North Carolina governor signs controversial transgender bill (CNN.com) Young children have a tendency to use slurs and other disparaging words without really knowing what they mean. Often times when you hear a child say X slur, you can ask that child “What does X mean?” and quickly find out that they have no idea. The only thing they know for sure is that X is an other, and of course that means X is deserving of scorn and ridicule. I was no different when I…
Legislators unhappy with [University of Tennessee]’s gender neutral pronoun push (knoxblogs.com) Duke freshmen object to Alison Bechdel’s ‘pornographic’ graphic memoir, ‘Fun Home’ (latimes.com) About three years ago, right after starting a new teaching position, I was faced with a crisis of conscience. As a composition instructor my focus is on teaching the arts of rhetoric and argument, but I have to handle some grammar in there as well, and I was having an increasingly difficult time dealing with the fact that I was being expected…
An Open Letter to Caitlyn Jenner (Huffington Post) Rachel Dolezal: ‘I identify as black’ (USA Today) Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King addresses race reports (CNN.com) For all that Maury Povich’s daytime talk show career may be defined by the phrases “You are the father” and “You’re not the father,” perhaps the most iconic video inspired by his use of DNA testing on talk shows was of a white supremacist in North Dakota who came on a British talk show. The DNA testing that usually results in…
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Transgender Rights (HBO) (youtube.,com) What’s next for gay Americans after same-sex marriage ruling? (cbsnews.com) Mike Huckabee: I wish I pretended to be transgender to shower with girls (politico.com) Last year I had to stop shopping at Kroger. At the store that I usually went to there was an employee who ran the self-checkouts (which I always use whenever possible so I don’t have to endure awkward small talk with cashiers) who apparently decided that she just didn’t like me and…
Gay Marriage Arguments Divide Supreme Court Justices (New York Times) 9 questions about gender identity and being transgender you were too embarrassed to ask (vox.com) ‘We just need to pee’ transgender protest (bbc.com) ‘Killed myself. Sorry.’: Transgender game developer jumps off bridge after online abuse (Washington Post) Part of the problem of being such a loner is that I haven’t had much of a social support network when I’ve come to huge realizations about myself, including my sexual orientation and gender identity. Even when I’ve been around…