Category: Uncategorized

How can we distinguish what is biologically determined from what people merely try to justify through biological myths? A good rule of thumb is ‘Biology enables, culture forbids.’ Biology is willing to tolerate a very wide spectrum of possibilities. It’s culture that obliges people to realise some possibilities while forbidding others. Biology enables women to have children – some cultures oblige women to realise this possibility. Biology enables men to enjoy sex with one another – some cultures forbid them to realise this possibility.

Culture tends to argue that it forbids only that which is unnatural. But from a biological perspective, nothing is unnatural. Whatever is possible is by definition also natural. A truly unnatural behaviour, one that goes against the laws of nature, simply cannot exist, so it would need no prohibition. No culture has ever bothered to forbid men to photosynthesise, women to run faster than the speed of light, or negatively charged electrons to be attracted to each other.

In truth, our concepts ‘natural’ and unnatural’ are taken not from biology, but from Christian theology. The theological meaning of ‘natural’ is ‘in accordance with the intentions of the God who created nature’. Christian theologians argued that God created the human body, intending each limb and organ to serve a particular purpose. If we use our limbs and organs for the purpose envisioned by God, then it is a natural activity. To use them differently than God intends is unnatural. But evolution has no purpose. Organs have not evolved with a purpose, and the way they are used is in constant flux. There is not a single organ in the human body that only does the job its prototype did when it first appeared hundreds of millions of years ago. Organs evolve to perform a particular function, but once they exist, they can be adapted for other usages as well. Mouths, for example, appeared because the earliest multicellular organisms needed a way to take nutrients into their bodies. We still use our mouths for that purpose, but we also use them to kiss, speak and, if we are Rambo, to pull the pins out of hand grenades. Are any of these uses unnatural simply because our worm-like ancestors 600 million years ago didn’t do those things with their mouths?

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Harari, Yuval Noah)

ravensrandoms:

shisno:

rigormorton32:

Does anybody else remember a time, long long ago, when you could just enjoy things?

You could watch a movie and just appreciate it instead of over analyzing every single scene to make sure there’s nothing remotely offensive about it.

You could have a favorite character and just like them and appreciate how great they were written and portrayed, without being told you’re terrible because they’re a villain. Even though they’re FICTIONAL and most likely were deliberately written to be likable. (Even if they were written as an evil character, I still think you have a right to like them, but maybe that’s just me)

You could love and be a fan of the actors without having to go full on FBI agent, looking into their backgrounds to make sure they are 100% perfect and had never made a mistake ever.

You could post about said actor without some busybody little fandom cop, slithering into your inbox to tell you(all too happily) that your fave is “problematic” (god, I fucking hate that word), and you’re disgusting if you still like them.

I’m in my 30’s so I remember those good ole days and it’s kind of sad to know, that most of you will never truly know how great that was. That’s a time long since forgotten. Bummer.

Yes, I remember that.

You know what I also remember?

How one of my friends was always awkwardly quiet after the rest of his friends group laughed at a ‘no homo’ set up joke. How he never laughed along when someone used ‘gay’ to describe something. I remember telling people who didn’t laugh that “it’s a joke, what’s wrong with you?”

I also remember, almost a decade after, crying happily as he married the love of his life who happened to be a man.

I remember laughing at a racist joke in a movie with my cousins, and her one black friend, her best friend, up and leaving because of it. I remember nodding along as she said “ugh, she can never take a joke”.

I remember asking my cousin about her years later and learning they never spoke after that. Ten years of friendship lost that night.

I remember sitting in a room filled with guy friends, making sexist jokes and being told I was so cool for not being as uptight as “other girls”. I remember that slowly losing its shine, and wondering why I felt more and more uncomfortable hearing that.

And then I remember who I was back then, and how I am so glad I am no longer that person.

I remember the first time I apologized to my gay friends for the jokes I used to make. I remember the first time I didn’t try to defend how I “didn’t mean to be racist”. I remember the first time I asked a guy just what is wrong with “other girls”, and how I lost some friends that day who I realized were never really my friends.

You know what changed? I changed. Through listening and understanding and admitting my privileges and faults, I changed. Now even if I try, I can’t just enjoy something that jokes at the expense of others. I cant watch someone who is unapologetically problematic in media.

I can’t enjoy these things because I realize now that their very existence hurts. That the very existence of this type of media perpetuates behaviors and ideologies that can lead to people being abused, harassed, and murdered.

And you know what? That’s a good thing. Because the more people who refuse to ingest this type of media, the less audience it has, and the stronger the message becomes that these things – racism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, etc. – are not things to be waved off. You’re not edgy or cool for ignoring them. You’re not “uptight” by being upset by them. These are real things with very real social impact.

The reality is, there was never a time when everyone could just enjoy things. To be able to say you had that time is to admit the privilege you had at not having to think about problematic behavior because it didn’t negatively affect your life.

I don’t remember a time where I could “just enjoy things”. What I remember is a time where I was able to enjoy something by throwing everyone who could be hurt by or suffer from it under the bus.

I remember those times in MY life. And I am so fucking grateful they are in the past.

YES. Thank you for spelling this out.

She had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph. And I said ‘Well, you’re the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?’ And she said, ‘Jolene.’ And I said ‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that.’

Dolly Parton on the fan that inspired “Jolene.” (via windwake)

image

Okay but like can you even imagine? You get an autograph from your fav musician and they write a song about how beautiful you are? This sounds like the plot of a fanfiction written by a 12 year old.

(via lierdumoa)

elodieunderglass:

la-rainette:

elodieunderglass:

Here are some of my IRL friends talking about their new paper on fossil embryos. fossil embryos you guys FOSSIL EMBRYOS.

Highlights include John unexpectedly sounding exactly like Brian Cox?!??, noble striding, and a Fellow of the Royal Society dramatically glaring at a rock.

I hope it’s okay to reblog (if not I’ll delete the post), but it’s pretty amazing and should be widely shared. 

Go on, the more views, the more influence – and the more stuff like this becomes presented in an accessible format for the public!

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

elenadolerini:

fiercedeception:

screengeniuz:

thelegendarybender:

Black History Fact Of The Day

On November 26, 2013 Amber Riley (best know for her roles on Glee, The Wiz Live! as well as various roles in theater musicals) became the season 17 winner of Dancing With The Stars, making her the first & only Black woman to ever win the mirror ball trophy in the show’s history. She was a fan & judge favorite throughout the season never scoring below 8/10 over the course of the 12 week season. Another notable fact is that she was the first plus size winner breaking the boundaries and stereotypes that surrounds people with her body type that say big people (especially women) can’t dance, be athletic and be sexy. Overall a prime example of #Black Girl Magic✨. 

– “I did this competition because I didn’t know if I could do it and anything that scares me, I wanna do. So I wanna let women of all sizes out there know you can do whatever you put your mind to. It doesn’t matter what size you are, what color you are; you can do whatever, whatever, whatever you put your mind to!” –Amber Riley during her trophy acceptance speech

Here’s her week 1 Cha Cha Cha & season finale Free style

Okay. I’m crying again 😩. I love this post SO much. But you really need to watch all of the YouTube videos of their performances and particularly the ones with the judges’ commentary 😩🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾.

MY BABY

OH MY GOD YEEEESSSS

If you could press a button that would give you a great deal of money, but it would cause someone you don’t know in a distant part of the world to die, then you would have a good model for how our current economy works.

Cecil Palmer, Welcome to Night Vale episode 105: “What Happened at the Smithwick House” (via doctortreklock)

renaissavce:

IF YOU THINK IM GONNA SIT HERE AND WATCH YOUR COUNTRY’S EUROVISION CONTESTANT SING A SONG IN YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE YOu are very right please sing in your native language I’d love to hear your native language through a song please show it to the whole world!

vintagehomeplans:

Belgium, 1962: Bungalow in Teralfene

The roofline and some of the little details make this a very playful-looking modern house. The entrance hall opens to an open T-shaped living room with space for a dining table, study, etc. A kitchen and utility room complete this level. Two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a massive closet are five steps up.

Neue Einfamilienhäuser by Kurt Hoffman, 1962. (Stuttgart, Germany) —from my library

New speed build done!