September 2012
144 posts
“It has been found that you must feed your child before you can teach it, and...”
– Helen Keller - Out of the Dark: Essays, Lectures, and Addresses on Physical and Social Vision (1912)
“When the world becomes free it will not be by the creation of new laws, or the...”
– Isaac Morehouse, How the World Will Change (via planetsconverse)
22 tags
Where Does Identity Policing Come From? →
I bet we’ve all experienced at least one of the following: (1) Being told we don’t “belong” to a group we think we belong to. (2) Having someone assume we’re part of a group with which we don’t actually identify. (3) Hearing someone else identify with a group to which we belong, and being annoyed because we don’t consider them a part of the group.
Where does identity “policing” come from? And...
15 tags
Get Over Yourselves, Homophobia Doesn't Make You...
“I hate the word homophobia. It’s not a real phobia. You are not scared. You are an asshole.”
That meme has been going around the internets for a couple of weeks now. And it pisses me off every time I read it.
Really? Homophobia doesn’t exist? Just assholes?
First, let’s tackle the idea that calling someone an asshole is going to change his behavior or help move things forward in any way....
August 2012
297 posts
14 tags
“In a perfect world there would be no need for labeling our sexual identities or...”
– Ariana Barreto, Straight Up Queer
Want to be an ally to your nonverbal/mute...
fyeahalternatives:
Find a way of communication that works for you partner(s). If this is sign language, writing, typing, texting, or another method, work with them to learn it well. It’s important to be able to communicate to be sure everything is consenting and everyone is happy.
Don’t shame your partner(s) for their difficulty with talking. Learn about why they can’t talk. Help them in any...
23 tags
“The next night my friend, the lesbian, the one who I want to be my best friend,...”
– Caitlin Bergh, Coconut Love: Tales of a Closeted Virgin
21 tags
Remembering My Internet Boyfriend →
The other night, while at dinner with my roommate and a friend, the subject of Lena Dunham’s show Girls came up. At the time, I had not seen the show, which has caused quite the ruckus this past year, but I told my friend that due to her deep infatuation with it, I would give it a chance. The next night I began watching it and, regretfully, became hooked. I am not going to turn this piece into a...
17 tags
An Imperfect Deconstruction: The Cultural Effects... →
In his day, Jack Kerouac defined a new generation of writers: the Beat generation. He and authors like him grew up reading the works of Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemmingway, and Gertrude Stein. The Beat generation jazzed, searched, and sexed (but not necessarily in that order). On the Road chronicles the life of Jack Kerouac the rough the lens of Sal Paradise and thrills of Dean Moriarty....
“It’s deplorable that sexually adventurous young women are constantly told they...”
– Kerry Howley (via doucheshaming)
This goes for anyone. Your body is an instrument, you choose how you play it.
(via sexreeducated)
I was thinking about this the other day, and trying to come up with a good, logical explanation of where this attitude comes from to show how stupid it is. I...
2 tags
“i’m a poet.
has it not occurred to you that, maybe i need this sorrow, this...”
– Warsan Shire (via vertigoverb)
1st week of school: i'm looking forward to the rest of the year and i'm going to make it onto honor roll and i'm going to make so many friends and it's going to be alright
2nd week of school: oh my fucking god
22 tags
Gendercide Disguised as Fetal Healthcare →
In the published paper, CAH is described as “a disease of the endocrine system that can cause virilization (i.e., development of masculine traits) in female fetuses.” CAH shouldn’t be categorized as a disease: it does not harm the body, lead to illness or injury. However, I did find that the authors made note of the ethical issues concerning treatment for “behavioral masculinization”, saying,...
9 tags
Slasher Style Ethics: The Conservative Discussion... →
There’s no reason for me to rehash why exactly the comments of Todd Akin are awful and extremely offensive to rape victims everywhere, and indeed to anyone who knows the definition of the word “rape.” We’ve all heard about from every conceivable angle. So rest assured, readers, I know that you know.
The reason I will dare to bother further discussion of Akin’s sick idea—that women’s bodies have...
9 tags
“The way that I see it, the United States, due to its hetero-normative ideology,...”
– Rohan Lewis, Swan Lake Effect: Ballet and Masculinity in the US
9 tags
“I believe that this eternal monogamy is making people miss out on the best human...”
– Ariana Barreto, Being Actively In Love: Why I Don’t Believe in Eternal Monogamy
11 tags
HuffPo and the Changing Iconography of the...
Yowza, kinda smacks you in the face, doesn’t it? I’m not a huge fan of journalistic sensationalism, of which this most certainly suffers, but sometimes the digital equivalent of stomping your feet and screaming at the top of your lungs is necessary.
The lack of a rape exemption is only the most egregious piece of an egregiously sexist platform. The fundamental problem here is that the...
9 tags
The Making of the Bro-Hug: Photographs of Early... →
Men with their arms draped around each other, leaning against each other, linking arms–these pictures make the bro-hug look standoffish. These aren’t couples posing–these are the equivalent of that time in middle school when Picture Day had the option of a friends’ photo. This is American male friendship, as it used to be–a time untouched by “no homo.”
As George Chauncey explains in Gay...
9 tags
To Clutch or Not To Clutch: The Marvels of the Man... →
It’s the mental checklist you run through before locking the door and adventuring into the night: iphone, earbuds, chapstick, pack of Gauloises, monogrammed butane lighter, keys, cash money, driver’s license, card credit, library card, and passport (what happening dandy isn’t always ready for international travel?). Yet it’s too much. Unless you travel with a pack mule—and pack mules will be the...
Since I joined tumblr;
whoismaferts:
I’ve become
More of a pervert
More emotional
More hungry
More sexually frustrated
12 tags
“My stuffed animals and friendship bracelets were of no interest to my dear old...”
– Caitlin Bergh, Girl World Criminal: My Pubic Shame
11 tags
Mirror's Remnants: Moving Beyond an Eating... →
[TRIGGER WARNING: details of an eating disorder]
For many, the topic of eating disorders is a difficult one, especially if one has been diagnosed or suffered from symptoms of one. Fortunately or unfortunately, most of us who struggle with such things are rarely diagnosed, most often because we never share the secret. We don’t talk about the obsessive calorie counting, the endless hours working...
