if you surrendered to the air, you could ride it

TAG, you’re it! The rules are to state ten random facts about yourself. Then send this to the five nicest people on tumblr. (Except those are less “rules” than “mild suggestions which you should feel free to ignore if you’re tired or busy or just don’t feel like it”.) :)

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:20:00 -0400

I’m not nice. What are these lies? Okayy, here goes…

I like to clean and organize, especially if I feel anxious or unproductive. Some may call me a “neat freak.”
My right thumb is double-jointed; I can pop it out of its socket.
Some of my favorite authors are Toni Morrison, Louise Erdrich, Junot Diaz, Margaret Atwood, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Sandra Cisneros.
Until 10th grade of high school, all my best friends were straight boys. Nowadays you’d need to do a lot of convincing for me to want to hang out with a one.
My favorite relative (other than my sister) is my maternal grandma. She used to be worst than my mom in many respects, but now she’s a sweetheart.
I absolutely hate the trope where the villain uses the protagonist’s loved one as a shield, and it results in those long, drawn out standoffs.
I’ve been in three serious romantic relationships before meeting Syd: two in high school and one long distance one in college.
The two paying jobs I’ve had in the past were: overnight worker at Hollister Co. and customer specialist (aka cashier) at Best Buy.
These days I usually sleep around 1AM, but early on in high school (freshmen and sophomore year), my parents expected me to go to bed at 10PM, which I did.
I’ve been told I look like Harry Potter on more than one occasion. I sort of understand people saying that back in 5th grade when I had round glasses, but, like, not too long ago, when I still had my black Ray-Bans, this trio of young white women came up to me and said, “Has anyone ever told you you look like Harry Potter?” I don’t get it.

Photo

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:08:20 -0400

Photo

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:34:31 -0400

pizzadelivery: my school has this fb page where students can...

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:33:13 -0400

pizzadelivery:

my school has this fb page where students can sell their old stuff and i’ve been laughing at this girl’s post for 85 years

the-lonely-scottish-guy: ‘stop being overdramatic’ they say ‘i dont know what you mean’ i say as i...

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:30:28 -0400

the-lonely-scottish-guy:

‘stop being overdramatic’ they say

‘i dont know what you mean’ i say as i descend from the ceiling, surrounded by mist

rhamphotheca: Keep an eye out for turtles!!! (via: North...

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:24:32 -0400

rhamphotheca:

Keep an eye out for turtles!!!

(via: North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores)

* pictured is Eastern Box Turtle (T. carolina)

fuckyeahfeminists: rhrealitycheck: Did you know that pregnant...

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:24:18 -0400

fuckyeahfeminists:

rhrealitycheck:

Did you know that pregnant women have been fired for using the bathroom to vomit, needing to carry a water bottle on the job, or asking to sit on a stool instead of standing in place all day? While employers have to make allowances like these for other types of temporary disabilities, a number of bad court decisions have encouraged them to feel they can get away with firing or mistreating pregnant workers with impunity.

It’s disgraceful and unacceptable that at a time when unnecessary budget cuts are decimating food, medical, and educational supports for low-income families, pregnant women continue to be pushed out of their jobs just as they take on all the expenses of having a new baby.

Read more about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
and take action by contacting your congressperson.

This is unacceptable. Pregnant workers need more protection. With a child coming up they need employment more than ever. Please contact your rep.

Unbustable ads

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:23:45 -0400

ad-busting:

H&M’s new beachwear campaign featuring Jennie Runk is pretty awesome. In this article she explains that women have sent her messages saying that this ad campaign has given them the confidence to try on a bikini for the first time in years!

See… it does make a difference when we see diverse body types in advertising and media!

vanillaandlavender: thatlupa: idreamofaworldofcouture: Fan...

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:21:09 -0400

vanillaandlavender:

thatlupa:

idreamofaworldofcouture:

Fan Bing Bing at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Jeune & Jolie, May 16th

Goddess

Need this dress.

yes oh thank the goddess

"I look at my student loan statements each month and feel angry and jaded toward a culture that tells..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:18:42 -0400

“

I look at my student loan statements each month and feel angry and jaded toward a culture that tells poor kids that the only way to make anything of themselves is to take out a ton of loans to MAYBE have a tiny chance at competing for a job that dozens or hundreds of other people are also competing for.

I feel like someone tricked me along the way by telling me college was the answer, and I feel stupid for not having questioned that. I did enjoy college. I don’t regret my degree. I DO have a job now. But I don’t think that means the system works. I think that means I’m lucky.

”

- We Were Poor, And College Was The Answer to All My Problems. (Right?) at The Billfold (via echolikebells)

braver than me lookin at them statements. I don’t need to see that shit till I start paying them

(via etherealxeyes)

I’m like 65% sure I’m done with this scam ass shit after this semester

(via patrickandmarcus)

I have a job that I could have gotten had I just stayed home and worked in retail for the four years I was in college. For real if they took this degree back and told me my debt was paid I’d be cool with it.

(via thempress)

Man, those statements…..Student loan debt is the reason why I live paycheck to paycheck.

(via kyssthis16)

sissyprince: skullvomit: inkmaggot: Pronoun patches are...

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:13:39 -0400

sissyprince:

skullvomit:

inkmaggot:

Pronoun patches are now here!

These patches are part of my final project for my Gender and the Media class. My goal is to raise awareness about preferred gender pronouns. Whether a trans* person wants to make their pronouns known without having to explicitly state them (to friends and strangers alike), or a person simply wants to give a reminder to be aware of others’ preferred pronouns, I hope these patches can help the situation. At the very least they can be a way to open up a wider discussion about variation in gender identities, expressions, and, of course, pronouns. I encourage people both cis and trans* to take a look. All gender identities are valid and deserve respect and recognition.

The patches are up in my store (linked above) for two dollars. If you would like one, just look through the flickr set of all the available versions and make sure to say which design you like in your order. I suggest wearing them on a jacket or bag. The materials, sizes, and methods I used vary a lot - so if you have any questions or a specific request, just message me! I would be happy to make a few for any other pronouns.

Oh, and, if you know anyone who is trans*, please try and gender them correctly. They may not acknowledge your effort outright, but it really does matter!

These are cool! And the designs are all interesting.

these are rad and the designs are definitely way cooler than the ones i make.

witchlette: fat is a valid way to describe someone long as you dont mean it in an insulting way...

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:12:41 -0400

witchlette:

fat is a valid way to describe someone long as you dont mean it in an insulting way lmao its okay to call a character fat if they are fat. im honestly more offended at people saying DONT CALL THEM FAT THATS MEAN because its implying that being fat is gross and you wouldnt want to remind fat people that they are fat and thus disgusting right god

dkyubey: White people who talk about serial killers as fascinating, interesting, relatable, or...

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:09:20 -0400

dkyubey:

White people who talk about serial killers as fascinating, interesting, relatable, or attractive make me go NOPE and run the fuck away.

I was flippin’ ecstatic when it turned out Watson was the...

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:56:00 -0400

I was flippin’ ecstatic when it turned out Watson was the one who figured out Moriarty’s plan and not Sherlock.

Like, not gonna lie, I sort of wanted a white woman to beat a white man in this game of mind puzzles. And she totally does. But then a woman of color comes in and goes NOPE.

The woman in the scene» Natalie Dormer as Moriarty ♛

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:46:36 -0400

The woman in the scene
» Natalie Dormer as Moriarty

♛

Photo

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:19:14 -0400

What you said: Everybody's a little racist to a certain degree.

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:17:09 -0400

What you said: Everybody's a little racist to a certain degree.
What you meant: I'm racist.

stfuconservatives: smdxn: Eliz. Warren wants to cut student...

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:16:48 -0400

stfuconservatives:

smdxn:

Eliz. Warren wants to cut student interest rates to near zero

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has introduced her first piece of legislation. It’s called the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act, and would reduce the rate students pay on federally-subsidized student loans for one year, from 3.4% to 0.75%.

Without congressional action, on July 1 the rate is set to double from 3.4% to 6.8%.

Warren brings up an interesting point – her bill simply asks students to pay the same rates that big banks pay for borrowing.

She’s literally just asking if college grads can get the same deal as bank CEOs. The exact same interest rate. Not even a bailout or anything fancy (pipe dreams!) - just the same interest rate.

scienceing: mybluedecember: princess-munchkin: How the fuck...

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:14:54 -0400

scienceing:

mybluedecember:

princess-munchkin:

How the fuck does Bill Nye expect this to happen? What do you want to do, force women to enroll in science courses, regardless of whether or not they want to do it? Just for the sake of having “enough” women? Why the fuck do these fractions matter so much? It’s not like people are holding guns to our head and threatening to kill us if we become interested in science.

Maybe, just maybe, a lot of us DON’T FUCKING WANT to be scientists. Is that a crime?

Hi there, princess-munchkin. Female engineering student here.

Bill Nye is not saying that you HAVE to be a scientist, and you are right that no one is holding a gun to my head because I am interested in science, but let me tell you some of the struggles of being a woman in the STEM fields.

1) Because I am a woman, I am not expected these fields. I first fully realized this when I was in high school, on my robotics team. See, although my robotics team was about 50% female, most of the women were part of the “business administration” side of things: finance, marketting, PR, membership, etc. Was this a problem? Absolutely not. But I was there to be an engineer, and specifically, to be the robot programmer. This was met with a lot of hesitation at first from some of the other students (all of whom happened to be male. This is not necessarily a bad thing.) You see, all of the robot programmers before me were guys. Computer programming is just a thing that guys do, or so they thought. Even after I had proved myself to the mentors on the team, many of the students still underestimated my abilities. There were rumors going around that I wouldn’t have been able to program the robot at all if the lead software mentor wasn’t there to help me. This was just flat-out false, but it wasn’t until I won an award for the team that the other students actually saw my merit.

2) There is not a lot of encouragement for women to go into these fields. I first noticed this when I was in elementary school. I was always interested in math, science, you name it, but many of my teachers and family members pushed that to the side for a long time. When I asked for legos for christmas, I would get ballet slippers. In fact, for a long time, I was training to be a professional dancer. I loved to dance. I loved math more, but no one seemed to notice that about me. It wasn’t until I had a long conversation with one particular teacher in high school that I decided to look into engineering. I had never even considered it as an option before, because no one decided to encourage me to pursue my interest in science. If it hadn’t been for that teacher, I would probably not be at the school I am at right now.

3) For a long time, Engineering/Science/Math WAS a “boys only” club. Let me tell you when some of the top technical schools and societies started letting women in:

RPI, The oldest tech school in the country, founded in 1824. Started admitting women in 1942 to “replace men called to war.” Campus housing for women wasn’t constructed until 1966.

Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honors Society - Founded in 1885. Started admitting women in 1968.

Caltech - Currently rated #3 in undergraduate engineering. Founded in 1891. Started admitting women in 1970.

Georgia Tech - Currently rated #5 in undergraduate engineering. Founded in 1885. Started admitting women in 1952.

Do you see the implications of this? Engineering has been a part of our society since around the late 1800s (in the case of RPI, since the 1820s), but women weren’t even allowed in for the most part until the 1950s, regardless of their merit.

4) Because of the fact that it was a “boys only” club for such a long time, there are not a lot of women engineers and scientists to look up to. When you’re reading your physics, chemistry, and math text books, the majority of those theories were came up with by men. It is true that much of our history was written by White Men, but this does not mean that the fact that there are few women scientists to look up does not matter.

So, as you can hopefully see, princess-munckin, or anyone else that shares the opinions of princess-munchkin, Bill Nye was not arguing that women that are not interested in STEM should go into those fields anyway. But he IS arguing against all of the systematic barriers set up against women who ARE interested in engineering and science. There are several women out there who are just as good as the boys at math and science, but will never pursue their interests because it just doesn’t seem like an option. That was me for a long time. I am super grateful for the fact that I fought against that, and that I ended up where I am.

if you don’t like science, fine. Don’t be a scientist. But if one day you have a daughter and she shows interest in being a scientist, PLEASE encourage her. Because Bill Nye is right, there needs to be more women scientists in the world.

A+ comment

tranqualizer: i mean, also, it’s just really frustrating to see savior complexes be acted out. many...

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:08:56 -0400

tranqualizer:

i mean, also, it’s just really frustrating to see savior complexes be acted out. many homeless people are still homeless because as a society we do not believe in the autonomy of people who have “failed” to do what they “need” to do in order to get by.

our relationship to homeless people is that they have no idea what their needs are, that we must decide those for them and we must control the conditions by which they can access those needs. but if they’re not the “right kind” of homeless person, if they are homeless due to substance abuse, violence, etc then they’re not “our” homeless person.

“activism” like “fitch the homeless” is contingent upon deciding the needs for homeless people when first, really, we need to stop that shit and two, really, we need to believe homeless people that they know what homelessness is and what they need to get by.

and then when you add that in to being used as a political tool like it’s just really messed up on a lot of levels. because we distance ourselves from any sort of responsibility to address the fact that folks are chronically without homes, employment, healthcare, support, etc.