#50s male canadian

[coochiequeens]

Oh Canada! Oh no!

A trans-identified male athlete has taken the top spot in yet another Canadian women’s running competition, adding to the growing list of victories against female athletes he has claimed since transitioning.

Tiffany Newell, 50, has now placed first in the women’s indoor 1500 meter running competition for women aged 50-54, which was held in Toronto, Ontario this past week. This is Newell’s latest victory and has added to his long list of first-place rankings and records in women’s running competitions.

On January 8, Newell took the top spot in the women’s 3000 meter for women aged 45-49 at the Winter Mini Meet, and would rank first in the women’s 5000 meter for women aged 45-49 just days later. 

He then went on to rank first in the 1500 meter for women aged 45-49 on February 5, and, following a birthday which placed him in a new age category, ranked first in the 1500 meter in the category for women aged 50-54 in a competition held from February 23 to February 26 in Toronto.

The news of Newell’s latest victory was announced by the International Consortium on Women’s Sport, a campaign group advocating for sexed categories, prompting anger and disbelief from those concerned with the preservation of women’s sport.

“That is ridiculous and no fan of athletics will view it as any sort of achievement,” wrote Colin Winter in response to the announcement. “It is a farce & everyone knows it but too many are too frit to say so. Frit is no excuse. If one’s job is to protect the integrity of a sport, that is what one has to do. If unable to do so, resign.”

Some have also expressed concern that Newell’s new age classification will result in him now seizing the 5000 meter title from Maria Zambrano, a female athlete with multiple records across the age groups she has competed in.

Last year, Newell set a Canadian record in the 5000 meter indoor running competition for women aged 45-49 held at Toronto’s York University. Newell ran 18:02.30over the distance, besting the previous record by six seconds. His record was ratified by the Canadian Masters Athletics in December, and it became the first time a trans-identified male athlete in Canada broke a national record in track. 

At that same competition, Newell also placed first in the women’s 800 meter race for women aged 45-49.

His victories earned him an “honorable mention” as the Ontario Master’s Athlete of the Month in March of 2022, just one month after snatching the top spots.

In January of 2023, Newell placed first in the women’s 5000 meter for women aged 45-49 once again during the Ontario Master’s Mini Meet held in Toronto.

Previously, Newell won a silver medal at the 2021 Canadian XC Championships in the masters 8K, and also finished second at the 2022 Hamilton Marathon.

Newell began transitioning in 2017, but began competing in women’s sport in 2020 after claiming to have met the recommended testosterone levels as set by the World Athletics guidelines on transgender athletes.

Last June, the global regulator for swimming, diving and water polo issued a ruling barring transgender athleteswho experienced male puberty from swimming and other aquatic sports. FINA opted to create an “open category” instead in order to preserve the fairness of sexed categories. The decision came after international backlash surrounding the success of Lia Thomas, a trans-identified male, in women’s swimming.

In an interview with Running Magazine earlier this year, Newell rejected the concept of an “open category” for transgender athletes in running, and claimed he should be allowed to compete against females as he identified as such.

“The policy makes sense for non-binary athletes, but I don’t feel comfortable racing against men. It categorizes me in the sex I am not identified as,” Newell said. “I am a woman, and I feel most comfortable racing against women or other transgender women. I believe an open category can work if athletes can continue to race against athletes of the same gender.”

Despite protests from trans activists, studies have consistently affirmed that trans-identified male athletes retain a significant edge over their female counterparts, even after starting hormone therapy.

In 2020, a study released in the British Journal of Sport Medicine noted that trans-identified males were able to complete 31% more push-ups and 15% more sit-ups in one minute on average than a female Air Force service member. They also ran 1.5 miles 21% faster.

But even after two years on testosterone suppression treatment, the males were still 12% faster on average than biological females.

[theprogrockbstheorist]

HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY GEDDY!!!!

(meme credit to u/rtphokie on reddit)

OH, AND WHAT’S THAT?!?! IT’S ALSO THE 49th ANNIVERSARY OF NEIL PEART JOINING RUSH?!?!

In order to celebrate these wondrous occasions, I have compiled 70 reasons why I love Rush (especially Geddy):

70. They don't have any unlistenable albums. I can put on any Rush album and at the very least enjoy it, which is saying a lot!

69. ANDDDD they have 19 studio albums!!! 167 songs!!!

68. Alex's iconic Hall of Fame induction speech.

67. The movie I Love You, Man. The main plot of that is just two guys geeking out about Rush and then going to see them in concert.

66. The Bb5 in "Cygnus X-1 Book 1: The Voyage". For the record, the other famous Bb5 sung by a male singer in rock is the high note in "Bohemian Rhapsody", sung by Roger Taylor.

65. Geddy's range in general. Say what you will about his voice, but he had range.

64. Their pre-concert videos.

63. "Hey baby it's 7:45 and I need to go to bed soon, let's fuck"- In the Mood. The debut album was something else, man.

62. They wrote songs during soundcheck when they were on tour. This includes songs like "Tom Sawyer" and "Chemistry".

61. They went to a Yes concert while recording Caress of Steel, and almost quit making the album. I, for one, am very glad they didn't!

60. The "rap" in "Roll the Bones". Sit back, relax, get busy with the facts...

59. Gene Simmons thought they weren't into women because they didn't want to party with KISS. True story!

58. They listed their baseball positions in the liner notes for Signals.

57. Neil wrote lyrics to a song using only anagrams. The song is called "Anagram (For Mongo)", and is on the album Presto.

56. They thanked themselves in the liner notes for Hemispheres. Listed as Dirk, Lerxst, and Pratt, ofc!

55. They would challenge themselves to write last-minute songs. Results of this experiment include "Hand Over Fist" from Presto, and "Malignant Narcissism" from Snakes and Arrows.

54. The mere existence of "A Passage to Bangkok". I wonder what their thought process was to put a song about smoking weed around the world after a 20-minute long dystopian prog rock epic...

53. "La Villa Strangiato". Just... everything about it.

52. The kimonos. You know the ones!

51. Their nicknames for each other!! (see above)

50. They had the second-longest stable line up in rock music! The only ones with a longer stable line up was ZZ Top.

49. They had a 40-year career! Even longer if you include pre-Neil and their adventures since the R40 tour.

48. The synth era. I unapologetically love 80s Rush, especially Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows.

47. "The Necromancer" basically being self-insert Tolkien fanfic. I wonder who the "three travelers" are supposed to be... OH WAIT!

46. They're giant nerds. All prog bands are, but they are especially nerdy.

45. Hugh Syme's awesome album covers. He did every single one from Caress of Steel onwards, barring the front cover for Snakes and Arrows.

44. The 7/8 section in "Tom Sawyer". That was my first intermediate bass line! Thanks, Geddy!

43. They're Canadian icons. Unironically, they're the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions "Canada" to me.

42. The horribly cheesy, terrible, but also really funny music video for "Time Stand Still". That song, btw, might be my favorite 80s Rush song, and is probably in my Top 5.

41. The triple-entendre pun of Moving Pictures. They're filming a movie (moving picture) of people moving paintings (moving pictures), while someone is getting moved by the scene (moving...pictures...).

40. They quote the 1812 Overture in the overture for "2112".

39. Geddy taught Les Claypool how to properly play "YYZ".

38. The Permanent Waves era glasses!

37. The opening of "Xanadu".

36. The weird stuff Geddy would have on his side of stage after he stopped using amps. This includes rotisserie chickens, washing machines, dryers, and popcorn machines.

35. "Music by Lee and Lifeson, Lyrics by Peart" on almost every single Rush song.

34. The ending of "Spirit of Radio". OF SALESMEN!!!

33. Their inside jokes. Example: The Bag.

32. They took French classes together, and began announcing their songs in French in Quebec.

31. The progressiveness of Counterparts. What other 40-year old rockstars were talking about healthy relationship boundaries and openly supporting gay people in 1993?

30. Their vaults are practically empty because they scrapped songs that weren't up to their standards. This is why we have no sub-par Rush material!

29. Choosing to end their careers with grace.

28. Ending the last show of their career with "Working Man", the song that got everything started.

27. "Dreamline"--"Learning that we're only immortal / For a limited time".

26. Geddy and Alex inducting Yes into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

25. Then, of course, Geddy playing "Roundabout" with Yes during their induction! (Unfortunately, he did not play his Rickenbacker :( )

24. No decisions were made regarding the band without it being unanimous.

23. "Closer to the Heart". To me, that song is like a musical representation of their friendship, and it always leaves me with a warm, fuzzy feeling after listening to it.

22. Neil's books. Ghost Rider, in particular helped me get through a rough time earlier this year.

21. Geddy's Big Beautiful Book of Bass. I love that thing, and I am looking forward to his memoir in November!!!

20. That incredible Rickenbacker. I know it hasn't been his main bass since the early 80s but...

19. All their other creative projects. Geddy and Alex have a solo album each, Alex is involved with Envy of None rn, and Neil had his blog.

18. All their other stage interactions.

17. "ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION! WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL!" -"2112". Just... all of "2112".

16. They got me into prog. I wouldn't have this blog right now if it weren't for Rush.

15. The Lifeson chord. The F#7add11 voicing that you can hear in so many of their songs (it's the opening to "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres").

14. Neil's drumming. They call him The Professor for a reason!

13. Geddy's bass playing. And his singing. And playing keys. And... yeah, we would be here all day!

12. The Dinner with Rush video. I make daily references to this that no one notices...

11. "The measure of a life / is a measure of love and respect"- "The Garden". The final song on their final album, and possibly the most amazing closer of all time.

10. Their charity work. IIRC, this includes giving away the aforementioned rotisserie chickens, as well as various fundraisers.

9. Their constant strive to improve themselves. Including Geddy working with a vocal coach, Neil working with Freddie Gruber, and of course, disavowing that Ayn Rand shit.

8. They give me something to strive towards, both as a musician and as a person. If I could make records half as good as Rush, and handle the fame with half the grace that they did, I would consider myself well-accomplished.

7. Neil's lyrics inspired me to get back into writing.

6. They inspired me to become a musician, and to pursue a career in music. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have stayed in choir or picked up bass, and I would've never considered a career in audio technology.

5. Their music helped me bond with my dad.

4. Geddy talking about his family's story of survival during the Holocaust. I think that's really important to talk about.

3. Other Rush fans. Well, okay, some of them like to brag about how many concerts they've been to, or tend to be a little gate-keep, but most of them are really chill people.

2. Their music helped me get through the toughest times in my life. Without getting too personal, I even credit them with saving my life on multiple occasions.

However, what I admire about Rush, above all else...

1. Their friendship with each other.

Once again, happy birthday Geddy! Your music has inspired me in so many ways, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it.

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

Stolas Has A Blandanthy Problem

If anyone who is a fan of the Canadian comic strip, "For Better Or Worse", you would understand what I am talking about. It was a long running comic strip focusing Patterson family a usual sitcom family consisting of the typical nuclear family stuff. However, unlike many other comics they did age the characters where we see the parents become 30 somethings to 50 something grandparents. The children go from toddlers to preteens to teens to finally adults who get married with children of their own. As a result, the kids eventually get love lives of their own as well. Here comes in Anthony or as the detractors call him "Blandthony".

Anthony was the high school boyfriend of the middle child and oldest daughter, Elizabeth Patterson, during the later strip years he got focus on the one who would definitely get together with Elizabeth. But as you can see from my argument this would be looked on as cringe and in hindsight have many similarities with the forced Stolitz ship.

Just like both, the series establishes Stolas and Anthony as childhood sweethearts/friends of the main characters in order to emphasize how they would truly be together in the end and young love revived again. For Stolas and Blitzo, it's really a forced retcon in contrast with the latter how established it was from the beginning. But it's all the same thing which is your first love should be your only love and you can ignore the rest who were side steps (even if you have better chemistry).

Also both parties would drift apart and end up with spouses they really don't like. In the case of Anthony like Stolas with Stella, he would end up with a French-Canadian woman named Therese who is presented as a thorn in Elizabeth and Anthony's relationship not so different from Stella when it comes to Stolitz.

Just like Stella, Therese was never given any nuance or redeeming characters just so she represented everything the author hated in a woman. She was meant to be again an obstacle that both end game pairs were to come and just a tool for drama, but never her own character.They were even used as an excuse to make the male intended character more "sympathetic". As a result, many fans were disappointed that the creators used such lazy characterization to move an end game ship.

Also both Stolas and Anthony have a daughter who is meant to give them good daddy points. However, due to the bad writing surrounding them they could instead come off as neglectful or self-centered in their desires with their children. With Stolas, despite the narrative often telling us he's a good dad he's often shown to neglect her in favor of trying to get in Blitzo's pants and Octavia having to forgive whenever he falters. With Anthony, it's the fact he wanted a child and pressured his wife into it under the promise he would take care of her. Despite emphasizing how Anthony is being presented as as the one doing all the parenting, it never dawns on it that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to have a child with someone who as reluctant to have children and again expect to drop everything to raise her when it was your idea in the first place. Both daughters are used to bring them together with their love interests further due to both having either a connection with kids or their own daughter. Again these kids are tools for the narrative and not their own people.

There is also the narrative's focus on the constant wangsting about the titular creator's pet problems over bigger issues that other people have. For instance, in context for Anthony in this scene he's driving Elizabeth after she had been assaulted by her co-worker, but the narrative can focus on is his marriage problems when Elizabeth tells him that she doesn't want to be a homewrecker and he retorts he has no home. Again despite trying to make him into a uwu nice guy he comes off as self-centered and only interested in his problems than his supposed love interest and a lot of issues with him are because of his own damn fault. The same thing with Stolas the narrative tries it's hardest to make him sympathetic but all it ends up is making him look so pathetic and self-pitying when a lot of issues are self-inflicted and despite saying he truly loves Blitzo he actually comes off as trying to flick true responsibility for what he's done like extorting him for sex and the narrative switches blame to Blitzo when he rejects hsi advances. Instead of them coming off as sympathetic it's more like whiny babies who can't understand other people's problems that are not their own.

And again emphasized again how despite the narrative tries to make the hated spouse so hated it ended up with fans emphasizing with them because it made the other sympathetic guy look worse or showing that maybe they weren't the only contributing to the marriage's dysfunction. With Therese, the narrative basically shames her for getting post-partum syndrome and Anthony doesn't do shit to comfort her and just pities himself. The same thing with Stolas and Stella who the latter never gets considered in the fact that she as well is saddled in this loveless and forced situation, but nope she's just a one dimensional obstacle for Stolas to overcome and eventually conqueror just like Anthony with Therese.

And again the narratives does everything it can to treat what they did (cheating) as if it wasn't bad. For Anthony, it treats his emotional affair with Elizabeth as okay because they are the destined pair. While with Stolas they treat him cheating as Stella okay, because they did everything to demonize her into a bitchy witch. Also again it treats Blitzo as the right one for him and that Stella is an obstacle to overcome to get his deserved ending. Again instead of letting the narratives let them own up to their issues it instead just lets them be innocent angels incapable of doing wrong

All in all Stolitz and Elizabeth x Anthony are an example of author favoritism infecting a story's quality that it derails good storylines and potential for characters. Also despite the intended endgame getting talked about it ends up just turning people away when you realize the intended isn't as good as they are played up as. Both pairings really lack good chemistry and it is shown with the way everything about them feel forced instead of natural. As a result, just like Anthony and Elizabeth when they finally get together everyone will be just fed up.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Is It Really That Bad?

Grease is a delightfully corny musical filled with 50s nostalgia (mostly the good kind) and helped shoot the careers of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John to new heights. There’s a little bit of values dissonance here and there, but considering when it was made and what decade it was about, it could honestly be a lot worse. It’s easily one of the most fun and enjoyable musicals ever made, and it should come as no surprise the Library of Congress deemed this film significant enough to add to the National Film Registry. Is it any surprise a film like this had a sequel?

Well, yeah, kind of. Paramount didn’t think the movie was going to be much more than a modest one-off hit when it came out despite the 50s nostalgia of the time, mainly due to the spectacular failure of Columbia’s musical adaptation of Lost Horizon being such a spectacular bomb. Why risk making musicals when it seems they’re on the way out, right? But then Grease unexpectedly became one of the biggest films of 1978, and the execs got little dollar signs in their eyes. Sequel time, baby!

One problem, though: None of the original cast was available. Or, I should say, none of the original cast you’d give a fuck about was available. Travolta and Newton-John were already off to bigger and better things, which is a shame since they were both interested before it took them forever to get a script. Only Didi Conn (Frenchy) and Eddie “Mandark” Deezen (Eugene) were coming back. And, look, I love Dexter’s Lab but that wasn’t going to be made for like twenty years or something, so Eddie wasn’t Travolta-levels of star power. Still, Paramount was dead set on turning Grease into a massive franchise. We’re talking spin-offs, sequels, a TV series, the works!

But then the screenwriter for the original died, and the original director went off to make The Blue Lagoon. Of course, they found great backups! The screenwriter is a Canadian comedian who wrote Airplane II (the less funny one) and the director was the choreographer of the original stage and film versions of Grease! How reassuring! And then basically all of the actors they actually wanted in this didn’t end up getting in. For the male lead they wanted Timothy Hutton, but when that didn’t work out they tested Andy Gibb… who failed. They then went with an unknown, Maxwell Caulfield, and casting an unknown is always a gamble. For the leading lady, Pat Benatar and Debbie Harry were considered before they ended up going with an unknown by the name of Michelle Pfeiffer. And guess what! Those two ended up hating each other.

Oh yeah and the final draft of the script was only finished midway through production, without Frenchy in it despite her actress being there, so they just tossed the scenes they’d filmed into the movie anyway.

The end result was savaged by critics and did not really make enough to warrant the massive franchise Paramount was hoping for. The careers of most of the actors involved were damaged pretty bad, especially Caulfield, though Pfeiffer managed to et out mostly unscathed. Overall, the film was just a mess that these days is relegated to lists of the worst sequels ever. Hell, unless you read lists like that you might be unaware this film even exists, because it’s relatively obscure.

Still, it does have its fans, including Andrew Garfield of all people. It’s something of a cult classic in some circles, so surely there’s something of value to be found here, right? Is Grease 2 really that bad?

THE GOOD

Michelle Pfeiffer is pretty in this.

...No. Really. That’s it.

THE BAD

This film’s biggest problem is just how overexaggerated everyone’s performances are. Like all of the dance numbers feature every single character mugging the camera and just making the most absurd faces and movements, like this is a live action cartoon. And look, I love goofy, campy silliness, but there’s a fine line between corny and trying way too hard and this is firmly in the latter camp. Every single number is just ruined by this insufferable desire to be silly.

The other biggest problem is the songs. All of them suck. All of them are also about sex, and that doubly sucks. None of the lyrics are very clever, but all of them are fucking stupid. This might just be one of the horniest movies ever made, and I mean that as an insult. I’ve watched pornos less obsessed with sex than this film. This is all the more jarring because the first film was just filled to the brim with fun and memorable songs, but here? They’re all forgettable crap with no clear identity.

Maxwell Caulfield is a terrible leading man, and I say this as someone who has a hard time believing John Travolta is a leading man. At least with Travolta he does exude a sort of movie star quality; Caulfield just feels to me like a cardboard cutout of a person, or an even more wooden Anakin Skywalker than what we got in Attack of the Clones. Caulfield is just an absolute void of charisma, and it’s no wonder Pfeiffer thought he was a stuck up little shit.

IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

Uh, yeah. It’s fucking bad.

I really wanted to enjoy this. I really did. I love stupid, campy, silly musicals! This should have been perfect for me! And yet it was one of the most tedious, miserable viewing experiences I’ve ever had. I didn’t laugh. I didn’t smile. I was not once charmed or amused by anything I saw onscreen. As a matter of fact, there were times where I just wanted to turn it off because it was just such a slog. The extended cut of Dawn of Justice is a more well-paced and riveting film.

Look, if you like this movie, more power to you. Lord knows there’s plenty of trashy films I absolutely love that many people wouldn’t agree with. But in my opinion, Grease 2 just doesn’t work, and the reason why is because it’s Grease 2. If this film was just its own thing and not trying to coast on the fame of its superior predecessor, maybe I’d be a little more forgiving. But that’s not the world we live in. We live in a world where this film with tenuous connections to the original is allowed to call itself a sequel.

I’m gonna say that score is a little too nice, and this movie deserves something more like a 2. It’s not the worst thing ever and it’s sure to appeal to some folks, but boy is this just plain not a good film in my eyes. It really just feels like it's trying way too hard to be the original, and it's failing miserably at it at every single turn. It is one of the worst movies I've ever watched, but at least it's a bad movie where I can almost see the appeal. It just doesn't appeal to me.

[patamonstan]

I lost the password to my famous ninjago account smh

Literally lost an average of 50-100 interactions per post, I even forgit the user for awhile

But alas, I remembered it, and it was @becszetta, tbh its a very me thing to forget.

So in memory of my first post there, I have it redone, with some things added, some thing removed cause I slay 24/7

Here it is, Ninjago NInja Headcanons + PIXAL bc I love her

Name: Kaito (Kai) Raymond Smith-Jiang

Age (as of crystalized): 21

Height(Feet): 5'10

Eye color: amberish hazel

Hair colour: Brown

Ethnicity: Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese

Sexuality: Bisexual

Pronouns: He/Him

Gender: trans Male

Headcanon: On the rare occasion that Kai doesn't gel his hair, everybody loves to see how long it is, especially his boyfriend Cole.

=================================

Name: Nya Maren Smith-Jiang

Age (as of crystalized): 20

Height(Feet): 5'9

Eye color: aqua

Hair colour: black

Ethnicity: Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese

Sexuality: Bisexual

Pronouns: She/her

Gender: Female

Headcanon: For the longest time Nya tricked Kai into thinking she was taller than him by wearing slightly heeled and platformed shoes, but eventually Kai caught on

=================================

Name: Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon

Age (as of crystalized): 20 physically, 14 mentally

Height(Feet): 6'1

Eye color: red and green

Hair colour: blonde

Ethnicity: Canadian, Japanese

Sexuality: Pansexual, Demiromantic

Pronouns: he/him

Gender: male

Headcanon: Lloyd is the stereotype Canadian when it comes to helping his friends out.

=================================

Name: Nicholas (Cole) Louis Brookstone

Age (as of crystalized): 22

Height(Feet): 6'5

Eye color: brown

Hair colour: black

Ethnicity: Nigerian, Japanese

Sexuality: Gay

Pronouns: He/him

Gender: male

Headcanon: Cole is the Dad friend.

=================================

Name: Zane Howard Julien

Age (as of crystalized): 21

Height(Feet): 6'7

Eye color: Blue

Hair colour: White

Ethnicity: Japanese, Scottish

Sexuality: Asexual

Pronouns: any

Gender: male but dgaf about pronouns

Headcanon: Zane has no concept of pronouns I call canon

=================================

Name: Jayson (Jay) Icarus Walker

Age (as of crystalized): 21

Height(Feet): 5'6

Eye color: Blue

Hair colour: reddish brown

Ethnicity: Irish, Japanese, Spanish

Sexuality: Pansexual

Pronouns: He/they

Gender: trans male

Headcanon: Jay and Kai have bi-weekly sleepovers talking about the pains of having to deal with needles for their testosterone shots (they are both terrified of needles)

=================================

Name: PIXAL Borg

Age (as of crystalized): 22

Height(Feet): 6'3

Eye color: blue

Hair colour: silver

Ethnicity: Japanese, Dutch

Sexuality: Asexual

Pronouns: any

Gender: female

Headcanon: she and Zane initially bonded over not giving af about pronouns then fell in love

=================================

[darkwood-sleddog]

Unleash your rage, please tell me all about the giant malamutes. Also I love your beasties, they’re so cute and you put a lot of effort into them and it shows!

Ohoho I have spoken about this many times before but since you asked so nicely....

Alaskan Malamutes are a type of Inuit freighting sled dog. Inuit sled dogs still bred and used by Indigenous people who have traditions in dog sledding look a very specific way and this includes size. There's a clear, straight line between the function of the dog (hauling heavy freight in cold climates) and the size of the dog.

Let's examine other Inuit sled dogs:

The Greenland Dog, one of the most isolated land race dogs in the world for example (in that its development was and is currently very isolated from admixture of European dogs). Size is quoted in their standard as: "Height: dogs: 58-68 cms (23-27 ins) at shoulder; bitches: 51-61 cms (20-24 ins) at shoulder.

Weight: dogs: 34-47.5 kgs (75-105 lbs), bitches: 27-41 kgs (60-90 lbs)."

Proportionally the dog should be longer than tall.

The Canadian Eskimo Dog (also known as the Canadian Inuit Dog or Qimmiq), is a rare sled breed due to the dog culls that occurred in the 1970s. Size is quoted in their standard as: "

Height: dogs 58-70 cms (23-27½ ins), bitches 50-60 cms (19½-23½ ins).

Weight: dogs 30-40 kgs (66-88lbs), bitches 18-30 kgs (40-66 lbs)."

The Alaskan Malamute has a complicated history, but can most accurately be described as an Inuit style freighting sled dog bred specifically for work in the Antarctic expeditions. Several things to note is that:

1.) a huge majority if not a majority of dogs that make up the founding of the breed are not from Alaska, but rather Eastern and Central Canada, mostly Labrador Huskies (a type of Canadian Inuit sled dog specifically from the Labrador Region) as well as a known Greenland Dog (Bessie).

Below: Labrador Huskies (yes they're still around!) from Northern Lights Dog Sledding:

2.) The standard for the Alaskan Malamute has been revised twice, most significant is the first revision which occurred after the studbooks were open to allow dogs of the M'Loot strain into registration due to the toll WWII work took on the original dogs (who were quite closely related).

3.) Three strains, or families of dogs, make up the modern Alaskan Malamute (Kotzebue (the original registered strain bred for the Antarctic), M'Loot (who were bigger in size and bred for companionship) and Hinman-Irwin (less a strain, more a handful of dogs owned by arctic explorers). This is significant information to understand because the while slight differences in these strains do exist, the dogs were so close in type they were breeding true during first generation admixture, were close enough in size, shape and overall form to be recognized as the same breed, and there are no pure strain dogs left today.

(Eva Seeley with four dogs from the first registered litter of Alaskan Malamutes including CH Gripp of Yukon. Parents were Yukon Jad and Bessie, a dog from Greenland).

The original Alaskan Malamute Standard has size as:

"Height: Of male dog averaging from 22 to 25 inches; of bitch averaging from 20 to 23 inches.

Weight: Of male dog averaging from 65 to 85 pounds; of bitch averaging from 50 to 70 pounds."

Prior to the M'Loot strain's inclusion into the breed registry the breeder of the strain, Paul Voelker lists his dogs as being: "mature dogs range from 23-26 inches at the shoulder and weigh 70-85 pounds".

(Paul Voelker with three M'Loot dogs above).

We know that many M'Loot dogs were larger than this, often exceeding 100 pounds much like my own dog, Sigurd who is 30" at the shoulder at 105 pounds (despite his Kotzebue heavy pedigree...), so seeing 110 pounds near the top of the LEAN WORKING WEIGHT would be an excessive animal by anybody breeding this dog's standards, but certainly not unachievable. Again, not desirable to Eva Seeley (founder of the Kotzebue strain, nor to Paul Voelker, founder of the M'Loot strain).

Because of this middle ground where both strains liked dogs around 85 pounds and 25 inches at the shoulder the standard was revised in 1960 to accommodate the inclusion of these slightly larger dogs. The standard now states: "There is a natural range in size in the breed. The desirable freighting sizes are: Males—25 inches at the shoulders—85 pounds. Females—23 inches at the shoulders—75 pounds."

Proportionally the dogs are longer than tall.

So while there are several different families of dogs that make up the founding of the breed there is only ONE Alaskan Malamute. There is no secondary "type" that is gigantic (120-140 pounds like people like to claim). There is not "standard" Alaskan Malamutes and "Giant" Alaskan Malamutes because 1.) the standard already allows for and encourages the natural size range in the breed which is quite varied. 2.) nobody breeding these dogs in the historical context was calling their strains "Giant Alaskan Malamutes".

So let's examine WHY people call their dogs "Giant Alaskan Malamutes".

The answer is simple: Marketing. People love giant dogs and often see them as status symbols (if you've ever been in a dog breed group where people are bragging about their dog's weight regardless of what shape that dog is in (often overweight) you know what I mean).

More nuanced is that freighting sled dogs like Malamutes, Qimmiq and Greenland Dogs look absolutely behemoth next to "normal" sled dogs like Alaskan Huskies (where 70 pounds is HUGE and 50 pounds is normal) or Siberians which are of a similar size to Alaskans). They're a large dog breed, but they're not giant in the range of actual giant breeds such as Irish Wolfhounds or Mastiffs etc.

Many people breeding "Giant" Alaskan Malamutes also falsely believe and/or tell their clients that their dogs are "pure M'Loot" and spout the mythology that true Alaskan Malamutes from Alaska way back in the day (which is a breed myth, they're not from Alaska remember) were HUGE. like 120-140 pounds huge and use this to justify the size of the dogs they breed (which are just backyard bred, oversized, sometimes not even oversized but just overweight individuals). This myth is easily proven false because it's not like the weight of Voelker's dogs are an unknown, we have heights and weights on many of them and they are very true to many modern "standard" Alaskan Malamutes today. One cannot even claim that the original indigenous dogs were massive because 1.) they didn't exist as explorers at the time often confirm in their writing that the indigenous dogs in Alaska were much the same as those being used across the arctic and into the east 2.) Inuit still use sled dogs today. Traditional Freighting Sled Dogs and we know what they look like and we know what their size is like. The myth that the Alaskan Malamute is some "lost dog breed" is false and takes agency away from Indigenous traditional mushers.

Additionally a huge majority of "Giant" Alaskan malamutes today can be broken down into two categories: those from North America and those from Asia.

"Giant" Alaskan Malamutes from North America will often come from very similar pedigrees. You will see a lot of Cascade, Wakon (particularly this kennel...claiming the dogs are 35" at the shoulders and nearly 200 pounds) and Kingfisher in these pedigrees. These dogs are often long haired, breeders within these lines will often breed long haired dogs purposely as many buyers want very fluffy dogs. Often the dogs are not any bigger than "standard" Alaskan Malamutes, but some can be very big (there is rumor of non-malamute giant breed admixture occurring in the 1980's). Most people breeding within these pedigrees are not necessarily doing the fullest extend of health testing, but it is thankfully becoming more common (can we please for the love of gods tho get people to test more than just hips please). Some dogs in this pedigree type are often accomplish weight pull dogs (because long miles are not being asked of them....) and may or may not be of showable quality, just from a breeder that prioritizes size and breed mythology bs over everything else:

They range from functional and pretty breed standard looking:

To what the fuck is this:

These above dogs are not a "type" of malamute, just dogs with similar pedigrees no different than any other. There are always going to be dogs within a breed that share close pedigree with each other, it's literally just part of how this works. They are not separate unless you want to talk about hush hush paper hanging.

"Giant" Alaskan Malamutes in Eastern Asia unfortunately bear the brunt of the breed's lack of ethics. These dogs are bred HUGE in size, overly loose, overly flewey and the breeders are not shy about the fact that they've bred Tibetan Mastiff into these dogs to achieve the size and hair level. These dogs are bred as pure status symbols and are not getting proper health testing done. I have never once seen a dog from these types of breeders do anything remotely functional. This is a dog that is bred for looks ONLY:

I'm sure you've all see this video (screen shot shown below) of a dog that is absolutely suffering:

So when it comes to "Giant" Alaskan Malamutes there are some simple truths:

1.) They do not exist historically in Inuit freighting sled dogs

2.) Breeders in the mid-century, regardless of the strain of Malamute they preferred liked dogs around 85 pounds 25 inches at the shoulders.

3.) There are potentially hung papers within the breed histories of "Giant" dogs that may account for their overly large size.

4.) They are not a separate "sub-breed" or a different type of Malamute. They are simply all Alaskan Malamutes as the breed's standard allows for variation in size amongst the dogs.

5.) In my opinion breeding dogs overly large disrespects the purpose and function of the breed.

6.) Larger than average individuals can exist and often are produced from responsible breeders when breeding two ideal size or even smaller than ideal sized parents together. This is because genetics is complicated (Sigurd's mom was 80 pounds and his dad 25.5", 73 pounds. Sigurd is 30" and 105 pounds).

[virtchandmoir]

Scott Moir, Kaitlyn Weaver advocates of gender-expansive ice dance and pairs figure skating teams

January 11, 2023

Canadian ice dancer Kaitlyn Weaver says, as an LGBTQ2S+ person, her sport has never fully reflected her lived experience.

Skate Canada has rewritten its policy that specifies ice dance and pairs team must comprise a man and a woman, a rule change that has Weaver and two-time Olympic ice dance champion Scott Moir as its biggest advocates — and could revolutionize the stuffy figure skating world.

Canada, which is the first country in the world to make such a move, plans to push for an international rule change at the next ISU congress in 2024.

"There's so many different ways that it can impact young people," Weaver said. "But as an ice dancer, and especially as a queer person growing up that didn't know she was queer, seeing different stories represented and different partnering, different types of identities on the ice, would have been very liberating for me."

As of next season, pairs and ice dance skaters — up to the Canadian championships, but not beyond — need only be two skaters.

"This is meant to be gender inclusive, so it doesn't matter how you identify yourself, if you're a skater, you're welcome," said Skate Canada president Karen Butcher.

"We'd like to be leaders in the sport no matter what, and we believe that this change is the right thing for more skaters in Canada, and by extension around the world to be able to enjoy skating and have more opportunities," she added. "Why not examine it and see what changes can be made?

"If we're not constantly looking at how do we make our sport better, we're going to die."

Weaver, a two-time Olympian with partner Andrew Poje, said Canada's rule change has been the "talk of the figure skating world," and she was pleasantly surprised to see Russian Maxim Grinkov, who won Olympic pairs gold in 2014 with Tatiana Volosozhar, support the move.

"Max said, 'Why not? A skater is a skater, and if you can do the elements, then who's to say that it's any different?' and I think that, coming out of Russia, that's a big statement," Weaver said.

Moir and partner Tessa Virtue became the most decorated ice dancers in history when they won Olympic gold in 2018. The 35-year-old Moir now coaches the Ice Academy of Montreal's satellite program in London, Ont., and said, because there are far more female skaters than male, removing the gender stipulation could have a huge impact on keeping girls and women in the sport.

"Seeing so many women that want to ice dance, and not having the opportunity because that partner doesn't come along or what have you," Moir said.

He added that he and Virtue had a true 50/50 partnership on the ice, where the strength of their elements came from the two of them equally.

"We have a really unique opportunity in skating where you have the balance of grace and athleticism, where the body type or the body build, the pure science of what the traditionalists would call an advantage, I don't really see that," Moir said. "I see the fact that we have an opportunity to tell a new story and to have a new look.

"And what is the advantage? If traditionalists think that two women can't do lifts, I'm eager to prove them wrong. Or two men together can't be graceful in this era, I'm eager to prove them wrong. Because I don't believe that. I see an even playing field and a fantastic opportunity to get more people involved in figure skating. And that's always something I'm passionate about."

Moir believes that with the advancement in women's sport, and specifically skating, that the best skaters in the world right now are female. Women are reeling off triple axels. Kamila Valieva of Russia became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics last year, at age 15.

"That female-female team is going to be hard to compete against," Moir said. "I just keep going back to: I'm happy I didn't have to compete against a Tessa Virtue and Tessa Virtue team."

Moir realizes there could be a backlash against the policy change, and hopes that skaters don't pay a price or face bullying.

News that artistic (formerly synchronized) swimming would now permit two male swimmers per team in the team event caused an uproar recently.

"I think it's ridiculous. It's small-minded, right?" he said. "In this next generation, hopefully we're starting to let people identify how they want to people. That's all it has to be. And whatever your background is, or however you identify, you should be able to participate in sport and that get the lessons that (sport) offers."

While the teams at this week's Canadian championships in Oshawa, Ont., will see only traditional male/female duos, both Moir and Weaver hope to see the rule change, which received a unanimous vote from Skate Canada's board of directors, reflected in next year's fields.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with the stories we're telling, (but) I think there's room for so much more," said Weaver, a three-time world senior medallist. "My queerness has a big part in why I felt especially motivated to help push this forward. We don't see young people in our sport that are not heteronormative … and I think that that's a problem.

"Canadians belong on the ice. And if there's a group of people that don't feel like that, it's our job to make sure that becomes a reality. And a visual reality. Kids can't be what they can't see. And if we can make space for everyone, I think that our sport and our country will be much richer for it."

Weaver has worked with American pair team Anna Kellar, a nonbinary trans athlete, and Erica Rand, who hoped to compete at the American national championships, but U.S. rules still stipulate a team must comprise a male and female.

Canada was also one of the world's first countries to drop the term "ladies" in figure skating, switching to "women's singles" over a decade ago. The ISU only recently dropped the relic. Women were called "women" at the Olympics for the first time in 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2023.

—CTV News

[libraryofmoths]

Moth of the Week

Isabella Tiger Moth

Pyrrharctia isabella

The isabella tiger moth is part of the Erebidae family and was first officially named in 1797 by James Edward Smith. The caterpillars of this moth are referred to as woolly worms, woolly bears, and banded woolly bears. In Canadian folklore, these caterpillars serve as predictors of harsh or east winters depending on their hair’s length and color.

Description The isabella tiger moth’s body and wings range from tan to yellow-orange. The hindwings are a lighter shade than the forewings with both marked by black spots and faint lines. In females, the hindwings have a pink tone. The body also has a black spotted pattern with reddish-orange forelegs. The moth’s color darkens at the head to a red-orange or brown.

Average wingspan of ≈4.35 cm (≈1.7 in)

Diet and Habitat The caterpillars eat many plants and trees such as grasses, asters, birches, clover, corn, elms, maples, milkweed and sunflowers in deciduous woodlands and prairies. Adults drink nectar from host plants. They use a proboscis, which is like a feeding tube. These moths are found in all of the United States except for the states of Alaska and Hawaii, much of Mexico, and southern Canada. The isabella tiger moth also can be found in the Arctic.

Mating The isabella tiger moth produces two generations a year in its northern range and usually a three generations in the south. In May during the evening, females let out pheromones from a scent gland from their abdomen to attract mates. Males fly in zig-zag patterns and mate with the females. Females lay clusters of 50 or more eggs on the host plants. The eggs will hatch in 5 to 12 days. The eggs hatched in the fall will give way to caterpillars that will freeze in the winter, thaw in spring, and continue the cycle.

Predators Woolly bears will curl into a ball if feeling threatened. The stiff hairs protect the caterpillar from wasps, flies, mantids, birds, and other predators, such as humans. Touching a woolly bear is discouraged because these hairs may cause dermatitis, however they are not venomous and typically don’t cause irritation.

Fun Fact Woollybear festivals are held in several locations in the fall with games, costumes, and a winter prediction.

(Source: Wikipedia, Moth Identification, BugGuide, Minnesota Seasons, iNaturalist, Iron Tree Service, Wildlife in Winter)

[mightyflamethrower]

A 50-year-old male-born transgender swimmer has caused outrage after being allowed to compete in a teen girls’ swimming competition in Canada and was even allowed to undress in the girls’ changing room.

Outraged parents are blasting the Canadian swimming organization for allowing Melody Wiseheart to compete in the Trojan Cup in Barrie, Ontario, on Dec. 1-3.

Wiseheart, who competed at the East Bayfield Community Centre, is a professor at York University and has caused blowback before for competing against young girls.

But this month, parents are speaking out. One parent told the media that the girls were “terrified” when this 50-year-old man strolled into the locker room and began undressing in front of them.

The Mail added that parents organized to hold up a screen of towels to shield the girls from undressing in front of Wiseheart.

Despite the discomfiture of the parents, Wiseheart’s participation was sanctioned by Swimming Canada and Swim Ontario, which issued a statement to the Toronto Sun defending their decision.

“In partnership with Swimming Canada, Swim Ontario has a robust system of policies, procedures, and rules that support our member clubs in providing a competitive experience that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive for all participants,” the statement read.

“Swimming Canada and Swim Ontario believe swimming is for everyone… people of all shapes, sizes, genders, beliefs, and backgrounds should have the opportunity to swim to the best of their ability… with the expectation that our registrants treat each other with respect and dignity, and keep our sport environment free from harassment and abuse.”

The last time the activist professor swam against teenagers was in November when he swam in Toronto’s Markham Pan Am Centre during the Richmond Hill Aquatic Centre’s Fall Classic swim meet. The 50-year-old teacher swam against girls aged 13 to 15 in that competition.

Melody Wiseheart (50 year old male) was able to identify as a girl and swim with 13 year old girls pic.twitter.com/GCeGF1gAsT — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 26, 2023

During that meet, the organizers tried to deny that Wiseheart competed until they were confronted with a program of the meet proving that Wiseheart was on the schedule. They then admitted that he did compete.

Women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines blasted the meet for allowing a man decades older to compete as a teenage girl.

Unless you are OK with a 50 year old man prancing around your daughter with his balls hanging out of his speedo.......YOU are a bigot.

[cyarsk52-20]

cyarsk52-20

cyarskaren52

Mar 19

sexyheretic

Dec 23, 2022

Mr. Lanez, 30, was convicted of three felony counts: assault with a semiautomatic handgun, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. He faces more than 20 years in prison and could be deported.

The case, which played out as both a tawdry tabloid narrative and a weighty referendum on the treatment of Black women in hip-hop and beyond, was closely watched for both its famous characters and what it said about the recent adjudication of alleged abuse by notable men, such as Johnny Depp and Harvey Weinstein, in court and in public.

Mr. Lanez, though not a household name before the case, has seen his celebrity profile rise since the shooting, earning explicit and implied support from various corners of the hip-hop universe, including influential blogs, social media accounts and the rappers-turned-talking heads 50 Cent and Joe Budden.

sexyheretic

Dec 23, 2022

this part is particularly heartbreaking

On the stand, Megan Thee Stallion said she had initially lied about the extent of her personal involvement with Mr. Lanez, including in a television interview with Gayle King, because it was “disgusting,” she said. “How could I share my body with somebody who could shoot me?”

Even as her career skyrocketed, the assault had caused her to “lose my confidence, lose my friends, lose myself,” she said in court. “I wish he had just shot and killed me.”

Honestly I need that little Canadian twerp to be murdered.

Its already bad enough that he shot her but he dehumanized her because his poor ego was bruised and he let toxic masculinity and anger get in the way of better judgment , and he did this for two years and he knew what he had done and he still took great pleasure in afflicting emotional pain to someone who lied to the cops to prevent him from becoming another black man, another hashtag, another beaten or killed by police , another name, another screaming for his mother, another (insert name of black man woman or child who was abused or killed by cops or white supremacy I.e emmitt till, Trayvon martin, Eric Gardner, Mike Brown, Sandra bland, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd etc) and let all these biiitch arss gossip girls and 🐈’s arss male rappers make offensive lyrics about her and make light of her too, (just blatantly dickriding that “man”) and not giving a single fquck by the fact that they are breaking her spiritually and emotionally even after that vertically challenged twat gets his comeuppance and you wonder why I’ll always be heated about this?

That’s a sociopath.

To hell with him.

To hell with everyone dehumanize meg.

May the ancestors strike you down hard

GIF by yeahnothatsnotgonnahappen

[chocochipbiscuit]

8, 23, 50?

8. What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)?

Isn’t any song a great fic song when you’re vibing? Or rather: when I’m in fully ship mode, doesn’t every song remind me of my blorbos?

That said, there’s one specific song that always makes me think of a fic I’ll never write: This is Gonna Hurt by Sixx AM. It gives me Shadowrun feels, specifically Dragonfall: a brave and doomed final stand for a runner trying to save the Kreuzbasar during the game’s epilogue.

…basically, this is the ending I’m never gonna write for IR-8. When I first started thinking about the disaster decker, I knew exactly the kind of altruistic idiot they were gonna be. And when I first finished the game, I also realized oh no. Just like Dietrich, they’re gonna die in a fight they can’t win.

So! I’m never gonna write it. (Or maybe I will. Just twist the knife on Laine once again outliving a young fighter he cares for.)

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

There’s a lot of self-indulgent smut I’d like to write, but haven’t yet. Does that count? :P

Very broadly: there’s a lot of original work ideas I’d like to explore. More things exploring monstrous femininity and the edge between the terrifying and erotic. More redemption or growth arcs for female villains.

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

If my response to 23 sounded introspective, vague, and navel-gazy, then OH BOY will you be excited where I take this question!!!

I’ve been thinking a lot about my relationship to fandom and writing as a creative outlet. I’ve been thinking about it both as a queer Chinese-American writer and as someone who’s been targeted for months-long harassment in one of my older fandoms.

Basically: I’ve not been reading as much fanfic for a while, and been interrogating why that is. Instead I’ve been reading more original work, both fiction and nonfiction. I’ve been thinking about what nourishes me.

In a nutshell: as much as I love fandom when it’s willing to engage with women, with queerness, with characters of color, fandom trends tend to be overwhelmingly white, Eurocentric, and focused on men. (Please note I am talking about fandom as a whole, I am not trying to ascribe guilt or reasoning for why these things exist.) Even the parts of creative fandom that try to focus on the characters I love (usually women kissing) tend to only focus on white women kissing, or otherwise don’t engage with the experience of being not just a queer woman, but a queer woman of color.

It’s become easier for me to find what I need through original work. (No, not all experiences are universal; reading a romance novel featuring a straight Chinese-Canadian woman is not the same as reading a horror story featuring a lesbian Malaysian-American which isn’t the same as reading a memoir by a Korean-American male chef. But it gives me more than the popular media of fandom.) It’s made me re-examine what I want out of fandom.

That said: I’m still writing, but my focus has shifted. I’m considering what fandoms I want to write for, the kinds of stories I want to tell, and the kinds of stories I want to read. I’m also dipping my toe into more original work just because it stretches a different kind of muscle for me.

All of which is to say: I’m curating my fandom experience. I’m trying to be more conscientious and critical about what I engage with. (And yes, I still want to write super mutant smut. :P)

(from Questions for Fic Writers!)

[coochiequeens]

A 67 year old man who uses filters to make him look like a minor girl on his social media just exposed himself to two fourteen year old girls

By Genevieve Gluck February 23, 2024

A trans-identified male residing in Vernon, British Columbia, has been given sympathetic coverage by the press after two teenage girls reported that he had exposed his genitals in their presence while using the women’s change room of a local recreation center. Amanda Wilson, 67, whose given name has not been reported, was accused of stripping nude in the presence of two 14 year-old girls at the Vernon Aquatic Center on January 27.

The girls quickly told their relatives, and the uncle of one of the girls called the pool’s manager to complain.

“My niece had a 50-year-old man come into the change room, strip naked in front of her and her friend, she’s 14, and put on a woman’s bathing suit and go out,” the uncle, identified only as Kevin in order to protect the minors involved, said.

Amanda Wilson,’ 2017. Source: Facebook

He basically said that the kids have no rights and that the transgender person’s rights take precedence, this is something I think parents should know,” Kevin told local outlet Castanet in an article published on February 2.

“I was told by the pool manager that there was nothing he could do unless the person was ‘leering or making overt sexual gestures toward the girls’ but this guy was naked in front of teenage girls and that’s just not right,” he added.

Wilson, who stands at 6’2″ and weighs 300 pounds, has now been given a sympathetic platform in the media to share his side of the story. Writing to the Castanet in a letter published on February 15, the Canadian Armed Forces veteran has claimed that the girls could not have been exposed to male genitalia because, he says, he has “female sex organs” in place of his penis.

“I had surgery 13 years ago. It appears the two 14-year-old girls (who reported seeing me) never actually saw me completely naked,” Wilson wrote, accusing his critics of discrimination.

“The girls told their uncle I had male sex organs but I have female sex organs, at least on the outside. I am very masculine looking and as a result, I believe they assumed I had male sex organs. I do not. As well, I have some breast growth. I am legally female,” he added.

“Are we as a society going to start discriminating against people based on what they look like? If that is the case, what is next, banning people of different races?… Some believe I could use a separate changing room. That is true. But should we also force people of other races to use separate change rooms?”

“It makes me feel like a second-class woman,” Wilson said in a separate interview. “The fact that I’m trans overrides all the other good things that I’ve done.”

Reduxx has discovered a Facebook account belonging to Wilson, where he has posted disturbing images of what appears to be his own face edited to resemble that of a very young girl.

Last May, after Wilson updated his profile picture to an image of a young blonde girl, some of his friends took notice and told him the behavior was “creepy.”

Wilson’s heavily edited photo alongside some of the comments he made in response to critics. REDUXX.INFO

“That’s creepy because you don’t look like this at all. You are much older,” said one of Wilson’s Facebook commenters. Another remarked, “It is kind of creepy for sure. No offense, my friend.”

Wilson took the criticism in stride, saying: “Isn’t it interesting what you can do with computer software?” and adding: “You should see what I can do with other people.”

Responses to an earlier altered photo shared by Wilson in November 2022 were similarly critical.

“Why post a pic that doesn’t look like you at all?” asked one woman.

Wilson replied: “This is what I would have looked like if God had not made a mistake.” When the same commenter stated that “God didn’t make a mistake,” Wilson said, “How do you explain why so many people in this world are transgender. According to the church, there are only two genders. But my brain, my self, is female and my body was female. Something went wrong.”

For years, Wilson has repeatedly posted strong opposition to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including one image which depicted him as Hitler.

“Hate is a strong word. There is only one person in Canada that I truly hate and that is Justin Trudeau,” Wilson posted in April of last year.

“There is an endangered species in Canada that is about to be exterminated,” Wilson wrote in July 2023. “They call it the Liberal Party.”

He has also, on several occasions, claimed to be a victim of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of his father.

“Spanking a child using your hand on their clothed rear is one thing, but when you use a leather belt or a piece of wood on their bare skin and leave welts, bruises, and cuts, that is another thing. Too many children are the victims of adults who seem to think that it is okay to brutalize a child,” wrote Wilson on January 1. Curiously, Wilson follows an independent maker of custom whips on Facebook which “ships worldwide.”

On the same day, Wilson stated he was “still suffering from the abuse” he received in his childhood.

“Madagascar law allows the castration of child rapists,” Wilson posted to Facebook on February 12, just three days before his letter to Castanet was published, wherein he claimed to have had his male genitalia removed.

Wilson has also shared reports of sexual crimes committed by minors while calling for children to be tried and punished as adults.

“You have to love the Youth Criminal Justice Act,” Wilson said in April 2023. “A twelve-year-old boy is charged with two counts of sexual assault but because he is a child, his name is not published. On top of that, the most he will get is three years in a comfortable facility. If someone is capable of committing a crime, they should be judged as an adult.”

The incident involving Wilson’s nudity in the women’s change room has not been widely reported, but did spark some criticism. After Castanet spoke with Kevin, community member Anne Gunion wrote a letter to the outlet criticizing legislation which allows for a self-declared gender identity to be prioritized over biological sex. Bill C-16, which was added to the Canadian Human Rights Act in June 2017, enshrined the concept of gender identity as a protected characteristic under the law.

“Bill C-16 has given access for predators to enter zones that were previously safe for women,” wrote Gunion, whose comments were released by Castanet on February 8. “Why are the feelings of someone who identifies as another gender more important than the emotional and physical safety of women? Why do transgender rights take precedence?”

“My heart goes out to women who have a past of sexual abuse and sharing a change room with a male causes emotional harm,” she continued. “Why are the feelings of someone who identifies as another gender more important than a child’s safety? That is not equality. Women have fought long and hard for equality, and allowing biological men into our safe spaces is a step backwards for women’s rights.”

[dear-indies]

Hello!! I hope you're having a great weekend :) I was wondering if I could ask for some suggestions for a 35-50 y/o male faceclaim who's possibly got a gritty vigilante vibe going on - ethnicity doesn't matter, but preferably someone with Jewish ancestry. Thank you a bunch and take care!!

Gabriel Macht (1972) Ashkenazi Jewish.

Sasha Roiz (1973) Ashkenazi Jewish.

Joaquin Phoenix (1974) Ashkenazi Jewish / English, with some Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, German, Irish, Welsh, and French Huguenot.

Josh Radnor (1974) Ashkenazi Jewish, as well as approximately 1/8th Irish, 1/8th possibly English.

Taika Waititi (1975) Māori, as well as distant British Isles, possibly French-Canadian / Irish, English, Scottish, Northern Irish, one quarter Ashkenazi Jewish.

Cole Hauser (1975) Ashkenazi Jewish / German, Irish, Walloon Belgian, French, Scottish.

Brett Goldstein (1980) Ashkenazi Jewish.

Morgan Spector (1980) Ashkenazi Jewish / Irish, possibly other..

Daveed Diggs (1982) Ashkenazi Jewish / African-American.

Ari Millen (1982) Ashkenazi Jewish.

Ed Skrein (1983) Ashkenazi Jewish / possibly English.

Wison Bethel (1984) Ashkenazi Jewish, English, possibly Welsh.

Aditya Roy Kapur (1985) Indian / Indian Jewish.

Hale Appleman (1986) Ashkenazi Jewish / Irish, English - is queer.

Oliver Jackson-Cohen (1986) Egyptian Jewish / English.

Zac Efron (1987) Ashkenazi Jewish (paternal grandfather), as well as English, German, Scottish, possibly Irish, and remote Dutch and Belgian/Flemish - in Firestarter!

and:

Don Lee (1971) Korean.

Richard Armitage (1971)

Daniel Sunjata (1971) African-American, Irish, German.

Khary Payton (1972) African-American.

Karl Urban (1972)

Idris Elba (1972) Sierra Leonean / Ghanaian.

Andrew Lincoln (1973)

Scott Adkins (1976)

Lateef Crowder (1977) Afro Brazilian.

Pablo Schreiber (1978)

Nonso Anozie (1978) Igbo Nigerian.

Omar Sy (1978) Mauritanian / Fula Senegalese.

Tom Ellis (1978)

Ian Anthony Dale (1978) Japanese, one-eighth Portuguese-Macanese / English, German, French-Canadian.

Santiago Cabrera (1978) Chilean [Spanish, Basque, French and Belgian/Flemish, English, Irish, German, possibly other].

John Krasinski (1979)

Vinny Chhibber (1980) Indian.

David Giuntoli (1980)

JD Pardo (1980) Argentinian / Salvadorian.

Ricky Whittle (1981) Afro-Jamaican / English.

Rami Malek (1981) 87.5% Egyptian 12.5% Greek.

Tahar Rahim (1981) Algerian.

Colin O'Donoghue (1981)

Joe Taslim (1981) Chinese Indonesian.

Ben Barnes (1981)

Tenoch Huerta (1981) Mexican of Nahua, Purepecha, and Spanish descent.

Adan Canto (1981) Mexican.

Gabriel Luna (1982) Mexican and Lipan,

Iko Uwais (1983) Betawi.

Michael Malarkey (1983) Palestinian, Italian-Maltese / Irish, German.

Aidan Turner (1983)

Marwan Kenzari (1983) Tunisian.

Steven Yeun (1983) Korean.

Sacha Dhawan (1984) Punjabi Indian.

Burak Özçivit (1984) Turkish.

Max Riemelt (1984)

Rômulo Estrela (1984) Brazilian.

John David Washington (1984) African-American.

Clayton Cardenas (1985) Filipino and Mexican.

François Arnaud (1985) - is bisexual.

Adam Demos (1985)

Alex Meraz (1985) Mexican of Purepecha descent.

Miguel Gomez (1985) Colombian.

Martin Sensmeier (1985) Tlingit, Koyukon, Eyak, mixed European.

Peter Gadiot (1986) Mexican / Dutch, some French.

Jai Courtney (1986)

Josh Segarra (1986) Puerto Rican.

Robert Pattinson (1986)

Penn Badgley (1986)

Bobby Soto (1986) Mexican and Puerto Rican.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (1986) African-American.

Casey Deidrick (1987)

Arifin Putra (1987) Indonesian, Chinese, and German.

İlhan Şen (1987) Turkish.

Lewis Tan (1987) Chinese Singaporean / Irish, possibly English.

sdfsdf men in this age range with this vibe are @lewistan's and mine's speciality so a big thank you to her and also @antlerqueer for helping!

[blowflyfag]

Pro Wrestling Illustrated: November 1996

Press Conference… BRET HART

Every issue, reporters from PRO WRESTLING ILLUSTRATED will participate in an incisive press conference with a top wrestling star. The questions will be demanding. And the answers will reveal the innermost thoughts of the giants of the sport. 

[Bret Hart beat Diesel for his third WWF World title last year and gained a reputation for being able to beat bigger and stronger men. Now he’s talking as if we’ve seen the last of him in the ring.]

The bell tolls for Bret Hart, but neither Shawn Michaels nor Davey Boy Smith is the one beckoning to him.

It is 6:50 on a pretty June evening in Calgary, and “The Hitman” is going i n two directions, as has been the case of late. There is the interview that he has agreed to do–it is due to begin momentarily. Suddenly, though, Hart remembers that he has to take his son Dallas for drum lessons.

Hart ponders this dilemma, then consults with his ever-supportive wife, Julie, who offers to play chaperone for their percussionist son. 

Problem solved. The interview can go on as scheduled. 

This is what has become a typical night in the life of wrestling’s “Excellence Of Execution.” To wrestling fans, however, it probably sounds like an atypical day in the life of one of the WWF’s most popular and most successful wrestlers of all-time.

Bret Hart, “The Excellence Of Fatherhood”? For now at least, yes. Three months after losing the WWF belt to Michaels in a controversial “Iron Man” match, Hart is adapting to a life that, at least for now, excludes wrestling.

Instead of facing off against the motley likes of Jerry Lawler, brother Owen, and Michaels, Bret is reacquainting himself on a 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week basis with his wife, sons Dallas, 11, and Blade, 6, and daughters Jade, 13, and Alexandra, 8. An accomplished cartoonist, one of eight owners of a Canadian junior hockey team, and a budding actor, Hart is looking into life beyond the squared circle.

Does this mean “The Hitman” has fought his last battle as a wrestler? Senior Writer Bryan Ethier spoke to him about that and much more. 

BRYAN ETHIER: You’ve been away from wrestling for a few months now. After receiving favorable reviews for your performance in the series Lonesome Dove last year, have you made any further efforts to get into acting?

BRET HART: It’s hard to say. It's not like you can just jump into an acting career. You make yourself available and try to find the right project that comes along. You don’t sell out your principles and end up in a show that you might not be too happy about or do a television show that would cause you some discomfort somewhere down the line. You don’t want to do something in acting that would jeopardize your doing something positive or constructive. The performances I gave in Lonesome Dove were genuine and accepted as decent performances. The acting world is something I’m pursuing, but there’s nothing pre-set.

[“To see [Shawn Michaels] hold this image as a male dancer … makes me ill. It always has. People ask me why I didn’t shake his hand at the end of WrestleMania. I don't want to endorse him.”]

ETHIER: How has your success as an actor and a cartoonist precipitated your decision to take a leave of absence from wrestling?

HART: Many, many years ago when I got into wrestling, I set out to accomplish a lot of things. In a lot of areas, I’ve accomplished everything I could have ever hoped to. It’s done. So I can go back and try to repeat it again, and there is some satisfaction in that. Of course I’ve had other dreams and goals I’d like to fulfill, too. I would like to do more cartoons; I used to be a great cartoonist, and I guess I still am. I would like to possibly write a book, not necessarily on wrestling, either. I wouldn’t mind doing a comic strip or a comic book. That would combine both talents. I’ve had my cartoons published in the Calgary Sun (for which he has written a column for nearly six years). It’s kind of a hobby, but it’s something I put a lot of work into to make sure it’s decent.

ETHIER: You’re admired for your integrity and standards. How difficult has it been for you to see some of the changes in the WWF–namely the departure of Razor Ramon and Diesel to WCW and Shawn Michaels becoming WWF World champion?

HART: You never can let your personal feelings get to you too much, because the wrestling business is often like a river: The current’s going to go where it’s going to go. I guess what sells is what works. 

ETHIER: That river has carried with it successful, controversial wrestlers such as Goldust. What are your feelings on him and the direction in which the WWF is headed? 

HART: I feel there’s something missing since I’ve been gone. That is, maybe a truly defined hero. I’m very proud of what I represented as a hero; I stood up for myself and faced all kinds of tough opponents of different shapes and sizes, and I accepted the most severe challenges. I always did it with my head held high and with integrity. “The Hitman” Never gave less than 100 percent. I always went up against the wall with The Undertaker and Yokozuna and a lot of other guys and never backed down. If I needed to bite his head to get out of a bearhug, I did it. That was the way I was brought up. Not to win at all costs, but also not to let some big guy push you around and get away with breaking the rules. And I think that’s a good message for kids. I was never a troublemaker; I was always open and honest about how I fought.

ETHIER: Now that you’ve had some time to reflect on your heartbreaking defeat to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII, how would you rate him as a champion and a hero? 

[Despite giving one of the greatest efforts of his career, Hart lost the WWF title to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII. He has nothing good to say about “The Heartbreak Kid” at this point.]

HART: To see him hold this image as a male dancer–a guy who takes his clothes off and the little dance he does getting into the ring–,makes me ill. It always has. People ask me why I didn't shake his hand at the end of WrestleMania. I don't want to endorse him. I don’t like the way he handles his responsibility as a role model. 

ETHIER: Is it conceivable for a wrestler to be a role model when you consider the oneupmanship that is occurring between the WWF and WCW?

HART: I don’t know. For me, I’ve been around the world and seen how significant it is to be this legendary role model. I’ve had little kids in Israel mob me at the Wailing Wall. I’ve had little Irish kids in North Belfast and Northern Ireland–Catholic and Protestant kids–holding my hand at the same time. I’ve seen kids in India in incredible poverty that are so emotionally overcome when they actually see you in person and see that you’re not a cartoon character. You’re not a figment of their imagination. You’re a real human being who fights these people. I'm very serious about being a hero; I don’t attach a price tag to that. These kids believe what I say, what I stand for. Too many guys get into wrestling now for the money. Loyalty’s more important.

ETHIER: Your blood war with Owen seems to have taken a back seat to your sister Diana’s accusations that Shawn Michaels has harassed her. What are your feelings about having family members drawn into the wrestling fray?

[Bret brought his son Blade to this year’s Slammys (above left). He’s now enjoying full-time fatherhood. And since he has distanced himself from wrestling, he’ll have more time to devote to hobbies such as motorcycle riding if he so chooses (above right).]

HART: Since WrestleMania, I’ve kind of distanced myself from it. I haven't watched the show. I have not been involved in anything that my sister Diana did, or what Owen’s been doing or what Davey Boy’s been doing. In wrestling, you can’t let other people’s view clutter yours. I can’t worry about what Owen is doing or what Davey Boy’s doing. You just hope the right things happen to the good people. I’ve always felt I'm the intelligent fan’s wrestler.

ETHIER: Is there a place in wrestling today for an “intelligent” wrestler such as you?

HART: I don’t think there are enough fans who appreciate a wrestler who has a little integrity, who doesn’t have the same match every night. There aren’t enough who appreciate a wrestler who applies total and complete logic for every match and who doesn’t just dip into the well and do what he did the night before–someone who isn't overcome by his image and persona. I’m the same guy that I was when I got into this business.

ETHIER: How do you wish to be remembered as a wrestler?

HART: I don’t want to be remembered as a guy who held on too long, who sold out his feelings at the very end so he could make a few bucks.

ETHIER: In what direction is the WWF going?

HART: The positive thing I can say about the WWF, opposed to WCW, is that the WWF seems to try to make an effort to go forward all the time. I like to see guys like Steve Austin or my brother Own, because no one can say they’re not good wrestlers. 

EHTIER: Has being a dedicated father of four affected your decision to take a break from wrestling?

HART: I’ve wanted to be home with my kids for years. You can’t just put your family on hold forever, because eventually they grow up, and they’re gone.

ETHIER: Have we seen the last of Bret Hart inside the ring?

HART: I don’t know. I really don’t know. I know there’s a lot of people talking like it’s a plan–that I will just come back and walk right back into wrestling like it was orchestrated or planned from the beginning. I have to have a reason and desire to come back. Maybe what I’m hoping for is people will realize that something’s missing in the wrestling world and they’ll appreciate that what I offered wasn’t so much good, but what it was just wholesome, better. If it ended tomorrow morning and I woke up and said, “I don’t need it, I’m done,” I’d be really proud of what I accomplished and what I got in return. 

[nikoldragonne12]

(Old post)

Despicable Me AU - info (part 2)

In my AU Gru wasn't 11¾ years old during the "Minions: The Rise of Gru" movie - I moved his birthday to June;

Birth dates, zodiac signs and sexualities of canon/existing characters (note: some info is from wiki and some of it is by me - info from wiki is even a little changed, so it fits the timeline which I slightly changed):

Gru - 19th June 1964; Gemini = the Twins; heteroromantic gray-asexual 

Dru - 19th June 1964; Gemini = the Twins; homosexual 

Lucy - 8th March 1978; Pisces = the Fish; heterosexual 

Margo - 27th August 2002; Virgo = the Maiden; bisexual 

Edith - 13th January 2004; Capricorn = the Sea-Goat; aromantic asexual 

Agnes - 29th April 2007; Taurus = the Bull; heterosexual

Marlena - 6th February 1931; Aquarius = the Water-Bearer; heterosexual 

Dr. Nefario - 28th July 1931; Leo = the Lion; heterosexual 

Victor "Vector" - 15th February 1975; Aquarius = the Water-Bearer; heteroromantic asexual 

Mr. Perkins - 23rd December 1943; Capricorn = the Sea-Goat; heterosexual 

Eduardo - 29th July 1973; Leo = the Lion; demiromantic demisexual

Antonio - 3rd November 2001; Scorpio = the Scorpion; heterosexual 

Balthazar - 19th July 1973; Cancer = the Crab; pansexual 

Silas - 16th February 1946; Aquarius = the Water-Bearer; heterosexual 

Valerie - 26th March 1969; Aries = the Ram; aromantic asexual 

Scarlet - 1st August 1928; Leo = the Lion; heterosexual 

Herb - 2nd October 1927; Libra = the Scales; heterosexual 

Henry "Wild Knuckles" - 29th May 1902; Gemini = the Twins; heterosexual

Heights of canon/existing characters were added and/or changed (sorry, we're not using feet and inches in our country):

Gru - 186 cm

Dru - 188 cm

Lucy - 196 cm (190 cm without shoes)

Margo - 170 cm (currently; formerly 152 cm)

Edith - 165 cm (currently; formerly 127 cm)

Agnes - 160 cm (currently; formerly 108 cm)

Marlena - 158 cm

Dr. Nefario - 180 cm

Victor "Vector" - 178 cm

Mr. Perkins - 200 cm

Eduardo - 170 cm (formerly 187 cm)

Antonio - 155 cm

Balthazar - 195 cm

Silas - 193 cm

Valerie -  193 cm (187 cm without shoes)

Scarlet - 187 cm

Herb - 205 cm

Henry "Wild Knuckles" - 206 cm

Bob - 50 cm

Stuart - 59 cm

Chubby minions - 61 cm

Middle-height minions - 62 to 64 cm

Otto - 120 cm

Tall minions - 125 cm

Minions are actually very intelligent creatures but the male tribe has a tendency to hide it with their language  and with playful, childish and frolic behavior;

The female tribe doesn't hide intelligence, most of the minion girls is still playful and frolic, though - sometimes even more than the boys;

Some minions (in both tribes) are serious and less frolic, of course;

Balthazar has a daughter he never met - despite his megalomaniac personality, he had a girlfriend who he eventually left behind on his villainous way;

Her name was Roselle Moreau and she didn't tell Balthazar she's pregnant when he was leaving because she felt he wouldn't stay anyway;

Balthazar's daughter is named Colette Moreau, she's 21 years old (b. 5th October 2002; Libra = the Scales) and she's a shy and reserved yet very talented hobby dancer and a university student of Philosophy (Toronto university);

Colette doesn't know exactly who her father is/was because Roselle doesn't want to talk about him - she only told her daughter her father was a jerk and a criminal, so Collete isn't looking for him;

Fact: Balthazar is Canadian, was born there and was living there until the age of 11 - I made this headcanon because of how he spoke French in Despicable Me 3 without any problems. My first thoughts of why his French is so good were that he's either somebody who's good at learning languages or somebody whose native language is French (which appealed to me more) - however, I would expect him to have at least a slight French accent if he was meant to be from France (which is characteristic for one of my OCs of this AU). That's why I decided to put Balthazar in a country that has two official languages and one of them is French (so the accent doesn't have to be there) - I eventually chose Canada;

After 'Despicable Me 3", the male minion tribe divided - a bigger part of them ran away with Dru while the rest of the tribe, those who weren't willing to become villains again, stayed with Gru;

Mel (full name "Melvin" in my AU) is the actual alpha of the male minion tribe and the one who's in charge of Dru's group of minions;

Kevin, the second in charge, stayed with Gru and became an alpha of the smaller group of the minions at Gru's house - his reasons for it were simple: he developed slight PTSD after being in prison, he didn't feel any anger towards Gru anymore and was able to renew his loyalty and the most important, he himself wasn't interested in crime anymore and just wanted to have a nice and calm life;

A small chicken minion from "Minions: The Rise of Gru" is still alive - he lost almost all his feathers (except some feathers on his head and arms), his beak reformed into normal minion mouth, his teeth grew and even his arms and legs became more minion-like;

He also talks normally;

My headcanon: Stuart named his "child" Chico - it means "kid/boy" in Spanish and it also sounds like "chicken", a little. Chico is a complete opposite of his father: silent, shy, gentle, polite yet filled with energy. He stayed with Dave after Despicable Me 3 while Stuart ran away with Dru - Chico misses his dad but doesn't feel any anger towards him.

Fact: Minions can breed in my AU;

Mel is the oldest male minion and has seven younger brothers, (including Steve and Stuart, who's actually the youngest brother), as well as a big number of cousins;

This also means Chico is Mel's nephew;

Lucy left her relatives (those who are alive) because she wanted to take revenge on that villain who murdered her parents, grandparents and great-grandmother;

Her relatives didn't agree and one of them (Lucy's aunt, specifically) even got in an argument with Lucy, which ended up by Lucy leaving;

Lucy still feels guilty for leaving them behind and would be happy to meet them again, she doesn't have enough courage to return and fix the relationship with them, however;

Fact: Gru knows only a part of Lucy's past because she doesn't like to talk about it - he respects her and doesn't ask about it but he also told her if she ever needs to tell him, he will listen and help her;

Minions are almost immortal - they can't be injured by a lot of common things, they can't die of old age, however, there are some ways they can injure themselves and even ways they can die (for example beasts created by PX-41 serum can make them injuries they can't heal completely and they can even kill the minions);

Bonus fact!: Minions Mike and Ken (from "Panic in the Mailroom") survived the attack of three mutated kittens and currently lives with the female minion tribe;

They're covered with scars, one of Ken's eyes is missing, Mike is limping on his leg and they both also have PTSD, but otherwise they're doing pretty well;

Both Mike and Ken got married to two beautiful minion girls named Coco and Caroline "Carrie" - there are also some rumors among the female tribe saying Carrie might be pregnant;

[cyarsk5230]

Opinion | Celebs who picked Tory Lanez over Megan Thee Stallion need a reckoning, too

More than seven months after hip-hop recording artist Tory Lanez was convicted in the 2020 shooting of hip-hop megastar and three-time Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion, a judge sentenced him Tuesday to 10 years in prison. In December, a Los Angeles jury found the Canadian-born Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, guilty of three felony counts: assault with a semiautomatic handgun, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.

T he 10 years Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford gave Lanez Tuesday was less than the 13 years requested by prosecutors.

On Monday, the first day of Lanez's sentencing hearing, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta read into the record a statement from Megan: “Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace,” she wrote. She also wrote, “Slowly but surely, I’m healing and coming back, but I will never be the same.” Megan testified during Lanez's trial but said in her statement that she eventually decided not to appear at the sentencing because she “simply could not bring myself to be in a room with Tory again.”

The 10-year sentence is an appropriate one. It sends a message that you can’t harm someone and not be held accountable. This is his Lanez's own doing, and now he will have about a decade to reckon with that.

Lanez’s sentencing is the latest development in one of the most contentious periods in hip-hop history, when many of the most notable men in the genre chose to rally around a fellow male artist accused of violence and not a fellow female artist who said she’d been shot by him.

What does it mean for Black women fans of hip-hop that, at the same time the 50th anniversary of the art form is being celebrated, one of hip-hop’s biggest stars continues to see hip-hop’s biggest influencers rally around her assailant, put her on virtual trial and find her guilty?

As a Black woman who remembers sneaking into my cousins David and Eric’s room as a kid to learn the lyrics to “It Takes Two” by Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock, I find it difficult to celebrate this golden anniversary. Because even though it’s turning 50, hip-hop doesn’t seem to have matured.

In his song “Circo Loco,” a collaboration with fellow rapper 21 Savage, Drake called Megan a liar. “This b---- lie about getting shot but she still a stallion … she don’t even get the joke but she still smiling,” Lanez’s fellow Canadian rapper sings. Drake was one of several prominent men in hip hop who accused her of lying. Hip-hop podcasters and bloggers, including Joe Budden and DJ Akademiks, used their large platforms to vilify her. (Budden later apologized for joking about Megan’s mental health as he doubted her claims of being shot by Lanez.)

Future NBA Hall of Famer LeBron James went out of his way to let us to know he’s Team Lanez. Responding to a tweet that claimed Lanez makes good music, James responded, “FACTS!!! He never misses. That boy talented as hell man! Bangers for days!!”

Akademiks and Megan engaged in a heated exchange on social media. Before a scheduled pre-trial court hearing even began, Akademiks falsely claimed on Twitter that there’d been a bombshell revelation that exonerated Lanez. Megan tagged him when she responded on Instagram, “Y’all tryna win a social media campaign this is MY REAL LIFE! Y’all tryna get retweets SPREADING FALSE NARRATIVES!” As recently as last month, Akademiks said he still has his doubts that Lanez is guilty.

Black women are three times more likely than other women to be killed by current or former partners. Even if Black people don’t know that exact statistic, they likely know of Black women who’ve been hurt or killed by their partners. That’s why I never bought the idea that the hip-hop community believed Megan was lying about what she said happened to her at the hands of someone with whom she’d been intimate with.

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I figured the hip-hop artists dogging Meg knew she was telling the truth but succumbed to what can be an overwhelming sentiment that we must protect and defend Black men at all costs: even when Black women and Black children are the victims. I mean, isn’t that why so many refuse to stop supporting R. Kelly?

In my lifetime, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Black people overwhelmingly stand with Black women victims when their assailants are Black men. And that makes me sad.

That idea that protecting abusive men is more important than protecting or defending the abused makes it harder sometimes to rock to the beat. Because this isn’t hip-hop’s first account of intimate partner violence or men in hip-hop attacking women in general. There were stories in its earlier years — such as Dr. Dre’s 1991 assault of Dee Barnes, a journalist whose only crime was being a Black woman who was good at her job. According to media reports, Dr. Dre assaulted Barnes because she’d previously interviewed former NWA member Ice Cube and, in his segment, Cube had less than flattering remarks for his former bandmates. Instead of addressing Cube, Dre took his frustrations out on Barnes. Dr. Dre pleaded no contest to attacking Barnes and was given two years probation and some community service. “It ain’t no big thing. I just threw her through a door,” Dr. Dre said of Barnes then in an interview with Rolling Stone.

In 2015, the film “Straight Outta Compton” was rightly criticized for leaving out Dr. Dre’s attack on Barnes and the allegations of abuse from R&B singer Tairrie B and Dr. Dre’s former girlfriend, R&B singer Michel’le. That’s when Dr. Dre finally paid lip service to owning up to what he’d done. In a statement to The New York Times that year, he blamed alcoholism and said, “I apologize to the women I’ve hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives.”

Such an apology was too little and almost a quarter-century too late. That’s why it was such an offense that in February, to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the Grammys honored Dr. Dre by presenting him its inaugural Global Impact Award. Not only that, the Grammys named that award for him. Barnes couldn’t believe it. She told Rolling Stone, “You might as well call it the Ike Turner Award.” She added, “I’m not the bad guy, but I am made into the villain — very much like how they did Megan Thee Stallion … I watched what happened to my little sister Megan, and it just was heartbreaking to me because we have not changed in all these years.”

L anez being sentenced at the same time as the genre’s golden anniversary is fitting. Instead of seeing his violence against a woman as a stain on the record or a blip on the radar, let us view Lanez’s attack on Megan and hip-hop’s support of him as yet another notch in hip-hop’s belt. This is what it wants to be.

Women have left an indelible mark on hip-hop. We should salute and applaud them. But we should also recognize that they’ve achieved what they have despite the sexist and patriarchal environments they’ve been in, environments that have so often been indifferent, if not openly hostile to their success, their safety and their survival.

What is hip-hop’s community going to do as it begins its next 50 years to ensure that women will be valued? What are the genre’s influencers going to do to change a culture in which abusers aren’t just protected but are too often celebrated?

Through its silence on behalf of those who’ve been abused and its open affirmation of abusers, hip-hop makes it clear that, to borrow from an infamous bar in Jay Z’s song “30 Something,” they don’t respect the ones who got shot; they respect the shooters.

I can still recite “It Takes Two” word-for-word. I still have fond memories of how hip-hop shaped my youth and young adulthood, but I don’t see the world with the idyllic eyes of a child anymore.

There are very few spaces where Black women are safe, and the horrible response to Lanez shooting Meg is proof that hip-hop, in all this time, still isn’t one of them.

This post is part of MSNBC’s “Hip-Hop Is Universal” series, which celebrates the genre’s 50th anniversary and examines its future.

This is why I’m still outraged for meg it could have been any other black woman, I never felt more unsafe. Fuck everyone who has no respect for black women and doesn’t protect them.

I don’t care if these famous people who stood by that sociopath have either apologized or kept their distance nor them being legendary their meat sucking a degenerate is their legacy . Fuck them for this for life, stand in your discomfort, if you don’t like being called out on this. You were a bunch of meat sucking sluts and I’m shaming you and at the same time demanding you to do better. Stand in it!