We never say that all men deserve to feel beautiful. We never say that each man is beautiful in his own way. We don’t have huge campaigns aimed at young boys trying to convince them that they’re attractive, probably because we very rarely correlate a man’s worth with his appearance. The problem is that a woman’s value in this world is still very much attached to her appearance, and telling her that she should or deserves to feel beautiful does more to promote that than negate it. Telling women that they “deserve” to feel pretty plays right in to the idea that prettiness should be important to them. And having books and movies aimed at young women where every female protagonist turns out to be beautiful (whereas many of the antagonists are described in much less flattering terms) reinforces the message that beauty has some kind of morality attached to it, and that all heroines are somehow pretty.

You Don’t Have To Be Pretty – On YA Fiction And Beauty As A Priority | The Belle Jar (via elizabitchtaylor)

I’m tired of talking about feminism to men.

I’m tired of explaining to men that the feminist movement will, in fact, benefit them as well as women. I’m tired of trying to hawk gender equality like I’m some kind of car salesman showing off a shiny new sedan, explaining all of its bells and whistles. I’m tired of smiling through a thousand thoughtless microaggressions, tired of providing countless pieces of evidence, tired of being questioned on every. Single. Damn. Thing.I’m tired of proving that microaggressions exist, tired of proving that I’m unfairly questioned and asked for proof. For a movement that’s centered around the advancement and empowerment of women, why do I feel like I’m supposed to spend so damn much of my time carefully considering how what I say and do will be taken by men?

I’m tired of men who insert themselves into feminist spaces with claims of hurt feelings. I’m tired of men who somehow manage to make every issue about them. I’m tired of men like the one who recently stopped by a friend’s Facebook thread in order to call feminism “c*nty”, then lecture the women involved for being too “hostile” in their responses to him. I’m tired of men telling me that my understanding of feminism and rape culture are wrong, as if these aren’t things that I have studied intensely. I’m tired of men who claim to be feminist allies, then abuse that position to their own advantage. I’m so fucking exhausted by the fact that I know that I will have to, at some point in this piece, mention that I understand that not all men are like that. I will have to note that some men are good allies. And all of those things are true! And all of you good allies get cookies! But honestly,I’m tired of handing out cookies to people just because they’re decent fucking human beings.

Anne Thériault, I’m Not Your Feminist Mommy & I’m Tired of Holding Your Hand (via alwaysinyouratmosphere)

swagadamus:

animeelite:

i really hate the attitude a lot of men have about how women are so different and mysterious and hard to understand, as if women are some kind of foreign species and not fellow human beings and then complain about women being unapproachable and ‘prude’

you don’t get to put me on a pedestal and then complain about me being out of reach

“you don’t get to put me on a pedestal and then complain about me being out of reach”

I’ve never heard wiser words.

Among girls whose parents never commented on their weight, 4.2% reported use of any extreme weight control behaviors, while 23.2% of girls whose parents frequently commented on their weight reported use of any of these behaviors. Mothers’ more frequent talk about their own weight, shape, or size was associated with lower self-worth and higher depressive symptomology among girls.

Mother-reported parental weight talk and adolescent girls’ emotional health, weight control attempts, and disordered eating behaviors (via pullingafranlebowitz)

SAVE TRAVELLERINTIME’S HOME

randomslasher:

Guys, this is very important.

You all know Travellerintime, right? The one who does those AMAZING SPN manips? Destiel, Wincest, Sastiel, Wincestiel, Megstiel, solo pics—just incredible work, all for us?

Her family’s in trouble, and they could really use our help. This is a big deal. They could lose their home.

I know we may not have much, but y’all, there are a LOT of us. Any amount helps at all.

I am offering free chibi commissions to anyone who can make a contribution of 20 euros (approx $25) or more. I have set up Euro conversion in my paypal so if you don’t have a way to do the conversion yourself you can send it to me and I will donate on your behalf. Otherwise you can donate directly to her and send me a screencap and I will do your drawing. ANY SHIP, ANY PAIRING.

For more details about the chibis I’m offering, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

We’ve got 2 weeks, folks. LET’S MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

If you can’t donate, a signal boost would be greatly appreciated!

Study Finds that the United States is an Oligarchy, not a Democracy

underscorex:

elisaddiq:

terarroni:

Despite the seemingly strong empirical support in previous studies for theories of majoritarian democracy, our analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts. Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association, and a widespread (if still contested) franchise. But we believe that if policymaking is dominated by powerful business organizations and a small number of affluent Americans, then America’s claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened.

While this may be a big “duh” to a lot of U.S. citizens, a recent study which has been made open for public viewing concludes that the United States’ system of government is closer to that of a (corporate) oligarchy than it is a democracy. That is to say that power is vested within a small group of people, as opposed to the majority.

Historically speaking, oligarchies generally devolve into tyrannical states due to the concentration of power (usually based on class) with a smaller group of people who generally do not agree with the interests or preferences of the majority; these types of frictions lead to oppression by making some people more “equal” than others, as demonstrated in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, essentially giving people certain rights, but allowing those rights more freely to certain groups.

I remember in the 6th grade when we were learning about different types of governments and we got to oligarchy I said to the teacher “Oh so that’s what America is right?” and he looked at me like i was crazy and said “No Elijah, America is a democracy because the citizens also have power” and I said “what power?” and he said “We can vote” and I was kind of quite for a little bit because i thought he was gonna say something else and I was like “Is that it?” and he just went on to the next lesson

C. Wright Mills was right.

Study Finds that the United States is an Oligarchy, not a Democracy

jaredbottoms:

fuckyeahrandomfandomstuff:

amayakumiko:

jaredbottoms:

Read More

EXACTLY!

I want her to meet cas, and work with cas and STILL COME OUT OF THIS HATING HIM. this is what i want soo baaad

…

why are people in this fandom so mean sometimes

OR she could meet Cas, they could work out their issues, she could forgive him, and they could get along. Woah. Why the negativity? Isn’t it exhausting? Positivity is so much more productive, and I don’t understand the need of some people in this fandom to hate certain characters. I like everyone. I’m intrigued by their flaws and love them for their good points. It makes the show and the fandom a lot more enjoyable.

because get this, people don’t have to forgive shitty people for the shitty things they have done wow i know it’s really difficult or 99% of cas fans to accept that castiel is not perfect and that he has done a lot of gross and shitty things but please even cas fans have to see that what castiel did to claire novak was not ok. and she doesn’t have to forgive him for that. she was 12 years old when he possessed her (and i’m really iffy about castiel getting consent from a 12 year old about using her body as a vessel so yeah) and then took her father’s body. like he didn’t even give a shit that jimmy has/had a family and that family would love to have him back. he just kept using jimmy as a vessel and idg how wanting claire to be angry about that and the show not act as if cas is a woobie little baby angel who can’t do no wrong is so bad. CLAIRE HAS EVERY REASON TO BE ANGRY AND NOT TO FORGIVE CASTIEL. victims don’t have to forgive the people who caused them pain that’s something you should keep in mind

medievalpoc:

theboredgeek:

medievalpoc:

Over 700 Jefferson County High School students are staging walkouts and protests over proposed changes to the Advanced Placement History curriculum. According to Colorado Public Radio:

Last week, a school board member proposed that advanced placement history classes be required to promote free enterprise and patriotism and be required to avoid classroom materials that encourage social strife or civil disobedience. Two high schools in Jefferson County closed Friday after dozens of teachers called in sick in protest.

According the online petition to be delivered to the School District:

Jeffco Public School Board has just proposed a change of curriculum stating that, “Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law. Instructional materials should present positive aspects of the United States and its heritage.”

This means that important parts of our history such as the Civil Rights Movement, Native American genocide, and slavery will not be taught in public schools. If these important lessons are not taught, children will not learn from them, and what will stop them from happening again? This is a severe form of censorship intended to keep the youth ignorant and easy to manipulate. I’m hoping to get enough signatures to prove that this is a public issue, so, please, if this is important to you, please sign. Do not let our youth grow up in ignorance; we all deserve the truth!

You can sign the petition here.

You can read more articles at The Denver Post, CBS Denver (with video), and Colorado Public Radio.

Thanks to theseacaptainsdaughter for dropping a link in my inbox.

One of the people that is trying to get these changes made said the following.

While the narrative may be “historically true,” he argues, “progressives are going to be the heroes in this narrative.”

My response? So fucking what?!?

Actually, people should really read the article you just linked to. It’s basically a retired history teacher who’s apparently *just horrified* that kids might learn how to do research and think critically about American history.