No Lack of Loquaciousness

"Horror films are light on characterization by design—why get too familiar with someone who will be..."

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:00:06 -0700

“Horror films are light on characterization by design—why get too familiar with someone who will be hanging from a meat hook shortly?—which has an equalizing effect on the characters irrespective of race. In horror, everybody is just a body. Given the interchangeability of the characters, it’s noteworthy when black characters tend to die first, especially when the indiscriminate nature of the killer’s actions derives much of the terror. The horror universe is one in which black characters are seldom afforded the opportunity for survival, heroism or love.

It can be troubling to watch this trope, as real-life horrors such as the murders of Sean Bell and Trayvon Martin buttress the deeply unsettling idea that the American culture-at-large judges the value of human life subjectively, and the black and the brown are considered expendable. That idea is what makes the Black Person Dies First trope both painful and oddly vindicating. It is at once horribly racist and an acknowledgement of horrible racism; a rare admission that, yes, in America there still are and always have been spaces in which black bodies aren’t considered as valuable as white ones. When we pose questions about why there’s 24-hour news coverage of a missing white woman, when black women go missing every day to little notice, we do so already knowing the answer.”

- Joshua Alston, First To Die: Evil Dead and Blackness in Horror (via theraceproblem)

nothing else rhymes: prolebearian

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:00:36 -0700

nothing else rhymes: prolebearian:

james-bliss:

the critique of the 8 hour day that’s going around seems to be missing something essential about capitalism. namely, that it doesn’t matter whether one’s life is fulfilling or not. capital profits when you’re happy and when you’re unhappy, when you’re fulfilled or unfulfilled.

it also takes…

discourseontheotter: ~Jacob Torfing

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:00:10 -0700

discourseontheotter:

~Jacob Torfing

"It is no accident that white masculinity is constructed the way it is in the United States, as..."

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:00:22 -0700

“It is no accident that white masculinity is constructed the way it is in the United States, as European invasion of the Americas required a masculinity that murders, rapes, and enslaves Native and African peoples. It is a masculinity that requires men to be soldiers and conquerors in every aspect of their lives. A masculinity rooted in genocide breeds a culture of sexual abuse.”

- Qwo-Li Driskill (via queersissyfag)

"But the 8-hour workday is too profitable for big business, not because of the amount of work people..."

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:00:22 -0700

“

But the 8-hour workday is too profitable for big business, not because of the amount of work people get done in eight hours (the average office worker gets less than three hours of actual work done in 8 hours) but because it makes for such a purchase-happy public. Keeping free time scarce means people pay a lot more for convenience, gratification, and any other relief they can buy. It keeps them watching television, and its commercials. It keeps them unambitious outside of work.

We’ve been led into a culture that has been engineered to leave us tired, hungry for indulgence, willing to pay a lot for convenience and entertainment, and most importantly, vaguely dissatisfied with our lives so that we continue wanting things we don’t have. We buy so much because it always seems like something is still missing.

”

- Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (via beccap)

"As Haunani-Kay Trask points out, land and water use, public policy, and the law are shaped by the..."

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:00:06 -0700

“As Haunani-Kay Trask points out, land and water use, public policy, and the law are shaped by the ebb and flow of the tourist industry. The resulting environmental damage that destroys once-sacred sites extends to cultural degradation in the tourist industry, its “garish ‘Polynesian’ revues, commercial ads using [Hawaiian] dance and language to sell vacations and condominiums”. Trasks declares, “The inundation of foreigners decrees marginalization in our own land” (1993: 3). Since the end of the eighteenth century, some of the devastating effects of colonization for Native Hawaiians have included (and continue to include) disease, depopulation, destruction and decay of spriritual and cultural practices and beliefs, and loss of control over lands and waters, all of which are intimately connected.”

- Susan Y. Najita, Decolonizing Cultures in the Pacific: Reading History and Trauma in Contemporary Fiction

(via sociophilia)

"In order to understand why transphobia and cissexism persist and are continually perpetuated..."

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:00:04 -0700

“

In order to understand why transphobia and cissexism persist and are continually perpetuated throughout feminist communities, particularly the vegetarian-ecofeminist community, it is important to consider the origins of anti-trans advocacy as a conscious project of prominent, elite White feminists in the 1970s. In the late sixties and early seventies, trans people were very active in the women’s and queer liberation movements. The Compton’s Cafeteria and Stonewall rebellions of the sixties are evidence of that, as are women like Beth Elliot of the Daughters of Bilitis, Sandy Stone of Olivia Records, and Stonewall veteran Silvia Rivera who was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activist Alliance.

So it’s important to keep in mind that trans women, and trans people more generally, were an integral part of the early women’s liberation movement. But in the mid- to late-seventies, there was a transphobic backlash within feminism to systematically remove and exclude trans people, explicitly transsexual women, from the women’s and queer movements. For example, Rivera was targeted and physically attacked by cissexist women separatists at a gay rights rally. Elliot was targeted by Robin Morgan and separatists at a lesbian women’s conference. Stone was targeted by Janice Raymond and forced out of Olivia Records with threats of a boycott. And Gloria Steinem of Ms. magazine openly attacked trans women.

”

- The Biotic Woman: Talking About Transphobia and Ecofeminism With Ida Hammer (via socialistexan)

brb printing this out and plastering it all over this house and other feminist/queer spaces…

(via nilsander)

ethiopienne: masculinitywill gut youlike a fish,keep your insidesfor nutritionwhile tossing your...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 12:00:12 -0700

ethiopienne:

masculinity
will gut you
like a fish,
keep your insides
for nutrition
while tossing
your body
back lifeless
and bloodied
to drown among
the others
like you
who must swim
past your carcass
to avoid
the hook
just one day longer.

veeisagenderneutralname: mrmdprncss: i’m always weirdly proud when my pee is clear because it’s...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:00:09 -0700

veeisagenderneutralname:

mrmdprncss:

i’m always weirdly proud when my pee is clear because it’s like fuck yeah i’m so hydrated

ME TOO and then i’m really disappointed in myself when it’s not clear

"Social justice movements tend to spring up around issues that most people don’t get. Social justice..."

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:00:18 -0700

“

Social justice movements tend to spring up around issues that most people don’t get. Social justice movements tend to spring up around issues that, to most people, don’t seem to matter that much. If people understood that the issues mattered, then organized movements to promote them wouldn’t be necessary.

Until their issues are properly understood, most social justice movements, almost by definition, are going to look whiny to most people. If you can’t understand why the things people are complaining about matter, those people are going to look whiny to you. That is, they’re going to look like they’re complaining about things that don’t matter.

Something to keep in mind when you’re thinking about accusing people in a social justice movement of being whiny: every social justice movement looks whiny if you don’t understand their issues. A lot of the time, the fact that calling attention to their issues is perceived as whiny is precisely the reason why the movement is necessary in the first place.

”

- A Thought on Social Justice and Being Whiny | Research to be Done (via brute-reason)

magnicifent: The first thing Ripley does after she thinks she’s...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 12:00:16 -0700

magnicifent:

The first thing Ripley does after she thinks she’s successfully destroyed the xenomorph: DECLARE A NO PANTS ZONE.

Racebending.com: Quoting myself because it's relevant to an argument going on on my dash...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 06:00:16 -0700

Racebending.com: Quoting myself because it's relevant to an argument going on on my dash...:

moniquill:

Where is it that your piece is set that there just aren’t any POC there? I mean, I’m sure there are places like that. Wherever it is that white people fly to when they take white flight comes to mind. Maybe you’re writing a story set in a gated community in the suburbs of Portland (Ranked Whitest city in the US based on census data!) Maybe you’re writing a story with a very limited cast, like a family saga of a white family, or a Protagonists-vs.-nature survivalist story where there just aren’t very many people.

But even if that’s the case?

It is relevant to ask yourself why you chose to set it there.

Because this brings back the argument of ‘It wouldn’t be realistic to have POC there!’

I mean, it’s not TRUE that there were no POC in medieval Europe… But it’s a well-accepted cultural myth. And given that myth, the question still begs: Why are so many people so eager to choose to set their stories there? Why are people deliberately choosing places where the audience will accept ‘POC just don’t exist here’?

Why are the fairies in Ferngully white, when the movie is set in Australia?

Why is it that the only black people in Middle Earth are orcs?

Why are there Chinese words but no Chinese people in Firefly?

Why did Pixar make a movie set in (whitewashed) Medieval Scotland?

What’s the explanation for the overpowering whiteness of LA in Buffy The Vampire Slayer?

Why are white Disney Princesses from ahistorical fantasy-worlds, but POC princesses have to be from quasi-historical locations? Pocahontas is from Virginia. Mulan is from China. Tiana is from New Orleans. Meanwhile Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Aurora are from unknown and untagged Kingdoms. Ariel lives in what appears to be a Caribbean reef, but all the humans and mermaids are white. Why do the POC princesses need scaffolding to explain why they’re there? Why are the POC Princesses -not actually Princesses- (unless they marry into it, in Tiana’s case)?

The answer to all of these is, of course, ‘creator choice’. Individual TOTALLY NOT RACIST (tm) people made individual choices.

But these choices aren’t made in a void.

So, yeah. If you don’t have POC characters in a piece with a sizable cast, it’s probably pretty racist. Even if you set it somewhere where GOSH, there just AREN’T any POC and that’s not your fault! They just aren’t there!

Because why are you setting it there?

Does the story REALLY demand that? I mean, some stories do; Downton Abbey is set in WWI Era England among a particular rich, landed family; the story is kind of about how awful that place and time was. The Secret of Roan Inish is set in a remote area of Ireland that hasn’t seen immigration since the vikings stopped showing up, which is relevant because some dude decides to fuck a sealfairy because she’s a slightly different shade of white and that’s kind of a crux of the story. Both of these are good and sense-making narratives where POC are thin on the ground.

They still don’t exist in a void.

The creators chose these stories about white people as the important ones to tell.

That’s worth looking at critically.

vintagegal: Burlesque dancer Zorita walks her pet snake, 1937

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:00:09 -0700

vintagegal:

Burlesque dancer Zorita walks her pet snake, 1937

: Here's What Happened When 8,000 Pairs Of Equally Qualified Whites And Minorities Went House Hunting

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:50:24 -0700

: Here's What Happened When 8,000 Pairs Of Equally Qualified Whites And Minorities Went House Hunting:

odinsblog:

When the Department of Housing and Urban Development first began to systemically study housing discrimination in the United States in the 1970s, the most blatant forms of it were still common.

Blacks were denied appointments to meet with real estate brokers or rental…

"Our freedom and our travel pushes us away from the people we leave. They aren’t left behind, not in..."

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:00:05 -0700

“Our freedom and our travel pushes us away from the people we leave. They aren’t left behind, not in a negative sense, but there is a separation there. Experiences formed with new people in new places. We live our lives and the world does its work on us until we become alien to the people who knew us. We learn strange things. Different languages. Different places. Different ways of thinking.”

- - Bart Schaneman, If I Could See All My Friends Tonight (via genericpink)

New essay up at Thought Catalog here.

(via bartschaneman)

Photo

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 06:00:10 -0700

filling the spaces: 21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together When You're Depressed.

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:00:01 -0700

filling the spaces: 21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together When You're Depressed.:

rosalindrobertson:

A while ago, I penned a fairly angry response to something circulating on the internet – the 21 Habits of Happy People. It pissed me off beyond belief, that there was an inference that if you weren’t Happy, you simply weren’t doing the right things.

I’ve had depression…

shoomlah: If I were to write a children’s book about derailing...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:00:14 -0700

shoomlah:

If I were to write a children’s book about derailing on the internet it would totally have whales in it

hmelt: SUPPORT PROJECT FIERCE CHICAGO: A GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 06:00:26 -0700

hmelt:

SUPPORT PROJECT FIERCE CHICAGO: A GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY EFFORT TO ADDRESS QUEER YOUTH HOMELESSNESS

Who We Are!

Project Fierce Chicago is a grassroots group of youth service providers, housing advocates and radical social workers. Motivated by the need for additional housing resources available for LGBTQ young folks, we came together and decided that instead of waiting for institutional support from the city or state, we will work to address this issue ourselves through a community-driven project!

Our mission is to reduce LGBTQ youth homelessness in Chicago by providing affirming, no-cost transitional housing and support services to LGBTQ young adults. PFC also aims to encourage community-building and leadership development through collaborative living and civic engagement.

What’s Different About Us?

Project Fierce Chicago’s goal is secure a community home that will provide longer-term transitional housing for LGBTQ young people ages 18-24. In addition to living space, residents will have access to services that support a successful transition to independence such as case management, educational and vocational training, independent living skills training and individual and group therapy. These services will primarily be provided by dedicated volunteers & collective members.

PFC’s aims to become a largely self-sustaining community by using a collective funding model, growing food in a community garden and making our own daily living items such as soap, lotion and household cleaning products with natural ingredients.

A focus on self-sustainability fosters community, self-confidence and accountability, which supports young folks with their transition to independence while building partnerships, supporting local community members and businesses. Finally, this model also allows us greater independence from insitutional bodies that are not always able to respond effectively to our community’s needs.

We Need Your Help!

Now that you all have donated the funds to cover our 501(c)3 filing fees, we are starting to raise funds for a down payment on a home for LGBT young folks!

Our plan is to purchase a foreclosed, CTA-accesible space on the south or west side of Chicago. This community-home will be where Project Fierce youth will live and engage in programming to learn sustainable practices, employment skills, and much more.

By donating any amount of money, you’re becoming a part of this project and promoting the success of youth in our community! Stay in touch with us as the project grows via our newsletter!

Background: Queer Youth Homelessness in Chicago

There are an estimated 15,000 youth in Chicago who experience homelessness in the course of a year, according to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) and the Illinois Department of Human Services, and an estimated 32% - 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ (Gay & Lesbian Task Force, 2007). These young folks experience hunger, institutional and interpersonal violence, employment discrimination, and don’t have access to basic needs. Read more about youth homelessness in Chicago on our website.

Our community home would allow youth to feel more secure knowing that they have guaranteed housing every night. PFC’s supportive program would provide time and space for the young people to access important resources like employment, schooling, public benefits, etc, which can be insurmountably difficult to access without a home.

Other Ways You Can Help!

1. Consult or volunteer with PFC. We would be extremely grateful for help from people who have expertise in housing, finance and/or law. Please contact us if ou have a background and want to help: ProjectFierceChicago@gmail.com.

2. Host a fundraiser for PFC. We need a good deal of resources to maintain a space, and we need friends to throw parties or events that earn some green!

3. Spread the word!

Photo

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:00:08 -0700