Man-Hating 101

bigfatfeminist:

The following sentiments in no way mean that an individual is “man-hating,” ever:
  • “Men make me scared.”
  • “Men make me angry.”
  • “Men who treat the word ‘rape’ like slang or make rape jokes make me scared/angry.”
  • “Men have privilege that oppresses me.”
  • “Male privilege makes me angry.”
  • “When men catcall me, that makes me scared/upset/angry.”
  • “When men give my body attention that I don’t want, that makes me scared/upset/angry.”

And please remember, someone saying “I hate men” usually means any or all of the above. If I say “I hate men” it does not actually mean that I hate my father, or my boss, or my friend Kyle, or my cousin Josh. It just means that men, as a generality, make my life as a woman very hard.

This principle can be applied to anything. When POC say “I hate white people,” it does not mean they hate individual white people. When queer people say, “I hate straight people,” it does not mean they hate individual straight people. When trans* people say “I hate cis people,” it does not mean they hate individual cis people. When differently-abled people say “I hate able-bodied people,” when aneurotypical people say “I hate neurotypical people,” when anything like this happens — it’s not about an individual. It’s about an oppressive system.

This is different from Rick Santorum saying “I hate gay people” because Rick Santorum is in a place of privilege. His male privilege, white privilege, cis privilege, and heterosexual privilege all mean that he is not oppressed by gay people. At all. Gay people repulse him, so his homophobia comes from a place of believing gay people are “less than” he is.

An individual can benefit from one kind of privilege and lack another, and these do not cancel one another out. A gay man saying “I hate women” is being misogynistic, because his male privilege means that he is part of an oppressive party against women. A straight white woman saying “I hate black people” is being racist, because her white privilege means she is part of an oppressive party against black people.

Now, I am wary of blanket statements of hatred for my own reasons, but I recognize and respect their value as a way of expressing feelings that oppressed people might otherwise have no ability to express. And I think that expression is incredibly important. There is a huge difference between productive expressions of anger and reductive expressions of bigotry. It’s important to recognize the difference.

30 May 2012 ♥ 354 notes    Reblog    
reblogged from bigfatfeminist    source: bigfatfeminist
❝ I don’t think it’s terribly controversial to note that women, from a young age, are required to consider the reality of the opposite gender’s consciousness in a way that men aren’t. This isn’t to say that women don’t often misunderstand, mistreat, and stereotype men, both in literature and in life. But on a basic level, functioning in society requires that women register that men are fully conscious; it is not really possible for a woman to throw up her hands and write men off as eternally unknowable space aliens — and even if she says she has, she cannot really behave as though she has. Every element of her life — from reading books about boys and men to writing papers about the motivations of male characters to being attentive to her own safety to navigating most any institutional or professional or economic sphere — demands an ironclad familiarity with, and belief in, the idea that men really are fully human entities. And no matter how many men come to the same conclusions about women, the structure of society simply does not demand so strenuously that they do so. If you didn’t really deep down believe that women were, in general, exactly as conscious as you, you could probably still get by in life. You could probably still get a book deal. You could probably still get elected to office. ❞

Jennifer duBois, Writing Across Gender

(via literarynerd)

29 May 2012 ♥ 2,206 notes    Reblog    
reblogged from lafemmeindienne    source: florida-uterati
I’d hang out with you, Thoreau. We could play checkers. Or talk about birds.
Or both.
Anyone with a neck-beard is a human I am interested in being close friends with.

I’d hang out with you, Thoreau. We could play checkers. Or talk about birds.

Or both.

Anyone with a neck-beard is a human I am interested in being close friends with.

29 May 2012 ♥ 4,076 notes    Reblog    
reblogged from myjetpack    source: myjetpack
This link has been following me ALL DAY. Apparently if you listen to Cat Stevens, you are in need of a beard.

Damn you, effective advertising.
You are so right.

This link has been following me ALL DAY. Apparently if you listen to Cat Stevens, you are in need of a beard.

Damn you, effective advertising.

You are so right.

jahoctopus:

Beatrix Potter

jahoctopus:

Beatrix Potter

26 May 2012 ♥ 445 notes    Reblog    High-Res
reblogged from andoeldarinwa    source: jahoctopus
2,407 plays
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

It’s a Cat Stevens kind of day.

P.S. Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) is wicked awesome. What a guy. Mad respect for a fellow seeker.

Things I am interested in knowing more about:
this picture

Things I am interested in knowing more about:

this picture

24 May 2012 ♥ 1,439 notes    Reblog    
reblogged from andoeldarinwa    source:
I made a terrarium! It is the best terrarium.

I made a terrarium! It is the best terrarium.

Made a vegan (I am a fake. A fraud. I am not vegan. You’ve caught me.) orange chocolate cake today and somehow ended  up putting cayenne pepper into it and wow doesn’t that just sound awful?

Well you are wrong, dear friend.

It is magnificent.

23 May 2012    Reblog    

fuckyeahadventuretimegifs:

emilianadarling:

I know that feel, bro.

These were made by her! There were too many to be a submission so here is some promo to show our ~~gratefulness~~

The best moment of Adventure Time
hands down

22 May 2012 ♥ 34,931 notes    Reblog    
reblogged from bobrossgifs    source: bobrossgifs
pamelazhang:

Deviled Egg
Acrylic

I’ve always hated eggs.
Bummers.

pamelazhang:

Deviled Egg

Acrylic

I’ve always hated eggs.

Bummers.

21 May 2012 ♥ 137 notes    Reblog    High-Res
reblogged from andoeldarinwa    source: pamelazhang
lafemmeindienne:

mindofjode:

itsallobvious:

… I have trouble expressing just how fucking adorable this is.

KURTOFSKY

SAAAAAAAAAAAAAM 

BEARS

lafemmeindienne:

mindofjode:

itsallobvious:

… I have trouble expressing just how fucking adorable this is.

KURTOFSKY

SAAAAAAAAAAAAAM 

BEARS

21 May 2012 ♥ 35 notes    Reblog    High-Res
reblogged from lafemmeindienne    source: itsallobvious
I’ve even read books where the front cover features a white character when the protagonist is explicitly stated inside the novel to not be white.
wth?

I’ve even read books where the front cover features a white character when the protagonist is explicitly stated inside the novel to not be white.

wth?