Storycorp has an interview with David Wilson, one of the plaintiffs in the 2004 marriage equality court case in Massachusetts.

Yet more proof that Jon Stewart rules. I repeat: fuck Chris Christie.

Unicorn Booty is proof that the Flying Spaghetti Monster loves us and wants us to be happy. [NSFW!]

s.e. smith has a really powerful piece on statism and sexual politics at Tiger Beatdown.

Bridgewater (MA) State University lesbian student campus paper staffer Destinie Mogg-Barkalow was assaulted last week after publishing a column advocating marriage equality.

Sociologist David Mayeda has written a pretty great analysis Super Bowl commercials and hegemonic masculinity.

To steal a headline from Queerty: Dick Cheney Lobbied For MD’s Gay-Marriage Bill. In Other News: Hell Frozen Over.

You can’t make this up: American Family Association blogger Bryan Fischer writes a whole column about how a 17-year-old Rhode Island high school junior is “a little atheist bully” who is “tyranically oblivious” and a “small-minded and vengeful brat.” Bonus bon mot from the commentariat: “Justice Clarence Thomas says a lot of dumb things. You might as well cite Carrot Top.”

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My boyfriend is taking a class in applied anthropology this semester (a class I took a couple of years ago). Part of the course structure is working on practicum exercises as the class progresses, culminating in a professional portfolio meant to help students connect their non-academic interests with their education and training in anthropology. One of the practicum exercises is meant to get students thinking about the politics of applying anthropology.

There’s a real tension in anthropology between those who actively advocate for social justice on behalf of their informants and those who let that be a by-product of their work (but not something they actively attempt to bring about). It seems to me that this tension also exists in the skeptical and scientific communities.

The common wisdom in these communities seems to be that being political or advocating for social justice is somehow non-scientific and biased, and that any science that is used for these means is inherently subjective and prejudicial. I beg to differ because I think that science can be really useful in getting at the real (and not perceived) causes of social injustice.

How do you define activism? Social justice? What do these things mean to you? Do you feel science and skepticism has a place in social justice movements? What about the role of social justice in science and skepticism?

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Regendering is a powerful tool to reveal unexamined gender stereotypes in anything from movies to literature. This tool, called the HTML5 Gendered Advertising Remixer, allows you to regender children’s toy commercials by playing the audio for a boy’s toy commercial with the video for a girl’s toy, or vice versa.

The Athena Film Festival attempted to put a dent in the male-dominated movie industry this week, saying they, “[celebrate] the stories of women who have made a difference across the globe.”  The link includes ten clips from the movies shown.

Avid misogynist Foster Freiss (yes, that’s really his name), a major donor to Rick Santorum’s campaign, said on MSNBC this week that, “You know, back in my days, they’d use Bayer aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn’t that costly.” The host, Andrea Mitchell, had a pristine moment of what is this I don’t even, because she’d never truly believed that anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like. The video is worth the watch.

Even Rick Santorum, the man who described rapists as being on a Blues Brothers-like mission from God, is backing away from this guy, pretending he’s “had a consistent record on this of supporting women’s right to have contraception. I’ve supported funding for it.”

Image is of Polly Pocket, from the HTML5 Gendered Advertising Remixer.

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This next week is the week Brasil stops functioning as a country and becomes a stage for what many would call the event of the year: Carnaval. In some regions, the party has already been going on for weeks. It doesn’t really matter where you are, it’s everywhere. And while personally, I have no interest in the kind of partying it provides (in addition to the perpetuation of very, very harmful stereotypes on Brazilian women and Brazilian culture and Brazilian music Brazilian artists and… Well, Brazil), it’s still one. Whole. Week. Off.

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Skeptics and atheists almost universally support marriage equality across genders, and increasingly independent of number and exclusivity. Lately i’ve read advocacy for *full* marriage equality, including for close relatives (consanguineous relationships). The only reasonable objections i’ve ever heard have to do with the increased risk of disorders and immunodeficiency. However, i’m not versed in the scientific / medical literature, and unless the risk is extreme it seems more appropriate to educate rather than stigmatize (as with teen pregnancy).

So, what should we bear in mind about consanguinamory? Where can we find reliable information (esp. for our large and geographically mobile population)? What should we learn before becoming consanguineous allies? –C.

Well, that’s a question you don’t see every day.

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Sorry for the slightly long quickies folks – too much has happened!

As most of you probably know, US politicians have been handwringing about the ongoing issue of how to ensure that women who work for religious organizations have access to birth control through their insurers. Last week, Obama came out with a compromise where insurers would offer women BC free of charge, not paid for by the insurance provided by their religious employers.

However, yesterday, a total debacle went down in the House of Representatives. Congressman Darrell Issa held a hearing on birth control and “religious freedom,” and refused to include a single female witness. House Democrats walked out.

Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke was in the room, but not allowed to testify about how Georgetown’s insurance policy (which does not cover birth control) caused her friend to develop a massive ovarian cyst. Read her story here.

And finally,  one of Rick Santorum’s richest backers went on TV to suggest that women should use aspirin as birth control, they could just “put it between their legs.”

On a more upbeat and traditional quickie note, The Arkansas Times has a great profile of trans woman and early video game designer Dani Burton.

Image of Sandra Fluke from Think Progress. 

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Every so often I run into someone who is unfamiliar with skepticism, or at least the skeptic movement as we know it. Each time, I find myself giving the brief explanation that we encourage critical thinking and try our best to combat misinformation when we see it. Then, if the person is interested in more, I tell them to read The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan, because it’s the best introduction to skepticism I’ve come across.

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Things that make you go “awwww”: this gay couple in Thailand setting a world record for longest kiss. [Two days? Holy crap, I've got some catching up to do.]

Raise your hands if you believe that this idiotic proposed legislation in Arizona wouldn’t be used to police gender and enforce heteronormativity. *crickets chirping*

In case you needed one, here is another excellent reason to reject libertarian canon.

In Uganda it is apparently illegal even to talk about LGBT rights. The Ethics Minister apparently takes his duty to enforce this very seriously.

Best thing about Valentine’s Day: totally ComicsAlliance’s roundup of wicked awesome and sometimes gay V-Day art. One, two, three, and a bonus Betty/Veronica cover that really ought to exist (no, really).

Hey gays, ever wanted to visit Illinois? Because Illinois wants you to visit!

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We have all been newbies at one point or another in our lives. Introducing ourselves to new communities, new ways of thinking, or even just new areas of interest can be quite daunting.

One of the goals of Queereka is to give voice to LGBTQ+ skeptics. Part of this involves hopefully drawing out people who otherwise might not participate in the skeptical community for any number of reasons related to sex, gender, and/or sexuality. It can be quite intimidating going to a website with an established community and becoming an involved and active participant.

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The White House announced a planned compromise that will mean that women will still get free contraception, but that religious organizations will not have to pay for it. Instead, the insurance company will be required to reach out to women and directly offer contraception.

The Republican verbal assault on women’s healthcare continues: Rick Santorum does not believe insurance companies should cover contraception – any contraception – at all, saying, “This is something that is affordable, available. You don’t need insurance for these types of relatively small expenditures.”

Gee, Rick, maybe God’s using the insurance company to give me the gift of a depo shot, in a very broken way? Or are only rapists agents of divine will?

A person with a uterus has given birth in the UK. What makes this newsy is that this person is also the first transman that has had bottom surgery to do so, though the bigger story may be that this shows how far queer health and trans-acceptance has come.

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