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photoMay 21, 2013 4:02 pm
I did a comic about marriage equality…
(Original: http://www.roostertailscomic.com/?p=1588)
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linkApr 12, 2013 3:22 pm
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photoApr 09, 2013 11:33 am
![8 Things Women Want That Most Men Take For Granted
And these are just the basics.
[Original by Rebecca Lolosoli, whom we wrote about here. Found on Half the Sky.]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/be8bc0ff766390d1d7f528a6db6e85fb/tumblr_mkyd3zUmlV1rsbrsao1_1280.jpg)
8 Things Women Want That Most Men Take For Granted
And these are just the basics.
[Original by Rebecca Lolosoli, whom we wrote about here. Found on Half the Sky.]
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photoApr 03, 2013 12:49 pm
My Facebook and G+ newsfeeds have been filled with pink and red lately, so it seemed important to point out to the queer and allied in my life that Human Rights Campaign actually has a track record of promoting some rights at the expense of others. Being a fairly rough-and-tumble sort of cisgender queer man, I waded in.
It’s frankly unconscionable; transgender rights are integral to queer liberation, and moreover transfolks are our sisters and brothers, have shed the same blood, sweat, and tears in horrifying numbers for the same goals. The fact that names like Virginia Prince and Sylvia Rae Rivera aren’t as prominent in our histories as Harvey Milk says, I think, all it needs to about the need for some pink and purple soul-searching. Go forth and introspect.
Visually, too, I think the HRC equality logo leaves a bit to be desired, but I made minimal changes. The colors are based on the transgender pride flag designed by Monica Helms in 1999, the most widely used of several designs and to my eye, the most pleasing.
Considering that HRC seems to be continuing to give lip service to trans folks while throwing them under the bus, this is important and timely.
People need to know that the most visible LGBT “equality” organization out there continues to only fight for gay and lesbian equality at the expense of everyone else.
Trans allies, please repost. (And don’t give money to HRC.)We’re big supporters of same-sex marriage (as one issue among several other major ones facing queer people these days), but also really disappointed in the Human Rights Campaign for their multiple screw-ups when it comes to trans* issues. All of this is something to think about as, on Facebook anyway, support for same-sex marriage has become synonymous with support for the HRC. You can absolutely support same-sex marriage without supporting the HRC, and there are plenty of other organizations out there who are doing great work for the LGBTQ communities in regard to marriage equality as well as queer homelessness, job discrimination, and anti-bullying that are not throwing trans* people under the bus (GLAAD is an excellent example of one such organization!)
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photoMar 29, 2013 8:27 pm
In Case You Missed It: Why Everyone Is Posting Those Pink Equal Signs on Facebook This Week!
To show support for marriage equality during the Supreme Court hearings on Prop 8 and the Defense Of Marriage Act, the Human Rights Campaign asked people to change their Facebook profile pictures to a red and white image of an equal sign. My friends totally support gay marriage, but they also hate conformity. Here are some of the best remixes of the original equal sign that have popped up on Facebook this week.
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linkMar 19, 2013 12:49 pm
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quoteFeb 18, 2013 12:40 pm
"In the future, I’d like to see all trans kids happy like I am. I want President Obama to pass laws that will give equal rights to all trans people. I will keep speaking out until my goals are achieved. I want people to understand that we are just like everyone else. I always say that just because our brains don’t match our bodies doesn’t make us freaks or bad people. In fact, I think it’s the opposite; it makes us unique and special, which is pretty cool. Get to know us, you will love us."
be still my heart: ty interviews jazz the trans* wonder for SPARK (via carmenrios) -
photosetFeb 03, 2013 6:54 pm
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textDec 19, 2012 5:01 pm
Unisex Easy-Bake oven on the way
Hasbro says it will begin selling gender-neutral Easy-Bake ovens after meeting with a 13-year-old New Jersey girl who had campaigned for them.
McKenna Pope, of Garfield, N.J., got more than 40,000 signatures on her online petition at Change.org.
She began her campaign after finding only pink or purple Easy-Bake ovens. She wanted to buy ovens in other colors as a Christmas gift for her four-year-old brother, Gavyn Boscio.
McKenna said Hasbro is doing everything she wanted, including featuring boys in ads for the toy. “They really met most or even all of what I wanted them to do, and they really amazed me,” she said, adding that her brother Gavyn thought the new design was “awesome.”
Never doubt the ability of 13-year-old girls to change the world.
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textSep 04, 2012 7:05 pm
Upworthy Meets World: A Q&A With Jessica Valenti
Upworthy Meets World is back! In case you missed the first installment, this here is our weekly feature focusing on Internet superheroes doing interesting, awesome work with the help of social media. This week, we caught up with Jessica Valenti and asked her about the important things in life: vaginas (and Internet activism). If you’re not sure who she is, stop reading this right now and go read “Full Frontal Feminism” instead. It’s fine! We’ll wait for you!
Here she is, demonstrating how we all feel about current attempts at legislation on women’s bodies (and also reacting to the guy who invented purity balls telling her that purity balls aren’t about virginity):
Why do you think Tumblr is such a great place for social justice communities to thrive?
I got into online feminism through straight old-school blogging, but once I found Tumblr I couldn’t turn away. What’s fantastic about Tumblr, specifically for feminism and activism, is that the tools to create community are inherent to the technology. It’s fantastic. I also think Tumblr takes what feminist blogging set out to do — democratize voices and who gets to speak and write about social justice — and takes it even further. You don’t need to buy a url for Tumblr, you don’t need to pay a webdesigner or try to drive traffic to your site. You gain a following organically, by being an active and interesting community member. I also think the speed by which news travels on Tumblr really lends itself to activism — as well as the sense of humor and biting sarcasm that’s such a huge part of the voices on Tumblr. When you do this work, you need to keep a sense of humor (because it’s such emotionally difficult and draining work). Besides, using humor — and gifs! — as political tools is incredibly smart; it makes the issues more accessible.
How does the Internet make modern feminism more accessible to women who don’t consider themselves feminists?
It used to be that if you were reading a feminist book or publication, it’s because you were already interested in feminism. But with the internet, people are finding feminism accidentally (and subversively) — through Google searches, social networks, etc. So all of a sudden, young people who maybe would never be able to take a Women’s Studies class (or wouldn’t want to) or who didn’t give much thought to social justice issues have them in their lives anyway. It’s an incredible kind of outreach.
How do passionate people successfully get all political on their social network friends? It could easily backfire.
I think the best thing we can do as activists who care about getting our family and friends involved is to meet them where they’re at. Let’s say one of your friends on Facebook posts a sexist joke. If you immediately attack them, they’re going to shut down. My tactic is to keep asking genuinely interested questions until they talk themselves into a corner (or into the truth!) Did you really think that was funny? Why? Do you really feel that women are [fill in the blank here]? Wow, I didn’t know you felt that way. For a more proactive approach — when you’re trying to get your friends to take action on an issue — I like to frame it in pop culture to make it more palatable. But the real question that passionate people need to ask themselves is this: Where is your political and activist energy best spent? If you think you can create real change debating friends on a social network, go for it. But if you’re talking to brick walls, or if you’re in a fight with someone that doesn’t mean that much to your life — maybe step back and reconsider. Self-care is really important and our activist energy is a precious resource — we need to use it wisely!
Misogyny on the Internet is pretty legendary at this point, including serious transmisogyny. What are your top 5 favorite blogs that are doing right by the ladies?
I read so many blogs it would be impossible to name my favorite 5… So here are 5 blogs I’m reading right now that I’ve been really enjoying over the last few months (in no particular order!)
http://queerblackfeminist.blogspot.com/ - Terrific analytic mind.
http://manboobz.com/ - Taking down “men’s rights activists” with a great sense of humor.
http://annfriedman.com/ - Yeah, she’s my friend, but you can’t beat her gifs.
http://www.carefreewhitegirl.com/ - Just brilliant.
http://fuckyeahfeminists.com/ - Your basic must-read.I should also say that a lot of new feminist voices I follow I end up finding through Tumblr and Twitter…
What is the upworthiest piece of content you’ve seen recently?
This amazing post on the downside of telling people to “love themselves.”
Last and most importantly: Vaginas?
Pro.
Emphasis ours. We at Upworthy would like to thank Jessica profusely for her time in answering these questions and encourage you to go buy her new book, “Why Have Kids?,” which is available on Kindle for $4.99. That is the same as a beverage at Starbucks and probably will make you more awesome in the long run than telling your barista your name is Tony Stark.* Just saying.
*Though that’s also awesome, and we encourage that too.
![8 Things Women Want That Most Men Take For Granted
And these are just the basics.
[Original by Rebecca Lolosoli, whom we wrote about here. Found on Half the Sky.]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/be8bc0ff766390d1d7f528a6db6e85fb/tumblr_mkyd3zUmlV1rsbrsao1_500.jpg)
