pre-madonna
language
use, misuse and cynical manipulation of language in common and specialist speech and writing
Terminology 101: ‘females’ vs ‘women’
Females :: many species. Women :: one species. Female humans :: one species.
This post has been brought to you courtesy of disingenuous arguments taking place elsewhere.
Arsehat alert: misuse of the word “victimisation”
Here’s an example of the word salad involved:
Some useful things you might teach your children in our rape culture
This particular nugget comes from Pharyngula, where a post from PZ addressing rape culture led to a predictable influx of the usual victim-blaming rape myths as if they were commensense truths, leading to a predictably forceful pushback from the Pharyngulites, who do not let that crap stand. If readers would like to add their own favourite links addressing rape myths/culture in comments, I’d really like to see them.
Food for thought: if rapists just can’t control their urges…
…when they see skimpily covered attractive flesh? Then why do we never hear of summer sun-seekers being attacked by rapists in the middle of large sunlit crowds at public squares and parks and beaches? The skimpily covered attractive flesh is there in maximum abundance, but somehow the attacks just don’t happen when there are plenty of surrounding eyewitnesses and CC-TV?
Yet another women and purchasing power list o’ facts (and omissions)
Yet, yet again, it makes no distinction between
*discretionary personal spending which a woman can choose not to do and nobody except herself will care
versus
*necessary household spending, which if the woman doesn’t do then somebody else has to get it done.
A little advice gleaned from Condescending Wonka
If, after saying something, one feels the urge/need to say: “I don’t mean that in a creepy* way“, THEN ONE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO SAY IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Things that unexpectedly remind one of Mark Latham
You know you’re an Aussie poli-tragic when an infographic which could for most people in the world have happily been linked to in the Whimsy thread just gets you thinking about suckholes and the US-Australian alliance.
Weekly Whimsy
This week’s whimsy comes via Shakesville: Tweet of the Day – an epic typo for Benedict Cumberbatch. Please share any bits and pieces you have come across recently that have surprised, delighted, intrigued or otherwise positively engaged you.
Who’st the jackanapes who failed to sweetly convey the imminent dawning of Talk Like Shakespeare Day, that I might more timely partake of such delights that roll most trippingly off the tongue?
It’s splitting from the nave to the chops time!
Actually, I’d rather watch this collection of fine videos from the Talk Like Shakespeare Day website.
Hoyden About Town 