Talking about Bodies in Gender Friendly Ways December 9, 2011

On the one hand, I know that not everyone with a uterus identifies as female. On the other hand, when I’m talking about body parts I sometimes slip into writing as if body parts had genders, as in “female reproductive organs.”

Here’s a handy guide from Dean Spade that offers guidance and alternatives.

He writes, “I wrote up a little something about the language that we use to talk about body parts that are most strongly associated with gender norms. It might be of use, particularly, to health practitioners and others who talk about bodies a lot.”

Dean Spade is an Assistant Professor at Seattle University School of Law. He teaches Administrative Law, Poverty Law, Law and Social Movements and Critical Perspectives on Transgender Law. His website is here.

Thanks AZ.

Men’s magazines sound like they were written by rapists

According to a recent study by a British university, readers have trouble distinguishing between excerpts from men’s magazines (FHM, Loaded, Zoo, and Nuts were the British magazines used in the study) and excerpts from interviews with convicted rapists. In many cases, test subjects rated the material from men’s magazines as more derogatory and misogynistic than the things said by convicted rapists.

Purveyors of these magazines often claim, in their own defence, that they love women, that their readers love women, and that it’s all just a laugh. This study puts a little pressure on that claim. Just a little.

Jezebel has more details of the study, including the excerpts used in the test. Can you tell the difference between a rapist and a men’s magazine?