Tag: Badass Women

itsjessegurl:

I was watching the Stonewall Uprising documentary and the name Marsha P. Johnson was not mentioned once considering she was a leader of the 1969 Stonewall Riots. So I felt like posting these Polaroids of her taken by Andy Warhol to show remembrance of her as the significant trailblazer that she was in making the Stonewall Riots happen. It’ll be 46 years since the riots on June the 28th and 45 years since the first gay pride march took place in New York City as a result of the Stonewall Riots. Thank you Marsha. RIP. 

thedevilspanties:

spart117mc:

viridieanfey:

romanimp:

beatnikdaddio:

admiring the stockings. 1940’s.

#[40S COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCER VOICE] WHAT’S BETTER THAN THIS? GALS BEING PALS

Fun fact: Though being gay in the 40s sucked, being gay in the military was easier, and pretty common. There were apparently, at one point in time time so many lesbians in the military that when they tried to crack down on it, the girls wrote back and said “Look I can give you the names, but you’ll lose some of your best officers, and half your nurses and secretaries.” And they pretty much shut up about it unless you were especially bad at subtlety. (Source: Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers. A good source for gay history from 1900s onwards.)

Sergeant Phelps worked for General Eisenhower. Four decades after Eisenhower had defeated the Axis powers, Phelps recalled an extraordinary event. One day the general told her, “I’m giving you an order to ferret those lesbians out.’ We’re going to get rid of them.”

“I looked at him and then I looked at his secretary. who was standing next to me, and I said, ‘Well, sir, if the general pleases, sir, I’ll be happy to do this investigation for you. But you have to know that the first name on the list will be mine.’

“And he kind of was taken aback a bit. And then this woman standing next to me said, ‘Sir, if the general pleases, you must be aware that Sergeant Phelps’s name may be second, but mine will be first.’

“Then I looked at him, and I said, ‘Sir, you’re right. They’re lesbians in the WAC battalion. And if the general is prepared to replace all the file clerks, all the section commanders, all of the drivers—every woman in the WAC detachment—and there were about nine hundred and eighty something of us—then I’ll be happy to make the list. But I think the general should be aware that among those women are the most highly decorated women in the war. There have been no cases of illegal pregnancies. There have been no cases of AWOL. There have been no cases of misconduct. And as a matter of fact, every six months since we’ve been here, sir, the general has awarded us a commendation for meritorious service.’

“And he said, ‘Forget the order.’

– The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America

I’ve reblogged this before but it didn’t have these comments and HOLY HOT DAMN DID IT NEED THEM.

scarlettohairdye:

atlxolotl:

supernatasha:

The Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan was started by an Indian man named Bunker Roy. The organization is essentially a college that teaches women from all over the world (but primarily “developing” countries) how to be solar engineers. 

That’s right. Solar engineers.

Classes are attended by local women and women from Peru, Fiji, Rwanda, Nepal, Belize, Ethiopia, Bhutan, and more who are illiterate or semi-literate. Most of them are from rural and poverty-stricken areas. The school does not take attendance, have exams, demand their students speak English or have prior education, and does not ask for fees. These women learn how to make solar panels and bulbs, how to plug them into an electrical grid, and how to provide clean renewable energy to their entire village. They then take this knowledge back to their hometowns in distant countries. 

How are they taught without a common language? Everything technical is color coded. The women learn important words “LED, wire cutter, copper, connection, etc.” They communicate through common sense and the desire to learn. The college accepts anyone and everyone, mothers, lower castes (still an ongoing problem in India), older women, young women, women who have never attended school, married women. 

Since 2004, the College has taught at least 250 women from 41 different low-industrial countries to be solar engineers. 5 out of their 8 engineer professors are women. 35 out of 200 workers are physically disabled. The BC is currently powering both their own facility, homes in nearby villages and towns, and their former students are powering homes all across the world from wisdom and materials imported from the BC. Their local villages pay their salary. 

Roy did try to teach both men and women, but they didn’t stay in the harsh conditions or wanted jobs that paid more (as the BC doesn’t hand out “official” diplomas or degrees). Eventually, the college became largely female. “Why not invest in women, older women, mature women, gutsy women who have roots in the village?” Roy said.

I cannot emphasize how amazing this organization is. The Barefoot College is a safe and accepting place for anyone who wants to learn about clean and renewable energy. It encourages women’s empowerment, helps them out of poverty, and provides solar energy to places where the prices of kerosene and batteries are excessively high.

Sources (please look over them as there are more pictures and I could never do justice to how incredible this entire thing is with just my own words): [x][x][x][x][x][Bunker’s Ted Talk][Donate]

“To date, Barefoot College has trained about 15,000 women, most of them previously uneducated, to become teachers, construction workers, water testers, artisans, photographers, dentists, social activists, and solar engineers. The women, in turn, have brought basic services–such as water, light, education, and healthcare–to at least half a million people.”

Shit yes.