Category Archives: linkspam

sunday smut: tumblr highlights (no. 1)

12 Sunday Sep 2010

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Gouache Nude Painting by Armando Martires
made available at Flickr.com

As I dive into the semester, here’s a sampling of stories I shared on my tumblr blog, the feminist librarian reads, this past week. Here are a few samplings from the past week … head on over to tumblr for more!

What Comes After the Gender Binary by Marissa @ This Is Hysteria!

“This is not the first time that I’ve seen somebody think that when I talk about eliminating the gender binary that I envision a world of uniform androgyny.

What the elimination of the gender binary means to me is that people can be as masculine or feminine as they like. But the performance of masculinity or femininity is not compulsory depending on sex. Being masculine in some respects would not put femininity out of bounds for you, and vice-versa. Gender could be played with, freely, without social sanction.

That is, there would be more variety in gender expression, not less. Instead of black and white, we would have a rainbow, not a homogenous mass of grey.”

kinky by Emily Nagoski @ ::sex nerd::

“Sex positivity is part of it. Kinky folks have often had to take a long, hard look at sexuality – their own and the world’s – and come to the conclusion that their own desires are actually completely FINE, in the context of consenting adults, and that people who don’t agree with them (a) can go fuck themselves and (b) are probably suffering from that self-imposed moralizing and narrowly conscribed ideas about sexual expression, and are therefore to be pitied.

That combination of I-pity-you and you-can-go fuck-yourself rings very true to me. I appreciate both the empathy and the lack of tolerance for bullshit.”

Gender divide a myth, says expert by Amelia Hill @ The Guardian

“[Cordelia] Fine is unabashed. ‘There are sex differences in the brain. There are also large sex differences in who does what and who achieves what,’ she says. ‘It would make sense if these facts were connected in some way, and perhaps they are. But when we follow the trail of contemporary science we discover a surprising number of gaps, assumptions, inconsistencies, poor methodologies and leaps of faith.’

Combing through the latest research in psychology and neuroscience, Fine concludes that ‘the sheer complexity of the brain lends itself beautifully to overinterpretation and precipitous conclusions. It’s a compelling story that offers a neat, satisfying explanation, and justification, of the status quo.’ Fine warns that ‘brain facts’ about the sexes – in fact, stereotypes with a veneer of credibility – are worming their way into apparently scientific books.”

Read the rest over at my tumblr blog.

sunday smut on hiatus (sort of)

29 Sunday Aug 2010

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Vintage smut from the tumblr blog queerest of them all.

There have been Developments since I last posted a Sunday Smut list, namely that I’ve started a tumblr blog, the feminist librarian reads, at which I am posting, throughout the week, the links and excerpts that used to pile up in Google Reader and overwhelm me by Thursday or Friday as I began to compile the Sunday Smut list. As I explained on Monday, the tumblr posts feed into a static page here at the FFLA.

In the meantime, I’ve discerned that the next few weeks are going to be stressful and hectic around the FFLA headquarters, between the end of the summer (wrapping up my thesis draft!), a trip to Maine, and the start of the fall semester. Once things settle down, I plan to revisit the whole question of the Sunday Smut list, but in the meantime enjoy this charming photograph, check out my tumblr links, and savor the waning days of summer.

quick hit: indexed ftw

25 Wednesday Aug 2010

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Via my friend Diana comes this great graphic commentary by indexed

Venn diagram showing overlapping circles labelled “children” (left), “seen and not heard” (middle), and “women” (right).

The overlaps read: childen + seen and not heard = behaved, and women + seen and not heard = objectified.

The title of the post at Indexed read don’t let anyone shut you up.

in love with new blogs: Blue Milk

19 Thursday Aug 2010

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This week, I bring you blue milk, an Australian-based blog on things feminist and things parent+child related. As the blog tagline puts it: “thinking + motherhood = feminist.” We are also offered the following image of the blog author.


I discovered blue milk a few weeks ago, thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Molly @ first the egg. Why read it? Because it challenges the notion that involved parenting = “perfect” parenting, and that involved parenting (read: involved mothering) is somehow antithetical to feminist consciousness. Some examples.

From On the backs of other women.

I initially thought this little post was going to be about community. About how much I have come to cherish the school community particularly, that we are now a part of, and how some mothers at my daughter’s preschool have been saving my arse lately, over and over again, and for pretty much nothing in return. But the big fat gender factor tells me that this post isn’t actually about ‘community’.

Discounting the teachers at the Montessori preschool and the kids’ father, it takes the efforts of five other people caring for our two children to allow me to be at work three days a week. Pick-ups and drop-offs and naps and cuddles and dinners and baths. Only one of those five are paid for it, and all of them are women.

From Guest Post: Being a feminist and raising ‘a lad’ (from her “10 questions about feminist motherhood” series). Answers from Matari.

1. How would you describe your feminism in one sentence? When did you become a feminist? Was it before or after you became a mother?
I became a feminist at the age of 11 when I was abused by my stepfather. I learnt to call myself a feminist when I realised that as a woman, my abuse was nothing unusual and, in fact, represented the lack of power that women have in our society.

2. What has surprised you most about motherhood?
How attached I was to my son as soon as he was born – I almost expected to be able to fit him into my schedule and carry on as before. But no, that was not the case AT ALL – I instantly became responsible for a little life that, if was injured in any way, would affect me for the rest of my life.

3. How has your feminism changed over time? What is the impact of motherhood on your feminism?
My feminism became more entrenched, as – with every other event in my life,- I recognised that as a mother I would (again) be a marginalised woman, exacerbated by being a single parent.

From Why attachment parenting NEEDS feminism.

This is probably the right time to admit that not only am I an attachment parenting type – our children are co-sleepers, including the older one who is now five years old; I breastfeed the toddler; and we have more slings than vehicles in our house – but for the record, I am also a mother who works part of each week outside the home. I have been separating from our toddler since before he was a year old. And to be perfectly honest, Wootan’s advice doesn’t really rattle me. I have done my share of soul-searching over the last five years about being a working mother and I feel confident that our decisions have been good ones, and what’s more, that the children are ok too. But I know Wootan’s position will distress many other women in my position; I know a few years ago it would have thrown me for a loop. And while I am sure Wootan is a very caring doctor, anyone who makes a statement like that, about how women should live their lives, deserves a little scrutiny.

And for those of you who aren’t so interested in the politics of parenting, but possibly interested in the politics of parenthood (and non-parenthood) in our society, from The politics of nappy buckets.

But how insulting is the prioritising of working families to people without children? Don’t they consider themselves part of family too? Aren’t they contributing to the community? Don’t they have the right to some priority in policy planning and fiscal generosities? The term ‘working families’ creates an unnecessary division, an us and a them. It undermines the goodwill people without children might otherwise feel towards people with children. Sure, raising children contributes to a ‘social benefit’ that all of society enjoys, and its costly for the individuals raising those children, but telling everyone you’re prioritising ‘working families’ must surely niggle away at the cohesiveness of parents and non-parents. It also makes women feel like their only value is in childbearing. Although, ‘deliberately barren’ is such a ludicrous term, such an unfortunately revealing comment on the right-wing agenda that however hurtful it is to women it is also kind of soothing to see Heffernan and those like him exposed so badly.

Enjoy! And see you next week for another installment of in love with new blogs.

quick hit: defending one’s manhood

18 Wednesday Aug 2010

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My colleague, Jeremy, receives the print edition of The Atlantic magazine and I happened to notice, yesterday, the following query and response on the back page of the most recent issue (September 2010), in Jeffrey Goldberg’s “What’s Your Problem?” column.

I’ve noticed that The Atlantic has become very anti-male lately. My proof lies in recent articles by Sandra Tsing Loh, Caitlin Flanagan, and of course Hanna Rosin, whose July/August cover story, “The End of Men,” argued that men will no longer be necessary as our economy changes. How do you protect your manhood while working at a magazine that is so hostile to men?

P. W., Chicago, Ill.

Dear P. W.,

I take active countermeasures to protect myself against the rampant feminization of The Atlantic. For instance, I eat only what I kill, except for sandwiches from Potbelly, which are killed by someone else. I also chop down the trees that provide the paper on which this magazine is printed, using only an extremely dull axe and my signature bad-ass attitude. Other prophylactic measures I employ include hiring Chuck Norris as a guest blogger, and then firing him, by fax, for being insufficiently manly; and using actual prophylaxis, in the form of a full-body condom I wear to protect myself from the effects of airborne estrogen. I also refuse to participate in the mandatory office-wide “All Guys Have to Wear Jimmy Choos on Fridays” morale-building exercise. And though I was ultimately forced to appear in The Atlantic’s staging of The Vagina Monologues, I purposefully delivered an indifferent performance as Eve Ensler’s labia.

As a feminist, I feel honor-bound to point out that Sandra Tsing Loh, Caitlin Flanagan, and Hanna Rosin are, in fact, often very anti-man (the scene from Parenthood where Dianne Wiest’s character says to her daughter, just as her young son walks into the room, “Men are such jerks!” comes to mind) they are often anti-woman as well. Or rather, they tend to subscribe to very gender-essentialist concepts of what it means to be a man or a woman, neither of which serve human beings all that well.

The idea that being anti-male, anti-manhood, and “hostile to men” are all roughly equivalent positions is a fallacy anyway. As a feminist, I’m fairly anti-“womanhood” (since womanhood, in our culture, is a very specific type of cultural performance) and yet hardly anti-women or hostile to women as human beings. Nor do I have a problem with female-bodied persons.

Which is all to say, I love the way Goldberg plays up all the stereotypes of masculinity in his response. Because really, it’s about the level of attention all of those articles — and the concern they seem to have sparked — deserve.

a few things on education

17 Tuesday Aug 2010

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Rural school children, San Augustine County, Texas, April 1943
Library of Congress Photostream @ Flickr.com.

There’ve been a handful of stories coming across my feeds the past few weeks on the subject of education and culture; none of them have inspired me to a full-length blog post, but I wanted to share them with you anyway. So here’s a round-up of links with some snippets. Enjoy!

Idzie @ I’m Unschooled. Yes I Can Write | The Myth of “Social Awkwardness” Among Homeschoolers & Unschoolers.

I have seen absolutely no difference [generally] between homeschoolers, unschoolers, public schoolers, or private schoolers, EXCEPT that the unschoolers who do have to work harder with social stuff are generally far more confident, far more aware of their worth, whereas the schooled people are often made to think that they’re losers, that they’re uncool, so have serious feelings of worthlessness. Really? That’s what school has to offer kids that you’re so upset un/homeschoolers are missing out on: making anyone who doesn’t fit a very narrow definition of normal feel like they’re a failure??

eastsidekate @ Shakesville | College: The solution to everything.

Creating jobs is not about intelligence or education. It’s about having enough money to pay someone to do something. And :drumroll:…. having money is not exclusively a function of being educated, intelligent, good-smelling, or anything else, really. Of course, if we argue that wealth is solely a function of merit (as measured by education, which we assume is a function of intelligence), then yeah, it’s pretty much axiomatic that a more educated populace will create more jobs.

If we realize that some folks who have a lot of money and power to burn aren’t necessarily deserving of such, the wheels fall off in a hurry.

Richard Jeffrey Newman @ Alas, a Blog | The Politics of Education.

The content of education is always, always, political and there will always be someone somewhere who thinks her or his perspective has been left out of what children are taught, to their detriment as individuals and to the detriment of society as a whole. Independently of that, though, I am a big believer in trying to find as many ways as possible to include as many perspectives as possible in the classroom, not to make the point that they are all equally valid, but to make the point that the more informed we are about those perspectives, even the ones that have been shown to be invalid, the more responsible and accountable we are likely to be in our own perspectives.

Janine Giordano @ Religion in American Culture | Teaching Sexuality and Religion.

[The] student … complained to the Department Chair of Religious Studies that the professor was encouraging and expecting students to apply (Catholic) Natural Moral Law as their understanding of natural law. “I didn’t go to Notre Dame for a reason,” he signed. The professor’s email to his students, also apprehended by the local newspaper, did claim that “none of what I have said here depends upon religion,” alongside an unqualified encouragement to apply (Catholic) Natural Moral Law within their own adult thinking.

And, ’cause I’m starting to think about what the next scholastic endeavor will be after library school … sexademic @ The Sexademic | So You Want to Be a Sex Educator (“Sexademics do it theoretically”).

sunday smut: links on sex and gender (no. 33)

15 Sunday Aug 2010

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Just the links this week, folks!

Also, please note that I’ll be taking a long weekend away from posting next week as my mother is in town … but Sunday Smut will be back the following weekend!

On Prop 8 ruling:

Cristian Asher @ Gay Rights Blog | Round Three in the Marriage Equality Wars.

Adam Serwer @ The American Prospect | Douthat On Prop. 8.

Amanda Marcotte @ Pandagon | Gay marriage and the patriarchy shell game.

Lisala @ That Gay Blog | A Rebuttal to Shulman.

Roxann MtJoy @ Women’s Rights Blog | Op-Ed Claims Marriage Is About Protecting Ladies, Not Love.

Will Neville @ RhRealityCheck | Prop 8 and the Future of Sex Ed.

Dana Rudolph @ Gay Rights Blog | American Bar Association Endorses Marriage Equality.

Ampersand @ Alas, a Blog | The Funniest Bits of Judge Walker’s Refusal To Stay Same-Sex Marriages.

The entire text of the Prop 8 ruling not enough for you? You can access all of the documentary evidence submitted at trial online. Oh god, the geekery overload!

Other news:

Emily Nagoski @ ::sex nerd:: | banging the effeminate drum.

Sadie Stein @ Jezebel | Pretty Women, Manly Jobs: We Do Hate You Because You’re Beautiful [Beauty Myth].

Rose @ Feministing | Why I’m skeptical about “negotiated infidelity” (comments are worth checking out if you’re interested in sexual ethics).

Lisa Wade @ Jezebel | Where Are Fashion’s Gender Neutral Clothes? [Clothes].

Ann Friedman @ The American Prospect | All Politics is Identity Politics.

Tracy Clark-Flory @ Salon | Massachusetts’ strict maternity leave ruling.

C.L. Minou @ Tiger Beatdown | Left Behind: About the Failures of Feminism.

rabbitwhite @ sexgenderbody | What I’ve Learned about Sex from Asexuality.

June Carbone and Naomi Cahn @ Jezebel | Chelsea/Marc vs. Bristol/Levi: Whose Kids Will Fare Better? [Family Values] (on the economics of parenting in the 21st century).

Elizabeth Kissling @ Ms. Magazine | The Leap from Younger Puberty to Fat Shaming.

Amie Newman @ RhRealityCheck | Does Refusing a C-section = Child Abuse?

Sharkfu @ Feministing | Notes from a bitch…a pondering on religious institutions….

Mitch Wagner @ tor.com | Heinlein: Forward-looking diversity advocate or sexist bigot? Yes.

Stacie Ponder @ Final Girl | A Waste of Time (or; why not to bother with the lesbian vampires).

Steerforth @ The Age of Uncertainty | Jolly Queer (from which this week’s illustration is drawn).

sunday smut: links on sex and gender (no. 32)

08 Sunday Aug 2010

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Lesbian Zombie Wedding by flybaby
at Flickr.com

As y’all are no doubt already aware, United States District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker issued a kick-ass opinion this passed Wednesday that found Proposition 8 unconstitutional and that anti-gay marriage arguments were religiously, irrationally motivated and therefore held “essentialyl no weight” when it came to civil law. (If I didn’t have a girlfriend of whom I am so fond, I would kiss the man).

Spiffy @ Hippyish brought us my favorite “waiting for the ruling” post.

I read the opinion with great glee and will be offering some tasty highlights throughout next week. But in the meantime, you can find a 138-page PDF of the full decision available online for your own reading pleasure (and a pleasure it is!) or enjoy Dahlia Lithwick‘s observations over at Slate.com.

The supports of Prop. 8 have already filed an appeal of the ruling, but this particular decision is far from meaningless just because the case will continue to move through the court system. Thomas @ Yes Means Yes offers us a summary of the 80 “findings of fact” that make up a substantial portion of the ruling and explains why they matter into the future. Mac McClelland @ Mother Jones asks what’s next for the Prop 8 case?

A few more notable posts on the ruling:

Marty Klein @ Sexual Intelligence | Prop 8, Minority Rights, & American Democracy.

Andrew Belonsky @ Gay Rights Blog | Judge Vaughn Walker’s Prop 8 Decision Heralds New Age of Rationality.

Dana Rudolph @ Women’s Rights Blog | Prop 8 Ruling Highlights Crumbling of Gender Roles.

Jessica Arons @ RhRealityCheck | Prop 8 Court Victory: A Reproductive Justice Win Too.

Aaron Belkin @ Huffington Post | Prop 8 and the Politics of Paranoia.

In other news.

On Thursday, Elena Kagan became the fourth women ever to be confirmed as a Justice on the United States Supreme Court. Alex DiBranco @ Women’s Right Blog observes that now the Supreme Court is one-third female for the first time in history. Dahlia Lithwick @ Slate suggests we may be in for something of a ride.

A group of Republicans is apparently attempting to repeal the 14th Amendment. That’s right, the one that guarantees us all equal protection under the law. Amanda Marcotte @ Pandagon explains how this topsy-turvy (and not unfrightening) situation is tied to hysteria over non-white, foreign-born people. Xenophobia and bigotry = NOT COOL PEOPLE.

Another story in the annals of hate, Monica @ Transgriot points out that hypermasculinity is killing our kids. A 17-month-old toddler was killed by his father for not being manly enough.

Jessica Yee @ Ms. Blog writes about how native women were the movers and shakers behind the 2010 Tribal Law and Order Act (passed this week) which will help protect indigenous women from violence.

Ann Friedman @ The American Prospect consider the new workplace sexism and how, even though the more blatant paternalism of the 50s and 60s is a thing of the past, misogyny can still have a negative affect on women’s careers. “Often these are men who would never dream of groping, making unwanted advances, or bestowing inappropriate nicknames on their female co-workers, but behind-their-back comments are also intimidation and bullying of a sexual nature.”

The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology published a “meta-analysis” of studies related to home birth recently, in which researchers concluded that while outcomes for mothers were good home birth (or rather, lack of intervention at home births) were supposedly related to significant increases in infant mortality. Amie Newman @ RhRealityCheck reports on how (much like with Prop 8!) bias, politics and sloppy research make this latest condemnation of home birthing unworthy of note, and also calls for an end to the “home birth vs. hospital birth” debate.

Where to give birth is hardly the only aspect of parenting that has political ramifications. Rachel White @ AlterNet provides a personal perspective on the kyriarchical elitism of the world of human egg donation.

And Belinda Baldwin @ Gay Right’s Blog suggests that the frustration among some queer folks over the portrayal of a lesbian couples’ infidelity in The Kids Are All Right might be misplaced. “What if,” she asks, “the price of fitting in is the loss of a cohesive group identity?”

The kids might be alright, but sluts, apparently, still don’t have a right to be happy. At least if one is to judge from the blowback from Jaclyn Friedman’s recent piece on discovering her inner slut — and enjoying it. Megan Carpentier @ Bitch Blogs muses about how it’s still culturally unacceptable for women who enjoy casual sex to, well, enjoy it. Heather Corinna @ Feministe riffs on a similar theme in the post about a one-line email she received which read: “her advice comes from fact that Heather Corinna is a SLUT.”

Consistently, it seems to me that one of the characteristics that divides the left from the right (at least in this historical moment) is that while folks on the left are primarily occupied with trying to protect the freedom of individuals to pursue happiness, as long as they aren’t hurting others, folks on the right expend freakish amounts of energy attempting to mould the world, pygmalian like, in their own image. You’d think the Christian god might have a thing or two to say about “false idols.” But I digress. As an example, Amanda Marcotte @ Pandagon shows how hysterical one conservative blogger got when Jaclyn Friedman wrote a piece about how she’d discovered the pleasures of more casual sex. Somehow, in the conservative mind the words “I enjoy this thing!” turn into “Everyone in the world must enjoy this thing just as I do!” Maybe they insert the chip when you register as a member of the GOP?

And finally: the GOP aren’t the only ones who want to stick their noses into other peoples’ personal choices. Apparently, there is a Queen’s English Society, and apparently they are annoyed by the nomenclature for women’s formal titles. Stupid women, for needing so many when men have just one! Let’s get rid of … the most universal of them? Wait! What? Courtney and Adrienne @ From Austin to A&M have more.

in love with new blogs: Natasha Curson – a trans history

05 Thursday Aug 2010

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A while ago, I gave everyone a head’s up on the sunday smut list that my e-friend Tasha had started a new blog, Natasha Curson – a trans history where she is slowly but surely posting snippets of her personal history, one episode at a time. As she wrote in her most recent post, the first telling

I find it hard to recognize the person taking those first faltering (and in the end failing) steps outside of the closet at the age of 21. Or, to put it another way, there’s a lot I recognize about him – his taste in books and music for example – but not a lot I recognize about her, the woman struggling to emerge, the state she was in at the time. Even a few months after transitioning things felt so different to me that it quite quickly became hard to imagine how I had managed to cope with carrying that burden. Now it has started to become difficult to remember – not what happened, but how it felt sometimes.

The stories, for obvious reasons, often revolved around gender identity, but cannot be reduced to a single plotline. Take, for example, these snippets about her schooldays and move to university in Manchester.

From back to schooldays

Summer passes and I am, predictably, rejected by all my chosen universities because I only have two A-levels, one of them a bare pass. This is seen by all and sundry, including myself, as awful news. I have a summer job at the carpet department of Fishpools which, as you all now know, is not Selfridges to tide me over, and then I have to decide what to do next.

As the autumn of 1977 arrives I attempt to study History A-level by correspondence course. This is a dismal failure – sitting in my bedroom with the textbooks and tasks they send I just can’t motivate myself. At least I am sensible enough to figure this out by myself and realize that if I’m going to get to university I need to adopt another approach. I have no real idea why I want to go there. It is just expected, although I will be the first in my family to do so. I am hoping English Literature at university will be as exciting as the A-level was. When I finally get there, this turns out not to be the case …

And from college boy, girl included (apply within)

It’s now September 1978 and I’m not feeling especially cynical but possibly slightly Cynical. I’m looking forward to going to university to study English, my favourite subject. I’m hoping it will be as exciting to study it in Manchester as it was at A-level. I’m also looking forward to being away from home, although I have only the most tenuous understanding of what that may be like. Moving to a safe distance from the deteriorating relationship between my two parents, which also manifests in an increasingly problematic relationship with me, seems like a plan. I pack my trunk full of books and clothes and box up my hi-fi and they get sent slowly to Manchester by rail. I leave after them but arrive before them. Rail freight in those days is pretty slow and clunky.

. . . Teaching…is variable. Tutorials (again Oxbridge style) are often OK, depending on the tutor. Lectures are often dull. I remember one particular lecturer on Shakespeare, although I forget his name. He would read dialogue from the plays with his two index-fingers raised and proceeded as follows.

First speaker (male) – read speech in basso profundo voice, wiggle left finger.
Second speaker (female) – read speech in ridiculous high-pitched squeaky voice, wiggle right finger.
Ignore titters from audience as they will subside in successive weeks from sheer boredom.
Continue.

In tutorials, this same lecturer would sigh about Shakespeare and say “Well, I suppose we must see the plays performed sometimes”, i.e. he’d really rather that didn’t have to happen and we could just sit in our rooms and contemplate the texts. This kind of thing sets the tone for me – some (though not all) of the lecturers would really rather the rest of the world would just stay away. In my second year there is controversy along the departmental corridors when Monty Python‘s Terry Jones has the cheek to write a book on Chaucer. Dilletante. I remember one of my tutors talking angrily (and inaccurately) about that naughty man “Terry Palin.”

Partly, I think, I’m drawn in as something of an Anglophile by the every-day details, place names, and events that flesh out Tasha’s stories. For example, in flirting with the scene

I remember two shopping expeditions in particular – one to a shop on Walthamstow High Street, where the assistant asks whether I am buying these clothes for my girlfriend. Yes, I answer nervously and she replies (somewhat knowingly I think) that she hopes my “girlfriend” likes them. Some more relaxed purchasing takes place in Miss Selfridge on Oxford Street, where I feel more anonymous and less likely to bump into anyone I know. As is often the case with those who crossdress, I have a tendency to buy highly feminine clothes, and mostly evening or partywear. I make some dreadful mistakes but in Miss Selfridge I actually make some tasteful purchases. Wendy helps me buy some shoes by proxy – I am never brave enough to try anything on and draw the line at marching up to the checkout with a pair of high heeled shoes.

I mean, really. “Miss Selfridge on Oxford Street”? “Walthamstow High Street”? Even I might be cajoled into shopping for high heels in a location like that!

sunday smut: links list on sex and gender (no. 31)

01 Sunday Aug 2010

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Sorry for the sporadic posting this week folks; my life was unexpectedly hectic. Hopefully a return to normal (such as it is) next week! In the meantime, here are a few quick links I had a chance to note.

My hometown (Holland, Mich.) once again made the news (or at least one of my favorite blogs, Pam’s House Blend) in an unflattering way when the Family Research Council decided to publish a full-page anti-gay advert in the town newspaper, the Holland Sentinel. Thankfully, the newspaper has also created a dedicated webpage for the letters it got in response. I haven’t had a chance to read more than the headlines, but if they are anything to go by the response has been overwhelmingly negative.

Emily Nagoski @ ::sex nerd:: mused about the intersection of feminism and sexology and the “nerd voice” as identified and described by Sara Vowell in her essay of the same name.

Thomas @ Yes Means Yes talked about the two ways to disrupt the power of shaming labels (in this case “slut”): attacking the existence of the label and embracing it.

lis @ Sociological Images resposted the “findings” of a researcher who analyzed the messaging habits of those seeking women and men on the dating site OKCupid and … regurgitated some pretty simplistic (and damaging) stereotypes about bisexuality in his analysis. Commenters on this thread were pretty universal in decrying the shoddy research for what it was, so the comment thread is well worth reading.

In other flawed-yet-fascinating research results, Lisa Wade @ Jezebel shares the results of a poll conducted through a Christian website asking men what types of clothing and behaviors were considered “immodest” for women. Basically, to be modest apparently requires 24/7 policing of one’s appearance and physical movements. Finally: the answer to why I became a feminist — being a non-feminist was just too much effort!

Adrienne @ From Austin to A&M on the perils of being a feminist romance reader, and suggestions for where to go as a feminist for your romance fix (hint: paranormal romance features heavily).

Greta Christina has a piece up over at Alternet about five stupid, unfair and sexist things expected of men. File this one in your “the patriarchy hurts men too” (even though, I know, I know, it isn’t the patriarchy but the kyriarchy anyhow).

B @ Feminist Review reports on a new book coming out of the UK called Reclaiming the F-Word: The New Feminist Movement. Sounds like an interesting perspective from across the pond.

Molly @ first the egg asks for suggestions of your favorite feminist young adult books. Hop on over and share!

Cass @ Bonjour, Cass! has suggestions for non-fiction reading on trans issues. Looking for a refresher (or just some geeky summer reading? Check out the post!

Other folks looking to get themselves educated are medical students, who feel woefully ill-equipped to provide sexual health services to their patients, according to a new study. Kate Drummond @ Surge Desk has more.

s.e. smith @ FWD/Forward takes on uninformed advice from a different angle, this time a problematic response to a Miss Conduct etiquette column about touch, boundaries, and social spaces.

Last week, Dan Savage @ the New York Times observed that the new indie film, “The Kids Are All Right,” featuring a lesbian couple with two teenage children might not be the great progressive breakthrough it’s being touted as in many reviews. (Spoilers ahead in both links if you care!)

I realize this is the worst sort of film criticism (“Why did the filmmakers tell the story they told instead of the story they didn’t?”), but I couldn’t help feeling a little let down. There is, I think, just as much dramatic potential — just as many opportunities for crisis and conflict — in a story about two women who successfully incorporate the father of their children into their lives and into their family.

But maybe I have a bias.

Tonight we’re taking our son to the airport to pick up his mom, the woman who chose us, in an open adoption nearly 13 years ago, to raise her child. We didn’t have to slam a door in her face to become a family or to protect our family. We couldn’t have become a family without her.

Miriam @ Feministing also offers her own observations.

And finally, Abie Kopf @ Gay Rights Blog dissects the import of the wily quotation marks of homophobes.

Or should I say “wily” quotation marks?