Michael Kimmel wrote a July 16, 2013 NYTimes piece regarding lookism where he pointed out that Melissa Nelson's recent legal case rests not on her beauty but on her employer's perception of her beauty. Her dentist boss felt she would injure him by tempting him into cheating on his wife if she remained in his employ. (Writer Timothy Beneke notes the "danger" beautiful women represent is reinforced in the terms people use to describe them—bombshell, knockout, stunning, femme fatale.) Kimmel … [Read more...]
Reverse looksism?
Over the years, I've been subject to facial discrimination, a term I coined a while back. (Much of this discrimination occurred while I was growing up, and it's laid out in Cleft Heart: Chasing Normal.) For this reason, I hope to initiate discussions of looksism on this site from time to time. Looksism part of the Celebrity Culture we live in. The recent flap over the dental assistant who has twice lost court battles in Iowa over being fired for being "irresistable," reminded me of Katherine … [Read more...]
Monte, the Anti-Bullying Warrior
By popular demand, here's a video of Monte, the Anti-Bullying Warrior. One of his favorite playmates is his purple ball. Click on the following link to activate the video P1060621 Visit www.facebook.com/CleftHeartChasingNormal for more pictures of Monte and info about Cleft Heart. … [Read more...]
“Cleft Heart: Chasing Normal” Facebook Page Launched
Anti-Bully warrior, Monte, encouraged me to set up a Facebook page for Cleft Heart and his favorite cause, the elimination of bullying in schools and online. Monte's a rescue dog who's spent four months in shelters of various sorts. He's had a hard life so far, and still gets bullied, though by dogs and not humans now. Since bullying is part of the Cleft Heart story, I encourage you to visit https://www.facebook.com/CleftHeartChasingNormal and give the public page that pops up a Like. … [Read more...]
Leakers Snowden and Manning——-Heroes or Villains, Part 2
Edward Snowden finds himself in a tight spot. US federal prosecutors charged him with espionage a week ago and revoked his passport. Snowden is a man without a country, remaining in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport's transit zone after leaving Hong Kong for Russia. I wish him well. I've spent time at that airport in an odd glass-enclosed waiting room for 50 people—seemingly laid down on the tarmac without a foundation—and it wasn't pretty: one toilet in a "cabinet" and only vending machines for … [Read more...]
Leakers like Edward Snowden—Heroes or Villains?
Presumably still hiding in Hong Kong and a tad sketchy in the resume honesty department, American Edward Snowden leaked documents in early June regarding the National Security Agency's surveillance activities. In a June 6 interview with the UK's Guardian newspaper, Snowden said "I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things ... I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under." He declared … [Read more...]
Remembering Ira Sandperl—mentor to Joan Baez and a big influence in my life.
When I first met Ira in Palo Alto, California in the fifties, he had a fondness for Brooks Brothers clothes, Black Russian cocktails, and beautiful art---especially Tolstoy's writings. Not surprising for the son of a wealthy St. Louis surgeon! Ira had come west to study at Stanford over a decade earlier and had lived a playboy’s life the first couple of years until, as he said, "he left school to continue his education." At one point Ira saw a book about Gandhi in a bookstore window, and from … [Read more...]