Culture
The milieu through which we swim
CFS/ME and “faulty illness beliefs”: The incredible hubris of the psychiatro-patriarchal complex
New Scientist this week published an interview with infamous psychiatrist Simon Wessely. Wessely persists in believing, in the face of all the evidence, that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalitis (CFS/ME)* is a uniquely UK/American psychological condition caused by internet-triggered “faulty illness… Read More ›
Does Edward Cullen Taste of Cherry Chapstick?
At my local shopping centre yesterday, I noticed a shop selling faux-Twilight merchandise — T-shirts with slogans that clearly reference the Twilight books/film, but are just generic enough to avoid a lawsuit (my apologies for the crappy cameraphone images): For… Read More ›
Disgusting
Demotivator made by moi. Feel free to download and share from the Flickr page (click on the pic). Backstory in The Guardian.
More confected fat-baby epidemic panic? The “increasing trend” that isn’t.
This supposed ongoing upward trend in birthweight has been used as an excuse for absurd levels of inductions of labour and skyrocketing C sections, and a springboard for blaming lazy, old, fat, neglectful mothers for the “obesity epidemic”, childhood cancer,… Read More ›
Quickhit: Background Briefing on Australia’s Looming Internet Censorship
For those interested in Minister Stephen Conroy’s plans to introduce mandatory internet censorship to Australia, check out Wendy Carlisle’s show on the Background Briefing. ABC Radio National: Conroy’s clean feed It’s well-researched, and it explains the issue from square one,… Read More ›
It’s still the 14th somewhere, right?
I meant to post this yesterday. I did at least discuss it with my beloved. Did any reader do/make anything special to mark Pi Day? The video below has no direct relation to Pi Day, but the poem was written… Read More ›
2 a.m. What The Fuck
You know that stuff I danced around about bottle imagery undermining breastfeeding messages? There’s more to say there, but for now… Here’s todays 2 a.m. What The Fuck, from the Daily Mail: “Mothers win the right to breastfeed in all… Read More ›
Rape myths, rape myth acceptance, and community perceptions of victims of sexual violence
Elsewhere, grave doubt was expressed that attitudes of holding women responsible for sexual violence directed towards them was in fact a popular community view, to the extent that a position paper from an academic conference was mercilessly mocked for this sentence:
Women who are raped or who suffer domestic violence are somehow thought of in the popular imagination as a stereotype. According to this, the women are asking for it, dressed inappropriately, provoking it – responsible for it.
Alcohol and Breastfeeding: NHMRC buys into abstinence-only messaging
Last month, I started talking a little bit about alcohol, pregnancy, and abstinence-only messages, in a takedown of one particular study which failed to link alcohol and preterm birth, but said it did. “Bad science on booze in pregnancy: Women… Read More ›
Hoyden About Town 