Despite knowing NOTHING about the British folk-music scene and its many performers and personalities, to whom references are made in the serious, "on-topic" contributions to this discussions, I keep checking back here to follow the ongoing psychodrama centered around Countess Richard.

First off, I've never quite understood the gender-ambiguity built into a pseudonym that seemingly combines a woman's title with a man's first name. Is this deliberate? Of course, "Richard" could be a last name, but it does not seem to be this person's actual surname. (perhaps it is, and I'm wrong.) If it is a surname, actual or fictional, I'd like to know whether it is pronounced in the usual English mannner or (as is so often the case here in Louisiana) as the French "Ree-SHARD."

I have noted that a few respondants have objected to the Countess' "bad language," but that is one of the few among her traits that I actually kind of like. A little vulgarity never bothers me in the least. However, I do find it very curious that she never hesitates to type the word "fuck," but seems to have an aversion to ever spelling out the much-more-innocuous "folk," consistently typing in an asterisk, thus: "f*lk." What the hell is up with that????

This young woman seems to have very deep-seated psycholgical problems with the opposite sex, but my guess is that her sexual orientation is not really the issue; I don't think that any self-respecting lesbian would ever come out with some of the stuff she writes.

I know that one can't generalize about a human being based on internet text alone, but I strongly suspect that she's probably hetero in orientation and in (perhaps limited) practice, but that she can't maintain an onoging relationship with a male partner beyond the one-night-stand stage, and that her long-term friendships with male individuals are exclusively with gay men who provide "girlfriend"-type support and affection. Here in the US, if not elsewhere, there's an unfortunate, politically-very-incorrect term for this personalilty type: "fag hag."