“Words and images are how people are placed in hierarchies, how social stratification is made to seem inevitable and right, how feelings of inferiority and superiority are engendered, and how indifference to violence against those on the bottom is rationalized and normalized.” Only Words, p.31
Category: language
Sep 02 2019
“Girls shouldn’t read any books written by men” – check it out
https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/feminist-author-girls-shouldnt-read-any-books-written-by-men/
Jan 22 2019
Jane Smith’s Translation Dictionary
An interesting thing about the novel (A philosopher, a psychologist, and an extraterrestrial walk into a chocolate bar…) is that one of the characters, Jane Smith, starts a ‘translation dictionary’ and the author, Jass Richards, has set up a tumblr page for people to add entries. Cool. https://jassrichards.tumblr.com/
Aug 22 2018
Men and Illegal Words
Lying is illegal when economic interests are at stake: libel, slander, fraud, misrepresentation, false advertising.* Why isn’t it illegal otherwise? Why is loss of income more subject to compensation than, say, loss of self-esteem (which may, of course, result in loss of income)? And words are illegal when physical violence is involved: uttering threats, ‘fighting …
Aug 22 2018
The Grammar of Male Violence – quick perception-changing read
Read this (takes a couple minutes) and your perceptions will be forever changed: http://www.ncdsv.org/images/GrammarofMaleViolence_9-10-2004.pdf
Jun 20 2018
The Other Sex
Men, I mean. After all, they are the ones who define themselves in relation to us: to be a man is to be whatever is not to be a woman. If women are graceful, then to be graceful is feminine. A graceful man is effeminate. A real man is not graceful. He’s not necessarily clumsy, …
Jun 07 2016
Sticks and Stones
“Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” What an awful lie. It makes me wonder who started it. Someone for whom words have no meaning? Someone who, therefore, says whatever will achieve the desired effect, regardless of the truth of the matter? Someone who has few words? Someone for …
Jun 05 2014
What do you want me to say?
“What do you want me to say?” your pre-Nigel, Nigel, or ex-Nigel says helplessly, having obviously said the wrong thing, again. “Just tell me what to say and I’ll say it.” I want you to say what you think. And if I don’t agree with it, then I’m outta here. It’s that simple. (Because why …
Jan 07 2014
Arrogance, I think
Fresh from the office of my supervisor who persists in gently giving me unsolicited advice, despite being neither older nor wiser, I’m struck by Rousseau’s tone (in his “Marriage”): “Extreme in all things, they [women] devote themselves to their play with greater zeal than boys. This is the second defect. This zeal must be kept …
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