Whew! It’s Friday at last. I don’t know about you, but it’s been a busy week here in the Mitchell household. My nine-year-old had strep throat (again!). I had a big mom FAIL moment on Tuesday when I sent him to school. He’d had a fever over the weekend, but when he went to the doctor, the quick strep test was negative. I kept him home Monday, with no call from the doctor. The fever had broken by then, although he was still saying his throat was scratchy and his nose was sniffly. I sent him back to school the next day, since he seemed better. Sure enough, the doctor called at noon on Tuesday to say it was strep! Naturally, I picked him up from school, but not before he possibly contaminated his whole class. Fortunately, he seems to be doing better now, though he doesn’t have his usual stamina back yet.
Anyway, we’re hours from the weekend and I’m ready to roll out this week’s best blog posts. Enjoy!
1. My second guest post on Soul Munchies
This time out, I wrote about beauty. Please also check out the posts by other bloggers participating in this project:
2. Two great posts from Dianna Anderson
Have I mentioned how much I like her writing? First, she speaks to the damage modesty culture does to men by inducing shame, guilt and fear. I find myself yet again reminded that patriarchy is bad for men, too. In the second post, Dianna deftly skewers the Good Men Project and their sympathy for rapists. I don’t doubt that there are some actual good men writing on that site, but the site itself needs to die a long, painful death.
3. A rape awareness campaign I can endorse
On the flip side, not everyone gets it wrong. Most “rape awareness” is targeted at women on how not to get raped. (This is a common theme with aggression; anti-bullying campaigns usually focus on how not to be a victim as well.) This ad is exactly the kind of thing we need. It gets at the root of the problem, which is not “women need to stop leading men on/putting themselves in compromising situations” but “people who have uninvited sex with others are rapists.”
4. A sad, sweet, beautiful Christmas short fiction
I like to feature the work of my fellow writers, whether it be social commentary, news, or original fiction. This story, written as a guest post by Christine Royse Niles on The Daily Gallen, will ring true for many people. The imagery is vivid and the emotions are genuine.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
