zuleikha:

yasalam, mashaaaallah

cute kids

still oppressed tho

gotta go save them

bad-dominicana:

positive-press-daily:

Dirty Harry(Krishna): Indian grandmother, 78, is believed to be the world’s oldest professional sharpshooter

(click-through for full story)

i wanna be you when i grow up

Good Lord.

aslongasiknowhowtolund:

if jesus was here they would racially profile him on airports and put him on the no-fly list

ya-lahwi:

Shout out to the South Asian women, the Arab women, the Hijabis, the African women and to all the “Third World” looking/acting women who have actually suffered because they CHOSE to hold on to whatever piece of culture colonizers and GloBaliZation left for them…

Y’all are my inspiration! 

Widowed, mocked, raped, hit and/or abused all because you did you.

Now that’s fucking individualism, not “HOH MY GAWD THAT IS SO PRETTY AND UNIQUE IMMA WEAR IT CAUSE I CAHN”

Shut up, shut up forever. 

thalamtnafsee:

the-art-of-protest:

There are people in the following groups that have said really ignorant things about the Hijab for decades, let us expose them once and for all for their ignorance. (Obviously not all people in this group are like this, but there are some elements in each camp that have said heineous things):

1. Some Non-Religious Muslim Men:

You have to stop shaming women into wearing the Hijab and stop objectifying them for not being fully exposed eye-candy to you, just move on and respect one’s choice to wear the Hijab, you are unbelievable. 

2. Some Islamists:

You must understand that there is no Precedent in Islamic History of the State Enforcement of the Hijab in all the Caliphates(Refer to Jamal Badawi for more info on that), so going around shaming women in Saudi, Iran or other places for not wearing the Hijab has no basis in Islam. 

3. Some Ultra Feminists:

You have to stop making the false analogy that as long as Niqabs are allowed, so should naked women! You can’t compare someone that is fully complying with public decency laws and another who is fully exposed and say things like “It’s a Woman’s Choice to wear or not wear what she wants” to cover up your flawed arguments. 

4. Some Religious Muslim Guys:

By all means I understand you want a woman that wears a Hijab as your wife, but comparing them to Lollipops and all these inanimate objects to shame Non-Hijabis as being Dirty is the same sexist logic that is perpetrated by the previous groups I mentioned. 

5. Some Normal Muslim Guys:

I don’t understand why you assume everyone that wears a Hijab suddenly has to be the Virgin Mary, and that if she wears Makeup, wears certain clothes or acts a certain way she is shaming Muslim women everywhere. Islam is practiced differently by different people, and if I were to expose all the wrongs things you did everyday, you would seem ten times more immodest any day. Keep your “Hoe-jabi” shaming to yourself, you never wore a Hijab nor do you understand what it is exactly. 

6. Some Muslims that believe that Hijabis are ruining the assimilation of Muslims in the West or isolating their groups:

Who are you to speak? We live in a country that allows Freedom of Religion and that is a basic human right. Just because someone doesn’t prescribe to Pop Culture in terms of clothing and is not all “American” looking to you doesn’t mean you have to shame your fellow sister in wearing one. You are no worse than Islamaphobes themselves.

7. Some Non-Hijabi Muslim women:

Some of you have this false superiority complex since you don’t wear the Hijab and that Islam(or however you interpreted it) suddenly gives you the right to shame your fellow sisters or even use isolated incidents (“I know tons of Nonhijabis that are better Muslims than the Hijabis”) to further your argument on why you don’t wear the Hijab. By all means, Hijab is an Islamic Principle, and if you don’t feel like identifying with it, it’s your freedom however don’t shame others for wearing the Hijab either. 

8. Some Muslims and Converts:

I seriously don’t understand why some Muslims expect Converts to embrace the Hijab overnight and become Saints. Seriously, how can you make a whole lifestyle change over night? Let them learn Islam at their pace. 

9. Some Condescending Western Scholars:

For God’s sake stop bothering us with your “oppressed” arguments since most of you have probably never even met a Muslim in your life. Just stop. 

Please forgive me in advance if any of this offends you, that was not my intention, I just am seriously sick of how our Hijabis have seen so much controversy and how it honestly has to end. Stay strong sisters. 

perfect. 

fatinely:

djehutiarts:

Anytime I come across this, I feel the need to add a few points on it….
The note saying the Egyptian Civilisation considered women a sign of the devil… is false.
Respect to Mr Nayek on his intellectual studies -but some of this is a bunch of crap.

Fact: Women had the same status as Men during Egypt’s Matriarchal period which was till around the 18th Dynasty. Centuries before Islam came about.

Fact: As a sign of scholarly status, educated Men wore feminine wigs (wigs of one length and parted in the middle as opposed to the stepped wigs of various lengths that Men usually wore). Acknowledging feminine intellect.

Fact: During Egypt’s Matriarchal phase women had rights and were equal to men, they were able to own land, divorce, etc. the same as Men. Hardly taught or mentioned.

Fact: Ancient Egyptians understood that Higher consciousness could not exist without balance in the “Masculine & Feminine brain”. Logic & Emotion’s were just some of the concepts that were considered important in attaining such levels of consciousness. 

Fact: Hatshetsput, Ancient Egyptian Queen turned Pharoah was one of their most influential and important rulers. 

Fact: Some of the most peaceful periods in Ancient Egypt can be seen inits Golden Age when it was a largely Matriarchal society. 

Fact: It was after the shift of many years of Matriarchy (its peak being around 11,00 BCE) to around 4500 BCE, that we see a rise in Ancient Egyptian Patriarchy during the Silver Ages, which is where we start to see the of the fall of the Egyptian Civilisation.

So while I do respect Islam’s view on Women, it’d be false to promote such claims as complete & true without looking into History without an unbiased eye.
And this goes for other civilisations as well, while some points may be true -to accept Dr Nayek’s claims to be true is just not clever. Each civilisation had its own strengths and flaws, there needs to be a balance of both before casting judgment.

Islam has its own skeletons in its closet, but not many people are comfortable with discussing that…
And because I do respect my Muslim peeps as well as my Christian, Jewish & Hindu peeps -I won’t get into it too much…
But do ask yourselves about the importance placed on Harems in Arabian/Oriental culture, do ask yourselves about the enslavement of people along the shores of the Indian Ocean and ask yourselves why a majority of those slaves were women… 

Like I said, I’m not here to bash any religion, but sometimes, you really need to step back to get a view of the bigger picture.

Peace and Love.

(for what I’ve said about women in Ancient Egypt, please reference works of Professor Carmen Boulter.)

Respect for everyone.

queerhairyvag:

alwaystheoviereya:

thegoddamazon:

ayiman:

ndnsurgency:

I don’t understand white people either, this girl is ON THE FUCKING MONEY. There was a point in my life when “White People Slaps”often left me speechless and feeling like a fucking moron. Now I simply respond with Bannock Slaps. 

This is so awesome.

also adding Bannock Slaps to the lexicon.

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LORD

I love her. LMFAOOOO

So TRUE!

I love this girl!! 

WHITE PEOPLE SLAP! OMG! SO THERE’S A TERM FOR IT!

some guy yesterday did the typical white stuff- asking where Im from, am I here on holidays (you’re black so there’s no way you’re European haw haw hawwww) and I told him I’ve been in Ireland for almost a decade. 

THEN HE DID IT

HE WHITE SLAPPED ME

him:  “did you know… you can apply for citizenship here? Did you know you there’s a fee for it but you can apply and get an Irish passport? The office is down the road from here, if you just turn left and keep walking, you’ll see the GNIB office. it’s where people sort out citizenship issues” *looks proud of himself*

nawww, I didn’t know anything about immigration stuff eventhough I just told you I’ve been living here for the past decade 

trying to make me feel like I don’t know shit about basic immigration stuff. 

fuck off

jensenjaundice:

Until today I’d assumed “whitewashing” (the practice of bleaching one’s skin to alter its color to a lighter and thus more appealing tone) had all but died in most parts of the modern world.

Holy fuck was I wrong.

This year, British Vogue’s November 2011 cover features none other than Rihanna (aka, the sexiest woman I’ve ever known) posing in one of her classic fierce stances in a blonde wig. When I first saw the cover I was a bit confused why Rihanna looked so different; but, knowing Rihanna’s penchant for unconventional hairstyles, I was initially able to naively overlook her seemingly Marilyn Monroe-inspired do; but a doubletake of the whole ensemble made me realize something a little disconcerting. Rihanna doesn’t just have Marilyn’s hair, but also her eyes, her pose, even her skin. “But Vogue is a fashion magazine, that look is chic, sexy, couture.” Vapid fashion vocabulary aside, it certainly sells, right? Now, I definitely don’t want to deny or minimize the blatant and subliminal sexism the fashion industry is chronically rife with; given fashion magazine’s long history of blatant sexism, it might not be immediately disconcerting to the average reader. But what is disconcerting to anyone who loves the Barbadoan babe like I do is how fucking white Rihanna looks.

As colorlines.com so eloquently put it:

It could be the actual lighting on set, it could be that we’ve gotten used to her wearing a fire engine-red wig, or it could be that someone forget to tell Vogue’s retoucher that Rihanna is in fact black.

Now before you chime in with “what’s so wrong about white skin?” I’d like to point out that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. However, there’s certainly nothing wrong with looking black, either. And call me cracked, but in my mind a few red flags go up when I see an international organization that claims to decide what’s hot and what’s not is photoshopping a world-famous superstar in the name of fashion sense.

Apparently Rihanna hasn’t been the only one “touched-up” with the desaturation tool either. Back in January of this year, ELLE India went with a lighter-tinted version of Aishwarya Rai, the sensational Star of Bollywood making headlines all over the internet and the world, and named by 60 Minutes as the Most Beautiful Woman in the World.

So why does the supposed “Most Beautiful Woman in the World” need any photoshopping? Isn’t she already the pinnacle of perfection? Thankfully, not everyone agrees. Especially Miss Rai, who stated to The Times of India that the former Miss World is “furious with the bleaching blotch-up” and is considering pursuing legal action against the magazine. 

But unfortunately Miss Rai isn’t the only celebrity ELLE’s taken to the light room. Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe also miraculously changed colors on the cover of U.S. edition of ELLE back in October of 2010.

And judging from some more photo shoots taken in 2009, L’oréal isn’t above whitewashing either. Just do a double-take of international stars Beyoncé and Freida Pinto. Any red flags yet?

As colorlines.com journalist Julianne Hing points out: 

It’s a common, tired practice, and the routine is well-practiced: beauty companies and fashion magazines regularly lighten women’s skin (and darken the faces of black men), pissed off consumers shout back, and sometimes an apology is issued. But come the next fall collection or election season, photo retouchers are inevitably back to trying to make women of color more attractive by lightening them, and darkening the skin of men of color to make them seem more dangerous and suspect. Color, still, is everything.

At some point you have to stop and wonder just what the fuck is going on.

Fortunately, in the case of Aishwarya Rai at least, Change.org has begun a campaign asking the magazine to issue a public apology. However, in light of the situation (no pun intended), why should a campaign be necessary? Shouldn’t ELLE make a statement free of coercion by activist groups, regretting the mistake they knowingly made? I mean they do regret their “mistake,” right? Which brings me around to my point: Why the fuck is this still occurring? 

In July in India, Vaseline launched a facebook app that allows the user to lighten their profile pictures to a more “appealing” tone. In 2005 Indian cosmetics mogul Emani began a new product campaign aimed at both men and women’s insecurities, launching their new skin-whitening cream for men called “Fair and Handsome” (the women’s version of course being called “Fair and Lovely”).

Closer to home, a study conducted by Dr. S. Allen Counter of Harvard Medical School in 2003 showed some pretty frightening findings:

96% of over 300 patients in the Southwestern United States that have higher than normal mercury levels were female and all had used skin lightening products; likewise 90% of women tested in clinics in Arizona who were Mexican-American had been using the same products (2).

Women more often try to whiten their skin and as a consequence poison their bodies. These lightening creams such as ‘Crema de Belleza-Manning’, which is made in Mexico, contain mercurous chloride and is easily absorbed through the skin.

As you may or may not know, toxic levels of mercury lead to mercury poisoning, which causes neurological and kidney damage, as well as being a possible cause of psychiatric disorders. It can also cause birth defects. So it’s some pretty serious shit.

Aside from the horrors that survey alone should instill, there’s more where it came from:

Doctors in the UK were confused by symptoms presented by a woman when no reason for her weight gain, stretch or stripe marks and inability to conceive could be found. It was only after further questioning that she admitted to using a skin lightening product (1).

The product, which is illegal in the EU, was clobetasol. This is a cream containing high levels of the steroid corticosteroid. Typically this cream is prescribed for skin conditions including eczema and psoriasis, and is only to be used for up to two weeks at a time.

The UK doctors reported that the woman far exceeded the recommended usage, using two tubes of clobetasol a week for over seven years.

Such products are being increasingly used by people in a number of countries in an attempt to lighten the skin. Older people as well use skin lightening to remove age or liver spots and other skin darkening conditions.

However few people are warned of the dangers of the toxic ingredients which, as well as containing steroids, includes hydroquinone. While hydroquinone is allowed in the US by the FDA, it is banned in Europe because of the potential to cause cancer.

The list of side effects of the steroid corticosteroid is long. The most serious is Cushing’s disease, a malfunction of the adrenal glands leading to an overproduction of cortisol. Other side effects include:

* increased appetite and weight gain

* deposits of fat in chest, face, upper back, and stomach

* swelling

* slowed healing of wounds

* osteoporosis

* cataracts

* acne

* muscle weakness

* thinning of the skin

Kind of ruins that old saying “beauty is only skin deep,” doesn’t it?

So yeah, there’s that. If it wasn’t already alarming that people are getting whiter on paper, in reality the lightening products themselves have some terrible, toxic side affects. If you’re willing to lighten your skin color for the sake of appearing more attractive, you’re also willing to risk a myriad of other much more devastating skin problems (if psoriasis, eczema, acne, and thin skinning weren’t enough of an indication). In the end, the real cost of lighter skin is often paid in irreparable or even fatal damage to the user’s health, mind, and body—and often the products themselves advertise much better than they actually perform. So why does the fashion industry support this? Why, despite not only obvious health risks and the even more obvious fact that dark skin is beautiful all by itself, is lighter skin encouraged? Maybe it happens because people don’t really know all the serious risks behind skin whitening; maybe fashion companies are simply more concerned with a better quarterly statement than the health of their customers. Or maybe skin lightening is a symptom of the stigma that remains after hundreds of years of oppression, colonialism, and racism latent in our still very segregated and unequal world today. Maybe it’s all true. Whatever way you choose to view it, it’s a grim reality and a heavy price to pay, all for the ‘right look.’ But in our world, it’s the price of beauty.

ceasesilence:

[Image: A fake magazine cover for “Feminism”. The cover photo is of a white woman smiling. Four text blurbs are around her “101 ways to hate trans women” “Sexual Autonomy: make sure you’re not oppressing yourself in the bedroom!” “How white women saved women of color (from their own culture!)” and “Why are Black people so misogynistic”]

Image description courtesy of tal9000