I share a lot of links on Twitter and Facebook that I don’t blog about because I don’t have much to add. The reading list is a periodic feature where I share those links with my blog audience too. Of course, you’re still welcome to follow me on Twitter.
Around FtB
- Psychology For Gryffindors–“If we conduct good research—that is, research that uses large sample sizes and ethical methods and avoids statistical handwavery, we are doing it properly, and we will be able to improve the world.”
- Atheists, Please Stop Saying These Things–“This is hardly an exhaustive list, just the first few that come to mind.”
- Rejoice! The NYT Finally Published a Pretty Good Article About Sexuality–“The New York Times has an article about the effects of pornography on teenagers, and it’s actually such a well-written piece that I got really excited and wanted to share it with you.”
- Rape Myths About How Victims “Should” Behave–“When one looks at the scientific research on victim responses to sexual assault however, it becomes clear that the expectations that all rape victims ‘should’ behave this way are unfounded. So let’s take a look at the research.”
- Why You Really, Seriously, No Fooling, Should Not Give Unsolicited Amateur Medical Advice to People with Mental Illness (Or to Anyone, Really), Episode 563,305–“Okay. I’m going to spell this out as clearly as I possibly can.”
- World Vision (Except for the Gays)–“World Vision are no longer a humanitarian organisation in my eyes.”
- I Admit It: I Was Wrong About My Sexual Orientation–“Yes, straight dudes who scoffed whenever I came out to you and asked how I could possibly be bisexual if I am currently dating a man or have never had a serious relationship with a woman or ‘just don’t seem like that type’ or don’t want to have a threesome with you and your girlfriend: you were right.”
The Wider Web
- 14 Totally Badass Female Authors–“Some were political activists, held groundbreaking positions in academia or publishing, or experimented with then-taboo sexual identities. And others… well, let’s just say Hemingway isn’t the only bookish adventurer in the history books.”
- Insect Energy Bars: The Next Paleo Nutrition Craze–“The package’s contents were chirping loudly—plaintively, almost—and roommates Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz, both seniors at Brown University, began to question their plan.”
- Duck Duck Grey Duck–“The United States of America is a country divided. Never has there been so bitter a battle than the war over a simple little children’s game.”
- Trans people left behind in England and Wales equal marriage bill–“Imagine: you want to set up a new company but the law requires you to have the written consent of your wife; or you’ve just got pregnant, but you haven’t got a piece of paper with your husband’s signature on it stating he’s OK with that; or you’ve just been involved in a major car accident, sadly without your spouse’s written approval.”
- An observation about the invisibility of online harassment to White guys from @UOJim–“If you’re a white dude, these jerks are the dark matter of Twitter. You mostly don’t notice them, because they’re not looking for you”
- The genes are to blame game–“Spoiler: your genes are not to blame.”
- MSU could lose $500k for offering labor courses–“A state Senate panel approved a measure Thursday banning courses at public universities that promote or discourage organizing efforts. It’s a reaction to MSU’s recent decision to take over some programs from the National Labor College.”
- The Classic Coke and Mentos Experiment Modified To Include Nutella Chocolate Spread and a Durex Condom (video)
- Other People’s Pathologies–“Chait reads the piece as evidence of having ‘grown up around cultural norms that inhibited economic success.’ In fact, my behavior was the result of having grown up around cultural norms that enabled my survival.”
- What A Small Town’s Teen Pregnancy Turnaround Can Teach The U.S.–“Despite those declines in the United States, the U.S. still has one of the in the industrialized world, says Forrest Alton, chief executive officer of the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.”
- Dear Harvard: You Win–“I’m exhausted from sending emails to my resident dean, to my House Master, to my Sexual Assault/Sexual Harassment tutors, to counselors from the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, to my attorney.”
- Social Media fires birth control discussion–“A Facebook page created Sunday night is growing rapidly due to local response to a decision made by the St. John Health System, which owns Bartlesville’s Jane Phillips Medical Center.”
- Don’t Be April Fooled by Far-Right Activists Dressed Up as Democratic Candidates–“Dwyer also floated an idea, Operation DINO (Democrats In Name Only), in March 2013, calling on Republican gun owners to become Democrats in order to vote out progressives in the 2014 Democratic primaries.”
- 4 Ways to Get Black Kids Excited About STEM–“COSMOS is a great start, but supporting children’s interest in science by enrolling them in non-formal or out-of-classroom learning activities is critical.
- This State Is Quietly Becoming One Of The Worst For Women’s Health (And No, It’s Not Texas)–“In addition to requiring abortion providers to make a transfer agreement with a local hospital, Ohio’s law forbids public hospitals from entering into those partnerships.”
- Garrus Vakarian Body Pillow–“Your sleeping situation just got a whole lot less complicated.”
- I got a shout-out from SNL! Sort of…–“In the future, SNL, if I’m ever sorta the punchline of a joke, could you do a teeny bit of fact checking?”
- St. John responds to outcry–“The recent discovery that most local doctors would no longer be able to prescribe birth control for their patients was met with resounding opposition over the weekend, prompting a ‘social media uprising’ that resulted in a near reversal on the policy by St. John Health System on Monday.”
- Thank God for Abortion: What’s At Stake for Black Women–“As a black atheist already damned to a smokin’ Christian hell it’s gratifying to know that the Christian god has failed to completely prevent women from exercising their basic right to self-determination.”
- New York Abortion Access Fund, Spareway to Haven — Katha Pollitt
- On race and atheism: An interview with Anthony Pinn–“I find much of the same rhetorical commitment to diversity and difference within the humanist and atheist movement—and much of this involves a misguided assumption that difference is a problem to solve rather than seeing difference as a creative tension to nurture and maintain.”
Thanks for this. Occasionally these take me to interesting places I’ve never thought to explore. I read the posting on why not to give unsolicited amateur medical advice, following a few threads I encountered. I know several people well with various forms of mental illness, have encountered many others casually. I certainly hope in my ignorance I haven’t done this before. Havin had my awareness raised on the subject, I want to pass my appreciation on to Greta Christina, while also passing the link on to others I may need to apologize to. I was unable to log in to her blog for comment, so can you pass this on to her for me? Thanks.
Another apt quote from the A. Pinn interview:
“People calling for diversity often want more shades of the same: we will welcome others in, but we don’t want to change anything about the range of issues we address and how we conduct our business. – See more at: http://chrisstedman.religionnews.com/2014/04/01/race-atheism-interview-anthony-pinn/#sthash.6lHKV66S.dpuf“