Journalist – Historian – Speaker
All these essays are saying more or less the same thing as mine. Gendered language, clothes, toys, media, etc. are all part of the pernicious and pervasive influence of patriarchy on our culture. ‘Girlie’ pajamas Boys underwear (for the author’s daughter) Boys will be Boys (and its perils) There’s lots more, especially on father’s day, …
After my latest CNN piece, a few of my friends noted that they thought I was going to talk about the Nika riots and Justinian, then compare them to today’s unrest in Istanbul. I considered it. Civil unrest in Constantinople has, in fact, brought down many an emperor over history, though in this light Constantinople …
I have a new essay up on CNN. I started public writing for two reasons – 1. To write about parenting (especially disability, though gender has now emerged as a major theme). 2. To try and insert historical context into contemporary stories. The name, How Did We Get Into This Mess, reflects that latter goal, …
In a recent New Yorker piece on the late SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, Nicholas Schmidle writes, Like many soldiers, Kyle was deeply religious and saw the Iraq War through that prism. He tattooed one of his arms with a red crusader’s cross, wanting “everyone to know I was a Christian.” When he learned that insurgents …
Several people (including my mother) have noted that (kindly) there was nothing new in my piece on CNN. Feminists have known these things for a long time. And sure, the neuroscience is more specific now, but what I was doing was illustrating a specific, recent, form of a long-recognized problem. I absolutely agree. What’s startling …
Here’s a link to my radio interview with KKSF Talk 910 AM San Francisco. My segment starts around 14:10. Coming soon: Book review of In This Together’s “great books for real girls.” Spoiler, I can’t tell you about the soccer book because my 10-year-old niece took it away and started reading. Essay on Turkey and …
In a few weeks (date not yet set), I will be publishing an essay on police brutality and disability. As a result of my work on this (really upsetting) topic, I’ve been tracking the ways that police explain their actions. The use of language, even more than the specifics of any given case, shows the …
Nico was awake at about 6 AM. I could hear him rocking around in his bed, so came downstairs and climbed him with him. Around 8:45, he woke up, rolled onto his back, peered at me blearily, crossed his arms over his chest, and said, “Love.” I have many new followers now, thanks to the …
Yesterday, as the hits on my CNN article soared, I received an email entitled “National Radio Interview Request” from the producer for the Jesse Lee Peterson show. 1. I mis-read the email. I admit it, this article has reached a level of audience that dwarfs my most-read essays in the past, and I was feeling …
One of the themes of my essays and blog posting focuses on language, particularly the pernicious effects of unconscious language. I wrote about “the Angel/Retard Dialectic” last November, for example, but both the NYC new wheelchair symbol and yesterday’s piece about gender norming in pre-school focus on unconscious use of language and symbols and the …