Items of interest come across recently in my feed-reader. What did I miss? Leave your own interesting links in comments.
n.b. Comments threads have not necessarily been read. Some may be NSFW or triggering, so please report back any problems you encounter so the post can be marked.

• Saying No Sucks. Do it Anyway.

– “I made fewer offers of support, began prioritizing myself when necessary and saying No with as much kindness and compassion as possible where warranted. It was scary, but I was doing it. I made new, more reciprocal relationships and some of my older friendships evolved along with me. Some of them didn’t, though.”

• A bad business all round

– “Whether or not the procedures were actually performed (and I devoutly hope they were not), a little girl has gone onto television and made statements – whether sincere, or coached – about how awful it is to have wrinkles or leg hair at age eight, about how important it is to be “beautiful, pretty – all those nice words.” Regardless of what else has happened, this round looks to me like beauty ideology 1, women and girls 0.”

• Open Thread: Black women and THANKING Kanazawa

– “You KIDDING me?”

• The best of the rest of the internet

– Linkfest from Rachel

• About Dominique Strauss-Kahn

– “A rich white French politician attempting to rape an African immigrant? It was, as Jon Stewart put it, a “live action metaphor.””

• Stop Lying!

– “It’s not as easy as you might think. We are so lost in a world of socially acceptable lies that we forget what the truth even feels like on our tongues. I mean real and full honesty here.”

• What Makes a Body Obscene?

– “Indeed, the treatment of the Dossier cover reveals that the social and legislative ban on public breasts rests on a jiggly foundation. It’s not simply that breasts are considered pornographic.”

• Sketcher Shape-Ups for Little Girls–Ew.

– “The shoes don’t work the way they are advertised, and the podiatrist in the article I’ve linked to says that the rocking sole “. . .can cause ankle injury, especially if these little kids are running around a lot. You don’t want to to disrupt the normal gait pattern in a growing child.””

• Edinburgh City Council Advocates Violence Against Women | Indymedia Scotland

Kirstente informs us in comments that the council has actually approved the permit for the Reclaim the Night march

– “It is ironic that violence from drunk men is the reason given by the council to refuse the march, since Reclaim the Night is specifically about taking back space which is dominated by aggressive people, and making it safe for everyone. It is also extremely hypocritical that ‘noise pollution’ is used as an excuse. This suggests that we are a society more tolerant of men shouting and fighting on the street after watching a game, than half an hour of women chanting slogans for their rights. These reasons stated by the Council, further perpetuate the idea that men have a right to occupy public space (be it in the form of rugby matches, football matches, or a Saturday night out on the piss), while women must stay at home for their own protection. Here, the City of Edinburgh Council have repeated the age old mantra that women must have their freedoms limited for their health and safety, instead of supporting the idea that the onus be on men to change their intimidating behaviour.”

• Geena Davis optimistic about gender roles changing

– “The fact that, in general, all of their movies are so lacking in a female presence is stunning to them. That makes it, obviously, not a conspiracy, not a conscious choice, and leaves them very open to rethinking it …”

Categories: linkfest

Tags: Read-ems