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…
At the end of my essay, I cite my daughter’s decision that her award was for “Best Bowler.” That’s the message here – it’s not about raising “strong” girls, but about raising our children, boys and girls both, with the freedom and tools to write their own stories. And if that’s the goal, how do…
I have a new essay up on CNN on gender norms and pre-school. Here’s the summary. But please read it anyway and share it, if so inclined. I feel this one, unlike the more theological pieces, has a chance at a broader readership and maybe even changing a few minds – or at least providing…
I’m increasingly sure that doubt, being not 100% certain that your beliefs (political, religious, economic, culinary) are correct, is an important part of what makes a pluralistic society run. More to come on this.
I have this theory that representation matters. I wrote about my ideas here back in November, and will have a piece about gender and language coming out next week. So I like what New York City is doing with these new “handicapped” symbols. It’s a small thing, but many small things add up.
Not long before the election of Pope Francis, Abi Sutherland, a blogger at Making Light, wrote about monarchy and myth. Sutherland worked through some thoughts based on recent movies and books, to discuss “monarch as catalyst,” and that the myth of the “true king” focused on transforming us to our better selves. Towards the end,…