WordforworD

"I suspect it’s difficult for men to imagine a world in which their bodies have long been..."

Thu, 09 May 2013 04:55:19 -0700

“I suspect it’s difficult for men to imagine a world in which their bodies have long been inextricably linked to their value as an individual, and that no matter how encouraging your parents were or how many positive female role models you had or how self-confident you feel, there is an ever-present pressure that creeps in from all sides, whispering in your ear that you are your body and your body defines you. A world where, from the time of pubescence on, you can feel the constant and palpable weight of the male gaze, and not just from your male peers but from teachers and sports coaches and the fathers of the children you baby-sit, people you’re supposed to respect and trust and look up to, and that first realization that you are being looked at in that way is the beginning of a self-consciousness that you will be unable to shake for the rest of your life.Even if they are never verbalized, the rules of bodily conduct for females become clear early on: when school administrators reprimand you for the inch of midriff that shows when you lift your hands straight in the air or youth group leaders tell you that the sight of your unintentional cleavage is what causes godly young men to fall, you learn that your body is dangerous and shameful and that it’s your responsibility to cloister it in a way that is acceptable to everyone else. You learn that your body is a topic of public debate that everyone is entitled to weigh in on, from a male classmate telling you that those jeans make your ass look huge to the male-dominated United States Congress dictating the parameters that rape must fall within to be considered legitimate. To be a woman, and to live life in a woman’s body, is to be held to a set of comically paradoxical standards that make you constantly second-guess yourself and jump through a million hoops in pursuit of an impossible perfection.”

- Stop Catcalling Me (via albinwonderland)

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Thu, 02 May 2013 02:31:06 -0700

iced coffee.

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:28:21 -0700

iced coffee.

It's finals week.

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:16:46 -0700

beetsaretheworst:

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Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:12:58 -0700

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Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:07:34 -0700

24 Lies People Like To Tell Women

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:03:42 -0700

24 Lies People Like To Tell Women:

hoechleberry:

1. There is such a thing as a “real” woman and she is defined by “having curves,” which is not to be confused with “being fat,” and if you fall too far outside of that particular bell curve, you do not count as a “real” woman.

2. There is something inherently wrong with you if you have slept with a certain number of people, and it must be the result of some former trauma or unfinished business you have.

3. There is something inherently wrong with you if you are insisting on remaining a virgin until marriage, or indefinitely, and it is something that can be rectified with “the right man.”

4. Bisexual women are simply “going through a phase” or “having a little fun,” and are doing it mostly for the attention of the men they are more attracted to.

5. There is a direct correlation between the kind of clothes you wear and the amount of respect you deserve.

6. Men are entitled to sex with you after a certain amount of nice gestures, and if you remain uninterested after the right combination of activities and words, you are responsible for his unhappiness for being a cold bitch.

7. You are “supposed to” enjoy and universally support any number of female artists and creators simply because she is female, and not because you actually identify with her work in any way.

8. There is a certain amount of your worth as a person — and it’s significant — which is tied up in your relationship status.

9. You owe strange men on the street who call out to you and make you feel uncomfortable to smile at them and cheerfully dismiss their advances.

10. If you don’t smile, and you don’t make yourself as amicable as possible while getting away, you are guilty of being a frigid bitch.

11. If you are too friendly, you’re leading them on.

12. The vast majority of your value in dating someone is how good-looking you are. The other qualities you may or may not possess are rendered largely unimportant in the face of your physical beauty.

13. If you don’t look like a photoshopped image of a model in a magazine, there is something inherently wrong with you, and not with the image.

14. If you spend enough money on beauty products, clothes, and haircuts, you will become as beautiful (and therefore as worthy) as said women in the magazines.

15. There is a “correct” course of action to take as a woman when you are in an abusive relationship, and if you don’t follow it to the letter, you are deserving of shame and mockery for not presenting a good example for other women.

16. It is every woman’s job to be a model of some kind for other women in her life.

17. If one woman acts a certain way, or engages in a certain behavior, she is a reflection on all women and not just herself and her personal choices.

18. There are certain things that women should inherently want out of life, such as marriage and having children, and if you do not want those things there is something defective about you.

19. As a woman, the question you should be asking yourself as you enter your career is unquestionably “How do I have it all?” The underlying assumption is always that you want both a family life and a career, lest you be considered lazy or immature on either front.

20. There are certain choices we can make in life which are inherently more feminist than others, such as choosing to delay family life in order to have a high-powered career.

21. Sex work is something dirty and shameful, and being an educated, hard-working, good person and being a sex worker are mutually exclusive.

22. There is a way to date and have sex and meet people which is more moral and respectable than another.

23. Your sexuality should always be someone else’s business, and other people should get a say in the control you have over your own body.

24. If you are a take-charge person who is hard-working and demanding of others the way many men who are deeply respected in business might be, you are a bitch. And that is that.

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Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:42 -0700

iwontdancedontaskme: “Dance is a song of the body. Either of...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:54:38 -0700

iwontdancedontaskme:

“Dance is a song of the body. Either of joy or pain.” ~Martha Graham

http://iwontdance.com

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Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:51:56 -0700

"I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet."

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:48:13 -0700

“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”

- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (via angryvomit)

theniftyfifties: Anita Ekberg and friend.

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:47:34 -0700

theniftyfifties:

Anita Ekberg and friend.

"Confidence is being able to say ‘Fuck you, I’m the shit’ without opening your mouth, say it with..."

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:44:54 -0700

“Confidence is being able to say ‘Fuck you, I’m the shit’ without opening your mouth, say it with your walk, with your smile, say it with your entire being.”

- Tati-Ana Mercedes (via fawun)

m1keill: Hip Hop Comics

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:42:08 -0700

m1keill:

Hip Hop Comics

"Wearing a hijab isn’t inherently liberating – but neither is baring one’s breasts. What is..."

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:38:38 -0700

“Wearing a hijab isn’t inherently liberating – but neither is baring one’s breasts. What is liberating is being able to choose either of these things. It’s pretty ludicrous to think that oppression is somehow proportional to how covered or uncovered someone’s body is. Both sides of this argument present a shallow understanding of women’s empowerment, which only drowns out the substantive challenges facing all women – issues that cannot be encapsulated in a debate about a piece of fabric.”

- Sara Yasin, “On Both Sides, a Weak Vision of Feminism,” NYT Debate: Is the Hijab Worth Fighting For? (via gazingthroughthefog)

livewellovemuch: i hope

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:55:09 -0700

livewellovemuch:

i hope

owl-let: fer1972: Know were you stand: Modern Day Locations...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:50:29 -0700

owl-let:

fer1972:

Know were you stand: Modern Day Locations blended with Major Historical Events by Seth Taras

1. The Hindenberg Disaster of May 6, 1937

2. Allied soldiers rushing the beach at Normandy in June 1944

3. The Fall of the Berlin wall in 1989

4. Adolf Hitler touring Paris and standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in 1940

when i was little, sometimes, i’d be riding in a car or walking somewhere and suddenly i’d wonder, what events have happened here in the past? who has walked in this same location? has a dinosaur ever set foot here? did a house use to stand here? i’ve never found a post that accurately displays it until now.

"I think we seek out people who we hope will fix what our childhood broke."

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:38:07 -0700

“I think we seek out people who we hope will fix what our childhood broke.”

- Yasmin Mogahed (via perfect)

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Mon, 15 Apr 2013 01:36:11 -0700

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Mon, 15 Apr 2013 01:32:30 -0700