Items of interest come across recently in my feed-reader. What did I miss? Leave your own interesting links in comments. Shameless self-promotion entirely 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.

• In defense of children

– “This morning I woke up to a three year old who had just brushed her teeth and gotten herself dressed and packed her own bag for creche (her father was up with her and had made her breakfast, but she did the other stuff herself because she wanted to.) She woke me with a kiss and a good morning mama and then I put the kettle on and opened up Twitter, where I was confronted by #youngkidsshouldbebannedfrom in trending topics.”

• Harry Potter and the…AHAHAHAHA none for you!

– “It’s hard to explain how upsetting inaccessibility is to people who haven’t experienced it. The response to issues like this is often ‘well, it’s just a movie. It’s not a big deal.’ Even people who get that accessibility of public spaces, like post offices and banks, is an issue, may not see how entertainment venues should be accessible. I guess people with disabilities don’t need to be entertained, eh?”

• New review: 'Because sex workers shouldn't have to be dead to be on film'

– “Just as for some feminists the word ‘slut’ is impossible to salvage from the claws of patriarchal discourse (though, ironically, some seem comfortable speaking of ‘promiscuity’ and ‘loose sexual behaviour’), for some feminists a ‘sex worker’ brings to mind someone who is always a woman but also always must be seen as a victim (of her false consciousness; of men exploiting her; of a dramatic economic situation). Rather than swooping to the rescue of sex workers, this festival sought to amplify their own voices.”

• WSJ reports Disney to create more animated series for boys

– Here’s the unreported side effect: When girls go missing from kids programming, kids of both genders learn that girls are less important than boys.

• I'm enjoying Google+ way too much…

– Pam likes Google+: what do these new ways of sharing content/commentary mean for traditional blogging?

• On not taking the bait.

– “Reading someone rip into sluttiness and promote prudishness (to put it crudely on both sides, but you get my gist), it’s easy to be tempted to take that bait, to make yourself a mirror image of their assholery, to say “sluts rule, prudes drool!”

But that’s what the assholes expect (and maybe what they want). And most of the time it kinda makes you an asshole too. The right answer is “sluts rule, prudes rule, and anyone who has a problem with either of them… drools.””

• A bigger problem with News Ltd

– “The problem in Australia is not that we have journalists and editors doing dodgy shit, but that we have too much sharing of trivial content. That instead of using their journalists to chase stories, and to fact check claims being made by politicians (which is particularly important at the moment and something that journalists are supposed to do), News Ltd tabloid websites are all running the same sensationalist stories. Online editors will say that no one wants to read “worthy” or “serious” stories, but that just shows their lack of imagination.”

• going gaga

– “I have an admission. I liked it. Based on those two events I like her. The fact that she went on to roll out on stage doesn’t (having heard her speak) change my view.”

• Removal of fat kids from their parents – everyone’s an expert!

– “That they can spout all sorts of uninformed nonsense about obesity, its causes and solutions, and remain absolutely steadfast in those beliefs – no matter how much they are called on their bullshit.”

• This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.

– “You know, I don’t believe that a complainant losing a case in a culture so steeped in rape culture narratives that winning is nigh impossible makes things more difficult for survivors.

I do, however, believe that reporters sneering at survivors who lost and making thinly veiled accusations that they’re lying, money-hungry whores is precisely the sort of thing that renders justice elusive for most survivors of sexual violence.”

• ReelGirl changes its tagline

– “Here’s the problem: I’m a ranter, not a rater. I’m not organized enough to pull this off. I need logos, to go through all the movies, books, and toys out there, and I don’t have the time. Any free time I get, I have something new to write about. So while I will continue to rate media and products, I’m going to recognize that mostly, I haven’t been.

I’m changing ReelGirl’s tagline from “Rating kids media and products for girl empowerment” to “Imagining gender equality in the fantasy world.” That’s mostly what ReelGirl is about. My hope is that ReelGirl supports and encourages real imagination (ha ha) instead of the same old recycled stories.”

• News Corp-Owned Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton Steps Down

– #newscorp

• links for 15-7-2011

– Anoushka shares some link love at Feministe

Categories: linkfest

Tags: Read-ems