ecosynchronous:

ecosynchronous:

PROTECT and DEFEND trans women

if you put trans women in danger because you can’t help running your fucking mouth, you are the ENEMY and will be ERADICATED

if you are a cis person who scrolled past this without reblogging because you don’t feel like it’s a necessary message for your other cis friends to see, i want you to know you’ve made it that much harder to trust you

howlnatural:

deleted-scenes:

stoney321:

deleted-scenes:

SO MUCH THIS. Can we please stop using this fucking term?

True story: there are popular fic writers who I blacklist because they CONTINUE TO USE THIS TERM INSTEAD OF TANK-FREAKING-TOP. That’s what it is: a tank top. That is what they are officially called. Some cultures call them “ones,” and they’re inexplicably called “vests” in parts of Europe. But you know what you should NEVER call them? [grim smile]

I’ve gone on record many times before about this, and let me tell you this: as a former “beaten wife,” I don’t give two shits about your opinion on why it’s okay. Because it isn’t. EVER.

Grow the hell up, think before you speak/write. Automatic block if you think this is okay, jsyk.

Posting again with Stoney’s comment because of the YES. I stop reading fics the second I see this word (which is unfortunately common because this fandom loves DerBear in his white tank top). It’s not triggering for me, so it’s not an issue of tagging – it’s me being offended that a fic writer would use this term at all and think it’s okay.

If English isn’t your first language or if you aren’t familiar with American pop culture from 1980s/1990s, you might be using this word without realizing its full connotations. It became a popular term after the reality show Cops would often show a man being arrested for domestic violence against a woman while wearing a white tank top. Yes, it was such a common occurrence that it renamed an entire fucking garment of clothing that nearly everyone has worn at some point in their life.

So please. Just don’t.

as someone who comes from those parts of Europe, I spent many a google image search making sure I was calling it the right thing, since a ‘vest’ to Americans is something else, and that’s the word I’d normally use – but one look at the word wifebeater should tell you it’s not okay to call it that either. I’m sorry if you’re like me and the words ‘tank top’ bring forth images of pre-teen girls in little butterfly-decorated, spaghetti-strapped tops, but— no wait, I’m not sorry. Just re-learn it.

“before talking about egypt” post

bloglikeanegyptian:

because i’m really tired of rhetoric regarding egypt on this website, and because i’m tired of repeating the same things over and over, here’s a post of things every person who posts something about egypt should be aware of before opening their big fat mouths:

  • egyptians do not ascribe to western racial constructs. repeat this several times. egyptians aren’t white, or black, or white-passing, or brown until they’re forced to identify under these by westerners. like “poc” these terms are meaningless without something to compare it to. when you call people living in their own country “poc,” you sound like an idiot.
  • before mouthing off about “ancient/real egyptians” and “modern coloniser egyptians,” this is what egyptians look like:imagebut they also look like this:
    imageand this:imagenone of these are considered “more egyptian” than the other, and if we don’t do it, frankly you shouldn’t.

    (i had to take some of these off a government propaganda video, i hope you’re happy. also watch it, it’s pretty catchy.)

  • here is egypt on a map:image (x)
    as you can see, egypt is located in northern africa. this makes egypt an african country. it is also usually included in the politically vague “middle east,” or more accurately the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. egypt is a culturally arab country. this makes it african and arab. egyptians identify as both without issue. it is not a big deal, nor is it up to you to tell us what to identify as.

    egypt has also had the same borders for around 5000 years, give or take, due to the nile being a major factor in where the concentration of populations are. therefore ancient egyptians were also north african, with close interactions with the kushite kingdom in the south, where Sudan is now. got it? ancient egypt, geographically = egypt + sudan. we know exactly where ancient egypt was located. they were nice enough to write everything down.

  • egyptians were never enslaved by americans or taken to america. while the egyptian diaspora is large, most egyptian immigrants are recent first or second generation. this means that egyptians have no claim to african american history, and vice versa.
  • nubian egyptians still exist. they are a minority in upper (southern) egypt that faces erasure, oppression and discrimination.
  • for reference, this is what egyptian traditional dress looks like:
    image

    image
    image(not super accurate because it differs in different parts of egypt, but you get the idea. surprise, it’s not cleopatra outfits after all!)

  • here is a list of the absolute stupidest (and most popular) posts regarding egypt i’ve seen on my dash that you should absolutely 100% not reblog ever:image
    image

  • this post, which was fine until it was corrected to this travesty.

  • and my personal favorite:

    image

    (please do not reblog any of these they have caused more pain and grief to egyptians on this website than exodus ever will. nobody of any importance genuinely thinks egyptians were white anymore. the brits tried to suggest it but then again they also put forth that the ancient egyptians were aliens, so this is really Not A Thing. believe it or not hollywood does not set the standard for egyptology.)

  • so to sum up: don’t tell egyptians what to identify as, don’t tell egyptians what they’re supposed to look like, don’t force egyptians or ancient egyptians into western racial classifications and don’t talk about egypt unless you have basic knowledge of egypt.

links with (*) on them lead to posts on my own blog that clarify each point or explain it further, not outside sources. i only have basic knowledge of most issues from an egyptian point of view, but that’s still more than 99% of the people on this website so you might as well listen to me instead of giving the fucking indo-aryan post 75k notes.

krismichelle429:

fullpraxisnow:

“Statistics show that 1 in 4 women in the US is a victim of domestic violence, those numbers jump to 1 in 2 if they are married to a cop.

Law Enforcement officers beat their significant other at nearly double the national average. Several studies, according to Diane Wetendorf, author of Police Domestic Violence: Handbook for Victims, indicate that women suffer domestic abuse in at least 40 percent of police officer families. For American women overall, the figure is 25 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

Cops Beat Their Wives & Girlfriends At Double The National Rate, Still Receive Promotions | The Free Thought Project (Photo Credit: CopBlock) 

The public: “Why didn’t you go to the police?”

Abuse victim: “Because my abuser is the police.”

thepeoplesrecord:

Hundreds take to the streets to seek justice for artist killed by Miami police 
December 6, 2014

Amid the well-kept art fairs and glitzy parties of Miami Art Week, some 300 people descended on the Miami neighborhood of Wynwood to protest police brutality and the death of artist Israel “Reefa” Hernandez. Inspired by the waves of momentum rolling through the country in the wake of grand jury decisions not to indict police officers in St. Louis and Staten Island, the #Ferguson2Miami vigil and protest connected the dots between Mike Brown and Eric Garner, whose deaths have made national headlines more recently, and Israel “Reefa” Hernandez, who was killed by police in Miami more than a year ago. In August 2013, officers caught Hernandez, an 18-year-old graffiti writer, tagging a McDonalds restaurant. They proceeded to chase and then taser him, causing his death. Investigations and lawsuits are under way, but to date there’s been no trial or legal resolution.

“I think it’s really important for artists to be involved in this conversation for many reasons,” Alexandra Perisic, a member of the Miami Committee on State Violence, which organized the vigil, wrote to Hyperallergic over email earlier in the day. “First of all, Reefa was an artist and we’re asking for the art community to stand up for him. But also, Art Basel is one of the biggest art festivals in the US and yet there has been a complete disconnect with what’s happening in the country. We’ve wanted to open up a space where artists can claim art as political.”

Art Basel was, perhaps inevitably, on many people’s minds as the crowd gathered at the corner of NW 36th St and NW 1st Ave in the late afternoon. “Everybody comes to town thinking it’s business as usual, and it’s not business as usual. People are getting killed in Miami, and no one thinks it’s happening here. Everything’s getting covered under the rug,” said Ruth Jean Noel, an organizer of the event who works with the grassroots Power U Center for Social Change.

“Israel could be painting murals right now. Painting on walls is hot right now, so it’s funny that that’s what he was killed for,” said Sharika Shaw, an artist and organizer with Dream Defenders. “Art is about resistance — it’s about making the uncomfortable comfortable and making the comfortable uncomfortable. That’s what we’re doing here. It’s about how we use it.”

Some of it was used for signs: both artists Molly Crabapple and Davon Davis sent images to be printed and reproduced, and they mingled with large banners that read “Resistance” and “Brutality” and more typical handwritten placards. The protest got underway just after 5pm with a series of chants and four and a half minutes of silence (to represent the number of hours Mike Brown’s body lay in the street after he was shot in Ferguson). Members of Israel Hernandez’s family came next, handing out buttons that said “Art is not a crime!” and speaking to the crowd in English and Spanish. “There’s so much death in the streets by the police,” yelled his sister, Offir, before announcing that the family had brought the case to the United Nations.

By the time the protest took to the streets, the crowd had swelled to at least 300 people. After walking only two short blocks, the group entered I-195 on foot, shutting down traffic in both directions. The police followed and hovered close by (including at least one drone flying overhead) but did not intervene. Protesters linked arms on both sides of the highway barrier as cars honked loudly — a mixture of support and extreme frustration.

When the group began moving again, they walked down the highway one exit, getting off in the northeast quadrant of the city. Energy remained high, with chants — “I believe that we will win”; “Tear it up, don’t tear it down, we’re doing this for Mike Brown” — resounding. The protesters took over streets in the Design District and then back into Wynwood, with periodic stops at intersections to chant and get energized and make traffic wait.

“This is the best thing I’ve seen in Miami,” an older woman told Hyperallergic, explaining that she’d retired to the city three years ago. After the recent protests across the country, “it’s good that Miami said, ‘come on out,’” remarked Gary Cool Beasley, who was wearing a shirt printed with the stars and stripes and an American flag around his neck. “If you can’t respect a man, a black life, maybe you respect the flag, so kill me in this,” he said of his outfit. Asked if he was an artist, he responded, “I’m many things — I’m up and coming.”

The most common reaction from onlookers, who ranged from women in tight sequin dresses and mega-heels to crusty muralists painting walls in Wynwood — was to take out their cell phones and shoot pictures or video. But their faces mostly betrayed surprise, as if they’d never seen anything like this in Miami. One teenager with a skateboard lit up like a kid in candy store when he saw the protesters march by. A woman named Fernanda Hedmont, who wore a heavy tan and a perfectly shaped all-white outfit, and would say only that she was in town for Art Basel, commented, “I think they’re making their voices heard. Art Basel is just a polish color on your nails — there are deeper things that we don’t see.” Not everyone, of course, was positive: one man booed loudly from the balcony of a chic apartment building.

The event wound down with another powerful four-and-a-half-minute silence, this time done as a lie-in at the intersection of N Miami Ave and 29th Streets, followed by a silent march back to the corner where the group had started. There, one of the organizers ended the night with a speech using the people’s mic technique, the words echoing throughout the crowd.

“Tonight is not the end. Miami has never been shut down like we shut it down. But if we’re satisfied with this, there will be more Reefas,” he said. “This is not about a single night — this is about a movement. Tonight we shut down Art Basel! We will keep shutting shit down!” And even though they hadn’t actually shut down Art Basel, or any art fairs or events, it certainly felt like they’d woken something up.

Source

the-magical-crawdad:

intersexindon:

intersexindon:

Hey.

Don’t think I don’t see all you ignoring all the posts I’ve made about intersexism. 

Multiple intersex people can be yelling at the tops of our voices just to get noticed, but ONE dyadic who says “hey this erases intersex people” and gets fucking praised to the high heavens for being ~oh so progressive and intersectional~.  Cut out the bullshit, you don’t really care about us, you just care about the idea of us, and only when it’s convenient for you.

It must be nice to be so privileged that you never have to learn about intersexism – or the mere existence of intersex people – until you decide you want to learn or not. Cause guess what? Intersex people don’t have that option to remain ignorant. We have to go through our entire lives being told by dyadics that we’re broken, that we need fixing, that our lives aren’t worth living. We have our bodies mutilated and drugged with hormones by dyadics who try so desperately to erase us and keep our existence secret.

There are countries where it’s completely legal to murder your own infant child if they are found to be intersex. Most outed intersex people don’t even make it to their 40’s because the murder, rape, and suicide statistics are so high. Huh, wonder why.

And then when you do want to talk about our basic human rights, we’re “too angry” or “too mean” for you to care about us. You tone-police us and then get tired of hearing about all the awful things you’ve done to us, so you shut down and stop caring. Then you go on with your lives, but here’s the thing: We can never go on with ours, we can’t just talk about intersex rights one day and not the next, because it’s our lives on the line, it’s our rights.

Don’t think I – or all of us – don’t see this happening, everyday. It won’t kill you to at least listen to us, but it will kill us if you don’t.

P.S., no one is going to see this post if you just like it. Reblog this.

This is important to me.

unite4humanity:

VIDEO in the link: On Saturday, November 29, 2014, days after the Grand Jury Decision, Knox College Women’s Basketball Player Ariyana Smith bravely held a one woman demonstration at the Knox College v. Fontbonne University game held in Clayton, MO.

During the singing of the national anthem, Ariyana walked with her hands up towards the American flag and fell to the ground for a full 4.5 minutes to bring awareness to the inhumane killing of Micheal Brown in which his body was left to lay on a neighborhood street for 4.5 hours.

While Ariyana lay on the ground in honor of fallen black lives, she was told to move so they could start the game. Refusing to compromise the integrity of the movement, Ariyana stood after the full 4.5 minutes with her fist proudly in their air.

She has been suspended from the team indefinitely. After the suspension, her coach unjustly had her escorted out of the building by security.

We are all Ferguson.

Black lives matter.

Thank you, Ariyana.

________________________________________________

Fucking reblog this right now, or just don’t follow me. She is going to be remembered in the history books and let’s help spread her name. The school’s Twitter account is HERE. Blast them because this AFTER the fact statement was made only because they knew hell was coming. Fuck Knox College.

Pin this on Pinterest. Reblog on WordPress.

I see the words “I know he would never hit me/physically harm me” in a lot of letters I get. Far more than I could ever, ever, ever answer or publish.

Those words break my heart, every time, because the people who write them are offering them up as an example of how the relationship can be saved and how I shouldn’t judge their partner too harshly. They mean “he’s not ABUSIVE-abusive (even though he does all these abusive and controlling things to me). I’m not like those abused women, I would leave if someone actually hit me.”

They break my heart because the letter writers have had to do the calculus, the calculus called Would He Hit Me? and they offer the answer up as proof that he wouldn’t but all I can see is proof that he almost did, that he’s thinking about it, that he’s a week or a year or a hair’s breadth away from it.

It’s proof that she’s thinking about it, too, that she’s had to do the math. Nathan wouldn’t hit you, but he’d punch a wall in front of you, so you can see the force of how his fists slam into things., so you can see how hurt his hand is afterward, so you know that the damage is your fault.

When I read those words about how the partner doesn’t harm or hit, I can hear the echo of the guy saying them, too, like “Well, it’s not like I physically hurt you! Come on! Be reasonable (and do what I say)!“

(Mentioning how “at least you don’t hit” someone kinda sorta exactly like reminding them that you could hit them, that you might hit them, that hitting them is on the list of possible things that could happen, you are a fucking goddamn hero of a man for making the difficult heroic choice not to. omeone saying this to you should always make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and prompt you to look around for the exits).

And then the letters, like your letter, contain the most heartbreaking question of all, which is how, how can I be better/fix it/make it right/not make him scary and angry anymore. How can I be perfect (give up caffeine), how can I show him (check in with him by cell phone every time I change locations or company) that I’m worthy?

Because the abuser-logic has worked. “When you make mistakes it’s your fault, when I make mistakes (like scaring you) it’s also your fault.” Someone doesn’t have to physically hurt you to harm you.

People in non-abusive relationships don’t have to do this constant calculus. Non-abusive dudes don’t get described as “intimidating” by their girlfriends, because non-abusive dudes, even the big strong burly ones who might look pretty intimidating to a stranger don’t intimidate their girlfriends. They don’t punch walls, or throw things, or put 10,000 tiny conditions around everything, or monitor their movements or their phones. When those dudes feel lonely, they fucking call a friend, or they muddle through those lonely feelings. Non-abusive dudes don’t pat themselves on the back for not hurting women, because it doesn’t occur to them to hurt women.

Captain Awkward #640: “I Know He Would Never Physically Hurt Me” and Other Fairy Tales. (via geekybombshell)

this hits so fucking hard though

every woman I know who’s been abused has said this at some point. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

and not to get too personal with you lot but I remember being seven years old and telling a girl on the playground how much I hated it when my dad kicked the shit out of me, and responding to her look of horror with “No, don’t worry, it’s not like he actually ABUSES me! I deserve it honestly, sometimes I don’t do my chores.”

and how normal that felt

and how easy it must have been for my mother to go from “well at least he doesn’t hit me” to “at least he doesn’t hit me too often” to “well at least I can usually stop him from hitting the kids” to “oh my god why didn’t you tell me, why didn’t you tell me he was doing that to you while he was still here? I would have left oh my god my poor babies”

that’s abuse. you normalise every fucking step until it stops, because you have to survive in that situation.

please oh god please get out if you can. before he starts hitting you.

don’t let this become your normal.

(via thedatingfeminist)
^^ This. I am slowly coming to realize that I should have NEVER had to do that math. EVER. It does not come all at once, in one watershed moment, but with trickles and drops of realization.
He did, of course, eventually hit me. But even then, I rationalized it. He just broke the table, then pinned me against a wall and held a knife to my throat, making me beg for my life; he didn’t, like *really* hit me. It was only that *one* time.
He only *threatened* to kill me that other time. He just kept trying to close the bedroom door and I had to keep it open because I wanted our neighbors to be able to hear me if he started to hit me.
And it wasn’t until I was away from him, months later, here, that I realize that I should NEVER have to do that kind of thinking. I should NEVER have to worry about my neighbors hearing my screams of help and calling the cops on the man who LOVES ME.
(via paintalchemy)

We deserve so much better.

We deserve to never be afraid of someone who claims to love us.

(via thedatingfeminist)

They break my heart because the letter writers have had to do the calculus, the calculus called Would He Hit Me? and they offer the answer up as proof that he wouldn’t but all I can see is proof that he almost did, that he’s thinking about it, that he’s a week or a year or a hair’s breadth away from it.

It’s proof that she’s thinking about it, too, that she’s had to do the math.

and

People in non-abusive relationships don’t have to do this constant calculus.

(via into-the-weeds)

This is one of the first poems in Århundradets kärlekssaga. "If this bout of drinking isn’t the last / then I’ll go / if this awfulness starts to get to the children / then I’ll go / if he starts to lie to me / then I’ll go / if he hits me / then I’ll go / if the children can’t take it any more / then I will have to / and all these things happened / and I didn’t leave.“ That was the most shattering book of poetry I ever read.

(via keeveet)

charlottefree:

captashley:

dagger-kitsune:

baelor:

OK SOME REALLY SERIOUS SHIT IS HAPPENING IN NORTH KOREA

According to South Korean newspapers, last week the North Korean government PUBLICLY EXECUTED 80 people in 7 cities for watching South Korean/Western shows, movies, and videos, “pornography,” or possessing a Bible.

Apparently people’s attitudes and conformance are changing SO THIS IS HOW THE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO SUPPRESS DISOBEDIENCE

They allegedly herded 10,000 innocent civilians into a stadium where they were FORCED TO WATCH THE EXECUTIONS BY MACHINE GUN FIRE

THIS IS HONESTLY SOME HUNGER GAMES SHIT HAPPENING IN REAL LIFE RIGHT NOW

some of the more reputable sources: x, x

Other sources: The Sydney Morning Herald    The Los Angeles Times

oh my god

Why is this not on the news? CNN has been on all week and I’ve heard NOTHING