Link Farm and Open Thread #6

You know the drill, folks – here’s some of what I’ve been reading lately, in no particular order. Please feel free to comment on these links, or to post your own links (including your own stuff, if you want!), or to just discuss whatever the heck you want to discuss.

It Won’t Be The Same
Lauren of Feministe is calling it quits. Damn, damn, damn, damn. I mean, best wishes to Lauren and all – but, at the same time, damn, damn, damn, damn.

The Seventh Carnival of the Feminists!

Because Nothing Illustrates The Extent of Homophobia Like Maps
Daddy, Papa and Me illustrates the growth of homophobia – and homo-friendliness – since same-sex marriage moved onto the national agenda. Trey also has some predictions for the future. I think this is an excellent post, but we should also remember that the gay-friendly coasts represent a much bigger share of the US population than their modest square miles indicate.

Report: Women and Children in an Insecure World
This report attempts to summarize the harm done to women worldwide by abuse, rape, and war.

Disputed Study Finds Low Rates Of Prison Rape
I’d be delighted if it turns out that prison rape really is rare; but, alas, there’s a good chance that this new study is bullshit.

Boy Brains and Girl Brains
Lindsey comments on the latest “boy brains” article, this time one from The New Republic. The article in question (which is behind a sign-up barrier) claims that teachers have to adapt to teaching to the biologically different brains of boys – but also has a few examples of schools that have been perfectly successful at teaching boys without using different methods for them, or having lower expectations. If boys have biologically different brains, shouldn’t that be the case universally?

You Know What I Love About Barry Windsor Smith?
It’s the way he draws tall grass.

Personhood: Is a Fetus a Person?
Excellent essay outlining the pro-choice position on personhood. I don’t agree with every bit of it, but it’s a good read and a good summary.

Yet Another Depression/Abortion Study
The latest abortion-causes-depression study, this time from New Zealand. I’ve read the study, and it’s better than past studies which have made similar claims; this one deserves to be taken seriously (although it’s been criticized). Nonetheless – and as the authors admit – the study doesn’t make the comparison that matters most, between mental illness among women with unwanted pregnancies who gave birth, and mental illness among women with unwanted pregnancies who had abortions.

Abortion Doesn’t Cause Depression, Stigma Causes Depression
[Curtsy: I Wish I Was Ern Malley.]

Or Maybe It’s Children That Cause Depression
[Curtsy: Whinging in New Zealand.]

The Religious Right Is More Opposed To Freedom Than The Religious Left
Well, that’s what I think, anyhow. I’ve been debating the question with some folks in the comments of Cathy Young’s blog.

Lies, Coercion, and Disrespect: Crisis Pregnancy Centers At Work
Jill at Feministe critiques the Crisis Pregnancy Center movement. Check out Stone Court, too: God Wants You To Lie.

Bashing Feminists
Elizabeth Anderson catches the New York Times spreading the “Mackinnon says all sex is rape” slander.

Here’s a measure of how much a group is despised: how much malicious absurdity can one ascribe to its members and still be taken as a credible source on what they say and do? With respect to feminists, the answer is quite a lot.

Elizabeth Anderson is one of my favorite feminists in the blogosphere. Check out her concise and lethal critique of Christina Hoff Sommers’ boy-crisis anti-feminism, and also her discussion of feminist epistemology and its critics. And her defense of the Kelo decision, while not feminism-related, is excellent.

More on Child Support
Excellent post by Amanda at Pandagon, partly bouncing off recent posts here at “Alas.”

Anyway, the other thing I find fascinating about this myth that women trap men with sex and babies is it’s such a reversal of reality”“in the real world, the people whose options are more likely to be severely limited by childbearing are women than men.

Read the comments, too – it’s good to be reminded that some divorced dads remain decent guys.

Mothers Don’t Get To Assume That Parenthood Is Just Writing Checks

…Men and women are operating from very different sets of assumptions. The women are assuming that if they choose to have a child they will be an active caregiver, that the child will be with them, and that they will have to at least try to provide the many kinds of support that every child needs in order to thrive. They are also facing the hard fact that they may have to provide some or all of these things themselves, all on their own.

The men are acknowledging that they may have little or no control over whether an unplanned child is born. From there, they appear to assume that they won’t be around for any actual child-rearing, or even for a relationship with the child. The men are laying claim to the privilege of continuing their regular life, writing a check once a month and being done with it.

Tom DeLay Denies All Charges (As Told by Dr. Suess)
Scroll down to the January 16th entry to read it. It’s great, trust me.

Life In Prison For a Pound and a Half of Pot

Caitlin Flanagan Reviews The Rainbow Party

In addition to the predictable, outraged criticism that this vile book has received, there is a question of veracity: as many readers have noted, wouldn’t the different colors of lipstick smear together, destroying the desired rainbow effect? Not once, however, has another question been posed: How many boys could successfully receive seven blowjobs in an hour? Surely even the adolescent male at the peak of his sexual prime needs at least a few minutes to reload. One would assume that the first transaction would be completed at light speed, that the second might take a bit longer — and that by the fourth or fifth even the horniest tenth-grader might display some real staying power. But asking questions like these will automatically preclude you from entering the current oral-sex hysteria….

Air American Fails To Support Fat Activism

Oops. My Bad.
It turns out I was wrong to call it “The Mo Movie Measure.

The Argument For A Working Families Party In Oregon
Really excellent, pro-fusion-party essay.

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14 Responses to Link Farm and Open Thread #6

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  4. 4
    Violet Socks says:

    Oh, goody — this is perfect timing. Folks, I’ve been following the case of an unwed father who is trying to get custody of his child. This guy is a delusional, dangerous liar, and his case has no legal merit, but he’s got some father’s rights groups behind him and is creating a media circus.

    Last night the horrible Geraldo did a piece on the case — which I’ve transcribed and rebutted in detail. They slandered the birth mother and presented a totally false fairy-tale picture of the unwed father. I’m doing what I can to counteract the lies and get the truth out there. Unfortunately, judges in Georgia are elected and are notoriously susceptible to public opinion.

    Please help!!!

    (P.S. This is not an invitation to MRAs and FRAs to come over and trash my blog.)

  5. 5
    Amanda says:

    That entire thread of mine you link to was weird. I was particularly amazed that a guy flipped shit and reached for something totally off-topic and said that I should write more about being a rape victim, and that I was probably “asking for it” anyway. I found the comment darkly funny, though not because he intended it so–some enterprising young man saw that many years in the future, I’d be a feminist blogger, so he took one for the He Man Woman Hater’s Club and assaulted me?

    I banned him even though he amused me unintentionally–a lot of victims of sexual assault read my blog and they need that shit even less than I do.

  6. 6
    Kristjan Wager says:

    I had the same reaction as you, when I read Lauren’s message. I understand why she is stopping, but damn.

  7. 7
    Bitch | Lab says:

    I responded to a few posts included in the latest carnival about sex positive feminism which I thought included a couple of unfortunate misunderstandings of what the phrase means and where it comes from.

    Nina Hartley, Susie Bright, Lusty Lady, Blac(k)ademic, and others have replied, as has the author of F-words.

    I’m swamped with work Amp, but I’ll get back to you about the Carnival of Sex Positive FEminism. In the meanwhile, I just wanted to say that I was very grateful for the link.

  8. 8
    ScottM says:

    This was a great round-up; lots of very good articles. I followed the Caitlin Flanagan Reviews The Rainbow Party link and found it pretty solid. It was long (hideously long) and had a lot of things I disagreed with– but I did appreciate the “step away from panic” tone of the article.

    The maps from Daddy, Papa and Me were persusive– I like the way they broke their prediction into three trends, each of which sounds believable. Feministe won’t be the same without Lauren– hopefully she’ll keep a toe in, when the urge to write becomes irresistable.

    The whole comment thread at Cathy Young’s blog seemed predictable, but thank you for putting the truth out there once again. Plus, your sincerety seems to be having a positive effect on the other commenters, so let me say thanks for that too.

  9. 9
    Dianne says:

    Re: boy brains versus girl brains, have you seen this article? http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/19/science/19revenge.html

  10. Speaking of the “Mo Movie Measure” – a lot of anime passes the test, actually. I wouldn’t say all (or even most) of it is feminist, exactly. On the other hand, I just watched “Twelve Kingdoms” (an anime TV series) recently and it passed every feminist “litmus test” I could think of. Certainly the (so-called) “Mo Movie Measure”. It was a good story too!

  11. 12
    Nancy Lebovitz says:

    “Prison rape worldview doesn’t interpret sexual pressure as coercion,” he wrote. “Rather, sexual pressure ushers, guides or shepherds the process of sexual awakening.”

    I think that’s enough to discredit the “prison rape is rare” article.

  12. 13
    Ann Bartow says:

    Hi,
    I’m trying to get a new blog up and running:
    Feminist Law Professors.
    Comments should be operative early next week. Stop by!

  13. Pingback: Long story; short pier. » Blog Archive » A public service announcement.