Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Eve Fairbanks is a journalist from South Africa, and her national origins play a substantial part in this rather weak essay on free speech in the Washington Post (click on the screenshot). Increasingly, I find long-form op-eds in both the New York Times and the Washington Post—the two sources I’m subscribed to besides Andrew Sullivan’s … Continue reading Another weak argument against the Harper’s letter
Rachel Dolezal was a white woman who felt she was black, and, using various cosmetics and hairstyles, successfully passed for black. She in fact became head of the NAACP in Spokane, Washington before in 2015 she was outed as white by her white parents. She was summarily fired not only by the NAACP, but by … Continue reading Another Rachel Dolezal affair? Hawaii congressman claims he’s “an Asian trapped in a white’s body”.
Reader Robert called my attention to an article in the Daily Nous about the “transracialism” article that started a big kerfuffle in the social science/justice community. As you might remember, it all started recently when Rebecca Tuvel, an assistant professor of philosophy at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, published an article called “In defense of … Continue reading Journal Hypatia’s editors resign, and directors suspend associate editors over their apology for the “transracialism” article
In today’s political and social climate, trying to defend colonialism is just asking for trouble—in fact, even for death threats. That’s what happened to associate professor Bruce Gilley at Portland State University, who recently published an article—actually, a “Viewpoint”, the academic equivalent of an op-ed, but refereed like a regular article—called “The case for colonialism” … Continue reading Author of article on “the case for colonialism” withdraws it after death threats and social-media mobbing; academics are mostly silent
You’ve probably heard of the fracas surrounding the publication of a paper by philosophy professor Rebecca Tuvel in the academic organ Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy (I discussed it here; see also here). Her paper was called “In defense of transracialism“, and you can get a copy if you’ve downloaded the free and legal application Unpaywall, which you … Continue reading Once again: why is it okay to be transgender but not transracial?
Gender is widely agreed by the Left to be a social construct, not a biological reality. If that’s the case, why isn’t race? Why was someone like Rachel Dolezal, who was white but claimed to be black, vilified and fired from her job as the Spokane, Washington head of the NAACP, while a man who … Continue reading A reprehensible witch hunt in academia: feminist philosopher equates the defenses of transgenderism and of transracialism—and gets crucified
As the cis-gendered possessor of a Y chromosome, I have little credibility to pronounce on feminism, though I often allude to how it’s become fractured by identity politics, is a bit self-contradictory, extolling symbols of oppression like the hijab as well as giving Muslim misogyny a pass, often seems more concerned with trivial than important … Continue reading Two feminists criticize modern feminism
