I’m later than usual with this link roundup.  Not apologizing, just observing.

Last month, on The Asexual Agenda, I published “From definitions to motivations“, which argues the importance of explaining the motivations for why people identify the way they do.

The Ace Community Survey also published its report on the 2024 survey.

Why TERFs don’t like Asexuals either: An Analysis | venatrixlunaris – In case you didn’t know, TERFs are quite consistently anti-ace too, reusing a lot of the same arguments they use against trans people.  This post includes an extensive collection of examples of TERF/GC comments about asexuality.  I do not recommend reading any more examples than you have to to get the point.  If you ever wonder, “What are asexuals fighting for?” one answer is simply trans rights.  Trans solidarity is important.

Is Hollywood Ready for a Generation of Youtube Filmmakers? | Second Wind (video, 38 min) – Rather than hand wringing about the impending decline of film, this is a balanced analysis that looks at the films actually being made, and compares to older trends of filmmakers coming from television.  It seems that the YouTube filmmakers are not doing much new in terms of cinematography, but the subject matter of their films reflects more modern themes.

Reading Halloween through the lens of labor | osteophage – Halloween (1978) created the perception that in slasher films, it’s always the characters who have sex that die first.  However, there is another possible reading based on the cultural context of the time.  At the time, the conflict between parents and babysitters was much more salient.  Parents would worry about babysitters goofing off (e.g. having sex or talking on the phone) rather than watching the kids.  In the mean time, babysitters would often experience sexual harassment from parents; but that side of the story is not reflected in the movie.

Study: Leaving Religion may make you more liberal | Rebecca Watson (video+transcript, 10 min) – The atheist movement used to attribute virtually every political ill to religion.  This was always incorrect.  But I feel like we swung too hard in the other direction.  I want people to look at statistics of how many people in the US believe in millenialism–it’s not a tiny minority, it’s a politically significant block of people.

The Anglican Schism culminates | Daylight Atheism – Honestly the first I’m hearing about this.  A significant conservative faction of Anglicans is trying to split from the main church?  Because they don’t like having female leaders?  Why is the overton window within Christianity so shit?

Spooktober | Life’s a Gas – Bébé Mélange does this annual thing where they come up with a horror story idea every day in October.  I am entertained.  There’s more where that came from.