rachel_in_wy

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By rachel_in_wy • 14 years ago

It’s funny you should ask

Cross-posted at my blog.
As a working mom of an almost-2-year-old, I feel terrifically relieved when I read headlines like this: “Working mothers ‘don’t harm their children’s development’, major study reveals.” All along I’ve been so worried that I was single-handedly harming her development. Because, of course, if anything goes wrong with her, it must be my fault. In fact, I must have directly and selfishly caused it. You’ll notice that the headline isn’t phrased like this: “Having two parents who work full time outside the home does not harm a child’s development.” And it’s especially never, ever this: “Working fathers ‘don’t harm their children’s development,’ major study reveals.” Cause if you printed something like that everyone would be like “well, duh.”
This study obviously aims to answer the question “Do working mothers harm their children’s development?” And that tells you a lot about the assumptions and beliefs of the people who asked the question, the culture that the question came out of, and the people who are framing the results of the study. In Philosophy, we tend to think there’s a lot of significance in the way people phrase things and in the questions they ask. You can tell a lot about a person’s worldview by listening to the questions they think are worth pursuing. This is one of the most fundamental ways in which science is influenced by the culture in which it’s embedded. Why would anybody even think to ...

By rachel_in_wy • 14 years ago

Done with Pink

I’ve never been a fan of all the pink bullshit that surrounds breast cancer in our culture. For one thing, I personally don’t really like the color pink, and resent the fact that, as a woman, I’m virtually required to love it, embrace it, wear it, identify with it. I will choose my own color, thanks. Further, I agree with Barbara Ehrenreich that much of the imagery and the products surrounding breast cancer awareness is nothing short of infantilizing. And this is thoroughly infuriating. But of course, it’s just the tip of the iceberg, although for me it’s come to symbolize my antipathy to the breast cancer industrial complex.
Until recently, my anti-pink stance has been all about the ...

By rachel_in_wy • 14 years ago

Friendliness and Femininity

I tend to think about gendered social expectations a lot. For one thing, I’m raising a couple of girls here, and for another thing, I tend not to conform to some of the expectations, and have gotten my share of shit from well-meaning friends and family as well as complete strangers. I used to be sort of bewildered by this. Why on earth would a complete stranger be so invested in how I perform gender? So I’ve written before on the topics of owning your physical space and changing your speech patterns in order to stop apologizing and verbally deferring to men so often. But over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking ...

I tend to think about gendered social expectations a lot. For one thing, I’m raising a couple of girls here, and for another thing, I tend not to conform to some of the expectations, and have ...

By rachel_in_wy • 14 years ago

Controversial Photo Series

Yesterday I posted on the Fallen Princesses photo series by Dina Goldstein on my blog. Today there’s a post on this series on the Bitch Blog. The comments vary widely with some commenters loving the series and others hating it.
Here are the two images from the series that I posted:
Here and here.
When I first saw the photos, I interpreted them as commentary on the inability of princesses to cope with real life situations, and the fact that princesses are not immune to the kinds of hardships (like cancer and war) that befall others. So, for example, I viewed the image of Snow White as a statement that motherhood ...

Yesterday I posted on the Fallen Princesses photo series by Dina Goldstein on my blog. Today there’s a post on this series on the Bitch Blog. The comments vary widely with ...

By rachel_in_wy • 14 years ago

Abortion and Mainstream Medicine

This is crossposted on my blog.
I realize I rant about the western medical industry a lot – about how it’s profit-driven and averse to evidence-based practice, about its profound and subtle patriarchal values and views, etc. But since the assassination of Dr. Tiller I’ve been slowly cooking up a new beef with western medicine.
It seems to me that much of the stigma and violence surrounding abortion would be impossible if abortion was simply integrated into normal medical practice. Any ob-gyn can perform an abortion. In fact, in the case of medical abortions (the pill), all it takes is a nurse practitioner, or anyone who’s qualified to administer a pregnancy test and write a prescription. ...

By rachel_in_wy • 14 years ago

Choking Over the “Feminist” Label

Maybe it’s just me, but this interview with Katty Kay of the BBC left a slightly unpleasant taste in my mouth.

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Katty Kay colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Keyboard Cat

First of all, why is it so hard for her to own the “feminist” label? Maybe she’s afraid her work will be pigeonholed and dismissed if she does? I don’t know, but when the message you’re conveying is clearly feminist, it seems odd to be so reluctant to accept the label.
Second, what’s with all the pandering and assuring teh menz that we really do love them and value them and intend to keep them ...

Maybe it’s just me, but this interview with Katty Kay of the BBC left a slightly unpleasant taste in my mouth.

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Katty Kay colbertnation.com Colbert ...

By rachel_in_wy • 14 years ago

The Case of Daniel Hauser

This is crossposted on my blog.
You’ve probably heard of this story by now. Daniel Hauser is a 13 y/o who’s been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is said to be highly treatable with chemo and radiation. Daniel’s family is Catholic but also “believe in the ‘do no harm’ philosophy of the Nemenhah Band, a Missouri-based religious group that believes in natural healing methods advocated by some American Indians.” So the family prefers natural healing and feels suspicious about the effects of chemo (and rightfully so).
Daniel has quit chemo after one treatment, and he and his mother missed a court appearance, resulting in an arrest warrant for the mother and an ...

This is crossposted on my blog.
You’ve probably heard of this story by now. Daniel Hauser is a 13 y/o who’s been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is said to be highly treatable with ...

By rachel_in_wy • 14 years ago

Double Puke

Today I received an email from Slate magazine announcing the good news that Slate isn’t just for men anymore. I totally didn’t get that it was only for men before, hence my mistake in actually reading it occasionally. But I guess I should have known that, given that the default assumption in our culture is that anything that isn’t specifically branded for women (i.e. dumbed down and pinkified) is for men. So now Slate is also for women, but only their Double X site, not the regular sections. Because their regular sections cover things like politics and the economy and new books and art and science. But women aren’t interested in these things. ...