"Rape is on the increase, reported and unreported, and rape is not aggressive sexuality, it is sexualized aggression. As Kalamu ya Salaam, a Black male writer, points out, as long as male domination exists, rape will exist. Only women revolting and men made conscious of their responsibility to fight sexism can collectively stop rape."
–

Audre Lorde

rape is not aggressive sexuality, it is sexualized aggression.

(via chubby-bunnies)

(via whensheisnomore-deactivated2012)


This is what online harassment looks like

though the impetus for the article sickens me, i can’t recommend this read enough.

(via jessicavalenti)

"What do you think street harassment is about? Sex? Benign flattery? Attraction? Women who can’t just suck it up and deal?
It’s power. Catcalls, sexist comments, public masturbation, groping, stalking and assault: gender-based street harassment makes public places unfriendly, frightening and dangerous for many girls, women, and LGBQT people.
It’s power to control public spaces. Power to alter paths. Power to shame, scare and intimidate. Power to define what is safe and what is not. It’s the power to say: “I’m entitled to touch you, comment on your body, coerce you to smile, control your movement.” Even when women perceive catcalls as flattering, they are nonetheless aware that it’s an unpredictable degree away from possible harm."

"The thing about patriarchy is that individual men, gay and straight, are often really wonderful people who you love deeply, but they have internalized some really poisonous shit. So every once in a while they say or do something that really shakes you because you’re no longer totally certain they see you as a human being, and you feel totally disempowered to explain that to them."
–

(via forgetwhoweare)

Must

Keep

In mind

When talking

To my dad

(via freesamuel)

I feel like I reblog this all the time.

(via historicalslut)

(via skimmilkcouture)


"The thing is, I’m getting really, really tired of having to justify feminism by explaining how it also benefits men. And that, believe it or not, is the point of this article. What I’m angry about is not the genuine male enquirers who honestly wonder why ‘nobody complains about the stereotyping of men’ (and they do exist, I replied to several of them), it’s the anti-feminist men who attack us for daring to get involved in a movement which aims to improve the lives of women.
What this is really about is men accusing feminists of sexism and hypocrisy unless they can prove that they spend exactly half of their time, energy, and resources on campaigning on behalf of men. What this is really about is that if feminism only improves the lives of women, it has no value or importance. What this is really about is that feminism only has value if it works on behalf of men and improves the lives of men. What this is really about is anti-feminist men being threatened by women working for women. What they’re really saying is that to talk about women, to focus on women, to point out that something affects women badly; all of this is of no importance or value. It’s classic, really – because men are not always the focus of attention of feminism, these anti-feminists can’t stand it.
What this is about is that some men can’t stand not being the centre of attention"

"Victim-blaming is…unfairly blaming someone for the violence that was done unto them. When it comes to sexual harassment, assault or rape, victim-blaming manifests in a number of ways. Post-assault, people often find that their choices and actions surrounding the assault (and sometimes their entire sexual history and other past behaviors) are put under a microscope. Was their outfit too provocative? Were they wearing too much makeup? Were they walking out too late? Were they in a “bad” neighborhood? Were they drinking? Were they dancing? Does their gender expression deviate from feminine or masculine norms in some way? Questions like these are asked by the legal system, the media and society, who look for some reason to put blame on a person who has experienced violence in order to explain WHY that violence was done to them. This gives others reasons to believe they will remain safe, if only they do not behave/dress/be the way that the person who was assaulted behaves/dresses/is.[11]"

Abortions Have Made Life Better for Millions Of Men: It's About Time to Speak Up in Support

For every single woman who’s ever had an abortion, there’s a man somewhere in the story. For every woman who was able to delay motherhood until a better moment, or improve her existing kids’ chances by not enlarging her brood, or end a pregnancy that was doomed to end in tragedy and pain, there’s also a man out there who is not a father today — or is a better father to the kids he has — because a woman he was involved with had the means to make this decision.

Forty years of feminism notwithstanding, the reality in American politics and culture is that our national discussion around this issue won’t materially change until men understand just how invested they are in this issue — and then stand up with us to insist that our reproductive rights be protected and preserved.

It’s not that there aren’t plenty of male voices in this debate already. They’re booming in loud and strong from the anti-choice side. We’re getting an earful from the Catholic bishops (whose moral authority on any matter relating to sexuality should rightly be a national joke by now), Mormon elders, evangelical preachers, and pontificating legislators. Out front of the clinics, the furious guy who is raging because “the bitch killed my baby, and I didn’t have a say in it” is a stereotype on picket lines from coast to coast. Men who think they have the right to control women’s fertility are outraged when they find out that they have no rights at all — and over the years, their anger has been a potent accelerant to the flames of anti-choice furor.

We’ve heard more than enough from them.

(via sonofliberty)