I wasn’t consciously inspired by Frida Kahlo when I put together this outfit, but many of my friends commented that it looks like a tribute to her. I’ll take it!
Dress: Old Navy via clothing swap, shoes: Clarks, flower crown: Crown & Glory, fat necklace: Fancy Lady Industries, tattoo choker: eBay, studded wristband: PacSun, earrings and spike wristband: So Good
Kol ha’olam kulo gesher tzar me’od, v’ha’ikar lo lefahed klal.
All the world is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to fear at all.
– Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
(Note: I know I haven’t written anything about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict until Israel’s recent attack on Gaza, and some of you might not be very familiar with it. I recommend this video as a good, brief 101, and the articles I’ve posted in my past four Sunday Links posts. I also recommend +972 Magazine, an independent source of reporting and commentary from the region. In general, I suggest reading widely and coming to your own conclusions.)
It’s well-known that oppressors often irrationally fear the oppressed. For example, in her recent piece “In defense of black rage: Michael Brown, police, and the American dream” (which, by the way, is a stunning and powerful must-read), Brittney Cooper teases out this dynamic between white people and black people in the US:
I believe that racism exists in the inexplicable sense of fear, unsafety and gnawing anxiety that white people, be they officers with guns or just general folks moving about their lives, have when they encounter black people. I believe racism exists in that sense of mistrust, the extra precautions white people take when they encounter black people. I believe all these emotions have emerged from a lifetime of media consumption subtly communicating that black people are criminal, a lifetime of seeing most people in power look just like you, a lifetime of being the majority population. And I believe this subconscious sense of having lost control (of the universe) exists for white people, at a heightened level since the election of Barack Obama and the continued explosion of the non-white population.
The irony is that black people understand this heightened anxiety. We feel it, too. We study white people. We are taught this as a tool of survival. We know when there is unrest in the souls of white folks. We know that unrest, if not assuaged quickly, will lead to black death. Our suspicions, unlike those of white people, are proven right time and time again.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is somewhat unique in that Israeli Jews, unlike most oppressors, have good reason to be afraid. Jews around the world have survived millennia of anti-Semitic discrimination, expulsion, and genocide–and we’ve often been hit when we least expected it, when we were the most successful and assimilated in our adopted countries. Fear and trauma live deep in our historical memory; and it’s not just history. Anti-Semitism is frighteningly alive and well in much of Europe and the Middle East.
But this fear, while real, is misplaced. The Palestinians aren’t fighting to destroy Israel or kill Jews–they’re fighting for their freedom, as anyone in their circumstances would do.
And oppressing other people will never keep us safe.
In fact, it’s leading to a worldwide backlash that makes us less safe. Israel’s occupation of Palestine isn’t the root cause of anti-Semitism, which has existed for much longer than the state of Israel. But it does provide anti-Semites with a convenient excuse to stir up hatred.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is particularly tricky because it’s a battle between two groups of people who each genuinely fear, for good reason, being wiped off the face of the earth. But that doesn’t change the fact that one of those groups has disproportionate military and economic power–and the multimillion dollar backing of the United States–and is using that power to make life a living hell for the other.
For the violence to end, I believe that Israeli Jews, their leaders, and Jews around the world who unquestioningly support them need to face their fears head on: to acknowledge that the world is a scary place and there are no guarantees, and then do the right thing anyway.
And those who cynically stir up fear to justify harming others need to stop. I know people who genuinely believe that Hamas was planning to send hundreds of terrorists through tunnels to commit terrorist attacks on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year–but this was actually a rumor with no basis in fact whatsoever. Playing on Jews’ too-real fear of annihilation with false rumors is a special kind of evil that must be exposed and condemned.
All of the world is a narrow bridge, and all of us–Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian–have no choice but to cross it together.
Thanks to a tip from a friend, I discovered quite possibly the most exciting thing ever: a farm where you can pick your own flowers!
top and necklace: clothing swap, skirt: thrifted, headband: Crown & Glory, earrings: Lithia’s Creations, bracelets: Torrid and Deb, shoes: Brooks
There’s nothing quite so wonderful as being surrounded by flowers with a pair of scissors and free reign to pick as many as you can fit in a jar. It’s cheap, too–only $6.25 for a large jar, which is far less than flowers cost at the supermarket or even the farmer’s market.
Dress: ASOS Curve, tank top: Lane Bryant via clothing swap, belt: Re/Dress, shoes: Clarks, bracelet: Macy’s, necklace: clothing swap, bow and earrings: not sure
This dress is probably my favorite ASOS Curve purchase of all time. It’s comfortable, easy to layer, and lends itself to all sorts of fun outfits. Continue reading
Dress: ModCloth, shoes: Clarks, necklace: So Good, fascinator: Enz’s, earrings: Faces
I wish I had gotten more pictures of this outfit–it deserves a photoshoot frolicking in a park or in front of a graffiti wall. But I wore it to work and then to the vigil I wrote about here, and by the time I got home, it was dark outside and I was exhausted. Steve was out, so I took a few perfunctory pictures with my tripod and called it a night.
Someday I’ll wear this outfit again and take the pictures it deserves.
This dress has definitely grown on me–when I first got it, I didn’t really like it, and almost returned it. I couldn’t put a finger on why, but I just didn’t love it the way I thought I should love a pastel pink vintage-style dress.
But the more I’ve worn it, the more I’ve come to enjoy it. It doesn’t hurt that I get compliments every time I wear it! And it goes really well with this fascinator, like they’re made for each other.
Fa(t)shion
–Volup2 has a new issue out, and it’s awesome as always. (Not work-safe, as there are a few nude pictures.)
-Style inspiration: the first lady of Cameroon. How amazing is that hot pink suit?
–Fashion’s place in feminism: where is it?
-Words to live by: “I want to live loudly and shamelessly in a way that makes me overjoyed every day. I want to be colourful and creative and to not care what anyone else thinks.”
–Five French plus size designers you should know.
-Colorlines interviews three fatshionistas of color on fatkinis and fat activism.
–101 body-positive bikini babes, including me!
-I love Sock Dreams’ carousel photoshoot, especially the floral + stripes + petticoat look.
–Why we love her, why we can’t: Coco Chanel.
–Sales, temptation, and the fear of missing out. I can relate to this–and the FOMO is especially bad when you wear plus sizes and have fewer options to begin with.
-I’m not particularly fond of Miley Cyrus, but I love the weird shit she’s putting in her hair.
-Recycled aluminum cans plus washi paper = gorgeous jewelry.
-If you’re in London, check out this fat-positive clothing swap.
-Shawna posts pictures from the Summer Strut 2014.
Fat Acceptance
-Dear children’s book authors: write fat kids.
–The problem with Businessweek‘s obese Coca-Cola bottle.
–Calorie miscounting: why one slice of cheesecake does not equal 4 1/2 hours of aerobics.
–What fat people have to do.
Israel/Gaza
–Living the imperative to heal the world: a Jewish woman’s thoughts on Gaza. As a fellow Jewish woman, I agree 1000%.
-A statement in solidarity with Gaza from Palestinian, indigenous, women of color, anti-racist, and Jewish feminists.
-All of these are a must-read: 6 of the most beautiful writings from and for Gaza.
–There are no “both sides.” The Israelis and Palestinians aren’t equal.
–At least my hospital isn’t being bombed.
–A question from Gaza: am I not human enough?
–There are no poems of mass destruction.
-Beautiful and hopeful: how a sixth-grader from Sderot draws the war.
–Librarians give New York subway riders a taste of Palestinian literature to protest Gaza assault.
–How will Gaza’s children carry their scars into adulthood?
–While bombs fall on Gaza: resisting militarism in Israel.
–Where you can donate to help Gaza.
-Support for genocide against Palestinians isn’t a fringe view within Israel–it’s held by many high-up figures both within and outside of the government. (Note: there is a graphic image of an injured child.)
–IDF solder: artillery fire in Gaza is like Russian roulette.
-“For most Gazans, the struggle is not about Islamism or destroying Israel, it’s about ending the blockade—no matter what it takes.”
-I so wish I could be in New York for Singing Against the Bad Times: An Evening of Jewish Radical Arts and History.
–Syria and Gaza: a false equivalency. Continue reading
Dress: Pop Up Plus, teggings: clothing swap, shoes: Clarks, belt: Dots, bracelet: So Good, necklace: Faces, earrings and headband: not sure
I love this necklace so much. I got it years ago, and it adds color and cheer to any outfit.
I love this dress, too. It’s a great, versatile LBD.
Today, on the sixteenth anniversary of my bat mitzvah, I feel both painfully alienated from the mainstream American Jewish community that supports Israel’s massacre in Gaza, and grateful for the smaller but committed group of my fellow Jews who are standing up for peace, justice, and an end to the killing.
Last night, I stood in silent protest outside of a pro-Israel/pro-war rally, saying with my presence: Not in my name. You who use Jewish safety as an excuse for war-mongering don’t speak for all Jews.
It was hard to watch a crowd of “my people,” the kind of people I grew up with and feel comfortable with, cheering on a military campaign that is essentially a genocide in the name of “self-defense.” As a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors who wants no one else to go through what my grandparents and their families did, it was painful to hear the memory of the Holocaust invoked as an excuse for war. It was hard to listen to a group of my people raising their voices together in song, singing the songs I grew up with, while I stood on the other side of the plaza and an enormous psychic divide.
It was hard, but necessary.
Tonight/tomorrow is Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort. I am praying (or whatever the secular equivalent of prayer is) for comfort for the people of Palestine who are suffering under Israeli occupation. I pray that my fellow American Jews will come to their senses and demand an end to the occupation, the blockade, the violence. I pray for a truly sustainable peace, one that respects the humanity of both Israelis and Palestinians.
“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
Tutus And Tiny Hats 