Things I'm Obsessing Over

cateematthews:

magicspellsinmoderntimes:

Way to show that girls really can do anything, Scholastic

laura-raptor:

My store got two books in today. Both survival guides. Both feature strong images on the front. Promising survival techniques for ‘boys only’ and ‘girls only’. Let’s look at the boys, shall we?

How to Survive Anything: Boys Only!

Featuring articles such as “How to Survive a Shark Attack”, “How to Survive if You’re in a Plane Crash”, “How to Survive a Flash Flood”, and many articles along that line. Some are silly, like surviving a t-rex attack, some are more helpful for a real life emergency, like a freak blizzard white out. Everything is action packed, life or death situations. High energy! Boys do dangerous things! Rawr! Go GO GO!

It’s mostly funny, but hey, some things, like surviving a snake bite might come in handy.

Now lets look at the girls, shall we?

How to Survive Anything: Girls Only!

Look at that girl on the cover! She is on the go! She is doing action packed stuff! She is rough and tumble! Let’s look at what she needs to learn to survive.

“How to Survive a BFF Fight”, “How to Take the Perfect School Photo”, “How to Handle Sudden Stardom”, “How to Turn a No into a Yes” (I guess I should be thankful that’s in the girls’ book, it’s just slightly less rapey if it were in the boys’ book). Of course there is such insight as “How to Survive a Crush” and “How to Survive a Fashion Disaster”.

Yes, just about everything in the girls’ book is about looking pretty, getting dates, looking pretty, looking pretty, and looking pretty.

The ONE and only ONE redeeming factor for the girls’ book was “How to Beat Bullies”. The advice there is pretty standard, but at least it is addressed.

The Lesson Here?

Boys are meant to have adventures, girls are meant to shut up and look pretty. The two shall never, ever meet.

Scholastic should hang their heads in some pretty weighty shame right now.

I think it is also interesting that girls can survive “almost” anything but guys can survive anything.

*dies, crushed beneath the weight of the perfect school photo.*

why why why why 

WHY

I can’t believe all of the roadblocks society will try to throw up that I will have to deal with while raising children who value the worth of all people regardless of gender

(via vondell-swain)

everyonedies:

forgetpolitics:

For anyone who only sees gender and sex in black and white, here’s proof by the lovely humon that nature is just as fluid with representations of gender and sex as we are.

The hyena was so interesting I had to look it up.

that.is.so.cool.

the tamarins seem so cute and cool!

neutrois:

“NOT FOR GIRLS. NOT FOR BOYS. We make clothes for children.”

practicalandrogyny:

[Shop window displaying childrens clothes on mannequins. A sign reads:

‘NOT FOR GIRLS.

NOT FOR BOYS.

We make clothes for children.

POLARN O. PYRET’]

monstermonnie:

gaywrites:

This is not quite new, but UK clothing store Polarn O. Pyret still has the right idea in selling clothes for kids without distinguishing boys’ clothes from girls’ clothes. More on their strategy here. 

Perfection.

kids don’t need a distinct gender

they’re figuring themselves out

I love this

(via anellipsis)

Distinguished sociologist Erving Goffman noted that women in photographs are often portrayed in compromising or submissive situations such as having the head turned upwards to expose the neck or in a contorted stances often with light self-touching. Such poses invite the gaze of the viewer and make the subject of the photograph seem vulnerable and exposed to sexualization.

(via cousinmaeby)

brogigayo:

ticktaec:

xcupidxstuntx:

r0bertbrowniejr:

Yesterday my mom posted a picture on Facebook of my 5 year old brother Sam wearing a pair of shoes he picked out for his first day of preschool. 

She explained to him in the store that they were really made for girls. Sam then told her that he didn’t care and that “ninjas can wear pink shoes too.”

Sam went to preschool and got several compliments on his new shoes. Not one kid said anything negative toward him about it. 

However, my mom received about 20 comments on the photo from various family members saying how “wrong” it is and how “things like this will affect him socially” and, put most eloquently by my great aunt, “that shit will turn him gay.” 

My mom then deleted the photo and told Sam that he can wear whatever he wants to preschool, that it’s his decision. If he wants to wear pink shoes, he can wear pink shoes.

Sam then explained to her that he didn’t like them because they were pink, he liked them because they were “made out of zebras” and zebras are his favorite animal :)

Parenting. You’re doing it right.

I find it interesting how in every one of these stories I read it is ALWAYS the adults who take issue and make comments…

who wouldn’t like this

it’s a picture of a little boy wearing pink zebra striped flats

 made of zebras!

well of course it’s always the adults

we’re the ones who have been indoctrinated already

(Source: batmansbutt, via merrytheknight)

doo-da-dooitsallgood:

We are nothing less than human.

I actually enjoyed science class today. We didn’t do much, but my teacher Mr. Stewart was talking about his daughter. Her name is Emily and she is 4 years old. Ever since she was born, my teacher had decided he wanted to let his daughter do anything the way she wanted, as long as she wouldn’t get hurt. He wanted to keep her away from believing she couldn’t do something. One day, Mr. Stewart took Emily to go buy some shoes. He thought the High-Top Converse would look extremely cute on her, but Emily wanted the light-up Spiderman sneakers. He said that they were her shoes, so she could pick out whatever she liked. They went up to the cashier and you know what she said? “Oh, are these for your little brother?” Mr. Stewart realized that the cashier had just planted a seed in Emily’s mind. He is now afraid that she might start thinking, Maybe I shouldn’t get the Spiderman shoes, they’re only for boys. Maybe I can’t do math, because I’m not math smart. Maybe I should stick to playing with barbies, because that’s what girls are supposed to do. You see? He’s afraid that she will one day believe that she is less than human. That she’s only supposed to do this, because that’s what society says she’s supposed to do. Mr. Stewart didn’t want that for his daughter. He continues to let her play with monster trucks while wearing a princess gown and her Spiderman sneakers. He told her she can be anything she wants to be. But before they left the store, you know what Mr. Stewart said to the cashier? Thank you for your ignorance.

I also want to raise my children so they don’t see gender and can do as they wish

(via everyonedies)

sharpestrose:

brainiac13:

Andrej Pejic | Nightline ABC

Ze’s TOO-fucking-FABULOUS!

Andrej Pejic and Melanie Laurent could play siblings. Beautiful, beautiful siblings.

The gender binary is fiction