#“I know he literally raped his mom and sexually harassed women all his life but we have to respect his pronouns!!”

[limeade-l3sbian]

Just remember that TRAs have more grace and respect for Chris Chan than 15-year-old radfems.

[empathetic]

Honestly I don’t think people in leftist communities are talking nearly enough about cis women’s issues anymore. And I don’t mean cis as in relation to trans women, I’m saying cis women in reference to the fact that misogyny and patriarchy are very real things that do affect cis woman on the basis of their sex. And this shouldn’t be a controversial or TERF-y thing to say because it’s literally true.

From a personal experience as an Indian woman raised Muslim: a few years ago, two of my female cousins my age who live in India had to get married as soon as their dad passed unexpectedly because their mom was unable to get her own education to provide for the family, and they needed the support of potential husbands. My cousins were 19 and 20 when they got married. The 19 year old has barely turned 22 and already has 2 children. She had to stop going to school and her entire life is about her marriage, kids, and family. And another cousin said that her husband doesn’t let her watch TV so she has to watch when he’s not home. And when I went to india I’ve had every single woman I’ve met and talked to for more than a minute in passing ask me when I’m getting married. For fucks sakes my grandma even tried to arrange marriages for me without my permission and I’m barely turning 22 this month, and wants me to try to marry my fucking COUSIN so that i can be further controlled.

I had a convo w my mom about how rampant misogyny is in her home city in india. How she was asked what her husbands name was so she could pick up her own medicine from the pharmacy, and she asked “why do you need that information?” so the guy at the counter then asked her (a 50 year old woman) for her FATHERS name. About the women she and I know.. women who had to quit their jobs because their husbands don’t want them working, even if it means that there is less income to provide for their families because the husbands a deadbeat and still expects his wife to do all the domestic labor for him too while he literally does nothing. Women who are forced to lose their entire lives for their families and husbands’ patriarchal expectations and have children they didn’t truly want or stop going to school. Women who can’t get a divorce from abusive men because it will deem them worthless and damaged so nobody will want to marry them or even their daughters.

Women who can’t go out alone or without a man because they’ll get harassed or assaulted by men. Women who wear niqab or burqa because they get harassed and assaulted by men, but it not mattering because the men already know what their body shape looks like and what their eyes look like and what shoes they wear. Women who get assaulted anyways. Women who are made to believe that they need to cover up and be ashamed of themselves because men are perverted monsters that can’t help but rape every woman he could get his hands on. Women who don’t know what marital rape is because it’s completely normalized and that’s just what sex is, right? Women who are abused by their husbands when they don’t meet their demands, sexual or not, and comply because they don’t want to keep getting beaten or berated. Women who are deemed impure when they’re on their periods. Women who are constantly treated like second class citizens, born as property of their fathers and then passed on as property of their husbands, because they are just seen as baby-making machines and sex dolls.

And there is obviously so much more than this.. this is purely what I’ve seen and dealt with personally. And it’s infuriating that it seems like nobody ever really wants to talk about this because it’s somehow controversial to even acknowledge that cis women are treated as inferior to men under patriarchy due to their biological sex. They are treated as inferior because they have vaginas that can be penetrated and uteri that can carry a fetus. This is how patriarchy operates in the first place, whether we like it or not. In an ideal world, patriarchy wouldn’t exist and we wouldn’t have to think of cis women’s oppression on the basis of their genitalia and reproductive organs because.. well.. that oppression wouldn’t exist. But it does! And so we might as well fucking talk about it and find ways to empower women who are unable to do so. There’s more we can do besides online discourse that such women can’t even participate in because they aren’t even allowed to!!!

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

Tw: SA mention, parental abuse mention, sibling abuse mention, parental SA, physical abuse mention,

Looking for validation, help, support

I always say my mom isn’t my SA bc I don’t wanna think she is. I don’t wanna think like that. My sibling already sexually abused me in physically forcible ways and beat me when we were little kids. My father talks about women in disgusting ways, even sexually toward minors as far as I’m aware he hasn’t raped anyone…but he was emotionally abusive to me when I was little. I already had an abusive ex boyfriend and an abusive family friend. Both of which were emotionally, psychologically, and sexually abusive to me. Is it SA if my mother would pinch and grab my ass usually with me screaming at her or trying to get away? I never liked stuff like that as a kid I hated it. She doesn’t do it anymore but she did when I was little.

Sometimes I look at what I write about my abuse and I don’t even believe it. It’s a lot but I always feel I’m never telling enough of the truth even when I’m really trying to. Idk what’s wrong with me. And the hypersexuality people think I’m lying about and the abuse bc nobody thinks I was the victim. My mother literally said I abused her when I was a kid and she said I was a really difficult kid to take care of. I never touch my abusers nor do I let them touch me bc I fucking hate touch. My abusers got a new family friend who legit sexually harassed me and then cried wolf when I called them out among everybody they said I was spreading rumors and now they want revenge on me bc I was “spreading rumors�� and therefore “bullying them” and my family said I was a liar bc I’m spiteful toward them and now I’m attacking their friends…like omfg. I know I was sexually harassed like…the tricks these fuckers play all the time I swear to god I’m never saying I was abused ever again bc I just have absolutely no voice and no supporting people in my life.

Hi anon,

I'm sorry to hear about what you've been through. It's understandable to find it difficult to entertain the possibility of your experiences being worse than you're currently accounting for, because it's already overwhelming. It sounds like being gaslit, disbelieved, or antagonized may influence the feeling that you're never telling enough of the truth or that you can't believe it yourself. It can be exhausting to be constantly told you're lying and spreading rumors when you're really just trying to speak up for yourself. Please know that we believe you.

It's difficult because when it comes to something like moms pinching and grabbing their kid's butt, sometimes it's SA and sometimes it's not. But especially if you were screaming at her and telling her to get away, it seems more likely that it could be considered SA.

If anyone would like to chime in, please feel free to do so. Otherwise, I hope I could help and please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[mithliya]

Would you mind sharing which are the worst problems faced by woman in Bahrain?

during the arab spring, women in bahrain who protested (and some who didn't even protest and were just "in the wrong place at the wrong time") were often raped and sexually abused. one thing that has been true about bahrain my entire life is that sexual assault is a major problem here, but it's not even spoken of and it's almost never reported. the reason why is because women are socially ostracised for it, and sometimes even punished for it (mainly by their relatives). when i was raped and told my parents, they told me i couldn't go to the police, bc i'm a shi'i girl from a communist & atheist family, and shame will be brought onto me and my family, while the perpetrator is a sunni guy from a royalist family. if you get raped, iirc, you need two witnesses (if theyre male, i think you need even more if its a female witness) which basically makes it almost impossible to even prosecute a rapist. how likely is it that you'll have two people who saw you get raped and are willing to testify for you? even then, rapists are hardly prosecuted for it and whether it is prosecuted is all about your connections. if youre a rich and powerful woman, MAYBE you'll be able to get some justice. and this is for the very, very rare cases where women do report getting raped. also keep in mind, police officers raped so many women as well which further discourages reporting.

i know several women who were subject to hymen checks by their parents. they are forced to see a gynaecologist who then "checks" if you're a virgin. you can look into how hymen checks aren't even accurate at all and are bullshit. keep in mind, if those girls getting hymen checks are deemed Not Virgins, they are at risk of being abused and further controlled heavily by their family.

most women here wear the hijab, most wear it because of their family and their family's reputation. you will sometimes see literal 7 year old girls wearing it. basically, women are frequently forced into wearing the hijab.

sexual harassment is extremely common, and it's especially normalised if you're a woman who doesn't wear a hijab. i have way too many stories of men following me in their cars and harassing me, and every single woman in my family has several similar stories as well.

when it comes to divorce, a lot of the time to get divorced both the man and the woman have to say "i agree" to be able to divorce. if an abusive husband refuses to divorce you.... well.. you can't get divorced. think on how that affects and harms women and prevents them from leaving their abusers.

sex trafficking is also a major issue in bahrain. this doesn't affect middle eastern women as much, but rather moreso south and southeast asian women (especially southeast asian women)

modesty laws are also an issue. these laws pretend to equally target both sexes, but in bahrain women are the ones typically prosecuted for not being "modest enough".

marital rape is allowed in bahrain.

if a rapist "agrees to marry his victim", he can get away with being prosecuted for rape.

domestic violence against women is not a crime in bahrain either.

women are less likely to work, unlikely to hold a position of power, and their husbands / fathers / brothers are considered their superiors who have the ultimate say on them and control over them. this is moreso socially, rather than legally, mandated (in saudi, for example, the male guardianship system is a thing reinforced by the government).

i don't know much about this, but my mom told me that if my father dies, my sister and i can't inherit his land. instead, his brothers would inherit it, because my dad doesn't have sons.

i was also told that up until recently, women couldn't even buy land, and a man's name would have to be put down for them to have land. so basically, they were forced to depend on men. i don't know when this changed or much about it, but it's recent enough that i know middle-aged women who were negatively impacted by this.

abortion is illegal and there have been stories of women who tried a DIY abortion, went to the gynaecologist when they were bleeding out, and were then imprisoned after being treated.

unmarried sex is illegal, there are several women who were imprisoned for having sex outside of marriage. this law ofc predominantly affects women.

in court, women testimony's are considered worth half a man. meaning, a man's claims are always going to be above yours, if you're a woman.

if a bahraini woman marries a non-bahraini man and has kids with him, her children cannot get bahraini nationality.

there are several jobs women are not allowed to get, and women aren't allowed to work at certain hours.

women typically require their husband's permission to get work.

there's a lack of resources and a lot of barriers preventing female victims of abuse to go to shelters and seek support.

these are just off the top of my head and based on the misogyny i was personally exposed to, rather than a list of Everything we experience here. since Bahrain is a small island and the government is renowned for their lack of transparency, a lot of what i mentioned here is stuff you would have difficulty finding info on online

[onisiondrama]

Crows Of Judgement Onision Interview Part 3

January 18, 2021

James says the doc will show tweets and write "actual tweet" under it, but show no proof of the original. James says the belly photos they showed of Kai were from his Instagram. He says there is a question of if they were even sent or if they were taken from Instagram. Someone says documentaries use deception.

James asks if they think it's weird it's been a year and the FBI and police never talked to him? The host says no because he thinks James knows exactly what the laws are where he lives. Host says the documentary doesn't establish anything close to criminal behavior and they admit the laws aren't caught up to the internet and James didn't do anything he could be prosecuted for. James asks if the laws were modern, what would he be prosecuted for?

James asks why do they call him a predator? He says it's life destroying when the Pierce County sheriff says he's a predator. Someone says the sheriff also said they were looking for real witnesses and victims. James says the sheriff called Sarah, Shiloh, all those people not real victims. (Their department didn't have contact with any of them when he said that.)

James says the contract they tried to get him to sign releases him of any way to sue them. He says they wanted him to sign so they could say whatever they want about him. Someone says Edwin had to sign a similar contract. James says that's cool if they got the same contract because that would mean it was less malicious.

The host asks how many women have accusations against James? James says 4 or 5 women accused him of being emotionally abusive. He says zero women accused him of beating them, sexual harassment, rape, sexual assault, an actual crime. James says they accused him because he kicked them out of his life. He asks them to name a single person who accused him who he didn't kick out of his life. The host asks if they could be mad at him for the way he treated them? James says he's mad at Billie for the way she treated him. The host asks again and James says anyone can be mad at someone for how they treated them if they want to perceive it a certain way.

James asks why did the majority of women accusing of him not go on the documentary? The host asks why didn't James go on the documentary? James says because they wanted him to sign away all his rights so he couldn't sue them. The host is talked over by James, but I think he's saying the women could have not gone on for the same reason.

James said the goal of the documentary was obvious, praising Chris Hansen and Steven Asarch. He says it was executive produced by Steven, who he doesn't trust. He says Steven argued with him about where he was during 9/11 and still keeps up a slanderous article about him. James asks why Edwin was on the documentary when he doesn't like Shiloh? He says Shiloh said she was going to kill herself in relation to him. Says Edwin thinks Shiloh is a liar and doesn't like Chris Hansen.

Someone asked if James has any regrets? He says when Sarah told them her mom beats they helped her out. He says she admitted they kept her away from drugs, hard situations at home, and illegal activity. She shits on them anyway. He says his biggest regret was not being able to see those people coming and avoid them.

James says he is in the process of seeking legal action against a certain person. He says it's hard because lawyers don't want bad Yelp reviews. The host says lawyers like money. James says he doesn't have a lot of money or income. He's trying to get a lawyer to be interested, but it's controversial.

Someone asks if James can see why people have a horrible opinion of him of Youtube. James says he had no idea what people were saying because he didn't watch 99% of hate videos. He would keep to himself in his Discord server. He says he doesn't think he's seen a full Repzion video. He says he was blown away when he saw the documentary. They were making him out to be Charles Manson, but they wouldn't even say what he did.

The host asks if it's correct that James filmed Shiloh having a seizure and uploaded it to Youtube. James says Shiloh told him to upload it. He said he was tired of her episodes so he recorded it to show her. He told her he could upload the video to help people who are going through that and he could go to sleep or he could stay up all night and make another video. She told him she wanted to go to sleep with him. He says when it went online and everyone was freaking out, he went "oh, that's interesting." Someone asks so the decision was should I stay up all night or do you want me to upload your seizure? James says "yes, that's how stupid the decision was." He says he was told Shiloh said in a video on Tumblr she was fucking with him, but it was conveniently taken down. (That didn't happen. There was no tumblr video and she never said that.) He says the video her ex boyfriend made about her trying to put him in jail is also conveniently taken down. She was threatening to put a knife in someone's text. He says if you only watch anti-Onision videos, he looks like the most insane mother fucker on Earth.

James says at the end of the seizure video, they were laughing together and fucking around in the kitchen. The host asks about how it would help people, if he provided a link? James says throughout the video there was text on the screen describing what was going on. James says there was a part of the video where Shiloh points out a family member and says they're not dead. He says if she lost her memory, how did she remember they died? She says her mom looked old, but how did she age that much in three years? (He explained in the actual video that her mom lost a lot of weight, so she looked a lot older.) He says that's what makes him believe the tumblr video. He says her ex talked about the fake seizures too. The host says he just skimmed through the video and he doesn't see where James told people where to go for support. James says he didn't tell people go for support, he said there was a narrative. The host facepalms. James laughs and asks "what's up?" The host says he doesn't know how James thought that was appropriate. James says he was used to abnormal behavior in that relationship. He called the cops on her 3 times. She would go full mental breakdown when he would breakup with her. He says she threatened to kill herself and make it look like he did it.

The host asks why did James bring her back? James says because she told him she was pregnant. (That's total bullshit. He knew 100% she was lying and called her out multiple times online for lying.) He says she called him before getting on the plane and told him she wasn't pregnant.

Someone asks about the miscarriage. James says there's a few alleged miscarriages. (There was 1 fake one, 1 real one. He knows it was real. He was there at her appointments.) He talks about how she uploaded a picture of someone else's premature baby and wrote "in loving memory of Rogue." (that was the fake one) He says she miscarried at 6 weeks and found out at 12 - 13 weeks. He says it was the size of a peanut on the ultrasound. He said it was a shitty ultrasound because it was a mom and pop doula and a tiny place. They said she needed to remove it, but she didn't have health insurance. She had Canadian health insurance so they sent her back to take care of it the financially responsible way. He said she later shamed him for that and he sarcastically says he's so sorry he's financially responsible. He sent her back for that then she posted the Rogue photo. (That's not true. The Rogue photo happened way before their real miscarriage.) He says it's a mature fetus in the photo, so she was misleading. He said when she faked the pregnancy, she took a photo with her stomach pushed out and faked a doctor's note. He says KatSketch from Shane Dawson's channel has a specialty with pregnant people as far as her schooling. She said Shiloh was pushing her gut out and he celebrated with Cyr that she wasn't pregnant because he didn't want to be with a "psycho" (he literally says "quote, unquote") again. He says days pass and he got lonely and convinced himself to take her back.

The host says he doesn't understand that. James says he was an idiot and his comment section was filled with people telling him not to be with her. He would make videos about how in love they were, pissing off his audience. James says even people in serious abusive relationship where they could die take their partners back.

[nottskyler]

Politics and the Church: Feminism

Equality for what is effectively half the population is a very large topic and thus there will be a lot of interpretations on what it means. This is one where we will be united in principle, women are equal to men, but the application is going to be different based on what other principles you value more.

It’s really hard to think of where to start with feminism encompassing so, so, so much. But I think I want to start with how we raise children and how we need to do better. One of the biggest issues I see in how we raise boys differently from girls comes to accountability. For boys, most things happen to them. For girls, everything is their fault. Boys will feel helpless because they don’t feel like they have control over their lives unless they are controlling other people or things. Women will feel helpless because they can’t control what they were taught they were supposed to be able to control. I’m pretty sure there is a middle ground that will make both AMAB’s and AFAB’s grow into adulthood without environmentally caused mental health issues.

This is one thing that EVERYONE needs to stop and take a moment and think about because these things happen because of subconscious sexism. Literally my mother thinks she is a feminist and she 100% raised my brother to feel entitled and free and my sisters and I to feel burdened and unable to do anything. Back before quarantine, I was walking through my neighborhood and saw a family out playing and talking with neighbors. The little boy was riding one of those tiny electric play cars, the sister was standing on the sidewalk talking to her friend. The little boy ran into his older sister and guess who got in trouble. The mother lectured the older sister for standing in her brother’s way while he was playing. Seeing as he had previously been playing on the driveway, it was completely incorrect. I bet if I were to ask the mother if she thought men and women were different but equal, she would agree. I bet she doesn’t realize that she is teaching her son that any wrong-doing of his is caused by others and her daughter that everything that happens to her is her fault. Honestly, men will be more responsible if they are held responsible for their actions and women will be able to contribute more if they stopped being raised to think that they had to behave a certain way to prevent people from treating them poorly.

I do really think it is important for any parent or adult who deals with children to stop and think about how they would handle a situation with a child if the child were the opposite gender. Boy playing with a doll doesn’t mean trouble or even that he might possibly be trans (playing with dolls didn’t stop me from being a man). Girls need to be encouraged for their talents and not just how they look. Boys need affirmation about their looks as well as what they do. Boys and girls need to learn to be responsible for their own actions and encouraged when they pursue their own interests. I’m pretty sure raising boys and girls to be so dramatically different is one of those evil things of our culture that we need to remove because it is keeping us from Christ.

Which moves on to my next thought, children are more likely to be able to pursue their own interests when both parents are allowed to do the same. Basically, women should not be told that they are only doing enough for their family when they are stay-at-home mothers. Prophets have changed their tune and it is time for the members of the Church to realize that and stop holding it up as an ideal. It is terrible for parents and children. Now there is nothing wrong with parents who want to be stay-at-home parents, moms or dads. If it is what you want, if you won’t feel like you are giving up on your own life and thus want to live vicariously through your children, please go for it and do it. I have seen too many women who have a lot of emotional problems because of the isolation and responsibility of being a stay-at-home parent. The woman being responsible for the home-making skills and the man working outside the home sounds like a lesbian and a gay man were forced to live with each other and built their own spheres so they would stop fighting all the time (or at least that’s how I think heteronormativity ruined family expectations). Both parents are responsible for taking care of kids and home and if one is being home for the kids, they will be busy enough without all the other home-making responsibilities.

And this is already so long and I haven’t touched child care, discrimination in the workplace (both obvious and less obvious), control over how to give birth, control over when to have kids or not, sexual harassment and assault, beauty industry and beauty standards, perfectionism, leadership and perception of female leaders, lack of female leaders everywhere and especially in the Church, and so many other issues and problems. Admittedly most of these will be ones where people will differ, beyond the terrible and blatant sexism that prophets have told us is wrong.

So I supposed I will finish with language, behavior, and culture that encourages control over women. This is wrong and we should be unified in standing up against it, holding people responsible for their actions (and punishing them accordingly), and we should most importantly stop holding up the reputation of the person responsible as proof that they didn’t do anything wrong. Language that diminishes women, be it sexist jokes, rape jokes, not believing women are competent, expecting a woman to be a prude or a slut, calling them mysteries that can’t be understood, “yes dear”-ing them, talking about them like animals that you can control, or any of the many other ways that people speak down about women (basically any form of catcalling). There should be absolutely no sexual contact without consent, acknowledging that what constitutes consent changes from person to person and you need to be aware of that before assuming one person’s yes will come the same way as someone else’s. Pornography is another thing the prophets have warned us about and I’m fairly certain this is one of the main reasons. Anytime I’ve personally known someone who think women are a reward for serving a mission or are objects you win by good behavior have all had a pornography addiction. It goes against logic and what the world says, but it seems to be true (that and the porn industry also doesn’t seem to know what constitutes consent too).

As King Benjamin said, “I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them” (Mosiah 4:29). This is true of sexism. Men and woman are equal. There are so many ways to be sexist that we have to watch constantly, including avoiding misandry. We are all human and while there is a difference between men and women that is eternal, we are first and foremost human and must be allowed to be human, have dignity, and be agents unto ourselves.

[nothoughtsjust-vibes]

I started Twilight for the thousandth time because I hate myself and this time I recorded most of my thoughts and, since I have no one irl, I have To shout them into the Void

1. Why is all the dialogue so cringey?

2. Why would she remember her favorite dessert at a rando diner when she hasn’t been there in several years?

3. The coloring is just so blue

4. Why does she look SO PALE?! Is it because K Stew was actually supes pale or because the director wanted her to look vampiric?

5. Why does Bella sound like she’s gonna cry when she implies that the guys at school are sexually harassing her? Could it be BECAUSE THEY WERE DOING THAT?!

6. “Things were getting a little strange”? Just because he wasn’t in school? Bitch, you met him once and he was an ass, any sane person would just forget it.

7. “You’re not in Phoenix anymore, Bells”. They don’t have animals in Phoenix?

8. Why is every guy so invested in Bella?

9. Their first convo in class is SO AWKWARD!!! Is that bad directing and writing or is it genius?

10. “Any cold wet thing, I don’t really...” fast forward two years she’s getting dicked down by vampire cock

11. Her telling Edward about her mom and Phil is so awkward. Like, he needs to ask her to explain things that she should know need explaining. “Why’d you move here?” “My mom remarried...” “So, you don’t like the guy?” “No, Phil’s fine....”

12. When there’s a vamp as attractive as Carlisle, why would she ever go for the son?

13. The big question is why would anyone go for Edward when Carlisle is RIGHT THERE!?

14. What I wouldn’t give for a book of Cullen origin stories: Jasper in the Civil War? Alice in the Salem Witch Trials? Rosalie getting epic revenge on her rapists? Carlisle’s everything!? YES PLEASE!!!!!

15. How Edward doesn’t realize breaking into someones room and watching someone when they’re sleeping is fucking creepy, I’ll never know

16. Rosalie shoulda knocked sense into Edward to not be a creeper

17. Bella is supes rude to Mike by just not paying attention when he’s taking to her

18. Jesus, Mike’s eyes are GORGEOUS. Don’t know how I didn’t see that before

19. I would want this guy as my science teacher

20. Has Edward ever talked to a girl outside his family? Like....ever?!

21. You don’t hit a bus door to get the driver to open it. Because of this movie, I did that one time and now I hate teenage me for that

22. WHY IS EVERYONE IN THESE MOVIES SO GODDAMN SKINNY!?!

23. Love that vampires don’t need to eat, but Emmett is eating in a cafeteria scene

24. “If you were smart, you’d stay away from me.” HOW BOUT YOU STAY AWAY FROM HERE DUDE!?! MAYBE STOP GOING INTO HER ROOM AND WATCHING HER SLEEP

25. KrimsonRogue said if you can use anything besides rape, don’t use rape. Maybe SMeyer should’ve heard similar advice and taken it

26. So Jacobs just not gonna introduce his friends?

27. “You caught that, huh?” They were a foot away from her and no one else was talking

28. I remember that in this beach scene, Bella was trying to seduce Jacob into talking. And she was like, 17 and he 15 which, even if not bad with age gap, still creepy. And she’s not good at it. And doesn’t need to do it.

29. Why she shrieking? It’s a goddamn rope he’s chasing her with

30. Why are the villain vamps so goddamn dramatic?

31. Why is Bella’s google searching so instantly effective?

32. Why does she go all the way to Portland to buy one book, flip to one page, take one word from one caption of one illustration, and then never touch the book again?

33. Bella is super not a good travel companion. Why didn’t she just drove her own self to Portland to go to the bookstore?

34. How she get so lost?

35. How did she not answer her cell while her friends were freaking out about where she was?

36. Why are her friends just leaving her with this very strange dude who never interacts with anyone?

37. That first line the waitress delivers to Edward feels like very bad acting.

38. It’s hilarious that corpse feet made her immediately think of Edward

39. How could she just barely graze Edwards fingers with hers and immediately have a shock reaction of “Your hands are so cold”

40. Okay, even with all this “evidence”, no normal person would be like, “Yup yup, he’s a vampire” and then have some dramatic confrontation in the forest during school

41. She just ditches her backpack in the forest. I assume she needs it

42. “Sometime you speak as if you’re from a different time” Bitch, when?

43. These are not normal conversations that happen in these movies

44. Bella is not normal. Dude she’s known for two days says he’s probs gonna kill her and she’s just like “Yeah, cool”

45. Why does he think his sparkle skin is a turn-off? I’d be like, “Hell, yeah, you never need to buy body glitter”

46. How she trust him after, like, two weeks and a couple conversations? I don’t trust people with my FEELINGS after two years, this bitch trusting an admitted murderer with her LIFE after two weeks

47. “I’m not afraid of you. Only afraid of losing you.” EXCUSE ME BITCH WHAT!?!? YOUVE KNOWN HIM TWO WEEKS

48. YOU CANT FALL IN LOVE THAT FAST!!!!!

49. Okay, but why’d Angela say “Oh my god” before Bella even got out of the car? All that she saw was the car drive up and Edward get out

50. Why were people staring? That’s not how high school works. People don’t REALLY give a shit who’s dating who unless they’re queer

51. I get the convo montage is to indicate they’re spending a lot of time together, but they’d have to remember the exact place they left off in the conversation or just have the same conversation over and over

52. Only living on tofu would not keep you strong

53. Okay, that cut of him jumping from the rock and cut to him jumping into the truck bed is very good

54. “Here comes the human”..... WHO SAID THIS LINE!?!? It sounded very happy, BUT THE ONLY TWO WOMEN IN THE ROOM WERE ESME AND ROSALIE AND ROSALIE WAS NOT HAPPY AT ALL AND ESME WASNT SPEAKING

55. If I were in Bella’s position, among other things I woulda done different, I woulda eaten the shit out of that Italian meal the Cullens prepares for me

56. The scene in Edwards bedroom is so goddamn awkward, but I feel like that works since she’s super awkward and he’s a 108 year old virgin who’s never spoken to a girl before her

57. Why she just turn his stereo on without permission?

58. I heard Claire de Lune is like, the most basic piece ever. Writers couldnta been more creative?

59. How is taking her on a tree climbing adventure making her dance?

60. “So, you and Cullen, huh? I don’t like it.” YOU KNOW WHAT MIKE!?! FUCK OFF!!! YOU HAVE NO GODDAMN SAY IN IT

61. What the hell was that twerking to the daughter of the chief while the chief was there?

62. So he’s been watching her sleep for the past couple months. She got there middle of the semester. So around March. A couple months would make it June. HOW LONG IS THIS SCHOOL YEAR!?!

63. Why Edward couldn’t have bounced with Bella before the villain group got there is beyond me.

64. THIS SCENE WHERE BELLA TALKS SHIT TO CHARLIE AND LEAVES THE HOUSE!!!! THIS IS THE PART I HATE THE MOST BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY GODDAMN WAYS SHE COULDVE LEFT HOME FOR A COUPLE DAYS!!!! “I’m gonna go stay at Jessica’s house for the weekend” “I’m gonna go to Angela’s house for the weekend” “I wanna take a weekend trip with Jessica” “I wanna go visit Mom for a couple days” LITERALLY ANYTHING EXCEPT THAT WOULDA WORKED THERE WAS NO GOOD REASON FOR HER TO HURT HIS FEELINGS LIKE THAT

65. If Rosalie could smell Bella across the field when there was no breeze, why can’t James smell her standing five feet from her?

66. Laurent really didn’t give them any helpful information. James is super dangerous? Yeah, Edward already got that. Victoria is dangerous? Yeah, that’s kinda common sense. Thanks for nothing, you French bastard

67. Man, why the tits did Bella not just tell Alice and Jasper about James supposedly having her mom hostage? Seems like she should trust the group of seven vamps to beat two

68. How did Alice see James going to the ballet studio but not James calling Bella?

69. “I don’t regret the fact that I’m gonna die because at least I got to meet Edward” is what she’s basically saying. As the great Ronald Weasley said, “She needs to sort out her priorities.”

70. The level of dependency Bella exhibits when Edward tells her she has to go to Jacksonville is truly terrifying.

[omgthatsunpossible]

I’m just gonna rant on here real quick because I feel like this is more constructive than arguing with some idiot on Facebook. I keep seeing people talk about how America is the greatest country in the world and how not all cops are bad cops, it’s the fault of the media for making them seem that way.

First of all, in what way, shape, or form is the U.S. the best country in the world? Is it the countless rapes of both men and women where the rapist is never convicted? Is it when you allow people to murder LGBTQ people without persecution? Is it when you lock Latinx kids in cages, separating them from their families, abusing them sexually and physically, and/or sell them off to be “adopted” by the highest bidder? Is it the years of terrorizing Islamic people for the actions of one party? Is it the murder of indegenious people and the continuous lack of care that they receive? Is it by alienating the Asian community from the rest of POCs by creating the myth that is model minority, but ever so quickly turning your backs on them as they are harassed by others in the face of a pandemic? Or is it the literal murder of a people that you brought here by force, forced to build your country for you, and then make suffer at every possible turn for several years after? What is it?

I know that some people feel a certain type of way; they feel like they’re being treated unfairly or that everyone is overreacting or something stupid like that. Let me explain something to you. I am 21 years old. In my lifetime, I have seen my father be stopped and handcuffed because he matched the profile of a 6 foot 165 pound man who had just robbed a store in a grey sweatshirt. My dad is 5’9 and weighs about 290 pounds and was jogging in a park miles away from the crime. As he was apprehended, no one gave him any details and just told him that he matched the description of someone they were looking for. No one listened to him and the only reason they let him go is because one officers had recognized him from playing poker at a local club. I have seen my mom get a ticket from a cop who constantly sits at a particular stop sign in our predominantly white neighborhood. He accused her of not stopping completely which is garbage because first of she did stop completely I was in the car, and the 4 cars ahead of her did not. When she went to court to dispute the ticket, the judge didn’t even give her the time of day and frankly treated and spoke to her like she was the scum of the earth. And as she cried from being treated like garbage, he said that his officer would not have any reason to lie and subsequently dismissed her, again I was there. When all I wanted to do was take my sister out, so she could practice driving in our neighborhood that we have lived in for 15 years. But we can’t even do that comfortably because the white people who were outsid would stare at us and we were both afraid that someone would call the cops on us and accuse us of something ridiculous. A young black man, who I will say was a lot bigger than me, was once at my college apartment door trying to sell me something I clearly did not want, and I was clearly getting very uncomfortable in the situation to the point where I had to ask my white roommate to intervene. He didn’t leave even after she told him to, and he only eventually left after I gave him a little bit of cash and I can honestly say I’ve never been so intimdiated in my life. And even in that situation, where I felt so uncomfortable, one where any other girl might have called the cops, I didn’t. I didn’t because I refuse to be the reason that another black man is murdered at the hands of the police. I would rather jeopardize my own safety rather than rely on the police to protect me. The things I’ve listed aren’t even a small fraction of what my family has been through and these situations aren’t even as bad as things other black people have to go through. If my family were the only ones to ever go through anything like this, then it’s something that we’re doing wrong. But countless black families and people have to deal with these things on a daily basis. We don’t have the luxury of feeling safe around the people who are meant to protect us.

And for the people saying that not all cops are bad, you are absolutely right. Not every cop goes out with the intention of murdering someone. So instead of calling them bad, I like to call them cowards. Literal sheep in wolves’ clothing. Because when you can stand by and watch the murder of innocent people, people your only job is to protect, you are a coward. I get being a cop is scary and a hard job that not many would do, I understand that, but what’s even scarier is fearing for your life consistently just because of the color of your skin. No ones pays me for being black. Being black is not a choice I made.

I’m gonna end my rant now because I’m getting tired and little bit more upset. I’m just so sick of having to defend myself for something so insanely stupid. Why do black people have to defend themselves constantly? In what world does it make sense? It’s just so fucking tiring.

[piccolina-mina]

Y'all The White Privilege/Victimhood on Good Girls Jumped Out!!

Season 2 Finale Spoilers below.

Good Girls is my show, and I enjoy the heck out of and always will, but I'm about to get Peak Tumblr analyzing this finale... so let's just go over this. I'm trying to process how this played out because ...

Dean was a serial cheater who cheated on his wife even when she was struggling with post-Partum depression. Beth didn't even find out the full-extent of his cheating because he only copped to his secretary AFTER Beth found out about it on her own. And that same secretary told Beth about all the other women this season because Dean never told her the truth. Plus he faked cancer to manipulate Beth and that was not addressed once all season.

Instead Dean got a soft edit where he became the rational, responsible adult and doting, dedicated father. He was the one to show Beth all the ways in which she erred with her criminal activities and putting them at risk. His infidelity was softened by adding backstory about how Beth closed herself off when she was battling post partum depression and beyond and he felt his emotional needs weren't being met and he felt inadequate because of how she treated him.

He took her kids as if to imply she was a terrible mother despite her being the primary caretaking parent to all four of their children since they were born up until she chose to take on the dealership. He took her kids away from her. But he never really suffered any consequences for how terrible he was and he ended the season in a comfortable friendship with Beth despite all the ways he wronged her as if he's the ideal, supportive husband. And he got redemption without earning it or acknowledging the extent of his shortcomings.

Boomer is the trashiest most despicable character of them all. He knew about the money laundering and had other illegal activities going on at the store. He attempted to rape Annie and did rape and emotionally abuse and manipulate Mary Pat. And Turner KNEW all of this but didn't care if it meant he could leverage Boomer to get to Beth. No charges for anything since he helped. And that's disturbing AF.

Boomer stole money from his grandmother constantly and blackmailed everyone. He was forcing Mary Pat to marry him. Then he bolted after he was presumed dead and was willing to let the girls go to prison for his murder. But despite everything he has done, the rape, the abuse, all the illegal crap he would've gotten off Scott free if not for Nana forcing him to take responsibility. He's still facing NO repercussions. What?

Mary Pat had ample time to get out of the business or turn the girls in, but she chose to blackmail them for more money instead even though it clearly isn't what Jesus would do.

She chopped up her husband's body and put him in the freezer so she could keep collecting his veteran benefits. She enlisted the girls to take Boomer out for her, but then ran Boomer over with her car, wrapped his body up in tarp and planned to dispose of him too. But when she found out he was alive and gone, she didn't tell the FBI or the girls. Instead she had them dispose of her husband's body thinking it was Boomer's.

Her part in the operation was dismissed by Turner as long as he could use her to take down Beth. So Mary Pat did all of that and got off Scott damn free. Because she was cast as victim. She was a victim long before she actually was one (regarding her abuse by Boomer). And nothing came from any of her actions. Victim or not there are still consequences, right? Apparently not.

Noah tampered with evidence and botched his own investigation based on his relationship with Annie. He jeopardized the entire case more than once. He slept with his mark and caught feelings. He openly lied and deceived both the agency and Annie and ... nothing comes from it? No consequences at all, huh? He gets to relocate to Arizona to be with his kid.

These are all characters have done varying degrees of bad to despicable things that should have resulted in some form of repercussions and yet they face none. Why?

Turner's obsessive focus on Beth in part has to do with his disgust over her pretending to be the white suburban mom and stepford wife entangled in all of this. He recognizes that she is the sort to get away with things because of who and what she is and the image she projects.

But then he also caters to this pervasive white (woman) victimhood issue that happens a lot. He never viewed Mary Pat as anything but a desperate single mom who is a victim no matter what she did, and he absolved her of her wrong doing and slapped her on the wrist just to get to Beth which counters everything he's intending to do with Beth. Hold her accountable image be damned.

Then there is Annie who is also a single mom who gets the sympathetic play to potentially turn on her own sister. She gets the doting boyfriend and companionship to make her consider it or to get information out of her. She gets the soft play. Like she doesn't have agency in her criminal plots with her sister and Ruby. Like she too is a victim of Beth's or whomever and warrants sympathy and the benefit of the doubt.

Contrast that with what Ruby gets. Ruby got harassed for months to the point of her having case to file a complaint. She got Turner putting the squeeze on her and her husband and family repeatedly and consistently.

And worse yet, Turner did this under the guise of "doing them a solid because he didn't want them to go down for this white woman" so to speak, but he still was willing to ruin them for her anyway.

Stan is the only one who got arrested and humiliated in front of his colleagues. He's the only one who went to jail. STAN whose connection to this is flimsy. The sole black man on their side of things got hauled into jail.

And then Ruby with the sick daughter who needs meds and the husband who was hauled away is treated like a demon by Beth for considering turning on her when Ruby was the only one facing any fire or harassment.

Ruby and Stan the most wholesome and logical and least problematic had their entire world upended and ruined and faced the brunt of the repercussions. Ruby and Stan were both facing charges and jail time while Beth faced nothing while they worked to build a case against her and Annie never was considered as a threat.

If Ruby didn't turn on Beth she and Stan could be sitting in prison while everyone else roamed free. Like, YIKES!

And the way Turner is both the guy who wants to take down this white woman who would likely catch a break in the system but also the means by which he does it by his abhorrent treatment of POC is disturbing.

The first season established that Rio was basically untouchable. The second season confirmed it when Rio was literally playing tennis with an attorney filling him on things and he has connections in the FBI.

So Turner never wants to go after Rio specifically because of this even though he knows Rio is Beth's boss and the bigger fish. No, he wants to take down Beth.

So that brings me to the final Rio scene that was the most disturbing of all. Turner has played fast and loose with the rules but still tried to come across as an earnest lawman wanting to do his job.

But Turner watches Beth shoot Rio multiple times because "Rio is her problem" and to save Turner.

And if it was really about doing what was right, he could have had her arrested right then and there. He heard their conversations. Knew about their connection. All of it.

But instead he sends her home. He keeps the gun with her prints on it as something else to hold over her I'm sure, but for what?

And then he kneels down, as a law enforcement person whose sole job is to protect and serve, justice and equality, fairness ... and he taunted a dying brown man instead of calling 911. We got a brown man gurgling, his life at the mercy of the law (made all the worse with it being an agent of color), and he toys with him, toys with the idea of whether or not he should call the ambulance and phone it in... assist him before he dies. He wants something out of Rio first before he can help.

Hella more Yikes. And what a brutal takedown of Rio. The potential death of a brown man at the hands of a white woman convinced she was victimized by him or the exploited potential death of a brown man by a cop. Yikes!

Then there is Beth who somehow throughout all of this walked away convinced that she was Rio's victim when she kept going back to HIM. They made their amends and made up for taking his money, and he said they were good. BETH was the one who went to him and left a string of pearls. She's the one who wanted more work and opportunities.

She was the one who wanted the keys to the kingdom. She's the one who wanted more work. She's the one who wanted a bigger role. She sought him out repeatedly.

She's the one who initiated their sexual relationship both times. She is who broke things off, but she is also who came back looking for more. She's the one who convinced herself she was his equal and his partner, but then shied away whenever he told her to prove it. She played hot and cold this whole time, and he went along with it anyway.

She claimed he never helped her when he did. He doesn't owe her anything at all but still did more than she ever gave him credit for. When she botched that situation with those druggies and thought they kidnapped her daughter, Rio did look into it. He even got her daughter's toy back for her.

Beth's biggest issue with Rio is she mistook Rio's silence for inaction.

She assumed because he wasn't giving her play by plays that he wasn't helping her, but that was the thing to, why did he need to help her?

She wanted to be Queen but didn't want the hard work. He recognized that she wanted this and he fostered it. He told her to take care of her rotten eggs. He encouraged her to fix her own problems. He held her accountable for her own actions.

And in turn, the man who actually listened to her. The one who actually treated her as an equal and respected her is who she shot because she claimed she was his victim.

He told her this shit is medieval. He told her if she wanted to be the king she had to kill the king. But a real queen would at least own her shit instead of pretending to be a victim.

She wanted a kingdom HE built without any of the dirty work and effort. She felt entitled to it.

And then she shot him hoping she killed him and Christopher Columbus appropriated his empire.

Is this your Queen?

That finale highlighted just how interesting this season has been. So in the end, Rio is the only who didn't "win" but too many of these other terrible characters get passes? Hm.

[tanyaryanmusic]

10 Reasons Why Mellenials Don’t Suck.

Dear Baby Boomers, 

I’m bored with all the memes, the videos, the extensive social media content that pokes fun at the entitlement and laziness of mellenials. It’s overdone people. Let’s move on. The joke is old. 

I mean, outside of the fact that I’m impressed with you for figuring out how to create a meme in the first place. How about start using this new skillset to pick on the generation that decided eating Tide Pods was cool. 

Also, has anyone else picked up on the irony of Baby Boomers making fun of us for our participation ribbons and not being able to lose? Guys. Boomers. YOU DID THAT. 

We didn’t come up with the participation ribbon idea. You did. We were kids at the time. We didn’t have any say in the decision. You thought that was an awesome idea. And so as we are entering our twenties and thirties, please pardon us as we now attempt to navigate the world, and unlearn everything you taught us. Holy smokes man. No wonder I’m looking for my life participation ribbon. I can’t catch a break with you people. 

Here’s the thing, you just don’t have a comprehensive understanding of us. Your opinions on us are lacking a little perspective. We actually aren’t that messed up, we’re doing pretty okay actually; you just have to be looking with your eyes a little wider. But it’s cool man, I get it. You’re getting those bifocal things and sometimes it’s tough to see everything you need to, so I broke it down for you here. All you need to do is grab your readers and you’re good to go. 

10 Reasons Why Mellenials are AWESOME. 

1. Objective and Flexible. 

Think about an opinion you have; maybe one based in politics, religion - or loading the dishwasher. You probably won’t even consider believing me right now when I say you aren’t correct. I’ve seen you baby boomers, your opinions are your truth. We’re a little different than you. We don’t live like that because we know, that there are 3 sides to every story. And one opinion, is just an opinion. Including our own.

What you have mistaken for indecisive or flaky is actually an indication of a high EQ. We have the ability to be compassionate, emphatic and objective. Which means we have the ability to adapt to circumstances as they come at us; and adjust our opinions as new data enters our field. This means we’re smart.

2. Expressive.

We have a voice. And we use it. I think there’s this misunderstanding that because we complain about things or make our discomfort public, that we have no capacity to handle difficulty. Not the case. We can handle it just fine. AND we’re going to talk about it. Because we CAN. We grew up in a world where it’s completely safe to be heard. So we speak. 

3. Hard working. 

I keep seeing these memes about mellenials being lazy. What da fk is this? The vast majority of my peers are incredibly hardworking. Often times holding down a job (or two) while in school - or pursuing music or another entrepreneurial passion. You and The Reading Rainbow guy told us our whole lives that we can do anything we put our minds to. So we’re doing everything we can to fight for what we want from our lives. Where does this lazy thing come from? Did you work with that ONE 24 year old that was always on his phone and then decided to label an entire generation based on that experience? That’s not very fair, is it?  

4. Creative. 

Don’t get mad when we don’t listen to you. Mellenials look for new ways to do things. So even though it frustrates you when we don’t listen to your instruction; we’re finding our own way. 

We had the privilege of having such a safe world to grow up in, that our minds expand into so many wonderful spectrums. And so we get to try things in new and creative ways. Maybe we’ll even do it better than you did originally! And don’t worry, when that’s exactly what happens, we’ll pretend not to notice. We’re pretty mellow, so we can make room to buffer your ego. 

5. Harry Potter. 

We made sure that Harry Potter will live on forever. You’re welcome. 

6. Easy-Going. 

Another symptom of not being fixed in a position is that we can be pretty loose on our schedule too. So we run late sometimes. (All the time.) But hey, turns out running 5-10 minutes late isn’t a big deal (unless it is). So, calm your titties Frank. Everything is going to be fine.  

7. Entitled. 

Sure. You’ve been using this one against us for years, but it’s actually not a bad quality. Read the book Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. He discusses the importance of entitlement when in pursuit of goals and actual achievement of successes. Entitlement is the same quality that allows one to speak up against things they feel unjust. It is the quality that makes one feel they deserve more from their life. It also cues up and stimulates the need for the placement of boundaries. A lot of people are uncomfortable drawing boundaries. So maybe the whole entitlement is an issue for Baby Boomers because you actually have to face conflict and draw a boundary. And I get it. That’s hard to do. But that’s not entirely a millennial issue - so let’s share this accountability here, whaddya say? 

8. We say literally, literally all the time. 

And at least half the time use it appropriately. 

9. BEST parents ever. 

Baby Boomers for the win right?  Baby Boomers are easily our most vocal critics, yet, can we all just take a moment to acknowledge that you are also our parents, our teachers, and our mentors. So if you think we’re kinda messed up maybe you could take a little bit of ownership here? We watched YOU. We learned from YOU. You were the ones who told us what we were capable of. What we deserve. And now you’re criticizing us for becoming exactly what you raised us to be? Come on. That’s just rude. Especially because we love you. We think you’re awesome. So can you lay off a little? We’re doing the best we can. 

10. Progressive 

Yep. 

We’re fighting for the LGBTQ, we’re pro-choice, we’re working our asses off for gender equality, we’re loud because Black Lives Matter, and racism is useless. We’re building environmental awareness and uncovering the impact of pollution and the over-use of plastic. We’re giving voice to women that have been harassed, raped, and abused. And we don’t feel that someone’s sexual orientation is the highlight of their story. 

*

There are countless qualities that make Mellenials awesome. Obviously I’m aware that we’re not that we’re entirely unflawed. I’m simply arguing that it’s so easy to find someone’s shortcomings, so maybe try to dig a little deeper for the qualities we possess that are unique of your generation and are actually quite awesome. (Plus, if you don’t stop being mean, we’ll stop helping your iPhone updates and your bluetooth devices.)

My mom always says that someone will become exactly what you expect them to become. So maybe if you changed your expectations of us, we might surprise you.

So can you lay off with the memes and the sh*t-posting? I think we turned out okay, despite your potential belief of the contrary. Millennials are kicking ass. 

Now give me my ribbon. 

[theincorrigiblemagpie]

Kasautii Zindagii Kay (2018) E02- Chunari Chunari

26-9-2018

I feel like I must warn all new followers that I’m terrible about keeping up and blogging about even the first few episodes that I set out to do, on average. Already, I hear there is the advent of a rapey dude and it has made me put off watching the rest of the first week.

Anyway, let us not drown in our sorrows before they are here. We return to Prerna and Anurag’s bumbling conversation about Anurag’s love life. A friend of Anurag’s has managed to give the gig away by talking about ‘Sarika,’ Anurag’s supposed ex who is now married and has turned out to be a ‘troublesome’ woman. Ok then, friend-of-Anurag. Anurag brushes aside Prerna’s apologies for assuming anything about his sexuality and delivers a rather magnificent speech about how ‘our society’ thinks any guy who doesn’t harass women or run after them overtly is gay and ‘not normal’ and it’s not her fault at all. Very nice, I hope all of Ekta’s other shows get the memo about rape culture.

Prerna’s giggly friend Anjali takes her toward the back of the pandal to gloat about...Anurag not being gay. I am SO tired of these stray ‘friends’ already and it’s only episode 2. In the meantime, that trash fire (literal) caused by mysterious-figure-in-the-back-alley has spread to the pandal and is raging out of control. Massive chaos as everyone escapes. Mohini Basu cannot get over the fact that a special chunari that she had commissioned for Durga in Anurag’s name has been left behind. Like, she’s sitting and SOBBING over it like she’s lost a family member. If anything, I suspect she’d cry less for a family member.

OF COURSE, saintly stupid Anurag decides to retrieve the chunari to get his mom to stop crying like this. He apprehends a guy with a jeep and casually asks how much it costs and then TRANSFERS ABOUT DOUBLE THE MONEY TO HIS ACCOUNT INSTANTLY so he can take it. This is an actual scene we all watched. On the one hand, I’m really glad they have a responsible hero but also I’m DYING over this commitment to his stick-in-the-mud-ness even during high voltage action scenes. He drives the jeep straight into the front of the pandal, overturns a big decorative thing of water and leaps out of the jeep a la Rohit Shetty’s heroes, while trying not to flash the world in his dhuti. Listen, this is just one of the many reasons Bengali gents don’t engage in Hindi film hero-giri. It’s not a part of the kulchaar.

Interestingly, Anurag still doesn’t know Prerna and her twit friend are stuck there. He’s just here for the chunari which makes all of this twice as funny. Anjali is literally “look your best friend Anurag is here to rescue us” and Prerna is all “but...we’re not even close friends” and Anjali is like “DOES IT MATTER?” Sorry, Anjali, I misjudged you. You’re showing superior sense at this moment.

Anurag is staring at the chunari like it’s the only thing in the world. Pah! Some hero. Can’t even sixth-sense his obvious love interest. He’s just parkouring his ass through leaping flames and falling burning things and loose electrical wiring. He sees the two women only when he’s RIGHT in their faces and then asks what they’re doing here. They’re chilling amid all this fire, Anurag. What nonsensical questions, my god.

He kicks aside some burning barrier that was blocking their way and Prerna pushes Anjali out of there and goes back after Anurag who has ofc gone after that dratted chunari. Prerna’s face is simultaneously impressed and can’t even with this foolishness.

No, I think the predominant desire was to indulge in some hero-giri of her own. One burning deep stambha type thing is going to fall on the Durga murti so Prerna runs over to stop it. I mean...maybe she secretly lifts but I would NOT have credited it. She isn’t even breaking a sweat.

No, okay, she is sweating. I just wish I sweated as prettily as Erica.

As you may have guessed from this screencap, her hands bled somehow and Anurag rushed over to help her. If Balaji is trying to sell this couple to me, I’ve bought it already. Two people this obsessed with gods and their paraphernalia to the point of disregarding their own lives fully deserve each other.

AND THEN

RED CHUNARI RABBA VE WHILE SURROUNDED BY FIRE

(I am aware nothing I say can really match the magnificence of what happens under Balaji’s aegis and moments like this really bring that home.)

Anyway, this is the same chunari that was in Anurag’s hand two seconds ago and I have no EARTHLY idea how it flew from behind the murti and landed on these two.

NO WAIT. THIS IS YET ANOTHER RED CHUNARI. THE ONE HE RISKED HIS LIFE FOR IS STILL FOLDED IN HIS HAND.

Me: please....stop...I get it...no more red chunaris

Balaji: did you mean ‘four more red chunaris?’

Durga is running this show personally, is what I gather from all the jumpy shots that pan to her whenever anything happens. And now that she’s had her fill of romance, she makes it rain and this RAGING fire goes out in a poof like silsila yeh chahat ka’s ill-fated diya. Durga is a #fangirl.

The priests have done absolutely NOTHING useful (like calling the fire department) and have PRAYED to Durga and now they’re claiming the rain as victory and all kinds of premonition of something “pure” and “auspicious” etc etc. Anyway, I just want to show you Nivedita’s face when Anurag is reunited with his family, with that dratted chunari.

Yeah, Nivi, I feel you.

Predictably, Mohini blames this fire and the fact that there was no contingency plan on Prerna’s dad Rajesh. I’m...kinda with her on this. There really should’ve been better fire safety standards and a disaster management plan. Moloy says it’s unfair to blame this on Rajesh, they should blame the event management company. Ok, hold up. There is an event management company?? Then why the fuck does Rajesh and co look after everything? The event management company is paid to sit around, or what? Mohini and Moloy are concerned about how they’ll hold Dashami celebrations at the venue the next day, and Rajesh reassures them ki he’ll make it happen, come what may. Mohini tries to not let him but Rajesh is all “haan, I’m sure tum sambhal loge.” And in typical rich dude fashion, he walks off with Mohini, without a thought to how it’ll actually happen. Man, I really hate Moloy.

Oho we have an identity for the arsonist. It is Naveen, Mohini’s muh-bola-bhai.

The rest of the episode is just Prerna and Anurag’s respective friends ragging on them about the romance of the situation. Anurag’s friend insists ki “kuch kuch hota hai, Anurag, why do you deny it?” and Anjali is mad that Prerna ne chance maar liya by risking her life. Both insist that there’s nothing going on until Shah Rukh Khan appears to reassure us at the end. Is this going to be a daily thing? How many snippets of SRK mouthing sentimental claptrap have they recorded?

Red dupatta count- just 1 but a big one.

[alifeenrouteblog]

To All My Girls

To my girl who was brutally raped in college, I think about you almost daily. Well, I think about the rape mostly. It still haunts me. I think about the call you made to me just a few short days after it happened. I think about the details you shared. I think about how difficult it was for you to say those words, even though you had no obligation to tell me. I think about you all of the time. I think about how I wish I could have protected you. I think about how hard it is for you to move through life now since that happened. I think about how brave you are. I think about how it never broke your spirit. I think about how fun you were to hang out with. I think about how you only got funnier, smarter, louder, and stronger. I think about you. I love you.

To my girl who hasn’t found love yet. I think about you. I think about how all of the men I know don’t deserve someone like you. I don’t say that because it’s what you say when a friend is single and looking. I say that because there is literally no one like you on this earth. I think about how kind you are when I tell you my deepest, darkest fears. I think about how you’ve never judged me when I told you a hundred stories of me getting drunk and doing something stupid. Or the handful of stories of me getting really drunk and doing something really fucking stupid. I think about how your calm demeanor and how I can always count on you to say something nice to me. Not because you have to but because that’s genuinely how you think. I think about how intentional you are with your friends. You’ve never missed a party I’ve had. You’ve always given me a gift on my birthday. You never canceled on a coffee date. You have never not supported me. In anything. I think about how you’ve established boundaries with me and I think about how hard that must have been. I think about the strength that took. I think about how much love must be radiating inside of you every single day to be as kind as you are. To be such a good friend. To be such a good person. I think about you all of the time because I don’t know anyone else like you. I think about you because you inspire me to be a better person. And I can’t wait for the day when we find someone as beautiful, kind, and loving as you are. Please never lose hope. We need your love.

To my girl who stopped talking to me five years ago. I think about the reason you chose not to respond to my text message of “I think he’s going to get us evicted”. I think about how our relationship was probably toxic. I think about how it was best for us to stop being friends. We both had to grow. If you’re reading this, I want you to know, it hurt me. But I’m not mad. I’m sorry if I ever hurt you.

To my girl who was attacked in a foreign country. I can’t help but think of you. First, because of all the shit you’ve had to deal with. You’ve been a victim of violence in every possible way – sexual, physical, verbal, emotional. And I’ve lived parallel to you. Just living. Getting drunk and complaining about being broke. But I sat next to you in class, after you were harassed by a professor. I did a group project with you after you were punched in the face in a foreign country. I think about you lying on the floor, bleeding, alone. I hate that I wasn’t there. But I really fucking hate that it happened to you. Because I know why it happened to you – you’re a Black Woman. And I really fucking hate how much you have to carry every day. I’m really fucking sorry that white America doesn’t give a fuck about Black Girls and Women. Or even any other country. I hate that you’re never safe. I hate that you’re constantly a target. I really fucking hate that sometimes I’m safe and you’re not. Thinking about that gives me a sick feeling in my stomach. That I will never shake. But that’s not why I think about you all of the time. I think about you all of the time because you talk. Talk isn’t the right word. You speak. You use your voice. You’re not scared to share your story. Maybe you are but it doesn’t stop you. I think about you because you scare me. Because you are so unapologetic in your Femaleness and your Blackness and your Queerness. Because you don’t let the white hetero/cis capitalistic America dictate anything you do and you’ve experienced the punishment of living that way but it never kills you. And that terrifies me. It would have killed me by now. Your strength scares me. But I hope you know it should. I hope you scare everyone around you. It means you’re doing something right. Please never stop scaring people. We need to hear your voice.

To my girl who sees her father in a wheelchair every day, who interprets his slurred speech for me, who splits a PB&J with him when they go out to lunch. I never not think of you. I think of how fucking hard life must be for you and your family. I think about how fucking angry I’d be if that were me. How fucking unfair it is for this all to happen to your family. How the five of you never did anything wrong but you were robbed of so much. But mostly, I think of your smile and how it never doesn’t brighten my day when I see you. I think about how grateful you are for everything in your life, despite how much shit has been thrown in your face. How kindly you speak of your husband. How giving you are of your time and talent. How much you love everyone around you. I think about how much you believe in me and all of my crazy dreams. I think about your laugh. And how thankful I am that you laugh at almost all of my jokes. I think about how you’re my favorite person to drunk FaceTime because we can joke and laugh while I smoke cigarettes on my porch. I think about how your beauty only equates to an Italian princess or a Greek goddess. I think about how seeing you on your wedding day was one of the best days of my life. I think about how hard I cried watching your dad get out of his wheelchair to walk you down the aisle. I think about how easily you could be angry and hate life. Because life has not been fair to you. But I think about how you’ve always swam with the tide and never let it beat your spirit down. Please never let it beat you down. We need your smile.

To my girl who is little but mighty as fuck. You might only be in elementary school, but damn girl. You are smart, loud, bold, strong willed, sharp, and loving. I think about how you told me one day that when I posted pictures of you on my Instagram it made you uncomfortable. I think about how much I love that you could tell me what you wanted, even at such a young age. I love how fearless you are. I think about how I asked you about Pokemon and you told me that you preferred to read, you pulled out your book and I read to you. I think about how I cried the whole time I read to you. Discretely, wiping away tears as I read to you. Because I couldn’t believe how amazing you are. How strong and smart you are. How I’ve never met anyone like you before. Except one girl. Me. When I was that age. You are everything I was. You are everything I wanted to be. I look at you, and think ‘This is me if I grew up without shame.’ That’s why I am so protective of you. I never want you to grow up with shame. I never want you to look at your body and think it’s gross. I never want you to think your voice doesn’t matter. Because it does. It fucking does. Your voice matters. Never grow shame. Our world needs more of you.

To my girl who is no longer with us but whose World War 2 portrait hangs just two-feet from my bed. I think about you because I’m sorry I wasn’t a better granddaughter when you were still living. I was a young girl and a brat. I wish I would have spent more time with you. But I hope you know that you inspire me constantly. I think about you all of the time. I tell everyone about you. How you were an officer in the military, while your future husband was a private. How you were a Registered Nurse in the 1930s. I think about how Aunt Suzanne told me right before she died that you didn’t get along with your mom. How you got along much better with your own grandmother. I think about how hard it must’ve been to go to college then. I think about how people must’ve looked at you as a working mother. A nurse in the neo-natal unit, with four boys at home. I think about you raised four beautiful boys, of which only one is still living. I think about how sorry I am. I’m so sorry Grandma. I wish Mike, Mark, and David were still here. I think about this Irish fucking curse. I’m so sorry. I wish I was better to you when you were alive. But I want you to know, every day, you inspire me to be the baddest fucking feminist I can be. I want you to know that every day, I wake up and from my bed I can see your portrait that I took home from your funeral fifteen years ago and framed. I want you to know how much I love you and everything you’ve given me. Without you, I would never have gone to college. I would never have gone to graduate school. I would never use my voice to tell people my experiences, to let people know they’re not alone. Grandma, I think about you often and I love you more every day.

To all my girls. I’m so sorry. I wish I could take away your pain. I wish I could have been there to protect you. I wish I was better. I wish the world wasn’t so fucking cruel. I wish you weren’t the victim of systematic violence against women. I wish you all of the strength. I wish you all of the courage. I wish you all of the love.

[groundramon]

I don’t really know how to word this without immediately knowing that tumblr could accuse me of a fuckton of different buzzwords, but I’m going to try to anyways - and hopefully if any hyper-woke people find me, they’ll tell me how I should better word myself in the future instead of immediately calling me an abuse apologist or some shit.

But anyways, here’s a hot take - people of minority groups can be abusers.  Sometimes, they can abuse people for their minority status.  Sometimes, people lie about sexual assault.  Sometimes, people use their mental health or identity or race or whatever as an excuse for being a despicable human being.  How do I know?  Because I’ve had it happen to me, over and over and over.

I am: a trans, LGBT+, mentally disabled + ill, DFAB person.  I am also: a white, able-bodied fuckboy who lives in California, one of the most progressive states in the country, even in its conservative areas.  I am on both sides of the spectrum, and the times when I see minority statuses being abused are usually from the groups that I’m a minority of.

For example, I was harassed (and arguably sexually abused, however because I couldn’t find those comments that could’ve made him face legal consequences for all he’s done, I struggle to say that this is the case - additionally, I was never his target, just my art) by an autistic man online when I was younger.  It’s the reason why I can’t interact with the HT/TY/D fandom and why I won’t be seeing the third movie (keep in mind this happened right before the second movie, and I went to see that one because it legitimately interested me - this one seems heterosexual AND reminds me of my abuser’s dragon OC, which he guilt tripped me into drawing for him as his form of porn).  He ruined an entire franchise for me because he harassed me so badly.  He guilt tripped me in about how hard it was being autistic (and threw in some comments about how teens think they have it “so hard with their anxiety and depression” when “they really have no idea”, to a teenager struggling with identifying anxiety and depression - i didn’t believe that bullcrap but I did fall for his autism sob story) and convinced me to do art trades with him which were just redraws of my own stuff, and he’d repeatedly spam me and yell at me and guilt trip me to finish his work if I so much as read his note without responding.  He drained my motivation for DeviantArt along with my love of a franchise.  This man was also a serial harasser/spammer, he did this to MANY people, including other minors.  I wasn’t a specific target - honestly, I think I was pretty low on his priority list, considering he only tried to come back a few times.  The kicker?  I’m pretty sure I’m autistic, even though I had no idea back then.  At least, I sure do have a lot of symptoms of autism now that I look back.

Not good enough for you?  Okay.  How about the fact that a relative of mine tried to convince my aunt that she (my aunt, not the relative) was sexually abused by my paternal grandfather as a child, sending my aunt into a mental breakdown because she couldn’t remember anything like that and had no idea?  My aunt is the weak link in our family, she’s adopted and felt othered for it, and lived away from the rest of our family for a long time.  She recently started getting involved and just happened to be attacked by a known financial and mental abuser in our extended family right when she started getting back involved.  I’m thankful that my dad and my uncles were able to help her get a better picture of her father.  Keep in mind that I don’t have a positive image of my paternal grandfather, because he smoked and gave my dad + uncle health problems due to it - and I personally consider that an accidental form of child abuse, in a way.  But he was NOT a fucking incestual pedophile.  It infuriated me to hear that, despite never meeting him, and having a negative overall impression of him.

How about another?  My step-step-grandmother (long story) has accused my deceased uncle of being a money-hungry monster and stealing all of her rightful money after his father/her husband died.  We’re in a court case to get the inheritance we deserve from her now, but she only ever brought this up AFTER he passed away.  When informed about his dead, she bitched about how he made her loose money, and how she was struggling despite using up all of my mom’s inheritance (from her step-father AND her mother).  Because you know, that’s what you do when someone dies.  My uncle was the only uncle on my mom’s side to make it to my birthdays, his family gave my mom and I a place to stay when we ended up stranded down south due to a bad head injury my dad got (also long story) and we didn’t have time to make it back home and we didn’t want to just leave my dad there.  My uncle was probably the nicest, kindest family member I had.  His funeral was the first funeral I went to, and there were TONS of people.  He was a Christian man who lived by true Christian values, and plenty of people testified this at his funeral.  People I’d never even met before.  This old woman accused him of stealing her money (where did it go?? his wife is fucking broke now that he’s gone!), never caring enough to visit her, ect.  This old woman, who never even responded to my birthday invitations let alone came, who never made any attempt to make a mutual outreach to us.  She expected us to do all the work, and when we decided it wasn’t worth her ignoring and rejecting, we stopped.  And then she accused us of abandoning her.  This is an old woman, but she’s still an evil person - or an evil person who is now just a shell of evil, unable to even remember a time when she didn’t believe these lies that she told herself.

And don’t get me started on how this applies to ace discourse.  Heaven forbid I compare the ace/aro experience to another LGBT experience!  It’s only okay if I compare it to the straight experience (which i do btw, because i KNOW we benefit from homophobia unless we’re also sga) even though it has 99% more in common with the LGBP experience than the straight experience.  This isn’t an inclusionist vs exclusionist thing - this is just COMPARISONS.  It’s like saying murkrow looks like a crow - like yeah, no shit sherlock!! doesn’t mean murkrow is just the same as a real life fucking crow!!!  And god, haven forbid you talk about real aphobia and how it affects real aspec people.  Immediately every allo in the area will jump on you about how that’s just misogyny and rape culture and blah blah blah.  Then what about when it happens to men?  What about when it happens to nonbinary people?  What about when it has literally nothing to do with gender or being forced to have sex, and is just a constant feeling of being othered and excluded?  Forgotten and not believed?  Constantly doubted that your experience is real?  And then to be told that the very bigotry you suffered was just a part of a bigger issue, instead of specifically about a part of your identity....bullshit.  There IS overlap in certain social issues.  Race affects how homophobia and transphobia affects a person deeply.  Same with misogyny and race.  So of course there’s overlap.  But to say that aphobia doesn’t exist, I’m sorry - I don’t say this lightly, but that’s unconscious gaslighting. (there is no better term than that - believe me, I looked.  My point is that I don’t believe it’s intentional, but LGBP people, trans or not - you NEED to stop doing this.  You ARE unconciously gaslighting aces and aros.  This is not anecdotal, there are statistics and you refuse to believe them, despite pointing at just as credible statistics to prove your own points.  You say we can’t use anecdotal evidence, but then go on to use it yourself.  Intentional or not, you need to quit it.)

I really don’t want to talk about how race and this stuff intertwine because I really don’t have any experience with that as a white person.  All I know is that groups of POC can be bigoted towards other groups of POC, and they can even be bigoted towards people of their own race.

Which leads me to the most important part of this post: The fact that minorities can abuse majority groups, even if its on the basis of their minority group, does NOT mean that minority groups are not oppressed.

Just because a few women lie about being raped, doesn’t mean that all women who say they were raped are lying.  Just because an autistic person abused me, doesn’t mean that all autistic/mentally disabled people and mentally ill people are scary.  Just because aphobia is real doesn’t mean that non-SGA aces and aros don’t benefit from homophobia to a certain degree.  Just because homophobia kills doesn’t mean that aphobia isn’t just as real.  Just because the LGBT community has a habit of gaslighting victims of aphobia doesn’t mean that the LGBT community oppresses the aspec community.  Just because POC can discriminate against or even hold systemic power over another POC doesn’t mean that they aren’t both oppressed by white people.

Abuse is not oppression.  Oppression is a repeated, prolonged offense of cruel and unjust control.  None of my anecdotals “prove” that oppression for these groups isn’t real.  Because I’m part of these groups, and it’s my opinion that it IS real.  But my anecdotals are also still valid.  It is not problematic to point out when someone uses their minority status to abuse and manipulate others.  It is not problematic to call bigoted, cruel mentally disabled people problematic for being manipulative and abusive.  Their disability is not an excuse.  Their identity is not an excuse.  Their experience may be a reason, but not an excuse.  But neither is your experience.  Let people talk about their individual experiences AND the wider issues of oppression as a whole.  They don’t have to be opposite faces of the same coin, and it’s sad that we act like they do.

[stopforamoment]

Nothing New Pussycat (See You Next Tuesday)

Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three) Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OFC Rinda Parks Word Count: 3,571 Rating: R for Language and Adult Situations TRIGGERS: Unwanted sexual contact, discussion of rape, rape culture, male dominance, use of the P and C words for female genitals, C in a derogatory way “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” Margaret Atwood

Author’s Note: Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. OFC with all of her quirks is all mine. My apologies if Tumblr or I do something stupid when I try to post this. This was inspired by @kennaxval’s story The Queens of Stormholt part 5: Kenna’s Choice (NSFW) and by Hulu/Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. I’ve been catching up on episodes this past week! This takes place the second week of the school year, in September.

Crackpot Ear Worm: Tom Jones “What’s New Pussycat” 

He was a rich, arrogant, helicopter parent whose son did nothing wrong. He also didn’t give a fuck about his marriage vows, and he thought it would be an interesting challenge to conquer the American widow who wouldn’t take off her wedding ring. At first Rinda was oblivious. She was used to dealing with helicopter parents, and she assumed his false flattery was the first step toward getting his son out of an after-school detention that Rinda gave him. As annoying as that was, Rinda preferred that to what usually came next. The incessant badgering and, eventually, threats. Rinda sighed. Time to draw upon her professionalism and boilerplate commentary to get through this one-on-one meeting that he insisted upon. Rinda had been married, and to a police officer, so she was relatively safe for over 10 years. But she got complacent, thinking she would be respected at least for her status as a mother and widow, with the added bonus that she was in her 40s and past her prime. She honestly thought that sex would no longer be used as a weapon against her. Her gender, yes. Always. But sex? Well, maybe unconsciously. Okay, yes. She knew. But she had hoped that sex couldn’t still be used as a weapon against her. That was a small part of why she still wore her wedding ring and kept her married name. Most people would take the hint and know that she should be left the fuck alone. But she truly wasn’t prepared to deal with all of that bullshit again. . . . . .

Rinda was a warrior preparing for battle. She took the time to move her desk so she could sit behind it. That was a Power Move 101. She preferred to keep her desk against a wall because it took up less space, it was easier to throw her squish ball against the wall, and it was just easier to work with the children who needed to sit next to her when she tutored him. But not for this meeting. Bastien and Julian offered to help her move the desk, but Laura just laughed and told them to get the fuck lost. Rinda was in her woman hear me roar mode, and she didn’t need a man’s help. Although as soon as they left she did need to meekly ask Laura for help. Then she strategically placed chairs on the other side of her desk. Laura had to take her dad to a doctor’s appointment, so she wouldn’t be in the room. But Julian and Bastien would be in their rooms, ready to rescue Rinda if necessary. And Julian and his husband Theo would take her out for a drink afterward so she could defrag and repeat every wicked one-liner that she wanted to say but couldn’t. . . . . . He walked into her room, unannounced and 20 minutes early, which Rinda was expecting. But she was still helping another student. And of course, she was sitting next to the student, in another student desk, so she could help her. Rinda stayed seated in the too-small chair, looking up at the father and calmly asking to come back in 10 minutes, when she was finished helping her student. When it’s actually your appointment time. He informed Rinda that he was a busy man and his time was valuable. Right, so that’s why you’re 20 minutes early and harassing me when you could just wait in the hall and check emails or something. Professional Mrs. Parks nodded and related to that. She was also very busy, especially right now, and the sooner she could get back to helping her student the sooner she could begin their appointment. But he wasn’t leaving. She extricated herself from the student desk as gracefully as possible, calmly walking up to him, trying not to flinch. She hated doing that. Approaching someone simply to assert herself. She was 5’3” and really, if he refused to leave what could she do? Call in Bastien to escort him out? God, how humiliating. Needing help from the freaking head of security because there was a rude asshole who refused to leave her room. A man who was being shitty because she was a woman and there wasn’t much she could do about it. Remember, Rinda. You’re white. You’re cis. You’re straight. You’ve had amazing educational opportunities, and you’re comfortably middle class. Other people who deal with this shit have less privilege than you.

He ogled her. No other word to explain it. She stood and took it, hoping her body language didn’t betray her fear and anger. Even though she wore loose clothing and no makeup, it didn’t matter. Even if he was really thinking about last night’s football game while simply pretending to undress her with his eyes as a way to intimidate her, it didn’t matter. He was sizing her up, sexualizing her, dismissing her as a professional with post-college degrees and years of teaching experience. Every woman, every person who has been de-humanized, denigrated, and disparaged, has a way to cope with it. They have a plan in place to ensure their literal survival. When Rinda was younger she swore that she would go down fighting. That she would rather die than let it happen to her. Again. But now that she was older, a mother with a son who didn’t have a father, it was different. There was a lot more that she was willing to take if it meant she could come home to Henry when it was over. And really, being in your 40s with a wedding ring and a kid did make life easier. You were overlooked a lot. What a blessing. But not now. Now she was targeted. But fortunately he chose to wait in the hallway, and Rinda only hoped the young girl who was patiently waiting for Mrs. Parks wouldn’t subconsciously remember this incident. The time when her female teacher, the adult in charge, was challenged just because a man wanted to. Just because he could. . . . . .

When Rinda invited him in he closed the door after him. Friendly Rinda. “Oh, you can just leave the door open.” Cocky asshole with the smug grin. “Why? You don’t trust yourself to be alone with me in a closed room?” No, I don’t trust you, and you know it, you fucking asshole. How dare you try to spin this, as if I wanted anything from you except some basic fucking respect. Delusional douche canoe prick. Professional Mrs. Parks lying through her teeth. “It’s school policy.” Quickly get behind your desk. It’s a barrier and you’ll be safe. Wait, fuck. Did he open the door? Fuck me. He didn’t. If I let it go, he wins. If I open it for him, he wins. God damn this fucker to hell. Rinda motioned for him to take a seat and she opened the door. Julian was discreetly waiting in the hallway and he gave her an encouraging nod for support. She started to walk back to her desk. That fucker moved the chair so I’m going to have to practically grind him to get around him and retreat behind my desk. Retreat. Fuck this. She channeled an image of Justin Trudeau dealing with Donald Trump’s power play handshake. I’m not backing down from this prick.

She moved the other chair, the one on his side of her desk, further away from the man. She sat down, discreetly moving her legs to the side before crossing them at the ankles so there was no danger of her pulling a Paris Hilton or Sharon Stone. Mom taught Rinda as a very young girl to sit carefully and keep her legs closed so she wouldn’t show her Unaussprechlichen.  Rinda, you know. Rinda laughed to herself, realizing as an adult that the humor of that unspeakable word was lost on her mother. Grandma Lorinda would say vagina. Rinda, it’s a vagina. Nothing to be ashamed of. It’s yours, no one else’s. You can call it your Muschi, your pussy or cunt, if that’s what you want. As long as it’s respected and the words used to describe it are spoken with love. Crossing her legs. That wouldn’t be interpreted as discreet by a man like him. No, it would only draw his eyes there, to the Unaussprechlichen.  Crossing your legs at the knee, more sexual. You’re flirting. Crossing at the ankles, more demure and lady-like. But then you’re a prude. Thank God I wore a long skirt today.

He tried wheedling, he tried flirting. Rinda remained professional. She stood by the detention. He leaned in, but Rinda was far enough away that he would have to move his chair closer to invade her personal space. Ha! Score one for Rinda Parks. Oh, fuck. He really is moving his chair closer. Oh fuck, and he’s owning it, like it’s a welcomed advance, not his weakness. Rinda was sure her eyes were changing colors, that sure tell that she was afraid or upset. Hopefully he didn’t know that about her, even though it was hard to miss. Hopefully he couldn’t see how pale she was and didn’t catch her target glance to the door. God, how many times have women and other victims been in this situation, trying to gauge if they stood a better chance of survival if they tried to run or if they stayed still and took it. Rinda, you’ve got this.

He “accidentally” brushed her knee when he sat back down, his face dangerously close. Do I ignore it? If I call him out, will he laugh? Think I’m a bitch who’s playing hard to get? Tell me I imagined it? Rinda tried to stay focused, but she was livid. What if the roles were reversed? What if I just grabbed his cock and gave it a squeeze to assert my dominance? To get my shits and giggles off seeing another person squirm. How would that make you feel, asshole? Ugh. He’d probably love it. Spread his legs and force me to kneel, mouth open, to give him more.

The meeting ended with the usual threat that he would contact the principal, someone who was more reasonable and had more power than her. Fine. Whatever. Just get the fuck out of my face. At least he didn’t threaten her job or remind her that his tax dollars paid her salary. “I’ll have your job for this.” That one always cracked Rinda up. Bitch, please. You’ll “have” it? You want it? Go for it. You wouldn’t last an hour. Rinda let him stand up first. She was wearing a shirt with a high neckline. Nothing to see there and she’d rather be the one passively sitting, even if he was looking down at her, instead of the one standing and hoping he would get up to leave. He waited until they got into the hallway before overtly asserting his dominance. Maybe that was for the best. She wasn’t trapped behind her desk. She wasn’t trapped in the room. And really, it was comical how he thought he could just finish being an absolute ass, telling her that he would go above her head to get satisfaction, and then suddenly inform Rinda that he would take her out and show her a good time. He’d still get satisfaction from her in one way or another. He knew that she was lonely and needed a man’s company. And he’d give it to her. I’m way too old for this shit. Haven’t I paid my dues, yet? Isn’t that supposed to be a benefit of getting older and losing the bloom off the rose? Rinda laughed to herself. Her middle name was Rose. Damn that was pretty funny, Rinda. Okay, stay with it. You can’t use humor to deflect yourself out of this one. Rinda’s eyes darted around, taking in her surroundings. Julian was staying late for her. His door was open and he moved his work station so he could keep an eye on the hallway. She looked over and saw him watching her. And even though she couldn’t see him, she knew Bastien was near. She always felt his comforting presence when he was near. Maybe he was in the room with Julian, or just around the corner. But she was safe. It would be okay. At least this time. She started by purposely misunderstanding him. Not that anyone could misinterpret that lecherous smirk. Of course she would be happy to meet with him and his wife, at school, if they’d like to further discuss the matter. No? Not at school? But she only met with parents at school. Oh, but this wasn’t a professional matter. And his wife wouldn’t be joining him. And now he was leering, and even though Rinda knew she would be physically safe because Julian and Bastien were there, she wasn’t sure which reaction would be worse for her career. Fight or flight. She was so thankful they were here. Refusing their help to move her desk, feeling embarrassed that the head of security might have to escort this man out. She didn’t care anymore. Her pride was so goddamn trivial right now. She was just so fucking thankful they were here. The reality was that she was a woman who couldn’t handle it by herself. And Julian and Bastien were strong men, good men. She wouldn’t even have to ask. One of them, if not both, would stay to make sure she got into her car safely. Even follow her home if necessary. God I hate being a woman.

And then she felt the nausea. Did men think that women were just playthings? Did he care at all about his wife? His family? Did he even care that she said “no” several times, that he was making her uncomfortable, that she was still in love with Jameson? That this asshole’s very presence was violating her? No. He didn’t care. That was part of his fun. Bastien was in the hallway, gauging the situation. He would be able to step in at any time, but he remembered Rinda’s reaction earlier that day when she was struggling to move the desk by herself. He knew why she refused their help. In any other situation he and Julian would have teased Rinda for being so stubborn. But they knew to let that one go. He knew Rinda could handle herself now, and he wanted to be sure Rinda knew that, but he was right there if she needed any help. The man grabbed Rinda’s arm and Bastien saw the golden topaz in her eyes. The look of controlled fury that shook even him. He thought Rinda was upset that this man touched her. He didn’t realize it was so much more than that. This man was arrogant enough to even think he had a chance to replace Jameson, even if it was for only the few pathetic, unsatisfying minutes he might last if Rinda would allow him to enter her. That’s what it boiled down to, for her. Not his disrespect to her, or to his wife, but to Jameson. Her Jameson was a hero who sacrificed his life to save Cassie. People who didn’t know Jameson only saw the gruff exterior. They couldn’t understand how someone as light-hearted as Rinda could ever see anything in a person who was so serious. But they didn’t know the Jameson that Rinda did. The tender-hearted man who would do anything to make Rinda laugh. The one who adored her. He was her beloved. When Jameson came home after a long day of work she would serenade him with her loudest and most awful rendition of Tom Jones’ “What’s New Pussycat?” just to make him smile And no one else knew that when Officer Parks came home he became Rinda’s sweet and silly Miezekatze as she kissed his nose, those laugh lines around his eyes, that adorable dimple, and his irresistible lips. How dare he think he’s anywhere close to knowing what it means to be a man. To replacing Jameson. . . . . .

Rinda could have extricated herself from his grasp with a basic self defense move. And she could have run away, knowing that Bastien would take care of the rest for her. But she didn’t. Instead she turned his wrist and brought her elbow up to the underside of his elbow. Anger and adrenaline gave her the power to deliver a strong hit to his elbow. There was a sickening crack and the man immediately dropped to the ground, cursing Rinda. Calling her a bitch cunt whore who didn’t know who he was. Who she just messed with. How he would ruin her professionally. How he would find her and make her pay. How he would wrap his fingers around her throat and enjoy watching her eyes bulge as he strangled her. How he would find her and make her pay. Tear her a new asshole. Fuck her until she needed a new asshole. He would destroy her. He would kill her. Rinda didn’t hear most of it. Bastien was already dragging the man away, the man’s rants fading down the hallway. Julian gently pulled Rinda into his room and closed the door while he called the police and paramedics.

Bastien reassured Rinda that it was self defense and he was proud of her for defending herself so well. Bastien truly meant it as a compliment, and he was impressed with her. But Julian and Rinda looked at each other and they both knew it wasn’t that simple, and that Bastien sounded patronizing even though it was unintentional. Rinda also knew that Julian and his husband faced discrimination and hatred far more often than she ever would, and she was so grateful to have him with her that night. Bastien could help explain the factual details of what happened that night. But Julian, Theo,and Laura were the ones to help her navigate the emotional strain of that evening, and they would know the reality of what really happened that night because she was a woman turned down a rich man with on a power trip. To everyone else, Rinda would be seen as unable to handle herself in a situation. She overreacted to a simple misunderstanding. She must have done something to upset that man. She wore a skirt and invited him into her classroom when no one else was there. She sat next to him. She flirted. She encouraged him. And then changed her mind. Like a typical tease. Bitch. She resorted to violence over a simple miscommunication. He’s a married man. Respected in the community. How could anyone trust her with their children? And he was a rich man with power who sometimes donated to the school. Rinda most likely would have to apologize. Best case scenario. The reality was that Rinda most likely lost her job and the safety reform suffered a crushing blow because of her. Even if she were allowed to stay, she would lose all respect from the families, and that attitude would affect the children and how they interacted with her in the classroom. Then she’d lose her job that way. Because she wasn’t able to do her job effectively. Because she was a woman who pissed off a man. . . . . . The night dragged on forever with the police report and statements. Rinda had to call a neighbor to take care of Henry for the rest of the night—feed him and keep him safe—because she had to stay late with something that was school-related. It was true, even though it was a lie of omission. Bastien stayed to deal with the last of the legal issues and some other work matters. He also moved Rinda’s desk back to its original spot and set her squish ball back in its place, where it was easy for her to grab and throw against the wall. He hoped that would make Rinda’s morning a little better. Julian and Theo took Rinda home, and Laura came over too. And once she had Henry safely tucked in his own bed they drank. And commiserated. And cried. . . . . . Rinda didn’t know Bastien was indebted to Queen Riley because of his involvement with the Tariq scandal. She didn’t know that it only took a phone call from Bastien to explain to Queen Riley what happened and why. That Queen Riley was personally involved in speaking to the man and ensuring that the entire incident was taken care of. That what he did to Rinda, he would never do to her—or another person—ever again. Not if he expected to retain his citizenship as a Cordonian. Julian, Theo, Laura, and Rinda never understood how she got so fucking lucky. Why he chose not to press charges. Why she wasn’t fired. Why she never had to see that man ever again. But Bastien knew. He saw what Rinda went through that night. He talked with her, when she was finally ready and trusted him enough. He listened to her explain her feelings about the situation, not just the facts. Then Bastien better understood. He better understood what he did to Riley that night, and he better understood the mantle of responsibility that came with the power of simply being a man.

[bluebubblewater]

Sorry for the long post. :)

This is a breakdown of a post I saw and this is my response to it, issue by issue.

“Okay, it’s time to rant. I am really starting to get fed up with this whole “Women’s rights” thing. What the heck is wrong with women these days?”

Women’s rights is not a “thing” it is a movement for equality between men and women of all ages, ethnicity, belief systems, sexuality, position in society, place of origin, and political beliefs. A movement that has existed for more than 100 years, promoting the rights of all humans beings based on the fact that we are ALL human and not some sub-category that is somehow worth less than another. It is a powerful movement that has enabled women to: vote, own property, choose a spouse, choose to have kids, divorce her spouse, drive, go to school, go to college, press charges against rapists and harassers (both of men and women), work in places of power, effect change, and so much more, the main thing is it has been from this movement that we as women can CHOOSE. What is wrong with women indeed, there are enough struggles we have to face without other women adding to them because of being uninformed.

“Let me get this straight, Trump was voted president, and this ruins your life how? What has he ever done to you?”

The fact that we now have President Trump in office for the next 4 years doesn’t “ruin” our lives but it does have the potential to make them harder and to jeopardize some of our human rights that he thinks we shouldn’t have. In my humble and fairly educated, and constantly evolving, opinion, no one should be able to place a law on what I want to do to MY body, ever. Especially not a bunch of rich, old, white, MEN. My body my choice, would I personally ever choose to have an abortion? Probably not, but I want that choice, because until it has at least a small chance of living outside of my body it is not  its own person and is simply part of my body.

“Sure, maybe he insulted women once, but you know what? IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD! “

Our President Trump has insulted women more than just “once” and on more than a “few” occasions. Quite frankly he doesn't seem to see what is wrong with doing so, but thinks/says that it is all in good fun. Here’s a couple quotes that I was told when I was a kid and stuck with me “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” and “If the person the joke involves isn’t laughing, it isn’t funny”. I don’t find insults to women or anyone really as funny, I find them rude and a good portrait of the person saying it.

“And frankly all women who take THAT much offence to a few insults deserves to be insulted”

“Deserves to be insulted”? Really so if I call some a “bigoted, fascist, egotistical, emotional infant, bitchy bastard of a SOB, mother f*cker” then they have no right to be upset because if they are then they deserve it. Right? Think about that for a bit.

“I am a woman but I don’t care that Trump is president, and Trump has three daughter and a wife, do you see them taking any offence? No!”

I am a woman too, and to be entirely honest I thought we were going to be screwed with whoever became president because none of them were fully a “good” choice. Fact check he has two daughters named Ivanka and Tiffany and has had three wives. And how do you know that they don’t take offense? People around me who don’t know me can’t tell when I take offense unless I either let it show or tell them. Just because they are supporting their father and husband in public does not mean they agree with him in private. Don’t make assumptions, they make you look like an ass.

“Besides, it’s not like Trump is taking away all of our rights, when did he ever say he was going to do that?”

He is cutting funding to Planned Parenthood, which is not just an organization that does abortion. It is an organization that provides information about: Abortion(what it entails and other options), birth control, contraceptives, the importance of body image, general health care that includes testing, screening, vaccines, and exams, etc., men’s sexual health, pregnancy, relationships, sex, sexuality, sexual orientation, gender, STDs and women’s health. All of this important information and services and President Trump is cutting the funding for it. He is trying to overturn the Supreme Court ruling in the Roe v. Wade case where it was decided that women’s right to privacy and therefore abortion is protected under the 14th amendment as long as the abortion happens before the “fetus is viable” meaning it can survive being born. It is a human right and I will fight to protect it. But you have a point he didn’t say he was going to take”away all of our rights” but it starts small and as the saying goes “give an inch they’ll take a mile”.

“So can you guys stop freaking out over EVERYTHING?”

We aren’t freaking out about anything. We are legally voicing our objection to the wrongs committed against us as human beings. We are legally voicing our objection to the proposed laws and ideals that infringe on our human rights.

“And stop with the women’s marches! What exactly do ya’ll think that’s going to do? Get Trump thrown out of office? Nope.”

The point of the women’s march was not about President Trump. It was about equality for everyone and the opportunity for people who support different issues within the realm of equality and human rights to come out and support each other under the banner of Women’s Rights. The march was about standing together and knowing that we are not alone. It was about supporting each other across the world as one people not as sub-people groups. Some people used it as a platform to tell/show the world that we will not allow anyone to oppress us again and to not even try it. Some people used to the platform to oppose President Trump, his beliefs, and plans. Some people used it as a platform to encourage people in countries across the world to fight for their freedom and equality. Some people used it as a platform for pro-choice. Some people used it as a platform for workplace equality and equal pay. It was NOT about Trump, me or you, it is about equality for everyone. Period.

“All it does is prove his point about women and annoy all of the other billion of people who disagree with you!”

I’m sorry how does 3.6-4.6 million people across the globe marching together for equal rights prove his point? Explain it to me. How do you hear about that many people across the world marching together unified in their stance of equality, and think something negative about that?

“(Oh, and btw after you guys did your little march thank you SO MUCH for leaving all of your signs strewn about the streets! I’m sure that there were many female sanitation workers that had to stay out late last night cleaning up after you geniuses ^_^)”

Yes because you know other marches and protests for other issues NEVER leave signs on the road. And yeah there were people who had to pick the stuff up just like they would if there was a parade and they got paid for it. As long as the men and women doing the same job get the same pay, I don’t see an issue.

“Oh, and to be honest, I have no idea what the hell you guys are even marching for!”

Well that has been quite obvious. Maybe look up what you bash before you bash it next time.

“Women’s right?”

Human Rights and Equality.

“God gave us breasts and a uterus so that we could stay home and raise a family while the men worked to provide for us.”

Well if that was the only reason we exist then why are there women and men who physically can’t have children? And don’t give me the “atoning for their sins” crap if that was how it works a whole lot less people could have kids. And news flash! Women have taken an active part in building societies and settlements since the beginning of time. I come from a home where my biological father physically and emotionally abused me, my mom, and my three siblings. He couldn’t keep a job and would quit whenever he felt like it, moving my entire family literally across the nation in his quest of finding a job he would keep. Six states, countless jobs and escalation of physical abuse happened before my mom finally filed for divorce. and he said to my 14yo sisters face that he didn’t want anything to do with us kids. He paid parts of child support for about 2-3 years before he dropped off the map to avoid paying for almost 8 years. He only began paying after he was found and taken to court. So forgive me if I think that “men=provider” and “women=supporter” is fucking bullshit. I was given breasts and a uterus so that I could have sex with the ability to have children if I so choose to. I was given a brain to use to its fullest. I want a career and I don’t really want kids of my own, that may change as I get older but then it will still be MY choice. I will be a provider for myself and anyone else who I decide to bring under my care.

“But now we have the right to vote, to work, run companies and even run for president!”

You say that women have the right to vote, work, run companies and run for public offices as if they were some kind of gifts that we were given. Women and men fought for those rights, human rights that should have been acknowledged in the first place.

“So what more do you want?”

I want to walk alone at night in the city and not have to worry about cat calls and rude gestures from the men I walk by possible evolving into sexual assault because they “think” I am encouraging them by ignoring them. I want the rape culture we have in our Great American Society to change so that we are teaching our boys and men that it is not ok to continue advancing when you have been ignored or told “no” or “go to hell” or “leave me alone”. Instead of teaching our girls to not dress “sexily” or “revealing”. I want my saying “no” to have more weight than me saying “I have a boyfriend” when turning someone down. I want equal pay for equal work. I want equality. Simple.

“Did you know that in Pakistan and certain places of the Soviet Union women are still used as slaves!”

I did know that actually and that is another issue that the women’s march addressed. We want to end inequality everywhere, that does not mean that we make things less equal here so that people don’t feel so bad about the inequality elsewhere. If anything we should continue to push for full equality here in the United States of America so that we can be an example of an equality to the world.

“And that around the world there are women being sold as prostitutes?”

Once again, yes I did know that and yes it is horrible and should be abolished throughout the world. So why do you try and use the women who have it worse off than us, women in America, to put us down, to try and make us submit to men like they are forced to? I will never submit my will to anyone, it is my own as is my body and mind. I will fight for mine and every woman and man’s right to choose what they do with their own body and mind.

“But “Oh no a big bad man told is we’re not allowed to murder our unborn children now we must rebel…”

What the? First why is a man trying to tell me what to do with my body? Second it isn’t alive until it can survive on its own outside of the women’s body, therefore I can’t murder it. If we were going to rebel this would be a small point on the vast canvas of grievances.

“Here’s some advice: Either get over it, or get out of this country.”

Um no, we are in America I can say and believe anything I want to because that is my right, a protected right, as a human being. How about you accept that your opinion is just that an opinion not a fact or law.

“And to be clear, no, I don’t think that Trump is going to be the greatest president there ever was,”

Well looky there we agree on something.

“and did he have to say those things about women? That’s debateable.”

Nope not debatable, no one “has to” say mean things to or about anyone ever. Period.

“But I have faith in him to lead our country right because while nobody is perfect, it’s clear that the good he can do for us outweighs his bad tenfold.”

You’re right no one is perfect and I hope with my whole heart that he will prove me wrong and does more good than bad for this country and the people living in it. I do not think that his “good” plans outweigh the negatives he has said and plans to do, but I don’t compare them as a balance but simply pros and cons.

“And that is all I have to say. And for all of you who disagree with this post feel free to hate me and insult me. I don’t care because I’m not going to take offence…. Thank you.”

I think I am also done. I am glad you won’t take offense to me disagreeing with you but please don’t feel as if I am hating on you or your post, I simply have a very different opinion than you do.

Also, offense is spelt with an -s-.... Maybe while you are checking your facts, check your spelling too.

[onemistressandnomaster]

just watched teeth (2007) on netflix and had some thoughts

so the movie is about a girl, dawn, who is a part of a pro-abstinence group complete with purity ring and all that jazz. she develops a crush on this dude, tobey, and they go out to a cave one day, where they start making out, and then tobey predictably tries to rape her, and dawn discovers she has vagina dentata when her vagina bites his dick right off. hijinks ensue.

pretty much all the men are terrible in this movie, except dawn’s stepdad is kind of okay, if you look over the fact that he lets his creepy, abusive son stay in the house despite raising a ton of red flags like beating his girlfriend, sexually harassing dawn, and literally doing target practice with real bullets in the house. but seriously, all the men? Bad

tobey? he knows dawn is a fanatic about abstinence, and pretends to be one too. then he admits that actually he’s not really a virgin. then he starts making out with dawn. then he starts touching dawn’s breasts, even though she tells him not to. then he says, “you won’t have to do anything, you’ll still be pure in his [god’s] eyes”, strips off his pants, bangs dawn’s head against the cave wall, and tries to rape her, only for his dick to get snapped right off. that scene was actually hard to watch, mostly because dawn’s reactions to the attempted rape were real and upsetting, but also because you straight up see the dick fall onto the cave floor, and I find dicks gross when they aren’t all bloody, so that was kind of hard to get through.

creepy gynecologist? dawn goes to him to figure out what’s wrong with her after looking up ‘female genital mutation’, and he, being a fucking male gyno, decides to attempt to finger her in the guise of “examining” her. obviously she clues into what’s happening, and her vagina snaps his fingers right off. this is one of my worst nightmares (not that vagina detanta thing, the bad experience at the gynecologist). I am utterly terrified of going to a gynecologist, even though I know that female doctors can be requested, because of the vulnerability inherent in that kind of situation. that scene probably hit me the hardest, since it is one of my real life fears, though they kind of undercut the seriousness/horror of the scene when the doctor starts screaming, “AHH IT’S REAL VAGINA DENTATA VAGINA DENTATA!!!!”

ryan? okay, I almost stopped watching the movie because I thought this fucker wasn’t going to get his comeuppance. first of all, he looks almost exactly like tobey, so I spent the first fifteen minutes utterly confused about who was who. anyway, ryan is a dork who is shown to have a crush on dawn. he tries to ask her out, but since she had just recently snapped a dude’s dick off with her vagina, she was understandably not keen on going out with anyone else for the foreseeable future. this does not make ryan happy. so then later, dawn goes to his house in tears after her gyno visit because she thinks she needs a ~male hero~ to conquer her vagina dentata. and the filmmaker tricked me, I tell you, into making me think that ryan was really going to be the hero despite him very obviously being a dipshit. he drugs dawn while she’s taking a bath, then gives her wine, then fingers her with a vibrator, then has sex with her, and since she’s, you know, high, her teeth don’t activate. now I was fuming because I was thinking, “this motherfucker just raped her again! wake up, vagina dentata! snip snip!” but! the next day, dawn is getting ready to leave, and ryan is all, “let’s have sex again.” as they’re doing it, ryan gets a call from his friend. turns out the two had a bet--could ryan get prissy little dawn into bed? dipshit ryan decides to tell dawn about this bet while he’s balls-deep in her, prompting her to snap his dick off. and damn if that didn’t just restore my faith in this film, because I really was worried that the male director was going to fuck up and make this incel-looking ass be the conquering hero. but he wasn’t! though he does get his dick sewn back on later.

brad, the creepy brother? leaving aside the fact that his actor looks like a straight up demon (no offense), there are basically no redeemable qualities to this asshole. in the opening scene, he (as a child) whips his dick out to dawn, and then demands to see her genitals. then he tries to stick his finger up her vagina, but since she had the vagina dentata since infancy, she snipped the tip of his finger clean off. neither of them fully remember these events, but that is our introduction to brad, the ~8 year old trying to finger his little stepsister. and he continues to harbor a twisted crush on her. eventually, in the course of beating his girlfriend while they have sex, his stepmom/dawn’s mom collapses, but brad does nothing because, you know, who cares. the mother dies, and when dawn finds out that brad basically heard the mother screaming and falling and did nothing, she decides to snap his dick off. though she is trying to ~seduce~ him in a way, he tries to anally rape her, but she fights him off and gets him to stick his dick in her vagina, which promptly bites it off. he tries to insist that he loves her, and pleads with her not to leave him, but she isn’t fooled. it’s ambiguous as to whether he bled out or not, although there’s no chance of him getting his penis sewn back on because his dog, named mother, ate it. (this film is not particularly subtle. seriously. it’s a pretty good movie, but it is Not Subtle)

dawn’s character is interesting. she’s so naive, your heart almost breaks for her. and she’s so clearly been brainwashed by this abstinence group. she has sexual desires, but her mind links those desires to things like the gorgons, snakes, and scorpions. she’s never touched herself, because that is considered impure, so she has no idea what she has down there. there’s a scene that also hit me hard--in dawn’s health textbook, there’s a sticker over the diagram of the female genitalia because it is considered improper for students to see a vulva. there is no sticker over the penis diagram. about halfway through the film, dawn gets the sticker off and sees the diagram for the first time. there’s a funny kind of confusion there, with her even glancing down at her crotch in alarm, but for me, it’s so real. I could diagram a penis in 7th grade, no problem, but I had no idea what my body, my genitals, looked like. I had no idea how I was supposed to pleasure myself. boys were almost expected to masturbate, plus we went over extensively the whole phenomenon of nocturnal emissions, but girls? figure it out on your own, or never figure it out, who cares? it’s not like your pleasure is important. as tobey says when he starts his attempted rape, “you won’t even have to do anything.”

it is even sadder, though, that dawn basically has no sexual experiences throughout the movie that are 100% consensual and enjoyable. she tries to touch herself, only for her mind to force the image of a scorpion monster from a movie on her. tobey tries to rape her. ryan has “enjoyable sex” with her, but it’s only because she’s hopped up on drugs, and he wasn’t doing it because he cared about her, but because he wanted to prove his own masculinity to his friends. and then her sexuality basically becomes a weapon. on the one hand, I almost wanted a vagina dentata myself so I could be safe, knowing I had natural protection. on the other hand, is there any hope for women? it’s kill or be killed, dog eat dog. I should rephrase that--is there any hope for women with men? can dawn, after the events of the movie, ever find someone who will actually care about her sexual needs/desires, or will the men she meets only try to take advantage of her? even when someone like ryan comes along, who seems like he cares, he’s only pretending. who knows if this was the filmmaker’s intent, but the message of this movie to me is: trust no man. all men are out to get you. never forget that, never let your guard down, and always be prepared to use the weapons at your disposal. consider investing in a vagina dentata.

overall: I wouldn’t call any piece of media created by a man “feminist”, because I don’t think men can truly be feminists, only allies. however, I do think this movie had feminist takeaways and feminist undertones, and so I would recommend it to anybody interested in horror movies or horror/comedy movies (though probably no one will read this word vomit lol). don’t watch if attempted rape and body mutilation upsets you; do watch if watching shitty dudes getting their dicks snapped off is something you’re interested in.