I have recently begun watching My Little Pony, which is clearly BEST SHOW. But, unfortunately, I began watching it when I was at home with my parents for the holidays. My parents, while lovely people, carry around giant bags of kyriarchal assumptions all the time, and are also rather prone to superfluous geek-punching. Nevertheless, I…
Comment Policy Update!
New rule! Bringing in debates from other blogs to this blog, or discussing the relative merits of another blog (assuming that is not the actual subject of the post) is off-topic, including on the Open Thread. Taking it to the next bar over is not taking it outside; we are not a dueling ground, and…
Open Thread, Watership Down Edition
This Open Thread has been brought to you by badass rabbits.
Good Consent Part Two
Trigger warning for discussion of rape, abuse and boundary violations. Knowing Your Boundaries This is the most important rule of boundaries: it is okay to set whatever boundaries you want. IT IS OKAY TO SET WHATEVER BOUNDARIES YOU WANT. Our culture (I blame rape culture) has a bunch of rules about what boundaries are the…
Shiny New Comment Policy
I have a new comment policy! It is shiny! And below the cut!
On Good Consent, Part One
Personally, I use “good consent” rather than “enthusiastic consent.” Enthusiastic consent is a problematic term. Lots of people consent to sex without enthusiasm for the sex itself: sex workers, people who enjoy pleasing their partners even when they don’t desire sex, even people who are trying to conceive a child and have sex when one…
Okay, Seriously, Why Is One of America’s Most Decent Politicians A Comedian?
Trigger warning for brief mentions of rape. We have two good pieces of American legislative news for you. First, the FBI has officially changed their definition of rape (used primarily for statistical purposes) to include male survivors and those who were raped non-forcibly or non-vaginally. Although still problematic (it does not count rape by envelopment…
Male Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
Trigger warning for brief mentions of rape and abuse. I recently came across (possibly via Scarleteen) this awesome report about male adolescent sexual health within the primary care setting. According to the study, male sexual health is quite often overlooked within the clinical setting. Pediatricians are three times more likely to take sexual histories from female…
Niagara Falls High School Student Ordered To Remove Heels
(Hat tip to Womanist Musings.) Maye showed up one day at his Niagara Falls high school in red stilettos. Not even one period into the school day, the teachers ordered him to take his high heels off. Maye refused, saying that there were many girls in heels who didn’t have to take them off, until he was threatened…
Open Thread, Steam-Men Edition
This Open Thread has been brought to you by steampunk Rogue and Gambit.
Brain Injuries Undetected in America’s Military
ProPublica (which is awesome investigative journalism! Send them money! Unless you don’t have money, in which case don’t!) has been running a series called Brain Wars: How The Military Is Failing Its Wounded. Traumatic brain injuries are the “signature injury” of soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan: roadside bombs release shockwaves that ripple through soldiers’…
Hugo Schwyzer!
Trigger warning for rape and abuse. Hugo Schwyzer has been very unpopular lately. A quick summary for those of us who don’t follow giant Internet slapfights while giggling: it started with Feministe, where the fabulous Clarisse Thorn cross-posted her interview with Hugo Schwyzer from Role/Reboot. The Feministe commenters dislike him because of his history of…
Ozy is Lazy
You may have noticed that I haven’t been posting much over the past couple days! I would claim that this is because I was out getting drunk and partying, but this is me we’re talking about, so the actual answer is that I’ve just been incredibly lazy. However, I do not leave you without content!…
Five-Second Masculist Activism
(Hat tip to Jose.) The FBI is updating its definition of rape, used in rape statistics, from “unlawful carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will” to include other kinds of rape, including oral rape, rape by coercion, and some forms of rape of men. Please encourage the FBI in its progress into the…
Open Thread. By Noah Brand’s Request Edition
Image taken from this article, which makes Noah happy because it means fossas can breed in captivity. Pound for pound, possibly the deadliest mammalian predator on earth (yes okay not counting humans), and SO ADORABLE.