This is the “Anna is tired” edition of Recommended Reading, where I link you to posts contributors have made elsewhere:
[ETA: Warning for Comment Fail in basically anything that wasn’t posted to one of our personal blogs. Not in all the posts, and not in all the comments, but just a head’s up.]
abby jean:
What is ableist language and why should you care? at Bitch Blogs
Emo: A hip way to police emotional expression at Bitch Blogs
Ouyang_Dan:
The Public Consumption of Britney at Bitch Blogs
Disability: The Human Condition at Bitch Blogs
Anna (that’s me!):
Four Ways to do it Right at Bitch Blogs
How to make your blog accessible in five not very complicated steps at Bitch Blogs
meloukhia:
The chemical coshing of sexuality at Guardian’s Comment is Free
All Glee, All the Time: Glee-ful Appropriation at Bitch Blogs, reviews of Glee: Hairography, Glee: Ballad, and Glee: Mattress at this ain’t livin’
The Transcontinental Disability Choir: True Blood: Sookie Stackhouse, Telepathy, and Disability at Bitch Blogs
annaham:
Disabililty Chic? (Temporary) Disability in Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” at Bitch Blogs
Popular Songs that Get Disability (mostly) Right at Bitch Blogs
Objectivity: Its Uses and Abuses at HAM.BLOG
Lauredhel:
Public Transport Authority takes crip-blaming to a new level at Hoyden About Town
Kaninchenzero:
[Disability] Taking Sides at Impermanent Records
Why was I surprised at the comments about the ableist language.
The disabled person who was like… things do fall on my deaf ears! And he topped it by using “loonies.” (I assume he wasn’t referring to the Canadian coin – or am I mixed up? If I’m not making sense, assume I’m mixed up, in pain/fogged by pain meds, or just hungry.)
Slightly OT – I do use ableist language at my main Bollywood forum (which is down, how can I procrastinate now?) – mostly “crazy,” though I have been trying to cut down. When I was first starting out, I wasn’t sure of the general political mood of the board (I avoid the posts on Obama!). I made a bad joke about something from California “only being tainted by gay marriage.” The post was deleted and I got a message telling me why (there are people here who would take offense). While I still feel ashamed at the memory, overall, it makes me happy about the mood/direction of the board, makes me feel like I’m comfortable/safe there.
Ack, yes. I should edit the post to include a comment about the comments. We finally gave up in exhaustion and stopped dealing with the bulk of them at Bitch – there’s only so many hours in a day, and only so much energy to go around.
Anna – I think the comments should stay, so people can see other opinions. (Plus, if you edited it or deleted it, then you’d get e-mails about the 1st amendment, never mind that it doesn’t apply to comments at somebody else’s site.) I’m not blaming you for anything.
What bothers me is that the people who object say the same thing every time! (I read the feministing post on ableist language.)
And I think seeing the reaction online is good so when you bring it up in the real world, you’re not completely surprised. Also, let their ugliness show.
But the worst comments are those on news sites… they give me the creeps.
Thanks for linking to that post on the word “emo”. I’ve found it quite ridiculous for some time, and it’s always nice to hear I’m not alone.