Because I am a Woman
This blog is about sex-positivity, sex-ed, feminism, reproductive justice, birth justice, intersectionality, and activism.
Feel free to send me a message with your questions about sexual health, feminism, or anything else!
For more information about any of these things please check out the resources tab or leave me a question in my ask box! I would love to talk to you!
If you have anything you would like to bring to my attention or ask that you do not feel comfortable submitting to this page send me an email at: becauseiamawoman.tumblr@gmail.com
Many thanks to Susan of susanharkins.com for designing my logo!
bportahh Asks:
becauseiamawoman Said:
Using gender neutral language as a default certainly is not easy. Unfortunately using gendered terms and pronouns is so ingrained in most of us by the culture we live in that breaking out of that mold seems incredibly difficult. I still catch myself making assumptions when answering questions and writing here on Tumblr, and even more often when speaking to people face to face. It is difficult to do but in order to create safe spaces, accept everyone for who they are, and break out of thinking about certain causes as “womens issues” or “mens issues”, making this change is very important.
I broke out of using gendered language on Tumblr by doing a lot of editing of my posts. Before I post anything that is purely of my own content (asks, original posts, etc) I go through it to make sure that I haven’t made any assumptions about anybody. If I am responding to a question where someone names their pronouns, then I will use their pronouns. However, most of the time I stick to using gender neutral terms like “you” or “they” which are pretty easy to substitute in. Instead of saying “men” or “women” I often say “people”. I try really hard, but that does not mean that I never make mistakes.
I think that the most important thing you can do is to be open to criticism when you are actively trying to change over to using gender neutral terms. You will make mistakes, and other people will point them out. Asking other people to let you know when you’ve made a mistake, taking the criticism, apologizing for your mistake, and learning from the mistake all make a really big difference in the grand scope of things.
I hope you never feel intimidated coming to me and asking questions. I do not expect people to format their questions in any specific manner, and I will not attack you if you do not use gender neutral terms. This is a safe space, all I ask is that you observe it as such.
For those of you who haven’t read it, you can find my post on using gender neutral language here.
It takes but a second to replace women’s health with sexual or reproductive health. It’s really that easy… and then you aren’t erasing our trans sisters.
Yes, yes, yes.
Still another example involves the use of “non-white,” “minority” or “third world.” While people of color are a minority in the U.S., they are part of the vast majority of the world’s population, in which white people are a distinct minority. Thus, by utilizing the term “minority” to describe people of color in the U.S., we can lose sight of the global majority/minority reality - a fact of some importance in the increasing and interconnected struggles of people of color inside and outside the U.S.
To describe people of color as “non-white” is to use whiteness as the standard and norm against which to measure all others.
Robert B. Moore, “Racism in the English Language”
Why people of color > “minorities” or “non-white”
(via wretchedoftheearth)
I definitely agree on using the phrase people of color instead of minorities or non-white. But the first few terms mentioned, especially “economically disadvantaged” - what is the appropriate term for discussing people who are poor? “Impoverished” is too strong, and just saying “poor people” over and over again doesn’t seem right either. I’m asking you, readers: what is the non-victim-blaming way to reference the poor?
(via stfuconservatives)
(via stfuconservatives)
Pronouns 101! Click here to learn more!
(via fuckyeahfeminists)
Originally posted by victimblaming (in new post to add on more images).
These are posters from the Backbone Zone, here is a little from their website about the program:
For years, prevention has been primarily about victims, and the ways they can and should change their behavior to avoid sexual violence, sexual harassment, and gender-based bullying. More recently, this approach has been seen as putting the responsibility for sexual violence on survivors. Instead, across the country, there is a movement toward ‘primary prevention’- a kind of prevention that seeks to end sexual violence before it begins, and to put the responsibility of doing so on everyone.
The Backbone Zone project is an innovative approach to bystander intervention, and is about helping people recognize the actions that everyone can take to change the world they live in. Recognizing sexist and homophobic language, realizing that it has an impact, encouraging students to choose different words, and giving them the skills to be active bystanders when they hear sexist and homophobic language: these are steps that each one of us can take to end gender-stereotypes, and to help end sexual violence. Everybody has a backbone. The Backbone Zone project is a campaign that speaks directly to students, helping them to find - and use - their backbones.
It’s power. Catcalls, sexist comments, public masturbation, groping, stalking and assault: gender-based street harassment makes public places unfriendly, frightening and dangerous for many girls, women, and LGBQT people.
It’s power to control public spaces. Power to alter paths. Power to shame, scare and intimidate. Power to define what is safe and what is not. It’s the power to say: “I’m entitled to touch you, comment on your body, coerce you to smile, control your movement.” Even when women perceive catcalls as flattering, they are nonetheless aware that it’s an unpredictable degree away from possible harm.
Human societies — all human societies — organize and control social behaviors, and all sexual behavior between humans is also social behavior. Both “virgin” and “heterosexual” are ideological tools that are useful in organizing and controlling particular kinds of sexual behavior and helping to shape social reality.
Different cultures and different eras within a single culture may prioritize different aspects of social behavior at given times, and seek to shape and control them in different ways, but there are always conceptual and ideological tools that are used to do that. ”Virgin” and “heterosexual” are two very powerful tools of this type, and their power is evident in, among other things, the degree to which they go unquestioned.
