Scenes From a Life in Negroland:
In Negroland, nothing highlighted our privilege more than the threat to it. Inside the race we were the self-designated aristocrats, educated, affluent, accomplished; to Caucasians we were oddities, underdogs, and interlopers. White people who, like us, had manners, money, and education… But, wait…“like us” is presumptuous for the 1950s. Liberal whites who saw that we too had manners, money, and education lamented our caste disadvantage. Other whites preferred not to see us in the private schools and public spaces of their choice. They had ready a bevy of slights: from skeptics, the surprised glance and spare greeting; from waverers, the pleasantry, eyes averted; from disdainers, the direct cut. Caucasians with materially less than we had license from Caucasians with more than they to subvert or attack our privilege.
Norway’s tribute to its murdered witches (91!)
UM, GOTHAM? CAN WE DISCUSS GOTHAM?
Treadmills: not only terrible and unpleasant, they are also trying to murder you. Speaking of the death of Dave Goldberg, I have no intention of linking to Penelope Trunk’s absolutely disgusting and invasive piece about it, but suffice it to say that Penelope Trunk is the worst, and it is one of the grossest things I’ve ever read.
I am almost afraid to link to this bc you know Mallory and trains.
I ADORE these Empathy Cards for Serious Illness:
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YEP:
For eight years James Tomsheck handled sexual misconduct investigations as the Chief of Internal Affairs at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
What he saw, he says, disturbed him.
Between 2012 and 2014, he found there was a “spike” of more than 35 sexual misconduct cases against agents, a rate he says was significantly higher than other law enforcement agencies
“A problem that I believed was a significant and serious problem was perhaps even worse than I thought it was,” said Tomsheck.
The latest in the Jian Ghomeshi scandal isn’t good for Ghomeshi OR Kevin Donovan:
The problem is that the stories Donovan and I collected contain dozens of details that could compromise the anonymity of our sources, and Donovan has refused to proactively consult these women on the removal of these details. Instead, he tells me he “doesn’t work with sources”, that he plans to tell the “full story” and that his relationship with sources “is not a partnership”.
We have been linking to some great pieces about sex work recently! Here is another one:
My first experience, in a series of many, with unwanted sexual attention in academia superseded my coming out as a sex worker. Seated in my superior’s office, flanked by grey walls and harsh lighting, I proudly displayed the literature review I’d been working on for my mentor. “That’s nice,” he said with a smile. “But I called you in here today to talk about your… other work.” I knew exactly what he meant. So I quoted a price so high even a white, middle-class, tenured male professor couldn’t swing it. He later apologized and said he thought of me more as a daughter than a fuck buddy, anyway. (Gee, uh, OK… thanks?)
And I’m not alone. A significant portion of sex workers I interviewed experienced some degree of unwanted sexual attention in academia. And in the rare instances wherein an interviewee said she had not been propositioned by her superior(s), she nonetheless feared that her relationships with colleagues might be perceived as sexual. Samantha and Jenna, as examples, both noted that male professors refused to meet with them privately, despite meeting privately with other students, after both women came out as sex workers. “It’s like they’re afraid I’m going to…fuck ‘em,” Jenna said.
CROWDSOURCING TIME: I am throwing a baby shower in September for a beloved friend of mine who is finally expected to have a healthy, happy baby after a lot of sorrow, and I would love to know what you have actually ENJOYED at baby showers you have had/thrown/attended. No melted-chocolate-bars-in-diapers please. But games, food, decor tips greatly appreciated. I want her to have the best possible time.
It is SHOCKING how many deleted comments come from people objecting to Mallory’s butterfly/moth #realtalk:
