The Personal Lives of Men
I’m not often a fan of the “if this had been a woman….” line of argument because it’s nearly impossible to prove, but: If this article about Benjamin Millepied being made the new director of dance at the Paris Opera Ballet had been about a female choreographer landing such a role, and that female choreographer was married to an Oscar-winning Hollywood star that she met while choreographing one of his movies, that would have been mentioned in the first two paragraphs. And the fact that they have a kid together would have been mentioned as more than an aside.
...read moreI want to work for the Wall Street Journal.
Because judging from their story about income tax increases, they seem to think a single person should reasonably be bringing in $230,000 a year. And that’s not to mention the single mom making $260,000 with $35k in investment income! Sign me right up.
...read moreEncourage advertisers to drop abuser and misogynist Tom Leykis
In the comments to the post below this one, a gentleman writing under the name Tom Leykis left the following:
...read moreNRO’s Charlotte Allen blames the Sandy Hook massacre on a lack of men
What would have saved the women and children killed in the Sandy Hook School shooting? Men, says the National Review’s Charlotte Allen. In her contribution to the NRO’s “Newtown Answers,” Allen’s answer is that women are the reason that 26 people were killed that day.
...read moreWill older parenthood upend society?
There are so very many things to say about this article and so little time to say them. But: I do think it’s valuable to discuss the reality of fertility and age-related health issues. Certainly an uptick in diagnoses of things like ADHD, autism, etc have contributed to their soaring rates, but there may also be environmental factors, including fertility treatments and older parents. And we know that chromosomal abnormalities are significantly more common in pregnancies conceived by older people. It is important to talk about all of that. At the same time, there are myriad benefits to having children later. Children of older parents tend to do better in school. Older parents tend to spend more time (and more quality time) with their kids. Children born to older parents are more likely to be raised in economically stable households with lower divorce rates. Those are all good things, and unsurprising — on average, adults make better parents than people who are barely adults, whose brains haven’t finished fully developing, who lack life experience, and who lack stability in their job, relationship and finances.
...read moreHomophobia is bad, says the AP. (Don’t get excited — it’s not what you think.)
The newest edition of the Associated Press Stylebook, a widely used reference for journalists, online now and due to hit the shelves next year, will specifically exclude words including “homophobia” and all other “-phobia” constructions. The online Stylebook defines the suffix “-phobia” as “an irrational, uncontrollable fear, often a form of mental illness” that should not be used “in political or social contexts.” Says AP Deputy Standards Editor Dave Minthorn, homophobia is “just off the mark. It’s ascribing a mental disability to someone, and suggests a knowledge that we don’t have. It seems inaccurate. … We want to be precise and accurate and neutral in our phrasing.”
...read moreBid for Good
WAM, an organization very near and dear to my heart, is auctioning off some awesome items and services just in time for the holidays. Feministe friend Captain Awkward will give you advice! Ann Friedman will tell your story in GIFs! Baratunde Thurston will bring you as his date to Whiskey Friday! Rebecca Traister will edit your manuscript! An autographed Tegan and Sara vinyl pack! Dinner with Jessica Valenti! A strategy session with Sandra Fluke! Tickets to the Colbert Report, Wanda Sykes and more! SO MANY THINGS. GO BID NOW.
...read moreCory Booker, food stamps, and looking great with the Poverty Diet
Newark, NJ, Mayor Cory Booker and a Twitter follower will be living on food stamps for a week following a Twitter discussion about the role of government in funding school breakfast and lunch programs. Follower TwitWit asserted that “nutrition is not the responsibility of the government.” Booker disagreed and was willing to put not a whole lot of money where his mouth is.
...read moreWhen is an ill-fitting bra like domestic violence? When you ask Amante. (Or Jezebel.)
[Warning for references to domestic violence.]
The ad says, “Suffocation is the worst kind of abuse.” Is it really the worst kind of abuse? I don’t know, frankly; considering the range of horrible things done to women by partners and family, it’s kind of hard to rank them all. But I feel comfortable saying that suffocating one’s breasts with an overly tight bra ranks so far down the list as to not warrant even joking comparison.
...read moreRescued from Caperton’s Recycling Bin: “You’re kidding me! I’ve never been asked that question before.”
Periodically, I get around to clearing off my desk and flattening out crumpled magazine clippings and saying, “Huh. Look at that.” Today: Marie Claire‘s Carrick Mollenkamp interviews Sallie Krawcheck, “[o]ne of Wall Street’s most powerful women” who “was ousted from her job running Bank of America’s wealth management division last fall.”
...read moreA Simple Saturday Post: Leave Me Out of Your “Everyone,” Mr. Apatow.
I just wanted to quickly mention the trailer for the new Judd Apatow movie, “This is 40.” Of course, we all know that Hollywood is guilty of all sorts of offenses all of the time, but it seems rare even today to find one that is quite so up front with its surface-level exclusion. The [...]
...read moreHello I’m Kim and Sometimes I Overshare
I’m Kim and I’m going to be guest blogging for next two weeks. I am thrilled to be here and have been looking forward to this all summer. Thank you for reading! If you’re on Twitter, I’d love to connect with you there: @kimconte. As introduction, I’ll tell you that I live in Brooklyn with [...]
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