Monthly Archives: October 2010

ColorLines gave some tips to readers about racist Halloween costumes to avoid. Included in the discussion — Pocahotties, Dirty Geishas, and Super Sexy Asian Girl. I have to say that I’ve seen fewer trickle-down of skimpy and sexy costumes for … Continue reading →

Several years ago, a professor of mine in grad school told me about his daughter, then three. She said one day that when she grew up, she wanted to be a nurse. “Or a doctor,” he added, to which she … Continue reading →

We had a peak day at our house this week. A beautiful fall day here in the Piedmont of North Carolina means temps reaching almost 80, and the kids and I spent hours outside. We pulled a huge pile of weedy … Continue reading →

I showed a picture of a children’s clothing display to the audience at a recent talk and asked if they were looking at clothes intended for boys or girls. “Boys,” they all agreed. I asked, “How do you know?” Answers … Continue reading →

(Some of these descriptions are excerpted from the paper I gave at the American Folklore Society conference in Nashville last week.) In the toddler boys’ section of department stores and big box stores such as Target, where most boys ages 2-4 … Continue reading →

Ann Friedman at the The American Prospect is not buying the arguments of Hanna Rosin and others that US men are in crisis-mode because of their inability to deal with changing US culture: “It’s disappointing that, despite a history of … Continue reading →

12. A lot of people in Tennesse drive really, really fast. 11. You do not want to end up behind one of the people who doesn’t, as 25 cars going 85-95 miles per hour whiz around you. Avoid this. 10. Republicans had billboards … Continue reading →

I’m at the American Folklore Society’s annual meeting in Nashville right now, and excited to get to two of this afternoon’s panels — Feminist Approaches to Masculinity and Masculinity and Hypermasculinity, Framed and Performed. I’m glad to see that there’s a … Continue reading →

It all started when we realized our son’s favorite color was yellow. (In retrospect, it should have been evident — the first flower name he learned was “daffodil;” his favorite animal was a giraffe — parents can be slow on … Continue reading →