In a stab at “reputation management”, online which is what overpriced fuckers are calling self-promotion these days, surgery I list recent writing published online.
(Bound to remain out-of-date at all times other than those when I have a book overdue to the publisher.)
Mar ’16
Razer: The Media’s brand of sexism is more newsworthy and glamourous than yours | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Donald Trump vulgarity vs Barack Obama | Crikey
Spiritual tourism | SBS Life
Razer: Confessions of an ultra-racist, millenial Nazi whore | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Safe Schools, Safe Neoliberalism | Crikey
Helen Razer: Mother Teresa was terrible | Crikey
Razer: Kim Kardashian’s Moment of Righteous Feminist Candour | Daily Review
Helen Razer: International Women’s Day has sold out | Crikey
Razer on Peta Credlin, Niki Savva and primordial female horror | Daily Review
Helen Razer: end negative gearing, capital gains tax concessions | Crikey
Feb ’16
Razer on the Oscars Red Carpet: Who are you wearing? | Daily Review
Ascribing meaning to reality TV | The Saturday Paper
Helen Razer: how Andrew Bolt, the right stopped being funny | Crikey
Razer: Rob Thomas, racist jokes, and how to apologise like you mean it | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders do politics right | Crikey
Razer on the Lawrence Mooney stoush (and where you can stick your opinion) | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Nauru asylum seekers our fault | Crikey
Razer: ABC2 is a treatment plant for cultural waste | Daily Review
Helen Razer: vitamins are ineffective and dangerous | Crikey
Razer reviews ‘I’m a Celebrity’: get me out of this colonial nightmare! | Daily Review
Jan ’16
Helen Razer: how left and right both love outrage | Crikey
Je Suis Mark Latham: Razer on Charlie Hebdo, free speech and former Labor leaders | Daily Review
Helen Razer: $2 Target shirt outrage | Crikey
Razer on James Franco, Bachelor bath pics and why better entertainment won’t make for a better world | Daily Review
Wetsboro, contemporary feminism and the diminishing difference between them | Crikey
Helen Razer: on David Bowie’s life and death | Crikey
Razer: what can we learn from the Chris Gayle incident? Absolutely nothing | Daily Review
Razer: Carol, Suffragette and insufferable, Oscar-bait ‘Social Issues’ movies | Daily Review
Dec ’15
Helen Razer: 2015 year in review | Crikey
Razer: Turnbull’s arts credentials go down the toilet | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Bill Leak Australian cartoon is racist, that is the point | Crikey
Gay shame and “acceptable” LGBTI heroes | SBS
The Year in Stupid Shit: Razer’s 10 worst of 2015 | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Malcolm Turnbull’s innovation plan sux | Crikey
Razer: why violent threats don’t make a commentator ‘important’ | Daily Review
Helen Razer: John Safran, Father Bob leave Triple J | Crikey
Nov ’15
Razer: ‘rock star’ economist Yanis Varoufakis and the perils of U2 | Daily Review
Zoolander 2 boycott is really, really, ridiculously dumb | SBS
Helen Razer: more money needed for mental health services | Crikey
Adam Hills says cystitis, Razer says ISIS | Daily Review
Aziz Ansari’s new TV series ‘Master of None’ | The Saturday Paper
Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Award & feminism | Crikey
Razer: imagine there’s no history, you don’t even need to try | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Michelle Bridges right, gardeners are freaks | Crikey
Razer: Warm ‘understanding’ is no match for cold fact | Daily Review
Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina adapted for ‘The Beautiful Lie’ | The Saturday Paper
Junkee Junket unconference and empowerment | Crikey
Germaine Greer is ruining the world again | Daily Review
Oct ’15
Waterwise tips to beat this summer’s killer heat | The Saturday Paper
Silicon Valley, Wyatt Roy embrace tech speak weasel words | Crikey
Razer: Sam de Brito the dissident | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Grace Bellavue an advocate for sex work | Crikey
Razer: The sad ascension of Amy Schumer | Daily Review
Razer: The road to hell is paved by Bono | Daily Review
The nightmare of anxiety that’s all your fault | Crikey
Helen Razer’s mea culpa (and the tyranny of internet debate) | Daily Review
TV’s new prime-time soap opera ‘Empire’ | The Saturday Paper
Bindi Irwin is no ‘role model’ | SBS News
Razer climbs on the Blockhead Express aka The Verdict | Daily Review
Helen Razer: we need gun control, but economic control more important | Crikey
Not so nice: Razer on ABC’s guileless Mental Health Week | Daily Review
Hermione’s opinion and the philosopher’s tone | SBS News
Sep ’15
Karen the activist typical of futile awareness ads | Crikey
Razer: Lena Dunham has no place in politics | Daily Review
How society disables people with disabilities | SBS News
Malcolm Turnbull’s cabinet appointments not good for women | Crikey
Turnbull’s Ikea catalogue moment: The 21st century cabinet | Daily Review
Comment: Don’t blame skinny models for anorexia | SBS News
Tony Abbott’s worst 10 moments as prime minister | Crikey
Razer: Not the Boy Next door is not your usual home grown crap | Daily Review
Comment: Brave, #SoBrave and The Project’s gooey TV | SBS News
Helen Razer: Tony Abbott’s Syrian refugee decision political cunning | Crikey
Razer on the refugee crisis, the banality of evil and futility of ‘compassion’ | Daily Review
How To Stop Caring — Medium
Australia bombing Syria to win Canning byelection | Crikey
Razer: beauty, the market, and the lies of the ‘makeup free revolution’ | Daily Review
Aug’15
Australianising American news satire | The Saturday Paper
Helen Razer: civil discourse is nonsense | Crikey
Razer on Romance writers: These broads have no time for nonsense | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Mark Latham is the Kim Kardashian of Labor | Crikey
Melbourne Writers Festival: Helen Razer’s picks | Daily Review
Razer: Don’t look for moral guidance from sport stars – or sport writers | Daily Review
Helen Razer: gay marriage good for the Liberal Party | Crikey
Razer: The GOP, Donald Trump and other period dramas | Daily Review
Growing berries | The Saturday Paper
Helen Razer: Bronwyn Bishop, Tony Burke travel scandals overblown | Crikey
Razer on MKR’s legal push to have Hotplate turned off | Daily Review
Jul’15
Helen Razer: Sharman Stone’s women quotas idea is potty | Crikey
Razer at the ALP Conference: why Labor can’t stage manage itself | Daily Review
Mr Robot’s fresh take on hacking | The Saturday Paper
Helen Razer: Jimmy Barnes’ Reclaim Australia facebook post out of proportion | Crikey
Amy Schumer review (Arts Centre, Melbourne) | Daily Review
Razer on the outrage economy: see no evil, tweet no evil | Daily Review
Helen Razer: NRA’s gun control message about Australia ridiculous | Crikey
Razer on the so-called lost innocence of that hot liberal daddy, Atticus Finch | Daily Review
Halal Food Labelling | Crikey
Razer: state sanctioned gay marriage is defeat by assimilation | Daily Review
Helen Razer: report on Muslim radicalisation misrepresented by media | Crikey
Jun’15
Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson: the simpler baby of Auberon Waugh and Benny Hill | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Tony Abbott’s ‘evil’ invocation and ISIS | Crikey
Razer: Gen X is culpable for its offspring’s online vulnerability | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Julia Gillard’s advice to Hillary Clinton on sexism | Crikey
Razer: Katy Perry, naked yoga and ridding yourself of the flab of social order | Daily Review
Razer on price hikes, Rachel cuts and the Herald Sun | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Fred Nile’s gay QandA a useless program | Crikey
Magna Carta is meaningless – Late Night Live – ABC Radio National | ABC
Razer on Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair makeover: so what’s not to like? | Daily Review
Helen Razer is against same-sex marriage because marriage itself is the problem | Crikey
Razer on Australia’s Top Model: the only reality show that refuses to lie | Daily Review
May ’15
Into the rainbow with the Muppets | The Saturday Paper
Helen Razer: tampon tax a distraction, GST should be rolled back | Crikey
Razer: when great art happens to terrible people | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Western liberal feminism is wrong about capitalism | Crikey
Helen Razer: the Mad Men finale and the loss of nostalgia | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Pete Evans and the Paleo cult are tools of capitalism | Crikey
Razer: lads’ mags and bad girls aren’t the problem | Daily Review
The Butterfly Foundation, awareness campaign on eating disorders | Crikey
The Royal birth and serving up the lie of normal parenthood with a McFlurry spoon | Daily Review
Apr ’15
Helen Razer: penis emojis banned by Instagram | Crikey
Razer on hoaxes from Ern Malley to Belle Gibson (the Quinoa Demidenko of our times) | Daily Review
Broad City set to become this decade’s Seinfeld | The Saturday Paper
Helen Razer: Mental Health Commission report shows services lacking | Crikey
Razer on Madonna: being and nothingness and the material girl | Daily Review
Razer on Dallas Buyers Club and co-opting gays for profit | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Woolworths Anzac Day campaign appropriate | Crikey
MICF: Rich Hall 3:10 to Humour review | Daily Review
MICF: Suren Jayemanne Eat Praline, Die review | Daily Review
MICF: Luke Heggie You’re Not Special review | Daily Revie
Dallas Buyers Club: how the gays have been co-opted for profit | Crikey
MICF: Paco Ehard in Worst. German. Ever review | Daily Review
MICF: Dave Bloustien The Tinder Profile of Dorian Gray review | Daily Review
Razer on the Daily Show’s Trevor Noah and the ‘lunatics’ calling out his unfunny tweeting past | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear the end of an era | Crikey
Mar ’15
Razer: how the ‘offence debate’ misses the point of comedy | Daily Review
Paleo is a Stupid Cult and it is Killing People | Crikey
The Appearance of Feminism | Sheilas
Lamenting The Hoopla as the media eats itself yet again | Daily Review
War of the weeds | The Saturday Paper
You, not your iPhone, are the gravest threat to your kid | Crikey
Razer: X Factor is not your moral guardian | Daily Review
Q&A’s false democracy | The Saturday Paper
Razer: how Zoolander was a cultural hero in dark 2001 | Daily Review
Helen Razer: Tony Abbott attacks United Nations for lecturing | Crikey
Razer on Mark Latham’s Harden Up prescription for the depressed chattering class | Daily Review
Razer: On “Acceptable” art and hiding Shakespeare’s racism | Daily Review
Helen Razer: negative gearing should go, renting is just fine | Crikey
Razer: beware of false gods and American presidents | Daily Review
Feb ’15
Razer: Abbott govt plays distraction politics with AHRC report | Crikey
Metadata retention: Stay awake – it will affect you | Daily Review
If youíve seen a GP in the last fifteen years, website
you are likely familiar with the rhythm of a checklist.  Do you feel distracted, medic
irritable or empty? Are you unable to sleep or unable to wake? Do you eat too much or too little? http://www.mental-health-today.com/dep/dsm.htm Check five of the boxes in a diagnostic code and agree that these have been present for a fortnight. Congratulations. Youíre depressed.
In 1994 the American Psychiatric Association published its fourth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for mental disorders (DSM). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders  Here, cure
youíll find the one-size-fits-most measure for Depressive Disorder. Youíll also find Breathing-Related Sleep Disorder and Nicotine Dependence; nuisances some of us prefer to know as snoring and smoking.
The taxonomy of bad habits and crappy moods would be funny if the DSM-V wasnít such a blockbuster.  Millions, possibly billions, will be judged against its criteria.  This is the foremost tool for diagnosis of mental disorders in the United States and its influence here is great.
Professor Louise Newman, academic, practitioner and President Elect of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, says of the document, ìItís widely referred to and used.î  However, she says, the DSM-V is not quite the bible it is in the US.
Newman agrees that there is a local tendency to, ìthe medicalisation of normal experience and sadness.î  She believes that therapists should not rely on the DSM-IV alone but take into account a patientís, ìlived experience and their meaning for that person it a social and cultural context.î  She sounds like a good shrink.
There are those, however, who take the DSM-IV at its word. Youíre not going to hear the question, ìtell me about youíre motherî uttered much these days. Depression can now be diagnosed free from any social or cultural mooring.  According to the DSM-IV, the ìbereavement exclusionî, or the death of a loved one, is the sole instance in which a practitioner might look at a patientís life before diagnosing. And, before prescribing.  Estimates suggest that more than 12 million prescriptions for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (Prozac and all its chemical cousins) are prescribed, primarily by GPs, annually in Australia.
GPs, government campaigns and organisations like Beyond Blue are heavily influenced by the DSMís context-frees tyle. Newman says, ìWe have a particular popular culture that looks for explanatory models that are probably too simplistic.î What we also have is a new revision of the DSM.
The DSM-V is due for publication in 2012. In the lead up to the revision, some scholars and policy makers have been campaigning for a document less inclined to medicalise the everyday.  It seems, however, that the opposite has been true.
A raft of disorders, it seems, will be added to the document. Naturally, Internet Addiction Disorder is among them.  Reports suggest that buying too many clothes, having too few FaceBook friends and anger at job loss will be among them. http://www.slate.com/id/2223479/ Youíre not broke. In fact, you have post-traumatic embitterment disorder.
To the indignation of many, notably the editor of the DSM-IV Allen Frances, participants at the American Psychiatric Association conference have been asked to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement. http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1425378
Frances demanded transparency.  He also suggested that psychiatry had enjoyed so few scientific breakthroughs across the last two decades that a new edition was futile.
And heís right.  Psychiatry has virtually no ìbiological markersî.  It doesnít have urine tests or magnetic imaging to determine the mental health of a patient.  It has the DSM.
Naturally, members of the APA were aghast.  Some suggested that Frances was attempting to buoy his royalty cheque by extending the life of his own revision.
Then, Frances suggested that the new document was nothing but, ìa bonanza for the pharmaceutical industry.î And many pundits agreed. http://www.alternet.org/story/142111/how_pharma_giants_are_getting_rich_by_calling_our_life_problems_%27medical_disorders%27/
The insult trading continues. http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/44/16/4
In the meantime, a group of shrinks are sitting around and concocting new mental disorders.  And this will have, at the very least, two consequences.
First, the  estimate by the World Health Organization that by 2020, depression will mental health will be leading health concern of the world should be right on target.  http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/definition/en/
Second, real mental illness will go trivialized and untreated by a profession that devotes its therapeutic attention to curing World of Warcraft ìaddictionî .