kate burton

violentwavesofemotion: (by Anya Schiller)

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:11:11 -0400

violentwavesofemotion:

(by Anya Schiller)

Beyoncé | Grown Woman

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:09:02 -0400

Beyoncé | Grown Woman

Photo

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:26:02 -0400

Photo

Thu, 16 May 2013 01:36:05 -0400

deluminator: debatable

Thu, 16 May 2013 01:10:29 -0400

deluminator:

debatable

webber-represents: Photographer: Tara Darby Represented by:...

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:16:12 -0400

webber-represents:

Photographer: Tara Darby

Represented by: Webber Represents

"When liberal whites fail to understand how the can and/or do embody white-supremacist values and..."

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:11:40 -0400

“When liberal whites fail to understand how the can and/or do embody white-supremacist values and beliefs even though they may not embrace racism as prejudice or domination (especially domination that involves coercive control), they cannot recognize the ways their actions support and affirm the very structure of racist domination and oppression that they profess to wish to see eradicated.”

- bell hooks, overcoming white supremacy: a comment (via unimpressed2chainz)

arcanja: Todos os direitos reservados a Rachel Dowda

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:10:45 -0400

arcanja:

Todos os direitos reservados a Rachel Dowda

methlabrador: when people say “i dont believe in science” what are you even talking about

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:29:02 -0400

methlabrador:

when people say “i dont believe in science”

what are you even talking about

Photo

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:05:54 -0400

Angelina Jolie on why she had a double mastectomy, and how it...

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:42:23 -0400

Angelina Jolie on why she had a double mastectomy, and how it can save lives

My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.

We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.

Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent risk of getting it, on average.

Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.

On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved. During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work.

But I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action.

My own process began on Feb. 2 with a procedure known as a “nipple delay,” which rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area. This causes some pain and a lot of bruising, but it increases the chance of saving the nipple.

Two weeks later I had the major surgery, where the breast tissue is removed and temporary fillers are put in place. The operation can take eight hours. You wake up with drain tubes and expanders in your breasts. It does feel like a scene out of a science-fiction film. But days after surgery you can be back to a normal life.

Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. There have been many advances in this procedure in the last few years, and the results can be beautiful.

I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.

It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable. They can see my small scars and that’s it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was. And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can. On a personal note, I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.

I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive. So to anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition. Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries. We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.

For any woman reading this, I hope it helps you to know you have options. I want to encourage every woman, especially if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and to make your own informed choices.

I acknowledge that there are many wonderful holistic doctors working on alternatives to surgery. My own regimen will be posted in due course on the Web site of the Pink Lotus Breast Center. I hope that this will be helpful to other women.

Breast cancer alone kills some 458,000 people each year, according to the World Health Organization, mainly in low- and middle-income countries. It has got to be a priority to ensure that more women can access gene testing and lifesaving preventive treatment, whatever their means and background, wherever they live. The cost of testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, at more than $3,000 in the United States, remains an obstacle for many women.

I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options.

Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.

time-for-maps: Map of the Canton of Zurich by Eduard Imhof....

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:52:47 -0400

time-for-maps:

Map of the Canton of Zurich by Eduard Imhof. (1969)

Photo

Fri, 10 May 2013 01:01:04 -0400

nikolawashere: Shot by Sam Hessamian

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:35:02 -0400

nikolawashere:

Shot by Sam Hessamian

"In contemporary usage… the words ‘crone,’ ‘witch,’ ‘bitch,’ and ‘virgin’ describe women as..."

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:32:09 -0400

“In contemporary usage… the words ‘crone,’ ‘witch,’ ‘bitch,’ and ‘virgin’ describe women as threatening, evil, or heterosexually inexperienced and thus incomplete. In prepatriarchal times, however, these words evoked far different images. The crone was the old woman whose life experience gave her insight, wisdom, respect, and the power to enrich people’s lives. The witch was the wise-woman healer, the knower of herbs, the midwife, the link joining body, spirit, and Earth. The bitch was Artemis-Diana, goddess of the hunt, most often associated with the dogs who accompanied her. And the virgin was merely a woman who was unattached, unclaimed, and unowned by any man and therefore independent and autonomous. Notice how each word has been transformed from a positive cultural image of female power, independence, and dignity to an insult or a shadow of its former self so that few words remain to identify women in ways both positive and powerful.”

- Allan G. Johnson, “Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them or an Us” (1997)

treebeards: a rainy day selfie 4 u look at my chubby face...

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:50:05 -0400

treebeards:

a rainy day selfie 4 u look at my chubby face wow

Shannon, I am floored by your beauty

Photo

Tue, 07 May 2013 23:21:24 -0400

me (surprised): omg

Tue, 07 May 2013 22:14:04 -0400

me (surprised): omg
me (amused): omg
me (angry): omg
me (sad): omg
me (nostalgic): omg
me (annoyed): omg
me (scared): omg

“I think a lot about what makes a strong female character. You...

Tue, 07 May 2013 20:50:30 -0400

“I think a lot about what makes a strong female character. You know, movies and TV shows, these things have influence, my own website. So I think the question of “What makes a strong female character?”, often goes misinterpreted. And instead we get these two-dimensional superwomen, who maybe have one quality that’s played up a lot. Like, you know, a Catwoman type, or she plays her sexuality up a lot and it’s seen as power. But they’re not strong characters who happen to be female, they’re completely flat and they’re basically cardboard characters.
The problem with this is that then people expect women to be that easy to understand, and women are mad at themselves for not being that simple. When in actuality, women are complicated. Women are multifaceted. Not because women are crazy, but because people are crazy. And women happen to be people!”

-Tavi Gevinson for TEDTalks [x]

mysteriousmitch: Body geometry.

Sat, 04 May 2013 21:25:00 -0400

mysteriousmitch:

Body geometry.