The Work & Writing of Laurie Penny: On Feminism, Transphobia and Free Speech

penny-red:

This weekend, columnist Julie Burchill used her platform in the Observer to launch what may be the most disgusting piece of hate-speech printed in a liberal newspaper in recent years. I’m not the only reader who was shocked to the core at smug attack transsexual women as ‘screaming mimis in bad…

Wanted to reblog this. First thing I’ve done on tumblr in a long time. While I’ve heard both sides of this particular argument both from narrow viewed bigots, sympathetic and articulate thinkers and from close friends (and these categories, like so many, are not exclusive) this is the first article I’ve seen in a long time that has suggested a cross-spectrum solidarity something I hold very close to my own principles. I know most feminist circles and forums have, for long time now, banned even the discussion of this divisive issue. And now we see that the Observer has removed Julie Burchill’s article and all the commentary that followed it.

While the Observer’s motivations are understandable and morally praiseworthy in some respects the loss of people actually discussing this subject is incredibly damaging. Yes Free Speech should never be used as a platform to demean and inflict harm on others but instead of this leaving a horrible scar on the internal dialogue of between feminists I would rather that as much of this debate was done out in the open. Right now a great deal of vitriol and anger is being thrown about on both sides. Certainly all those offended feel themselves justified but how does it help anyone? Anyway. I won’t belabour this point. Laurie Penny’s article is the one I like here. The more people realise that they have more in common than they have in difference then the easier it will be to put this kind of controversy behind us. 

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Adults are terribly confused, messed up people. That’s because they forget, really, that they don’t have to pretend all the time. Really, the fact is that you’re not an adult at all - you’re just a tall child holding a beer, having conversations you don’t understand.
Dylan Moran  (via moreofamore)

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Also:

First proper blog in ages! Go me! Guess I really must be avoiding work now ^_^

Overcoming “Forever Alone”

I was just having a perusal over “fuckyeahgaycouples” blog 

http://fuckyeahgaycouples.tumblr.com/

Yeah I know easy way of stirring up the long known feeling that has in recent times (thanks to the great prevalence of internet culture) become known as “Forever Alone”. As is common in our rather cynical age “forever Alone’ is of course a meme satirising the feeling that you will never experience true love/find a relationship/lose ones on virginity. But the fact remains that we all know the feeling and I’d call anyone that claimed to have never experienced it in their life a liar.

Seeing other happy couples, valentines day, romantic movies and yes even a tumblr blog  are all examples of triggering this feeling whether its stimulating already existing self esteem issues or generating envy based on popular narrative that we are exposed to in the form of mass media is another question entirely. Most of the time we all do our best to ignore it as an irrational emotion or at least something to rant about when exposed to it. But off course the mass media really couldn’t give damn about such things and its down individual couples how much they want to the display their relationship in public.

What struck me on reading the fuckyeahgaycouples FAQ was there question that simply read “Forever Alone” The reply was simply to reassure a reader that there was “Mr Right” out there for them and that the blog had also set up a dating service in conjunction with this. What struck me was two things: 

  1. The sensitivity to the blogs readership. I don’t know if they received many suicidal messages blaming their blog or indeed if this was something concieved earlier but its presence and the responsibility it shows should be noted.
  2. The humour aspect. Reading the words “Forever Alone” breaking the question/answer format, injecting popular humour from an otherwise irreverent source I must admit made me laugh out loud. It knocked whatever thoughts I had in my head clean out and injected that little hopeful message in instead. Simple brilliance.

And why not? I often find one of the most productive things to be done in any dark situation be it sad, frightening, stressful or dangerous is to use humour. Not to subvert the gravity of a situation or to trivialise important events. But to knock us out of what we were thinking. to stopt he downward spiral or doubt, guilt, loss or shame or any other damaging thoguth patterns and instead allowing hope to be let back in again.

This was not the first time this occurred to me today either I should note. I had a moment of considerable despair over the essay I’m currently procrastinating from ands poke about it with my friend over facebook. His response was a joke that completely shattered the self-pity I’d started wallowing in and gave me reason to smile and work with purpose again. Humour truly is a remarkable thing.

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As if I didn’t need mroe reasons to wish I had been there patrickwolfpalisade: Last night after The Misfits show hanging out with Jerry Only at the islington academy show with my gang @rowdysuperstar and @theresidencegal the songs brought back that spirit in me that sometimes falls asleep accidentally every few years. Jerry + the band you are immortal and the meaning of legendary x misfit for life patrick wolf

As if I didn’t need mroe reasons to wish I had been there

patrickwolfpalisade:

Last night after The Misfits show hanging out with Jerry Only at the islington academy show with my gang @rowdysuperstar and @theresidencegal the songs brought back that spirit in me that sometimes falls asleep accidentally every few years. Jerry + the band you are immortal and the meaning of legendary x misfit for life patrick wolf

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Up and down we go.: Dear Customer who stuck up for his little brother,

This made me happy ^_^

sweetupndown:

you thought I didn’t really notice. But I did. I wanted to high-five you.


Yesterday I had a pair of brothers in my store. One was maybe between 15-17. He was a wrestler at the local high school. Kind of tall, stocky and handsome. He had a younger brother, who was maybe about 10-12 years old. The…

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tastefullyoffensive: via Pretty much.

tastefullyoffensive:

via

Pretty much.

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“Writers are often ashamed at who they are and what they do. Other people are out there fighting wars and fixing cars and destroying our country with poisonous loans — and here we are, sitting around in our footy-pajamas, writing about vampires and unicorns, about broken hearts and shattered jaws. A lot of the time we won’t get much respect, but you know what? Fuck that. Take the respect. Writers and storytellers help make this world go around. We’re just as much a part of the societal ecosystem as anybody else. Craft counts. Art matters. Stories are important. Freeze-frame high-five. Now have a beer and a shot of whisky and shove all your shame in a bag and burn it.”


^_^

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/01/03/25-things-writers-should-stop-doing/

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^_^

^_^

(Source: longcatislooooong)

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(Source: orange-wedge)

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