Monkeys, Hate, and Dictionary Definitions

Hi Everyone! Heather here. Just wanted to share some facts about hate.

• Hate (Homophobia, racism, sexism, transphobia, etc.) isn't born. It's not inherited. It's taught.

• Homophobia and transphobia("fear" of homosexual people and transgender people, respectively) are not fears. They are simply the hateful manifestation of refusal to accept those who are "different" than you.

• Right now, we live in a world that is heterosexist. This means that the assumption is "straight unless otherwise specified." Other assumptions include "cis unless otherwise specified," "born in America unless otherwise specified or pertaining to stereotypes of immigrants," and "fit into stereotypes."
• There are some monkeys... They are called See-No-Evil(🙈), Hear-No-Evil(🙉), and Speak-No-Evil(🙊). They represent the avoidance of seeing bad things, hearing bad things, and saying bad things. Speak-No-Evil is pretty good, but the other two are like turning a blind eye to evil. They literally just cover their eyes or ears and pretend that the bad thing isn't happening because they don't bear witness to it. Don't be like See-No-Evil and Hear-No-Evil. When you see injustice, point it out. When you see pain, give the sufferers a helping hand. Don't say bad things about other peoples. Then, maybe, our children and their children won't have a reason to be See-No-Evil or Hear-No-Evil. Maybe there will be no evil to hide from. I sure hope so.

Love,

Heather ❤

PS:
***Bonus Dictionary Content!!!*** 

Brought to you by dictionary.com and thesaurus.com: What is hate?

• The word "hatred" is a noun meaning the human emotion of hating something. 
• The noun form of "hate" is intense dislike. 
• The verb form of "hate" means to feel intense dislike, to dislike something with great passion, or to be unwilling. 
• The adjectival definition of "hate" means relating to acts that are motivated by hatred. 
• Synonyms include "animosity," "loathing," "resentment," and "enmity." 

Any questions? Totally confused and/or angered by the fact that "hate" is a noun, a verb, and an adjective? So am I, so... good luck!

Info Part 2

Info Part 2~

Heteroflexible-identifying as straight but being flexible in this state

Homosexual-Gay/lesbian

Lesbian-attracted to female (female)

Lithsexual-feelings fade if givin back the same feelings

Omnisexual-Like pansexual, but isn’t genderblind but doesn’t care.

Polysexual-”attracted to two or more genders but not all”

Skiliosexual-attracted to non-binary people

Monosexual-Attracted to only one gender

Info on homophobia~

Homophobia, it exists, and we all know it. Homophobia was once thought to be a mental illness. Homophobia might be driven by certain religions and parent thoughts that kids inherit. Homophobia isn't born, its taught. ❤💛💚💙💜

Donkeys, Phone Calls, and Pen Pal Assumptions; or Stereotypes and Why They Suck

Hi everyone! When you read this, don't be offended. I'm not saying that you're a bad person or anything. We are all flawed and we are all biased, simply because that is the society that we were all born into. Being biased doesn't mean that you are an evil overlord-in-training. It just means you have more work to do. We all do. As they say, "when you assume, you make an a$$ out of u and me." A$$ being...(Me out loud: how do I keep this PG? *thinks* Aha!) an alternative word for "donkey" that also happens to mean your rear end. Like, ass-u-me. Get it? 

Let's say you get a call from a pen pal that you have never seen or written to yet. You have a really nice chat. You can't quite tell if they are male or female from their voice, but it's on the higher side. The assumption, even if it is unintentional, will be that this person is a straight white cisgender female. Why? Because our cultural norm is that most people are straight, cisgender, and white. You may be more likely to assume that the person is your ethnicity or the ethnicity of most of your community, because that is what you are most used to being around. Depending on your gender and the pitch of the voice, you may be more likely to assume that the person is either male or female, but most assumptions do not include the possibility of the person being non-binary. Reading it, it seems crazy. You aren't prejudiced! You don't make assumptions about people! But, as soon as you have an expectation that the person actually doesn't adhere to, you are more uncomfortable around them. After all, if you pour yourself a glass of milk in the dark and it turns out to be lemonade, it will seem weird and gross even if you normally like lemonade. It's all about expectations.

What does your "pen pal" look like? That is to say, what is your assumption about a person if you know nothing about them? No judging other peoples' "pen pals" - we all have our assumptions. If it helps, mine is straight, cisgender, female, and at least partially white. Likely 3/4 or more white. The rest is probably Asian, maybe Latinx. Comment yours!

The weirdest thing is that people make all kinds of assumptions based on the littlest things! Someone with neat handwriting is female; short haired people are male; people who wear makeup are either female, gay, or trans. The list goes on and on. These assumptions are based on cultural stereotypes. A stereotype is an assumption about a person based on how they look, act, speak, etc. For example, a blond girl who likes the color pink is immediately a popular, ditzy cheerleader. But what if she hates cheerleading? What if she gets straight A's and loves school? What if she's actually not that popular? People often dismiss the reality in favor of their stereotypes. But this hurts the clever blonde who hates cheerleading. This hurts the popular athlete who wears glasses. This hurts the Latinx with a successful, well-off family. This hurts everyone who is forced into boxed by these stereotypes, and that's a lot of people. So, I guess the moral of this post is that everyone is just a person. It doesn't matter what they look like or how they talk. You should just give everyone a chance to be themselves before you decide that he's smart and she's dumb and their parents are drug-dealers and their kids will be gay. Let them be them and appreciate that they are being themselves. 

And on that rather grave note, I'm signing off. Bye, and see you on Friday.
<3, Heather

"Inspiration"

Heyo everyone! Love yourself, if you ever meet someone who thinks you are below them, you are probably above them. Don't change yourself to meet standards. Then, you're lying to yourself.And you can never make your heart believe your lies. 

❤💛💚💙💜

Love Liz xxx

Hey Everyone! Read this if you need a lifeline:

Hello! I was just thinking about all the people who need a little love, so this is for you.

No matter who you are,
Where you're from,
Who you love,
What you look like,
What you believe in,
How you feel,
What your abilities are,
Or what you think about the world,
You are valid. 
You are needed.
You are beautiful.
You are human.
You are worthy.
You are unbroken.
You are a person.
You are loved.

So love yourself for everything you need, everything you want to be, everything you believe in, everything you love, everything you are. Because there's someone out here loving you too.

You got this!
-Heather

Introduction/Liz

Heyo! I'm Liz! Same as Heather we are working on project together! In my part of the project I researched homophobia, racism, and romantic orientation. Our project is to spread awareness of the problems people face. Our knowledge is open to anyone to ask any questions! Thanks have a great day! 😃😃😃 

Love , Liz

I will always use font Courier (this font), Heather uses Georgia (this font)

Introduction - Heather

Hi! I'm Heather! 

If you were wondering, I'm in 8th grade, I'm a straight-A student, and I'm a cat person. Liz and I are working on a project together. I spent ten weeks researching transphobia, sexism, and other gender-based discrimination. I also researched romantic orientation. Our project was to research, harvest 30 pages of notes each, and then implement our knowledge to make a difference in the world. This blog is to spread awareness about discrimination, tolerance, and the real meanings behind gender, sex, sexual and romantic orientation, and race. We might also add encouraging quotes or posts for everyone who needs a little pick-me-up. If you have any questions, comments, or requests, email us at: 20percenttime.tolerance@gmail.com. 

Thanks! 🌈🌈🌈

PS: Liz will be using this font for her posts.