Fuck Yeah Fierce Bitches

Hollywood is a business. And I don’t fault it for that. It’s a business about money and advertising, and we don’t translate in the foreign market. And a lot of people want to indict Hollywood for that, but I don’t think it’s just an indictment on Hollywood; it may be more of an indictment on people who go to the theatre to put their money down – to see what? You see a film with a predominantly black cast and you don’t see it as inclusive, but you see a film with a predominantly white cast and it is. Why?

I want to be a pioneer; I want to take on the responsibility and the weight of something bigger than myself, which is more diverse storylines, especially for African-American actresses. But I can only do what I do. I certainly can’t change Hollywood’s complete perception of black actresses – I need help.

becauseofthiswoman:

Name: Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink
Dates: 1927-2002

Why she rocks: Patsy Mink was an American politician in Hawaii, and served in the US House of Representatives for 12 terms. She was the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman elected into Congress. She was also the first Asian American to seek the presidential nomination for the Democratic Party in the 1972 election. She also authored the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act, thus having it named after her: “The Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act”

Quote: “We have to build things that we want to see accomplished, in life and in our country, based on our own personal experiences… to make sure that others do not have to suffer the same discrimination.”
 
Because of this woman… we have equal opportunities amendments for higher education, and a multi-cultural presence in politics for women and asian americans. 

wixsey:

“There are patterns in my life, aspects of my personality that are still there and were there as a child, my mother always said I was single-minded. There was no compromise with me, she felt powerless as a parent. I just don’t think I ever needed parental approval. I want to do this now, and I am going to do it. My mum says she didn’t know where I got this attitude from, this idea that I could do anything I set my mind to. But she learnt after a while there was no point in arguing with me because I just don’t give in.”

“I find it really irritating when guys are teasing their guy friends and they’re saying, ‘C’mon, man up, don’t be a pussy.’ It’s like, really? It’s a vulgar, pornographic term out there for a women’s anatomy, and that’s what you call a guy who isn’t man enough? Why? Where did that come from? It seems like not a big deal at the end of the day; I hear it all the time and I understand that it’s not. But when you really start to think about what the subtext of it means, it’s interesting. I see it every day. I’m a woman who works at a job that is mostly populated by men. Most of the film set is made up of men and I watch the way that the people relate to each other, I watch the way that they make comments about women on the set and I work with lovely people and I pick up on things that I don’t think are 100 percent awesome all the time. I think it’s important to really make sure that we’re reinforcing, especially from a young age, respect for women. When you think that one of the most powerful things that men can do is put us down, that’s obviously because we’re incredibly powerful if we’re built up. It’s something we need to know and women need to own. If you’re going to get called a bitch for standing up for yourself, for being educated, for having opinions and for using your voice, then fine, let them call you a bitch. If a man was doing any of those things he would be complimented and they’d say, ‘Oh you know, he’s really got balls, he’s really strong, he’s really assertive.’ But a woman who’s assertive immediately gets sort of categorized as difficult. I don’t agree, I say go ahead, be loud, make them listen to you.”

(Source: greysweatpants)

As a child, I felt like a changeling at odds with the planet I arrived on. I didn’t understand the world I was born into, and that feeling of dissonance colored my youth. I saw that rigidness existed, and as a result, for me, rigidness got a bad name. Looseness was far better. And I gravitated toward a different life.

I think anyone who is creative or self-aware in any way, there’s like a humility to it, or I should say a humiliation to it. But there’s also a self-delusion — the provisional ego, as my uncle would call it. The self-delusion is the thing that makes you go, oh you know what, all the music that I’ve ever loved in the world, I want to be a part of that — hey, listen to what I have to say, it’s really important, it’s going to matter.

Annie Clark

“Some people are brave enough to give credence to their childishness.” — Stana Katic

(Source: changinandhow)

“I’m not supercomfortable in my skin. I have to make it work for me, and that usually amounts to making it uncomfortable for everyone else.”

create-love:

Dora Akunyili as photographed by the fantastic Paolo Woods.

Article from Le Monde via Woods’ site:

“Dora Akunyili, 52, in the company of two of her bodyguards in the office in Abuja, Nigeria. She is the head of NAFDAC, the national food and drug association and has survived three murder attempts commanded by the Nigerian producers of counterfeit drugs. Her unflinching dedication to the cause of liberating Nigeria of false medicines has earned her 435 medals and decorations. When she took office in 2001, counterfeits represented 50[%]of the market. Today they are down at less the 20[%] (sic)  Nigeria/Abuja/04.2007”

celestialmazer:

“If there’s specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can’t change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies. It’s irrelevant who or what directed a movie, the important thing is that you either respond to it or you don’t. There should be more women directing; I think there’s just not the awareness that it’s really possible. It is.”
-Kathryn Bigelow 

Happy 60th birthday, what a boss.