A Father's Account of his Son's Deployment in Iraq
A miserable March day, overcast and cold, rain spit on our faces. Parents, spouses, and children all locked in the same nightmare, a bad dream, an insanity sending men and women off to war but somehow we agreed to let this thing happen. Behind our kids, behind our soldiers standing at attention, there is a graveyard. I am not amused by the irony; I am a part of it. This was the first day of what would be a God-awful fifteen months. On Mother’s Day, two months later, our son the soldier and his National Guard unit deployed to Iraq.
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Tags: Essays · War
The World of Cyber Gender Bending and Computer Cross-Dressing
Electronic communication networks now construct much of our understanding of reality. The distinct categories of identity that develop in these digital realms along with the interface between the body and these electric fantasies create new possibilities for what some call “computer cross-dressing.” Just as “real world” drag queens disrupt gender categories that were previously considered static, computer cross-dressers deconstruct, explore, and reconstruct new identities. Communities of computer cross-dressers destabilize identity categories so that they are constantly in transit, bearing no stable ontological relationship between what is on the World Wide Web and who is behind the computer.
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Tags: Essays · Cyber Identity · Futurism · Technology
Making War Cool as Hell
When George W. Bush hitched a ride on a Navy S-3B Viking and landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln to declare an end to major combat operations in Iraq, there was more at work than just slick PR. Bush, who was visibly thrilled by the experience, enabled the American public to vicariously share in the excitement of an aircraft carrier landing. All around the country, viewing audiences reveled in his machismo display of technology. […]
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Tags: Essays · Entertainment · Militarism · War
Why PETA's unrealistic worldview is doing more harm than good
An exposé on the doublethink and hypocrisy perpetrated by the type of animal rights extremism touted by PETA. For instance: did you know that from July 1998 through December 2005 the group killed over 14,400 dogs, cats, and other “companion animals”? In 2005, 31 felony counts of animal cruelty were brought against two PETA employees for the unlawful disposal of animal carcasses in North Carolina dumpsters.
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Tags: Essays · PETA · Vegetarianism
May 3rd, 2007 · Written by · No Comments
”I would rather be dumb than be a slut, but I would rather be a slut than be fat or ugly.”
This statement was made by an 18-year-old girl taking part in Lauren Greenfield’s widely acclaimed traveling photo series entitled “Girl Culture.” In the series, Greenfield photographs women and young girls, displaying their thoughts about their bodies and the obsessions resulting from the Westernized view of ideal beauty alongside the photos.
Unfortunately, statements such as this have become all too familiar among the youth of America. […]
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Tags: Essays · Eating Disorder · Feminism · Media
