Latest example: Nobel prize winner Tim Hunt. It’s a real shame, too — I know his work, he’s one of the people who worked out details of the regulation of the cell cycle. Unfortunately, he’s also been revealed to be a sexist ignoramus.
He has made a few interesting remarks to the press.
I never thought I’d take Keith Ablow’s side (he’s the pet conservative doctor on Fox News), but there you go — he gets into a shouting match with Robert Jeffers, the Duggar family defender. Jeffers goes ballistic at the criticism of the Duggar’s parenting. Ablow is dismissive of the quality of parenting when you’ve got 19 kids, finds their stories naive and unbelievable, and calls the Duggars “bizarre” for refusing to allow their kids to hold hands on dates until they are engaged. Watch Jeffers begin to lose it around the 6 minute mark.
A crime has been reported. A person saw something abominable while they were trying to eat a nice greasy meal at TGI Fridays, and like the responsible conservative adult they are, they surreptitiously took a photograph of the obscenity and reported it on social media. Don’t click through to see the photograph unless you are prepared to witness a horror.
A Kurdish woman getting away from ISIS discards her black swaddling.
She’s a butterfly!
Gender Workshop, as ever, is brought to you by your friendly, neighborhood Crip Dyke
So I have now seen Avengers, Age of Ultron, and oh, androgyne! will this post contain spoilers!
Though I’ve only just seen the movie days ago, it’s been weeks since I became aware that there were quite a number of significant debates focussed on sexism and Age of Ultron. Any number of articles could be referenced, but I’m going to draw exclusively from io9’s Meredith Woerner and Katharine Trendacosta and Salon’s Marcotte, because they take on a particularly interesting and revealing moment in Age of Ultron, but seem to miss enough that there’s room for me to add.
I am glad that Caitlyn Jenner can be who she really is, but this image brings up a few important points about who else she really is.
One other thing about the cover photo bugged me: if we’re going to celebrate acceptance of her identity, shouldn’t we note that she’s older than I am (she’s 65), yet she gets the full fashion photoshop treatment to make her photo look half her age? Apparently there’s still something shameful about reaching a distinguished age.
Here’s the good news: Caitlyn Jenner is on the cover of Vanity Fair. Nice photo, too, and the story is very positive.
By Science!
In a letter to Science Careers, a post-doc asks what she should do about an advisor who’s frequently trying to peek down her shirt. The answer is a boon to men in positions of power everywhere.
As long as your adviser does not move on to other advances, I suggest you put up with it, with good humor if you can. Just make sure that he is listening to you and your ideas, taking in the results you are presenting, and taking your science seriously. His attention on your chest may be unwelcome, but you need his attention on your science and his best advice.
We just got back from Mad Max: Fury Road.
I was disappointed. Everyone kept telling me it was some kind of crazy feminist movie. I kept waiting for the castrations, the misandry, the “I HATE ALL MEN” shrieks, the long didactic lectures about the superiority of women, and the goddess worship, and it didn’t deliver. Instead, we got a lively action movie with non-stop pacing, and an ensemble of men and women working together as equals, and being equally human…
Oh. Hang on a sec.
I guess that makes it a radical feminist movie. It was pretty good, I recommend it. Just go in expecting what it is, a vivid rapid fire thrill ride that manages to avoid tired tropes, using women as props for men to be manly around, or being patronizing.
A site called “Biblical Gender Roles” contains a terrible list of 8 steps to confront your wife’s sexual refusal. There are so many assumptions packed into that site, there doesn’t seem to be much point to arguing over the details — first thing to fix would be this Biblical attitude that women are chattel who must be subservient to their husband’s commands. The author is very concerned about this little problem:
How should you as a husband handle it when your wife directly refuses to have sex without a valid reason? Is there anything a Christian husband can do about this?
I wish he’d explained what a “valid reason” would be. I think “I don’t want to” is a valid reason, so maybe all of this Christian writer’s steps are irrelevant. But here’s all of his advice to control an uppity wife.
