Tag Archives: politics

May 17, 2013 · 3:08 am

Personal is Political

Wouldn’t it be cool to be the person who made up the phrase “The personal is political?” No one knows who came up with it, though it was popularized in 1970 by a Carol Hanisch essay. Gloria Steinem once said that trying to find the originator of the phrase would be like trying to figure out who first called it “World War II.” Oh Gloria, so witty!

This week for Role/Reboot I wrote about the relationship I see between personal decisions and political ramifications. Or, sometimes, between political action and the resulting personal choices. It goes both ways.

Related Post: Why are we, of all people, the right ones to question our socialization?

Related Post: Maslow and feminist privilege

Sunday Scraps 100

1. GAYS: In the 2010 census, one county in the US reported 0 gay people. None. Zilch. Nada. Explore Franklin County with CNN and find out if the census is true. Hint: Doubtful.

2. SCOTUS: A little late to the game on this one, but Courtney Milan’s concise play-by-play of the Prop 8 Supreme Court case is the first time I actually think I know what’s going on. Sample truncated piece of dialogue: COOPER: But these people were injured. They didn’t want gay people to marry, and now look! Gays. Lesbians. Able to marry at will. It’s very injurious. They’re injured just thinking about it.

3. FEMINISM: I dare you not to cry at this amazing obituary of feminist revolutionary Shulasmith Firestone. Written by the incomparable Susan Faludi, it’s just… a lot. Sniff.

4. POLITICS: To my surprise, I came out of Jonathan Van Meter’s NYT profile of Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin feeling pretty sympathetic for Weiner. Maybe sympathetic’s not the word…

5. FOOTBALL: From Grantland, what would happen if an NFL player died on the field? 8 years ago, Al Lucas died during an Arena football game. Is that where we’re headed?

6. LOOKS: Why does it matter that the President called Kamala Harris good-looking? Amanda Hess at Slate knows why, and I couldn’t agree with her more.

Related Post: Sunday 99: Megan Mullally and Ron Swanson, Tavi Gevinson, Rolling Rock history and more

Related Post: Sunday 98: Chinese marriage market, George Saunders, Lena in Playboy and more

2 Comments

Filed under Gender, Media, Politics, Sports

Tagged as Al Lucas, Amanda Hess, Anthony Weiner, Census, CNN, Courtney Milan, feminism, football, Franklin County, gay rights, gays, gender, Grantland, Huma Abedin, Jonathan Van Meter, Kamala Harris, LGBTQ, marriage equality, NFL, politics, President Obama, prop 8, SCOTUS, Shulasmith Firestone, Slate, sports, Supreme Court, Susan Faludi

March 20, 2013 · 4:24 pm

Rob Portman Part 2

On Monday, I wrote about Senator Rob Portman’s change of heart on marriage equality. I was (am) very frustrated that it took having a gay son to get him to see the light. That said, a lot of people on the internet and in real life have been making some excellent points about parenting, political motivation, and basic human psychology. I think we have too low expectations of our political representatives. Anyway, I stand by what I wrote, with some asterisks.

I expanded on those asterisks in a more formal (hopefully more nuanced) piece for Role/Reboot.

Related Post: That time I met a Republican

Related Post: Do you hope your child will be straight?

Sunday Scraps 98

1. CHINA: Excellent long-form piece for the NYT Magazine about the marriage market in China. A huge gender imbalance has created a strange and stressful dynamic at every economic strata of society.

2. LENA: In this Playboy interview, Lena Dunham explains, among other things, why she’s pleased she doesn’t look like a supermodel.

3. JOURNALISM: Super fascinating look at the work of Bob Woodward. In researching his own Belushi biography, journalist Tanner Colby unravels the shoddy work of one of the most famous journalists of all time.

4. WRITERS: The relationship between writer (George Saunders) and editor (Andy Ward) is pulled apart in insane detail in this Slate interview. Jesus, these people are smaaaart.

5. BULLY: In the XX Factor‘s ongoing series about bullying, a current rabbi confronts her past as a member of a menacing tween gang.

6. GENDER: Mother Jones measures the voting records of members of Congress on women’s issues. Unsurprisingly, there’s a correlation with having daughters and a pro-woman voting record. Sigh.

Related Post: Sunday 97: Anita Sarkeesian, DNA exploring, Cindy Gallop and Ta-Nehisi Coates

Related Post: Sunday 96: Philip Roth, duct tape art, Playboy mansion visits

2 Comments

Filed under Body Image, Books, Gender, Hollywood, Media, Politics, Really Good Writing by Other People

Tagged as Andy Ward, authors, biographies, Bob Woodward, books, bullies, bullying, China, Congress, dating, editors, gender, gender gap, George Saunders, interview, John Belushi, journalism, Lena Dunham, marriage markets, Mother Jones, New York Times Magazine, Playboy, politics, Slate, Tanner Colby, writers

February 26, 2013 · 3:28 am

Monday Scraps 95

1. DATING: Where do “missed connections” happen? In Illinois, on the train (duh), in Indiana, at home. Wait, what?

2. AUTHORS: Ugh. Ender’s Game was kind of my favorite thing for so so long. It still is, but I hate when the authors you love turn out to be raging homophobes. Dammit.

3. EDUCATION: This amazing investigative piece by WBEZ on the South Side’s Harper High School is incredible in basically every way journalism can be incredible.

4. KNOPE: NYMag has the inside scoop behind Amy Poehler/Leslie Knope’s amazing wedding dress.

5. SPORTS: For the very first time, a woman is participating in the NFL regional tryouts. Kicker Lauren Silberman will probably not play in the NFL, but that’s still pretty f’ing cool.

6. OSCARS: I would write about Seth McFarlane’s horribly sexist jokes, but Margaret Lyons at NYMag nailed it so hard I’d just be paraphrasing.

Related Post: Sunday Scraps 94: Bey, Connie Britton, Jane Austen and more.

Related Post: Sunday Scraps: 93: Guns, visiting Chicago, Margaret Atwood

3 Comments

Filed under Books, Chicago, Education, Gender, Hollywood, Media, Politics, Sports

Tagged as books, Chicago, craig's list, dating, education, Ender's Game, equality, fashion, football, gay marriage, Harper High School, internet, journalism, Lauren Silberman, Leslie Knope, marriage equality, missed connections, NYMag, Orson Scott Card, Parks and Recreation, politics, radio, WBEZ

February 11, 2013 · 4:23 am

Sunday Scraps 93

1. BOOKS: The always excellent, sharp-as-a-muhfucking-tack Margaret Atwood is interviewed for The Rumpus about Oryx and Crake, the state o’ the ladies, and how to write dystopia.

2. CHICAGO: Because I live in Chicago, when travel blog Go Go Go wrote a “How to Visit Chicago” post 8 MILLION people emailed me. He is mostly right. I try to avoid fights with homeless people, which he seems to think is kind of essential, but to each their differences.

3. NERDERY: Uuunnnnhhhh, this makes me so happy. The folks at the aptly titled Overthinking It have calculated President Bartlet’s West Wing approval ratings.

4. HISTORY: If you dig little-known stories about cool historical people who you’ve never heard of doing neat shit, this BuzzFeed piece about a 13-year-old girl who played pro baseball in the 20s is for you.

5. FOOTBALL: I read somewhere that at one point a third of the NFL coaches were disciples of Bill Walsh. Dude wrote a 500 page manifesto and it happens to be on every football coach’s shelf. Who knew? ESPN has the scoop.

6. GUNS: I missed this post-Newtown, but dang… this XOJane essay by Haley Elkins knocked me over. It’s about growing up with guns and why they (some of them anyway, in the right hands) should still scare the living shit out of you. Read it now, kthxbai.

Related Post: Sunday 92: My new favorite NBA player, 30 Rock goodbyes, pictures of people sleeping

Related Post: Sunday 91: McDonald’s and books? Sci-fi gender swapping, celebrity yearbook photos

3 Comments

Filed under Books, Chicago, Hollywood, Media, Politics, Really Good Writing by Other People, Sports

Tagged as approval rating, authors, baseball, Bill Walsh, books, BuzzFeed, Chicago, coaching, ESPN, football, Go Go Go, gun control, guns, Haley Elkins, history, interviews, Margaret Atwood, Newtown, Overthinking It, politics, President Bartlet, softball, television, The Rumpus, tourism, travel, West Wing, xojane

November 25, 2012 · 10:01 pm

Sunday Scraps 84

1. GENDER: Watch this Time interview with Casey Legler, a woman who works as a male model, and try not to drool.

2. BOOKS: A new anthology, My Ideal Bookshelf, creates colorful portraits of authors’ and celebrities’ book collections, includes David Sedaris and James Franco.

3. SUFFRAGE: Great collection from Sociological Images of vintage anti-suffrage ads.

4. WRITING: Chicago author Megan Stielstra on the stresses of new motherhood and the surprising support from a stranger.

5. ASTRONAUTS: Super sweet letters from astronaut Jerry Linenger to his 1-year-old son while he spent three months at a space station.

6. CHILDHOOD: What does a child’s bedroom look like? Depends on where they live, and damn, the range is pretty intense. Mother Jones has some examples.

Related Post: Sunday 83: Stewart, language in the NYT, Mormons on the campaign trail

Related Post: Sunday 82: Kevin Durant, Maddow nails it, NYMag cover photos

2 Comments

Filed under Books, Chicago, Gender, Media, Politics, Really Good Writing by Other People

Tagged as art, astronauts, bedrooms, Casey Legler, childhood, David Sedaris, gender, James Franco, Jerry Linenger, letters of note, male models, Megan Stielstra, modeling, Mother Jones, motherhood, My Ideal Bookshelf, parenting, politics, sociological images, suffrage, suffragette, The Rumpus, Time Magazine, vintage, voting, women, writing

November 19, 2012 · 8:19 pm

Monday Scraps 83

1. GIFTS: After Romney’s post-election definition-of-a-sore-loser quotes about the “gifts” the President gave young people and minorities (Did you know you can buy a 24-year-old’s vote for a couple of months of contraception. TRUE FACT), Jon Stewart shared a few other “gifts.”

2. MORMON: Super excellent piece by McKay Coppins for BuzzFeed on being the sole Mormon reporter on the Romney press bus.

3. MEXICO: What happens to journalism when bribery, threats, and frequent spates of violence directed specifically at the press plague your country? Just ask reporters covering Mexico’s drug wars (NYT Book Review).

4. LANGUAGE: Which words does the NYT use too often? A new internal tool lets the paper (and curious spectators) explore the patterns of language perpetuated and created.

5. HILLARY: Gail Collins + Hillary Clinton = excellent reading. What will Hillary do next? Sleep, aparently, and exercise.

6. DENVER: This is from 2007, but I’m kind of obsessed with Katherine Boo this week, so I’m sharing it anyway. For the New Yorker, she covers the story of Denver’s superintendent and the journey of one turnaround school that couldn’t quite turnaround.

Related Post: Sunday 82: Kevin Durant and the OKC, Rachel Maddow nails it, cute MD photos

Related Post: Sunday 81: Callie Khouri, Anita Sarkeesian, sex surrogacy

2 Comments

Filed under Education, Media, Politics, Really Good Writing by Other People

Tagged as BuzzFeed, Comedy Central, Denver, drug wars, drugs, education, election 2012, Gail Collins, gifts, Hillary Clinton, Jon Stewart, journalism, journalists, Katherine Boo, language, McKay Coppins, Mexico, Mitt Romney, Mormon, mormonism, New York Times, politics, public school, Secretary of State, the Daily Show, The New Yorker, violence, violence against journalists, voting

November 17, 2012 · 3:23 pm

Pelosi Rolls Deep

Obviously, I’ve been a little behind the ball this week on the blog. Busy things afoot!

I am currently sitting in the Michigan student union with my family while we spend quality family time tapping away at screens of various sizes. I jest, it’s actually pretty nice. Also, best part of traveling with family? “Dad, can I have money for the soda machine?”

Anyway, some BAMFery for your Saturday morning:

That would be the definition of “rolling deep.” You tell him, Nance. As has been pointed out, it’s not wrong to ask about young leadership and cultivating the next generation of political minds. It is not cool, however, to call out Pelosi ’cause she’s a lady, or you don’t like her, or whatever. What about McConnell, huh? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Related Post: Elizabeth Warren in 2 minutes.

Related Post: Nancy Pelosi’s reading habits.

1 Comment

Filed under Gender, Media, Politics

Tagged as age, aging, Congress, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, politics, Speaker of the House

November 15, 2012 · 4:39 pm

On Petraeus

Along with everyone else this week, I wrote about General David Petraeus’ unfolding sex scandal. This isn’t a piece about the media’s coverage of Paula Broadwell. That’s not because it’s not telling and problematic (it is both), but because Frank Bruni at the NYT already summed it up so nicely:

“There are bigger issues here. There are questions of real consequence, such as why the FBI got so thoroughly involved in what has been vaguely described as a case of email harassment, whether the bureau waited too long to tell lawmakers and White House officials about the investigation and how much classified information Broadwell, by dint of her relationship with Petraeus, was privy to. The answers matter.

Her “expressive green eyes” (The Daily Beast) and “tight shirts” and “form-fitting clothes” (The Washington Post) don’t. And the anecdotes and chatter that implicitly or explicitly wonder at the spidery wiles she must have used to throw the mighty man off his path are laughably ignorant of history, which suggests that mighty men are all too ready to tumble, loins first. Wiles factor less into the equation than proximity.”

My essay is about what I expect from my leaders. Thoughtfulness, compromise, forethought, yes. Fidelity, no.

Related Post: Ditto for Herman Cain.

1 Comment

Filed under Gender, Media, Politics, Really Good Writing by Other People, Republished!, Sex

Tagged as David Petraeus, fidelity, Frank Bruni, military, Paula Broadwell, politics, republished, Role/Reboot, sex, sex scandal, sexuality

Tag Archives: politics

Personal is Political

Sunday Scraps 100

Rob Portman Part 2

Sunday Scraps 98

Monday Scraps 95

Sunday Scraps 93

Sunday Scraps 84

Monday Scraps 83

Pelosi Rolls Deep

On Petraeus

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