Dawnie, I Have To..

I was watching an early season of Parks n Rec because I can’t stand the white dude parade in the latter seasons when I came across this in the episode: “Leslie’s House”. Anyway, I thought it would be excellent for receipt purposes:

This is for everyone who thinks PnR is a feminist show. The comparison in the lines is between Tom and Ron and can you see the disgusting racism and racist stereotypes in these lines?

"Stallion" and "man" are the words used for Ron and ‘manchild’ and ‘pony’ are used for Tom. Because Tom is a motherfucking Indian, he is lacking sexual charisma and virility

Ron’s blatant sexual overtures are seen as oozing sex appeal, Tom’s are viewed with disgust (not that i am dismissing Tom’s sexual harassment of ladies issues which are gross ofc). 

We have also had Ron literally once CARRY Tom like a child while flirting with his then wife thus INFANTILIZING Tom and perpetuating the notion  of an non sexual Indian man. 

Could? I think anything’s possible, technically. I don’t think it’s likely based on the writers and the direction they’re guiding the show, but I would obviously not be opposed. (8 It makes me extra sad because I do think the odds of it happening (or at the very least being a temporary thing, like a ~Something Blue~ kind of spell played for humor for a fan favorite ship) would be like 183729x higher if one of them was a dude, and it would be The Ship of the show in that case. As it is, I’m glad that we’ll presumably be getting a super developed lady friendship with all the nuance and plottiness of a relationship arc, just minus all the sexy bits.

I mean the closest thing we’ll probably get to a Swan Queen endgame is in my perfect world, the show ends with Emma, Regina, and Henry walking off into the sunset together, happy and a family united. And I don’t think that’s an impossible dream!

Why do I think Swan Queen should be canon? (And I really, really do, and I think the writers are missing out on a magnificent opportunity by not bothering with it.) Because it’s beautiful, it’s symmetry, it’s irony all wrapped up in an arc that spans the whole show. It’s about a woman who’s spent her life hollow and empty finding family in a lineage she loathes more than anything. It’s about the savior saving not just Storybrooke, but the woman who cast the spell on the town in the first place. It’s about the woman who runs away too often and the woman who can’t let go of anything finding each other and hanging on.

It’s about Henry- it’s always about Henry- and in a story about family, nothing matters more to these women than their son. And they both find that family with Henry but if they find it with each other, too, it’s even stronger. And magic! Magic is about emotion and Regina, who harnesses it for hate, and Emma, who harnesses it for love, can make enough magic to save a town together.

OUAT gives us stories in black and white, good and evil, and then we get more background and discover that evil can do good and good can do evil and there’s so much more to it than just stark opposites. And Emma and Regina both embody that concept, both have more layers than just hero and villain, and they recognize and embrace it within them instead of fearing it.

And really that’s why I do think Swan Queen shouldbe canon- because these are the themes of the show- love and motherhood and family and magic and depth- and narratively, it’s a story that takes all the pieces of the picture and gives us the ultimate culmination of them all in one perfect ship. <3

also my otps kind of hated each other at first but eventually find common ground through the children who depend on them xo

oh right and one is an unshakable Hero who navigates the black and white but understands the grey and respects that spectrum for what it is in time

and the other is a villain on a redemptive path who doesn’t quite get redemption yet and sees it more about earning love than anything altruistic

and they move from loathing (the kind that makes your blood sing, that makes your lip curl and your eyes flash and sometimes exhilarates you more than you’ll ever admit) to tentative allyhood to eventual almost-friendship and mutual respect and it’s never easy, it’s one step forward and two steps back and it’s all hanging by a thread all the time, seconds from falling and shattering into a million pieces

I study History and Latin American & Caribbean Studies. I focus on Black Women in both the US and Latin America in my studies, primarily black women’s organizing.

I was awarded 10,000 dollars to go study abroad in Bahia, Brazil for next semester. It wasn’t enough, but it was significant enough since I had 3000 saved and was expecting 3,000 more dollars from my university’s study abroad office (they actually told me it was guaranteed as they have to provide aid that is significant enough to make an impact on my budget). I also applied for other groups that could give me aid, like my uni’s Honors Program (in which the director told me I would be granted admission as long as my grades each semester were good [because I received poor grades doing STEM freshman and sophomore year]).

Of course, those two didn’t pan out. Both groups backtracked on their earlier statements and either provided me a reduced amount of funding or rejected me outright because I didn’t not have an overall GPA of 3.8 or higher (which will never happen, even though my GPAs in History and Latin American studies are 4.0s).

I have looked for other sources of funding, but also run into other problems:

scholarships that I can apply to (which are only three) award the funding money while I’m abroad, which is after the money is due (if I’m able to get them).

there aren’t that many scholarships in my area (Latin America) because Spanish and Portuguese are no longer deemed critical languages by the State Dept and CIA, in contrast to languages in Central, South, and East Asia.

my deptartments have tried their hardest to find ways for me, but they are also cash-strapped themselves.

The program that I applied to (CIEE) has me on a waitlist for scholarship money, so I don’t know if I will get anything from them.

I also saved money myself, about 3,000, but had to use all of it to go to Ghana this summer when my grandmother passed away.

So I’m resorting to the internet for help. I’m the only one on my trip (I’m going through CIEE because my uni doesn’t have a program for Brazil) who isn’t going to a well-funded Ivy League or University of California school, so I don’t have much to fall back on. My parents are also struggling financially (especially after my grandma’s funeral) and paying my sister’s tuition (usually they don’t pay mine since I get scholarships).  I need your help! I specifically need to go because:

I’m doing research for my senior thesis on black women’s organizing in Brazil.

Salvador, Bahia has a wealth of primary and secondary sources that will help with that research.

I can finish the large bulk of my degree in Latin American studies there.

It also helps that it is a majority poc city in a majority poc state. 

But this would help immensely with my future goals too: I want to go to grad school and do Brazilian studies. Please donate! I have lots of prizes for people who donate: - 10 dollars: a personalized thank you email, digital photo, and the url to my study abroad blog.  - 15 dollars: a digital copy of a photo zine based on my travels and observations in Brazil (PDF format, will be sent out in September), and the url to my study abroad blog. - 30 dollars: two postcards sent (in March and May) from Bahia!  - 50 dollars: Detailed, monthly e-mail updates (5 total), and one postcard from Bahia.  - 100 dollars: Skype date! Connect with me in real time and listen to my stories. Plus, a neat souvenir and a physical version of my zine. I also can do stuff for your organization, including giving talks and mentoring, if you’re in one and have some many to spare!