Every Friday, we will publish a short list of a few articles that have caught our attention. This is what we’re reading this week:
The challenges of raising an empathic son in a culture that discourages male vulnerability:
An informal Facebook survey she took yielded these results: “I wanted a girl mainly because I felt it was harder to be a boy in today’s society. If I have a boy I will embrace the challenge of raising a boy…who can learn the power of vulnerability even as male culture tries to make him see it as weakness. But, frankly, I hope that when I have a second child, it’ll be another girl.’” This was emblematic of a lot of the responses, which revealed that men felt more confident, or “better equipped,” co-parenting “a strong, confident daughter.”
A new generation of classical musicians will play live concerts in your living room; there’s an app for that:
After meeting a group of young people studying at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Bodkin realized how much more powerful chamber music was when performed live. He was convinced that other young people would feel the same way, if it weren’t for the prohibitively steep entrance cost to stuffy symphony halls. So in 2013, Bodkin started Groupmuse, a company that has hired over 1,200 young classical musicians to play small concerts in living rooms across the country.
Creationist beliefs emerge in Europe and present a challenge to educators:
And there she was—dark and furry, standing one meter tall, with a confident air. The visiting creationist never saw the ape in her, though. He only saw her naked body. Deep time mattered less than morals. The exhibition worked.
Health Consciousness, Capitalism and the Transformation of the Water Bottle:
Planet Organic’s display was impressive, but only hinted at the full range of waters available to the hydration-conscious consumer. Right now, the global bottled water industry is in one of those strange and energetic boom phases where every week, it seems, a new product finds its way on to the shelves. Not just another bland still or sparkling, but some entirely new definition of the element. It is a case of capitalism at its most hyperactive and brazenly inventive: take a freely available substance, dress it up in countless different costumes and then sell it as something new and capable of transforming body, mind, soul. Water is no longer simply water – it has become a commercial blank slate, a word on to which any possible ingredient or fantastical, life-enhancing promise can be attached.
Contemporary Evangelicalism: Missionary Work vs. Social Justice:
Mayfield’s own evangelical faith has a different approach to missionary work, with conversion often at the top of the list. However, as she quickly discovered working with the Somali Bantu, starry-eyed stories of Jesus were of little interest. The practical realities of living in a new country meant refugees needed less Bible study and more rides to the hospital, help with learning English, and help with navigating social services.
A Third Possibility: Evan McMullin wins Utah and sends the election to Congress:
The idea that an independent candidate could swoop in to win has been largely dismissed, on the grounds that any conservative-leaning third-party candidate would be more likely to hurt Trump than Clinton, thus making a Clinton victory more likely. But McMullin may have one advantage that other second-tier candidates do not: Utah.