Interesting posts, weekend of 2/6/10

02/06/2010 at 8:48 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: blogging, Feminism, news

Dear internet, what a week – I got called in for jury duty service for the first time, but was not selected to serve on any cases. I missed about a week’s worth of work! Mostly I just sat around and read on the Kindle (almost done with Sex is not a Natural Act, but it’ll be awhile longer for me to finish writing about it… hey are you all enjoying that? Is that going over well for you?) or I messed around on my mobile device. Most of the seating was uncomfortable

Friendly reminder: I am looking for Guest Posters. I want to hear more perspectives on the themes dealt with here at Feminists with Female Sexual Dysfunction. Because I am dealing with such a sensitive topic, I don’t think I can actively recruit new posters, since if I went onto someone else’s blog and said something like, “Hey u wanna write a post about your sexual health and/or feminism on a public forum?!” that would probably be very invasive. For this reason, Guest Posters requesting to remain anonymous will also be taken seriously.
At this time, criteria for inclusion is, “If you think you would fit in here, you probably would.” This may be subject to change but for now we’ll try that & see how it goes.
In an attempt to preemptively fight spam and rude comments, this blog’s email is private. Please leave a comment on this post if you want to write something. I’ll screen comments so you can remain anonymous if you want. That way I’ll have your email and we can collaborate.
Have something you’ve been working on? Send it my way.
Comments made by new e-mail addresses here are auto-screened before going live, so if you want to stay anon use an e-mail address that you haven’t used here before.

Now then, on with the weekly blog link roundup. Posts I found interesting for one reason or another over the last week. Share links if’n you got’em.

On Henrietta Lacks: The Legacy of One Woman’s Cervical Cancer Cells – Henrietta Lacks is not a well recognized name, yet through her there have been contributions to medicine. She died of cervical cancer, and before her death, some of her cancer cells were harvested (in secret, even to her – not cool) and they’ve been growing ever since. Her cells, better known as HeLa cells, are used for research. Be sure to click the link in the comments there to see a book review about her life.

The Feministing Five: Audacia Ray – an interview with Audacia Ray of Waking Vixen.

The Thirteenth Carnival of Feminists – it’s a big feminism multi-themed bloglink roundup.

Partner a Sexual Disappointment? Try Forgiveness – A refreshing change from the usual “DTMFA” sentiment I all too often run into when advice columnists talk about problems in the bedroom.

SHE Brings Home the Bacon. HE Fries It Up In a Pan – the obligatory weekly Dodson & Ross blog nitpick. What’s problematic with this one? Can you spot it? I’ll give you a hint: Sex difference essentialism! Biology = destiny! Something which is also used against women… Yes social interactions & skills are due to sex hormones; it, it couldn’t have anything to do with differences in the way men and women are raised and those who do not conform to those two categories are overlooked. Oh wait yes it could. There’s been a couple of other doozies from the D&R blog in the last 2 weeks but I don’t even want to touch them with a 10-foot pole right now…

No cops, no parks, halted economic activity: conservative paradise – a sad vingette of the local government in one Colorado community – home to Focus on the Family and others.

Julie Bindel’s dangerous transphobia – Congratulations to C.L. Minou for making it into the Guardian, I just wish it had been under happier circumstances. And those circumstances were – responding to a post about Julie Bindel, whose transphobic views have made life harder and more dangerous in very real ways for trans people.

theory, kink, and feminism – addressing the rift between theory & practice, ideas & reality. Which is relevant to my interests right now since I’m reading that Tiefer book, which is heavy on theory and… not matching the practice I live with daily.

CBS collaborated with Focus on the Family on anti-choice Superbowl ad – Tomorrow is the SuperBowl in the US so the hotly contested ad in question – an ad put together by Focus on the Family – will finally air. Well as it turns out, CBS worked with Focus on the Family to get the ad on tv. What! Gee, do they do that for everyone? They didn’t do it for ManCrunch.
Speaking of the SuperBowl, two athletes have spoken up for women’s rights. Sean James and Al Joyner on the anti-choice Super Bowl ad – wow these guys are pretty cool. Too bad CBS wouldn’t air this video.

Successful abstinence-only education? – You may have heard that a study found that an abstinence message was effective in raising the age of first sexual activity with which students who heard it. There are some other things to consider about this situation, such as the way the message went through. Under the Bush administration, this program, which was more positive than most abstinence-only sex ed, would not have been allowed to exist.

The Worst Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Ever – via Feministe – [Potentially Triggering] Amanda Hess picks apart victim-blaming sexual assault prevention tips the likes of which my high school administrators spewed out to myself and my fellow students.

Lil Wayne and the Problem of Confusing Sexual Assault Victims With Male Sexual Role Models – [Trigger warning] Figleaf on Lil Wayne publicly speaking about having been sexually assaulted as a child – and having to clarify, publicy, that it wasn’t a positive experience.

How sex work made me realize my white privilege. – Sex work taught Jane Brazen a lot about racism & privilage and how it effects sex workers in particular.

Two New Studies Find Benefit Rather Than Harm in Porn – Ernest Greene on studies that showed benefit rather than harm derived from watching hardcore pornography.

Rhiannon O’Donnabhain vs. U.S. Internal Revenue – A transexual woman had to defend medical deductions related to her transitioning. What the…. how was that not deductible??? How does an IRS agent not recognize that that is a clearly deductible expense?! Whyyy would you make someone defend that? I mean obviously whoever prepared her tax return recognized it as deductible! Okay maybe she prepared it herself but still! Meanwhile schedule D deductions & taking losses from years ago forward and and… tax law! Tax season!

The Feminist Fault Line – this is a long post which is why it took me like 2 weeks to finish reading it all – FW is touches on a bunch of topics including politics, sex work, sexuality, and feminism, and it all interrelates. Powerful figures & groups, particularly conservatives, hijack sexuality & feminism & politics to their own means, resulting in more restrictions.

I’m sure there’s more…