Guest Blogs
Guest Blogs are written by non-Mu members, and might include critical or controversial perspectives we have deemed to be worth discussing on our forum. These essays do not represent the collective policies or positions of Mu, which are best summarized by our principles here, and elsewhere on our site. The perspectives of our committee members form part of a separate content feed.
In this article, guest blogger Andrew K. discusses how careful choice of language and humanizing stories affect how MAPs are perceived. The thoughts expressed are those of the author, and his preferred referencing style has been maintained.
The article
In the popular imagination, “pedophile” means dangerous sexual predator. News stories supply the image of the average pedophile as a monster. Jeffrey Epstein. Ian Watkins. Jimmy Savile. To add to the stigmatization, pedophilia is studied as a paraphilia or mental disorder, not as a variation of sexual orientation. However, there are organizations and people pushing back on the mischaracterization of the average pe...
This guest blog is written by Liana Lial, a vocal young trans MAP, and published by Mu. Opinions expressed belong to the author, and do not necessarily represent those of the Mu Committee.
Upon his inauguration, Donald Trump passed an executive order which purportedly aimed to safeguard women from "gender ideology." The rhetoric speaks to the influence of a longstanding tradition of bigotry - Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism (TERFism.) Despite its blatant presence, many communities have not taken the time to analyze its place in the web of interconnected oppression.
As a trans...
In our latest guest blog, Mu reader John Tawvnik critiques Brian Ribbon's recent article on MAP community politics. This article is a critical response to a publication by a Mu editor; therefore, we have chosen to post it without copy editing. As with all guest blogs, opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the Mu Committee or its editors.
Background
I recently read Brian Ribbon's piece entitled “The MAP Community Needs to Chill” and while there are many aspects that he touched upon with which I would concur, there are some fundamental issues...