Blog Archives
More Suicide in “Values Voters” States
Your values are killing us
Values voter.
That’s what you’re called if you vote your principles on gay rights and reproductive rights.
So long as you vote anti-gay and anti-choice, anyway.
Really?
Are those the only values? And are they good ones? Read the rest of this entry
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Women Want Casual Sex? Yes and No
Women want casual sex as much as men, says one study. No they don’t, says another.
Which is it?
Maybe you’ve heard of this project: strangers approach students on college campuses and propose a one night stand or a short-term fling. Women almost always decline, but a lot of men accept.
Standard conclusion: evidence supports evolutionary psychology which claims women are picky, wanting faithful men with good genes, who will provide for their children. Men, on the other hand, will have sex with as many women as possible to better “spread their seed.”
But wait. Another study found that women were as likely to accept casual offers as men. So long as the possible partners were Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp. Read the rest of this entry
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Lose Weight, Stop Dieting
That’s what Kjerstin Gruys, a UCLA sociology grad student, wondered.
The question haunts me. I’m a feminist, a recovered anorexic and, yes, I’m on a diet.
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You’ll Kill A Girl Over A Game?
About half of gamers identify as female
Women and girls who make and play video games have long been harassed — especially if they are good at it — and most especially if they criticize misogyny within it.
Some have been threatened with rape and murder (see GamerGate). A few have fled their homes.
Really? You’re going to rape and murder someone over a game, or her reaction to it? Read the rest of this entry
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Frat-Boy Rapists Are Okay?
University of Virginia protesters
Why do we blame victims of brutal violence and shield — or even reward — their attackers?
Maybe you’ve heard about 18-year-old Jackie who met “Drew” when they worked as lifeguards at a University of Virginia swimming pool. Drew invited Jackie to dinner and a “date function” at his upper tier fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi.
Jackie was excited, and spent hours getting ready for the date. At the frat party she sipped some spiked punch and discreetly poured the rest onto the sticky floor. And then Drew suggested they go upstairs, “Where it’s quieter.” Read the rest of this entry
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Why Dating Resists Gender Equality
How to ask a girl out
Gender equality has grown by leaps and bounds. We now have women CEOs, heads of state, religious leaders, media pros, doctors, lawyers and accountants…
But dating — at least the early stages — has remained resistant.
In the early stages of relationship, most men take the lead and most women passively wait. Read the rest of this entry
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Variety Is The Spice Of Life
Variety is the spice of life
“Find fits for every body type,” the ad says.
Hmmm, I see tall and skinny in the first frame. Tall and skinny in the second frame. Tall and skinny in the third frame. And tall and skinny in the last frame. Read the rest of this entry
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How to Deal with Repression
Repression is not what you might think it is. I recently wrote:
A lot of us think it’s about working to suppress sexual desire. And while the early stages can be at least partly conscious, after a while you’re not actively blocking anything. You’ve simply lost sexual feelings and energy. Plus, plenty of punishing messages targeted at women’s desire get internalized. And sex is too often used as a weapon. Read the rest of this entry
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Defacing Pro-Woman Messages
Defaced image that supports women
Why would someone feel so threatened by a poster asking to respect women and treat them with basic human dignity that they try to tear it down and write degrading comments on it?
That’s what one of my friends’ daughters wondered.
Amber had been walking downtown with her two kids when they saw this poster from a distance, proclaiming: Read the rest of this entry
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The Little Mermaid says, “You’ve come a long way, baby”
Disney’s Little Mermaid will celebrate her 25th birthday in a few days.
Ariel was the first Disney Princess to be touched by feminism. And she is plenty different from her predecessors — good girls who never rocked the boat, and who all needed saving by their Prince Charmings.
In Ariel we find a young woman with a strong sense of self who seeks independence and empowerment.
But she reflects the early tensions of our feminist beginnings. Read the rest of this entry
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