WHAT WE'RE ABOUT
We are constantly redefining our own perspectives, and therefore tend to write a lot about our personal experiences. Many followers and contributors are living with anorexia, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, and a variety of other body image disorders or mental illnesses, so please be respectful and remember that health applies differently to everyone. Any and all potentially triggering content will be prefaced with a trigger warning.
RBI supports all races, genders, classes, and sizes. We try our best to make this a safe space for everyone. If we are not doing our job or checking our privilege, we invite you to please inform us.
Some of the artwork you see here has been created by our founder or moderators, some sourced when applicable. Please be kind enough to source this blog whenever you share it's content.
We are not health professionals. Any and all advice provided on this blog is supported only by our own research, studies, and personal experiences; nothing more.
This blog is part of the Safe Space Network.
followers, i need your help. please re-blog and share w/ anyone who might be willing to help!
a few of you have heard about my independent study that i’m doing this semester focused on the commodification of trans women of color bodies specifically in regards to sex work.
a portion of my independent study is to conduct 2 oral history interviews.
the most important part of this is getting the practice, I hope that I don’t have to use the interviews for my final paper, but it is a possibility because it’s been extremely hard to find any sort of materials or evidence focused on trans women of color doing sex work.
i’m looking for some folks to interview [this can be over the phone or skype] and in order to be eligible:
- be a trans woman of color
- have been involved in or currently involved in sex work [any forms acceptable]
a little bit about me: Lexi, a fierce and amazing trans woman of color and femme. Currently a senior in Women & Gender Studies at San Francisco State University.
Little disclaimer: As a student I don’t have funding and this isn’t an official research project, however if you require some form of compensation for your time I am definitely willing to cook you something or send you a small gift card of your choice.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask!
Thanks!
when i look in the mirror and try to smooth the lumps rolling across my body, my friends say, “stop that! you have great curves! you fill things out!” and all i can wonder is, “why is it my burden to carry my confidence?”
how can you understand when you see your own face + body everywhere, on tv and in film, in magazines and every catalogue?
everywhere i look i’m told to hate myself and yet i’m chastised when i have a moment of weakness, criticized when i’m too vain.
i can’t perfect this balance of modest confidence and i shouldn’t have to, not when i already have to navigate the world as a woman of color. i’m not even allowed the freedom to express my full range of emotions — i’m supposed to present the right representation for my race. you’ve always been an individual first, a member of your race second.
but how am i supposed to do that when little white girls just like you used to say to me, “you could be a model if you weren’t short. or fat. or ugly.”
the only thing they forgot to admit was white.
i hate having to reconcile being desired sexually because i’m asian and being aesthetically rejected for it all at the same time.
you think i should be flattered when i’m fetishized, but how can you mandate to me what encompasses “flattery” when no one has ever said to you : “wow, i love your swedish eyes” or “damn, i love white women” (though the opposite is constantly thought about women of color).
stopt telling me to feel beautiful, because when people tell me i’m beautiful they simultaneously remove my humanity. an asian beauty, never a beautiful woman.
you could never understand. you get to be beautiful and human, beautiful and whole.
Recently I’ve accepted my body. I’m still working on losing weight, but my main goal is being healthy. I’ve learned that positive thoughts lead you to a positive place. I’m 18, 5’7 200lbs and very proud of my body and what it’ll become in the future. I’ve also recently shaved my head as a fresh start. I think it brings out the beauty I missed before.
Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou
Untitled (Demoiselles series), 2012
major black girl problem #180-FIFTY SHADES OF BEIGE
I dream about this sort of dye job.
I feel like maybe I need to find someone to give me a weave. I would dye the hair myself.
New Post | I Think I’m Ready To Let You Get Under My Skin
UMMMMM…no.
This is the bullshit white feminist line of thinking that deters WoC from joining the feminist movement.
It ignores 1) that women is a blanket term and that fact the women of color experience both sexism and racism 2) that the feminist movement is latent with racism.
And by trying to equate the oppressions, you actually undermine the history of racism and the existence of Women of Color.
Sexism does not affect everyone the same. Racism is not the same as Sexism, nor does it have the same consequences.
“Suffering is not necessarily a fixed and universal experience that can be measured by a single rod: it is related to situations, needs, and aspirations. But there must be some historical and political parameters for the use of the term so that political priorities can be established and different forms and degrees of suffering can be given the most attention.”
Anyone that doesn’t realize this hasn’t fully examined the status of women of color in this society nor do the understand the basic assertions of functional feminism.
^^^ The bolded
Earlier this evening, I (Britt) sat in a coffee shop with a friend I’ve known since college. We both were sometimes “odd women out” in our social group and we easily bonded in the past over our “uniqueness,” our “otherness,” our “woman of color-ness.” And today like days in the past, we discussed the lack of outlets for women like us, in a variety of different areas (creative writing, entertainment, academia).
It was a reminder of the work that is yet to come. When people mention women artists of color, they list a couple of established creatives and then stop. That’s the thing. If you can only name one or two, we are not where we need to be. And so, Sad Pretty Girls. This is not the only solution, but it is a call to action, an outlet, a small source of inspiration. We want to hear your voices.
We neglected to make a final call for submissions before the original deadline and so we have decided to extend the deadline for submissions to February 1, 2013. The previous guidelines still apply:
We are currently accepting submissions of previously unpublished short stories, illustrations, poems and essays. Pieces submitted may be in any style and on any subject. Submit a maximum of two essays or short stories (up to 2500 words long) and five poems (up to 50 lines long). The artwork submission guidelines are completely open.
Send all work as Word or image file attachments to sadprettygirlsofcolor@gmail.com with a short biographical write-up within the body of the email. New and established writers alike are encouraged to submit.
Love,
Sara, Safy, and Britt
YOU SHOULD SUBMIT GLORIOUS STUFF TO THIS IF YOU/YOUR WORK FITS THE GUIDELINES