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E.J. Graff

E.J. Graff writes on social-justice and human-rights issues, particularly discrimination and violence against women and children; marriage and family policy; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender lives. She is a resident scholar at the Brandeis Women's Studies Research Center and the author of What Is Marriage For? The Strange Social History of Our Most Intimate Institution (Beacon Press, 1999, 2004).

Recent Articles

A pre-2004 Red Sox Nightmare

E.J. GraffSep 27, 2011

I've only been here in Boston for, oh, a couple of decades. While I enjoyed the region's collective delirium when the Red Sox finally reversed the curse, I'm an October fan, not a real one.

But my wife is a real fan, dating back pre-natally. She lives and dies with each Sox at bat. She would snarl and growl if a Yankees fan came anywhere near our house. As you can imagine, right now, there is no joy in our corner of Mudville.

Last week, our 8-year-old startled us with this phrase: "It's a pre-2004 Red Sox nightmare!," which would have been, oh, before he was born.

But of course, he's right.

In Praise of Hash

E.J. GraffSep 26, 2011

Last year in a New Yorker blog item, Susan Orleans explored some of the joys of the #hashtag, that funny and versatile little Twitter symbol, which can help you track public discussion of a subject—or make fun of yourself and others. Over the weekend, I was at the Online News Association’s annual conference, #ONA11, where some discussed the philosophical gap between what the old guard believes to be objective and proper journalistic behavior (just the facts, ma’am) and what the newer journos believe to be permissible room for attitude -- attitude that can help build audience. I must be immature for my age, because my heart is with the latter.

Dick Cheney Takes a Trip

E.J. GraffSep 26, 2011

Attention Glenn Greenwald, Dahlia Lithwick, Chris Hayes, and others who've been banging this drum: Human Rights Watch (HRW) is asking Canada to bring criminal charges against Dick Cheney, who's visiting there today, for "overwhelming evidence of torture by the Bush administration, including at least two cases involving Canadian citizens."

Friday's Three Cents

E.J. GraffSep 23, 2011

  • Linda Greenhouse, formerly The New York Times' Supreme Court reporter and now teaching at Yale Law School, tapped on the Commonwealth of Virginia's shoulder and reminds it that the civil war is over. Looking at the state laws and lawsuits launched in reaction to the new federal health-care statute, she writes:

Adoption Is Not a Solution for Poor Children

E.J. GraffSep 22, 2011

Dr. Jane Aronson is a beloved and dedicated figure in the world of international adoption. It's a big deal when she weighs in, which she did this week in response to recent coverage of adoption fraud like the exposes in The New York Times about China's system along with extensive coverage by the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, ABC, and other weighty news outfits. (I've reported extensively on the underlying systemic issues; you can find my work and related resources here.)

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