The Politics of Natural Ability
There has recently been a considerable amount of attention and controversy surrounding proposed differences in the natural talents of social groups. Most, though not all, of these claims tend to…
Posts by tag
Gender
13 posts
Alice Dreger’s Middle Finger: Sex, Gender and Unhelpful Hair-Splitting
Is there a more controversial issue in the western upper middle class right now than the intersection of gender and sex? But partial conflation between what sex is and what…
Identity: Knowing What It’s Like To Be Something
Like most people who hang around on social media, now and again I come across an exchange which goes like this: “I think such-and-such,” “How dare you think such-and-such? You’re not…
Why Political Correctness Is Self-Defeating
We generally think of critiquing political correctness as a conservative talking point. This is a grave mistake. There is much to dislike about haughty individuals telling us what to think,…
Feminist Frequency and the Truth About Video Games
Since 2013, the Feminist Frequency series Tropes vs Women has been an important voice in examining and reshaping how female characters are portrayed in video games. Featuring executive director Anita…
The Task Facing Masculinity.
“I think everyone would agree the world would be a better place if we had less testosterone.” My friend shared this quote with me in bemusement after he heard it…
Time to Call a Truce in the Gender Wars
If you are a news and current affairs junkie like myself, you could quickly come to the conclusion that men and women are at war with each other across the…
Is Cordelia Fine’s Award from the Royal Society an Escalation of the Culture Wars?
One occasionally hears it said, generally by intelligent people who have turned their brains off for a moment, that science and politics don’t mix, and shouldn’t. This is of course…
In Defense of the Google Manifesto
James Damore, the Google employee who wrote the viral Google manifesto, was fired yesterday for “perpetuating gender stereotypes.” From the various reactions I’ve read, you would think Damore wrote the next…
If Gifted Children Exist, Does a Meritocracy Still Make Sense?
The lamentable and dangerous myth persists that there is no such thing as innate talent or a gifted child. Whilst we might concede that if you are not born with…
Sex and Gender Are Dials (Not Switches)
It has become more and more common for young people around the world to describe themselves not as a “man” or a “woman,” but as “something else.” One term for…
What Science Has to Say About Gender Identity
A few days ago, President Trump announced that transgender individuals would not be allowed to serve in the U.S. Military. This follows a previous Trump reversal of guidelines put in place by President…
Gender Trouble: Gender Feminism and the Blank Slate
“There is no reason to assume that gender also ought to remain as two. The presumption of a binary gender system implicitly retains the belief in a mimetic relation of…
