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Disrupting Dinner Parties

~ Feminism is for everyone!

Disrupting Dinner Parties

Tag Archives: new year

Invest in the world you believe in

29 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by ddpguestposter in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2016, donate, look for the helpers, new year, peace building, refugees, syria

This is a guest post by Emma Buck.

These are dark times. The refugee crisis in Europe and the attacks in Paris and Beirut sent a shock throughout the world, where before, some U.S. Americans may have been challenged to find Syria on a map, now key players in Syria and the diaspora have become household names in the United States and around the internet- from the Assad regime, the dictator being overthrown in Syria, to the island of Lesvos, a small vacation Greek island being rocked by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees by boat. So, you know there’s a war going on in Syria and a refugee crisis as a result, and you want to do something about it? I have three organisations that I wish to highlight and link to ways to supporting them, because they are doing some of the best work on the ground here, because they need your support in continuing to do it, and because they bring me hope that light can emerge out of this darkness.

I’m in Southern Turkey living with displaced Syrian revolutionary activists, volunteering and collaborating with many local organisations that have sprung up in this crisis. Amidst the many challenges they must face and I struggle to even comprehend, I have found my hope in meeting the ordinary people, mostly women, who are confronting impossible problems, starting as grassroots activists and formalizing into organizations and, really, changing the world. These people work in and around Syria, every day, where and when everyone else fails. If you believe in a world where ordinary people help each other in need, where refugees are welcome and peace can be built from the ground up, here’s where to send your money and support. Invest in the world you believe in. If you’re thinking about where to give before the end of the year, please consider supporting them. If you are not able to financially support them, please consider learning more about them and sharing this post on your Facebook or other social media.

sawa 2

SAWA

In Lebanon, where Syrian refugees make up 1 in every 4 people, SAWA for Development and Aid was one of the first organizations on the ground in 2011 when Syrian refugees first started coming in. They were “founded in reaction to the dire gap of fulfilling the needs for Syrian refugees in Lebanon”- such gaps include, for instance, when weather conditions in winter get bad enough, the NGOs managing the camps abandon them to their fates. Really. SAWA are holding a supply drive called #beforethestorm, and every cent donated goes to coats, heating supplies, and shelter for refugees in Bekaa. Donate below, $10 buys a winter kit for a child, $25 buys blankets, and more can go towards tents, firewood, and more.

https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/before-the-storm-winter-drive

Starfish

In Greece, where Syrian, Iraqi, Afghan and other refugees arrive by rubber dinghy on the vacation island of Lesvos, the formidable local restaurant owner Melinda McRostie had to do something to help the wet and desperate people arriving by the hundreds every day (read more about them here: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/captain-table-restaurant-helping-refugees-151012133022206.html). Her organization, Starfish, until recently only an informal yet highly organized group of volunteers and now a Greece-based nonprofit, has since it begun helped shelter, feed and house more than 90,000 refugees, and counting. These were the folks I volunteered with back in October, and I cannot stress enough how much Starfish is holding up that side of the island, connecting refugees, locals, volunteers and the UN to get the job done. Just 1.60 euros buys a meal for a tired refugee. More info here, including links to the paypal donation page:

http://www.asterias-starfish.org/en/donate/

Centre for Civil Society and Democracy

All throughout Syria (Da’esh, Liberated Areas, Rojava, Regime-held areas, and the diaspora), multiple networks of over 25 peace circles led by Syrian women are negotiating ceasefires, opening schools in besieged areas, advocating for political prisoners, bringing together ethnic and religious communities to reduce tension, and so much more. These women are remarkable, sowing the seeds of peace amidst such a terrible war, and their stories need to be told. There are links to donate and also other ways to support below for their parent organization the Centre for Civil Society and Democracy- just put WFFS in the memo line. Added bonus, if you’re looking for donations to ease your tax burden, CCSD is also registered as a 501(c)3 in the United States, so can count towards your charitable donations. See below:

http://ccsdsyria.org/donate-2/

Will you make a donation to one of these organizations? They are doing urgent, important work, and they need our support. Sometimes, what makes the world brighter is also what makes it easier to bear the darkness: taking action to make it better.

Happy New Year, everyone. May it be a peaceful and just 2016.
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Top Five Posts of 2013 on Disrupting Dinner Parties

31 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by Kate in Blog Things

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

BDSM, consent, feminism, fetlife, new year, rape culture, Sexism, top posts, ultimate, ultimate disc, ultimate frisbee, virginity

We’re wishing farewell to 2013 with a look back at our five most-viewed posts of 2013. We’ve had some great ones! Drumroll, please…

5. True love doesn’t wait

Rosie notes: "Your sexuality belongs not only to you and God, but to your parents and your community and your future spouse and children."

Rosie notes: “Your sexuality belongs not only to you and God, but to your parents and your community and your future spouse and children.”

In this powerful post from last March, Rosie clearly lays out the connection between virginity culture, sexual violence, and abuse:

When you divvy women into “respectable” vs “sexual” categories, you have a huge congregation of women who you’ve labeled ’not respectable’ and ‘for sex.’

4. Pass the disc, hold the sexism

"An example of something I should not have to do just to prove I can play."

“An example of something I should not have to do just to prove I can play.”

In her post from last June, Stevia writes about having to do “something crazy like laying out while catching the disc in my teeth” just to get her male teammates to take her seriously as an ultimate player:

I can’t tell you how often someone has called me up and invited me to play because “we need you, we’re short on girls.” I can’t tell you how often people have assumed I’m only at a game because they thought I was dating a close male friend on my team. I’d love to feel valued as a player, but—Oh what’s that? I have a uterus? Great, let me hop on the field so you can adhere to league policy and let you give gender diversity lip service without you worrying about really being inclusive to women.

3. Got Consent? III: FetLife Doesn’t Get It

got consent?

In the third installment of his 5-part series exploring consent in the kink community, Lunas tackles the role FetLife (like facebook for kinky people) plays in creating and supporting rape culture. He also provides a list of ways to take action.

The story of FetLife’s lack of respect of consent, privacy, and personal autonomy is an important one for all kinky people to know. But it also represents a fascinating case study for anyone interested in privacy, transparency, and rape culture on the Internet. 

2. 4 Reasons Why, Actually, You Cannot Touch My Hair

you can touch my hair

Dominique’s post from last June was inspired by the performance art exhibit pictured above (SPOILER ALERT: the women protesting next to them has sliiightly less welcoming signs). In it she responds to all the people who want to touch black women’s hair.

Like, why? Why do you want to touch my hair? I implore you to deeply ponder this every single time you are about to ask to touch a black woman’s hair. Do you think it’s mystical? Exotic? Are you trying to test and see if it will leave scratches on your fingers? If you think it’s beautiful by all means, please say that, but you don’t have to touch it while the words come out of your lips. 

1. Modeling Consent

"Psst…Eric!... Try words!"

“Psst…Eric!… Try words!”

When she wrote it in September, she was a lowly guest poster, but Rebecca has since become one of DDP’s editors! (I’m just kidding about guest posters being “lowly”–they are awesome and you should become one.) In this post Rebecca shares a happy, sexy story featuring dancing, nudity, makeouts, and good use of consent:

But our dance connection was growing into the sexual realm. I felt it happening. The dance was over, but neither of us walked away– those chills were running all over my body, begging to grow wings. Our faces were close together, breath in sync and heavy– it was that perfect moment, the one they capture in all the movies. I knew it was coming. That classic, dreamy, first kiss. And then something truly miraculous happened.

“Rebecca, I’d like to kiss you” Continue reading →

Open Thread: What We’re Building

27 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by Kate in Gender Roles, Harassment, Open Thread, Organizing

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

2013, 2014, Activism, ambi, ambidancetrous, blues, community, consent culture, cooperative living, group houses, intentional communities, new year, safer spaces, sexual harassment, social justice, swing

We talk a lot on this blog about dismantling systems of oppression, and about what we want to build to replace them. I see the welcoming of the new year as a time of intention setting, so this open thread is dedicated to sharing stories of those who are building something. Tell us the cool stories of work you or others are involved in to make the world better. Let’s all get inspired for 2014!

I’ll start with three:

1. Ambidancing: In lots of partner dancing, leading and following is tied pretty strongly, historically and currently, to gender roles. The people at Ambidancetrous think that sucks, and they’re working to build dance scenes where everyone has a real option to lead or follow. They tell us why single-role scenes are sexist, why the nod to ambi isn’t enough, how to change it as an instructor or a dance partner…and give us some past and present visual inspiration:

Two men dancing, Harlem, 1920s

Two men dancing, Harlem, 1920s

Continue reading →

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