#the height discourse is also a Non Issue

[nocturnal-phantoms-fandoms]

I canttt people will say "yes but remus is taller <3" under a post thats about tall sirius even if OP doesnt like wolfstar

can we. can we stop. you guys are embarrassing us all

nobody that says they believe in tall sirius wants to hear that you like taller remus let alone people who ship prongsfoot 😭

[dykefever]

ello laura i do not usually open blocked tags but i did out of curiosity n stumbled across ur post abt the apparent height disk horse that is happening rn (<-blissfully unaware). also this is the ghost of marxismlupinism btw sending as an anon cause on my main blog idk what a semus and ririus is never heard of them cunts.

anyway I wanted to say that yeah basically it's like such a non issue if people are casting r&s into gendered roles, like even if people were genderbending rs into a literal cishet couple I could not care less who gives a shit it's harry potter fanfiction.

that being said I think it's very telling abt the hp fandom that the whole like "writing s as 'feminine' and a bottom comes with him being short" (which btw... i mean I'm sure there's some fanfic like that but I can't say I've really read more than like 5 fics that fit that description? and I've unfortunately read a lot of rs fic lmao... it's literally not hard to avoid. skill issue if you can't filter the fanfic you read to not have it) is portrayed as homophobia against [cis] gay men instead of the obvious transmisogyny it is—ie setting smallness & youth as standards of femininity. that's why so many closeted trans women/trans women who can't access hrt dread growing older, that's why so much emphasis is put on age of transition in transfem spaces, and that's why even gay man spaces have concepts of "twink death", because femininity is understood to be hairless and pretty and dainty and youthful and small and all these standards that are difficult to achieve if you've been through androgenic puberty and/or if you have testes that continue to produce testosterone that continues to masculinise your body as you grow older. portraying s (or any given character ime when it comes to tme fans in fandom spaces) as feminine is seen as going hand in hand with physically feminising him—bc femininity that's not on a feminised body is obviously met with disgust, it's unattractive, it's horrifying, etc. and the obvious source of the tendency to portray feminine male characters this way is that there's only one acceptable form of camab femininity (or "acceptable", even that is very conditional). and yes it does affect cis gays like I said above w how gay men talk about eg "twink death" but that doesn't mean it's not a primarily transmisogynistic impulse to show that, for most of us, femininity is a hopeless cause, it's not allowed, we'll never pass or be beautiful or whatever.

and ftr I'm just complaining, I definitely don't think the solution is to produce More Harry Potter Fanfictions where s is like, tall and hairy and feminine or whatever, knowing the hp fandom I'm sure they'll also turn that into transmisogynistic caricatures too. the only real solution would be for all these ppl to stop reading hp fanfic and start reading transfeminist theory but if ur a harry potter fan in 2023 you're obviously never gonna do that. so. yeah just complaining for the sake of complaining lol not expecting transfeminism to catch on among harry potter fans of all people anytime soon

hi (redacted)!! actually made sure to tag that post so u and all my other normal followers could avoid it but i respect the curiosity x im sure you've probably seen the height discourse many times over in your time in the fandom and it's the same absolute bullshit every time. i appreciate your additions to this post as a transwoman because i obviously don't have that perspective and you've kind of deepened my understanding of the issues around it n how transmisogyny comes into play here!!

in my prev posts i was kind of addressing, albeit likely not clearly, how people often say they dislike 'short s' as a kind of shorthand for saying they dislike 'fem s', which is really saying (as people dig themselves deeper in their explanations) that they don't like certain aspects of 'femininity' in a man and then spin it to say that it's because they're writing a heteronormative relationship onto a gay couple. i appreciate what you're saying here as well of the issues of the only way to write s as feminine is like small, dainty, hairless etc. and how that is an issue of transmisogyny rather than like homophobia. (correct me if i've misunderstood tho!!)

at the end of the day it definitely like, doesn't matter how people are writing hp characters like no great and impressive change is happening and the fandom is full of too many transphobes for that to be the case. i just don't understand why people are so pressed by these certain characterisations they appear to dislike so bad when i genuinely barely come across these s characterisations they apparently can't escape. like i don't see anything i don't want to because i just unfollow and block people ....it is not that hard like...

anyway thank u for ur contributions ghost of marxismlupinism, i appreciate it xx godspeed xx

[carolinelamming]

When Harper's Bazarr magazine gets organised

The year 1934 was no ordinary year for Harper's magazine. The magazine's fashion editor, Carmel Snow, invited graphic designer Alexey brodovtich to take over as artistic director. What ensued was a radical change in the magazine's identity, with covers and layouts that were highly innovative for the time. Each more audacious than the last, they represented an unprecedented visual bazaar for readers. So, are theses compositions, which at first seem disordered in composition, it not based on a traditional grille, really that disordered?

The bazaar of the magazine is first and foremost the arrival of new proposals on a magazine market that is very rigid in its compositional possibilities, and thus a bazaar (in the sense of a revolution) in the field of fashion magazines. Alexey Brodovitsch revolutionised the graphic style, detaching himself from illustration and painting and creating a mode of communication for the magazine based on the typography/photography relationship. These magazine layouts clearly did not have a common composition grid for the entire layout of each issue. At first look, this can create a certain lack of visual coherence between the different issues. What's more, even though all the magazines use the same iconographic medium, the different photographs are taken by a wide variety of photographers. This diversifies the framing of the photos, and the layout of the texts is built around the photos, so the compositions of the double pages are sometimes radically different visually.

Harper's Bazaar has no visible composition grid for all its layouts, but art director Alexey Brodovitch has establish a very precise editorial line. The layout of the magazine is managed as a whole [figure 1], with Alexey Brodovitch working on his layouts by visualising them all at the same time. There are various reasons for this, but the main one is to achieve harmony within the same issue, although the text and image compositions can be quite heterogeneous. In this way, a truly distinctive identity is established. What's more, the magazine's bazaar tells a story: the composition of the images in relation to the text becomes narrative, and alexey brodovtich introduces the notion of temporality to this medium. Each double page is a sequence focusing on a specific theme or subject in the editorial line of the issue in question. The position of each double page in the magazine is carefully thought out and organised [figure 1], and this helps to create a story that transports readers. For the cover of the issue ... [figure 2] it's not just a question of showing a dress, but of telling a story, that of a daring woman in search of altitude or a dream. In this way, the unconventional arrangement of elements (non-linar and in height) helps to create a most innovative discourse. As far as the covers are concerned, it's true that there is a wide variety of compositions and visuals in all the issues (found the number of covers produced under the direction of Alexey Brodovitch), but they are all structured by the headline of the magazine, which forms the basis of the composition. In some covers, the textual and iconographic elements interact with the lettering that forms the header.

This feeling of an organised bazaar is also thanks to the fact that Alexey Brodovitch divided the magazine's work between management and autonomy. As art director, he had a clear vision, but gave his collaborators a great deal of freedom of expression. This balanced approach encouraged the emergence of innovative ideas while maintaining a coherent aesthetic for the magazine. It's true that for a reader of the 40s, this magazine might have seemed particularly disorganised visually. But in reality, this deconstruction of classic compositional codes was to become the model for the fashion magazine. And so the bazaar was seen as the example to be followed in a meticulous and calculated way.

Figure 1 : Alexey Brodovitch organising the pages of Haper's Bazaar magazine.

Figure 2 : Haper’s Bazaar Magazine cover, December 1959

Haper’s Bazaar Magazine

[alqotaefe]

The Importance of English in Global Communication

English has become the dominant language in global communication, playing a vital role in connecting people across different cultures and regions. Its widespread use is not merely a coincidence; rather, it reflects the historical, economic, and technological factors that have made English the primary medium for international discourse.

One of the key reasons for the prominence of English in global communication is its historical spread through colonization. The British Empire, at its height, covered vast territories across the globe, including regions in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. As a result, English became the administrative and educational language in many of these colonies. Even after gaining independence, many former colonies continued to use English due to its established presence and utility in governance, law, and education.

In the modern era, the role of English has been further solidified by the economic and technological dominance of English-speaking countries, particularly the United States. The global influence of American culture, media, and technology has reinforced the importance of English. From Hollywood movies to Silicon Valley innovations, English is often the default language. This has made it indispensable for those seeking to participate in the global economy or to stay updated with technological advancements.

Moreover, English serves as a bridge language, or lingua franca, in international business, diplomacy, and academia. In multinational corporations, English is commonly used as the working language to ensure clear and efficient communication among employees from diverse linguistic backgrounds. In diplomacy, English is often the language of negotiations, treaties, and international organizations such as the United Nations. In academia, a vast majority of scientific research is published in English, making it essential for scholars who wish to contribute to or access the latest research findings.

The rise of the internet and social media has also played a crucial role in cementing the importance of English in global communication. A significant portion of online content is in English, including websites, forums, and social media platforms. This has created a global virtual space where English acts as the primary language for information exchange, networking, and collaboration.

However, the dominance of English in global communication is not without its challenges. It can create barriers for non-native speakers, leading to issues of inequality in access to information and opportunities. Additionally, the spread of English has sometimes been viewed as a threat to linguistic diversity, as it may contribute to the decline of other languages.

In conclusion, the importance of English in global communication cannot be overstated. It serves as a vital tool for connecting people across the world, facilitating international business, diplomacy, and the sharing of knowledge. While it brings numerous benefits, it also presents challenges that need to be addressed to ensure equitable and inclusive communication in a globalized world.

If you want to practice English you can send it to me

[avamarino08]

Unraveling the Tapestry of Gender

Unraveling the Tapestry of Gender

In the vast tapestry of human existence, the threads of gender weave a complex narrative that has evolved over centuries. The exploration of gender is not merely an academic exercise; it is a journey into the heart of societal norms, power dynamics, and human identity. This write-up embarks on a voyage through time, unraveling the historical and contemporary context of gender, delving into its impact on society.

To understand the present, we must first dive into the past. The historical roots of gender roles can be traced back to ancient civilizations, where societal norms often dictated rigid expectations for individuals based on their assigned gender. From the agricultural societies of Mesopotamia to the majestic courts of imperial China (National geographic, n.d.), gender roles were deeply ingrained, shaping the trajectory of human civilization.

In medieval Europe, the constraints on gender reached new heights with the rise of chivalry and feudalism. Women were often relegated to the domestic sphere (Bilancetti, n.d.), while men assumed roles of authority and prowess. The Renaissance period saw a subtle shift, with glimpses of female empowerment emerging in art and literature. However, it was not until the waves of social and political revolutions in the 19th and 20th centuries that significant cracks began to form in the traditional gender edifice.

One of the most pivotal moments in the journey of gender equality was the suffragette movement. Women, tired of being relegated to the shadows of civic life, demanded the right to vote. The battle for suffrage was not just a political struggle but a seismic shift in societal perceptions of women's capabilities. The suffragettes challenged the notion that political participation was the exclusive domain of men, setting the stage for future struggles for gender equality (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018).

The 20th Century and Beyond: The mid-20th century witnessed the emergence of second-wave feminism, advocating for issues beyond suffrage, such as reproductive rights and workplace equality. The feminist movement sparked conversations about the fluidity and spectrum of gender identities, challenging the binary construct that had confined society for centuries. As we step into the 21st century, the gender discourse has expanded to include transgender rights, non-binary identities, and the intersectionality of gender with race, class, and sexuality. Movements like #MeToo have brought to light the pervasive issue of gender-based violence, emphasizing the urgent need for systemic change (Stubbs-Richardson et al., 2023).

In today's world, the gender landscape is a kaleidoscope of identities and expressions. The fight for equal pay, representation in leadership roles, and dismantling patriarchal structures continues. The LGBTQ+ movement has gained momentum, advocating for the rights and visibility of individuals across the gender spectrum. Technology has also played a role in reshaping gender dynamics. Social media platforms provide spaces for dialogue and activism, amplifying diverse voices and experiences. However, it has also brought new challenges, such as online harassment and the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes.

The journey through the historical and contemporary context of gender reveals a tapestry in constant flux. What began as rigid societal norms has transformed into a dynamic discourse on equality, identity, and liberation. The threads of gender continue to be woven by individuals challenging the status quo, ensuring that the tapestry remains a vibrant reflection of the diversity inherent in the human experience. As we navigate the complexities of gender in the 21st century, the call for understanding, empathy, and systemic change reverberates through the threads that bind us all.

References 

Bilancetti, I. (n.d.). WIVES, MOTHERS AND WORKERS IN AND OUT THE DOMESTIC SPHERE. https://www.juragentium.org/topics/global/it/bilancetti.pdf

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Women’s Suffrage. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage

National geographic. (n.d.). Early Agricultural Communities. Education.nationalgeographic.org. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/early-agricultural-communities/

Stubbs-Richardson, M., Gilbreath, S., Paul, M., & Reid, A. (2023). It’s a global #MeToo: a cross-national comparison of social change associated with the movement. Feminist Media Studies, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2023.2231654

[maximonth]

The Ethics of AI: Navigating the Moral Landscape

A wide range of stakeholders are involved in the development and application of AI: governments, corporations, researchers, universities, associations and non-profit organizations. These actors need to collaborate on how social, economic and political issues intersect with AI technology. Often, they must also consider the ethical implications of their decisions.

The question of whether the human mind can be digitized and turned into a computer program or algorithm is one of the most complex questions of AI ethics. While the answer to this question may seem trivial, it is a central issue for the future of our civilization (Seay 2017).

Science fiction has been playing with the idea of ethical AI for a while now, most notably in Spike Jonze’s 2013 film Her, where a user falls in love with his operating system. However, this is only a small part of the story. AI has the potential to influence our lives in many other ways, including in medicine and business, as well as influencing our culture, society and economy. This makes it even more important to think about how we should design AI systems and what the consequences of their use could be.

In his 2010 book Best VPN Services of 2024 The Moral Landscape, neuroscientist Sam Harris offers a framework for addressing these issues. He describes the concept of a “moral landscape” as a conceptual space representing all possible experience. The peaks of this landscape represent the heights of well-being, while the valleys represent the depths of suffering. According to Harris, there is no single best way to live, but different cultures and ethical practices can move people across this landscape.

Despite this, most of the ethical goals outlined in various guidelines remain to be largely unachieved or are being undermined by other trends. These include safety and cybersecurity, the science-policy link, public awareness of AI risks, fostering diversity in AI and social cohesion, the protection of whistleblowers, transparency and openness, or the military AI arms race (Lonsdale 2018).

The problem of opaqueness is exacerbated by the fact that AI is anthropomorphised, which leads to misplaced conceptions of its moral agency. In addition, the lack of mechanisms to enforce ethical principles means that there is no eminent threat from unethical AI – which has the effect of stifling its own growth.

To overcome this challenge, it is necessary to change the way we look at ethics in general and AI ethics specifically. Instead of focusing on checkbox guidelines technology website that seek to subsume as many cases as possible under the same universal principle, we need to build a more situation-sensitive approach, focusing on virtues and personality dispositions, knowledge expansions, responsible autonomy and freedom of action. In other words, we need to transform ethical discourse from a deontologically oriented, action-restricting ethic based on universal abidance of rules and laws into microethics that are sensitive to specific situations and technical assemblages. This will require a substantial shift from the description of technological phenomena to the creation of tangible bridges between abstract values and technical implementations.

[actualtrainerred]

Hard disagree on the core issue here- pokemon training and companionship has a deep history that spans thousands and thousands of years-, but as a former Champion? Yeah, actually, there's a major issue of over-competitive and short-sighted trainers in the sport that needs to be addressed and not enough people are saying it without going way overboard into abolitionist ideology. Which, imo, is both anthrocentric, culturally dismissive of humanity and pokemon's inherently linked history, and something so far afield that people who actually are looking for changes to the sport and its culture end up discounting rational changes as extremist.

I will say though while I'm not alolan, from what I understand a lot of the issues wrt Team Skull were like. Economical disadvantages, and the group of them were like.... annoying at best. They're no Team Rocket thats for sure. But I wasn't there at the height of it so I can't say, as an outsider.

But overall, there are segments of the competitive scene in pokemon training, especially battle related (coordinators also have the issue but thats a whole other can of wurmples) that go too far. Training routines that harm the pokemon themselves, rivalries turning to actual resentment, corruption and bribery, among other things. It's definitely a discussion that needs to be had. I do think that name-calling (from either side) isn't productive to that conversation, though, and neither is defensiveness. Practices in the sport have changed as our understanding of non-human pokemon evolved over time, our husbandry practices have changed over time, and all of that happened from productive discourse, scientific study, and welfare advocates.

Admittedly, I don't know your full opinions so I don't know the full breadth of what you're saying or why people have been saying what they have about you, but I can tell your opinion is coming from a place of passion and conviction. Discounting that out of hand would be both disrespectful and unhelpful, even if I disagree with the core of your argument here.

Another reason I'm very anti-pokémon training is because of how competitive it can get. I've seen friendships ruined and families torn apart by these complete beasts, and it's so saddening to see how the world revolves around it.

I mean - you've seen how people react to my posts, simply having a different opinion makes these thick-skulled trainers lose their minds.

In Alola, the importance of pokémon training went so far that all of the island challenge losers and rejects formed a full evil team.

[roobylavender]

this is a general point but one thing i find to be really frustrating from non-talia fans is the automatic condescension and assumption of unintelligence as if talia fans are idiots who believe morrison is the only writer who has ever been racist to her and like we don't dwell on the issues in her writing across history wholesale because we tend to know it like the back of our hand. obv morrison is the most prevalent writer in talia discourse bc their work has been the most damning for her. there's no erasing what they did to her character bc dc will never erase damian's existence nor will they ever be willing to change his origins to account for her original characterization bc he's the more popular character by miles

but that's not to say that these discussions about other racist stereotypes and misogyny attributed to her portrayals from other writers aren't prevalent within talia fan circles. the above post is only one example of the assumptions made about her fans (although it's a common accusation) but i honestly find it quite laughable bc any talia fan who is dedicated to understanding her history and maintaining her character integrity is well aware that dixon's work on her in the 90s and early 00s is nothing short of terrible. it is her most prominent dragon lady portrayal prior to morrison's and you would be hard pressed to find a talia fan who actually enjoys any of those portrayals or believes they did her character any service. the thing op and so many others seem to ignore is that writers from tower of babel and onward more or less forgot about these arcs or talia's part in them bc her impact was so inconsequential. there's not even a hint of the talia who was power hungry to be her father's heir or sexually assaulted by bane in the portrayals written by waid and early 00s superman comics (although you can obv argue about whether ignorance of her trauma from the bane arc was a good thing). so ofc we don't complain about it as much bc it didn't have any long lasting effects on her character (unless you want to count her portrayal in the dark knight rises, but i think even that was egregious enough for the most wormbrained fans to recognize it was a disservice to her)

and i am always incredibly fascinated by the number of people who like to dress up the o'neil era the way op did bc it's an immediate tell for who's actually read her comics and who hasn't. there's certainly things to be said about the al ghuls and the fu manchu stereotypes o'neil and adams drew from to create the daddy-daughter duo, but no one who criticizes their holistic portrayals here ever seems to actually understand the nature of their crimes in this era or that this is perhaps the most tame ra's has ever been before writers in the 80s and 90s took his ecofascism to new heights. the ra's of the 70s is highly suspicious and wealthy and entitled, but most of his crimes are so vague and far flung they can't even be categorized as anything concrete. half the time he's fighting for control over the league more than he is actually making strides in ecofascism, which is what writers like mike w. barr more specifically dedicated themselves to portraying. it's also notable that one of the last stories o'neil wrote for the al ghuls in this era featured ra's and bruce cooperating to save the entire planet from a deadly chemical. ra's was an ecofascist at origins but very few people seem to understand or care that he was built with standards for himself and didn't believe in mass murdering humanity despite all of its crimes against the earth. that's a nuance that writers seem to have lost over the years and obv the every day batman fan isn't going to care about them lol

even beyond the ra's portrayal though it's interesting how talia gets tied so closely into his alleged "crimes" from this era bc unless her father is under threat or imprisoned talia doesn't play much of an active role in his criminal plotting at all. if anything that's a criticism talia fans have of o'neil's work bc while she's portrayed to be incredibly intelligent and possessive of a unique concept of loyalty, her role during this era doesn't really go beyond the bounds of henchwoman or on some occasions bystander. but the highlight of these portrayals is that in the rare moments that she is an active player, it's always to do the right thing and protect an innocent. talia is very staunchly anti murder and only inclined towards the act when people she cares about are threatened (like in her very first portrayal where she shot darrk to protect bruce, and even then, you can tell that murder wasn't her intent, and the man may have survived had he not fallen onto the train tracks; there is also her almost-murder of a man in daughter of the demon when she believes he's killed ra's, but once bruce tells her ra's is actually alive she relents. you can criticize her for that still if you're inclined to but the notable thing about it is that talia is not driven to murder as a prerogative unless extremes present themselves). o'neil explicitly designates her as a pacifist who is only chained to ra's out of a slavish devotion which other writers obv build on in later decades to help her ultimately evolve out of the role. but all too often non-talia fans take the bond girl ambience and surface matter of these stories to designate her as an entitled, heartless war criminal bc that's already the way they have of her from modern work, projected back onto work from the past. there's no room to see the nuances in her writing in earlier comics bc her future has already damned her

this is personally why i think paying attention to writers when building a concept of character history is so impt. swaths of issues get jumbled together to act as one conglomerate on a character but there's a plethora of nuances and shifts in tone and portrayal to notice when the work of different writers is distinguished from each other and analyzed. and that holds esp true for non-white characters whose trajectory can shift so suddenly bc of the biases of a writer

[woman-loving]

Islam, heteronormativity, and lesbian lives in Indonesia

Selections from Heteronormativity, Passionate Aesthetics and Symbolic Subversion in Asia by Saskia Wieringa, 2015.

These passages discuss some general social developments related to sexuality and gender in Indonesia, and then describe stories from different (mostly lesbian) narrators. They also touch on the creation of a religious school for waria (trans women), and include two trans men narrators, one of whom talks about his struggle to get sex reassignment surgery in the 70s. I also included a story from a divorced woman whose sexuality was questioned when her husband complained that she couldn’t sexually please him. Accusations of lesbianism can be directed toward any woman as a method for managing her sexuality/gender and prodding her into compliance with expectations of sexual availability.

In spite of protests by religious right-wing leaders, Islam does not have a single source of its so-called 'Islamic tradition'. There are many different interpretations and, apart from the Quran, many sources are contested. Even the Quran has abundant interpretations. Feminist Muslim writers, such as Fatima Mernissi (1985), Riffat Hassan (1987), and Musdah Mulia (2004 and 2012), locate their interpretations in the primary source of Islam--the Quran. According to those readings, sexuality is seen in an affirmative, positive light, being generally described as a sign of God's mercy and generosity toward humanity, characterised by such valued qualities as tranquillity, love, and beauty. The California-based Muslim scholar Amina Wadud (1999) describes the jalal (masculine) and jamal (feminine) attributes of Allah as a manifestation of sacred unity. She maintains that Allah's jamal qualities are associated with beauty that, although originally evaluated as being at the same level as Allah's masculine qualities that are associated with majesty, have en subsumed in the 14 centuries since the Quran was revealed.

The Quran gives rise to multiple interpretations. Verse 30:21 is one of my favorites:

“And among Allah's signs is this. That Allah created for you spouses from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity whit them, and Allah has put love and mercy between your [hearts]: verily in that there are signs for those who reflect.”[2]

The verse is commonly used in marriage celebrations, and I also used it in my same-sex marriage ritual. It mentions the gender-neutral term 'spouse,' which leaves room for the interpretation that same-sex partners are included.

Indonesian waria (transwomen) derive hope from such texts. In 2008, Maryani, a well-respected waria, opened a pesantren (traditional Islamic religious school) for waria, named Al-Fatah, at her house in Yogyakarta. After her death in March 2014, it was temporarily closed, but fortunately soon reopened in nearby Kotagede. A sexual-rights activist, Shinta Ratri, opened her house to waria santri (santri are strict believers, linked to religious schools) so they could continue to receive religious education. At the official opening, Muslim scholar Abdul Muhaimin of the Faithful People Brotherhood Forum reminded the audience that, as everyone was made by God: "Everyone has the right to observe their religion in their own way...", and added: "I hoped the students here are strong, as they must face stigma in society."[3]

Prior to her death (after she had made the haj),[4] Maryani herself, a deeply-religious person, said: "Here we teach our friends to worship God. People who worship are seeking paradise, this is not limited to our sex or our clothing..."[5] So far, hers is the only waria pesantren in Indonesia, perhaps even globally, and may be due to the fact that Maryani was an exceptionally strong person who spoke at many human-rights meetings. In October 2010, I also interviewed her and was struck by her warm personality, courage, and clear views.

In spite of those progressive readings of the Quran, women's sexuality is interpreted in light of their servility to men in practice, and has been linked to men's honour rather than women's pleasure. Although marriage is not viewed as too sacred to be broken in Indonesia, it is regarded as a religious obligation by all. An unmarried woman over the age of 20 is considered to be a perawan tua ('old virgin'), and is confronted by a continuous barrage of questions as to when she will marry.

Muslim (and Christian) conservative leaders consider homosexuality to be a sin. Women in same-sex relations find themselves in a difficult corner, as exclusion from their religion is a heavy burden. Some simply pray at home, privately hoping that their God will forgive them and trusting in the compassion taught by their holy books. However, outside their private space, religious teachers and society at large denounce their lives as sinful and accuse them of having no religion.

Recent Indonesia legislation strengthens the conservative, heteronormative interpretations of Islam. Apart from the 2008 anti-pornography law (discussed below), a new health law was adopted that further tightened conservative Islam's grip on women's reproductive rights and marginalised non-heteronormative women. That 2009 health bill replaced the law of 1992, which had no chapter on reproductive health. The new law states that a healthy, reproductive, and sexual life may only be enjoyed with a 'lawful partner' and only without 'violating religious values'--which means that all of our narrators would be banned from enjoying healthy, sexual, and reproductive lives.[6]

Conservative statements are also made by women themselves; for example, members of the hard-line Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir, who not only want to restrict reproductive services (such as family planning) to lawfully-wedded heterosexual couples but also see population control as a 'weapon of the West' to weaken the country.[7] They propose to save Indonesia by the imposition of sharia laws. Hard-line Islamic interpretations are widely propagated and creep into the legal system, thus strengthening heteronormativity and further expelling non-normative others.

Yet strong feminist voices are also heard in Indonesia's Muslim circles. Even in a relation to one of the most controversial issues in Islam--homosexuality--a positive, feminist interpretation is possible. Indonesia's prominent feminist Muslim scholar, Siti Musdah Mulia, explains that homosexuality is a natural phenomenon as it was created by Allah, and thus allowed by Islam. The prohibition, however, is the work of fallible interpretations by religion scholars.[8] In her 2011 paper on sexual rights, Mulia bases herself on certain Indonesian traditions that honour transgender people, referring to bissu in south Sulawesi, and warok[9] in the reog dance form in Ponorogo. In those cases, transgender is linked to sacred powers and fertility. She stresses that the story of Lot, always cited as evidence of Quranic condemnation of homosexuality, is actually concerned with sexual violence--the people of Sodom were not the only ones faced with God's wrath, as the people of Gomorrah were also severely chastised even though there is no indication that they engaged in same-sex behaviour. Nor is there any hint of same-sex behaviour in relationship to Lot's poor wife, who was transformed into a pillar of salt. Mulia advances a humanistic interpretation of the Quran that stresses the principles of justice, equity, human dignity, love, and compassion (2011: 7). Her conclusion is that not Islam itself but rather its heterosexist and patriarchal interpretation leads to discrimination.

After the political liberalisation (Reformasi) of 1998, conservative religious groups (which had been banned at the height of the repressive New-Order regime) increased their influence. The dakwah ('spreading of Islam') movement, which grew from small Islamist usroh (cell, family) groups and aimed to turn Indonesia into a Muslim state, gathered momentum.[10] Islamist parties, such as the Partai Kesejahteraan Sosial (PKS), or Social Justice Party, gained wide popularity, although that was not translated into a large number of seats in the national parliament (Hefner 2012; Katjasungkana 2012). In the early Reformasi years, official discourse on women was based on women's rights, taking the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action as its guide, but recent discourse on an Islamic-family model--the so-called keluarga sakinah ('the happy family')--has become dominant in government circles (Wieringa 2015, forthcoming). The growing Islamist emphasis on a heteronormative family model, coupled with homophobia, is spreading in society. During KAN's [Kartini Asia Network for Gender and Women's Studies in Asia] September 2006 TOT [Training of Trainers] course in Jakarta, the following conversation was recorded:

“Farida: Religious teachers go on and on about homosexuality. They keep shouting that it is a very grave sin and that people will go straight to hell. My daughter is in the fifth form of primary school. She has a best friend and the two were inseparable. But the teachers managed to set them apart, as they were considered to be too close. The mother of my daughter's friend came to me crying; she was warned that she had to be careful with her child, or else she might get a daughter who was different. And now the new school regulations stress that a woman must wear the jilbab [headscarf].[11] This has put a lot of stress on tomboyish girls. They cannot wear the clothes they are comfortable with any more. Zeinab: When we were taught fiqih [Islamic law], we never discussed homosexuality. When we studied the issue of zinah [adultery], one of our group asked: "But how about a woman committing zinah with another woman, or a man with another man?" Our teacher just shook is head and muttered that that was not a good thing. The only story we learnt was about the prophet Luth [Lot]. But when we went to study the hadith [Islamic oral law], we found the prophet had a very close friend, Abu Harairah, who never married, while all men were always showing off their wives. There were some indications that he might have had a male lover. Yet the prophet is not known to have warned him. So, while the mainstream interpretation of Islam is that they condemn homosexuality, there are also other traditions that seem to be more tolerant, even from the life of the prophet himself.”

The above fragment shows how fundamentalist practices creep into every nook and cranny of Indonesian people's lives--the growing suspicion toward tomboys, forcible separation of close school friends, and enforcement of Muslim dress codes. But we also see a counter-protest arising. At the TOT training course, the women activists realised that patriarchal interpretations of religion had severely undermined women's space, and started looking for alternative interpretations, such as the story of the prophet's unmarried friend.

However, for many of our narrators, religion is a troubling issue. Putri, for instance, does not even want to discuss the rights of gays and lesbians in Indonesia; she thinks the future looks gloomy, with religious fundamentalism on the rise, and her dream of equal rights is buried by the increasing militancy of religious fanatics. [...]

Women-loving women

Religion is a sensitive aspect of the lives of our women-loving-women narrators, who are from world religions that, although propagating love and compassion in their distinct ways, interpret same-sex love negatively. In some cases, our narrators are able to look beyond the patriarchal interpretations of their religions, which preach hatred for what are emotions of great beauty and satisfaction to them, while others are devastated by guilt and shame. [...]

Indonesian male-identified Lee wonders why "people cannot see us as God's creatures?" but fears that Islam will never accept homosexuality. He knows the story of the prophet Lot, and how the city of Sodom was destroyed by God as a warning so others would not commit the sin of sodomy. Lee was raised as a good Muslim, and tries to follow what he has been taught are God's orders. For some time, he wore a man's outfit for praying.[16] At that time, he thought that religious duties--if conducted sincerely--were more important than his appearance but, after listening to some religious preachers, he felt that it was not right to wear men's clothing: "Sometimes I think it is not right, lying to myself, pretending to be someone else. We cannot lie to God, right? Even if I try to hide it, definitely God knows." So, after attending religious classes, he decided to wear the woman's outfit--the mukena--when praying at home.

Lia grew up in a strict Muslim family. When she pronounced herself to be a lesbian, it came as a shock to her relatives, who invoked the power of religion to cure her. When her mother went on the haj, she brought 'Zamzam water' from Mecca. The miraculous healing powers of the liquid from Mecca's Zamzam well were supposed to bring Lia back to the normal path. Dutifully, Lia drank from it and jokingly exclaimed: "Ah, my God, only now I realise how handsome Delon is!"[17] Yet she found succor in her religion when she went through a crisis in her relationship with Santi:

"When Santi hated me very much and avoided me, I prayed: "God, if it is true that you give me a guiding light, please give me a sign. But if it is a sin...please help me..." Was my relationship with Santi blessed or not? If it wasn't, surely God would have blocked the way, and if it way, would God broaden my path? As, after praying so hard, Santi and I became closer, God must have endorsed it. Does God listen to my prayer, or does God test me?"

So, even though she got together again with Santi after that fervent bout of praying, uncertainty gnaws at Lia, who realises that mainstream Islamic preachers prohibit homosexuality. Ideally, she feels that a person's religion must support people, but Islam does not do that because she is made to feel like a sinner. But, she says, the basic principle that Islam teaches is to love others. As long as she does that, Lia sees nothing wrong in herself as one of God's creatures. She realises that, particularly in the interpretation of the hadith (Islamic oral tradition), all manner of distortions have entered Islamic values, and wonders what was originally taught about homosexuality in Islam. She is aware that many Quranic texts about the status of women were manipulated in order to marginalise them, and avidly follows debates on feminist interpretations that stress that the real message of the Quran does not preach women's subordination.

Lia knows that there are lesbians in the pesantren who carry out religious obligations, such as praying and doing good deeds. If someone has been a lesbian for so long that it feels like natural character, and has been praying and fasting for many years, they cannot change into a heterosexual, she decided.

Religious values are also deeply inculcated in Sandy, who is tortured by guilt and shame about her lesbian desires. Although masculine in appearance and behaviour, she wears the mukena while praying both at home and at the mushola (small mosque) that she frequents. Since she was 23, when her mother died, she realised that what she did with her lover, Mira, was a sin and started reading religious books to discover what they said about people like her. She accepted the traditional interpretation of the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. When she was 25 years old, Mira left her to marry a man. Sandy was broken hearted and considered suicide. In that period of great distress, she realised that God prohibits suicide and just wanted her to give up her sinful life. She struggled hard against her desires for women and the masculinity in her:

"If I walk with women, I feel like a man; that I have to protect them. I feel that I am stronger than other women. But I also feel that I am a woman, I am sure that I am a woman, that is why I feel that I am different from others. I accept my own condition as an illness, not as my destiny. ... Yes, an illness, because we follow our lust. It we try to contain our lust, as religion teaches us, we would never be like this. So I try to stay close to God. I do my prayers, and a lot of zikir.[18] I even try to do tahajjud.[19]"

Sandy believes in the hereafter and does not want to spoil her chances of eternal bliss by engaging in something so clearly disproved of by religion, although she has not found any clear prohibitions against lesbianism in either the Quran or hadith.

Bhima, who considers himself to be a secular person, was brought up in a Muslim family. His identity card states that he is a Muslim, which got him into serious trouble when he went for his first sex-change operation at the end of the 1970s. He went through the necessary tests but the doctors hesitated when they looked at his ID, fearing the wrath of conservative clerics. Bhima was desperate:

"Listen, I have come this far! I have saved up for this, sold my car, relatives have contributed, how can you do this to me? Tell me what other religion I should take up and I will immediately get my identity card changed. I have never even been inside a mosque. I don't care about any institutionalised religion!"

The doctors did not heed his plea, instead advising him to get a letter of recommendation from a noted Muslim scholar. Undaunted, Bhima made an appointment with a progressive female psychologist who had been trained in Egypt and often gave liberal advice on Muslim issues on the radio. He managed to persuade her to write a letter of introduction to the well-known Muslim scholar Professor Hamka. Letter in hand, Bhima presented himself at the gate of Hamka's house, and was let in by the great scholar himself. Bhima pleaded his case, upon which Hamka opened the Quran and pointed to a passage that read "when you are ill, you must make all attempts to heal yourself":

"Are you ill?" Hamka asked. Bhima nodded vehemently. "Fine, so then tell them that the Quran advises to heal your illness." "It is better, sir," Bhima suggested, "that you write that down for them."

With that letter, Bhima had no problem to be accepted for the first operation, in which his breasts were removed.

Widows [...] In Eliana's case religion played an important role in her marriage--and subsequent divorce. While still at school, she had joined an usroh group (created to teach students about religious and social issues in the days of the Suharto dictatorship). Proper sexual behaviour played an important role in their teachings. According to usroh, a wife must be sexually subservient to her husband and accept all his wishes, even if they involve him taking a second wife. Eliana felt close to her spiritual leader and tried to sexually behave as a good Muslim wife would. She forced herself to give in to all her husband's sexual wishes, including blow jobs and watching pornography with him. Yet the leader blamed Eliana for not doing enough to please her husband, saying that is why he needed a second wife. Her teacher even asked if she was a lesbian, because she could not satisfy her husband. As both her spiritual leader and husband agreed that it was not nice for a man to have an intellectually-superior woman, she played down her intelligence. Eventually she divorced her husband.

Internalised lesbophobia and conservative-religious (in this case, Muslim) norms prevented Jenar for enjoying the short lesbian relationship that she had between her two marriages. It is interesting how she phrases the conversation, starting on the topic by emphasising how much she distrusted men after her divorce (because her husband did not financially provide for their family). The relationship with her woman lover was not long underway, and had not advanced beyond kissing, but she immediately felt that, according to religion, what she did was laknat (cursed). Anyway, she added, she was a 'normal,' heterosexual woman and did not feel much aroused when they were touching. A middle-aged, male friend added to her feeling of discomfort by emphasising that she would be cursed by God if it would continue. He then took her to a dukun (shaman), where she was bathed with flowers at midnight in order to cure her. That was apparently successful, for she gave the relationship up. However, even though she had stressed that she was 'normal' and did not respond sexually to her lover's advances, she ended the conversation by saying that she felt lesbianism was a 'contagious disease'. That remark stresses her own internalised homophobia but also emphasises her helplessness and lack of agency--contagion is something that cannot be avoided. It also hints at the strength of the pull she felt for a contagion that apparently could not be easily ignored. The important role of the dukun indicates that she follows the syncretist stream of Islam, mixed with elements of the pre-Islamic Javanese religion--Kejawen. [...]

Women in same-sex relationships [...]

As in India, the human-women's-lesbian-rights discourse is gaining momentum in Indonesia. It could only develop after 1998, when the country's dictator was finally forced to resign and a new climate of political openness was created. The new sexual-rights organisations not only opened a public space to discuss women's and sexual rights but also impacted on the behaviour of individuals within their organisations (as discussed in more detail in chapter 9). Before Lee joined a lesbian-rights group, he had decided to undergo sex-reassignment therapy (SRT) to physically become a man as much as possible. Activists warned him of the operations' health risks and asked whether he really needed such a change in order to live with his spouse. Lee feels secure within the group, and is happy to find like-minded people with whom he can share many of his concerns. Lee actively sought them out after reading a newspaper article about a gay male activist: he tracked him down at his workplace and obtained the address of the lesbian group. Lee is less afraid of what will happen when their neighborhood find out that Lee's body is female--as he says: "I have done nothing wrong, I haven't disturbed anyone, I have never asked anyone for food." However, Lee is worried about the media, where gay men and lesbian women are often represented as the sources of disease and disaster.

Lia had no idea what a lesbian was when she first fell in love with a woman. There were many tomboys like her playing in the school's softball team, and she once spotted a female couple in another school's softball team. Her relationship with Santi developed without, as Lia says, any guidance of previous information. Only at college in Yogyakarta did she start reading about homosexuality on the internet. Through the Suara Srikandi portal (one of the first lesbian groups in Jakarta), she came to know of other Indonesian lesbians. Another website that she frequently visited was the Indonesian Lesbian Forum, and one of her lecturers introduced her to the gay and lesbian movement in her city. In 2004, she publicly came out at a press conference. She first joined the KPI, which has an interest group of sexual minorities, but found the attitude of her feminist friends to be unsupportive and decided to join a lesbian-only group. The women activists only wanted to discuss the public role of women and domestic violence, and told her that lesbianism was a disease and a sin.

Lia wants to broaden the lesbian movement. She feels the movement is good in theory but lacking in practice--particularly in creating alliances with other suppressed groups, such as farmers and labourers. In focusing only on lesbians, not on discrimination and marginalisation itself, she asserts that it has become too exclusive. By socialising with other movements, she argues, they will better understand lesbian issues, and, in turn, that will help the lesbian movement. It is true, she concedes, that lesbians are stigmatised by all groups in society but, since 1998 (the fall of General Suharto), the country has seen a process of democratisation. "We must take up that opportunity and not be scared of stigma," she exhorts her friends in the lesbian movement. Lia herself joined a small, radical political party, the PRD,[33] and faced stigma ("we have a lesbian comrade; that's a sin, isn't it?"), but feels that she has ultimately been welcomed. Now, her major problem is to find the finances to conduct her activism. At the time of the interview, she had lost her job and could not find the means to print handouts for her PRD comrades.

Lia is a brave forerunner. At the time of the interview, her lesbian friends were too scared to follow in her footsteps and told her that she was only dreaming. However, her heterosexual friends (in the labour movement) said that they were bored with her, and found her insistence of a connection between the struggle for sexual and labour rights to be too pushy.

Lia dreams of equal rights for lesbians. First, she would like to see a gay-marriage law implemented in Indonesia, which would ensure that the property rights of surviving spouses are protected in case one passes away. She also would like to set up a shelter for lesbians, as she knows many young lesbians who have been thrown out of their family homes and are in need of support.

Sandy is rather hesitant about the rights she would like to see introduced to Indonesian society. Most of all, she wants to be accepted as a normal human being, where no one says bad things about or harasses lesbians like her. What women do in the privacy of their bedrooms is one thing. Women should have the right to have sex, for it comes straight from the heart--it is pure love. But, in public, their behavior should be impeccable: no kissing, no hugging, no holding of hands. However, Sandy thinks that marriage rights for lesbians will not happen in Indonesia, and are only possible in Christian countries. But, minimally, she hopes to lead a life without discrimination or violence:

"If they see us as normal, they won't bother us. We are human, but if we act provocatively then it is ok for them to even hang us ... [I just hope they] won't harass us, or humiliate us. That is all I ask, that if we are being humiliated there is a law to prevent it. That a person like me is protected. To be laughed at is okay, but it is too much if they throw stones at us and if we are not allowed to work."

Sex workers want the right to work without being harassed, and women in same-sex relationships want to be treated like 'normal' human beings and enjoy socio-sexual rights, such as health benefits or the right to buy joint property. Yet the state does not provide those rights and does not protect its citizens in equal measure. As a major agent of heteronormativity, it restricts its benefits and protection to those within its margins. Couples with social stigma and conservative-religious interpretations, some of our narrators have reached deep levels of depression.

[no-pennies4thoughts]

hi there! i figured i would send you an ask since from browsing your blog, you seem to be a pretty cool person to talk to and rather knowledgeable.

i’ve been having this problem where i don’t really know what i’m experiencing — body dysphoria or gender dysphoria. i’ve been identifying as non-binary for several years, and although sometimes i don’t mind presenting/being perceived as my agab, i have days where if someone refers to me as it, i feel my skin crawl and honestly detest it. i also feel no connection to my agab and what i’m supposed to be like according to it, and i also don’t feel a strong connection to the “opposite” gender.

ive been fine with the nb label for a while. it felt like the right fit. i have some degree of dysphoria for sure and i’m in an awkward middle where neither of the binary genders feel right for me. but as i entered the bi/pan discourse space (as a bi person who doesn’t have a preference for either gender, and was fucking tired of pannies), i found a lot of battleaxe bis were also either opposed to nb ppl or said they didn’t get it. this got to me. i don’t want to hinder binary trans people because they already have it hard. but i don’t feel like i belong in this binary.

and it’s not some sort of like, hatred of cis people either. i don’t think cis people inherently suck or are inferior or anything. i wouldn’t hate myself if i were cis. i don’t want to be « special » by not being cis. i’d be fine with being cis if it felt right to say « i am [agab] » but most of the time it doesn’t.

is that gender dysphoria? or am i projecting something onto it? i can’t think of anything. i’m very happy with being bisexual and i have no problem with either binary trans people or cis people. i do have very strong body dysmorphia, though. i don’t know. i don’t want to be a nuisance to other trans people, too. i thought you could have helpful insight, and if not you, someone who follows you might.

have a great day, thank you for your time 💕

I'd definitely sit down and try to dissect where your feelings are coming from. Some questions to ask yourself:

-what stereotypes are tied to my agab?

-how much do I fit those stereotypes?

-what stereotypes are tied to the oppose gender as my agab? How much do I fit those?

-am I somewhere in the middle of those stereotypes?

-when someone refers to me as my agab on those days where my skin crawls, what was I doing? Was I dressed more feminine or masculine? Was it tied to something with stereotypes (Ex:"Oh you're good a sewing. You'll make a great wife one day." Or "I need a strong man to help me carry this")? Or was it just... No real pattern? They just referred to me as my agab and it made me feel bad.

-how do I feel about the physical sex characterists of my agab?

-lets image myself as the opposite gender... How does having those physical sex characterists sound?

-lets imagine myself as completely non binary physically. No sex characterists at all. None. Let's imagine myself going throughout my normal day. Thoughts? How about doing bedroom stuff (if you're into that)? Thoughts in that?

-if I had a button that would make me the opposite gender or 100% non binary but I had no control over how I looked (you could end up with any body shape, any health issue, any height, etc. Would I press it? How much thought would I need to put into deciding?

If you're issues fall more into line with the PHYSICAL characteristics of gender then I'd say I'd keep looking into your issue being a gender one. Especially with that last question. If you answered yes then you're probably on the right track with having gender dysphoria. But I'm not a therapist.

On the other hand. If your issues are more about gender stereotypes, then I'd say you're looking more towards body dysmorphia. With HEAVY influence from gender roles and stereotypes making you feel ashamed of who you are. But again, I'm not a therapist.

Unfortunately being gender non conforming comes with a lot of backlash. Especially in certain areas. It's tough. Especially when people expect and want you to act a certain way that's... Just not you. I'd suggest finding a good therapist (you might have to try a few if they aren't giving you what you need). And talk about how your feeling. Where the dysphoria/dysmorphia is stemming from. Is it the physical body or is it gender roles? That'll help point you in the right direction. From there, it's your personal journey of discovery. And I wish you luck on it.

[anti-anti-stevinel]

What the fuck is the deal with "ankle-beez"? They seem to be the biggest Steven Universe blog around. Every other SU blog I know (even the world's only proshipper Connverse normie, picturejasper20) reblogs from them.

They're also the world's biggest hypocrite.

They make analysis posts about the real message of SU, about love and forgiveness, against revenge and that sort of stuff.

At the same time, they are a hardcore anti-shipper bully.

They sent me gore and death threats last year when I was 17, for shipping Stevinel. Said "yer a pedo kill yerself!!11" (okay, that's paraphrased).

What's wrong with Stevinel?

Is it that Steven is "a minuh and not ready for sexual relationships"? Then, why is Connie, a human fourteen-year-old in-universe, ready for sexual relationships when it's with Steven? Why is Steven ready for it with Connie?

This leads me to believe it's the stated "aGe GaP!!11". In that case, Greg/Rose, which ankle-beez likes, is child rape (he wuz twenty an she wuz twentythousand!) That's fucking stupid. Kataang and Bubbline are "child rape" too, by those standards. Stating an exaggerated number next to a supernatural, non-aging, cartoon character does not child rape make. Is Katara a "necrophile" for having kids with Aang, a so-called "hundred-and-forty-something-year-old" character? Because 140-year-old men are all known to be dead? Is everyone who's read the Bible a Child Rapist™️, because the eternal, ageless God impregnated the thirteen-year-old Virgin Mary, as part of the biblical canon leading to the birth of Our Saviour Jesus Christ?

Also, by the same fucking stupid standards they use to call Spinel an "aDulT", Steven is one too. Gems don't fucking age. They're robots. If I have a 200-year-old baby doll, it's still a baby doll. Dolls don't age. Since Steven's gemstone (and with it, Pink's/his memories) has been around for 20000 years, he is "an adult", an "elderly man".

That brings me to the next point: one cannot "ship pedophilia". I wish I could "ship" mental disorders. I wish my autism, ADHD, OCD, Tourette's, depression and paranoia were as simple as fictional "ships".

More or less, "pedo" hysteria is NOT about protecting chilluns. When a child is murdered, nobody bats an eye. When child-on-child sexual abuse occurs, the same applies. Also, when an adult is raped. It's not about healing sexually abused children, or preventing rape. When adult-on-child sexual abuse occurs, the emphasis in media is never about helping the kid. It's always about torturing and murdering the "pedo" (sexual abuser). Basically, because nobody cares when there's no "pedo" to punish, it's not about protecting children, it's about hating people with mental disorders. Apparently, because I turned 18 two days ago, I lose my human right not to be raped.

What "paedophilia" actually is, is a mental disorder characterised by a greater level of arousal towards prepubescent individuals to pubescent ones. You cannot support or oppose it - you cannot be convicted for it or commit it - it's a disorder. Something you're pretty much born with and can't change. Conflating it with rape is like conflating "schizophrenia" with serial murder. While schizophrenic individuals have a higher murder risk compared to the general population, nobody ever says "commit schizophrenia" when talking about murder.

Fandom discourse is not a PhD. You cannot diagnose me with a disorder from the DSM-5 for writing the wrong fanfiction. You cannot convict me of a crime for it, either.

The most common anti argument that fanfic/hentai/whatever "encourages pedophilia". You cannot encourage a disorder. I will not magically sprout mental illness from reading fanfic. If you mean it ""encourages child rape"", if I were to rape someone, I could not blame reading a fanfic. Rape is caused by far deeper issues than having read a stupid fanfic.

Rick/Morty is canon in the multiverse, and Morty is a fictional teenager (who wishes incest porn had more mainstream appeal) with Rick, his equally fictional grandfather. So, who is raped by this? Nobody. Again, if you rape someone, you can't say Rick x Morty incest fanfic made you do it.

ALL ships are fine. Even stupid shit like Rick/Morty. Stevinel, though, isn't even of that kind. It's literally no worse than Bubbline, Kataang and Gregrose, all of which are canon to their shows.

So, what is it? "She """tried""" to kill him"? Strange. When Steven lets his shield down, Spinel could just blow him to fucking bits with that city-sized, injector-smashing fist of hers. She doesn't. SU's definition of "try" means "stop yourself". "Try" suggests someone else has to stop you with force, and that didn't happen, in which case, Steven "tried" to kill Greg in Mr. Universe, White (and with her, every Gem) in Homeworld Bound, and Connie in Buddle Buddies and every episode where he gets Connie into fights, and, and EVERYONE in Laser Light Cannon, Little Graduation and I am My Monster. He also "actually murdered" Jasper in Fragments by the standards (mind you, shattering isn't lethal and the Diamonds did nothing wrong).

Anti-shippers have implanted this stupid idea that non-aging things age as humans into my head. The idea is there to virtue-signal against MUH EBIL PEEDOUGHS. Now, I have paranoid thoughts about being a child rapist when I cuddle naked with a pillow that's been manufactured one year ago. Pillows don't age. But, in antis' heads, they do.

Why am I supposed to think of Spinel as an elderly woman? The character who is shorter, less mature and higher-pitched than Steven, sobs like a baby, plays peekaboo and gets adopted at the end of the movie?

It just disturbs me, honestly, how anklebeez can understand the show's message against violence and for healing, while literally murdering real children (and adults) for the rights of fictional ones, by bullying into suicide.

Why are they so popular? Anyway, I accidentally got carried away and wrote a masterpost when I meant for a quick ask. Hope you appreciate it.

Also, what determines whether a cartoon character is okay to "sexualise" or not?

Stated number? Then I can draw a stickman with a dick, then write the number 15 next to him, then you're a Child Rapist™️ for having looked at the image?

Height? Then is why is R34 of Madeline from Celeste, Sans and Amethyst, okay, when it's not okay for Steven and Hat Kid?

The word "kid"? Then, kill any teenager with a crush on a cartoon of Kid Cudi, I guess?

Don't harass ankle-beez. It's not worth it. Revenge is pointless. Never, though, have I been so confused by someone's self-contradictions.

Seriously.

Wow, this is huge, I didn’t know they allowed asks to get this long now, lol.

Um, but no comment on all of this since it’s just a rant, lol. But I don’t disagree.

[memecucker]

Wrt. neoteny, how do you feel about non-asian artists drawing characters in a "manga style", and japanese artists drawing non-asian women the same way they draw japanese women? I'm also curious about your thoughts on a lot of older shoujo manga set in "the west", where character's irises are often even bigger than is common in current styles (think Nishitani Yoshiko etc.) (I'm asking because what you said rings true but I'm not yet sure how the stuff I'm asking about fits in.)

Well, as long time followers familiar with me going off about cultural appropriation discourse might assume, I most certainly do not think there is any issue at all with non-Asians drawing in an anime art style. Or Japanese artists drawing non-Asian women a similar way. And while that isnt the most common CA discourse Ive seen it pop up rarely and it is rather stupid tbh.

Im a fan of Nishitani Yoshiko's art but havent properly read a manga of hers but she doesnt really seem to use size of irises as a marker of ethnicity if you compare her Asian and non-Asian character designs? Unless Im misinterpreting your question.

The purpose of large eyes in the "anime style" is for the sake of having a character express emotion. Its a technique thats been employed in animation since the beginning. Its not about referencing any real world physical differences that correlate with ethnic background. And besides, thats not even how white people are usually 'caricatured' in Asia anyway, the idea that white people get called "round-eyes" or whatever is more a project of white imagination. Just because eye shape can be seen as a principle marker of "Asianness" in Western stuff doesnt mean the same applies the other way around. That tends to be more things like nose shape or height and you can see this in lots of anime if there is a desire to physically 'mark' a character as being non-Japanese. Like this Azumanga Daioh clip. Stuff like a more pointed nose as well as height tends to be the more common way to mark that a character is white rather than eye shape. Another example of this was a controversial commercial from All Nippon Airways from 2014 where a Japanese actor essentially did “white-face” which consisted of a blond wig and a fake nose and not anything like taped open eyes (which given that the commercial is clearly not trying to hide the fake nose wouldnt be out of the wheelhouse).

I think I answered your question?

[gncrevan]

[image description: a Twitter thread by "jenny holzer truism machine" (@haringbisexual), link here.

Transcript:

very tired of internet clowns only (mis)using the concept of ableism to justify bad takes and shit behaviour, while actual severely disabled people literally die because of our oppression. very tired of ableism only being invoked in name and never seen as a legitimate issue.

"telling me not to buy from amazon is ableism" no you shithead, ableism is the force that gets people like me abused, neglected, institutionalized, sterilized and killed!!!

first of all, how privileged to you have to be to think the height of ableism is being told to not be an asshole online? but also, second of all, why are all you ableds so excited to jump on that every time?

the rates of abuse and poverty amongst disabled people are astronomical, yet the only mentions of ableism i see from non-disabled people is when someone used it again to justify their bad takes and i think this speaks volumes about how serious all of you take it.

those who co-opt anti-ableism that way are usually the ones least affected by ableism, and abled people fucking eat it up. you love to think of us like nothing but entitled dumbasses and of caring about ableism as meaningless internet discourse.

the truth is that all of you have held and expressed ableist ideas and probably still do. like how we shouldn't be allowed to have children or bodily autonomy or life support. you call people retarded and vegetables and invalid and useless and parasites.

it baffles me how unaddressed ableism still is even amongst so-called progressives. how many embrace eugenics in one way or another. how frequently everyone blames evil and bad behaviour on some kind of cognitive or mental issue. it's disgusting.

disabled people make up 15% of the world's population, 26% in the US, 17% in the EU, 22% in the UK. in many countries, disabled people are the largest single minority group, but you wouldn't know from how we're represented, or treated, or talked about.

/end.]

[shades-of-grayro]

i really hate how the aspec community is at each other's throats lately but i feel like it's such a recent thing. a year ago this just wasnt happening and then suddenly this person comes along and starts pitting alloaros against aces. before the blog quiet-times was around no one had any issues and then suddenly theres all these problems magically appearing out of thin air. i've identified as aroace for 3 years and been on tumblr for much longer (1/?)

and i NEVER saw any of these issues that they bring up constantly. i think that yeah some people are terrible but at this point it's a such a small portion of the community that it just doesn't matter but they make it seem like its everyone but they're just trying to get tumblr discourse points. it doesn't help that theyre so violent towards aces and constantly attack anyone who disagrees with them. (2/2)           

sorry for the rant but i just had to get this out and you were the only person i felt i could tell this to. and i didnt want to post about it on my blog because i'm genuinely afraid of them attacking me and sicking their deranged followers on me            

I can definitely relate with not wanting to directly confront that particular user. To be fair, I don’t think they genuinely hate aces, but they do seem to see everything as black-and-white, and when they say “aces” (as in “aces shut up”) it does tend to mean “people who disagree with me”, as they seem totally fine with aces writing to agree with them (and not okay with allo aros disagreeing, the couple of times it’s happened).

--

I will say that when you say “a year ago this just wasn’t happening” that’s not actually true, though I believe that’s your perception of it. A year ago this was actually at its height, and I took a two-month hiatus from tumblr exactly because this was happening (see: Feb. 2019 Carnival of Aros). Though the voices that used to be the loudest and angriest are much quieter now, I think because they’ve gotten a bit more involved in activism and have found a productive outlet for that (understandable) frustration.

I’d say this current environment has been building for about the past two years, though the lack of allo aro representation within the aro community has been an issue that’s been on my radar since I joined this blog five years ago. So I think the feeling of “this is just popping up now” is probably just that you managed to avoid noticing it until now, not that it wasn’t happening.

--

I also want to affirm that there are significant intracommunity issues that allo aros face, even if you aren’t seeing the ones that quiet-times is complaining about. I’ve personally heard other aces say some nasty things about allo aros. Honestly my biggest criticism with the issues that are brought up most often (by everyone, not just quiet-times) are that they’re like... the least serious of the issues that could be addressed?

Like, the kind of issues I’ve seen are aces saying things like “well allo aros have hookup spaces like tinder and dances so do they really need aro community spaces?” and “If we invite allo aros into this space, then it’s going to turn into a hookup space and I won’t feel safe”. I kid you not - other than the paraphrasing, these are real things I’ve heard irl aces say.

But then the issue I see talked about most is mistagging which is like... 1) no longer an issue, 2) it’s mostly non aces doing it, and 3) half of the posts they target aren’t mistagged they just don’t get it. Why is this what they’re focusing on? (And sometimes straight-up made-up issues like “aces stealing aro terms” that were created by aces in the first place smh.)

And this weakens their argument in the eyes of people like you, because when all the things you see them complaining about are questionable at best, you stop believing them.

--

Then my second issue is that they (and again, I mean multiple people here), act as though being allo aro makes them immune to being acephobic, or that since they perceive aces as oppressing allo aros, it’s not possible for them to be acephobic, which just... isn’t true (and I think they know that?).

Like a lot of the criticisms of queeragamic were uncomfortably close to the classic “asexuality is tmi; don’t tell me about your sex life.” Which... you can complain about the word without... saying that? Thanks?

Speaking of queeragamic, there was also a lot of generalizing that ALL aces will immediately flock to that word. Which, if they stopped telling aces to shut up for one minute and engaged in a conversation with them about the term, they’d realize that the vast majority of aces (at least within the circles I talk to) dislike the word queeragamic, meaning they’re fretting (and harassing people) over nothing. And it’d be a whole lot less stress on them honestly.

--

I will say that whatever nonsense has been happening lately with allegedly ace people trying to join allo aro community spaces is pretty messed up. I say allegedly because it’s so ridiculous that I have a hard time believing that the people pulling this actually believe the things they are saying - it just seems like they want to make allo aros feel unsafe and/or stir up community drama. Which seems like something that a non-ace/aro aphobe would be as likely to do as a misguided/hateful ace person.

--

Lastly, I highly recommend just blocking people or taking a break from tumblr. I don’t take my own advice when it comes to ace and aro intracommunity issues (until someone devolves into sending me anon hate), but I really recommend that you do so. It will be so much better for your mental well-being.

[lets-mentalhealth-blog]

Reclaiming Good Mental Health

What's good mental health? Many of us are pretty much psychologically healthy, which usually varies through our way of life especially once we cope with difficult existence occasions, change and so forth. Whether we refer to this as mental wellbeing, happiness, contentment, positive mindset, each one of these terms connect with good mental health.

With this health, it's a part of our everyday discourse to become inspirational. You want to feel in good physical shape, energetic, strong, balanced within our weight, eating a healthy diet plan, supple, resilient and never vulnerable to minor ailments. Sure we complain about our problems, and discuss the way we can't do everything we all know we have to do brightlifecounselling.co.uk says. 

We all know it is sometimes complicated to remain physically healthy without working in internet marketing, particularly if we have experienced health issues. We all know that even when we achieve the height of health and fitness, we can not maintain this throughout our way of life without having to pay focus on it.

Research informs us so good mental health is much more advantageous than good health. An optimistic mental outlook boosts the rate and speed of recovery from serious, even existence threatening, illness. Mental resilience and wellbeing gives people the force to show problems into challenges into triumphs.

Yet whenever I ask someone to inform me what words enter into mind with regards to 'mental health', their responses have to do with mental ill-health! It's as though the word continues to be hi-jacked to get totally problem-focused.

Meanwhile, we are experiencing a crisis of mental ill-health. About one in 4 individuals are experiencing some type of common mental health condition for example depression, anxiety as well as other linked to stress signs and symptoms. GP surgeries are overwhelmed with your problems, mental health services is only able to provide support for that 1% of people with a lot more severe mental health difficulties, and there is a variety of largely unregulated services, treatments and remedies on the non-public market. A current study demonstrated that almost all lengthy term sickness absence from work resulted from linked to stress conditions.

The problem with concentrating on the issues and also the discomfort, is the fact that that is what we become experts in. We are searching for cures and coverings to repair the problem, rather of concentrating on why is permanently mental health. We all know that health is multi-dimensional - no-one imagines that pumping iron to construct parts of your muscles is really a recipe for overall health, even though it will make you more powerful for several activities.

[dustyembrace]

I've decided to switch from #Goblincore

Hey. So there has been a TON of discourse in the goblincore community surrounding the harmful portrayal of Jewish people as goblins. For me, and for every other person I know who has identified with this culture of being "goblin" it has been absolutely nothing of the sort, and personally has actually helped me in so many ways.

Before I continue, I just want to say that this is in no way me saying that people who are uncomfortable with the goblincore community because of the antisemitic background of goblins should feel guilty or invalid in feeling such a way, nor am I trying to gain sympathy in talking about my past and current struggles. I also do not hope that this is seen as an excuse, but rather as an explaination, and furthermore, an apology. I would just like to clear the air a bit and explain why the goblincore community has been helpful to me as a way to further communicate to the Jewish community that this blog was never meant to be a form of aggression, mockery, or hate, (and why it has taken a little while for me to switch this blog's content.) Despite it being a good and loving community for me, as a goyim I know it so not my place to say what is and is not antisemitic, which is why I refuse to argue against the antisemitic connotation many feel it has. (The same way I can not define what is and is not racist, as I am white.) I do, however, feel like I need to give this community a proper goodbye.

So let me start by saying this: I used to feel really, really bad about myself because of how "weird" everyone told me I was.

One way that the goblin community has helped me feel okay, is in my weird habits. I've been "collecting" (or as the goblincore community calls it, "hoarding") since I was around 14 because I didn't have a lot of love in my life, and even fewer loving people, so finding things like stray marbles, pretty rocks, shiny bottle caps, etc was my way of putting love into things that I knew no one else would love. Because I knew what it felt like. But of course not many in my life would see it that way, and I was ridiculed by my family and friends for the excitement and happiness these tiny things gave me, as well as the love I expressed for these things. Being in the goblincore community made me realize I was not alone in this.

I have also had many issues with accepting interests and hobbies of mine, rather than seeing them as something embarrassing. Not only do I like to collect things that wouldn't matter to most people, but I also enjoy dressing up in the tackiest and ugliest clothes I can find. I like putting random colors of acrylic paint on my face in no appealing manner. I get so excited and happy at times that I don't know what to do other than jump and run and yell (what a lot of people call "going feral" which is something I know a lot of people in the goblin community do, and also the first place for me to learn and see this term.) As a goblin, I was allowed to like bugs, frogs, rats, and slimey things that people in my real life could not ever understand, but other people, who just happen to use the term "goblin" to describe themselves, did. These are all things that I used to hate myself for, wishing I didn't like doing these things and that they didn't make me as happy as they do so I could be "normal," but seeing other people loving to do the same thing and putting a word to them gave me confidence and comfort in doing them. I finally felt allowed to like things simply for the sake of liking them.

Though, goblincore has probably helped me most with my appearance. To be "goblin," you can be so not conventionally attractive, and it didn't matter in any way because goblin isn't about what you look like, it's about how you feel. To be "goblin," your body shape doesn't matter. Your height and weight (something I've been personally insecure about for as long as I can remember,) don't matter. You can get dirty and messy, and it wouldn't matter. You could have weird physical features and it wouldn't matter. These would all just be something else to add to the ever growing list of all things "goblin." On top of all of these things, the people in this community see nothing wrong with being "ugly," and can find beauty in the things society deems ugly. I've been struggling with body dysmorphia since last school year, but being in a community that made looking ugly and weird and different seem so okay, and even GOOD at plenty of times, in a way and to an extent I had never seen before asisted me in becoming more accepting of my body for what it is. I do of course still struggle with my appearance, but being in this community has helped me realize that it's okay to look the way I view myself. That it really REALLY doesn't matter.

To be honest...in a way, it was a way for me to escape the stressful ways of life. Appearance and money and society and people. As embarrassing as it is for me to admit, my brain created a whole fantasy world of being green with big, floppy ears, living in a swamp. A world where I don't have as unhealthy of a body as I do and that I could run and jump and climb like most people. It was a escape, and it helped me to de-stress BIG time.

And tumblr was the only place where I could express my extreme love for these countless little trinkets I keep in organized boxes and chests in my room and actually have people listen (and agree!). Tumblr was the only place I could talk about how all of these things most people deem "gross" were actually nice and made me happy. Tumblr let me share my drawings and idea of this fake world and my wacky clothing and I was finally alright with expressing these things instead of bottling them all up where the world couldn't ever see them.

I know this all probably sounds stupid to and will be dismissed by all of the people who don't get it. But it's the same reason some people age regress. It helps in some ways cosplaying and hyperfixating both do. And just because some people don't get it doesn't mean it's not valid.

It is because of all of these things that I will not judge anyone who chooses to stay in the community, and I would not ever send hate to anyone who does so. (Nor will I break mutuals!)

But I've been feeling so completely torn up by guilt for continuing this blog, as I know this blog is only where I express these things, and it's existence will not change how I view myself, nor how I live my life. But to think that the way I have chosen to express all of the weird things about myself no one has ever accepted before, and to think that the vocabulary I have chosen to put to my strange habits is also hurting other people, sending and spreading a harmful message, and making Jewish people think I am unsafe pains me. More than having to bottle this all up again would. At least until I find a better and more appropriate outlet (art, writing, something I can keep more to myself) to express these things.

It is this want I have for the Jewish community to feel comfortable online that I will be switching this blog away from being specifically goblin, to be a combination of naturecore, crowcore, and also some ghostcore (as I've been beginning to resonate with that now, as well,) as a way to do my own part to let Jewish people know they are accepted.

Thank you, Goblincore Community, for helping me feel okay in my own being and skin after all these years of struggling to do just that. I now know, that none of these things make me all that "weird," that I don't owe anyone an explaination as to why these things make me happy, and most importantly: that I am not alone. I will never forget the joy I felt the day I found this community and couldn't help but think, and ask, over and over again "There's other people like me?"

But it is time I find a way to express it differently and use non-harmful vocabulary in doing so. Thank you if you read this far.

- the kid formerly known as 'goblin-gum' on tumblr dot com.

(Please no discourse in the comments. I was very genuine, and I tried my absolute best to be respectful and kind to both view points in this post. If you think something I said was disrespectful in some way, please let me know so I can fix my error(s).)