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The West Wing S. 4 Ep. 3 “College Kids”

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Can you even imagine your male colleagues trying to teach/give presentations through menstrual cramps? Like, the dramatics that would ensue?

#periods #menstruation #menstrual cramps #teaching #gradblr #irl

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me: *needs to write 10,000 word paper*

also me: *has 23,000 word outline*

also also me: *cries*

#awlkuevksxjajdksd my brain #there will be so much summarizing and i know that but come the fuck on #23k AND COUNTING #i can't get a handle on russell westbrook. everything else is fine but russell westbrook...why? #gradblr #irl

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male entitlement in academic spaces is so boring. can’t tell you how many times i’ve been in a class and a girl gives a short, insightful analysis, and then a dude raises his hand and says “jumping off of that…” then says literally the same thing she said but longer and worse.

#actual laughter #'not to be that guy' = ABOUT TO BE THAT GUY #Classroom dynamics #that guy #mansplaining

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Nearly everyone, it seems, wants to be normal. And who can blame them, if the alternative is being abnormal, or deviant, or not being one of the rest of us? Put in those terms, there doesn't seem to be a choice at all. Especially not in America, where normal probably outranks all other social aspirations. What immortality was to the Greeks, what virtù was to Machiavelli's prince, what faith was to the martyrs, what honor was to the slave owners, what glamour is to drag queens, normalcy is to the contemporary American.

Michael Warner, The Trouble With Normal

#normal #being normal #america #american norms #queer theory #michael warner #the trouble with normal

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One reason why you won't find many eloquent quotations about the desire to be normal in Shakespeare, or the Bible, or other common sources of moral wisdom, is that people didn't sweat much over being normal until the spread of statistics in the nineteenth century. Now they are surrounded by numbers that tell them what normal is: census figures, market demographics, opinion polls, social science studies, psychological surveys, clinical tests, sales figures, trends, the "mainstream," the current generation, the common man, the man on the street, the 'heartland of America,' etcetera. Under the conditions of mass culture, they are constantly bombarded by images of statistical populations and their norms, continually invited to make an implicit comparison between themselves and the mass of other bodies.

Michael Warner, The Trouble With Normal

#statistics #normal #being normal #modernity #queer theory #michael warner

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So, in my art history class today, my professor was talking about something that is so fuckin awesome.

These are warrior shields from the Wahgi people of Papua New Guinea. The warriors paint them with imagery meant to symbolize animals who have traits they wish to embody in battle. These depictions are intended to give the person using it the powers of what they’re depicting.

Now. Look at this Wahgi shield:

Hmm. That looks a bit different from the others.

That looks VERY different. Why, it looks like

The Phantom… American comic book character by Lee Falk. And that’s because it is.

The Wahgi people were isolated from the rest of the “modern” world until 1933. They came into contact with WWII service men who shared some aspects of western culture with the tribesmen. In particular, they showed them the comic books they read while shipped out. The Wahgi loved them. In particular, the Wahgi adored the stories of the Phantom, who wasn’t even particularly popular in its home of America.

He is so popular that the few Wahgi who can read english will read the comics out loud in the village center and hold out the pages for everyone to see, so the whole tripe can enjoy them and marvel at the Phantom’s might in battle.

They identify with the Phantom because he came from a jungle territory, like them, wore a mask to fight, like them, and came from a long line of warriors, which the Wahgi, who worshiped their ancestors, deeply respected. Further, despite not really having superpowers, the Phantom is strong, clever, and incredibly fast. He was so fast that his enemies began to believe that he was impervious to bullets and could not be killed.

Therefore, the Wahgi began painting HIM on their shields to invoke HIS abilities in battle. There are TONS of Phantom-Wahgi shields out there.

So, you might think that you’re huge comic book fan, but the Wahgi have taken their Phantom fandom to the next level and have made the Phantom a fucking talisman to carry into battle for strength.

#this is so fucking cool in so many ways #waghi #indigenous people #indigenous art #the phantom #colonialism #colonial gaze

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I think this is just beautiful: MoMA has reworked its permanent collection on the 5th floor to showcase artists from the 7 countries affected by the Muslim Ban, and each newly added piece is accompanied by a polite but pointed note explaining the situation. 

#this is lovely #MOMA #art #resistance

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adele on why she dedicated her speech to beyonce

#good on adele #not as good as the grammys not being racist but #grammys #adele #beyonce

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Perfect

#the best #these troubled times

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Black LBGTQ History Icons

Marsha P. Johnson

A leader of the Stonewall Riots. According to several eyewitnesses, Marsha was the one who “really started it”. She was “in the middle of the whole thing, screaming and yelling and throwing rocks and almost like Molly Pitcher in the Revolution or something”

Dedicated her life to activism:

Co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (later renamed Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries)

Ensured that the young drag queens, trans women and other street kids on Christopher Street were fed and clothed. Marsha also housed them whenever she could. 

In the 1980s, she was an activist and organizer in ACT UP. 

Stormé DeLarverie

Also a leader in the Stonewall Riots - has been identified as the “butch lesbian that threw the first punch” against the police officers.

Several eye-witnesses recollections also recognize her as the cross-dressing lesbian that yelled “why don’t you guys do something” at the bystanders that evoked the reaction from them that helped make Stonewall a defining moment in history.

Unofficially worked at gay bars who otherwise couldn’t afford security.

Bayard Rustin

Was a leading strategist of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement between 1955-1968:

The formidable behind the scenes figure of the civil rights movement who organized the March on Washington

Through his influence, the civil rights leadership adopted a non-violent stance.

Is and was often overlooked in African-American history because of the public’s discomfort with his sexual orientation.

Supported LGBTQ rights and movements.

Was posthumously awarded Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy

Another leader in the Stonewall Riots.

Has been involved in community efforts since 1978. She has worked at local food banks, provide services for trans women suffering from addiction or homelessness. During the AIDS epidemic she also provided healthcare and funeral services.

Is currently serving as the Executive Director for the Transgender GenderVariant Intersex Justice Project, working to assist transgender persons who are disproportionately incarcerated under a prison-industrial complex.

Alvin Ailey

At the young age of 22, Alvin AIley became Artistic Directer for the Horton Dance Company where he choreographed as well as directed scenes and costume designs.

Formed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in 1958 but continued to choreograph for other companies.

Ailey’s signature works prominently reflects his Black pride.

Is credited for popularizing modern dance. 

Was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Feel free to add anyone I’ve missed!

#black history month #black history #queer history #queer community

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There was a “Bowling Green massacre” — in 1643, white settlers slaughtered 110 Native Americans

Last week on MSNBC, Kellyanne Conway invented a massacre that never happened in Bowling Green, Kentucky. 

But here’s one that’s real: In 1643, white settlers massacred 30 indigenous people in what is now Bowling Green Park, one of the oldest sections of New York City, Indian Country Media Network reported.

Back then, New York City was known as New Amsterdam and was a struggling colonial outpost under Dutch rule. 

The then-governor of New Netherlands, Willem Kieft, sent groups of European soldiers to an area at the tip of Manhattan island, which was then home to Lenape tribe. 

The soldiers killed 80 members of the tribe in what is now Pavonia, New Jersey, and massacred another 30 in Manhattan. Read more

follow @the-movemnt

#ah yes - a massacre wherein undocumented immigrants slaughtered real americans #bowling green #bowling green massacre #us history #kellyanne conway #alternative facts #vs #actual facts

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A colleague once told me a story of a house full of books. The house belonged to an intellectual historian who had accumulated a library with tens of thousands of volumes. When he decided to move, a friend of his who was a civil engineer urged care. The house contained so many books, the friend said, that it had sunk and settled around them, becoming dependent on them for structural support. Unless the books were removed in a slow spiral from the top down, the engineer warned, the house risked collpase. After my colleague finished the story, she noticed my wide eyes. She asked if I related to the historian. "No," I said. "I relate to the house."

Kenji Yoshino, Covering

#covering #kenji yoshino #metaphors #booklr #books #fave

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the weirdest thing about a lot of the common criticisms of millennials i see is that they all seem to boil down to:

you are soft. you believe the world should be kind. you expect people to treat you fairly. you think your needs are important, that you deserve to be listened to, that you shouldn’t be hungry and frightened and in pain. 

and people are seriously SO OFFENDED by this. like, how dare you. how dare you believe the world might be a good place, how dare you believe you should be treated well just for existing. life is pain, princess, anyone who tells you different is selling something, now wipe that smile off your face, shut your mouth and go suffer like i did.

and it’s just like… i have a kid. if she grows up expecting better treatment than i experienced as a young woman, i’m doing my job. i know the world isn’t perfect, but random cruelty isn’t something we should just shrug our shoulders and accept, and it’s so fucking weird how angry people get at youngsters who refuse to do just that.

#millenials #deceny should not be a privilege

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Shoutout to younger people in fandom:

It’s okay to enjoy “problematic” fiction.

It’s okay to draw fanart and write fanfiction that appeals to you, and you alone.

You’re allowed to ship whatever you want. Let me repeat this for emphasis: YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SHIP WHATEVER YOU WANT PERIOD.

Your own enjoyment and entertainment are valid  reasons to write, draw, or consume something. 

If this enjoyment takes the form of sexual gratification, that’s also a valid reason to writer, draw, or consume something.

Fiction does not have to be morally pure. Fiction allows us to explore things that we wouldn’t want to experience in real life, things like violence, sexual violence, drug abuse, sexual taboos, or kinks: all kinds of weird or disturbingt things, and that’s okay.

No, the narrative does not have to condemn these things explicitly.

You don’t owe other fans an explanation or apology for the things you enjoy in fiction 

If someone asks you to reveal personal information, it’s okay to tell them to fuck off. 

There’s no such thing as a fandom police. Whoever claims to have the authority to tell you what is or isn’t acceptable for you to enjoy, is just arrogating that right. Their strategy only works if you let them have this power, so don’t. 

It’s up to each person individually to create a “safe space” for themselves.

Other people’s mental health is not your responsibilty.

Not wanting to hear about anyone’s personal trauma does not make you a bad person.

#yuuuuup #racism #racism in fandom #white feminism

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#free speech #bigotry

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#this scene gives me goosebumps #and so does this meta a little #casablanca #resistance #representation