Tko je Sara Renar i što znači biti žena?

Izgleda da je Sara Renar zadnjih dana posvuda. Na kioscima nas gleda s naslovnice Storybooka, a njen je glas već standardna pojavama na radiju. Znala sam je susresti i na nekim od najvećih modnih evenata pa je po svemu sudeći Sara postala pravi celebrity od našeg zadnjeg intervjua. No, daleko je ova glazbenica od klasičnog hrvatskog celeba bez duše i kao takva uvijek savršena partnerica za razgovor.  

Tko je Sara Renar? 

Glazbenica, tekstopisac, skladateljica, pjevačica, poluinstrumentalist, poluaranžer; bivša arhitektica, bavila se i glumom; jedina kćer svoje majke, vlasnica psa; prilično dobra vozačica, solidna kuharica, kriminalna domaćica; neudana, formalno nezaposlena i kreditno nesposobna djevojka na pragu tridesetih, autor, skoro pa umjetnica opće prakse.

Što se promijenilo u tvom životu od našeg zadnjeg intervjua prije dvije godine?

Zapravo se strahovito puno toga izdogađalo, što predivnog, što manje lijepog. Izdala sam jedan album (“Jesen”) i sad sam u završnoj fazi s novim (“Tišina”). Bila sam nominirana za Porina u kategoriji debitanta (2014.) te za alternativni album godine i žensku vokalnu izvedbu (2015.) , u zadnje navedenoj kategoriji sam nagradu i osvojila. Prestala sam raditi u struci i potpuno se posvetila glazbi, ima tome već godinu dana. Vodila jedan semestar radionice “Tekst u glazbi”, sudjelovala na dva projekta teatar hr. - a i kolektiva SKROZ, ponovno naučila voziti i savladala bočno parkiranje. Počela više čitati. Udomila psa. Odsvirala kojih osamdeset koncerata, od manjih klubova do regionalnih festivala. Suočila sam se sa smrću u obitelji: otac mi je krajem prošle godine preminuo i ni jedna rečenica se ne čini dovoljno dostojanstvenom za opisati taj gubitak.

Osjećaš li se uspješnom? I koja je tvoja definicija uspjeha?

Meni je bitan proces. Konstantno tražiš, kopaš, možeš i moraš bolje. Osjećam se uspješnom jer mogu živjeti taj proces i biti mu posvećena. Možda je to najveća promjena od našeg zadnjeg intervjua, odabrala sam svoj put i više nema dileme (iako sumnja uvijek naravno postoji). Definirala sam čime se zaista želim baviti u životu i to i radim.

Više pročitaj ovdje


photo Božo Beti

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        Who is Sara Renar and what does it mean to be a woman?

It seems that Sara Renar is everywhere for the past few days. At the kiosks she is watching us from the cover of Storybook Magazine, and her voice is already a standard phenomena on the radio. I even used to ran into her at some of the biggest fashion events, so it seems Sara became a real celebrity since our last interview. But this musician is far from the classical Croatian celeb without a soul and as such is always the perfect partner for a talk.

Who is Sara Renar?

A musician, a songwriter, a composer, a singer, an semi-instrumentalist, a semi - arranger; a former architect, was involved in acting too; the only daughter of her mother, an owner of a dog; a pretty good driver, a solid cook, a criminal housekeeper; unmarried, formally unemployed and uncreditworthy girl on the threshold of thirties, an author, almost a common practice artist.

What has changed in your life since our last interview two years ago?

Actually, an awful lot happened, some of it beautiful, some less beautiful. I released one album ("Autumn") and now I'm in the final stages with the new one ("Silence"). I was nominated for Porin in the newcomer category (2014.) and for alternative album of the year and female vocal performance (2015.), in the last mentioned category I won the prize. I stopped working in my profession and fully devoted myself to music, it has already been a year I decided to do so. I led one semstar of workshop called "Text in music", participated in two teatar.hr and collective SKROZ projects , learned how to drive again and mastered parallel parking. I started to read more. Adopted a dog. Played around eighty concerts, from small clubs to regional festivals. I faced death in the family: my father passed away late last year and no sentence seems dignified enough to describe this loss.

Do you feel successful? And what is your definition of success?

For me essential is the process. You are constantly looking for something ,digging, you can and you must be better. I feel successful because I can live this process and be dedicated to it. Perhaps this is the biggest change since our last interview, I chose my way, and there is no dilemma about it (though of course there is always a bit of doubt). I defined what I really want to do in life and that's what I am doing.

Read more here


photo Božo Beti

Tko je Nela Simić i što znači biti žena?

Nela Simić je jedna uistinu posebna žena, s kojom ću u razgovoru često teško držati tempo. To se događa jer se redovito gubim u  a) moru informacija koje je Nela u stanju izreći u samo jednoj minuti i/ili b) ponekim referencama s kojima nisam u potpunosti upoznata, iako bi kao intelektualka navodno trebala biti.  No,  to je samo jedna od stvari zbog kojih joj se toliko divim. Teško je zapravo opisati kakva je osoba ova novinarka i voditeljica galerije Pikto pa budući da nisam u nemogućnosti da vam je fizički predstavim, nadam se da će vam bar ovi odgovori donekle približiti fantastičnu Nelu.

Tko je Nela Simić?

To je uvijek najteže pitanje. Ako govorimo o Nelinoj profesiji to je lakši i kraći odgovor koji ne zahtijeva transcendentalna traganja :) Nela je radijska novinarka, radnica u kulturi, voditeljica galerije, sanjar, kreativka, ispijačica kave, putnica, partijanerica, sestra, kćer, i nečija djevojka.

Kojim sve projektima/poslovima bi se pohvalila?

Mogla bih kao Will Carruthers napisati knjigu s biblijskom referencom The Book of Jobs koja nije Jobova knjiga, nego knjiga poslova...Od studentskih poslova konobarenja, rada u dućanima s odjećom, nakitom i slično do marketinga i prodaje u dentalnom turizmu, imala sam čak i vlastitu zalogajnicu neko vrijeme, radila kao turistički radnik u Italiji, pisala za razne internetske portale, već četiri godine radim na radiju, a prije godinu dana otvorila sam umjetničku galeriju Pikto. Unutar svih ovih naizgled nespojivih zanimanja radila sam razne projekte, a najlakše je izdvojiti ove najrecentnije. Na Radiju 101 imam emisiju o kulturi koja se zove ARTikulacija, a nešto što se veže na galerijski rad je projekt Reli po galerijama koji kroz interaktivnu igru povezuje galerije u gradovima Hrvatske.

Osjećaš li se uspješnom i koja je tvoja definicija uspjeha?

Čini mi se da se uspješni ljudi uvijek na neki način osjećaju neuspješnima (bar na njihovoj ljestvici uspjeha koja nije uvijek realna i ne vrijedi za druge ljude ) jer taj osjećaj da uvijek može više, brže, bolje, jače je to što me tjera da se razvijam i stvaram. Svaki puta kad se ljestvica podigne, a ja postignem cilj za kojim sam težila, magija nestane i ljestvica se povisuje. Zato nikada neću moći reći da sam zaista uspješna. Čudan je taj uspjeh, za koga i pred kim. Doduše, prednji čeoni režanj se navodno razvija u kasnim dvadesetima i odgovoran je između ostalog za razumijevanje uzroka i posljedice. S vremenom shvatiš koliko je vremena i truda potrebno uložiti da nešto profunkcionira, a istovremeno se s godinama taj fokus interesa sužava i trudim se specijalizirati i ne širiti priču i područje djelovanja kao što to rade djeca u slastičarnici.

Pročitaj  više ovdje

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Who is Nela Simic and what it means to be a woman?

Nela Simic is truly a special woman, often a heavy opponent in a conversation. This is because I regularly get lost in a) sea of information Nela is able to express in just one minute and / or b) occasional references I am not fully aware of, although as an intellectual I am allegedly supposed to be. But this is just one of the things for which I admire her so much. It's hard to really describe what kind of person this journalist and leader of Pikto Gallery really is, but since I'm not able to physically introduce you to her, I hope that at least these answers will give you some idea of fantastic Nela.

Who is Nela Simić?

This is always the hardest question. If we talk about Nela's profession it is the easier and the shorter answer which does not require a transcendental quest :) Nela is a radio host, a culture worker, a founder of an art gallery, a dreamer, a creative, a drinker of coffee, a traveler, a party girl, a sister, a daughter, and somebody's girlfriend.

What are the projects / activities you are most proud of?

I might as Will Carruthers write a book with a biblical reference to the Book of Jobs, which is not a Job's book, but a book of jobs ... From student jobs like waitressing, working in shops with clothes, jewelery and similar to marketing and sales in dental tourism, I even had a diner of my own for a while, worked as a tourist worker in Italy, used to write for various websites, I work on the radio for the past four years, and a year ago I opened an art gallery Pikto. Within all of these seemingly disparate professions I worked on variety of projects, and the easiest way is to extract the most recent. I have a show about culture on Radio 101 which is called ARTiculation, and something that is connected to gallery work is the project called Reli po galerijama (Rally through galleries) which connects galleries in Croatian cities through an interactive game .

Do you feel successful and what is your definition of success?

It seems to me that successful people always somehow feel unsuccessful (at least on their ladder of success, which is not always realistic and does not apply to other people) because that feeling that you can always do more and be faster, better and, stronger is what makes me develop and create. Each time the scale builds up, and I achieve my aim,  magic disappears and the scale increases. That's why I'll never be able to say that I really successful.  Success is strange, for whom and in front of whom. However, anterior frontal lobe is reportedly developing in the late twenties and is responsible among other things for the understanding of cause and effect. Over time, you realize how much time and effort is necessary to make something able to function, and at the same time over the years the focus of interest narrows and I try to specialize and don't spread the word and scope of activities like children in a candy store do.

Read more here

Pamela Konjevod - "Nisam jedna od onih koji putovanja predstavljaju kao raj pun dobrog vina"

I dok smo modne blogere odavno pokopali I oplakali (osim Chiaru Ferragni dakako) jedna nova vrsta blogera zauzela je svoj tron na ljestvici “običnih ljudi” koji zauzimaju medijski prostor. To su food I travel blogeri. Stoga sam opet odlučila napraviti intervju s najpoznatijom Hrvaticom u travel bloggingzoni Pamelom Konjevod. I dok sam se prije tri godine fokusirala na zapravo sasvim površna pitanja poput: “Odakle strast prema putovanjima?”, ovaj sam put natjerala Pamelu da nam otkrije emotivni aspekt svojih putovanjima, a to je u konačnici zapravo jedino što je bitno kada se odlučimo otisnute izvan granica svog comfort zonea. Kako točno izgleda izlazak iz ustaljenih okvira razmišljanja, zašto su svi putnici sjebani na svoj način I zašto je ova mršavica s naglaskom koji osvaja I energijom za još pet ženaforever alone, saznajte u tekstu koji slijedi.

Bez koje tri stvari ne odlaziš na putovanja?

Valjanog dokumenta, zdravog razuma (iako neki misle da ga ni nemam) i japanki.

Tvoje sljedeće veliko putovanje je po Centralnoj Americi. Kako, zašto, koji je plan?

Plan još uvik raspravljam sama sa sobom :D Za početak se nadam imati dovoljno velika muda za stopiranje. Zašto – da istražim i pokažem kako Centralna Amerika nije tako strašna kako je možda mi zamišljamo – narkokarteli i ogromno siromaštvo. Pošto sam prošla kao volonter na ovogodišnjim Olimpijskim igrama u Brazilu, plan se lagano promijenio. Nadam se dočepati Gvatemale i “spustiti” se do Brazila. Vidit ćemo – sve je još u povojima.

Irak? Why?

Why the heck not? :D Radije bih još pet puta otišla za Irak ili dugo željeni Afganistan, nego da mi netko pokloni put za Tajland, iskreno. Bliskoistočna kultura mi je strahovito zanimljiva kao i mjesta koja nisu još uvijek uništena turizmom.

Rekla si da su svi putnici sjebani na neki način. Kako to misliš?

Koliko njih će me napasti nakon ovog :D Ukratko, nisam još upoznala nekoga tko putuje, a da nema emotivni bunar. Kod nekih prazan, kod nekih premračan da se usude u njega zaroniti– moja laička psiho procjena jelte :D Putovanja im služe za bijeg, potragu, izazov, bog će ti ga znat šta sve ne :D

Više pročitaj ovdje

Ako želite pomoći Pameli da i dalje vrluda svijetom, ali i nasmijava nas svojim intimnim zapisima dogodovština s puta, dovoljan je samo jedan klik na ovaj link

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Pamela Konjevod - "I'm not one of those who represent travelling as a paradise full of good wine"

And while we buried and mourned over fashion bloggers (except Chiara Ferragni of course) a long time ago, a new kind of bloggers took their throne on the scale of "ordinary people" who occupy media space. These are food and travel bloggers. Therefore, I again decided to do an interview with the most famous Croatian woman in the travel blogging zone - Pamela Konjevod. And while three years ago, I focused on actually quite superficial questions like: "Where your passion for travelling comes from", this time I made Pamela reveal the emotional aspect of her journeys, and that is ultimately the only thing that is really important when we decide to go beyond the boundaries of our comfort zone. How exactly does the exit from out thinking box look like, why are all the passengers screwed up in their own way and why is this skinny chick who wins over with her accent and energy forever alone, find out below.

Which three things you never travel without ?

Valid document, common sense (although some think I don't have it) and flip flops.

Your next big trip is to Central America. How, why, what's the plan?

I still argue abut the plan with myself: D For starters I hope to have enough balls to hitchhike. Why - to investigate and show that Central America is not as terrible as one might imagine - drug cartels and immense poverty. Since in the meantime I became a volunteer at this year's Olympic Games in Brazil, the plan is slightly changed. I hope to get hold of Guatemala and slowly get down to Brazil. We'll see - everything is still at the beginning.

Iraq? Why?

Why the heck not? : D I'd rather go to Iraq or long desired Afghanistan for five more times, than to Thailand even it somebody gave it to me as a present, honestly. Middle Eastern culture is tremendously interesting to me, like all the places that have not yet been destroyed by tourism.

You said that all passengers are screwed up in some way. What do you mean?

How many of them will attack me after this :D In short, I have never met anyone who travels and who has no emotional well. Some wells are empty, and some are too dark to dive in- my psyche evaluation at least: D Travelling serves them as an escape, a quest or a challenge, God will know what not: D

Read more here


If you want to help Pamela to continue to rule the world, but also make us laugh with her intimate writings on the adventures along the way, it only takes one click on this link

Jelena Iva Nikolić: Indija ju nije osvojila svojim spiritualnim turizmom

Jelena Iva Nikolić je onaj tip žene kojem ću se uvijek potajno diviti ni sama ne znam zbog čega. Možda zbog toga što je starija od mene pa samim time i mudrija, možda jer uvijek spoji dva nespojiva komada odjeće i izgleda savršeno, možda jer super kuha, možda jer svaki projekt kojeg se primi, kako bi se reklo u narodu onako otrcano, pretvori u zlato, a možda i jer jednostavno pršti energijom. Zato uvijek volim popričati s majkom "Malog placa na tavanu", jednom od najpoznatijih hrvatskih food stilistica i iskrenom zaljubljenicom u život, a odnedavno i u Indiju.

Što se promijenilo u tvom životu od našeg zadnjeg intervjua?

Uf. Sve! Nisam više u dugogodišnjoj vezi, živjela sam s dvije cimerice, stvorila Mali plac na Tavanu, putovala u Indiju zbog zabave, ljubavi i treći puta - posla. To je onako, izvana, na brzinu. Iznutra sam kompletno druga, nova osoba.

Jesi li u međuvremenu spoznala neko ovo jelo koje ti je osvojilo dušu i tijelo?

Thali. Tradicionalno indijsko jelo koje se sastoji od više manjih jela. I masala chai. I ghee. I smoothie od ananasa, kokosove vode i lemongrasa s malo limete!

Reci nam sve o svom novom projektu Sanjam Indiju?

Namjesto odgovora, preopširnog, čemu sam sklona, nudim link:http://www.dreamingofindia.info/

Sve piše u istome. I to je projekt koji se još razvija i uključuje puno ljudi, događanja, videa, posla, sponzora, produkcijskih kuća - nešto kao par mojih snova u jednom.

Puno si putovala, ali Indija te posebno osvojila. Kako to?

Nemam pojma. To je izvan racionalnog okvira. Nikada nisam zapravo sanjala o Indiji ili Indiju. Otišla sam iz čiste znatiželje, kako bih otišla i u Burkinu Faso! Jednostavno smo se dogodile jedna drugoj. Ljubav na prvi zakorak. Naime, čim sam zakoračila na tlo aerodroma u Delhiju osjetila sam stanoviti energetski boost. Koji se aktivira svakim ponovnim dolaskom, odnosno zakorakom na indijsko tlo. Nit bijah u ashramima, nit brijem na spiritualni turizam, nit sam predana jogistica, iako godinama vježbam jogu, samo obožavam život i njegovu raznolikost, intenzitet. Indija je za mene kao život. Golema, odnosno beskrajna, prekrasna i zastrašujuća istovremeno, puna kontrasta, intenzivna i najnježnija i muška i izrazito ženska i senzualna i tvrda i bogata i siromašna i mentalna i tjelesna. I tako mogu do beskraja nabrajati sve kontraste koji su koliko različiti toliko i komplementarni. Nije li život satkan od svega toga?

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photo: Grgur Žučko

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Jelena Iva Nikolic: India didn't win her over with its spiritual tourism

Jelena Iva Nikolic is the type of woman I will always secretly admire and I don't even know why. Maybe because she's older than me, so therefore wiser, maybe because she always puts two incompatible pieces of clothing on and looks perfect, maybe because she cooks great, maybe because every project she gets her hands on, as they say, she converts into gold, and maybe because she simply bursts with energy. That's why I always like to talk to the mother, of "Small market in the attic," one of the most famous Croatian food stylist and sincere lover of life, and more recently of India.

What has changed in your life since our last interview?

Phew. Everything! I am not in a long-term relationship anymore, I lived with two roommates, created Little market in the attic, traveled to India for fun, love and for the third time - work. This is just a quick review. Inside am I'm completely different, new person.

Did you discover some new dish in the meantime which won you over?

Thali. Traditional Indian dish that consists of several smaller meals. And masala chai. And ghee. And pineapple, coconut water and Lemongras smoothie with a little lime!

Tell us all about your new project Dreaming of India?

Instead of an over extensive answer, which I tend to use, I am offering a link: http://www.dreamingofindia.info/

Everything is written here. And this is a project that is still evolving and includes a lot of people, events, videos, jobs, sponsors, production companies - something like a couple of my dreams in one.

You have traveled a lot, but India especially won you over. How so?

I have no idea. It is beyond rational framework. I never really dreamed about India. I went out of curiosity, like I would go to Burkina Faso! We just happened to each other. Love at first step. In fact, as soon as I stepped on the soil of Delhi airport I felt a certain energy boost. That is activated every time I come, or should I say step on Indian soil. I haven't been to ashrams, nor am I into the spiritual tourism, not am I committed yogi, although I have been practicing yoga for years, I just love life and its diversity, intensity. India is like life to me. It is vast, immense, beautiful and scary at the same time, full of contrasts, intense and tender and masculine and feminine and extremely sensual and hard and rich and poor, and mental and physical. I can recite all the contrasts which are so much different and complementary until infinity. Isn't life made up of all this?

Read more here

Zašto nas tjerate da se sramimo svojih dlaka?

I dok danas mislimo kako je odstranjivanje dlaka stvar svjesnog izbora, zaboravljamo li da se ipak radi o normi koja je polagano i planirano nametnuta?

Više od ideje da moji jajnici ne rade kako treba, užasava me činjenica da nepravilan rad istih uzrokuje pretjeranu dlakavost. I dok s gotovo romantičnom glorifikacijom gledam na jednu obrvu Fride Kahlo i njene šarmantne brčiće, pomisao da dlake krase moje tijelo gnusnija mi je i od Von Trierovih šovinističkih filmova.

Gnušanje se miješa s osjećam srama kada moje dlačice iskoče tamo gdje ne bi trebale, a dok se borim između misli kako sam "oh takva feministkinja koja se ne bi trebala sramiti svog tijela kakvo god da je" i pretpostavke da je uklanjanje dlaka sastavni dio dnevne beauty rutine, pitam se gdje leži korijen našeg gnušanja kao društva prema dlakama na ženskom tijelu.

Iako smo dlake uklanjanje i mrzile oduvijek, hajka protiv istih svoj je vrhunac počela dosezati u Americi 20-ih. Promjene u odijevanju dovele su do toga da noge, a onda i pazusi postanu vidljivima, i kao takvi, jedni od ključnih elemenata ženske ljepote. Idealna je noga, kao i pazuh, naravno bila ona bez dlaka. Časopis namijenjen obiteljskom zdravlju Hygeia je u 30-ima pisao o uklanjanju dlaka kao novoj društvenoj konvenciji, a onda su se medicinskim krugovima pridružili i oni modni te časopisi poput Harpers Bazaara koji je promovirao nedlakavost kao jednu od glavnih ženskih obilježja. U 90-ima je rat objavljen i dlakavim mufovima.

I premda sama preferiram nedlakave mufove čisto jer su er... praktičniji za konzumaciju, ideja brazilske depilacije ide korak dalje od uklanja suvišnih dlaka (ukoliko dlake uopće jesu suvišne) i oštro koketira s eroticizmom mainstream porno glumica koje definiraju standard poželjnog. A kako pak po nekim drugim standardima žena mora biti nježna i ranjiva, ista takva joj mora biti i pica. Premda, nije li malčice morbidno da se muškarci lože na vagine koje podsjećaju na one djevojčica u vrtićkoj dobi?

A kad govorimo tome što muškarci vole i na što se pale, možemo li reći da recimo Marko uopće voli žene, ako ih voli jedino kad su obrijane do kože. Po toj logici Marko zapravo ne voli žene, odnosno on zapravo nije heteroseksualan jer voli samo žene koje su promijenjene na određen način, koje nakon određene radnje prestaju biti muškarci i postaju žene. To zapravo zavrjeđuje kategoriju za sebe. To je kao da ste kao muškarac orijentirani samo na žene koje su prije operacije spola bile muškarci. Možemo li to onda nazvati bivanjem straight, gay ili bi? Ili je to samo bolestan fetiš?

S druge strane, muškarac je uvijek muškarac bez obzira brije li se ili ne. Dok, žena više nije "prava" žena ako dopusti da joj rastu dlake.

Ostatak pročitaj ovdje

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Why do you make us feel ashamed because of our body hair?

While today we think that removal of body hair is a matter of conscious choice, do we forget that it is actually a norm wich was slowly and carefully imposed?

More than the idea that my ovaries are not working properly, I am terrified by the fact that their irregular work causes excessive hairiness. And even though I watch on Frida Kahlo's unibrow and her charming mustaches with almost romantic glorification, thought that hair would adorn my body disgusts me even more than Von Trier's chauvinistic films.

Revulsion is mixed with shame when I feel my body hair pop out where they should not, and while I fight between thoughts like "oh I am such a feminist who should not be ashamed of her body no matter what" and the assumption that removal of body hair is integral part of daily beauty routine, I wonder where lies the root of our disgust as a society towards the hair on a woman's body.

Although we have always removed and hated body hair, campaign against it reached the peak in America in the 20s. Changes in how we dress have led to leg, and then the armpit being more visible, and as such, one of the key elements of female beauty. Perfect leg and an armpit, of course had to be hairless. Magazine for family health Hygeia wrote in the 30s about hair removal as a new social convention, and then medical community was followed by fashion community and magazines such as Harpers Bazaar, which promoted hairless ideal as one of the main female characteristics. In the 90s war was declared to hairy muffs too.

And although I myself prefer hairless muffs purely because they are well ...more convenient for consumption, the idea of Brazilian waxing goes a step further from removing excessive body hair (if there is such a thing as excessive body hair) and sharply flirts with the eroticism of mainstream porn actresses who define the standard of desired. And since by some other standards, women must be gentle and vulnerable, their cunts must look the same. Although, isn't it a bit morbid that men love vaginas which remind them of the vaginas which belong to the girls in the kindergarten age?

And when we talk about what men love, can we say that let's say Mark loves women in general, if he loves them only when they are shaved to the skin. By that logic Mark does not like women, or he is not really a heterosexual because he only likes women who are altered in a certain way, who after certain actions transfer from a man to a woman. It really deserves a category for itself, don't you think? It is as if you are a man oriented to women who were men before sex surgery. Can we call it straight, gay or bi then? Or is it just a sick fetish?

On the other hand, a man is always a man regardless does he shave or not. While, woman is no longer a "real" women, if she allows her body hair to grow.

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