A feminist nerd

Got a problem with feminists? Fuck off and perhaps educate yourself what a feminist is.

I don’t know if rape jokes encourage rape culture. I don’t care. You still shouldn’t tell them.

Statistically, if you have told a rape joke to a group of more than five people, one of the people you told it to was a rape survivor, possibly of multiple rapes. They will not necessarily disclose this to you; rape apologism is endemic in society and most rape survivors are cautious about whom they tell. Some may even be too ashamed of their rape to admit it to anyone, or because of rape-minimizing narratives like “men can’t be raped” and “I consented to oral, so I couldn’t have been raped” may not admit it even to themselves. The fact remains: if you’ve told dozens of rape jokes in your life, then you have almost certainly told a joke that minimizes or trivializes rape in front of a survivor.

And if you put as your Facebook status “I totally raped at Halo today” for your two hundred Facebook friends to see, statistically, you have just reminded thirty-three people of one of the worst experiences of their entire lives.

To describe how well you did at a video game.

Good job!

What we didn’t hear about was a how an African-American women who in the course of protecting herself from an abusive husband who beat her while she was pregnant, shot a gun that she legally owns into the air. No one was hurt, but she is now looking at 25 years. Yes indeed, you read that right, facing 25 years.. Her name is Marissa Alexander, she lives in Florida, is a mother of 3 and everyone should know her name and her case.The person who prosecuted her case is Angela Corey, the prosecutor in the George Zimmerman case.

—

As We Watch the Trayvon Martin Case, All of Us Should Know Marissa Alexander « Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner-(The Blog)

There’s a petition you can sign here (US citizens only). Marissa’s case will be on Anderson Cooper 360, 8pm & 10pm tomorrow (Monday, April 23).

(via iamthecrime)

(via sexgenderbody)

thedailywhat: In Case You Missed It of the Day: Here we go again: The Army has launched a criminal investigation into actions of the 82nd Airborne Division after the Los Angeles Times showed officials copies of a series of 18 photos of soldiers posing with the mangled corpses of Afghans believed to be suicide bombers. The photos were taken in 2010 and came to light this week; the Times opted to publish two after tangling with the Pentagon, which tried — no surprise here — to prevent their publication. “The reason for that is those kinds of photos are used by the enemy to incite violence, and lives have been lost as the result of the publication of similar photos,” U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday. That may be true, Panetta, but it seems the photos also have been revealed at the worst possible time. In January, a video appeared online showing four Marines urinating on Afghan corpses. In February, the burning of copies of the Koran at a U.S. base resulted in riots that killed 30 and led to the deaths of six Americans. And in March, a Staff Sgt. Robert Bales went on a shooting rampage in two Afghan villages, killing 17. [boingboing]

thedailywhat:

In Case You Missed It of the Day: Here we go again: The Army has launched a criminal investigation into actions of the 82nd Airborne Division after the Los Angeles Times showed officials copies of a series of 18 photos of soldiers posing with the mangled corpses of Afghans believed to be suicide bombers. The photos were taken in 2010 and came to light this week; the Times opted to publish two after tangling with the Pentagon, which tried — no surprise here — to prevent their publication.

“The reason for that is those kinds of photos are used by the enemy to incite violence, and lives have been lost as the result of the publication of similar photos,” U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday.

That may be true, Panetta, but it seems the photos also have been revealed at the worst possible time. In January, a video appeared online showing four Marines urinating on Afghan corpses. In February, the burning of copies of the Koran at a U.S. base resulted in riots that killed 30 and led to the deaths of six Americans. And in March, a Staff Sgt. Robert Bales went on a shooting rampage in two Afghan villages, killing 17.

[boingboing]

(via sexgenderbody)

queer canon

psstpendragon:

genderbentunicorn:

zumie-monster:

There’s something really screwed up about the way we talk about queer representation in children’s media.

In the U.S. culture at least, there’s this instantaneous association of queer people with sex. Queer people are automatically highly sexual individuals—ergo, not ‘appropriate’ for the eyes of little kids, all of whom MUST BE STRAIGHT, RIGHT, whose heads we think would probably just explode when confronted with the oh-so-incomprehensible suggestion of gender and sexual orientation diversity existing on this planet.

Deeply ironic since—oh let’s look at Avatar the Last Airbender, the show. It features kids at ages 12-16 kissing (always het, of course)—and even strongly implies that two characters are engaging or planning to engage in some heavy petting at night. No one screams for the sexual neurosis of the child fans.

But it’s impossible for, eh, a ten year old on the sequel show to be queer, maybe have a crush on someone of the same gender. That would just make straight adults kids uncomfortable, obviously!

People who would like to see the queer community represented (aka most of us queer people) are forced to preface any sort of headcanon or fan theory about a character being gay or trans* with, “I know this would never happen in a kid’s show/I know this isn’t true,” because… the idea of an ACTUAL CANONICAL QUEER CHARACTER IN A KID’S SHOW IS—just not possible, right?

Because if we don’t acknowledge the absurdity of actual representation while saying, “hey, I read this character as a lesbian,” people will hammer us with “THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE, IT’S NOT TRUE, THIS IS A KID’S SHOW, STOP TALKING ABOUT KIDS THAT WAY, YOU’RE MAKING ME UNCOMFORTABLE, KIDS SHOULDN’T THINK ABOUT THINGS LIKE THAT.”

As if we aren’t aware of the impossibility of ever seeing people like ourselves in children’s entertainment.

As if we need to be told that we will only ever be seen as perverse deviants.

As if we need to be told that no one wants to see us.

But I have to ask you, person concerned with the frailty of our children’s minds:

What do you think that tells queer kids?

I’ll tell you, from my own experience as a child who knew they were queer:

  • It tells us that we’re gross, that we’re not appropriate to be seen by other children, or even anyone.
  • It tells us that we are perversely sexual.
  • It tells us that we’re not normal.
  • It tells us that we’re not as important as straight, NORMAL children.
  • It tells us that we deserve to be neglected and ignored.
  • It tells us that we’re alone, that queer children like us don’t exist.

A phrase I see around fandom a lot is, “People just aren’t ready for a kid’s show with/about a gay character (much less a trans* kid).”

So I’m just going to throw it out there—

When do you think people will be ready?

If you heard a tv show about a gay kid was going to premiere next year, would you be okay with it at that time?

How about in five years?

When are queer kids going to be able to pick up a book or turn on the tv and see someone like them, a queer character, to let them know that they’re not alone; that it’s fine to be whoever and whatever they are; that they’re not abnormal; to realize hey, I think I am like this person; to have a way to talk to their family about their identity; so that they maybe won’t have to learn self-loathing at such a young age?

What exactly do you think needs to change this to happen?

Perhaps a better question: When are YOU going to be okay with it?

And why aren’t you okay with it now?

Ugh

this so hard

I did a speech for my English Speaking Board exam on Queer representation in the media, and I brought up the lack of queer characters in children’s television and how I believe that we need more.

When it was time for questions, hardly surprisingly, the first question I was asked is why I thought it was appropriate to have queer characters in children’s television, and the guy’s main concern was the sexual aspect of it. I pointed out that it would be cute child crushes, like you get with heterosexual couples in children’s television all the time anyway, but he still seemed firmly against it.

That reallu upset me.

I mean jesus, two girls having a crush on each other is not the end of the world.

It upsets me so much when people try to counter my writing or interpretations of media with ‘not everything has to be gay/queer’. 

Not everything has to be white, straight, cisgender and middle-class oriented, either. 

Does my tipping the scales make you uncomfortable, darlings? 

burtmacklin:

if you don’t think trans women are women

if you don’t think trans women deserve to be part of the feminist movement

if you don’t think trans women deserve feminism’s protection

you should just get

the fuck

off

my this

blog planet

(via theultimateminority)

icanstandforsomething: Did you know that Chick-fil-A openly donates money to anti-gay Christian groups? Now you do. Fried chicken does not taste as delicious when you know that your purchase funds the perpetuation of intolerance in America. Share this post to encourage others to increase awareness about where their money is being spent and to promote a  BOYCOTT of Chick-fil-A restaurants. There is power in numbers.  - Do your own research. What other products do you buy that may be funding a cause that you don’t believe in? What other products do you buy that may be harming the environment? Don’t forget: Your dollar is your vote.

icanstandforsomething:

Did you know that Chick-fil-A openly donates money to anti-gay Christian groups? Now you do. Fried chicken does not taste as delicious when you know that your purchase funds the perpetuation of intolerance in America.

Share this post to encourage others to increase awareness about where their money is being spent and to promote a  BOYCOTT of Chick-fil-A restaurants. There is power in numbers. 

-

Do your own research. What other products do you buy that may be funding a cause that you don’t believe in? What other products do you buy that may be harming the environment? Don’t forget: Your dollar is your vote.