Diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of seven, most of Yospie Cardoso’s life has been spent in and out of hospitals. “When you have a seven-year-old who says ‘I’m gonna kill myself because the voices in my head tell me to’ — it is kind of traumatic,” Cardoso told the New York Daily News. Two years ago, he began to channel his inner struggles for a photography project he calls, “The Mind of a Schizophrenic.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, schizophrenia is “a severe brain disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior.” Cardoso’s work was, in part, inspired by his children. Schizophrenia is transmitted genetically, so “I did it for them because I know how hard it is — I struggled with this my entire life and the last thing I want is my children to have issues or feel like they’re alone, because that’s the way I felt.”
The result is inspired imagery, shot mostly in black and white, that reveals the inner turmoil, grief, and isolation caused by the disorder. Cardoso hopes his work can help people better understand those with schizophrenia. “Not many people with schizophrenia are able to tell others,” he said.
(H/T New York Daily News)
Problematic homework question
A student’s brilliant homework answer outsmarted her teacher's ridiculously sexist question
From an early age, children absorb societal norms—including gender stereotypes. But one sharp 8-year-old from Birmingham, England, challenged a sexist homework question designed to reinforce outdated ideas.
An English teacher created a word puzzle with clues containing “UR.” One prompt read “Hospital Lady,” expecting students to answer “nurse.”
While most did, Yasmine wrote “surgeon”—a perfectly valid answer. Her father, Robert Sutcliffe, shared the incident on X (formerly Twitter), revealing the teacher had scribbled “or nurse” beside Yasmine’s response, revealing the biased expectation.
For Yasmine, the answer was obvious: both her parents are surgeons. Her perspective proves how representation shapes ambition. If children only see women as nurses, they internalize limits. But when they witness diversity—like female surgeons—they envision broader possibilities.
As Rebecca Brand noted in The Guardian: “Their developing minds are that little bit more unquestioning about what they see and hear on their screens. What message are we giving those impressionable minds about women? And how might we be cutting the ambitions of little girls short before they've even had the chance to develop properly?”
X users praised Yasmine while critiquing the question. Such subtle conditioning reinforces stereotypes early. Research confirms this: a study found children as young as four associate jobs with gender, with girls choosing “feminine” roles (e.g., nursing) and boys opting for “masculine” ones (e.g., engineering).
Even preschoolers avoided careers misaligned with their gender, proving sexist conditioning begins startlingly young.
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The problem spans globally. Data from 50 countries reveals that by age 15, girls disproportionately abandon math and science, while boys avoid caregiving fields like teaching and nursing. This segregation perpetuates stereotypes—women are underrepresented in STEM, and men in caregiving roles—creating a cycle that limits both genders.
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This article originally appeared last year.