@feminerds / feminerds.tumblr.com
NBMO + Bubble! Gender non-conforming <3
Yep that’s Virginia Woolf Awwooo0o0o00OO00oo00OO-ing! In a rainbow cameo. I did dat!
I -finally- made the Vinyl Cuterus Sticker available for purchase online.
✧ﾟ･:* THE GREAT 2015 WOOLF PACK POCKET CHANGE DRIVE *:･ﾟ✧
The Pack’s got a pretty full few months ahead: setting up a workshop and festival-spanning installation at Backbone’s 2high Festival and launching our 6th issue in January, and we’ll be heading to the Festival of the Photocopier in February! You can read our issues for free on our site, and though we sell physical copies we only just about break even across the board. Aside from the normal costs of printing, we’ve got to cover supplies for our installation and travel for the festival.
Yikes!
So, if you’ve ever read the zine and liked it, and you’ve got five bucks burning a hole in your bank account, consider kicking Woolf Pack a few bucks through our PayPal. We’ll be posting an arty something every day this week with the same call-out: today K. Queene’s serving dino-femme realness!
The medical community on literally every female specific health issue ever: “very common condition” “no known cause” “no known cure” :))))))
What the fuck is tumblr? Like honestly what is this? Do you guys pull shit out of the inner most depths of your rectum and then just throw it on your keyboard and have it turn into a post???? This site is something else what the fuck is wrong with you people????!?!?
Endemetriosis
Vaginal Thrush
Menorrhagia
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Fibroids
Very common conditions, causes are unknown or only speculated, long term cures have not been found. Most can cause chronic pain or discomfort, all can seriously impact your quality of life.
Men are so damn privileged they can’t even imagine female bodies have different healthcare needs than theirs and that our healthcare needs are important even if they can’t be affected by one of these conditions.
Endometriosis causes excruciating pain and is a leading cause of infertility. Thrush is extremely uncomfortable, and expensive to treat repeatedly; over-the-counter preparations rarely completely eradicate it. Menorrhagia, which I have, makes you anæmic. PCOS causes hormonal symptoms that are socially difficult (facial hair, acne, hair loss, weight gain). Fibroids are so common, and are often treated with a hysterectomy.
Add in fibromylgia, which affects 8x as many women as men, as well as lupus (and almost any other autoimmune condition), systemic exertion intolerance disorder (SEID), iron deficiency anæmia (all of which affect more women than men), and you have well over 25% of childbearing-age women globally living with chronic pain and tiredness.
Chronic pain is overwhelmingly experienced by women, and women are less likely to be taken seriously or given treatment by medical professionals. I went through two years of diagnostics to finally find out I had occipital neuralgia; I felt doubted when I described my pain at every step of the way, but was lucky to have a partner who was persistent in helping me get treatment.
Basically, this is a huge problem, and also one of the reasons I have been considering medical school.
Don’t forget that most pharmaceuticals go to market without ever having been tested on people with a uterus, lest someone get pregnant… seriously that is the whole rationale behind not testing >50% of the population. This has been legislated against in some countries, but still persists in the of majority drug development because of other regulations, and traditions and laziness. The use of a drug is of course monitored in the population after release, but the people “trying” it in this capacity get none of the insurance, close and regular medical examination or monetary benefit of essentially being in a late stage drug trial. Drugs that are pulled from market after release are sometimes done so on the basis that the dosage is just too high for females/afab people and this is, of course, after they’ve experienced the adverse affects.
This is why if you get pregnant your doctor will take you off basically any and all medication you’re taking (including mental health medication, can’t imagine any implications/dire consequences there), not because they know it will have an adverse affect on the foetus but because they have no idea. How wonderfully kind of them to prioritise the health and life of an unborn foetus over that of a living person, let’s just hope they don’t become ill whilst pregnant. How charmingly logical it is that they wouldn’t even bother to test drugs in people with a uterus because it’s all too difficult and gosh, darn what an ethical conundrum we’ve been faced with, let’s just not! Which is so in the spirit of capital S, Science!
Sources: Nature, Nature, Medscape, Biomedcentral.
The medical community on literally every female specific health issue ever: “very common condition” “no known cause” “no known cure” :))))))
What the fuck is tumblr? Like honestly what is this? Do you guys pull shit out of the inner most depths of your rectum and then just throw it on your keyboard and have it turn into a post???? This site is something else what the fuck is wrong with you people????!?!?
Endemetriosis
Vaginal Thrush
Menorrhagia
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Fibroids
Very common conditions, causes are unknown or only speculated, long term cures have not been found. Most can cause chronic pain or discomfort, all can seriously impact your quality of life.
Men are so damn privileged they can’t even imagine female bodies have different healthcare needs than theirs and that our healthcare needs are important even if they can’t be affected by one of these conditions.
Endometriosis causes excruciating pain and is a leading cause of infertility. Thrush is extremely uncomfortable, and expensive to treat repeatedly; over-the-counter preparations rarely completely eradicate it. Menorrhagia, which I have, makes you anæmic. PCOS causes hormonal symptoms that are socially difficult (facial hair, acne, hair loss, weight gain). Fibroids are so common, and are often treated with a hysterectomy.
Add in fibromylgia, which affects 8x as many women as men, as well as lupus (and almost any other autoimmune condition), systemic exertion intolerance disorder (SEID), iron deficiency anæmia (all of which affect more women than men), and you have well over 25% of childbearing-age women globally living with chronic pain and tiredness.
Chronic pain is overwhelmingly experienced by women, and women are less likely to be taken seriously or given treatment by medical professionals. I went through two years of diagnostics to finally find out I had occipital neuralgia; I felt doubted when I described my pain at every step of the way, but was lucky to have a partner who was persistent in helping me get treatment.
Basically, this is a huge problem, and also one of the reasons I have been considering medical school.
Don’t forget that most pharmaceuticals go to market without ever having been tested on people with a uterus, lest someone get pregnant… seriously that is the whole rationale behind not testing >50% of the population. This has been legislated against in some countries, but still persists in the of majority drug development because of other regulations, and traditions and laziness. The use of a drug is of course monitored in the population after release, but the people “trying” it in this capacity get none of the insurance, close and regular medical examination or monetary benefit of essentially being in a late stage drug trial. Drugs that are pulled from market after release are sometimes done so on the basis that the dosage is just too high for females/afab people and this is, of course, after they’ve experienced the adverse affects.
This is why if you get pregnant your doctor will take you off basically any and all medication you’re taking (including mental health medication, can’t imagine any implications/dire consequences there), not because they know it will have an adverse affect on the foetus but because they have no idea. How wonderfully kind of them to prioritise the health and life of an unborn foetus over that of a living person, let’s just hope they don’t become ill whilst pregnant. How charmingly logical it is that they wouldn’t even bother to test drugs in people with a uterus because it’s all too difficult and gosh, darn what an ethical conundrum we’ve been faced with, let’s just not! Which is so in the spirit of capital S, Science!
Sources: Nature, Nature, Medscape, Biomedcentral.
Stickers arrived 😍👌😍 so many flippin’ cuteruses! #stickerapp #cuterus #myart
Participating in a photo petition to support the UQU Women’s Room.
Lifted from the petition page:
The Women's Room is an important part of the services the UQ Union provides to students at the University of Queensland. It is a place where students can feel free to discuss sensitive topics openly, to exist with comfort where that may not be possible outside this space, and to meet with like-minded students. It is open to women and all trans and nonbinary students.
Important practical functions of the Women's Room include: - it being a place for breastfeeding mothers on campus to feed their child in a comfortable, quiet, private environment - it being a place for women of various religious faiths to remove garments that they wear in public and in the presence of men - it being a place for trans people to spend time without the often considerable discomfort experienced in being among the general public - it being a place for these students and women to congregate, socialise and network with each other where that may be difficult otherwise
Traditionally and historically, universities have been male-dominated places that have actively sought to exclude women, that have discouraged women from attending, and - despite eventually admitting women - that have not taken all possible steps to facilitate women's full participation in university life as students and staff. Having a room on campus in which women can have a sense of autonomy and spend a short time free from the features and norms of our society that impact negatively on women is a valuable and necessary service for women students. It is a small space in the UQ Union complex that is highly valued by many women at UQ, and does not foster a sense of exclusion or negativity towards others.
On one hand Ex Machina (I haven’t seen it yet, this is just reflection on the trailer) is looking so, so like it’s my types of thing. I am really keen on anything that explores consciousness, and where we draw the line for consciousness being ‘valid’ consciousness, and why we think human consciousness is an appropriate yard stick for consciousness in a universal sense. But on the other hand it has this dreadful, oh no I fell in love with the AI because IT HAS WOMAN SHAPES, and it’s terrible totally-essential-to-feminity personality trait of female emotional manipulation and sexiness will lead to the downfall of the brilliant invention logic of us 2 man genius.
Like if this problem wouldn’t exist if the AI was male coded in its presentation than might this be sexist nonsense, n'est-ce pas?
Always with the fetishized female presenting/presented cyborgs/AI/robots
Seeing a lot of ‘Omg these stupid people’ & ‘Why would they do that? It’s obviously going to hurt them’. Granted it’s not a great idea but seriously, how would people get
the impression that hurting
yourself is a normal part of
achieving an arbitrary
standard of beauty?!
Calling for submissions for the second Zine of the year.
Theme: INTERSECTIONALITY.
UQ students, get your typing fingers ready for articles/poems/etc on race, ability, religion, socioeconomics, eco-feminism…THE LIST IS ENDLESS! If it intersects with feminism, we want it! As always, cover art and artwork wanted.
Submissions close 22 April 2015
Fiddly details: - word limit: 1000 words - submit to [email protected] with “zine submission” in the subject line - include any details you want printed in the zine (author/credit) - please submit text as a word document
Some of the most memorable occasions on which I've been called a slut. It's been used to admonish me for being disobedient (in regard to that particular man's demands of me) rather than sexual.
I have expressed interest in performing humour reliant on rape and sexual assault. The following waiver out lines, not exhaustively, the potential consequences, and upon signing I confirm my understanding of them before proceeding.
Upon making a rape joke I accept that my comments may offend, trigger or bring about an argument.
I understand that 1 in 5 women, and 1 in 20 men have in their life time have reported an incidence of sex assault and that only 19% of female victims ever report an assault [1]. I understand that the likelihood of these instances of sexual violence increases for gay, lesbian and people of non-binary gender identity [2]. I understand that my joke may bring about the recollection of trauma in those who have experienced rape and sexual assault. I understand that my joke will not only make them recall this moment or moments, it may lead to the victim feeling further ashamed, victimised or traumatised by the event [3]. I understand that upwards of 35% of rape victims suffer from PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) from the assault at some point in their lifetime [3]. In making a rape joke I accept that the disturbance inflicted upon a victim of rape by my joke is a direct result of my actions.
I understand that sexual assault is 4 times more likely to be perpetrated by someone the victim knows and may still know [1]. I understand that my joke will normalise and trivialise rape, thus confirming to rapists who may be in my presence that I find their actions normal, reasonable or excusable. I accept that a lack of victims or assailants in the audience for my joke does not exempt me from propagating harmful trivialisation of sexual violence and violation.
I understand that ‘freedom of speech’ gives me the right to say something without institutional reprisals, but does not exempt me from criticism for my comments. I accept that a rape victim, sexual assault victim or the family and friends of a victim, or just people who doesn’t think rape and sexual assault is funny may also exercise their right to ‘freedom of speech’ to point out that my joke is insensitive, cruel and trivialising. I understand that neither an imagined absence of freedom of speech, nor ‘political correctness’, can be held accountable in the event that I feel that my joke did not go over well.
In full knowledge of the above, I elect to tell my joke as I prioritise the fleeting, cruel and misogynistic laughter that this joke may glean over the safety and comfort of survivors. I understand that my joke exists in a continuum of rape culture, of which it perpetuates.
I understand the above and still wish to proceed with the joke.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. Signed. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. Name printed. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. Dated
[1]. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006, Personal Safety, Australia, 2005, cat. no. 4606.0, ABS, Canberra. [2]. Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2012, Sexual violence and gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, intersex, & queer communities, AIF, Canberra [3]. Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2011, The impacts of sexual assault on women, AIF, Canberra. Written piece from Issue #4 by contributor Talia.
