venn diagram's blog

diffraction
intra-action
super crip
entanglements
cripping
evolution
intersex
sexual diversity
continuum
abnormal vs. normal
natural
2 to 1 pregnancy
sex selection
sex ratios
right relationships
ethics of care
allies
cultural relativism
precarity
the people’s microphone
trigger warning
a grievable life
Wilchins
Clare
Barad
Roughgarden
McDermott
Humbach
Butler
Farmer
Cleave

I was very pleasantly surprised by Judith Butler’s lecture last night. Going into it I was very apprehensive, I knew that the lectures were supposed to reflect her more recent dedication to activism, a change I appreciate, but I was nervous that her style of writing (and by extension her style of speech) would alienate a large potential audience and limit the reach of her ideas. In general, I do not believe in a necessary separation between scholarly work and political ideology. I am in favor of scholars who ground their work in activism and/or the pragmatic rather than the simply theoretical. I was very encouraged that Butler was able to do this while maintaining a rigorous and sophisticated academic platform--while still being fairly comprehensible and accessible. The academic content of her lecture did not obscure her point but rather was critically important  as the thread that ties her diverse interests together. This emphasis separated it from other activist or political agendas that I have most often been exposed to.

I have invented an organization, Pregnancy Education Reform, and have included two potential publications from the organization. The first is a collection of pdf images of the pages of a pamphlet entitled, “Intersex: An Introductory Guide for Moms-to-be”. And the second is an open letter to primary care providers explaining how to most effectively use the pamphlet and general advice for making prenatal and postnatal care more sensitive to intersex children and their families. Although the organization intends to empower women and their choices, it does take a position against non-medically necessary genitalia normalizing surgeries in its literature.

& musings on "science" writing.

Here is a link to an article explaining the circumstances of the youtube video entitled "Jonathan's Cochlear Implant Activation 8 mo., Rt Ear cont'd"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1283703/Moment-deaf-baby-Jonathan-hears-mothers-voice-time.html

I find this really interesting in terms of disability studies, I know it can be a dangerous game to look at the comments on youtube videos/websites, but even just a quick glance at the top few were pretty generative in terms of discussion:

"How ironic that 8months ago this boy could have been aborted if it were known he was deaf, apparently considered a serious disability. And here we have him receiving treatment from doctors as if they are life savers. When they could have been killing him behind closed doors not so long ago & we would never have known about it. He is an human being first & foremost, has been since fertilisation. These people are not gods, they have not 'given him back his life' just given him a new sense. A lot of deaf people feel very angry & alienated because of peoples ignorant views about deafness."

"99 people are blind.