Skepticism
Quickies: Ebola conspiracy theories, moral panic, and egg freezing
- The anti-vaxxers are spreading Ebola conspiracy theories – According to the conspiracy theorists it’s either biological warfare OR it doesn’t actually exist.
- From miasma to Ebola: The history of racist moral panic over disease – “The Western medical discourse on Africa has never been particularly subtle: the continent is often depicted as an undivided repository of degeneration. Comparing the representations of disease in Africa and in the West, you can hear the whispers of an underlying moral panic: a sense that Africa, and its bodies, are uncontainable.” From Criticaldragon1177.
- “Yes means yes” is a terrible law and I completely support it – “If the Yes Means Yes law is taken even remotely seriously it will settle like a cold winter on college campuses, throwing everyday sexual practice into doubt and creating a haze of fear and confusion over what counts as consent. This is the case against it, and also the case for it.”
- Don’t be fooled by Facebook and Apple, egg freezing is not a benefit – “But while some female employees will undoubtedly benefit from this unexpected perk, the inclusion of egg-freezing coverage in an already male-dominated industry could make tech an even more hostile place for women who don’t want to make the choice between career and family. Fears are already mounting that the inclusion of egg freezing coverage could create a culture of expectation for women surrounding its use.”
Image from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Ebola.
Fuck.
That is all.
Terrible disease for those who catch it and who are at risk of catching it, but I’m way, way more concerned about the upcoming cold & flu season.
That Jezabel article was full of wrong. I KNOW there are racist aspects but…
Overcrowding and poor sanitation are a relevant fact, not a racist stereotype.
If from this article you believe you can safely eat your Liberian Fruitbat medium rare, you deserve a Darwin Award.
There is enough misinformation already about the whole subject.
Even the CDC guidelines on protective equipment are faulty, according to those who have actually fought previous outbreaks.
The egg freezing article was interesting and brought up some points I hadn’t thought about with regards to pressure to use the egg freezing as a way to be able to work without pregnancy/child rearing. I guess as someone who has had the luxury of delaying childbearing by choice so that I could focus on my career, I hadn’t thought of the pressures that may exist with this benefit in non-female friendly careers. It had only occurred to me that it would be nice to have some eggs on backup for if I someday decided I wanted children.
There is a certain mentality that flippantly spews “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission” in the face of many a circumstance. “Yes means Yes” solidly puts the lie to that.