Brute Reason

LATEST ARTICLES ( 570 )

• Surprise Weddings Are Nonconsensual and Icky

  Okay, I promise I’ll actually write something for this blog soon, but for now I have another Daily Dot piece, this time about “surprise weddings.” (It’s as... Read more

  Posted on 18 March 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Hate Crimes, Google Glasses, and Victim Blaming

  I have a piece up at the Daily Dot about a woman in San Francisco who was attacked because she wore Google Glass to a bar, and referred to it as a “hate... Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• It’s Okay Not To Disagree With Your Friends About Politics

  I’ve seen a lot of articles and discussions lately on the theme of “why you should have friends who disagree with you [about politics].” Given how uncritically... Read more

  Posted on 03 March 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Cynthia Gockley and the Disgusting Cowardice of PUAs

  I’m almost surprised that I’m writing this blog post, but not quite. I’m writing this blog post because it might help displace a smear piece written by a... Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Occasional Link Roundup

  First of all, I have an announcement! After a lot of planning, some friends and I have launched a Facebook support group for atheists struggling with mental... Read more

  Posted on 27 February 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Religion Vs. Mental Illness, A Bit More Concisely This Time

  Chris Stedman, author of Faitheist and blogger at the Religion News Service, asked me to comment on why atheists should stop calling religion a mental illness... Read more

  Posted on 24 February 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• When Neutrality Is Really Just The Status Quo

  [Content note: sexual assault]Someone who declares neutrality on a particular question, issue, or debate seems to automatically gain an intellectual (and,... Read more

  Posted on 23 February 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• I Don’t Demand Respect Because I’m Upset; I Demand Respect Because I Deserve It

  At some point in my life, probably in college, I decided that I was going to (mostly; when I’m not too scared to speak up; when I can think of the words to... Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Shifting The Blame For Sexual Harassment (Or, Damn Those Mysterious Women And...

  I’ve written before about how it’s actually not very difficult to tell the difference between flirting and sexual harassment. I’d like to get at this issue... Read more

  Posted on 16 February 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Learning Sexuality: Children, Marketing, and Sexualized Products

  [Content note: sex, child sexualization, child molestation and rape]I’ve been depressed lately so writing has been difficult. (Here’s more about that if you’re... Read more

  Posted on 12 February 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• #FtBCon Review and More Secular Things

  We survived FtBCon2! There were tech disasters and no-show panelists and not enough food or sleep, but it was, like last time, a really fun weekend during... Read more

  Posted on 03 February 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Unpaid Internships Are Exploitative

  It’s that time of year when many people my age are starting to desperately look for summer internships so that they can eventually be qualified for an... Read more

  Posted on 31 January 2014 BUSINESS, SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• #FtBCon Preview!

  

  As previously mentioned, our second FtBCon is this weekend. You can find the full schedule on the Lanyrd page. Here’s a roundup of the stuff I’m doing, and a fe... Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Occasional Link Roundup

  I know we’ve been slacking on the advertising front, but the second FtBCon is coming up in…less than a week. Literally. (It’s January 31 – February 2. Read more

  Posted on 26 January 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• I Check My Phone While Out With People and If You Don’t Like That Please Don’t...

  I recently made a Facebook status/Tumblr post that read as follows:Since APPARENTLY this has become a huge contentious debate all over Facebook, let me make my... Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• My Long-Distance Life

  When I was 17, I went to Israel on an educational summer program. I was sort of dreading it for various reasons, not least of which was the fact that I finally... Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• I Finally Saw the Movie “Her” and I Loved It and Had Feelings

  

  [Warning: ALL of the spoilers ahead]Last night I saw the movie Her, which, if you haven’t watched or heard of it, is about a man who falls in love and starts a... Read more

  Posted on 20 January 2014 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES, SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Having To See It To Believe It: Men and Online Sexual Harassment

  

  [Content note: sexual harassment]Jezebel recounts the tale of Reddit user OKCThrowaway22221, who pretended to be a woman on OkCupid and was so dismayed,... Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Some Fucks I Will Try Not to Give in 2014

  I came across Chantielle MacFarlane’s list of fucks she refuses to give in 2014 on Medium. By fucks she refuses to give, Chantielle means anti-resolutions of a... Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• New Year, New York

  One exact year ago I stood shivering in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, waiting for the fireworks. There was a huge crowd gathered, people of all ages, kids with... Read more

  Posted on 01 January 2014 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES