links: queue clean-up (2nd edition)

It's the week after the end of term and I've been collecting links for the past few weeks that somehow never made it live. Therefore, before they go entirely stale (if they haven't already), here's the short-and-sweet version.

Most recent first: Julia Serano guest-blogs at Feministing on why the up-coming revision of the DSM matters.

via the bog Sex in the Public Square, I found two more astute commentaries on the legal proscription of sexual expression by teens and elders: an op-ed by author Judith Levine (Harmful to Minors)about the media and legal hype surrounding "sexting" and a post by Dr. Marty Klein at his blog Sexual Intelligence about the attempt to make sexual consent of folks over sixty legally impossible in Massachusetts.

JoAnn Wypijewski at The Nation also muses about how the "sexting" hysteria says much more about adult interest in quashing teenage expressions of pleasure then it does about legitimate concerns regarding lasting damage to personal reputations.

In other legal news, Dahlia Lithwick returns with a tribute to Justice Souter on the occasion of his retirement: "Justice Souter, a man who may have looked on the surface like he preferred books to people, but in reality, and perhaps unbeknownst even to himself, always put people first."

Amanda over at Pandagon writes about the politics of selecting a Supreme Court justice: "And 'activist judge' is code for 'thinks women are people' "

In a truly surreal turn of cultural events, AlterNet reports that among some straight men, parenting has become the exclusive province of gay folks.

And in other personal-is-political news: Feministing's Jessica Valenti on her upcoming marriage and being called a "ball-cutting cybersuccubus".

That's all I've got for now. Looking forward to a bit more blog-reading and thoughtful writing in the next few weeks. Once my brain has re-booted itself.