By Jacqueline Antonovich
-How Londoners died in 1665.
-The life of a 1970s housewife.
-“Oh God for one more breath.”
-Eight songs about your period.
-Why is hemp illegal? A short history.
-The Minnesota starvation experiment.
We Need a Robin Hood Tax for Welfare Relief
By Austin C. McCoy
I wish I found the idea of cutting $39 billion from the federal government’s food stamp program (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP) during a recession unbelievable. But, as usual, House Republicans continue to thwart all belief and reason. Some Republicans like Paul Ryan (R-WI) are concerned about the program’s sustainability. They worry that the size of the program will not shrink fast enough over the next four years. However, as Travis Waldron of Think Progress notes, SNAP is based upon income and not employment, therefore explaining the program’s projected marginal decrease.
Slane Girl, In Solidarity
By Helen McBride
Last Saturday at an Eminem concert at Slane Castle, outside Dublin, Ireland, a 17-year-old woman was photographed performing oral sex on two males. Unsurprisingly, these photos went viral on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I’ve been hopeful of Twitter and Facebook recently. In particular the discussion surrounding the #solidarityisforwhitewomen trend inspired a lot of thought about what gender and feminism mean in 2013 and has served as a much needed reminder for white feminists like myself to check our own privilege. That spirit of hope has taken a hit with the Slane Girl Story. Within two days of the Eminem concert, Twitter exploded into a slut-shaming bonanza. The hashtags #slanegirl and #slaneslut trends have taken on the appearance of a free-for-all, cruel, glee-filled, slut-shaming stampede.
Sunday Morning Medicine
By Jacqueline Antonovich
-Coffee, the Viagra of the 17th century.
-Punishing children in Victorian England.
-Did Jane Austin novels cure WWI depression?
-LGBT history? There’s an app for that.
-Clowns have a history of being scary.
-How to cure a bubble boy.
-A brief history of men’s underwear (get it, brief?)
Sunday Morning Medicine
By Jacqueline Antonovich
-Kosher lube is a thing now!
-Excellent salad advice from 1699.
-Disability activism through beer?
-The female fighter pilots of WWII.
-How depression went mainstream.
-How a wife should undress, circa 1930s.
-The delightful history of paper dolls.
-The summer of ’69 in New York City.
No Paula Deen, It’s Not Just Men Being Men
By Cheryl Lemus
Sick of hearing about Paula Deen? Yeah, I know, it’s been a little overwhelming. Not only have we found out that Deen admitted to using the “n-word” in the past, that her ignorance about race still exists, and that she has subsequently been dropped by several sponsors, but we also have endured many, many responses to these events in the last few weeks. Well, I hate to break the bad news, but I am going to give you another commentary. One with a very different viewpoint, however, so please bear with me. The case against Deen and Bubba Hiers (her brother) is not that complicated, but the responses to Deen’s deposition raise issues of privacy (“we can say what we want in private”), reflect double standards regarding race (“well, African Americans call each other by that name, why can’t we use it?”), suggest the belief that time erases all sins (“she’s of a certain time period” or “well, she said it so long ago, it does not matter anymore”), and even elicit offerings of olive branches (an excellent example of this is here). But as much as this episode in the continual series “Celebrities are not Gods” demonstrates that racism is alive and well in America, I must remind everyone that Lisa T. Jackson is not just suing Deen and Hiers for racial discrimination, but also for sexual discrimination and harassment. These charges have gotten lost in the shuffle. Why?
Sunday Morning Medicine
By Jacqueline Antonovich
-Infant care in 1831.
-The restaurant of the future (circa 1920).
-The radical working-class roots of improv.
-Seasonal cycles of suicide.
-Sex and witchcraft in Early Modern Europe.
-New York City used to be really, really dirty.
-Banned from the pub: Mugshots of Edwardian female drunks.
Banning Heterosexuality in the Workplace
By Jacqueline Antonovich
It has recently come to our attention that some of our employees are offended or distracted by our LGBT employees who flagrantly display their sexual orientation in the workplace. Management has expressed concern that worker productivity is at risk if we fail to take action on this matter. This feeling of unease, we would like to assure you, is not isolated to our own company. Recent news reports make it abundantly clear that “overt displays of sexual orientation” (ODSO) is on the rise across the United States and that various government officials are beginning the arduous task of addressing ODSO in the workplace.
Sunday Morning Medicine
By Jacqueline Antonovich
-Curdled breast milk.
-A brief history of funeral invitations.
-The cure for vapours.
-Building a cyborg, circa 1920s.
-Hair stockings to ward off “perverts”?
-Is there a scientific reason for oral sex?
-The incredible, disappearing evangelist.
Sunday Morning Medicine
By Jacqueline Antonovich
-Going through menopause? Blame men?
-Mussolini’s gay island.
-Scientists sequence DNA of medieval leprosy.
-What happens to women who are denied abortions?
-26 diseases and how they got their names.
-Disappearing Americana: roadside rest stops.
-11 vintage celebrity PSAs.
