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.

• The TV show that had ALL the complex and strong female characters: Battlestar Galactica

– “It’s been almost two and a half years since the last episode of Battlestar Galactica aired. It’s been two and a half years since we’ve had a show where a diverse group of women played a central role in a major sci-fi production. Am I the only one who misses not only the show but the possibilities that the show presented?”

• Acting Queer: Dis-jointed Thoughts on “Playing Gay”

– “It’s two slightly different situations, but with fundamentally the same questions being asked: when someone (assumed to be straight) play-acts at being (in some way not-straight), to what extent is that acting appropriating the sexual desires of actual non-straight individuals, and to what extent are they perhaps acknowledging their own fluidity or ambiguity of desire. And does it matter on a political or cultural level that these incidents happen? It it does, then how so?”

• I Had The Time of My Life–Dirty Dancing, Remakes, and Battles We’re Still Fighting

– Not just a romantic movie, a deeply political movie

• Sinsational!

– “in modern American culture, sex is practically the only sin there is. When’s the last time a Christian kid got thrown out of the house because they coveted others’ possessions or they made fun of a homeless person? When’s the last time a Christian lawmaker made hyperbolic, slightly-unhinged-sounding promises to a church group to fight the sin of avarice? When’s the last time churches protested a movie because it depicted violence?”

• Why Variance Matters: Race, Education, and Income

– great illustration of why just looking at averages doesn’t give one enough information

• Reader question #93: I want to move away. My boyfriend is holding me back. What do I do?

– Putting your own needs first is OK, really.

• Down Under Feminists’ Carnival XL – submissions open!

– Queen of Thorns will be hosting the next carnival

• The artist behind “What if male superheroes dressed like Wonder Woman?”

– Some great thoughts here

• links for 2011-08-12

– from Racialicious

• On Making Diabetics the Demons

– “What I want to talk about in this context is Ms Weiner’s demonisation of diabetes, especially as using it as a death threat.”

Categories: linkfest

Tags: Read-ems