this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2023
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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The fact that there's a lady out there named Stephanie who insisted the whole world call her Lady Gaga and we're all just like, "okay." (self.showerthoughts)
submitted 11 months ago by LemmyKnowsBest to c/showerthoughts
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[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

In case people don't know, JK Rowling's pen name is a reference to Robert Galbraith Heath, a psychiatrist who experimented with gay conversion therapy in the 60s and 70s using surgically implanted electrodes on gay men's brains. He claims to have "cured" one of them. He did lots of other fucked up things too, and of course Rowling denies her pen name has anything to do with him. FWIW, she also claims she's not a bigot, but her words and actions clearly indicate otherwise.

[–] partial_accumen 0 points 11 months ago (2 children)

JK Rowling’s pen name is a reference to Robert Galbraith Heath, a psychiatrist who experimented with gay conversion therapy in the 60s and 70s using surgically implanted electrodes on gay men’s brains.

Unless thats some conservative dog whistle I don't know about, (and I'm no JKR apologist) your statement directly contradicts her own official answer as to the origin of the name:

Why the name Robert Galbraith?

I chose Robert because it’s one of my favourite men’s names, because Robert F Kennedy
 is my hero and because, mercifully, I hadn’t used it for any of the characters in the
 Potter series or The Casual Vacancy.

Galbraith came about for a slightly odd reason. When I was a child,
 I really wanted to be called ‘Ella Galbraith’, and I’ve no idea why.
 I don’t even know how I knew that the surname existed, because
 I can’t remember ever meeting anyone with it. Be that as it may,
 the name had a fascination for me. I actually considered calling
 myself L A Galbraith for the Strike series, but for fairly obvious 
reasons decided that initials were a bad idea.

Odder still, there was a well-known economist called 
J K Galbraith, something I only remembered by the time it was
 far too late. I was completely paranoid that people might take 
this as a clue and land at my real identity, but thankfully nobody
 was looking that deeply at the author’s name.

source

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago

and of course Rowling denies her pen name has anything to do with him.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

What’s wrong with LAG other than computer lag?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

It’s British slang for a convict or prison term. It’s not very common now, but “old lag” used to mean a habitual criminal. No idea of the etymology though - maybe related to a lag (in time)?