School dress codes aren’t only sexists, but there’s also racist and islamophobic.
I (First Nations, Mohawk) used to have hair past my chest but my middle school forced me to cut my hair because “boys couldn’t have hair past the tips of the ear” (I’m not a boy either, but they assigned me ‘boy’ as a gender) but even when I begged them to let me keep my hair because of spiritual beliefs, they forced me to cut it. A classic move of the white school system against native children. I got a referral everyday for the 65 days I refused to cut my hair. I cried for two weeks after the principal took scissors to my hair. I’m still growing it back.
My best friend (who is an aboriginal Egyptian) was once told to remove her hijab (also a gift I had given her) because “hats weren’t allowed” (a mixture of racism and islamophobia), she reluctantly took it off.
In middle school again, my friend Nemo ( First Nations, Navajo) was told she couldn’t wear her traditional clothing on her 13 birthday, celebrating her reaching puberty. She was sent home and forced to spend her birthday alone while her parents worked.
Tomorrow is my 18th birthday, an important life event in Mohawk culture (becoming an adult) and I want to wear my traditional clothes to school, especially because I’ll have to celebrate all alone this year since I live far away from my nation. Even though my school doesn’t have uniforms or a strict dress code, I’m afraid they’ll tell me that my clothes or very light face paint are “distracting” and tell me to take off my traditional jewellery (headband, choker, bracelets) or wash off the face paint.
I’m sure these are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to racism in the school dress code, and general school systems. White culture is enforced in everything from the dress code to the curriculum.
many european countries explicitly prohibit wearing headscarves like the hijab in schools, too
Oh my god. And I thought school dress codes were only sexist. This is a whole new level.
don’t forget african-american students being sent home for or forbidden from wearing their natural hairstyles
I feel like the reason certain dog-lovers insist cats are evil is because they read their body language as if they were dogs. So here’s a very basic guide to common “mean” things cats do that actually aren’t mean at all if you know what they’re thinking.
Rolling and exposing belly- attacks you when touched Does not mean: Give belly rubs! – haha I tricked you! Actually means: I’m playful! If you reach for my belly I’ll grab your arm and bite it because I think we’re playfighting!
Lazily exposing belly – still attacks when touched Does not mean: tricked you again! Actually means: I’m showing you my belly because I trust you. Please don’t break that trust by invading my personal space. I might accept a belly rub if I’m not ticklish and I know you well.
Snapping at you while being pet Does not mean: I suddenly decided I dislike you! Actually means: You’re petting me in a way that gives me too much restless energy. Please focus on petting my head and shoulders instead of stroking the full length of my back next time.
Is in the same room but makes no attempt to interact Does not mean: I’m ignoring you Actually means: We’re hanging out! I’m being respectful by giving you space while still enjoying your company.
Slapping/scratching your hand when you try to pet them Does not mean: I hate you! Actually means: You’ve failed to establish that we’re not playing, or the way you’re approaching me scares me. Be calmer, speak more gently, make eye-contact and blink slowly at me before you try again.
I love this post omg, thank you so much. As a lifelong cat person, dogs perplex me because they’re so completely different behaviourally.
I love dogs too but, I’ve been trying to tell people, you canNOT treat cats like you treat dogs. They arent the same animals and have very different personalities
P.s.: people often pet cats way too hard. Dogs like a firm pet or a pat on the belly, cats dont have the same bone structure and are more flexible than dogs so what you’re doing probably hurts them
Sitting and staring Does not mean: I am challenging you/plotting your demise/just generally evil and creepy. Actually means: I am a desert-adapted species, so my natural tears are very thick and keep my eyes moist for a nice long time. I do find people interesting and enjoy watching them. I just don’t need to blink very often!
Staring and blinking slowly Does not mean: I’m smug and think I am smarter than you. Actually means: I like you! But I don’t need to get up in your face to show it. I can just sit over here and blow kisses at you to show you I am glad you are around!
It’s very frustrating for me when people expect cats to act like dogs, or act like they’re deceitful. They aren’t! They just AREN’T DOGS.
oh, interesting note: op is throwing a pity party because someone added those nasty-wasty acey-waceys to their pure L! G! B! T! ONLY post, and they DIDN’T LIKE THAT. Keep reblogging this version to piss them off.
i got to witness my grandma talking about me being a lesbian and having a not-male partner this weekend, completely normally, not stuttering at all or even missing a beat or saying anything insensitive or acting willfully confused or ignorant
also, she had absolutely no hangups on using my partner’s pronouns correctly (they/them)
my grandma is 80+
never let anyone convince you that its impossible to unlearn something they were previously ignorant about
my grandma sat quietly and attentively while i explained my sexuality to her and had zero problems adjusting to talking about my gf and i the right way
i am incredibly blessed and lucky but also… no one has any fucking excuse to not try and understand who their loved ones truly are. if my 80 yr old grandma can go from confused and worried to loving and understanding after a 10 min conversation, anyone can
adults, while forcing all children above the age of 5 to sit still, be silent, and obey orders for 7-8 hours a day with minimal breaks, reducing their exposure to fresh air and sunlight to almost nothing, forcing them to alter their natural sleeping patterns to increase productivity, and repeatedly telling them their self worth depends on their being able to follow these instructions perfectly for 13 or more years: kids these days are so lazy! they never go outside! they never want to do anything! clearly it’s not because of us!
And I hate this because people are always saying that we’re able to go outside at any time! That we apparently have all the time in the world to play around!
No. The whole system is fucked up because people think that we are the problems. The we, as a generation, are lazy and careless and that it has nothing to do with the fact that
1.) From the first day of kindergarten we are taught to sit and not talk to anyone
2.) That we are only to obey an adult
3.) That we are made to wake up earlier and have to trudge through a maximum of 16 hours of constant work
4.) That we are taught that it doesn’t matter when you can’t take a fucking test
5.) That it doesn’t matter what WE WANT.
We are told from day one that every thing will get harder. Hell yeah it did. We are deprived of half the amount of anything we need and even including sunlight if you would like to say so as well.
Adults over half the time think “it’s those stupid phones”. Or that “You talk with your friends too much”. Or that “you’re just lazy.”
“We had it harder than you.”
And that’s fucked up. That single phrase, “We had it harder” is the whole reason they do it. They build our lives from ground up with discipline. With constant unnecessary obstacles.
Shitty. There’s hardly any amount of adults I can personally even claim that understand what’s going on.
And by the way to any shitty person who wants to say this doesn’t happen. If anyone who reads this is one of the people who complain about us having stupid phones.
Here’s a tip. Don’t give us any if you want to complain.
get up. make lunch. go to school. don’t be late. don’t skip classes. don’t sleep in class. 2 tests this week. 3 essays due for monday. do the required reading. if you don’t you’ll fail. go home. homework, practice, assignments. oh fuck where’s my papers. it’s late. so tired. finish work (or maybe don’t. badbadbad). wake up. so t i r e d. “if you hadn’t been on your devices all night.” escape. return. go to school. need to sleep. can’t sleep. mustn’t fail. mustn’t be late. more work. go home. more work. take a break. “you kids are so lazy. everytime i look you’re on those damn devices.” finish work. chores. late. need sleep. don’t sleep in class. must pass. can’t fail. can’t fail. can’tfailcan’tfailcan’tfailcan’tfail. throw up from stress. “do we need to take the social media away?” nonono. only respite. please don’t. extracurriculars. no time to work. 3 essays due monday. 2 tests to study for. “when i was your age”. best not good enough. better better better. nothing can be late. stress. can’t sleep in. can’t be late. tired. can’t think. need to think. work to do. go to school. do work. go home. sports/art/math/tutoring/job/robot/business/music/etc. homework. chores. more more more. “it’s a nice day. you need to go outside” 3 essays due on monday. 2 tests to study for. start studying for exams too. need to sleep. keep going. sleep on week-end. parents planned events. homework. week-end is gone. sleep when? monday… Monday. essays due. can’tfailcan’tfailcan’tfail. w h y. fail=no uni=no job=death.can’tfailç̡͜á͠n̢͘’̧́͝t́͏̶̴f̧̧͠a͘͞͝i̶̷̕l̡҉̀͢͞c̫͎̪̱̖͔̓̃̅a̗͕̦͍͔̔̇͂̅̓n͇̱̠̳̬̘̪̂͗̄ͮ͂͗’̩̍͐̂t̜͇̝͕̲̫͔ͨ͛ͯf̫̬̽ͨͬͅaͤͫḯ̥͖̥͙̟͇͔l̾͗ sleep as much as possible. get up. make lunch. go to school.
The Chaos Bitches 