Brute Reason

LATEST ARTICLES ( 570 )

• Stop Telling Jessica Williams What To Do

  In a Daily Dot piece, I wrote about why people (looking at you especially, white feminists) need to stop telling Jessica Williams what to do and diagnosing her... Read more

  Posted on 21 February 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Interpreting Sexism in Science Fiction

  [Content note: mentions of sexual assault] I was reading one of Peter Hamilton’s books, Pandora’s Star, and enjoying it to a certain extent. Read more

  Posted on 07 February 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• A Case for Strengths-Based Diagnosis

  [Obligatory disclaimer that I am not (yet) a licensed therapist and that the following is my personal opinion, informed by practice and academic study. Read more

  Posted on 01 February 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Occasional Link Roundup

  

  Oh finally, we’ve made it to February. Maybe one of these days I can start voluntarily going outside again! Did you know I have a Google+ page? Now you do. Read more

  Posted on 01 February 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Facebook Needs a “Sympathy” Button

  My latest piece for the Daily Dot is about the challenges of expressing sadness and loss on Facebook as it’s currently set up. Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• How to Get Away with Rape

  [Content note: rape sexual assault] My latest piece for the Daily Dot is about excuses people make when accused of rape. Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• #FtBCon Preview!

  

  FtBCon 3 is almost upon us! Now’s the time to stock up on enough cheez-its and Diet Coke to get you through the weekend. Or maybe that’s just me. Here’s a... Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Feminist Bloggers Cannot Be Your Therapists

  [Content note: mentions of sexual assault and suicide] I’ve been thinking more about Scott Aaronson. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about what he struggled... Read more

  Posted on 11 January 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• MASSIVE Occasional Link Roundup

  I have been so bad at link roundups. That’s why this one is MASSIVE. First of all, thank you to Secular Woman for choosing me for their Blog of the Year award.... Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Why Kindergartners Need Sex Education

  [Content note: mentions of sexual assault] My latest piece for the Daily Dot takes “Princeton Mom” Susan Patton to task for her assertion that children do not... Read more

  Posted on 07 January 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• [guest Post] Experiencing Ableism as a Person Who is Blind

  One of my readers wrote this post about the subtle ways in which ableism manifests itself in his life. When I was three years old, I was sick with flu-like... Read more

  Posted on 06 January 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Compassion, Men, and Me

  I haven’t thought this through extensively. Normally I wouldn’t write about anything I haven’t thought through extensively, but I’ll explain that. Read more

  Posted on 05 January 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Why We Should Ban Conversion Therapy

  [Content note: suicide, transphobia, abuse] I wrote this article for the Daily Dot about conversion therapy. Please note that I did not write and do not... Read more

  Posted on 05 January 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• The City, She Loves Me

  No New Year’s Eve post this year, because this time I’m too busy to write one until tomorrow. Instead, have a story–the only piece of fiction I’ve written for... Read more

  Posted on 01 January 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• “Educate Me!” “Go Google It!”

  A common dynamic online: Person A is writing about or discussing Social Justice Things online. Person B comes across Person A’s writing or discussions, perhaps... Read more

  Posted on 27 December 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Should We Forgive Stephen Collins?

  [Content note: child sexual abuse] I wrote a piece for the Daily Dot about actor Stephen Collins, who had admitted to sexually abusing three girls several... Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• How to Show Affection When Showing Affection is Hard

  I’ve mentioned before that it’s difficult for me to be emotionally intimate with people. That means that it’s hard to tell them that I love them or remind them... Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• On Mishearing “Get Consent” as “Don’t Have Sex”

  [Content note: sexual assault] This fall, the new affirmative consent law in California, which requires all universities that receive state funding to adopt... Read more

  Posted on 25 December 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• The Context of the Thing

  

  [Content note: sexual harassment/assault, victim blaming, racism, police brutality, homophobia, fat shaming] Many debates in the realm of social justice and... Read more

  Posted on 24 December 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Opening Up, Closing Down

  [Content note: depression, suicide, self-harm] The truth about mental illnesses that many of us have learned is that they change you for good. Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES