CRUSH THE PATRIARCHY!

Just two college students unapologetically crushing the patriarchy and calling people out on their bullshit.

[oh-snap-pro-choice]

Is there such thing as feminist porn? I read somewhere that porn can never be women-friendly, but I've stumbled across some websites created by women where people of all genders, sexuality, ethnicities, etc. can submit their own videos and such. And the site owners make sure the content doesn't involve rape or anything along that line. Is that type of porn still degrading towards women?

never thought about it. any other mods have an opinion on this- Riley

Personally, I don’t think I would see a problem with that. I think one of the major problems with porn is the way the porn industry handles things. One of my best friends works in porn and loves it. She got lucky I think. -Bran

[feminist-smackdown]

Even if someone finds porn work personally empowering, that doesn’t change the facts about porn– for instance, that child pornography is a $3 billion industry. That exposure to porn is linked to misogynistic behavior. That porn is dominated by physical aggression. That no matter how ~individually empowering~ porn can be, that cannot excuse the abuse porn inflicts.

I don’t care how “non-problematic” a porno tries to be; it is still part of an industry that is awful to the core.

Porn is not and cannot be feminist.

-Heather

[wilwheaton]

Hobby Lobby doesn’t want to cover its employees’ birth control on company insurance plans. In fact, they’re so outraged about women having access to birth control that they’ve taken the issue all the way to the Supreme Court.   I cannot believe that we live in a world where we would even consider letting some big corporation deny the women who work for it access to the basic medical tests, treatments or prescriptions that they need based on vague moral objections.   But here’s the scary thing: With the judges we’ve got on the Supreme Court, Hobby Lobby might actually win.

"Three well-respected legal scholars examined almost 20,000 Supreme Court cases from the last 65 years. They found that the five conservative justices currently sitting on the Supreme Court are in the top 10 most pro-corporate justices in more than half a century."

Elizabeth Warren, everyone. I can’t wait for someone who is as awesome as Senator Warren to run here in California, so we can get rid of the reprehensible corporatist Dianne Feinstein.

(via wilwheaton)

[wearethefourthwave]

"THIS PICTURE WILL NOT CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT I STILL NEED FEMINISM AND I’M GOING TO REALLY, REALLY TELL YOU WHY":

-Because I got called a whore for wearing a short plaid skirt when I was 10

-and because when Nujood Ali from Yemen was 10 she got divorced

-Because black girls’ names became my classmates’ favorite “joke” when I was 11

-and because when an 11-year-old girl in Texas was raped by 18 men the New York Times wrote of how the girl “dressed older than her age”

-Because I started counting calories when I was 14

-and because when Malala Yousafzai was 14 she was shot in the head for trying to go to school

-Because I heard a boy greet a girl with “hey slut” today at age 16 -and because when a 16-year-old girl in Steubenville, Ohio was filmed being raped by two boys at a party while unconscious the CNN reporters talked about how tragic it was because the rapists had such bright futures as athletes

-Because I will have to watch my drink at all bars and parties when I am 22

-and because when CeCe McDonald was 22 she was sentenced to 41 months in prison for defending herself against a man who screamed transphobic, racist insults at her and then slashed her face with a bottle

-Because no matter what age I am the biggest threat to men will still be heart disease, and the biggest threat to women will still be men.

-Because it is not just about me, because it is not just about anger, because it is not just a JOKE, because it is not just about “hating men,” because it is not just about girls with vaginas, because it is not just about ending “slut”, because it is not just about white straight girls in Rookie magazine, because it is not just about writing on backs, because it is not just about the fact that gay men are “fags” but lesbians are “hot,” because it is not just about pictures of thin white girls being the only google image results for the search phrase “beautiful women”, because it is not just about writing signs, because it is not just about what she was wearing or how many times she said yes before she changed her answer to no, because misogyny is not just about one thing and feminism is not just about one thing and it is not just “a trend” and it will not “happen” in just one way.

-And because yes. It is about equality for EVERYONE, but first and foremost it needs to be about equality for girls, because they are not treated equally to men, in every single sense, and you are not going to take feminism away from me and call me bossy/hostile/aggressive and make this about yourself or make it into a joke, because truth be told, I’m not joking and I’m tired of explaining. If you want to call yourself a feminist, you work hard to spread feminism, you do not turn this into a contest of whose struggle is greater and constantly demand to know what you can get out of feminism personally. Feminism is not just about you, or me, it is about everyone. If you’re male and you’re tired of men being stereotyped as hyper-masculine, soulless, sexist, inherent leader-tyrant creatures, then go out and prove the patriarchy wrong and fight for girls, like someone with a soul who believes in equality would. Then, yes, feminism will be about everyone.

-Sylvie (an amazing grrrl godess) Photo taken by Caroline http://c-h-0-w.tumblr.com/

[boonanasplits]

allies insisting that theyre part of the LGBTQAI+ acronym is like someone insisting that their name should be in the credits of a movie they had nothing to do with

[bonusvampirus-blog]

"I spent money to go SEE the movie, didn’t I??? Without the support of fans like me, who pay to go see movies, movies wouldn’t even exist!!!!1" 

[misandry-mermaid]

I've noticed a lot, well if not some feminist content. I as a male don't really understand exactly how important feminism is in society, so please don't be offended. I don't really think feminism is that important. And I'm just providing an opinion.

"I as a dog, I don’t really think computers are that important."

"I as a hairbrush, I don’t really think the metric system is that important."

"I as a remote control, I don’t really think fish are that important."

"I as a human-hair wig, I don’t really think house paint is that important."

"I as a kjsdsdof, I dorp r eally thunnk aalsmd ca; alsmca;o ajfroprwaoasgfa;fajsd;afsalkdasserhshdyijrsekoaa

[zanmor]

"It’s just my opinion, but it seems totally fine that you would be denigrated and oppressed because you are not the same gender as me. Don’t be offended that I think women are lesser people and not equal to men. It’s my opinion and that makes it okay."

[feminist-smackdown]

Today in Intercultural Communications, we were talking about sports teams that take their name and symbols from Native Americans (the Redskins, the Braves, etc.)

The most common points made were:

"I see both sides of it, but..."

it's not intended to be an insult, like there's a team called the Bengals but we aren't insulting tigers

it's because we think Native Americans are "strong and awesome"

is anyone mad that we have the patriots as a mascot?

team profits and support would decrease if a franchise had to change their name

To which I say:

"Fuck you, and also..."

your intent doesn't matter. You're a white person. If a Native American tells you your mascot is racist, fucking listen to them. It's racist.

if you think Native Americans are "strong and awesome" why do you cartoonize them and use symbols that depict them as savage or primitive (tomahawks, scalping, etc.) or that shit on cultural traditions (headdresses, music)

anyone can be a fucking patriot but not everyone can be a Native American because it's a fucking cultural group. You are making fun of a specific group of people.

if you value a sports team's identity over the cultural identity of living people, you are racist trash.

"I see both sides of it, but..."

But nothing.

There are no two sides.

Do not negotiate with white supremacists.

-Heather

[feminist-smackdown]

Last week in my Intercultural Communication class, we were talking about white privilege and male privilege. I was too pissed to remember all the bullshit being said, but here are some gems I remember:

"You have to embrace your privileges," said the middle-class white boy in an expensive liberal arts school classroom.

There are four women of color in our class. They have neither male privilege nor white privilege. What the fuck do you suggest to them? Also, embracing your privileges- as opposed to acknowledging them, criticizing them, and dismantling the system which grants them to you- makes you an asshole.

"Women can't have all the power. They'll just run away with it," said the woman to my right.

What makes you think that? I'm guessing it's the lie we've been fed that assertive, female leaders are bossy and not worth anyone's time. Also, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK MEN HAVE DONE WITH THEIR POWER.

"If I decide to hang out with one friend instead of another, technically that's discrimination but it doesn't have anything to do with race," said a classmate out of fucking nowhere.

Except that's not discrimination because discrimination oppresses. No one wants to fucking "hang out" with you, and it's because you're an asshole.

I have to last another 6 weeks in this class without strangling someone. Wish me luck.

-Heather

[feminist-smackdown]

thoughts on drag

My college's Alliance puts on a drag show every year. It benefits One Iowa, the state's largest LGBT outreach and advocacy organization. The drag show is one of the best events of the year and features student performers as well as local kings and queens.

I love the drag show, and it's one of my favorite college traditions. However, this year and last year (especially last year), I noticed something.

Drag kings are usually supposed to be funny, ridiculous, et cetera. But the queens (not so much this year, but especially last year) are always very sexual. This is also supposed to be funny.

I think it says something about gender roles in mainstream culture, that these stereotypes- men are funny, women are sexual- bleed into drag shows. I can't help but wonder if these performances are chosen for ease (sexy man? what?) or because they represent the "best" of men and women: the "best" thing about men being that they're funny; the "best" thing about women being that they've got boobs and whatever else.

Also important to note is that the drag show draws a lot of students into questioning gender identities of performers, but outside the context of a drag show it's not really anyone's business to speculate about and discuss another person's gender identity.

Not that I am against the drag show- but I do think there are things to think about, you dig?

-Heather

[feminist-smackdown]

Sorry for the lack of activity over the past week. I'll try to get better about that! -Heather

[p0ppplio]

sources: [1] [2] [3] [4]

also an addendum to the hunger games slide, when they put out a casting call for the role of Katniss, they specifically asked for only caucasian actors to audition, which left out any possibility for any amazing PoC actors to have been discovered.

i hope this was informational and i didnt leave anything major out. if anything is wrong or needs to be updated, message me and i’l fix any fallacies!

[thekyriarchywontfuckitself]

I can’t believe we even need this, but here we are.

[wsswatson]

Why is it always "queer people are projecting their identities onto characters" and never "straight people are presuming that their identity is the default"?

[feminist-smackdown]

Great article from Delta Delta Delta sorority about cultural appropriation... good read.

[birdroyalty-deactivated20180612]

Hey yeah so I have an Autism Puzzle Piece tattoo. I support the foundation with every fiber of my being. Both my brothers have Aspergers and four out of six of my cousins have severe Autism. Two of which are females. Also their parents have puzzle piece tattoos. I do not appreciate your post telling me that I do not support when I do. If that is your opinion, then good for you however the majority of the population does not share this opinion. So express it in a more respectful way. :)

wow do you actually think i care about your pathetic and completely wrong views.

You don’t support autistic people. You support our murders, our abusers, and our deaths. You support us not existing.

You do not support autistic people and the “majority” of us do not share your fucked up and bullshit opinion that autism speaks does any good for us at all.

I will not express my distain for people who want me dead and who support the dehumanization of autistic people in any “respectful” manner because you are a person who does not deserve any sort of respect. 

You are a disgusting and horrible person, and i hope the deaths and abuse of autistic people you support weigh heavy on your conscious.

Attempt to educate your bigoted self.

[goldenheartedrose]

In other words, “I don’t care that I’m dehumanizing you because the majority of people agree with me and haha, it looks cute! Be niiiiiice.”

[feminist-smackdown]

Friendly reminder that Autism Speaks is not a good organization.

-Heather

[prolife21]

I used to be pro choice, I thought well I won't but I can't control other people. Until I realised that to he pro choice I had to be able to look abortion survivors or anyone really in the eye and dispute their current right to life. I had to be able to tell these people that they did not deserve to live and should die. That is something I cannot do. That is why I'm pro life.

I completely agree. I’m often curious as to what pro-choicers say to abortion survivors since they’re not supposed to be here, or to the people that were conceived in rape but were born anyway.

[lol-at-prolife]

"Abortion survivors".

Oh my fucking god. Yep, that’s what we do. We look at people who’s parents considered abortion and tell them they shouldn’t be alive. You caught us.

The ludicrousness of it, really. - Leigh

[feminist-smackdown]

If I were to meet an actual "abortion survivor" (i.e. the product of a botched abortion, say, Gianna Jessen) I would look them in the eye and say

"You think you're such a symbol of pro-life, when what you're really doing is bragging about how little you care about your birth mother. You are proud of not giving a shit about the circumstances of her life at the time she was pregnant, about the decisions that led her to choose abortion. You say you are pro-life, but really you're just anti woman."

-Heather

[feminist-smackdown]

My college's sociology and anthropology club was hosting a wage gap cupcake sale on Monday and some little shit from one of my classes tried to argue with me about the wage gap

"the wage gap isn't real"

While it is true that the wage gap is due in part to women's choices in careers (choosing lower-paying jobs like teaching rather than STEM fields, for example) but women choose those careers because they have been socialized to think that they cannot be engineers, doctors, rocket scientists, whatever. The wage gap is part of the patriarchy. Try looking at an issue past surface level.

"but im applying for STEM internships and scholarships and they all want women and minorities"

Yes, because historically women and minorities have been turned away from those fields. Trying to close that gap doesn't oppress you. Check your goddamn privilege.

[feminist-smackdown]

"if u eat a danish pastry u r cultural appropriating and sjws will be mad"

Except they won't, because Danish people don't get treated like shit for eating danishes the way black people get treated like shit for wearing dreadlocks or Indian people get treated for wearing a bindi or any other oppressed groups gets treated for engaging in their own culture.

Cultural appropriation is about power.

-Heather

[evilfeminist-deactivated2020042]

 I’m a huge supporter of things which annoy misogynistic rich white men