Old Feminist
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Old Feminist

Why is Jenny McCarthy so effective?

A recent discussion on the Skeptical Inquirer page on Facebook got me thinking. Why are celebrities so effective in leading people astray with anti-science and woo?

I think it's because they are good at presenting narrative. That is, after all, their job. So they create a particular narrative, that of the conspiracy-cracker, and everything falls into place for them.

The narrative requires that the conspiracy-breaker be reviled by "the establishment," so any evidence from the medical research community is cast as more conspiracy. It's proof the conspiracy-breaker is ... << MORE >>

Gifting, crafting, gender and the holidays

This post on Skepchick got me thinking about gifting and how it relates to gender and the holidays (hence my cleverly-worded post title):
Do you get crafty with gifts? Did you receive anything this year that someone made specifically for you? Have you ever given a gift that you’re particularly proud of?
My impression from the comments is that most of those who take the time to handcraft presents for others are female.  I can't be sure because not everyone uses a gendered name, and, of course, the gendered name may not match the person's gender orientation anyway.

There is a gendered-male comment about someone who went the extra mile to get individualized presents.  He went about buying pens with the person's name on them, having a book made from the person's recipes, giving customized t-shirts and so on.  So he didn't actually do the work.

The only one I see from a gendered-male nym about making a present for someone is mrthumbtack, who forged his parents a coat-rack.  Oh, and one from a parent of a young woman whose boyfriend made her a pillow, amused at the boy "trying" to sew.

Davew doesn't think shopping is skilled work, and feels mandatory gift-giving is a guilt machine.

Searching the web isn't much better.  I had to wade through several blog search pages on Google to find the first one where a man actually did some crafting — this entry in the blog EmbellishYourself includes an account of the husband of a couple making individualized screen printed t-shirts.

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Garrison Keillor, bigot?

At first I thought Keillor was only mocking, by exaggeration, the "War On Christmas" hysteria by imitating it. His piece brought out a lot of people earnestly explaining things to him that he surely already knows, about the non-Christian origin and ecumenically broad nature of today's Christmas celebrations.  

Much of it seems to assume that he is the kind of "modern traditionalist" who loves "Frosty the Snowman" and only requires that we say Christmas rather than Holiday. But he isn't. If you listen to his show, you notice that he sticks with ... << MORE >>

Hitchens' unrequited love for Sarah Palin

Okay, not really, but it's gotta mean something that Chris Hitchens calls her a tease in his Newsweek article:

The Palin problem, then, might be that she cynically incites a crowd that she has no real intention of pleasing. If she were ever to get herself to the nation's capital, the teabaggers would be just as much on the outside as they are now, and would simply have been the instruments that helped get her elected.

and then graduates to explicitly calling her a cock-tease ... << MORE >>

Law & Order Abortion Episode

I finally got around to seeing the Law&Order episode based on the Dr. Tiller abortion killer case.  Rather than recap it, I've placed links to articles on other blogs describing it in detail at the end of this article, since it's been covered better already.

Suffice it to say, it didn't fare very well.

What I expected, and was not surprised to see, was the total erasure of the agency of the pregnant woman.  It's as if the trial was whether the particular woman in question should have an abortion or not.  Not whether the abortion doctor killer ...<< MORE >>

Feelings are information

So there's this book that's been out for a while, you've probably seen it or even read it.  You Just Don't Understand:  Women And Men In Conversation, by Deborah Tannen.  It is very popular and, like the Venus and Mars books, purports to explain how men and women differ in the way they talk and why.

A lot of people got as their takeaway from the book that men talk to convey information, women talk to share feelings.

I think she's almost right.  The things women talk about are counted as feelings [1].  That doesn't mean they aren't information!  Nor does it ...<< MORE >>

Maria Shriver, where are you?

Maria Shriver (in conjunction with hp) has created a report and set up a related website, A Woman's Nation.  It's about the place of women at work, how the US needs to adjust to having so many kids with either a single parent or both parents working yet there's not enough child care, and other implications of women in the workplace that have been underrepresented in politics, social policy, and the media.

There are some good articles there.  For example, a quote from "Where Have You Gone, Roseanne Barr?" by Susan J. Douglas:
"Women’s professional success and financial status are ...<< MORE >>

Fixed that for you

The comic xkcd.com put up a comic recently which has excited some discussion in the blogosphere.  Here it is:

The comic seems to say that the man is worried about saying anything to the woman, when she'd gladly like to have him say something to her. 

This is pretty much unrealistic.  The average woman-on-the-train isn't hoping the guy next to her will talk to her.  She's usually either passively ignoring him and the others on the train, or is hoping he or anyone else won't bother her.

So I fixed that for you:


...<< MORE >>

Justice delayed

So now they've finally arrested Roman Polanski, more than thirty years after he escaped justice for raping a thirteen-year-old girl.
PARIS — After more than 30 years as a fugitive from U.S. justice, Roman Polanski, the director of legendary films including “Chinatown” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” was arrested in Switzerland on an international warrant as he arrived in Zurich for a film festival featuring a retrospective of his work, the Swiss authorities said Sunday.
Of course not everyone is happy:
France's political elite rallied to the defence of Roman Polanski on Sunday, calling on Switzerland to free the 76-year-old film director rather ...<< MORE >>

Once again, we visit the stations of the cross of rape denialism

Of course MacKenzie Phillips is lying about her father raping her. 

And of course we must visit all the "stations of the cross" that explain how it couldn't possibly have happened.

After all, we only have her word, which isn't really worth anything.
Remember folks we have no proof, just the claims of a disturbed former drug addict. PROOF is what is needed, not hearsay.
After all, her stepmothers both say it couldn't have happened.
Ex-wife Genevieve Waite: "He was incapable, no matter how drunk or drugged he was, of having such a relationship with his own child."
Ex-wife Michelle Phillips: "I have every reason to believe it’s untrue."
After all, she's crazy and a drug addict.
"If she thinks it’s true, why isn’t she with a good psychiatrist on a couch? "
After all, she made the claim before, but then recanted it, says her stepmother. 
"Michelle Phillips says that in 1997, Mackenzie told everyone in their extended family that she and her father, Michelle’s famous former husband, had had a sexual relationship. “She told me, then she called me back and said, ‘You know I’m joking,’ ” Michelle told me. “I said it wasn’t funny. Mackenzie said, ‘I guess we have different senses of humor.’ ”"
After all, it's gross, and someone who thinks this happened to her must just have a disgusting imagination.
"after all if it's money or attention she seeks, the only way she can get it now is to write a book and tell stories about her crazy life. If the stories have all been told, and you want to sell a book you have to make up new ones that top all of the old ones and this tops them all."
After all, she's just doing it for attention, publicity, and money. 
Mackenzie is jealous of her siblings, who have accomplished a lot and did not become drug addicts."
After all, if it really happened, she should be ashamed, not accusing, because she's just as guilty as he is. 
""The thing is, who among us haven't done something that we're highly ashamed of in our lives?" [half-sister Chynna] said to Winfrey."

"I don't understand why Mackenzie wants to tell everyone about something like this anyway. If she wants to help other incest victims deal with their trauma, does it make sense for victims to make their shame public?"
After all, she was acting flirtatious and familiar with him. He's the real victim here.
 Ex-wife Genevieve Waite in a statement read by Oprah Winfrey: "...I would often complain to John about her overly familiar attitude toward him and he would tell me that was just her way."
Rape should be kept quiet, especially if it's incestuous because it shames the family.
Michelle Phillips: "Whether her relationship with her father is delusional or not, it is an unfortunate circumstance and very hurtful for our entire family."
Rape isn't committed by famous good-looking people, because they can get "anyone they want."  Ugly people can't be raped because they should be grateful to get any sex at all.  She enjoyed it and so it's not rape.
"Mackenzie has a great dad who knows that since she isnt that great looking, he helps her with the sex introduction. "
"its not rape if you like it :)"
Rape, especially if you're a child when it happens, never gives you psychological problems.  You can't make an accusation if you're "crazy" or even upset, or it must just be your imagination.
Mackenzie has a lot of mental illness.
Rape isn't really the rapist's fault if you and he were high or drunk.
"So now, if she had blackouts from the drugs and he had blackouts from the drugs, is it conceivable that neither she nor her father knew what they were doing?"
Rape accusations, if they're legitimate, are always made immediately, no matter the power imbalance between the rapist and the victim.  Delay proves the accusation false.  She didn't report it to the police when it happened.
"She could have stopped it at anytime but she chose to do it for 10 years."
"The whole thing is timed...“
Rape only happens when a stranger leaps out of the bushes and attacks a pretty girl.  This had to be consensual.
"At 29 years old - her legs were pointed to Jesus, welcoming her father. That is not rape. That is consent. And boy did she ever consent to getting it on with her father, while she was an adult."
Rape is offensive to people and shouldn't be discussed.
i'm fed up hearing about "my rape hell" every other day.
Whether true or not, this revelation is a disgusting level of lurid that should have been kept away from the sensibilities of the public.

Don't intrude on my pleasant memories of the accused rapist.
Now, NO ONE can listen to the Mama's and Papa's without thinking of father/daughter enjoying hot sex. GROSS !!!!
Where is your respect for the dead
—————————-

To be honest, I'm actually pleased how many people come up in defense of MacKenzie Phillips in blogs and in the comments sections of articles about her revelation.  For every blameful comment I've quoted above, there are others knocking down the blame.

Like lois:
"We each have to face our OWN Monsters and heal in our OWN way. If THIS is the way she chooses to heal, then more POWER to her! "
Like pb:
"This is not a healthy 18 or 19 year old making healthy decisions. She is an abused child that is drug addicted. Both caused by her clearly unhealthy father. Many people ask why I continued talking to my father after being abused. I don't know - denial? Many assumed he abused me by force. Not true. That is part of the sickness, people. This would not happen to a healthy person - making them incapable of making wise decisions."It seems many people are finally getting the message. Here's hoping the trend continues.
Like Marcella:
I know the meaning of incest, but has never heard or know anyone who has experience this. So to me it a word, but now there are faces to that word. I sincely hope this is a chance to open a dialogue so people who are in this situation may get help to deal with this nightmare.
[apologies for missing links, the blog software kept doing odd things, deleting one link when I added another, and it is hard to search for some of these comments.]

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