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Category Archives: Uncategorized

Getting People With Disabilities Out of Sheltered Workshops and Into the Community

In Oregon, disabled workers have recently filed suit against officials who support sheltered workshops, arguing that they are Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) violations and officials have an obligation to promote supported employment over sheltered workshops. For those not familiar with the intersections between labour and disability, the case is a fascinating glimpse of a [...]

Those who die to keep us safe: European Union’s Frontex and the administration of immigrants

It started with a news item I came across a few days ago: Two deaths in three weeks in Spain’s notorious detention centers. On 19 December 2011, an unnamed woman, aged 41, believed to be from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, died of meningitis hours after her admission to hospital from the Aluche detention [...]

This Is Terrorism: Anti-Abortion Group Creates Database of Reproductive Health Providers

As Sady just noted at In These Times, 2012 is going to be a year of anti-reproductive justice laws, specifically targeted at effectively ending abortion in the United States. In shocking news, a recent study concluded that when abortion is illegal, rates of unsafe abortions rise, and globally, we are having a serious problem with [...]

“Self proclaimed feminists” and the new editor of Huffington Post France

“This is a chance for me,” said Ms. Sinclair. “The Huffington Post gave me a chance.” (The New York Times) I love chances! I do! I do! Especially when they vindicate the downtrodden, the ones that have been beaten up, those who are finally rewarded with a possibility, with an opportunity. Anne Sinclair, newly appointed [...]

In Defense of the Sacred Fetus: Court Orders Enforcement of Texas Abortion Law

The attack on reproductive rights in the United States is likely to heat up in 2012, and we have an early entrant in the race to the bottom in the form of a court decision that went through on Friday, ordering the immediate enforcement of a mandatory sonogram law in Texas. More specifically: The law, [...]

Hugo Schwyzer wants to jizz on the face of feminism, but not why you’d think

Jizz on your face! A FACIAL! Let your guy cum on your rosy cheeks because it is the latest act of feminist empowerment! Moreover, IT’S CLEANSING! Didn’t you hear? Jizz on your face is better than a detox diet! It has “purifying” properties. Or so says Hugo Schwyzer, Professor Feminism extraordinaire in his latest installment [...]

Disenfranchisement by Default: Voting While Disabled

People are heading to the polls in New  Hampshire today, kicking off the official primary cycle in the United States. This year, a lot of eyes are on tactics used to prevent people from voting, particularly targeting low-income communities of colour and nonwhite people. There’s a laundry list of voter suppression tools that are getting [...]

Now THIS Is Some Mental Health Bootstrapping

One of the most insidious and commonly repeated tropes about mental illness is that people can bootstrap their way out of it; they just need to ‘try harder’ and ‘stop moaning’ and they’ll magically get better, even if this defies all known knowledge of neurochemistry, human emotion, and psychiatry. There’s tremendous pressure on people with [...]

The Ten Objectively Best Songs of 2011

The end of the year brings, as we know, many many lists.  But you should read mine anyway. 1.  Nicki Minaj – “Super Bass” Minaj’s consummate craftsmanship as an artist—in image, flow and production choices—makes her nearly anachronistic among contemporary hiphop acts.  Originally thrown onto last year’s Pink Friday as a bonus track, “Super Bass” [...]

A year in personal failures: how I didn’t single-handedly stop racism within feminism or in The Netherlands

I. “My feminism will be intersectional” redux I set myself up for failure. I know. I like big, unachievable goals that I will, all on my own, conquer. Because I am a sucker for failed end of the year balances. Because when this time of the year rolls by, I sit and ponder on what [...]