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Idk what’s up with some radfems being so anti hormonal birth control lately like yes it can have unpleasant side effects and every woman should have the resources to make informed decisions about it but we really can’t take for granted how much freedom it has given us from reproductive exploitation. Not to mention how much it helps women who have painful periods. I’ve even seen ppl on here suggest that it somehow serves men. As if pregnancy was ever a /barrier/ to their abuse of women!

True!!! Very good points!!! I think you can both be a massive advocate for hormonal birth control (like myself) and fight for it to be better tested and improved upon for womens health. And also insist that doctors stop using it as a cure all, and instead pursue other avenues to address womens medical issues!

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...It's so disheartening when my mutuals/irl friends post things like "if you're a terf then unfollow me and fuck off" on their blogs. At this point I don't even know what that means. I don't know what they think a "terf" is or how to broach the subject without putting myself in danger or of being forced out of the closet. Will they think I'm a terf because I think lesbians aren't attracted to male bodies? Or because I think trans men shouldn't call themselves faggots? Where is the line drawn?

No way to know until you open that conversation with them. A good place to start is focusing on sex based oppression, and how you wish popular feminist movements would reprioritize the well being of female people.

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to what extent do you think that the desire to dress in pretty clothes can be separated from patriarchal forces? i like the way i feel when i wear cute clothes and i want to learn to sew and maybe make myself some dresses. but at the same time i'm aware that women are expected to focus on our appearance way more than men, and i only want these things because i was raised in a world wear women are valued mainly for the way they look. can i reconcile an interest in fashion with feminism?

I think that making your own clothes is a deeply useful life skill that's undervalued by society - it decreases your reliance on an industry that relies on child labor, slave labor, and underpaid overworked women in undeveloped nations. That alone is a feminist act.

Then I'll say this - the desire to look and appear attractive is an innate trait. Do not punish yourself for it too harshly. The socialization of this trait comes with the prioritization of the male gaze. Tightening fabrics, raising heels, showing skin - all in performance for men. The socialization also comes from female value being derived from attractiveness, which is why males focus less on how they look and appear, because that is not the source of their value in society.

So long as the clothes are comfortable, and not constructed to meet strict requirements of the male gaze, I think you're more than fine. I think sewing is a splendid thing.

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I feel so useless because I’m 25 and I still can’t say no and enforce my boundaries. A man in my office asked me for my number today and I gave 5 “soft” no’s. It was clear that I didn’t want this but he kept pushing and I gave it. I feel so gross when someone pushes me into something like this, and sad that I can’t even stand up for myself. It’s such violating, stupid feeling.

Something that you can do is to take action afterwards. If you feel trapped in the moment, or wish you'd taken another path, you can always just ammend things afterwards.

For the example you gave me, it sounds like you were uncomfortable with the situation, wish you'd held your ground, and now you're beating yourself up about it. Nothing says that you can't now go to HR or a manager and report the situation, citing that you said no 5 times and felt pressure to comply and now you're uncomfortable.

Taking steps after the fact still asserts a boundary. And it's a great step towards setting boundaries in the moment.

Don't feel stupid. There's nothing wrong with taking action once your head clears.

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i swear, being a witch means using tumblr as a reliable source for finding spells, tips and tricks.

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Once you really actually start caring about the state of women in the world it's astounding how much shit you see on a daily basis that is clearly just "I hate women," "I hate women having discussions without me there to supervise," "I hate women having fun in the same way most people hate teenaged girls having fun," or "I hate women discussing things that I don't relate to" dressed up in cutesy leftist talk.

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“In New York City, women on welfare say that they have been strongly encouraged by welfare workers to turn to prostitution, the threat being that the individual woman may in the future be denied welfare benefits because the caseworker knows the woman could be making big bucks on the street; or in emergencies, women on welfare are told to raise the money they need by turning a trick or two. In Nevada, where prostitution is legal, women on welfare have been forced off welfare because they refused to accept the suitable employment of prostitution; once it is a legal, state-regulated job, there is no basis for refusing it.”

-Andrea Dworkin, Right-wing Women

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Fucking TEA RIGHT THERE

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woman writing in the 1960s: my vagina makes me vulnerable to rape

some idiot in 2020 whose brain has ossified from internet use: Terfy of her to have a vagina and talk about it

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Do you ever feel conflicted because some of your desires are anti feminist and clearly arose because of being socialized as female? Like sometimes when I think about my future, I think I would love to keep house for my wife, baking her pies and keeping everything tidy and having supper ready when she comes home. I KNOW I think this because of how I was raised. I feel weird about it, and like I’m not even entirely sure that I’d be happy doing this, but in a deep part of me it feels right.

I think these are beautiful and loving and nurturing sentiments of love towards a spouse 🖤🖤 making meals for them, cultivating a beautiful space for you two to share, showing acts of service as a love language 🖤🖤 none of these things are innately bad things!!! The trick is being in a relationship where this energy is reciprocal, and acts of love and service are returned. Maybe they do the laundry, or always make your morning coffee, or always clean the dishes after you cook. Id argue that these balanced acts are essential for any couple who want to live together constructively.

And, if you're talking about a full on one person works, one person keeps house, then the issues with that dynamic are alleviated with a woman/woman relationship. But I'd still examine longterm goals (career, creatively, socially) and ensure that maintaining a home full time doesn't inhibit these, and that if the relationship were to fail, you have the means or ability to monetarily support yourself.

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Super important for our sex worker friends out there!

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Animal, 1950, Victor Brauner

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art takes hours to produce and seconds to consume so dont act suprised when artists get upset when their posts only get likes and no reblogs

similarly a piece of writing that takes a few minutes to read could have weeks of work behind it… dont take creativity for granted when ur getting it for free

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Hello? Yes. I would like hickeys all over my neck, please