You have been a role model/idol of mine for quite a while now! And though this isn't exactly your field, I was hoping for some words of advice/inspiration. I've been an aspiring video game developer/designer for over 10 years now. But sometimes it's a bit discouraging just because of the fact that I'm a girl and somehow, video games, comics, etc. are a "boy" thing. Any advice for being a girl entering a field that is usually perceived as "male dominated"?
Find the women in game developing who are really good at what they do and really driven and BOND WITH THEM.
And listen — I’m going to sound like I’m wearing a tin foil hat here, but this is the truth:
The system will try to turn you against each other. That’s how it keeps you down.
I know, I know, but it’s the God’s honest truth. Well-intentioned assholes* will try to set you against each other to be Queen of Shit Mountain. They will tell you that she’s jealous of you, that she wants your job/seat/man/lipstick/whatthefuckeverbullshit, they’ll tell you she’s crazy and that you can’t trust her.
Don’t fall for it.
I’m not saying you can’t compete with women — you can and will — but you do it like Helen and Carol, like Maverick and Goose, YOU MAKE EACH OTHER BETTER and you gain respect for each other in that competition. (And I’m not saying every woman is your friend, either. If she tells you she’s “one of the boys” or that “she doesn’t like working for women” because they’re “catty,” CROSS THE FUCKING STREET TO GET AWAY. Don’t wish her ill and don’t hasten her demise, but give her wide berth because she is poison and she will implode and you don’t want to be caught up in it.)
You give your sister a hand and you have her back EVERY CHANCE YOU GET.
I have male allies and mentors to whom I am intensely grateful and without whom I would not be where I am today. But none of them get it like Sana, Gail, Jeanine, Kathryn, Marjorie, Blair, Emma, Jordie, Lauren, Willow, Judy… the list goes on and on.
Sana and I FIGHT on occasion — we are not afraid to get into it if we both feel it will make the book better, but on a personal level, where the rubber this the road, as they say, she is MUH GIRL.
…You understand?
Job one: find your girls.
Job two: find the biggest guy in the yard, kick his ass and steal his cigarettes.
Job three: …
Wait.
Forget that last part.
But the rest of it is true.
* Some day I will do a post about the well-intensioned asshole and how he thinks, but not today.
”I was in shock. I was outraged and I just assumed kits were being tested,” said actress Mariska Hargitay about the thousands of rape kits in Detroit and across the country that have been left sitting in storage without being processed, allowing rapists to remain free to attack again. And they often do.
Hargitay joined Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to announce legislation that will soon be introduced to state lawmakers that is aimed at setting guidelines and deadlines for rape kits tests to be processed.
“Testing rape kits is vital for keeping rapists off the street,” said Hargitay during Monday’s press conference.
Over 11,000 sexual assault kits, some dating back to the 1980’s, were found abandoned in a Detroit Police storage facility back in 2009.
Not long after the rape kits were discovered, Worthy pushed to start the processing with Michigan State Police.
So far, 1,600 rape kits have been processed, resulting in the identification of about 100 serial rapists and ten convicted rapists, according to Worthy.
Worthy told reporters that perpetrators have moved on from Michigan to commit similar crimes in 23 other states.
“It was mind blowing to me,” said Hargitay that so many rape kits have gone unprocessed. “My head exploded.. We have the means to do it and DNA equals justice.”
Hargitay, best known for her role as Sergeant Olivia Benson on the television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, has also become an advocate for real life victims of sex crimes. She founded the Joyful Heart Foundation that works to “heal, educate and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.”
Nationally, an estimated 400,000 rape kits have gone unprocessed, allowing rapists to remain free and their victims to wonder if they will ever see justice.
“These rape kits in Michigan are over 25 years old,” said Worthy. “Want to make sure we deal with the victims mercifully, honestly and genuinely.”
Fourteen prosecutions have resulted from what is being called the “Detroit Rape Kit Project”, including the case of DeShawn Starks, 32.
11,000 abandoned rape kits dating back to the 1980’s. 100 serial rapists identified in 1,600 finally tested. They moved on to commit similar crimes in 23 other states. An estimated 400,000 rape kits remain untested nationally.
Meanwhile half of the prison population in America is there for non-violent, drug-related offenses.
You know something I found interesting? Is how when people meet dogs, they’ll say something like “He’s so cute!” And the owner will shyly respond with “she’s a girl, actually” And the person will apologize and IMMEDIATELY start using the right pronouns. So my question is, If its so easy to do with DOGS why is it so fucking difficult to do with trans people?
