WHAT IT IS

"There exists, for everyone, a sentence—a series of words—that has the power to destroy you. Another sentence exists, another series of words, that could heal you. If you’re lucky you will get the second, but you can be certain of getting the first."

—

Philip K. Dick, VALIS (via raisethecurve)

meb: I was very lucky to get the second, but today I got the first.

(via maneatingbadger)

17th Jun 2013 159 Notes

"People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar."

— Thich Nhat Hanh (via mumeditation)

(via maneatingbadger)

17th Jun 2013 17 Notes

"They are like, ‘This doesn’t match.’ Then you have to go into the story: ‘I was born male, but now I’m not.’ And they are like, ‘What does that mean?’ It was super embarrassing."

— Lauren Grey • Describing the uncomfortability of having the sex listed on her drivers’ license not match who she is today. Grey, 38, a transgender woman living in Illinois, had the above awkward exchange with a car salesman when she handed over her license for a test drive, which while she had easily had changed to reflect her feminine appearance and new name, still listed her sex as “M.” The process for getting that sex designation changed, as it turns out, is generally much more involved than a simple name change, often requiring a court order approving the change, as well as a signed letter from a surgeon verifying that the person underwent gender reassignment surgery. This obstacle weakened a bit yesterday, in the favor of LGBT activists pushing for a less strident system, as the Social Security Administration announced they will no longer require such proof of surgery to alter their records. source (via shortformblog)

16th Jun 2013 136 Notes

gradientlair:

Dark Girls is a documentary that speaks to the experience of colourism for Black women with dark complexions. This is the trailer that was released a couple of years ago, and it will air on OWN Network on June 23, 2013 at 10:00pm and again at 2:00am on Monday June 24, 2013. I haven’t seen the film so I cannot offer any opinions or criticisms on it, but from the trailer, I can see that it will be complicated and painful, albeit important. Hopefully the film will convey nuance and historical perspectives, as obviously colourism is not arbitrary pathology. Nothing is, actually.

13th June 2013 456

current:

John Fugelsang on equal rights versus “special rights”

(via maneatingbadger)

11th June 2013 325

"Every year white people add 100 years to how long ago slavery was. I’ve heard educated white people say, ‘slavery was 400 years ago.’ No it very wasn’t. It was 140 years ago…that’s two 70-year-old ladies living and dying back to back. That’s how recently you could buy a guy."

— Louis C.K. (via 30thcenturyboy)

(via queerly)

7th Jun 2013 14195 Notes

Jamilah Lemieux: I'm Not Strong, I'm Just Human

journosofcolor:

Clutch Magazine || May 31, 2013

I never wanted to be a “strong Black woman”; in fact, I bristle when people call me one.

5th Jun 2013 15 Notes

shortformblog:

journosofcolor:

A job posting at the prestigious foreign policy magazine for an editorial assistants job.

They want you to write, pitch, fact-check and research, five days a week, for at least 35 hours a week. A full-time job, in other words.

How much are they willing to pay? Nothing at all. They want your labor, for free. And what do they offer in return? Experience. That’s it.

If you’re wondering why it’s hard to find people from low-income backgrounds in elite journalism—which, disproportionately, means people of color—look no further than this. The only people who can afford to work full-time for free come from wealth, and generally, if you’re wealthy in America, you’re white.

It’s a barrier to entry that keeps the field closed to everyone but our affluent, (almost certainly) Ivy-educated elites. That’s a problem.

Important comment above. (Also relevant.)

31st May 2013 2550

jaclynjean:

rushintoher:

ori-ginality:

trumpetnista:

rarely-pure-never-simple:

thecornercoffeeshoppe:

hickshannary:

small-and-misunderstood:

Saw this somewhere else and felt the need to post it cause no one else ever really tells you this stuff

My mom never really noticed. She noticed when she was breast feeding my little brother and blood started coming out instead of milk.

My mom said she felt and saw a little lump in the shower. She was lucky enough she found it at stage 2

My mom had a mammogram. The radiologist thought the spots were just regular calcium deposits.

Turns out it was triple negative breast cancer that had spread to her lymph nods. Mastectomy, radiation and chemo saved her life.

This could SAVE a life.

Signal BOOST and pass it on. I had a breast cancer scare before (luckily it was just scar tissue…) and information like this kept me calm and collected at the doc’s.

everyone needs to reblog this

Forever reblog.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES.

(via queerly)

28th May 2013 176390

"I was not recognized as being the husband, I wasn’t recognized as being the partner."

— Roger Gorley • Discussing the situation he faced as he was forced away from the bedside of his partner, Allen, at a Missouri hospital earlier this week. The men, who have been in a civil union for five year, share power of attorney and make medical decisions for one another, but the nurse at the Research Medical Center in Kansas City did not recognize this. Gorley was arrested after a member of Allen’s family asked him to be removed. He was given a restraining order, which he plans to fight in court. (via shortformblog)

(via maneatingbadger)

11th Apr 2013 336 Notes