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this-is-not-belly-dance: This is not belly dance.Everything...

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:21:22 -0400

This is not belly dance.

Everything said in the post about Dusty Paik’s group performance, also applies to Zoe Jakes’ new Balinese inspired performance. It’s just so wrong, in my opinion. From what I’ve learned, Balinese dances are religious in nature and dancers are trained since childhood. Zoe Jakes using those same movements completely strips them of the meaning and context. To me, her performance was nothing but a shallow copy.

-Corinne, I Love Belly Dance Mod

I am finding it really hard to identify the emotion I’m feeling right now, but thank you for sharing this with me.

I’ve actually studied Balinese dance from a Balinese teacher for three years at my university, been in Balinese music ensembles, taken graduate-level classes on the music and dance of Indonesia … and I’m really at a loss for words.

Balinese classical dance is religious in nature, and often are scenes from Hindu epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Starting in the 70’s and 80’s there was a resurgence of composers and a new music style, but even these dances have religious undertones and often represent welcoming deities onto Earth or are from Hindu epics. Some examples are Tari Manuk Rawa, and Tari Sekar Jagat. An example of an older style dance would be Teruna Jaya. All the dances tell some sort of story, and gestures, eye movements all have symbolic meaning (much like Indian classical dance).

I love Zoe Jakes and have been to Beats Antique concerts and really enjoy their music. This, however, just feels like a cheap copy. Not to mention it’s not even a good imitation.

She performed in a similar manner at one of the beats antique concerts that I attended. At the time I didn’t know where the outfit and dance style came from but I could tell that it was improper and not ok :(

anarcho-queer: NYPD Data Proves White People Are More Likely To...

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:22:25 -0400

anarcho-queer:

NYPD Data Proves White People Are More Likely To Possess Drugs Or A Weapon Than Racial Minorities When Stopped, Yet 84% of Stop & Frisk Victims Are Black/Latino

During the just-concluded trial on the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk program, the city argued that officers’ disproportionate targeting of black and Latino New Yorkers was not due to racial profiling but because each stopped individual was doing something suspicious at the time. The data, however, tells a different story: weapons and drugs were more often found on white New Yorkers during stops than on minorities, according to the Public Advocate’s analysis of the NYPD’s 2012 statistics.

White New Yorkers make up a small minority of stop-and-frisks, which were 84 percent black and Latino residents. Despite this much higher number of minorities deemed suspicious by police, the likelihood that stopping an African American would find a weapon was half the likelihood of finding one on a white person.

• The likelihood a stop of an African American New Yorker yielded a weapon was half that of white New Yorkers stopped. The NYPD uncovered a weapon in one out every 49 stops of white New Yorkers. By contrast, it took the Department 71 stops of Latinos and 93 stops of African Americans to find a weapon.

• The likelihood a stop of an African American New Yorker yielded contraband was one-third less than that of white New Yorkers stopped. The NYPD uncovered contraband in one out every 43 stops of white New Yorkers. By contrast, it took the Department 57 stops of Latinos and 61 stops of African Americans to find contraband.

It’s unlikely that the appropriate lesson to take from these findings is that stops of white people should increase because they are more likely to carry weapons and drugs. Rather, they suggest that police are excessively targeting minorities. Officers may be netting more successful stops of white New Yorkers because they are only likely to stop a white person when they actually suspect that person of committing a crime. Considering one officer’s testimony that superiors explicitly directed him to target young black men, minorities are judged by a much more flexible definition of “reasonable suspicion.”

In general, stop-and-frisk has proven to be remarkably ineffective; nearly 89 percent of all stops result in no charges. The city has also had to settle a surging number of civil rights lawsuits against police to the tune of $22 million in one year.

heirofmedusa: thempress: wwruska: REAL Lesbians React to...

Thu, 23 May 2013 23:02:29 -0400

heirofmedusa:

thempress:

wwruska:

REAL Lesbians React to Lesbian Porn!

I’m laughing so hard oh my god

This is perfect. My reaction is one and the same!

Dying.

assiest: pink freud’s greatest album was hand’s down ‘dark side of the mom’

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:29:32 -0400

assiest:

pink freud’s greatest album was hand’s down ‘dark side of the mom’

silencingthedrums: My favorite part of conventions.

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:27:26 -0400

silencingthedrums:

My favorite part of conventions.

heirofmedusa: thefrozensoldier: girlsbydaylight: manafromheave...

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:27:10 -0400

heirofmedusa:

thefrozensoldier:

girlsbydaylight:

manafromheaven:

omg

I’ve scrolled by this about four times now and I’ve known what’s coming for three times now.

And I still totally lost it every time.

Oh my god, Tony’s fucking face got me.

Crying.

heirofmedusa: Exactly. Me and my room mate were just discussing...

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:40:14 -0400

heirofmedusa:

Exactly. Me and my room mate were just discussing this earlier lol.

heirofmedusa: youkilledmyfatherpreparetopie: peachfaerie: I...

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:38:50 -0400

heirofmedusa:

youkilledmyfatherpreparetopie:

peachfaerie:

I am excited to release a rough version of my children’s storybook on trans*gender and gender neutral kids. Since I am cisgender I would much appreciate some feedback to anything I’m doing wrong. I really want to do this right. I want this to be stepping stone book for children and parents to talk about this.

this is beautiful.

This made me happy.

Amazing <3

I love this so much omg

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:41:24 -0400

I love this so much omg

this-is-not-belly-dance: knowyourveil: this-is-not-belly-dance:...

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:36:40 -0400

this-is-not-belly-dance:

knowyourveil:

this-is-not-belly-dance:

While I have always enjoyed Dusty Paik’s dancing, I have to say I did not enjoy this performance and I feel like it’s a perfect example of how fusion can go wrong.

For those of you that don’t know, the rhythm that starts off at about 8:00 minutes in is known as the ayoub and is associated with the zaar ritual. It is very rarely performed because it is pre-Islamic ritual that is oftentimes illegal, but still practiced by people of all socioeconomic classes when other avenues don’t pan out. Recording of the rituals are not allowed, but you can often take a workshop to be educated on it. In a workshop I’ve experienced the teacher took care to mention that these were aspects of people’s religious culture and to not take it lightly, out of respect for the people and their beliefs about the spiritual power of these movements. If it is ever performed on stage (which I have never seen), it is supposed to be properly contextualized with at least some info about the background.

I feel like by performing the zaar movements with no educational information (not even in the announcement), and especially in the sexualized context of the scene they draw from in Oh Brother Where Art Thou? where they represent the seducers of the main characters, is just a perfect example of how you can go wrong.

Now, I’m sure these ladies have great intentions, but the context for this given what they’re doing is disrespectful to the zaar and is all kinds of wrong. Especially since it has been a place of refuge for women and queer people of Africa and the Middle East.

The problem often seems to be a lack of knowledge or acknowledgement of what you are actually performing. Performing dance is fun and exciting and you might find a style you really enjoy and that’s fine. Fusion is especially appealing for this reason because you can take art that exists and make it your own.

But it is so important to be informed about what you’re dancing because it is not just a movement, it is a culture and a history and in this case a religious experience. Especially when you draw parallels between your culture and someone else’s it is important to be sensitive to what you are implying. Claiming it was a cool concept or it looked pretty is discrediting you, the dance, and the cultures you are fusing.

A few months ago I attended a Hafla where a piece was introduced as tribal fusion. When a group of girls dressed in American Tribal Style costumes came out and very traditional Ghawazee music began playing I knew immediately that they were not educated about the history of either the dance or the music.

I believe people should be able to dance and express themselves in a way that makes them happy but if someone performs in a public space on a stage for an audience they should not misrepresent the art form.

YES YES, especially the bolded!!

Very important points to be taken from this and remembered for all belly dancers. ALWAYS do your research and ALWAYS be respectful.

thefrogman: PREORDER THE SUPER OTIS T-SHIRT! Otis approves and...

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:06:51 -0400

thefrogman:

PREORDER THE SUPER OTIS T-SHIRT!

Otis approves and tells me he can totally fly and stuff.

"Art is easy, all you do is draw!"

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:45:26 -0400

rjthedetective:

missleaves: testmeyouwillfail: (x) so much shade

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:21:15 -0400

missleaves:

testmeyouwillfail:

(x)

so much shade

Photo

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:17:20 -0400

Photo

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:54:56 -0400

pleatedjeans: how to hold your breath for 5 minutes

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:20:18 -0400

pleatedjeans:

how to hold your breath for 5 minutes

radhauswife: This is amazing.

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:57:42 -0400

radhauswife:

This is amazing.

"Over the last decade, as companies chased after an effective chemical, there was fretting within the..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:41:29 -0400

“

Over the last decade, as companies chased after an effective chemical, there was fretting within the drug industry: what if, in trials, a medicine proved too effective? More than one adviser to the industry told me that companies worried about the prospect that their study results would be too strong, that the F.D.A. would reject an application out of concern that a chemical would lead to female excesses, crazed binges of infidelity, societal splintering.

“You want your effects to be good but not too good,” Andrew Goldstein, who is conducting the study in Washington, told me. “There was a lot of discussion about it by the experts in the room,” he said, recalling his involvement with the development of Flibanserin, “the need to show that you’re not turning women into nymphomaniacs.” He was still a bit stunned by the entrenched mores that lay within what he’d heard. “There’s a bias against — a fear of creating the sexually aggressive woman.”

”

- “Unexcited? There May Be a Pill for That.”—NYT

Gee, you ever think that might be part of the problem? That there’s a societally acceptable level of lady-boning?

(via ladonnapietra)

“good but not too good”

Yeah, go fuck yourself, dude.

(via whynotshesaid)

This article gave me fits for many reasons.

(via wut4)

i am so fucking angry at this

(via piddlebucket)

let me tell you how fucking angry this makes me as a woman who has been struggling with therapy for issues regarding my ability to enjoy sex. there could be something out there that would work for me, but maybe I can’t get it because some repressed, asshole fucking dudes decided that women enjoying and taking control of their libido’s and sexual needs would hurt society???

FUCK. YOU.

(via lagertha-lodbrok)

Photo

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:29:06 -0400

sherlockedbondgirl-intheimpala: whimmy-bam: reichenballs: mrj...

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:42:19 -0400

sherlockedbondgirl-intheimpala:

whimmy-bam:

reichenballs:

mrjackles:

the-bookmobile:

Gregorian monks singing “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND LISTEN TO THIS RIGHT FUCKING NOW

Why is this a thing that exists?

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL

N