Archive for Recommended Reading
Recommended Reading: A Little Schedule Change
I keep thinking I’ve posted this here when in fact I’ve only done so in my head. :) Regular readers may have noticed that I have been remiss in neglecting to post Recommended Reading for the past few weeks. Apologies! I, again, knew that I was planning to make a schedule change over the last several weeks and managed to forget to actually post my plan to do so.
So, with the addition of actions related to promoting my new books to my general to-do list, as well as a few other things, I am feeling that gathering my themed Recommended Reading posts has become something I have not quite had the wherewithal to organize each week. I certainly don’t want to stop doing RR, as it’s something I’ve really appreciated and enjoyed (and thank you so much to those who have followed and appreciated the feature!), but I am going to release the commitment of posting it regularly each week on Wednesdays. I will now go to posting it…well, whenever I want to (lol).
In all seriousness, Recommended Reading will no longer have a regular post time/day but will rather be posted whenever I feel inclined to prioritize doing so. As such, I will announce on social media when I do post RR since it will no longer seem predictable/regular. :)
Thank you again so much for reading, and be well!
Love,
Emerald
Recommended Reading #218: Youth, Pt. VII
“Rites of the Savage Tribe” by Jean Roberta (Sex and Culture, Youth, Sociology) 8/26/14
I find this such a thoughtful piece, and to me it articulates important circumstances and tendencies we would do well to recognize.
“Sex Research Confuses Casual Sex with Causal Sex” by Cory Silverberg (Youth, Sex and Culture, Sexuality Research) Undated
I find this piece generously written, which I appreciate and tend to prefer to err toward myself. In this case, the one thing with which I slightly disagree is in Cory’s final paragraph when he says he doesn’t think the researchers are aiming to mislead. From a certain angle, I agree with that, but from another, I suspect they may really think “casual” sex is somehow bad, wrong, or at least lesser than “other” kinds of sex and thus are eager to not only prove something but to “prove,” more specifically, that. (Incidentally, any time I see the word “prove” associated with social research, I experience an immediate wariness.) Anyway, I much appreciate Cory’s exploration in this piece and am glad he wrote it.
“6 Totally Normal Things Young Girls Do When They’re Discovering Their Sexuality That No One Ever Talks About” by Kat George (Childhood, Sexuality Education, Sex and Culture) 11/4/14
Yes, yes, and more yes…to me, this is just filled with “yes.” I find it great to see and so appreciate its being written.
Recommended Reading #217: Humanity and Inspiration, Pt. XIII
“Creative People, Forgive Yourselves” by Scott at New Trail Coaching (Non-Sex-Related, Self-Care, Creative Endeavors) 10/13/14
This struck me as beautiful, astute, poignant, and needed.
“Pause” by Sommer Marsden (Non-Sex-Related, Memoir, Tribute) 8/12/14
I find this tribute so beautiful I don’t want to interfere with it by commenting further. I simply offer a recommendation to view it.
“An Open Letter to My Now Ex-Wife” by Michael Cheshire (Relationship, Memoir, Consciousness) 9/24/14
I find this an inspiringly beautiful expression in response to a shift in relationship. It reflects, in my interpretation, the true spirit of authentic loving relationship. I don’t see such shift in relationship as some kind of relationship “failure,” nor do I use longevity as a standard judgement for the “success” or quality of a relationship.
Recommended Reading #216: Animals
“9/11 Ground Zero search dog still lends a helping paw” by Laura T. Coffey (Non-Sex-Related, Humanity and Inspiration, 9/11, Dogs) 9/11/14
I cried pretty much all the way through this, finding it intensely, indescribably beautiful and moving.
“Losing My Healer & Protector Max” by Dr. Diane Poole Heller (Non-Sex-Related, Memoir, Dogs) 9/4/14
I found this a beautiful and heartbreaking tribute to a dog I once saw on DVD helping a client as Diane describes when I was attending one of Diane’s workshops a few years ago. Beautiful journey and all love to you, Max.
“Who Rescued Whom? Shelter Dogs and Prison Inmates Give Each Other a New ‘Leash’ on Life” by Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald (Non-Sex-Related, Dogs, Humanity and Inspiration) 9/3/14
Beautiful in so many ways.
Recommended Reading #215: Shifting Perpectives, Pt. V
“Why The Questions We’re Asking About Sex Work Are Wrong” by Kate D’Adamo (Sex Work, Psychology, Labor, Sex and Culture) 9/9/14
I really appreciate Kate’s (appropriately and realistically, as I see it) nuanced and pragmatic approach in this piece. While I myself have tended to perceive more ideologically than pragmatically in general, in this context I certainly recognize great value in the pragmatism I interpret in this piece.
“Iowa’s Family Values” by Steven W. Thrasher (Memoir, Marriage, LGBTQ Rights) 4/8/09
I don’t doubt I would find this a lovely piece anyway, but that it was about my home state made it particularly moving to me. I am aware of some political fallout in the state following this that was executed in a way I find appalling (as I understand it, basically the very conservative candidate that lost in the primary race for governor shortly thereafter then leveraged his campaign momentum and resources solely to oust the state Supreme Court judges whose votes had overturned the gay marriage ban…and succeeded :-( ), but the state still did indeed overturn a ban on gay marriage, which is currently legally permissible in Iowa.
“Spanking Is Great for Sex” by Jillian Keenan (Youth, Sociology, Parenting) 9/17/14
I understand how very controversial this will undoubtedly seem. I also, however, agree with it. UPDATE: After I posted this, my attention was brought (through a series of tweets from the truly magnificent Alana Noel Voth to the author) to this response. Please consider it a Recommended Reading addendum!
