#Feminismandmedia

[satellitesunset]

Out of curiosity, what’s wrong with rainbow Rowell?

hi anon ! thank u for asking, I'm more than happy to answer.

so here's an article that takcles into why Im averse to rainbow rowell and her books, specifically "Eleanor and Park"

Rainbow Rowell’s YA Novel “Eleanor and Park” is a Racist Piece of Trash by Natalia Packwood

this article includes experts of the book that include use of ableist slurs and microaggressions.

this one is a tumblr post reblogged by @feminismandmedia I'd tag the person who added the addition but they've changed their url.

tl;dr racism, asian fetishization, misogyny, anti-semitism, ableism among other things. in addition to the fact her books are just not that good but that's besides the point.

[siryouarebeingmocked]

“The voting process was specifically set up to disenfranchise female abuse survivors.”

Why am I not surprised feminismAndMedia thinks this is a good argument? Even though it’s completely wrong, and it is possible to vote anonymously if you’ve been a victim of abuse and other crimes?

[bugloveskpop]

Christmas has pagan roots, just accept it

So I saw a post saying Christmas wasn't a pagan holiday. It actually was so I'm going to do the best of my abilities at the moment to show everyone a little history this Christmas in the form of a lot of quotes because I don't have a ton of spoons to write a whole research paper. I actually grew up in a Christian home. Although, I am no longer associated with Christianity; I am an Omnist. Religion wise, I am a unitarian universalist. I also practice witchcraft as an eclectic witch.

A note: I will be using BCE/CE vs BC/AD as year markers. There is no difference in dating, just in the terms. For example, 1403 AD and 1403 CE are the same date as are 4000BC and 4000BCE.

To begin, I think a lot of people are misunderstanding what a pagan is. Coming from the Merriam-Webster website, a pagan/heathen is:

"Pagan is derived from the Late Latin paganus, which was used at the end of the Roman Empire to name those who practiced a religion other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Early Christians often used the term to refer to non-Christians who worshiped multiple deities. In Latin, paganus originally meant “country dweller” or “civilian;” it is believed that the word’s religious meanings developed either from the enduring non-Christian religious practices of those who lived far from the Roman cities where Christianity was more quickly adopted, or from the fact that early Christians referred to themselves as “soldiers of Christ,” making nonbelievers “civilians.”

The definition and etymology of heathen overlap with those of pagan: both words denote “an unconverted member of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible,” and heathen, like pagan, is believed to have come from the term for a country inhabitant, or in this case, a "heath dweller."

Both words have developed broader and pejorative meanings over time, with pagan being used to mean “an irreligious or hedonistic person” and heathen “uncivilized” or “strange,” but their original meanings are still in use."

Link: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pagan#note-1

This shows that pagans are literally just people who don't practice Christanity, Islam, or Judaism, which are religions that focus on the Hebrew god. This covers a very broad amount of people of various religions from around the world.

Christianity was formed around the 1st century (or 1 CE), and was imposed by Emperor Constantine in 345 CE. Judaism was formed about 4-5,000 years ago (9th to 5th century BCE), making it the oldest monotheistic religion. Islam was founded in the 7th century, around 570 CE, making it the youngest monotheistic religion.

Greek mythology is hard to date because it is believed to have stemmed from centuries of oral tradition. It is likely that Greek myths evolved from stories told in the Minoan civilization of Crete, which lasted from about 3000 to 1100 BCE. Greek mythology also predates Roman mythology by over 1,000 years. The Roman leaders basically copied the Greek religion.

Norse mythological was shared by Northern Germanic tribes of the 9th century CE. These stories were passed down by poetry until the 11th–18th centuries when the Eddas and other medieval texts were written.

Hinduism was founded roughly around the 15th – 5th century BCE. An Indo-Iranian religion known as Zoroastrianism is said to date back to the 2nd millennium BCE (10th to 5th century BCE). It was extremely influential over the development of the Abrahamic tradition as well. Jainism was founded around 8th to 2nd century BCE.

This is just a couple of religions within certain areas, but it was for the sake of a point. Even though Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion, and the oldest of the religions that worship the Abrahamic god, there are religions that predate it, and even influence it.

Now we will move onto when Christmas is celebrated. Christmas is supposed to celebrate the birth of Christ. However, it is not likely that he was born in the winter time. There was a pagan holiday that was celebrated on what we now call Christmas, however.

"It just so happens that on the twenty-fifth of December in the Roman Empire there was a pagan holiday that was linked to mystery religions; the pagans celebrated their festival on December 25. The Christians didn’t want to participate in that, and so they said, “While everybody else is celebrating this pagan thing, we’re going to have our own celebration. We’re going to celebrate the thing that’s most important in our lives, the incarnation of God, the birth of Jesus Christ. So this is going to be a time of joyous festivities, of celebration and worship of our God and King.”"

This is coming from a Christian site: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/celebration-christmas-pagan-ritual/

"The precise origin of assigning December 25 as the birth date of Jesus is unclear. The New Testament provides no clues in this regard. December 25 was first identified as the date of Jesus’ birth by Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 and later became the universally accepted date. One widespread explanation of the origin of this date is that December 25 was the Christianizing of the dies solis invicti nati (“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”), a popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer. Indeed, after December 25 had become widely accepted as the date of Jesus’ birth, Christian writers frequently made the connection between the rebirth of the sun and the birth of the Son. One of the difficulties with this view is that it suggests a nonchalant willingness on the part of the Christian church to appropriate a pagan festival when the early church was so intent on distinguishing itself categorically from pagan beliefs and practices."

Link: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christmas

In fact, from the same source as the last, celebrating birthdays was originally a pagan thing:

"In particular, during the first two centuries of Christianity there was strong opposition to recognizing birthdays of martyrs or, for that matter, of Jesus. Numerous Church Fathers offered sarcastic comments about the pagan custom of celebrating birthdays when, in fact, saints and martyrs should be honoured on the days of their martyrdom—their true “birthdays,” from the church’s perspective."

It is also important to note, many pagans (especially witches) celebrate the solstices. The winter solstice happens to occur very close to Christmas, usually December 21st or 22nd. It is known as Yule.

The Christmas tree also has several pagan origins:

"The history of Christmas trees goes back to the symbolic use of evergreens in ancient Egypt and Rome and continues with the German tradition of candlelit Christmas trees first brought to America in the 1800s. Discover the history of the Christmas tree, from the earliest winter solstice celebrations to Queen Victoria’s decorating habits and the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center tree in New York City.

Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.

In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.

The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from his illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes, which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.

Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon, farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.

In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder."

This is from this site: https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas-trees

Santa Claus is also linked to pagan traditions:

"Santa Claus is primarily linked to St. Nicholas, the Greek bishop of Myra, a Roman town in Turkey. St. Nicholas lived during the third and fourth centuries. He defended Christianity while followers were being persecuted. He was imprisoned for many years until Constantine came to power and made Christianity the dominant religion in the Roman empire....

St. Nicholas is commonly linked to Odin, the ruler of Asgard, one of the major gods in Germanic mythology who was depicted as a white-bearded man with magical powers. However, Odin’s ties to Santa Claus may be more pronounced. The winter solstice, also known as Yule, was a time when Odin led a hunting party, known as the Wild Hunt, in the sky with an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir. The 13th century Poetic Edda said the mythical horse could leap great distances -- a trait reindeer possess. Children would leave their boots by the chimney filled with carrots and hay to feed Sleipnir. Legend has it that whenever Odin flew by he would leave gifts by their boots.

After Christianity took hold, this practice was later adopted in relation to St. Nicholas. Children would leave their shoes on the windowsill or bedroom door on the evening of Dec. 5 for the saint to reward them with nuts, fruits and sweets.

Frau Holda is the Germanic goddess of winter. In German folk legends, she is depicted as a beautiful blonde who is the protector of children’s souls. Like Odin, she would fly through the night and give gifts to children, as Beliefnet noted. In some depictions, Holda is dressed in red and uses chimneys to deliver gifts. Some Germanic traditions involve leaving food and milk for Holda Dec. 24, known as Mother Night."

Link: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ibtimes.com/santa-claus-pagan-origins-5-influences-behind-father-christmas-1736863%3famp=1

There are also different versions of "Santa", some are actually meant to scare children:

"Sinterklaas is Dutch legend, based on St. Nicholas. On the Feast of St. Nicholas, Dec. 6, Sinterklaas – a bishop wearing a red cape – rides into town on a white horse and takes notes on which children have been naughty or nice in his big red book.

Zwarte Piet, or Black Peter, is the (highly controversial) assistant to Sinterklaas. Depicted as a small man wearing blackface and traditional Moorish dresses, he assists Sinterklaas by handing out candy to children who have been good throughout the year, and spanking naughty children with a broomstick.

Father Christmas was the earliest personificaton of Christmas. Dating back to the 15th century, Father Christmas has been bringing joy to all humans, not just children, mostly through throwing giant feasts.

The Yule Goat is Father Christmas's version of a reindeer. The legend of the goat began in ancient Slavic times, when Yule festivals were thrown to please the gods of fertilty and good harvest. Often, the goats would carry in offerings of straw and grain. Now, they are often depicted carrying Father Christmas.

Belsnickel is one of the scarier legends, stemming from German and Pennsylvania Dutch folklore. Said to look like an old fur-trader, wearing a mask and having a long tongue, he carries a long stick with which to beat naughty children, as well as pockets full of sweets for those that were nice.

Krampus is by far the scariest of the legends. Popular in Eastern European lore, Krampus is described as being half goat, half demon, with giant curled horns on his head, and a long tongue. He follows St. Nicholas around berating naughty children, and drinking schnapps, a customary offering for him."

Link for everything above: https://allthatsinteresting.com/santa-claus-legends#17

Yule logs were apart of Yule, again, a pagan holiday :

"The custom of burning the Yule Log goes back to, and before, medieval times. It was originally a Nordic tradition. Yule is the name of the old Winter Solstice festivals in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe, such as Germany.

The Yule Log was originally an entire tree, that was carefully chosen and brought into the house with great ceremony. The largest end of the log would be placed into the fire hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room! The log would be lit from the remains of the previous year's log which had been carefully stored away and slowly fed into the fire through the Twelve Days of Christmas. It was considered important that the re-lighting process was carried out by someone with clean hands."

Carols were also pagan, and apart of Yule:

"Carols were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but these were not Christmas Carols. They were pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations as people danced round stone circles. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, usually taking place around 22nd December."

Yep, Holly, Mistletoe, and Ivy too:

"Holly, Ivy and other greenery such as Mistletoe were originally used in pre-Christian times to help celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival and ward off evil spirits and to celebrate new growth.

When Christianity came into Western Europe, some people wanted to keep the greenery, to give it Christian meanings but also to ban the use of it to decorate homes. The UK and Germany were the main countries to keep the use of the greenery as decorations."

More on Mistletoe:

"Mistletoe is a plant that grows on range of trees including willow, apple and oak trees. The tradition of hanging it in the house supposedly goes back to the times of the ancient Druids; however, there's little evidence that this happened. It is also meant to possess mystical powers which bring good luck to the household and wards off evil spirits. It was also used as a sign of love and friendship in Norse mythology.

When the first Christians came to Western Europe, some tried to ban the use of Mistletoe as a decoration in Churches, becuase of some of the old stories about it, but many still continued to use it! York Minster Church in the UK used to hold a special Mistletoe Service in the winter, where wrong doers in the city of York could come and be pardoned."

Link for all the above quotes: https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/

"Christmas bells" are actually pagan bells:

"Ringing of bells can be traced back to pagan winter celebrations. During those times, noisemakers were used to scare away evil spirits in the night. Among those early noisemakers were bells."

Link: http://www.holidayinsights.com/xmas/bells.htm

TL;DR:

Christmas is its own holiday, yes, but almost every aspect of it has pagan origins. It is wrong to not acknowledge this fact because it furthers the idea that Christmas, and ultimately, Christianity, is superior. There is no war on Christmas, just people tired of hearing that Christmas is the only right way to celebrate. I literally just googled things and found answers. It's not that hard to look for things, you just don't want to.

If anyone else would like to add something or correct me, go ahead! However, I will not respond to people who aren't civil or refuse to see the other side of things and that they might be wrong. Thank you, have a great day! Happy holidays ♥️♥️♥️

[lightdrew]

Stop the Russian Gov from passing this LGBT-phobic law

Russia is currently developing a law “aimed at strengthening the institution of the family” which makes it impossible for an individual to make changes on their birth certificate, altering the existing procedure of legal gender recognition with retroactive effect.

This means that:

Transgender people will be denied a full legal transition, and those who have already made changes to their birth certificate will be forced to revert them once their current one expires.

Intersex people whose gender identity mismatches with their assigned-at-birth sex, and which may develop characteristics that differ from it won’t be able to correct it.

Transgender and intersex individuals will be exposed at a much higher risk for discrimination, as they will be forcibly outed whenever their birth certificate is required.

Heterosexual couples where one of the partners is transgender may be denied marriage, as a birth certificate may be required (the criteria for such requirement hasn’t been specified yet), thus being legally recognised as a same-sex couple, which isn’t allowed marriage as specified by one of the amendments of the Russian Constitution. As for the fate of transgender people who already contracted marriage, this also has yet to be decided.

This law infringes the rights of LGBT+ people and their loved ones, and since the 2013 law which prohibits the "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors" it’s been virtually impossible to spread awareness and to protect LGBT+ rights.

Now the state is trying to treat transgender and intersex people as second-class citizens, denying them their most basic rights.

Another thing worthy of note is that LGBT+ folk won’t the only ones who will suffer consequences from this law, as explained here (if, like me, you can’t read Russian, please translate this page). Many parts of the draft are left incredibly ambiguous, especially regarding the dynamics of how the law will be enforced, and the Russian Government is trying to use the oppression of LGBT+ people as an appealing façade to the average Russian person’s view in order to pass a law that otherwise would cause animosity amongst the people.

While I am aware that petitions rarely have an impact, please spare a minute to visit this page, read the information there and sign the petition. It’s least we can do.

These are the lives of real people which are at stake, and more often that not the lives of people in C.I.S. countries aren’t acknowledged.

We have the power to change things for the better, and recognising the problem is the first step towards defeating it.

[seraphic-sapphic-safehaven]

Alright, whenever I see your blog my brain goes to Serafina, the cat from Barbie.

Okay, but like The Princess and the Pauper is gay as fuck, so that makes sense >_> So, thank you ; I love that movie 💖

[diskhorsedudes]

Honestly, I really think you should post receipts of some of this stuff. I have quite a few people in my messages/asks who have had horrible experiences with Roxie, including harassment & abusive behavior. However I can't post any of these because everyone is afraid (understandably) and blocking out their names still might leave it recognizable enough. The amount of people who have been personally harmed by her is sickening. -B

If you can, let those people know that they can get in contact with me and I will post their stories while keeping their identities safe, IF they wish for those stories to go public. I’m willing to be that conduit.

I’m willing to dish out my discord if needed. 

Mod J

[stopmakingliberalslookbad]

You fucking bitch.

[buzz-buzz-bitch-its-bee]

remembering that little bubble of warmth and joy and pride i got when i told my new therapist "i identify as queer"

[yourlibro-redacted]

If anyone is willing to help please reply/reblog with your comment about a show/book/movie with LGBTQ+ characters. 

[aunclesquishy]

Also it says you answered my ask but I don't see it 😅

ah shoot, I answered it privately but since this is a sideblog it should say that @ atommomb answered it. Just in case tho I’ll post this one

what I had said was I had no way of verifying how old that post was since op deleted it, and judging by the apology I saw earlier assumed that the post i @‘ed you in was old

but I dug a little bit so I could get the facts straight and judging by a couple aphobic anons she got (she only answered ‘thx for sending this’ basically so idk if she agrees w them or not) and posted just yesterday, plus that her flag faq says ‘q: are you aphobic? a: I’m not an exclusionist’ feels a little sketchy imo, like she’s dodging the question

while her apology says she’s accepted that aces aren’t inherently straight etc, seeing those very recent posts smells kind of like ‘ofc aces are valid, but...’

so now I’m not sure what to think but also, while I am ace I’m not a lesbian, and Discourse tires me out so fast nowadays; this sounds like a more nuanced (or at least murky) issue than I thought and I don’t think it’s my place to come in like ‘well ACTUALLY I KNOW BEST’

that being said thx for informing me!

[genderpunktheo]

I’m not like other girls. Says every female protagonist. You’re not like other girls. Says every male love interest. Well, you know what? I'm proud to be like a girl, I am proud to be a girl. There's no such thing as 'other girls' as if we're all only one thing, 2D, flat on a slab. There is no one way to be a girl. Other girls might be more beautiful than me, inside and out. Or I might be more beautiful than them. They might be sexier, braver, bolder. They might be better at art or writing or singing and dancing. Other girls might discover the cure for diseases. Other girls might go into space someday or write the next bestseller. They could be artists or doctors or writers or lawyers or musicians or presidents. They could be anything. Except me. Other girls are my best friends, the people I can turn to when I’m down. Other girls are my sisters, my friends, my family. The people I can trust. I am not like other girls. For everything that they are more than me - more outgoing, more intelligent, more pretty, more funny, more witty, more caring - they are also less in other ways. I am not like other girls. No girl is like other girls. We are us, we are more and we are less than other girls in a hundred myriad ways. More or less. It balances out in the end: no other girl is better than me, I’m no better than any other girl. We are who we are. And that goes for girls told they were girls at birth, and the ones who had to claim it for themselves. You are not like other girls. It goes for girls of every colour, of every ability and every age. You are not like other girls. You are you. Do not feel that you must hate your own gender and everything it stands for. They will tell you that to be girly, to like pink, or make-up or clothes is to be bitchy, to be weak, to be shallow. I say look past that at the depths of all you can be. Regardless of whether you are a girly-girl or not, we share this name together. To the female protagonists and the male love interests, let’s say: stop using this fact as an insult to others. As a way to look down on other girls and sneer at them. These other girls you so laugh at are your support and you are theirs. You’re not like them no, but they are not like you either. Other girls are amazing, pretty, wonderful. Let’s celebrate that I am not like other girls and nether is she, or her, or her. We are all girls who are not like other girls. We are all girls. We are all simply ourselves. Let’s see us supporting each other.

I am not like other girls // A Letter To Female Protagonists and Male Love Interests

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Sexist people like feminismandmedia: [use a headline about a novelty app to make fun of men for no reason with sexist stereotypes and virgin-shaming]

Sexist people: [turn out to be wrong about the purpose]

ladyshinga: Uh, it’s the newspaper’s fault because they didn’t talk about the alternative uses. Even though that has absolutely nothing to do with why people were sexist against men, and most people on Tumblr don’t read the actual article anyway, >even when there’s a link<.

ladyshinga: The reporter totally knew about the alternative uses of what appeared to be a novelty app, and willfully chose not to discuss them. I am totally not pulling excuses out of my rear.

SYABM: 

Do you people literally just sit around looking for excuses to be sexist against men?

Also, I poked around, and even news sources which actually reported on the human trafficking bit around the same time downplayed it, and cared more about calling it sexist and/or racist, whatever. It was presented like an excuse., thanks to the exact same MSM pandering to people much like feminismAndMedia here.

https://www.dailydot.com/irl/makeapp-makeup-removal/

https://www.businessinsider.com/ashot-gabrelyanov-makeapp-app-russia-women-without-makeup-2017-11?r=US&IR=T

https://www.glamour.com/story/makeapp-removes-makeup-app

https://angel-ani.tumblr.com/post/181775940553/writinggivesheadaches-ladyshinga-tenkagain

And what a shock, FAM is using MUH RUSSIANs to slander the guy, even though that’s completely irrelevant to the original post or the sexist jokes.

But what would I expect from a tumblr whick blocks people who prove them wrong?

[bugloveskpop]

I uh, really hate to ask guys but I was wondering if y'all could maybe send some money my way if you have any to spare (even like $0.50 is okay lmao). I moved out of my abusive mother's house the day after my 18th birthday on January 11th. I'm currently living with my cousins. When I moved out, I had $619, but then I helped pay $250 for my cousin's dog to get stitches bc he got into a fight with my dog. Then I helped my cousin pay rent and buy groceries (which she doesn't ask for, but she is the only one with a job (only slightly above minimum wage), supporting a household of 4 (with three people visiting on a daily basis and spending a couple days overnight every week) people and two dogs, and was crying because she couldn't afford it bc her hours were getting worse), and bought her a birthday present, which left me with about $250. I had some other expenses (I help my boyfriend with gas to come see me on the weekends bc his job is shitty, I buy dinner sometimes, etc.), and now I'm left with only $1.28 in my bank account. I have not been able to find a job since I've been living here, and we're quickly running out of food. On top of all this, I've been going to the doctor a lot about my uterus bc I've been in severe pain and might have to do a laparoscopic surgery to see what's wrong.

I have PayPal and cash app, but if you have some other way to help, I can download venmo or whatever, just let me know.

My PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/bugloveskpop

My cash app:

I understand if you can't help, but please boost.

Thank you so much ♥️

[selbstkritik]

:)))

[grungegoths]

End the idea that men in a family i.e. the fathers and brothers are supposed to be the gatekeepers their daughter’s/sister’s sexuality 2k18.

The whole “my daughter is 25 but to me she is still my baby girl and im gonna be overbearing and overprotective about her relationships and im going to be the one who decides who she dates,what she wears to dates etc “ trope isnt cute y’all.Its infantalizing and patronizing and implies that women cant make their own decisions and cant choose “good men” for themselves.

[that-pansexual-feminist]

hey there pals everyone go give bethany over at @feminismandmedia some love! she deserves it!