stillness is a lie, my dear
In January of this year, an explosive report hit the deck: Elephant in the Valley, an evaluation of gendered problems in the technology industry, drawing upon the input of women in tech to develop a better idea of their experiences in the workplace. We know of high profile cases of harassment and their results, and we […]
Every few months, I’m reading a trend piece about something wacky those silly ladies are doing. Did you know that ladies take selfies, and it’s evidence of how vain and self-involved they are? Or that ‘Instagram husbands‘ scuttle about doing the bidding of their wives, whipped by their spouses into enabling their glamorous social media […]
Recently, a fairly large and well-known media outlet posted a lengthy piece of journalism on women and chronic pain. It was incredibly well-received, sparking discussion across the internet from a wide variety of people, and it was heavily circulated. At last, a piece really probing into the problem of women and chronic pain, and exposing the epidemic […]
As Quantico started its slow rise into the US consciousness — an interesting take on the traditional procedural, presented in an intriguing way — I started reading a great deal of commentary about the show, and I particularly enjoyed Anu Bhagwati writing at the New Republic about Priyanka Chopra’s role on the show. Bhagwati noted that Chopra is a […]
Language is an incredible and amazing tool. It can also readily become a weapon, as evidenced by the way slurs are used in a calculated fashion to lash out and harm people. Those who engage with, discuss, and explore language do so from a huge variety of perspectives, but it has particular implications in social […]
Earlier this year, Clemson University student Mackenzie Pearson wrote the commentary that launched a thousand thinkpieces: A meditation on the ‘dad bod,’ which is apparently ‘a nice balance between a beer gut and working out.’ She suggested that women find such men attractive for a variety of reasons, including the more casual approach to their […]
100 million adults in the United States have chronic pain conditions. Women are overrepresented in their number. Women of colour, even more so. There’s a tangled thread of circumstances that creates these imbalances, and it loops around to another problem: Intersectional oppression in the treatment of chronic pain, both medically and socially. Deep-seated social attitudes about […]
Joss Whedon temporarily set the internet aflutter yet again this year with commentary on sexism in Hollywood, as though he’s the ultimate authority on such subjects. First he called the industry “intractibly sexist” and then he took back his words in another interview, claiming that the industry had improved since the original commentary. Fair enough […]
I am always innately suspicious of any argument rooted in personal attacks, particularly one that starts there and never seems to go anywhere else. In general, I’m not a fan of focusing on the external traits of people or the way they behave, unless it’s relevant to a discussion; thus, I don’t think it’s reasonable […]
Taylor Swift appears to be a controversial figure on many axes; in terms of her music, her feminism, her very person. I think my Taylor Swift Position, were I forced to adopt one, is neutral; I like some of her music, I think she’s probably a perfectly nice person, and she’s made some very interesting […]