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Gilbert Baker, designer of the Pride Flag, has passed away today at 65 years of age

Recently honored in the ABC series “When We Rise”, the openly gay artist is remembered for designing the unifying symbol of the LGBT community and movement. 

The rainbow flag was first designed and handmade in 1978. A rainbow was used to reflect the fact that LGBT people are of natural beauty. The first flag was flown on June 25, 1978 at San Francisco Pride, with 8 colors. Each had its own meaning: hot pink for sexuality, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic/art, blue for harmony, and violet for the spirit. Following the assassination of influential leader Harvey Milk, the flag was in high demand and was revised to retain efficiency. Nowadays, the flag is shown as having 6 even colors, having dropped hot pink and turquoise. 

(Original flag design, 1978)

Now we must remember Mr. Baker as designing the seminal symbol for our people. Gone are the days of the pink triangle–we define ourselves. Thank you for giving us this beautiful symbol. The Pride Flag is something that has given us the image for our pride and community. There is nothing I would rather assign myself to more than the rainbow. We will always remember you.

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Self portraits by Bollywood actress and painter Deepti Naval

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Honestly, most people won’t say anything. I’m on the lighter side of the middle-eastern skin shade spectrum and my leg hair is black and long, pretty visible. My mom has given me more flack for it than any stranger, but then again I’m pretty good at faking confidence so that may be a reason.

Once (1) a dude commented on it, disgustedly asking why I had leg hair and I replied with “you’ll see, you’ll have some when you reach puberty too :)”

That shut him up real quick.

anyone have advice for showing your body hair in public for the first time? It's getting really hot outside and I want to wear shorts. I'm scared of people commenting on it loudly, I know I'm gonna get dirty looks and that's whatever to me, but I don't want to be humiliated in front of everyone by some guy who doesnt know when to shut his mouth. Is there a way to deal with these situations?

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there are some people who you would never match to their work, but you look at this picture of tove jansson and think yep this is exactly the kind of the person who would be responsible for the moomins

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A few of my female friends have expressed this sentiment to me and I swear that if any of them were to share their art online they’d make other people insecure. But that’s not the point of creating, anyway.

I feel so insecure about my writing and my art, but I'm literally only comparing myself with the top percents of artists. The internet is such a double edged sword for creators.

I joined an art group and suddenly I'm... Really good? But I compare myself to people online and I might as well never touch a pencil again. I get whiplash.

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the pure irony of the lines “it’s so easy to laugh, it’s so easy to hate; it takes guts to be gentle and kind” coming from Morrissey’s mouth

#the smiths #morrissey #still a favourite drama queen song

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Annemarie Schwarzenbach, lesbian photographer, reporter and antifascist

#annemarie schwarzenbach #lesbian herstory #lesbian history #lgb history #lesbian #lesbians #vintage lesbian #gnc women #gender nonconforming #gender nonconformity

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Annemarie Schwarzenbach, lesbian reporter, photographer, and antifascist militant

#annemarie schwarzenbach #lesbian herstory #gnc women #gender noncomformity #lesbian #lesbians #lgb history

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via the Poetry Foundation

#read women

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Srawberry Moon

by Mary Oliver

    1. 

My great-aunt Elizabeth Fortune stood under the honey locust trees, the white moon over her and a young man near. The blossoms fell down like white feathers, the grass was warm as a bed, and the young man full of promises, and the face of the moon a white fire.

Later, when the young man went away and came back with a bride, Elizabeth climbed into the attic.

     2.

Three women came in the night to wash the blood away, and burn the sheets, and take away the child. 

Was it a boy or a girl? No one remembers.     

   3.

Elizabeth Fortune was not seen again for forty years.

Meals were sent up, laundry exchanged.

It was considered a solution more proper than shame showing itself to the village.

     4. 

Finally, name by name, the downstairs died or moved away, and she had to come down, so she did.

At sixty-one, she took in boarders,

washed their dishes, made their beds, spoke whatever had to be spoken, and no more.

     5.

I asked my mother: what happened to the man? She answered: Nothing. They had three children. He worked in the boatyard.

I asked my mother: did they ever meet again? No, she said, though sometimes he would come to the house to visit. Elizabeth, of course, stayed upstairs.

     6. 

Now the women are gathering in smoke-filled rooms, rough as politicians, scrappy as club fighters. And should anyone be surprised

if sometimes, when the white moon rises, women want to lash out with a cutting edge?

#mary oliver #strawberry moon #read women #poetry #female poet #female poets #women writers #female rage #reproductive violence #cis privilege #misogyny #patriarchy #patriarchal violence #lesbian poet #lesbian poets

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hi all, palestine’s going through a mass genocide right now and really needs help, here are a few ways you can do that

palestine children’s relief fund: provide urgent humanitarian care for children in gaza

anera: provide on-the-ground emergency relief

united nations relief and works agency: food assistance and emergency physical+mental help

medical aid for palestinians: emergency relief for women and children, psychosocial support, disability help, other medical needs

doctors without borders: medical teams on the ground treating injured palestinians as needed

feel free to add on in the notes, notify me if any of the fundraisers listed arent necessary/actually helpful to donate to, and let me know if anything needs added on/modified

as always, if you cant donate then please share and spread awareness

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Gender Non-conformance Being The Same As A Woman's Natural State Isn't a Coincidence

I saw a few women talking about how unfair it is that, for women, being gnc is really just existing in your natural state. And it is unfair. You shouldn't have to change your natural state just to perform femininity when being more feminine is so closely connected with your social status as a woman.

But I feel that addressing it like this is just beating around the bush. If tomorrow, being natural and comfortable like men are was considered gender conforming, what would feminine mean anymore? What would be the point of gender at all? Think about it on the flip side for a second, what this implies about conforming to gender.

Gender conforming for a man is being comfortable, natural, confident, strong, self reliant, and in control. All things any human being would naturally want to have. A gender conforming man is a man in an ideal state for his own happiness. Gender conforming for a woman on the other hand is being proper, beautiful, weak, self sacrificing, and submissive. A gender conforming woman is a woman in an ideal state for making a man happy, without resistance, at her own expense.

Being gender nonconforming means being natural because the oppression of gender itself is unnatural. It is artificial and forced upon us to control us, make us easier to use and own as property. The answer to that isn't to make our natural state count as feminine because that's impossible. Women aren't naturally submissive or inclined to act like property. It can't happen without destroying gender itself. Without that subjugation, gender loses its meaning. The subjugation of women by men is all gender ever was.

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Madeline Miller, Circe

#read women

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3 books a week, that's so cool! What have been your favourites by female authors so far??

gosh ok I read The Handmaids Tale and its follow up, The Testaments by Margaret Atwood and they were phenomenal, I read and loved Circe by Madeline Miller, and I just picked up The Song of Achilles by her as well, and I'm about to read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid!!

#read women

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