stillness is a lie, my dear
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Few things irk me more than seeing a man receive accolades for saying or doing something that women have been saying and doing for years. Which basically means that I am irked all the time, because this happens continually — even in ‘progressive’ circles that should know better — and I’m thus endlessly frustrated. It’s […]
If you peruse my Instagram, you’ll find an assortment of images. Food, cats, random things I see in travels. And pictures of myself, mostly taken by myself. (I am a greedy and jealous person who rarely forks my phone over to people.) People have been taking pictures of themselves, in one form or another, for […]
I’m a huge fan of Cleveland Amory, who wrote trenchant, sharp, really funny commentary on society, as well as animal rights. He led a fascinating life and I love that he founded and played an active role in an animal rights organisation while also being an important part of society and culture. He was a […]
Impostor syndrome: The feeling that you’re no really qualified for something, that you are pretending, that you will, at any moment, be caught out by someone who actually knows what she is doing. The constant nagging fear of humiliation as people realise that you were faking it all along, and that you’re really just a […]
Want to succeed in your career? Network: It’s what everyone tells you to do. Establish connections everywhere you go, make yourself memorable, and treat every interaction as a possible business contact. Work hard to develop and maintain your contacts, take advantage of contacts when they’re offered, and pass them along when it’s feasible to do […]
Criticism, contrary to what many people seem to believe, is an art. It’s not something that people do because they fail at doing something (in fact, some of the most famous critics are also experts in the body of work being discussed as active participants in it — well-regarded authors, for example, routinely review books). […]