The Feminine Mystique.

A section of Gaga’s emotional speech about being a woman in Hollywood:

“I tried on dress after dress today getting ready for this event, one tight corset after another, one heel after another, a diamond, a feather, thousands of beaded fabrics and the most beautiful silks in the world,” she told the crowd. “To be honest, I felt sick to my stomach. And I asked myself: What does it really mean to be a woman in Hollywood? We are not just objects to entertain the world. We are not simply images to bring smiles or grimaces to people’s faces. We are not members of a giant beauty pageant meant to be pit against one another for the pleasure of the public. We women in Hollywood, we are voices. We have deep thoughts and ideas and beliefs and values about the world, and we have the power to speak and be heard and fight back when we are silenced.

So, after trying 10 or so dresses, with a sad feeling in my heart, that all that would matter was what I wore to this red carpet, I saw an oversized Marc Jacobs suit buried quietly in the corner. I put it on to a resounding view of eyes glaring at me in confusion. ‘But the Rodarte was so beautiful!’ one said. ‘But the Raf Simons for Calvin Klein was so stunning on you!’ said another. ‘But what about the Brandon Maxwell? What about the Dior?’ Lots of questions. They were all dresses. This was an oversized men’s suit made for a woman. Not a gown.

And then I began to cry. In this suit, I felt like me today. In this suit, I felt the truth of who I am well up in my gut. And then wondering what I wanted to say tonight become very clear to me. As a sexual assault survivor by someone in the entertainment industry, as a woman who is still not brave enough to say his name, as a woman who lives with chronic pain, as a woman who was conditioned at a very young age to listen to what men told me to do, I decided today I wanted to take the power back. Today I wear the pants.”

One of the Iraqi women I work with yesterday [paraphrasing]:

“I got married when I was sixteen. He was 31. I begged my parents to let me stay with them, but we were poor and he was offering them money, and they were afraid if I didn’t get married soon that I would be raped and my honor would be taken.

My mother explained sex to me right before the wedding. He tried to have sex with me the first night but I screamed and pushed him away. He got angry and he threatened to divorce me. I would have nowhere else to go. I tried to pretend I was a different person and it would be over soon.

Now he only has sex with me when I am sleeping. He decides he wants sex or another baby and I pretend I am still asleep so I don’t have to look at him while it happens.”

She is now nineteen years old with three children and a fourth coming.

THIS IS LITERALLY THE RADDEST PHOTO I’VE EVER SEEN

LIKE SHIT

when they cup your face with both hands

when they tangle a hand in your hair

when they bite your lip

when they kiss your NECK

when they put their hand on your back. bonus if you’re wearing a crop top and they put their hand right when your skin is exposed

when you can feel them smile against you

when your lips are tingling afterwards

Here is a link on how to help and what the current situations are, and here is a direct link to the fundraiser.

You got out of bed today.

You did your dishes or dirty laundry.

You finished some homework you’ve been putting off.

You cleaned up around your home/apartment/dorm etc.

You resisted temptation in any form.

You found a reason to smile.