On “innocence”

There’s a very interesting view in New Zealand that seems to permeate through certain sections of the population.
Namely, it’s the view that children are born innocent and that society corrupts them as they go along. The view that we should all aspire to be like children.
While I agree that there is much to be liked [...]

The Subtle Erosion of Mount St. Helens

So, if you follow politics like I do, you probably know all about this whole Crosby Textor thing. (Original on stuff)
While I’m sure I could go on at length about the damage this sort of campaigning does to the political dialogue, (which is oh-so-precious) what I really want to talk about here is the subtle [...]

“I’m a male feminist and…”

So many times I’ve seen the line trumpeted so proudly in discussions related to feminism: “I’m a male feminist and…”
And so many times I’ve rolled my eyes and said/thought: “Here we go again.” Apparently my fellow dudes, some of us need some explaining of what a feminist is, and why men can never be perfect [...]

Bioethics strikes back

Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. But Granny Herald does have an interesting story on the bioethics of sex selection. (h/t to The Standard, who promptly mocked them for an amusing grammatical mistake which implied parents should choose whether to have sex with babies)
At the moment, it is illegal to select your baby’s sex during in [...]

Let’s talk words (in which I am apolitically correct)

Words are powerful things. While the origin of the quote is disputed, back in the annals of history, several people opined something along the lines of “among great leaders, the pen is mightier than the sword”, referring to how the best leaders recognise the power of ideas before they recognise military power. Words fuel discrimination [...]

A classic link

I’m probably not going to finish a post today, (Spent too much time on three different ones and got caught commenting elsewhere) but to tide you over to the weekend, take a read of this classic link to stories of pro-life or anti-abortion women… getting abortions, and the heartwarming (well, at least to me) tales [...]

Law Commission reports back

A quick note: The law comission has reported back on its review of whether previous convictions should be disclosed to the jury in some cases.
For those of you not up to speed, this inquiry started in response to the fact that Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum’s previous rape convictions were withheld during his trial.
They’ve decided [...]

Addressing Family First

Whoops! Apparently I saved this when I meant to publish it, and was thinking all night I had left you with something to read. Apologies if anyone missed it.
Firstly, a little background. Family First is a well-funded lobby group that is not declaring itself political for EFA purposes this election, and is focusing [...]

Coathanger versus pill (in which we quickly debate the rights of a fetus)

I’ve often been caught saying that there are two types of people- those who believe in false dicotomies, and those that do not. This is how I feel about the debate on abortion, which as the Hand Mirror points out looks very likely to resurface. (original story via the Herald1)
What most anti-abortion campaigners don’t want [...]

Links

Apparently whatever I’ve got is somehow recurring. Instead of trying to think cogently tonight I’m just going to post some links to some totally cool feminist reading for today:

Jille from Feministe points out that legalised abortion isn’t about allowing abortions, it’s about stopping dangerous abortions, and giving women the right to choose without risking their [...]