The request:
Can we have a slacktiverse open thread about science fairs/projects/experiments/Olympiad or something?
The answer: Yes
Monthly Archives: February 2014
Open Thread: Sciency Stuff
Writer Workshop
(Posted by chris the cynic)
Those of you who also frequent Ana Mardoll’s Ramblings will find this somewhat familiar. Here, as there, it was requested that there be a regular post to talk about writing projects (and other artwork-creation). Thus this post exists.
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| Pencil by Elisa Xyz |
What are you working on? How are you feeling about it? What thoughts and/or snippets would you like to share? How does your activism work into your art? What tropes are you hoping to employ and/or avoid? Are there any questions you’d like to ask or frustrations you’d like to vent? Writing workshop below!
This week in the Slacktiverse, February 23rd, 2014
(posted and compiled by chris the cynic, written by members of The Slacktiverse)
The Blogaround
This week, Storiteller reflects on how lonely and beautiful putting her baby to bed at night is and how a special toy helps them out in He Holds the Whole World on His Back.
chris the cynic wrote:
Only two posts this week. The more interesting is that, after making several posts talking seriously about things where I thought Long Live the Queen could be better or where I personally would do things differently, I wrote a story that is not to be taken seriously at all in which everything goes very, very sideways after looking on, “The rebels are all landlocked,” not as, “So our navy is useless in this fight,” but instead, “So anything we put to sea will be safe from the rebels.” Elsewhere I’ve called it, “The Advent of a Tangential Narrative.”
The less interesting is called, “God I hate making posts about money” and in it I apparently took complete leave of my sense of when commas are needed. As one might guess, it’s about money.
On the Slacktiverse itself:
- Open Thread: Things you love in Movies/Books/Whatever you dislike
- Feminism and Parenting: A Perfect Match
- Writer Workshop
- Board Business, February 21st, 2014
- Deconstruction Round Up, February 22nd, 2014
In Case You Missed This
No submissions this week; feel free to comment with things you think fit.
Things You Can Do
Froborr wrote:
I’ve launched a Kickstarter for the second volume of My Little Po-Mo here.
–Co-authored by the Slacktiverse Community
Deconstruction Round Up, February 22nd, 2014
(by the Slacktiverse and others; collected by chris the cynic)
The point of these posts is threefold:
1 To let people stay up to date on ongoing deconstructions.
(All ones on our list, including finished and stalled ones, here.)
2 To let people who can’t comment elsewhere have a place to comment.
3 To let people comment in a place where people who can’t read disqus can see what they have to say.
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Amarie: Amarie’s Dreamjournal
Racism: No Color, No Self: A Struggle With Dissociation
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Ana Mardoll: Ana Mardoll’s Ramblings
- The Chronicles of Narnia: First Post (Voyage of the Dawn Treader: First Post)
- Long Live the Queen:
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Erika M. and Will Wildman: Something Short and Snappy
- Ender’s Game Saga: First Post (Speaker for the Dead: First Post)
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Fred Clark: Slacktivist
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Froborr: My Little Po-Mo
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: First Post
- The Very Soil (Puella Magi Madoka Magica): First Post
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RubyTea: Heathen Critique
Multiple Deconstructions:
- UNDERGROUND ZEALOT SERIES: First Post (SILENCED: First Post)
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Mouse: Mouse’s Musings
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Philip Sandifer: Philip Sandifer: Writer
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Please comment or e-mail us if we’ve forgotten anybody or you have anyone to add. Or if any links are broken, or if you’re linked to and don’t want to be, or if unicorns are interbreeding with Pegasuses creating flying spear headed horses, or for more or less any reason really.
Writer Workshop
(Posted by chris the cynic)
(A day late so the article Feminism and Parenting: A Perfect Match would have space to breathe)
Those of you who also frequent Ana Mardoll’s Ramblings will find this somewhat familiar. Here, as there, it was requested that there be a regular post to talk about writing projects (and other artwork-creation). Thus this post exists.
|
| Pencil by Elisa Xyz |
What are you working on? How are you feeling about it? What thoughts and/or snippets would you like to share? How does your activism work into your art? What tropes are you hoping to employ and/or avoid? Are there any questions you’d like to ask or frustrations you’d like to vent? Writing workshop below!
Feminism and Parenting: A Perfect Match
(written by Storiteller)
Feminism believes that we should equally respect women and men, as well as trust women’s ability to make their own decisions. As becoming a parent (or not) is one of the biggest decisions in life, it isn’t surprising that feminism has a lot to teach both individuals and society about parenting. If patriarchy hurts everyone, then feminism is good for the whole family – mothers, fathers, and children.
Feminism teaches us that being a mother is an important job – but far from the only important job.
At first glance, American society appears to valorize mothers. But that image only goes so far. In reality, society uses it as an excuse to control women and corporations exploit it to sell products. Feminism offers true respect for mothering, including support for paid family leave (to take care of children or aging parents), job protection for pregnant women, universal health care, and financial assistance for poor women. Feminism also recognizes that unpaid work can be worth just as much if not more than paid work.
But simultaneously, feminism acknowledges that women have many important roles that have nothing to do with children. In addition to allowing women expanded opportunities, I think this recognition also helps women with children be better parents. If women aren’t forced to shove all of their ambitions into a box labeled “mother,” they’re more likely to respect their children’s own interests and less likely to smother them with unfulfilled dreams.
Feminism teaches us to respect non-mother caregivers.
Parenting extends beyond being a mother and people other than parents can be excellent caregivers. Assuming otherwise gives everyone short-shrift. This attitude severely restricts mothers’ career choices, either out of straight-up prejudice or societal shame. It also denigrates fathers, grandparents, and non-related caregivers. It denies them the opportunity to take the caregiver role, even if they’re the one best suited for it in the family. I can personally say that both my husband and I have benefitted from feminism’s advances in this area. My husband is a stay at home dad by choice and I’m glad that we have the societal privilege to have this arrangement. Lastly, the “mother is the best” completely erases male gay couples with children.
In addition, a recognition that caregiving extends beyond mothers is better for children. It allows for a greater variety of role models of varying genders and ages. In addition, because it doesn’t assume that “anything but mommy” is second-best, it creates a higher baseline for quality daycare.
Feminism teaches us to respect women’s choices about their bodies, including if and when to get pregnant, how to give birth, and whether or not to breastfeed.
Obviously, it’s the best for everyone for all children to be wanted, joyful additions to their parents’ lives. But the societal judgments – and in some places, legal limits – about women’s choices don’t stop once the child is born. The parenting world, from books to blogs, is full of judgment for all sorts of women’s choices. In contrast, feminism emphasizes policies and attitudes that increase women’s choices rather than restrict them. Carrying this respect for a variety of choices into parenting would be better for women and their children than side-whispers and snarky comments on message boards.
Feminism teaches us that we should value and respect those less powerful than us.
I’ve recently started reading How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk, a classic of the Positive Parenthood movement. Reading it, I realized how many of the ways sexists devalue women are also how adults devalue children. In both cases, the more powerful party tells the less powerful person that their emotions aren’t valid, generalizes a single mistake into a judgement of their character, explains why they are illogical, and gives lip service to the other’s problems instead of listening. I would never say that children have the same ability to make choices as adult women, but their thoughts and feelings still deserve respect. When the kyriarchy teaches children that they are not important because they are less powerful than adults, I believe they grow up to be more likely to be racist, sexist, and classist. In contrast, if adults show children respect, they are more likely to carry that respect towards everyone out into the world as adults.
Feminism teaches us that we are stronger and better in community than alone.
Community is essential for new parents. It’s important for new moms to catch the signs of post-natal depression and alleviate plain-old post-natal isolation. (I personally have never felt so lonely as being alone with my baby when he was crying and not knowing what to do.) Beyond the parents’ mental health, I also believe in the “it takes a village” philosophy of child raising. It’s essential for children to interact with people of different ages, genders, races, sexualities, experiences, and viewpoints. It helps them become better, more empathetic citizens who can see outside of their small household.
Needless to say, I’m a feminist and I hope to bring up my little boy to be one too.
Open Thread: Things you love in Movies/Books/Whatever you dislike
(By lonespark)
Topic is: Scenes (could be characters, quotes, etc.) you love in movies (or other works of art) that you dislike.
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Reminder: the topic in an open thread is there to encourage discussion, not restrict it. Nothing is off topic in an open thread.
This week in the Slacktiverse, February 17th, 2014
(posted and compiled by chris the cynic, written by members of The Slacktiverse)
Sorry this is so late.
The Blogaround
Storiteller‘s son is on the move, albeit backwards. In Goin’ Mobile, she describes how his newfound freedom allows her and her husband to see the world from his perspective a little more.
chris the cynic wrote:
So, Stealing Commas will go on, and on that subject the new computer arrived and the only downside is that it runs on Windows 8, parts of which are disturbingly similar to an Apple. (But it’s a minor downside with easy workarounds.)
Getting back to the business of actually doing my blog I wrote a post called “Epistemological Synecdoche” about the question of whether it is possible to know something (not completely but meaningfully) by only experiencing part of it. It was inspired by the question of whether the Bible’s claim that those who love know God (with no reference to even believing in God) was even possible. Not true, possible. So that’s the example it mostly sticks with but there’s also some Rise of the Guardians and Twilight used as examples in there.
I did a short and silly post about what the things we call “Locusts” should actually be called. I had Snarky Bella summarize what’s happened in canon Twilight so far (spoiler: not much) taking where Ana Mardoll is in her deconstructions as the present point. I wrote more on Long Live the Queen with a partial list of various options I’d add to it given world enough and time.
On the Slacktiverse itself:
- Open Thread: Five episodes you like
- Writer Workshop
- Board Business, February 13th, 2014
- Deconstruction Round Up, February 15th, 2014
In Case You Missed This
Firedrake shared:
A call for female re-titling
MEP (member of European parliament) suggests abandoning “Miss” and “Ms” entirely, and just calling all women “Mrs”.
Mary Beard on the public voice of women
More an historical review than a prescription for solving the problem, but still interesting.
Things You Can Do
No submissions this week, feel free to comment with things you think fit.
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