ICYMI Health features what we're reading this week.
This week, we read a handful of pieces about how people envision their place in the world.
One story showed that for many people, empathy isn't linked to shared experience. Bosses who suffered early in life were less compassionate toward employees who described similar struggles. Another piece focused on white privilege, the gap between intellectually understanding that privilege exists, and admitting that you have personally benefited from a system of racial inequality.
And speaking of racial inequality, one recent survey chronicled the microaggressions against female scientists of color: a majority reported being regularly mistaken for janitorial and support staff.
Read on and tell us in the comments: What did you read and love this week?
Teaching young people to step up when they witness behavior that could lead to sexual assault could be a key step in preventing future rapes.
'Most people are not pro-rape -- that’s not our problem,' said Dr. Dorothy Edwards. 'Most people are fundamentally good and want this to stop.'
It's counterintuitive, but people who have suffered are often less empathetic than people who have not.
The combined experience of 'I can’t recall how difficult it was' and 'I did it myself' can lead to decreased compassion and increased contempt for others in similar straits.
Sky-high nursing home costs and health services discrimination can take a toll on elderly LGBT individuals.
'What happens if they encounter a caregiver with strong anti-gay religious biases?' Adams asked. 'It's frightening.'
Kvetching over Gchat might feel good in the moment, but it's counterproductive in the long run.
There is really only one way I deal with indignation, be it righteous or ridiculous, if I happen to be at a computer when it happens: I take it to Gchat. I find a friend with the little green dot next to their name, and I’m off, maniacally pouring my (often misspelled and typo-ridden) frustrations into the little chat window. Melissa is typing. Melissa has entered text.
A new study shows the white people use personal hardships to explain away their inherent privilege.
Our national mythology insists we live in a meritocracy, and we're reluctant to believe otherwise -- especially when the playing field is tilted to our advantage.
Lead poisoning -- which is incurable, and can cause devastating health consequences -- is still a huge public health problem in cities like Detroit.
We don’t know how to cure cancer. We don’t know how to get rid of asthma. We do know how to cure lead poisoning, which is you get rid of the lead in kids’ environment. It’s not that complicated.
A new survey of 557 female scientists shows widespread discrimination in the workplace.
Black women were especially likely to need to prove and re-prove competence.
Are you a Mary Poppins, an Ernest Hemingway, a Nutty Professor or a Mr. Hyde?
Mary Poppins drinkers follow the 'practically perfect in every way' description Poppins bestows on herself in the 1964 movie: they are already outgoing types who somehow get sweeter and happier with alcohol.
