How immoral to acknowledge to kids that yes, sex happens

This post is inspired to some extent by Wildly Parenthetical’s post on sex ed – although I’ve thought for a very long time that sex ed should be a normal part of education generally (from a young age). I don’t know the best way to integrate it (but then, I’m not a teacher). However, I [...]

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18th Down Under Feminists’ Carnival!

Welcome to the 18th Down Under Feminists’ Carnival! (And apologies for the delay.) This Carnival has an optional caring theme, thanks to Australian Carers’ Week (which was October 18 to October 24). The theme for this year was “Anyone, Anytime, Across Australia”, which I modified to “Anyone, Anytime” for the purposes of the DUFC. There [...]

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Your “I wanna!” doesn’t trump cultural sensitivities

I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in God, nor do I believe there is any inherent supernatural reason not to walk on Uluru. However, I do believe there are excellent cultural reasons not to walk on Uluru. I also believe that human rights are important. However, I don’t believe that your choice to do something [...]

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Quick hit: women’s rights in Afghanistan under threat

Not that that’s news, particularly. Anyway, if this is true, it’s pretty awful: Karzai has reportedly signed a law that rolls back women’s rights. Apparently, the law has not yet been published, but it is understood to contain (among other things) provisions that legalise rape within marriage and provisions that prevent women from leaving their [...]

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Now, there’s someone who’ll never be Pope!

So, it turns out that not absolutely every high-up member of the Catholic Church is a cruel child-killing excommunicating bastard. Just most of them. A Vatican-based prelate has condemned the rapid proclamation of the excommunication of the doctors who performed the abortion for the nine-year-old Brazilian girl who was found to be pregnant with twins, [...]

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Take your Catholicism off my consultation!

Ok, so we all have our own biases. I can deal with that idea. And the Federal Government’s consultation on the possibility of a federal charter of rights was hardly starting with a blank page, given that the Federal Government took a constitutional bill of rights off the table right from the begining. And ok, [...]

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Marriage? What marriage?

First, an apology to anyone who actually ever reads this blog. As sort of mentioned a couple of posts ago, I’ve been undergoing a bit of a metamorphosis recently. Haven’t had much mental space – or online time – for blogging. However, I get the feeling that this is about to change, as I read [...]

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I’ll give you scandal!

Now, I agree that the fact that “as many as four former priests and brothers and one lay teacher at St Stanislaus’ College, Bathurst” have been accused of sexual abuse – over decades – is a scandal. I do not agree that it is a “sex” scandal.

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