This Sunday afternoon at 4PM, I will be participating in a Philosophy for Kids event at the Grand Army Plaza branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (in the Info Commons Lab); the event is sponsored by the Cultural Services Office of the French Embassy. I’ll be functioning as a kind of Philosophical Advice Columnist takingContinue reading “Talking Philosophy With Kids At The Brooklyn Public Library”
Tag Archives: gender
On Encountering Resistance And Lovin’ It
This morning my four-year old daughter marched into our living room, and clutching a ‘storybook’–a collection of tales based on Disney’s Frozen—said, “Papa, this is my favorite storybook. I like it a lot. I know you don’t like it, because I know you don’t like princesses.” Having made this announcement, she walked over to the couch,Continue reading “On Encountering Resistance And Lovin’ It”
On Being Advised To Not Take A ‘Girl’s Role’
Shortly after I began attending a boarding school in the ninth grade, I was approached by our ‘senior master’ and asked if: a) I could ‘act’ and b) if so, was I interested in trying out for the annual school play. I had done some acting in school and youth club plays in the sixthContinue reading “On Being Advised To Not Take A ‘Girl’s Role’”
Men Writing As Women, And Vice-Versa
A few days ago, I excerpted a passage from James Baldwin‘s If Beale Street Could Talk (Bantam, New York, 1974) in which the central character, a young woman named Tish, describes her–and her boyfriend, Fonny’s–perceptions of Bell, the policeman who has sent Fonny to jail. Tish: But I was beginning to learn something about theContinue reading “Men Writing As Women, And Vice-Versa”
Critical Theory And The Nature Of Law
My graduate seminar on ‘The Nature of Law‘ read and discussed critical race theory this past week. I’ve–along with my students–been thinking about the relationship of critical material like this–along with the critical legal studies readings we did over the last two weeks–to the definitional and foundational debates that so occupied us in the beginning ofContinue reading “Critical Theory And The Nature Of Law”
Praising One Partner, Dissing The Other
Sometimes, on Facebook, an innocent will post a photograph of himself and his female partner, and be greeted with a slew of admiring comments and ‘likes’. These will often be things like ‘you guys look great together’ or ‘fabulous couple!’ Sometimes there are comments about the wife or girlfriend’s looks: ‘X is beautiful’ or ‘XContinue reading “Praising One Partner, Dissing The Other”
Starting Them Early: Beauty Spas For Little Girls
Loving parents can now take their children, especially young girls, to spas for manicures, pedicures and hairstyling. There are times, and they recur quite often, when I wonder about the wisdom of having brought a child into this world. This is one such. Our culture creates and sustains a toxic atmosphere for women from cradleContinue reading “Starting Them Early: Beauty Spas For Little Girls”
A Crossfit Party with Strong Women
Last night, I attended a Crossfit party. During the party–held at Crossfit South Brooklyn–two very strong and fit women, Annie Thorisdottir and Lindsey Valenzuela, performed a grueling workout for ten minutes. (Perform as many rounds as possible of the following combination: five shoulder to overhead movements of a seventy-five pound barbell, ten deadlifts of theContinue reading “A Crossfit Party with Strong Women”
Babies and Gender Construction
When I look at my daughter, my baby girl, I don’t detect her gender. I am aware of her sex, for it was announced to me, rather loudly and emphatically, by nurses and surgeons, when she was born, ‘It’s a girl!’ I am aware of her sex too, when I change her diapers. Other thanContinue reading “Babies and Gender Construction”
Samir Chopra 