George Lakoff, a professor of cognitive linguistics at UC-Berkeley, is known in political circles for his argument that Americans frame political arguments around competing metaphors that are based on family norms. He enjoyed a brief moment in the sun as an academic adviser to leading Dems immediately after the 2004 election, but – rightly or [...]
Girl with PenJacqueline HudakSexual politics are in a time of huge transition – think Ellen and Portia – and still, there is simply no public cultural consciousness about the concept of “sexual fluidity.” A well-crafted recent book by Lisa Diamond, Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women’s Love and Desire (Harvard University Press), takes another step toward putting [...]
Maryland's highest court ruled yesterday that the initiative to repeal the portion of a county law prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity could not go forward on this year's ballot. Legally, the ruling (which has not yet been published) appears to have been based on technical aspects of election law – whether the proponents collected [...]
The GuardianHow has The Joy of Sex changed since 1972?Stuart JeffriesThe first edition of the Joy of Sex considered sex on moving motorbikes. "If you have access to a private road, the hazards are yours," counselled the book's ironically surnamed author Dr Alex Comfort. Thirty-six years and 8m copies in 22 languages later, that passage [...]
From the latest Washington Post/ABC poll: "Many of the shifts toward McCain stem from gains among white women, voters his team hoped to sway with the pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate. White women shifted from an eight-point pre-convention edge for Obama to a 12-point McCain advantage now." That's the lead. [...]
The ObserverA very Gallic view of single motherhood Janien DiGiovanniThe most famous woman in France today is the mysterious French Minister of Justice, 42-year-old Rachida Dati, who is nearly six months' pregnant. Rien de grave: nothing serious. Here in France, being a single mother is no big deal. More than 50 per cent of the [...]