dominiquem

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By dominiquem • 16 years ago

Bogus speculation reinforces gender stereotypes in psychiatry

Daddy is logical and cold. Mommy is emotional. Too much of daddy makes you autistic. Too much of mommy makes you manic depressive.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Dr. Crespi and Dr. Badcock propose that an evolutionary tug of war between genes from the father’s sperm and the mother’s egg can, in effect, tip brain development in one of two ways. A strong bias toward the father pushes a developing brain along the autistic spectrum, toward a fascination with objects, patterns, mechanical systems, at the expense of social development. A bias toward the mother moves the growing brain along what the researchers call the psychotic spectrum, toward hypersensitivity to mood, their own and others’. This, according to the theory, increases a child’s risk of developing schizophrenia later on, as well as mood problems like bipolar disorder and depression.”
How scienced-based is this, exactly? We are informed that it’s from “two scientists, drawing on **their own powers of observation** and **a creative reading** of recent genetic findings”.
(emphasis mine, of course)
Source:
In a Novel Theory of Mental Disorders, Parents’ Genes Are in Competition
by Benedict Carey
New York Times
November 10, 2008
The whole thing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/health/research/11brain.html?_r=2&ref=science&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

By dominiquem • 16 years ago

Columnist pressures women into having sex when they don’t feel like it

Dan Savage is a hugely popular sex columnist. Many times, his advice and views are a refreshing change from the usual. At other times, like in this column, he makes me squirm.
Essentially, he’s telling women to close their eyes and think of England. Like we haven’t heard this from the patriarchy a thousand times.
Here’s the quote:

“But you also commit to making sure your boyfriend is well and thoroughly milked – with your cheerful assistance – at least three additional times a week. You commit to being his full-blown sex partner once a week and his life-size, ambulatory masturbatory aide at least three times a week.”
How would that work? Well, let’s say you’re not up for sex ...

By dominiquem • 16 years ago

The bareface project

Hello. I want to start something. Here’s my idea:
Welcome to the bareface project.
This is for women as we are – no added preservatives. Because we live in a world where our faces aren’t good enough and get covered in paint or reshaped under a knife.
Because we live in a world where our bodies aren’t good enough and we get bombarded with suggestions for surgeries we don’t need. Because in the end, who we are is erased, and remade in an image that purports to be something better.

By dominiquem • 16 years ago

Filipina “mail-order” widow scrutinized by Immigration Canada

This is an ongoing worldwide issue. Women from empoverished countries, often used as tools for economic development by their families back home, get pressured into marrying rich undesirable men in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Australia. Both sides know it’s a loveless marriage (just like arranged marriages throughout most of human history). This time, the husband died. His wife had found out he was an alcoholic. She was the beneficiary of his life insurance. His family immediately claimed she had committed fraud because she married him for his money. Now Immigration Canada is investigating *her*. This whole thing is wrong on so many levels.

By dominiquem • 16 years ago

Topless in Toronto: how my breasts terrorized the neighbourhood

It’s been 12 years since women won the right to go topless in Ontario, thanks to the Gwen Jacob decision of 1996. You’d never know it even happened.
It was hot out one day this summer, so I took my shirt off at the Beaches: not exactly a black tie dinner at the Imperial Tea Room. The worst harassment I endured came from other women, though men joined in also.
My tits scared the hell out of the whole neighbourhood.

It’s been 12 years since women won the right to go topless in Ontario, thanks to the Gwen Jacob decision of 1996. You’d never know it even happened.
It was hot out one day this summer, so ...

By dominiquem • 16 years ago

Lawyer defends men who buried women alive

A lawyer defending Baluchi tribesmen who shot women and buried them alive “told a packed and flabbergasted Parliament on Friday that Baluch tribal traditions helped stop obscenity and then asked fellow lawmakers not to make a big fuss about it.”
wtf??? And these are Western allies????

By dominiquem • 16 years ago

The Accused, revisited: mixed, mixed, mixed feelings…

Just today I saw The Accused again, with Jodie Foster (and yes she was riveting). It was hard to watch. Really hard. The film was supposed to be empowering, showing that no matter how women dress or act they don’t deserve to be gang raped in a bar, it was depressing because it highlighted the fact that 1) you need witnesses and 2) it all has to happen in public with lots of guys before anyone takes you seriously.
I’m not sure if anyone agrees. But the film triggered serious anxiety memories for me because as a teen, I was raped several times and never reported it. Like 99 per cent of women who were “date raped.”

By dominiquem • 16 years ago

Need help to interpret something I think is weird… has to do with harassment

This is something that actually happened 12-14 years ago (in about a two-year time span) but it’s been bugging me lately. Don’t know why it’s resurfaced now but it just did. Please bear with me as I try to piece things together.
In 1994, I was hired by a television producer and reporter to help him out. He had gotten the job that I had applied for but didn’t get, since he had the camera/television experience that I didn’t. However, I had the writing abilities. But this wasn’t enough for the company and they hired him, who was a cameraman only, as a subcontractor with editing equipment and camera operators subcontracting for him.
He had been going after me for ...