In her 2007 essay “Gay Divorce: Thoughts on the Legal Regulation of Marriage,” Claudia Card argues that marriage is an evil institution. An evil institution consists of two foreseeable and causally linked components: “Culpable wrongdoing and intolerable harm” (30). Marriage, according to Card, meets these criteria. Spouses – predominantly women – are exposed to intolerable harm, including death, through domestic violence. The emergence of such violence was foreseeable and it is tied to the institution of marriage that the threat of violence can only be mitigate by abolishing the institution. And, finally, there are people who have the power to … Continue reading »
Jul 152010
I’ve been reading a lot about stereotypes and prejudices lately. Fifty years after Allport wrote his Nature of Prejudice, a compilation came out that reviews and updates his work. Underneath stereotypes and prejudices is the process of categorization. Allport suggested that and empirical research confirmed it. When we see something or someone, we categorize the perception – fast and unconscious. The categories are probably culturally determined, so it would be difficult to content that it’s natural, say, to categorize people by gender. Just like bones, there is no such thing as something entirely natural. But there is a process that … Continue reading »
Jul 062010
As many of you know, I have made some major changes in my life over the past year, including taking the plunge to fully devote myself to a career change. This summer I am neither working nor taking classes, so I decided to devote some time to outlining what I want to do and how I want to do it. Although I am currently enrolled in a philosophy masters program, I am not sure that this is the best place to accomplish what I want to do (I really would need to be a stealth social psychologist with an activist … Continue reading »
Jul 042010
It feels weird to write about celibacy as an atheist because the first celibate people who come to my mind are monks. Yet, there is something rather attractive to me in the notion of celibacy, so I’ve started to read about it. I am not exactly sure why – maybe it’s because my hypothyroidism is finally under control – but my hormones have been raging, which is challenging while single. At first, I tried to ignore it. But I finally gave in and decided that this would be an opportunity to explore and then share what I found. I find … Continue reading »
Jun 302010
When Bella DePaulo asked me to interview me for her change agent series, I was surprised. Me? I haven’t really done anything! Yet, at least. Well, I decided to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and mull over how I got to where I am today and where I’d like to be going. You can read the fruits of that mulling here.
In “Five Faces of Oppression“, Iris Young argues that oppression is structural, part of the existing system. There might not be a clear oppressor anymore; no tyrant to point to. Instead the relations between groups are marred with oppression, even if that oppression is not administered consciously. Importantly, there are many groups in society that are oppressed. No group’s oppression has “causal or moral primacy” (42). (Page numbers refer to the text linked to above.) Young identifies five faces of oppression
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