- Joanne Herman provides historical context for transphobic ideology:
Raymond based her book on what was known about transsexualism at the time, which was not much. Empire gave the appearance of providing well-researched insights into a much-unknown population. Her book became part of women's studies curricula and was widely available at feminist booksellers. And because no counterbalancing works had been (or could be) published for years, a whole generation of women has an understanding of transsexuals that's been influenced by Raymond's thinking.
- J. Goodrich covers the man-crushes many pundits have on GOP presidential candidates:
Many pundits do seem to equate "presidential" with "masculine." How would this explain the recent focus on the good looks and fatherly demeanor of the three Republican candidates most often praised by the pundits? Are the approving comments aimed at the female voters in the audience, intended to draw their gaze to the attractive features of Giuliani, Romney or Thompson? Or are the pundits expressing their own emotional satisfaction with these candidates' manly aspects?
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- John Aravosis wants the Washington Post to replace the word "homosexual" with "gay":
Ask any gay person, regardless of whether they agree or disagree that the word "homosexual" is archaic and offensive, whether they use the term "gay" or "homosexual" to described themselves. I.e., "I'm gay" or "I'm a homosexual." Just ask them. Unless they're living under a rock, gay people rarely if ever use the word homosexual.
- Stephen Marshall examines the popularity of narratives centered on self-regulating capitalism:
Amin describes the liberal virus as one that "pollutes contemporary social thought and eliminates the capacity to understand the world, let alone transform it." So there is a kind of delusional episode occurring within the mass American psyche, one that has obscured what Amin terms "really existing capitalism" and replaced it with a fictitious model based on an "imaginary capitalism." According to Amin, liberals like Thomas Friedman conjure the illusion of a system that is inherently just and self-regulating while, in reality, it only creates permanent instability and requires constant intervention and protection by the armored shield of the state.
- Kenji Yoshino relates the fight against same-sex marriage to intellectual property law:
Elizabeth Edwards is understandably puzzled by this formulation. After all, gay marriage does not take away any of the rights and duties attendant to straight marriage. Nor are gays intending to denigrate marriage. To the contrary, in seeking the right to marry, gays are asking to join an institution they would similarly honor. But the objection snaps into focus when you look at marriage as a form of intellectual property.