men aren’t told to carry around weapons
men aren’t told to go to self defense classes
men aren’t told to only go out in groups
men aren’t told not to go out at a certain hour of the night
men aren’t told that they shouldn’t have a few drinks
men aren’t told that they shouldn’t wear certain articles of clothing
do you see where i’m going with this
(Source: thepoopqueen, via safercampus)
I need feminism because the 2 men who sexually harassed me at work got to keep their jobs… and I didn’t.
My manager also told me that “if anything happened, [I] ‘deserved’ it because I wore makeup and ‘flirted’ with all the boys.”
I need feminism because she thinks it’s okay to blame me for 40 and 50 year old married men groping & kissing me at work.
I need feminism because girls (and womens) magazines still say “How to get/please/find a guy” or “how to look good”
BECAUSE THAT’S ALL I CARE ABOUT!!??
—(via safercampus)
(Source: goforthandagitate, via safercampus)
—Ani Di Franco (via malaika-alice)
(Source: i-choose-to-be-happpy, via safercampus)
I need feminism because 1) I like to cook, 2) I want to get married and have kids, 3) I am terrible at sports, 4) I don’t like to play video games. But because of this, I feel like I reinforce stereotypes about women.
My preferences are NOT linked to my sex!
Why should the responsibility of society’s view of women be placed on my shoulders? Why do I feel like I’m letting down women everywhere because of who I am?
Pronouns 101! Click here to learn more!
(via fuckyeahfeminists)
As a Privileged Person®, it is natural that you would feel excluded and frustrated by the recent spate of Marginalised People “reclaiming” historically negative words to refer to themselves.
Not only do these Marginalised People™ kick up a great big ole stink by making it “politically incorrect” for Privileged People® to use these words - even going so far as to have some of them defined under ‘hate crime’ legislation! - they take the insult one step further and use them freely amongst themselves!
This is very perplexing and annoying for Privileged People®, who can only stand on the outside, gazing wistfully in, wishing it were a simpler time when it was totally okay for everyone to call women whores, Mexicans spics, Trans* folk trannies, gay men faggots and people of African descent the n-word.
After all, who do those Marginalised People™ think they are, taking ownership of language traditionally used to oppress them! That just isn’t playing fair!
But take heart, because there is a way you can worm around this one - where there’s Privilege®, there’s always a way!
First of all, you must feign utter cluelessness about the ins & outs of reclaimation and behave as though you were under the impression that in these ‘post race/sex/sexuality/gender/etc times’ that we had all evolved into a new era where ‘words don’t mean anything’ and it’s totally okay for everyone to use offensive slurs and then… well: use them.
When a Marginalised Person™ calls you out on it, become indignant. Express confusion. Demand an explanation. Say that you just don’t understand - if you people use those words to refer to each other, why can’t I?!
You see, you’re implying that they’re being hypocritical. That if they are going to use abusive & oppressionist language aongst each other, they simply have to accept that they’re employing a ‘double standard’ by preventing the Privileged® from using them.
What this enables you to ignore is the reality of the power dynamic involved. Language reclaimation is a means by which Marginalised People™ gain back some power they are traditionally denied by taking control of words used to demean and discriminate against them. When these words come from Privileged People®, there is a long and very serious negative history behind them that cannot be divorced from the words themselves. Thus, when Privileged People® employ these words, they are perpetuating that history and the psychology behind the word. They are exercising oppressive power that have become inherent to those words - a power Marginalised People™ seek to subvert and dismantle when they use them.
Pretend not to understand this. Just continue to imply hypocrisy and pout that it isn’t fair.
It also ignores the fact that, from within Marginalised Groups™, discourses around abusive language are actually not simple and there are many divided and varied opinions on the subject. Treating Marginalised People™ like a hive mind is always a great way to further subtly insult them and since the point of this entire debacle is to come out with as many notches on your belt as possible, you want to make sure you slip in as many knocks below their belt as you can manage.
—‘But If It’s Okay For Marginalised People To Use Those Words, Why Can’t I?’ - http://www.derailingfordummies.com (via mooglets)
(via fuckyeahfeminists)
Nashua South freshman wins $25,000, America’s Top Young Scientist awardDeepika Kurup, a freshman at Nashua High School South, has won first prize of $25,000 in the 14th annual Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge for a method of purifying water with solar power.
Kurup’s invention uses two chemicals – titanium oxide and zinc oxide – which, when hit by sunlight, undergo a chemical change producing hydroxyl radicals that can attack and destroy certain types of bacteria.
She tested them in various translucent containers heating by parabolic reflectors and found that they reduced populations of various bacteria by large amounts.
Kurup competed alongside nine finalists Tuesday in a live competition at the 3M Innovation Center in St. Paul, Minn.
She was awarded the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist,” $25,000 and a trip from Discovery Student Adventures.
In addition to presenting their prototypes, the 10 finalists competed in two additional challenges in which they were asked to combine multiple 3M technologies to yield new solutions and build a machine designed to turn on a light bulb using science and engineering principles.
Finalists were evaluated on their scientific knowledge, creativity and use of 3M technology
For details, visit www.newsinfusion.com/events/youngscientist2012.
Dude.
This is going to change the world. It’s passively cleaning water. That’s fucking huge.
yay awesome young female brown scientists! Show ‘em how it’s done.
pt. 1 of a series entitled “I thought you said you liked long hair…”
women in our society grow up believing that body hair is unnatural, and that the removal of hair is a ritualistic practice to be done as often as possible. we see ads for shaving creams featuring long, lean, hairless legs being caressed by a man. we see hairy women being automatically labeled as man hating feminists or as being unkempt, dirty, and lazy. we want women to look like girls; hairless, fresh, clean, and new. we’re scared of aging, of growth, of change, and so we shave, and we wax, and we pluck. body hair makes society cringe, and so we put in the work.
In “I thought you said you liked long hair…” I attempt to address the problematic ways in which society views hair. Long hair is the ideal, but only if it’s in the right place. So to the countless men who have told me that they prefer women with long hair, you’re getting what you’ve asked for.
© Patricia Ann Alvarado
I love this!!
