Dorian "Classy Nude" Gray

Bennett. 19. She/her or they/them. Tiny and nonbinary. Kentucky. Pansexual. 2 cats. Willing to fight anyone. In love with Sansa Stark, Henry Jekyll, and Zevran Arainai. Icon by niklisson.

[calanoida]

Susanna and the Elders, Restored (Left)

Susanna and the Elders, Restored with X-ray (Right)

Kathleen Gilje, 1998

[harrystylesnotedaquarius-deacti]

wow

[humanpersonface]

Oooh my gosh this is rad. This is so rad.

For those who don’t know about this painting, the artist was the Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi.

Gentileschi was a female painter in a time when it was very largely unheard of for a woman to be an artist. She managed to get the opportunity for training and eventual employment because her father, Orazio, was already a well established master painter who was very adamant that she get artistic training. He apparently saw a high degree of skill in some artwork she did as a hobby in childhood. He was very supportive of her and encouraged her to resist the “traditional attitude and psychological submission to brainwashing and the jealousy of her obvious talents.”  

Gentileschi became extremely well known in her time for painting female figures from the Bible and their suffering. For example, the one seen above depicts the story from the Book of Daniel. Susanna is bathing in her garden when two elders began to spy on her in the nude. As she finishes they stop her and tell her that they will tell everyone that they saw her have an affair with a young man (she’s married so this is an offense punishable by death) unless she has sex with them. She refuses, they tell their tale, and she is going to be put to death when the protagonist of the book (Daniel) stops them.

So that painting above? That was her first major painting. She was SEVENTEEN-YEARS-OLD. For context, here is a painting of the same story by Alessandro Allori made just four years earlier in 1606: 

Wowwwww. That does not look like a woman being threatened with a choice between death or rape. So imagine 17 year old Artemisia trying to approach painting the scene of a woman being assaulted. And she paints what is seen in the x-ray above. A woman in horrifying, grotesque anguish with what appears to be a knife poised in her clenched hand. Damn that shit is real. Who wants to guess that she was advised by, perhaps her father or others, to tone it down. Women can’t look that grotesque. Sexual assault can’t be depicted as that horrifying. And women definitely can’t be seen as having the potential to fight back. Certainly not in artwork. Women need to be soft. They need to wilt from their captors but still look pretty and be a damsel in distress. So she changed it. 

What’s interesting to note is that she eventually painted and stuck with some of her own, less traditional depictions of women. However, that is more interesting with some context.  

(Warning for reference to rape, torture, and images of paintings which show violence and blood.)

So, Gentileschi’s story continues in the very next year, 1611, when her father hires Agostino Tassi, an artist, to privately tutor her. It was in this time when Tassi raped her. He then proceeded to promise that he would marry her. He pointed out that if it got out that she had lost her virginity to a man she wasn’t going to marry then it would ruin her. Using this, he emotionally manipulated her into continuing a sexual relationship with him. However, he then proceeded to marry someone else. Horrified at this turn of events she went to her father. Orazio was having none of this shit and took Tassi to court. At that time, rape wasn’t technically an offense to warrant a trial, but the fact that he had taken her virginity (and therefore technically “damaged Orazio’s property”. ugh.) meant that the trial went along. It lasted for 7 months. During this time, to prove the truth of her words, Artemisia was given invasive gynecological examinations and was even questioned while being subjected to torture via thumb screws. It was also discovered during the trial that Tassi was planning to kill his current wife, have an affair with her sister, and steal a number of Orazio’s paintings. Tassi was found guilty and was given a prison sentence of…. ONE. YEAR……. Which he never even served because the verdict was annulled.

During this time and a bit after (1611-1612), Artemisia painted her most famous work of Judith Slaying Holofernes. This bible story involved Holofernes, an Assyrian general, leading troops to invade and destroy Bethulia, the home of Judith. Judith decides to deal with this issue by coming to him, flirting with him to get his guard down, and then plying him with food and lots of wine. When he passed out, Judith and her handmaiden took his sword and cut his head off. Issue averted. The subject was a very popular one for art at the time. Here is a version of the scene painted in 1598-99 by Carivaggio, whom was a great stylistic influence on Artemisia:

This depiction is a pretty good example of how this scene was typically depicted. Artists usually went out of their way to show Judith committing the act (or having committed it) while trying to detach her from the actual violence of it. In this way, they could avoid her losing the morality of her character and also avoid showing a woman committing such aggression. So here we see a young, rather delicate looking Judith in a pure white dress. She is daintily holding down this massive man and looks rather disgusted and upset at having to do this. Now, here is Artemisia’s:

Damn. Thats a whole different scene. Here Holofernes looks less like he’s simply surprised by the goings ons and more like a man choking on his own blood and struggling fruitlessly against his captors. The blood here is less of a bright red than in Carrivaggio’s but is somehow more sickening. It feels more real, and gushes in a much less stylized way than Carrivaggio’s. Not to mention, Judith here is far from removed from the violence. She is putting her physical weight into this act. Her hands (much stronger looking than most depictions of women’s hands in early artwork) are working hard. Her face, as well, is completely different. She doesn’t look upset, necessarily, but more determined. 

It’s also worth note that the handmaiden is now involved in the action. It’s worth note because, during her rape trial, Artemisia stated that she had cried for help during the initial rape. Specifically she had called for Tassi’s female tenant in the building, Tuzia. Tuzia not only ignored her cries for help, but she also denied the whole happening. Tuzia had been a friend of Artemisia’s and in fact was one of her only female friends. Artemisia felt extremely betrayed, but rather than turning her against her own gender, this event instilled in her the deep importance of female relationships and solidarity among women. This can be seen in some of her artwork, and I believe in the one above, as well, with the inclusion of the handmaiden in the act.

So, I just added a million words worth of information dump on a post when no one asked me, but there we go. I could talk for ages about Artemisia as a person and her depictions of women (even beyond what I wrote above. Don’t get me started on her depictions of female nudes in comparison to how male artists painted nude women at the time.) 

To sum up: Artemisia Gentileschi is rad as hell. This x-ray is also rad as hell and makes her even radder.

I love art history.

[humanpersonface]

I’m reblogging this again to add something that I also think is important to know about Artemisia Gentileschi. Back in her time and through even to TODAY, there are people who argue that her artworks were greatly aided by her father…. As in he either helped her paint them or just straight up painted them himself. Hell, there are a number of works only recently (past several years or so) that have been officially attributed to Artemisia because people originally saw the signature with “Gentileschi” in it and automatically attributed it to Orazio. So, not only was Artemisia Gentileschi an amazing artist and amazing historical figure, but I don’t want it to be ignored that there are people over 400 years later who still won’t give her the credit she deserves, just because she’s a woman and obviously women can’t paint like she did.

[130186]

Francesco Scognamiglio Fall 2010

[beingmikeh-deactivated20170307]

[rob-anybody]

More knitting patterns:

Stuffed animals:

Striped stockinette snake Amigurumi tiny turtle (super-cute and really easy to make, especially if you know how to seam)

Blankets:

Super Easy Blankets! Eleventh hour knit blanket (do not be intimidated by I-cord, it is absurdly easy, and YouTube has easy-to-follow instructional videos) Quick knit blanket Sunny Baby Blanket Garter Stitch Baby Blanket

Scarves: (ie - scarves I’ve knit that were easy, turned out beautiful, and were interesting enough to keep you from falling asleep while knitting them)

Mermaid scarf (skip making their fringe, and just google how to make tassels. It looks better on the scarf) Drop stitch scarf (my favorite of all scarf patterns - yarnovers are easy to do, but check YouTube if you need a reference) Dragon skin scarf (a bit trickier because there are so many steps to go through, but the actual stitches are easy to do, and you fall into a rhythm once you start. Also, DRAGON SKIN SCARF)

[thesociologicalcinema]

“But the fact that a man may feel powerless in individual circumstances doesn’t cancel his membership in the dominant class or eliminate the privileges that attend that membership.”

[cccrystalclear]

Lucky bf

[the-daily-horcrux-blog]

[malyssanicole-deactivated201310]

#I’ve always felt like Harry and Draco weren’t opposites #They were two sides to the same coin #And this gif set just HURTS because ugh these two poor boys #Caught up in something so much bigger than themselves #And they’re just CHILDREN

[victoriousvocabulary]

ASTRIFEROUS

[adjective]

bearing stars; made of stars.

Etymology: Latin astrifer; astrum - star + ferre - to bear.

[Lizavan Rees]

[roseydoesy]

Before bloom & once bloomed

hoya bella - Shooting Star

My brothers are plant geeks so they go to these showings and they buy plants and what not. A lot of them are really cool and I really like this one.

Why? They look so cool. And they don’t bloom individually, they’re on the same stem. From that stem, they each have their own shorter stems. Even so, they’re not alone. They’re next to another flower. This sounds really stupid cause they’re just flowers. I am stupid. BUT I STILL LIKE THESE FLOWERS AND HOW WELL THEY’RE BLOOMING IN MY GARDEN.

thepicturesarebadqualitysad4lyfe

[rowansugar]

new oc numberr two, a cute college student who rly likes studying plants uvu

[decorkiki]

Here’s a breakdown on Makeup Brushes. Hope it helps someone!

Shop KikiCloset or KikiModo

[refinedmind]

Just before nightfall I decided to take a walk outside. The sky was low, enveloping any object in its reach. It formed a dull, purplish haze - like nothing I’d seen before. The streets were empty. Not a single soul was out. It was oddly peaceful - imagining I was the only one left.

[weneeddiversebooks]

Hi! I've been looking for YA books with a lesbian or bisexual girl as a main character and I haven't been able to find anything to fit my tastes. Can you please give me a list of books like this that you've found? Thanks! :)

Hello!

The gayya has been a great additional resource for us in terms of books with LGBTQ main characters: http://thegayya.tumblr.com/post/98076555351/lgbtq-fantasy-book-rec-list 

And Malinda Lo also did a post on popular books with bisexual main characters: http://www.malindalo.com/2013/04/on-bisexual-characters-and-ya-literature/

Hope this helps!

JB

[thebookhangover-blog]

OMG timelords-of-reichenbach I’M REBLOGGING AND ADDING TO THIS COZ THIS IS MY JAM RIGHT NOW AND I HAVE BOOKS TO SHARE*

EVERYTHING LEADS TO YOU BY NINA LACOUR

ASK THE PASSENGERS BY A.S. KING

KEEPING YOU A SECRET BY JULIE ANNE PETERS

LIES MY GIRLFRIEND TOLD ME BY JULIE ANNE PETERS

SHE LOVES YOU, SHE LOVES YOU NOT… BY JULIE ANNE PETERS

IT’S OUR PROM (SO DEAL WITH IT) BY JULIE ANNE PETERS

KISSING KATE BY LAUREN MYRACLE

BEAUTY QUEENS BY LIBBA BRAY

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST BY EMILY M. DANFORTH

ADAPTATION BY MALINDA LO

ASH BY MALINDA LO

WILDTHORN BY JANE EAGLAND

PINK BY LILI WILKINSON

STARTING FROM HERE BY LISA JENN BIGELOW

FAR FROM YOU BY TESS SHARPE

MY INVENTED LIFE BY LAUREN BJORKMAN

TESSA MASTERSON WILL GO TO PROM BY EMILY FRANKLIN AND BRENDAN HALPIN

DOWN TO THE BONE BY MAYRA LAZARA DOLE

UNSPEAKABLE BY ABBIE RUSHTON

THE SUMMER I WASN’T ME BY JESSICA VERDI

BOYFRIENDS WITH GIRLFRIENDS BY ALEX SANCHEZ

SPARKS: THE EPIC, COMPLETELY TRUE BLUE, (ALMOST) HOLY QUEST OF DEBBIE BY S.J. ADAMS

IF YOU COULD BE MINE BY SARA FARIZAN

TELL ME AGAIN HOW A CRUSH SHOULD FEEL BY SARA FARIZAN

NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW BY AMANDA GRACE

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND ME BY MADELEINE GEORGE

GRAVITY BY LEANNE LIEBERMAN

MY BEST FRIEND, MAYBE BY CAELA CARTER

ONE IN EVERY CROWD BY IVAN E. COYOTE

MERMAID IN CHELSEA CREEK BY MICHELLE TEA

* disclaimer: i haven’t read all of these so i can’t vouch for their radness

[ya-pride]

Oooooh ooooh ohhhohh ohoooooh ohhhh okay okay *rolls up sleeves.* 

So first of all, thanks for the mention, weneeddiversebooks!

Secondly, we have a wiki in progress of every queer YA title ever.  It is available as a masterlist, separated by genre, and separated by character’s sexual/romantic orientation/gender identity.  It is HERE.

Thirdly, here are a few of our favorites!

Realistic

Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin

Just Girls by Rachel Gold

Everything Leads to You by Nina Lacour

Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden

Speculative

Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block

The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

- V & K

[weneeddiversebooks]

We also have not read all of those suggested.

And we’re excited for this wiki! Apps/wikis will be so helpful for readers to be able to narrow down searches for specific books with diverse characters.

Thanks to the larger Tumblr/reading community for helping to provide more recommendations for books! 

[nickiminaj-highdefinition]

[goldgloomy-deactivated20180327]

i put gold hoop earrings in and suddenly became the world’s most vain bisexual lady pirate

[goldgloomy-deactivated20180327]

[theekle-deactivated20161004]

Yarrr, we be playin’ fer both crews!!

[mamalazzer]

Merlin meets a wounded Arthur on the way to Camelot (AU)

As Merlin journeys to Camelot for the first time, he comes across a wounded man on the road and heals him with magic. The man, who is the biggest clotpole Merlin has ever met, turns out (eventually) to be a man of honour and insists Merlin escape before he has to report him as a sorcerer.

Of course, when they surprisingly meet again in Camelot, Merlin not only discovers the man is the Prince but he accidentally manages to become his manservant. His magic, suddenly, becomes a secret they both have to hide.

[mydearthisbe]

Reasons Why I Hate Severus Snape

His Behaviour Toward Harry Potter

Now, if know the fandom well enough, I would say that as soon as this is read everyone will be up in arms, saying that Snape protected Harry, that James was a bully and obviously there would be resentment stirred up by someone who looks exactly like him. 

Firstly, let’s look at Snape’s first interaction with Harry. 

“Potter,” said Snape suddenly. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”

Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione’s hand had shot into the air.

“I don’t know, sir,” said Harry.

Snape’s lips curled into a sneer. 

“Tut, tut - fame clearly isn’t everything,”

He ignored Hermione’s hand.

“Let’s try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?”

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn’t have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter. 

“I don’t know, sir.”

“Thought you wouldn’t open a book before coming, eh, Potter?”

Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursley’s, but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?

-Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, The Potions Master

There you go. There has been no aggression Harry’s part. He was sitting in his Potions class, just as attentive as any other student and he is singled out among a class to answer a question without any lesson beforehand. Snape refuses to look at Hermione, who actually knew the answer, and continues to pick on Harry. Harry is respectful and simply tells him he doesn’t know the answer. Then he accuses Harry of not looking at his books before coming, despite the fact that these questions are completely random.

Let’s also take into account Harry is essentially Muggle-born. Not all Muggle-borns are as studious as Hermione. Harry had no parents to teach him magical things; he was kept as far away from magic as possible up until he went to Hogwarts. He did not have the same freedom that Hermione did to study as soon as she learned what she was. How can he be expected to know these answers right off the bat? There was no indication in his Hogwarts letter that he be familiar with all the course materials by the first day. 

Now let’s address those counter-arguments I mentioned earlier. James Potter and Severus Snape were enemies. James Potter at times bullied Severus Snape (to be noted: “I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James so you couldn’t really expect James to take that lying down, could you?” -Remus Lupin, OOTP). James Potter also saved Severus Snape’s life, but that apparently isn’t a factor in Snape’s opinion at all. What matters is: Harry cannot be held accountable for his deceased father’s actions. Harry didn’t even know about the bullying until fifth year (at which point he felt ashamed of his father and begrudgingly sympathetic towards Snape).  

Even ignoring this, Snape is a teacher. It is his duty to teach his students no matter what his feelings are outside of the classroom. To refuse to provide a safe environment for a child to learn is completely unfair. Not only this, but when Harry discovers Snape’s past, Snape refuses to continue teaching him Occlumency. This isn’t just about schoolwork anymore, this about Harry’s personal safety and the safety of those around them. Harry had the potential to be possessed by Lord Voldemort and made to kill people or himself and yet because Snape’s pride was damaged, he stopped teaching him to defend himself. 

Which brings me to the third counter-argument: Snape protecting Harry. For what he can remember of the first eleven years of his life, Harry Potter was stuck under a cupboard, given little to eat and bullied. Despite the fact that Snape could probably relate to such a situation, he shows him no sympathy and continues the bullying Harry, as shown above. As for protecting Harry he did a rather terrible job of it. Harry faced Quirrel anyway, he faced Tom Riddle anyway, he faced Voldemort anyway, he was forced to harm himself by Umbridge anyway. Perhaps the only thing you could allow Snape is spying for the Order, but it not an action taken out of any care for Harry, but his lingering feelings for Harry’s mother. 

And we ought not forget that Snape had a hand in Harry’s orphaning in the first place. Admittedly, he did not know it would be the Potters targeted, but so eager was he to ensure the death of an unknown infant that he went to his master straight away. And when he approached Voldemort about the consequences of his choice, Snape asked for Lily’s life only. Seemingly, he felt no remorse about endangering the child, only the mother. 

His Behaviour Towards Neville Longbottom

I’d like to see anyone try to excuse this away. Neville Longbottom was a bumbling young man who really never wanted to harm anyone. And yet Snape bullied him to the point where the thing he was most terrified of in the world at thirteen was his Potions professor? How can that sort of man be admirable?

“Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn’t you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn’t I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?”

-Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban, The Boggart in the Wardrobe

Neville was bad at Potions, that’s easy enough to figure out. But the way Snape treated him was ridiculous. If a student is struggling, they should be allowed to come in for help. But as Snape constantly snarled things like ‘idiot boy’ and scared Neville out of his wits, he didn’t have that option. He wouldn’t have felt safe enough to do so. Snape even went so far as to try to poison Neville’s pet toad, Trevor, in third year. He knew Neville wouldn’t do well on the Shrinking potion but he tried to make him test a bad potion on his only pet. When Neville got the help he so desperately needed in Potions from Hermione, Snape decided to deduct points for him getting help to save his pet’s life. 

The sole counter-argument I have heard about this is that Neville ought to have been the Chosen One, and so Snape resented him for not being chosen, because Lily died when Harry was picked. Even if this were his true motivation, would that make it okay? Again, he resents a child for merely existing in a way that inconveniences him. If this is accurate, Severus Snape wants Neville Longbottom dead. Neville Longbottom could not be The Boy Who Lived, because Snape had no cause to ask for Alice Longbottom’s life.

His Behaviour Towards Hermione Granger

For some of his behaviour, we can reference bullet point one. She shows eagerness in class and he continually ignores her for no apparent reason. Hermione gets her teeth hexed in GOF and he claims to see no difference and lets the students off without punishment. Not only is this blatant favouritism, it’s also playing on her insecurities. Again, as a professor it is his duty to intervene when students are breaking the rules (which he is always eager to do when he can target Harry and his friends) and yet he does not. He deducted points when she helped Neville in Potions class.

He wasn’t able to treat her quite the same as he did as Ron and Harry, because she was so good at Potions. But apparently it still wasn’t enough to win her fair treatment, because he was willing to call her an “insufferable know-it-all” in front of a room full her peers. Even Ron, who did the very same on many an occasion, was sure that this was out of order. An authority figure should not make fun of a student. 

Why did Snape do this? Because she spoke out of turn on occasion? Unlikely. Even in his very first instance of knowing her, he refuses to acknowledge her hand. He simply doesn’t like her, a dislike which accumulates as she becomes friends with Harry Potter. She showed nothing but respect for him as far as I can tell and yet he bullied her anyway. 

His Behaviour Towards Remus Lupin

“Don’t ask me to fathom the way a werewolf’s mind works,” hissed Snape.

-Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Servant of Lord Voldemort

Snape alludes to Lily that Remus is a werewolf after the Whomping Willow incident, despite the fact that it is supposed to be a secret. And he proceeds to blame all four of them for the prank. Remus wouldn’t have been in his right mind during the full moon and probably would have killed Snape or turned him. But Remus was not at all in control of this. Snape couldn’t have honestly thought Remus was part of the prank because 1) Remus never showed any antagonism towards Snape and 2) It would have ended up with Remus in Azkaban or executed. And yet Snape lumps both Remus and James in with the prank’s initiator, Sirius. Despite the fact that he followed someone he suspected to be a werewolf to his place of transformation, it is somehow James’s or Remus’s fault?

And then there’s the fact that he outed Remus to the whole school as werewolf. He subjected Remus to prejudice and unemployment and Remus just sat back and took it, as if a whole year with a job he enjoyed had been too good to be true. Which, for Remus, it probably was. With continued use of Wolfsbane, Remus would have been no danger to anyone. It would rarely affect his teaching ability. But Snape didn’t care that Remus would have little to no way to support himself, because he wanted revenge on him for their childhood or for taking the DADA position or cooperating with Sirius. None of which are fair reasons to do what he did. 

Counter-argument: Remus was friends with Snape’s bullies. Yes, he was friends with James and Sirius. Whether or not James and Sirius were always the aggressors is another argument entirely, but for the sake of this, let’s say that it was usually them that initiated fights. But, as shown by Remus’s actions in Snape’s Worst Memory, he did not participate in it. He even showed unhappiness by his expression as he ignored the scene. He is willing to admit the wrongness of standing by, which is more than you can say of Snape. 

“Of course he was a bit of an idiot!” said Sirius bracingly, “we were all idiots! Well - not Moony so much,” he said fairly, looking at Lupin.

But Lupin shook his head. “Did I ever tell you to lay off Snape?” he said. “Did I ever have the guts to tell you I thought you were out of order?”

“Yeah, well,” said Sirius, “you made us feel ashamed of ourselves sometimes: that was something.”

-Harry Potter the Order of the Phoenix, Careers Advice

And then we have Snape’s reaction towards his friend’s horrible actions:

“We are, Sev, but I don’t like some of the people you’re hanging round with! I’m sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber! Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev, he’s creepy! D’you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?”

Lily had reached a pillar and leaned against it, looking up into the thin, sallow face.

“That was nothing,” said Snape. “It was a laugh, that’s all - ”

“It was Dark Magic, and if you think that’s funny - ”

-Harry Potter the Deathly Hallows, The Prince’s Tale

Even taking into account that Snape was around fifteen here, he refers to Mulciber’s actions as a laugh, even though he tried to god knows what to Mary MacDonald. Whatever it was, it was dark magic and Snape actually defends his friend’s actions, which is more than Remus did when his friends were being bullies.

His Dark Magic

Even before he joined the Death Eaters, where it’s pretty much required to use Unforgivables on innocent people, he showed tendencies of dark magic. He created a spell which inflicts bloody wounds on someone as a sixteen-year-old, or earlier. For those who think James Potter was an idiot at fifteen, at least he wasn’t trying to figure out creative ways to end someone’s life. 

Time to talk about a possible counter-argument: Harry used Sectumsempra against Malfoy. Hell, he even used Unforgivables at different points in time. I won’t excuse his use of the Cruciatus, that was simply for vengeance (even if he was using it on someone who killed Muggle-borns, tortured his friends and spat at his teacher). But the Imperius was used to gain access to a vault that possibly contained a horcrux so he could save the world. I think that warrants an excuse. And his initial (and only successful) use of Sectumsempra was done before he even knew what the spell did. For all he knew it could have been an altered Bat Bogey hex. He didn’t create it with the intent to harm someone. 

His Bigotry

I know that anyone who sympathizes with his character is going to jump immediately on the “Snape-loved-Lily-and-she-was-a-Muggle-born” train.

“I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just - ”

“Slipped out?” There was no pity in Lily’s voice. “It’s too late. I’ve made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends - you see, you don’t even deny it! You don’t even deny that’s what you’re all aiming to be! You can’t wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?”

He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking.

“I can’t pretend anymore. You’ve chosen your way, I’ve chosen mine.”

“No - listen, I didn’t mean - ”

“ - to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?”

-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Prince’s Tale

Racist words don’t just slip out. They need to be a regular part of your vocabulary. Which they are for Severus Snape. Lily says it plain and clear: he uses the word Mudblood to address Muggle-borns. His interactions with Petunia as a child, “Wouldn’t spy on you anyway,” he added spitefully, “you’re a Muggle.” show that he thinks himself superior to Muggles. He even hurts Petunia, however unintentionally. He makes no attempt to deny his inclination to join a terrorist group that plans to wipe out Muggles and Muggle-borns. 

Now, I don’t think that anyone in modern society would try to distinguish between a racist and say, someone who uses the N-word just to fit in. Certainly not someone who joins the KKK to fit in. So I think it’s a little ridiculous that anyone would allow that for Snape. 

As for Lily, it’s possible for someone to have conflicting beliefs. It is possible for him to be all for blood purity and still love Lily Evans. He showed no inclination to leave the Death Eaters before it affected her fate. He even calls her Mudblood, showing that despite their friendship/romantic feelings he has towards her, part of him still does think that her Muggle heritage makes her lesser. Therefore, his love for her does not make the argument for his prejudice void. 

His Lack of Value for Human Life

Snape was willing to let Harry and James die. Let’s say that wanting to let James die is reasonable (which it’s not - James refused to let Snape die when he had the opportunity to do so), what grudge could he possibly hold against a one year old baby? Harry had done nothing to provoke any sort of anger except being James’s son. He was a defenseless child. 

Also under this topic is his behaviour towards Sirius Black in the Prisoner of Azkaban. Yes, Sirius Black bullied him at fifteen. But was this reason enough to lie to Cornelius Fudge to get Sirius Black sent back to Azkaban? Hermione and Harry were not Confunded, but Snape claims they were because he could tell. Either Snape lied about having the ability, or lied about thinking they were Confuded. He chose to tell the Minister that to discredit anything that Harry and Hermione might say in defense of Sirius, rather than out of any genuine belief they had been tricked. An innocent man would have gotten his soul sucked out. He wouldn’t even allow Sirius the mercy of death. 

With his disregard for human life is his joining the Death Eaters. There’s really no excuse to be made for his initial endeavor to join. He chose to join a group of people who wanted to kill others because they were thought to be lesser than pure-bloods. He likely participated in a fair number of these killings in the four years he was a Death Eater. He also probably would have continued to do so, if not for the fact that Voldemort targeted the girl he “loved” over a prophecy he told Voldemort about.

I could also talk about his behaviour towards Ron Weasley, his general prejudice against Gryffindors or discuss to the validity of his being a victim of bullying, but I think this post has been long enough to convey my feelings: Severus Snape was not a good man. Harry may have been willing to forgive and forget, but I’m not.