Confused Cats Against Feminism Saves Me From Defenestrating Myself

I am a big fan of cats and Tumblrs and Tumblrs featuring cats saving my sanity when it comes to matters of misogyny and/or stupidity. So it is no surprise that I am ALL THE FUCK OVER the latest feline Tumblr craze. Let me explain.

Some lost souls who don’t seem to have a clear definition of feminism started a Tumblr/hastag/misguided internet movement. It includes women from various nations holding up signs about why they don’t need feminism. It features gems such as feminism means women preaching equality, but asking for special treatment (equal pay is special treatment?) and “I don’t need feminism because my boyfriend treats me right” (great value judgement on anyone who’s ever been in an abusive relationship, also did you know that IBM doesn’t hire young women?). If you would like to satisfy your morbid curiosity, you can check the Tumblr out without giving them any clicks.

I must warn you, though — your eyes might feel like they’re disintegrating with each progressive uninformed claim. If you’d prefer not to leave your eyeballs in a gooey puddle next to your computer, here is a summary of said misguided internet movement:

FEMINISM!

This whole “women against feminism” thing makes me want to shoot myself into the sun. But along came a blog that is making it a little better.

Confused Cats Against Feminism purports to have nothing to do with this responding to this other horrifying movement, but lol, it totally is. I could analyze it or say some words about it or some bullshit, but honestly I think the images speak for themselves:

Show this Tumblr some love and/or submit your confused cat against feminism. Personally, my cats are only interested in the domination of the entire human race, regardless of gender.

Bros On Transportation Actually Just Saving Room For Cats

We thought they were just massive assholes completely unaware of their privilege/the patriarchy/other humans on public transportation. We thought they just had inflated ideas of their genitalia. But no.

They were just saving room for cats.

This revelation has been fully documented in the photo essay, Saving Room For Cats. Anonymous photographers have been correcting the stigma against men leaving gargantuan spaces between their knees while others are forced to stand on trains and buses. This brave new work painstakingly illustrates how wrong feminists have been to call out bros (and others*) for taking up space that has been presumed (up to this point) to not belong to them.

This cat is bravely facing stigma in order to save room for yet another cat.

I feel so ashamed.

*Not all men save room for cats on trains. Only the best kind.

Get Excited About Janet Mock’s Project, I AM #RedefiningRealness

Mey’s Team Pick:

Have we mentioned lately how excited we are for Janet Mock’s memoir coming out in just a few days? Well, in case you’ve missed our one million posts on the subject, the book is called Redefining Realness and in it, Mock tells her life story and gets to define her own reality and share her story under her own terms. Since Mock regularly talks about the importance of being true to oneself and sharing your story with others, with the help of her editorial assistant, Erika Turner, she made a tumblr where people from all around the world can submit their own stories and redefine realness for themselves.

The I AM #RedefiningRealness tumblr asks people to submit their name, a selfie, five words they feel define themselves and their story. Turner will take it from there and put it together in an awesome graphic and tumblr post. So far, the around two dozen people that have submitted cover a wide range of genders, sexualities and ethnicities, and all of them have important stories to tell. The tumblr itself says it better than I ever could:

The book is about discovering, becoming and revealing ourselves to the world. It’s about authenticity and owning our stories in a world that tells us that who we are is wrong, shameful and should be kept secret. We’re banishing this silence together through storysharing.

I AM #RedefiningRealness is a space where readers can share parts of their lives, proclaim and declare their identities and discuss where their journey intersects with the messages in the book.

I think this is a brilliant idea and one of my favorite tumblrs right now. So get submitting! I can’t wait to see a bunch of Autostraddler’s smiling faces on the site.

Drawn to Comics: Like Superheroes? Like Ladies? Then You’ll Love Supercakes!

Welcome to Drawn to Comics! From diary comics to superheroes, from webcomics to graphic novels – this is where we’ll be taking a look at comics by, featuring and for queer ladies. So whether you love to look at detailed personal accounts of other people’s lives, explore new and creative worlds, or you just love to see hot ladies in spandex, we’ve got something for you.

Header by Rory Midhani

One of the great things about webcomics is the incredible freedoms that it allows for its creators. Unlike the major comic publishers, the writers and artists don’t have editors telling them who’s allowed to marry or not and they don’t have to worry about writing characters that are almost exclusively white, male, muscular and straight. Creative writers can come up with worlds that, like the real world, are full of people of all sorts of sexualities, ethnicities and body shapes. That creativity is fully shown in the Supercakes series written and drawn by Kat Leyh. While DC and Marvel are struggling to have just a handful of queer superheroes, Supercakes has two in the starring roles.

The stars of the series are May Ai and Molly LeMark. May is a powerhouse character who goes by the superhero name Tank. She’s a rare female superhero who has super strength and actually has the bulk to match. Her girlfriend Molly is a demure redhead with a cute haircut who goes by the name Shift. Her powers include the ability to turn into a vapor that can form all sorts of shapes, allows her to extend her limbs and gives her the ability to fly. The two make a disarmingly cute couple and a great crime fighting team.

These comics started with one minicomic, titled “Pancakes” (this is where the series gets its name). At first it seems like it’s just a ridiculously cute story about a queer couple sharing breakfast and talking about their relationship. They share breakfast, they chat, they talk about whether or not they want to take things to the next level. Then in the last few pages, it keeps the cute relationship dynamic, but adds in an extra dose of superheroes. This showcases what’s so great about the series of comics. Even though the main characters and many of the supporting characters have super powers, it’s really just a comic about two ladies who are in love and how they navigate their world and their relationship.

These comics feature not only queer lady superheroes, but plenty of PoC, a wide variety of body types for both men and women and a multicultural family made up of adopted kids. In one comic, called “Welcome to the Family,” we see Molly visiting May’s family for the first time to have a meal. She is shy about meeting them because she doesn’t know if they will welcome her on the account that she has powers. What happens is heartbreakingly cute. As she meets May’s siblings, she realizes that she doesn’t have as much to fear as she thought. While some other comics have taken the idea of mutants as an allegory for queer people (I’m looking at you X-Men), Leyh does that while keeping the focus on actual queer people. While allegories can be a useful tool, it’s really nice to see that it’s not also used as an excuse to not need to include the actual people that you’re talking about. Like “Pancakes,” “Welcome to the Family” makes sure that you know it takes place in a world populated with people who have superpowers, but it remains a story about relationships at heart.

So far, Leyh has focused more on letting the readers get to know the characters rather than seeing them in super-powered action (although there is some of that). This world of superheroes is so different and inventive compared to the average superhero story. People have creative powers that aren’t your normal flight, super strength and super speed. The characters have very well thought out backgrounds and home lives, and although we’ve seen more of May’s family, Molly’s seems just as interesting. The little hints that we’ve seen of Molly’s background seem so sad that on one hand I can’t wait to find out more and cry for the character, and on the other hand I’m completely afraid to read it.

The drawings absolutely flow around the pages. The smooth pen strokes and faded colors combined with the way the characters are drawn to be curvy and flexible make it seem like they are actually moving from panel to panel. Supercakes doesn’t look like other comics out there and that is a good thing. Mainstream superhero stories often have strong inking, bold colors and dark shadows to show the intensity of the characters and the world. Supercakes is nothing like that. It knows that, while its characters do have powers and some of them do fight crime, they are loving, happy people and the art should reflect that. It’s refreshing to see such a unique art style to match the unique story and world that Leyh has created.

You can read all of the comics, plus look at a bunch of behind the scenes character designs and sketches on Kat Leyh’s tumblr. You can also see the original minicomic at the comics section of her website. You can buy that first story from the Yeti Press store. While she still posts new sketches or small comics every now and then on her tumblr, Leyh says that because she has other publishing priorities, more full Supercakes comics won’t be available for purchase for a while, but I would suggest reading and re-reading the old ones and looking forward to new ones like I am.

If you have or know of a comic that you would to be featured on Drawn to Comics you can email me at mey(at)autostraddle(dot)com.

Drawn to Comics: Princess Princess Makes All Your Queer Fairy Tale Fantasies Come True

Welcome to Drawn to Comics! From diary comics to superheroes, from webcomics to graphic novels – this is where we’ll be taking a look at comics by, featuring and for queer ladies. So whether you love to look at detailed personal accounts of other people’s lives, explore new and creative worlds, or you just love to see hot ladies in spandex, we’ve got something for you.

Header by Rory Midhani

For a long, long time I’ve loved Disney Princess movies. I’ve imagined myself being Belle or Ariel or Jasmine. But in my imagination it’s always a She-Beast, Princess Erica or a street rat named Aliyah who I marry in the end. While I’m not holding my breath for Disney to have an actual lesbian princess movie, I never let that dream completely die and I’m always on the look out for a good princess story that has characters who I can relate to. Well, my dreams came true when I read Princess Princess, the wonderful webcomic by tumblr user strangelykatie. What starts off as a lesbian twist on a Rapunzel-like story soon turns into an adventure about standing up to bullies and forging your own path in life. Plus, it features two princesses who are super cute in their own distinct ways.

As the story starts, we see the all-too familiar scene of a princess shouting for help after she has been trapped in a tower. A rider approaches, saying that they have come to rescue the fair maiden. Our princess is not impressed. She’s tired of fitting into the boring tropes that come with being a princess in a fairy tale. She says that none of the dozens of princes that have come and tried so far to rescue her have succeeded, so what makes this one different? That’s when the rescuer steps off of their beautiful unicorn steed and announces in classic Éowyn style, “I am no prince!” Also, she has a grappling hook. This is our introduction to the very dapper Princess Amira.

Once Amira gets into the tower, she meets the fat and femme Princess Sadie and her dragon buddy Oliver. The two princesses escape from the tower and go off looking for adventure. And they’re able to find it with hilariously little effort. Soon their group grows to include Prince Vladric, who doesn’t seem to fit many stereotypes of a fairy tale prince. They also meet the Big Bad of the story. As the comic progresses, we get to see short backstories for each of the princesses and we learn that the villain who locked Sadie in the tower is someone from her past. Even though it was Amira who originally rescued Sadie, they both work together to creatively solve their problems, defeat their enemies and become the kind of princesses that they want to be. None of our heroes fit the normal fairy tale roles. Our brave rescuer is a princess and doesn’t defeat every challenge by fighting it. Our princess who was rescued isn’t helpless and actually stands up for herself when she needs to. The prince who is there has no desire to fit the daring, violent adventurer role that his father imagined for him. It’s all very refreshing and makes the story so much more enjoyable to read.

The story is fun and full of little jokes that help to move the story along and develop the characters. Each of the people we meet has their own distinct voice and personality. The writing is clever and fast paced and even when things are sad or intense, it keeps it’s fairy tale feel. And the art only enhances the experience. The lines are soft and round and the color palette is made up of light pinks and reds (although there are some pages done in full color). This gives the entire comic a whimsical, delicate feel that is reminiscent of Bee & PuppyCat by Natasha Allegri or the Marceline and The Scream Queens comics.

Just about everything about this little comic is great. The two princesses are both different as can be, but they compliment each other so well. Amira is a cool Princess of Color who wears a military uniform, has an awesome alternative lifestyle haircut and loves questing and kicking butt. Sadie on the other hand is chubby, wears a cute dress, loves cookies and would rather talk things out than start a fight. The comic works wonderfully to show us how their different personalities and styles are each perfectly valid and good and that even though they’re both princesses, they do not want to be the same kind of princess. Even though Princess Princess is full of messages about being yourself and not being ashamed of your body and creating your own fate, it manages to stay uplifting and entertaining instead of becoming cheesy or heavy-handed.

A lot of queer women (including me) grew up dreaming of being princesses. As we grew up and started seeing sexism and racism and the ugly face of the patriarchy permeating throughout pop culture a lot of those dreams disappeared. We simply weren’t able to find the kind of princess stories that we wanted any more. Sure, I still love fairy tales and I can sing all the words to a ton of Disney songs, but I also can’t help but cringe when I see all the problematic aspects in my favorite princess stories. Princess Princess manages to avoid those problems without sacrificing quality or entertainment.

The comic first appeared on her personal tumblr and a special Princess Princess tumblr back in December of 2012 and after weekly updates, the story ended this spring. She recently started selling the Princess Princess Pack at her gumroad store for only $2.50. This digital pack includes the entire original comic, 7 new epilogue pages, and a folder of high-resolution images including some that aren’t found anywhere else, and I have to say that It’s definitely worth buying.

If you have or know of a comic that you would to be featured on Drawn to Comics you can email me at mey@autostraddle.com.

This Is A Bubbline Appreciation Post and Gallery

Welcome to the forty-second installment of  Queer Your Tech with Fun, Autostraddle’s nerdy new tech column. Not everything we cover will be queer per se, but it will be about customizing this awesome technology you’ve got. Having it our way, expressing our appy selves just like we do with our identities. Here we can talk about anything from app recommendations to choosing a wireless printer to web sites you have to favorite to any other fun shit we can do with technology.

Header by Rory Midhani

feature image by There Be More Foolery | Tumblr

As we’re eagerly awaiting the last episode of season five, it might be a good time to pause and reflect on our favorite budding relationship in Adventure Time. And you know I/we do a lot of pausing and reflecting on Adventure Time. We’ve even got the Fiona and Cake comics in our Fall 2013 Book Preview post.

Anyways. I’m speaking, of course, on the apparent relationship between Marceline the Vampire Queen and Princess Bubblegum.

I had to think long and hard about whether or not to write about this at all, because it could just be an example of queerbaiting, and I would rather slowly pull out all my teeth and drop them into a deep, snake-infested well than write about unconfirmed lesbian subtext in any teevee show ever. But I actually think we’re moving from the realm of wishful thinking into the realm of actual plot/canon. Here’s why.

Adventure Time‘s characters are not in a state of perpetual youth. Take the show’s main character, Finn the Human. Finn started out as a 12-year-old boy, quite possibly the last human on the planet. It was made clear in the episode “Mystery Train” that he was turning 13 – that whole episode is about a birthday surprise that his dog, Jake, planned for him. He is currently 14, meaning he’s entering his awkward teenage years with a vengeance –  if you listen to his voice in the first season versus the fifth, his voice is much different. And the show’s content reflects that change in age. He’s making a lot of the same mistakes in interpersonal relationships that teenage humans make in real life – taking women on dates they’re not into, falling for two girls at once when a relationship with both of them is clearly not on the table, crushing on people outside his age bracket when they are clearly not into it. The show even dealt with the concept of fantasies about women in its classically kid friendly approach (it is a kid’s TV show after all, even though we love it). Finn dreams about Flame Princess being an adventurer and beating up his nemesis (and setting him on fire… in his pants), the Ice King, and then spends the rest of the episode “Frost and Fire” trying to surreptitiously get Flame Princess to reenact the dream without telling her what’s going on for him. This doesn’t get him what he wants.

Or take the show’s other main character, Jake the Dog. Jake becomes a father in season 5 (episode: “Jake the Dad“), having a litter of rainicorn-puppy children. Adventure Time then deals with a parenting plot, with Jake being over protective of his new brood and moving away from his and Finn’s tree house.

The show’s main characters aren’t the only ones whose age and plot lines are doing a little growing up. Ice King’s backstory has been deepening since season 3 (episode: “Holly Jolly Secrets“) where his video diary reveals that about 1000 years prior he was Simon Petrikov, and the crown corrupted his personality and memory while giving him magic and immortality. We get to see his history more in depth in season 4 (episode: “I Remember You“) when we discover that he rescued Marceline after the “mushroom war” (nuclear holocaust?) before she’d become a vampire. She was seven. We delve even further into this story in season 5 (episode: “Simon and Marcy“) where we see him battle with the crown’s effects, and we see first hand the relationship he had with Marceline back when he was Simon. Marceline’s coping mechanisms and emotions reflect many aging/sick parent story lines and tropes, suggesting that we are dealing with the VERY mature plot line of age and death, or at the very least mental illness. Ice King also goes from being an un-nuanced villain to a tragic hero, giving his own life and sanity to save Marceline. Those are very complex feelings indeed, demonstrating a willingness among the show’s writers and creators to explore whole characters and grey areas, even though the show is made for children.

They are also extremely apparently willing to explore grey areas in gender and sexuality as well – one of the more major supporting characters, BMO, is gender neutral. They go by he or she, depending on the situation.

(Yeah, we’ve played that before).

In the episode “All the Little People,” Finn wonders if BMO and Ice King would make a good couple – a gender neutral video game system and a thousand year old King. And Jake says in that very same episode, if you feel something, you feel something. You can’t stop what you feel. Couple that with Princess Cookie and we’ve got some very well explored gender and sexuality in-betweens.

All in all, the show deals with and jokes about kink (Ice King in “I Remember You“), erections (Finn and Jake in “All The Little People“), intercourse (Prince Bubblegum in “Adventure Time with Fiona and Cake“). The references and plot lines are growing up a bit with the characters, and Marceline and Bubblegum seem to be no exception.

Which brings me to their specific plot line. Marceline is the only character that calls Princess Bubblegum by her first name. They appear to have a history together:

Marceline: “Looks like you aren’t as perfect as you thought! Guess you can’t judge me anymore.”

Bubblegum: “I never said you had to be perfect!”

–Season 3, “What Was Missing“

And in that very same episode, a thief comes around and steals everyone’s most prized possessions. He takes Finn’s wad of Bubblegum’s hair, Jake’s baby blanket, BMO’s controller and… something from Bubblegum and Marceline. The only way to get through the door to the thief is to play music as a band. Marceline sings to Bubblegum that she’s going to “drink the red from your pretty pink face,” which Bubblegum thinks is “too distasteful.”

via Molto Bene

That’s when Marceline gets real, singing that she’s just Bubblegum’s problem, that she shouldn’t have to be the one to make up with Bubblegum even though she wants to. But Bubblegum staring at Marceline throws her off, and we don’t get to hear much more, at least not in song. By the end of the episode, we find out that Bubblegum’s most prized possession is one of Marceline’s old tee-shirts, something that she gave Bubblegum, which the Princess now uses as pajamas. Marceline, by contrast, had no prized possessions stolen, she just wanted to hang out with everyone.

Fast forward to “Sky Witch“, the third to last episode of the current season (season 5). This episode is entirely about Marceline and Bubblegum, where they venture off to retrieve Marceline’s childhood teddybear, Hambo, from the Sky Witch. It opens with Bubblegum legit smelling the shirt that Marceline gave her, and opening her closet door to reveal a photo of the two of them together.

via Molto Bene

At the end of the episode, while Marceline is fighting the witch’s familiar, Bubblegum finds the witch and the receipt from Marceline’s awful ex-boyfriend selling Hambo away. What results is perhaps my favorite line in all of Adventure Time history:

“By the laws of my kingdom, I must honor the exchange of goods for legal tender. But guess what? I’m not leavin’ without Hambo.”

The witch requires something rife with sentimental value as she’s been using all the sentimental value in Hambo for her spells. So Bubblegum trades the prized shirt that Marceline gave her. Marceline, as of yet, doesn’t know.

So have we seen confirmation of everyone’s hopes and dreams for the Marceline/Bubblegum ship? Actually…probably. This ship is probably evolving into canon, given the tone of the show, the maturation of story lines, the comfort with gender and sexuality in-betweens, and Marceline’s undercut in season 3. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. And and! Those involved in the illustration and creation of Adventure Time are not discouraging our suspicions – quite the opposite. It may be queerbaiting or not, but Jesse Moynihan (co-writer for Adventure Time) posted a photo from Skywitch as a preview, with the caption “SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP.” Natasha Allegri, illustrator on the show and mastermind behind the gender-swapping characters in Fiona and Cake, has even posted a few Marceline/Bubblegum drawings on her tumblr (one of which is included down below!).  But I may go one step further and argue that we’re not seeing the beginning of something, but rather the middle. Or the rekindling of something past. I’m basing that speculation on everything we’ve been given about their history. Considering the hell Marceline has put her dad through w/r/t the fries, I imagine the breakup looked something like this.

But I could just be speculating, because perhaps they were besties. Childhood friends?. As an assurance that I haven’t done a whole article on lesbian subtext, I will also give you a gallery of Bubbline fan art that explores all facets/possibilities of Bubbline. That way if it turns out I’m totally full of shit, this has still been a productive Saturday morning. You’re welcome, nerds.

50 Beautiful Fan Art Pieces Featuring Marceline and Princess Bubblegum

And may I point out that many of these artists are available for commission and/or freelance. Just sayin’.

Artists: as always, if you’d like to be removed from the gallery or if you’d like your credit changed/updated, email me: ali [at] autostraddle.com and I’ll do it soonest!

Team Pick: A Tumblr Which Brings Sanity to the Internet Like Ginsburg to the SCOTUS

Carmen’s Team Pick:

For the past two weeks, my desire to finally achieve adulthood and get my shit together has been tested in a series of Olympic-like races against the clock to get to work in time for the Supreme Court rulings on everything from the Voting Rights Act to affirmative action; for the past two weeks I then spent the remainder of each work day in deep mourning for our country’s ideals of Making Sense and Not Being Total Fuckers.

I printed each decision to acquaint myself with the law and create a barrier between my head and the desk I was repeatedly banging it on; among the voices in each, whispering not-so-quietly from the back and typically under a small header reading “dissent,” was Ruth Bader Ginsburg, ready to affirm my belief in humanity and make me cry a single tear for feminism, rational thought, and general badassery. I wasn’t alone in needing Ginsburg’s wisdom to carry me through the day.

And thus, enter Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s final steps into Internet fame: The Notorious RBG. She deserves it.

The Notorious RBG is a new Tumblr dedicated to promoting the life and work of the Supreme Court’s second female justice of all time. Her appointment came at the tail-end of Sandra Day O’Connor’s often interactive legal presentation called Women Can Do This, Too, which ended in 2006. Ginsburg is joined now by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, but was the only woman in the court for over three years.

The Notorious RBG tumblr gives Ginsburg her due Idol Worship for holding up the fort of sanity in the SCOTUS. It’s a trove of videos, images, memes, and quotes from The One And Only Chief Justice of My Heart right there on the Internet ready and willing to be “liked.” IT’S LIKE A DREAM WORLD.

People ask me, “If you could be whatever you wanted to be, what would you be?” My first answer is not “a great lawyer.” It is, “I would be a great diva.” But I totally lacked that talent, so the next best thing is the law.

— Radio interview, New York Public Radio station WQXR’s “Operavore” program (Feb. 2, 2013) (In Italian, a diva is a celebrated opera singer.)

In case you didn’t know already from that time in 2009, Ginsburg likes to speak sharply about human rights and the law, often employing devices of humor in her written and oral arguments that make people with brains large enough to comprehend the basic equality of all people smile out of the corner of their mouths.

You are really diminishing what the state has said is marriage … There’s two kinds of marriage, there’s full marriage and then there’s sort of skim milk marriage.

— Oral Argument, United States v. Windsor (2013)

Ginsburg also often speaks out about her gender and feminist values at large when she appears on television or whatever (she’s sort of a big deal). This is a space where those appearances and the amazing observations she makes about women during them can be memorialized forever. As GIFs, nonetheless.

What I’m really saying is, you need this Tumblr. In your dashboard, probably, but mostly as a part of your daily balanced Internet consumption. Maybe you can read it in the morning with a tear in your eye, remembering last time Ginsburg spoke your life in a crowd of zillions of white dudes. Or maybe you want to read it at night by candlelight while compiling your next zine, “Ruth’s Truths.”

Either way you should read it.

Like now.

And maybe buy one of the shirts.

Cats and Feminism and Cartoons! Wheeee!

Ali’s Team Pick:

Today, I am sick in bed! I am sick enough that I won’t be leaving bed — even though it is 80 degrees and beautiful in Brooklyn and I want to go to the park SO BAD — but not sick enough that I’m entirely non functional. And you know what that means!

Am I working on my fiction? No, because I don’t feel good and every line comes out with “and I don’t feel good” at the end. Am I working on revamping my personal website? No, no that requires a lot of brainpower that I don’t have at the moment. Instead, I am watching Adventure Time, petting my cat and combing the tumblr-verse for cool things to share with you. You know what I found out there, my lovely queermos?

via Cat Comics and Feminism

via Cat Comics and Feminism

Feminism, cats and cartoons all in one happy place.

From their about section: “HEY! We’re Justine and Lynn and we’re so glad you’re here. We like reading anti-oppression papers from the library (and beyond), and decided to share some of our favourite ideas with you. Except with CATS, y’all!”

There’s not much up on their tumblr, catcomicsandfeminism.tumblr.com, at the moment, but if I could repeatedly follow this tumblr, I would, to encourage them to keep going and put up more and more and more. And more and more! They’ve got complex ideas illustrated with felines. What more could a queer ask for? Enjoy cats and feminism and will someone bring me soup and gatorade? K, thx, bye.

A Gift From the Tumblrverse: “Said to Lady Journos”

featured image via Shutterstock

Ali’s Team Pick:

“I’m going to talk slowly so you get this right, honey.” – Small-town Arkansas mayor to a general assignment reporter writing about a new development project.

“But I’m sure your husband could explain all this to you.” – U.S. State Department official, to the Kabul bureau chief of an international news agency, discussing strategy at a military base in Helmand province.

“Cute little thing, but shouldn’t you be running a 7-Eleven or something?” – Cafe owner to a female Indian reporter.

What I want to do to all the people who said those demeaning, sexist, stupid things:

via News Cat Gifs

We’ve all experienced overt sexism. We’ve all been called “Honey” or “Sweetheart” while all the gentleman in the room were calling each other by their last names. We’ve all been continually assigned to get the coffee because our boss can’t think of what to do with us, despite our skill set. Are you a journalist too? Then you’ll appreciate these specific quotes and others, brought to you by sexism, ignorance, and the funny ladies who write them down at Said to Lady Journos. The purpose of this Tumblr is “to document what people say to female journalists.” Plain and simple. And, as you may have experienced first hand, that shit is often pretty dumb. So break out your tumblr accounts, people. And if you have some quotes to contribute, you can submit them! You will, of course, remain totally anonymous.

This tumblr strikes a chord with me – Autostraddle is, to date, the only place I’ve ever worked where I am assumed to know what I’m talking about when I open my mouth. It is the only place where people don’t ask me, “Are you sure you can do this, sweetheart?” So this is for all the journalists out there who are sick of hearing that – you are not alone, and look, people are terrible/ignorant/have no filters on their mouths. Basically I felt like I was getting a hug from the internet, a hug full of understanding and shared experience.

If you need to wash all the stupid sexism down with a dose of cute, here are News Cat Gifs (journalism + cats).

Tumblrs of Butches Doing Things: A Reprise, Thanks to You

Once upon a time in October, we published a list of Tumblrs that featured butches Doing Things. I was really excited about writing it because butches are my personal favorite. Included in that post was a wish list of things I wanted to see butches doing on Tumblr, and because you guys are the best, some of you went ahead and heeded the call. In celebration of your commitment to pictures of butches doing things and to thank you for catering to my e-needs, I’ve rounded up some of the Tumblrs that were made directly in response to the post.

Keep in mind: these don’t have a lot of pictures on them because they are fairly new, so why don’t you submit some photos and help make everyone’s life a little brighter? Do it!

Butches Leaning On Things

i couldn’t decide on just one!

Butches Leaning On Things is actually a dream come true. Your comments about butches leaning were totally adorable, so I’m really glad that this vision now has a home.  As commenter Julia put it,  “It’s like descriptions of butches leaning is the porn I never knew I wanted.” Now you have the pictures to match the words! Happy leaning.

Butches Fixing Shit

How does this only have ONE picture on it? I mean personally I find fixing shit to be too stressful to think about taking pictures while it’s happening, but that’s why you need an additional person there to be calm and also to remember to snap a photo for the queers on Tumblr. So come on, you guys! The space has been provided and now it’s up to us to fill it.

Butches & Books

Hi Ivan Coyote

Butches & Books was made by the very same perfect angel who brought you Butches + Babies. The tagline reads, “There’s nothing hotter than a well-read butch,” and I couldn’t agree more! There’s no way to know if every single one of these butches is necessarily “well-read,” but they certainly look nice holding books, so.

PS I just need to express my dismay that there is a Butch on Bikes tumblr that is tragically not about butch dykes, so if someone wants to get in there and remedy this urgent situation, I won’t complain. Thanks in advance!

Cats Against Catcalling Are Cats Worth Scrolling Through

Hansen’s Team Pick:

There’s a new Tumblr speaking to my heart these days. Cats Against Catcalling combines cute meme pictures of cats with blunt quotes about how not fun it is to be catcalled or harassed in the street. There’s something about seeing a picture of a cat with common sense slogans about not yelling obscene things at us that makes these balance on the fence right between cute and awesome. By tapping into the cat meme that is ever so present on the interwebs, Cats Against Catcalling is creating an accessible message that street harassment isn’t appropriate behavior.

via {Cats Against Catcalling}

Hollaback is behind this awesome Tumblr and although we’ve talked before about how much we love this group, I think it needs repeating. Hollaback takes a stand against street harassment, calling out the “culturally accepted as ‘the price you pay’ for being a woman or for being gay” way of thinking.

Take, for example, my most recent experience with street harassment. There I was at the grocery store when some man tells me to “smile, baby. you’d be so much prettier if you smiled.” I wanted to tell him I was only at the store because I needed some fucking dark chocolate for my terrible cramps and therefore didn’t feel like walking around with a damn smile on my face so I’d seem more attractive to him. I just uncomfortably grimaced and walked away with my chocolate. I wish I had one of these cat pictures printed out to throw at him. That’d show him!

An accurate representation of me at the grocery store.
via Cats Against Catcalling

Street harassment happens to everyone, but it doesn’t have to. It’s upsetting and degrading and I’m glad Hollaback is making a firm stance and saying this needs to end, especially when that includes putting cute cats with the message, obviously.

Hollaback invites submissions of stories of harassment in an attempt to inspire individuals to take action against being harassed, whether that be shifting public opinion or speaking to elected officials in areas with a high number of incidents.

You can also submit to Cats Against Catcalling with your own clever taglines by emailing holla[at]ihollaback[dot]org.

Top Six Tumblrs Featuring Butches Doing Things

When you love someone, the regular things they do become cute. And when they do things that are already cute, it’s like, a cute explosion. So how about when you’re a fan of an entire group of people? Take, for example, butches. Who doesn’t love a good photo of a butch doing something? Anything at all. But especially doing something cute.

Sometimes, though, it can be really hard to find such photos. A simple Google search doesn’t usually cut it:

kill me

Lucky for my little heart, Tumblr seems to appreciate Butches Doing Things as much as I do. Without further ado, here are the Internet’s finest sources of pictures of butches doing [cute] things.

+

Butches and Babies

via Butches + Babies

We’ve already told you about this one, but it’s worth revisiting.

+

Butches with Cute Animals

via Butches with Cute Animals

Really, what else do you need in life?

+

Baking Butches

via Baking Butches

I think maybe this should turn into a baking company with a storefront near my house. 

+

Butches Smiling

via Butches Smiling

This is perfect in its simplicity.

+

Butch Hands

via Butch Hands

This is about butches Doing Things with their hands and it’s hot.

+

Butches Fucking Butches

via Fuck Yeah Butches Fucking Butches

You’re welcome.

+

Wishlist: Okay, these don’t exist, but I wish they did.

• Butches Leaning on Things
• Butches Fixing Shit
• Butches Driving
• Butches Climbing Trees
• Butches Making the Bed
• Butches Sleeping
• Butches Getting Caught in the Rain
• Butches on the Internet Making Tumblrs Out of My Butch Tumblr Wishlist (also known as: Butches Being Meta)

+
Please feel free to create any of these for me, and also, tell me your own Butches Doing Things wishes!

this one’s mine

Literary Tumblrs For All You Tumblin’, Book-Lovin’ Queers

Hey you, literary queers! Are you looking for something to do besides reading actual physical books? Or maybe you just need a way to whittle away the time before you  speed date other lit-lezzies at the Strand.The internet is here to help you tumbl away your free time in the most literary of ways. The Millions has listed their second round of great literary tumblrs. There are the necessary F***Yeah! blogs alongside Magazine Tumblrs, Writing Center Tumblrs, Author Tumblrs and Publisher Tumblrs! You guys. The list is so long. It’s a little dangerous. A girl could get lost for hours tumbling around tumbleland wistfully gazing at poets touching trees while forgetting to go outside and remind herself of what a real tree feels like.

Poet Chritine Kanownik touching a tree.
via http://poetstouchingtrees.tumblr.com/

Nonetheless, I’ve bravely navigated my way through what feels like millions of fascinating tumblrs and emerged, a little red-eyed, with the ones most relevant to your interests, if I’m right in assuming your interests are semi-clad women, beer, cats and feminism.

Match Book: This is a tumblr that, aside from a few men in swim tunks, mainly shows women wearing bikinis that match book covers. It gives a whole new meaning to “don’t judge a book by its cover.” At first, my inner Serious Literary Scholar and feminist had some feelings — mainly, it’s bad enough to objectify women, but this tumblr’s objectifying books too! But then, my Inner Lesbian told my Inner Feminist and Serious Literary Scholar to go write an essay on Judith Butler and leave her alone to look at hot girls in bikinis.

via http://matchbook.nu/

Then there’s Books and Beer. Enough said. I’d be afraid to date a woman who doesn’t like books and beer, in that order. Wouldn’t you?

Books and beer and macaroni and cheese. If this picture were half my life, and the other half was Bikini-Book-Cover Lady, my life would be complete.
via http://bookandbeer.tumblr.com/

Plus Writers and Kitties and New Cat GIFs (for journalists who are into cats). Being more of a dog person myself, I’m not about to wax poetic about these kitty tumblrs. But I’ve heard you lesbians and other queer-identified women love cats so here ya go:

Colette and her cat via writersandkitties.tumblr.com

There’s also Glitterwolf magazine devoted to highlighting the work of LGBTQ and UK writers (the last part of that sentence makes me think of scrambled letter magnets on a fridge) and The Feminist Press, which you can visit upon your return from book-cover-bikini land.

So there you have it. Enjoy. And once you’re done, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to go read a real book under a real tree.

Kristen Stewart Says Hey Girl, is Talking to You

LIZZ’S TEAM PICK:

First there was Fuck Yeah Ryan Gosling. It was funny but, I mean, it was mad heterosexual and kind of boring. I looked at it a few times, but mostly because as far as I’m concerned Ryan Gosling looks like a Muppet. Amirite?

THIS IS SOME HETEROSEXUAL SHIT

Then, like a beacon of comedy light shining down from Relevant To Your Interests heaven, someone developed Feminist Ryan Gosling. I mean, these are the folks who brought us Hey girl. I mean… Woman. What’s not to love? I looked at this a lot.

YET THIS IS STILL SOME PRETTY HETEROSEXUAL SHIT

That was all fine and good until something else happened. Something I didn’t expect. I had been thinking about making a “Hey Girl” image site, I even slipped a Portia de Rossi in there. But nothing was sticking. Until I discovered this. How could I not have thought of this myself?

THIS IS SOME NON-HETEROSEXUAL SHIT

Someone started Hey Girl It’s KStew, and it’s brilliant. I love love love Kristen Stewart so I was super bummed to see that the tumblr isn’t taking submissions. I made a few of my own anyway.

Update: It has been brought to my attention that Hey Girl It’s KStew is written by YoungCreature. According to their site, YoungCreature “is a blog focused on exposing and supporting queer musicians, artists, filmmakers, writers, troublemakers, and earth shakers.”

Also, as of just a few minutes ago, you can now submit! I encourage everyone to submit Autostraddle-related stuff!!

Riese’s Update: Back in April 2010, we featured Young Creature in Eight Queer Blogs We Really Like Right Now.  (“the internet is the size of a thimble” – laneia)

10 More Lesbian and Queer Tumblrs to Follow

Way way back on December 27, 2009, we alerted you the existence of 14 very fantastic tumblrs, including our own, which at that time that time was way underground and now is accumulating followers like the Pied Piper. In addition to that initial list, we’ve been highlighting some of our favorite sexy tumblrs in various NSFW Sundays, many of which were accounted for in NSFW Sexy Sunday’s Tumble Through Lesbo Homosexy Goodness. You can refresh yourself with those fine tumblrs at the bottom of this post.

But first, here’s ten more we like right now — ten that go a little beyond the traditional lesbian tumblr content into their own special world of queer imagery/words.

(Also! If you want these tumblrs or any tumblrs or, let’s be real, this entire website, to continue to exist, go here and read this)

Queer Fat Femme: Queer Fat Femme’s tumblr presence is body-positive, occasionally political, and always very very bright and pretty.

Ancestry in Progress: The fine creation of Luna, aka Autostraddle’s Miss March 2012, Ancestry in Progress mixes political consciousness and social activism with personal writing and hot women of all colors and sizes. Including, obviously, Luna herself.

Fuck Yeah Asian Dykes: These ladies noticed that there’s “not enough love for queer asians” and so they gathered together all their love and cuteness and put it on the internet for you!

Boyish Percent: Do you like girls that look like boys? So does this tumblr.

Model Lesbians: Models, as curated by a lesbian.

The Meow Meow: Okay not to get all up on our calendar girls as having exceptional tumblrs, but they do, so. The MeowMeow is the tumblr of Lily, aka Miss September, a San Francisco based college student who just-so-happens to be a rad photographer. She seems to visit a lot of interesting apartments and I think also other countries. Sometimes she parties with her friend liquor in the front.

This Beautiful Fight: Sophia Wallace is one of our favorite photographers and her intermittetly updated tumblr features her work (which often focuses on challenging traditional ideas of gender and sexual orientation), carefully chosen quotes and various career updates.

Pussy Le Queer: Bohemea and Suicide Blonde had a lot of racy, sometimes kinky, always classy, photos that were a little too NSFW for their own tumblrs. Thus, Pussy Le Queer was born. There are so many breasts on this tumblr, but since this post is SFW you’ll have to go to the tumblr itself to see all the breasts.

Gray 37: This self-identified “gay black woman”  in London celebrates the strength of women of color through photography and other artworks. It’s like really vigorous yoga for your eyes.

Fuck Yeah Autostraddle: This girl knows ALL THE THINGS about Autostraddle and Autostraddlers and even Autowin and that’s one of several reasons why we think this is the best tumblr in the entire fucking universe. We don’t know who runs it because we enjoy the mystery. But one day we will give this girl a crown.

In our 14 Lesbian & Genderqueer Tumblrs to Watch, we told you to follow:

Fuck Yeah Dykes
Girls Who Like Girls
W[omen] O[f] C[olor] Survival Kit
Bohemea
Suicide Blonde
Liquor in the Front
Autostraddle
Sapphoria
Queering
Fuck Yeah The L Word
Pink Taco Lovers
Defining Myself
Les Femmes
masculin/fèminin

In our Tumble Through Lesbo Homosexy Goodness, we told you to follow:

Mr. Sexsmith
Laugh And Live
Weed and Hips
Fuck Yeah Geek Girls
Judith and Jill
Things That Excite Me
Synthetic Pubes
Fuck Yeah Lady Love
Elles Étaient Deux
Malloreigh
Cute Boyish Lesbian Girls

Once you’re done looking at these tumblrs, you should come back here and hang out!

Feminist Ryan Gosling Tumblr Is Just The Greatest Thing

Intern Grace’s Team Pick

The Tumblr Fuck Yeah! Ryan Gosling consists of mostly pictures of the oddly perfect-looking Mr. Gosling with captions on them of him saying “Hey girl” and then something cheesy and gag-worthy. Ryan apparently knows about it and thinks it’s hysterical. I mostly don’t care because I’m super gay and don’t really put a lot of thought into Mr. Perfect-Abs. I didn’t even really like The Notebook.

Enter: Feminist Ryan Gosling, potentially the greatest Tumblr ever.

Described by creator Danielle Henderson as “feminist theory flashcards from your favorite sensitive movie dude-turned-meme,” Feminist Ryan Gosling is a great answer to the weirdly objectifying “hey girl” meme. You have to admit, “Hey girl. My eyes are up here,” is way funnier than “Hey girl. I’m sorry my shirt fell off.”

The blog has only been around since Friday, but it’s completely spectacular. Do you remember that feeling you got when someone finally put together lesbians and Justin Bieber? That’s the feeling I have right now. It’s just great. I am so happy right now.

AHAHAHAHAHA

Taylor’s Team Pick: Bonus Doodles from Nedroid Comics on Tumblr

Nedroid, webcomic individual of sorts and creator of one of my favorite cartoons ever, Party Cat, has an amazing Tumblr. I don’t follow his actual website all that much, but his Tumblr is an amazing source for all manner of whimsical doodles and drawings, some of which you can now look at because there they are, right down there.

"There is a new cat in the house where I live. I noticed today that she has an exclamation mark on her back. Therefore I assume she is the most exciting cat in the world. "

"I Suspect This May Be the Hidden Glen of the Elves"

"I just like stomping, okay?"

But you should really look at more after your probably very quick-moving eyeparts are done marveling at the ones above. When I’m having a shitty day these manage to make me feel roughly 55% better, which is not a trifling amount of percents.

Riese’s Team Pick: “Runway Revolution” & Some Fat-Positive Fashion Tumblrs

Whether you’re a human being who feels symbolically annihilated by the homogeneously super-skinny body types visible in mainstream media or you’re a human who likes looking at photos of hot girls or you’re an intern for Autostraddle instructed to find photos of not-skinny&white-girls to diversify an article’s imagery, you will feel excited and enthusiastic about the existence of Runway Revolution:

RunwayRevolution.com is a not-for-profit archive of images, videos, etc. showing larger (typically called plus-size) models, and presented for critique and comment under “Fair Use” law to anyone seeking to expand their aesthetic sensibilities concerning beauty and size, and to the general reader who needs a break from the images in the media that completely disconnect with how larger bodies look in real life.

Over the past 20 years there has been a wealth of beautiful imagery, videos and other marketing ephemera created showing models over a size 10. It is the sole mission of RunwayRevolution.com to capture and provide a permanent home for as much material as can be found. RunwayRevolution.com is the ONLY online resource providing this wealth of material in a dated and highly cross-referenced manner, complete with photographer credits. This site offers, wherever possible, complete series of editorials and advertising campaigns without prejudice to brand, model or concept.

It’s owned by Pippa J, an Australian model with 16 years experience in the plus size industry. Also, as a magazine nerd, I’m highly appreciative of their status as “the largest and most complete collection of MODE Magazine available online.”

AND AND AND ALSO ALSO ALSO — Pippa J herself of Runway Revolution would like to say to all y’all autostraddlers:

“It is damn hard work to find good images of People of Color in the plus size world… if anyone out there has back issues of Essence or Ebony or Veinitantos, etc etc with larger models, I’d love to add them! Hit me up via this page: http://runwayrevolution.com/contact/ and I’ll give you the specs.”

Oh and um, here’s a video from there. Happy Friday!

BUT! Everybody knows that “plus-sized” models aren’t actually “plus-sized” — they’re just models who are larger than traditional fashion models — instead of a size 0-4, “plus-sized” models are actually around a size 8-16 — they’re just modeling clothing designed specifically for plus-sized women. So it’s basically the same discrepancy as always. Buttttt if this website makes you wish you could see actual plus-sized women  in cute outfits, there are some tumblrs for that! Check out:

+ fuck yeah fat positive: “Because there aren’t enough FA/HAES tumblrs.”

+ fuck yeah chubby fashion: “Someone mentioned I might start a blog about my own style… I took the feedback and started a blog about everyone’s chubby style!”

+ A Queer Fat Femme Guide to the Net: “Flotsam & Jetsam By (Autostraddle contributor) Bevin Brandlandingham, the Queer Oprah.”

+ the thickness: “Celebrate the sexuality. Admire the brave. Encourage the unique.”

+ hey fat chick: “Fat is a celebration. The way these women fill out their clothes, the smooth curves, the second helpings, the way their bodies jiggle and fold and just beg for greedy hands, the softness, the way fingers can dig into them, the way they lie like a rubenesque painting… It is fat. And it is amazing.”

+ Vanity Loves Curves: “Fashion blogs are overwhelmed with thin girls who dress- well, epically. I just want to contribute as a fat girl who strives to dress- well, epically, too. And I also want to take time to admire fierce, confident, sexy chubby women. We’re all lovely.”

+ fatshion february: “I can’t wait to see what you’re wearing!”

+ Afrotitty: “Photos and musings on fatshion, hippos, power + privilege, nom nom food, burlesque, NYC, and ferocity.”

+ dressupbox: “Queer femme of color who believes in glitter armor and survival as resistance. poet/performance artist. first generation college student workin erryday to smash the ivory tower.”

+ fat shopaholic: “What sets Fat Shopaholic apart from other blogs is Tiffany’s vibrancy, bright smile, her willingness to make it work and experiment with various prints and patterns.”

+ femme styles: “I love femmes and all of our amazing styles.”

+ closet riots: “A body-positive fashion revolution.”

+ gisela ramirez: “As much as i aspire to be the next big thing in plus size fashion, the benefit of my work is to remind you, and myself: Your curves are beautiful, lovely and importantly, sexy. You are entitled to celebrate your mind, spirit and your body. Fashion is your friend & you must rock it.”

+ the cupcake criminal: “A spot for the girl who loves all things to do with food, fashion, travel, the caribbean, baking, chubby beautiful girls, gardening and of course CUPCAKES!!”

And though these two aren’t described as fashion tumblrs, we still like them SO WHATEVER:

+ Fuck Yeah Chubby Butches: “This is a fairly self-serving project but i hope others can also reap the benefits of my campaign to represent the hotness of chubby butches.

+ Fuck Yeah Trans Fats: “There is too much cis-centrism in the fat positive scene and too much sizeism in the trans community. We’re here to smash that to pieces! We want to focus beautiful full-bodied trans folks of all varieties.”

NSFW Sunday: A Tumble Through Lesbo Homosexy Goodness

This weekend the ladies of Autostraddle are super busy at the legendary Dinah Shore Weekend, which is actually quite sexy because apparently the ladies at Dinah Shore just can’t keep their shirts on and their tits in. So today lovely Laura is bringing you a look at even more of the lesbosexy tumblrs popping up all over twitter.

Lesbian Sexy Tumblr Alert: The List, Part Two

Mr. Sexsmith
Mr. Sexsmith of Sugarbutch Chronicles does the super-‘feminine,’ the super-masculine, and a little of what falls in between. This is the place to be if gender play, trans identities and butch/femme dichotomy is what you dig. Don’t forget to check out his blog for erotica and sex toy reviews.

Laugh And Live
She may only be 18, but the French girl who runs this tumblr knows what she likes. For the most part, this means semi-undressed girls with tattoos and good haircuts. She usually includes a picture of herself a day and she is pret-ty cute.

Weed and Hips
Weed and Hips is pretty damn enticing. There are a lot of pictures taken with webcams and as the title suggests, a lot of pictures of weed and hips. If you love the marijuana and if you love women’s body parts then you will probs love this tumblr.

Fuck Yeah Geek Girls
Do you like glasses and the girls that wear them? We’ve got just the place for you. Video games, books, and the occasional ninja turtle outfit are mixed right in with plenty of gratuitous nudity.

Judith and Jill
Judith and Jill is full of naked women! Sometimes they are putting their fingers in other naked women’s vaginas and sometimes they are going solo, sometimes they are not even using fingers. Judith and Jill is kind of like soft-core porn mixed in with pretty pictures of girls on the beach.

Things That Excite Me
If willowy amazon women are your thing, Things The Excite Me has got all the lacy lingerie photos of Keira Knightley, Kate Moss, and and supermodels-whose-names-I-don’t-recognize that you could ever want.

Synthetic Pubes
The name! I know, it makes me feel slimy every time, but I like to think of it as a special test. If you can get past it, untold treasures are in store. It’s like the cave of wonders from Aladdin, but you don’t get three wishes, just a lot of pretty girls.

Let’s refresh who we highlighted last time…

Lesbian Sexy Tumblr Alert: The List, Part One

Fuck Yeah Lady Love: Hey, want to see some girls kissing? Go Here. They’ve pretty much got you covered for all your photographic snogging needs along with plenty of other lesbian-themed paraphernalia.

Elles Étaient Deux: Do you like to see gifs of Naomi and Emily making out? That scene in Jennifer’s Body when Megan Fox kisses Amanda Seyfried? What about a collage of the sex scene in Gia? Elles posts pictures of sexy kisses in lesbian movies and tv shows so if you like to see celebrities kissing then go go go! Also; Xena Warrior Princess and Gaby.

Malloreigh: Malloreigh’s a suicide girl who likes the vegan things, bicycles, and other girls. She calls herself an oversharer, but that’s totally not a bad thing; you’ll find exhibitionistic photos of her among all the other girls. If you dig her tumblr, you should check out her flickr account as well.

Cute Boyish Lesbian Girls: Don’t let the name fool you, this guy’s not all androgyny city, it’s just about being queer. Most of the pictures here are good proof that beauty and butch aren’t mutually exclusive.

Also, if you’ve not checked it our already, our 14 Genderqueer & Lesbo Blogs to Watch debuted a few months back, highlighting the fantastic achievements of:
Fuck Yeah Dykes
Girls Who Like Girls
W[omen] O[f] C[olor] Survival Kit
Bohemea
Suicide Blonde
Liquor in the Front
Autostraddle
Sapphoria
Queering
Fuck Yeah The L Word
Pink Taco Lovers
Defining Myself
Les Femmes
masculin/fèminin

Next: Lesbian sexy links for your otherwise uneventful Sunday.

NSFW Sunday: Lesbian-Sexy Tumblr Alerts

SEXY TUMBLR ALERTS:
Every NSFW Sunday we shoot you one SEXY TUMBLR ALERT (this moniker is a 3rd-generation ripoff of the near, dearly-departed Sassy magazine‘s “Cute Band Alert”) and over the next few weeks we’re gonna give you a close-up look at of some of the sexiest & brightest tumblrs out there. Why? ‘Cause we think there’s something special happening on tumblr w/r/t lesbian imagery, and we wanna have our fingers on the pulse/clit of that.

Because this is a list, some of you will be inclined to yell at us about what we’re missing, but luckily this is only part one! So instead of yelling UM WHERE IS FUCKYEAHGIRLIMOBSESSEDWITH?? just suggest it, politely! We love suggestions! Also check out our 14 Lesbian & Genderqueer Tumblrs To Watch for a solid look at our favorites, NSFW and SFW.

Let’s hit it.

Lesbian Sexy Tumblr Alert: The List, Part One

Fuck Yeah Lady Love: Hey, want to see some girls kissing? Go Here. They’ve pretty much got you covered for all your photographic snogging needs along with plenty of other lesbian-themed paraphernalia.

Elles Étaient Deux: Do you like to see gifs of Naomi and Emily making out? That scene in Jennifer’s Body when Megan Fox kisses Amanda Seyfried? What about a collage of the sex scene in Gia? Elles posts pictures of sexy kisses in lesbian movies and tv shows so if you like to see celebrities kissing then go go go! Also; Xena Warrior Princess and Gaby.

Malloreigh: Malloreigh’s a suicide girl who likes the vegan things, bicycles, and other girls. She calls herself an oversharer, but that’s totally not a bad thing; you’ll find exhibitionistic photos of her among all the other girls. If you dig her tumblr, you should check out her flickr account as well.

Cute Boyish Lesbian Girls: Don’t let the name fool you, this guy’s not all androgyny city, it’s just about being queer. Most of the pictures here are good proof that beauty and butch aren’t mutually exclusive.

Also check out: Tumbling Into Paradise, a sex blogger’s guide to responsible tumbling.

Link Party

SEX ED:
Chicago feminist sex ed paper focuses on LGBTQ students’ needs: I am currently working on a research project that is focused on assessing the Chicago Public School’s sex/health education system. Specifically, I am interested in learning whether or not this system meets the needs of LGBT students. (via @sexgenderbody)

SEX PRIZE
“The Sexual Intelligence Awards: Each year, Sexual Intelligence Awards™ honor individuals and organizations which challenge the sexual fear, unrealistic expectations, and government hypocrisy that undermine love, sex, and relationships–and political freedom–today.” (@carnal nation)

BOOBS:
The World’s Most Perfect Boobs. (@zootoday)

DYKE PUNK GROUPIE SLUT CULTURE:
Susie Bright on Sexual Freedom: “Let me make something clear that the movie only hints at: The Runaways band would not have happened, could not have been conceived, without the Underground Dyke Punk Groupie Slut culture that stretched from the San Fernando Valley to the bowels of Orange County.” (@eros)

BURNING ANGEL:
“Burning Angel is looking to do for bartenders what Digital Playground did for teachers (and nurses, cheerleaders, babysitters, and flight attendants)—only with more tattoos. Consider “Bartenders” the “Coyote Ugly” of porn…but actually good.” (@fleshbot)

LESBIAN SEX ADVICE:
I’m a 26-year-old lesbian, and I’ve started dating a 40-year-old woman. I think she’s great, but I’ve become sexually frustrated. (@timeoutny)

VAJAZZLED:
This is What Getting Your Vagina Vajazzled Looks Like

PEOPLE MAKE LISTS:
Another Day, Another Terrible List of Same-Sex kisses. Seriously can someone just ask us next time? We are actual same-sex kissers and have some feelings on it. (@entertainmentandshowbiz)

SXSW:
This is a new one. It’s not the same as last week. It’s like even better: South by Sexy Women: The Girls of SXSW (@coed)

TAKING ABOUT SEX:
In Praise of Sexual Expression: “Lust makes a liar out of everyone. But without lies, there is no fiction – and stories are where sexual expression really shines.” (@guardian uk)

ORGASMS:
10 Steps to Orgasming Without a Vibrator (@emandlo)