In 2018, Jesse Singal wrote a controversial cover story in The Atlantic, "When a Child Says She's Trans." Focused on teens who de-transitioned, it appealed to skeptics and critics of gender-affirming care, but offered little acknowledgement to the majority of young transfolk who are happy to have affirmed their genders. — Read the rest
New data visualization project to reveal bias in media coverage on transgender topics could use your support.
Donna Minkowitz wrote one of the most important pieces about the murder of Brandon Teena, the transgender man depicted in the film Boys Don't Cry. A quarter century later, she does what few journalists have the courage to do: she acknowledged the botched the story with biased reporting.
How did Twitter addict Jesse Singal become the anti-transgender spokesgoblin of his generation? When a Child Says She's Trans continues his creepy fixation on gender-nonconforming minors. The "ex-trans" movement, similar to the discredited "ex-gay" movement, can always count on axe-grinding coverage that vastly over-represents their numbers and POV.
Michael Rectenwald, a 57-year-old untenured NYU professor, was placed on paid leave. He, and various conservative websites, claim that he was forced out for mocking political correctness. Was he? Apparently not.
Jesse Singal requested this shoop, and I delivered. After all, who's downloading pirated papers? Everyone. (I've uploaded this to Redbubble if you'd like a poster—of course, you can just as well pirate it.)
Wikileaks, the clearing house for state secrets, seems more about founder Julian Assange's grudges these days: especially the one for Hillary Clinton. Much fuss was made over a quote—that he had "enough evidence" to guarantee an indictment of her—that was widely attributed to him. — Read the rest
Cornell economist Robert Frank drew the ire of the nation's business press when he published an article that said something most economists would agree with: hard work and skill aren't enough (or even necessary) to succeed; but luck is. Rather than back down from the angry reception, he's expanded the article into a book, Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy, which came out last month.
Jesse Singal, on the scientific significance of Diablo III's preternaturally demanding fanbase: "The game has unleashed a torrent of nerdrage. White-hot, screeching nerdrage. Nerdrage about how the game is balanced, about technical issues, about the non-responsiveness of Blizzard's customer service. And I propose that the nerdrage sparked by Diablo 3 can help us unravel a mystery that has long eluded scientist and sociologist alike (not really): What causes nerdrage? — Read the rest
Snowmen! Puppies! Disco Balls! And tunes, lots of tunes. If you only watch one holiday-y thing this year, let it be this.
I first heard the voice of Zara Bode when she and her band, The Sweetback Sisters, opened for Loretta Lynn during her 2011 tour. — Read the rest
What will happen to Milo Yiannopoulos now that he has 'resigned' from Breitbart.com, after tape resurfaced of the alt-right Nazi-lovin' bottle blonde hater making pro-pedophilia comments? He's launching his own media empire, bla bla bla. As soon as the Milo-pedo news cycle ends, he'll be fine. — Read the rest
