TLC

All-American Muslim is a TLC show that first aired a month ago, that follows the lives of several Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan. I still haven't seen the show, but it sounds perfectly....blah. Sort of like, "Oh, an inter-faith marriage? When is Freaky Eaters on?" As Porochista Khakpour put it in the New York Times, "There is absolutely nothing extraordinary about All-American Muslim and that’s the point." But the Florida Family Association ("Family." Right.) clearly sees through the facade of football teams and family dinners. On their website, FFA states:

TLC’s "All-American Muslim" is propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.

Sixty-five companies seem to agree that these adorable children are a present danger to American liberties, and have pulled advertising.

Links ahoy!

• HuffPo reports on Rachel Maddow's statement that "[g]ay people—generally speaking—have a responsibility to our own community and to future generations of gay people to come out, if and when we feel that we can." Do you agree?
• ColorLines talks about the attack on a trans woman at McDonald's and the questions it raises about hate crime laws. Questioning Transphobia also speaks out about the shameful incident. (Trigger warning for transphobic violence.)
• Bitch Flicks recalls bell hooks' still-pertinent words about race and gender in films.
• On Trans/plant/portation, Bitch contributor EvMaroon humorously dissects a bizarre religious invitation.
• Feministe discusses the myriad frustrations with clothes' inconsistent sizes.
• Also at Feministe: Will you be near Madison on May 26-30? Check out WisCon, the feminist sci-fi and fantasy convention! Past panelists include Emily Horner.
• Feministing gives a run-down of a Times article about colleges' failure to comply with Title IX.
• Gender Focus explores the societal notion that cats are for girls and dogs are for boys.
• Twisty unpacks the slut-shaming and victim-blaming in recent news stories at I Blame the Patriarchy. (Trigger warning for domestic violence and sexual abuse of a minor.)
• TransGriot updates us on Caster Semenya's athletic plans.
• The Arizona Republic talks about the many negative repercussions of the hateful SB 1070. (via Racialicious)
• Bitch contributor Sady Doyle hilariously snarks on reality TV mogul Aaron Sorkin's abysmal-sounding next show at Tiger Beatdown.
• AfterEllen interviews Malindo Lo, author of Bitch YA Reading Club's selection Ash, which we'll be discussing in July!
• Bitch contributor s.e. smith gives guidelines on "How to Evaluate Disabled Characters in Pop Culture, for Nondisabled Viewers."
• Have you seen the Budweiser commercial with the soldier implied to be queer? If not, Mother Jones has you covered.
• Our Turn: Feminism for Newbies remembers Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.
• RH Reality Check tells us more about the infuriating "Don't Say Gay" bill. (reposted at AlterNet) In happier news, Queerty explains Sir Ian McKellen's homophobia-busting school tour.
• Speaking of... Queerty's coming back!

Thoughts? What have you been reading?

The Discovery Health channel is among my favorite TV channels, along with The Science Channel, TLC and the regular Discovery Channel. So a couple years ago when they started airing shows about "super morbidly obese" people getting bariatric surgery, I, of course, was quite interested. With sensationalist titles like Half-Ton Teen and World's Largest Man, how could I resist? Indeed, how could anyone resist shows that had promo spots consisting of firemen breaking down someone's wall to get their bed out of the house? Obviously, that's the point. These shows were not meant to teach, inform, or help. They were specifically designed to exploit the misfortune of these victims of our weight-obsessed society for monetary gain.