Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride (via monkeyknifefight)

Those last two lines

(via maritsa-met)

This quote is just…mindbendingly apt.

(via iammortalwombat)

this applies to…everything. whoa. 

(via honeymoonlover)

(Source: helplesslyamazed, via bonedust)

(Source: champagneyearrr, via dailymurf)

stfuconservatives:

queercakes:

stfuhatemongers:

Twice as likely to molest children? Really?

*Citation needed.

Citation: 98% of men who raped boys reported they were heterosexual.

If we’re really worried about kids, we should keep them away from straight men.

Reason most likely being, rape is not a sexual act but most often an act of power/sadism/revenge.  People don’t rape because they are sexually attracted to someone but because they want a feeling of power or want to humiliate their victims.  Because heterosexual men are socialized by media, society, western culture, etc. to feel the need to have power over others, they are more likely to rape period.  Not just children, not just male children, but everyone.

(via stfuconservatives)

Part of the patriarchal culture currently found in Western societies is the supposed duality of male nature: there are bad boys, and there are nice guys.  But, what many people find is that most of these “nice guys”, though they may act differently than bad boys, are acting out of the same motivation and desires: to reduce their partners to objects, or ideals, or possessions.  They appear to be acting out of your best interests, but their motivation is really selfish.  This is the profile of the Nice Guy™.  They use being nice to disguise their own selfishness.  As both a former Nice Guy™, and someone who has witnessed people in relationships with Nice Guys™, I thought I would make a little list on how to tell the difference between a Nice Guy™ and a genuinely nice person.

The first thing to remember is that both types of people are just that: people.  Their looks and mannerisms very.  They aren’t going to fit perfectly into a stereotype.  For the most part, their actions are quite similar.  The difference between a Nice Guy™ and a genuinely nice person are their motivations.  The trick is understanding their motivations through their actions.

Nice Guy™

• Often clingly.  May ask you far too frequently where you are, who you are with, what you are doing, etc. out of a supposed regard for your safety.  In reality, the Nice Guy™ wants to know where you are because he wants to keep tabs on you, like any other one of his possessions.
• Easily prone to jealousy.  Doesn’t like you hanging around other people of your preferred gender and age group (or even your friends outside of your preferred gender).  This is because he is afraid of loosing you.
• Will likely be upset when you try to put up healthy boundaries when it comes to personal time, space, etc.
• Will often want to get involved with your family/friends as soon as possible if you have a good relationship with them.  This is because he thinks - subconsciously or not - that if he forges relationships with those close with you it will be harder for you to break things off.  The same goes for the reverse of this: he will likely want you to meet his friends and family for the same reason.
• Will often talk about how important you are to him, how he couldn’t live without you, etc. especially as things get more serious.  He either really believes this, in which case it is because he has become dependent on the ideal of you; or is deliberately using it to manipulate you emotionally.
• Will affirm you/praise you for your physical characteristics and accomplishments.  This is because these are the only things he cares about: things that others will notice and things that he can take advantage of.
• Easily put off by arguments; not inclined to initiate serious conversations.  This is because he views differences between you two as freedom from him he does not want you to have.
• Is not willing for you two to be anything less than he wants you to be.  If you maintain your boundaries, he will hightail it out of your life or seek revenge.
• Will try to make you feel special.
• Will never admit to making mistakes unless you threaten him with something.  He is always right, and even if your threats get him to concede that with words he will maintain that he was right in his own mind.

Nice Person

• Will likely be interested in your activities and friends because they are genuinely interested in you.  A big difference here is that if you choose not to tell a nice person what you are up to, they will accept this as you creating safe and necessary boundaries in your life.
• Are comfortable with you hanging out with other people, because they recognize that you are not a thing to be lost, but a person who they cannot - and don’t want to - control.
• Will respect the boundaries you erect, and will have boundaries of their own.  They realize that relationships can only work if both parties are comfortable being alone.
• Will want to meet those important to you, but will leave the time and place for that up to you.  They will want to introduce you to the people they love, but won’t push you to form relationships with them.
• Care about you, but understand that they can be happy without you.  They want to be happy alongside you, neither party being dependent on the other.
• Will complement you on the things you do well on, and on your looks, but will make it very clear that what they love about you is who you are (in words, but more importantly in actions!)
• Understands how important communication is.  They are comfortable with and value disagreement and debate because they recognize that both parties are separate entities with differing thoughts, emotions, and opinions and will rejoice in those differences.  They may get passionate, but they will never get angry at you for not agreeing with them.
• Because they are not dependent on you, they are able and willing to be whatever you are ready for them to be.
• Realizes that you are special, and will treat you as such.
• Will make mistakes, but will be willing to admit them and strive to fix them.  He will apologize without demanding forgiveness.

That’s all I can think of for now, but I’m sure there are more.  Feel free to reblog and add your own!

I was just thinking… rather than empowering women and people whose genders fall outside of the cisgender duality, would it not be more effective and more positive to completely deconstruct gender and empower the individual?

et-tu-dionysus:

anarchyofthemind:humorlessfeminist:ladyofparadise:

V for Veil

I love this.

FUCK YES.

This is so perfect.

I can’t even.

(via unlubricated-anal-sex)

No, do you know what’s offensive?  Letting rapists get away with their crimes so they can get paid millions of dollars to smash into each other in front of millions of people.  That’s offensive.

stfuconservatives:

As they say around the playground, will never not reblog.

-Joe

Always reblog.

(via stfuconservatives)

lifeonfiction:

autumndae:

That people in a community focusing on changing the world, making rights equal for everyone, and breaking down barriers, can be fucked up enough to essentially bully someone into changing their entire blog and writing focus.

I’m sick of this male feminist hate that is flying around.

I’m sick of this “men are too privileged to know what we are going through and shouldn’t be a part of the movement yadda yadda fucking yadda” bullshit.

How about the times when the guy trying to stand up and help gets beat to shit because our misogynistic fucking society says that he should play an equal part in the abuse of women?

It’s not easy to be a woman. It’s not easy to be queer. It’s not easy to be different. It’s not easy to be a feminist. It’s not easy to be a male feminist either. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GET DISAPPROVAL NOT ONLY FROM OUR MISOGYNIST SHIT WORLD, BUT WHEN YOU ARE NOW ALSO GETTING DISAPPROVAL FROM OUR OWN FUCKING PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY.

This rant is, of course, inspired by the flurry of disapproval and bullying that I’ve seen Rob (formerly i-am-the-lighthouse) be subjected to over the past few weeks.

Rob was one of the first feminist tumblrs I ever followed. I wouldn’t know half of what I know now without him. Hell, I didn’t even know he was a guy until after I put out a call for zine submissions and received his email. He knows his shit. He’s an important part of what we are fighting for. And the idea that people have pressured him away from that focus is fucking disturbing.

I saw someone say to him that they were “glad to see him backing away from women’s issues.”

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

SEGREGATING FEMINISM INTO A FIGHT JUST FOR WOMEN IS THE SAME KIND OF ATTITUDE THAT GOT US STEPPED ON IN THE FIRST PLACE.

That’s like saying the fight for marriage equality is only for someone who is gay.

We are all humans, and it’s our responsibility to make sure we can all be treated fairly and in a way that is healthy, and can live our lives to the fullest potential. And pushing someone away from a fight that is essentially about human rights is going to divide us more. To achieve what we need to do is to stand together, open discussion, and to push forward as a human race, and not making the place on the front lines exclusive to a certain type of people.

Excluding feminists because they are men is the same as a patriarchal society excluding me because I am a woman.

Seriously, right now. I’m sick of this “feminist” “YOU’RE A MAN, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE, YOU CAN’T FIGHT AGAINST SEXISM” bullshit that’s been going on around here. I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not. I’m really not.

The term “appropriating anger that isn’t yours” came up. Somebody literally used those words. It isn’t enough for some of you, is it? You want to be pissed off that you’re oppressed, that sexism exists, that you get harassed and treated unfairly. Good, you should be. I am too.

So how can you go ahead and turn around and get pissed off that someone is trying to fucking defend your rights? Somebody who has dedicated a huge goddam portion of his life trying to understand the things that make him privileged, come to terms with them, help other men learn to support you?

The animosity that’s been shown makes me sick to my stomach and makes me wonder what some of us are really in this for. We all make mistakes. We all have a lot of learning to do. The fact that there are a group of people so vehemently against the idea of someone who is male-identified speaking out against sexism that they take the chance to pounce on him and actually run him out of a community because of it isn’t helpful to anyone. Not helpful to people who want to consider themselves part of the fight, allies, or even people who do or have previously considered themselves “feminists.” 

It seems to me that it’s really easy to attack someone who isn’t part of the oppressed group. Think about this next time: You aren’t fighting the patriarchy right now. You aren’t fighting the big masked evil. You’re attacking an individual person, someone with real thoughts and emotions, who cared about this. Who cared about us.

It doesn’t do anything but give us a bad name. Give fuel to the “feminists are man-haters” fire.

Because that’s what it looks like to people who are a part of the movement right now. And it isn’t fucking pretty.

 Couldn’t have said it any better.

I never really followed the lighthouse, but all this controversy around him is really starting to bug me. Ultimately, women will get complete freedom and equality in the social and political arenas by asserting their innate freedom and equality.  Liberation for women (or any other group met with injustice) will come from women (or the said group). But men can and should be part of the rallying cry that demands such liberation given the wave of opposition to feminism among all genders.

In a society that restricts the freedom and equality of any particular group, all members of that society are disadvantaged. Those that fight against these restrictions are disadvantaged through the attacks they face from those that enable the society to restrict the said freedoms. Those that enable society are disadvantaged because they are turning against their own innate morality for petty fear, greed, or selfishness. A society that punishes women for being women hurts everyone in it, because it is a society of evil. Women are the victims of the evil, but we are all hurt by its existence. We all should do what we can to fight against such evil. For male feminists in a patriarchal society, this can include participating in intellectual debates within the feminist community. This can also include helping those outside the feminist community to have a correct perspective of feminism.

As a male feminist, I go to a very conservative school. As far as I know, I am the only feminist, male or otherwise, that attends. I am the only feminist I know within my community. Male feminists can and should stand up for feminism, as there are not always female feminists present to give firsthand experience of society’s injustice.

In addition to these thoughts, I totally agree with everything that’s been said above. ^

(Source: coffeeshakes)

Why Hermione is my favorite protaganist in popular culture.

(via petitefeministe)

Those who claim to be “Pro-Life” often make the mistake of conceding that abortion should be legal for rape victims and rape victims only. While this may sound like a sound allowance in theory, it is impossible to implement judicially. First, the court system or the department created to monitor abortions would have to establish that the pregnant woman is indeed a rape victim. But, historically, the court system has been unable to verify rape allegations. Of the 26%* of actual, legitimate, verified rape cases that actually make it to court, only 43%* are ever recognized by the court. Thus, if such an exclusionary law is strongly implemented, about 90% of rape victims who become pregnant as a result of the rape and opt for an abortion will be wrongly denied it. If such exclusionary laws are made more lax, so that legal verification by a court or department is not necessary, it will be exactly the same as catch-all legal abortion, as anyone wanting an abortion would be able to claim the pregnancy a result of rape, making restricted abortion actually realized in name only.

Abortion for rape victims only is not a realistically defensible position. Two choices remain: Deny all people, even victims of sexual assault, the right to an abortion, or allow all people their right an abortion. And if you opt for the former, how should violators of a restricted abortion law be punished? If it is treated like murder, some states may have the power to apply the death penalty to offenders. This means that some women who are raped, impregnated, and denied their right to an abortion; who seek it out anyway illegally because of the emotional, psychological, and physical trauma; and who are caught doing so may be executed.

One does not have to feel that it is morally justifiable to have an abortion. One does need to recognize that their is no legal justification for doing so, and that any attempt to erect laws restricting abortion will be disastrous.

Pro-choice is pro-life.

Anything outside of this is opposed to both.

*Source: U.S. Department of Justice

sarahgraham7:

moreapologies:

Follow-up to this story. Unbelievable.

fyeahafrica:

South African rights groups have expressed shock at a decision to charge a 15-year-old alleged gang-rape victim with having underage sex.

The girl was charged with statutory rape along with her alleged rapists, who are aged 14 and 16.

The alleged rape happened earlier this month in a school east of Johannesburg in front of other pupils who filmed the incident on their phones.

Prosecutors said rape charges were dropped because of a lack of evidence.

However, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it had decided all three could be charged under South Africa’s Sexual Offences Act, which outlaws consensual sex with a minor.

The Children’s Right Project, a legal advice group at the Western Cape University, said taking the matter to trial would not serve the girl’s interests.

“There are other ways to handle to matter, the prosecutors are sending a horrific and harmful message to other rape survivors. That causes great concern,” the group’s Lorenzo Wakefield told BBC News.

Other groups have accused the NPA of failing the 15-year-old school girl, who was reported to have been drugged with a spiked drink before the alleged rape.

“We do feel that this is further brutalization,” South Africa’s Eye Witness News quotes Lynne Cawood from Childline South Africa as saying.

“Secondly, dramatization of a child who is incredibly vulnerable,” she said.

South Africa has one of the highest incidences of rape in the world.

One woman is raped every 17 seconds, child rights groups say.

Rapidly losing faith in humanity.

So. Much. Anger.

(Source: , via petitefeministe)

“The main reason that parents have their daughters[’s genitals] cut or mutilated is really to provide them with economic and social security in a sense. It is to make sure that their daughters are accepted by society, that they can get married and have a chance of a normal life.  In many of these cultures and traditions, not being ‘cutted’ is sanctioned.” 

Global estimates on how many girls and women have been subjected to female genital mutilation range from 70 million - 140 million.  In Africa, an estimated three million girls and women are at risk every year.

I don’t even really know what to say. The fact that this still goes on in the world horrifies me.  This can not be argued to be “culture” any more than the Nazi killing of Jews was culture or the United States’ slaughter and rape of Native Americans was culture.  It is reprehensible, and a crime against humanity as a whole. I don’t see why our nation is concerned with the “War on Drugs” in Mexico and the “War on Terror/for Oil” in the Middle East, yet we are so blind to everything that goes on in Africa.  We need to wake up and do something to stop this madness.