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"I’d cut my soul into a million different pieces just to form a constellation to light your way home. I’d write love poems to the parts of yourself you can’t stand. I’d stand in the shadows of your heart and tell you I’m not afraid of your dark."

Andrea Gibson (via hellanne)

(via bonnibell)

"In the past, the English language had its fair share of terms to describe the state of being infatuated with a person who does not return your feelings. There was “unrequited love” for those who prefer more flowery language or “crush” for those with a more casual flair. Alas, these terms failed on one front: They assigned responsibility for the situation to the person having the feelings. They even went so far as to imply that the object of the affection has no obligation whatsoever to return the feelings (or have sex with someone as a consolation prize). Thus, the angry dudes of the Internet came up with the term “friend zone”, which shifts the locus of responsibility from the subject to the object of the crush. It implies that, as the object is at fault for “putting” her admirer into the friend zone, it is her duty to do something to remove him from it, preferably by getting naked."

Friend Zone Goes in the OED, and Women Give Up Trying to Let You Down Easy

(via albinwonderland)

(Source: Slate, via albinwonderland)

"If you remember me, then I don’t care if everyone else forgets."

Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore (via souls-entwined)

(Source: winterkristall, via bonnibell)

"… the socialization of boys regarding masculinity is often at the expense of women. I came to realize that we don’t raise boys to be men, we raise them not to be women (or gay men). We teach boys that girls and women are “less than” and that leads to violence by some and silence by many. It’s important for men to stand up to not only stop men’s violence against women but, to teach young men a broader definition of masculinity that includes being empathetic, loving and non-violent."

Don McPherson, former NFL quarterback, feminist and educator (via spikyhairjon)

it really even isn’t that hard—expressing masculinity without contributing to women being second-class citizens is completely possible. what are we afraid of?

(via fauxmosexualtranstrender)

(via ceedling)

"[TW: RAPE] Boys who allegedly drug a girl and then rape her, kidnap her, rape her again, photograph her, photograph her rape, urinate on her then create videos boasting about it, do it because they are fearless and entitled. (I wrote that sentence out deliberately because I’m sick of seeing “she was raped” — like she was an agent in her assault or that there was no real perpetrator.) These boys were not taught, by fully culpable adults, that these actions are morally repugnant crimes against humanity. Because we laugh about rape and mock people who object. Girls who witnessed these events don’t speak up because they have no faith they won’t be next, they have no confidence they will be believed, they’ve learned to internalize the contempt our culture has for them. After all, we teach our children that it’s acceptable for boys to be protected from shaming and punishment after they’ve sexually assaulted, and to attend schools where there are ‘rape factories’ and where frat boys play games like ‘who would you rape.’"

Soraya Chemaly “Rape Has a Purpose” (via ceedling)

(Source: The Huffington Post, via ceedling)