October 2020 Reading List! (Patreon)

Articles

As a black, gay woman I have to be selective in my outrage. So should you - Leena has recommended to me Ashley ‘Dotty’ Charles’ book “Outrage: Why Everyone Is Shouting But No One Is Talking” and it’s high up on my TBR but I found this article written by her back in 2018. Perhaps what led to the book being written? Anyway, great article about online activism, outrage, change, and social media.

How (or How Not) to Represent the Autistic Community in TV and Film - I thought this made some really good points about the use of autism as a plot/drama thing rather than just having a character whose main deal is other stuff and they just happen to be autistic.

Videos

FAKE FRIENDS EPISODE ONE: intro to parasocial relationships - I remember several months ago people talking about parasocial relationships in our discord server specifically in relation to patrons relationships towards me and I have to say, I loved the meta-selfawareness of it all.This is part 1 of a video series that Inareski shared in the discord server recently (but maybe also many times before that) and it is great. I feel really funny about parasocial relationships as I experience them from both sides. Episode 2 is over an hour long, I’m excited to dig in…

Algorithms of Oppression: Safiya Umoja Noble - the theory that algorithms, like search engines, are oppressive is something I felt like I knew but didn’t know I knew - if that makes sense? Safiya Umoja Noble’s book “Algorithms of Oppression” looks into the racist and sexist biases of search engines. I haven’t read it but learned about it recently and found this video of her talking about her research which is an interesting overview/intro.

You’re Not Useless - we all love Jessica Kellgren-Fozard. This video was especially important and lovely. I definitely feel the immense pressure to always be productive and to not be “wasting” my time and that often means doing “productive” things in my down time like reading or watching Important Documentaries. And I’m someone who does have the energy and ability to work most days. This is a really great video to watch if you’re disabled or chronically ill in a way which affects your productivity which is apparently how we measure people’s worth these days. Spoiler alert - IT DOESN’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOUR WORTH!

Is Obesity a Choice? - Giles Yeo - he establishes at the beginning that he doesn’t think obesity is a choice FYI and that the title is meant to be provocative! It’s a 60 minute talk, and very science and genetics heavy but easy enough to follow. I really like how he tied it back to how we (society) blame fat people for their own fatness and it is perceived as a moral choice, but in fact there is a genetic component to body weight and our behaviour around food. I did still feel icky about his framing of obesity as a “problem” even if obese individuals aren’t to blame themselves but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Definitely need to read Health At Every Size and I know I keep saying this but I will read it eventually!

Podcasts

GloZell was Famous and Broke at the Same Time - That Creative Life - really interesting interview with GloZell who has been hugely successful on YouTube but how that didn’t translate into long term financial security and the importance of knowing where your money is coming from and where it’s going to!