mentally polluted

friendlytroll: shoomlah: No really, the film looks beautiful,...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:50:55 +0200

shoomlah:

No really, the film looks beautiful, but come on now, Pixar! That dead horse was good and beaten by the time Titanic came out, no need to dredge up anachronistic narrative tropes.

thaaaaaaank you.

NSFW, picture under the cut

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:12:12 +0200

eschergirls:

umnachtung submitted:

I discovered your blog yesterday and had to go through one of my books because this was bothering my mind so much. Anyway this picture is from a series of “How to draw Manga” books. This one is about drawing different body types and ethnicities.

However the anatomy in those is pretty awful. I didn’t notice it when I was looking at it 5 years ago when I got the book. But now after I had a few hours of nude drawing classes I can’t agree with this anatomy anymore. I circled the feet in this because… what is this, seriously?

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"Men who want to flirt with women have to realize: Women live in a state of continual vigilance about..."

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 11:20:05 +0200

“

Men who want to flirt with women have to realize: Women live in a state of continual vigilance about sexual safety. It’s like having a mild case of hay fever that never goes away. It’s not debilitating. You’re not weak. You’re not afraid. You just suck it up and get on with your life. It’s nothing that’s going to stop you from making discoveries, or climbing mountains, or falling in love. Sometimes you can almost forget about it. It doesn’t mean it’s not there, subtly sucking your energy. You learn to avoid situations that make it worse and seek out conditions that make it better.

If a female stranger is wary around you, it is not because she suspects you are a rapist, or that all men are rapists. It’s because a general level of circumspection is what vigilance requires. Don’t take it personally.

If this frustrates you, try to remember that women are blamed for lapsed vigilance. If a woman does get raped, everyone rushes to see where she let her guard down. Was she drinking? Was she alone? Was she wearing a short skirt? Did she go to a strange man’s room for coffee at 4am?

A woman must be seen to be vigilant as well as be vigilant. If she is deemed insufficiently vigilant, she will be at least partly blamed for any sexual violence that befalls her. If she’s regarded as downright reckless, that “evidence” can be used to completely exonerate her rapist. If it comes down to a he said/she said dispute over whether sex was consensual, as so many rape cases do, the dispute becomes a referendum on whether the woman seems like the sort of reckless person who would have sex with a stranger.

If a woman does go back to a strange man’s hotel room at 4am, even if she only wants a coffee and conversation, she’s more or less given him the power to rape her. No jury is going to believe she went up there for anything but sex. So, don’t be surprised if a stranger reacts badly to that suggestion.

”

- Attention, Space Cadets: Do Not Proposition Women in the Elevator (via transformfeminism)

A Soliloquy of Sorts: Whenever a woman says, "I hate girls; they're catty bitches," a patriarchy fairy gets its wings.

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:06:44 +0200

A Soliloquy of Sorts: Whenever a woman says, "I hate girls; they're catty bitches," a patriarchy fairy gets its wings.:

iamabutchsolo:

theunfinishedwriter:

And yet it’s not nearly as terrible for women to hate men? Or men to hate other men? It’s only a shame when it’s hate on women?

Well, what have we learned today, children?

Hate is the most harmful when it’s against women.

Equality. You’re doing it wrong.

Uh, I…

womenfighters: A more general (and not gender-specific)...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:54:12 +0200

womenfighters:

A more general (and not gender-specific) critique of fantasy armor.

This. So hard. I can’t even imagine how I would be supposed to fight in… whatever the dude on the right is wearing. It seems to be supposed to be plate armour, so we can rule out bows as his weapon - ever tried to draw a bow in plate armour? - but even if we assume him to fight with some sort of lance, those spurs (?) would constantly hinder his movement. And I’m note even talking about swords, because holy shit, the thingies on his shoulders would probably hit him on the helmet each time he tried to raise his arm to strike…

On a slightly different note, how is he even supposed to walk in that thing without tangling all the protruding stuff?

stfuconservatives: brocreate: this just in: infamous ‘friendzone’ has been purchased by satan, to...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:45:32 +0200

stfuconservatives:

brocreate:

this just in: infamous ‘friendzone’ has been purchased by satan, to be added as the 10th circle of hell. when asked what sort of souls would be occupying this circle, the devil replied, “men’s rights activists.”

eschergirls: scrapscallion: mckelvie: Emma Frost | The White...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:15:32 +0200

eschergirls:

scrapscallion:

mckelvie:

Emma Frost | The White Queen.

A quick design, but the thinking behind it was: if she’s called The White Queen, why shouldn’t her costume be connected to that? With that in mind, I looked up a couple of Elizabethan outfits and went from there, while trying to keep it true to her origins as a member of the Hellfire Club.

I like this. I like this very much.

One of my issues with Emma’s original costume is the massive gender disparity in Hellfire club royalty’s gear: The fellas dress like 16th-18th century nobility; the ladies dress in modernish fetishwear and undies. The hell’s up with that?

Anyway, regal as fuck. Cosplayers, take note.

Love it! And I’m completely with the above commentary. It’s not about “omg teh sex” it’s about context. If all the men are dressing like nobility, then the women should too right? I think it’s sexy, regal and awesome and fits her quite well.

eschergirls: genderqueerbookshop submitted: I found this...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:27:41 +0200

eschergirls:

genderqueerbookshop submitted:

I found this browsing the Star Wars tag and….

I’m pretty sure Twi’leks can’t dislocate their spines at will and I have no clue what the Sith chick is doing.

I’m really curious what this looks like if you continued their bodies beyond this panel. What is Twi’lek girl (is that Aayla?) doing? Where are they standing? What does the ground look like? Are they fighting inside a sphere?

We're Recording You: Prank Calling Hate Groups: An Experiment

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:56:12 +0200

We're Recording You: Prank Calling Hate Groups: An Experiment:

nevvyweather:

Hypothesis: Both test groups will get annoyed upon being mistaken for the other.

Procedure:

1) Called the Westboro Baptist Church.

-Asked them when the next Klan meeting is.

Result: They hang up without a word.

2) Called the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

-Asked them what they hoped to accomplish by protesting funerals of dead soldiers.

Result: Guy on the other end of the phone becomes furious and declares how dare we mistake them for “those miserable lowlifes.”

Conclusion: The KKK gets audibly more offended at being mistaken for the WBC than the WBC does for the KKK.

notsexistbut: Apparently weapons don’t exist in a sexist’s...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:29:46 +0200

notsexistbut:

Apparently weapons don’t exist in a sexist’s world.

User Submission

Escher Girls: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-03-21-ms-effect-the-rise-of-fems...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:16:17 +0100

Escher Girls: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-03-21-ms-effect-the-rise-of-fems...:

eschergirls:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-03-21-ms-effect-the-rise-of-femshep

That’s a great article about “Femshep” and how Bioware accidentally created a great female character by not trying to create a female character (i.e. a character that they were specifically thinking of as female). I…

I have a confession to make. I play virtually all my games with the same character. She has a name, an established character, she doesn’t like to fight up close (but she’ll kick your ass nevertheless if you drag her in close combat), she has her own moral compass and she always looks the same. Sure, she changes from game to game - I have played her as a rogue, an archer, a mage focussing on damage, a mage focussing on illusion, I have played her with and sans tattoos, I have played her as a romantic and a I-don’t-need-love-type and her character changes very subtly from game to game, depending on her background and how she develops in-game. But in the end, she’s always the same woman and I always end up loving her to bits.

So why am I typing this out? Because she never bloomed like she did in ME1. Gods, was she great! Kick-ass, completely unsexy, rather unfeminine, deliberately one of the boys, ‘I’ll rip your face off if you don’t comply” mixed with “Get the civilians to safety, dammit!” and some hidden insecurities that only raised their head when talking to Ash (and later Kaidan too). It was just so refreshing to see her in armour that was entirely unchanged from the male one (I’m ignoring the mild boob-plate because it actually looks believable to me) - I’m looking at you, Dragon Age:Origins - and just everyone ignored that she was female (except for Kaidan, but he liked her for who she was, not her broken-nosed self).

And then ME2 came along. I had tears in my eyes as I watched her die and later broke down sobbing during my visit to Alchera (and to be honest, meeting Kaidan didn’t help either). That’s how much I love her. But nevertheless, ME2 left me with a bitter aftertaste - I had become so used to seeing her as a completely unsexualised, unsexy character that the constant ass- and boobcam seriously unsettled me. (Same for the make-over she received during the import. What’s up with those eyelashes?!) I was so thankful that Jack finally had something sensible, something believable to wear after her loyalty mission that I instantly changed her clothes. All the others kept wearing their original armour, because I couldn’t picture them otherwise, but oh my god, Jack, who the fuck thought that THAT was a good idea to run around in with bullets whizzing past your head?! (That’s just another thing I hated about ME2, all that non-armour for the companions that totally wasn’t there to show the women’s bodies off.)

It’s pretty telling that I can remember more of ME1 than of ME2, even though I finished playing the latter just as ME3 came out. My ME1-Shepard was perfect. What the game made of her in ME2 was still my Shepard and she was kick-ass and I love her, but all those shots lovely picturing her ass and boobs was… less than great. I liked the tension between her and Thane, but I was so fucking relieved to see that I had the opportunity not to flirt. My Shepard had problems letting Kaidan go - she later came around to develop some sort of ‘If I’m not happy without you, don’t you dare to be happy without me’-obsession that was actually pretty gruesome, but she is a person on her own. And that is just another thing that is endlessly beautiful about Mass Effect: It allows Shepard to develop over the course of three games. In retrospect, I almost can’t believe how much she changed. It’s almost as if she has a life on her own and in a sense, she really has.

ME3. Whew. I was pretty wary after ME2 and even more so after seeing the glorified Jane Shepard. Seriously, what in the name of all good and cuddly? That’s not a war veteran! That’s your average male fantasy! But I digress. I imported my own Shepard and attacked the game with vigour. (Funfact: When Kaidan made his first appearance, I yelled “Kaidan!” and then continued to mutter darkly about the things “I” would do to him if I got the chance. My partner was just slightly unsettled.)

Weeeell. At least Shepard’s butt wasn’t shoved in face anymore. (If it was, I actually don’t remember it, which is a good sign.) Miranda’s still was, however, and good grief, those fucking Banshees. Also, Samara’s quests still bug me for a reason I can’t quite place and I need to chew off a head for Shepard’s underwear. Black lace. Sure, my ‘I’m one of the boys, damnit’-Shepard is running around in black lace underwear. To whoever is responsible for Shepard’s underwear: Try again.

I, for one, really liked the ending. It sums up perfectly how much my Shepard has changed - even though it reduced me to tears (again). Sniffle. I probably shouldn’t get so upset about a game, but this is my Shepard we’re talking about her and she’s like a friend to me. A very good, very close friend. Give me another female character like that, Bioware, and leave out the beauty contests and the ridiculous camera angles, and maybe I’m going to forgive you for ME2.

Why did I type all of that out? Because Shepard is great. My Shepard is great. (My Shepard also doesn’t need a ‘Fem’ in front of her name, thank you very much.) But she definitely was her greatest in ME1 and during the ending of ME3 - the game where she was only added as an afterthought, the game in which she only was some sort of gender-switched John Shepard and the moment in which she sacrificed herself for the galaxy, because I was so damn proud of her in that moment and of how far she had come from the ‘Humanity first’-Alliance officer. And that’s kind of sad.

What The Fuck, "Nice Guys"?: dionthesocialist: visceral-beauty:Lol you know it’s really funny when...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 19:09:47 +0100

What The Fuck, "Nice Guys"?: dionthesocialist: visceral-beauty:Lol you know it’s really funny when...:

dionthesocialist:

visceral-beauty:

Lol you know it’s really funny when ~*feminists*~ say how the whole “nice guy” thing is sexist.

Even though I’ve seen it a million times.

“I love you! Ohh why can’t I get a guy like you! *touches arm and hugs* Youre like a brother to me!”

…

manboobz: Uh, yeah, that’s not how that works.

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:17:37 +0100

manboobz:

Uh, yeah, that’s not how that works.

anti-oppressivebabyanimals: [IMAGE DESCRIPTION: BABY RED FOX...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:10:19 +0100

anti-oppressivebabyanimals:

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: BABY RED FOX SLEEPING WITH QUOTE FROM MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., “NON-VIOLENCE MEANS AVOIDING NOT ONLY EXTERNAL PHYSICAL VIOLENCE BUT ALSO INTERNAL VIOLENCE OF SPIRIT.”]

"Being triggered does not mean “being upset” or “being offended” or “being angry,” or any other..."

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:12:00 +0100

“Being triggered does not mean “being upset” or “being offended” or “being angry,” or any other euphemism people who roll their eyes long-sufferingly in the direction of trigger warnings tend to imagine it to mean.
Being triggered has a very specific meaning that relates to evoking a physical and/or emotional response to a survived trauma. To say, “I was triggered” is not to say, “I got my delicate fee-fees hurt.” It is to say, “I had a significantly mood-altering experience of anxiety.” Someone who is triggered may experience anything from a brief moment of dizziness, to a shortness of breath and a racing pulse, to a full-blown panic attack. A survivor of sexual violence who experiences a trigger is experiencing the same thing as a soldier who experiences a trigger, potentially even including flashbacks. Like many soldiers who return from war, many survivors of sexual violence are left with post-traumatic stress disorder. Unlike soldiers, however, they are not likely to receive much sympathy, or benefit from attempts to understand, when they are triggered. Instead, triggered survivors of sexual violence are dismissed as oversensitive, as hysterics, as humorless, as weak.
Well. Trivializing the concerns of a person whose traumatic experience of sexual violence has been triggered is a legitimate response. But it’s not a very kind or decent one. I will never understand why anyone wants to be the total jerk who evokes someone’s memories of being assaulted by blindsiding hir with a rape joke (or image, or metaphor, or whatever), in the guise of “humor.” No “joke” is worth triggering someone. Not if you understand what triggering someone really means.”

- “Survivors Are So Sensitive” (via transformfeminism, toranseisstrong) (via thechocolatebrigade) (via saltxwater) (via safercampus, superherotoranse) (via becauseiamawoman) (via boobytrapzap) (via socialistguineapigs) (via simplyopinions) (via anotherfeminist) (via soaringaboveitall) (via thefeeloffree)

Photo

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:10:53 +0100

Why "feminist" is not a swear word

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:45:28 +0100

Why "feminist" is not a swear word:

notsexistbut:

A very good article explaining why there’s no shame in calling yourself a feminist.

jessicavalenti: I think there’s a cream for that.

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:39:24 +0100

jessicavalenti:

I think there’s a cream for that.

Escher Girls: thaddeusgrey submitted: Could you please do the honours and break down...

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:36:38 +0100

Escher Girls: thaddeusgrey submitted: Could you please do the honours and break down...:

eschergirls:

thaddeusgrey submitted:

Good grief. I can’t even read her as human. Humanoid, sure, but to me she looks like a robot or a doll…

Limbaugh Doubles Down, Demands Sandra Fluke Post Sex Tapes Online

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:25:57 +0100

Limbaugh Doubles Down, Demands Sandra Fluke Post Sex Tapes Online:

manboobz:

Here’s the money quote:

LIMBAUGH: So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Feminazis, here’s the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex. We want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch.

WTF is wrong with you, dude?

I’m kind of wondering… do vasectomies count, too? I mean, that’s also contraception, right, Mr. Limbaugh?