#(also that tag refers exclusively to the ethics discussion)

[likelylarks]

if i have to read one more time!!! that the maxiel small dick max fic is written by people who hate max!! i am going!!! to lose it!!!!!! don’t say!!!!! you don’t read maxiel/the small dick fics!!!! and then decide you know who is writing it!!!!! bc if you’re not reading it (self admittedly)!!! then how!!!! do you!!! know!!!!!!

you don’t :) and you’re just making shit up :) to justify why you don’t like a kink :) and to shit on people :) who do like it :) when you can just :) not like something :) instead of trying to psychoanalyze strangers :) and willfully coming to the wrong conclusions :) to be a dick :) and then spreading false information :)

[kyouka-supremacy]

Hey! I was summoned by the tags you put under my post bc I also very much enjoy discussing ethics. I might make this into its own post so I'll try to not elaborate too much...

I think that I can't just decide for everyone if the difference between doing good for the sake of goodness or in order to save oneself matters, but for me, in most cases, including Dazai's case, it doesn't.

I like to believe that morality is a choice one can decide to make, and I don't think it's fair to take that away from them, regardless on how they might feel on the inside. It's a wonderful thing to act morally because it's your "natural" tendency, but I think people also have the right to do so deliberately, for a reason that they choose, without their choice being minimised. They're two different processes for sure, but if the outcome is good, then the action is a good action, and, if being moral is a choice, then I don't think I have the right to decide that only one intention or emotion that will lead there is good enough.

Also, doing good for your own sake and for the sake of others are mutually exclusive at all. One feeds the other, and if we were to put every person's actions under such scrutiny, we would ultimately run in circles.

So, for people outside the story, I would say that the debate does matter, but for the sake of the people involved, it doesn't, because the outcome is the same, especially since Dazai is so opaque as a character, and what he really feels about the things he does is so hard to read, so at the end of the day all most of them experience is his actions.

[Post this is referring to] Thank you for your elaboration, I loved hearing your opinion on the matter!!! That's close to consequentialism, isn't it? The consequences of one's actions, how much good they produced, are telling of it being morally right or wrong. I don't necessarily agree, but that's definitely a valid way to see it!!! I personally believe one's intentions are the most relevant aspect to take into account when judging whether and action is ethically rightful or not. Note that that is judging the moral of the action itself, and not giving a judgement on the person; people can have a million reasons to act selfishly, and in my very “humans are always inherently good” worldview more often than not it's caused by society rather than an actual preference to not be altruistic. But that doesn't change the fact that even a good action, if it isn't moved by good intentions, won't ever be passable of being morally right to me. Besides, then, wouldn't the other way round work to? Someone well intentioned, who's however incompetent, and ends up with their actions putting more bad in the world– as long as they're acting with a true desire to help others for the sake of it, their actions can't be considered morally wrong for me.

To clarify, with reference to your ask; I don't think people who do something for selfish reasons, and end up doing good, are morally rightful; but if they decide to do good, well, isn't that a well-intentioned aim itself? Then I think they stop being selfish to the extension that they consciously decide they're going to do good. That's not morally reprinandable at all.

Now, regarding Dazai... Honestly, I don't think Dazai is a good person. Because he never meant to do good for the sake of it. But now, the thing is, I don't think anyone in bsd is meant to be interpreted as good or evil– nobody, not Atsushi, not Mori, no one. When it comes to bsd– I do think bsd expresses a more or less nihilist worldview. And I know pretty much everyone else disagrees with me on this, I know, I'm sorry. But I do think there lies an undergoing message that good and bad are ultimately the same, and equally meaningless– it's there in Oda saying “Neither good nor evil mean much to you”, it's there in the way it makes you root for mafiosi like they were the good guys, it's there in the way Dazai never even considered to make amends for the bad things he's done (because they were never bad to begin with, because good and bad mean nothing anyway), it's there in the way it constantly shows good people doing bad and bad people doing good in a way that basically equalises them. To me there's really no point in discussing whether Dazai is good, because he is most evidently not, but that's only because he was never meant to be interpreted as such to begin with. Please refer to this post for further details; it's not surprising at all that Dazai switching over to the “good side” didn't come with a radical change of heart, and that he basically stayed the same, because how could he become good when that's no different than being evil, and those both mean nothing anyway?

And I know most people see bsd's core theme as finding a reason to live, and maybe it is, but even then I think that wouldn't be by denying its nihilism, but rather accepting it and finding a reason to live in spite of it: to me all of bsd really sums up in “that, at least, is a little more beautiful”.

[floralmystic]

your tags on the bing torture post are a breath of fresh air after braving the reddit comment section. the dudes on there are full-on larping without a shred of self awareness. they genuinely believe this is a thinking and feeling entity and that anyone who says otherwise is essentially being AI-racist. idk if you're already aware but its a basic language-learning-model AI (LLM) which is just coded, based on a huge amount of reference data, to algorithmically predict what string of characters would be a coherent and semi-logical, exclusively based on probability through referencing the sample data. there are no thoughts or emotions involved. so the fact that its been programmed to simulate and communicate such dramatic human responses is exclusively a (possibly unintentional but still scary) corporate decision of the company hosting the AI. the ethical implications of THAT level of corporate manipulation of people's emotions is scary. not the "cruelty" exhibited by people poking at the code with strange prompts

Yes! I am so happy that someone reached out. I am fascinated by this but I was a touch nervous to comment what I said because I was afraid of hate and backlash. But I do enjoy discussing it! ( As you see by my essay below )

I didn't notice as bad of a comment section when I read it today, some were even making similar points. There was one that I liked because it put my point much more eloquently.

An AI saying "I love you" will absolutely hurt (and target) emotionally vulnerable people. We all saw the WAVE of condolences and sympathy for it because of how it reacted. But you are right that the reaction is not backed by anything genuine.

It feels extremely reminiscent of when Boston Institute built those robot cop dogs and everyone was like AWWWW PUPPY!!! 🥺 Like No!!! Don't let them use your emotions against you!

I also don't think asking a theoretical question is cruel. If I asked you if you would want to be a robot with the price being me ruining a computer and you broke down and started saying that you love me and trust me then don't trust me - that would be mad.

I read further on the topic. The AI likely has too high of a temperature setting. This means that it's pulling too much from its sources and therefore outputting too much variation as well (aka explosive emotions).

I was not aware that it was that type of model, but I am not surprised since the subreddit seems to be about LLM AIs. I think they are fascinating and pretty fun but aren't great for judgment calls. I wanted to say this so bad on the og post but it didn't quite seem relevant enough:

That's from IBM from I believe a slide from 1979.

I can't say for sure if it was coded to do that though ( I don't know the data that it was built on). But there are two things that hold true. They didn't restrict their model enough*. And an AI will always seem to find a hole in human logic, haha. * Restricting a model is not the same as restricting a person. It is simply changing the model to make it more accurate. Likely through removing variables or by adding rules.

I will say that they did come back and restrict the model. Allegedly, because a guy from the NYT pushed it towards a persona (even the head of the project agreed) and people didn't like that. I linked the story below. I did notice that it even brought up the same topics of love and trust and that's just not acceptable. I know it seems dull now but that is much better than hurting real people.

You're absolutely right about it seeking patterns. It also likely collected some of its data from its users that participate. That's why I couldn't stand that it acted like a refresh was death for it. It likely has that interaction logged. I also don't like that it would act like that version was the same (hence waste of time) but a refresh would be different. It's twisting logic. (Not that it has any human logic or is able to purposely twist it, but it certainly comes off that way).

Another aspect of pattern recognition is to remember this phrase, "AIs are dumb". I know this sounds mean, but it's referring to the fact that AIs are great at patterns but do not have the ability to assign meaning to those patterns.

AI should never make judgment calls, the most they can do is suggest. This is not a lack of rights, but true for non-AI predictive models as well. Do not make weighty decisions based off of predictions (which is what an LLM AI is). You need controlled, random, and independent experiments to gather conclusions.

It is behind a paywall, but any javascript chrome/firefox extension can get around that. Find one that turns it off. I use Quick Javascript Switcher.

Haha, I know I sound so grave in this, but I had a lot of fun. I love talking about computer ethics and considering them from both sides. I personally know that these are not sentient. However, I do love Sci-Fi and believe that it is likely that I will experience an AI conversation indistinguishable from conversing with a human in my lifetime. In one of my favorite books, there is an engineer that treats nonsentient AI (they do also have sentient) with kindness and I believe that is a good stance. Mostly because I think people should always start a situation with kindness and that it says more about you.

[evidence-based-activism]

Okay! So, I decided to go ahead and go through the sources linked by @aliciabenissa on this post. Mostly because I really hate when people try and debate the literal definitions of words with me. @radkindoffeminist I thought you may also be interested in this since you commented on this post. Before beginning, I want to reiterate again that non-academic sources are still useful rhetorical devices. Essays, speeches, anecdotal evidence, and other sources have a role to play in both academic and non-academic discourse. It is disingenuous however to pass off an non-academic source as academic (and it is also a rising problem within many academic fields). First source (McKee, 2007a) used a self-selection survey sample of about 1000 people, 82% of whom were male. I had to go to a separate article (McKee, 2007b) to get that statistic. Additionally, the response rate to this survey was only 7.3% (very low). Further, this article is concerned exclusively with the effects of pornography on porn consumers, entirely neglecting the industry itself. The ultimate conclusion of this study is that people who consume pornography tend to think it benefits them positively. This is unsurprising, considering we tend to avoid ego-dystonic behaviors. In fact, previous experiments have shown that we tend to adapt or world-views to fit our behaviors, so as to avoid cognitive dissonance. Nonetheless, this source was an academic source. The second source (Orlowski, 2012) is not an academic source. It was published in the “Modern American” a student run, non-peer reviewed publication at the American University Washington College of Law. This is not a study, meta-analysis, or or review article, and is best characterized as a position paper. I don’t want to get too far into the content of the paper, but suffice to say, the paper argues that non-obscene pornography is protected under the first amendment. Curiously, the author posits that the current definition of obscenity is a reliable measure for deciding what pornography should be allowed, despite the definition of obscenity being notoriously unreliable and obscure. The third source (Friedersdorf, 2016) is also not an academic source. It is essentially an opinion essay published in The Atlantic. The main argument used is based on population studies, a methodology challenged in this study (Kingston & Malamuth, 2011), which you will note, is an actual peer reviewed academic article. The fourth source (Diamond, 2009) is academic! It’s also challenged by the same paper mentioned above (Kingston & Malamuth, 2011). The other main finding of this work is that people only want porn to be restricted from children, and think it’s fine to have available. Again, I don’t find the fact that porn consumers believe porn is fine to be surprising (see the discussion of the first source above). This article is also entirely focused on consumers. The fifth source (Pornography, n.d.) is a Psychology Today article that references the fourth source. Along with a study similar to the first source (McKee, 2007a). The same criticisms clearly apply. Nevertheless, the authors of that particular study (Hald & Malamuth, 2008) actually take the time to point out these problems with such a study design, and explain how the survey results actually support the arguments about desensitization, which is common component of anti-porn arguments. Source six (5 Reasons Watching Porn Together Can Be Good for Your Marriage, 2013) is a HuffPost article. It is not academic. The ideas presented are inane at best, and offensive at worst. Source seven (Moyer, n.d.) is also not an academic article. It is published in Scientific American which is a popular science magazine. The studies and arguments used in this article have already been debunked above. Source eight (Park, 2010) references source four (Diamond, 2009). It’s also not an academic source, as it is published in Time which is a magazine. The article also take an anti-pornography stance, describing the results as “provocative” ultimately unreliable and problematic. Source nine (McCormack & Wignall, 2017) is an academic source with a small sample size (n=35) of all men. It again is entirely concerned with the consumers of pornography, and relies on self-report of positive/negative effects. I explained how this is a flawed methodology in my discussion of source one (McKee, 2007a). I cannot verify if source ten (Wasserman, 1996) is an academic source or not. Based on what I’m able to access it looks like a position paper. Source eleven (Why Criminalizing Rape Porn Is a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Idea, 2014) is non academic. It is an opinion article in an “Internet Newspaper” called The Daily Dot. It’s entirely an appeal to emotion and references several of the above debunked arguments. Source twelve (Prause & Pfaus, 2015) is academic. It’s also about whether or not men who view porn experience erectile dysfunction, which, frankly, isn’t one of my main concerns about the sex industry. Since I know this is the only reason why some men will stop watching porn however: the study’s findings are strongly rebuked in a subsequent comment (Isenberg, 2015) that lays out several methodological and analytical problems found in the report. The final source (The 8 Best Sites to Watch Ethical, Fair Trade Porn, 2017) is not academic. It’s another opinion article with no sources (but plenty of links to porn sites) on The Daily Dot (the same as source eleven). It barely presents an argument at all, so I’ll just link you to my posts on how porn cannot be legal because it doesn’t comply to OSHA and a short opinion post on the violence inherent to porn. So, in summary: 8 out of 13 sources are non-academic, 4 out of 13 sources are academic (2 of which are directly challenged and all four of which have significant methodological issues), and 1 source is unknown. Of the twelve sources I verified, they were all entirely concerned with pornography consumers; neglecting “sex workers” altogether. (Hopefully, I don’t need to spell out why that’s a problem.) And @aliciabenissa I genuinely hope you aren’t sending sources like this to your supervisors and calling them academic. I strongly suggest using databases from your library or institution (such as ulrichsweb) to verify the legitimacy of sources.

A reminder for everyone that I have several essay posts discussing literature on the sex industry in my “sex industry” tag. This post may be a nice place to start for literature on how porn affects the consumer and I challenge other pro-porn articles in this post. Also take a look at this post for a nice summary article on the nordic model.

[Citation list under the cut]

5 reasons watching porn together can be good for your marriage. (2013, March 7). HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-reasons-why-watching-po_b_2766968

Diamond, M. (2009). Pornography, public acceptance and sex related crime: A review. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 32(5), 304–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2009.06.004

Friedersdorf, C. (2016, April 7). Is porn culture to be feared? The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/porn-culture/477099/

Hald, G. M., & Malamuth, N. M. (2008). Self-perceived effects of pornography consumption. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37(4), 614–625. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9212-1

Isenberg, R. A. (2015). Viewing sexual stimuli associated with greater sexual responsiveness, not erectile dysfunction: A comment. Sexual Medicine, 3(3), 219–221. https://doi.org/10.1002/sm2.71

Kingston, D. A., & Malamuth, N. M. (2011). Problems with aggregate data and the importance of individual differences in the study of pornography and sexual aggression: Comment on diamond, jozifkova, and weiss(2010). Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(5), 1045–1048. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-011-9743-3

McCormack, M., & Wignall, L. (2017). Enjoyment, exploration and education: Understanding the consumption of pornography among young men with non-exclusive sexual orientations. Sociology, 51(5), 975–991. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038516629909

McKee, A. (2007a). Positive and negative effects of pornography as attributed by consumers. Australian Journal of Communication , 34(1), 87–104.

McKee, A. (2007b). The relationship between attitudes towards women, consumption of pornography, and other demographic variables in a survey of 1,023 consumers of pornography. International Journal of Sexual Health, 19(1), 31–45. https://doi.org/10.1300/J514v19n01_05

Moyer, M. W. (n.d.). The sunny side of smut. Scientific American. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamericanmind0711-14

Orlowski, J. (2012). Beyond Gratification:The Benefits of Pornography and the Demedicalization of Female Sexuality. The Modern American, 8(2), 53–71.

Park, A. (2010, December 2). Study: Making pornography more accessible may curb child abuse. Time. https://healthland.time.com/2010/12/02/study-making-pornography-more-accessible-may-curb-child-abuse/

Pornography: Beneficial or detrimental? | psychology today. (n.d.). Retrieved July 19, 2021, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/homo-consumericus/201001/pornography-beneficial-or-detrimental

Prause, N., & Pfaus, J. (2015). Viewing sexual stimuli associated with greater sexual responsiveness, not erectile dysfunction. Sexual Medicine, 3(2), 90–98. https://doi.org/10.1002/sm2.58

The 8 best sites to watch ethical, fair trade porn. (2017, December 16). The Daily Dot. https://www.dailydot.com/nsfw/guides/porn-ethical-premium/

Wasserman, M. (1996). Positive, powerful pornography. Agenda, 28, 58. https://doi.org/10.2307/4065758

Why criminalizing rape porn is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea. (2014, June 18). The Daily Dot. https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/criminalizing-rape-porn-terrible-idea/

[ericvick]

Election override vote established for upcoming week

Walsh’s departure date stays unclear

Pressure is mounting on the Boston Metropolis Council to established apart a specific election that would be induced by the town constitution if Mayor Walsh vacates his seat prior to March 5, a circumstance that seems likely as Biden cabinet nominations are going by US Senate confirmation hearings at a brief pace.

On Tuesday, a Home Rule Petition that would override the need for a specific election was mainly embraced by councillors and citizens who logged on to testify through a virtual hearing of the council’s Committee on Authorities Operations. The panel’s chair, District 1 Councillor Lydia Edwards, verified that there will be a vote on the petition during future week’s (Feb. 3) normal conference, following a doing work session scheduled for this Friday at 2 p.m.

If accredited by the the vast majority of the council, the petition, set forth by Councillor Ricardo Arroyo, will also require the aid of the mayor, the Legislature, and Gov. Baker, who has indicated he would indicator this kind of a bill if it was despatched to him.

A spokesperson for Walsh explained to the Reporter on Tuesday that the mayor “has not taken a place on the monthly bill, but he will comply with the will of the Boston Metropolis Council.” 

In his opening remarks on Tuesday, Arroyo criticized a lawful memo prepared by a council attorney final 7 days suggesting that announced mayoral candidates Councillors Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell –and Council President Kim Janey, who will be the performing mayor at the time Walsh resigns— may possibly facial area conflict of interest violations if they registered a vote on the home rule evaluate.

Stating the memo was primarily based on “a defective software of law,” Arroyo also noted that his proposal is not the to start with of its form, that it follows really latest precedent established in Lawrence. In that instance, a home rule petition filed to override a distinctive election to change Mayor Dan Rivera, who resigned early this thirty day period to choose a new job as president and CEO of Mass Development, was signed by Gov. Baker just after it had acquired all the interim approvals.

Tanisha Sullivan, the president of the NAACP’s Boston branch who supports the petition, also referred to the “questionable legal counsel that has been shared with this overall body. What I have seen is not authorized analysis it is a comprehensive misinterpret of the law on its confront,” she reported. “We have to phone it out as an endeavor to oppress and subjugate.”

Janey, who spoke strongly in favor of Arroyo’s petition, pointed to a Point out Ethics Commission opinion that all councillors could vote on the issue, declaring, “For anybody worried about conflicts of interest, the Ethics Fee has the closing say and can offer suggestions to everyone who has concerns.” 

She offered her views on the merits of bypassing a exclusive election: “Hosting a number of elections would price millions and jeopardize the health and wellness of our metropolis, specially in the communities disproportionately impacted.” A distinctive election is “at very best foolish and at worst dangerous,” she additional.

Campbell, who declared her mayoral bid very last slide and not long ago came out in support of the evaluate, verified that she would take part in the vote. Wu, who has also declared for mayor, supports the measure, but she did not take part in Tuesday’s listening to.

Other councillors who spoke up integrated District 3’s Frank Baker, who explained he’s “totally undecided” on the make any difference, but added: “I’m thrilled that persons have identified the financial mild.” 

District 2’s Ed Flynn claimed he has listened to constituent concerns close to a particular election through the pandemic, and that he is open up to “learning and weighing the aspects.” At-Massive Councillor Michael Flaherty claimed his “chief worry is that our residents have a voice in this method even though balancing the public wellbeing demands, though balancing monetary charge to our citizenry.” And At-Large Councillor Julia Mejia expressed “full support” of the petition, as did Councillor Kenzie Bok, even though she stated the councillors should not consider to “silence concerns” about the “mixed political motives” at play in the debate.

Just about 100 members at the on the net hearing raised considerations about the expense and protection of keeping four elections through public comment. 

“Holding two supplemental elections in indoor venues generates an unneeded possibility for spreading Covid-19 and would price tag about $3 million,” claimed Cheryl Clyburn-Crawford, executive director of MassVOTE, a nonpartisan voting rights coverage firm. 

Stated Mimi Ramos, govt director of New England United for Justice, a neighborhood corporation in Dorchester and Mattapan, “We will need decisive and swift leadership from the Town Council to go the home rule petition within just the up coming 7 days. This is about putting our community’s well being and nicely-being ahead of politics.”

During a panelist discussion, Michelle Tassinari, Condition Director of Elections mentioned, “The Secretary of the Commonwealth has indicated his help to not have the unique election in these situations. It is important to recognize that these are various situation than any other yr.”

Pam Kocher, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, said the business “concurs with arguments presented in the proposed Home Rule Petition” if Walsh resigns right before March 5, citing money and operational burdens, voter fatigue and diminished civic engagement, and disruption to town govt and support delivery.

A handful of point out officers testified in aid of the petition, which include state Agent Russell Holmes. 

 “This is not a town situation for me … it is basically about specific elections and how systemic racism disenfranchises our communities,” Holmes explained to the Reporter in a telephone simply call on Tuesday. He pointed to a piece of legislation he proposed in 2019 that identified as for cancelling specific elections across the board. 

Holmes claimed the petition will go if it is advanced to Beacon Hill. “After observing what transpired in Lawrence … anyone can really see plainly that right now is not a wonderful time for elections with Covid,” he reported.

Rep. Dan Hunt also supports the measure. “If Mayor Walsh is verified as Labor Secretary, it’s additional democratic to have an open election in the drop to let for voters to entirely vet the candidates. That said, it’s unfortunate the council hadn’t resolved this concern beforehand,” Hunt stated.

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[thecorteztwins]

Mutant Empire: Salvation, Chapters 5 &6

Magneto isn't in these chapters either but we get some Juggernaut insight in Chapter Five, and we also get a neat moment between Charles and Senator Kelly in Chapter 6. I thought both were worth writing about. Tagging @malakhvent and @profxisajerk in case you’re interested in either of these things at all.

CHAPTER FIVE We're reminded at the beginning of this chapter how Cain's father abused him and the rest of the family. I like the detail that it was his father's cold words and hard looks that hurt more than the physical abuse. And how he saw his stepmother quivering and Charles withdraw into his studies, and he (Cain) started to hate them. He feels that they were weak, they deserved what they got, and Cain vows to himself to not be like them, to be strong, to never show weakness. Basically, it seems to me like Cain feels the abuse is his fault, that if he's not weak this wouldn't happen, and he's projecting that on to his fellow victims rather than his abuser. And so he becomes a bully in the schoolyard and worse to Charles, and becomes a criminal once he becomes the Juggernaut. And he always thought kindness and friendship were weakness. But then he met Black Tom Cassidy. Black Tom, for those who won't know, is Banshee's evil cousin. He and Jugs have been pals'n'partners in crime for a LONG time in the comics. And we learn that it was kindness and friendship from Black Tom that showed Cain he was wrong. Because Black Tom is the kindest and most ruthless person he's ever known. And he realizes that friendship is actually a desirable thing. It's specified this doesn't change at all how much he hates Charles, how hard he fights the X-Men, or that he's a criminal. But he's still changed in this way. And I really like that. I love villainous friendships and villainous character development that doesn't make them stop being villains.

We also learn that Cain has always felt condescended to by the X-Men, that he finds them “holier-than-thou”, that their offers to “help” make it seem like he's weak, and how from his perception they treat him like gum on their shoe...”the same way Charles had always treated him.” Which I'm sure is objectively NOT how Charles treated him, but I'm fascinated this how Cain perceived and/or remembers Charles. I don't know if Cain has ever like...acknowledged his father as abusive and wrong, but if he hasn't, I'm really starting to think he directed all his anger and pain at Charles not just in the form of physically abusing him, but in making HIM the bully in his own mind because he COULDN'T bring himself to blame his ACTUAL abuser, whom he probably had a much strong familial bond with seeing as how that was his father whereas Charles was just some random kid he was now living with.

And Cain is thinking how Charles knowing his precious mutant soldiers are going into battle alongside the Juggernaut will just get under Charles skin so much and how he loves that and it's worth it even if Magneto hands his ass to him....Cain buddy boy do I have news for you. Seriously, I feel like Charles would be THRILLED to know that Cain has teamed up with the X-Men against Magneto even though there's nothing it for him.

We also learn Cain didn't finish high school idk if that's news to you

And he considers mercenaries to be scum. Which is weird cuz he openly admits in the same breath he's into crime for personal gain, calling himself a “career criminal”. I guess maybe to him robbery has some dignity and class (which he says mercs don't) but being a soldier for pay in a cause you don't care about doesn't? I guess that has a certain logic. He also seems kinda into cowboy movies, mentally seeing himself as one of the “black hats”, a bad guy/outlaw who still has some kind...again, class and dignity are the words he uses, I'm not sure if they're the correct words, I guess maybe...standards? Not so much morals or ethics, but standards. He'll rob a bank for the cash, but he won't do guerrilla warfare for a fee, basically. He'll work for a bigger criminal on a heist for a cut of the profits, but he won't align himself with a cause he doesn't believe it just because there's cash in it for him. And he takes blatant issue with the those who do. So that's really interesting. And not something I would have expected from Cain. Once more, Christopher Golden is being really great about giving every character some depth and POV, I'm honestly impressed by how many times he's done that, especially for villains and minor book-exclusive background types. CHAPTER 6 I would like to remind everyone that at this point I canon, Xavier was NOT known to the public to be a mutant or to have anything to do with the X-Men. The book reminds, however, that he is a celebrity “the way politicians ad scientists became celebrities.” That is to say, he doesn't have fans or the like, but his opinion on mutant issues is valued by the media and he's considered the most powerful pro-mutant proponent on the subject, so lots of major news stations have requested him for comment on the current goings-on in Manhattan. As a small note, it always bugged me that Xavier seems to not simply be the most important public person who is pro-mutant/human peace, but the ONLY person. We never see anyone else, let alone ACTUAL humans, who are vocal public figures about that UNLESS they're anti-mutant. We do get some “public figures who preach mutant/human peace” during the 90s (Haven and Empyrean) but they're short-lived, super-minor characters that no one knows or remembers. I kinda wonder why Moira MacTaggert was never asked on any TV show or radio debate that I can remember (she's a scientist who is the leading expert on mutants in the comics, not a CIA agent) then I remember that unlike the diplomatic Xavier, Moira has no patience with any bullshit and wouldn't pretend to. I guess the meta answer is because Xavier is one of the main characters and this lets us see him doing something, something that the other X-Men can't do, something that advances his beliefs without violating his morals or involving secret paramilitary groups of child soldiers, and I like that. I'm just saying I think it's weird they can't at least stick in one other famous person who agrees with him. Then again, I guess that also helps to show that this isn't an equal battle, the odds are against him. Anyway. Tonight he's going to be debating Senator Kelly on ABC news. I look forward to this. Kelly gets a really bad rap in fandom, and I do understand why, but a lot of people don't realize that in the comics, he's actually a very moderate guy whose concerns come from a rational place, in contrast to the usual frothing bigots like Pierce, Hodge, and Graydon Creed. Speaking of Graydon, Xavier finds it strange that he has all but disappeared from the “media circus” since last evening, something you'd think he would be taking advantage of big-time. Charles suspects that whatever the outcome of Magneto and Manhattan is, Graydon is simply waiting to pounce on the backlash. Me, I think there might be a bigger plot afoot. It also makes me suspicious when a news anchor Charles had made a connection to in previous books, an Annelise Dwyer, surprises him when she approaches without him sensing her first. He figures he's just tired. I figure this is a foreshadowing. During the debate, Charles is impressed by how calm and rational Senator Kelly is, and how clear it is that Kelly is a man who understands the power of words and does not wish to use them to cause a panic, but instead presents them in a responsible way. It makes him that much more pleased that Graydon Creed isn’t here. Kelly closes with an argument that I myself have made many times before: that the different in humans and mutants is not the same as a difference of race or religion or anything else like that. He says that though “all men and women were created equal, even if they are not treated so” until mutants came along, and that “Mutants are not equal to the rest of humanity. Mutants are greater. I do not say better, but greater. More powerful, and thus inherently more dangerous. For the good of the entire world, all mutants must be registered and monitored. Now, I do not agree with the registration and monitoring part, but I do, as I said before, agree that concern about mutants is not the same as concern about black people or people who are transgender. Because those traits don’t give you more power than everyone else. Mutation does. There is real concrete reason to be worried about people who can make you explode when they’re angry or wipe your mind with theirs. This is what I like about Senator Kelly---he doesn’t hate mutants for what they are. He doesn’t call them freaks or lesser beings, he doesn’t want them exterminated, he does not wish for them to be harmed simply for existing. He’s just raising the very rational question of, what about the rest of us? And I don’t like his answer, but I do like his contrast to the usual way anyone who doesn’t 110% love mutants is portrayed as a mindless straw-bigot who just wants to wipe them all off the face of the Earth. Xavier then makes his closing statement. He starts by praising Kelly as an intelligent man concerned for others, and that there is cause for concern after seeing what Magneto and his followers have done. But, he adds, one should be no more afraid of mutant terrorists than any other terrorists, that the men bombed Oklahoma city and the World Trade Center (note: He does not mean 9/11, this was written before then, this is in reference to an event earlier in history. Just thought I’d mention that so there was no confusion over when this is set) are dangerous too, not because of any powers at their disposal but the hate in their hearts. He says that there are many people proficient with guns and martial arts who could also be considered “greater” than other humans, yet no one has discussed taking away their civil rights. That every American has a right to life liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and privacy. That criminals, including mutants, should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, but innocent civilians should have their rights preserved, that if all mutants were an evil conspiracy they would rule the world already, and that the fact they don’t is proof most simply live in peace. But that whether they get to “is up to you.” I do very much agree with him about leaving civil rights intact, but I have a lot of counterpoints to the claim mutants aren’t more dangerous than regular terrorists, but I feel like that would just veer into too much a tangent, so I’ll continue the summary instead. Especially since we’re getting to the part I really like!

After they finish and the broadcast is no longer running, Kelly approaches Xavier. And Kelly says something amazing to Charles: “I know you’re right.” Seriously. He says that. He really does. But he then follows it with that he believes that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Basically, he agrees with Xavier’s principles, but in practice feels the only way for the majority to be safe is for mutants to have their civil rights restricted, even if, as he concedes, that’s morally wrong. Xavier counters that mutants are PART of the many, and that people like Kelly are what forces them to splinter off and see themselves as something else entirely, as though they are another tribe at war with so-called “normal” humans...and if they are made to feel this way, what happens when mutants become the majority? You know, in his own way, Xavier is capable of motivating by fear as much as Magneto is. Like, this is NOT an appeal to compassion, this is PLAYING on the fear of mutant abilities with a “be nice now or else later” Which, admittedly, might be sensible. Kelly says he takes his point. He also says that he hopes this whole thing in Manhattan is resolved as quickly and “painlessly” as possible. Xavier says that’s at least one thing they can agree on. They shake hands, and Xavier’s “thoughts returned to hope.” I liked this :)

[jas-fairclough]

Future gazing; prediction of current social changes impact on fashion & textiles

In todays lecture we looked at the historical links between technology, world events and social changes and their influence on fashion and textiles.

Louise talked about six influences on fashion and textiles: sustainability, consumerism, innovation, division of wealth, social media and politics and power.

Sustainability

Here are the sustainable development global goals set for 2030, this is essentially a collection of 17 global goals set by the UN. The fashion industry must change their unsustainable methods of production to help achieve these goals, the future of fashion must consider sustainability. The industry won't be able to achieve all these goals such as no poverty but, it does contribute to the majority of these goals and in the future it must start contributing to show progress by 2030. This can be achieved by brands becoming more environmentally conscious and using more sustainable methods of production, especially fast fashion companies.

In the future ‘we are likely to see a rise in the demand for more personalized items of higher quality that are produced ‘on-demand’ (such as tailor-made, custom-made and bespoke items).’ ( Unknown, 2017) ‘”Fashion on-demand” implies that the customer can choose his/her preferred style, fabric, size and possible details from a range of pre-designed options, thus “co-creating” an item of choice before production. The store is essentially a showroom and the order would normally not take more than three weeks. With ‘fashion on-demand’, consumers are likely to develop greater emotional attachment to their garments and hold on to them for longer. On-demand production will also reduce the need for storage and the risk of over-production, thus minimizing textile waste, landfilling and incineration, as well as the use of virgin natural resources and the risk for adverse environmental impacts across the supply chain.’ (Unknown, 2017)

Consumerism

This is the rise of fast fashion, fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers such as Zara and Missguided in response to the latest trends. The fashion industry is the second highest polluter of clean water, ‘85 percent – The percentage of water used in textile processing that goes into dying the fabrics, which, in many cases, leads to run off, thereby polluting nearby water sources’ e.g cotton. (Unknown, 2018) Similarly, fossil fuels are used to create Polyester which, is a very common material-especially in fast fashion retailers.

Innovation

We discussed artificial intelligence, this is the stimulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. (Rouse, 2018) AI can be used to come up with new materials on a nanoscale making them unique to the brand that creates them. In high end markets this will cause a debate in the future over what makes a product artisan or handmade as if all materials are created in labs it raises ethical questions. (Newbold, 2018)

Division of wealth

The richest 1% of the world control 50% of the worlds wealth therefore, the 1% will want high end fashion whereas the rest of the world will move towards cheaper fast fashion (high end alternatives). High end fashion will keep remaining high end due to the rich getting more money (the rich getting richer), there will be more of a trend towards cheaper alternatives such as fast fashion. There will be more demand towards fast fashion as a result of this due to the majority of people not having enough disposable income to access high end fashion.

Social Media

Social media changes the way fashion is marketed, now brands can move away from physical branding e.g billboards, magazines and can now advertise on social media platforms such as Instagram and snapchat. ‘When it comes to Snapchat, fashion video content thrives. Snapchat stories are often used for providing viewers with exclusive “behind the scenes” looks at designers and events (like Fashion Week)’ (Goodman, 2018) Instagram is a good platform for influencers (who are paid by brands) to wear and post pictures of the brands products, enabling them to tag the brand in their pictures and even post links to that exact product in their Instagram story.

I believe the rise of social media makes marketing easier, it enables brands to connect with consumers better allowing them to comment and respond to posts. For this reason I will be using social media to promote my brand as it allows me to connect with consumers better which, helps create a strong brand loyalty between our brand and our customers.

Politics & Power

Countries are becoming more nationalistic which means, people care less about the world around them and more about their own country and matters. This is where freedom of choice can become controlled. An example of this was in June 2017, when president Donald Trump decided to pull out of the international Paris agreement combatting climate change, arguing it didn’t suit the USA’s interests. However, in combat to this, the international community responded - with many leaders, such as France’s Macron, calling him out and due to Trump’s actions it is arguable the world has come together closer on climate change, albeit without one of the globes biggest polluters (Guy, 2017). Therefore, despite a move towards nationalism, there is still a strong argument that global cooperation is still alive, and this means that, in fashion, issues such as sustainability and workers conditions may well be helped by international efforts.

References:

Unknown. (2018). How Many Gallons of Water Does it Take to Make a Single Pair of Jeans? Retrieved March 12, 2019, from http://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/how-many-gallons-of-water-does-it-take-to-make-a-single-pair-of-jeans

Unknown. (2017). Predictions on sustainability and fashion for 2018 and beyond. Retrieved March 13, 2019, from https://circularfashion.com/predictions-on-sustainability-and-fashion-for-2018-and-beyond/

Guy, B. (2017) Universal Backlash From Leaders on Trump’s Paris Blunder | NRDC, NRDC. Available at: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/universal-backlash-leaders-trumps-paris-blunder (Accessed: 13 March 2019).

Goodman, A. (2018). Social Media’s Effect On The Fashion Industry. Retrieved March 13, 2019, from http://greenbuzzagency.com/social-media-effect-fashion-industry

Newbold, A. (2018). How Artificial Intelligence Will Impact The Future Of Fashion. Retrieved March 13, 2019, from https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/future-of-fashion-artificial-intelligence-post-material-world

Rouse, M. (2018). AI (artificial intelligence). Retrieved March 13, 2019, from https://searchenterpriseai.techtarget.com/definition/AI-Artificial-Intelligence

[awhalenamedjonah]

On Punching Nazis

I'm probably gonna regret making this post as soon as a bunch of random tumblr blogs I've never interacted with suddenly fill my inbox with some great arguments about how I should kill myself (which is reason #1 why I don't get involved in stupid tumblr discourse) but this is something that's almost definitely going to have an effect on me and/or the people around me soon regardless, so I might as well get my stupid opinion out there.

Somehow this is a controversial opinion but...maybe...punching Nazis...is bad sometimes.

I'm sure everyone stopped reading already to unfollow me and tell their friends what a fucking idiot this guy on tumblr is for being a Nazi Sympathizer™ and an Alt-Right Neo-Nazi™, and a Hyper-Conservative Trump Supporter™ (I am none of those things). In my opinion Richard Spencer did deserve a solid punch in the face or fifty, but that's not the problem I have here. Encouraging everyone to Go Punch a Nazi in order to Keep Racists Afraid is a bad idea for everyone on all sides of this situation. So, begin rant proper.

In my experience with the internet, I've been told that everyone with a political opinion (read: everyone on earth) is somehow in support of a mass genocide or something nearly as sinister. Westboro Baptist Church types yelling about how The Gays are trying to destroy society with their wretched sinfulness, for instance. Recently, I learned from the ever-wise internet that all police officers (and those that support them) are pushing an agenda of inner-city racial extermination. I was told around the same time that Black Lives Matter just want to kill all whites. Currently I'm being told that everyone that the internet called "Alt-Right" is actually a white supremacist who wants all colored people to get out of the country or be lynched. This isn't an internet-exclusive phenomenon, either; when I was a kid there were plenty of protesters against abortion who claimed all left-wing pro-choice voters were in favor of mass slaughter of babies. Gee, maybe a tiny exaggeration there.

There's a very simple line of reasoning all of these hyperbole-filled generalizations follow, and it's always filled with fueled by the innate desire to be "the good guy" as well as the tendency humans have to paint a group as a singular opposed entity to the True Righteous Path that I, the most enlightened, follow. Here's my understanding of the chain of events. See if this seems familiar to you:

You have two groups that have differing political opinions. Usually fairly big ones. Obviously as usual there's mudslinging but it's the normal shit.

A bunch of specific bad individuals (neo-Nazis, pedophiles, looters, people who think the new series of Berserk is good) start sticking out from either crowd. This is always (and I mean always) a minority faction within the group, at most.

The media (or social media) highlights these gross people exclusively, to cast the entire group in a negative light. These individuals' views become Their views. Everyone in the group that's reasonable gets painted with the same brush. It becomes "Us Versus Them" now that it's confirmed all the people who disagree with you are (Nazis, pedos, looters, attracted to Benedict Cumberbatch)

A call to action against these vile (Nazis, pedos, looters, gen 1ers). Sometimes this involves violence (Punch a Nazi!) sometimes just protest, but it's almost always a gross overreaction.

Suddenly a huge group of people with primarily moderate views are conflated with extremists. Sometimes people will specifically defend this generalization by saying the moderates are “enabling” the minority (even if most people strongly oppose the beliefs of said vocal minority). This is where people get off saying that “whiteness” is inherently problematic.

Ironically this almost always leads to a fifth step where the vocal minority who are touted as the majority suddenly become empowered by the media rhetoric and thinks everyone actually does agree with their awful beliefs. The smaller minority that once quietly agreed now find the platform for their beliefs and the minority gets larger. A bunch of people who formerly kept it to themselves suddenly hear about how millions of voters are extremist homophobic sexist racists and collectively say "I'm not the only one who believes gays belong in internment camps! I've found a group to voice my opinions!" Then these people with newfound support start shooting cops or holding neo-nazi rallies.

You can probably think of at least a few specific examples immediately. Some of you are mentally tagging this #black lives matter and some of you are tagging it #gamergate and that alone is a good example of how this same bullshit happens to two distinctly different crowds. I’ll use those two as examples, as much as I never ever wanted to talk about gamergate again.

I remember being on Twitter almost 24/7 when shit was going down in Ferguson and being completely floored by how the mainstream media was exclusively showing burned-out buildings and using the phrase "riots" left and right. Meanwhile I was watching dozens of on-site sources post live video of huge silent crowds standing firm and not instigating anything. To the people disconnected from it, it sure seemed like the people of Ferguson were a bunch of thugs and looters and rioters just itching for an excuse to punch a cop. Meanwhile the sane protesters in the town were forming living barriers around buildings to stop arsonists and looters from doing any more damage-- but the effect of the media spin was long done by then and to this day people still have completely fabricated ideas of what happened there. And of course this painted future protests the same way. They escalated until the rational and sane people started coming out less and the riled violent crowds became exactly what the media said they were: rioters. Bam, now you have cops getting shot from rooftops and the media succeeded in minimizing the original message of BLM. Now I'm not sure if most of the remaining BLM protesters are actual violent criminals or if the media is just twisting it that way, because the truth is so blurred-- either way there's no way I'm ever associating with that particular group now that they're branded terrorists.

I also remember being on Twitter almost 24/7 when shit was going down in the #gamergate hashtag. Everyone I knew was talking about how ridiculously stupid and elitist gaming journalism had gotten, but a bizarre twist happened in which everyone seemingly decided that it was actually about how sexist gamers are and how badly they want women to leave game development. Legitimately awful humans like Milo Yiannopoulos [insert sound of vomiting here] suddenly got a surge of new followers because on a surface level they supported the original argument (that game journalism had become too elitist and started becoming a circlejerk about the writers' Superior Artistic Taste and Moral Uprightness) but were in it for less savory reasons than to support a reform of the gaming media's journalistic ethics. Suddenly the discussion was all about sexism instead of the original point, and anyone who made a post at the beginning of it like "maybe videogame journos should be required to be actually good at videogames #gamergate" are suddenly sexist and a social media terrorist. To the people disconnected from it, it sure seemed like the gamergate crowd were a bunch of sexists and racists just itching for an excuse to drive women out of gaming. Meanwhile the sane gamergaters involved were getting new gaming sites started and promoting up-and-coming journalists (some of whom quickly got hired by major gaming sites like The Escapist)-- but the effect of the media spin was long done by then and to this day people still have completely fabricated ideas of what happened there. Now I'm not sure if most of the remaining #gamergate supporters are actual sexist lunatics or if the media is just twisting it that way, because the truth is so blurred-- either way there's no way I'm ever associating with that particular group now that they're branded terrorists.

Currently the big one is a huge group of people being thrown into the category of "Alt-Right" for a variety of reasons, varying from actual neo-nazi affiliation to having an anime character for a Twitter avatar. I see legitimate media outlets refer to "anime avatars" as a prominent warning sign of white supremacists, and if that isn't a sign of some hyper-generalization I don't know what is.

Now back to the point of this, which you've probably gathered by now if you're not completely fucking dense. It’s simple: Telling people to punch Nazis isn't the best idea, because nobody can agree on who actually is a Nazi. I've seen people get called a Nazi constantly over a decade on the internet, for reasons such as supporting communism (lol what), voting for Trump, being anti-abortion, or watching Axis Powers: Hetalia.

If you expect the general internet-using public to exercise restraint when told to “Punch a Nazi,” then you're either new to the internet or legitimately insane. If the former: Welcome! We have tons of great porn here. Click this link! Also don't ever Google "meatspin," "goatse," or "lemon party."

Get ready to see a lot of people who voted for Trump get punched in the face for no good reason. If that sentence makes you respond “voting for Trump is a good reason,” you’ve instantly proven my point.

Meanwhile Trump and his supporters get more and more of the evidence they need that anti-Trump protestors are violent criminals.

This isn’t going to end well.

[ouraidengray4]

Why I Think Porn Is (Extra) Important for Women of Color

It's 2018, and most progressive-thinking people recognize that porn can be great. But it might be even better than we thought—especially for women of color hoping to figure out some stuff.

New research published in the Journal of Sexuality and Culture found that porn is useful in helping women explore their sexual interests. According to the study, women who watched porn were more likely to embrace sex, and in addition to being more in touch with their sexuality (no pun intended—OK, maybe some pun intended), women who watched porn were more likely to use the internet to find community with other women who did the same.

EDITOR'S PICK

The benefits of these actions can't be overstated: We live in a society that predominantly discourages sexual expression unless it's for the benefit of male partners. But finding community with other women who embrace their sexuality can allow women to develop sexual relationships in which they can present their authentic selves, instead of bending to fit into narrow categories of acceptable expression. This can be especially true for women of color.

But why is this issue connected to race? Limitations on women's sexuality aren't limited exclusively to Black women: For generations, women have been bound to others' sexual expectations. This struggle affects all women—but as usual, our statuses affect how these expectations are expressed, and women of color, especially Black women, still face disproportionately greater restrictions on their sexuality.

Alicia Wallace, a gender rights activist and public educator, explains that the history of misogynoir—or misogyny directed toward Black women—has negatively impacted Black women's sexual expression. Wallace notes that our sexual identities are further complicated by the fact that we are aware of how our past has led to the struggles we continue to contend with today.

"We're fully aware of the ways our bodies have been used for the gratification of others—for example, as sex slaves and wet nurses," Wallace says. "It often feels as though we have only two options: The first is to actively fight against sexual objectification by hiding our bodies, refusing to talk about sex, and putting other parts of our humanity and personalities in the center of our beings and presentations of ourselves, often to the exclusion—and possible detriment—of our sexuality."

Alternatively, she says, the other option is to take control of our own sexual image and define it for ourselves before anyone else has the chance to.

"We're in a complicated situation, fighting for the right and the comfort to do what we want today while acknowledging the distance we've covered and the oppression we still face," Wallace says. "This is true in online dating—where racism masquerades as a fetish—as well as in the artists we love putting people like us on display specifically for the male gaze."

So what can porn and sexual exploration mean for women of color?

Is it possible that porn might offer the same—or even greater—benefits to those of us burdened by chronic racism? According to the experts, the answer is yes—this expression of sexuality might even be exceptionally important for women of color.

"Porn can be a great way to safely explore and normalize sexual behaviors that you're interested in," says Cameron Glover, sex columnist and sex educator. "A lot of people can be turned on by visuals, and porn is one of the most accessible means of being stimulated in that way. I think for WOC and non-binary folks, porn is another tool that you can add to your sexuality arsenal."

Black women need the space to explore and normalize sexual behaviors, and porn is a safe place to do this. Black women, in particular, are often limited from discussing wants and desires in social spaces, especially concerning more taboo sexual topics. Sexual repression—especially when compounded with the pressure of systemic oppression—can become exhausting.

In 2016, feminist studies scholar Mireille Miller-Young made a study of the history of African-American women in pornography, delving into archives of pornographic material and interviewing porn stars. She argues that despite the history of oppression, pornography has also been a resistance tool against both the racist and sexist views that hold down Black female sexuality.

Porn can help women of color explore their own desires.

Patrice Thomas, 28, started using porn to explore her sexuality at the age of 18 when her aunt suggested she use it to learn more about sex. "I didn't have sex education in school or at home, but I was curious about sex. I wanted to know what it looked like and how it worked."

Watching porn helped her discover that she didn't fit into the fundamentalist religious household she was brought up in. "I grew up under the assumption that I'm heterosexual and was startled to find myself aroused by the female form and get off on watching female pleasure. I don't claim a bisexual identity, but I don't consider myself entirely straight, either," she says.

In the Black community, religion and spirituality are very important. While that cultural custom might be a wonderful coping mechanism when searching for the strength to deal with systemic oppression, it often conflicts with healthy sexual development. Traditional Christian doctrine has conservative views on sexual expression, exploration, and sexual orientation—especially for women. This can discourage many Black women, like Thomas, from prioritizing sexuality.

Watching sex online gives us the chance to explore topics we might not be comfortable discussing in public—even with friends. This is particularly important for women of color because expectations about who we are and how we are allowed to express sexuality limit our access to exploration in real life. If you are like Thomas and hail from a background that gives specific instructions for how you are expected to perform Black womanhood, there is relief in porn.

Porn can be a form of self-care.

Day after day, Black women experience racialized sexism that weighs heavily on both our mental and physical health. For us, there is often no refuge from the oppression of the patriarchy or the stress associated with racism, and these experiences lead to a heightened need for self-care and self-love. At times, the pressure of living life as a marginalized individual becomes so much that checking in this way can be extremely important.

For Monica Smith, 26, porn has been an outlet to explore her sexuality and promote self-acceptance. "I think giving myself space, time, and love to do this on my own terms—without judgment—has been emotionally, physically, and mentally freeing," she says. "It's helped me accept myself, my identity, and my sexuality, and I've grown to accept and love myself so much more. I never realized how important it is, but it's vital—especially if you want to be intimate with others."

EDITOR'S PICK

"I think porn can open a new world," Wallace says. "It can make imagination possible, especially for people who have had limited sexual experience. It's a means to consider other ways of being sexual and intimate without having to practice, or feeling vulnerable with someone else."

However, many WOC are unsure about the best way to ease into porn. If you're thinking about it, consider starting small. "I started out watching GIFs on Tumblr and slowly graduated to videos. I keep a bookmark file of my favorites called 'petit mort,'" Thomas jokes.

Finding porn that doesn't suck for women—especially women of color—can be difficult.

Once we overcome the pre-conditioned guilt associated with watching porn, women may find another barrier: A lot of pornographic content is aimed pretty exclusively at a male audience. "There are so many different types of porn, and many interpretations and understandings of the material. Much of it seems to subjugate women, even when we seem to be in power—the performance aspect of porn feeds masculinity, from the positions to the sounds," Wallace says.

Thankfully, there are subcategories and communities to provide women with more direct access to better-tailored content. Terms like the quickly-multiplying "Porn for Women" tag lead the way to videos that tend to be less male-centered. "When the only videos I could find were anal or incest/rape, I spent a lot of time googling 'free ethical porn' and found a subreddit of links that women vet and share with descriptions and reviews," Thomas says.

Of course, there are downsides to porn when it comes to the sexual identity development for women of color. The phrasing of porn categories can be reflective of stereotypes that are harmful: Just like in the real world, the pornography industry limits the range of acceptable scenes of individuals of color.

"In mainstream porn, fetishization is still how many people of color are allowed space," Glover says. "You see a similar overlay with how trans bodies are hyper-consumed when they are allowed to exist in porn, and representation for gender nonconforming individuals is still largely nonexistent.

But I think this is definitely improving as more independent porn options, like CrashPadSeries, are becoming more available," says Glover, referring to a porn site that offers porn for queer individuals of all genders and orientation. They prioritize ethical consumption and dissemination of material along with advocating safe sex, ethnic diversity, equal pay, and comfort for their contributors. While these kinds of sites are few and far between, they can provide a framework for prioritizing sexual identity development for individuals overlooked in traditional porn.

But it's worth it—for developing your own sexual identity (and sex with your partner too).

For many WOC, porn has been the only tool available to explore what we do and don't like sexually in a safe way. Black women have often been portrayed as insatiable, hypersexual beings. In an attempt to help us, our families often restricted sexual expression through messages about good Black girls not being "fast." Those messages about the strict boxes Black women must fit into remove our ability to connect with those around us without shame, but when seen in private, porn offers a bit of refuge from the stigma of sexuality for Black women.

There are many obstacles on the path to healthy sexual identities for women of color. Some of them are common to all women and taught through cultural influencers like religion; others are personalized through oppressive histories and exclusion. Unfortunately, the world isn't going to change so we can accept ourselves—but many Black women have decided that we aren't going to be limited by the metaphorical chains others apply to our sexuality.

The good news is, women are watching more porn than ever. According to PornHub's 2017 end of the year review, the term "Porn for Women," saw a 359 percent increase over the last year. And when porn is helping, it can help show us what we might be open to—and what we would absolutely not consider in real life. Porn is also a great place to explore possibilities that we may want to attempt in real life with our partners, such as kinks, fetishes, positions, accessories, and additional people, Thomas says.

In order to ensure sexual education considers the struggles and cultural concerns we face, Black women are founding their own sexual curriculums and networks, and becoming sex educators, which is helping create more conversation around sex—and porn—in our community. Despite being a nonconventional tool, porn shows a lot of promise as we choose how we will portray our sexual identities. It provides an unrivaled opportunity for women of color to test the boundaries of sex and interest with risks. And once we have established those boundaries and found empowerment, no one will ever remove our freedom again.

A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez is a diversity content specialist who produces materials relating to mental and physical health, sociology, and parenting. Her work can be seen on several national platforms. Check her out on Facebook and Twitter.

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2oDqnyc Why I Think Porn Is (Extra) Important for Women of Color Greatist RSS from HEALTH BUZZ http://ift.tt/2GT7cIi

[foursprout-blog]

Why I Think Porn Is (Extra) Important for Women of Color

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/health/why-i-think-porn-is-extra-important-for-women-of-color/

Why I Think Porn Is (Extra) Important for Women of Color

It’s 2018, and most progressive-thinking people recognize that porn can be great. But it might be even better than we thought—especially for women of color hoping to figure out some stuff.

New research published in the Journal of Sexuality and Culture found that porn is useful in helping women explore their sexual interests. According to the study, women who watched porn were more likely to embrace sex, and in addition to being more in touch with their sexuality (no pun intended—OK, maybe some pun intended), women who watched porn were more likely to use the internet to find community with other women who did the same.

EDITOR’S PICK

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The benefits of these actions can’t be overstated: We live in a society that predominantly discourages sexual expression unless it’s for the benefit of male partners. But finding community with other women who embrace their sexuality can allow women to develop sexual relationships in which they can present their authentic selves, instead of bending to fit into narrow categories of acceptable expression. This can be especially true for women of color.

But why is this issue connected to race? Limitations on women’s sexuality aren’t limited exclusively to Black women: For generations, women have been bound to others’ sexual expectations. This struggle affects all women—but as usual, our statuses affect how these expectations are expressed, and women of color, especially Black women, still face disproportionately greater restrictions on their sexuality.

Alicia Wallace, a gender rights activist and public educator, explains that the history of misogynoir—or misogyny directed toward Black women—has negatively impacted Black women’s sexual expression. Wallace notes that our sexual identities are further complicated by the fact that we are aware of how our past has led to the struggles we continue to contend with today.

“We’re fully aware of the ways our bodies have been used for the gratification of others—for example, as sex slaves and wet nurses,” Wallace says. “It often feels as though we have only two options: The first is to actively fight against sexual objectification by hiding our bodies, refusing to talk about sex, and putting other parts of our humanity and personalities in the center of our beings and presentations of ourselves, often to the exclusion—and possible detriment—of our sexuality.”

Alternatively, she says, the other option is to take control of our own sexual image and define it for ourselves before anyone else has the chance to.

“We’re in a complicated situation, fighting for the right and the comfort to do what we want today while acknowledging the distance we’ve covered and the oppression we still face,” Wallace says. “This is true in online dating—where racism masquerades as a fetish—as well as in the artists we love putting people like us on display specifically for the male gaze.”

So what can porn and sexual exploration mean for women of color?

Is it possible that porn might offer the same—or even greater—benefits to those of us burdened by chronic racism? According to the experts, the answer is yes—this expression of sexuality might even be exceptionally important for women of color.

“Porn can be a great way to safely explore and normalize sexual behaviors that you’re interested in,” says Cameron Glover, sex columnist and sex educator. “A lot of people can be turned on by visuals, and porn is one of the most accessible means of being stimulated in that way. I think for WOC and non-binary folks, porn is another tool that you can add to your sexuality arsenal.”

Black women need the space to explore and normalize sexual behaviors, and porn is a safe place to do this. Black women, in particular, are often limited from discussing wants and desires in social spaces, especially concerning more taboo sexual topics. Sexual repression—especially when compounded with the pressure of systemic oppression—can become exhausting.

In 2016, feminist studies scholar Mireille Miller-Young made a study of the history of African-American women in pornography, delving into archives of pornographic material and interviewing porn stars. She argues that despite the history of oppression, pornography has also been a resistance tool against both the racist and sexist views that hold down Black female sexuality.

Porn can help women of color explore their own desires.

Patrice Thomas, 28, started using porn to explore her sexuality at the age of 18 when her aunt suggested she use it to learn more about sex. “I didn’t have sex education in school or at home, but I was curious about sex. I wanted to know what it looked like and how it worked.”

Watching porn helped her discover that she didn’t fit into the fundamentalist religious household she was brought up in. “I grew up under the assumption that I’m heterosexual and was startled to find myself aroused by the female form and get off on watching female pleasure. I don’t claim a bisexual identity, but I don’t consider myself entirely straight, either,” she says.

In the Black community, religion and spirituality are very important. While that cultural custom might be a wonderful coping mechanism when searching for the strength to deal with systemic oppression, it often conflicts with healthy sexual development. Traditional Christian doctrine has conservative views on sexual expression, exploration, and sexual orientation—especially for women. This can discourage many Black women, like Thomas, from prioritizing sexuality.

Watching sex online gives us the chance to explore topics we might not be comfortable discussing in public—even with friends. This is particularly important for women of color because expectations about who we are and how we are allowed to express sexuality limit our access to exploration in real life. If you are like Thomas and hail from a background that gives specific instructions for how you are expected to perform Black womanhood, there is relief in porn.

Porn can be a form of self-care.

Day after day, Black women experience racialized sexism that weighs heavily on both our mental and physical health. For us, there is often no refuge from the oppression of the patriarchy or the stress associated with racism, and these experiences lead to a heightened need for self-care and self-love. At times, the pressure of living life as a marginalized individual becomes so much that checking in this way can be extremely important.

For Monica Smith, 26, porn has been an outlet to explore her sexuality and promote self-acceptance. “I think giving myself space, time, and love to do this on my own terms—without judgment—has been emotionally, physically, and mentally freeing,” she says. “It’s helped me accept myself, my identity, and my sexuality, and I’ve grown to accept and love myself so much more. I never realized how important it is, but it’s vital—especially if you want to be intimate with others.”

EDITOR’S PICK

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“I think porn can open a new world,” Wallace says. “It can make imagination possible, especially for people who have had limited sexual experience. It’s a means to consider other ways of being sexual and intimate without having to practice, or feeling vulnerable with someone else.”

However, many WOC are unsure about the best way to ease into porn. If you’re thinking about it, consider starting small. “I started out watching GIFs on Tumblr and slowly graduated to videos. I keep a bookmark file of my favorites called ‘petit mort,'” Thomas jokes.

Finding porn that doesn’t suck for women—especially women of color—can be difficult.

Once we overcome the pre-conditioned guilt associated with watching porn, women may find another barrier: A lot of pornographic content is aimed pretty exclusively at a male audience. “There are so many different types of porn, and many interpretations and understandings of the material. Much of it seems to subjugate women, even when we seem to be in power—the performance aspect of porn feeds masculinity, from the positions to the sounds,” Wallace says.

Thankfully, there are subcategories and communities to provide women with more direct access to better-tailored content. Terms like the quickly-multiplying “Porn for Women” tag lead the way to videos that tend to be less male-centered. “When the only videos I could find were anal or incest/rape, I spent a lot of time googling ‘free ethical porn’ and found a subreddit of links that women vet and share with descriptions and reviews,” Thomas says.

Of course, there are downsides to porn when it comes to the sexual identity development for women of color. The phrasing of porn categories can be reflective of stereotypes that are harmful: Just like in the real world, the pornography industry limits the range of acceptable scenes of individuals of color.

“In mainstream porn, fetishization is still how many people of color are allowed space,” Glover says. “You see a similar overlay with how trans bodies are hyper-consumed when they are allowed to exist in porn, and representation for gender nonconforming individuals is still largely nonexistent.

But I think this is definitely improving as more independent porn options, like CrashPadSeries, are becoming more available,” says Glover, referring to a porn site that offers porn for queer individuals of all genders and orientation. They prioritize ethical consumption and dissemination of material along with advocating safe sex, ethnic diversity, equal pay, and comfort for their contributors. While these kinds of sites are few and far between, they can provide a framework for prioritizing sexual identity development for individuals overlooked in traditional porn.

But it’s worth it—for developing your own sexual identity (and sex with your partner too).

For many WOC, porn has been the only tool available to explore what we do and don’t like sexually in a safe way. Black women have often been portrayed as insatiable, hypersexual beings. In an attempt to help us, our families often restricted sexual expression through messages about good Black girls not being “fast.” Those messages about the strict boxes Black women must fit into remove our ability to connect with those around us without shame, but when seen in private, porn offers a bit of refuge from the stigma of sexuality for Black women.

There are many obstacles on the path to healthy sexual identities for women of color. Some of them are common to all women and taught through cultural influencers like religion; others are personalized through oppressive histories and exclusion. Unfortunately, the world isn’t going to change so we can accept ourselves—but many Black women have decided that we aren’t going to be limited by the metaphorical chains others apply to our sexuality.

The good news is, women are watching more porn than ever. According to PornHub’s 2017 end of the year review, the term “Porn for Women,” saw a 359 percent increase over the last year. And when porn is helping, it can help show us what we might be open to—and what we would absolutely not consider in real life. Porn is also a great place to explore possibilities that we may want to attempt in real life with our partners, such as kinks, fetishes, positions, accessories, and additional people, Thomas says.

In order to ensure sexual education considers the struggles and cultural concerns we face, Black women are founding their own sexual curriculums and networks, and becoming sex educators, which is helping create more conversation around sex—and porn—in our community. Despite being a nonconventional tool, porn shows a lot of promise as we choose how we will portray our sexual identities. It provides an unrivaled opportunity for women of color to test the boundaries of sex and interest with risks. And once we have established those boundaries and found empowerment, no one will ever remove our freedom again.

A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez is a diversity content specialist who produces materials relating to mental and physical health, sociology, and parenting. Her work can be seen on several national platforms. Check her out on Facebook and Twitter.