Feminism, “Manning Up,” and the Zero-Sum Game

As a woman and a feminist I have a very specific perspective on the term ‘man up.’ It’s a highly gendered phrase, for one thing. The phrase implies that manhood is something that is achieved beyond simply being male. It also implies that certain characteristics, such as stoicism and strength, are masculine traits.

The Endless Cycle of Oil Dependance

When I was growing up in California, pretty much everyone drove everywhere. When I was 16, I was the odd one out as someone who didn’t have a driver’s license and a car. Ten years later in the U.K., I only know three people who have their own cars. A whole lot of people I know don’t even have a driver’s license. I think a large part of that is to do with public transportation. Brits complain about their bus and train system a lot, but it’s a sight better than what we get in much of the U.S.

Palestinian Hunger Strike

I’ll be upfront about my opinions about Palestine: I’m for a two-state solution. In part because I think that’s the only way to solve a lot of the conflict in that region. I also recognize that the Palestinians have as equal a claim on the land as the Israelis. Mostly though, Israel lost the upper hand with the Six-Days War and the subsequent treatment of Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank, which isn’t to say Hamas’ actions have been great either. Both sides have committed horrible acts of violence against each other.

Privilege the Video Game: Version 1.1

Among my e-mails, the other day, I found something from Julie Gillis with a link to this article about privilege. Basically it compares privilege (social inequality) to the difficulty setting of a video game. It acknowledges that other factors (such as individual personalities and abilities) influence what effect privilege has on a person’s life. In the case of the linked article, the other, personal factors are represented by ‘stats’ in video games. Basically the analogy is like this: difficulty setting (privilege) is about how the world perceives and interacts with your character, while the stats (personal circumstances) are about how well you are individually equipped to deal with the world.

Obama and VAWA

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has been a controversial bill since it was first passed in 1994. It has been up for reauthorization multiple times since then, as well as facing a Supreme Court hearing. It’s been modified and changed along the way, including creating more gender-neutral language, including same-sex couples, and even eliminating some parts of it on the grounds that those parts were unconstitutional.