Brute Reason

LATEST ARTICLES ( 570 )

• A Vacation from Emotional Labor

  What follows are some (even) more personal reflections on the piece I wrote a couple days ago on emotional labor. As I was writing that piece, I was feeling... Read more

  Posted on 30 July 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Emotional Labor: What It Is and How To Do It

  Ages ago, I read this fantastic piece about practical things men can do to support feminism. Almost every item on the list really resonated with my experience,... Read more

  Posted on 28 July 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Keeping Others Happy At All Costs Is Manipulative

  

  [spoilers for Orange is the New Black] For a long time, and to a much lesser extent now, I have struggled with feeling like I have to keep everyone happy at... Read more

  Posted on 27 July 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• When Someone’s Negativity Makes You Uncomfortable

  

  Ever since I got depressed and started paying attention to this stuff, I’ve been talking about the unintentionally-dismissive ways in which people often... Read more

  Posted on 24 July 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Pride, Drag, and Competing Access Needs

  

  I know I’m constantly linking to theunitofcaring’s post on competing access needs here, but that’s because it’s so relevant to so many issues. Read more

  Posted on 23 July 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Should We Publicly Shame Cheaters?

  This past week has seen two shameful episodes in the Creepy People Getting Into Others’ Private Affairs And Shaming Them Online category. Read more

  Posted on 22 July 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• There Is Probably Almost Never A Good Reason To Call Someone “Immature”

  I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of “maturity” and “immaturity” again, ever since reading this Captain Awkward column about a person (context suggests... Read more

  Posted on 20 July 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Can We Not Record Strangers’ Conversations And Put Them On Twitter?

  Have you ever had that experience where everyone’s laughing at something and you’re just sitting there in silence, internally screaming WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE... Read more

  Posted on 14 July 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• See Me at CONvergence & SSACon!

  

  This is rather belated since CONvergence starts today, BUT I’m here and will be on some panels that you should go see if you’re coming to the con. Read more

  Posted on 02 July 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Don’t Tell People How (Not) To Feel

  [Content note: mentions of abuse, transphobia, racism] The more I do this–this writing/activism/therapy thing that I do–the more I’m coming to believe that... Read more

  Posted on 30 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Irrational Feelings Are Still Valid, and Valid Feelings Can Be Irrational

  Kate recently wrote about how sometimes, viewing your emotions as unjustified or irrational can actually prevent you from taking action to make them better. Read more

  Posted on 27 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• How to Motivate Yourself To Read Books

  

  I read a lot. A lot of my friends have recently been asking for advice about reading. Specifically, they say that they really value reading (books, generally)... Read more

  Posted on 24 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Do Children Matter?

  [Content note: child abuse] Someone posting in a Facebook group–doesn’t matter who or which group, since they were merely voicing an opinion held by many–said... Read more

  Posted on 19 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• When Someone Sets Boundaries With You and You Feel Like Crap

  Reflecting on some experiences I've had with setting boundaries, I wrote this earlier today: A crappy thing for which I have no solution: Someone... Read more

  Posted on 18 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Secular Students Week Guest Post: Benjamin Karpf

  

  Here’s my last Secular Students Week post! Student activist Benjamin Karpf talks about the importance of building community for secular people–something that... Read more

  Posted on 17 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Secular Students Week Guest Post: Tim Kolanko

  

  Continuing Secular Students Week, I’ve got a guest post from Tim Kolanko, a student activist who was able to use the SSA’s support to bring a speaker to raise... Read more

  Posted on 17 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Setting Boundaries With Your Therapist

  It’s a rare relationship that doesn’t require any boundary setting, and the therapeutic relationship is no exception. Setting boundaries is something many peopl... Read more

  Posted on 15 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Secular Students Week Interview!

  

  Hey folks! As you may know, I was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Secular Student Alliance. I’ve been involved with the SSA for almost three... Read more

  Posted on 15 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Sexual Desire and Sexual Objectification Are Not the Same Thing

  I came across a fascinating forum post on the gaming site Polygon in which the poster complains that Polygon seems to take a hypocritical stance about sex and... Read more

  Posted on 04 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES

• Big Life Changes + A Cool Way to Support My Writing

  

  So, a lot has happened in the past few weeks. I finished my internship, graduated with my masters in social work, and (hopefully temporarily) moved back to... Read more

  Posted on 03 June 2015 SOCIETY, WOMEN'S ISSUES