Tag Archives: hard conversations

No, Seriously. 18th Street Brewery’s Response Was Utterly Predictable.

The most recent post on this blog is a guest post regarding 18th Street Brewery’s sexism. As the guest didn’t have a title, I titled it, “Your Sexism is Predictable and Boring, 18th Street Brewery.” And this is my take on the matter: 18th Street Brewery’s sexist response was utterly predictable.

Drew Fox (the founder & head brewer of 18th Street Brewery) has shown us before what he thinks of women. He’ll tell a woman raising concerns about the industry to “back the fuck off” and engage in policing what women and girls wear to try to derail the conversation at hand.

So, no, it comes as absolutely no surprise to me that not only would he not take critique well, he’d go attempt to derail the conversation by focusing on a woman’s behavior rather than his own1.… Continue reading →

Your Sexism is Predictable and Boring, 18th Street Brewery.

My friend Lakeline just watched a brewery she liked take a critique of a sexually objectifying label they have very poorly. She had some words on it, and I offered to share those words here. I have my own thoughts on the topic, but I haven’t been able to put them down yet. For now, know I agree with every word she’s written below. — Natasha

Loving beer has always been pretty easy for me. Even when I was a nerd in high school who wouldn’t do anything more than drive my drunk classmates home from keg parties, I loved the taste and would happily drink a glass when my parents would offer me some with dinner.

Loving craft beer was always pretty easy for me too.… Continue reading →

Your Monday Science Reading!

Sexism in science isn’t new in the slightest. I was strongly reminded of this recently at The Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, where I was at the DevOps Days Silicon Valley conference. The rarity of women in highly-paid positions documented in the museum, for example. Or learning from a new friend that an image they showed, one that’s used often for printing tests, is a scan of a photo from Playboy. Every time sexism in science comes up, it’s a lot to take in. But maybe 2015 is the start of something new? Sarah Zang argues so in WIRED. “[T]aken together, so many and in succession, they suggest something bigger. A conversation about sexism in science broke open this year.” So many sexist battles fought and, for once, won.… Continue reading →

Thanksgiving, Day of Gratitude, Day of Mourning

As an American food blogger, it’s in my personal best interests to do as much tie-in with the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday as possible. It’s a time to show off my skills at cooking, photography, and writing. It’s a time to help people make the biggest feast of the year better and/or more interesting. And, indeed, I’ve already posted something on the subject this year and I have definitely posted about it several times over the years.

On a personal level, Thanksgiving has always showcased the best parts of life: camaraderie, food, and gratitude, shared and personal.

But last year, I couldn’t do it. If you look at that second link above, you’ll notice there’s not a single post in 2014 tagged “Thanksgiving.” Because, though I participated in the celebrations, I was finally aware from the year before of the terrible roots of the day and the name.… Continue reading →

Beer Me! Links for a Monday

Brewdog, a Scottish brewery that’s fairly popular, just released a beer they’re calling “No Label.” The profits are going to go to a few British LBGTQI+ organizations. This is all well and good, in theory, but a number of trans people I know and know of have pointed out massive problems with the beer and campaign. Julia Astrid Davis, a brewer and transgender woman breaks down clearly and quickly the various ways in which this action, though it may seem good on the surface, is actually incredibly problematic.

Will Robertson and Julia Burke have another response, both to Brewdog and Davis over on Skepchick. I’m unsure of this one, myself, but it’s another set of interesting perspectives. Overall, though, I find myself agreeing strongly with Davis.… Continue reading →