ncffeministalliance:

inkstainedqueer:

shayrhymeswithgay:

(Pretty relevant since I might transfer to Concordia)

I went to the Concordia Student Union meeting where they unanimously voted to support Ben. This means that we have the backing of the entire student population.

This letter is a great summary of some of the ways that universities and colleges institutionally  discriminate against trans* people. 

truth-has-a-liberal-bias:

On November 27, 1978 Harvey Milk was assassinated.

(via reagan-was-a-horrible-president)

This is a small but notable example of how the school system acts as an institution of social control. In this case, the schools are demanding that boys dress in a certain way (i.e., within established gender norms) or face suspension, even expulsion. The claim that dressing outside this established code is a ‘distraction’ is a very weak and ill-founded defense; the obvious subtext is hetero- and cis-normativity.

missworld:

2-4-6-8 It’s time to fucking liberate! 2-4-6-8 It’s time to fucking liberate!

IT’S FEMINIST FOLLOW FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I put out the call for all feminist tumblrs and with it, I asked people who they consider to be their feminist role model/icon and why. Here are their answers:

• reclusiveobscenities - I adore Kathleen Hanna, she’s fearless and fun and just is who she fucking is. I strive to be like her.
• sequinissues - Emma Goldman. Anarchist feminist, labor reformer, damn good writer. She’s tattooed on my foot.
  
• librarianpirate - totes always want to be on FFF. Feminist role model is my mother. First female lawyer in my home town, raised 4 feminists, working on sav (sorry love, you got cut off, if you want to put the rest in my ask/comment box I’ll add it in here)
  
• kittykittybangbang
  
• chadtheeaglescout - I don’t have a feminist blog, but Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill is my feminist idol. Her music is empowering, and her lyrics give women pride
  
• mmmfeminism
• rosietint
  
• vanishedknights - Kathleen Hanna. Founded Le Tigre
  
• amealyapple - Hey, I’d love to be included in Feminist Follow Friday tomorrow. Thanks for organizing this! — It seriously is my absolute pleasure to do this. I enjoy bringing amazing people together to fight the good fight.
  
• aqrima - again, i hope i’m not being annoying and too desperate or something, for mentioning my tumblr again — helllls no, you’re sweet if anything, I like your passion :)
  
• nudecency - Andrea Dworkin. For her intellectual independence.
  
• arewepayingattention - Your blog is beautiful. and thank you for following mine. :) - and you are the sweetest of hearts, thank you. I like to think my blog is a glimpse of what I look like on the inside
  
• hold-on-to-me - courtney love. she inspires/empowers women to be loud and to be heard.
  
• chrissythesupercunt - alix olson….ya! fearless. bold. amazing spoken word poet.
  
• lyssamae
  
• courageuse - Ani DiFranco — I listened to her cds nonstop in highschool and her words helped shaped teenage me.
  
• hveasey - There’s two: Tori Amos, who’s done so much to help survivors of abuse and fight for women’s place in music, and Joan Cecil, who was my English/Gender Studies teacher in high school because she really opened my eyes to a lot of parts of feminism I had no idea about and served as a great model of how to live out those principles.
• hellolmc - my grandmother is as she did everything she put her mind to and she was a strong woman who fought injustice
  
• moreapologies - The answer to your question varies. Right now, I’m keen on Naomi Wolf.
  
• violentlyfemme - Jessica Valenti, for sure.
  
• rockerrepro - Siouxsie Sioux is my idol. She taught me bing sexy is OK, to be proud of my body, to experiment with clothes. She was my 1st rolemodel.
  
• glitteranddie - Natalie Clifford Barney. She lived openly and helped further the advancement of women in the arts.
  
• rapepageturner
  
• damnitdisney - For a feminist role model for this week, I’m going with Drew Barrymore bc I just watched Whip It.
  
• volcanoes - i would love to be a part! feminist role model: my mom- i may not agree with her all the time, but she’s a tough woman
• tulletulle
• salt-roseortopaz
• punkrocket
• veggielezzyfemmie
• fuckyeahgenderstudies - Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. The UK’s first woman doctor (who didn’t pretend to be male). For breaking into a profession so closed off to women and setting a precedent for every other woman who wants to have a career, especially if it involves challenging the status quo. What a woman. What a human being.
• revolutionqueergrrrlstyle
• myboylollipop
• avaadore
• johnnyanimal
• filmme-fatale - Kathy Griffin - not only is she a pro-female activist (who is truly active), she takes her sense of humor about Hollywood/celebreality and applies it to the silliness that is often imbued in the characters that never lived outside of it as a sort of self-reflective commentary. She is unabashed in talking about her cosmetic surgery, her sex life, the bumps in her career, her struggle with eating disorders, and the frightening behavior her brother displayed towards her when she was a child which could be classified as sexual abuse. She is vulgar, but never malicious; she makes fun, but is never condescending. Her sense of humor keeps her accessible, but I firmly believe that her message regarding women’s rights is dead serious. She is also a huge gay rights activist, and often incorporates her comedy into her activism so she can do both at once. I find her hilarious and beautiful, and I actually passed up a chance to meet her at a book signing because I was terrified that I would start crying. 
• twincest

Thank you everyone for taking the time to share your feminist idols with me and everyone else. I included links to each person where I could so that we can spread a little feminist love in the world. Have a great weekend everyone! xoxo

[artwork by eddie colla]

A clear sign of the intersectionality of oppression.

(via shutyrmouth)

delisubthefemmecub:

Media Depiction of Trans People

by Avery Dame on Sociological Images

Media depictions of trans people (almost entirely produced by non-trans individuals) tend to be fascinated by bodies. Since the (presumed) inappropriately gendered body is automatically monstrous, weird — or at the very least, available to be gawked at — the accessibility of trans bodies becomes a feature of their depiction.

A big thread that runs through most visual media depictions is a fixation on stripping trans people naked, implying the naked body as “true”  ……

(Read more here)

I have so many thoughts about this article I can’t possibly cram them into one post.  But I find it particularly frustrating/interesting to look at the comments on this post.   There folks try to argue that the sole (or justifiable) reason for these representations is that “the trans experience” itself is heavily focused on the body.

And I don’t mean to undermine the reality that for many of us trans* folks, our bodies are something that we, ourselves, are fixated on.  However, the intense and deeply problematic cisgender media focus on our bodies does not produce a reflection of our collective and various experiences.

Though we may sometimes find ourselves in these narratives, these are not narratives that in any way represent the rich complexity of trans* lives.  What they represent is a morbid cisgender fascination with trans bodies and the “process of transition.”  What they represent is that cisgender fascination can sell out box offices, but it can’t (apparently) provide housing or medical care to trans* peoples.

And even when we are offering self-representation that focuses on our bodies, our transitional experiences, etc. it’s fucking complicated.  As trans* people we have been taught for generations and generations that there are particular ways we have to tell our stories in order to gain recognition from our families, our medical care providers, the world at large and even each other. 

That is not to say that we never have any agency in the way we tell our stories.  However it is important to also be conscious of the patterns of story-telling in our communities and the multiple forces that have shaped their particular rhythm.

I learned how to tell the stories of my queerness and my transness.  I learned how to tell linear stories that began with me chucking my barbie out of my bedroom window and end with me working towards testosterone and top surgery.  I learned how to tell stories that ultimately obscured my truths while turning my trans* experience into something other people could swallow and/or recognize.  I learned to see my life through this particular framework of trans* identity that fully and accurately accounts for the experiences of only a handful of trans* folks.

Anyway, my point is just this:  There are very few mainstream representations of trans* folks.  And these representations, often put forth by cisgender people, focus on a very limited part of our experiences.  I don’t think that this is accurate or liberating in any way and I will always be pushing for more and better media representation that covers the great expanse of our experiences and that does not reflect the cisgender fetishization of trans bodies.

(via pomopuke)

angry-nerdz:

fuckyeahgenderstudies:

genderfuckandsecrets:

The links from my presentation thing, as requested by Joe.

[tw: cissexism, misgendering, slurs]

• Trans etiquette 101
• Not your mom’s trans 101
• Cis privilege checklist
• Binary gender privilege checklist
• Media depictions of trans…

dig it.

(via sollucetexculis)