#equality bitches

[snowbanshee]

So, I've been playing EC and...

Petition to allow male SOLDIERs to wear the same uniform as female SOLDIERs

Okay, here we go:

[proship-kacchan]

If Bakugou gets to be a soft tsundere boy, so does Enji

[juenereveuse]

Ahhh I love my new tattoo

[peoplecallmelucifer]

Ok folks we have a lot of art of useless lesbians

But here I have a comix panel of a useles gay boy, enjoy!

[psychotria-nervosa]

Name Brand Humanity

My roommate brought up the topic of unequal pay in the workplace due to gender and it spurred a little discussion on bias.

What I realized mid-discussion, my epiphany of sorts, was that bias is essentially paying for name-brand humans. The ideal “fashion” of the workplace is the straight white male. They have been socially branded as the “best” in terms of an outside viewpoint. A company led by bright, young, white men is a driven and successful company, a true threat. A company led by a woman, perhaps an African-American woman, is regarded more as a good effort or a nice try - not a competitor. The workplace claims to be free of gender and racial bias, the workplace led by straight white males. And this got me thinking, how can the face of the workplace bias tell us there’s no more workplace bias?

Men are paid more for the same job. And if women enter a previously male-dominated field, the salary drops significantly, while if men enter a previously female-dominated field, they instantly get paid much more. They’re doing the same work. But if a company had three considerations for a promotion, let’s say a white man, a white woman and a black man, who would they pick? The white man. Why? Because he’s the name brand. 

Let’s say you had to pick between Starbucks brand coffee and a lesser known brand, like Dunn Brothers. Even though Dunn Brothers makes better coffee, you’re going to choose Starbucks because of the brand. You’ll pay for what’s popular, what’s trendy, what will make you look the coolest. The quality isn’t what matters to you- it’s the respect of your peers. Starbucks is well-known, well-branded and well-marketed. By purchasing it, you associate yourself with that popularity. With the name. Dunn Brothers is local, and relatively unknown. There’s no status associated with Dunn Brothers coffee. There’s no fancy Instagram aesthetic. But what you don’t know is that Dunn Brothers has higher quality coffee. And honestly, you don’t care. Because being popular is more important than being good.

So what does this have to do with bias? Straight, white men are the Starbucks of humanity. They look good in pictures, they have stereotypically been in charge for centuries, they promote an air of success and power. Maybe they don’t turn in high quality work, but they look good. And you want your company to look good, so you “buy” straight white males.

I’m not saying men don’t do good work. If a man is doing a better job than me, then he deserves recognition. But if I, a queer female, am producing higher quality work, then I expect to be recognized for it. And paid for it. If I’m doing the same work, then I deserve the same pay. Logically. Your race and gender shouldn’t determine your success. Your work should.

This makes sense, right? That a person should be judged on their quality of work and their performance rather than their gender or their race? Of course it makes sense, say the white-male-dominated corporations. This is an unbiased work environment, they proclaim. They promote it. It’s a marketing technique. Come work here, there’s no bias! Come try this new iced coffee concoction! But it’s talk. It’s a way of promoting the organization. It’s another way of looking better. And then they promote the model white male to the position of power, so he can make eloquent speeches about the eradication of bias. Who cares if he does awful work? He’s pretty.

Name brands look nice. They make their owners look popular and rich and privileged. They show status. But are they durable? Do they last? Who cares? They don’t have to actually work, they just have to look pretty.

Stop buying name brand humans. Stop telling me my field is male-dominated. Stop telling me anything depends on your race or your gender. I am going to graduate in four years with a degree in biomedical engineering. I am female. I am pansexual. I am white. If any of these factors affects my salary or my ability to get a job, you better believe I’ll throw a hissy fit. Because my ability to do calculus doesn’t depend on the color of my skin or whether or not I have a vagina. It depends on my brain. 

Don’t hire people cause they’re pretty. Hire people because they will benefit you. Your gender, race, or sexual orientation have absolutely nothing to do with your ability to perform. 

Stop branding humans. Stop using gender or racial bias as a marketing campaign.

Start hiring people. Because the cure for cancer could be in anyone’s brain right now. Or the solution to renewable energy. Or the design for self-driving cars. Ideas don’t have bias. So why should we?

[saranwolf-blog]

I had a random thought and now it won't leave my brain, someone please draw me in a dress and a glitter beard omg

[bands-took-social-life-never-had]

Kellin Quinn is my spirit animal

[doomedsiren-blog-blog]

That's how I celebrate the new law in the USA. I'd wish every new-wed couple of the last days could have a rainbow cake like I have