#Sophie From Mars

[ribstongrowback]

hey just a heads up

if you don't plan on dating sophie from mars

don't know anyone who's planning on sophie from mars

you don't need to do anything about the callout beyond aknowledging it or informing people who plan on doing that.

and if you are planning on doing that? well, read the experiences that have been shared, see if they apply to your own experience and watch out. in the end, you know better.

sophie has stated that she would engage with any accountability that is asked of her, she has recognised the allegations, it is probable that she wants to be better about things.

but please

please please please

remember to not be fucking transmysoginistic. don't tell us about how you "always could tell" or how she "creeped you out anyway", don't expose her kinks as proof of her creepiness, no you couldn't, yes she did because you're transphobic, and having kinks doesn't make you an abuser.

be normal. aknowledge and let go. you are not saving or helping anyone.

[leo-fie]

A few days ago a group of trans women accused youtuber Sophie from Mars of domestic abuse and intimate partner violence in an open letter on twitter. The letter was published by podcaster Alice Caldwell-Kelly, who stated that she was physically scarred by Sophie.

Sophie has responded, but not apologized, also on twitter.

I am one of Sophie's patreons. And if it weren't for some anonymous person sending me an ask I would not have known about any of this.

It's how Sophie responded that validates the accusations of controlling behavior for me. She responded on twitter, a platform many are no longer on, nowhere else. And not with a tweet, but with what James Stephanie Sterling calls a solemn jpeg. A whole lot of nothing in the form of an image, not text that can be searched for.

Technically she adressed it. In such a way that the least amount of people see it. That's cold.

Personally I am shocked and appaled. Sophie was my favorite youtuber and a huge inspiration. I thought she was better than this and told her as much in a very angry message. I still think her video essays are valuable, which is why I pirated as many of them as I could. All the money I gave her. Well, that's gone.

I hope the accusations garner enough attention to ostracize Sophie in Britain's queer community, so that there will be no future victims. It's why the accusers came forwards in the first place.

[tuurverheydepoetryandprose]

On a daily basis we’re being reminded that many people are horrible (genocide, war, bigotry, austerity etc.)

However, I think a lot of people (particularly committed lefties) want to counter the awfulness of the status quo and the sectarianism of internet communities by being extra caring and forgiving.

I see you and I really appreciate it, but I feel need to caution you. Be careful not to overstimulate yourself and burn yourself out. Non-stop 24/7 solidarity work is rarely sustainable. Keep in mind that there’s plenty of meaningful & offline things you can do to chip away at the inhumanity of our society without maxing out your capacity or energy.

As for the forgiveness part, be careful not to allow people back in before they have shown to be better. Remember it’s not the intentions but the actions that count. Also, please keep in mind that people with seemingly empathetic politics are not necessarily empathetic people (this is especially true for influencers and content creators).

It’s outcomes that matter. If people that have hurt others can’t seem to face up to that fact without making excuses and/or are way more focused on restoring their previous status then they can’t be trusted. (e.g. James Somerton, Sophie from Mars). I get wanting to give people the benefit of the doubt, but you should look at their actions first if you don’t want to be manipulated. This is especially important when the harm was done to a third party and you have to decide between believing the victims or protecting your (irl or parasocial) relationship.

So, to conclude: Don’t be a martyr, hurting yourself helps nobody longterm. And don’t be a mark. There’s plenty of dangerous people using the politics of kindness to whitewash their misdeeds. Keep in mind to focus on actual behaviour rather than the promise of improvement or remorse.

Be caring, but don’t forget to take care of yourself.

[martymcflown]

I don't know why this last month has been the month of multiple Youtubers I watched turning out to be awful people but holy shit can these people relax for like five minutes.

[perfect-immortal-machinegirl]

Hey, sorry, but we’re systematically reproducing your boyfriend. Yeah. At all times, yeah. All cases, too. No. I- I know. It’s fucked up.

[butchfacedhornet]

It’s good to spread information that people in the leftist sphere are bad but the hurling of vitriol towards trans women(and callimg rhem ‘transwoman’) is unnecessary imo. People will always be like this abt their fav youtubers, particularly in leftist spheres or more progressive groups. (It is particularly common rhetoric in the warrior cats mapmaking community on twitter too if that means anything) there was literally no reason to say ‘being marginalized makes people make excuses for you’ is this south park

[jack-off-valentine]

Behold.

[acedoesstuffblr]

Really hate that I had to change the banner on both this account and strange experiences but I am glad that it happened in time for this to be my banner

[timelyenigma]

In Light of Sophie from Mars being accused of... A bunch of really bad shit, please consider donating to Mermaids. I don't know any other charities in the UK, so if you know a better one, donate to them. Also consider donating to Palestine Action and PCRF. I can't hyperlink stuff for some reason.

Really fuckin disappointed in Sophie, and feel terrible for the people that she abused.

I will be keeping up the original post below because I still think what she said is important even though she turned out to suck big time. .

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Original Post: "I'm actually writing this because I want people to be angry; I want people to be as angry as I am when I hear people defeatedly declare 'We're all going to die.' I want you to hate the future eater, and to understand that when we say 'We're all going to die' what we're actually saying is 'Capitalism is going to win and humanity is going to lose.'

I can't stomach saying that anymore. I can barely even stomach hearing that anymore because I think humanity is going to win, and humanity winning means there is no end; no final judgement, no closing score.

I know there will be more after capitalism chokes to death on its own excretions and exhaust fumes and after it takes nearly millions, perhaps billions, of us with it...

And all we have to do is make what comes next beautiful and loving and kind is start now to imagine the end of capitalism and not the end of the world."

-Sophie from Mars (The World Is Not Ending)

[redratt]

There's no fucking way people are trying to say we can't voice our frustration with Sophie from Mars. I never liked her, just didn't like her essay contents, nothing more than that.

But you know what? If your first reaction to people talking about this --because it deserves to be talked about, did you SEE HER FUCKING NON APOLOGY-- is to say they shouldn't? That this shit should just be left to lie?

Fuck you, you're disgusting, and you're no better than the Twitter posters who make excuses for rapists and abusers. Sophie is fucking dangerous, the word should be spread, and if you want to sweep it aside take a good look at yourself and ask: why are you so concerned about the perception of an abuser?

Sophie yet again follows that trend of people who throw shit around at other people, try to smear them-- they turn out to be just as fucking bad.

[refrigeratorsong]

an extraordinary and important video essay by the incredible Sophie From Mars. this piece is on climate change, community, and fungi. it is overflowing with information and empathy.

humanity can and will kill the wyrm of capitalism.

[ribstongrowback]

some more rust & raiders concept art based off cool trans folks. this time, I'm making a blightwalker based off @sophie-frm-mars cuz she's a fun gal (geddit)

it was really fun putting all my shroom studies to work for this

[futurebird]

I was watching this really great video from Sophie from Mars "The World Is Not Ending" where she addresses climate change doomerism and the importance of being able to imagine and then working to create a healthy, non-violent, co-operative, self-governed, technologically advanced post-capitalist future. She talked about "reproductive labor" the work of producing, educating, raising and caring for the next generation and used the London trans community as an example. She talked about the kind of balancing acts around chores and planning and how all of the work that needed to be done got done without a transactional system. And that's when I started to feel-- uncertain.

Being in a tight knit community scares me to death. Social obligations, relationships that aren't well-defined scare me. Social skills have always been a struggle for me and I know I'm not alone in that. So, though I'm frequently one of the first to advocate getting to know your neighbors, and organizing locally there is an aspect to this kind of interaction that is frightening. I think this fear is natural for anyone who has ever had the experience of failing to fit into such communities-- because communities organized outside "the market" already exist. And people who are neurodivergent, or not a member of the dominant group may find such networking daunting, overwhelming, impossible-- And "tight knit" communities can be sources of great harm and evil. I think about the "tight knit" group of girls at the all girls school I attended-- I think about the times I've been "not a good fit" for some little theatre club or organization. Suddenly being a door dash worker paid by an app who never speaks to their "boss" seems appealing. One of the best things about living in a big city is you can minimize your mandatory human interactions per day. So, I guess what I want to discuss is if there is a way to imagine a solar punk future -- that gives those of us who are drained each time we must interact with more people a way to thrive? I don't think this is an insurmountable problem, I just think that people who are more outgoing, who enjoy those interactions more might not realize that when they describe such communities to some of us it sounds like you are describing the 5th circle of hell. (It's not that I don't want to be around you. Don't take this personally. No, it's that I'm certain that you, after a time, probably won't want to be around me. And I'd rather not find out either way. I'd rather just skip it. I have more than enough people in my life as it is.)

Some of the solutions can be found in cities. It's possible to participate in many community events, to help, to support the people around you without a lot of extraneous interaction. The key is a baseline understanding of politeness, and using online tools to bring together groups of people as needed. For example I've volunteered for years with a park restoration group over by 3rd Ave. I've shown up and planted vegetables, cleaned trash, pulled up asphalt, and I keep an eye on the garden when I'm in the area because I feel a connection to it. I don't think anyone in the group knows my name, I never talk to anyone, I just show up and work-- or make a suggestion if asked. I really appreciate that they haven't forced me into a corner or asked me to introduce myself. (Or worse when someone goes out of their way to learn your name, when you don't know their name-- and they are like "Hi ____" it just feels like a way to make you feel small.) Maybe, after a few more years, I'll introduce myself. I'm the same way with our co-op's roof garden group. I'm always there but don't say very much. No one forces me to say much and that's why I keep coming back. So, thinking about these groups has talked me down from the ledge of "the solar punk future is going to be full of people who know your name and say it all the time and you won't know who they are or what they want and it's going to be like a big loud party." No... I think there are ways to make this work even for anti-social people.

[rocketspocketsofthoughts]

I love Sophie From Mars's style. Leftist fashion queen

[fanboyistransboy]

Watching @sophie-frm-mars on twitch and drew the woke submarine.

[hedgehogkween]

I love the vast diversity found within the youtube video essayist community