Epics of India

"Jesus certainly broke bread with his hands" -An excuse I will now use at any point I wish to toss aside silverware and propriety and go at food with my hands -In one of her shows, Oprah made a comment about how Indians "still eat with [their] hands"      -For real, Oprah? That's pretty culturally insensitive  -Long before cutlery in Europe there were chopsticks in China      -The oldest ones were dated to 1000 BC and were made of bronze -In the Middle Ages in Europe, food was eaten on stale bread called "trenchers"      -Knives were used to impress rather than out of necessity  -The fork introduced in France by Catherine de Medici      -Also known as the "split spoon"      -Forks became snobby and aristocratic under her -Cutlery associated with imperialism, eating by hand associated with natives -Cold climate = hand coverings = cutlery necessary, warm climate = cutlery not ne...

-The female form is celebrated in Hindu temples -Carvings on the wall explore many aspects of the female body -Female figures are depicted in a wide variety of ways      -This includes both erotic and non-erotic positions and behaviors      -Dancing, stretching, mediating, bearing swords, exposing themselves, fondling their breasts, ect. "Who amongst these women could be a lesbian – a woman who desires another woman erotically and emotionally?" -This quote fascinated me, because I have never really considered homosexual relations might appear in ancient texts -Because many ancient societies were patriarchal, women often get left out of narratives about the past; what other dimensions of female sexuality might there have been?       -And how can  relics from the past reveal this to us, if we look closely enough? 4 Reasons why the question of lesbianism in these depictions of female figures might scare people: -Homophobia -Pur...