Category: things i read this week

Yeah, I haven’t actually read much because I’ve basically become some sort of urban selkie and have been throwing myself into water whenever possible. It’s hard to read in water. Drop me links; I’m more likely to read things when the weather isn’t so glorious.

On the Pain of Violent Men, or, Why I’m not Sorry about Max and Montle (Linda Stupart)- Linda drew attention to some jokes about corrective rape coming from FHM South Africa writers. She got a lot of backlash, then wrote a this incredibly powerful and deeply personal piece.

Breaking news: the Greek trans community has had enough (Jane Fae)- A briefing on the horrifying situation in Greece, and how people are fighting back.

Singing the Lesbian Blues in 1920s Harlem (Collectors Weekly)- Overview of this subculture with stunning pictures.

50 Shades of Not White (Sam Ambreen)- Sam expresses her fears for the future of her two young nephews in a racist climate.

Other People’s Feelings (Meg Barker)- Very useful model of how feelings are interconnected.

And finally, Joe McDaldno, who wrote my very favourite game Monsterhearts, (which you should totally play if you grew up watching Buffy and wishing it was queerer) wants to come to the UK. Can you help him?

Ooh, I’ve had such a lovely week in the sun, but I still read some things. Perhaps you’ll find them interesting, too.

‘Open season on black boys after a verdict like this’ (Gary Younge)- A powerful response to the Zimmerman verdict, pulled from the Guardian’s CiF section.

Justice for Jasmine (sometimesitsjustacigar)- A raw and moving response to the murder of Jasmine.

Further Materials Toward a Theory of the Man-Child (Moira Weigel and Mal Ahern)- Witty challenge to sexism in an iconic Tiqqun piece, with a lot of good points about the feminisation of labour.

Two Key Points for 21st Century Marxism (There Is No Alternative)- Some questions we really need to address.

Kinky assumptions (Rebel’s Notes)- Analysis of assumptions made about kinky people.

Al Vernacchio: Sex needs a new metaphor. Here’s one … (TED Talks)- Discussion of US baseball metaphors for sex, and introducing a pizza metaphor for how we should be looking at sex.

Living Life By A Rape Schedule (Emmy Fisher)- On the dance we perform daily to avoid rape.

Changing The Creepy Guy Narrative (Chris Brecheen)- One man’s intervention against a creepy guy harassing a woman in public.

The Uterus Issue (Amber Trafficlight)- A timely discussion of where trans rights fit into reproductive justice.

Consent With Disabilities Introduction (Yes, that too)- Exploration of communication issues which should be considered with consent.

Body Politics and the Curious Case of the Page 3 Girl (jaythenerdkid)- One of the good things to have come out of the No More Page 3 nonsense is the quantity of good blogs explaining aspects of why it’s bollocks.

A personal look at Ramadan (tintinnytins)- Want to learn all about Ramadan? Tinny explains what it means to him.

You can’t just add-colour-and-stir to make a movement inclusive (Nishma Doshi)- A timely call to action.

And finally, meet Buttercup the duck, who had a poorly leg, then got a new leg and looked absurdly happy. As if that’s not heartburstingly lovely enough, there’s video of him walking for the first time and quacking with delight.

I read things. Much of it was written this week, but some of it wasn’t. Here are some things. Perhaps you, too, will enjoy them.

The Coalition Government’s New Policy: Blame the Immigrants (Justinthelibsoc)- Exploration of the frankly terrifying way the government are acting regarding immigration.

At the crossroads of disability and abortion: My body, my life, my choice. (halfagiraffe)- On the intersection of disability issues and abortion access.

An introduction / a recent epiphany (Tara)- How one feminist managed to consolidate her black, queer and feminist identities.

Why Being a POC Author Sucks Sometimes (Ellen Oh)- Some staggering figures and excellent analysis of diversity in writing here.

Trans 101, Upgoer Five style (Planting Rainbows)- Explaining trans through only the most commonly-used words.

Romantic love: an agent of change? (Niki Seth-Smith)- Interesting examination of love and revolution, urging interrogation of romantic individualism.

Romance, misogyny and near misses (Elisa)- On misogyny in “romance”.

Still a Child (Maggie McNeill)- On infantilising sex workers, with reflections on what makes someone an adult

If You Look A Little Closer, These People Might Surprise You (Upworthy)- Ad campaign attempting to destigmatise sex work in Argentina. I hope they expand this to a broader selection of roles.

Framed: Butches, Mannish-Women and Female Masculinity As Represented in Photography, 1920-1970 (Kristin Kurzawa)- An absolutely gorgeous set of photos from a history nearly erased.

Real Life Tron on an Apple IIgs (Daniel Wellman)- Programmers, in making a Tron-style game, accidentally have an AI escape into the computer’s memory and cause havoc. For reals.

Straight Pride UK: Lol. Nice Try Guys (Charlie Sarson)- Why the Straight Pride movement (which actually probably consists of one guy) is rubbish.

Occupy Gezi: (non-)(re-)memorialisation of the Armenian Genocide ((Un)free Archaeology)- On Turkey, the occupation and memorialising the Armenian genocide.

And finally, have some very literal stock photos which made me IRL LOL.

Yeah, that. (oh god I have a hangover oh god oh god)

MLH On Racism (Lauryn Hill)- Everything you ever need to read about racism.

Left for dead (Automnia)- On why the left is dead. Uncomfortably brilliant analysis.

You’ve had your anti-hipster fun, now get organised. (bidrohi blog)- Yeah, we were all grossed out by an egregious example of hipster gentrification. Now do things.

History Lesson: what happened when Canada enacted a feminist anti-porn law? (Glasgow Sex Worker)- Bad things. Bad things happened. Remember.

Why is sterilisation still being forced on transgender people? (Marie le Conte)- A reminder of a generally shitty situation for trans people.

The Equal Marriage Act and transgender rights. The prejudice below. (image not available)- Another reminder.

Your Body Is A Market (gaelick)- On why Dublin Pride is quite, quite terrible.

Sex work and stigma (Laura’s Diary)- On the stigma associated with sex work.

Pride (anonymous)- A heartbreaking first-person account of exactly what that stigma can do to a person.

The WHO stats tell us the extent of violence against women. Now what are we going to do about it? (sian and crooked rib)- VAWG. Still shockingly, but unsurprisingly prevalent.

Call things by their proper names (zetkin)- Everything you need to read on feminism and porn.

And finally, here’s a really angry baby genet and a possibly-murderous baby quoll.

You know what this post is about. I have a hangover.

Finite Human Resources (The Year of Living Precariously)- On that bollocks about having to smile at work, except actually much more than that.

The fruits of our Labour? Resisting health and education privatisation in the UK (Peter Pannier and Brixtonite)- Articulate explanation of why the Labour Party are shit and it’s a waste of time to try to reclaim it. Send it to your Labour friends, if you’re still friends with any of them.

Keir Starmer’s Obscene Solution (ObscenityLawyer)- Really important read on some new guidelines which could ultimately make sending a direct message about bondage illegal.

It’s not about me (Sam Ambreen)- Another fab one from our Sam.

Are straight actors in gay roles the new blackface? (Christopher Kelly)- Ignore the title, it doesn’t actually argue that, although blackface comparisons are always problematic as hell. Thought-provoking piece on the hollowness of casting straight actors in gay roles.

Schizophrenia, forced treatment, and gender (The Fementalists)- A discussion of why gender needs to be factored in to mental health care.

And finally, what the inside of my head looks like.

Things. I read them.

For Iain (Roz Kaveney)- Raise a dram for Iain M Banks as you read this poem.

Thin Blue Crimes: On ASAB (sadkant)- Are all soldiers bastards? A thought-provoking structural analysis.

Edinburgh sauna raids highlight the invisibility of sex workers (Claire Askew)- A crucial analysis of the situation up in Edinburgh and what it means for sex workers.

Press needs to take a hard look at itself after attack on Lucy Meadows (Jennie Kermode)- Reaction to the role the media played in the death of teacher Lucy Meadows.

life won’t begin when you’re thin & thoughts on community. (Arched Eyebrow)- A gloriously uplifting and very welcome dose of body positivity.

What I Would Tell a Person New to Kink (The Buzz)- Some advice about kink and the kink community which often one ends up learning a little later than ideal.

Why your hymen isn’t going anywhere (Sarah Woolley)- Sarah busts some myths about hymens and highlights the need for better sex education.

Love and Afrofeminism: 5 Core Self-Care Principles Every Activist Should Live By (Spectra Speaks)- Important advice. We need to look after ourselves in this revolution.

20 Things Never to Say to a Friend Who Confides in You That They’ve Been Sexually Assaulted (Feministe)- Read. And then don’t say these things, FFS.

Rape Porn: Rapists by Proxy? (Musings of a rose)- A frank and honest post from a rape survivor who enjoys rape porn.

Gender Trouble, Racial Salvation and the Tragedy of Political Community in ‘Game Of Thrones’ (The Disorder of Things)- A critique of problematic elements in seasons two and three of Game of Thrones. So good, I wish I’d written it myself.

And finally, an inexplicable corgi lobster.

I read some things. I found them interesting. Maybe you will, too.

Alien vs Predator fight over intersectionality (Flavia Dzodan)- Aside from the brilliant title, this is a really important piece about erasure of women of colour.

Tea Flasks and Fascists (Graham’s Grumbles)- That thing where the EDL were won around by tea? Here’s why that’s unlikely to work elsewhere.

The Kumbayah Myth (Southside Remittances)- Related to the above, in a way. On why the “why can’t we just all be nice to each other and racism will stop” is a nonsense.

Stephen Fry, suicide, and the cycle (Secret Life of a Feminist Depressive)- TW for suicide, but this piece is a beautifully-written articulation of feeling suicidal.

Taking sides (Sam Ambreen)- On why it’s bullshit to talk about taking sides.

Anti-fascists should be free to stand their ground against the far right (Dan Trilling)- Important piece on the worrying trend of police arresting antifascists.

Neurokink; or, the time that I turned a board game into a sex toy (Project Neurokink)- OMG OMG OMG this is like the awesomest, geekiest project ever, and I look forward to seeing more of it!

And finally, something nice to do with a creepy adult doodle pad.

Didn’t read much, because fascists keep showing up and I keep having to oppose them, but here’s some things I read this week that I found interesting, some of it not necessarily written this week. Please drop me more links I may find interesting.

Standing on the shoulders of giants (Reni Eddo-Lodge)- Reni takes us on a journey through the same argument that keeps being had, from Sojourner Truth to Audre Lourde, via bell hooks. Let’s stop this happening now, please.

White privilege? Check (Sam Ambreen)- Sam articulates continuing righteous dismay with white feminists.

Louise Mensch, take a lesson on privilege from the internet (Laurie Penny)- In which Laurie completely schools anti-intersectional commentators, explaining some basics and giving them no excuse to plead ignorance.

The Dictionary and Marginalised People (Womanist Musings)- You know that annoying thing where someone stubbornly rims their dictionary rather than engage in a discussion on social justice? Here’s why that’s bullshit.

And finally, GBC Legal are amazing, and have been doing invaluable work in the last week. They train legal observers and can send them when a protest is happening, provide information about rights and do support for people who have been arrested during political activism. They need money to keep doing the invaluable work they do. Can you help them?

I read things. I found them interesting. Show me other interesting things, please.

IC a Muslim (Sam Ambreen)- A very personal piece from Sam on being a woman of colour in the aftermath of a terrorism scare.

straight (Linda Stupart)- Linda takes us on a journey to how she embraced her queer identity.

Assault by police (tiredlegs)- Enormous trigger warning for violence. Tiredlegs tells the story of what happened when she reported concerns about sexual assault to the police as a woman with mental health issues.

The bipolar and abortion case (zedkat)- A response to a recent, horrific case in the news, and how it reflects some of zed’s worst fears.

What Do You Desire? (Emily Witt)- A long form piece on BDSM porn and how it is made, and what it all means.

Opinion: I Was A Misogynist Comedian (Michael J Dolan)- Michael was a misogynist comedian. He got better.

Whoremoms – A documentary on Sex Work and the Family Court. (Tanaha Koontz)- A fairly worthy cause for a Kickstarter. Read this story of the experience of a sex worker with the family court system, and donate if you’d like to see it made into a documentary.

On Reverse Cultural Appropriation (my culture is not a trend)- On white people crying reverse cultural appropriation when black people wear suits, and why that’s a nonsense.

Why Do Men Keep Putting Me in the Girlfriend-Zone? (insert literary reference)- A witty antidote to that “friendzone” bollocks.

You can shove your same sex marriage up your arse (riotstarz)- A very lucid critique of same sex marriage.

It’s worse when it’s a woman? (itsjustahobby)- Jem shares a story of women policing other women’s acceptability and ponders why it feels worse.

Corrected (STFU MRAs)- An artistic correction to some liberal bullshit which gets way too much credence.

Nick Ross: Myth Perpetuator (One Woman’s Thoughts)- A speedy response to the latest rape apologist bollocks in the Mail.

On the Swedish “riots” (MegafonenOrten)- All you need to know about what’s going on in Sweden.

The Consent Debate (eumelia)- On the understanding of consent in fandom, and how it’s quite terrible.

Judith Butler explained with cats (Binarythis)- Struggling to understand Judith Butler? Me too. This explanation, with cats, should help.

And finally, 19 cats who just need to check their goddamn privilege.

Once again, a week happened and I read some things. It was a nice week. I had a birthday in it and so did lots of other people.

Keep on. (Arched Eyebrow)- Militant body positivity that is utterly inspirational from the awesome Bethany.

The Scarlet D: The Accusation of Deviance (Yes Means Yes)- The kink community often try to reclaim words like “pervert” and “deviant”. Here’s an interesting analysis of why this author is uncomfortable with that.

The Power of Language (Red Headed League)- Vic explains why media feminists need to be more careful with the language they use and avoid excluding other women.

On Ink, My Skin, And You.. (Amanda Jones)- On the harassment experienced by a woman with tattoos.

Rape Culture in the Poly World (The Misadventures of Ms M)- Men get creepy to poly women. Mel tells her story.

I’m A Trans Woman And I’m Not Interested In Being One of the “Good Ones” (Vivian)- On the pressure to uphold a certain ideal, both from within a community and outside.

Dirty Words: A Probing Analysis of 5000 Call Girl Reviews (John Millward)- An in-depth investigation of language used by punters to describe sex workers. It’s interesting to see some research going on here, although it is not without its limitations.

Effects Of Thinking White People Are “All Like That” (fuckyeahcracker)- Useful to remember. Read this.

A comedian raised over $6,000 to skywrite a joke over LA. Here’s what he wrote. (HappyPlace)- Rather happy-making.

Self-Care Guide for Survivors (Sisters of Resistance)- Such a useful guide to finding out what works for you. Worth bookmarking.

And finally, the police.