the role and perception of violence in story telling via a discussion of “supernatural” and “teen wolf”

crowleyshouseparty:  i received an ask earlier today regarding my generic outrage for the teen wolf spoilers and i answered it privately in the context of teen wolf, but it got me thinking about how horror/supernatural genres shape their stories and get away with some really not okay things because violence is the expectation of the genre

for example, many of the reasons that i’ve heard from both supernatural and teen wolf fandoms regarding the high number of deaths for poc, women, queer people, etc. is because it’s “violent” and thus to be expected

but i think that’s a really clumsy use of an adjective because yes the show is violent, but at the same time such a brush-off automatically assumes either a) it simply is violent as opposed to focused violence or c) that the target is unimportant, when in fact just the opposite is true

so it’s not that teen wolf and supernatural are violent, it’s that they are violent towards specific targets. 

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(Source: warpfactornope)

#THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING FOREVER #writing #meta #Teen Wolf #Supernatural #problematic fiction #violence in fiction #writing fallacies 101 #victimization #people of color #women #female characters #characters of color #queer characters #representation in the media #signal boost #privilege #it's about who is allowed to be violent and sympathetic #and who is the 'monster' #horror tropes #literary tropes #race #ALL THE TAGS!

If you are a woman, if you’re a person of colour, if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, if you are a person of size, if you are a person of intelligence, if you are a person of integrity, then you are considered a minority in this world.

And it’s gonna be really hard to find messages of self-love, and support anywhere, especially women’s and gay men’s culture. It’s all about how you have to look a certain way or else you’re worthless. You know when you look in the mirror, and you think, ‘Ugh, I’m so fat, I’m so old, I’m so ugly’, don’t you know that’s not your authentic self, but that is billions upon billions of dollars of advertising, magazines, movies, billboards, all geared to make you feel shitty about yourself so that you will take your hard-earned money and spend it on some turnaround cream that doesn’t turn around shit.

When you don’t have self-esteem, you will hesitate before you do anything in your life. You will hesitate to go for the job you really wanna go for. You will hesitate to ask for a raise. You will hesitate to report a rape. You will hesitate to defend yourself when you are discriminated against because of your race, your sexuality, your size, your gender. You will hesitate to vote. You will hesitate to dream.

For us to have self-esteem is truly an act of revolution. And our revolution is long-overdue.

— 

Margaret Cho
(via oftenwhileshewanders)

(via shakeittotheground)

#quotes #Margaret Cho #LGBTQ #women #people of color #race #sexuality #feminism: do you speak it? #body positivity #consumerism #self-esteem #rape #discrimination #gender #revolution #best thing ever #heroes #flawless human being #yes perfect #i just really like it okay #inspirational #gorgeous

autumn-and-eve:  The queer community’s first fights were fought by trans women and AMAB gender non-conforming people and paid for by queer people of color, never forget that.

(via amorremanet)

#accurate #these are the stories of our pasts #queer #trans* #people of color #my LGBTQ is showing

More than 50 books by Queer People of Color

tranqualizer:  -dances-

(Source: livejournal.com)

#links of excellence #book love #the literary canon is a lie #queer #people of color #authors #signal boost

glaad:  Violence Against Transgender People and People of Color is Disproportionately High, LGBTQH Murder Rate Peaks

The murder rate of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) is at its highest, according to a recently released 2011 report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP). The report also shows that transgender women, people of color, and youth and young adults are at a disproportionately high risk of being victims of what the NCAVP terms hate violence.

PLEASE SHARE.

(via safespacenetwork)

#LGBTQ #charts #educate yourself #graphtypethings #hate crimes #murder #my LGBTQ is showing #people of color #privilege #queer issues #signal boost #statistics #victimization #violence #transgender #genderqueer #discrimination #wtf society #women

C'mon Governor Cuomo—Let's Pass GENDA Already

transfeminism:

GENDA, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, passed in the New York Assembly on Monday and is now headed to the Senate, where it has failed the previous five times the Assembly passed it. A report issued yesterday by the NYCLU highlights just how essential this piece of legislation is:

“A 2009 national survey that included 531 transgender people in New York found that 74 percent reported harassment or mistreatment on the job and 20 percent lost a job or were denied a promotion. In addition, 53 percent were verbally harassed or denied service at hotels and restaurants and 49 percent reported being uncomfortable seeking police assistance. Also, 18 percent had become homeless because of their transgender status and 27 percent were either denied an apartment or were evicted. And 17 percent were refused medical care due to their gender expression, the survey said.”

This is literally life or death for people, and Governor Cuomo hasn’t voiced his support for the bill yet. A version of GENDA has been passed in several cities (including NYC) but that won’t cut it—this is about the very most basic civil rights for trans and non-gender-conforming people. It is awesome that gay people can get married, and I appreciate the Governor’s outspoken support for that bill, but if he’s truly an advocate for LGBTQI rights, this right here is the bill to push through.

Without the guarantee of housing and jobs, trans people—trans women especially, and trans women of color especially especially—are at even higher risk for violence and abuse. The statistics are chilling. Trans women are more likely to be targets of violence, less likely to receive proper medical care, more like to be abused by cops, more likely to be raped. In the last month, Paige Clay and Brandy Martell were murdered, and CeCe McDonald is facing jail time for defending herself against a group of attackers screaming epithets and smashing glass in her face. The violence against trans and non-gender-conforming people is so endemic that the community has an annual Day of Remembrance to commemorate people killed because of their gender presentation JUST THAT YEAR.

GENDA is no joke, yet where are the celebrities leaning on legislators to pass it? Where is the news coverage? Where is Governor Cuomo? What’s Occupy Wall Street doing? This is the very most basic civil right stuff: the right to equal employment consideration, the right to housing, the right to medical care, the right to protection from police and (optimistically) by police. NYCLU’s Melissa Goodman:

“‘New York is really falling behind on transgender rights,’ Goodman said. ‘We were a leader in the marriage fairness fight. It’s really time for New York to be the same kind of leader in the transgender equality fight.’”

C’mon everybody. Let’s pass this thing.

freedominwickedness:  To be blunt, New York is behind. 19 years behind Minnesota, to be exact.

freedominwickedness:  Just so everyone is aware of the context, GENDA is necessary because the LGb(t) lobby in New York cut trans people out of civil rights proposals all the way back in 1971, just two years after the LGBT movement was founded by trans* people at the Stonewall Riots. At first, gays claimed that it was simply “more practical” to pass gay rights first and trans rights second; later on, this would shift to openly attacking trans rights as a “poison pill” which would kill gay rights. For the record, “poison pill” is a verbatim quote from Empire State Pride Agenda, New York’s top LGb(t) lobby.

After New York gays finally got their exclusive “me only!” civil rights bill passed in 2003, they shifted the goalposts once again, arguing that they “had to” prioritize same-sex marriage privileges for themselves over basic rights for trans people in order to “preserve political momentum.” Once they achieved marriage privileges, of course, they declared victory and talked about exporting their success to other states. Trans rights? Not even on their map anymore.

kiriamaya:  ^ And this is how it has been happening, and continues to happen, all over the country. Trans women (mostly of color) helped found queer rights movements in the USA, and then were summarily kicked out by (mostly white) cis gays who thought that said women would ruin their chances of getting their rights. And now they’re patting themselves on the back for “letting” trans* folks into “their” movement, while still saying that they’ll get around to our stuff eventually, and then showing through their actions that they’re just plain lying.

I need folks to understand that this is the history of the so-called “LGBT movement”, and that this is still going on.

#reblogging other peoples' arguments like a douche #GENDA #gender roles #discrimination #LGBTQ #politics #protesters #fuck yeah activism #my LGBTQ is showing #news #legislation #Paige Clay #Brandy Martell #CeCe McDonald #transgender #women #people of color #Governer Cuomo #THIS THIS THIS #activism #this is the story of our past #trans rights #human rights #ALL THE TAGS! #no really #educate yourself

The fact is that transgender people—in particular, transgender people of color—have simply not experienced the same strides forward as their lesbian, gay and bisexual brothers and sisters. A landmark new report, ‘Injustice at Every Turn,’ presents undeniable proof. This report, released on Friday, is based on a comprehensive survey of over 6,000 transgender people and the findings are too shocking to ignore, especially when it comes to African-American transgender people.

Our transgender brothers and sisters are far more likely to lack proper medical care, to be unemployed, to live in extreme poverty, and to be HIV-positive—and that’s when compared to their white transgender counterparts, not just the general population. The survey’s respondents were four times more likely than the general population to live in extreme poverty. One in five reported having been refused a home or apartment, another one in five report having been refused health care. More than one in five, 22 percent, reported having been harassed by law enforcement, and nearly half reported fear of seeking assistance from police. African American respondents reported all of this in even higher numbers.

— 

Mandy Carter, Still No Freedom Rainbow for Transgender People of Color (COLORLINES)

If you haven’t already, I recommend taking a look at that report. The race statistics are sobering, and too important to ignore.

(via e-pic)

(Source: kiriamaya, via e-pic)

#statistics #sociology #racism #homophobia #privilege #quotes #Mandy Carter #transgender #people of color #survey