De Muze tumbles

Feminist Frequency: Twitter vs Female Protagonists in Video Games

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:49:34 +0200

Feminist Frequency: Twitter vs Female Protagonists in Video Games:

Thanks #XboxOne #E3 press conference for revealing to us exactly zero games featuring a female protagonist for the next generation.

— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq)

June 10, 2013

Above is a tweet I made this afternoon in reaction to the fact that none of the games presented at…

Harry Potter Alphabet Cards Part 2 (Part 1)

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:11:32 +0200

Harry Potter Alphabet Cards Part 2

(Part 1)

harrypottersmum: Harry Potter Alphabet Cards Part 1 (Part...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:11:17 +0200

harrypottersmum:

Harry Potter Alphabet Cards Part 1

(Part 2)

mollycrabapple: Lula Magazine let me mouth off at length about...

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:18:36 +0200

mollycrabapple:

Lula Magazine let me mouth off at length about feminism, along with many other wicked smart women. For the rest, buy the magazine. It’s a beautiful thing

fyeahpocredcarpetfashion: Focus on the two ladies: Michelle...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 19:02:12 +0200

fyeahpocredcarpetfashion:

Focus on the two ladies: Michelle Thrush, from the Cree Nation in Canada in the black dress; and Misty Upham from the Blackfeet Nation in the USA in a light dress. Misty says they are the first Native Americans to walk the Cannes red carpet. Also, the man right behind Misty is Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro. They are doing so for their movie Jimmy P. Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian

What Happens Next: A Gallimaufry: Old Men Yelling At Clouds: SFWA Sexism

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:41:40 +0200

What Happens Next: A Gallimaufry: Old Men Yelling At Clouds: SFWA Sexism:

fozmeadows:

Warning: some talk of rape, explosive ranting.

As an Australian who now lives in the UK, I’m used to hearing about publications, conventions, writers’ groups, book giveaways and other SFFnal coolness that I can’t actually buy, attend or participate in on account of their being located in or…

Indistinguishable From Magic: Why the word "feminism" is important: a rebloggable version

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:33:19 +0200

Indistinguishable From Magic: Why the word "feminism" is important: a rebloggable version :

laurahudson:

kirkhamilton asked: You were talking about that Salon article where famous women avoided calling themselves Feminists. Do you think that’s a poor reflection on them, or a sign of how thoroughly the word has been subverted/twisted? Is it fair to criticize people for wanting to avoid a word…

kevinwada: Hey all! As you may or may not know, the variant...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:28:46 +0200

kevinwada:

Hey all! As you may or may not know, the variant cover I did for the first issue of X-men is finally out! You can snatch up your own copy at this link, as I know many people have been having trouble trying to find it. It’s sold out as of now but keep checking back and maybe they’ll get more copies in? Since the issue is finally out I thought it might be safe to do an OFFICIAL post here. Don’t scratch me, Marvel. So here it is! Coming at you in three versions.

The first is, obviously, the entire completed image without all the type treatments of the actual issue. Here you can get a better view of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. I have no knack or love of drawing architecture or buildings so I do try to stylize them as much as I can to hopefully (HOPEFULLY) disguise all my flaws and shortcomings in attempting them in the first place. I couldn’t escape drawing the school in this image as how can you do a Downton Abbey-esque homage without an abbey stand-in? As you can see from the sketch, I changed the perspective of the school to a much more flattened viewpoint to save me some angst and so that a wonky perspective didn’t distract the viewer. There are minor changes in posture, costuming, and positioning of the characters as well. I so rarely post my sketches to finished pieces I thought it might be fun to see this one.

The second image is a scan of the figures as they appear in the actual painted piece. The backgrounds of my pieces are usually rare or simplified but whenever I need a more detailed background I usually do it separate from the foreground and compile the two in photoshop. Depending on the complexity of the piece or if the client is requesting a hardcopy, some pieces are done as one painting. These figures required some tender love and care and the background required detail and time so I decided to do them in two pieces. As for the figures themselves, of COURSE, I had to put Storm front and center. Her, Psylocke, and Rogue, as older members of the crew, were put in more cusp late 1910s/early 1920s looks while the younger kiddies were put in more explicitly 20s dresses. I had so much fun researching the eras and taking bits and pieces from different dresses to come up with these. Let me know what you think and don’t forget to pick up a copy!

bakerstreetbabes: tea-at-221b: Unused promotional photo. The...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:27:55 +0200

bakerstreetbabes:

tea-at-221b:

Unused promotional photo. The photo was retaken after it was realized Brett was still wearing his earring.

Initially, he wanted to be a pirate.

crackerhell: Concept art for Janelle Monáe’s The ArchAndroid...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:27:03 +0200

crackerhell:

Concept art for Janelle Monáe’s The ArchAndroid by Chad Weatherford

um

YES????

wishyouwereb33r: Awwww :3

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:26:50 +0200

wishyouwereb33r:

Awwww :3

questionabletastetheatre: Phantom of the Opera, 1925.

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:25:55 +0200

questionabletastetheatre:

Phantom of the Opera, 1925.

catcomicsandfeminism: Judith Butler uses the term, “gender...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:25:31 +0200

catcomicsandfeminism:

Judith Butler uses the term, “gender performativity” to describe the discursive production of an inner “true” gendered subject. Gender is characterized by a stylized repetition of acts that give the illusion of natural legibility, while obscuring the contradictions of any single person’s gender act. Nonetheless, the cultural fiction that is gender is hard to expose as long as the credibility of other gender performances and identities is undermined and threatened with punishment.

Afghanistan: transformativeworks: brimming with danger: incandescentquill:...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:20:52 +0200

Afghanistan: transformativeworks: brimming with danger: incandescentquill:...:

transformativeworks:

brimming with danger: incandescentquill: tatterdemalionamberite: binghsien:…

incandescentquill:

tatterdemalionamberite:

binghsien:

aporeticelenchus:

heidi8:

sonneillonv:

dressthesavage:

…

The Problem with 'Boys Will Be Boys'

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:11:53 +0200

The Problem with 'Boys Will Be Boys':

For months, every morning when my daughter was in preschool, I watched her construct an elaborate castle out of blocks, colorful plastic discs, bits of rope, ribbons and feathers, only to have the same little boy gleefully destroy it within seconds of its completion.

No matter how many times he did it, his parents never swooped in BEFORE the morning’s live 3-D reenactment of “Invasion of AstroMonster.” This is what they’d say repeatedly:

“You know! Boys will be boys!”

“He’s just going through a phase!”

“He’s such a boy! He LOVES destroying things!”

“Oh my god! Girls and boys are SO different!”

“He. Just. Can’t. Help himself!”

I tried to teach my daughter how to stop this from happening. She asked him politely not to do it. We talked about some things she might do. She moved where she built. She stood in his way. She built a stronger foundation to the castle, so that, if he did get to it, she wouldn’t have to rebuild the whole thing. In the meantime, I imagine his parents thinking, “What red-blooded boy wouldn’t knock it down?”

She built a beautiful, glittery castle in a public space.

It was so tempting.

He just couldn’t control himself and, being a boy, had violent inclinations.

She had to keep her building safe.

Her consent didn’t matter. Besides, it’s not like she made a big fuss when he knocked it down. It wasn’t a “legitimate” knocking over if she didn’t throw a tantrum.

His desire — for power, destruction, control, whatever- - was understandable.

Maybe she “shouldn’t have gone to preschool” at all. OR, better if she just kept her building activities to home.

I know it’s a lurid metaphor, but I taught my daughter the preschool block precursor of don’t “get raped” and this child, Boy #1, did not learn the preschool equivalent of “don’t rape.”

Not once did his parents talk to him about invading another person’s space and claiming for his own purposes something that was not his to claim. Respect for her and her work and words was not something he was learning. How much of the boy’s behavior in coming years would be excused in these ways, be calibrated to meet these expectations and enforce the “rules” his parents kept repeating?

There was another boy who, similarly, decided to knock down her castle one day. When he did it his mother took him in hand, explained to him that it was not his to destroy, asked him how he thought my daughter felt after working so hard on her building and walked over with him so he could apologize. That probably wasn’t much fun for him, but he did not do it again.

There was a third child. He was really smart. He asked if he could knock her building down. She, beneficent ruler of all pre-circle-time castle construction, said yes… but only after she was done building it and said it was OK. They worked out a plan together and eventually he started building things with her and they would both knock the thing down with unadulterated joy. You can’t make this stuff up.

Take each of these three boys and consider what he might do when he’s older, say, at college, drunk at a party, mad at an ex-girlfriend who rebuffs him and uses words that she expects will be meaningful and respecte, “No, I don’t want to. Stop. Leave.”

The “overarching attitudinal characteristic” of abusive men is entitlement.

lemonsweetie: Let me tell you a thing, about an amazing man...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:11:31 +0200

lemonsweetie:

Let me tell you a thing, about an amazing man named Patrick Stewart

I went to Comicpalooza this weekend and I was full of nervous energy as I was standing in line to ask Sir Patrick Stewart a question at his panel. I first had to thank him for a speech he had given at amnesty international about domestic violence towards women . I had only seen it a few months ago but I was still dealing with my own personal experience with a similar issue, and I didn’t know what to call it. After seeing Patrick talk so personally about it I finally was able to correctly call it abuse, in my case sexual abuse that was going to quickly turn into physical abuse as well. I didn’t feel guilty or disgusting anymore. I finally didn’t feel responsible for the abuse that was put upon me. I was finally able to start my healing process and to put that part of my life behind me.

After thanking him I asked him “Besides acting, what are you most proud of that you have done in you life (that you are willing to share with us)?”. Sir Patrick told us about how he couldn’t protect his mother from abuse in his household growing up and so in her name works with an organization called Refuge for safe houses for women and children to escape from abusive house holds. Sir Patrick Stewart learned only last year that his father had actually been suffering from PTSD after he returned from the military and was never properly treated. In his father’s name he works with an organization called Combat Stress to help those soldiers who are suffering from PTSD.

They were about to move onto the next question when Sir Patrick looked at me and asked me “My Dear, are you okay?” I said yes, and that I was finally able to move on from that part of my life. He then passionately said that his mother had done nothing to provoke his father and that even if she had, violence was never, ever a choice a man should make. That it is in the power of men to stop violence towards women. The moderator then asked “Do you want a hug?”

Sir Patrick didn’t even hesitate, he smiled, hopped off the stage and came over to embrace me in a hug. Which he held me there for a long while. He told me “You never have to go through that again, you’re safe now.” I couldn’t stop thanking him. His embrace was so warm and genuine. It was two people, two strangers, supporting and giving love. And when we pulled away he looked strait in my eyes, like he was promising that. He told me to take care. And I will.

Sir Patrick Stewart is an absolute roll model for men. He is an amazing man and was so kind and full of heart. I want to let everyone know to please find help if you are in a violent or abusive house hold or relationship. There are organizations and people ready to help. I had countless people after the panel thanking me for sharing the story and asking him those questions. Many said they went through similar things. You are not alone.

X

^ Here is the video of my question to Sir Patrick Stewart

Photos by Eugene Lee, Thank you

moldykins: SO APPARENTLY WHEN TWO LARGE WHALES DO THE NASTY...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:33:56 +0200

moldykins:

SO APPARENTLY WHEN TWO LARGE WHALES DO THE NASTY THERE’S SOMETIMES THIS ONE BRO WHO JUST SORT OF HOLDS THEM UP SO THEY DON’T FLOAT OFF

NATURE IS BEAUTIFUL

tattooeddicks: poweredbygirl: a pick up line for street...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:33:47 +0200

tattooeddicks:

poweredbygirl:

a pick up line for street harassers

I NEED THIS SO BAD

beatonna: blackhistoryalbum: Black Style | 1880s Studio...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:33:10 +0200

beatonna:

blackhistoryalbum:

Black Style | 1880s

Studio portrait of an African American female equestrian rider from the late 1880s.

via Black History Album, The Way We Were
Follow us on TUMBLR, PINTEREST

riding outfits forever

gingerhaze: Special Agent Dale Cooper and Audrey Horne posted...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:32:39 +0200

gingerhaze:

Special Agent Dale Cooper and Audrey Horne posted by themselves, by request!