#Cultural stigma and ED

[dr-kanu-rajput]

Understanding Erectile Dysfunction in Unconsummated Marriages: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

Understanding Erectile Dysfunction in the Context of Unconsummated Marriage 1. What Is Erectile Dysfunction? (ED Explained) 1.1 Defining Erectile Dysfunction: Medical Perspective Let’s get straight to the point: What exactly is erectile dysfunction (ED)? Medical Definition: Erectile dysfunction is the consistent inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual…

[aleck-le-mec]

It's wild to me how some able-bodied people only think of disabled culture as a concept and they haven't ever actually experienced it. To me the biggest tell that somebody has never experienced disabled culture is their lack of knowledge about something I call Societal Manufactured Disability Theory.

This theory posits that an aspect of disability is manufactured by societal norms, stigmas and labeling.

People with disabilities like myself will tell you that people do treat you differently based solely upon the fact that you are disabled. When my hand writing is too messy to read do to Dysgraphia people assume I'm not trying hard enough to be neat, and if I'm lazy enough to slack with hand writing I must always be lazy. When I tell people I have Dyslexia they think I'm less intelligent, unable to read or incapable of understanding the written word. When I tell people I have a connective tissue disorder which is an invisible disability they think I'm a liar, scheming to take resources away from "real disabled people".

The societal norm here in America is to push forward, laziness is not an option we see it repeatedly in the rhetoric surrounding young people. News sources constantly talking about how "no one wants to work these days" or "young people are taking everything for granted".

There is a huge stigma around having Dyslexia that most people don't notice. In American society where we have a 79% literacy rate it is expected that you can read, so when you can't or you have trouble people think you have a lower IQ. Dyslexia can be genetic so I'm actually a fourth generation Dyslexic from my dad's side with all of them men being the ones to pass it down. My dad has always said that my great grandfather had no support for his Dyslexia, nobody cared and in fact the term Dyslexia was only coined in 1887. When my dad went to school they attempted to alleviate some of the symptoms of Dyslexia by making him watch his hands as he crawled on the floor, believing that the root of the problem was in a lack of eye coordination. To this day I and many other Dyslexics will avoid talking about our diagnosis because of the stigma behind it. I have had many experiences in my life where as soon as people learn that I am Dyslexic they assume that I can't spell anything or that they need to read everything to me. That's what stigma does, it makes people hide away just so they can live in peace and be respected.

It is extremely common for people with invisible disabilities to be labeled as liars, this is mostly due to a lack of education and representation. The general public's idea of disability is limited, but the truth is that disability is one of the most dynamic aspects of human beings. Invisible and dynamic disabilities make up the majority of disabilities; in fact, 1 out of every 3 Americans is in fact disabled. When people see me, a young, healthy-looking man, they never think I'm disabled. If I tell them I am, they may think I am lying. People generally do not like liars, and having such a label attached to your name can be detrimental to your social integration.

You can see that none of those setbacks I mentioned are symptoms of my disabilities. The perceived deviance, stigma, and labeling are not things you'll find on a medical report. However, they do harm me socially and potentially medically when it comes to stigma; these things disable me. Thus, part of my struggle as a disabled person is manufactured by society itself, in the norms we hold and the way we treat others.

I have come to that conclusion repeatedly, as have almost every other disabled person. It's a conclusion that is often reached in the community as a whole. However, it is in able-bodied culture where these stigmas, labels, and perceived attacks originate. So, if someone is completely averse to accepting the Societal Manufactured Disability Theory, it suggests that they have probably never fully been a part of any aspect of disability culture.

[heartavenue]

જ⁀➴ Things To Script: Politics Edition

Yes, this is an American aesthetic. Yes it is because I am American.

Elections are completely fair, not rigged, no scandals, fair.

There are no two of the "lesser evils" all candidates are genuinely good people and they want nothing but the best for the country.

All candidates represent the American people, if the American people find that the elected official is unfit they will be REMOVED (yes this is Trump shade.)

There is separation of church and state.

Americans are more open-minded about candidates from parties other than the Democratic and Republican party

(should I just say script out conservatism in general? I mean this is your reality you can if you want!)

We have no official language and ALL languages, cultures, backgrounds are represented and have the ability to be taught.

DEATH to the electoral college.

Fake news, propaganda, lies, non fact checked information cannot make it's way towards journalism.

News outlets have to report TRUE, unbiased information (I'm looking at you FOX)

No trade wars...

America does not involve itself in colonialism, imperialism, militarism, etc (mainly because those things do NOT exist.)

Supreme Court Justices do not rule for life.

There is an age limit to the presidency (this is subjective but personally I don't want an 80 year old president)

The minimum wage is increased from $7.25 (can you believe it's still that) to $20 (or whatever you prefer)

Free healthcare across ALL fifty states.

Planned Parenthood is in every state, providing safe abortions, sex ed, contraceptives, etc to everyone who is in need.

Abortions can NEVER be banned.

Free childcare across ALL fifty states.

Our politicians are civil, cordial, respectful, kind, intelligent (another dig on...let's just say a few people)

World peace

All oppressed/colonized people are FREE and live without any colonial influence.

Affordable prescription drugs.

Baby formula is affordable (this isn't really political but no formula should cost FIFTY BUCKS?)

Gay marriage is legal across all states and can NOT be revoked.

No fascism, Nazism, white supremacy, zionism, any bigoted idealogy in general does NOT exist.

Books are not banned/ can't be banned.

No fracking.

Free college.

No discrimination against ANYONE no matter their race, ethnicity, nationality, origin, sexuality, gender identity, etc.

Rape, sexual assault, pedophilia does not exist.

Crime in general doesn't exist.

Free therapy across the country.

The government actually WORKS to make this country better.

ICE does NOT exist.

Federal assistance programs can NOT be cut.

No wealth gap (no top 1% and the struggling 99%)

No homelessness.

No poverty.

Maternity leave is LONGER (isn't it like 2-6 weeks? come on now...)

Court rulings that have been passed can NOT be overturned (think roe v. wade)

No pink tax!

First time homeowners receive a grant from the government to help them with payments.

Credit scores isn't an issue, anyone regardless of their wealth can purchase a new car/home/rent an apartment.

Native Americans are seen as the true indigenous people of the Americas an they are incredibly respected, the land is returned back to them.

Follow up: Columbus Day does not exist.

The KKK doesn't exist...or MAGA or TRUMP!

No anti-vaxxers (get vaccinated, no they don't cause autism and no they aren't chipping you or whatever right wingers think)

They are laws put in place to protect our planet, nature reserves, recycling is MANDATORY, wildlife parks, etc.

History is NOT erased and is actively taught/encouraged in schools.

Guns...do I even need to explain at this point...

Immigrants are WELCOME and there is no stigma, discrimination or stereotypes about them either!

This country is extremely diplomatic we are on good terms with all countries, every meeting with them goes well and can only strengthen our allyship.

DEI EVERYWHERE!

everyone is WOKE, I mean unprecedented woke, profoundly woke EVERYONE GET MORE WOKE NOW!!!

No wars.

There is RESEARCH done on women's health (why don't we know anything about endometriosis fr...)

Mount Rushmore doesn't exist

Okay that's all I could come up with for now! Buh bye my loves!

[certifiedsexed]

is it weird that my little brother and i still bath with my little sister?

for context: my brother (16) is about two years younger than me and we’d always bath together when we were little. to my knowledge, nothing sexual happened - our parents gave us what i’d consider a good understanding of sex ed when we were young, and all either of us can remember is playing together and such with like bath toys and stuff.

but the thing is, we never really outgrew that? like, we don’t routinely bath together anymore, because we don’t fit into the bathtub lol, but we're comfortable being naked around each other and the like, and i’ll often ask him to get stuff for me if i’m the shower and vice versa. but when we’re on holiday and usually somewhere with a bigger bathtub, we’ll often share a bath or two with my little sister (8) so that we can all play with her with her bath toys, bath crayons, etc.

this sort of thing has always been normal in my family — i’ve never felt sexually harassed by them, and we’re all comfortable being naked around each other and know that our boundaries would be respected even if not. my brother and i don’t have any sexual intentions and don’t do anything sexual towards my younger sister — all we do in terms of touching her is to, like, put soap on her back, and we’ve never made any sexual comments or unwanted touches or anything.

but i’ve been starting to think this is weird because of the gap in our ages now. is it? is it something wrong/should we not be doing this? i genuinely don’t know. it’s always been normal and no one has ever expressed any discomfort, and to my knowledge no lines have been crossed, but i don’t want to be missing something if that makes sense? bc like, ive got friends whose parents never even changed in front of them, and i’m worried that my family, not having any of that sort of social stigma against non sexual nudity, is maybe doing something wrong — but i don’t know if we are, yk?

Look, people can find a reason for anything to be weird but siblings bathing together is actually quite common in some cultures and as long as none of you are being forced into it, it's fine.

Nudity in of itself is not an inherently sexual thing. Clearly, this is the culture your parents have raised you in and so far at least, you've all enjoyed it and are quite comfortable with it.

You've not described either of your parents trying to harass you in connection to nudity, none of you are doing anything sexual with each other, no one is being hurt, everything here sounds good!

If your sister were to say she was uncomfortable and you continued doing it, that would be a different matter. But this in of itself just sounds sweet, Anon.

Just because you and your brother are older doesn't mean you can't still play in the bath with your sister or change in front of each other if that's what you want to do.

Honestly, this all sounds fucking adorable and I wish you all the best!

Hope this helps, Anon. Let me know if you have any other questions! <3

[puc-puggy]

Hello! I saw your responses on a thread about sex ed and anatomy resources and they were super helpful. I wanted to ask though, do you know of any similar resources for intersex people? Like non-sexualized images (photos/illustrations) of a variety of people/bodies with different intersex conditions? Asking as someone who is intersex and has never seen a body like mine.

sorry this took me so long!

here's a free training by Our Bodies, Ourselves that goes over intersex genital variation and includes a training on drawing diverse genitals, though i do not believe that it has any uncensored photos.

here's a selection of illustrated genitalia by Intersex Roadshow, which also does not have uncensored photos.

now for the sad bit that requires paragraphs of disclaimers. as I'm sure you know, intersex people suffer from an incredible medical stigma, and while there are available images of intersex genitalia, the vast majority of collections are using the images to explain how to assign a binary sex in spite of obvious visual mixed sex characteristics or how to surgically alter them, typically without informed consent provided to the patient. as a result, a good chunk of the imagery available exists in spaces or alongside explanations that are actively hostile to the way that intersex individuals understand and discuss themselves and state as an expectation that ambiguous genitalia must be altered and binarized.

There is nothing wrong with your body. I really prefer to send people to body positive spaces because we deserve to learn about our bodies with joy and curiosity, not to be taught to look at ourselves with shame or judgment. If while viewing these slides, you find yourself feeling negatively about your body, take a break and return to reading or spaces respectful of intersex people. i'll leave some below the cut

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

Here's links to two sets of medical school slides. Approach to DSD (Ambiguous genitalia) and Intersex Presentation. to find more images, use specific diagnoses as key terms and search for "case study," "[diagnosis] clinical approach," "[diagnosis] ambiguous genitalia" or similar language.

InterAct's Intersex FAQ

InterAct's collection of informative brochures & guides

Intersex Human Rights Australia: Celebrating Intersex Firsts on TV

JSTOR: Intersex Narratives: Shifts in the Representation of Intersex Lives in North American Literature and Popular Culture, by Viola Amato

Human Rights Campaign: Understanding the Intersex Community

GLAAD Media Reference Guide: Intersex People

[featherwurm]

At some point between Moonrise and Baulder's Gate - the crew stops to clean up a bit, and I have an excessive amount of thoughts about social bathing as it applies to the tadfools:

Baulder’s Gate features several bathhouses (including the landmark location Hissing Stones) and they seem geared to a wide variety of clientele; pragmatic (bathing), personal (social and solicitous), and political (a place of meeting) – it can be assumed that group bathing is a norm in the city at all social strata, although wealthier private residences also undoubtedly feature private bathing arrangements. Gender divides do not seem common in Baulder’s Gate on a whole*, and co-ed bathing could likely be a norm as well.

Individual headcanons below the cut - your mileage may vary, this is pulled roughly out of D&D lore, a few character interactions, thoughts about Roman baths, and my ass;

Tav – From the lower middle class of Baulder’s Gate, she grew up with normal family outings to the bathhouse to clean and socialize. In the monastery, cohabiting with a variety of people, group bathing was also a norm (also just… hanging out on a hot day with your buddies or whatever.) Her order views the body kindly, though not worshipfully, and does not view it as a vehicle of shame. It should be cared for with attention and thought to best use it, and while pleasure is inherent (and unshameful) to human nature it is not fundamentally a part of just being naked. She finds nothing out of the ordinary to toss off your clothes and jump in the river with your buddies.

Karlach – Also from Baulder’s Gate’s lower social strata, she too grew up using bathhouses as a place to get clean, have some fun, and be extremely bored while your parents caught up on the gossip. Similarly, working for Gortash meant the occasional political meeting at the Hissing Stones or other locations (a place you CERTAINLY want to take your bodyguard – although she wouldn’t get to enjoy the bathhouse while working). Living in Avernus for a decade in a militaristic setting has also thrown off her sense of normalcy – if you ever get a chance to clean up there (extremely rarely) you take it whatever the circumstance may be. She’s happy to get naked, get in the water, and get clean whoever the company is. (As little children, both Tav and Karlach had to be actively removed from fountains, the river, and suitably large puddles when they presented the opportunity to be in the water – which both of them love.)

Shadowheart – Sharans and the enclave she is from seem to have some issues with pleasures of the flesh and see them as negative and to be shunned. Life is misery and pain and you better get used to it through daily practice. Given her lack of memory of any childhood normalcy, any time spent around other people in a casual way is long gone. She does not seem to have come out of it with bodily shame herself, but undoubtedly finds the idea of just being comfortable with nudity in a platonic way to be alien. Given that she can’t swim, it adds another layer of discomfort being in the water. It takes her some time to warm up to jumping in the river with the others, but she does come round, although she sticks to the shallows until she learns to swim.

Lae’zel – Githyanki don’t seem to have any shame about bodies, at least given their various styling of armor and clothing. Given their almost eusocial social structure and militaristic culture, it’s unlikely there’s much stigma over the body or that of others. She’s certainly with a peculiar group here, but whatever, you need to get the blood out of your hair eventually – the others are sort of strange-looking to her eye for a while though (Shadowheart, Gale, and Astarion seeming like the frail offspring of some small animal with their soft pinkness, Karlach, Tav, and Wyll resembling more of carapaced insects with their ridges and horns.)

Gale – While Waterdeep has it’s spas, these seem more places of relaxation and retreat rather than practical bathing establishments (he does like a nice relaxing treatment – in a robe of course.) Gale has spent so long cooped up in his tower having a weird relationship with the goddess of magic that the idea of just… casually being naked with other mortal people is probably completely off his radar. It is not culturally or personally familiar to him, and feels a little uncouth. He’s going to find a reason to go cook and then clean up by himself later.

Astarion – Speaking of any sense of normalcy having been long gone, his only real use of Baulder’s Gate’s bathhouses has been picking up victims for the last couple centuries (almost always in a sexual context.) Approaching casual bathing with others as any kind of normal is something that will take a reserved approach and a lot of patience as with most things with him. He’s snarky and weird about the whole thing, but it’s to be expected. He later more politely refuses as he works on boundaries and sorts himself out – there’s not enough time in game to sort this shit out. Plus he smells a bit of death no matter what he does – apart from physically getting stuff off his body he’s more reliant on perfume than bathing to feel clean.

Wyll – From Baulder’s Gate and used to playing around wherever he feels like it, it’s not foreign to him to enjoy a bathhouse or river romp (especially in light of various political bargaining happening in the baths) but being from the upper class of Baulder’s Gate he’s not the most casual about it. In his time away from Baulder’s Gate, and being as young as he was, he’s become a little sensitive about it, given his gentlemanly approach developed through his time in the wilds. Still though, it wouldn’t put him off, prior to Mizora’s transformation of him, at which point he’s got body image issues to work through before he’s comfortable again. The tieflings (Karlach and Tav) try to be re-assuring but they come on a little strong about it (hard not to – what he’s viewing as demonic punishment they view as normal for their own bodies – horns and ridges and all.)

Halsin – Look we all know the man likes to be naked and “one with nature”. Bodies are normal and being naked is natural. He’s not caught up on anything, although he might be literally a bear about it if he’s comfortable.

Jahira – Another Baulder’s Gate native who’s used to the city’s amenities. She is much too old and much too traveled to be fussed about who’s around at the evening wash up. She might pretend to be offended or ruffled (or too casual) if she thinks it’s funny – otherwise she’s too busy soaking her joints to care.

Minsc – Minsc is just happy to be here. Are we bonding by bathing together? Ok! But be careful of Boo – he is a delicate creature and gets very angry if he gets soap in his eyes.

Minthara… wasn’t in my playthough, sorry. But I’m certain she’d have the opinion that it’s normal for the ladies to socialize and such while washing but involving the men is bizarre and tasteless.

*Given the normalcy of non-binary, trans, and intersex bodies and identities in BG3, which I personally love.

[fansplaining]

An English teacher might show an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, or a science teacher might make a reference to Jurassic Park during a lesson on DNA. But pop culture is simply a tool in a lot of classrooms, not a subject—and the roles of fans as consumers, creators, and critics are rarely discussed in these contexts. The concept of media fandom is not necessarily understood by teachers; being a fan is mostly viewed as a phase that teens go through, which unfortunately creates the stigma that fandom, like anything associated with teenagers, isn’t worthy of study.

In our latest piece, @aba-daba-dooo writes about teaching fic writing to middle schoolers—and about the gap between secondary and higher ed when it comes to studying pop culture/fandom. Read or listen to an audio version!

[disabled-dippy]

my favorite disabled creators - a masterlist ✿

this will be periodically updated as I discover/am reminded of more! feel free to suggest anyone I haven't listed here.

✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿

Para Tara - @/paratara on YouTube

From her YT description: "I’m a T11/T12 paraplegic & my goal is to spread awareness of Spinal Cord Injury and my way of life as a wheelchair user :)"

Tara makes some really informative videos on what it's like being a paraplegic and a wheelchair user. She tries to combat a lot of the misconceptions and stereotypes people have surrounding it.

She also has a GoFundMe, so if you are able, go show her some support on there!

✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿

Sarah Todd Hammer - @/SarahToddHammer on YouTube

From her YT description: "Hi everyone! My name is Sarah Todd Hammer (I go by "Sarah Todd" as a double name) and I'm 23 years old. When I was 8, I became paralyzed from the neck down. I recovered the ability to walk, but I still have paralysis in my arms and hands. I'm a 3-time published author, speaker, and disability advocate. I use my channel to inform you all of what my life is like living with a disability and educate on disability inclusion and accessibility! Subscribe to learn more about my life and disability justice 😊"

I watch Sarah Todd mostly for her videos on accessibility and how she navigates the world with arm/hand paralysis. She really does a great job outlining the different types of supports that can be implemented for disabled people.

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S. Lylo L. - @/disgaybledlylo on TikTok (formerly @/selfiereptiles)

Lylo makes content about their life with FND, EDS, and endometriosis (as well as various other disabilities). They post a lot of tip videos for disabled folks, including on how to use mobility aids. They also post a ton of awareness content, and they have a series reviewing disabled characters in media! Their FND comes with symptoms like vision loss, which isn't often talked about. Lylo also talks about their experiences being intersex, which is possibly another incentive to check them out!

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Pippa Stacey - @/LifeOfPippa on YouTube

Pippa is a "writer, blogger and communications consultant" who makes content about living with chronic illness, mostly ME/CFS. She posts content like vlogs, tutorials for disabled people (such as how to budget, book access theater tickets, and share your story), and informational content. Her videos, especially her Q&A's, are very informative and a great resource for if you struggle with ME/CFS!

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Elinor Brown - @/ElinorBrown on YouTube

Elinor makes videos about her life having ME/CFS, especially surrounding her use of mobility aids. She shares a lot about the ups and downs of having ME/CFS through her vlogs, Q&As, and informational/instructional videos. She has a very cutesy and girly aesthetic, which I love given that I also have a cutesy and girly aesthetic.

✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿

Elizabeth Harris - @/L1zHarris on YouTube

Liz makes videos about her life being Deaf/HOH. She does a lot to combat stigma surrounding Deafness and emphasizes it as its own culture, encouraging people to seek out Deaf/HOH teachers if they want to learn Sign Language. I personally enjoy her song covers, and I appreciate (and aspire to have) the no-nonsense attitude she has when correcting people.

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Jessica Kellgren-Fozard - @/jessicaoutofthecloset on YouTube

From her YT description: "Adding vintage lesbian fabulousness to a life with disabilities and chronic illnesses, aided by my beautiful wife Claudia, our son Rupert and our adorable pups. I make fun, uplifting and educational content about LGBTQ+ and disability culture and history that should help you get through tough times and not feel alone."

I love Jessica's content! She really does a lot to raise awareness about disability (especially ME/CFS, POTS, and being Deaf/HOH) and educate people. I really enjoy her chronic illness playlist (linked here) and all the work she does to inform people about the different aspects of disability.

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Gem Hubbarb - @/Wheelsnoheels on YouTube

From her YT description: "Hi, I’m Gem, and after my spinal cord injury at the age of 9, https://youtu.be/JDX5md1qbd4 my life has taken me on many twists and turns, and finally led me to combine my passions of media and disability advocacy, and poof! Wheelsnoheels was born."

Gem makes videos discussing disability hot topics, choosing a mobility aid, traveling as a wheelchair user, making homes accessible, and wheelchair access at Disney (all according to her). Her videos around hot topic discussions and choosing mobility aids have been the most interesting for me. She really helped with my decision to get mobility aids, so I highly recommend checking her out!

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Cassidy Huff - @/CassidyHuff on YouTube

From her YT description: "I’m Cassidy Huff (she/her) and I’m a disabled, disability rights activist who is sharing my life in all aspects! I’m so excited to take you all through this life that I live and all of my ups and downs! I’m so glad you’re here! :)"

Cassidy posts a lot of content around disability activism, education, and dismantling stigma, especially surrounding things like mobility aid use, prosthetics, and service dogs. She posts a lot about her life with Conradi-Hünermann syndrome, including things like her former surgeries and her experiences with being partially blind.

✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿

Cienna - @/chronicallyperservering on YouTube

Cienna makes content about her life having ROHHAD, a rare terminal illness which causes things like central hypoventilation. She talks a lot about having a diaphragmatic pacemaker and how she navigates the world as someone whose body doesn't tell her to breathe. I personally really enjoy her sense of humor and the content she makes about accessibility.

✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿

Molly Burke - @/MollyBurkeOfficial on YouTube

From her YT description: "HEY! I'm Molly, a typical sushi and makeup loving millennial girl who just so happens to be blind! I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at just 4 years old and began public speaking at age 5. Even though I can’t see, I know that there are bright spots in everything we face. Let’s find them together!"

Molly makes a lot of educational content, especially dismantling stigma around blindness and educating people on how blind folks navigate the world.

[rotationalsymmetry]

Time to go off about feminism a bit!

Feminist goals:

Not being legally barred from certain jobs

Not being discriminated against for being a woman in certain jobs (ie can theoretically get the job but it's much harder or pays worse or gets less respect)

Addressing glass ceiling and old boy's club stuff, ie barriers to women getting into leadership positions specifically (girlboss feminism is a legitimate branch of feminism, sorry)

Stuff related to abusive relationships and sexual violence: divorce stuff, custody stuff, shelters, laws around domestic violence and sexual assault, awareness raising, bystander intervention, access to appropriate recovery support, raising kids to be able to recognize dangerous situations and to value consent. As part of this: sex ed in schools

Reproductive freedom (abortion access, access to contraception, not being forcibly sterilized or otherwise prevented from having children)

Motherhood stuff: gender roles suck, but gender roles for parents suck BALLS. Generous parental leave for mothers and fathers, getting schools to address permission slips etc in gender neutral ways and not assume mothers should be called when there's a problem with a child by default, child support enforcement/getting enough money when the child support can't be gotten, programs for people raising children in poverty (usually but not always women), flexibility at work, being able to get health insurance when working less than full time, good public schools, good child care. Addressing social norms that result in women doing more chores, parenting labor, and emotional labor than men even when working about the same amount.

Sex stuff that isn't sexual violence stuff: good sex ed, information about women's sexuality, addressing social stigma around women (including but not limited to queer women) who don't do sex stuff the "normal" way.

Sex worker rights: this is a huge split within feminism, but the right position is treating sex work problems as a labor issue, rather than further criminalizing sex workers or clients. (Side note: most human trafficking is for manual labor, not sex work, and lots of sex workers have not been trafficked. Sex work and trafficking are not equivalent.)

Medical stuff: challenging seeing male bodies as the default for things like signs of a heart attack (no seriously look into this; tons of medical studies only study men but treat the results as applicable to women too), challenging the dismissal and minimization of women's pain and other symptoms, challenging the tendency of doctors to write off women's physical problems as psychological in nature (and also not treating psychological problems seriously).

Other male default stuff: did you know that historically crash test dummies were designed to mimic the height and weight of the average man? In certain jobs, equiptment comes in sizes that fit men more comfortably than women.

Intersectionality: the ways in which class, race, queer and trans stuff, disability, culture/religion, and nationality affect women's experiences and options and what problems women want to see solved. (Aaaand I just realized I've been saying women this whole time, and that while of course that includes trans women, who are women, I don't really mean to exclude non-binary people, regardless of agab... or really trans men either... fuck. Anyways. Gender complicated. Feminism complicated. Broad umbrella good.)

And yeah, we can put things like free the nipple and what if I want to dress masc on here, no problem, but the key thing is that the main pressure shouldn't be on what women choose, which is up to us, it should be on whether society SUPPORTS, or at least is not actively hostile to, all the choices women might make or not. (Society includes women, so this does put an onus on women, but the onus is at the point of "how does this women treat women who make certain choices about their own lives" not "which choices is she making about her own life, which is up to her.") What women choose (how we dress, how we handle our sex lives and relationships and reproductive choices, what decisions we make about education and career stuff, how we handle health stuff (or don't)) should be up to us, and should be supported at least to the same degree that men are supported for the same decisions.

What I mean is: I do in fact thing that women should be able to wear heels if they want, be homemakers if they want and can find a partner to do that with, have very basic trad-y lives if they want, even though there's a sort of herd effect where women making the opposite choices have an easier time of it if more women are doing that. That women should have the right to abortion but not an obligation to end an inconvenient pregnancy. That feminism does not put obligations on women to live our lives to others' standards, whatever those standards are. And you know what?

I want men to be able to do those things too. To wear heels if they want. To be stay at home parents if they want and can get their lives to work out that way. (Many do actually!) That men should get to run their relationships and sex lives however they want, including having a lot of casual sex if they want. That men should have the ability to fuck all the way away from normal jobs if they want. (Or at least complain about having to have a normal job.) To go "ugh, this world is too much for me I hate it, I want to bake cupcakes instead."

I wouldn't mind the "choice feminism" discourse so much if the people complaining about choice feminism talked about abortion rights or workplace discrimination or family leave or any of the many, many other feminist issues more. But going "ugh choice feminism sucks, no it's not feminist to wear makeup" ultimately does just as little for giving women assistance in escaping bad relationships or narrowing the pay gap as "makeup is totally feminist because it's my choice to wear it." I'd say who fucking cares, but I care! I think women should get to wear makeup AND should get to not wear makeup!

So. Let's talk about endometriosis. Let's talk about universal basic income. Let's talk about gender affirming care. Let's talk about immigration. Let's talk about violence against indigenous women. Anything but discourse that supports the idea that feminism is primarily about passing judgement on an individual woman's commitment to feminism based on how she looks.

And let's talk about the barriers to women -- and ALL people -- doing exactly what we want to do, and how to tear them all down.

[quiet-admirer]

Idk along the lines of the last reblog, I was worried people were going to take my post about the Tumblr reporting thing & EDs like that, as derailing the conversation about the anti-fat intent and results of the change, and I considered whether I should post it at all because of that. But now that it's getting an amount of notes I wasn't expecting, I hope people aren't taking away the message "but what about the poor non-fat people with EDs who will be affected by this too" and think they are agreeing with me, but are agreeing for the wrong reasons....

The point of the post is that the phrasing of the reporting guidelines perpetuates stigma about BED and fatness in a feedback loop by saying fatties who eat too much have eating disorders and people with BED are fatties who eat too much, makes no sense clinically and therefore is not actually about helping people with EDs at all, and perpetuates fatphobic and disordered views of eating which are used specifically to concern troll and police fat people's eating habits - all of which in this context will result in fat people being harassed and deplatformed because in our culture, fat people who are existing without actively self flagellating are perverted and mentally ill.

But I thought it would get like 4 notes like my long ranting and raving posts usually do so I wasn't as careful about clearly stating that as I could have been... Not sure if I need to append it with clarification, but I'll think about it...

[whinyvents]

As someone who spent the entirety of my secondary school years in special ed, I am tired of not being able to relate to others on the topic of "universal" british secondary school experiences.

So in attempt to combat feeling left out, I have come up with my own list of quintessential secondary school experiences.

2009-2014 british special ed secondary school culture is:

Weekly spelling tests. Every year.

Teachers assuming we would all be too clueless to figure out that every staff computer password was literally set to "password".

Sex education not technically being abstinence only, but still lowkey encouraging it by primarily focusing on the negative consequences of engaging in sexual activity, such as STIs and unwanted pregnancy.

Strict dress codes being easy to enforce when the total number of students was small enough for everyone to be noticed individually.

Feeling nervous (due to stigma) whenever someone you perceived as normal would ask you what school you went to.

Every student in the entire school having to appear on stage at least once for the Christmas production each year.

Missing out on the classic "you can achieve anything if you just work hard" speech. Some kids were even told that they would never achieve their dream jobs.

That one teacher (or teaching assistant) who openly disliked you.

Due to it being a male dominant environment, the most popular girls were usually "one of the guys".

Academic performance levels that would be considered failing grades in mainstream education actually being praised as high achievements when only slightly below average. (A personal example would be me getting a D in maths)

Those pencil packs with "100% Attendance" written on them being given as a reward at the end of each term to those who showed up every day. I would like to thank my strict mum for helping me win those pencils almost every term.

No PDA between couples allowed, not even hugging. (Although in my case they did eventually update this rule to allow holding hands as the exception)

A noticeable lack of sympathy from many teachers whenever someone had an emotional outburst in a situation that was actually distressing for them.

Years 7 and 8 still feeling like an extension of primary school.

The representation you lacked in fiction being made up for in documentaries your parents watched.

Everyone knowing everyone like they do in small villages.

Social skills classes taught with the implication that the objectively correct way to communicate is the neurotypical way.

Either getting pathologised for finding something difficult or told to stop making excuses. No in-between.

Those who were considered "high functioning" often trying to distance themselves from those who were more severely disabled. Despite not actually being very high functioning myself, I was still guilty of doing this multiple times and for that I am sorry.

[campgender]

Lesbian feminism’s negative valuation of butch-fem communities also seems to be a response to the explicit sexuality these communities expressed through butchfem roles. From the beginning, lesbian feminists tended to downplay sexuality between women in an attempt to free lesbians from the stigma of sexual deviance. They separated lesbians from gay men, primarily with respect to the place of sexual expression in men’s and women’s lives. This trend, which became fully elaborated in the 1980s, was central to the identity around which lesbian-feminist politics was built and to the debates that developed around sexuality throughout the entire feminist movement.

In 1980 and 1981, the publication of two works had a powerful impact on the shape of lesbian feminism and on research about lesbian history, Adrienne Rich’s “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” and Lillian Faderman’s Surpassing the Love of Men. Both works privileged passionate and loving relationships over specifically sexual relationships in defining lesbianism and explicitly separated lesbian history from gay-male history. Rich’s work is not intended to be an historical study; nevertheless, it proposes a framework for lesbian history. She establishes a “lesbian continuum” that consists of woman-identified resistance to patriarchal oppression throughout history. The lesbian transcends time periods and cultures in her common links to all women who have dared to affirm themselves as activists, warriors, or passionate friends. The place of sexuality in this resistance is not specified and the butch-fem lesbian communities of the twentieth century, because of their use of gender roles, are considered, at best, marginal to women’s long history of resistance to patriarchy. Thus, in this formative work for lesbian feminism, the only group of women in history willing to explicitly acknowledge their erotic interest in women are not central to the definition of lesbian.

from Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy & Madeline D. Davis (2nd ed, 2014; originally published 1994)

[day-in-the-life-utd]

References

Cloud, D. H., Parsons, J., & Delany-Brumsey, A. (2014). Addressing mass incarceration: A clarion call for public health. American Journal of Public Health, 104(3), 389–391. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301741

Dowler, K. (2003). Media consumption and public attitudes toward crime and justice: The relationship between fear of crime, punitive attitudes, and perceived police effectiveness. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 10(2), 109–126.

Greer, C., & Reiner, R. (2012). Mediated mayhem: Media, crime, criminal justice. In M. Maguire, R. Morgan, & R. Reiner (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of criminology (5th ed., pp. 245–278). Oxford University Press.

Haney, C. (2017). Reforming punishment: Psychological limits to the pains of imprisonment. American Psychological Association.

Schnittker, J., & John, A. (2007). Enduring stigma: The long-term effects of incarceration on health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 48(2), 115–130.

Thompson, A., & Coté, D. (2015). Media and the mentally ill: The impact of representations on perceptions. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 60(3), 130–135.

[kawaii-disgusting]

Not to get too discourse ramble-y on here but I just need to scream for a minute.

I hate that when defending of taboos in fiction some people will make such a giant distinction between "pornography" and just portraying it. Like the two are somehow oh so different and there isn't a grey area. Especially when it comes to media made to process trauma or portray someone's lived experiences. Sometimes porn can be made or used to process trauma. And while porn is not sex ed, some porn can be made inspired by the creator's lived experiences. And even porn that is entirely fantasy can be argued to be a representation of that person's experience of sexuality. These things are far from mutually exclusive. And even if it isn't the creator's experiences, it very much still could resonate with an audience that sees their own experiences in it in a way. Or be used to explore experiences other have but you haven't. Yes, even if it is "pornography."

And then it's like, I understand the difference in comfort someone would have with a 250 page novel about a coming of age story with a two page sex scene between teenagers vs a porn without plot fanfiction about two teenage characters on ao3. But to police it, what page count makes it okay? At what word count and amount of other buildup does it become no longer "pornography"? Or what is the page count that separates a story about someone with a fawn response to trauma with a sexually abusive partner from a noncon porn story? Or what runtime separates a drama about an incestuous couple from incest porn? Or what runtime separates a slasher film from torture porn? Or what panel count separates a drama comic about a teacher and student in an inappropriate relationship from drawn teacher/student pornography? Where is the line with this?

This is especially tricky because a lot of current arguments for banning books about minority experiences will call any and all portrayals of sex "pornography" and then people online will echo similar sentiment, but then others who see that as bullshit will make their own version with the line they draw in ways that feel hypocritical to me. And even if there was a clear place to draw that line, "pornography" isn't any less of a form of media. "Pornography" and the things people defend the "non-pornography" media for being are not at all mutually exclusive. Just because something crosses the line into porn in your opinion, doesn't make it immoral to create or consume and that stigma is just as a much a form of censorship. And there is no way to contribute to that stigma without giving more power to the people who think every single portrayal is porn.

And I don't just mean this is a proshipper/antishipper discourse context. Honestly I'm so tired of those labels and the discourse around it so much and only use the label proship because that is what people see my opinions as. I don't personally identify with the term moreso than that. Proship/antiship discourse is just a chronically online mircocosm of much larger issues with censorship, stigmatization of sexuality and kink, misunderstandings about psychology, reactionary beliefs and so many other larger issues at play. A while back I saw people talking about book bannings and booktok discourse where people were stitching tiktoks about antishippers taking them as the people in support of certain types of book bans, because that is what it looked like to them with little context on fandom culture. Because these things are the same.

Like at this point, to me my beliefs aren't "proship", they're part of being for freedom of expression. Like shipping discourse is just one tiny piece of a much larger puzzle, and I don't know what "proship" can say about me that isn't already said by my beliefs about how people view art and fiction as a whole. Everything I've said here applies to both chronically online fanfiction discourse and the larger discussions on taboo fiction and "weird art."

[whsprings]

I feel like having food as a redirectable offense in ed treatment adds a layer of scariness and forbiddenness to food which is fucking stupid at best and actively harmful at worst. food is so incredibly important, not only for physical nourishment but also culturally, and not being able to talk about at all whatsoever, whether in a neutral way or positively or even expressing genuine dislikes, just adds (for lack of a better word) a type of stigma around it that can harm people's recovery. idk just some thoughts.

[art-appresh]

Hello, I'm Shy Alley, a dedicated voice-over artist, and interestingly, I share my home with six bunnies and two dogs.

Facts about Don Ed Hardy and Tweeter’s Recovery.

Tweeters Recovery is a follow-up painting done in 1995 to a 1992 painting after the L.A. riots which was titled “Bad News (Tweeter is Sick)”.

The painting contains significant religious symbolism, including Tibetan Buddha eyes on the crown, and depicts a god figure walking through the sky with his hand emitting benevolent rays.

Don Ed Hardy integrates traditional Japanese tattoo techniques with American styles in his designs, creating a blend of Eastern and Western artistic influences.

In addition to his tattooing expertise, Hardy rose to prominence by launching the Ed Hardy brand in the early 2000s, which gained acclaim for its unique clothing line featuring designs inspired by Hardy's distinctive tattoos. (My dad use to wear them when they were popular.)

Don Ed Hardy holds a master's degree in Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. This academic background demonstrates his formal training and dedication to honing his artistic skills, setting a solid foundation for his influential career in tattoo art and design.

When I first encountered this artwork, its style immediately evoked memories of the 2000s for me. However, my initial impressions were somewhat negative, likely influenced by the association of the brand with bikers and the prevailing stigma surrounding tattoos during that era, before they gained widespread acceptance through pop culture icons. At that time, I was unfamiliar with the specific details or had seen any of his actual paintings. Now, upon closer examination, my initial reaction is that the composition feels a bit cluttered. Questions arise about the significance of elements like the club, the random ink blots, and the 'D' over the 'E.' While the symbolism within the piece is intriguing, I find the background particularly compelling. The outline featuring the clipper and Telegraph Hill harmonizes well with the background's color transitions. However, elements like the blue ink used for the god, the crown, and the lightning seem to clash with the overall color scheme, becoming somewhat distracting.