Why are so many same-sex attracted women accountants?

I recently attended a gathering of same-sex attracted girls and women in Sydney and was surprised to learn that, out of the nine or ten of us in the group, one was an accountant and another was contemplating a career in this line of work. It took me back to my reacquaintance with my old girlfriend, who had given up working as a counselor and is now 'analysing futures' and who now has an accountant girlfriend. It also reminded me of how even in Paris, the lesbians we chatted up in a gay bar were accountants.
Perhaps it's not surprising that women, who are usually paid less than men, and no longer want to be dependent on anybody, let alone families who are selectively approving of their sexual orientations, are looking to one of the most stable of jobs out there.
I'm just hope that this traditionally not so entertaining job doesn't interfere with the girls' creative development...
Or is there something appealing about the straight-forwardness of accountancy that same-sex attracted women are drawn to? Since I've never wanted to become one, I have no idea... thoughts?

Improbably An Insider Of Sorts

Whenever I am enveloped by the European continent, I am instantly soothed and irritated. (Come to think of it, I feel like that in every continent.) In the city of Toronto, Canada, half the people are foreign-born. In Sydney it's more like 3/10. In New York City it's just over 1/3. In most European capitals, however, it's less than 1/10. The most international parts of Europe I have been to are London (the exception to the rule with 2/5), Barcelona (13%) and Stockholm (37.5% immigrants and non-Swedish born, according to Wikipedia)... everywhere else has smaller amounts of immigrants and a high percentage of people who openly display attitudes which people in Australia, Canada and USA would deem racist.

I've been reading a portion of V. S. Naipaul's work, The Writer and The World, in which he describes suddenly finding himself in an environment in which his race/ethnicity (or appearance of such) is seen as unremarkable, comfortable and familiar by the majority, who also share numerous of his physical attributes. It reminds me of other experiences I've read - Zadie Smith commenting on how it feels to be suddenly in a majority-black environment after being used to being a Black British girl in England, or an acquaintance of mine in Sydney, Matthew, recounting how it feels to no longer be typecast by a resentful white majority in Australia, in returning to his city of birth, Shanghai.

When I go back to Europe, I am something different to everyone. To immigrants I am a friendly face and an open mind. People stop by to chat (the Lebanese girl who opened up to me whilst waiting for the train in Berlin), complain (the Pakistani convenience shop owner in Copenhagen) or indulge their desire for infatuation (the Senegalese construction worker in Stockholm), and we bond over our appreciation of Europe yet our sense of being an outsider. (I would never want to be of like mind as the xenophobic, racist or homophobic contingents. In that sense, I prefer to be an outsider, especially to those who would see me as such.) I recognise the well-travelled, open-minded, kind-hearted individuals immediately through the way they look upon everyone else. Fluidity in accommodating new concepts, a gentleness in the eyes, elastic defenses. I do not long for identification with a national psyche - I am interested in the transnational individual. The appraisal of different races, a diversity of paradigms, and a multiplicity of ways of enjoying life.

Perhaps the sense of inclusion I do feel is not racial but cultural. Whether in Sydney, Stanford, Santorini or Stockholm, I am still Slav. My race is displaced in each of those locales. Sofia, where I can pass for Bulgarian before I open my mouth, is somewhere I would never consider living permanently, as nightmarish as Siem Reap (they're of a similar level of Epiphanie-unfriendliness). However the proximity of Barcelona or Berlin to Eastern Europe mean that my race elicits a kind of distant friendliness - a recognition of a neighbour, a merry cohabitant of the multitude of frameworks that is Europe.

Conservative, backward Europe would embrace me, but I choose to run away. I am an asset over there, dramatically facilitating a dialogue between the most open parts of people and their fearful shadow/double. I vaguely fathom the context for their xenophobia, and humbly remember how predisposed I was to follow in their footsteps had not my parents decided to see 'how the West lives'. In Europe, my suppressed Australian-cum-American identity demands expression, just like in Australia I'm always seeking to escape the limitations placed upon me.

And yet, for the most part, I feel more comfortable in Europe, and always will.

On Same-Sex Marriage (The New Equal)

I don't live in The Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Canada, Argentina or South Africa. I don't even live in California (anymore). So I can't imagine what it's like to live in a nation where same-sex marriage is an everyday fact of life. Ten years ago, when I was facing the outside world in Sydney and believing that I had made the best out of an opportunity-laden situation, it never occurred to me that I was discriminated against by the marriage laws of the time. I couldn't even imagine gay marriage being represented as a civil right. I knew that women were still fighting for full equality, but I thought gay people had somehow managed to have it all.

Fast forward ten years, and I'm sick with longing for what I've never had: the opportunity to discard the possibility of marriage with either a man OR a Woman. I consider it my right to vigorously ignore this inalienable right I (should) have to take my relationships all the way to 'the piece of paper'.

I am very passionate about equality and fairness, and I rest in the knowledge that the majority of Australian citizens (60% last time it was counted) support my (and their) freedom of either-sex marriage. As Diane J. Savino notes in her Ted.com speech on the subject, long-term loving relationships that two men or two women have are useful to hetero couples as examples they can learn from. Alternatively, Judge Walker's comments on the institution of marriage make me think that many gay couples would receive a significant self-esteem boost if the government allowed them to achieve marriage status equal to that of their heterosexual peers, friends and relatives. And when more of our citizens are happy, the happier we will all be.

However we create healthy, supportive romantic relationships, we need all the help we can get on maintaining them in maximum condition. Have you had a conversation with ppl close to you who don't support marriage equality recently? The world is collectively changing its mind on this issue at lightning speed, so don't give up hope that those close to you will become more accepting someday (soon).

Creative Constructs

On the plane from Seoul to Sydney, I found myself listening to Adam Lambert's For Your Entertainment CD for the first time. I didn't expect to enjoy it very much, but I discovered a track or two I really loved: Sleepwalker, Aftermath and Broken Open.

I'm now back to Lady GaGa, my lovely, problematic muse.

More later, chatting to a friend :o)

Veering Out Of Careening

So I started taking antibiotics for whatever ailments the symptoms of a chesty, phlegmy cough, running nose and a decreased ability to concentrate represent, and things are clearing up... now if only the nosebleeds would disappear altogether. Perhaps this is the worldøs revenge for taking time out of a dream escape to take a dream holiday... all the same, I wish it had been a little been more perfect.

And yet perfect it is... The Danes have the condition of being both progressive and pretty, direct and good-humoured. The charm of being prominent yet small, tangential yet central, historic yet contemporary.

I have promptly fallen in love with the place, and donøt intend to forget this fact. Tall poppy syndrome is supplemented by national pride to rival that of Australiaøs, proximity to other nations, the ability to speak at least two languages.

Near-pure air, neat and cute arrangements of nature and architecture...

Robyn was a revelation... I witnessed a woman with a strong and resilient sense of self... especially when she sang while making eye contact with me. I was determined to get her to do just that, and succeeded. Pitch-perfect, soulful, funky, inspired. A revolution.

I Feel Like Rob Thomas...

...when he sings 'and it's good / that I'm not / angry!" The lyrics were belied by a sense of struggle to keep up the facade, and he later admitted that he called his first single off his solo album 'Lonely No More' because he wanted to break out of the image he had created of himself as angry & lonely.

I will admit it - I am angry.

I am angry at the oppression of women, races (all races, through racism and xenophobia) and non-heterosexual-identifying people.

While I have never seriously physically threatened by my identification as bisexual (for convenience), I have been discriminated against - many times.

Then again, if you focus on anger, it intensifies. Rob Thomas knew the benefits of abstaining from it: "I'm not angry / and it's never been enough / It gets inside / and tears you up."

What I want is to stop feeling like I have to control myself so that my sexual orientation is seen as politically expedient. I like to flirt as a way of being nice - it helps smooth my journey, as I see it. It's harmless, it's usually soulless, and it rarely amounts to anything. I guess I should avoid flirting with people with ugly souls. But I am not sexless. I am proud of the subtle but outgoing nature of my sexuality. And many people love me for being me.

In a few weeks' time I will meet someone who knows that I used to be attracted to him. I'm trying to focus on the fact that he sees many positives in me. There is nothing typical about our connection, and like every good friendship, it has had its ups and downs.

One thing I want to do in Scandinavia is investigate how comfortable GLBTI people feel in being themselves. Can you be both comfortable and 'out of the box'? What's different about our Scandinavian sweethearts? I suspect things aren't that different, so it's all about the degree of liberation, intensity of nonconformity.

Of course, I'm afraid of getting burnt. CouchSurfing beckons nevertheless...

Anglo-English Cultural Dominance

The English language has the highest number of words, and is widely considered to be the 'richest' one currently in circulation. I feel like, having done my education in English, and engaging with English every day, it's my responsibility to learn another language and immerse itself in the cultures it opens up to me. It would appear that a great place to learn some Spanish is Argentina, which looks outward to Spain and the rest of Europe. I am told Buenos Aires has a high concentration of bookshops, although I believe I would be more comfortable in the nearby city of Rosario. It's apparently a miniature version of BA, with a smaller but still lively cultural and arts scene. I know I'd like to spend some time there, but finding the money to move to Argentina for a while is very difficult, especially when Asia beckons like a hazy dream immediately over the ocean, a much lower price-tag away.

I barely knew anything about Spanish history until my trip to Barcelona ignited a new and unexpected interest in the matter. The pleasures of history are many, when approached the right way. I'd love to immerse myself in the Spanish-speaking word, for an adventure in Argentina is necessarily an introduction to Spain.

I can't go on waiting for the interesting aspects (people) of Latin America start knocking on my door, I'd like to seek them out myself. Europe, Australia, America and even Asia - these places are starting to feel very familiar. I want to walk around in Argentinian sunshine, run my hands over its buildings (where they aren't too dirty), inspect the patterns on the sidewalk. I want to breathe it.

Maybe when I become fluent in the language I can appreciate the richness of another language, the drama, the passion, the poetry. I can create my own version of Spanish which has more layers and possibilities than that of anyone else.