no. 378

"Under the current ‘tyranny of slenderness’ women are forbidden to become large or massive; they must take up as little space as possible. The very contours of a woman’s body takes on as she matures - the fuller breasts and rounded hips - have become distateful. The body by which a woman feels herself judged and which by rigorous discipline she must try to assume is the body of early adolescence, slight and unformed, a body lacking flesh or substance, a body in whose very contours the image of immaturity has been inscribed. The requirement that a woman maintain a smooth and hairless skin carries further the theme of inexperience, for an infantilized face must accompany her infantilized body, a face that never ages or furrows its brow in thought. The face of the ideally feminine woman must never display the marks of character, wisdom, and experience that we so admire in men."

Sandra Lee Bartky, Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power


via

no. 320

"A nation that continuously publicizes appeals to 'support our troops' is explicitly asking its citizens not to think. It is the ideal slogan for suppressing the practice of democracy, presented to us in the guise of democratic preservation."

Steven Salaita, No, thanks: Stop saying “support the troops”

no. 265

“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights.
Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone…Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights. We do not intend to let them do this to us. We demand this fraud be stopped. Our weapon is our vote.”

Martin Luther King

no. 256

"Because that’s the thing about Scooby-Doo: The bad guys in every episode aren’t monsters, they’re liars.
I can’t imagine how scandalized those critics who were relieved to have something that was mild enough to not excite their kids would’ve been if they’d stopped for a second and realized what was actually going on. The very first rule of Scooby-Doo, the single premise that sits at the heart of their adventures, is that the world is full of grown-ups who lie to kids, and that it’s up to those kids to figure out what those lies are and call them on it, even if there are other adults who believe those lies with every fiber of their being. And the way that you win isn’t through supernatural powers, or even through fighting. The way that you win is by doing the most dangerous thing that any person being lied to by someone in power can do: You think."

Ask Chris #81: Scooby-Doo and Secular Humanism

via

no. 243

1. Recognize the System: That’s right, there’s a system, and it’s a vicious one. The first step to feeling better about yourself is to recognize that there are people who are trying to make you feel down even when you don’t even notice it. It’s shitty to realize, but it’s harder to fight an invisible opponent than one you see. This system is a core of advertising and media messages that exist to create a vision of the ‘perfect girl/guy’, and when you don’t fit it (and I’m saying when because chances are you don’t and that’s totally okay) they trick you into buying a bunch of bullshit you don’t need so you can ‘strive towards perfection’ or whatever. That’s bullshit. It’s all bullshit. Call them on their bullshit and never stop calling them on their bullshit.

Izzy (maybe), one of 10 points from Body Positivity Things to Remember

no. 105

"Just for anyone who is still wondering about the racist implications of this flag… here’s a fun fact. A lot more of these started popping up after Obama took office.

A more honest and open version of this sticker would read, when I look at all these black people all over the place in America, I realize that slavery wasn’t really worth it in the end.

Oh but it’s heritage, not hate. We don’t hate them. We just wish they weren’t here, you know, trying to be equal to us."

stfuconfederates, responding to the photo below.

Maybe it is about heritage. But it's also about racism, at least for some. The two don't necessarily apply to everyone who like the flag, but it applies to the flag itself, through simple usage and history. To deny this is like saying that the swastika is a religious symbol and so all that "extra" Nazi stuff doesn't really apply.