Rise Up, Oh Heart, For There is Another Battle to Win

huffingtonpost:

These Black Trans Couples’ Stories Tug At Our Heartstrings

The couples speak to the daily experience of living at the crossroads of being black and identifying as LGBT. Together or separate, these two groups carry the burden of societal implications that stem from ignorance and assumptions. Milan shares that his mother was fearful that he would not find love – a common concern among loved ones of those in the trans community, he said.

Watch the full video and you’ll really believe in true love after hearing from these black trans couples.

(Source: huffpost, via yea-lets-do-this-shit)

lupinatic:

letsbeperfectlyreckless:

cyanine:

zubat:

importantrose:

cherrywitch:

turv:

Members of Ukrainian feminist group Femen staged protests across Europe as they called for a “topless jihad.” The demonstrations were in support of a young Tunisian activist named Amina Tyler. Last month, Tyler posted naked images of herself online, with the words “I own my body; it’s not the source of anyone’s honor” written on her bare chest. The head of Tunisia’s “Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,” reportedly called for Tyler to be stoned to death for her putatively obscene actions, lest they lead to an epidemic. Tyler has since gone quiet, leading some to fear for her safety.

This is too punk

This is so incredibly raw and important and it needs to spread like wildfire

HELL YEAH badass as fuck

Femen and their “topless jihad” protests are absolute fucking garbage and I can’t believe they’re being praised on my dashboard. I’m not a Muslim woman so I will quote Uzma Kolsy instead regarding the issue. 

“The reason that I and other Muslim women were turned off by Femen was because their motivations and methods reeked of a pervading and deep-rooted ignorance of Islam itself. […] Femen did not spark a much-needed discussion on human rights violations against women in the Muslim world. Instead, it ignited a number of incendiary attacks on the beliefs and autonomy of Muslim women; first in Muslim-majority countries, and later, the global community. The protest prompted Muslim women to speak up — not just because they took particular offense to the tired notion they are gagged and rendered mute, but because they felt the need to defend their faith and their right to choose how they practice it. This meaningful response undercut Femen’s core, flawed presumption, that Muslim women are oppressed because Islam is inherently oppressive. To defend Femen’s protests, then, is to defend this line of thinking — a dangerous, caustic, and inept approach in tackling issues of gender inequality in the Muslim world today. […] Femen may have stood up for one woman’s right to bare her body, but they denounce my right and choice to cover mine, however I see fit. The discourse that Femen brought to the floor is not one that will allow us to progress as a society, but it is one that will pigeonhole all Muslim women as oppressed victims, frame the discussion within the bounds of the stereotypes that exist about Muslim women, and will relegate Muslim women to constantly defending their faith rather than discussing the larger issues at hand. And then there is the hijab, the iconic piece of cloth that Femen has deemed a symbol of oppression. Wearing the hijab, to be clear, is a sacred act of worship that many Muslim women practice voluntarily. In fact, I have friends who cover their hair against the will of their husbands and fathers who, ironically, fear for their safety in an increasingly Islamophobic climate. In a sorely misinformed and cruelly inimical statement, Femen’s leader Inna Shevchenko equated the hijab with “the blood and all the crimes that are based on your religion,” and called for Muslim women to remove it in solidarity. And what if the Muslim woman she was debating had complied? She’d be doing it as an act of coercion. When Femen’s free speech thwarts a woman’s freedom of religion, then they have become no better than the abusers they are protesting. […] Thousands of Muslim American women wear the hijab, and it falls within their Constitutionally protected rights to do so. Making associations that imply that the donning of the headscarf is oppressive, while showing off silky tresses is liberating, is unscrupulous. In the aftermath of the Femen protest, Muslim women came out in droves to demonstrate that Islam is not oppressive and that they have the right to choose to wear the hijab. In response, Shevchenko told Huffington Post U.K., “They write on their posters that they don’t need liberation but in their eyes it’s written ‘help me.’” As supposed trailblazers in initiating a discussion on women and religion, it is tragically ironic that when Muslim women spoke up, Femen didn’t care to listen. […] In the post-9/11 world, Femen’s dangerous assertions only feed the already raging flames of Islamophobia. It is wrong to associate violence perpetrated in the name of Islam with an emblem of faith because it perpetuates the horridly inaccurate assumption that Islam condones violence. To say that Islam guides its adherents to commit atrocities against any people speaks to the limited understanding of the accuser. […] Contrary to what Femen would have you believe, it is possible to practice Islam and champion women’s rights at the same time. Muslim feminists would tell you as much — as long as they aren’t being drowned out.” (x)

Don’t support Femen. Don’t support their “topless jihad” protest. Don’t perpetuate Islamophobia. 

tldr: FEMEN IS A GARBAGE ORGANIZATION

I wasn’t going to reblog until the last two ^ 

I love my religion so much, and I choose not to wear the hijab right now, but the amount of friends I have who adore it and love wearing it is enough for me to understand the freedom of choice.

Sorry - I forgot to tag this as islamophobia! Going back and doing it now

(via cthulhu-with-a-fez)