“What Lionsgate seemingly fails to notice is that places like this already exist. The concept of poverty as an attraction, of “costumed characters” — men and women in ragged clothes, pretending to be starving and afraid, no doubt — is one that becomes more and more disgusting the more you think about it. If you want to go see District 12, there are plenty of places to see. Places where people really starve, and really fear authorities who don’t look out for them — places where dangerous mining, tyrannical law enforcement and lack of food are a crushing reality.”
Maybe my favorite gif of Janeway because it looks like she’s reading someone’s smut and isn’t pleased with the quality.
“Their flesh melted together like they were a weird sort of siamese twins but sexyily… are you serious Chakotay?”
can we make “Captain reads bad smut written by first officer” a thing
“he gasped as he pinned his captain against the wall and his hot rod twitched impatiently, eager to get closer to that glorious ass… Will, what the fuck?”
“If it pleases you plant your seed in my garden and I will bear the fruit of your loins” she screamed, slamming back into him as he flooded her internal organs violently….Major…what the fuck.”
“But by the prophets, not 50 of them Nerys!”
OMG. I just love where this post went. It was not what I expected.
“Well, Mister Spock, I can’t say that I’m not intrigued, but unless I’ve misread the species of your leads that’s too many hands.”
On a rare occasion, a woman will tell me that she doesn’t mind being objectified by men. To that I say:
That’s nice, but he’s not doing it because you don’t mind. He’s not waiting until he finds you, the (probably) only woman in the area who doesn’t mind. He’s doing it to every woman. He’s doing it because he wants to and he doesn’t care who likes it, and who doesn’t. He doesn’t stick around long enough to ask, he just takes.
Honestly I am so here for the autistic kids who grew up being treated like overly stubborn, disobedient children because their meltdowns and frustration with communication looked like tantrums.
I’m here for those of us who now feel like we have to explain our every emotion in detail because we were taught that you get punished for not being able to explain your feelings.
I’m here for those of us who were either too quiet or too talkative and were forced to be the opposite only to find that that wasn’t right either.
I love all of you and you are better than the harmful things people have taught you about yourself.
My mom has said to me, even now when I am 35, “you were not the easiest child” and “we didn’t know what to do with you” and like, no shit, I remember this happening, but like, sometimes it felt like you didn’t even try.
Also also: this is one reason why girls being underdiagnosed on the spectrum is such an extra pain in the ass. Like, people perceived as feminine get enough shit for being ‘bitchy’ instead of ‘assertive’ and being told to calm down, be nice, be nicer, be kinder, be softer, be sweeter. Now multiply that by all the infinite complexity that comes with being tiny and trying to tell your neurotypical parents I AM COMMUNICATING WITH YOU and having them say NO YOU ARE JUST BEING RUDE.
Like, I’m sure it happens plenty with non-feminine-identified/identifying folks too, but that intersectional double whammy is just. Ugh. Hello, half my childhood trauma.
The other night I phoned a former Republican member of Congress with whom I’d worked in the 1990s on various pieces of legislation. I consider him a friend. I wanted his take on the Republican candidates because I felt I needed a reality check. Was I becoming excessively crotchety and partisan, or are these people really as weird as they seem? We got right into it:
Me: “So what do really you think of these candidates?”
Him: “You want my unvarnished opinion?”
Me: “Please. That’s why I called.”
Him: “They’re all nuts.”
Me: “Seriously. What do you really think of them?”
Him: “I just told you. They’re bonkers. Bizarre. They’re like a Star Wars bar room.”
Me: “How did it happen? How did your party manage to come up with this collection?”
Him: “We didn’t. They came up with themselves. There’s no party any more. It’s chaos. Anybody can just decide they want to be the Republican nominee, and make a run for it. Carson? Trump? They’re in the lead and they’re both out of their f*cking minds.”
Me: “That’s not reassuring.”
Him: “It’s a disaster. I’m telling you, if either of them is elected, this country is going to hell. The rest of them aren’t much better. I mean, Carly Fiorina? Really? Rubio? Please. Ted Cruz? Oh my god. And the people we thought had it sewn up, who are halfway sane – Bush and Christie – they’re sounding almost as batty as the rest.”
Me: “Who’s to blame for this mess?”
Him: “Roger Ailes, David and Charles Koch, Rupert Murdoch, Rush Limbaugh. I could go on. They’ve poisoned the American mind and destroyed the Republican Party.
Me: "Nice talking with you.”
Him: “Sleep well.”
I always wondered if Citizens United would come back to haunt the GOP establishment.
It has to be fun for President Obama to watch the current mess of a Republican presidential field without the stress of having to campaign himself. And he's making it fun for the rest of us, pointing out a few of the absurdities the Republicans spew on a regular basis. There's their tough-guy pledges in contrast with their constant whining:
"Have you noticed that everyone of these candidates say, 'Obama's weak. Putin's kicking sand in his face. When I talk to Putin, he's going to straighten out,'" Obama said, impersonating a refrain among Republican candidates that he's allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin too much leeway.
"Then it turns out they can't handle a bunch of CNBC moderators at the debate. Let me tell you, if you can't handle those guys, then I don't think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you," Obama said.
And you may have noticed the Republicans have an interesting memory of recent history. Obama certainly remembers:
"According to them everything was really good in 2008," he said. "When we were going through the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes, unemployment and uninsured rates were up, we were hopelessly addicted to foreign oil and (Osama) bin Laden was still on the loose. This apparently was the golden age that I messed up."
Yeah, elect a Republican, to stand up to Putin like he was a CNBC moderator and take us back to the glory days of 2008.
i taught the cats to high five for treats, but now nova thinks highfiving will get anything he wants. i just tried to eat some pringles, he tried layin a sick five down, but no these are my fukkin chips cat! i hid my hands to stop him…. and the little fucker climbs on my lap, looks deep into my eyes, and slowly, gingerly, lifts one paw and boops me on the fukkin nose what the fuck even are cats
I haven’t seen the original article because it wasn’t linked, but I think the choice of pictures for the header makes my point well enough.
Which is: ever noticed how all art about “the evils of the modern world” focuses on smartphones and fat people?
I’d be the first to speak up and say there are plenty of things wrong with modern industrialized society. Like, oh, I don’t know, climate change. Cops murdering with impunity. Species going extinct. The way the US government has practically been taken hostage by corporate interests. An emphasis on throwing away and replacing rather than repairing. Schools teaching to the test and crushing creative thinking. Mass unemployment and poverty. Fox “News”.
I can think of ten dozen more, and smartphones and fat people aren’t even close to making the list. If we lived in a world where our biggest “problems” were people being fat and people having computers in their pockets, we’d be in damn near utopia.
So why do so-called “cutting-edge”, “countercultural” artists insist on repeating those two images over and over again?
We live in the fucking future. I read an article about a young girl who was born with her heart outside of her rib cage. Not only has she survived to seven or nine years old, they are going to perform surgery to put everything where it should be so she can have a long life.
I was visiting my family and used FaceTime do my niece could meet Jim, whom she had never met. And she got to see all my animals. How cool is that?
We can PRINT people new arms and legs. People far away from cities and universities can take classes online and get an education. The Internet has revolutionized how we use libraries and how we manage the information in them (not made it obsolete).
I can get book two in a series downloaded to my e-reader at 2am so I can continue my literary journey without waking my spouse or having a panic attack about how the story ends.
My phone helps me control my OCD because o can TELL it to set a timer so I Am forced to stop my task. It has apps to help with panic attacks and executive function. It’s made my life so much better and more manageable as someone with autism trying to function in the world. My life is so much better with my smart phone than before I had a mobile phone at all, in high school and college. I can’t think of how helpful it would have been in high school.
I’m so sick of this pseudo-Luddite tsk tsk poo poo thing that is super popular right now. We have fucking cars that drive themselves. My prescriptions tell ME when they need to be refilled. But you are worried about how people use their phones to communicate with people they WANT to talk to instead of making uncomfortable small talk with your shitty face. You are living in the god damned future. Every idiot who things they are sharing some clever unpopular opinion about phones wrote their article with spell check on and submitted it for publication via the Internet. And likely to a site that only published online. This pseudo-ludditism can suck my nuts.
When I grumble about technology things, it is never about how “things were much better back in the day” or crap like that, it’s because I personally dislike doing something a certain way - the world is not coming to an end because I personally prefer physical media to cloud storage or something like that. The future marches on and technology makes our lives better. Eventually, one MUST change to continue living in this world, because we are left with no other option aside from stagnation or being left behind. Such articles come from a position of privilege and self-satisfaction where they assume their way is the best way, the ONLY way, without ever considering individual differences or the needs of others, so they will cling to outdated methods as long as humanly possible and berate others who find betters ways of operating.
It is unlikely that I will ever watch Power Rangers on Netflix for various reasons… but I am extraordinarily happy that it’s all there for people to watch, since it makes it available to people who do. Because MY needs are different from most other people’s needs and I will not deride them for their needs.
“Change is the essential process of all existence.” - Mr. Spock
“Of course, this is the same universe that forced Leia to comfort a grieving Luke Skywalker over the death of an old man he’d known for two days while her entire planet and everyone she’d ever loved was vaporized.”
Some of y’all mother fuckers on here are beyond needing Jesus, we’re gonna have to go all the way back to Norse Mythology to find the specific pagan God that will fix your shit.
You know, we need a lot more stories about boys who dress like girls to get the life that they want.
One of my favorite tropes of all time is when a girl disguises herself as a boy for the purposes of infiltration. It’s hard to articulate why I love this concept so very much, but I do. For me, a woman fooling the patriarchy has a feeling of justified espionage. I have always loved the idea of spying but been a little turned off by its associated questionable morality. These girls are disguised out of necessity, because they cannot achieve their goals any other way. A girl-disguised-as-a-boy is the ultimate outsider, trying desperately to join a group that by her very nature is ultimately impossible. She can give me voyeuristic insight into the guarded interactions of the male of the species – those mysterious creatures.
From a storytelling perspective, our female protagonist’s initial desperate act of subterfuge gives rise to the constant tension of possible discovery. How will friends, colleagues, and superiors react to being duped when she is found out? For the reader knows that she will, eventually, be found out. That constant stress on the character translates, at its best, to an intrinsically thrilling read.
Here are five great books where a girl dresses as a boy or, if you prefer, a woman dresses as a man.
The first in the Lioness quartet; a classic epic fantasy series for young adults. Alanna wants nothing more in life than to be a knight, so she disguises herself as a boy and travels to her nation’s capital to become a palace page. Alanna is witty, stubborn, brave, and talented, but also flawed in such a way that it is all too easy to see why she conceived of this madcap plan and why she might fail.
The story of a woman with a very particular set of skills, and some seriously dangerous secrets, who infiltrates not only a school for swordsmen but a foreign culture, in an effort to build alliances and defeat a common enemy. Disguised as a man she is forced, eventually, to marry a woman, and must face the consequences of her own lies on a personal, as well as a professional, level.
The first book in a sprawling space opera trilogy. Beka fakes her own death and becomes Tarnkeep, a thoroughly unpleasant space pirate, in order to unravel the twisting political coils that are tightening the noose of responsibility around her reluctant neck. Beka loves being her male alter ego, and there is a definite aspect of transgender to Beka’s personality, which is neither empathized nor criticized. When Beka is Tarnkeep she is described in 3rd POV as a he, a narrative trick that forces the reader see him for what Beka also is, male. Tarnkeep allows Beka access to freedom, places, people, and information she could never have as her other self. He also finds it much easier to kill. Thus we are never certain if Beka loves being Tarnkeep for what he can give her, for what he is innately, or if she/he simply exists comfortably as two distinct personalities.
The first book in a (sadly) unfinished series. It features many of the things I love about a girl playing a boy, although in this story our low class tomboy from another culture must play at being both a noble lady and a stable lad. Politics force Jenna to assume this double act, hiding her magical abilities and her manly skills. If discovered, Jenna will bring shame and destruction down upon her family, her nationality, and her entire social caste. For Jenna, the stakes are very very high indeed.
A charming take on gaslight fantasy, and uses the girl-disguised-as-boy trope in its more light-hearted guise. In regency times, Newt must track down a missing emerald. As it is much easier to get around alone as a mustache-wearing man, Newt dons the mustache with gusto. Hijinks and a very confused romance result.
New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger writes comedic steampunk mixed with urbane fantasy in three series: two adult, the Parasol Protectorate and the Custard Protocol, and one YA, the Finishing School series. (And yeah, these feature a popular female side character who dresses as a boy.) Gail was once an archaeologist and is overly fond of shoes, tea, and women dressed as men.
Although, tbh, if the most interesting thing you can throw into your story for character development is some sort of variation on "who's going to sleep with who?" you've already lost my attention.
what she says: I don't like romantic movies
what she means: I am completely sick of the same white, heteronormative love story being shoved down my throat by Hollywood. I can't watch a movie about dinosaurs running on a rampage in a park without them forcing a pasty male and a pasty female into a no-chemistry, forced-smile, by-the-way romantic subplot. I have probably seen forty-five variations of the same bland fucking couple falling in love. Oh wait! Now they're falling in love during WAR TIME. SO ORIGINAL. BUT WAIT. NOW THEY'RE SEPARATED BECAUSE OF LIGHT-HEARTED EMBARRASSING MISUNDERSTANDINGS. FUCKING DELIGHTFUL. GOD
do you think after Ron and Hermione got out of the trapdoor and raised the alarm and were being patched up in the hospital wing
do you think they were given the most royal proud mama smackdown by McGonagall like “ how DARE you infiltrate a death maze you are ELEVEN and miss granger how on earth did you solve my chessboard i”
and hermione interjected like “oh professor it wasn’t me. i’m useless at chess. it was ron.”
and McGonagall turned to look at Ron Weasley in total amazement at this 11 yr old kid who had been pretty ordinary in all her classes but had apparently beaten her in death chess and he just shrugged like “rookie mistakes, professor. you made some rookie mistakes.”
“Seeking permission, telegraphing non-aggression, displaying humility—these are all things that men, especially those in corporate leadership positions, should be learning. Female styles of communication are not inherently or even practically wrong or inappropriate. Even Teddy Roosevelt, who believed in brandishing his very large stick, counseled leaders to speak softly.
It is time for us as women to stop assuming that the way men speak and conduct business is the right way to do it. Since we are not the problem, maybe we are not the ones who need to change.”
Meet Mary Numair, a 29-year-old copywriter from Portland, Oregon. She describes herself as a “generally kind person” and likes cats.
Over the last few weeks, Mary had seen a woman holding a sign that read “abortion kills children” outside the Planned Parenthood building near her office.
Mary said she is a supporter of Planned Parenthood – the non-profit organisation that provides reproductive health and family-planning support in the U.S. and internationally – because it had helped her personally in the past. When she was 20years old, the clinic treated her for UTIs and yeast infections. They also provided her with her first birth-control pills.
“Planned Parenthood is vital resource for so many people,” she told BuzzFeed News.“We have to look beyond the pro-life/pro-choice debate and recognize this organization is out there providing some of the most important care to our sensitive medical needs.”
After several failed attempts at approaching the protesters outside her local clinic to discuss their complaints and reason with them, she decided to try a different approach.
Yesterday, Mary approached the anti-Planned Parenthood protesters while chanting “yeast infection” and holding [a sign].
“The protesters kept moving their children away from my yeasty cries, so I kept moving closer,” she joked.
“Initially they had spread down the sidewalks on both sides of the street, but after some yelling and high kicks on my part, they huddled together,” she said.
“They glared at my princess wave and cheerleader enthusiasm, and they began a prayer circle. This is when I really shined. I have never made my voice louder.”
After a short while, Mary’s chant ended up driving the protesters away. She said they grew tired of her shouts and eventually left, shaking their heads.
“One woman turned around during their prayer to shake her head at me, to which I responded: ‘OMG do you have a yeast infection? I know who can help you!’ She covered her kid’s ears,” she said.
Mary said although one man drove past and called her a “whore” from his car, many others were “really supportive”.
Does Mary have any plans for other similar protests? “Fuck. Yes. I. Do,” she replied. (source)
I can’t even tell you how happy this makes me. Thank you @buzzfeed lol. We definitely need to do this EVERYWHERE bc it’s time to make those shithead anti-choicers uncomfortable hahah
I think this is pretty brilliant. Anti-abortion protesters don’t seem to care about all the necessary services that Planned Parenthood provides. I think it’s amazing that this woman had the courage and spirit to shut down a whole group of protesters.
Right?!? And she did it a) w/o violence or even losing her shit on anyone, and b) while demonstrating anti-choicers’ hypocrisy. It’s perfectly fine if they expose their kids to all their very graphic and horrifying anti-choice material and language but GOD FORBID they hear about yeast infections….. /sarcasm
also just in case you needed reminding that anti-choicers are actually just terrified of vaginas
Proud to have this amazing woman representing Portland Fucking Oregon.
It has to be fun for President Obama to watch the current mess of a Republican presidential field without the stress of having to campaign himself. And he's making it fun for the rest of us, pointing out a few of the absurdities the Republicans spew on a regular basis. There's their tough-guy pledges in contrast with their constant whining:
The first in the Lioness quartet; a classic epic fantasy series for young adults. Alanna wants nothing more in life than to be a knight, so she disguises herself as a boy and travels to her nation’s capital to become a palace page. Alanna is witty, stubborn, brave, and talented, but also flawed in such a way that it is all too easy to see why she conceived of this madcap plan and why she might fail.
The story of a woman with a very particular set of skills, and some seriously dangerous secrets, who infiltrates not only a school for swordsmen but a foreign culture, in an effort to build alliances and defeat a common enemy. Disguised as a man she is forced, eventually, to marry a woman, and must face the consequences of her own lies on a personal, as well as a professional, level.
The first book in a sprawling space opera trilogy. Beka fakes her own death and becomes Tarnkeep, a thoroughly unpleasant space pirate, in order to unravel the twisting political coils that are tightening the noose of responsibility around her reluctant neck. Beka loves being her male alter ego, and there is a definite aspect of transgender to Beka’s personality, which is neither empathized nor criticized. When Beka is Tarnkeep she is described in 3rd POV as a he, a narrative trick that forces the reader see him for what Beka also is, male. Tarnkeep allows Beka access to freedom, places, people, and information she could never have as her other self. He also finds it much easier to kill. Thus we are never certain if Beka loves being Tarnkeep for what he can give her, for what he is innately, or if she/he simply exists comfortably as two distinct personalities.
The first book in a (sadly) unfinished series. It features many of the things I love about a girl playing a boy, although in this story our low class tomboy from another culture must play at being both a noble lady and a stable lad. Politics force Jenna to assume this double act, hiding her magical abilities and her manly skills. If discovered, Jenna will bring shame and destruction down upon her family, her nationality, and her entire social caste. For Jenna, the stakes are very very high indeed.
A charming take on gaslight fantasy, and uses the girl-disguised-as-boy trope in its more light-hearted guise. In regency times, Newt must track down a missing emerald. As it is much easier to get around alone as a mustache-wearing man, Newt dons the mustache with gusto. Hijinks and a very confused romance result.
