OkCupid is Free Online Dating.

UPDATE: I just got out of the hospital and am still recovering from perforated appendicitis, so please be patient with my slow replies. I don't know how often I'll be able to get online during my recovery period, but I thought I'd put in this little note as assurance that I'm not too much of a jerk.

I'm looking for FRIENDS right now. Not a relationship, and certainly NOT SEX. If you think you might be embarrassed to be seen with a vegan who doesn't shave and dresses "unusually"... well, here's your hat.

Can I talk about nice things now?

Corny as it sounds, the most important thing in my life is making a difference (in the positive sense, mind you). If that's you, drop me a line! I need someone intelligent off which to mutually bounce ideas. I'm an androgynous-identifying animal rights & gender equality activist, among other things. I do not drive a car, consume commercially-raised animal products, or "go shopping." I hate mainstream pornography and the prevailing double-standard. Like most biological females, I have gone through a great deal of angst over my appearance (oh, I'm FAT, she cries), but after a lot of un-learning what our culture tells us, I am now probably more comfortable with my body than anyone you're likely to meet.

My simple pleasures include being in nature, dumpster-diving, museums, free-form dancing, and music & literature of all kinds. I am also, I admit, the artsy-fartsy type. I'm into drawing, painting, sculpting, writing, photography, using whatever media that finds itself in my hands.

I'm Thoreau's definition of a philosopher.

I love volunteering, particularly with animal shelters, domestic abuse centers, and environmental groups. I'm constantly on the lookout for people who will help me make a difference.

It's looking like I may be doing the husswife thing for a while (again). Although my feminist sensibilities urge me away from the traditional "women's work," a stay-at-home artist and caretaker would appeal to me even if my clitoris were several hundred times its size (if I were biologically male, for those of you who didn't catch that). The only problem with rebelling against gender roles is that sometimes we shy away from our natural affinities. That said, give me a genderless society any day.

Hopefully I'll also have more time for activism, but life is unpredictable.

dancing. It may look terrible (I wouldn't know), but I say I'm really good at it because it feels so damn good. I also flatter myself to think that I'm a talented lover.

(sigh) And no, the fact that I like sex does not imply promiscuity on my part. (Promiscuity is a relatively meaningless concept anyhow, in my opinion.)

The first thing people notice about me, unfortunately, is probably my clothing. I don't buy new clothes because I refuse to support the sweatshop labor and pollution caused by its manufacture and transport. I also reject the concept of "fashion." Resultingly my appearance may not be what most people are used to. Secondly, the individual will likely notice that I am barefoot, as is usually the case. There's no moral reasoning behind this; I just don't like shoes.

If one gets to the point of speaking to me, it may be noted that I use gender-neutral pronouns. Race, class, religion, sexual orientation, and the like are not expressed in something as impersonal as a pronoun; why should gender be? While I think "he" and "she" have some validity in our language for certain circumstances, the unquestioned dichotomy does a great disservice especially to intersexuals and androgynes. There are several proposed sets of gender-neutral pronouns, but the following is the most widely recognized. A quick lesson:
xe (pronounced "zee") = she/he
xir (pronounced "zur") = her/him
xirs (pronounced "zurz") = hers/his

fleeting grasps of reality & the otherworldly, books, dance, dreams (the sleeping kind), undeveloped nature, sex/masturbation, comic relief

Damn, I forgot to mention physical affection (under which category sex may fall, but I don't really use masturbation to express affection to myself). I adore touching and being in close proximity with those I love, whether platonic or not. I cannot and will not give this up for any relationship. If you'd get jealous because I pet my friends' hair, we can already assume that your insecurities would be too much for me to handle.

the state of the world, and what I can do to improve it.

Also, why people who seem fairly disinterested in me keep contacting me. I seek friends from all walks of life, but if you treat some people differently based on race, class, appearance, biological sex, gender identification, sexual orientation, et cetera, then we're unlikely to get along. And if you make no effort to improve yourself as a human being, I might find your company a bit irksome. Does this make me overly judgmental? Probably. But at least I'm trying to improve!

engrossed in research. Lame.

(Possibly wishing that I had someone to chase fireflies with me)

I have never seen "The Godfather," and this doesn't upset me.

Oh, and I'm a nudist. Please don't call the cops on me. There is too much censorship when it comes to the natural beauty of the human body. (That said, I dislike the gratuitous nudity of idealized models that screams at us from every corner of our culture. I find such unrealistic standards to be very harmful.)

#1: you are looking for a friend rather than a fuck-buddy. I'm not the save-it-for-marriage type, but at this point in my life I'm taking it slow.
#2: you do ANY of the following:
- transcend the status quo
- are into gender-blending (the term gender-bending implies that one can only work within that gender)
- eat a vegetarian or vegan diet (or mostly so) for moral reasons
- are an environmentalist
- don't cat-call
- don't smile when someone cat-calls you
- get frustrated with the trivial things that others find important
- enjoy people-watching
- fix old items instead of buying new ones
- still find yourself fascinated by the things you were as a child
- believe in human overpopulation
- don't view mainstream pornography and have the guts to say why
- are an activist of any kind
- read this entire list without rolling your eyes

Also, it'd be cool if you didn't blow cigarette smoke in my face, since I'm allergic to it. Regardless of how awesome you are, if you can't go without a cig for the time it takes to have a social interaction, you'd better bring a medical professional along with you.