“We went to Kineshma, that’s in Ivanovo region, to visit his parents. I went as a heroine and I never expected someone to welcome me, a front-line girl, like that. We’ve gone through so much, we’ve saved lives, lifes of mothers, wives. And then… I heard accusations, I was bad-mouthed. Before that I’ve only ever been “dear sister”… We had tea and my husband’s mother took him aside and started crying: “Who did you marry? A front-line girl… You have two younger sisters. Who’s going to marry them now?” When I think back to that moment I feel tears welling up. Imagine: I had a record, I loved it a lot. There was a song, it said: you have the right to wear the best shoes. That was about a front-line girl. I had it playing, and [his?] elder sister came up and broke it apart, saying: you have no rights. They destroyed all my photos from the war… We, front-line girls, went through so much during hte war… and then we had another war. Another terrible war. The men left us, they didn’t cover our backs. Not like at the front.” from С.Алексеевич “У войны не женское лицо”
In Soviet Union women participating in WWII were erased from history, remaining as the occasional anecdote of a female sniper or simply as medical staff or, at best, radio specialists. The word “front-line girl” (frontovichka) became a terrible insult, synonimous to “whore”. Hundreds thousand of girls who went to war to protect their homeland with their very lives, who came back injured or disabled, with medals for valor, had to hide it to protect themselves from public scorn.
This has always happened in history: Women do something important. Then they get shamed for it (so nobody will talk about it) and it gets erased from history.
And then certain men will say: “Women suck, they’ve never done anything important.”
Look into history and learn that women have played a far greater role then douches (present and past) wanted you to know.
(via rin-is-albicant)
Commentary.
In February, I posted two pieces in Bed-Stuy on Tompkins and Halsey. These two pieces got the most attention of any pieces I’ve put up so far. Within a few days, someone had written his response to the work directly onto the posters. From there, a woman wrote a response to him. And it went on and, on with different hand-written comments creating this kind of interesting discussion. The pieces remained up until a week or so ago, when the phallic image was drawn. That’s when I decided to try to take them down.
The “Stop Telling Women to Smile” piece remained in tact enough for me to include it in the exhibition. I thought it was important to present in the show, so that people could view these written reactions.
(Source: stoptellingwomentosmile, via notcuddles)
Excuse the sloppiness. I feel like people are more inclined to read things when they’re a picture, so I made this to give a really BRIEF and SHALLOW explanation of why “reverse sexism” is a bullshit way of describing what’s actually happening: patriarchy backfiring against men. There is a lot more to it than just this, though.
Source for women in advertising: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/20/ipa-women-in-advertising
Edit: sorry it’s so small, click for big version
(via dinotits)
"Sociologists use the term “androcentrism” to refer to a new kind of sexism, one that replaces the favoring of men over women with the favoring of masculinity over femininity. According to the rules of androcentrism, men and women alike are rewarded, but only insofar as they are masculine (e.g., they play sports, drink whiskey, and are lawyers or surgeons w00t!). Meanwhile, men are punished for doing femininity and women… well, women are required to do femininity and simultaneously punished for it."
Androcentrism: It’s Okay to Be a Boy, but Being a Girl… » Sociological Images
I think the ‘women are required to do femininity and simultaneously punished for it’ bit sums up 90% of sexism in one sentence.
(via shashirosa)
(via dendroica)
Please don’t call yourself a feminist if you approve of BDSM.
It’s one of the most misogynist things out there.
(via homofuck)
"I hate how the phrase ‘have some self respect’ is used to shame women who are comfortable with their sex lives. ‘Have some self respect’? I do respect myself, that’s why I wanna have a fucking orgasm tonight, thank you very much."
Unknown (via grrrowling)
The best thing ever ever.
(via frombehindthesun)
(via rin-is-albicant)
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Prime Minister of Australia kicking ass and taking names (mostly Tony Abbott’s.)
Easily one of my favorite moments of 2012.
Note that Tony Abbott is a long-standing anti-female politico in Australia. Their current PM has worked to destroy gender barriers for both females and males (especially when speaking out against the transphobic crimes that took place in Darwin and Alice Springs).
She could be stronger on racial issues, but right now, the big problems in Australia are fiscal and religious, and on those terms, she’s wonderful. This just makes her better.
(Source: numbtongue)
You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.: When I was younger, I couldn’t understand the weird looks I’d get when...
When I was younger, I couldn’t understand the weird looks I’d get when I said I was a feminist. Awkward looks. Skeptical looks. Scared looks. A feminist was a person who wanted equality, right? I didn’t understand why anyone would think that was wrong.
But then I grew up. I did research online. I watched the news. I read newspapers and journal articles. And I realized that not everyone knew what feminism was really about. Least of all, it would seem, the feminists that are constantly showing up in the media.
Valerie Solanas: “To call a man an animal is to flatter him; he’s a machine, a walking dildo.”
Andrea Dworkin: ”Heterosexual intercourse is the pure, formalized expression of contempt for women’s bodies.”
Sheila Jeffrys: “When a woman reaches orgasm with a man she is only collaborating with the patriarchal system, eroticizing her own oppression.”
Marilyn French: “All men are rapists and that’s all they are.”
Catherine Comins: “Men who are unjustly accused of rape can sometimes gain from the experience.”
This is the feminism that people see. Based on the work of a few radicals, the entire movement has become defined by the hatred of men. And it’s horrifying. The things that some people do in the name of feminism and women’s rights are horrifying.
Case in point, this video of the Warren Farrell protest in Toronto. People have the right to protest, of course. But do they have the right to physically block doors and scream profanity at people who just want to hear a man speak? At police officers who are just doing their jobs?
Hate. That’s what those feminists were preaching. Nothing more than mindless hate. How is that helping their cause? How is that encouraging people to support feminism? How is that accomplishing anything other than confirming what so many people already believe? That all feminists are man-hating shrews who verbally abuse innocent people?
I want to be a feminist. I want equal rights. But I can’t do that on my own. The public perception of feminism needs to be changed to reflect something positive, because it is positive. But these radicals are not doing positive things. They are just spreading hate, and it’s ruining the reputation of what should be a respected movement.
Stop spreading the hate.
The radicals are not doing positive things. But neither are the men who side with MRAs because they think the radicals represent the majority of feminists, and refuse to look at empirical facts that prove how WRONG they are. The vast majority of feminists want *equality* - totally, and completely. This means you won’t get your inherent benefits of being a male anymore (which you DO GET, do not even try to argue otherwise, you have been proven wrong by study after study, just saying the words doesn’t make you correct), but females won’t get anything *better* than you. No one sane is fighting for that.
Stop seeing us as the “other” and start working with us. We like you. We want you around. You have valuable opinions, and don’t deserve to be expected to be “macho” or “manly”, just like you don’t deserve to be expected to be “feminine” or “dainty. Be who you are. Be who you want to be. But stop demonizing us.
(Source: , via sosungalittleclodofclay)
dumbthingssocialjusticeblogssay:
No, it doesn’t really work that way.
Boo, math and science are regarded as more legitimate because of the patriarchy. Not because they are more difficult and have a larger impact.
I don’t see how this has anything to do with feminism.
Men can take gender studies too, and people will still perceive their degree to be “less valid.”
the wage gap would disappear if you could get more women into STEM studies, and stop pushing them into ‘gender studies’… which is worth about as much a ‘bible studies’ degree.
for once I (mostly) agree.
the wage gap is real, and the studies on it comparing exact same experience AND POSITION prove that. but “gender studies” is like getting a degree in philosophy
i mean, you went to college, great, i’m glad you completed a degree, that shows something
but it doesn’t show that you need to be paid the same as an engineer or physicist
