"For every Harriet Tubman there are hundreds of thousands of black women who died as slaves. For every Sojourner Truth there are hundreds of thousands who were never able to speak publicly about their experiences."
— Melissa Harris-Perry on the legacy of the black woman in America. She discusses the fact that black women are mythicized into these hyper-strong, powerful, magical beings that never need help and have the means to fight against all who oppress her. America likes to take a few figures and say “my, look at how strong, mighty and confident black women are!” and completely ignore the ways in which black women are dehumanized and degraded on a daily, institutional basis. (via newwavefeminism)

(via arewomenhuman)

1 year ago  #Melissa Harris-Perry #race #gender #feminism #BWE #black women  625 notes

Survey of Tumblr Queer Community

uprootedandrunning:

tigersmilk:

hickiesandhotpants:

demisexuality:

Sorry to bother, but I figured this would help get as much publicity as possible.

I am trying to get basic demographic information about the queer tumblr community. Unfortunately I was a little limited on questions (only 10) but in my survey, I’m including aromantic, aces, demisexuals, etc. And fuck anyone who doesn’t consider them to be in the queer community cause I sure as hell do, and I’m a sociologist (as in, I’m getting a degree in and going to grad school within a few years). So booyah.

~~~

It’s not a bother at all!

Super quick and easy. :) did it.

signal boost!

Takes like 30 seconds, do it up!

(Source: , via strugglingtobeheard)

1 year ago  #LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBTQQ #LGBTQQIA #asexual #demisexual #gender #queer #sexuality #survey  404 notes
"[Trigger warning- trans* erasure, racism, bigotry]

Or how about this. I am really Native American. How do I know? I’ve always felt a special connection to animals, and started building tee pees in the backyard as soon as I was old enough. I insisted on wearing moccasins to school even though the other kids made fun of me and my parents punished me for it. I read everything I could on native people, started going to pow wows and sweat lodges as soon as I was old enough, and I knew that was the real me. And if you bio-Indians don’t accept us trans-Indians, then you are just as genocidal and oppressive as the Europeans.

Gender is no different. It is a class condition created by a brutal arrangement of power. I can’t fathom how mutilating people’s bodies to fit an oppressive power arrangement is frankly anything but a human rights violation. And men insisting that they are women is insulting and absurd.

"
—

Lierre Keith, being a transphobic and transmysogist asshole and trying to appropriate us natives who actually have and acknowledge trans* and two-spirit people.

This is why I can’t really take Derrick Jensen seriously (I see quotes of his randomly about tumblr), mostly because he hangs out with this fucktwat.

(via moononwaters)

Yeah, I think Derrick Jensen has some important things to say in regards to how fucked up capitalism is and the nature of violence in our society, but he completely fails at so much. The fact that he can’t call out his friend on this really horrible bullshit (I have even personally emailed him about it with absolutely no response from him, yet all other emails I sent to him I received a response) tells me all I need to know. It sucks because his books did inform me of a lot of things, but now he’s just a big old disappointment.

(via megachiropteran)

Wow.

(via youarenotyou)

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?!

(via youarenotyou-deactivated2012022)

1 year ago  #anarchy #appropriation #cultural appropriation #deep green resistance #lierre keith #native american #primitive #trans* #transgender #cissexism #primitivism #gender  142 notes
"Moreover, in numerous African cultures and African-Diasporic spiritual traditions, same-sex intimacy and transgendered behavior or identity have been linked to spiritual role. Gender and sexual diversity may be discovered in sacred images and tales relating to divine beings. They have also occasionally been expressed within ritual contexts for a limited duration, as in the phenomenon of temporary “possession” by, or embodiment of, a deity or spirit, or by the ashe (divine energy) of that entity. In other instances, they have formed part of an individual’s character and may be manifested throughout that person’s lifetime in various ways, including as a priest, priestess, or other leader or servant of a spiritual tradition."
— Randy P. Conner, “Rainbow’s Children: Diversity of Gender and Sexuality in African-Diasporic Spiritual Traditions,” in Fragments of Bone: Neo-African Religions in a New World, ed. by Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, pp. 143-144 (via dusttracksonaroad)

(via navigatethestream)

1 year ago  #diaspora #religion #gender #afro-diasporic religion #ife #vodou #santeria #lucumi  44 notes
"

Coming out of my ex’s mouth, “femme” sounded like a put-down. We femmes were supposed to be lite; obsessed with clothes, hair, and makeup; and treated like our primary purpose was to compliment butches.

I, an unapologetic feminist, hadn’t left the sexism built into hetero roles just to get locked into some gay version of the same thing.

"
—

“Femme Invisibility” by Laini Madhubuti, from Naked: Black Women Bare All About Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips, and Other Parts, edited by Ayana Byrd & Akiba Solomon

* my experience w/ queer ppl of color reflects this more often than i would like to admit, particularly in the non-academic crowd. there is an almost unmistakable replication of “male swag” — lil wayne’s locks, jigga man’s button down shirts w/ jeans & af1s, & maybe even the pimp talk of 8ball, mjg, pimp c, & bun b. there is sometimes such a strict adherence to these gender norms that, to paraphrase a sista who was featured in black.womyn conversations, a near homophobia in cisgender (mostly) queer youth of color, the non-academics in particular. there is not often a safe(r), (somewhat) cushy place (like college campuses) to come to queer identity if there are some more immediate & pressing socio-economic issues in one’s life. seeking an identity very well may be a luxury for some folk. & maybe there’s a failure to discuss that, because it will force us to examine class issues in queer communities. too many times i’ve been told that queer unity is some folks’ goal, when there is obvious exclusion of not only transfolk, but cisgender, poor queer folk.

2 years ago  #queer #queer women #trans #black women #black folk #gender #gender roles #gender identity  13 notes