Opinion: Latina Stereotypes Still Rule TV and Films
Latina stereotypes - the hot mami, the sassy spitfire, the shy maid -have been around forever. It’s time to see some smart Latinas represented.
What Latina stereotypes do you see in the media?
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"In reality, sex work isn’t stigmatised because it is dangerous. Sex work is dangerous because it is stigmatised."
Laurie Penny, on newstatesman.com
Today (December 17th) is International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. See december17.org for more info, and check out our Sex Worker Shopping Guide.
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SHIT.
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Perfectly put! I wish I were capable of being so succinct.
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(via homoarigato)
django django django
i am so sick of people essentially saying ‘get over it’ whenever someone has a negative comment about race dynamics in the media, especially when it comes to black representation.
people don’t make these criticisms just to ruin everyone else’s cinema experience, they do it because what they are seeing and hearing is damaging. why is it so hard to respect that to some people this film is highly offensive and that that opinion is as valid as your own; and just because you may be fine with watching it doesn’t mean that everyone is.
perhaps you don’t have an emotional connection with slavery and the expendable nature in which the media treats bodies of colour, maybe you do, either way empathy is key; even if you don’t feel the offence yourself, try to put yourself in another person’s shoes. it can be truly painful to be exposed to the careless nature in which our society treats people of colour, be it in film or otherwise. think about the amount of times you have seen images on the news of dead unnamed brown children here and exploited black bodies there and how people will look at this and think ‘oh how terrible’ and nothing more, whereas if white bodies were treated in the same manner, people would be aghast at the level of disrespect shown to even contemplate broadcasting these images.
the media is constantly dehumanising people of colour, portraying them as constantly birthing or constantly dying but never really living without so much as a bat of an eyelid. consider how django unchained does nothing to help this trend. i can tell you seeing the trailer alone triggered my anxiety and made me genuinely uncomfortable and the mere thought of catching even a wry smile on a white person’s face at a time i consider inappropriate in the cinema would be enough to make me want to leave.
you may say, ‘what’s the problem? tarantino is anti-slavery’ but i would say that that is not enough. he, like any other director has to be held responsible for the images and stories he produces, and i do not think he has been wholly responsible with django, and this is coming from someone who enjoyed some of his other films. he may think he’s being a Good Guy by making a feature length film of ‘hey didn’t slavery suck’ but as far as i’m concerned some of us don’t want his privileged voice in the dialogue, and given that it is our history, our ancestors who went through these atrocities, and that it is us who are still suffering the consequences, i think the very least we should be allowed to do is voice that opinion as many times as we damn well like.
I like the movie but I get your point.
(via stopwhitewashing)
- feminists: Women read certain behaviours as creepy and/or rapey; that's just how they come across to women because sexual assault.
- dudebro: But that's not why I do those things. I'm a special and unique individual.
- feminists: The woman doesn't care that you're special and unique individual. It is a matter of not getting assaulted for her. Rapists think of themselves as special too.
- dudebro: But I'd never assault her. If she knew me she wouldn't think that! I'm nice and polite and I rescue stray puppies.
- feminists: Are you being deliberately dense or are you seriously incapable of understanding that women want to avoid violence more than they want to get to know some random dude.
- dudebro: It's just not FAIR that my special unique eminent self should suffer because of what other guys do.
- feminists: Have you tried talking to your male relatives, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances about male violence?
- dudebro: No! Why should men need to change? Women just need to become less sensitive.
- feminists: OK, never mind, let's set them all on fire.
"Prejudice against women, however, has deep and far-reaching consequences that do a lot more than make them feel bad, for it supports an entire system that privileges men at women’s expense. Sexist prejudice doesn’t just target individual women, for it is fundamentally about women and strikes at femaleness itself in every instance. Each expression of antifemale prejudice always amounts to more than what is said, for it reaffirms a cultural legacy of patriarchal privilege and oppression. When a particular woman is treated as less intelligent, less serious, and less important than the men she works with, for example, this specific view of her is easily linked to the patriarchal idea that women in general are inferior to men. When men ignore her ideas and suggestions or pay more attention to her looks than to her work, they do so with a cultural authority that damages her far more than similar treatment directed at a man.
Since patriarchal culture values maleness, the weight behind antimale prejudice is limited primarily to the individual woman who expresses it and is therefore easier to discount (“She must not like men”). And however hurt men might feel, they can always turn to the compensations of male privilege and a mainstream culture that sends continuing messages of inherent male value. In this sense, the issue isn’t whether prejudice hurts-it hurts everyone it touches. But prejudice against women wounds in deeper and more complex ways than does prejudice against men because the hurt is magnified by a patriarchal system that spreads it by association to all women and that systematically links it to male privilege.
Because prejudice affects women and men so differently, calling antimale prejudice “sexism” distorts the reality of how systems of privilege work. Prejudice against women not only harms individual women, but perpetuates an oppressive system based on gender that harms women more deeply than any isolated instance of hurtful speech or discrimination. Antimale prejudice may hurt individual men, but it isn’t connected to a system that devalues maleness and oppresses men as a result. The difference between the two is so great that we need to distinguish the one from the other, and that’s what words like “sexism” and “racism” are for. Sexism distinguishes simple gender prejudice-which can affect men and women both-from the much deeper and broader consequence of expressing and perpetuating privilege and oppression. Without this distinction, we treat all harm as equivalent without taking into account important differences on both the personal and the social levels in what causes it and what it does to people."
Allan G. Johnson, The Gender Knot (via wretchedoftheearth)
Racism 101: A Comprehensive Guide for 2013
After the success of the Racism 101: A comprehensive Guide for 2012 post, it seemed fitting that there be a follow up for 2013.
8 things every good racist/non-racist should know
Enjoy!
1. Racism is not fun-If you find yourself wanting to be a part of the “I’ve experienced racism” conversation, you should really re-evaluate your own life choices. If your “Experience” with racism is a single item that you are able to pinpoint, you are living a life of luxury. Racism is not fashionable, easy or something any of us (Who have to live with it daily) want. If you find yourself WANTING to be able to say that you experience racism, you should question your own thinking. Starting now.
2. Human beings can hold two opposing view points-You can have a Black friend AND be racist against Black people. You can be married to a Latino AND be racist against Latin@s. Believing that your friend, family member or the person you are dating/married to is somehow “Different than” or “Not like” the others, is an absolutely racist thought to have. Equally, if you believe that having a friend, family member or significant other who is of the race you hold such ignorant feelings towards somehow makes you “Not racist,”see below…
3. Your “Friend” proves my point, not yours-When you’ve been accused of being a racist, announcing that you have a “Black Friend” proves that you are in fact, a racist. Non-racists would never use their friends to justify their racism. Non-racists also wouldn’t feel the need to catagorize their friends by race. Non-racists would not be capable of seeing their “Black Friend” as a “Get out of being called a racist” card. These actions are racist. Only a racist is capable of acting in this manner.
4. The internet is not racist-If you find yourself saying anything along the lines of “If you don’t like racism, get off the internet,” you are, quite frankly, not very bright. It is people who make racist comments and put them on the internet. In order for “Getting off the internet” to equal “Not having to deal with racism,” each and every racist person on the internet would have to magically disappear from Earth when a person logged off.
5. Comedy does not trump racism-Calling the racist thing you’ve just said, “A joke” doesn’t make it any less racist. Even if you and all of your friends think it’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard. It doesn’t stop anyone from being hurt and it doesn’t eliminate your role in hurting people. Racism is wrong. Even when you label it “Comedy.” (Note: No one should ever have to remind you that racism is wrong)
6. Satire isn’t racist-The rule is, “Satire goes up.” The entire purpose of satire is to make fun of those at the top. Racist “Jokes” are the farthest thing from satire as anyone could get. Calling the racist thing you just said, “Satire” proves that A) You have no idea what satire is and B) you are living under the false notion that people laughing at something cruel, takes the cruelty away.
7. It’s presentation over blood 100% of the time- Whether you are 1/16th brown, ½ brown or all the way brown, if you present as white, you are going to be treated as such. This isn’t about fault or blame. However, if you find yourself starting to claim that you don’t have white passing privilege because your Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandmother was brown, you have failed and fallen into a racist justification wormhole. Climb out. (Note: This may be USA specific. I don’t know how accurate this may be in other countries)
8. “My experiences are just as valid.”-This is an accurate statement. Your experiences are valid. The problem is not that they are “Invalid” it’s that when you use your experiences to either A) Say that you deal with things too so I should just stop whining or B) That it is okay to talk OVER my experience because you have also lived through something, you are acting in an inexcusable manner. Also, stop saying “Oppression Olympics.” The person suffering the most DOES matter. However, this also does not allow for over talking. (Seriously though, let’s get rid of the term “Oppression Olympics” altogether, mkay? You are using it incorrectly anyway.)
(via brashblacknonbeliever)
Black Panther Party (BPP) Confrontation with Eugene Police Department. In 1969, there were two major confrontations. The first was centered around three BPP members and two Eugene Police officers. It started when two EP tried to enter a Panther member’s house (Oliver Patterson) without a warrant. They were yelling insults and threatening to force their way in. BPP members Howard and Tommy Anderson met them. The BPP members were armed and ready to defend their rights as Americans. The BPP Captain asked the EP to produce a warrant and he would instruct the Panther inside to come out and surrender. The EP could not produce such a warrant. They had never experienced armed Black men defending their rights under the United States constitution. The EP ran to their car in shock and embarrassment.
The same day a warrant for Howard and Tommy Anderson was issued for assault on police with deadly weapons and interfering with the Eugene Police. All members of the BPP Eugene Chapter were called and showed up at BPP Headquarters. The BPP Eugene Chapter decided to not give up the Anderson brothers without a fight to the death. All members were ready to die. The EP was ready to kill all members that were willing to fight and die. Things had come to the major task of armed struggle. The Headquarters was very fortified and the Panthers had enough weapons to engage the EP in a relatively short firefight. The BPP had armed White support outside the Headquarters ready to die by sniping EP from strategic positions. There were other students from the U of O outside protesting this major conflict. The man that stopped this conflict was Ken Morrow who was a highly respected attorney in Eugene. He walked up to the door of the BPP Headquarters and said he was an attorney and could help. He called a judge and asked if he could bring the BPP members down to City Hall to be arraigned and bail set. The judge agreed to set bail at $10,000 per Panther. The money was raised within ten minutes.
Thereafter, Ken Morrow and Howard and Tommy Anderson went to City Hall, were arraigned, posted bail and were back at Headquarters within one hour. Ken Morrow had a good relationship with the Eugene Chapter of the BPP, despite pressure from anti-Panther members of the Eugene community.
The Eugene Police continued to harass and arrest Panthers for various reasons. Some police thought the Panthers should be stopped. Most of these incidents were not political but criminal.
By 1970, the show was over for the Eugene Chapter. The Captain moved to Oakland and became close to Huey Newton (Minister of Defense). Other members moved to other cities to work with other chapters. Some stayed as students of the U of O.
The purpose of this article is to record the legacy of the Eugene, Oregon Chapter of the Black Panther Party and to document its impact on this small college community. The writer trusts that this legacy is still being talked about in both academic and non-academic circles and that all former Eugene Chapter members continue to look back at this history with pride.
(via brashblacknonbeliever)
"Americans love to think of themselves as innocents. As a result, when they are victimized they are not just in a state of mourning, but one of total disbelief when finding themselves on the receiving end of barbarity. In the moment of bereavement and shock the well documented acts of barbarity that have been and still are committed by their country are conveniently forgotten. … Lanza was no worse than the drone operators and soldiers who act on government orders. The only difference is that they have permission from the state and approval of the populace to kill at will. There will be no end to senseless violence unless Americans affirm that they want it to stop and that there should no longer be any sacrosanct killers. The memorial to the victims in Newtown ought to be soul searching and a determination to change actions which have been considered not only acceptable but beneficial throughout most of this country’s history. If Americans really think that killing is wrong, they must change a lot more than gun control laws."
Margaret Kimberly
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(via seriouslyamerica)
"I daresay that the sexual acts I have described above are not ones that most women seek out in the real world, nor ones that most men feel comfortable asking their partner to engage in. Conversely, acts that are part of many people’s sexual experience, such as kissing, caressing, cuddling, and fondling, are noticeably absent in pornography. This forces us to ask why men who view porn are so attracted to images that depict types of behavior so at odds with the real world.
One obvious answer could be that men go to porn as a way to play out a fantasy, a way to conjure up mental images that are not real but nonetheless pleasurable. But if it were as simple as this, then why isn’t there an equal amount of porn that depicts women and men having great sex that involves deep connection and intimacy, with women having fabulous orgasms brought about by a highly skilled male lover who has an intuitive understanding of women’s bodies? This, too, would be a fantasy for many viewers, but it is clearly not one that porn chooses to represent with any regularity. Instead porn plays out “fantasy” sex that looks more like sexual assault than making love."
Gail Dines, Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality (via wretchedoftheearth)
Some days I just wanna dance like this….:D
the one in the middle
who flips her hair in the second gif
i have a crush on her
like shit
cries softly
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