Anthropologist Underground

Anthropologist Underground
Birthday
October 13
Bio
I'm Terrie Torgersen Peterson. I hold a BA in Anthropology from the University of Wyoming. I've done archeological field work at Haluzta in Israel, San Juan River cliff dwellings in the American Southwest, and in the Big Horn Canyon in Wyoming. I'm currently a writer and stay-home mom to two gorgeous, laughing children. I enjoy exploring the intersection of science and culture and my own life as ethnography. I also write for Shethought.com. and DoesThisMakeSense.com. You can email me: anthropologistunderground [at] gmail [dot] com.

MY RECENT POSTS

MY RECENT COMMENTS

Anthropologist Underground's Links

Genitalia
Incredulity of Privilege
A Woman of the Cloth (or Not)
(Sub) Culture Shock!
Anthropology
Breastfeeding
Science and Skepticism
JULY 25, 2009 2:05PM

Birthiness

 

 1082

 

 

 

 

Image from: Medline Plus. Title from: Stephen Colbert.

 

The usual disclaimers apply: I am not a medical professional--ask your primary health care provider for advice, and keep the comments civil. Thanks.

 

Three convergent event

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JULY 19, 2009 11:16PM

Asking For It

A friend sent this link from Ben Goldacre:

"There’s nothing like science for giving that objective, white-coat flavoured legitimacy to your prejudices, so it must have been a great day for Telegraph readers when they came across the headline “Women who dress provocatively more like

… Read full post »
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JULY 11, 2009 11:09AM

Porn Flakes and The Road to Wellville

 

As an anthropologist and foodie, I am somewhat attuned to dietary trends in our culture.  As a skeptic, I am fascinated by vague and unproven health claims on food packaging.  I thought the current prevalence of such claims on food and dietary supplements reflected a moder
… Read full post »
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JULY 6, 2009 1:01AM

Respect for our National Symbol

I live in a rural area.  Here in the West, issues of land, mineral, and water rights are hotly contested.  The resource extraction and royalty rights aren't always obvious. Industrial sub-surface mineral rights owners and private surface land owners often engage in difficult negotiatio/… Read full post »
2 Comments
JUNE 26, 2009 10:54PM

(De)Evolution of a National Symbol

The ideological conflicts that divided our nation post-9/11 during the Bush years are decreasing in intensity as President Obama attempts to reunite the nation.  It was a bizarre time when shouted rhetoric trumped empirical reality.  Nothing symbolized the dominant Limbaugh/Fox News conser

… Read full post »
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JUNE 17, 2009 12:43AM

The Desert

I'll be away from my Mac for a few days.  I'm leaving for the desert to feel the Earth rotate under the stars, listen to coyotes, and consider that the light I might see from the Andromeda Galaxy is 2.5 million years old.  Science illuminates an amazing natural world full of… Read full post »

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JUNE 13, 2009 12:34AM

Thinking Critically About Medicine

Disclaimer:  I am not a medical professional.  Please contact your primary health care provider with any questions you have.
Although I welcome diverse opinions, please keep the comments civil.

I applaud the trend in conventional medicine toward less paternalism and more information s
… Read full post »
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JUNE 6, 2009 12:00AM

Are You (not) Parenting Hard Enough?


Ruta Nonacs describes the modern competitive parenting environment:

"But it's a slippery slope. All parents want to do what is best for their children. But how far do you go? What's good enough? At snack time, the other mothers pull out all-natural fruit juice boxes from their
… Read full post »
2 Comments
JUNE 2, 2009 10:56AM

Terrorism


In the wake of the murder of Dr. Tiller , I'd like to suggest something positive, some common ground.  Here's a quote from President Obama's speech at Notre Dame :

"That's when we begin to say, "Maybe we won't agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this is a heart-w

… Read full post »
3 Comments
MAY 31, 2009 12:00PM

From Liberation to discontent?

 

In his NYT OP Ed article titled Liberated and Unhappy , Ross Douthat discusses 

 

"'The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness,” the subject of a provocative paper from the economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers. The paper is fascinating not only be

… Read full post »
2 Comments
MAY 23, 2009 11:37PM

(Micro)Evolution



darwin-2-sm.gif


My father's family values descendants.  My father was one of seven siblings, and his father was one of twelve. Many of my aunts and uncles have five or more children. Our hearty Norwegian forebears managed to
… Read full post »
2 Comments
MAY 16, 2009 11:23PM

Culture Influences Epidemiology

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional.  Please contact your primary health care provider with any medical questions you may have.   

I welcome diverse perspectives, but please keep the comments civil.

 

American Anthropology is typically divided into four fields: physic/

… Read full post »
13 Comments
MAY 9, 2009 12:58AM

Competitive Parenting

Disclaimer: Many parents generally work for a peaceful, healthy and happy family but fail to meet all the arbitrary (and often unrealistic) standard set by their various peer groups. By poking fun at the hyperbole surrounding parenting which labels even generally great parents as "bad," I do not wi
… Read full post »
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MAY 1, 2009 11:26PM

Taboos (NSFW)

public health message 
 
Many parents self-sort into groups of (mostly) like-minded people. There is tremendous pressure (much of it self-inflicted) to be a perfect parent every single minute.  While many trivial finer points of parenting can ignite strikingly contentious debates, there are some
… Read full post »
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APRIL 22, 2009 11:17PM

Attachment Parenting

Parenting cliques (often groups of mothers) form around common values and lifestyles, and individuals jockey for acceptance and status within various groups. Everything from method of childbirth, diaper type, medical preferences, and parenting style is fodder for serious group discussion. Many of th

… Read full post »
2 Comments
APRIL 18, 2009 1:06PM

Perspective

Culture:

“- an integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning

- the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group.”

While obtaining… Read full post »

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