Gender

Privilege explained in gamer terms

Spawned on second base, but thought they rolled a double.

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Women Are Better Than Men?

That’s Roger Ebert’s argument. And listen, I love me some Roger Ebert, but this is a big piece of crap. His point basically comes down to, “Women are nurturing and wonderful and non-violent, men are competitive and want to see boobs, because Evolution.” And ugh I don’t even have the time to pick through this mess, but y’all should go for it in the comments. I’ll start: Most people have the capacity to be wonderful, non-violent, nurturing and loving. Most people also have the capacity to be competitive, driven, aggressive and ruthless. Most people are capable of great kindness; most people are capable of being total assholes. The degree to which any of us displays any of these traits depends largely on circumstance and partly on individual personality and temperment. Those things are certainly influenced by gender, but our gender does not in fact hard-wire us to be nice or awful.

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The Life of Julia

A really cool tool from the Obama campaign looking at one woman’s life, and how a Romney presidency would change her story.

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Nuns should stop helping the poor so much and focus more on taking away women’s rights

So says the Catholic church hierarchy, which is also mad that nuns — who are mere women — have the nerve to hold opinions of their own:

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Gender Equality is the Friend of the Family

My latest at the Guardian:

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The Gender Wage Gap Still Exists

Women still make 77 cents to a man’s dollar, earning less for working the same jobs and the same number of hours. Unsurprisingly, black and Latina women have the widest pay gaps, and are much more likely to work low-wage jobs.

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A few thoughts on Hilary Rosen, moms and work

I’m generally with Linda Hirshman on this one: Hilary Rosen was right that Ann Romney does not speak for women in the workforce. And the whole controversy is entirely manufactured. For those just tuning in, here’s what Hilary Rosen said on Anderson Cooper, in response to a question about women and the economy:

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Best Films About Female Friendship

Last week I went to a screening of This Is My Life with Feministe friend Nona Willis Aronowitz. It was just lovely, and got me thinking about other films that center female friendship and relationships. My personal favorites: Steel Magnolias; Clueless; Now and Then; Romy and Michelle and Thelma and Louise (duh). But what am I missing? And why do all of these female friendship movies have reputations as mindless chick-flicks, while dude-friend movies are either universally hilarious or Oscar-worthy? Mysterious.

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Nude Photos as a Revolutionary Act

The Nude Revolutionary Calendar is a project undertaken in support of Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, a young Egyptian woman who posted nude portraits of herself on Twitter last November, tagged #NudePhotoRevolutionary. Here’s a nude portrait of Elmahdy.

[Probably NSFW because, y'know, "nude portrait of Elmahdy." - C]

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