Items of interest come across recently in my feed-reader. What did I miss? Leave your own interesting links in comments. Self-promotion is always welcome!
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.
- We can do better than this, surely?
- When Patti Smith is worried, you should be worried
- 100 sci fi women #63: Dr Eleanor Arroway
- Things of which we do not speak
- Serena Williams’ Patriarchal Bargain
- FAT BABIES
- The Black Women Are Beautiful Project Will Continue
- Ask Rachel: What are your thoughts on SlutWalk?
- Database of Bechdel Test Movie Ratings
– “But loads of other Whovians seem to have taken Canton’s saying that he is in love with this one man as his saying that he is gay. There isn’t any room for, I don’t know, the potential for nonmonosexuality, or letting a character go unlabelled.”
– “The next time someone accuses me of being a pearl-clutching, what about the children hysteric for being concerned about the sexualisation of young girls I will point to Patti Smith, because if this is moral panic then I am in good company.”
– Yep, #63 – check out the lot
– Taboos surrounding messy women’s bits
– “Of course, selling one’s own sex appeal is more or less required for any female athlete who wants to reach the pinnacle of her career without being called a “dog” and a “dyke” at every turn. So Williams isn’t breaking the rules, she’s playing the game. And, yet, when she plays the game she gets, in return, not only stalkers, but criticism that suggests that, were she to be stalked again, she was asking for it. This is an excellent example of the ugly truth about the patriarchal bargain.”
– “The idea is that the metformin will reduce the food supply to the fetus, so the fetus will not grow too large (thereby reducing the need for C-section births, and other problems associated with a large fetus). I’m not a doctor, but that sounds like a really bad idea to me. What we don’t know about how the human body works and what it needs (especially when it’s developing in the womb) is a lot. “
– Excellent news
– thinking and rethinking
– “It’s fun to browse through, for entertainment value and a starting place for thinking about the Bechdel Test and pop culture.”
Categories: linkfest
The 109th Down Under Feminists Carnival is up! 
The 105th Down Under Feminists Carnival is up! 
Hoyden About Town 
Thank you for the link. 🙂
@Chally, thanks for writing such fascinating querying of our eagerness to assign [eta: rigid] identities to other people. You make me think.
Wow – that fat babies thing is super creepy. I’m a bit skeptical though. I wonder if it’s to do with gestational diabetes? There’s gotta be more to it… it seems so bizarre.
@Alien Tea,
the drug is normally described for women with gestational diabetes, true. The point of the post is that apparently it’s now being prescribed to women who do not have gestational diabetes, just to limit the birth weight of their babies on principle.
Ah, right. There is (apparently) a correlation between being a heavier baby and being overweight/obese later in life. Perhaps it’s to do with that too? Sounds pretty dodge, whatever the reasoning.
@ Tigtog
It’s interesting to see that they are now prescribing metformin for Gestational diabetes. I was on it as a treatment for PCOS when trying to get pregnant, but had to stop taking it when I fell pregnant because they weren’t sure of the potential effects on the baby. Seems things have changed in the last 8 years. I wonder if they are using it if women have gestational diabetes regardless of whether they may need insulin or not?
Smoking while pregnant limits the birthweight of babies too. Doesn’t mean you should do it.
I may be a bit behind the times… but I always assumed that new borns should be ‘chubby’ – that the extra layers of fat served as both a protective layer and an energy source should they fall ill? Maybe I’m completely off the planet here – anyone have an insight?
Thanks for the link love, your round-ups are always impressive so it is lovely to be part of one.