riseofthecommonwoodpile:

remember how punk culture was supposed to be anti-elitist and then it morphed into this cesspool of elitist shits trying to decide who/what is and isn’t punk

that’s some irony you can drizzle on a cake and eat that’s how rich it is

queerfabulousmermaid:

fitlatina:

Irma (short film)

Irma Gonzalez is an old ‘luchadora’ (female wrestler) who bears the marks of a life spent battling in the ring, performing daredevil moves. Every day she goes to the gym to rehearse the moves that made her a star. Children watch her curiously. Somewhere in the distance, a song plays: Irma was once a singer, too. In her memory, grainy images of old television clips flicker. Shot in Mexico City, the film is a tender portrait of the multi-talented luchadora and an unusual meditation on athleticism and aging.

Interview with director of Irma, Charles Fairbanks.

Yes luchadora!! This is so cool.

sendificator:

ok welcome to Liberal Problems with emily where i tell you why your cute well-meaning liberal slogans are actually really harmful

the idea of “omg lets just abandon all labels” is appealing from the liberal standpoint of “everyone is equal”— there’s no need to put everyone into little boxes, right? but the thing is that we are not equal. there are systemic inequalities in society, and many marginalized people need to use labels in order to find communities of people that are like themselves and understand what they are going through.

there is absolutely nothing inherently wrong with labeling oneself! in fact, when you tout this “why do you need to label yourself??? we’re ALL THE SAME” rhetoric, you are actually showing that you don’t remotely comprehend what it might be like to not have a name for what you are. in the case of many queer people, arriving at their “gross label” was a very long and arduous process, and just having a name to call themselves can be extremely empowering. 

do not invalidate people’s identities in the name of “everyone being equal”!!!!!!!

For most of America, Psy is a funny name, a funny face, and a funny personality. He doesn’t sing in English and most people just don’t get it leaving most of them to not take him seriously. It’s easy to strip the significance behind “Gangnam Style” down if you don’t know what it means and solely find entertainment in the Asian guy shaking his hips. But what most people don’t realize is that Psy doesn’t take himself seriously. He’s a satirist and political dissident. “Gangnam Style” was a commentary, not just a fun pop tune with a silly dance.

Gangnam is Seoul’s wealthiest and flashiest neighborhood. For South Koreans, Gangnam represents the ideal life of excess and consumerism. Psy’s character in the video is a wannabe Gangnamite. He dreams he’s living the flashy, excessive lifestyle while he’s really just like everyone else, swimming in a public pool and riding the subway. But never in the video does it seem that Psy’s character is unhappy. He’s content to play in a children’s playground and meet the girl of his dreams in the subway. “Gangnam Style” is much more that we have made it, but that’s not surprising considering Psy’s background and how little we know about it.

In America, it seems like “Gangnam Style” was Psy’s big break when in fact the song had been released on his sixth studio album and his music career hadn’t been about making flashy and catchy songs. He believes music is the key to overcoming the intolerance embedded in his country’s political systems. Throughout his career, his songs have been banned for inappropriate content and have been surrounded by controversy, not to mention the fact that he fought his mandatory military draft.

Psy is a voice for his people. He’s fighting the oppression and intolerance he sees in his culture through his music. And by ignoring his worth and his value, we’re reducing the culture of South Korea into a short man with funny pants doing a ridiculous dance.

Opinion: American media chooses to undervalue artists like Psy from “Gangnam Style”

I found out about this a week after the song had gone viral, so every time I heard it come on I cringed no matter how much I enjoyed what it was actually about.

Even on programs like The Ellen show, they didn’t even bother to introduce him before demanding he dance. During that time, he had to interrupt to actually introduce himself by name to the audience.
During the American Musical Awards, the public shaming forums and tumblr showed people throwing (mis-identified)slurs at him for his presence as someone who isn’t american, doing the closing number with another person of color. Not to mention the slurs were all anti-black and pan-asianist, and dripping in pure blatant racism. 
And why does this happen?

Let’s just say that mixed into all the xenophobia is the daily demasculinization of Asian men. The stripping of power for asians, whether considered submissive, passive, or the “model minority,” happens constantly in the media under the gross concept of orientalism. Asian men overall are rarely taken seriously in the eyes of American audience. They are either set in films for something martial-arts related, an offensive stereotype, someone to be mocked for their accent, or someone silly that is portrayed as not being “man enough” to be taken seriously. 
Whether fetishized or mocked, his break led him to have people not even bother to know his other work , and a second work like “Gentleman” was created. And it flopped from how painfully similar it was to Gangnam Style. Why? Because this is what the industry thought his audience would want. And in all honesty, with his other songs in mind too, it feels very very forced, almost cringe worthy itself.

(Source: pag-asaharibon)

brashblacknonbeliever:

With Father’s day fast approaching, I would like to send a shout out to the people typically ignored on days like this:

• To the people with abusive fathers
• To the people absentee fathers
• To the people who don’t know their fathers
• To the people who cut their fathers out of their lives
• To the people with conflicting feelings about father’s day because their own father was a piece of shit but other men they know and love are awesome dads
• To the people who learned how not to be a shitty dad by not doing what their father did
• To the people whose fathers are deceased
• To the people whose fathers are locked up or deployed and/or can’t come home
• To the people trying to mend broken relationships with their fathers

You are not alone. If you don’t want to celebrate father’s day or you don’t want to talk to your father, that’s perfectly fine. Do whatever it takes to make sure you are healthy and happy.

feministdisney:

fatale-distraction:

sikssaapo-p:

“to us, there is no ‘controversy’ surrounding the film TONTO. 

The character is fictional, and steeped in harmful stereotypes.
Johnny Depp is NOT Native. 
The film promotes Pan-Indianism by mixing and matching imagery. 
Disney must hold the record for most racist films produced - there is the whole package deal from Disney, the Halloween costumes and the action figures that will be indoctrinating a whole new generation into a world of misinformation about Indigenous Peoples. 
Indigenous children, will bear the brunt of this marketing juggernaut in the playground. 
There are a million stories about Indigenous Peoples that are waiting to be told. Authentic stories - by Indigenous writers, made by Indigenous film makers, using Indigenous Actors. 
This film is a step backward in time. 
No amount of donations to “Native American organizations” can make this right. No amount of pics of Johnny Depp wearing T-shirts with Native slogans on them, can make this right. 
We’re going to be boycotting this film, and the whole sideshow of promotional trinkets. 
We’ll be too busy mopping up the mess of misunderstanding and cultural mockery left in this film’s wake.”

-F.A.I.R Media (For Accurate Indigenous Representation)

 

I’m really on the fence about this, because he is a full quarter Native American, and he went onto a reserve and stayed there for six months, learning and spending time with the people there, and at the end they made him an honorary part of the tribe. Also several Native American leaders were onsite at the filming and all gave the thumbs up. So…. Getting mixed messages here.

like I said in the tags, I would check out what has been previously written about him.

-he might be part native american but he does not IDENTIFY as a native american. If you look up interviews he’s done, it’s, “My grandma was part of one tribe, not sure which.” Not, “I identify as part native.” that is obviously going to inform how you play a role in which native american identity is a part of the film.

As others have pointed out, not all native people think with a hive mind, and it’s also ignoring how coercion works to see some approval as, “it must not be bad.” These are people and kids who almost never see people like them in movies, and who, in some cases, get a bit of money from the movie that will elevate them above the bad and poverty situations they’ve been placed in by the government. Not to mention Depp is a movie star. Like how many people allowed to be onsite for filming, might even be given background parts, are honestly going to go, “you suck” and leave? And who would actually report it if they did? Disney? Depp? Nope

his acceptance to the tribe occurred before they even saw the movie. That can be found in “has this been asked before?” So it has nothing to do with criticism of the movie itself. 

Overall, for someone to participate in a really stereotypical portrayal, there’s no reason to cut them flack because they have ancestry, yet no real lifelong participation in the communities of the people they end up presenting. Sorry, but spending a couple weeks on a reservation while you are a movie star might not actually give you the full idea of what that is like. ALSO, would like a source for that 6 month stay because quoting what every source I’ve read says, 

“Harris said she had read in interviews that Depp identified himself as being part Native American, so she thought it would be fun to adopt him - a tradition she says is common in Comanche culture. She ran the idea past her adult children, and they agreed.”

ilikeprettyclothes:

fromcarouseltohair:

allyssumdays:

Everyone has rolls when they bend over. Everyone. Lets just get this out of the way right off the bat. In the last few months, I’ve had over 30 women ranging from rail thin to extra large naked in my bed and I would routinely ask them to hug their knees. You won’t believe this… ALL OF THEM HAD TUMMY ROLLS. Not one was exempt. Even my super fabulous professional model 6 foot tall and some amazing Katie had rolls. The stomach pictures turned into some of my favorite images from the project… so quit thinking they’re bad, and try accepting (dare I say embracing?) yours!

When people say “you’re gorgeous”, believe them. I tend not to, and it’s a cryin’ shame. When people genuinely compliment you, it’s because they really see it. Try to not dismiss their perspective as wrong and assume that you know better. They see all of you. We see our flaws. Believe them.

“Arm flab is embarrassing.” No its not, go fuck yourself. No, not you. The people who tell us that, silly.

You’re not stunning despite your body. You’re stunning because of your body. There is a distinct difference. I grew up in a culture that would deem “unattractive” women as “special spirits”. A degrading categorization that implied that the only thing worthwhile was whatever was inside. Well, yeah. We are all much much more than our bodies, but our bodies are a beautiful part of us too. Beauty comes from the inside AND the outside.  I am of the firm belief that every person is beautiful, and so this leaves the inside to be the part that is the most telling when it comes to true “beauty”.

A guy can pick you up off your feet, and it won’t break his back.  “Wait, whaaaaaa Jes? You’re full of shit.” Nope. This just happened to me for the first time in… six years? I’m considerably heavier than I was 6 years ago (like… 70 pounds heavier) and so when I ran up to my friend Eric for a hug and he picked me up with my heels in the air… it left me breathless. I had forgotten that it was possible; I had accepted a life void of being lifted. So exhilarating. Eric didn’t suffer any injuries and walked away unscathed.

You don’t need to exercise every day in order to feel better about yourself. Many believe that someone who’s fat needs to exercise as much as possible in order to prove that they’re committed to becoming “less fat”. As if accepting one’s body as is would be a sin, and that’s just silly. Yes, exercising has wonderful physical and mental benefits, but you don’t owe it to anyone else to make an effort to change your body unless you wanna. You do not have to alter yourself to be okay. Period.

You’re allowed to fall in love with yourself. I promise. This will be the scariest thing you will ever do, and that’s okay. It will also be the most amazing (albeit super gradual) experience you will ever have. It doesn’t make you narcissistic. It doesn’t make you vain. It is liberating in every form of the word.

It’s also okay to have days where you don’t love yourself. Read this. No really. Read it. And then realize that we’ve grown up learning and internalizing that we are not okay our entire life. For me, that’s 26 years of self-hate indoctrination and brainwashing.  It’s going to take a lot longer than you think to reverse this thinking, and it’s definitely not going to happen overnight. Allow yourself to have “weak” days. Cry, mourn, sob, yell, throw things. Whichever. Then get up, brush yourself off, give the media the finger, and move forward because you’re a warrior.

Everyone’s boobs are uneven. If you have a lot of boobs, they might be way uneven.  Don’t stress. This is totally normal.

There are people who prefer large ladies. And I mean all sizes of large. I thought that my best bet in life was to find a partner who accepted my fat. Pause. Give me a minute to hang my head and shake it at myself. Not only are there people who adore “thick” women, but a LOT of them who prefer it. This eventually ends up in an interesting territory which Marianne talks about here, but the point that I’m trying to make goes back to the “despite vs because of” argument. Here is what you need to know: you do NOT need to settle for a lover who is “okay” with your body. You have the right (and millions of opportunities) to find someone who is infatuated with your body. You deserve to be worshiped, woman!

Fat chicks bang hot guys… ALL. THE. TIME.I know that hot is relative and all inclusive depending on who you chat with, but for these purposes, lets talk about the “universally attractive” kind of hot. Y’know, the kind fat chicks don’t deserve? We want to pretend that we don’t know what I’m talking about, but lets be real; we totally do. The fact that “fat chicks bang ‘hot’ guys” was one of the most powerful realizations I’ve had thus far. In line with the above paragraph, I knew that there would be someone that would find me attractive but the pool would be small (because of my body) and potentially full of guys I didn’t personally find sexy. So I would have to settle for anyone that would take me. After all, how could a conventionally gorgeous man (tall and with tattoos of course) like fat chicks?  Weh-he-hell, let me tell you somethin’: through various sites, events, parties, and corner store meetings, I found myself with over a hundred men who were champing at the bit to get with this. I was the one who had to sift through and pick the hottest of the hot. Ladies, over a hundred. “Girls” showed what society thinks about that when Hannah’s character has a weekend romance with an attractive and wealthy doctor. People flipped their shit. “Patrick Wilson is so hot he would never do Lena Dunham” was the most eye catching. Wilson’s wife responded to that rubbish here, but the tweet speaks volumes about what the majority of people think unconventional women deserve. Jesus christ, it’s annoying. I won’t spill the details of my bedroom coming and goings, but lets just say this: the hottest guys in Tucson and I get along just fine. I would recommend reading Emily’s article on xoJane for a better explanation of what I’m struggling to say. Know this: the myth that “atypical” bodies can’t be paired with “typically attractive” bodies is false. Women need to know that all bodies can be paired with all bodies.

Riding during sex will NOT collapse his insides. Just trust me on this one, what you fear is totally false. Here’s a great article that changed my life.

Wearing whatever you want is a political statement. Join the revolution. Throw style rules out the window. Wear the tutu. Wear the horizontal stripes. Wear the turquoise skinny jeans. Wear the see-through blouse. Wear the bikini. Wear the sweat pants. Wear the shirt that says “Does this shirt make me look fat?”. Wear whatever it is that makes you happy. This is your life.

You are fucking beautiful. I’m saying this with a straight face and seriously meaningful look where I maintain eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time. I know you don’t feel like you fit into the category of gorgeous that our world creates. I know that its hard. I know that its a daily battle. But fuck their fascist beauty standards. The second you stop looking for a skinny model in your mirror and start looking at YOU… is the second you will start to appreciate what you are. Stop looking for flaws. Stop looking for differences. You are perfect. You are more than enough. You are the best thing that has ever happened to you. And you are fucking beautiful.

Say it with me.

I’m actively sobbing.

Reblogging again because of awesomeness.

(Source: )

mulanofficial:

87daysbefore:

HERE IT IS

RE: big girls in costumes

Couldn’t reblog this shit fast enough.

HAPPILY SIGHS I love people getting rightfully angry and having so many others backing them up djfgsdfg IT’S SO REFRESHING

To even it out

I guess the only downside to today would be having been reminded that the fat acceptance movement is still p much taken over by rich cis white women :U

I remember the Editor of Hot & Heavy, Vergie Tovar, came to my feminist Craft Theory studio class to speak to us one-on-one, and we had this conversation. It was so refreshing omg. 

As a fat woman of color, she stated that since the fat movement, the first privileged people to hop on board were white women with enough money to buy and make outfits, snap pictures daily, and show the world of their embraced body. It would be great if there weren’t so many of them that denied the intersecting issues of race and class in body politics. Guess where poorer or non-white fat people were represented in this movement?? Barely no where. Bc they lack the funds, the “education”, the social and creative capital. Just a new way to be walked all over, sadly. 

Though through my exploration of blogs, I found all but ONE queer femme poc darling i can actually reflect on for all this! Wonderful blog and inspiration!

Thus more motivation for my ~summer project~:
to gain cultural capital and create my own clothes through those that are sold towards me and look terrible AND those im told to stay away from. Much like the punk movement, ripping apart, cutting things, pasting and bedazzling, and pinning things together, im making my own custom wardrobe with a little anti-capitalist remark sewed in. I haven’t felt more awesome about the things I can create and represent myself in as a queer person of color too! *//_//*

ps. she’s the first person to bring to mind how fatphobia CAN CAUSE GENDER DYSPHORIA omfg THANK i really need to email her again one day and ask if she can elaborate more on it because it was a wonderful topic im really interested in!! Specifically because it directly relates to a lot of emotional neglect, abuse, and trauma from a young age. 

What a great person omg >//u//<

Vergie’s website

espeonchan:

wow did u kno transwomen can prefer to be masculine and transmen can prefer to be feminine just like cis women and cis men wow crazy shit

Dildos.

lets-go-lesbos:

A lot of idiots out there will say, “Why on EARTH would a lesbian use a dildo? I thought lesbians swore off penises!”

1. A dildo is not a penis. It is an object one inserts into the vagina to gain pleasure. It can be used by a man, woman, a genderfluid person, ANYONE.
2. Lesbians do not like *most* penises because they are attached to men. Penises attached to ladies are another story because they are attached to ladies.
3. Not all men have penises, not all ladies have a vagina.
4. Penetration is not reserved for straight people.
5. I hate you.

trashfemme:

always glorify my own body (especially the parts society hates) because if i don’t who the fuck will

Anonymous sent: I have a bit of a personal debate going on in my head and would appreciate your input: Would insisting my roommate to stop changing her clothes when the blinds and windows are open and the lights are on at night be considered defending rape culture?

Because on the one hand, I don’t want to tell her what she can and can’t do in her own home and own body, and I don’t want to imply she’s in any way “asking for” creepers outside to peep, but you never know who’s out there and the thought of any perv

Right outside our window makes me very uncomfortable. :(

[TW: Talk of Rape] [TW: Rape culture]

This is quite a difficult topic to tackle, especially when it comes to your concern for someone else. 

From personal experience, I’ve had this discussion with my mother. She argues that because of past experiences, she takes precautions when changing near a window or how she dresses. These behaviors are specific to when she goes out to places considered poorer. (It’s a very classist mentality in terms of considering highly-poc-populated communities to be more aggressive than rich white areas, and also redeems them to be more sexist and harmful towards women. 

My mother’s experiences are very valid. But I personally don’t like being told I should or shouldn’t wear certain things outside or near my window because it might either offend or attract attention. Neither would I want my body or gender policed due to someone else’s fears. As of now I’ve been able to freely walk around or change in front of my own window (i do it too) without care. Nothing has happened. And that is no guarantee that nothing’ll ever happen. Nor does it guarantee that it will. 

I’ve always had the mentality that it IS good to take precautions because these attacks happen, but it’s also (if not more) important to explore WHY they happen and why they exist. 

You’re right on point, it’s rape culture. And your way of thinking precautiously is a product of it, wanting to prevent attacks or harmful/negative/objectifying attention that happens daily to female-identified individuals. Educating yourselves both on rape culture is important. Being confident about wearing what you want and showing your body how you want is very empowering. And those who have been taught this fear due to experience or what they’ve heard makes their povs just as valid.

Being careful is as important as teaching people not to rape. If anything, I think education is one of the strongest forms of prevention and safety. In the case of being in a harmful situation, one has to also recall that rape isn’t about sex or sexual objectification usually. It’s about power and loss of control over one’s body. It’s a policing of gender and one’s body. So, infuriatingly, even with those precautions taken there will never be a guarantee of safety even if we hide our bodies in fear. Just something to note. 

I think the best course to take if I were in your position would be openly talking with your roommate on this issue. You need to explore why her actions make you specifically uncomfortable. Do you fear your own safety too? Is there reason to suspect those outside to be harmful people?

Try negotiating with her on what can be done so that you both feel safe. If she feels empowered or does not live by this fear, there is little reason she should have to change the way she does things daily for the sake of those who think they can objectify her. Rather, learn from each other to feel safer in that sense. If taking precautions also makes you feel safer, consider taking self defense classes together during this summer as an alternative. You should both give a little in assuring that you are both okay. 

I wish you both luck, keep each other safe!!

-Mig