Kick Ass Femme

non-westernhistoricalfashion: asianhistory: The picture above...

Fri, 03 May 2013 19:41:54 -0400

asianhistory:

The picture above is a vintage photograph of an onna-bugeisha, one of the female warriors of the upper social classes in feudal Japan.

Often mistakenly referred to as “female samurai”, female warriors have a long history in Japan, beginning long before samurai emerged as a warrior class. However, they did fight alongside of samurai warriors. They were wives, widows and daughters who answered the call of duty to protect their families, households and honor in times of war.

Onna Bugeisha were the exception, rather than the rule, but they still played an important role nonetheless. One famous example is empress Jingu, who reportedly lead a successful conquest against Korea in 200 AD without shedding a single drop of blood (or so the legends say).

This is the second time this photo has gone around, and it is still not an image of an Onna Bugeisha, but rather was a photograph from a set of photos of Kabuki actors and Geisha in costume.

The original caption read:

Portraits of Japanese Kabuki actors and geisha. Unknown photographer, 1870s.

It went on auction, which you can see listed here, and there were 34 prints total, but none of them were of Onna Bugeisha. Just a heads up! There are images of Onna Bugeisha on this blog here.

As we have previously determined, this is a man dressed in drag as an Onna Bugeisha.

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Thu, 02 May 2013 21:18:19 -0400

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Thu, 02 May 2013 21:16:01 -0400

fairytalemood: “Fairy Tale Battle Royale” by イナ

Thu, 02 May 2013 16:06:06 -0400

fairytalemood:

“Fairy Tale Battle Royale” by イナ

dewognatos: doctormonocle: Part of an ongoing personal...

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:52:18 -0400

dewognatos:

doctormonocle:

Part of an ongoing personal project retelling the story of Little Red Riding Hood in a fantasy/steampunk genre - Little Red Cap by Sara Silkwood on Behance

Yesss.

ai-yo: arseniccupcakes: eclecticalexandria: Nanci Rossov...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:40:02 -0400

ai-yo:

arseniccupcakes:

eclecticalexandria:

Nanci Rossov directs this cross-cultural drama about captured Native Americans enrolled in a turn of the century “Negro” college. The film opens with Richard (Chuma Hunter-Gault) and Cleola (Tembi Locke) announcing their engagement. Though the college prides itself on its integrationist philosophy, the sharp-witted Cleola soon chafes under Richard’s and the school’s patronizing attitudes toward women. Meanwhile, three Lakota braves are accepted into the school at the behest of a U.S. Army officer who wants to prove that Indians can function in mainstream culture. The trio’s reluctance to participate is more and more pronounced as their upwardly mobile Black classmates antagonize them with racial asides. Unbowed won Best Feature at the 1999 American Indian Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

THINGS I NEED TO SEE

The sex scene was nice

diceman: stardust-and-petrichor: sister-ragdoll: lets-hope-we-...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 22:10:13 -0500

diceman:

stardust-and-petrichor:

sister-ragdoll:

lets-hope-we-dont-explode:

hypochondriacdreaming:

cyberneticsarenow:

Claudia Mitchell - first woman to have a bionic arm - a prosthetic limb that she controls with her mind.

DIG IT

GOOD GOD YES

Fucking YES.

AND ALL THE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST FANS CHEER

I will be impressed when it’s a simpler mechanism.

distillerette: Armadurascopy by *tonysandoval

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:58:08 -0500

distillerette:

Armadurascopy by *tonysandoval

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Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:37:54 -0500

theartofanimation: Justin Turrentine

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:54:58 -0500

theartofanimation:

Justin Turrentine

favorite marvel women: Ororo Munroe/Storm

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:51:28 -0500

favorite marvel women:

Ororo Munroe/Storm

heymonster: Ellen Ripley, Our Lady of Survival. When the odds...

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:53:53 -0500

heymonster:

Ellen Ripley, Our Lady of Survival.

When the odds aren’t in our favor and the cards are stacked against us give us the strength to fight for our lives, face our fears and survive.

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Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:35:14 -0500

jakface: I’ve seen my share of “fake geek girl” shaming, and...

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:23:44 -0500

jakface:

I’ve seen my share of “fake geek girl” shaming, and just thought having a Fairy Gamer Momma to come to the rescue would be nice. I know they exist, I’ve met plenty who are amazing and could beat my ass at any version of Mario Kart. Give the Gamer Momma in your life a big hug! :D

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Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:09:29 -0500

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Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:39:16 -0500

dduane: spodiddly: tinuelena: Whose intervention ensured...

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:25:57 -0500

dduane:

spodiddly:

tinuelena:

Whose intervention ensured Star Trek saw the light of day?

Answer: Lucille Ball

Most people recognize and remember Lucille Ball as the lovable and silly star of one of America’s earliest and most loved sitcoms, I Love Lucy. What most people don’t know is that Lucille was a savvy business woman and that she and her husband Desi Arnaz had amassed a small fortune and owned their own studio, Desilu.

It was at Desilu that acclaimed Sci-Fi screenwriter and visionary Gene Roddenberry got his big break. Roddenberry pitched the Star Trek pilot to the studio as a sort of Western-inspired space adventure. While many within the studio balked at the idea, Lucille liked the idea and the first pilot was approved and filmed. The pilot was pitched to NBC and was promptly rejected on the grounds that it was too intellectual, not enough like the space-western they had been lead to believe it would be, and audiences wouldn’t relate to it. Lucille, a fan of Roddenberry’s work, pushed back against NBC and insisted they order a second pilot. Ordering a second pilot was a practice almost entirely unheard of and save for Lucille’s charisma and clout with the network it would never have happened.

Roddenberry shot the second pilot, NBC accepted it, and Star Trek premiered in 1966, thus beginning a new era in the Sci-Fi genre and laying the foundation for half a century of Star Trek fandom–an era that would have never come to pass without the intervention and insistence of Lucille Ball.

Bonus Trivia: After her divorce from Arnaz, Lucille bought out his share of their studio. As a result she became the first woman to both head and own a major studio. (*)

Now I love Lucy.

So few people know about this! Too few. Glad to see this turning up here. Also: it was through Lucille Ball’s influence that the concept of the rerun (previously unknown and thought to be worthless by studios to whom it was pitched) finally took hold. Desilu essentially pioneered the concept of syndication, and of the “syndication package” — the minimum number of episodes (initially 65, now sometimes more) necessary for a series to become commercially viable, via onward sales, for longer than its initial live run.

We have a lot to thank Lucy for besides that beautiful rubbery face. :)

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Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:50:34 -0500

superpunch2: Female pilots edited out of the Star Wars...

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:29:23 -0500

superpunch2:

Female pilots edited out of the Star Wars movies.

whoneedsfeminism: I need feminism because of Malala Yousafzai...

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:24:38 -0500

whoneedsfeminism:

I need feminism because of Malala Yousafzai and Amina Filali.

Malala Yousafzai, nearly killed by a scared Taliban, intimidated by her activism for girls education. Amina Filali committed suicide after being forced to marry her rapist.