links for 2011-01-18

"What my concern about this joke is the connection to the history of eugenics, forced sterilization, racism, classism, and ableism that is not unique to the US, but that has a very specific history in NYC."

(tags: via:andreaplaid newyorkcity education birthcontrol race class)

"And that idea of 'sisterly love' allows female lovers to stay under the radar, even more easily than in the West — until they reach the age of marriage. That's when a lesbian relationship comes into conflict with the very fabric of Pakistani society."

(tags: via:carleandria Pakistan lesbian LGBTQ women)

"'It’s been a little surprising, and a little bit intense, definitely,' Ms. Chua said in a phone interview on Thursday, between what she called a '24/7' effort to 'clarify some misunderstandings.' Her narration, she said, was meant to be ironic and self-mocking — 'I find it very funny, almost obtuse.' "But reading the book, 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,' it can be hard to tell when she is kidding."

(tags: via:andreaplaid asianamerican women womenofcolour parenting)

"But over the past year, a new majority-Republican school board backed by national tea party conservatives has set the district on a strikingly different course. Pledging to 'say no to the social engineers!' it has abolished the policy behind one of the nation's most celebrated integration efforts."

(tags: via:carleandria northcarolina segregation education)

"To celebrate diversity on Martin Luther King Day let's have meals that connect dissimilar people. Let's sit down and eat lunch with someone who we think is different from ourselves. Why lunch? Because it is historically significant to Dr. King’s life. The non-violent sit-in at the segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in February 1960 gave national awareness of the depth of segregation in our country. 
And lunch because breaking bread with someone is primordial, biological and has social meaning. Lunch is easy, meaningful and fun, and afterwards, you can go back to work or continue to take the day off. It gives you something to do with your hands while you get to know each other. "

(tags: diversity MLK)