Hiya

"Grace Lee Boggs, the 97-year-old feminist, activist, and philosopher, was born in the United Stated..."

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:15:00 -0400

“

Grace Lee Boggs, the 97-year-old feminist, activist, and philosopher, was born in the United Stated in 1915 to Chinese immigrant parents. Boggs earned her PhD in 1940; these credentials were no shield against discrimination based on her Chinese ancestry. When Boggs married African American activist James Boggs, over a decade before the Supreme Court of the United States invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage, she made the choice to add his name to her own. Their marriage would last until James Boggs’ death 40 years later.

In observing debates around the politics of naming, especially when it comes to gender, I often think of Boggs. Someone who knows little of her life and politics, or of intersectionality, might judge Boggs’ last name as an acceptance of a patriarchal naming tradition that privileges men. But is it?

The argument could also be made that by adding the last name of her black husband to her own Chinese name Boggs was putting into personal action the political solidarity between people of color traditionally pitted against one another by white supremacy. Perhaps her acceptance of the name was even a revolutionary act that flew in the face of the laws of a country that said race must determine whom you choose to love?

Or maybe, in 1953, a deeply political Chinese American woman marrying a black man simply had bigger fish to fry than worrying about her last name? Of course, these arguments are just as much speculation as the first. Still, I’d argue it is Boggs’ life-long record as a thought leader in the labor, civil rights, women’s rights, and environmental justice movements that actually defines her identity.

Boggs put into action hooks’ concept of ideas over identity long before the rest of us even started talking about it. That’s an example that could do us all some good.

”

- —In all of the recent controversy about what women should and shouldn’t be doing with our last names, I think Dr. Sarah Jackson echoes my sentiment. Check out what she said on the R today! (via racialicious)

I LOOOOOOVE grace lee boggs. she is such an idol. i have her latest book but i havent opened it yet -_-

(via dick-squaaaad)

Because we're still oppressed: maarnayeri: One of my main qualms with mainstream feminism is the...

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:12:12 -0400

Because we're still oppressed: maarnayeri: One of my main qualms with mainstream feminism is the...:

maarnayeri:

One of my main qualms with mainstream feminism is the emphasis on attatching the label to one’s self. For starters, it conforms women’s liberation (which in itself is a varied, complex and personal definition for each woman) into a catch all phrase, that a) many women in the…

nakedbeast: faineemae: oppressedbrowngirlsdoingthings: Spotted...

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:09:13 -0400

nakedbeast:

faineemae:

oppressedbrowngirlsdoingthings:

Spotted: An extremely oppressed brown woman skating her way to Oppressedville.

Let me tell you about this oppressed girl though, she started her own international Hijab company online called Vela Scarves.

Marwa Atik was born and raised in the California to Syrian parents. Her passion for the veil (hijab), combined with her eye for fashion and design expertise, is apparent in her exclusive creations. Vela was born in 2009, when Marwa simply began incorporating her favorite accents, such as ruffles and zippers, into otherwise bland veils and advertising via word of mouth. Marwa also extended her creativity to designing actual techniques of how to wear the veils, based on their respective designs and style.

In 2010, Marwa and her sister, Tasneem Atik Sabri, partnered to officially launch their company and website to bring beautiful, elegant, and affordable veils to women globally.

Badass.

Photo

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:08:23 -0400

the-lucky-ones-7: thebestworstidea: resilientkate: softgore: ...

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:37:37 -0400

the-lucky-ones-7:

thebestworstidea:

resilientkate:

softgore:

“This piece was primarily a trust exercise, in which she told viewers she would not move for six hours no matter what they did to her. She placed 72 objects one could use in pleasing or destructive ways, ranging from flowers and a feather boa to a knife and a loaded pistol, on a table near her and invited the viewers to use them on her however they wanted.

Initially, Abramović said, viewers were peaceful and timid, but it escalated to violence quickly. “The experience I learned was that … if you leave decision to the public, you can be killed… I felt really violated: they cut my clothes, stuck rose thorns in my stomach, one person aimed the gun at my head, and another took it away. It created an aggressive atmosphere. After exactly 6 hours, as planned, I stood up and started walking toward the public. Everyone ran away, escaping an actual confrontation.”

This piece revealed something terrible about humanity, similar to what Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment or Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Experiment, both of which also proved how readily people will harm one another under unusual circumstances.”

This performance showed just how easy it is to dehumanize a person who doesn’t fight back, and is particularly powerful because it defies what we think we know about ourselves. I’m certain the no one reading this believes the people around him/her capable of doing such things to another human being, but this performance proves otherwise.”

this is why performance art is important

So every single person who told me ‘ignore them they’ll go away’ and ‘you can’t let them know they bothered you’ and ‘They’ll stop if they don’t see you react’ and all that bull shit, my entire school career, I want you to look good and hard at this.

I want you to think about what you said.

What you keep saying.

What you are telling your children.

You are making them powerless.

I love this artist to much.

mendthebroken: acid-child: supergreak: halffizzbin: thechroni...

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:59:13 -0400

mendthebroken:

acid-child:

supergreak:

halffizzbin:

thechronicleofshe:

pinkhairedlesbianadventures:

coachela:

rehability:

sadaholic:

loudwhisperss:

teenage-drrtbag:

If only all men were like this.

If men were all like this the world population rate would be so slow

There are guys like this you’re just too busy putting them in the fucking friend zone to see that

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

reblog for the comment

Oh hell no you better listen the fuck up dickwads

I was about to go to sleep and then this bullshit showed up on my dash and you have all earned yourselves fedoras so sit down, shut up, and educate your stupid asses.

“Putting them in the friendzone”? I’m sorry did you mean “I was nice to a girl and I cared about her and I’m bitter because she didn’t want me back?” Or was it “I believe that if I love another person they’re a bitch for just wanting to be friends.” Perhaps it was “I treated her (or pretended to, rather) like a person instead of a sexual object and now she’s not being a sexual object for me like I deserve.” No, wait, it’s “friendship with a girl makes me angry because I’m a self-entitled shithead who feels like if I want to be with a girl she has to accept that regardless of her feelings or else she’s a total bitch.”

The friendzone is the concept that a girl wanting to be your friend is somehow this inherently awful thing. Like, wow, did it occur to you that she thought you were, I dunno, FRIENDS? Did it occur to you that maybe she doesn’t feel romantically towards you but she still wants you to be part of her life because she thinks you’re a great person? I mean, if this is your reaction you’re wrong, because if you think friendzoning is a thing then clearly you’re a fucktrumpet but that’s beside the point.

Women are not machines you put niceness coins into until sex comes out. There are no punchcards to fill out to get to sex that you are apparently entitled to.

There is no friendzone, there are only people who don’t know how to behave like they’re not five-year-olds who don’t know how to take “no” for an answer.

Now I’m going to sleep. Disrespectful misogynistic asswagons.

Wow. Fucktrumpet, Asswagons? You are amazing at swearing. Like seriously amazing.

FUCKTRUMPET.

Women are not machines you put niceness coins into until sex comes out.

HOLY FUCK I LOVE YOU

everyone better read that long amazing comment!!!!!!!

exoticwild: yahwehh: forever90s: cr4zy-glue: monserratluna: ...

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:38:47 -0400

exoticwild:

yahwehh:

forever90s:

cr4zy-glue:

monserratluna:

kickstartforever:

Everyone please reblog this. I want all of tumblr to see this.

True.

so true ugh

YES. this is the sad truth. we need to change this

This is so powerful and heartbreaking.

White people get mad when you wear a band t shirt of a band you don’t listen to, but they’re fine...

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:32:08 -0400

White people get mad when you wear a band t shirt of a band you don’t listen to, but they’re fine with wearing headdresses from cultures they know and care nothing about.

thedorseyshawexperience: The Cola Road (2013)

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:23:54 -0400

thedorseyshawexperience:

The Cola Road (2013)

theyoungradical: your heroic US military

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:54:39 -0400

theyoungradical:

your heroic US military

thisisrapeculture: I saw this on twitter and thought it was...

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:53:37 -0400

thisisrapeculture:

I saw this on twitter and thought it was absolutely disgusting

fuckyeahfeminists: smallpotatoescolored: Ah yes I can feel the...

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:49:12 -0400

fuckyeahfeminists:

smallpotatoescolored:

Ah yes I can feel the equality.

fuck this shit. They should have guys wear a buttoned shirt that shows their midriff and back to make a point. And maybe some low-rise slacks to go with the top?

aimmyarrowshigh: peggingwithstyles: lyriciss: Another...

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:46:48 -0400

aimmyarrowshigh:

peggingwithstyles:

lyriciss:

Another confused black man in a white man’s world.

WHY DID NO ONE SAY “ASK”??????

#RAPE CULTURE #Y’ALL PLAYIN

thisisrapeculture: [TW: Abortion, Medical...

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:43:29 -0400

thisisrapeculture:

[TW: Abortion, Medical Abuse]

magicalorphanboy:

bronzebasilisk:

ryunwoofie:

sonneillonv:

autumn-and-eve:

erinsmomma:

How can someone stand behind abortion, when you have a life inside of you that God created for you? How can you say that this life isn’t worth it? If you can’t take care of the baby for whatever circumstances than there is always adoption available to couples who can’t conceive, but still want the joy of being parents. OPEN YOUR EYES! God has bigger plans for us all that we don’t even realize the picture.

Excuse me but it appears your baby is actually upside down
Did you take Sex Ed freshman year because babies come out headfirst

Hi, OP! As someone who was given up for adoption, allow me to call bullshit on your little post there! You see, when I was adopted, I was a white-skinned, healthy, neurotypical infant, which basically put me at the top of the list, right underneath white-skinned, healthy, neurotypical MALE infants! There’s only one kind of infant people wanted to adopt more than me! I was SOOO lucky! But if you actually bothered to look at the information readily available on the interwebs, you would be aware that the majority of people who are forced to rely on abortion for family planning are poor people and people of color. Of course, those two demographics intersect, thanks to the institutionalized racism of our society! Neat huh?!

Of course, even babies of color are not in high demand with couples looking to adopt. Many who do want to adopt outside their race choose to go outside the country, where laws are less strict and the process is often less expensive. Of course, most of the infants adopted this way are obtained in unscrupulous fashion, but who cares about that when you’re saving a little Korean or African baby from the horrible fate of growing up in Korea or Africa??? And all those children who have birth defects, are born with diseases or disabilities, or have other issues… WELL. Who wants to invest that kind of expense and time? Why would you adopt someone broken, LOLOL?!

Granted, there are some wonderful people who understand the system a little better, and make it a point to try and give POC and disabled children a good home. But they make up a very small fraction of potential adopters! This difference in supply and demand leaves a lot of children stuck in the foster system, where their chances of being adopted diminish with every passing year, and their chances of being physically or sexually abused INCREASE! Isn’t that wonderful?

And of course, we haven’t even talked about the person who is giving birth to the baby! I know you probably think pregnancy is a wonderful, happy time, and for some people it is, but it is also one of the greatest health risks a person can take. I love my son very much, and from the day I found out I was pregnant with him, I wanted him! But I also nearly died giving birth to him. You see, I had pre-eclampsia, the most commonly fatal birth complication in the world. My blood pressure was 180 over 130! At twenty-two years old, I was actually headed for a stroke, hah hah! How funny is that? And all it took was missing a single pre-natal appointment during which my blood pressure rose to dangerous levels and my body tried to kill both me and my son. Those seizures sure were fun, as was the emergency c-section performed without anesthetic! And being chained down while the operation was performed, because I was delirious and wouldn’t stop trying to fight off the doctors, that was a BLAST! It was great for my husband too, since he almost lost his wife and child in just forty-five minutes. You can imagine how thrilled he is at the prospect of me ever getting pregnant again. Babies are certainly cute, but pregnancy can have massive health complications, and I know it’s such a bummer, but they are PERMANENT. :( My abdominal muscles never recovered from being hacked through with a scalpel, and the flood of hormones caused by late pregnancy have changed things from heartburn (never used to have it, now, all the time!) to my emotional reactions (I cry when I see pictures of kittens now. I used to be tough). These are changes I did not ask for, cannot control, and cannot fix! And many people go through worse! I know, right? Unbelievable, but go look up the word ‘episiotomy’ and then look up ‘birth rape’ and I’m afraid you’ll find some stuff that just isn’t very shiny. Plus, the studies actually show that people who carry a baby to term, give birth, then give it up for adoption suffer HIGHER rates of post-pregnancy complications like post-partum depression and post-partum psychosis, general depression, and other mental health issues. Adoption actually isn’t good for the person giving birth at all!

I’m afraid the picture you chose to use there is also pretty disingenuous. I know, I know, it seems like nitpicking. I’m not trying to be mean! :( But that picture shows a fully developed, viable infant, and most abortions are performed when the fetus isn’t even a fetus - it’s a blastocyst. That’s just a clump of cells. Seriously! You can totally find pictures on the interwebs and they’re not even gross, LOLOL! Later-term abortions are usually performed because of health complications, though some of our intrepid state legislators are trying to change all that! They care so much about people who are pregnant, you see, that they want to force them to carry dead or dying fetuses inside them until their body either becomes infected while it rots in their tummies (this is called sepsis, and it makes people very sick, and can even kill them!), or forces it out naturally in a gush of blood and fluids! Isn’t that so caring of them? I’m so glad they’re around to make those decisions for me! And if a pregnant person is not allowed to terminate an unviable fetus, in some states, they have to carry the child to term, give birth to it, and then watch it die in their arms because its lungs weren’t developed, or its brain formed outside its skull, or any of a million possible birth defects that will kill you just as quick as lickity-split! Isn’t that wild?! Of course, these people go through terrible grief, and as I mentioned, some of them may get sick and die from not being able to abort dead or dying fetuses. But I guess that’s just A-okay with you, huh?

Basically, I think before you suggest adoption as a universal alternative, you should actually go do some research on adoption. And before you condemn abortion, you should do some research on abortions - not the stuff your church is giving you, the stuff the real doctors are saying. Go to Planned Parenthood (if they haven’t all been closed down, ROFLMAO!) and request whatever information they have on the process, the statistics of who has abortions and why… and actually, all of that is on the interwebs! Isn’t technology AMAZING?

And in closing, since I’ve been asked this question many times and I know it’s coming? Yes, I realize I am here talking to you because I was not aborted. But the thing is, if my mother had chosen abortion, I wouldn’t know the difference, so it wouldn’t matter to me. And if she decided that choice was best for her, then that choice would have been best for her, and I would never want to take that choice away from her. As it is, since I was given up for adoption, and since I have seen the statistics on how badly people who give their children up for adoption suffer, I have spent much of my adult life worrying about her, whether she’s healthy, whether she’s okay, and feeling that if she did suffer from any of the common post-birth symptoms, it is at least partially my fault, even though she made that decision on her own. Which is silly, I know, but at some point, all children have to stare down the consequences of their parents’ having them. For some, that’s poverty. For others, a life-time of their parents struggling to treat and care for a severe illness or disability. For others, it’s wondering if their mother ever got over giving them away, and wishing you could reach out and assure her that it’s okay, she doesn’t have to be haunted.

May your birth control never fail!

Pro.

Sonneillonv deserves a mother fucking standing ovation here.

Slow clap.

Gina Calaya, arrested for Tucson murder at 14, released at 34

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:33:14 -0400

Gina Calaya, arrested for Tucson murder at 14, released at 34:

thisisrapeculture:

socialismartnature:

When then-14-year-old Gina Celaya killed the man who tried to rape her, the state of Arizona sentenced her to life in prison.

Today — after twenty years in prison, and almost as many years of legal battles fought from state courts up to the federal court of appeals — Gina is finally free.

That’s the American “justice system” for you. Serving up injustice to poor people, people of color, and women, since 1776 … She has served more years in jail than the number of years she had been on this Earth at the time of her supposed “crime.”

Meanwhile, actual murderers and rapists walk around freely if they wear a police badge or serve in the U.S. military.

There are no words for how much I fucking hate this country.

There is no justice system.

I hope no one ever interferes with her life again.

"… the socialization of boys regarding masculinity is often at the expense of women. I came to..."

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:32:51 -0400

“… the socialization of boys regarding masculinity is often at the expense of women. I came to realize that we don’t raise boys to be men, we raise them not to be women (or gay men). We teach boys that girls and women are “less than” and that leads to violence by some and silence by many. It’s important for men to stand up to not only stop men’s violence against women but, to teach young men a broader definition of masculinity that includes being empathetic, loving and non-violent.”

- Don McPherson, former NFL quarterback, feminist and educator (via albinwonderland)

thisisrapeculture: xtremecaffeine: and-other-good-intentions: ...

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:32:38 -0400

thisisrapeculture:

xtremecaffeine:

and-other-good-intentions:

So I saw a post on how American Apparel markets unisex clothing, but I couldn’t actually find a unisex section on their website. I did however notice this. The sweatshirts one is particularly illuminating.

Selling men’s clothes to men, and selling women’s bodies to… ?

American Apparel is really fucking horrible for many, many reasons, but here’s another example.

"Okay, guy, so why do you feel like you want/need/deserve to settle down with a “pure” woman? I’m..."

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:19:40 -0400

“Okay, guy, so why do you feel like you want/need/deserve to settle down with a “pure” woman? I’m genuinely listening. “Oh, it’s because sluts are gross.” Too vague. Do better. “Well, their vaginas are real stretched out and big.” No. “Ummmmm, they probably have a bunch of diseases?” Easy fix! Setting aside the fact that plenty of women contract STIs from monogamous partners or during “safe sex,” it sounds like your real problem here is with illness, not sex. So I assume you’d be fine dating a promiscuous woman who practiced safe sex and happened to be STI-free? “No, because I want a girl who’s traditional and family-oriented.” Having sex doesn’t mean you don’t want to have a family. It just means that you want to have sex. “Yeah, but a slut is more likely to cheat on me.” Really? Then why do couples in the Bible Belt have such a high divorce rate? “The devil, I guess?” NOPE. “I just can’t stand the thought of her getting fucked by all those other guys.” So you’re about to have sex with a woman you’re attracted to, you really want to have sex with her, but all you can think about is her getting pounded by tons and tons of dicks? That sounds like an entirely different issue. “No! I just mean that I struggle with the same powerlessness and insecurity that all human beings do, so as a coping mechanism I take advantage of our culture’s patriarchal power structure and exorcize my feelings of worthlessness by perpetuating shame-based proprietary attitudes over women’s bodies. Basically I’m obsessed with controlling women’s lives because I can’t control my own.” Oh, honey. I know.”

- Female ‘Purity’ Is Bullshit

Hitting the bullshit nail right on its head.

Feminists don’t hate men, we hate the bullshit power structure that exists that allows men to take advantage of women rather than dealing with their emotions.

(via teacheremmalee)

lexuswillow: This is an old family picture. My family does not...

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:49:34 -0400

lexuswillow:

This is an old family picture.

My family does not support my being in the LGBTQIA community. They actually are opposed to it. They tell me every day that its disgusting and that it’s sinful and I’ll go to hell for liking women.
I moved out when I was seventeen, and in January I moved back in with them because I couldn’t handle everything that was going on. Every day one of my five siblings tells me to go back to Minnesota. My little brother Charlie (the black baby in the picture) is now 8 and he constantly physically attacks me and tells me that I’m not his sister and to leave. My other siblings make it very obvious and clear that they don’t want me here and my parents tell me constantly that they’re gonna kick me out soon.
I’ve been saving every penny for a bus ticket to Oregon to stay with my best friend and today I found this picture in my sisters’ room ON DISPLAY. Not hidden. On display. They cut my face out of the picture.

And that… That was just the last straw.
I don’t care if anyone reblogs this or whatever, I don’t wanna get popular, I just want people to know that this is not what a family looks like. This is not something people should have to go through.

This is no life.

Photo

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:43:36 -0400