The Wild Lotus Project

Using social media to shine a spotlight on trafficking, girl's education, and other critical issues, with hopes that increased awareness will lead to an increase in action. Knowledge=Empowerment.

[wildlotusproject]

The Wild Lotus Project Has Moved!

Hello Tumblr World,

I apologize for the 9-month sabbatical. I have been traveling, applying to graduate schools, and moving into a tiny apartment in NYC! Now that I'm all settled, I'm proud to announce my newest project in the making, Try To Be Human. It focuses on much of the same issues that we do here--education, global health, human rights, the exploitation of women--but with a bit of a twist.

Try To Be Human is dedicated to spreading awareness about travel in particular, and helping others to become more responsible and socially conscious global guests. We talk about the volunteer industry, commercial sex trade, and the environmental impacts of our actions (just to name a few). Try To Be Human also provides resources for travelers who strive to connect with the communities which they visit, and would like to volunteer or work in a responsible manner, by prioritizing the needs of the locals. 

If this sounds interesting to you, then I would encourage you to please check out my new page and give it some love and support! This is a cause that I feel very strongly about, as I learned quite a lot while traveling in Asia and Europe over the past year and most of it was unsettling. I hope to change the conversation and challenge the perceptions of others, without discouraging them from traveling altogether.

We must choose to empower, instead of exploit, the communities that we visit, live, and work in.

Thank you for reading, and I hope that you will enjoy this new project!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trytobehumanorg

Instagram: trytobehuman

Twitter: TryToBeHuman_

[sofsocialgood]

"Investing in girls is the single most powerful investment for development. Girls’ education fights poverty, inequality, and discrimination. And, the children born to educated women are healthier and survive at better rates." 

Learn more via UNICEF. 

[0liviabenson]

We hope that you will join us and our partners at 1 in 6 and A Call to Men on this very, very important iniative. Again, to learn more visit men.joyfulheartfoundation.org. Thank you. (x)

[4000yearsforchoice]

Happy Human Right’s Day from 4000 Years for Choice!

[mlchestney9]

How Can You Fight Human Trafficking? Here's One Simple Way.

[wildlotusproject]

Behind every number is a human being with a story worth telling and a life of freedom worth living.

[murrayed]

[excusemybrain]

Best response to the “are you on your period?” question goes to Leonardo DiCaprio

[halloweeninmyheart]

and still no Oscar

[alchemy-deactivated20210904]

[[trigger warning: rape]]In response to the Steubenville, Ohio teen rape case, West Virginia U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld is launching a program to teach high school athletes not to post evidence of rape online. It’s called “Project Future,” and his goal is to teach teens how to avoid getting in trouble with the law by using cell phones, cameras, and social media “responsibly.” Instead of teaching teens not to rape, the U.S. Attorney wants to teach them not to get caught. This is rape culture at work: The very people who are in charge of enforcing our laws look at a cruel, brutal attack on a young girl and think, “If only the teens hadn’t posted photographic evidence online.”

"Project Future"  (via firefoxed)

I literally want to throw up.

(via bleeckerand6th)

[ppaction]

We’re the new generation of leaders in the reproductive justice movement, and it’s up to us to take up the fight for women’s rights. Are you part of the PP Generation?

[lazyyogi]

From the moment of birth every human being wants happiness and freedom and wants to avoid suffering. In this we are all the same; and the more we care for the happiness of others the greater our own sense of each other becomes.

The Dalai Lama (via lazyyogi)

[herjustice]

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Free

New York City Bar Association 42 West 44th Street

The Task Force for Women in the Courts Committee at the NYC Bar Association invites you to join a panel of distinguished experts leading the fight against sex trafficking for…

[grace-foundation]

[feministquotes]

"Man is defined as a human being and woman as a female – whenever she behaves as a human being she is said to imitate the male."

Simone de Beauvoir 

106 years today since the birth of Simone de Beauvoir 

(via feministquotes)

[purely-vegan]

[misandry-mermaid]

So what does it say about the feminist movement when their biggest battle last year was over “Blurred Lines,” a pop song on the radio?

2013 Accomplishments in Feminism:

January 16, NY Times: "Kerry Washington Becomes the First Black Network TV Lead Actress in 40 Years."

February 12, The Guardian: "US Senate renews domestic violence bill despite Republican opposition"

February 27, The Washington Post: "100 years after suffrage march, activists walk in tradition of Inez Milholland"

February 28, Mother Jones: "GOP Caves, Stops Blocking Violence Against Women Act"

March 4, USA Today: "Obamacare critics’ big complaint: Contraceptives"

March 23, Feministing: "Zerlina Maxwell Speaks Out Against Rape Culture on Fox News"

March 25, The Guardian: "US Senate renews domestic violence bill despite Republican opposition"

March 26, PolicyMic: "GLAAD Expands Mission to Include Transgender Rights"

May 2, Think Progress: "Women’s Health Groups Slam Obama Administration’s Fight To Maintain Age Restrictions On Plan B"

May 2, The New York Times: "Obama Picks Nominees for Commerce Dept. and Trade Representative"

June 6, The Nation: "Walmart Strikers Target Waltons, as NOW Calls Out Obamas"

June 25, "Senator Wendy Davis Holds 11 Hour Filibuster to Block Anti-Choice Bill"

June 28, POLITICO: "Obama Administration Finalizes Free Contraception Coverage Policy"

July 7, The Windy City Times: "Transgender issues discussed at NOW conference"

July 12, BBC, "Malala Yousafzai Speaks At United Nations About Girls’ Rights to Education on her 16th Birthday"

July 26, Mother Jones "Supreme Court Strikes Down DOMA and Proposition 8 on the Same Day"

August 13, US News "Calif. Governer Signs Transgender Students Rights Bill"

August 24, USA Today: "Women play larger role in 2nd March on Washington"

August 28, POLITICO: "Women’s groups push hard for Janet Yellen for Fed job"

August 31, Times of India "Gang Rapists Light Punishment Sparks Massive Global Protests"

September 12, Colorlines: "Watch 100 Women Risk Arrest for Immigration Reform"

September 12, The New York Times: "Women’s Groups Rally for Immigration Reform"

September 15, The Nation: "The Populist Rebellion That Tripped Up Larry Summers"

September 26, PolicyMic: "Marissa Alexander, Jailed for Self-Defense Shooting, Released on Bond"

November 19, Village Voice: "Feminist Comedian’s Telethon Raises $50,000 for Abortion Rights in Texas"

November 20, Ms. Magazine: "Gloria Steinam Receives Top Nation Honor For Women’s Rights Work"

November 21, LA Times: "Engineering Toy Marketed to Girls Raises $285,000 on KickStarter"

December 15, The Washington Post: "Celebvocate: Kelly Rutherford on equal rights in family court"

You were saying?

[wretchedoftheearth]

[TW: rape culture] And when we frame all women as being someone’s wife, mother or daughter, what are we teaching young girls? We are teaching them that in order to have the law on their side, they need to be loved by men. That they need to make themselves attractive and appealing to men in order to be worthy of protection. That their lives and their bodily integrity are valueless except for how they relate to the men they know. The truth is that I am someone’s wife. I am also someone’s mother. I am someone’s daughter, and someone’s sister. But those are not the things that define me, or make me valuable in this world. Those are not the reasons that I should be able to live a life free from rape, sexual assault or any kind of violent crime. I have value because I am a person. Full stop. End of argument. This isn’t even a discussion that we should be having. So please, let’s start teaching that fact to the young women in our lives. Teach them that you love, honour and value them because of who they are. Teach them that they should expect to be treated with integrity because it’s a basic human right. Teach them that they do not deserve to be raped because no one ever, ever, ever deserves to be raped. Above all, teach them that they are people, too.

I Am Not Your Wife, Sister, or Daughter. I Am a Person

This post is soooo good at articulating why it’s so harmful to have to relate women to men through their relationships with men

(via wretchedoftheearth)

[rewiredotnews]

It’s Not a Sin to Use Birth Control—It’s a Sin to Impede Access to Birth Control

[hopeanchorsthesoul619-deactivat]

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Most people are unaware that slavery still exists in our world today or at least are unaware of the magnitude of it. Unfortunately, it does still exist today. There are 27 million people trapped in slavery. We can start eradicating human trafficking by raising awareness about this issue, and then take action by donating, advocating, and being a voice for the voiceless.

Get educated yourself on this issue if you already have not! Spread the word through social media that January is Human Trafficking Awareness month! (This doesn’t have to be just limited to January.) Tell your friends and family about the issue! Encourage others about spreading awareness! Do whatever you can to educate yourself and raise awareness around you. Considering how much social media and mass media impacts us, our society, and culture think about how much of a difference we can make spreading awareness through media!

I wonder how many people watch the Superbowl every year? I know at least a million people do! Imagine if somehow we could spread the word to that many people by just sharing the knowledge we have about this issue. What if there was a commercial explaining the injustices of human trafficking & encouraging us to take action during the Superbowl? Imagine how many people we could reach & get involved in fight against human trafficking!

Get Educated! http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/overview

Raise awareness & take action! http://enditmovement.com/

[dontsellbodies]

Don’t forget dontsellbodies.org!