RattleBag and Rhubarb, The Sex Wars

Language Matters and the Mother Tongue

Lots of appropriately scornful responses to the charity Oxfam’s Inclusive Language Guide  published this week. First of all, it’s 92 pages long. You can read and download at the link.   I can’t say I’ve scoured every page and possibly some of it may be both sensible and helpful in providing respectful ways to talk about a whole range of…

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City and Country, Politics, RattleBag and Rhubarb, The Sex Wars

New York City and Free Speech Not Welcome

Yesterday I took my stickybeaking self downtown to City Hall Park where Standing for Women was holding an event. You can read more about it elsewhere, but the basic idea of these events is a public setup with loudspeakers and the opportunity for any woman who wants to say something about issues affecting women to take the mike. Because many…

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RattleBag and Rhubarb, The Sex Wars

The Intersectional Cellar Door

I once shared the idea that ‘cellar door’ was considered by some to be the most beautiful sounding phrase in the English language. The sixth grade thought this was ridiculous and soon put me right. I remember  “holy macaroni” being one of their top contenders. Language changes and feelings about words change. Even the most prescriptive linguist knows that. It’s…

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Politics, RattleBag and Rhubarb, The Sex Wars

Put Out More Flags

My heart sinks down when I behold A rainbow in the street. With the end of June, in sight, I’m hoping for a break from the corporate waterboarding of the rainbow flag and its ever-morphing journey toward meaninglessness and cultural oblivion. With all this “pride”, eleven months of shame might be a relief. I realize that this is more than…

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