theultimateminorities

George Takei responds to fans of traditional marriage.

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:00:53 -0400

George Takei responds to fans of traditional marriage.

shikajika: “Kids can’t learn about sexuality and gender because it’s too scary or confusing for...

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:00:54 -0400

“Kids can’t learn about sexuality and gender because it’s too scary or confusing for them” yeah because YOU told them they there are ONLY straight men and straight women from the age of three and then used that limited scope an an excuse to carry on dodging the subject.

I found the seven times table scary and confusing but I still had to do about 20 exams about it

fuckyeahfeminists: rhrealitycheck: Did you know that pregnant...

Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:44 -0400

fuckyeahfeminists:

rhrealitycheck:

Did you know that pregnant women have been fired for using the bathroom to vomit, needing to carry a water bottle on the job, or asking to sit on a stool instead of standing in place all day? While employers have to make allowances like these for other types of temporary disabilities, a number of bad court decisions have encouraged them to feel they can get away with firing or mistreating pregnant workers with impunity.

It’s disgraceful and unacceptable that at a time when unnecessary budget cuts are decimating food, medical, and educational supports for low-income families, pregnant women continue to be pushed out of their jobs just as they take on all the expenses of having a new baby.

Read more about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
and take action by contacting your congressperson.

This is unacceptable. Pregnant workers need more protection. With a child coming up they need employment more than ever. Please contact your rep.

No Labels

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:18:07 -0400

gasptambourines:

gay-men:

Absolut Vodka release a limited edition label free bottle to celebrate diversity and challenge Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender prejudice.

socially conscious vodka? SIGN. ME. THE FUCK. UP.

Why isn't New Orleans Mother's Day parade shooting a 'national tragedy'?

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:10:18 -0400

Why isn't New Orleans Mother's Day parade shooting a 'national tragedy'?:

historyintheworks:

A telling excerpt:

“Unforunately, though, I’ve learned to redefine what constitutes an American tragedy. American tragedies occur where middle America frequents every day: airplanes, business offices, marathons. Where there persists a tangible fear that this could happen to any of us. And rightfully so. Deaths and mayhem anywhere are tragic. That should always be the case. The story here is where American tragedies don’t occur.

American tragedies don’t occur on the southside of Chicago or the New Orleans 9th Ward. They don’t occur where inner city high school kids shoot into school buses or someone shoots at a 10-year old’s birthday party in New Orleans. Or Gary, Indiana. Or Compton. Or Newport News. These are where the forgotten tragedies happen and the cities are left to persevere on their own.

So, once again, New Orleans will survive. And move on. Because, really, we’ve been here before.”

-David Dennis

maymay: “Repeat Rape: How do they get away with it?”, Part 1 of...

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:00:44 -0400

It turns out that if you ask the right questions in just the right way, some men will actually tell you that they're rapists. They'll just…admit it.

The key is, don't use the word rape. Just ask them what they've done.

Researchers asked 1,882 men: "Have you ever tried to have oral sex with someone by using (or threatening to use) physical force—twisting their arm, holding them down, etc.—if they did not cooperate?"

and: "Have you ever had sexual intercourse with someone, even though they didn't want to, because they were too intoxicated to resist your advances?"

120 answered yes.

(That's rape.)

1,882 men…

120 rapists.

They admitted to a total of 483 rapes and attempted rapes. 483!

Whoa.

maymay:

“Repeat Rape: How do they get away with it?”, Part 1 of 2. (link to Part 2)

Sources:

College Men: Repeat Rape and Multiple Offending Among Undetected Rapists,Lisak and Miller, 2002 [PDF, 12 pages]

Navy Men: Lisak and Miller’s results were essentially duplicated in an even larger study (2,925 men): Reports of Rape Reperpetration by Newly Enlisted Male Navy Personnel, McWhorter, 2009 [PDF, 16 pages]

By dark-side-of-the-room, who writes:

These infogifs are provided RIGHTS-FREE for noncommercial purposes. Repost them anywhere. In fact, repost them EVERYWHERE. No need to credit. Link to the L&M study if possible.

Knowledge is a seed; sow it.

new-ways-to-complain: conservativegirlonpolitics: That was the...

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:07:10 -0400

new-ways-to-complain:

conservativegirlonpolitics:

That was the most informative thing I have ever been told by a duck

And I have been told a lot of things by ducks.

Waiting Periods in South Dakota: Guns v. Abortions

Sat, 11 May 2013 09:00:50 -0400

Waiting Periods in South Dakota: Guns v. Abortions:

republicanidiots:

You can get a gun right now, but an abortion will take three to six days.

stfusexists: thedinosaurprince: fuckingrapeculture: signifiero...

Sat, 11 May 2013 06:01:02 -0400

stfusexists:

thedinosaurprince:

fuckingrapeculture:

signifierofmalepower:

My picks from #safetytipsforladies on Twitter.

brilliant

ALWAYS REBLOG.

Did I blog this? Well, no matter, it’s amazing.

angrygenderqueer: REPEAT AFTER ME TRANSPHOBIC PEOPLE DO NOT DESERVE A POSITION OF INFLUENCE OR...

Sat, 11 May 2013 03:00:45 -0400

angrygenderqueer:

REPEAT AFTER ME

TRANSPHOBIC PEOPLE DO NOT DESERVE A POSITION OF INFLUENCE OR POWER IN THE LGBT COMMUNITY OR LGBT MEDIA

TRANSPHOBIC PEOPLE DO NOT DESERVE A POSITION OF INFLUENCE OR POWER IN THE LGBT COMMUNITY OR LGBT MEDIA

TRANSPHOBIC PEOPLE DO NOT DESERVE A POSITION OF INFLUENCE OR POWER IN THE LGBT COMMUNITY OR LGBT MEDIA

"As Americans, we have this naïve assumption that people all over the world are struggling and way..."

Fri, 10 May 2013 09:01:09 -0400

“As Americans, we have this naïve assumption that people all over the world are struggling and way behind us. They’re not. Sweden and South Korea have more advanced high speed internet networks. Japan has the most advanced trains and transportation systems. Norwegians make more money. The biggest and most advanced plane in the world is flown out of Singapore. The tallest buildings in the world are now in Dubai and Shanghai. Meanwhile, the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world.”

- 10 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About America http://bananenplanet.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/10-things-most-americans-dont-know-about-america/ (via curlycherie)

There are two areas where the USA is way out in front of the rest of the world: war and prison. The technology of killing is the main investment of US national energy, and of course the semi-public semi-private incarceration economy is flourishing while schools and roads crumble. In many other quality-of-life terms — housing, healthcare, public transportation, public access to technology, mental health support, support for people with disabilities, childcare, primary education, maternity support, social safety net — I think a lot of US Americans personally know that things are not exactly rosy but see no options for fixing it.

(via zuky)

wherethequeerthingsare: blinkpinkinc: you know what i wish was a thing? recognition of...

Fri, 10 May 2013 06:00:50 -0400

wherethequeerthingsare:

blinkpinkinc:

you know what i wish was a thing?

recognition of genderqueer/nonbinary/genderfluid/agender people in western media.

thanks white heteropatriarchal colonialism

we can’t that guys every1 will thinks its weird and feel uncomfortablr

Elizabeth Smart: Abstinence Education Teaches Rape Victims They’re Worthless, Dirty, And Filthy

Fri, 10 May 2013 03:00:34 -0400

Elizabeth Smart: Abstinence Education Teaches Rape Victims They’re Worthless, Dirty, And Filthy:

rabbleprochoice:

fuckyeahsexeducation:

TW: Sexual abuse

Elizabeth Smart became a household name after she was kidnapped from her home in Salt Lake City, UT at the age of 14 and held in captivity for nine months. She was forced into a polygamous marriage, tethered to a metal cable, and raped daily until she was rescued from her captors nine months later. Smart was recovered while she and her kidnappers were walking down a suburban street, leading many Americans who followed her story on the national news to wonder:Why didn’t she just run away as soon as she was brought outside?
Speaking to an audience at Johns Hopkins about issues of human trafficking and sexual violence, Smart recently offered an answer to that question. She explained that some human trafficking victims don’t run away because they feel worthless after being raped, particularly if they have been raised in conservative cultures that push abstinence-only education and emphasize sexual purity:

Smart said she “felt so dirty and so filthy” after she was raped by her captor, and she understands why someone wouldn’t run “because of that alone.”

Smart spoke at a Johns Hopkins human trafficking forum, saying she was raised in a religious household and recalled a school teacher who spoke once about abstinence and compared sex to chewing gum.

“I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m that chewed up piece of gum, nobody re-chews a piece of gum, you throw it away.’ And that’s how easy it is to feel like you know longer have worth, you know longer have value,” Smart said. “Why would it even be worth screaming out? Why would it even make a difference if you are rescued? Your life still has no value.”

Now in her mid-twenties, Smart runs a foundation to help educate children about sexual crimes. She now believes that children should grow up learning that “you will always have value and nothing can change that.”

Social psychologists and sexual abuse counselors agree that comprehensive sex education can help prevent sexual crimes. Teaching children about their bodies gives them the tools to describe acts of abuse without feeling as embarrassed or uncomfortable, and it also helps elevate their self-confidence and sense of bodily autonomy. A shame-based approach to genitalia and sexuality, on the other hand, sends kids the message that they can’t discuss or ask questions about any of those issues.

When I went through abstinence only education they did an activity where they put different activity from holding hands to intercourse around the room and asked everyone how far they would go, and how far their parents would be okay with them going. I refused to do the exercise because I thought it was inappropriate and my parents trusted me to be safe and make decisions for myself. Now that I look back on that I can’t imagine how traumatic that could have been to someone who had been sexually abused. We need to keep this in mind when discussing sex education.

Teaching sexual health and education in a shaming way sends terrible messages to our children and students. And those feelings of shame do not go away even if someone has waited to have sex until their wedding night. You can’t undo years or decades of sex-negative education with a marriage license and a ring.

Those feelings of shame do not help the children who have been sexually abused, like the article above points out, either.

When I was in middle school, I was forced to sit on a blanket in front of my health class. The teacher then had a boy in the class sit next to me to represent us having sex (the added level of humiliation and creepiness that added is beside the point). Then she added another student and another and ended the lesson by demonstrating how many people we could spread diseases to if we had sex with more than one person. I remember her specifically pointing out that even if you wait to have sex until you get engaged, your fiance could die and then no one will want to marry you because you’re “damaged goods” and “dirty”. I remember thinking that if that were true, it would still be the case if you had sex after you were married and were widowed.

But, by far, the message I took away from our sex ed lesson in health class was that I was already damaged goods because I was molested. I had “let” that happen to me and that if someone DID fall in love with me, they were a better person because they were willing to be with someone who is “damaged”.

The sex-negative dialogue is hard to undo and work past. I’m still working through it.

Love,

Rabble

fishingboatproceeds: Hey, bro, cool story. DFTBA sells a bunch...

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:12:28 -0400

fishingboatproceeds:

Hey, bro, cool story.

DFTBA sells a bunch of shirts, and we market to ugly people and nerdy people and small people and big people and pretty people and we’re doing okay and plus we don’t need physical stores with LITERALLY THE WORST MUSIC EVER CREATED BY HUMANS PLAYING AT EAR-BLEEDING VOLUME SO THAT ALL OF YOUR PURPORTEDLY COOL AND BEAUTIFUL EMPLOYEES ARE MADE DEAF BY THEIR WORKING CONDITIONS.

So that’s another way of doing it.

Also I hate your jeans.

+1 for nerds

stfuconservatives: smdxn: Eliz. Warren wants to cut student...

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:04:42 -0400

stfuconservatives:

smdxn:

Eliz. Warren wants to cut student interest rates to near zero

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has introduced her first piece of legislation. It’s called the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act, and would reduce the rate students pay on federally-subsidized student loans for one year, from 3.4% to 0.75%.

Without congressional action, on July 1 the rate is set to double from 3.4% to 6.8%.

Warren brings up an interesting point – her bill simply asks students to pay the same rates that big banks pay for borrowing.

She’s literally just asking if college grads can get the same deal as bank CEOs. The exact same interest rate. Not even a bailout or anything fancy (pipe dreams!) - just the same interest rate.

My Racist Encounter at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:03:23 -0400

My Racist Encounter at the White House Correspondents' Dinner:

The faux red carpet had been laid out for the famous and the wannabe-famous. Politicians and journalists arrived at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, bedazzled in the hopes of basking in a few fleeting moments of fame, even if only by osmosis from proximity to celebrities. New to the Washington scene, I was to experience the spectacle with my husband, a journalist, and enjoy an evening out. Or at least an hour out. You see, as a spouse I was not allowed into the actual dinner. Those of us who are not participating in the hideous schmooze-fest that is this evening are relegated to attending the cocktail hour only, if that. Our guest was the extraordinarily brilliant Oscar-nominated director ofBeasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin. Mr. Zeitlin’s unassuming demeanor was a refreshing taste of humility in a sea of pretentious politicians reeking of narcissism.

As I left the hotel and my husband went to the ballroom for the dinner, I realized he still had my keys. I approached the escalators that led down to the ballroom and asked the externally contracted security representatives if I could go down. They abruptly responded, “You can’t go down without a ticket.” I explained my situation and that I just wanted my keys from my husband in the foyer and that I wouldn’t need to enter in the ballroom. They refused to let me through. For the next half hour, they watched as I frantically called my husband but was unable to reach him.

Then something remarkable happened. I watched as they let countless other women through — all Caucasian — without even asking to see their tickets. I asked why they were allowing them to go freely when they had just told me that I needed a ticket. Their response? “Well, now we are checking tickets.” He rolled his eyes and let another woman through, this time actually checking her ticket. His smug tone, enveloped in condescension, taunted, “See? That’s what a ticket looks like.”

When I asked “Why did you lie to me, sir?” they threatened to have the Secret Service throw me out of the building — me, a 4’11” young woman who weighs 100 pounds soaking wet, who was all prettied up in elegant formal dress, who was simply trying to reach her husband. The only thing on me that could possibly inflict harm were my dainty silver stilettos, and they were too busy inflicting pain on my feet at the moment. My suspicion was confirmed when I saw the men ask a blonde woman for her ticket and she replied, “I lost it.” The snickering tough-guy responded, “I’d be happy to personally escort you down the escalators ma’am.”

Like a malignancy, it had crept in when I least expected it — this repugnant, infectious bigotry we have become so accustomed to. “White privilege” was on display, palpable to passersby who consoled me. I’ve come to expect this repulsive racism in many aspects of my life, but when I find it entrenched in these smaller encounters is when salt is sprinkled deep into the wounds. In these crystallizing moments it is clear that while I might see myself as just another all-American gal who has great affection for this country, others see me as something less than human, more now than ever before.

When I asked why the security representatives offered to personally escort white women without tickets downstairs while they watched me flounder, why they threatened to call the Secret Service on me, I was told, “We have to be extra careful with you all after the Boston bombings.”

I explained that I am a physician, that my husband is a noted journalist for a major American newspaper, and that our guest was an esteemed, Oscar-nominated director. They did not believe me. Never mind that the American flag flew proudly outside of our home for years, with my father taking it inside whenever it rained to protect it from damage. Never mind that I won “Most Patriotic” almost every July 4th growing up. Never mind that I have provided health care to some of America’s most underprivileged, even when they have refused to shake my hand because of my ethnicity.

I looked at him, struggling to bury my tears beneath whatever shred of dignity that remained. They finally saturated my lashes and flood onto my face. Shaking with rage, I said, “We are all human beings and I only ask that you give me the same respect you give others. All I am asking is to be treating with a dignity and humanity. What you did is wrong.” They stared straight ahead, arms crossed, and refused to even look at me. Up came the cruel, xenophobic, soundproof wall that I had seen in the eyes of so many after 9/11. Their eyes, flecked with disdain and hatred, looked through me.

The next affront came quickly thereafter. “You were here last year, weren’t you? You caused trouble here last year too. I know you,” they claimed, accusing me of being a party-crasher. Completely confused, I explained that this was my first time here and that I had no idea what he was referencing. Clearly, he had assumed all brown people look the same and had confused me for someone else.

I wonder what their reaction would have been to a well-dressed white woman trying to reach her husband. Would she have struggled for over an hour while they watched and offered to escort others in? Would they not have extended an offer to help, bended over backwards to offer assistance, just as they did with the woman who “lost her ticket”? Would the Boston bombings even be mentioned to a white woman?

Let’s stop this facade that we are a beacon of tolerance. I don’t need you to “tolerate” me. I don’t want you to merely put up with my presence. All I ask, all I have ever asked, is to be treated as a human being, that bigoted jingoism is not injected into every minute facet my life, that there remains at least the illusion of decency.

Despite being a native English speaker who was born in New Orleans and a physician who trained at a prestigious institution, all people see is the color of my skin. After this incident, I will no longer apologize, either for my faith or my complexion. It is not my job to convince you to distinguish me from the violent sociopaths that claim to be Muslims, whose terrorism I neither support, nor condone. It is your job. Just like when a disturbed young white man shoots up a movie theatre or a school, it is my job, as someone with a conscience, to distinguish them from others. It’s not my job to plead with you to shake my hand without cringing, nor am I going to applaud you when you treat me with common decency; it’s not an accomplishment. It’s simply the right thing to do. Honestly, it’s not that hard.

This year, Quvenzhané Wallis took the world by storm with her staggering performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild. At several award ceremonies, reporters refused to the learn the accurate pronunciation of her name, and one reporter allegedly told Wallis, “I’m gonna call you Annie,” because her name was too difficult to pronounce. If reporters can learn to pronounce Gerard Depardieu and Monique Lhuillier then surely they can take the time to learn how to pronounce Quvenzhané. It’s not hard; it’s just not deemed worthy of your energy because she is someone of color.

A school child recently threatened my 12-year-old niece claiming, “I’m going to kill you Miss Bin Laden.” Again, it is not my job to teach your children manners and social justice, to remove the disgusting threads of racism that you have woven into their hearts with your insecurities. Last week, a 39-year-old Muslim American cab driver who served in the Iraq war was attacked and had his jaw broken in a hate crime. The assailant, an executive from an aviation company, told the veteran “I will slice your fucking throat right now.” I suppose the “support the troops” rhetoric by the right only applies to white veterans.

It wasn’t enough that I have had to prove my “American-ness” at every step of my career, but now the next generation is suffering as well. It wasn’t enough that I was asked whether my father taught me how to make bombs, or that I was told that I was doomed to the seventh circle of hell during my medical school interviews. I was also asked whether I would wear a burqa or if my parents would arrange my marriage during interviews. It is outrageous that I have to actually prove to the world how horrified I am that an 8-year-old boy was brutally murdered by a terrorist bombing. Any normal human being feels this agonizing grief with the rest of the country. I do not have to prove to you that, I, too, find it morally reprehensible. Of course I do. I have a heart. I am human.

So, I no longer want a seat at your restaurant, where you serve me begrudgingly, where I am belittled for asking for food without pork, where I endure your dirty looks at my hijabi friend. I want my pride intact, I want this struggle of mine to be recognized, for you to look me in the eye and acknowledge that yes, this tumor called bigotry is indeed rivering through your veins, polluting your mind, and is so malignant that it compels you to squash my dignity.

It’s the little indignities that slowly devastate your soul. The ones where your guard is down, and you just expect to dress up, look pretty, and enjoy an evening as a newlywed, or at the Oscars, but instead end up humiliated and snubbed. The ubiquitous racist slap in the face is thinly veiled just beneath the carefully crafted façade. This filthy, highly infectious plague is transforming our nation into one of unwarranted suspicion and anguish inflicted on disenfranchised, voiceless people of color. And now, it is no longer my job to enlighten you. To quote what you so often tell ethnic communities, “It’s time for you to step up to the plate, take responsibility, and stop taking what I have earned,” my integrity, my dignity.

native-detroiter: malanga-coco: mixedbyziggy: rescue three white women who have been missing for...

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:58:23 -0400

native-detroiter:

malanga-coco:

mixedbyziggy:

rescue three white women who have been missing for a decade, and a baby

become a national hero

pull an even bosser move and tell the fbi to give the reward money to the victims

media decides to dig into your past, and bring up your criminal record.

wonderful time to be black in america.

what the fuck dude

I had a feeling this would happen

thats-how-javert-sees-it: nargleinfestation: chisagi: Argenti...

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:56:55 -0400

thats-how-javert-sees-it:

nargleinfestation:

chisagi:

Argentina JUST PASSED a groundbreaking gender identity bill!!!

From now on, people will be able to change the name and gender on their ID without needing psychiatric permission or any body modifications. Furthermore, anyone who does want hormones or surgery will be able to access them for free through the public and private health system.

It was passed unanimously today by the Senate

UNANIMOUSLY

Argentina is just getting more awesome by the year. Countries that aren’t Argentina need to take note.

:D

A new Argentina the voice of the people cannot be denied

U.S. Genderqueer Denied Entry to Visit Canadian Partner; Officers See Therapist Letter, Question Mental Health | Christin Milloy

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:53:27 -0400

U.S. Genderqueer Denied Entry to Visit Canadian Partner; Officers See Therapist Letter, Question Mental Health | Christin Milloy:

agender-unicorn:

artemis-simetra:

caffeine-queer:

Very disturbing information has emerged about an incident which recently occurred at the Peace Bridge, one of the road crossings along the Canada / U.S. border, at the hands of Canada’s federal Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Yes, yes, yes!

I am so happy!

These people are dear friends of mine, if you are able please reblog this story.

great now i’m worried all over again

horrible :/

tyleroakley: flozac: the principal at my school made an...

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:28:33 -0400

tyleroakley:

flozac:

the principal at my school made an announcement yesterday that the girls need to start covering up and then i found this in the hallway

BOOM.