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writer, singer, webwrangler, blogger, comedy tragic | about.me/vivsmythe

• Shorter Michael Shermer

  By tigtog on 2013-01-24 • ( 6 )

  

  Hippieses, I hatesssss them.

• How Dare You Call Me A *ist

  By tigtog on 2013-01-24 • ( 9 )

  

  I see it all the time, both online and off – Person X writes/says something, Person Y says “gee, what you just said/did was kinda *ist” and Person X comes back with “how dare you call me a *ist” (or Person Z butts in with “how dare you call X a *ist”) .

  But behaviour is never a fully accurate reflection of character. Bad habits we engage in unthinkingly don’t necessarily make us generally bad people or even generally thoughtless people, but this tends to be the reaction to having those bad habits challenged as marginalising behaviours – that the challenger is calling us a bad person.

  The point is that this one particular act that is being criticised has problematic cultural assumptions embedded within it, and those problematic cultural assumptions are what need to be challenged.

• Media Circus: Inauguration edition

  By tigtog on 2013-01-22 • ( 26 )

  

  What has piqued your sociopolitical media interests lately? Please share your bouquets and brickbats.

• Femmostroppo Reader 2013-01-21

  By tigtog on 2013-01-21 • ( 1 )

  

  Items of interest encountered recently. What did I miss? Leave your own interesting links in comments. Shameless self-promotion entirely welcome!

• Atheist women’s numbers matter. Be counted in the Atheist Census Online.

  By tigtog on 2013-01-20 • ( 41 )

  

  Hey, are you a woman? Are you also an Atheist, Freethinker, Humanist, Rationalist, Secularist, Agnostic, Non-religious and/or Otherwise-identifying non-believer?

  If so, have you already added your relevant details (just a few simple demographic datapoints) to the Atheist Census Online? Because if you haven’t, I’m about to attempt to persuade you to do so, even though it is just another unscientific internet poll.

• Whimsy: Animal Armour edition

  By tigtog on 2013-01-16 • ( 5 )

  

  Sometimes we all need to see teh awesome. Please share anything that has recently surprised, delighted, intrigued or otherwise positively engaged you!

• Femmostroppo Reader, January 13 2013

  By tigtog on 2013-01-13 • ( 5 )

  

  Items of interest encountered recently. What did I miss? Leave your own interesting links in comments. Shameless self-promotion entirely welcome!

• Otterday! And Open Thread

  By tigtog on 2013-01-12 • ( 18 )

  Please feel free to use this thread to natter about anything your heart desires. Anything great happening in your life? Anything you want to get off your chest? Books? News stories? What have you created lately? Commiserations, felicitations, temptations, contemplations, speculations?

• Two headlines

  By tigtog on 2013-01-11 • ( 2 )

  

  Eva Cox in The Conversation: Tony Abbott: a confused, conservative sexist, but not a misogynist.

  Milanda Rout in The Australian (paywalled): Feminist insists Abbott no misogynist.

  Quelle surprise.

• Quicklink: Rape prevention aimed at rapists works

  By tigtog on 2013-01-09 • ( 3 )

  

  The “Don’t Be That Guy” campaign is a public service rape prevention campaign launched in Edmonton in 2010, and adopted by other cities in Canada, which took the radical step of aiming its message, not at potential rape victims, but at potential rapists.