Sting Was Super Lonely Long Before Social Media

It’s About Power, Not Privilege

Dear readers:

I hope you'll read something I wrote with my friend and fellow sociologist Peter Kaufman. It's posted at Everyday Sociology Blog, just click here.

The Never-Ending Quest to Prove Masculinity

Joe Biden wants us to know (for the second time) he would have beat the hell out of Donald Trump in high school.





Donald Trump assures us he would take down Biden.

Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don’t threaten people Joe!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018

I'm reminded of Michael Kimmel's point about proving masculinity. The quest to prove one's manhood, sadly, never ends for many men. Here's Kimmel is his 1996 book Manhood in America. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Short Video of the Day (The Price Women Pay for Tips)

Source: New York Times
Click here for related article ("The Tipping Equation")

Why Am I Dreaming about Ants?

I've had two dreams recently that featured ants. In one case they were all over the carpet in our living room. In the other they were on the living room ceiling. It should be noted I spend a lot of time in our living room because that's where I couch surf and watch television. In the ants on the ceiling dream I tried to spray them away with a Raid type substance.

I spent 90 seconds on Google to come across a few potential explanations. Dreams with ants suggest that something is crawling under your skin, irritating you, or could simply be that you are antsy. Interesting. Well, there are many things irritating me at all times but that's a constant in my life and personality so I don't know why there are suddenly ants marching* in my dreams lately.

I am satisfied with the antsy explanation. I have the great fortune of a sabbatical in my near future. I will be on sabbatical in the Fall 2018 semester. I am exploring many ideas related to research and writing. A few ideas are beginning to take shape. I'm feeling good about what I might accomplish during sabbatical. I'm ready. And excited. You might even say antsy.

*first Dave Matthews reference in the 7 year history of this blog. 

There’s No Wrong Way To Be A Woman

Check out new Nike commercial featuring Serena Williams:

Short Video of the Day (Why Is Dating So Much Work?)

Came across this three minute video while preparing for my Sexuality and Gender class. It's embedded in an article in The Atlantic by Julie Beck entitled "The Rise of Dating-App Fatigue."

There's a gem of a quote in the article from Holly Wood:

“The process of dating inherently sucks,” says Holly Wood, a PhD candidate at Harvard University who’s doing her dissertation on modern dating. “I literally am trying to call my dissertation ‘Why Dating Sucks,’ because I want to explain that. But I can’t, because they won’t let me.”

Wood also offers an observation about honesty and authenticity:

"Men who want casual sex feel like they’ll be punished by women because [they think] women don’t want to date guys for casual sex. But for women who are long-term relationship-oriented, they can’t put that in their profile because they think that’s going to scare men away. People don’t feel like they can be authentic at all about what they want, because they’ll be criticized for it, or discriminated against. Which does not bode well for a process that requires radical authenticity.”

Julie Beck concludes the article this way:

"Dating hasn’t become an apocalypse, it’s just become another way modern life can make people feel overworked. When the actual apocalypse eventually comes, perhaps it will be easier to recognize love when it’s looking at us over the rat carcasses we’re roasting on a spit over a trash can fire, when many of our options have been killed off by plagues or zombie hordes, for then no time we’re given will feel like a waste. Until then, there’s always Tinder."

Other articles I'm reading for class preparation include:

• Our Relationship Status With Tinder And Dating Apps: It’s Complicated - Alexander Howard
• Grindr, Tinder, Scruff: A Recipe for Loneliness - Mike Miksche

If there are articles you like that you think might interest undergrads, please let me know!