The "patriarchy", a male-dominated social order with entrenched hierarchies giving power and authority to men over women, is pitched by masculinity influencers and pop social scientists as humanity's natural state. But the historical and anthropological evidence suggests patriarchy is actually a relatively modern invention, emerging only within the last few thousand years. https://joanwestenberg.com/blog/the-patriarchy-is-a-modern-invention-not-the-natural-order

I'm an indie transgender tech journalist - I write a weekly essay on tech + economics + humans! It's called Joan's Index, and after leaving Substack (because Nazis) it's now hosted on my own site. Subscribe: https://joanwestenberg.com/subscribe

Grifter/influencer hack: 1. Pick a historical lifestyle element that would kill people 2. Repackage it as "masculine / foundational wisdom" 3. Profit Coming soon: my YouTube channel and course on the Warrior Power of Dysentery

My joy list for today: - taking kiddo to the zoo - picking up Hero Quest to play this weekend - catching up on bake off - left over satay chicken and fried rice - finishing my first book for the year (okay I started reading it last year but bloody heck it counts ok)

Half of parenting is stressing about whether they grow up to be decent humans and the other half is watching them dip their hot chips in a glass of orange juice

I fucking love mastodon. Some days I just use an entirely different client app because the vibes are Ivory or Mammoth for a day and I can just do that and there is zero friction. The community is full of people who are just doing their best. Makers and builders and folks who still read and ask questions. Activitypub is awesome. I don't miss anything about twitter.

Petition for free speech absolutists to spend as much energy arguing for drag queen storytime as they do for literal Nazis

Reality check: Nazism is not an intellectual hypothetical that bears good faith discussion. It's not a controversial thought experiment. It is a historical movement designed to demonise and exterminate the Other. And Nazis do not deserve free speech. https://joanwestenberg.com/blog/nazis-dont-deserve-free-speech

December 7! How can I support you today? Share your work, critique a draft, brainstorm together? I'm here to help. In any way.

I'm a trans writer. A former alcoholic. A recovering ex-techbro. And I write from the heart. I would love for you to subscribe and be a part of my work. https://www.theindex.media/