The forbidden image of the penis 6 June 2019 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: History , Patriarchy , No Comments Some years ago, I read that the children of the Roman aristocracy used to wear a small penis-shaped charm called a fascinum. The charm signalled that they were members of the nobility and if […]
“Pleased to meet you, don’t you know my name?” It’s the right to victimize 14 May 2019 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Arts , History , Patriarchy , No Comments The opening song of the Rolling Stones’ 1968 album Beggars Banquet kicks off with a screech and an insistent, hypnotic beat. “Please allow me […]
Pointing the finger at God – why are Michelangelo’s willies so small? 30 November 2018 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Arts , History , Patriarchy , No Comments I’ve been a little obsessed by penis size lately. I think it’s something to do with having recently begun life modelling with the good folks at […]
Nazi Germany – radicalisation of a nation 23 May 2018 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: History , Radicalisation , No Comments Despite the recent downfall of the Islamic State, the term radicalisation is still largely associated with religious extremism. In The sexual radicalisation of Elliot Rodger, I wrote that religion is only one of several […]
Excess, patriarchy and the murder of Stanford White 22 April 2018 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: History , Patriarchy , No Comments The media dubbed it—perhaps for the first time—the ‘crime of the century’. On the night of 25 June 1906, Harry K. Thaw shot architect Stanford White at point-blank range in the rooftop […]
The sexual radicalisation of Lawrence of Arabia 9 March 2018 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: History , Radicalisation , No Comments I recently wrote about the influence of unconscious shame upon the personality of perhaps the single most memorable individual to emerge from World War I, T. E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of […]
Lawrence of Arabia – a shame-driven hero? 18 February 2018 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: History , Shame , No Comments Shifting Sands, an exhibition at the British Civil War Centre in Newark, examines the perennially fascinating story of T. E. Lawrence—a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia—from multiple perspectives: historical, archaeological and personal. Pursuing clues in […]
“Violate the King’s companion” – the gravest form of treason 14 August 2017 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: History , Patriarchy , No Comments In a post titled Why is treason the gravest crime?, I recently wrote about how the emotional mechanics of patriarchy demand that treason—aiding and abetting the overthrow of one’s own […]
Why is treason the gravest crime? 23 July 2017 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: History , Patriarchy , No Comments Throughout recorded history, treason has often been regarded as the worst crime an individual can commit—morally worse than murder, robbery or other crimes. Historically, treason against the ruling sovereign has often been called ‘high […]
Porn categories reflect historical taboos 5 March 2017 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: History , Pornography , No Comments WARNING: Contains nude images As you are no doubt aware, PornHub recently released their statistics for 2016. Being very graphic people, they produced a nicely-coloured map of the world showing the top porn categories for […]