June 27, 2022

[Author's Note: This entry was originally written June 27, 2022. I have added updated 2023 information in brackets, where relevant. The first and most important update is this: women have died.]

Saturday is the 1-year anniversary of Dobbs: 68 percent of OBGYNs said Dobbs has made the management of pregnancy-related medical emergencies worse, while 64 percent said the ruling has worsened pregnancy-related mortality. https://t.co/Cfg12TueWs

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) June 22, 2023

My friends, I assume you have heard that the Supreme Court of the United States has overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the federal case law that required states to legalize abortion until fetal viability - a 50-year-old precedent. You probably know that abortion is now fully illegal in 9 states, with at least 12 others poised to follow suit, and the situation is shifting day by day.

[2023 update: abortion is now banned in 14 states, and severely restricted in 6 others. An additional 9 states have attempted to ban abortion but been blocked in the courts. Source]

It is not my place to claim any particular insight into the issues surrounding pregnancy, motherhood, and abortion. I'm a practicing Catholic, and an opponent of the death penalty, and a registered organ donor, and a regular fixture at my local blood bank, so I'm in favor of saving lives whenever possible. But I'm not a person who has ever been pregnant. So you may very well not be interested in what I've got to say, and that's OK. Come back next post when we're back to the funny stuff. I'll be here.

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June 19, 2022

Happy Pride Month, my friends! June is a good time to do many things, but especially to reflect on the resilience and awesomeness of the LGBTQ+ community - as well as the question of why they still have to take so much shit from the world.

This blog is not specifically about LGBTQ+ issues, and yet...

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May 13, 2022

Greetings, #DFGRR enthusiasts! A few months ago, the Making Fun of MacGyver podcast invited me onto their show to discuss the dead women in MacGyver. Today, I had the honor to guest-host an episode with them. Check it out!

March 8, 2022

In my post about MacGyver, I mentioned how jarring it was to return to a show I'd loved as a kid and realize it had been sexist all along. That thought inspired me to collect some thoughts from all of you on the subject, "a) When/how did you realize that the world treats women differently from men, and b) what made you realize that was a problem?"

The responses were varied and enthusiastic, and I'm delighted to present a few answers below, beginning with my own.

For me, one day in 1996, my dad had me watch the 1966 Batman movie with Adam West, which happened to be airing on a broadcast network at noon on a Saturday. If you haven't seen it, don't worry because you only need to know two things: it's super cheesy, and it's hilarious. My sister and I couldn't stop giggling. I loved this movie, even though I knew absolutely nothing else about Batman. (In fact, maybe my ignorance helped!)

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February 28, 2022

In honor of International Women's Day (coming up on March 8), I want to hear your stories of how you found out we live in a sexist world. Please share below.

February 16, 2022

If you watched me on Jeopardy!, you are already aware that the topic of how pop culture affects the English language is a research interest of mine. It is with great pride, therefore, that I introduce the DFGRR's latest test subject, and first one to have his name in the Oxford English Dictionary: MacGyver.

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