Language Log: The Thug and the Slut
Someone should investigate the ways in which the grammar/semantics distiction is personified. Grammar is often cast as a fussy schoolteacher (a schoolmarm, in particular: Miss Fidditch) or some other kind of authority figure, a legislator or judge or priest (almost surely male). But grammar can also be seen as empty form, which on its own produces mere chatter without substance — a female stereotype. Meaning, in contrast, is configured either as substantial and significant (so: agentive and male) or as “natural”, even earthy (so: passive and female). You can get pretty much any assignment of the sexes to the two actors, Grammar and Meaning. (Though the fact that grammar almost always gets mentioned first, as in the passage from Long, suggests that it’s more likely to be personified as male.)
The thug-and-slut story is, I guess, a version of the male authority figure (wielding the authority of the streets) vs. the passive, pliant female. But it’s still loopy.
Pax Nortana: Uninsured All of a Sudden
In their goodness, the insurance people told Lance that my benefits had been used up about ten minutes before my appointment on Wednesday. Lance was more upset than I was, mostly because I was high on my own dopamines and needed extra lithium. Lynn also evinced her annoyance with the company and wrote them a letter which included the line “My husband thinks this is very funny, but he is manic. I don’t find it funny at all.”
Pinko Feminist Hellcat: Haidl rape case news
Unanswered by the defense is why the girl, if she was such a slut and into making pornos, would charge these guys. They insist it’s because “people found out” and her reputation got ruined, but that would be par the course if one wanted to be a porn star–one of their more ludicrous claims. She would have either been A) proud of it, or B) angry that they didn’t give her a copy to sell. Logic, however, is not the strong suit of the misogynist.
Savage Minds: “Savage” Mascots Take a Blow
Defenders of Indian team names and mascots obviously resist the charge of racism, but they do so in a way that, at first, seems surprising. They do not, for instance, question the significance of a team mascot in the face of systematic racism with much more far-reaching impacts—like forced sterilization of Indian women in the very recent past. One could imagine such a claim—“how much damage is this really doing?” they could ask—but don’t (at least not usually). In fact, they cling tenaciously to their mascots—as fiercely as any Indian nation ever clung to their own traditions and autonomy.
Echidne of the Snakes: Family Values
One reason for this lack of real intent is the lone cowboy myth of Americans, the idea that each and every one of us can, alone and without help, manage and thrive; that rules, regulations and governmental funding are wasteful and even harmful. The problem with this myth is that it was never true, the lone cowboys never conquered the west. It was the government with its railway projects and its military that did the conquering, and even today none of us can get from cradle to grave wholly unassisted.
The lone cowboy myth is especially warped when it is applied to families with small children. But it serves its purpose by letting some pretend that their unwillingness to spend money on families is ethically justified.
Republic of T: Outed in Iraq
Clearly there are gays and lesbians, Jeff being one of them, who want to serve in the military, and have the ability to do so honorably and well. Yet, at a time when the army can’t meet its recruitment goals, we’re discharging qualified service members because they’re gay.
Strangechord: This Means a Lot Tonight
There are always moments when one feels empty and estranged. Such moments are most desirable, for it means the soul has cast its moorings and is sailing for distant places. This is detachment– when the old is over and the new has not yet come. If you are afraid the state may be distressing, but there is really nothing to be afraid of. Remember the instruction: What ever you come across–go beyond.
- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Wow. Quite deep. I once had my class do a comparative look at the image of the cowboy and the thub….which I stated basically are the same thing. It was quite an interesting class with interesting responses.