Other Stuff ~ Glossary of Terms

	Glossary

Albany: Port town of approximately 30,000 on the south coast of Western Australia. Albany lies about 400km from Perth.
Androgen: A male sex hormone (e.g. testosterone).
Anti androgen: A hormone or other substance that inhibits the production of Androgens.
Apocrypha: Fanzine produced by Laura 1981-1996.It's content varied but included reviews of games, books and films, comics, travelogues and other personal items.
AUSTUDY: Allowance paid by the Australian Government to Full time tertiary students.
Bent: The opposite of straight. NB: Someone who is "bent" is not necessarily "queer".
Bisexual: Someone who engages in sexual activity with both men and women.
"Bob" (J.R. "Bob" Dobbs): The confidently-smiling, fatherly visage smoking the Pipe represents J.R. "Bob" Dobbs (1930-1984, 1985-?), the Living Slackmaster, the Saint of Sales, the Prophet of Profits, and High Epopt of the Church of the SubGenius. In 1949 Dobbs (then a humble aluminium-siding salesman in Texas) was watching late-night TV. As he went to adjust the picture, Dobbs saw a dazzling white light; he felt a strange tingling sensation and his whole body went rigid. He lay unconscious and unmoving for several hours. The next day, he became aware of strange voices speaking to him; voices which identified themselves as beings from Planet X (Xists), and the "space god" Wotan-l ("Ra-l", "Thor", etc). J.R. "Bob" Dobbs knew then that he had a mission. He founded the Church of the Subgenius to save all who would follow him from the coming Weird Times.
Bobbie: A pink that thinks if they buy all the merchandise, say all the slogans, and follow the herd, that they'll be SubGenius. Fat chance!!!
Bok: Rom for fortune, luck.
Chovahani: Rom for witch. variant is chuvvenhan.
Conspiracy, The (The Con): Name given to the all encompassing cartel that, according to SubGenii, really run things here on planet Earth. Includes all False Prophets, THE False Prophet, all Evil Christians, and Pagan Whores of Babylon. Also known as: The Empire, The Black Iron prison, The Combine, The Man, et cetera.
Crossdressing: Wearing the clothes normally associated with the other gender.
Cybele: Great Mother Goddess transgendered women, goddess of charity and retribution. Cybele was followed in ancient times by the Gallae.
Devival: SubGenius gathering to raise merry hell and stir up the faith. Might feature rants, launching of the head, or anti-music, but anything goes.
Didiki: A person 1/8 or 1/16 Romany.
Dukkering: Rom for the act of telling fortunes.
Dukkermengra: Rom for a woman who dukkers for a living.
Drag Queen: Slang term denoting a homosexual male who dresses as a Woman. Lesser known term is Drag King, referring to a heterosexual male doing the same.
Drone: Cannon fodder for the Conspiracy.
Dupes: Everyone who believes the Con line that FALSE SLACK is OK, and are prepared to sell themselves short because of this. Also know as: Normals, Pinks, "The Wad", "The Lower Mind", et cetera.
Fanzine: A self produced magazine, mostly edited, written and illustrated by its producer. Fanzines may be on a particular subject, about things in general (GenZines) or about its producer in particular (Perzines). Laura has produced several fanzines including Tau Ceti and Apocrypha, and Laura Seabrook's Queer Stuff.
Female: Normally, a person with XX chromosomes, although some females also have XXY and XO chromosomes.
FeMale�: The Male-Female SubGenius gender set. Other sets are Male-Male (Overman), Female-Female (Overwoman), and Drone.
Female-to-Male: A transsexual whose sex is female (transsexual man), making the change from a woman to a man. Known as FTM, F2M or F->M for short.
Gallae: Transgendered priestess of the goddess Cybele. Historically the gallae existed in ancient Greece and Rome. They tended the temples, but were also itinerants, touring the countryside and receiving alms in exchange for dancing, singing, music, and prophecies. Compare with Hijra.
Gay: 1) homosexual; 2) a homosexual man.
Geekgirl: A netchick, a woman on the world wide web, a grrl who's hep to hypertext (and must have modems!). Also an online magazine.
Gender: One's social, personal and legal status as male, female or mixed, on the basis of somantic and behavioral more inclusive than the genital criterion and/or erotic criterion alone.
Gender Correct Language: Use (or non-use) of gender specific pronouns and words in the least misleading and most clear fashion. e.g. Using "postie" or "postal deliverer" instead of "postman", when the gender of that person is not known. Often confused with Political Correctness, and misunderstood to be the elimination of "man" from words.
Gender Dysphoria: The sate, as subjectively experienced, of incongruity between the genital anatomy and the gender identity of a person.
Gender Identity: One's sense of belonging to the male or female sex; the private experience of gender role. The sameness, unity, and persistence of one's individuality as male, female, or androgynous, in greater or lesser degree, especially as it is experienced in self-awareness and behaviour.
Gender Role: The public manifestation of gender identity. Everthing a person that a person says and does to indicate to others or to the self the degree that one is either male, female, or androgynous.
Girls & Boys: Laura's slang terms for transgendered women (Girls) and transgendered men (Boys). Note the capitalization, lower case would refer to non-transgendered girls and boys. Why these terms? Because as women we don't menstruate, and as men, they don't produce sperm; and I find these terms vastly preferable to "tranny".
Gorgi: Rom Feminine version of Gorgo, meaning either foreigner or gentile (i.e. A non Gypsy).
Gynemimesis: A syndrome of female impersonation in a natal male who may be hormonally but not not surgically sex-reassigned. (From Greek, gyne woman + mimos mime). Technically transgendered males are gynemetic -- comforting thought isn't it? * grin *
Habafropzipulops (Frop): Frop is a sacred herb that only grows on the graves of holy men. and is extremely rare. It has a kick that makes all other drugs seem like ginger pop. However, so restricted is information about Frop that the above is all I can tell you.
Hijra: Transgendered persons in India, considered to be a "third gender" by some. Hijras are followers of the goddess Bahuchara, and traditionally dance and sing at weddings and births celebrations. Reputed in folklore to have the power to bless or curse. Compare with Gallae.
Hormones: Chemicals secreted into the bloodstream, normally by glandular cells. Hormones affect the growth patterns in the body. For a full discussion, follow this link.
Kuhsti: Rom for Good.
Laura Seabrook's Queer Stuff: Laura's latest fanzine. The 1st issue is out now, but only on the net.
Lesbian: A homosexual woman.
L. "Ron" Dunning: Octobriana's previous incarnation, before her true FeMale�ness became evident.
Male: Normally, a person with XY chromosomes, although some males have XXY or XYY chromosomes.
Male-to-Female: A transsexual whose sex is male (transsexual woman), making the change from a man to a woman. Also known as MTF or M2F for short.
Man: The gender role normally ascribed to mature male persons.
Newcastle: City of approximately 300,000 people on the Eastern Coast of Australia.Newcastle is located about 150km north of Sydney and situated in the Hunter Valley. It features a wide mix of culture and facilities. Rom for Newcastle is Wongaresky gav (coal diggers town).
Octobriana Oberwoman, Reverend: Laura's SubGenius Church name, also her "Inner Bitch". This name is based on a Russian Comic Book Heroine. As an ordained minister she is entitled to pursue Slack, hold Devivals, expand third nostrils, and pursue other SubGenii correct activities. Compare with Pollychrome.
Oestrogen: A female sex hormone.
Operation, The (Reassignment Surgery): The Sex-reassignment Operation. A major operation whereby male genitals are changed by cosmetic surgery to approximate the appearance and function of female genitals. Also known as "The Op." for short.
Overman: The Male-Male SubGenius gender set. Other sets are Female-Female (Overwoman), Male-Female (FeMale�) and Drone.
Overwoman: The Female-Female SubGenius gender set. Other sets are Male-Male (Overman), Male-Female (FeMale�) and Drone.
Perth: Capital city of Western Australia, located on the Swan and Canning Rivers, and facing the Indian Ocean.
Political Correctness (PC): A philosophy that suggests that thought and behaviour can be redirected by restricting and altering the words used in communication. Also implied by this, is that there is only one way to be politically correct, which is generally taken to be the opinions of the person enforcing PC. Compare with Gender Correct Language.
Pollychrome: The name chosen by Laura to represent her inner child. It is inspired by a character in the Oz books by the same name. In these books, Pollychrome is the most reckless of the daughters of the Rainbow. Her greatest joy is to dance and she often creates magic and solves problems by doing so. She is clad in flowing, fluffy robes of soft material that remind one of woven cobwebs, only coloured in soft tinting of violet, rose, topaz, olive, azure, and white, mingled together in stripes that melt into the other with soft blending. All images used on this site are from the original illustrations.
Post-op: Short for post-operative, meaning that the person has had sex-reassignment surgery.
Pre-op: Short for pre-operative, meaning that the person has not yet had sex-reassignment surgery.
Queer: 1) That which is not straight; 2) Transgender, Bisexual, Lesbian and Gay peoples, and others who do not identify as being straight.
Rant: A SubGenius form of communication consisting of shouting "home truths" at the top of your lungs, not letting others "get a word in edgeways", and haranguing the crowd to a frenzy. Rants normally continue until either the ranter drops from exhaustion (or is overcome with SLACK), drives whoever they were ranting at away, or the tape runs out. Popular at Devivals.
Rauni: Rom for lady.
Real-life-test: See the change.
Self: The Original core of one's be-ing that cannot be contained within the State of Possession, living spirit/matter: the psyche that participates in Be-ing.
self: Any of the many false identities inflicted upon women under patriarchy (or The Con); the internalised possessor that covers and re-covers the Original Self.
Sex: The physiological sex of the person, normally determined by having either XX (female) or XY (male) chromosomes.
Sexuality: How a person relates to other people on a sexual basis.
Show Girl: A transsexual person who earns a living on the stage performing, often in "all male reviews".
Slack: Slack is a state of grace without pretentiousness; Slack is that indefinable moment when things go right for you through no fault of your own; Slack is cutting through all the rubbish and lies and feeling good anyway. TRUE Slack is indefinable. FALSE Slack is peddled everywhere by the Con as the real stuff, and the Dupes are sold this line of lies everywhere they turn. No wonder they're so frustrated.
Spinster: A woman whose occupation is to Spin, to participate in the whirling movement of creation; one who has chosen her Self, who defines her Self by choice neither in relation to children nor to men; one who is Self-identified; a whirling dervish, Spiraling in New Time/Space.
Straight: 1) A narrow mode of expression of self, valuing conformity and apparent social norms; 2) A person who has a heterosexual identity; 3) Conformist views.
SubGenius (Yetinsyny): A follower of J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, or member of the SubGenius Church. Plural is SubGenii.
Sydney: Capital city of New South Wales, and largest city in Australia, with a population of over 4,000,000. Sydney is located in central New South Wales, 130km south of Newcastle. It has the Opera House, the Bridge, and the annual Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gra.
Tau Ceti: Laura's original fanzine, which ran from 1975-1981. Tau Ceti was a gameszine and a vehicle for running postal diplomacy games.
The Taxi Club: A working club on Flinders St in Sydney. The Taxi Club (a.k.a. The Grovensor) is a notoriuos hang out and pick up joint for transgendered people. Features include a bistro, pokies, and a nightclub on the top level.
Terra Australis Clench: To my knowledge, the first active SubGenius group in Australia. It operated between 1990-1996, mainly in Perth. Members were (at various times): Rashauni Arceoptrix; L. "Ron" Dunning; Octobriana Oberwman; The Duchess of Erikin; and Sri Mahaavidya.
Transgender...: 1) A person who assumes some of the characteristics of the opposite sex, but retains the use of their genitalia in unmodified form. 2) A blanket term used to refer to transsexuals, transvestites, show girls, and drag queens.
Tranny (also Transy): A slang term that refers to transsexuals and transgenders. Also spelt Trany or Trannie. In general Laura dislikes this term, since anything ending in an "ie" sound is a diminuative (e.g. Trekie, Bikie) and implies derision or cuteness of the subject, rather than respect or understanding. However, such use is dependent upon content and setting -- it's different talking about "trannys" to someone when both of you are.
Transition (The Change, also Real Life Test): The process whereby a person initially changes their gender.
Transsexual... (Woman/Man): A person whose gender is different from their sex, and undergoes hormone treatments and other processes in order to change their appearance.
Transsexualism: Attempts by the individual to assume the physical characteristics of the opposite sex: the symptom complex of gender dysphoria.
Transvestite (Cross Dresser): A person who needs to dress as the opposite gender for emotional reasons.
TS: Abbreviation for transsexual. Also see tranny.
TV: Abbreviation for transvestite.
University of Newcastle: University located within the City of Newcastle. The university consists of Callaghan and Central Coast campuses.
Vardo: Rom for caravan.
Virginity: A state of sexual inexperience in relation to penetration. A transgendered woman can lose here virginity up to three times: pre-transition, post-transition, and post-operatively. You really needed to know that didn't you? * grin *
Woman: The gender role normally ascribed to mature female persons.
X-Day: July 5th, 1998. On X-Day the X-ists and Yacatisma will overrun the Earth, causing devastation and untold loss of lives, and worse. The Nazi Hell Creatures will rise from their underground bases and with their heliopters prey on those survivors. "Bob" (who's made a deal with JEHOVAH-1) however will be prepared, and SubGenii of good financial standing (You're still Pink until "Bob" sees the colour of your money) will be space lifted and have the opportunity of wild sex with attractive space-aliens.