QUICKIES 04/16/2012
By Richard Newman writes at a compelling analysis of the relationship between gender and the policing of female sexuality at Alas, A Blog. Here's a taste:
"Most people to whom I have told this story, and it doesn’t seem to matter how old or young they are, have been as surprised as he was that I did not beat him up; and when I have asked them why–since the idea of beating him up never even occurred to me–they always give the same answer. “She was your little sister,” they say. “It was your job to protect her.”
[…]
There is, in other words, a level of self-hatred involved in the violence I was, according to this logic, supposed to have done to my sister’s boyfriend, as I projected onto him the part of who I am that I would never allow myself to express with my sister. Moreover, there is an irony embedded in this self-hatred, because not to feel it, not to see someone like my sister’s boyfriend as a threat to her, and therefore to myself, is to fail as a man.
The best birth control in the world is for men. Subtitled Science: it rips your sperms to shreds!
For any fellow linguists in the sanctimonious women's studies set, here's a website devoted to the history of the word cunt.
Elizabeth Kolber at Harper's magazine asks a question that's always been on my mind: is having children immoral?
Featured image is from the etymology section of Matthew Hunt's website.
That history of 'Cunt' website is quite disappointing. I was looking forward to a good read, instead I get loosely connected anecdotes and factual errors. 2 obvious errors I found when looking for anything touching on the different use of the word in different English speaking countries:
Whitlam left parliament in 1978 and Winton Turnbell died in 1980. It would be rather difficult for them to exchange
Again incorrect. While it was racism that caused the controversy (Peter Everitt was the suspended player, ) the full phrase was usually used in the reporting. It was hard to avoid as vision of the incident made it obvious what was said to even the most novice lip-reader. Also interesting that theres no mention of a nearly identical incident involving a member of the Australian Cricket team, Darren Lehmann, and his suspension in the lead up to the 2003 world cup.
Not quite the "best birth control in the world."
First, it's currently in phase III clinical trials in India, and it's waiting for FDA approval in the US. Questions still exist about its "carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, and toxicity", according to wikipedia.
Secondly, it doesn't prevent the spread of STDs. Better birth control methods do.