How The #CripTheVote Movement Is Bringing Disability Rights To This Election

There’s even more evidence that Europa could hold life

Jupiter’s moon Europa likely holds a huge, salty ocean beneath its frozen shell — and according to a new study, it may be more like our own oceans on Earth than anyone expected. What that means for the chances of life there.

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How many plus-size male models can you name off the top of your head? Probably not many — and that’s a problem. Luckily there are some guys leading the charge. Like Zach Miko and Jamaal Carroll, who are taking the plus-size menswear revolution into their own hands.

“You should socialize.” “Aren’t you lonely?” “So, you’re socially awkward?" These are a few of the things introverts hear quite often. Thankfully we have Tumblr, which has time and again nailed the emotions, perks and struggles of having an introverted personality. Like this perfect GIF for dealing with small talk.

I’m 16 and I’m pregnant. My mother doesn’t believe in abortion. What do I do?

Someone asked us:

I’m 16 and pregnant. I hate to say it but I wasn’t smart when it came to protection. The problem is, my mom doesn’t believe in abortion. What are my options. I’m so scared that I’m going to be forced to have a baby I’m not ready for. I’m 16. I don’t even have a drivers license yet. How am I suppose to raise a baby. My mom is very unsupportive. How am I going to do this?! What are my options. If I do have to have this baby what can I do?? I’m so scared. I feel like my life is falling apart.

I know that’s hard to believe right now, but you’ll get through this. You’re in a tough situation — no doubt about it. But you’re already reaching out for help. That’s a great first step, and we’re here to help you.

When you’re in a situation that feels overwhelming it helps to take things one step at a time. It sounds like the first thing you need to do is talk with someone in person about your options. You seem pretty sure that your mother doesn’t believe in abortion and wouldn’t support you if you wanted to have one. I can’t tell from your message what exactly you want to do — if you want to keep the pregnancy and become a parent, have an abortion, or give the baby for adoption — but if talking with your mother won’t be helpful, talking with the staff at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center will be. First they can talk through your options with you, and then get you started on the right option for you depending on what you decide (prenatal care or abortion).

If you want to have an abortion, you may not need your mother’s permission. That depends somewhat on where you live. Some states don’t require permission from your parents at all. Other states do. But even most of those states have a way for you to have an abortion without a parent or guardian. That process is called judicial bypass: It’s when a judge says it’s okay for you to get an abortion without involving your parents in your decision.

It may sound scary, but the staff at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center can help with that process. So call them and make an appointment.

Once you’ve made your appointment, your second step is to find a way to get there. You said that you don’t have a driver’s license. For that and other practical reasons, you may need to let someone in your life that you trust know what’s going on, someone who can give you a ride. Otherwise, can you walk or take public transportation? Can you take a taxi? The health center staff you speak with on the phone may have some suggestions or directions for getting there.

The rest of the steps you need to take are going to depend on what you decide to do. But remember, the staff at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center will help you every step of the way.

Last piece of advice: don’t delay! If you’re pregnant, regardless of whether you’re going to have an abortion or stay pregnant, it’s important to get started on that path ASAP, to make sure you stay healthy. You can do this!

-Emily at Planned Parenthood

Western Australia From Above

Salty Wings it’s a collaborative project by two Australian photographers, @justjampal and @micgoetze that document the beautiful sights of Western Australia from above. You can see many more images and buy prints of your favorites here.

Check out this tumblr!

“Imagine if men were as disgusted with rape as they are with periods,” street art activist Elonë writes on one pad. This particular message embodies her project’s aim: On one hand, women’s bodies are vandalized, harassed and objectified. On the other, they are often erased when it comes to the reality of menstruation. This is the exact conversation we need to be having.

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmiTVDyOCQk)

When you’re a 17 year-old Dalit girl, your teacher will rape you, the school warden will encourage it, and the admin will collude to hide your murdered body

Delta Meghwal was a 17 year old student at the Jain Adarsh Teacher Training Institute for Girls in Bikaner, a small district in Rajatsthan, India. She was an artist, a brilliant student and an ambitious young woman with big dreams. She also happened to be Dalit. Which is why, her school warden, Priya Shukla, had sent her to ‘clean’ the PT instructor Vijender Singh’s room. Her being Dalit makes it okay for the warden to use her as unpaid labor. It also makes it okay for the said instructor to rape her, in that same room. Her Dalit stauts stops the school from taking any action against the teacher who just raped a student. But it doesn’t not prevent them from forcing her to sign a letter saying the rape was in fact, mutual. That too, only after the terrified child called her father to inform him of the horror. Her ‘lower caste’ guarantees that her dead body will be found in an enclosed, reportedly shallow water tank the next day. And that it will be labeled as suicide. It will also give the ‘school’ permission to have her body be taken away in a GARBAGE TRUCK. Without any evidence or record. Her Dalit identity qualifies the mainstream media to look away, for us to not care, for the insttitution her parents entrusted her safety with to rape and murder her. 

Because it’s normal for Dalits to be treated like this. Because Dalit women’s bodies are never their own. They can be used, abused and killed by any upper caste man, at this will. His caste though, makes sure he gets away. That he is able to do it again. To some other Dalit 17-year-old girl, in another school. Because Dalits, we are used to it.

Delta’s award-winning painting 

وجمعة مباركة للجميع

While these may be controversial & provocative, Muslims have no right to be offended by it. What’s offensive is that atheism is punishable with the death penalty in Saudi Arabia & many other Muslim-majority countries both in the middle east & outside of it. Not all Muslim-majority countries have the death penalty, but there are other punishments like prison, lashes, annulment of marriage, loss of child custody & family inheritance, seizure of property, loss of employment, & others.

Even if these laws didn’t exist, atheists still experience oppression from society. Most will not come out to their families for fear of being disowned, kicked out, or even worse, killed. If the apartheid laws weren’t bad enough, you still have to worry about how your family, friends, & neighbours will react to your lack of faith. So these pictures aren’t offensive, they’re resistance against oppression & apartheid. When you oppress a group of people so much & take away their right to live, expect the frustration to be released one way or another, even if it pisses off your oppressors.

While one can try to argue that the death penalty has nothing to do with Islam, the politicians & clerics who advocate the law use Sharia, verses from the Quran, & hadiths to support it. Only a tiny minority of clerics & fiqh experts oppose it, & they are constantly being accused of apostasy themselves.

Thirteen countries punish atheism with the death penalty. These are Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Qatar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, & Sudan. All are Muslim-majority & use Sharia to varying degrees, except for Nigeria but the death penalty only applies in certain Muslim-majority states in the north.

Until these laws no longer exist & atheists can finally live, Muslims have no right to be offended by legitimate resistance & our response to oppression.

Testimonies from Saudi atheists I personally know:

“It’s hell. Religion is always pushed down our throats. We’ve worked so hard to get rid of the brainwash we’ve been receiving all our lives just to put on a mask every fucking day in front of people. A socially acceptable mask. It’s like we’re in a zombie apocalypse & we’re disguising as zombies to not have our brains eaten. You MUST agree with them. You MUST wear that mask every fucking day of your life. You start to get less & less chances in life of taking that mask off & relaxing for a bit & the more you wear that mask the more painful it gets because that fucking mask is poisonous. But you wear it anyway because the alternative is getting killed.”

“The first thing I’d start with is how hard it is to live a double life. Religion & the place I’m living in are some of the reasons why I’m suffering from severe depression. Religion haunts me. I’m always having nightmares that I’ve been caught & will face beheading. My life is in danger 24/7.”

“In Saudi Arabia, god is your judge, jury, & executioner. God is not in the sky but on the ground in the form of long bearded men with evil in their eyes. God wanted me dead but now god can’t reach me (thanks to getting asylum). How godly of him.”

“Being an atheist single mother is terrifying. I’m always paranoid someone will find out & take my son away from me because I’m an “unfit mother”. It breaks my heart that I have to lie to him about god & religion because he’s too young to realize how dangerous speaking the truth is.”

“I can’t think of anything that would describe it better than hell. It’s way too risky to say anything.”

“I seriously don’t want to think about this shitty place we live in becuse I’m already depressed as fuck.”

Read A Profoundly Beautiful Letter Einstein Wrote To His Daughter About The Universal Force of Love

Brilliant physicist Albert Einstein wrote a tender and intellectual letter to his daughter describing the universal power of love. Believe it or not, the prolific scientist fiercely believed that love was the answer for the survival of the human species. Read the letter he penned to his beloved daughter below.

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