a lot when I'm in school, in classes, at conferences, and when prospective students are asking me questions (I go to Sarah Lawrence College which is very white and primarily female) and I never really know how to respond. I generally tend to talk around the question but it is interesting because I look at life through a transgendered lens (and of course I have plenty of other identities) as opposed to a male one and also draw upon my experiences growing up as a girl and still having a female body. It's interesting because even though to anyone who would see me on the street I look like your average guy, I don't fit so cleanly into the male gender binary in a very different way that people who were born as male who identify as male do.

Adam

posted 4 years, 8 months ago
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i totally understand the "opera is way too expensive" view point - I share it to some extent. However, what I think people are either forgetting or just don't realize is that operas are extremely expensive to produce.

posted 4 years, 8 months ago
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I studied in Vienna, Austria last year as my year abroad and was more than a little surprised to see that their standing room tickets were between 2 and 3 euros. It allowed me to go to the opera (and the ballet) whenever I had time. That being said the Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) gets significantly more funding that most if not all opera companies in the states. This, combined with classical music being much more ingrained in their culture, made the opera significantly more accessible to people living in Vienna. It also wasn't at all unusual to see elementary school aged children being taken to the opera by their parents/grandparents.

There were also at least a few, very well publicized, "children's operas" (last season it was The Magic Flute and an abridged version of The Ring). I think this attempt to introduce children to opera at a young and then allow people who don't necessarily have the money to pay for opera tickets (think college students) to still be able to access the art form grooms people to achieve a real love for opera and thus keep these opera houses alive (and allow for funding to continue making opera accessible to wide audience).

One of the other, better, ways I've seen opera be more accessible to all audiences is the addition of subtitles in a number of languages. I've only ever seen it in the form of little screens in front of each seat (or standing room spot) and they generally have subtitles in English, German, and whatever language the opera is being sung in. I've seen it at both The Met and the Wiener Staatsoper http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/about/visit/met_titles.aspx . This allows for people to know what's going in with out having to sing the opera in English (or whatever language is most common in the place it is being preformed).

posted 4 years, 8 months ago
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