[kaleighfratkins]

Trauma often messes with one’s ability to say “no”. 

You either consciously or subconsciously think, “I don’t want to hurt this person’s feelings” or “If I say no, then they’ll hurt me” or “It won’t really be that bad” or “I can handle this” or “I need to do this to prove myself” or “I deserve this”, or you forget that “no” is even an option.

It’s still not your fault if you didn’t say “no”, even if you think maybe you could have. It’s still not your fault. You didn’t deserve what happened to you and you didn’t bring it upon yourself. It was never your fault.

[harperhug]

I just cried when I read this. Thank you.

[liryae-blog]

There is literally nothing in nature that blooms all year long, so do not expect yourself to do so.

[thechanelmuse]

“Ballet embraces the soft, ethereal and majestic side to women, and yet we often don’t see the media portray black women in this light. My project aims to reveal that women of color possess these qualities. We too are capable of portraying the princess, fairy and swan.”

 —Aesha Ash

Aesha Ash’s prestigious career has included world class roles. Yet she’s now on to a different mission, with three big goals. She wishes to see ballet become more diverse. She hopes to inspire youth from rough areas to pursue their dreams. And she wants to show the world that tough environments can’t hold back talented people, especially those with ambition.

Aesha performed professionally for 13 years. She attended the legendary School of American Ballet; joined the New York City Ballet at age 18; and has danced solo and principal roles for companies like the Béjart Ballet in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Alonzo King Lines Ballet in San Francisco. Now she’s focused on The Swan Dreams Project, in which she uses imagery to tackle stereotypes placed on black women. Aesha commissions photographers to snap her as a ballerina in her hometown of rugged Rochester, New York, and in Richmond, California, and then donates proceeds from photo sales to organizations helping advance inner city youth. She also donates images to organizations for their fundraisers and to people seeking more positive imagery for their children or groups.

The dancer points out that black women have always existed in ballet, yet few become principals, the highest tier of dancers. When Misty Copeland became the first black female principal with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre last summer, Aesha found the milestone a moment to celebrate, yet sad and troubling that in 2016, we’re still celebrating a first. She hopes The Swan Dreams project will give more dancers — and youths in general — the chance to be celebrated for their own talents.

Rochester has one of America’s highest crime rates. But Aesha hits the streets to prove that her hometown is more than violence and gangs. That’s where her Swan Dreams Project comes in. “My community saw that out of our environment came a ballerina, not just negativity — a little black girl from inner city Rochester actually went on to become a professional ballet dancer in a top-tiered company,” Aesha said in a one-on-one interview for this report. “Youth followed me on the street saying, ‘This is what we need. This lifts us up.’”

Read more

[dopebrooklyn]

Michael B(ae). Jordan for WSJ Magazine

📸: Ethan James Green

[kathyt]

[holy-punks]

[davidout-sortir]

This is so important.

[nicollekidman]

natalie portman radiates such a terrifying energy i can’t describe it….. it’s not exactly evil but it’s not warm either…. i feel like she could unhinge her jaw and drag me into the ocean like a kraken but she wouldn’t bc it’s undignified 

[dancinginthesetrees]

Wanna know why?

“Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman told the crowd at Saturday’s Women’s March in downtown Los Angeles that she experienced what she calls “sexual terrorism” as a 13-year-old after the release of the film The Professional.

Portman described her pride and excitement in releasing the film, only to encounter sexually explicit messages both directed toward her and made about her.

”I excitedly opened my first fan mail to read a rape fantasy that a man had written me,” she recalled. “A countdown was started on my local radio show to my 18th birthday, euphemistically the date that I would be legal to sleep with. Movie reviewers talked about my budding breasts in reviews.”

The experience, she said, changed the way she expressed herself publicly, in order to limit the ways she could be objectified by others.

”I understood very quickly, even as a 13-year-old, that if I were to express myself sexually, I would feel unsafe,” she said. “And that men would feel entitled to discuss and objectify my body to my great discomfort. So I quickly adjusted my behavior. I rejected any role that even had a kissing scene and talked about that choice deliberately in interviews. I emphasized how bookish I was and how serious I was. And I cultivated an elegant way of dressing. I built a reputation for basically being prudish, conservative, nerdy, serious, in an attempt to feel that my body was safe and that my voice would be listened to.”

Video of the speech here: https://www.vox.com/2018/1/21/16917130/natalie-portman-womens-march

[221cbakerstreet]

Let Natalie Portman Unhinge Her Jaw And Drag Men Into The Ocean

[thegiftedoneishere]

It’s bigger than football...he’s bigger than football.

[lovesxars-blog]

✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊

[melinda-january]

👏👏👏👏👏👏

[lavitabella87]

I’m reblogging this every time I see it. 

[onlyblackgirl]

white people are so pressed he got this cover

[theeefoxxx]

This man is everything!

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Side note read other places: He wouldn’t wear anything in this shoot that wasn’t designed by a black person or a woman.

[hubblegleeflower]

Like really, what a goddamn role model. From every angle.

[just-shower-thoughts]

Fitbits are just like Tamagotchis, except the stupid little creature you have to keep alive is yourself.

[im-the-batmann]

[weavemama]

JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED 

[weavemama]

The judge who sentenced this sexual predator is Rosemarie Aquilina. Larry Nassar abused over 150 women, including Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles, and Aly Raisman. Judge Rosemarie made sure this predator pays the price for each and every one of them. Hella props to this badass judge. Judges around the world need to take notes. 

[weavemama]

This is a gif of Judge Rosemarie tossing a bullshit letter larry nassar wrote about how “hard” it is for him to hear his victims testify. The level of badassary within this woman is untouchable. 

[smolbeerke]

am I the only person finding the judge’s behaviour very unprofessional? she isn’t there to play theatrics, she’s there to pass a judgment. her remarks are deeply unnecessary and wrong.

[weavemama]

yep! you absolutely are!

but you know what unnecessary and wrong? 

sexually abusing 150+ women and girls for 25 years and having the audacity to write about how “hard” it is to hear their stories. 

[weavemama]

also! this is a sentence hearing, not a trial. which means judges are free to express their opinions and be a little more emotional. do your research before you cape for one of the most disgusting sexual predators in American history.

[hikergirl]

There’s A Line Between Justice And Vengeance. Larry Nassar’s Judge Crossed It.

Wishing rape on anyone -- even a serial sexual abuser -- is unacceptable.

There has been talk about the men who were not fond of the judge’s remarks. This was written by Melissa Jelten.

[pelicanhypeman]

Yeah … issa no from me, dawg. 

I’ve held off on saying anything online, but these sorts of takes are some bullshit.

She didn’t “wish rape” on him. She literally said if it wasn’t for her respect of the rule of law, she MIGHT ALLOW him to suffer as much and in the same way  as he made others suffer. 

“Our Constitution does not allow for cruel and unusual punishment,” she said. “If it did, I have to say, I might allow what he did to all of these beautiful souls ― these young women in their childhood ― I would allow some or many people to do to him what he did to others.”

And you know what? She listened to over 100 women and girls testify about his violations of them. She heard over and over how every other adult was supposed to protect those women and girls and failed. She heard about people drinking, doing drugs, killing themselves as a result of what this man did. Over and over and over. Given the scope and breadth of this horrific crime, and the cultural moment we live in, to choose THIS LINE from the woman who finally stood up for his actual victims, and to make it about “prison rape” when it’s literally about understanding the desire for eye-for-an-eye justice and respecting that we don’t live that way … choosing that and making it the hill you’re gonna die on is sus.

Prison rape isn’t funny. This also isn’t about prison rape. Don’t get it twisted.

[workingitinportland-deactivated]

I am sick of people demanding marginalised people (in this case women specifically abuse survivors) adhere to a higher standard of conduct than is demonstrated by men in the same position.

We don’t live in a just and impartial society, we live in a highly biased society with serious power imbalances. Pretending that this is otherwise is simply lying and I don’t give a shit about anything anymore

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

How to Turn off Negative Thoughts

1. Notice when you are slipping into negative, absolutist ways of thinking where you think the worst of yourself, your life and your future.

2. Recognise that these are habitual ways of thinking. It’s what you always think when you start to feel bad.

3. Be aware of triggers. Often certain people and situations trigger painful, negative self-destructive thoughts. Try and distance yourself from these, or completely avoid them, if you possibly can.

4. Deliberately look for the counter arguments. For example, when have things been a bit better, when have you done something right, when has someone been kind and understanding?

5. Visualise positive things that make you happy, such as curling up with a book in bed, listening to your favourite music, and so on. Often changing our thinking to things that make us happy changes our negative feelings and thoughts.

6. Get into the habit of building yourself up, so you notice and affirm your successes, strengths, good intentions and positive traits.

[youngsamberg]

me in any inconvenient situation:

[rectumspectrumthemovie]

The Monologue, because I liked it so damn much.

[wackd-archive]

“The thing about repairing, maintaining, and cleaning is: it’s not an adventure. There’s no way to do it so wrong you might die.”

[monoukotori]

#this episode angered a lot of people#like they took it personal because this whole time they related to rick and thought the series was justifying their worldview#but this monologue ripped them all to shreds

[tammy-dahlia]

I generally don’t like this show and its fans because sometimes they can be incredibly dense and completely miss the entire point. But this monologue. This monologue made up for all the toxic waste that’s come out of a lot of fans’ mouths. And for that I am grateful they ran it.

[thenatsdorf]

View this post on Instagram

“I’m just gonna put my paws in the water.”

[girlwithalessonplan]

That was so wholesome and pure.

[fallontonight]

Jessica Chastain shared why speaking out against sexual harassment is important to her.

[brittany-murphy]