Posts of Jazmine RSSMon, 08 Feb 2021 02:52:38 GMTOriginally Posted on March 20, 2019In this society, women are expected to live up to a man’s standards of what a “real” woman is. As time goes on many women are defying these sexist standards. You would think that in 2019 people wouldn’t be so bothered by multifaceted women, but this is still an issue. Insecure and sexist men do not like to see women who are confident in themselves. They get their self esteem from being able to control the way women live. It’s the same way for women with internalized misogyny. They have been conditioned to think that their lives revolve around men. It bothers them to see that there are women who refuse to live that way.I noticed that the more popular Megan Thee Stallion gets the more hate she receives from men especially. They seem to be intimidated by her being her. Megan is educated, attractive, talented, and sexually liberated. Anyone who has been following her knows that she has an unshakable confidence. Sexist men see women as one-dimensional beings. Our lives revolve around what role we play in theirs. We’re either the “hoe” or the “good girl”. These men would be okay slut shaming her as an Instagram model or video vixen. They see those women as insecure and seeking validation from men. They would be okay if she was an MC Lyte or Rhapsody, a female rapper who doesn’t focus much on her sexuality with a tomboyish look. Both talented female rappers who do not present themselves as sexual beings, so their sexuality doesn’t intimidate men. Or maybe the Michelle Obama type, an educated woman who presents herself in a “classy” light. But men cannot fit Megan Thee Stallion into any one-dimensional, sexist bubble and that bothers them. She is also unbothered by society’s standards of what a woman should be. They can’t control how this woman lives so they spread hate towards her.This applies to other sexually liberated female rappers as well. For example, Cardi B and City Girls. Their lyrics piss off misogynistic men and women with... Read more

]]>Mon, 08 Feb 2021 02:52:38 GMTOriginally Posted on December 5, 2018Misogyny is so ingrained in our minds, that we think any challenge to it is detrimental to our way of life. That is the complete opposite. Feminism isn’t destroying our community. Our upholding of patriarchy is. Racism and misogyny is destroying our community. Mass incarceration is destroying our community. Lack of funding in our neighborhood is destroying our community. Assault and abuse is destroying our community.This idea that the black community should only focus on racism, not misogyny or homophobia, is not helping us move forward. If we want to liberate the black community, then we have to listen to everyone’s grievances. All of our issues matter, not just straight cis black men. The gaslighting and silencing of Black women has to stop. Our experiences with Misogynoir are valid. We’re not trying to “tear black men down,” because we expect better from them. We also need to put an end to the homophobia and transphobia running through our community. Why are we shunning our own people based on their sexualities and gender expression? We are encouraging discrimination in our own community. How is this acceptable?Please, kill the idea that mainstream media has an agenda to, “turn black men gay,” and “make black men feminine.” I don’t know if people realize this, but gay black men have always existed. Gay black men have even been apart of fighting for us to have equal rights in this country.  Bayard Rustin and James Baldwin are two examples. When you complain about black men being “feminine,” that is toxic masculinity. Teaching black men that there’s a certain ways to be “real” man, like holding emotions in and being overly aggressive, is not good. You are also helping enforce the stereotype that black men are “aggressive” and “wild”. That stereotype is dangerous. It has been used as a way to justify innocent black men being murdered by police officers.Black women are also not door mats for Black Liberation. Stop t... Read more

]]>Mon, 08 Feb 2021 02:48:32 GMTOriginally Posted on November 15, 2018Misogynoir is the combination of sexism and racism towards Black women. This term was coined by Queer, Feminist scholar, Moya Bailey. I have only recently learned what misogynoir is. But it has been surrounding me my whole life.I learned about colorism from school and rap music. Boys in my class didn’t hesitate to sit in front of my face and say, “I only like light skinned girls.” Then I would go home, turn on the television and see rap videos where men were surrounded by lighter skinned women. All you would hear in the songs were, “redbone,” this and “yellow bone,” that. I remember being eleven years old, sitting in the car and hearing this line by Lil Wayne on the radio. It went, “Beautiful Black woman, I bet that b*tch look better red,” meaning she’d look better lighter. I felt uncomfortable hearing that line and always avoided listening to the song. I couldn’t help but to feel “ugly,” and “unwanted.” I hardly saw women who looked like me on television, especially as love interests. Darker skinned women were usually portrayed as the “Angry Black woman,” or “the sassy sidekick.” We were incapable of being loved on screen. Television can have an affect on an individual’s psyche. It can also influence society.If you’re on social media outlets like Twitter and Instagram, you may see the many posts tearing down Black women. From memes about Black women to bullying Black women for their looks, the bashing seems endless. Rarely anyone else comes to our defense, but other Black women. Celebrities can make anti-Black women statements and their career remains unscathed. Like rapper and accused rapist, 6ix9ine who recently commented under a Black couple’s wedding picture that, “He should of chose a white woman.” Instead of being reprimanded, he was given the benefit of the doubt and was said to just be “trolling.” Or another rapper and accused rapist, Kodak Black who explained in an interview why ... Read more

]]>Mon, 08 Feb 2021 02:44:36 GMTOriginally Posted on February 24, 2018A Hardee’s employee in Woodhaven, Michigan, has accused other Hardee’s employees of discriminating against him for his sexual orientation. The employee recounted that after an incident where he accidentally spilled ketchup on his shirt, his employees laughed it off and the jokes seemed harmless. The jokes eventually led to him discovering that homophobic slurs were allegedly being used against him when he was not around. Higher-ups allegedly knew about this inappropriate behavior, but no one took action. The employee recounted that his general manager, Scott Papineau, threatened that if he kept working like a “f*ggot”, he could walk off the floor and never come back. This incident allegedly occurred today. The employee feels that he was being bullied by other Hardee’s employees. He recalls being lied on by another employee, causing a customer to yell at him and accuse him of saying something inappropriate that he insists he never said. He believes that other employees were involved in an attempt to get him fired. #LGBTQIAIssues #homophobia #lgbtq #LGBT #homophobia

]]>Mon, 08 Feb 2021 02:35:19 GMTOriginally Posted on January 28, 2018R. Kelly's fans are another example of celebrity worship gone too far. His fans have been camped out on the Mute R. Kelly event page for a week, posting gifs and arguing in defense of their "man". These fans are flocking to our page from a fan page called "R. Kelly's Single Ladies" which has over 11,000 members. Their ringleader, Curry Dynasty initiated this by posting the lead organizer of Mute R. Kelly Detroit on their Facebook page. These women hurled transphobic comments, insulted her looks, and made threats for her to stop the boycott. R. Kelly's single ladies eventually made their way to the event page and have also defended him under any Instagram post with the hashtag, #muterkelly. His fans have filled comment sections with posts that reek of internalized misogyny, victim blaming, transphobia, homophobia, threats, and delusions. A few have even used examples of pedophilia in their own lives to justify R. Kelly's wrongdoings. They often mention their Christian faith although they are worshipping false idols and wishing bad on other people...which is considered a sin. They say that those accusations against him are untrue. But this man has over twenty years of allegations against him and his most recent allegation was last year. He has settled with a few of his accusers. One victim even had medical evidence that she had a sexual relationship with him while she was underage. But they don't care. Their other excuse is that if he was guilty he would've served time. Forgetting that fame and money can buy your way out of things. Also, George Zimmerman was found not guilty for murder, so that excuse means nothing.What makes this situation sad is that these are all black women and all of his known victims have been black women. Black victims are often ignored in society. So to see black women turn their backs on other black women because they love someone's music is disgusting. To make it even worse, I've noticed that many of thes... Read more

]]>Mon, 08 Feb 2021 02:26:40 GMTOriginally Posted on December 22, 2017The Church Militant Group prides themselves on being a peaceful group, unlike the “Anti-Christian group of Antifa radicals, Satanists, and Gay activists” who protested on Wednesday. This "peaceful" group has took to doxxing, harassing, and insulting people who have attended the protest. Vengefulness isn't peaceful or Christian-like.The “Catholic” Group doxxed one of MDPAN’s newest members. They used his picture, full name, and place of employment in their coverage of the protest. He has lost his job because of it but was given a new one by a local activist. Church Militant Group has included the full name of another protester in their article and she is currently being harassed on social media by the group’s followers. Group members have resorted to insulting another MDPAN member’s looks, who’s picture was also featured in the article. They even misgendered her. MDPAN’s Facebook page has also been full of Church Militant Group members looking for arguments. The comment section under the protest’s article on their official website has several people insinuating that the protesters will “burn in Hell”. There are even homophobic, transphobic and ableist comments. So much for a peaceful Christian Group right?Here's a few of their "nice" comments towards the protesters:#faith #christianity #mdpan #christiannationalism... Read more

]]>Mon, 08 Feb 2021 00:27:58 GMTOriginally Posted on December 1, 2017I didn’t start paying too much attention to the size of my body until high school. I used to be really skinny.  I had a small chest, small butt, small everything. Never really thought much of it. That wasn’t until people started making comments about my body and other women’s bodies. Boys would thirst over the girls who had curvy bodies. The girls with big breasts or a big butt, or both. Then boys would see me. They’d say exactly what was on their mind. They’d make comments about how small my breasts were. They’d say my breasts were too far apart. They’d tell me I had no butt.  In their eyes, I paled in comparison to girls with curvy bodies. And honestly, it hurt.Fast forward to around 2015. My body started developing more. I started to have a curvy body. Men and women would compliment me. I felt better about my body because other people liked my body, which wasn’t healthy at all. About a year later, I put on more weight and my stomach was no longer flat. People would comment on my weight and tell me I was getting fat. I was ashamed to wear crop tops or to even take pictures from an “unflattering” angle. I remember my ex saying “Lose that.”, as he pointed down at my stomach. I hated my body.I decided that it was time for me to become “fit”. I wasn’t choosing that for myself, I chose it for others. Everyday I stressed on what I ate. I exercised whenever I could. Exercising is never a bad thing but I was doing it for all of the wrong reasons. Everyday I’d take a look in the mirror at my stomach to see if it had gotten smaller. I’d check out the sizes of other girls stomachs. I’d look at Instagram models and roll my eyes at how “fit” their bodies were.I see so much body shaming on social media and television. We’ve seen Rihanna being shamed for gaining weight. We’ve seen women like Kim K. and Beyonce being shamed for gaining weight while pregnant. We’ve seen Gabourey Sidibe and Ashley Graham being shamed for simply being c... Read more

]]>Sat, 06 Feb 2021 23:14:42 GMTOriginally Posted on November 29, 2017R. Kelly has a long history of being accused of sexual assault and abuse. Yet there are still people who support him. Why is that? Many people worship celebrities. They idolize celebrities and believe that they can do no wrong. But society also has a problem with giving predators a pass. There are people out there who will sympathize with the predator before they sympathize with the victim. I also feel that the women and girls that he has targeted plays a part in why he gets away with it. Society has a problem with turning their backs on victims, especially women of color. All of the women and girls we have heard about are black. I️ will include a few stories about R. Kelly’s alleged predatory behavior. Let’s go back to the early 90’s. R. Kelly met Aaliyah when she was twelve years old through her uncle, who was his manager at the time. R. Kelly started working with Aaliyah and they were said to have had a close relationship. They secretly married in 1994. He was twenty-seven and Aaliyah was only fifteen, though the marriage certificate states that she was eighteen at the time. Now a common excuse I️ hear about this story is that “her parents allowed it”. That’s actually not true. Aaliyah’s parents did not know about the marriage until 1995. When they did find out, they disapproved of the marriage leading R. Kelly and Aaliyah to have their marriage annulled.In 2002, a twenty-year old woman accused him of sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They had a sexual relationship when she was only sixteen years old. She eventually got pregnant and accused him of coercing her into having an abortion. There were said to be phone records, witnesses, and medical history. R. Kelly eventually settled for an undisclosed amount.We also cannot forget the infamous story of him recording himself having sex with an underage girl and urinating on her. This was one of the many videos of R. Kelly that was being sold in ... Read more

]]>Thu, 04 Feb 2021 02:02:30 GMTOriginally Posted on October 15, 2017Kneeling protests have been the topic of discussion for the past few weeks. The NFL has received backlash for players kneeling during the national anthem in protest to police brutality. Unfortunately, people are more outraged about the kneeling than they are about police brutality. Patriotic Americans have taken it as a protest against the American flag and disrespect towards our veterans. Many have called for boycotting the NFL. Players who participated have received death threats. The president has even suggested that they lose their jobs. One of the first NFL players to do it, Colin Kaepernick,  was blackballed because of it. Last Sunday, MDPAN went to Ford Field to kneel in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and the other brave players. We divided into two groups. The inside group protested inside of the stadium, revealing a banner that read “Detroit Kneels with Kaepernick and the Lions” during the national anthem. The outside group protested at one of the nearby gates with signs like “Hold Killer Cops Accountable” and “Take a Knee Against Racial Injustice”. The outside group was met with hostility from Lions fans. One man repeatedly shouted “All Lives Matter” as a way to silence protesters. Another man argued that there was no point of kneeling and that we should be ashamed of ourselves for doing this during the national anthem. Many fans screamed, “Get a Job!” as they walked pass protesters. Some people were even disrespectful towards the veteran who protested with us. What happened to respect for our veterans?Overall, I think we can say that the protest went pretty well. Although there were plenty of angry Lions fans, no violence occurred. Opposing sides protested at the other end of the stadium, but we never crossed paths. Everything remained peaceful. #racialjustice, #blacklivesmatter #takeaknee #colinkaepernick... Read more

]]>Sun, 24 Jan 2021 15:55:04 GMTOriginally Posted on September 28, 2017Last Saturday (a very hot Saturday), the second Love is Love rally took place. This time the rally was held in Hamtramck, the last one being in Ferndale. The turnout was nice. Many came out and showed their support. There were maybe one or two hecklers but the positivity drowned them out. The Love is Love rally is about LGBT equality, love for each other, and self-love.LGBT equality is something that we still fight for now. In August, a LGBT leader's residence the target of an arsonist in Jackson, Michigan. The alleged hate crime took place not too long after the city passed its non-discrimination ordinance. ACLU Michigan has recently filed a lawsuit to challenge Michigan's practice of allowing state contracted child agencies to reject couples solely based on their sexual orientations. LGBT activists have also fought for LGBT people to be included in the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act. Unfortunately, Michigan Civil Rights declined their requests. Our president proposed a bill to ban all transgender people from the military. Let's not forget the "bathroom" debate.The LGBT rally kicked off with upbeat songs like "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross, "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga, and "I Wanna be Your Lover" by Prince. The wall decorated with heartwarming posters about LGBT equality, made by high school students across Detroit. Avery Grey, Huffington Post Queer Voices Contributor, member of MDPAN, gave an emotional speech about their life as an intersex person. They also read a beautiful poem about self-love titled "The Greatest Love of All". Avery's speech and poem was definitely the highlight of the rally. It represented what the rally was all about. The Mayor of Hamtramck, Karen Majewski spoke about her support for LGBT equality. She let the audience know that everyone is welcome in Hamtramck. It was nice to see a government official stand up for LGBT... Read more

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