a love note

or a little afternoon delight, if you prefer.

we shared a quote from mama and some recommended reading over on facebook.  go see!

sexy news

organic sex? sounds good to us!

is this all too triflin and confused*, or a step in the right direction? ...lds and gay members

sounds like common sense, right? but we all know that's not so common...


*reference at about the 5:20 mark.

sex work, migration, and anti-trafficking

it's always more complicated than we think it is...

in this interview, two women critically discuss the intersections of sex work and migration.

from nandita sharma:

Basically, there is a fundamental disagreement between those who want to end sex work and those who want to make sex work safer for women. The fundamental disagreement is whether or not women have the right to engage in sex work. Most people in the anti-trafficking camp believe that there is no way that women can ever engage in sex work without being fundamentally exploited. I disagree with that, as do most sex workers’ organizations. Most of them point out that sex work can be made safer, can be made more dignified – and the way to do that is to stop demonizing those who are engaged in it. Along with decriminalizing sex work, we can support union organizing within the sex industry. [...] We need to understand sex work as one of the options available to women in a capitalist economy. We need to work, and sex work is a viable option for many women.

Ultimately, if we want to end the exploitation of women, we need to challenge capitalism, which is the basis for all of our exploitation.

from jessica yee:

First, a meaningful way to struggle for justice is to actually work with sex workers. Take their lead, just like you would with any other ally-based movement. Second, we have to address people’s great unwillingness to talk about sex and sexuality more generally. Without these conversations people will have a difficult time coming to terms with real trafficking and real exploitation.

We need to have frank discussions about sex work, and about sex and sexuality more generally. These topics are particularly taboo in Indigenous communities. This is because colonization is such a real presence for us. And if you’re going to take away a people’s most powerful abilities, you’re also going to take away their sexuality, which is why I think we have members of our own communities who conflate “trafficking” with sex work and assume it is all “bad for women.” We’re in survival mode and trying to keep our communities together, trying to keep our communities free of violence, and ain’t nobody helpin’ us!

this one is full of quotables...we suggest reading it in full in addition to checking out some of the sex work organization links listed on the serious side sidebar.  

keep questioning.

in the waiting room...

jesse boykins iii
amorous

sorry, lyrics not available

reclaim. renew. become.

saw this link posted on facebook this morning, and thought it would be a little something wonderful to share with you all...

They say that it was the Great Mother in all of her forms that taught them how to be women and how create balance within their lives. They heard Her voice in the whisperings of the wind. They experienced Her purifying qualities by washing in the ocean. They felt Her grounding qualities as they enjoyed taking steps upon Her earth element.

In connecting with the Great Mother in Nature they were able to connect with the Great Mother, the Goddess, the Great Mother within themselves.

find god in yourselves, beloveds, and love her fiercely.

peace, blessings, greetings and salutations!

we hope summer brought you bliss beyond measure and peace beyond passion.

the long, hot days are a small price to pay for the renewal brought by sun-soaked skin, wouldn't you agree?

the harvest season has inspired a new look, and the will to bring you more good stuff. keep your eye on the sidebars, and if you haven't joined us on facebook or twitter, what are you waiting for?

thanks for hanging in there with us, beloveds! stay tuned for more sweet stuff...

in abundance,

:~: ms. bliss :~:

the wisdom in worship

I'm not a big believer of the worship of statues, but there's a beautiful symbolism to what I saw there, because a woman's heart is just like that. At the essence of every woman's heart is the divine feminine. It contains everything that has ever been beautiful, or lovely, or inspiring, in any woman, anywhere, at any time. The very essence of every woman's heart is the peak of wisdom, the peak of inspiration, the peak of sexual desirability, the peak of soothing, healing love. The peak of everything. But it's protected, for good reason, by a series of concentric walls. To move inwardly from one wall to the next requires that you intensify your capacity to devotion, and as you do so, you are rewarded with Grace. This is not something you can negotiate verbally with a woman. She doesn't even know consciously how to open those gates herself. They are opened magically and invisibly by the keys of worship.

read the rest here.

the black love crisis - conclusion

greetings, beloveds. we hope you enjoyed the "black love crisis" series.  ten weeks is a goodly time to prove a point, don'tcha think?

so, is there really a crisis of black love? in some ways, yes. there are problems and deep wounds; there is pain and mistrust.  we must acknowledge and reckon with the difficult in order to effectively and deeply heal ourselves and our community.

however, we hope that by echoing the voices of some black women -- voices of reason, caring, light and abundance for all -- we have offered a glimpse into something beyond the media hype.

we encourage you to keep searching and discussing in your own circles. keep reaching for new ways of living and loving.

keep questioning. keep evolving.

in loving solidarity,

~::~ ms. bliss ~::~

the black love crisis (9)

super hussy to the rescue!

glad she chimed in, 'cause that was a necessary voice.

the black love crisis (8)

over at the black youth project, fallon had a thing or three to say about the state of the single black woman.

read on...

Perhaps, someone who has a glimmer of common sense  Hill Harper, Steve Harvey, or Kevin Powell should write a how-to-book with colorful pictures teaching black men how to become unconventional/atypical black men . . . the kind of man who allows a black woman to be herself . . . the kind [of] man who does not mentally masturbate with black feminist heterosexual women, but who wants a lifetime of memories with her (yep, that’s my personal gripe). . . the kind of black man who believes “iron sharpens iron, she will make a better black man out of me” . . . the kind of man who will endure many years of psycho therapy to understand his emotions so that he can be an emotionally available father and husband...

However...this blog is about black men and Nightline understanding why some black women “choose” to be single because we are not willing to acquiesce to the cow dung—black male privilege. We are not willing to settle for black men who are not emotionally available irrespective if he wears a “blue collar,” a “white collar,” or a “green job collar.”

doesn't get much plainer than that, y'all.