#gender issues

[spohkh]

Paywall bypass link for Supriya Ganesh's essay "My Strange Dysphoria"

[covenofvenus]

A Historical Deep Dive into the Founders of Black Womanism & Modern Feminism

Six African American Suffragettes Mainstream History Tried to Forget

These amazing Black American women each advanced the principles of modern feminism and Black womanism by insisting on an intersectional approach to activism. They understood that the struggles of race and gender were intertwined, and that the liberation of Black women was essential. Their writings, speeches, and actions have continued to inspire movements addressing systemic inequities, while affirming the voices of marginalized women who have shaped society. Through their amazing work, they have expanded the scope of womanism and intersectional feminism to include racial justice, making it more inclusive and transformative.

Anna Julia Cooper (1858–1964)

Quote: “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class—it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.”

Contribution: Anna Julia Cooper was an educator, scholar, and advocate for Black women’s empowerment. Her book A Voice from the South by a Black Woman of the South (1892) is one of the earliest articulations of Black feminist thought. She emphasized the intellectual and cultural contributions of Black women and argued that their liberation was essential to societal progress. Cooper believed education was the key to uplifting African Americans and worked tirelessly to improve opportunities for women and girls, including founding organizations for Black women’s higher education. Her work challenged both racism and sexism, laying the intellectual foundation for modern Black womanism.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911)

Quote: “We are all bound together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul.”

Contribution: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was a poet, author, and orator whose work intertwined abolitionism, suffrage, and temperance advocacy. A prominent member of the American Equal Rights Association, she fought for universal suffrage, arguing that Black women’s voices were crucial in shaping a just society. Her 1866 speech at the National Woman’s Rights Convention emphasized the need for solidarity among marginalized groups, highlighting the racial disparities within the feminist movement. Harper’s writings, including her novel Iola Leroy, offered early depictions of Black womanhood and resilience, paving the way for Black feminist literature and thought.

Ida B. Wells (1862–1931)

Quote: “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”

Contribution: Ida B. Wells was a fearless journalist, educator, and anti-lynching activist who co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Her investigative reporting exposed the widespread violence and racism faced by African Americans, particularly lynchings. As a suffragette, Wells insisted on addressing the intersection of race and gender in the fight for women’s voting rights. At the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C., she famously defied instructions to march in a segregated section and joined the Illinois delegation at the front, demanding recognition for Black women in the feminist movement. Her activism laid the groundwork for modern feminisms inclusion of intersectionality, emphasizing the dual oppressions faced by Black women.

Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)

Quote: “Ain’t I a Woman?”

Contribution: Born into slavery, Sojourner Truth became a powerful voice for abolition, women's rights, and racial justice after gaining her freedom. Her famous 1851 speech, "Ain’t I a Woman?" delivered at a women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio, directly challenged the exclusion of Black women from the feminist narrative. She highlighted the unique struggles of Black women, who faced both racism and sexism, calling out the hypocrisy of a movement that often-centered white women’s experiences. Truth’s legacy lies in her insistence on equality for all, inspiring future generations to confront the intersecting oppressions of race and gender in their advocacy.

Nanny Helen Burroughs (1879–1961)

Quote: “We specialize in the wholly impossible.”

Contribution: Nanny Helen Burroughs was an educator, activist, and founder of the National Training School for Women and Girls in Washington, D.C., which emphasized self-sufficiency and vocational training for African American women. She championed the "Three B's" of her educational philosophy: Bible, bath, and broom, advocating for spiritual, personal, and professional discipline. Burroughs was also a leader in the Women's Convention Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention, where she pushed for the inclusion of women's voices in church leadership. Her dedication to empowering Black women as agents of social change influenced both the feminist and civil rights movements, promoting a vision of racial and gender equality.

Elizabeth Piper Ensley (1847–1919)

Quote: “The ballot in the hands of a woman means power added to influence.”

Contribution: Elizabeth Piper Ensley was a suffragist and civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in securing women’s suffrage in Colorado in 1893, making it one of the first states to grant women the vote. As a Black woman operating in the predominantly white suffrage movement, Ensley worked to bridge racial and class divides, emphasizing the importance of political power for marginalized groups. She was an active member of the Colorado Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association and focused on voter education to ensure that women, especially women of color, could fully participate in the democratic process. Ensley’s legacy highlights the importance of coalition-building in achieving systemic change.

To honor these pioneers, we must continue to amplify Black women's voices, prioritizing intersectionality, and combat systemic inequalities in race, gender, and class.

Modern black womanism and feminist activism can expand upon these little-known founders of woman's rights by continuously working on an addressing the disparities in education, healthcare, and economic opportunities for marginalized communities. Supporting Black Woman-led organizations, fostering inclusive black femme leadership, and embracing allyship will always be vital.

Additionally, when we continuously elevate their contributions in social media or multi-media art through various platforms, and academic curriculum we ensure their legacies continuously inspire future generations. By integrating their principles into feminism and advocating for collective liberation, women and feminine allies can continue their fight for justice, equity, and feminine empowerment, hand forging a society, by blood, sweat, bones and tears where all women can thrive, free from oppression.

[theawkwardwriter2810]

Timmy didn't understand gender when he was young. His parent weren't often there, but when they were they didn't really follow the stereotypes.

His mother was distant, sometimes cold, and she ran the Drake inc shareholders like they were her dogs. In comparison, his father preferred to stay home and cook, it was one of the view places he actually had access to a kitchen.

Timmy has a memory of sitting on his fathers lap as he shows Tim his great grandmother's prized earrings. They were a family heirloom, lasting for generations from one women to the next. When Jack Drake's mother died before she could give a daughter the earing were reluctantly pasted down to Jack.

Jack would hold Tim in his arms as he put the earrings on, one by one. Timmy would always get mesmerized, his father was the pretties person he knew. It was one of the few times he saw his mother actually smile. Not the wide one which had the goal of showing teeth rather than joy, but the tight lipped quirk of the mouth, where Janet Drakes eyes were squinting with glee.

Tim remembers that moment with his father, one of the moments that kept him in that house for so long.

Timmy takes out the blue sapphire earrings of his great grandmother as he finishes putting on his tux. He puts on the earrings delicately threw the botched ear piercings Tim did by himself when he was twelve. He never felt as much like himself as when he wore those earrings.

[oilbirrks]

The anger that rushes through me when someone brings up male loneliness and someone feels the need to comment that its always the mans fault for abusing and disrespecting women, like.... You know you're adding to the problem, right???

[the-bar-sinister]

Have you ever noticed how only characters who shapeshift get labeled genderfluid?

It's because the people falling into this trap consider gender and physical sex to be linked. So in their minds obviously a character who changes physical sex would be genderfluid.

I think it's just as interesting to have a shapeshifting character who has a consistent gender no matter what body they're using.

[lilietsblog]

Something ppl gotta understand abt being nonbinary... "are you X gender or not" is also a binary. Which one can be Non

[paddysnuffles]

I saw a video the other day that was really cool.

It was a video of the method a mom is using to keep her boys from being redpilled

Instead of forbidding her boys from watching redpill content, this mom gets clips of redpill podcasts and listens to them with her kids.

She then stops every so often and asks critical thinking questions, like "Who benefits from what he's saying?" and "What is the overall message he's trying to get across?" and "What do you think about what he's saying?".

The boys then think on it and respond.

In the case of the video, they were watching a Charlie Kirk clip where he was talking about how men shouldn't trust/allow women to be figures of authority over them, his example being teachers.

The two kids were around 10-12 and 6-8. The oldest was like "Men are the ones who benefit from what he's saying. But women don't, so I think it's kinda mysoginistic."

And the little one was like "I think it's silly to say women shouldn't be allowed to have authority over men, because teachers are trying to help you learn things. They're telling you what to do for a reason."

[the-lesbian-of-too-many-fandoms]

INTRODUCING NIX’S PARENTS THE PHANTOM AND DR. ZOR!!!

They hate them :3