Call to Outlaws

Writer/feminist/artist posting about books/feminism/art with a dash of capriciousness.

[brutereason]

Sexist and other discriminatory disparaging humor takes a code for granted: its funniness relies on people recognizing the stereotypes that are the basis for the joke. It asks us to not take discriminatory stereotyping seriously. That’s not going to take the sting out of it. Ford and Ferguson concluded that jokes don’t create hostility to the outgroup where it doesn’t already exist. But the evidence, they said, showed that joking reinforces existing prejudice. If you joke about women and get away with it, those who are hostile to women will see this as social sanction for their views and behavior. The joke tellers don’t themselves have to be actively misogynist to end up encouraging others to be.

» “Just” Joking? Sexist Talk in Science (via brutereason)

[catsbeaversandducks]

Cats Who Are Sick of Taking Selfies

(photos by rayford, itsmeee_jessica, ryan0617, rlseafor, inanetteshell, cassielikesyou, jazzillaa, libbye, brokenribbon, waking19)

[drawpaintprint]

Henri de Toulouse Lautrec: In Bed, the Kiss (1892)

[poetsorg]

Implicit in poetry is the notion that we are deepened by heartbreaks, that we are not so much diminished as enlarged by grief, by our refusal to vanish—to let others vanish—without leaving a verbal record.

Edward Hirsch (via poetsorg)

[thelikeness]

we are all aware that marriage is only one step on the road to true equality but please do not dismiss how significant the legal right to marriage is, when us federal state and marriage laws guarantee couples over 1200 different legal protections including:

hospital visitation when there’s been an accident or illness

the ability to obtain “family” health coverage

taxation and inheritance rights

their role as parent of their children and better stability in the lives of their children 

even protection in case the relationship ends

marriage is a big deal. it is not the final deal. but it is something to celebrate [insert ten thousand rainbow and crying emois]

[keeponchasingthatmelody]

Please signal boost this for anyone that owns a dog, works with dogs or knows someone with a dog, this is SO IMPORTANT.

A lot of dog owners give their dogs peanut butter. It’s great as a treat given in small quantities and most dogs love the stuff. But PLEASE check the ingredients before giving it to your dog. There is a sweetener called XYLITOL, often found in chewing gum, dental hygiene products and it can also be purchased as a sweetener itself, and now they’ve started putting it in some peanut butters. It is EXTREMELY TOXIC to dogs and can be potentially fatal if not dealt with immediately when ingested by a dog. Check the ingredients, if XYLITOL is mentioned then PLEASE DO NOT FEED IT TO YOUR DOG! If you suspect your dog has ingested XYLITOL, which can often happen through dogs finding chewing gum in bags (they like the smell of mint), or if they do happen to have peanut butter containing it, call your vet straight away. I’m a dog trainer, I see lots of goods, but I also see the bads, and the last thing I want to see is dogs coming to harm because people are unaware of this so please if there’s one thing you do then reblog this or at least tell people about it. Thank you so much!

[edgebug]

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp

THIS IS 100% LEGIT. Xylitol can cause a HUGE surge of insulin in dogs and in higher doses is toxic to their livers. Three grams of xylitol can kill a 65lb dog.

[professionaldaydreamer2]

Coping strategy for when you are trapped in conversations with obnoxious people:

1. Pick a spot nearby, around eye level, preferably a small object. That is now the camera. 2. When they say something you just cannot stand, look directly into the camera like you’re on The Office 3. Repeat as often as needed

[riotworkshop]

[femfreq]

When you go to the movies and there is a sexist, racist or transphobic joke.

[penamerican]

“Watch out for intellect, because it knows so much it knows nothing and leaves you hanging upside down, mouthing knowledge as your heart falls out of your mouth.” ―Anne Sexton

[businessinsider]

There’s a startling difference between what men want in a wife and in a daughter

[meanestgay-deactivated20150603]

this is really creepy

[actionables]

Because news cameras are apparently only there if looting and protests are mentioned, here are some shots from the march for peace in Charleston yesterday. In case you missed it, thousands marched to Ravenel Bridge, holding hands in prayer and unity. Yet this doesn’t make news, but an interview with the killer’s friend does. all photos from Twitter

[watchoutforintellect]

My blood is alive with many voices telling me I am made of longing.

Rainer Maria Rilke, from The Book of Hours I, 39  (via lentigos)

[the-perks-of-being-black]

“…When I say the greatest athlete in a generation, I mean the greatest in any sport. Sorry, LeBron. Sorry, Tiger. Sorry, Derek. For fifteen years, over two generations of tennis, Williams has been a spectacular and constant yet oddly uncherished national treasure. She is wealthy and famous, but it seems that she should be more famous, the most famous. Anyone who likes sports should love Williams’s dazzling combination of talent, persistence, style, unpredictability, poise, and outsized, heart-on-her-sleeve flaws. 

But not everyone loves her. Part of this is owing to the duelling -isms of American prejudice, sexism, and racism…. 

…But it’s not enough to say that Williams would be more uniformly adored if she were a white woman, or a man. Instead, the failure to fully appreciate her importance is perhaps evidence of our inability to appreciate the stubbornly unfamiliar narrative arc of her career. Williams is underloved because, at times, she has been unlovable and, in the end, mostly unrepentant about it—something that might be admired as iconoclastic in a male athlete, but rarely endears women to a wide audience…. 

[Recently,] after a disappointing showing in the three previous Grand Slam tournaments, Williams said that she adopted a new way of thinking about the game, to put less pressure on herself by appreciating what she had already accomplished. ‘That’s the beauty of my career,’ she said before the Open. ‘I don’t need to do anything at all. Everything I do from this day forward is a bonus. Actually, from yesterday. It doesn’t matter. Everything for me is just extra.’ This is surely wisdom, but it is also a form of sports sacrilege. I don’t have anything to prove; I have been great—so great, in fact, that at this point winning doesn’t even matter.” 

Excerpted from an article by Ian Crouch for New Yorker Magazine

Photograph by Darron Cummings/AP

Read more

[howilearnedtocope]

3 types of self soothing thoughts

Validation - it’s ok that I hurt and want to feel better

Reassurance - I can handle this pain, even though it hurts and I don’t like it

Perspective taking: I’ve had bad days like this before, and my record of making it through them is 100%. I can also remember my better days, and know I’m not always hurting this much 

Concept from Depressed and Anxious, which is hands down the best and most useful book on DBT skills I’ve ever seen. I highly recommend it! 

[pencilcat]

“Clever Girl”

A little recognition for the real star of Jurassic Park. 

This print is now available on Redbubble

[fatsexybitch]

I used to have a co-worker who would call me “clever girl” and it helped to think about myself as an especially tech savvy raptor. I will treasure this always

[lavagoth]