shades of gay

Dominant conceptions of sexual orientation are both inaccurate and destructive, according to this excellent TED presentation. iO Tillett Wright describes her unique personal experiences with gender and sexuality, critiques mainstream notions of gayness, and previews her photographic project to document variability across the LBGTQ population.

This video dovetails nicely with scientific treatment of sexual orientation that goes back to the work of Alfred Kinsey over 60 years ago (see/take Kinsey Scale).

you know you're wealthy when...

Talk over the past year or so about the "1%" and increasing taxes on high-income earners has generated considerable public interest in defining who is wealthy. See, hear, and read responses from various Americans to the prompt "You know you're wealthy when..." in this recent article in Marketplace's Wealth & Poverty blog. See also this related piece addressing if the objectively rich perceive themselves as being wealthy.

recent multimedia on modern slavery

In addition to KONY 2012, other multimedia pieces on abduction and modern slavery have recently come online. In the top video, photographer Lisa Kristine gives a TED-talk on modern-day slavery around the world and the abolitionist efforts of Free The Slaves. The bottom clip is from CNNs Slavery's Last Stronghold, examining conditions in Mauritania where a sizable minority of the population remains enslaved.

slideshow: Occupy eviction in D.C.

Lucian Perkins shot this series of images documenting the forced removal of Occupy protesters from McPherson Square in Washington, D.C. during early February, 2012.  His work is part of the Facing Change slideshow collection that addresses various social justice issues.

the dragon children: what's behind the success of Chinese-Australian students

The Dragon Children is a rich-media project sponsored by the SBS that focuses on the generally high scholastic performance, as well as anxieties, of Chinese-Australian students. Topics include parenting ambitions and styles, children's reactions to parental pressures, programs in Australia attempting to train parents to temper their aspirations in order to make more well-rounded offspring, and comments by former Dragon Children, now adults. For arguments supporting the notion of American-style Dragon Children, see this excerpt from Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother; for a counter perspective, view Bending the Stereotypes of Chinese Parenting.