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language
use, misuse and cynical manipulation of language in common and specialist speech and writing
Quick Hit: Do these names sound feminine to you?
Researchers in the US have found that boys with unusual or unpopular names, or feminine names are more likely to end up in gaol. Here are the top ten Boys names for ending up in gaol. (presumably from study of… Read More ›
Friday Hoyden: Baby Jargoner
Via Neatorama, this unnamed baby is my Hoyden of the week. Because she has something to SAY, and she’s not going to let anything so trivial as not having developed expressive vocabulary stop from her saying it.
What “Elective Surgery” really means
And yes, Virginia, this does apply to abortion surgery as well. I’ve noticed an uptick in the number of people arguing that women having therapeutic late-term abortions don’t really have good medical reasons because the surgeries are classified as elective… Read More ›
So when James Bond opens his eyes to find himself surrounded by uninvited bad guys
..and he plays along, feeding them lines that make them think he’s on their side, maybe doing some things he’s not proud about so that he is at least in partial control of the situation and successfully fools them sufficiently… Read More ›
Quickhit: SMH FAIL, Chief Justice Diana Bryant WIN
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Family Court has granted permission for a 17-year old ftm trans boy to have his breasts removed. Well, sort of: THE Family Court has allowed a 17-year-old girl to have her breasts removed… Read More ›
“Mens sana in corpora sano”
I’m reading “Enforcing Normalcy”, by Lennard J Davis. The second chapter, “Constructing Normalcy”, talks about the development of the concept of “normal” in European/American culture, mostly from the seventeenth century onwards. On page 37-38, he talks about early twentieth century… Read More ›
Remembering Anzac Day: stark lessons squandered and myths reinforced
I have little to add to these quoted comments below from Paul Norton’s Anzac Day post at LP, which focuses on the militaristic myth side of Anzac Day. As usual, there are some illiterates objecting to the use of the word “myth” as if the word means “untrue in its entirety”. The usage of “myth” when discussing recent history always, of course, nearly always refers to the meanings 2b and 2c below:
It’s not sex it’s rape: strategic remorse edition
What would you call it when a step-father repeatedly rapes a girl, starting when she’s 13, and this goes on for three years before he’s caught? Rape? Sexual assault? Molestation? Pedophilia? Sexual abuse? Child abuse? Not according to Andrew Korner… Read More ›
Hoyden About Town 