(Part 2) Best products from r/SRSDiscussion

Yo, for anyone who wants to get a really amazing, in-depth look at how hip-hop works through the world, I would read The Vinyl ain't Final: The Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip-hop and the Globalisation of Black Popular Culture (download link).THe point the books makes really well is that however rap has spread throughout the world, it remains something solidly rooted in black culture.

To use my own take on it here, there is too much 'fixing' that takes place when people criticize rap, but at the same time the iea that rap necessarily is something that's misogynistic, homophobic, or transphobic is an issue in and of itself (I know, OP didn't say that but people do... a lot). Still, I think the issue is something that needs to be resolved from within the black community. Otherwise, it's way too close to people who are considered 'normal' trying to fix the community that isn't, and so it continues the idea of the hierarchy between them. The only way to really solve the issue is from within the black community. White people who rap and clam to fix it are taking something solidly rooted in the black community and saying they can improve it.

To add to this list: Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction. Its the best overview of colonialism, anti-colonial theory and practice, and postcolonialism that I've ever read, and might very well be one of the best books I've ever read in general even.

SPOILER ALERT:

I'm more interested in Sam "Samantha" Healey. Trans* as well?

Here is a little fan theory I just thought of. Healey is Ukranian right? In parts of the Balkans (although it is dying out) there is a class of persons known as "Sworn Virgins." They are/were women who dressed, acted, and took the role of men to become household heads to protect their families. Unlike women they could inhereit property and some even married (though they of course did not have children). Some were raised to become Sworn Virgins by their parents when no male heir was produced in the family.

This would explain Healey's rigid bend to traditions, the name "Samantha," and the unsuccessful marriage to the Russian bride. He/she's of the older generation so he was raised to be a Sworn Virgin by his/her mother but when he/she came to the states, Healey had to undergo a physical and was discovered to be female. So Immigration gave Sam a female name and he/she went on to play the male role in the house while hiding his female gender from the rest of society. Until later, of course, when Sam gets a job with the department of corrections. He/she is able to hide it and has to have a more thourough backround screening...

Sam's superior Caputo is the only one who knows because he has access to his/her file. He uses this information to intimidate Sam (calling his "Samantha" in one episode).

Given what we know about Healey, and the subtle clues the show has given about his/her heritage, this could be a possibility and an interesting twist!

For more information on the Balkan's history of Sworn Virgins, read this book

A Slate article on them.

There is definitely a "gay voice" and it's the subject of much study in sociolinguistics. One of my professors has studied gay speakers of Javanese and Indonesian. And one of my friends is doing his thesis on the sociolinguistics of gay speakers in Melbourne.

Of course the OP was unlikely to get a good answer in /r/askreddit. If he was genuinely curious, he should have come to /r/linguistics.

The book "Dude, You're a Fag" by CJ Pascoe is an in-depth ethnography of how high school boys conceptualize masculinity, with added emphasis on the use of fag as a slur. I would really recommend it if you're interested in the topic - chapter is available free by PDF here.
She also researches youth and digitial media for those into that sort of thing.

More Pascoe goodness:

• 
  Interesting interview with Pascoe on Feministing
  
• 
  Pascoe's faculty page with more information
  
  
  (Edited to add links)

Aww I wish I could hug you.... And to learn more about trans stuff please read this book! http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1580051545

Bell Hooks, a fantastic feminist author, seems to think so.

http://www.amazon.com/Feminism-Is-Everybody-Passionate-Politics/dp/0896086283

I suggest giving this a read!

This is a great book to teach concrete skills in this sort of awareness and self-protection:

The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence

"Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes" by Irving Janis.

A great read through. It's a nice mix of theoretical approaches and case studies of times when a room full of otherwise really smart people came to really bad decisions.

Edit* That Amazon price looks like a silly glitch due to a bad algorithm. Used copies normally run about $10.

This is a good start, though not all encompassing on this topic, obviously. Here is an interesting excerpt from his book Chomsky on Anarchism. I would really reccomend picking up a copy of How The World Works which is a short compilation of a broad range of his ideas and analysis. It's taken from interviews, so it's a quicker read then most of his stuff. If you need any more pointing, just ask!

I highly recommend this book - There's A Good Girl. It's the diary of a mother trying to raise her daughter (up to the age of three) in a non-sexist way, with an afterword by both mother and daughter.

Well, speaking as another straight male dom...

I can't deny that BDSM has a tendency to reinforce patriarchal gender norms. The "scene" is certainly not free of the constant societal taint of patriarchy- look at the treatment of women dommes as opposed to male doms. When a male dom is playing with a female sub, the focus of sexualization is the sub. When a female dom is playing with a male sub... the focus of sexualization is the dom. When both are women, the focus sexualization goes back to the sub- because submissive is more "womanly." I mean, look at these book covers!

http://www.amazon.com/Please-Sir-Stories-Submission-ebook/dp/B003DKKWKC

http://www.amazon.com/Yes-Maam-Erotic-Stories-Submission/dp/1573443093/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_4

Something seem odd about that? :\

On the other hand, I don't think desiring a submissive or a dominant role in sexuality is inherently a bad thing. I think if gender roles were eliminated, people would still want to be on top or on bottom. Its just that in the present world BDSM still has patriarchy twisting the nature of things. It's not our fault, and it's not something we can change by giving up a part of our sexuality, even if it might be rooted in something bad- because everyone is getting the patriarchy socialization. There's nothing more sexist about BDSM sexuality than "vanilla" sexuality. They both labor under the same patriarchal paradigm. BDSM is just an easier target because the dynamics are more open, and more clear. Men tending to dominate women in the bedroom isn't going to go away if every straight male dom hung up his flogger- it would just be less obvious. Every man is equally guilty in reinforcing those "sexist dynamics" whether he means it or not, and singling out BDSM as the Bad Thing is just a deflection- society is sick, and you can't excise a cancer by cutting little bits of the body off at random. Every man gets the dominance socialization. Every woman gets the vulnerability to dominance socialization. If anything, BDSM at least acknowledges that dominance in sexual situations isn't a gendered thing!

There's a pretty fascinating book about the economics of piracy called "The Invisible Hook" which strikes at a lot of the cliches about piracy; that they were always looking for a fight, that they'd slaughter crews, that they were cruel or arbitrary to fellow crewmembers, and that they were lawless barbarians in contrast to a more humane naval system. Pretty fascinating stuff.

The book Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine is absolutely brilliant.

Ooooh. You should read Chandra Mohanty's Under Western Eyes, Spivak's Can The Subaltern Speak?, Warner and Berlant's What does Queer Theory Teach Us About X?, Munoz's whole book Disidentifications...

This is my academic discipline so I care a whoooole lot. They aren't necessarily current but they do form some very critical parts of current academic theory on feminism, queerness, and intersections with the above. There are so very many more, though many of them overlap with critical theory readings which are pretty dense and incomprehensible. I'd also recommend checking out /r/CriticalTheory's recommended reading list.

haha, look what i just found on Amazon!

You should read Human rights, theory and practice by Jack Donnelly. He lays out an easy to understand, constructivist perspective that provides lots of food for thought.

Julia Serano addresses this question in Whipping Girl. You should read it.

I'm not an expert about this subject, but if I remember correctly she uses the phrase "subconscious sex" to refer to how people feel. Then they can choose to express that in different ways. So a trans woman who wears a dress isn't a woman just because she wears a dress. She's a woman (innately) who expresses her gender (to society and/or herself) through wearing a dress.

And keep in mind that trans people are as diverse as cis people. Not all trans women wear dresses or have long hair. And there are cis men who wear dresses and have long hair. I don't know where our subconscious sex comes from, but it seems to be more than just a desire follow one gender role or the other.

Again, I'm not an expert. I hope someone will correct me if I've messed something up.