How to Bustle

FACT: You can't change something from inside of it. 

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Let me take a moment to acknowledge that, yes, Bryan Goldberg’s original press release for his new site Bustle reads like the over-excited presentation for my 8th grade science fair project. But what’s frustrating about that is that you can apparently graduate from a semi-respectable American university without the ability to write whatsoever. He’s recently issued a clarification on PandoDaily where he plays up the work he’s done and apologizes for coming off as pandering. But that’s not the point.

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But Bryan Goldberg has already won. He’s already funded and now he’s got our attention.

Some thoughts on funding of Bustle on medium. 

Sunday Short - Sydney Leathers

FACT: We are all adults here. 

And, as such, agreements made between adults should be kept between those adults. You don't like the terms? Don't participate in the deal. Walk away from the table at any time. 

Reconsider your business model.

But whatever you do just shut the fuck up. The media is hungry. And you are the junk food. They feast on the indiscrete, the pathological liars. You're an offering to the legion of people looking to discharge their own shame on someone else in the comment section of [whatever fucking blog]. 

You are a sacrifice; a temporary distraction from others' personal failures. Don't wave yours around like a badge of honor. 

Collateral damage is for children. 

How to Make Babies in Texas

FACT: Everyone has a mother. 

Today's evil news brought you by motherfucking Rick Perry who has decided to re-open the debate by calling for a new special session to reconsider it. As if this were the most important thing going on in the world right now. As if time stands still so that they may continue to regulate women's reproductive functions. As if there aren't enough children already alive in the world in need of food, clothing, shelter. 

Anyway, in case you missed it, SB 5 -- a draconian piece of legislation that would effectively outlaw abortion in Texas -- was defeated. After a heroic nearly-13-hour filibuster by Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, the gallery in the Texas capitol erupted to prevent voting on the bill until after midnight.

Here are the final moments if you missed them: 

For all you political wonks who were not able to be in the Senate chambers during State Sen. Wendy Davis' filibuster on the omnibus abortion bill, here is the raw story of the final moments. Spoiler alert: It get loud towards the end.

This is being discussed as a victory for women. But what is not being discussed is that this is not a "women's issue." Conception does not occur in a vacuum. So whether we believe that life begins there or not is not, ahem, germane to the issue with SB5.

It shouldn't take speaking for more than half a day and a gallery full of women screaming, to serve a reminder that women are only 50% of the cause of a pregnancy and should not be tasked with shouldering 100% of the fallout in the event of a medically dangerous or unwanted pregnancy.

The effects of legislation do not exist in a vacuum, either; we cannot isolate one gender from another in a society. This is not a case of a woman taking on a man. It's a case of a woman standing up for half of a whole society. 

That is to say, if anyone suffers, we all suffer. What we do to each other, we do to ourselves. It seems ridiculous that we're, even in Rolling Stone (!) referring to Wendy Davis and opponents of this bill as some "feminist army." I would like to propose a HUMANIST-LET-US-STOP-BEING-DICKS-TO-EACHOTHER-MERELY-BECAUSE-WE-ARE-DIFFERENT army? (Or, if we must, I am officially requesting a team jersey with a caricature of my uterus on it. Thank you in advance.)

It's not about when human life starts...it's about creating an "OTHER" out of people with differences (different skin, abilities, gender, beliefs) and using that otherness to exert power.

That is so UNCIVILIZED. You animals! 

And that is coming from someone who got spanked with a fucking ping pong paddle at Charlie Munger's New Year's Eve party last year after I crashed it with someone I met on the internets. OK? OK. So just fucking behave like humans, will you?

There are few things I would like to see in this next time-wasting special session. We could start with some more dudes-who-like-fucking-women (and I don't mean "fucking" in the proverbial sense...there were enough of those elected to be there already) in the gallery of that state Capitol. 

Because babies don't make themselves, guys. 

Linklettes *13 - Lady Jobs Edition

​So, I have been off this series of tubes most of the week.

The few items of cultural detritus that did make their way to me were from a fellow Cornell grad and current rocket scientist regarding women in the work force. Specifically, about women with elite degrees dropping out of the workforce. 

RT @huffingtonpost 5 reasons female Ivy Leaguers don't have a "duty" to work huff.to/15GeI3G /// hey @jessicabrookman WTF

— Marguerite (@chicspace) April 24, 2013

There was a(nother) rash of articles ​following the release of the paper OPTING OUT AMONG ELITE WOMEN by Joni Hersch @ Vanderbilt Law.  

Hersch's findings summarized: 

This paper shows that female graduates of elite institutions have lower labor market involvement than their counterparts from less selective institutions. Although elite graduates are more likely to earn advanced degrees, marry at later ages, and have higher expected earnings, there is little difference in labor market activity by college selectivity among women without children and women who are not married. But the presence of children is associated with far lower labor market activity among married elite graduates.

Naturally, I have some words on this...being in possession of both an Ivy degree and a complete lack of interest in 9-5.  

(I am not, however, in possession of any biological children, though I do occasionally date man-children, which can amount to the equivalent of a full-time job in some instances.)

This week's HOW TO post will be ​about opting out ​and how the labor market is shifting, (and -- SPOILER ALERT-- how fucking anti-feminist Keli Goff's Guardian article is). 

Here is your homework: 

• Female Ivy League graduates have a duty to stay in the workforce. (Guardian)
• Do Female Ivy League Graduates Have a Duty to Stay in the workforce? (Huffington Post)

Send me stuff/thoughts/whatevers,
Brookman