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I think the fact that I just saw an American Apparel “gif set” <cough> ADVERTISEMENT for ugly clothes on a smirking white girl ripping off the work of actual sex workers and for a company that treats their employees like shit… yeah, this is exactly what I feared would happen with Tumblr’s sale to Yahoo.
Venezuela's New Labour Law: The Best Mother's Day Gift | Common Dreams
Full-time mothers will be able to collect a pension in Venezuela. This is a huge fucking deal. This is what Mother’s Day *should* be about. (via fyeahqueermusic)
What’s this so-called “sex superbug” everyone is talking about?
Forget the dire headlines that “it’s worse than AIDS.” Here’s everything you need to know.
Now in politics: A Senator asks why border security can’t be more like Disney World.
I just read this headline silently to myself, and in my mind I started screaming and I haven’t stopped yet.
In All Activities, Train With Slogans
For the past few weeks, I’ve been very sick. I’m fortunate in that I mostly function in this body…
change the direction of the train if you concentrate
no this is omg what NO
Now make the train go back and forth very, very fast.
(Source: dpaf, via daianotherday)
For those of you who criticize Janelle’s signature monochromatic look.
From her speech on “Black Girls Rock”:
“When I started my music career, I was a maid. I used to clean houses. My mother was a proud janitor. My stepfather, who raised me like his very own, worked at the post office and my father was a trashman. They all wore uniforms and that’s why I stand here today, in my black and white, and I wear my uniform to honor them.
This is a reminder that I have work to do. I have people to uplift. I have people to inspire. And today, I wear my uniform proudly as a Cover Girl. I want to be clear, young girls, I didn’t have to change who I was to become a Cover Girl. I didn’t have to become perfect because I’ve learned throughout my journey that perfection is the enemy of greatness.
Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable.” - Janelle Monáe
Reblog forever.
(via kddiamond)
Brother, did you think the M in FTM stood for misogyny?
reblogging from myself cuz i wanted to give this poem a little more attention in that
1. this amazing poet and his duo, Dark Matter, came to do an event at my school and they are two of the most amazing people and amazing artists and amazing activists I have ever seen. they did their art and then we talked queer activism and rocketship activism vs. backyard activism and how to be too radical for the world but still be safe and not burn out and they are like wow but like wow though.
2.this piece is one of the most humbling and honest pieces I have ever heard and I cried the first time I saw it and it means a lot to me.
3. people often reblog pieces that say amazing things but this is also one of the most solid pieces of writing I’ve seen out of CUPSI 2013 so mad props to that
4. plz watch this especially if u r a white trans man cuz we need this kind of stuff sometimes and look, a check-yourself that we can watch all on our owns without even having to offend someone first.
“I will play the drums…for you.”
(via fyeahqueermusic)
Best Practices Policy: So, what can we say about the First Amendment and sex worker rights?
…What is different about this case, as Justice Ginsberg pointed to in her questioning, is that the government cannot now compel such organizations to tell their patients, “I agree with the government, you shouldn’t be getting an abortion.” And as Justice Alito noted, it seems unprecedented and “quite a dangerous proposition” to not only gag organizations, but require the organization to take the government’s viewpoint with which it doesn’t agree. Courts have held that the government has the right to fund certain organizations to the exclusion of others, but a funding requirement cannot compel the organization’s expression of a position consistent with the government’s. Even though in theory everyone has a right to free speech, because of the government’s current stance on sex work, the US may seem less inclined to consider the First Amendment rights of organizations working with sex workers and sex worker groups. This was exactly OSI’s point yesterday: “… on the government’s theory, the government can give you — can give anyone in the country a dollar in Medicare funds and say, okay, now that you’ve taken a dollar of our money, we want you to profess your agreement with the Affordable Care Act, and we want you to never say anything inconsistent with that in your private speech. That is — that is wildly inconsistent with the First Amendment. That’s exactly what’s happening here. The only difference is the subject of prostitution. That’s what makes it less palatable.” (David W. Bowker, OSI Counsel) This on-point analogy had several of the Justices nodding (even Chief Justice Roberts). What was unfortunate was that OSI’s attorney followed up by saying that he needed “to be clear” that OSI does not “approve” of prostitution. We do not know whether OSI would have endorsed their counsel’s use of the word “approve,” which is not interchangeable with the word “promote,” and was not used in the OSI briefs. Unfortunately the press echoed this comment that was perhaps misspoken, further deepening stigmatizing attitudes towards sex workers. For example, National Public Radio reported that, “Bowker said his clients are opposed to prostitution”. Challenging the anti-prostitution pledge before judges who may not want to hear about sex worker rights in the courtroom took strategic and careful planning and it is a victory that this case was heard by the highest court in the land. But are we still at a point where the only way to advocate for sex workers’ rights through the judicial system is to first assure the public that we do not approve of sex work? For this reason, yesterday’s discussion at the Supreme Court was disquieting. It revealed the problematic nature of a strategy that required OSI’s attorney to deny the human rights of sex workers in order to access First Amendment protections. Bowker’s comment and the silence about what constitutes a health and rights approach to working with sex workers in the media, left many in sex worker communities feeling confused. OSI has engaged with and supported these communities in the past. Perhaps it is again time to sit at the table with sex workers rights groups and help sex workers and advocates understand what happened in the courtroom yesterday. The more we can engage, discuss and clear up misunderstandings, the more we can support one another and protect the dignity of sex workers. After all, isn’t the freedom of “unfettered” discussion what OSI was fighting for and what the First Amendment is supposed to protect? (Source: marginalutilite, via sexworkerproblems)
A manmade disaster was made even worse by nature Wednesday night, as asevere thunderstorm hit Mayflower, Arkansas spreading the Exxon Mobil oil spill to the yards of homes along the cove and the main body of Lake Conway. For nearly two weeks, Exxon has maintained that oil has not reached Lake Conway, despite clear evidence both from aerial video and on-the-ground guerrilla reporting that showed oil had spread throughout a cove and wetlands, which are connected through ground water and drainage culverts to the main body of the lake. Images captured Wednesday night should put any doubt to rest that the main body of Lake Conway is now contaminated with oil.
Citizen journalists, Jak and Lauren, reporting for Tar Sands Blockade, braved the severe weather Wednesday, which included hail, lighting and chance of tornados, to report on what was happening to the site of the oil spill.
MORE: at TreeHugger
This is unbelievably bad. Why am I only hearing about this here???
(via fyeahqueermusic)
