theatreofparadox

[theatreofparadox]

This just outright horrifies me. PETA has never given me a reason to like them, but many reasons to dislike them. Body shaming is wrong. It's so wrong. But - I have to ask: How the hell does PETA think we could care about saving and fighting for animals when it's so focused on keeping us from standing up and fighting for ourselves? 

I don't really know how to express my frustration that these images exist.

http://www.peta.org/mediacenter/ads/Print-Ads-Vegetarianism.aspx

Like, honestly, PETA? Some of your campaigns pictures are half decent, but they get totally overshadowed by these atrocities. Why would you even?

Objectification and body shaming in PETA ads (an introduction).

If you’re interested at all in becoming an animal rights  advocate, my advice is to just look at whatever PETA does and do the exact opposite.

#PETA #Body Shaming

[theatreofparadox]

[theatreofparadox]

Sometimes I have the time and patience to get from an idea to a fully fleshed-out, penciled, inked and coloured comic.

Sometimes I don’t.

#Feminism #Equality #Equal Rights #Anger

[theatreofparadox]

I'm sharing this because it's so true, and because even if you've read it before, rereading these truths and cementing them a little bit more in your brain can't hurt. We've been faced by the media barrage that large/fat/amazon/big/thick/chubby isn't beautiful, and isn't something to be proud of that I feel a counter-barrage of positive messages is needed. This is an absolutely beautiful post by Jes, on her blog "The Militant Baker".

Everyone has rolls when they bend over. Everyone. Lets just get this out of the way right off the bat. In the last few months, I’ve had over 30 women ranging from rail thin to extra large naked in my bed and I would routinely ask them to hug their knees. You won’t believe this… ALL OF THEM HAD TUMMY ROLLS. Not one was exempt. Even my super fabulous professional model 6 foot tall and some amazing Katie had rolls. The stomach pictures turned into some of my favorite images from the project… so quit thinking they’re bad, and try accepting (dare I say embracing?) yours! When people say “you’re gorgeous”, believe them. I tend not to, and it’s a cryin’ shame. When people genuinely compliment you, it’s because they really see it. Try to not dismiss their perspective as wrong and assume that you know better. They see all of you. We see our flaws. Believe them. “Arm flab is embarrassing.” No its not, go fuck yourself. No, not you. The people who tell us that, silly. You’re not stunning despite your body. You’re stunning because of your body. There is a distinct difference. I grew up in a culture that would deem “unattractive” women as “special spirits”. A degrading categorization that implied that the only thing worthwhile was whatever was inside. Well, yeah. We are all much much more than our bodies, but our bodies are a beautiful part of us too. Beauty comes from the inside AND the outside.  I am of the firm belief that every person is beautiful, and so this leaves the inside to be the part that is the most telling when it comes to true “beauty”. A guy can pick you up off your feet, and it won’t break his back.  “Wait, whaaaaaa Jes? You’re full of shit.” Nope. This just happened to me for the first time in… six years? I’m considerably heavier than I was 6 years ago (like… 70 pounds heavier) and so when I ran up to my friend Eric for a hug and he picked me up with my heels in the air… it left me breathless. I had forgotten that it was possible; I had accepted a life void of being lifted. So exhilarating. Eric didn’t suffer any injuries and walked away unscathed. You don’t need to exercise every day in order to feel better about yourself. Many believe that someone who’s fat needs to exercise as much as possible in order to prove that they’re committed to becoming “less fat”. As if accepting one’s body as is would be a sin, and that’s just silly. Yes, exercising has wonderful physical and mental benefits, but you don’t owe it to anyone else to make an effort to change your body unless you wanna. You do not have to alter yourself to be okay. Period. You’re allowed to fall in love with yourself. I promise. This will be the scariest thing you will ever do, and that’s okay. It will also be the most amazing (albeit super gradual) experience you will ever have. It doesn’t make you narcissistic. It doesn’t make you vain. It is liberating in every form of the word.

It’s also okay to have days where you don’t love yourself. Read this. No really. Read it. And then realize that we’ve grown up learning and internalizing that we are not okay our entire life. For me, that’s 26 years of self-hate indoctrination and brainwashing.  It’s going to take a lot longer than you think to reverse this thinking, and it’s definitely not going to happen overnight. Allow yourself to have “weak” days. Cry, mourn, sob, yell, throw things. Whichever. Then get up, brush yourself off, give the media the finger, and move forward because you’re a warrior. Everyone’s boobs are uneven. If you have a lot of boobs, they might be way uneven.  Don’t stress. This is totally normal. There are people who prefer large ladies. And I mean all sizes of large. I thought that my best bet in life was to find a partner who accepted my fat. Pause. Give me a minute to hang my head and shake it at myself. Not only are there people who adore “thick” women, but a LOT of them who prefer it. This eventually ends up in an interesting territory which Marianne talks about here, but the point that I’m trying to make goes back to the “despite vs because of” argument. Here is what you need to know: you do NOT need to settle for a lover who is “okay” with your body. You have the right (and millions of opportunities) to find someone who is infatuated with your body. You deserve to be worshiped, woman! Fat chicks bang hot guys… ALL. THE. TIME.I know that hot is relative and all inclusive depending on who you chat with, but for these purposes, lets talk about the “universally attractive” kind of hot. Y’know, the kind fat chicks don’t deserve? We want to pretend that we don’t know what I’m talking about, but lets be real; we totally do. The fact that “fat chicks bang ‘hot’ guys” was one of the most powerful realizations I’ve had thus far. In line with the above paragraph, I knew that there would be someone that would find me attractive but the pool would be small (because of my body) and potentially full of guys I didn’t personally find sexy. So I would have to settle for anyone that would take me. After all, how could a conventionally gorgeous man (tall and with tattoos of course) like fat chicks?  Weh-he-hell, let me tell you somethin’: through various sites, events, parties, and corner store meetings, I found myself with over a hundred men who were champing at the bit to get with this. I was the one who had to sift through and pick the hottest of the hot. Ladies, over a hundred. “Girls” showed what society thinks about that when Hannah’s character has a weekend romance with an attractive and wealthy doctor. People flipped their shit. “Patrick Wilson is so hot he would never do Lena Dunham” was the most eye catching. Wilson’s wife responded to that rubbish here, but the tweet speaks volumes about what the majority of people think unconventional women deserve. Jesus christ, it’s annoying. I won’t spill the details of my bedroom coming and goings, but lets just say this: the hottest guys in Tucson and I get along just fine. I would recommend reading Emily’s article on xoJane for a better explanation of what I’m struggling to say. Know this: the myth that “atypical” bodies can’t be paired with “typically attractive” bodies is false. Women need to know that all bodies can be paired with all bodies. Riding during sex will NOT collapse his insides. Just trust me on this one, what you fear is totally false. Here’s a great article that changed my life. Wearing whatever you want is a political statement. Join the revolution. Throw style rules out the window. Wear the tutu. Wear the horizontal stripes. Wear the turquoise skinny jeans. Wear the see-through blouse. Wear the bikini. Wear the sweat pants. Wear the shirt that says “Does this shirt make me look fat?”. Wear whatever it is that makes you happy. This is your life. You are fucking beautiful. I’m saying this with a straight face and seriously meaningful look where I maintain eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time. I know you don’t feel like you fit into the category of gorgeous that our world creates. I know that its hard. I know that its a daily battle. But fuck their fascist beauty standards. The second you stop looking for a skinny model in your mirror and start looking at YOU… is the second you will start to appreciate what you are. Stop looking for flaws. Stop looking for differences. You are perfect. You are more than enough. You are the best thing that has ever happened to you. And you are fucking beautiful. Say it with me.

#body positivity #self esteem #heteronormative language #everyone is beautiful

[theatreofparadox]

I’m Not a Joke is a campaign spreading awareness for the LGBTI community through art and design, created by Daniel Arzola (@Arzola_d) for the school of Visual Arts Rafael Monasterios in light of the recent violent acts against the sexually diverse community in Venezuela. It initially seeks to expand in the online community. If you’d like to share your opinion please do so via twitter using the hashtag #ImNotaJoke. Like our page on Facebook and share our designs to support our cause! 

Shop: http://society6.com/Arzolad/tshirts

#lgbtq #lgbtq rights #human rights #humanity

[theatreofparadox]

"Ze Frank's Web Playroom" - Ze Frank on TED Talks. 

Uploaded on Oct 15, 2010

"http://www.ted.com On the web, a new "Friend" may be just a click away, but true connection is harder to find and express. Ze Frank presents a medley of zany Internet toys that require deep participation -- and reward it with something more nourishing. You're invited, if you promise you'll share."

Ze Frank's channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/zefrank1

Ze Frank's tumblr: http://zefrank.tumblr.com/

I think that, in many ways, despite the near-instantaneous connections we can form with other people, and despite the fact that with only a click of a button we can learn so much about other people, humans really aren't very good at communicating and forming genuine connections. Ze Frank has been an inspiration and has posted fascinating videos on his Youtube channel and his website for years now, but I only discovered him about three years ago when my Psyc 100 professor shared one of his videos about how dumb our brains are when it comes to remembering things.

#Ze Frank #Connections #TED Talks #Inspiration

[theatreofparadox]

"A Conversation About Race" - MSNBC

Updated on April 16, 2008

I have all sorts of issues with this video. I don`t even know where to start. Everything the individuals say in the panel is true, but what I couldn't seem to find anywhere was a proper source for the doll test video clips. 

I was originally pointed in this video's direction by a post on my Facebook News Feed, and clicked the link which took me to a repost by Rafael Casal on Upworthy.com - cool, this is all well and good so far. I clicked the video link back to the Youtube page, which brought me to Babakc's channel on Youtube that had this > http://youtu.be/WG7U1QsUd1g < video, posted April 13, 2008, and the description: "Doll test originally by psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark. Where to start the cure?"

Searching around, I found that Babakc had taken this clip out of the MSNBC video "A Conversation About Race".

But where does this footage actually come from? Who is the questioner? Is there a bias? How many children were studied? There's too much missing data to truly draw conclusions based on this alone. I looked up Kenneth and Mamie Clark in my university's library to find more information on the research, only to find that their study was from the 1940's! A more recent revisitation was made in 1983 by Walter C. Farrell, Jr and James L. Olson, entitled "Kenneth and Mamie Clark Revisited : Racial Identification in Dark-Skinned and Light-Skinned Black Children. I was shocked at how different the results were, and how they tell a much different story than this video clip would imply.

This video is circulating the internet, but we have no way to tell how accurately it reflects the actual study it was connected to, or how valid the results truly are. I would like to see a new study, not one that's 30 years old, and compare the results. Go read Olson and Farrell's paper to see for yourselves, and remember that there's a lot more missing from the story than what we're given here.

BUT - this in no way means that we should discredit the notion that around the world, 'white' is the ideal in the minds of young girls, and that Black, Hispanic  Asian  etc. girls are having increasingly lower self esteem due to the infiltration of North American media in other parts of the globe. This IS an issue, but before getting up in arms about it, we need to remember to question, and not take video clips at surface value, because then it just becomes another form of propaganda.

#Kenneth and Mamie Clark #Children #racial identity #Racial Preferences #black is beautiful #Self Esteem #MSNBC #Criticism

[theatreofparadox]

"The Promise" - Globus

Album: Break From This World

#Globus #Break From This World #The Promise

[theatreofparadox]

"Equal Pay Explained by Oprah" - UltravioletAction

Published on Apr 10, 2013

"Even Oprah's been a victim of paycheck discrimination. Tell Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act today. Visit www.ultravioletaction.org to learn more."

Posted from Youtube

I'm posting this one not because I'm one to push for petitions, nor am I one to push for change through force and a barrage of propaganda. What I want, is for people to see these things, and realize for themselves why - just maybe - why they should change their minds. Inequality really exists, and is more prevalent than any of us would care to admit. Then, it's up to each individual to make the decision for themselves on whether it's within their values as human beings to click a few links, and maybe, just maybe, make a small difference. 

#paycheck fairness act #equal pay #Oprah #UltravioletAction

[theatreofparadox]

"Love is All You Need?" - Lexi DiBenedetto

Published on Aug 16, 2012

"Teen bulling and teen suicide based on someone's sexual preference is ridiculous - and this film turns the tables on modern society. What IF the shoe was on the other foot?. " --K.Rocco Shields (Creator/Director)

Posted from Youtube

#Lexi DiBenedetto #Love Is All You Need? #lgbtq #teen suicide #bullying

[theatreofparadox]

"When Did You Choose to Be Straight?"

Uploaded on Feb 14, 2008

"Street interviews conducted by Travis Nuckolls and Chris Baker in Colorado Springs prove that asking the right question can be more important than anything you can tell someone." 

Posted on Youtube by Travis Nuckolls

#Travis Nuckolls #lgbtq

[theatreofparadox]

"Brave"- Sara Bareilles

Published on May 14, 2013

"Music video by Sara Bareilles performing Brave. (C) 2013 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment"

Posted from Youtube

#Brave #Sara Bareilles

[theatreofparadox]

Not quite what I originally thought would be my first post on here, but I think it's a good way to start.

The flawed concept of "Good VS Evil" - Imgur

#Good VS Evil #hayao miyazaki #imgur