There may be less science to justify lookism than suggested by many studies in the past. Here's the truth about common beauty myths according to the Wall Street Journal.Apparently science produces lots of research about beauty, from ideal waist-to-hip ratio to symmetry in faces, but the conclusions are seldom as simple as they seemThe author of the just-published Face Value: The Hidden Ways Beauty Shapes Women’s Lives,” Autumn Whitefield-Madrano wrote this piece for the WSJ in mid-June:"If … [Read more...]
Easy trick teaches the impact of cyberbullying.
A schooteacher in Britain used an incredibly effective trick to teach kids the powerful effects of cyberbullying.She posted an image of two apples cut in half on her Facebook page. The image communicated a powerful lesson. In front of a classroom, she insulted and continuously dropped one apple on the ground to symbolize the effects of bullying.On the outside it looked just like the apple that was not "bullied," but when split in two, "the apple we'd said unkind words to was bruised and all … [Read more...]
Brexit, cleft lip abortions, and EU eugenics.
With all the news of Britain's exit from the European Union (EU), we should note a reason a number of Brits gave for voting for Brexit. It's not one of the usual immigration or economic reasons. Instead, it's that they feel bullied by the socio-cultural policies of the EU.Most particularly, they note that all EU countries support abortion except the tiny EU nation of Malta. Dr. K. Vella Bardon's recent article about U.K.'s eugenics foe C.K. Chesterton is reprinted below.But before looking at … [Read more...]
Heroes for Father’s Day…and any day.
Noticed the following list of America's top 100 cinematic heroes (and villains). What a perfect topic for Father's Day, "heroes." I nominate my dad.Though my dad never starred in the movies, he did shoot and produce educational films for Coronet Films like "Telling Time," which taught kids to read a clock. He helped my mother cope with the challenges of my cleft lip and palate. And he helped her raise two other kids.In The American Film Institute's list below, a "hero" is defined as a character … [Read more...]
Anti lookism: an open letter to photogenic people.
Stumbled across this anti lookism rant from back in July 2012. New Yorker Chelsea Fagan, who actually blogs about financial matters, unloosed these unbridled comments which capture what many of us think as we see the uncurbed selfies proliferating across social media.But wait. . .Methinks, though, that the lady doth protest too much. She's darn photogenic herself, and to top it off, she's a stellar writer with a wicked sense of humor.Anti lookism rant."Hi Guys, Hold on, hold on, put the iPhones … [Read more...]
Cleft palate speech evaluation ain’t easy.
Typically in the US, specialists evaluate children born with a cleft lip and/or palate after his or her lip and palate are closed in year one or two. If they find deficient structural elements (e.g., a short soft palate) for producing intelligible speech, they tend to advocate further corrective surgery. When all speech-creating structures are aligned as well as possible, then children have the best chance of developing normal speech. Speech therapists sometimes work with children as soon as … [Read more...]
Cleft lip doesn’t stop nation’s #1 rusher.
Imagine if you had a cleft lip and palate and your hi school football coach said this about you:“There is really nothing on the football field that Zamir can’t do. Zamir is an every down [running] back. He has the ability to run between the tackles. He’s physical, strong and can run through tackles but he also has the speed to run on the edge and take it the distance. He ran a 10.5 100-meters this spring. The other thing Zamir does well is catching the ball. He has very good hands from doing all … [Read more...]