Here's my $.02 worth to Meg's original posting:
Race - I completely agree with you. I don't like people who discriminate according to race. It's their perogative to do so, I just choose not to associate with them whenever possible.
Sex Card - I gotta disagree with you on this one. You say "Men are king in the hobby" - and you are absolutely correct. Why? Because men are the customers, and the hobby is a business. The old adage "the customer is king" is virtually universal in any industry where there is competition for the customer's money. It's not personal, it's not sexist, its just an economic fact. Do some guys WK each other? You bet. Do the ladies do the same? You bet. Again, that's not sexist, its gender sticking with gender. And I am sure that the ladies tend to blackball the men as well. To what extent either buyer or seller blackballs the other, well, I for one don't have any definitive info on who does it more. But its much like any other rating service, where people are discouraged from buying from low-rated sellers. In this instance we are talking about people, so while it seems harsh and impersonal, its also a business. And businesses typically are harsh and impersonal in order to survive.
Weight - Let's call a spade a spade, and a fat person a fat person. We've invented all kinds of terms to make being fat more palatable and politically correct. Fat crosses all gender and socioeconomic lines. Fat is just fat. For some its a medical condition, but for most its far more simpler. They eat far more than they consume and those calories gotta go somewhere. Society is not as kind to fat women as it is to fat men. Why? Because women are judged by different standards. A beautiful woman is blessed with the benefits her beauty gives her, while a woman who is not beautiful does not have those benefits. Not to say that she cannot excel, but she doesn't have one of the core values society applies to females. Think of the billions and billions of dollars spent on beauty - clothes, makeup, surgery, etc. Beauty is power to women. And our society's rules say that fat women aren't as "beautiful" as a height-weight proportionate gal. I'm sure if you asked most guys, they would tell you they find gals who have curves more beautiful than some of the anorexic models who strut down the runways. Beauty's standards are a moving target, but for now they seem to say height-weight proportionate, young looking, with large breasts and a narrow waist. But definitely not fat, nor obese. And while some peoples tastes run towards this, it would seem to me that most of the ladies in the business tend to run towards the standard of beauty as it stands today. It's just how things are.