Fire Light

alimarko:

That would be great in a world where there were no oppressed groups, but that’s definitely not the case. 

In a world where men and women and those who identify outside the gender binary all started off being equally oppressed, we’d say everyone starts off with a score of -5. So in this perfect world that you apparently think we live in, we would fight for every group’s rights/etc equally. So let’s say we had a giant movement called “Equalism” that was literally for every single person on Earth “regardless of gender.” And it automatically added 10 points to everyone’s score. With the success of this group, everyone would reach a score of +5, and oppression would be equally lifted from everyone’s shoulders. That sounds a little too perfect, doesn’t it?

Probably because we don’t all start off with an equal “oppression score.” The more privileges you have, the higher your score starts off with. People who identify either as women or as outside the gender binary will always have a lower score than those who identify as men strictly based on gender and without the addition of outside factors. Those other factors, such as race, ability, sexuality, weight, wealth, etc, also affect a person’s score.  So let’s say that a white, heterosexual male starts off with +3 and a white heterosexual woman starts off with +2. Adding 10 points to both of them might seem helpful, but if you’re giving an “equal” amount of support to each, the male will still end up being 1 point ahead of the female.

And that’s just when the woman is as privileged as the man other than with gender. Why don’t you try being a trans* woman of color and starting off with something like -10 oppression points, and then listening to somebody with +2 or +3 points saying that we should fight for everyone equally?

Because that tends to be the GOP way of looking at it: A bunch of mostly white, heterosexual, able-bodied extremely wealthy men (who probably have a “score” of at least +20) constantly try to tell those far less privileged than they to either stop whining because everybody has the same rights or to just shut up and deal with it.

Generally speaking, playing what has become known as the “oppression olympics” and trying to quantify/rank oppression tends to be highly problematic and simplistic, so this example was meant to be illustrative instead of decisively establishing any real system of scoring oppression. But I think it communicates the point effectively; fighting for the rights of every person regardless of gender will do nothing to diminish sexism against women. Posts like this ignore the existing disparities between gender identities/expressions, and don’t actually help anyone.

(Source: shorthairedgirl, via afunnyfeminist)

(Source: i-require-your-pimpcane, via yourinsidesxrayed)

fuckyeahfeminists:

Source: Dale Spender, For the Record: Making and Meaning of Feminist Knowledge

methodistcoloringbook:

natureofdust:

this man is a scum-sucking, hateful demon and i will be damned if he gets elected president.

baby if he gets elected we’re reforming the utopian bitch commune with some additions and moving to fucking saturn

I just died a little bit inside.

(Source: facebook.com, via mia-the-wonder-slut)

keepyourboehneroutofmyuterus:

wearethe1in3:

I had an abortion when I was 19 years old. I have tokophobia. I don’t want to be pregnant, I don’t want to give birth. I just wanted to finish my studies (now I’m almost done!).

Mom was disappointed. Dad said that even if it was my body, I “had no right”. Tell me, have you ever felt like you weren’t a human being? Have you ever felt like an object? Have you been told that you have no rights? That basically your body is not yours? I have.

Sorry, but I’m not sorry. I am the 1 in 3.

AMAZING.

(via positiveconnotation)

bohemianarthouse:

thedailywhat:

Kickass Kid of the Day: As 9-year-old Josef Miles and his mother walked around Kansas’ Washburn University campus last weekend, he noticed a group of Westboro Baptist Church members picketing as people headed to graduation ceremonies.

Josef asked mom if he could create his own sign, and promptly staged a one-man protest. His sign, written in pencil on a tiny sketchpad, read simply, “God Hates No One.”

[augustachronicle]

Parenting win. This is how you raise your kids

(via mia-the-wonder-slut)

stfusexists:

cherrispryteaintsobrite:

standupfordownthere:

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton of D.C. received 89 percent of the vote in her last election, yet anti-choice lawmakers refused to allow her to testify on a bill that specifically targets women in D.C.

This is another Sandra Fluke moment.

Oh, look, DC women being used as a political pawn by fucking assholes WHO DON’T LIVE HERE.

I PAY MY FUCKING TAXES, I WANT MY FUCKING REPRESENTATION. 

Stay classy, Republicans. Stay classy. 

Can I just… No.

(via mia-the-wonder-slut)

inoverthought:

• Keri Smith

This is how my mind set should, and will, be.

(via yourinsidesxrayed)

magdolenelives:

Thou shalt not mess with a woman’s reproductive rights.” — Fallopians 4:28

[Courtesy Arizona Women Unite Rally April 28th, 2012]

(via mia-the-wonder-slut)

amethystarcher:

iamnotjuthika:

raspberryflavored:

thisshitisallracist:

drbrulesrules:

truth

normal omfg. 

NORMAL

NORMAL

NORMAL

Read: people who obviously don’t know shit about bigotry.

…………….normal

The poor oppressed “normal” people - *cries*

Telling you that you should shut the fuck up about feminism and how much you need it if you are a man is not bigotry. Feminism is for women.

Telling you that you should stop fetishizing gay people and that if they tell you to listen to them, as a straight person, instead of speaking over them is not bigotry.

Telling you that as a white person, you do not have any position of insight that PoC should be elevating over their own experiences with racism is not bigotry. Telling people to shove their white savior complexes somewhere else is not bigotry.

Telling cis people that they have no CLUE what trans* people go through on a daily basis for existing and to kindly shut up with their transphobic jokes is not bigotry.

And finally, having any form of privilege where one oppressed group tells you to shut up and let them share their experiences is something that you should let them do. Because as a human being the only way not to be a bigot is to recognize your privilege and the structure of society and what is wrong with it. The only way not to be a bigot when you have any sort of privilege is to listen to those without it and realize that as much as you want to help, you are not infallible.

(via newwavefeminism)