| — | Robert F. Kennedy |
When Cas falls, he returns to Sam and Dean, a bus ticket in his hands.
He’s dirty, he’s disheveled, he smells.
When he knocks hard on the bunker’s metal gates, it bruises his knuckles, and the speckled patch of color doesn’t disappear. Dean answers the door and, as per usual,…
| — |
Fritz Liess, who also adds:
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perfection is an ideal, a hope for a better future that you may never find. and if you do, it will last only as long as reality does not come trespassing but it will, inevitably and there is no escaping that.
it is a dream half-forgotten, your hands ever grasping, ever missing but the most tender and fragile of it’s trailing ends…
and yet, if only for those blessed moments when all is right in your world, when the peace you had so searched for is found, you will keep trying and fighting and crying out for this thing called “perfection”.
I believe that there are a small group of women who hate men just for being men. I believe that the textbook definition of the word misandry fits that description. I believe there are bad things that happen to men. I believe those issues should be addressed. I do not believe that a fringe group of women who hate men can be blamed for those issues.
Misandry was a dead word until recently. A group of men who feared the progress of feminism revived the word and used it to undercut the movement. They like having the power being a man provides and they don’t want to lose that. So they created a movement, found a bunch of legitimate issues that affect men, and tried to blame women for those issues. They called this misandry. It’s like conservatives using buzzwords like “death panels” to make people fear health care. They let people assume it meant Obama wanted to kill your grandma. They let their cute little phrase infect the minds of good people and convince them of falsehoods.
People are telling me that men cannot report rape without getting laughed at. They say this is misandry. It is the fault of women who hate men. But that just doesn’t make any sense to me. When I seek a logical explanation, it seems more likely that this is because men are supposed to be strong and women are supposed to be weak. And rape has been viewed as something that happens mostly to women. So if it does happen to a man, they must be weak. How did this idea of men=strong and women=weak start? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because of misandry. It is an ancient patriarchy collapsing in on itself.
Feminism is about fighting inequality. It’s about erasing the strong/weak perception ingrained into our society. Misandry, as the term is often used today, is about trying to blame women for anything bad that happens to men.
If you want to fight to fix issues that affect men, go for it. But I would really consider distancing yourself from this term. It is used to evangelize folks into a movement that is very problematic. A group that can’t handle scrutiny of their comic books and video games, so they send death and rape threats. A group that calls women sluts and think they ask for rape if they show too much cleavage. Those are the people who coined this term, and you should want nothing to do with them or their language.
her face in the last gif made me actually cry </3
if anyone needs me, i’m going to be crying in my bed for the next few hours
Angelina Jolie on why she had a double mastectomy, and how it can save lives
My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.
We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.
Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent risk of getting it, on average.
Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.
On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved. During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work.
But I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action.
My own process began on Feb. 2 with a procedure known as a “nipple delay,” which rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area. This causes some pain and a lot of bruising, but it increases the chance of saving the nipple.
Two weeks later I had the major surgery, where the breast tissue is removed and temporary fillers are put in place. The operation can take eight hours. You wake up with drain tubes and expanders in your breasts. It does feel like a scene out of a science-fiction film. But days after surgery you can be back to a normal life.
Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. There have been many advances in this procedure in the last few years, and the results can be beautiful.
I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.
It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable. They can see my small scars and that’s it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was. And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can. On a personal note, I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.
I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive. So to anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition. Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries. We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.
For any woman reading this, I hope it helps you to know you have options. I want to encourage every woman, especially if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and to make your own informed choices.
I acknowledge that there are many wonderful holistic doctors working on alternatives to surgery. My own regimen will be posted in due course on the Web site of the Pink Lotus Breast Center. I hope that this will be helpful to other women.
Breast cancer alone kills some 458,000 people each year, according to the World Health Organization, mainly in low- and middle-income countries. It has got to be a priority to ensure that more women can access gene testing and lifesaving preventive treatment, whatever their means and background, wherever they live. The cost of testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, at more than $3,000 in the United States, remains an obstacle for many women.
I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options.
Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.
I used to work in a genetic counselling clinic that focused on breast and ovarian cancer, so this hits close to home for me. PSA for anyone living in Canada: you can get tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes for free if you meet certain criteria laid out by the government. The criteria are complicated, but to simplify, you should ask your GP for a referral to a genetic counselor if:
- You have a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer (especially close relatives - mother, aunts, grandmothers, sisters, etc.) Note that BRCA1 and BRCA2 can also cause prostate cancer in males, so look for that in your family history too!
- Anyone in your family has been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer before the age of 50
- You are Ashkenazi Jewish (this group has a higher risk for the genes)
- You have breast or ovarian cancer yourself (this can help your relatives know whether to get tested, and can help predict the likelihood of a recurrence or secondary cancer)
Whether you get the testing will depend on many factors, but all of those things are indicators that you are a good candidate for free testing, so it never hurts to ask. The test itself is very very simple; you speak briefly with a genetic counselor, get a blood draw, and then get your results a month or two later. If you live in a remote area and can’t easily access a testing center, you can also send in a blood or saliva sample and speak to the counselor remotely.
I’m by no means an expert, but this stuff is important - if you do have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, I STRONGLY encourage you to learn more.
Cape
Mariano Fortuny, 1930s
Museo del Traje
the bold color, the beautiful cut, the intricate details—everything makes me weep with joy
I have read all the articles and I have these requests:
• Stop talking about how my generation is pathetic because some of us live at home after college. The economy crashed because generations before us were greedy and irresponsible with money, not because we spent too much time as teenagers watching Internet porn. (Also, some millennials live at home after college because boomer parents are so fucking rich that kids don’t have any incentive to move into crappy apartments with 5 roommates when they can just stay at home and steal their dad’s beers and swim in their parents’ giant pools.)
• Stop only interviewing that one person who went to a fancy school and did not immediately get their dream job for these articles. Why not interview some people who aren’t living at home mostly cuz their parents’ house is nice, and who actually do present a strain to their entire family’s economic resources when they live at home? Now that’s hardship.
• Stop calling us materialistic. I work in marketing and what millennials want are sustainable products that they can feel not-evil buying. Their demands are actually making businesses change the way they operate.
• Stop worrying about when we will finally catch up. Yes we see having a McMansions as generally unattainable for our generation. But we don’t want them. That’s because we understand that America briefly created a period of unsustainable middle-class wealth by consuming resources that will now need to be shared with a growing global population. We don’t want America to continue hoarding it all cuz we can actually see what other countries think because of the Internet and it makes us feel horrible.
• Stop being upset that we believe in Christianity and American exceptionalism less than other generations did. We do not perceive blind patriotism and belief in God to be necessary traits for living a “moral” lifestyle. We will probably be more peaceful and less homophobic because of this.
• Stop saying that we all have ADD and other mental impairments because of the Internet. Yes it is an unprecedented technology but we know you are just jealous you didn’t get to spend your youth watching Downton Abbey on Netflix while Gchatting your friends and learning a marketable skill on a pirated version of Photoshop. Don’t lie.
Photo is Becky in what was once a Bloomingdale’s, which closed because it did not anticipate that the next generation only wants to shop at Forever 21 and Zara, by Neil Olstad.
BRILLIANT!
do anti’s ever realize that no matter the hateful bile they spew, women are still out there getting abortions every single damn day? legal or not?
like, you’re doing nothing. your movement is pointless. you have invested time and energy into nothing productive. you have…
You can feel free to ask questions if you do the following:
1) Never, ever, ever, fucking use the term “Feminazi” again. This should be self-explanatory. If it isn’t, you’ll need to do your own research to figure out as to why.
2) “Misandry” is a response to misogyny. It is a RESPONSE, not a method of “fixing” patriarchy, misogyny, etc., nor is it the lifeblood of a system of power like misogyny is. You don’t have to like it or approve of it, but it does not equate with the systematic rape, assault and murder that happens to women* on a daily basis. Let’s not conflate this as an issue related to what this blog aims to achieve.
3) Equality is the utopia dream. We’re not discussing utopia as anything other than that - a DREAM. Something that comes LONG after justice is achieved, which it has yet to be. Do not confuse “equality” with justice, with protecting children, with protecting bodily autonomy, with eliminating rapists or at the very absolute least, keeping them away from innocents. These are entirely different things, and you need to get your priorities straight.
-Emily
((Rebloggable by request))
Men crying “misandry” is basically the social equivalent of crashing your car into someone’s house and then yelling at them for scratching the paint. And then, of course, pitching a proper fit if the homeowner demands some kind of compensation to help them rebuild the house you just destroyed.
^^^ that right there.
