Tag: people of colour

aureliaborealis:

prokopetz:

prokopetz:

Rape is the only crime on the books for which arguing that the temptation to commit it was too clear and obvious to resist is treated as a defence. For every other crime, we call that a confession.

I’ve gotten more angry asks about this post than I have actual reblogs.

imagine hearing “well if he didn’t want to be shot, he should have worn a bulletproof vest” on a trial

The thing is, though, it is said, in the case of racial minorities and vulnerable people. How often has a black person been shot just for driving/walking/ringing the cops for help/wearing a hoodie/playing in a park? How often do people say they should have behaved differently, as though their actions were a logical precursor to their murder?

How often do Jewish people, Sikhs and Muslims get blamed for being ‘too’ who they are in public? Especially women wearing a headscarf or men wearing a turban? How many are told, ‘well, what did you expect?’ when they try to report a hate crime?

How many queer people are blamed for their own murders and assaults simply for existing in public spaces? How many are told that if they just made an effort to be normal, they’d have been safe? How many were assaulted when they were actually passing, but were outed as queer and found themselves trapped and abused by people who felt angry at being ‘tricked’?

How many disabled people have been murdered just for not being normal? How many autistic children and adults are killed by their caregivers annually, or subjected to torturous therapies to try to cure them? How many interviews, articles, memoirs and documentaries justify this cruelty in the name of normalisation and blame the disabled person for the impact of their disability on their families?

People have always blamed victims. Yes, it happens to victims of rape and sexual assault, and always has done, and is disgustingly regularly reported as justification for what happened. But it happens to others too. Also, please remember that the rates of rape and sexual assault of people of colour, queer people and disabled people are far higher than the general population, and that it is far harder for these victims to access the justice system, compensation and health/support services.

cindymayweather:

“One fun fact I learned while on the air with Keith Olbermann was that humans on the Internet are scumbags. People say children are cruel, but I was never made fun of as a child or an adult. Suddenly, my disability on the world wide web is fair game. I would look at clips online and see comments like, "Yo, why’s she tweakin?” “Yo, is she retarded?” And my favorite, “Poor Gumby-mouth terrorist. What does she suffer from? We should really pray for her.” One commenter even suggested that I add my disability to my credits: screenwriter, comedian, palsy.“

Maysoon Zayid on TEDWomen (x)

goflyakate:

pannan-art:

pannan-art:

pannan-art:

pannan-art:

pannan-art:

Modern Disney Girls! Who’s gonna be next?

You choose!

EDIT: Updated the post to put all new Gilrs in one place!

EDIT: Updated the Pocahontas picture!

Modern Disney Girl – MERIDA!

Why short hair?

Merida was a young, teenage rebel. In the movie, she was always against the way of princess lifestyle. And her hair show this very good – in her times woman should braid her hair, cover them – but she always had this “mess” on her head.

What would modern Merida do? She would cut her hair, because many of people would say to her – you have such a lovely, curly, red hair, you should be so proud, don’t shave it, cut it…

But she would surely do that. That fits her character. 

Modern Disney Girls – Tiana and Charlotte

Modern Disney Girl – Ariel

OH SHIT THAT LAST ONE

Kelly Sue DeConnick Explores Gender Dynamics and Defiance on Bitch Planet

kellysue:

Paste: The way that the word “compliant” is used, and takes on these incredible sinister connotations throughout the first issue…when did you arrive on that?

DeConnick: Everyone who works in the medical field hates me for that choice, by the way. Apparently, non-compliant patients are nothing you want to cheer for. I don’t remember making that decision. This is a thing I see with my daughter. My daughter is a very spirited 4-year-old girl. And with my daughter more than with my son — when my son is, let’s say spirited, it tends to be, “Boys do that; that’s boys.” And it’s chuckled at, if not encouraged. And when my daughter has initiative or is disagreeable or has a different idea about how she wants to do things, she’s a pain in the ass. She’s a troublemaker. She needs to smile and act nice and not disrupt the system. And I want so badly to protect this[, this] thing about my daughter that I most treasure right now: Tallulah does not give a fuck if you like her. I am so proud of her for that. And I know that there are parents that that will horrify. Please understand that we have a saying in our home, that you don’t have to be nice, but you must be kind. And what we’re trying to emphasize is you don’t have to be compliant; you don’t have to just go along with the way of things.

Full interview in LINK. 

I haven’t read Bitch Planet or Pretty Deadly yet, but I have to say I approve of the word usage of ‘complaint’ here. Many people, many of them disabled, many of them female or queer or people of colour, have the label ‘non-compliant’ attached to their files simply because they have opinions about their own medical or psychiatric care that do not mesh with those of their primary physician. This isn’t a benign thing – people’s accounts of their symptoms are dismissed, they are forced into courses of treatment or medications that are unsuitable for them, forced into institutions or even die through improper medical or psychiatric care, all because a physician decided their patient was too uppity and didn’t have a right to independently research their condition or make informed choices about what treatment was right for them. Given that disabled people, women, queer people and POC are more likely to be subjected to these forms of social control by medical practitioners, government agencies and law enforcement, the use of the word compliant rings true to many people who have been subject to the whims of these agencies in the course of their lifetime. Just my two cents, from a disabled autistic queer girl, for whom the world has been difficult, but not as horrific as it has been for some of my fellows.

New superhero comic, Spark!

bettersupes:

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Hey, everyone! This is the creator of Little Girls Are Better At Designing Superheroes Than You, here with a post I thought you all might like. Writer Ted Anderson and I have made a pitch for a superhero comic!

The comic is about nine-year-old Lucia Marquez-Miller, who loves engineering, and uses her telekinetic powers to build and take things apart with her mind. She calls this power her spark!

As Spark, the world’s youngest superhero, she’s a junior member of a superhero team while also trying to live a normal life. Can Lucia juggle her friends and family while also saving the world from supervillains?

We’re posting a 15-page standalone comic here on tumblr to give readers an idea of what the book would be like.

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Click “read more” below to continue reading the comic!

Read More

theafrocentrics:

wonkistan:

Reader Chris passes along an article about differences in American Sign Language usage between white and African-American signers. Researchers investigating what they call Black ASL found significant variations in signs, signing space, and facial cues. They explain:

Black ASL is not just a slang form of signing. Instead, think of the two signing systems as comparable to American and British English: similar but with differences that follow regular patterns and a lot of variation in individual usage.

They hypothesize that these differences began in segregated learning environments, and continue to evolve in Black social spaces. The whole article is worth a read.

Thanks, Chris, and remember — you can submit Wonk-worthy links through our ask or via email!

ETA, 9/24/12: Many of you have brought up the use of the word “mainstream” in this infographic. Better choices definitely exist, since this word rings of othering. We appreciate your nuanced and attentive readership!

Black folks got they own vernacular in asl also. You learn something new everyday.

copperbadge:

scifigrl47:

This is the New York Time Best Selling Graphic Novels list for 11/16/14.

1 SISTERS, by Raina Telgemeier. (Scholastic.) Raina is stuck in the back seat between her younger brother and sister for a weeklong road trip in this family memoir. Will such close quarters force the siblings to finally get along?

2 MS. MARVEL, VOL. 1, by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona. (Marvel Entertainment.) Kamala Khan has always dreamed of gaining superpowers, but when her wish actually comes true, can she use them to save the citizens of Jersey City without being grounded by her parents?

3  SMILE, by Raina Telgemeier. (Scholastic.) Raina experiences braces, an earthquake, boy troubles, frenemies and other plagues of the sixth grade.

4  THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM, VOL. 1, by Robert Kirkman and others. (Image Comics.) This massive collected edition — over 1,000 pages — reprints the first 48 issues of “The Walking Dead.”

5  THE WALKING DEAD, VOL. 21, by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. (Image Comics.) The causalities continue to mount as the war between the Survivors and the Saviors reaches its conclusion.

6  HAWKEYE, VOL. 3, by Matt Fraction, Annie Wu and Javier Pulido. (Marvel Entertainment.) Kate Bishop arrives in Los Angeles, intent on creating her own path as Hawkeye, and almost immediately finds herself in the crosshairs of Madame Masque.

7  THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM, VOL. 2, by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. (Image Comics.) This collected edition, of issues 49-96, follows Rick and his group of survivors as they try to stay alive — with zombies and some humans against them.

8  AMULET, VOL. 6, by Kazu Kibuishi. (Scholastic.) Max makes a promise to the Elf King that he may not be able to keep while Emily and Navin are ordered to go into the war-torn city of Lucien.

9  DRAMA, by Raina Telgemeier. (Scholastic.) Middle-school drama becomes much more intense when Callie becomes the stage manager for a production of “Moon Over Mississippi.”

10.  AMULET, VOL. 1, by Kazu Kibuishi. (Scholastic.) Emily and Navin are two ordinary children who discover a dangerous world filled with demons, robots, and talking animals under the basement of their great–grandfather’s house.

In addition to Ms. Marvel (a comic about identity and alienation with a diverse cast and a distinctly feminist slant) debuting at the number two slot, you know what I see?

Three of the ten are the stories of teenage girls, AIMED at pre-teen to teenage girls.  Two more (Amulet) are aimed at both boys and girls, but feature a central female character (Emily) and her single mother (Karen.)  And one is a superhero comic about a rarity in the female world: a female character who is not a “Ms.” who is not a “Lady” or a “She” or a “Madam” or a “Girl.”  She is just HAWKEYE, just like the man who carries the title, and that is encouraged and accepted within the narrative.

Seven of the ten are the stories of girls.  

But girls don’t buy comics, right?  8)

And boys definitely don’t buy comics about girls.

Must be aliens buyin’ all them comics. 

medievalpoc:

depressedminority:

dicksweredinner:

akhrati:

thedirtyoldgentleman:

kaniehtiio:

For thousands of years, we told stories from one generation to the next. Our stories help us to understand how the world is ordered and our place within it. But what good are old stories if the wisdom they contain is not shared?

In Never Alone, players take on the roles of Nuna, a young Iñupiaq girl and an Arctic fox, in an atmospheric puzzle platformer that combines traditional folklore, stories, settings, and characters handed down over many generations by Alaska Native people whose roots and heritage date back millennia. 

Featuring imagery and themes drawn directly from Iñupiat and other Alaska Native cultures, Never Alone features striking visuals, emphasizes the sensibilities and perspective of these indigenous Arctic people and requires players to work cooperatively to succeed in challenging and harsh environments. [x]

Can we also talk about how this is being created by the first indigenous game company in the US?

I saw the dev session at Eurogamer and the story of the studio is absolutely amazing. They had the most beautiful photo of one of the most respected storytellers, a woman in her eighties, utterly delighted by the game, controller in hands.

Definitely pick this up and support the wonderful people behind this game.

This is the type of game I’ve been waiting forever for. 

I want it

I’ve posted about Never Alone previously; I wanted to point out that it is being released on November 18, 2014.