tumblinfeminist

extrafeisty: jaycubs: A Glasgow nightclub has installed a...

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:16:49 -0400

jaycubs:

A Glasgow nightclub has installed a two-way mirror which allows male revellers in private booths to spy on unsuspecting women as they visit the toilet! With no notification or signage anywhere in the venue many female club goers have been left feeling embarrassed and used. Although they do briefly show the mirrors in a promo video, the club has been quickly deleting comments and posts on their social media from club goers trying to alert others to the situation. This is pretty much illegal and hugley violates privacy. Thank you The Shimmy Club for giving us a shiny, new, creative and cool take on objectification.
article here

i’m never leaving my house again, this world is just too fucked up.

WHAT!?

Support a Sex Worker and Rape Survivor's Legal Battle

Sun, 19 May 2013 07:32:14 -0400

Support a Sex Worker and Rape Survivor's Legal Battle:

rubyrevolting:

Support a Sex Worker and Rape Survivor’s Legal Battle - please reblog and spread far and wide!

I’m Ruby - a sex worker of 7 years from Melbourne. I’ve been involved with Vixen as well as organising the inaugural Festival of Sex Work.

About 3 years ago I was raped by a serial ugly mug. Due to his history I decided to report it to the police. The committal hearing happened in 2012 and the trial commences in July and will go for a week and a half. I will be cross examined for 1 - 2 days.

Knowing how difficult it was for me to make it through the committal hearing and to recover afterwards, I have scheduled a month off work. This will allow me time to get through the trial itself and to take care of myself afterwards.

Emergency money that I had set aside was recently eaten up by having to move house in circumstances that were out of my hands. I decided to work very hard after moving house to get the money together. Unfortunately I have been struggling emotionally as the trial approaches (particularly since my rapist’s legal team applied to subpoena my therapist’s notes about me), making it too hard to work as much as I need to.

I do not want to get a loan if I can help it, as this whole process as well as the rape itself has already had a big impact on my life financially - not to mention the cost to my physical and emotional health. I also applied for interim financial assistance from the Victim’s of Crime Tribunal. They denied my application for very whorephobic reasons. By their logic, because I continue to do sex work they do not believe that the assault must have had much of an impact on my life, if at all. If I was sexually assaulted at an office job, no one would question it’s impact on my life if I decided to keep that job afterwards!

I’m usually not very good at asking for help and take great pride in being as self-sufficient, resourceful and independent as possible. But given the trying circumstances, I am calling on all the help that I need right now.

It will take a massive weight off my mind in the lead up to the trial if I know that my expenses will be covered during that period. At this stage I have enough money to cover my rent during that month off. But not for groceries, bills, petrol, medication and those basic day-to-day expenses. My weekly medical bills are high due to complex mental and physical health issues (I suffer from depression and fibromyalgia) - so it’s really important that I can continue to see my psychologist and physiotherapist regularly during this time, as well as my psychiatrist.

To take a month off I will need $3300 to cover these expenses. Any contribution you can make will mean the world to me, and help me in my fight to force someone with a history of violence against sex workers to be accountable for his actions.

If I happen to be lucky enough to exceed my target for this fundraising campaign, all additional donations will go to Melbourne’s Centre Against Sexual Assault - who have been an incredibly supportive organisation to me since the day I decided to report the assault.

Please click here to donate via GoFundMe

If you can help, please do.

commiekinkshamer: i have no problem with pointing out that anyone of any gender can be an abuser,...

Fri, 17 May 2013 05:04:09 -0400

commiekinkshamer:

i have no problem with pointing out that anyone of any gender can be an abuser, rapist, pedophile etc because that’s absolutely true.

but the problem with always emphasizing “yes but it happens to everyone, not just women (or people of colour, or trans* people, etc)!” is that it depoliticizes the issue.

violence is not an accident, it is reflective of social power relations that permeate society at every level

moss flowers: cupcakesnotbombs: robot-heart-politics: yuriadventure: One of the most...

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:36:17 -0400

moss flowers: cupcakesnotbombs: robot-heart-politics: yuriadventure: One of the most...:

cupcakesnotbombs:

robot-heart-politics:

yuriadventure:

One of the most ridiculous concepts that society promotes is that we should always consider “the other side”, that we should always compromise, that the truth is always “in the middle. The problem with this is that it ignores how many stances and opinions are completely not compatible with each other.

Feminism, anti-racism, and other similar issues are not a friendly debate. They are a struggle that’s life and death for millions (or, realistically, billions) of people. They are struggles whose only eventual outcome is the eradication of what they fight against (patriarchy, white supremacy, etc). There is no compromise, there is no “truth in the middle”, and there’s certainly no “agree to disagree” about it. Either patriarchy is abolished completely or it isn’t at all; either white supremacy becomes a ridiculous relic of the past as it should be or people of color continue to suffer or be murdered in its name.

These movements can’t “consider the other side” because the other side is actively trying to eradicate them and dehumanize their participants. To agree to be dehumanized under new conditions is not acceptable.MRAs and “equalists” often wonder why feminists won’t debate them, but it’s because they don’t understand that they’re the enemy, not a like-minded person with a different approach.

My humanity is not up for debate.

this, so much.

Photo

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:51:55 -0400

thirdsexblog: skysquids: i made this comic after a series of...

Wed, 15 May 2013 05:28:55 -0400

thirdsexblog:

skysquids:

i made this comic after a series of frustrating conversations in which dudes told me to ‘learn to take a joke’ instead of getting upset about transphobia in the media. i laugh a lot, but i’m not gonna laugh at anything that dehumanizes me. because its not just a show, its my whole life. these are just some moments from the last ten years. i could go on. but also, yay comics! :D

Check out these great comic strips by a wonderful woman, Eva. This is so necessary.

"Some men who want to compliment random women on the street are genuinely good guys who just don’t..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:45:49 -0400

“Some men who want to compliment random women on the street are genuinely good guys who just don’t understand why their comments might be unwelcome. Some men who want to compliment random women on the street are creepy predators. Most are somewhere in between, and guess what? I don’t know you, I don’t know your life, and I have no idea if you’re going to leave it at “Hey, you look good in that dress!” or follow it up with “But you’d look better without it! Har har! C’mon, where’re you going? I know you heard me! Fucking cunt, nobody wants your fat ass anyway, bitch.”

When you compliment a random woman who doesn’t know you, no matter how nice you are about it, there’s a good chance she’s going to freak out internally because for all she knows, you could be that latter type. And I get that it’s really unfair that women would just assume that about you. I get that it sucks that sometimes, expressing totally reasonable opinions like “hey you’re hot” will make women terrified of you or furious at you. That’s not fair.

But if you’re going to lay the blame for that somewhere, for fuck’s sake, don’t blame the woman. Blame all the guys who have called her a bitch and a cunt for ignoring their advances. Blame all the guys who may have harassed, abused, or assaulted her in the past. Blame all the people who may never do such a thing themselves, but who were quick to blame her and tell her to just get over it. Blame the fact that if she stops and talks to you and then something bad happens, people will blame her for stopping and talking to you.”

- Why You Shouldn’t Tell That Random Girl On The Street That She’s Hot » Brute Reason (via brute-reason)

^^^^^^^^^^^^

(via misandry-mermaid)

The latest on Norway's sex purchase ban

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:06:12 -0400

The latest on Norway's sex purchase ban

"If you think that the nice guy ranting only happens on the internet, you’ve never had to deal with..."

Mon, 13 May 2013 01:55:12 -0400

“

If you think that the nice guy ranting only happens on the internet, you’ve never had to deal with your thoroughly drunken friend shouting about how no girls would go out with a nice guy like him, even though he’s surrounded by single women he ignores because they aren’t attractive enough for him.

If you think guys getting pissy and escalating matters because you told people to stop making sex jokes is a feature of the internet, well, you’ve never asked anyone to stop making jokes that make you uncomfortable.

If you think that inappropriate comments and requests for sex are an internet thing, you’ve never tried to stop a coworker or boss from hitting on you repeatedly, or a head of security, or the guy at the convenience store across the street.

If you think that being shouted at and asked to show people your tits just because you present as a woman only happens in chat rooms and online games, you’ve never walked past a frat house, or, unfortunately, through the main thoroughfares of either university I’ve attended.

If you think unasked for commentary on a woman’s looks only happens because girls post pictures on internet forums (which probably means they’re asking for it), you’ve never been at a bus stop, or the city square, or a mall, or… well, anywhere, really.

If you think insecure men trying to drive women out of activism only happens in online male-dominated communities, you’ve never paid attention politics. Or Fox. Or CNN, sadly.

If you think the reaction to rape victims is bad on twitter, try sharing that experience in person. Or try even standing up for a rape victim. Count how many minutes until someone points out “but men can be falsely accused! The woman just changed her mind! You just can’t believe those drunk *insert varying level of insulting reference to gender*!”

”

- It’s Not Just the Internet. It Never Has Been.

(via loveyourrebellion)

"Under the current ‘tyranny of slenderness’ women are forbidden to become large or massive; they must..."

Sat, 11 May 2013 22:20:10 -0400

“Under the current ‘tyranny of slenderness’ women are forbidden to become large or massive; they must take up as little space as possible. The very contours of a woman’s body takes on as she matures - the fuller breasts and rounded hips - have become distateful. The body by which a woman feels herself judged and which by rigorous discipline she must try to assume is the body of early adolescence, slight and unformed, a body lacking flesh or substance, a body in whose very contours the image of immaturity has been inscribed. The requirement that a woman maintain a smooth and hairless skin carries further the theme of inexperience, for an infantilized face must accompany her infantilized body, a face that never ages or furrows its brow in thought. The face of the ideally feminine woman must never display the marks of character, wisdom, and experience that we so admire in men.”

- Sandra Lee Bartky, Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power (via sociophilia)

"The use of the word “sex worker” is not a mere preference. Its use is identified by Joint United..."

Sat, 11 May 2013 03:20:05 -0400

“The use of the word “sex worker” is not a mere preference. Its use is identified by Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, as best practice to ensure scientific accuracy, the preservation of human rights and respect for minority populations. As a supposedly professional writer, one should become familiar with these international standards.”

- Christian Vega, sex worker and activist

(ref)

"Here is the thing, okay? Coming into a feminist conversation with, “Have you considered that..."

Fri, 10 May 2013 21:32:42 -0400

“

Here is the thing, okay? Coming into a feminist conversation with, “Have you considered that sometimes women acquire free drinks at bars?” is like walking into graduate school during Philosophy finals and saying, “Have you considered that the color blue that I see may not be the color blue that you see?”

Imagine you are the guy who just walked into that Philosophy class and laid that shit down. Imagine the class full of students who have worked very hard and committed themselves and sacrificed to be here, students who have spent several years of their lives learning about this subject. Imagine now their feelings when you go to the head of the classroom with a smirk on your face and demand the professor give you an A for effort. Imagine now that they think you are a douchebag asshole, because they do, and because you are. You are a douchebag asshole because you are obviously so self-centered, arrogant, and completely ignorant of the world around you, that you thought you could walk into a high-level course with no background and no work and say something profoundly simplistic and totally unrelated and also everybody should congratulate you for having done this thing, so brave, so provocative.
[….]
You are not asking us a real question. You are simply illustrating, for all to see, your own ignorance. You are saying, “I have not considered the implications of the question I have just asked. I have not taken the time nor effort nor commitment to sit down and ask myself this question. Instead, I have come into your philosophy classroom/office/feminist blog and shat out my question with a smirk, because I believe that my two seconds of thought are worth more than your long-term analysis, because I believe I am worth more.”

”

- Fugivitus: A few things to consider when you find a feminist blog (via absolutely-spiffing)

Radical Sister: Why pornography is oppressive

Thu, 09 May 2013 07:04:25 -0400

Radical Sister: Why pornography is oppressive:

emigrl:

radsis:

Porn actresses can only give consent by contract, but a contract does not constitute meaningful consent. A meaningful consent is such that it can be withdrawn anytime, including during a sex act.

Of course. Porn actresses have the right to withdraw their consent at any point, as much as any other worker has the right to walk out on their job (assuming that doing so won’t endanger other people—airline pilot shouldn’t be allowed to parachute out of a plane during a flight, for example).

Perhaps what you are trying to say is that workers’ rights are not always fully respected in porn, but that problem is hardly unique to the sex industry. We need feminist, labor, and other social justice movements to focus on challenging abuses of workers’ rights within porn or in any other industries, rather than treating porn actresses as inherently having no rights.

A porn actress has to follow instructions given by directors.

That’s what workers do in any capitalist workplace: workers follow instructions given by their bosses. This supervisorial authority can be abused, which once again leads to why we need social movements and labor rights protections. Porn may be a unique work environment, but abuses of workers’ rights that take place there are similar to any other workplace, especially those that are considered low-status.

There is no way a consumer can tell the difference between actual rape performed in front of a camera and sex acts the porn actress has consented to.

Once again, this is often true in many commercially produced product, whether it is porn or athletic shoes or pineapples: we often do not know conditions under which these products have been produced, including the possibility that they were produced by slave labor.

There are some ways around this, although not perfect: for example, you could decide to buy only from companies that have transparent labor practices and sourcing. It might be more difficult to find suppliers of ethically produced porn, but there will be more of these if more porn consumers demand it.

In the meantime, it makes no sense to hold consumers of porn to a higher standard of ethical consumption, because that is a double standard. At most, I would urge consumers to boycott any companies that are known to have problematic labor practices, whether they produce porn, shoes, or fruits and vegetables.

good commentary by emigrl

lustambitions: Powerful. And true.

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:34 -0400

lustambitions:

Powerful.
And true.

misandry-mermaid: stfuconservatives: Usually I have something...

Wed, 08 May 2013 19:43:20 -0400

misandry-mermaid:

stfuconservatives:

Usually I have something clever to say when a right-winger makes terrible victim-blaming statements like this, but Donald Trump has rendered me silent with astonishment. Sexual assaults in the military… are the fault of… the women who wanted to be in the military and the leaders who allowed them to do that? Because all men are just rapists waiting for an opportunity? Sexual assault is inevitable when men and women are together… so women are the ones who should have to leave? WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK. Remember when Fuckface von Clownstick thought he could be president? Donald Trump is the best argument against capitalism out there.

No words.

Dicks Ain't Shit: iflybikes: Egalitarianism is for people who think the past has no...

Wed, 08 May 2013 19:35:14 -0400

Dicks Ain't Shit: iflybikes: Egalitarianism is for people who think the past has no...:

iflybikes:

Egalitarianism is for people who think the past has no bearing on the present, who can’t fathom why social justice movements might be more focused on one subset of people than another, and who get their feelings hurt at the implication that they might have some kind of privilege….

brianadeshe: babyslime: foxylikeme: Condom commercial written...

Mon, 06 May 2013 08:03:12 -0400

brianadeshe:

babyslime:

foxylikeme:

Condom commercial written and directed by a woman. Condoms don’t need to be sexy, we just need to know that they’ll work! Fucking brilliant.

Perfect.

that had to be a really awkward feeling lol

Punishment for rape in Ancient Rome: Rapist's gonads were crushed between two stones.

Sat, 04 May 2013 05:47:02 -0400

Punishment for rape in Ancient Rome: Rapist's gonads were crushed between two stones.
Punishment for rape in America in 2013: 1-2 years of jail and victim-blaming, rapist-sympathetic media coverage.

Petition the Bank of England: Keep a woman on English banknotes

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:35:33 -0400

Petition the Bank of England: Keep a woman on English banknotes :

This week Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, announced Winston Churchill will replace social reformer Elizabeth Fry as the face of £5 notes. This means that, other than the Queen, there will be no women featuring on our English bank notes.

An all-male line-up on our banknotes sends out the damaging message that no woman has done anything important enough to appear. This is patently untrue. Not only have numerous women emerged as leading figures in their fields, they have done so against the historic odds stacked against them which denied women a public voice and relegated them to the private sphere - making their emergence into public life all the more impressive and worthy of celebration.

People will perhaps say that the Queen appears on all the notes. But the Queen would be there whatever she achieved - she was born into her position. The men on the banknotes - Charles Darwin, Adam Smith, Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and soon, Winston Churchill - are all there because of what they have done, not because of who their parents were.

This decision by the Bank of England is yet another example of women’s considerable achievements being overlooked in favour of the usual (male) suspects - and yet another example of how the establishment undervalues the contributions of women to history - and indeed to the present. The significance of this decision is further underlined by the fact that Darwin is actually our oldest note - by two years. Why isn’t he being replaced?

This matters.

It matters because young women growing up see a parliament that is 57th equal in the world when it comes to female representation; a media where only 1 in 5 experts is a woman; and a business world where female directors represent only 16.7% of the total.

Currency, as its name suggests, is fundamental to our daily lives. These notes will change hands every hour, every minute, every second. And every time they do, the message will drive a little deeper home: women do not belong in public life - they never have, and they never will.

We call on the Bank of England to reverse this decision, and not add another straw to the establishment weight on the shoulders of young women telling them that they will amount to nothing - after all, their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers didn’t. Why should they be any different?

Trans woman stabbed, dumped in pond tied to concrete in Ohio

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:02:08 -0400

Trans woman stabbed, dumped in pond tied to concrete in Ohio:

taleth:

slightmayhem:

dansphalluspalace:

mayathestrange:

fuckyeahmarxismleninism:

A transgender woman was stabbed repeatedly and dumped into a pond tied to a block of concrete in Cleveland, Ohio.

police announced yesterday they had identified her body after she went missing a month earlier on 27 March.

The 20-year-old was found three weeks later naked from the waist down with multiple wounds.

The man who found her initially believed the body was a mannequin, and contacted police who checked their missing persons list.

In the past, Acoff had clashed with police and the courts over her wish to be treated as a woman.

In January 2012, a judge found her guilty of possessing dangerous drugs after Acoff pleaded no contest.

These drugs included hormones used to boost estrogen in women. She was fined $1000 and sentenced to 100 days in jail.

this just breaks my heart. heavy trigger warning

the war on drugs extends to getting hormones street side.

Her name is/was Ci Ci (Cemia) Dove. Below is a donor link for her family. She was a part of MY community. https://transohio.donortools.com/my/funds/52068-Cemia-Acoff-Fund

So getting drugs that will stop you from killing yourself is what led to her being killed.

And people say that trans men have it just as bad. Fuck all of you who buy into that shit.