Existentialism or Autocorrect?

"Dear brothers and sisters, do remember one thing: Malala Day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights.

Dear Friends, on the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed. The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.  I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same.

The wise saying ‘the pen is mightier than sword’ was true. The extremists are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them. Through hate-filled actions, extremists have shown what frightens them the most: a girl with a book.

Peace is necessary for education. In many parts of the world, terrorism, wars and conflicts stop children to go to their schools. We are really tired of these wars. There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for their rights. But, this time, we will do it by ourselves. I am not telling men to step away from speaking for women’s rights. Rather, I am focusing on women to be independent to fight for themselves. 

Today we call upon all communities to be tolerant – to reject prejudice based on caste, creed, sect, religion or gender. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.

We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave – to embrace the strength within themselves and realise their full potential. 

Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. 

This sets a really fucked up precedent tho

you are in love or lonely,

The fashion industry is not a pretty business. Here, one of its own, the former editor of Australian Vogue Kirstie Clements describes a thin-obsessed culture in which starving models eat tissues and resort to surgery when dieting isn’t enough

Okay. So I do have a few problems with this article. This might be a little tu qouque and ad hominem, BUT it never ceases to astonish me that people will ride out their fifteen minutes of fame in this industry before bashing it. Once people are no longer relevant to the fashion industry is when they start to “rise above it".

Much like former “Victoria Secret Model" Kylie who wrote a shitty book (I’m No Angel: From Victoria’s Secret Model to Role Model) that consisted of slut shaming and bashing an industry that didn’t want to further her contract anymore, former AustralianVogue editor Kirstie Clements states she is disgusted at the “conspiracy" perpetuated by the fashion industry to further eating disorders.

While I will not deny that anorexia is a major issue in young women today (especially in North America), the tone of Clements article suggests that the fashion industry is altogether unhealthy and is plotting the demise of a “natural" and full figured women.

Yes, the body type of women has changed since the 1980’s. Designers are looking for a more androgynous look instead of curvy. However, this isn’t a bad thing; it is just different. There is a danger of putting any body type on a pedestal because no one body type is representative of all women. It just can’t be. However, the purpose of the fashion industry isn’t to represent diversity on a runway. The purpose of fashion is to fashion. To quote Anna Wintour (editor in chief of Vogue) “Fashion is not beautiful, neither is it ugly. Why should it be either? Fashion is Fashion". Original Valentino dresses are worth many of thousands of dollars, and need to be interchangeable fit almost any runway model. A dress will almost never be custom designed to fit one particular model, so yes models do need to have similar measurements in order for runway shows to be a success. 

High fashion may not intentionally mean harm to the models or the women who strive to achieve unrealistic body type goals, but that does not change the end result. From Clairol to McQueen, the pictured ideal of fashionable (whether or not beautiful) is Caucasian, tall, size zero, and non-curvy. Furthermore, being fashionable is not a hobby or a choice for many women - women are more likely to achieve success in their careers if they are well-dressed and attractive.

Now imagine that the triangles manage to get the resources together, after years of not being able to fit through the circle’s holes, to drill a single triangle space into the wall.

Now imagine that the circle — who previously supported the triangle’s efforts because they are well-rounded (har) and value equality —  comes along and sees the construction project. But instead of being happy, they get angry.

“Well, I won’t be able to fit through your hole!!!!” the circle cries.

“I helped you get the drill!!!!” the circle shrieks.

“Make it fit me too!!!!” the circle demands.

The triangles, barely holding it together enough to get a triangle hole together, stare at the circle in confusion. 

“You have all the holes you need,” the triangles explain. “This is for us. You don’t need to fit through our hole, too.”

“YOU’RE BEING UNEQUAL AND HURTING MY FEELINGS!” the circle wails. “I DON’T SUPPORT YOUR HOLE IF IT DOESN’T FIT ME TOO. GIVE ME MY DRILL BACK.” 

“It’s not your drill, it’s our drill. You helped us get it, because you said you cared.”

“I ONLY CARED WHEN I THOUGHT YOU’D MAKE A HOLE EVERYONE COULD FIT THROUGH. YOU’RE PERPETUATING INEQUALITY!!!”

“Why is it up to us, the small group that has never been able to fit through the wall at all, to make a hole everyone can use? Why isn’t it up to you, the people who have been able to cross back and forth at will for years? We just want to see the other side; why are you yelling at us?”

“I DIDN’T ASK TO BE BORN A CIRCLE, OMG. I’VE HAD TO WORK HARD ALL MY LIFE TOO. YOU’RE JUST BEING BIGOTED AGAINST ME BECAUSE OF SOMETHING I CAN’T CONTROL, JUST LIKE EVERYONE IS AGAINST YOU.”

“You are interfering with our project and asking us to comfort you while we’re trying to make progress. Please leave.”

“I’m going to tell everyone about this,” the circle warns. “Nobody will support you now.”

That we have to draw comics using colorful shapes

(x)

That being said, finding a doctor you can trust and rely on makes a huge difference. It’s just so hard to find a dependable doctor when half the medical profession doesn’t seem to believe your condition exists or refuses to treat it.