Posts
April 26, 2013
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12:54 PM | Skepchick Quickies 4.26
Little girls are better at designing superheroes than you – This’ll brighten your day. For the first time ever, hear what Alexander Graham Bell sounded like – Or if you’re a Doctor Who fan, get a little confused thinking we’ve done this already. US female sailor beats Dubai rapist bus driver into submission – Yay for good outcomes to terrifying situations. Shakuntala Devi, “human computer”, dies at 83 – “In 1980, she correctly […]
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4:07 AM | Not So Different? Not So Fast!
We recently posted an article about research findings that counter the notion that men and women differ in many meaningful psychological ways. Like most topics in the field, however, it's not always as simple as it first appears. Here's an insightful post by our colleague Dr. David Schmitt that offers a counterpoint to the information presented in that earlier post.
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Part 1 of this article described a recent study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships investigating how Facebook has become an important part of the development of romantic relationships. In particular, although young adults don’t view Facebook as a dating site per se, it is used as a way to get to know potential partners better and gauge romantic interest. But beyond these initial interactions, Facebook is important as relationships progress.
April 25, 2013
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Apparently, it’s that time of year again! You know. That time of year where your friends annoy the crap out of you by participating in some silly social media prank disguised as awareness. And lucky us! It’s about breast cancer AGAIN! Because as you know, there are so MANY people on FB still unaware that it exists and we have to raise consciousness because there are not enough pink balloons in the ariport. Ammirite! Here is my weekly […]
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4:29 PM | Leading Women Age, Too
The other day, I Tweeted a link to this Vulture article in which the age of an actor is compared to the age of his female costar at the time of filming, showing that as men age, their female costars seem to stay the same age like a perky, perpetually stacked Dorian Gray. This, for instance, is Harrison Ford: A few of my Twitter friends wondered what the chart would look like for leading ladies who have had a long career. Because I’m a party animal, last night I got totally crazy and spent […]
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Next Thursday, May 2, is the National Day of Reason, a response to the US National Day of Prayer. Groups all over the country are gathering to celebrate at capitols, courthouses, and public squares as well as with potlucks and even a Freethought Slam. Some events are highlighted below, but check the official website for more. The Day of Reason falls within SSA Week, April 29–May 6, a chance to support the work of the Secular Student Alliance and its members, the students who are out there […]
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1:22 PM | Skepchick Quickies 4.25
American Girl dolls aren’t radical any more – I wanted one of these so badly when I was a kid. Autistic children have no concept of faith, ergo atheists are autistic – “Every child understands when you tell him or her to fear God, but an autistic child will not. Once he starts to develop normally, belief will come in time.” Animal rights activists wreak havoc in Milan – It’ll take years to recover the lost work and, “Many of the animals at the […]
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7:12 AM | Changing the Departmental Mind-set
Another bumper batch of Athena Swan awards have just been announced: ever more universities and departments are participating. With the hint of financial consequences looming from RCUK funders for those STEM departments that don’t demonstrate commitment to improving the climate … Continue reading →
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4:02 AM | Dear John Gray, Please Read This
Are men and women really that different from one another? Despite what many believe, and what some alleged experts might tell you, women and men are more similar than they are different on most meaningful psychological dimensions. New research by Drs. Bobbi Carothers and Harry Reis highlight these similarities well. Read more here and here.
Check out Dr. Amy Muise's post on this topic here.
April 24, 2013
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5:57 PM | Skepchick Quickies 4.24
On April 24, 1885, Annie Oakley was hired to be part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. In addition to being an amazing sharpshooter, she had an interesting upbringing, so take a minute today and read about her. The Real Problem With That Controversial, Sexy Video Game Sorceress – It is amazing the amount of dudes who will go to great lengths to explain that grotesquely over-sized (and under-supported) video game breasts are anything other than ridiculously sexist. (Don’t even […]
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Master manipulators know that the way to get people to part with their money is to create an illusion of scarcity. In other words, if you want people clamoring for whatever it is you’re selling, tell people they can’t have it (“Act now! Quantities are limited!”). Next thing you know, they’ll be lining up to pay you even more than you were originally asking! So does the same thing work when it comes to finding a date? Can you enhance your desirability by making […]
April 23, 2013
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7:00 PM | AI: Abort? Retry? Love forever?
Today, Secular Woman is launching a new project called Abort Thocracy, focusing “on the intersection of religious power over women’s bodily autonomy and sovereignty, dedicated to terminating that connection by opposing religious influence in government.” My friend Hemant, the Friendly Athiest, has two major criticisms of the project. Mostly the “abort” and the “theocracy” parts of it. Fortunately for Hemant, because we’re friends, I’ll only […]
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Note: I am aware that harassment crosses all kinds of gender lines. I have known men who are harassed by women in the workplace and am sickened that their charges are not taken seriously. Below, I am speaking from my personal experience as a woman who gets harassed by men. Though I fully acknowledge they exist and do my best to speak up when I can against those who trivialize their plight, I cannot speak for those men who are harassed by women. One of the more active ways to cause change is […]
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1:03 PM | Skepchick Quickies 4.23
Applications open for Mars One, the first human space colony – From Critical Dragon1177. Malignantly dense prof lectures against “sexual” “assault” “awareness” – From Megan. Don’t be a creepy photographer – With good advice on how not to be creepy in general, too. From Kim. She works: Advice to your younger self? – “Because I was so often out in front, working harder than any of the men around me, and feeling competitive […]
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9:14 AM | Bad sex awards (2000)
“The best indicator of a state’s divorce rate appears to be political, though surprisingly, the left-leaning states have far lower divorce rates than the conservative, ‘family value’ states.” Gregory Baer, Life, the Odds: and How to Improve Them I … Continue reading →
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A new study by Science of Relationships contributor Dr. Amy Muise and colleagues on keeping the sexual spark alive in long-term relationships was recently published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
Read more about this research at The Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and check out Amy's articles on ScienceOfRelationships.com.
April 22, 2013
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It’s time to get up, get going, and get reading all the sweet things you missed last week on the Skepchick Network. Fine. I’ll wait ’til you get your coffee. BUT HURRY. Teen Skepchick The Physics Philes, lesson 44: Challenge Accepted Part 2 Mindy completes the black hole physics challenge issued to her via Facebook. I’m Not Saying it was Aliens: Misadventures in Self-Diagnosis Eddy woke up with a cut on his foot. Obviously he was abducted by aliens. Speak Your Mind: […]
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2:00 PM | Skepchick Quickies 4.22
On this day, the US Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864, which is the first act to authorize the phrase “In God We Trust” on the two-cent coin. Unfortunantely, this phrase ended up replacing the superior “E Pluribus Unim.” The sexist fans of ‘I f-cking love science’ – This line really got me: ‘‘I mean you are an attractive woman. Doesn’t make it sexist, dear.” Ew with a touch of patroniziation. From Veronica. Don’t Burn Your Bra […]
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2:00 PM | The nature-nurture dichotomy
Two major strands of explanations exist to explain sex differences (i.e., differences between men and women). The first set of explanations is usually referred to as "nature" and contains that biological factors underlie alleged sex differences. Conversely, explanations that are usually referred to as "nurture" contain that sex differences in (social) behavior arise from the distribution of men and women in different social roles within society. BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL ESSENTIALISM Although these […]
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Is it okay for people to be attracted to others while in a committed relationship? Is it normal? Someone told me "if you're in a relationship and attracted to someone else, then there is something missing in your relationship and you shouldn't be committed in the first place." Is that true? I've always thought that attraction is normal and unavoidable, and crushes are harmless if not acted on. So, is it normal to have a crush on someone who isn't your significant other?
A: Your question
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April 21, 2013
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There are a lot of ways to put a relationship to the test...add allen wrenches and vague directions to the list.
To learn more about relationship stress, click here.
April 20, 2013
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4:01 AM | There's Even an App For That
Our friends at Durex (the condom company) have been hard at work. Check out their newest innovation below (warning: the first video is borderline NSFW).
What do you think? Is this a good idea?
April 19, 2013
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Some of you may be familiar with a new trend at some science journals: video abstracts in which the authors explain their findings on camera, sometimes enhanced with animations or other visually-rich media. A few journals routinely accept and publish video abstracts prepared by authors. Two of these are the New Journal of Physics and Cell, and you can see examples of their video abstracts by going to their websites.These video abstracts are typically short (3-5 minutes) and often published on a […]
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4:10 PM | Creationists Not Telling the Truth
I’m still in the Czech Republic at the AFO science film fest, but I wanted to quickly post this funny article that Hemant Mehta just sent me: Ken Ham sez Skeptics Not Telling the Truth, referring to a Skeptical Inquirer article that quotes me talking about the Paranormal Road Trip at CSICon: The visit by Richard Wiseman, Jon Ronson, and Rebecca Watson to the Creation Museum in Kentucky didn’t happen. Recounted Watson: “They said yes, you can film. But you can’t make fun of us. We […]
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12:53 PM | Skepchick Quickies 4.19
Stories in the smoke: What a bomb expert sees – The reality of dealing with a bombing crime scene. High schooler protests “slut shaming” assembly, despite alleged threats from her principal – From Steve T., who points out the best part is the tweet from Wellesley at the end. (Yay for my alma mater!) Why young adult literature sex scenes matter Is the Grand Canyon showing its age? – From Critical Dragon1177. And now a much needed Cute Animal Friday. From nowoo, a […]
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Whether you like it or not, Facebook has become a central part of young people’s lives: about 75% of adolescents and young adults (aged 12-24) in the United States are active users of Facebook.1 As an important part of their day-to-day social interactions, Facebook reflects and plays a critical role in the development of young people’s romantic relationships. The importance of Facebook is illustrated by a recent paper published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships,2
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April 18, 2013
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7:00 PM | AI: Dove Beauty Sketches
It’s Thursday and I am happy to bring you this week’s AI. Today, we are going to talk about advertising and in particular a Dove Soap commercial that has gone viral. Watch my video for more: Here is the Dove Soap Commercial called “Dove Real Beauty Sketches” so you can decide for yourself. My initial impression and why I liked the commercial was that I assumed almost every normal person perceives themselves as uglier than they actually are. Men included. I thought that […]
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As my last post noted, my mind is inclined to go for a walk during seminars if I’m not careful. Recently these wanderings provoked me to consider all the pitfalls of seminar-giving – by young and old alike. Experience doesn’t … Continue reading →
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I volunteered to do Bad Chart Thursday today. I found this fantastic bad chart showing the results of the presidential elections from last Sunday in Venezuela. I had it all planned out in my head. I was going to show you the video that aired a few weeks ago on Venezuelan public TV of Hugo Chavez arriving in heaven and being greeted by Che Guevara and other historic figures from the Latin American left. I was going to talk about how Nicolás Maduro, the presidential candidate who is Chavez’s […]
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2:26 PM | Skepchick Quickies 4.18
New Zealand passes marriage equality – The 14th country to do so! The reaction from the gallery was to break into a traditional New Zealand love song. Also, watch the second video for an amazing use of physics to mock bigotry. Good day care was once a top feminist priority, and it should be again – Hey, look, another thing the religious right screwed us over on. Why the right is wrong about marrying young – “Blaming economic distress on people’s unwillingness to marry […]
