Weekly Open Thread with Tapestry
Hosting this weeks open thread is Carole King’s classic hit from the 70s. Please natter/chatter/vent/rant on anything* you like over this weekend and throughout the week.
* with a few netiquette exceptions
...read moreMother’s Day is Over – But Pregnancy Discrimination Isn’t
Stories of discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace are all too common, and that’s why we need the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which was introduced in Congress today.
Despite the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act over 30 years ago, which prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, some employers continue to deny pregnant women the minor job modifications that could protect not only a woman’s pregnancy but also a family’s economic security, forcing pregnant women out of their jobs.
The PWFA would make it crystal clear to employers that they can’t treat pregnant women worse than other workers who have certain job limitations and instead must make reasonable accommodations if doing so doesn’t pose an undue hardship on the business.
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Weekly Open Thread with May dancers
Please natter/chatter/vent/rant on anything* you like over this weekend and throughout the week, under the benevolent aegis of this week’s host, a group of children dancing around a maypole from nearly a century ago.
* with a few netiquette exceptions
...read moreI definitely want to pet your dog.
But I still think Farhad Manjoo is correct here when he says that many dog owners are a little too lenient with their pets. Not everyone likes dogs; a lot of people (me included, actually) are allergic to dogs. A lot of people are scared of dogs — yes, even your cute one.
...read moreShould you speak out at a wedding of a friend marrying an abusive man?
That’s Cary Tennis’s advice to a woman who witnesses her friend being subjected to a variety of abusive behaviors from her fiance. He beats up her dog. He monitors her phone. He violates her physical boundaries. I like Cary’s explanation — that silence is enabling — but I wonder if what amounts to a public humiliation will only marginalize the friend more.
The letter-writer should absolutely take that dog to the vet, though, permission or not.
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It takes more than a village — it takes good childcare
I was lucky enough to grow up with two families. My little brother and I were picked up by one school bus in the mornings around the corner from my house, where we lived with our mom and dad. Another bus dropped me off in the afternoons down the street from M&M Family Child Care Home.
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Weekly Open Thread with a Thread and Nail Portrait
This closeup of an intricate thread and nail portrait is the host for this weeks open thread. Please natter/chatter/vent/rant on anything* you like over this weekend and throughout the week.
* with a few netiquette exceptions
...read moreWhat if everything you knew about adoption was wrong?
Writing about adoption and Kathryn Joyce’s The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, and the New Gospel of Adoption
Is Michael Pollan a sexist pig?
A great piece about blaming feminism for our current food issues, and how romanticizing a false past is bad for food cuture. A bit of it:
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Weekly Open Thread with Toys in Trees
This week our open thread is hosted by these toys of mysterious origin which adorn a country road between Canberra and Bungendore. Please natter/chatter/vent/rant on anything* you like over this weekend and throughout the week.
* with a few netiquette exceptions
...read moreOkay, lay off Beyonce, already.
So we know that Beyonce’s numerous sins include dressing sexy, being married, and saying that girls run the world when that isn’t technically true. But did you also know she’s singlehandedly responsible for luring young girls into sexual exploitation?
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Purity Culture and Sexual Assault
Caperton covered the Elizabeth Smart speech about abstinence already, and my Guardian column this week is on a similar topic: How an emphasis on purity is bad for women, bad for men and bad for rape survivors:
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