Stuff I Like @upthewoolves - Tumblr Blog

When Margaret Atwood said, “there is something in your throat that wants to get out and you won’t let it.” and then Franz Kafka wrote, “And what I really intended to say in the end remains unsaid.”

lofijazz

ancestorswatching

In many cultures, ethnic groups, and nations around the world, hair is considered a source of power and prestige. African people brought these traditions and beliefs to the Americas and passed them down through the generations.

In my mother’s family (Black Americans from rural South Carolina) the women don’t cut their hair off unless absolutely necessary (i.e damage or routine trimming). Long hair is considered a symbol of beauty and power; my mother often told me that our hair holds our strength and power. Though my mother’s family has been American born for several generations, it is fascinating to see the beliefs and traditions of our African ancestors passed down. We are emotionally and spiritually attached to our hair, cutting it only with the knowledge that we are starting completely clean and removing stagnant energy.

Couple this with the forced removal and covering of our hair from the times of slavery and onward, and you can see why so many Black women and men alike take such pride and care in their natural hair and love to adorn our heads with wigs, weaves, braids, twists, accessories, and sharp designs.

Hair is not just hair in African diaspora cultures, and this is why the appropriation and stigma surrounding our hair is so harmful.

arofrog-archive

[ID: nine square images explaining the importance of Black hair. All but the first image have a plain light cream background, a title and text with a picture and are credited to @vibesofablackgirl.

Image 1: a picture of a dark-skinned Black woman wearing makeup with their hair styled in an Afro. A search bar across their face reads “Reasons why Black hair is not just hair”.

Image 2: Title is “The Pencil Test”. Text reads “Between 1948 and 1994, the pencil test was a method used to assess whether a person was White or Black. A pencil was slid into the hair of someone being assessed. If the pencil fell out you were White and if it stayed in you were Black. This was a tool used to segregate Black people and stop them attending functions, schools and events. Not only did this cause racial division it also tore families apart”. A sketch of a Black woman undergoing the pencil test is shown beside the text.

Image 3: Title is “Map to Freedom”. Text reads “Cornrows have a rich history in the Black community. Slaves would braid escape routes into their hair. They were used as a way for slaves to communicate with with one another without their slave owners knowing. Some of the cornrows and the number of plaits worn would let them know how far they needed to travel or how many roads they needed to walk til they would be able to meet one another to escape the plantation”. A photo of seven people with different cornrows.

Image 4: Title is “Means of Survival”. Text reads “The Black women who came before us were innovative and showed that the thickens and texture of Black hair was so valuable and had a purpose. This was because slaves would braid rice and seeds in their cornrows before journeying the Middle Passage. Enslaved mothers would also braid seeds in their children's hair so they could eat in case they were separated due to slave auctions”. A photo of a Black woman having her hair braided with food.

Image 5: Titled “Cultural Representation”. Text reads “Before colonisation in the 15th century, Black hair could tell you everything you needed to know about a person just by looking at the style alone. Hairstyles were able to indicate things like wealth, religion, culture, tribe, marital status, social status, age and plenty more. You were even able to know a person's last name just by looking at their hairstyle. This is because each tribe had their own unique hairstyle”. A photo of a Black person with a tribal hairstyle.

Image 6: Titled “The Tignon Law”. Text reads “Late 18th century in Louisiana, Black women were banned from wearing it in public and were ordered to cover it up at all times. This was because they wanted to curb the growing influence of the free Black population and keep the social order. It was also believed Black women's hairstyles would draw the attention of white men, and this increased the jealousy of white women”. A photo of a Black woman with her hair covered.

Image 7: Titled “Stripped of Identity”. Text reads “When the slave trade started and the slaves were captured, Black women were forced to shave all their hair off. This was the beginning process of eradicating the Black identity and culture. It was also a tool to minimise Black beauty and dehumanise Black women, as slave owners knew their hair was something they valued enormously, was part of their identity and it also held so much significance”. A photo of a Black woman with a fully shaved head.

Image 8: Titled “Cultural Appropriation”. Text reads “Black hairstyles are an outward expression of self-acceptance and self-love. However, the anti-Black hair sentiment has existed in society for centuries. Black hair has been compared to wool and often described as ‘wild’, ‘nappy’ or ‘ghetto’. Yet non-Black people are praised, credited and even profit from styles and trends that Black women have been ridiculed for. Cultural appreciation is about recognising the history and where it came from, which includes learning about and giving credit to what you're borrowing, instead of saying ‘it’s just hair’”. A photo of three white women wearing thick dreadlocks.

Image 9: Titled “The Corporate World”. Text reads “In 2010, Chastity Jones accepted a job offer from Catastrophe Management Solutions. However, the offer came with one caveat – she had to cut off her locks. Jones refused, and the company rescinded its job offer. Chastity’s case is not unique. Cases filed by Black working women alleging discrimination against their natural hair in the workplace have filled courthouses for more than forty years”. A photo of a Black woman on TV in court.

End descriptions.]

rneadowsoprano-deactivated20211

I don’t think bombing civilians in war torn countries is an unfortunate necessity like it literally doesn’t have to happen and I don’t understand how people can be so indifferent about it if their team is doing it....you know 90% of the victims of Obama’s air strikes were civilians. And civilian means woman, girl, or male child under fighting age. Adult men weren’t counted towards civilian death tolls. So the actual civilian death toll is closer to 100%. Our military is literally a terrorist organization and nobody cares as long as the president is a decent orator. All of those people are just as real as you are. A million innocent people have died as a result of the Iraq war both directly and indirectly and only a handful of us seem to lose any sleep over the fact that this terrorism is done in our names witn our money. People talk about them like they’re cockroaches. It makes me sick to my stomach

royal-rainbow

it’s honestly so depressing when people make the ~haha well I bet you only have missionary sex in the dark at 8pm~ ‘argument’ against anyone who criticises bdsm or kink communities, and we’re supposed to view that suggestion as a hilarious extreme. We’ve reached a point where girls are literally being told (by ‘feminists’, no less!) that there’s something embarrassing, uncool, even shameful about having or wanting sex that doesn’t involve pain and degradation, and that attitude has somehow actually come to be seen as progressive for women.

kryckka

despite everything, you still love madoka magica (happy 10th anniversary!!)

lesbianaglaya

tragedy as a genre asks us repeatedly “why did this have to happen?”. why did medea kill her children? why did lear reject the only daughter who truly loved him? why cant estragon and vladimir simply walk away? we can accept the idea that these are events made inevitable by some facet of the characters personalities. we can argue that circumstances forced their hand. but ultimately we dont have these answers and thats why i think tragedy. is a genre so given to retellings and repetition. the why is tantalizing — maybe if we play it again, we can figure out where it went wrong. so anyways as always we’re back at hadestown’s “its a sad song, but we sing it anyway. to know how it ends, and still begin to sing it again, as if it might turn out this time …”

onlytwitterpics

weltenwellen

Heather Havrilesky, How to Be a Person in the World

moonskek-deactivated20251028

“Lilith and Eve” by Yuri Klapouh

lifeafterpsychiatry

Dealing With Executive Dysfunction - A Masterpost

The “getting it done in an unconventional way” method.

The “it’s not cheating to do it the easy way” method.

The “fuck what you’re supposed to do” method.

The “get stuff done while you wait” method.

The “you don’t have to do everything at once” method.

The “it doesn’t have to be permanent to be helpful” method.

The “break the task into smaller steps” method.

The “treat yourself like a pet” method.

The “it doesn’t have to be all or nothing” method.

The “put on a persona” method.

The “act like you’re filming a tutorial” method.

The “you don’t have to do it perfectly” method.

The “wait for a trigger” method.

The “do it for your future self” method.

The “might as well” method.

The “when self discipline doesn’t cut it” method.

The “taking care of yourself to take care of your pet” method.

The “make it easy” method.

The “junebugging” method.

The “just show up” method.

The “accept when you need help” method.

The “make it into a game” method.

The “everything worth doing is worth doing poorly” method.

The “trick yourself” method.

The “break it into even smaller steps” method.

The “let go of should” method.

The “your body is an animal you have to take care of” method.

The “fork theory” method.

The “effectivity over aesthetics” method.

imsoshive

Know the difference

majoraz

artsybookworms

Greetings, Reddit. I [22M] brought a creature to life that I assembled myself from various body parts in a nearby morgue. But when it opened its eyes... they were just so frightening! Like any man of rational thought, I fled from the beast. Unfortunately, the monster felt abandoned by my departure and left to commit heinous acts of murder. It misread the whole situation; if it had simply given me a few minutes to relax, I am positive I would have gone back to check on it. But I still feel rather guilty for some reason beyond my comprehension. AITA?