#YesAllWomen More than just a hashtag

Initially created in response Elliot Rodgers brutal rampage #YesAllWomen has taken on a life of its own. Rodgers made it  very clear clear in his 141 page essay and in his youtube video that his actions were not his fault. Women were to blame because they refused to accept his sexual advantages.’ How dare they say no.

It’s almost comical that from misogynistic hatred of one very troubled young man a movement has sprung that has the potential to do so much good for women’s rights.  

Some people might think that #YesAllWomen is just another twitter trend on a par with #selfie or #KeepingItReal. But It’s so much more than just a trend.

Statistically 80% of a rapes or sexually assaults on women go unreported. Of those that are, very few lead to conviction.Because women are made to feel guilty. That their rape is their own fault, because of what they were wearing or because they had a glass of wine. But in participating in #YesAllWomen, in sharing just one instance of when you felt threatened and uncomfortable by unwanted sexual advances, women are slowly gaining  confidence that will change these statistics. In standing up on a Global Internet platform and saying no. No, I didn’t want it. No that wasn’t okay for you to do that, or say that, or touch me like that. In highlighting all those little episodes that occur far to often, that make you feel uncomfortable, that you shrug off as something that as a woman you just have to deal with is paving the way to so much more.

#YesAllWomen is Change. In highlighting  those little things for the first time those things can not be dismissed out of hand, Not when there are thousands upon thousands of women who are saying the same thing.

           No we are not overreacting, nor are we imagining things and it is most certainly not a compliment.

 

Countless times I’ve been harassed in the street. Had abuse hurled at me by strange men. Been followed, been grabbed and bruised by strangers who will not accept that I’m not interested. I’ve been pushed into the corner of a club, pinned there by someone twice my size to be told ‘you know you want it’ as they try put a hand down my top or up my skirt, terrified, because as much as you push, as much as you struggle in those few moments you are very very aware that you can do nothing.  Because it’s a well known fact that a short skirt is open invitation, and if you can see a hint of cleavage the girl may as well be saying ‘Come at me Baby’.

Hmmmmmm,

Nope. Pull the other one next time, It has bells on.

I’ve been lucky. Someone has always noticed, friends or strangers, someone has intervened but that isn’t the case for everyone.

In giving voice to the experience, beyond the momentary half muttered ‘creep’, that experience is not dismissed and forgotten. The more people talk about something, the more it is acceptable for that thing to talked about. And if we can talk about those little things, we can talk about the big ones.

Women can go to the police, they can report an assault without shame, confident in the knowledge that because of #YesAllWomen they know it was not something they did, it was something that was done to them. That is why #YesAllWomen is so much more than just a hashtag.

One Direction to No Direction? Oh Please.

 

Two members of one direction have been caught smoking weed. Children everywhere are going to experience depression/a 7% drop in their IQ because of Zayn Malik and Louis Thomlinson. An entire generation is ruined, RUUUUUUINED!!!!

 

I know this to be true, because I saw it on(Insert Jeremy Clarkson Voice) The News. 0_0

Seriously???

Two twenty year old boys smoke a small amount of marijuana in a country where it is LEGAL for them to do so and they’ve betrayed(and RUUUUUINED; we mustn’t forget that) a generation of children. The world will never be the same. Ever. It’s a fact!

Can you say over reaction??

I get the objections. I’m not stupid, I do. Drugs are very very very bad we must never ever do them. 

But seriously, do people have no common sense?

Unless free Weed becomes a staple at every one direction concert in the future I’m pretty sure children will not be affected

Irate parents outside their Sunderland gig tonight say: ‘I could kill them’

Riiiiiiiiight.

The above scenario(As depicted amazingly by me) will not happen because you’re children watched two twenty some things being a bit stupid.Which is in fact very normal.

“But they betrayed us!”

‘Drugs charity says pair have ‘blown opportunity’ to be good role models’

I present Exhibit A. –  Barack Obama

 ‘When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point’

 Correct me If I’m wrong but I can’t help but think that ‘President of the United States’ is still a pretty good role model to have.

________________

In response to the news, several fans have posted pictures on twitter of themselves destroying tickets. Because this will punish Zayne and Louis(and the other members of one direction). Obviously.

Now I may not be the brightest bulb in the box but I’m pretty sure that tearing up your PRE-paid ticket won’t affect one direction at all.THEY ALL READY HAVE YOUR MONEY. If you destroy the ticket how are you going to get your money back?? If you can’t refund the ticket, put it on Ebay. At least that way you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that you’ve got your money back. Have these people no common sense?? If they don’t get they’re money back do they not realise that they’re helping to fund the weed habit of Zayne and Louis. That thing that they’re so against.

Back off B**ch!! Sharing Platter doesn’t mean I’m sharing!

 

Most people in the world are good, honest and probably respectable. But there are some among you; you walk like us, you talk like us but you are not us. The lowest of the low…

 

FOOD STEALERS!

We all know one. We all know more than one, THEY MUST BE STOPPED!

They come in different forms,

The sneaky “I’ll just have a coffee people.” They sit there and just help themselves to your meal!! WTF?!?! You had the option of having your own and you turned it  down. Stop using me as a free meal!!!

The “can I have a bite of yours? it looks so good people” who when you agree because you feel mean saying no, load up their fork with as much as they possible can. When I said you could have a bite, I meant a human sized one, not Godzilla!!!

The “oh we’ll just share people”. Really? It’s news to me!! So why on earth are you telling the waiter to bring two forks?? I want the whole cake, not the parts I have to fork duel you for!!!

And the worst, the absolute Scum on the bottom of a shoe; the “are you going to finish that? people.” Yes. Yes I bloody well am…Wait, what? Why have you stolen my plate?…Oh you’re giving it back…And you’ve even licked it clean of crumbs…Thanks.

NO MORE!!!

I’m taking a stand! I don’t care if it’s something I hate, I don’t care if it’s over cooked, undercooked or fucking on fire! I’m going to choke it down if I have to because IT IS MINE!!!! Stop Trying to steal from me! You wouldn’t break into my house and steal my stuff, so why??/ Why do you have no problem stealing what I’m literally about to put in my mouth??? 

Take this as a warning World, if anyone and I mean anyone tries to eat MY meal you really won’t like what will happen next. 

Don’t know how to tell a food stealer to stop stealing? Direct them to this post! Facebook it! Tweet about it! Write it in the sky if you have to! The world is changing and it has no place for sneaky little food stealers!!!!

 

 

If you’ve found a creative way of dealing with the Food Stealers tell me the story. They deserve to be punished.

Laugh out loud funny

http://www.youtube.com/user/DavidSoComedy/videos

Sometimes, rarely, you find something on youtube; a cat running from a hamster, a dog surfing and you can’t help but think WOW! I’m crying tears of laughter(or am I feeling deep emotional pain I didn’t know I had… hmmmmmmmmm)

Either way, this is my newest laugh out loud youtube find! He’s so funny I’d marry him AND accept his many mistresses because true comedic genius should be shared

AAAAAAND BONUS POINTS! He would never make you share a desert! Buy your own people, I won’t share!!!

Transfer Deadline: To dump or not to dump, that is the question

It seems to be a universally acknowledged rule, that relationships can not end in the run up to Christmas, or immediately afterwards. To do so is to be branded a cruel heartless monster of a human being!

But at what specific time does the transfer deadline come into effect??? By what date do you have to dump or live with your relationship until January???

The 5th? The 6th? Any later and you risk ruining Christmas for someone(It’s the most magical time of year, it can’t be messed with!)

But, if you can’t break up with someone until January(it has to carry on through the new year)does that not a little bit ruin Christmas for the dumper, they might not have hurt their soon to be exes feelings, but what they are doing is suffering through the longest month of their life in a doomed relationship.

And what about New Years resolutions? If it’s to break up with someone does that take precedence over transfer restrictions? Or do you have to wait until after the Christmas period is over? The 15th? If you leave it too late do you have to hang in another month until after Valentines day??? Arrrrrgh!!! Why are they so many holidays where it’s unspeakably cruel to dump someone!!!!

But needs must. Just as putting up a Christmas tree, buying an advent calendar is a Christmas tradition, so too should Transfer deadline be a part of Christmas tradition(Amazing idea!! It can be on the inside window on the 6th for Advent calendars so no one forgets ever!)

If you want to break up with someone either do it soon or don’t do it all! And if you don’t comfort yourself with the knowledge that at least you’re guaranteed a Christmas present!

Until next time,

Huuuuuuuugs!

Xoxo

P.S. Should we honour transfer deadline day in someway? An extra special meal, an extra special outfit? I vote black tie! It’s not everyday you break up with someone, nor is it everyday you can wear a ballgown or a tux!

Am I porn?(note: this is not a blog on porn)

I’m very new to the world of blogging(Almost at the 7 day mark, Wooooooooo me!!!!) but even in my limited experience I noticed that I was weirdly popular yesterday. Almost 500 views in over 10 countries within the span of a couple of hours. Either someone, several someone’s have a very dark and specific fetish involving sleeping fairy’s(That’s the internet for you!) OR, They think I’m the next famous internet cat.(For funny animal moments do check out dogs having baths. Laugh out loud funny!)

Either way, they must have been anticipating something other than me, unless(unlikely) I’m just that amazing and don’t know it.(Please say that’s it, Please say that’s it….


But what my mysterious popularity yesterday made me think about is anticipation. Specifically, why is wanting things so,so, soooooooo much better than actually having them???

With Christmas coming swiftly closer; you may have all ready finished your Christmas shopping, not even started, or you might be like me, at the half way point due to a series of an increasing number of impulse buys.

At this moment in time, the Michael Buble C.D is on and I’m filled to the brim with childlike wonder and Christmas cheer but as with all things in life(the cake you shouldn’t have, the boy you really like, the shoes you’ve been saving up for or the holiday you’ve waited months for) I can’t help but feel the slow build up, the anticipation is so much better than the actual thing itself(sorry boys!). Not that I don’t enjoy them or I don’t enjoy Christmas, simply that when it eventually happens, having looked forward to it so much, I can’t help but feel is this it????? I imagined it(not different) but so much more!

The deluge of Christmas adverts and must have Christmas buys are a perfect way to explain my thoughts. I love watching them, reading them and picking all the things I want from them. But I do it with the full knowledge that I will never ever buy them.

I am a compulsive Window Shopper/ Impulse buyer(not the body spray obvs) and I am not ashamed!!!

If I think about doing it, I will never do it. Hence why I have no socks, I’ve been meaning to buy them for months…maybe next week. It’s also why I’m the proud owner of a Diana Ross shaped dish scrubber.

It’s for this reason the only think on my Christmas list this year is a grow it yourself Christmas tree. 18 months to 2 years of gleeful Christmassey anticipation and a handy hobby in one £3.99 packet of seeds and a pot. Since the anticipation is the best bit, This Christmas I’m going to start the anticipaion of Christmas 2 years from now very very early. It’ll keep me happy, and isn’t that the most important thing????

The fun is in the build up, not in the having!

Agree? Disagree? Think I’m a total crackpot and should really see someone? let know!

If you have any impulse buys you really shouldn’t have, any stories of greatly anticipated events that didn’t live up too(or even did) live up to your deep and commited fantasies of what you thought they were going to be, I want to know!

Comment below or on twitter and until next time,

Huuuuuuuuuuuugs!

xoxo

 

 

The Cliff Game

I’ve just fallen off a cliff.

A really really high cliff. It’s crumbly, home to a few seagulls and is generic cliff colour.

At the bottom of the cliff are jagged spikes of rock; sharp and pointy and looking menacingly up at me(In the Cliff Game, spikes have eyes). It’s all to be okay though, I’ve got a good grip at the edge of the cliff, I can wait to be rescued.

Suddenly a witch with a Birkin appears. She wants to play a game. A game of thrones  A game of handbags. Choose wrongly and I die. She magics the spikes into three separate handbags. Which Bag do I choose???

a) Michael Kors Selma Bag

b) The Mulberry Lily

c) Kate Spade, Claremont Drive Marcella

OR do I go for option d) Refuse to play the witches game, and use the Tesco carrier bag floating past as a parachute.

The Winning Bag, Not only receives the coveted title, Victor of the HungerGames  Cliff Games. They also get the Pride of knowing that they were voted as better than the other contenders. Aaaaaaand in Gratitude for saving me from the witch, will be the bag I buy/don’t buy(carrier bags are free)

Vote A,B,C,D below or on Twitter, https://twitter.com/Iwishwantdream

The Victor will be decided in 48 hours. May the odds be ever in your favor.

“You were the wind beneath my WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGS”(SOB) -RIP Lucky shoes

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9sRJ-eOHnc

(In tribute to the lucky shoes please listen to the above music while reading)

They were there on my first day of university. They were there on my first “grown up” university day. They were there for every assignment hand in, graduation, both for the interview and for the first day of my new job. Every Christmas and Birthday and birthday they were worn for three years. It may be time to say goodbye, but you will never be forgotten.

Maybe I should have taken you to the Cobbler more…Maybe If I’d worn you to nicer places we wouldn’t be where we are now…

If I could have a shoe funeral and not seem like a crazy person I would do it. I know it seems silly to be upset about a pair of shoes. They are, after all just(sacrilege) shoes. But they were special, my lucky shoes. Worn on every important(and lots of not so important) occasions. The shoes that I put on and they made me happy. They weren’t to everyone’s taste. They’ve been called both Peter Pan Shoes and Pantomime shoes by people that just don’t know any better. But when I saw them in the Marks and Spencer sale 3 and a half years ago, I knew they were for me.

Gone but not forgotten. Rest In Peace Lucky Shoes.

(Not everyone can understand the importance of a lucky something, be it a sock, a towel or a penguin(who am I to judge) let me know about it in the comments section below or on Twitter. I need to know that Luckiness still exists in the world!)

 

 

Is “Blacking up” always racist??? I don’t think so.

The Oxford Dictionary defines racism as 

• the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races:
  
•  prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior

 

And it’s a definition I agree with. But it’s in the use of this definition that I fail to understand why “blacking up” is such a racist act.

 

Maybe I’m wrong, Maybe it is. But I don’t see it; is it my age? Some people lived through the civil rights movement, they remember for lack of a better “real” racism, that is segregation, discrimination and violence because of their skin colour. Some people had to live through slowly changing attitudes and having to endure it 

 

But to me these experiences, the things people had to struggle through are so far beyond what I know and have experienced that they don’t seem real. For me, it’s History. Fascinating, horrible but distant. Like, how Ancient Athenians when capturing a City would kill all the men and make slaves of women and children. 

 

In the same way I notice someone’s eye colour, or their hair colour, I notice their skin. I see it, but it has absolutely no impact on how I view a person. It’s just there. And it’s because of this that I struggle to understand why “blacking up”, “ethnic-ing? it up”(Is that even a word) is met with such aggressive condemnation.

 

I understand that once(long before I was born) white actors “blacked up”, “browned up”, “all of the above up’ed” to portray a derogatory racial stereotype. However, I also feel that just as just as attitudes towards different ethnicities have changed, so to have the motivations behind why people “black up”. 

 

It seems to me, that the  desire to perceive offence prevails over the attempt to reflect on racial matters. It goes unmentioned that sometimes “blacking up” can have no racist intent, even if people are determined to detect it.

 

As long as racial portrayals don’t aim to perpetuate ethnic stereotypes. If people dress up as a person or a character, and in the pursuit of honest and factual imitation do change their skin colour, provided that they are not portraying a generic faceless stereotype; I see no reason why people shouldn’t paint themselves brown, white, black, or blue with yellow polka dots. I see no difference between someone dressing up as Paris Hilton, ( fake tan, throw on a blonde wig and pop in some blue contact lenses) Julianne Hough’s infamous Halloween costume and the four York Students who dressed up a the characters from Cool Runnings.

 

After all, Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

 

But how does everyone else feel? Let me know via the comments section or by twitter  https://twitter.com/Iwishwantdream

 

 

Too beautiful for words #WhyIsThePavementWobbling?

Fourme Fouryou

in store with..Moschino

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