HELLO and welcome to the 274th installment of Things I Read That I Love, wherein I share with you some of the longer-form journalism/essays I’ve read recently so that you can read them too and we can all know more about working at Disneyland! This “column” is less feminist/queer focused than the rest of the site because when something is feminist/queer focused, I put it on the rest of the site. Here is where the other things are.

The title of this feature is inspired by the title of Emily Gould’s tumblr, Things I Ate That I Love.

Why Did No One Save Gabriel?, by Carrett Therolf for The Atlantic, October 2018

Again it is so bizarre that there are so many stories like these — horrific tales of children in desperate need of help who end up killed by their abusive parents or fosters parents — as well as stories about kids being taken away from their parents who probably shouldn’t be.  I feel like I’ve said this here; before. I’d love to read a story about a DCFS agency that is actually functioning!

The Linguistics of ‘YouTube Voice’, by Julie Beck for The Atlantic, December 2015

Very interesting stuff, this.

A Surgeon So Bad It Was Criminal, by Laura Beil for ProPublica, October 2018

Who wants to read a FOURTH article about Christopher Dunstch!?!?! THIS GAL. I’m legitimately unclear why I continue reading the same basic stories and assemblies of information about this case over and over, after listening to the entire podcast series as well. I’m still just — in awe that it happened!

The Ultimate Sitcom: What Makes ‘The Good Place” So Good?, by Sam Anderson for The New York Times Magazine, October 2018

I have loved Sam Anderson’s writing for so long, it doesn’t surprise me that I also love him writing about a show that I love.

The Story I Kept Hidden, by Gabrille Bellot for LitUb, October 2018

There’s almost invariably an element of misogyny in abuse and assault, even when the assailants in question don’t realize it. Misogyny, as Elias Canetti says of cruel laughter, presupposes a sense of grotesque superiority—mental, physical, sexual. To look at a woman’s body and believe, with grin or grimace, you have power, ownership, sexual conquest over it—what is this, if not a delusion born out of believing, at some level, that you are superior to the body before you?

The Uses and Abuses of Politics for Sex, by Natasha Lennard for Logic Magazine, October 2018

I cannot pretend to have comprehended every idea in this essay but it was a lot of interesting stuff to think about, and think about it — my friends, I did.

The Movie Assassin: How The English Patient Ruined My Life, by Sarah Miller for Popula, September 2018

Everybody recommended this essay seemingly all at the same time last week, and eventually I was like, listen, fine, okay, and also, they were right, it’s brilliant. UNLIKE THE ENGLISH PATIENT.

The Real Cost of Working in the House of Mouse, by Jaeh J. Lee for Topic Magazine, October 2018

It is wild how much $$ must be going to shareholders when the park is staffed entirely by unpaid “interns” and even long-time wage-paid employees can’t even afford rent or fresh food!

The Gilded Age of (Unpaid) Internet Writing, by Rebecca Schuman for Longreads, September 2018

On the webzines of the ’90s! Remember when Salon and Slate were the only like “professional” places to write online and everything else was just people having fun.

A Body Like a Home, by Gwen Benaway for Hazlitt, May 2018

Being loved and having surgery are linked for me, because the possibility of one relies on the other. I want to live a life where I don’t have to write an essay about my genitals or wonder what you’re thinking when you look at me. I don’t want to kiss a boy’s forehead in the morning when I wake up and worry that he’s afraid of his roommates realizing I slept over. I want to stay inside a moment of being loved as long as I can. Surgery doesn’t stop transphobia and is not a solution to the shame people place on trans women, but it does let me be present in my body without feeling an overwhelming sense of discomfort.