#as if wanting to be in a relationship with someone. makes you anti feminist or something.

[saviourkingslut]

finally finished s2 of the alienist... uhmm why was this season abt everyone BUT the alienist. hello. daniel brühl turn on your location i just want to talk

[genderkoolaid]

I don't know if you know blue eye Samurai, but I hate how people talk about the protagonist.

I'm a non binary Trans man, and I actually identify a lot with Mizu (the protagonist), but I go here on Tumblr and I see a lot of posts that say: "I know everyone can see Mizu however they like, but I want everyone to know that the right interpretation is that she is a woman pretending to be a man... but everyone can think whatever they want, not forgetting that she is a woman of course."

And it's a bit annoying because when I see explanations of why is "wrong" to see Mizu as a Trans man, I see people going "Why can't there be representation of gender non conforming women!?" And "she wouldn't pretend to be a man if it wasn't for the society she lives in!"

The last one makes me especially angry, because of how many Trans men get erased from history with that same argument.

I don't know, I think it makes me mad because that fandom feels like a micro cosmos of the anti Trans masculinity a lot of Trans men have to face.

And it's not like I think it's wrong to see Mizu as a woman, but when everyone goes "of course she is a woman, why would she want to be a man for anything other than necessity?" I don't know how to feel.

I'm gonna steal my own words from that post about jeanne d'arc:

And the best part is, we can say all of this and also see her as part of women's history! Because women's history, too, does not have to be exclusively about woman-born or woman-identified women. It can be about a larger cultural experience. And Jeanne d'Arc suffered because of transphobia which is always fundamentally misogynistic. I would argue it even makes sense to say her death involved transmisogyny in a very literal sense. The thing about transfeminism is that it can free us from the need to view personal identification with the role of "woman" as vital to feminism. Being a woman, in whatever sense, is certainly not unrelated to feminism, but one can be a feminist and have any kind of personal or communal relationship with womanhood. Anyone can be inspired by the story of Jeanne d'Arc and her bold defiance of both misogyny and transphobia, no matter how she may have personally understood her gender.

People have this idea where if a character or historical figure (or even currently living person) is anything but a woman, then any kind of Feminist Story falls apart. Especially when it comes to misogyny! People act like someone being a trans man means all their experiences with misogyny are like. gone? Or the story is now, essentially, about a cis man being mistaken for a woman, and thus women are Not Allowed to feel any connection at all.

All of this on top of the fun hypocrisy that is "we can't say this person/character is a trans man because they wouldn't have that concept, but we can say they are a cis woman because those are both the only options and ciswomanhood is a natural and universal concept we can apply regardless of any other context :)"

& with Mizu its like. you literally can see her as a GNC woman. people calling him a trans guy or transmasc or genderqueer or anything else are not taking away your experience of her as a GNC woman. Transmasculinity is not just Negative Womanhood, the idea that transmasculinity is something which saps away representation/power/dignity/identity/value from (cis) women is like ATM 101.

But the whole way people treat trans men and misogyny really annoys me, I guess because the assumption is that for women, having to dress as a man to get respect inspires anger at one's position in society, but trans men are incapable of having any complex feelings about that. Like trans men must fully enjoy not being able to have sex with others, or go to a doctor, and having to live in fear of being outed and facing the brunt of transphobia and misogyny, and trans men also couldn't possibly be angry about misogyny that they experienced, and also nonbinary people don't exist and no transmasculine person could possibly be anything but fully comfortable being seen as a cis man all the time. Sure, some trans men are perfectly happy passing as cis men, but like. there is more than one trans man. & ignoring all other transmasc experiences besides The One is a form of erasure, it just passes as something else because technically you are acknowledging A transmasc existence.

[oneforthemunny]

ok but most to least likely to cheat? please? i love angst!

i really don't think any of them actually would. i think they're just not gross like that, and they're all lover boy coded to their core. it's webbed in all eddie dna, even the worst of them.

i can tell you why each of them wouldn't??? a fair compromise?

janitor!eddie- self explanatory. i mean this and i know it's gonna sound insane and fake and silly, but i really don't think he could find another person attractive once he met you. it's just not in his dna, no one else exists type thing. he loves you for so many reasons, and he's gonna fuck that up?? yeah, right lol.

mafia!eddie- genuinely is annoyed by most people's presence. he's busy babes, and he doesn't trust very easily. he's never been a big relationship guy, not even casual really. he's just been incredibly tunnel visioned with his own shit, that it just not a necessity. then he gets hooked once he does. really, wouldn't want to bc he doesn't trust anyone but also bc he's found the best.

older!eddie- truly is too old. too old and tired to be fucking around and playing games like that. even if he wanted to, that's embarrassing to him. being old and a fuckboy? he did that when he was in his twenties. now, he wants to settle down. wants something real.

modern!eddie- he's too pussy whipped for that. genuinely. he might think someone's pretty or nice. i think the thing with him, is he's a little too trusting sometimes, so when he meets a girl and she's nice to him he's like "oh a friend :)" when... that's not the case. that would be the closest thing to him actually cheating is she asks him stuff about the relationship and he tells her, and it's obv the other being malicious about it. then once you pointed it out, it's shut down. truly, he's just a moron, but a lover boy at heart. very much so the type if a girl flirted to say "i have a girlfriend and she's crazy. please don't touch me, she'll scalp you."

hockey!eddie- surrounded by puck bunnies, and he giggles at them when they try because??? hello??? he's clearly got you??? silly girls, you're right there! sunshine boy, he would never. you make him so happy, i don't even think he would consider it a possibility. some of his teammates cheat (obv they're hockey boys and gross) and he's so disgusted by them. even more than that, he's shocked. he genuinely thinks so lowly of them, especially if they're married and have kids. the foulest thing to him.

rockstar!eddie- i mean... once you guys are in, he's all fucking in. that's the thing about him, is he does everything so intensely. he's also had everything, all kinds of kinds, seen the world, experienced all it has to offer. and when he thinks about you compared to it, it's just not even close. he chooses you every time. i mean, you have three wedding ceremonies because he's just that into it. that into showing the world how you're together. then once the babies start coming, forget about it. he's locked in long before then, but after that? call him anti-feminist or whatever, but no other woman, person, anything on earth is better than you. it's why in the sex dungeon, he gets you a high priestess costume, because truly that's how he sees you.

cowboy!eddie- barely sees anyone anyways bc he's kinda a recluse. not the most romantic either lol, especially pre-you. he's more of like a "you can come over here" and then he's ready for you to leave after he's done. he likes his space, so once he meets you and wants you in his space? alters his routine for you? accommodates you into his life? plus you're a little kinky freaky wild and exciting like him? he's in for life. i think he can be a little bit flirty still at the beginning, just years of being a bachelor, but he'd never fuck or kiss or really engage romantically with anyone else.

dom!eddie- the closest he'd come is a threesome maybe. MAYBE. but truly, i don't think he'd want them in any other way than for his own twisted kinky fantasies with you at the center of them- like the other person involved could genuinely be anyone, he doesn't have someone in mind. but really, truthfully? everyone else bores him. he would be so bored if he was with someone who did everything he said (even tho he mocks you and tells you that's what he wants). if he was with someone who blindly obeyed without a fight, he'd be bored after twenty minutes. plus, you're his best friend, genuinely, outside of the kinky part of your relationship, you're his person. when something happens, good or bad, you're the first person he wants to tell. the first person he wants to do things with, never gets tired of doing things with, genuine best friends.

boxer!eddie- similar to those before, that he's anti social but he's mean too. like he comes across as an asshole, and is one, and he was very lonely before he met you. someone who can keep up with him, give it as good as they take it. quick witted and a little cynical and snarky, but not utter doom and gloom. he really was convinced he'd die alone, george clooney and remain an unmarried bachelor for the rest of his life, hopping from whoever to whoever (if he didn't die in the ring first) then he met you. it took him so long to build that up, get the relationship to a relationship, that he's not cheating and fucking that up. couldn't fine someone he'd want to cheat with even if he did because you're one of a kind to him.

bouncer!eddie- ok, i know i said he would, and technically he does-ish, but it's really not super intentional. he's actually stupid and thought he was being cool. anyways. he wouldn't cheat once he actually communicated and there was confirmation he was in a relationship lol. i think he'd be down for threesomes, but that's it. not genuine cheating bc he doesn't actually feel anything towards the other person other than in the moment, he's horny. especially if they're touching you, or your touching them, but that's the key right there. you have to be in it. plus, who else is gonna be freaky with him like you are? no one. and you're funny and sweet to him and exciting and like to listen to his music? in his eyes, it's a match made in heaven.

[prickly-paprikash]

Don't you just hate it when one of the biggest grifters online decides to like a piece of media you like?

Gatekeeping is wrong. Forcing someone to like something in the specific way I interact and consume a piece of media is wrong. Art is meant to be viewed through a multitude of lenses, and each individual will have their own way of interpreting that creation. And that's good. That's fine. That's human.

But when an Anti-Woke Grifter who thinks alcoholism is a really cool personality trait and decides to brand everything about themselves as that; who has historically engaged and criticized films and shows and games and books in bad faith; who has put down women and POC's and Queer representation in media; who is one of the biggest dicks in the online space decides to actually pay attention to an art that is pretty much dipped, coated, laminated, and injected with fucking GAY, ANTI-PATRIARCHAL ENERGY—that's when I get mad.

For those not in the know, Critical Drinker has posted a review for Blue Eye Samurai, saying he likes it.

You know... Blue Eye Samurai?

The show that oozes Queer Wrath? Feminine Rage? Curb-Stomping Toxic Masculinity and the Patriarchy whenever and wherever it can? That Blue Eye Samurai?

See, he's done this before with Arcane.

He says he likes it. Him and his ilk say that, "Finally, the wokies have done something actually good!" and point to Vi and Jinx as strong female characters written well!

But they also say, dang, feels like all the men in that show are idiots and that they had to be dumbed down to make room for the rainbow-haired girlies brigade. Who have all remarked that Vi and Caitlyn's relationship is forced and being shoved down our throats because god forbid women like women!

I got sick of watching his Arcane review halfway, and this was before I knew what a douche Critical Sucker was.

So I ain't watching his Blue Eye Samurai review. Why?

His Glass Onion review was done in bad faith.

I didn't like She-Hulk, but that's because that show was a byproduct of abused VFX animators, creatively bankrupt executives, and writers desperately trying to manage a convoluted shared universe that continues to buckle under its own weight. Political Stinker over here thinks that it's pandering, stupid, feminist garbage. He is one of the biggest Anti-Feminist voices in Youtube.

Him and his incel brigade have an obsession over hating Captain Marvel and Brie Larson. These basement dwelling cucks rant and rave over a mediocre duology and an actress that just lives in their tiny heads rent-free.

He says that they are removing men from leading roles and roles of great importance!

So why would I want to listen to an inebriated libertarian's opinions on a show that has become the show for lesbians, trans mascs, and other lovely brands of gay and feminism that he oh so despises? He'll most likely praise the action and violence and shit like that, then probably say that Mizu and Taigen's homoerotic rivalry isn't gay actually. Or that Mizu and Akemi's narrative foils don't scream enemies-to-sapphics. Or that Mizu, WHO'S NAME MEANS WATER AND HER ENTIRE CHARACTER REVOLVES AROUND FLUIDITY ISN'T IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM FLUID IN HER GENDER AND SEXUALITY.

Fuck. I'm sorry. I don't even care if he doesn't say that. He's made so many disgusting, disparaging remarks about any piece of media that shows an inkling of progressive themes that what else am I supposed to expect?

If anyone watches it and sees this, lemme know. Watching an Anti-Woke bullshit video with just myself is just straight up wading through the desert without proper protection. No thanks.

Anyway watch Blue Eye Samurai again. Because I know you watched it. Watch it again. And again. And when you're done, watch Arcane. Watch She-Ra. Watch Dragon Prince. Castlevania. Watch anything "woke". Consume trans-positive shows. Make all the haters and even the ones who like it but have no ounce of media literacy irrelevant. Let them dry out and die, please.

[joesalw]

All of Taylor's albums were tailored to the most popular aesthetic at the time. She didn't make shit popular, she just adapted. Especially when she made the transition into pop music.

True. She's currently jumping fences with rep as well. Making it out to be a goth punk moment and using trendy words like 'female rage'. The album has the most romantic songs she's ever written. C'mon now. The whole record is electropop with some R&B elements thrown into the mix.

She portrays 'Lover' as her social justice warrior era. 'If I was a man, then I'd be the man'. Yeah, we've seen it Taylor. Miss 'me becoming a billionaire is good for the world because I'm a woman'. She makes herself out to be this 'feminist girl's girl' when in reality it couldn't be further from the truth. She's not a feminist and she doesn't want to be the woman that's advocating for women's rights and leads the path for the future generation of women. She wants to be the man at the top. Her motto is literally 'gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss, greenhouse gases'.

Another thing is her queer allyship. She's mentioned it when and only when it was profitable to her. During her tour she hadn't said a thing when the number of states signed anti-trans bills and the state of Tennessee where she says she lives *according to her own documentary* banned drag. I don't think she said anything about the anti-abortion legislation either. Her activist era started and ended in 2019.

Don't get me started on her position regarding the BLM movement. She only posted something because her own fans started calling her out and then declared that she's 'ferociously anti-racist'. She positioned herself as an advocate *by herself* and then immediately dipped when it stopped being as profitable. If you don't want to be dragged for your silence about social and political crises, don't proclaim yourself as an activist. Simple as that.

I've also seen the video on Youtube about TS being a narcissist (someone posted it on your blog earlier I think). And the guy in the video brought up her guitar teacher. So I looked him up and found an article where he talks about his experience with the Swifts which he got sued for later. According to the man, Taylor's mother was interested in him teaching her daughter how to play country music and was just a stage mom in general. And TS says that she'd been begging her parents to allow her learn how to play guitar and that she's self-taught. She wants her success story to be a rags to riches so bad I can't even.

She's a woman with an extremely fragile ego where millions of people could be praising her and a single negative comment would set her off. She can't handle any form of criticism, break ups or inconveniences like a grown woman simply because she doesn't have enough emotional intelligence to do so. Her being surrounded by yes men also doesn't help the situation. If i were her, I'd rather invest in a good therapist rather than 2 PJs. She drowns herself in work and relationships so she doesn't have time to go inwards and sit with her thoughts.

I kinda feel bad for her, honestly. She's been in the industry since she was 15 and her success was almost immediate. She doesn't know what the world's like because she's been sheltered her whole life and then had other people do things for her. I don't think she has many real friends as well. By real I mean people who aren't afraid to tell you the truth and are able to call you out in your face. Instead she has a bunch of people who appease her afraid of pissing her off and ending up on her bad side and as a result her vanity grows and she completely loses any sort of perspective whether in her friendships, romantic relationships or maybe even her own family.

I also wonder what she thinks about her fandom pirating her concert film instead of paying to rent it. I sort of hope that her fans are starting to wake up to her conning schemes. I mean, you've already made a shit ton of money from the theatre release, why charging 20$ more to RENT IT?Not even buy it. Or is it another narrative about how 'no one can own my work but me'?

This woman sells well but her cultural impact is almost nonexistent. She hadn't done any good for the world causes or inspired several generations of performers like Michael Jackson has with his philanthropic endeavors and incredible performing skills. The artists like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake (bleh) and The Weeknd were hugely influenced by MJ. These artist create their own unique legacy and impact on their communities. Especially the ladies. Gaga's been an avid LGBT+ advocate since the beginning of her career and created a foundation that focuses on issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development. She also participated in anti HIV and AIDS campaigns, spoke against immigration laws in the US, contributed to 2011's earthquake and tsunami relief campaign in Japan. Beyoncé's a huge advocate for the black community and black women especially which always finds its way in her work and visual art in particular. She's been platforming black culture and history for her whole career (2016 Superbowl and Coachella performance are the brightest examples of black american culture and releasing her Lion King album to showcase African artists' excellence). She also has a foundation where she provides black youth scholarships, clean water for communities abroad and housing to families in need in her home state.

What exactly makes Taylor Swift's cultural impact? Thousands of tons CO2 emissions? Music labels putting a clause in the contract so the artists can't re-record their material for 10 years now instead of 5? Making several versions of the same CD or vinyl so the sales are bigger? Mind you, that's all excessive plastic and paper. Some countries and US states are banning gas stoves. Her position regarding artists being paid during the early days of streaming (when the platforms were launching with a free period tial) was right but no one really benefited from it but her. She was shitting on Apple Music, then they offered her money, filmed an ad and released her 1989 Tour DVD exclusively on their platform. She shat on Spotify, then when LWYMMD came out, she was all over their biggest playlists all of a sudden and recorded Spotify Singles later on. Spotify's always promoted her every release like a motherfucker shoving her in every corner of the platform. Especially for the past 3 years. She doesn't have any memorable outfits or unique style to be called a fashion icon either. She's not a trailblazer she thinks she is. She is only popular because a lot of people *mostly ww* who peaked in high school see themselves in her. She's average in everything she does, her writing topes are also the same (only now she started using compound or uncommonly used words to mask it) but she's extremely commercially successful so that those people can see themselves in her. She doesn't have unique music style or chameleon-like discography like Gaga, Bey, MJ, Madonna, Shakira, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus or Nelly Furtado. She doesn't have a unique singing voice like Bjork, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Janis Joplin, MJ or Bob Dylan. She's no instrument prodigy either. And swifties say that 'Michael couldn't play any instruments'. Well, he was an exceptional beatboxer. She can strum 4 guitar chords and play basic piano, that's it. She doesn't have an outstanding dancing and/or vocal skill.

What is she gonna be remembered for? Her numerous relationships with famous men? While that might be misogynistic or sexist to some degree, she's the one who makes her relationships the centre of her music and public persona and brings them up even 10 years after they ended. Her public feuds with men and women that she can't get over years after? This woman is certainly can hold a grudge and is extremely vindictive. The leader of a parasocial cult that blindly defends her bigotry? I believe so. I don't think I've ever seen a fandom as toxic and as hive-minded as swifties. And again, it's Taylor's own creation. She's the one that constantly says 'look closely for the easter eggs' in her content making her fans theorize on every aspect of her life, or 'if you're very loyal I might invite you to MY HOUSE and you can listen to the new album early, we'll take pics and I'll bake you some cookies'. Of course they'll follow your any order. I'm glad I escaped.

Oof, I'll stop here. That's a very long one already

sorry hehe

.

[absolutebl]

Hi.

I was watching TharnType for the first time. I started wondering why people have issues with gay for you and wifey and other things like that. From what I'm seeing it isn't intended in a harmful spirit. It's not received badly in the show in context. I'm not just specifically talking about TharnType but just these tropes in general. I was wondering if someone, the writer/screenwriter, director, any actor or someone else said that they'd intended it as demeaning or in a bad way... I don't know if I phrased that correctly. But I guess I'm wondering what people are basing this on. Even UWMA's Pharm's entire demeanor. Before I watched it I'd read that he is too feminine and damsel in distress-y. But watching the show made me realize that he is traumatized. I noticed similar patterns with other shows as well. Is it audience interpretations?

BL Is a Mess of Really Damaging Stuff & You Probably Shouldn't Just Accept it

Because, if you do just accept it without thought, you're also being damaged. If you're gay, you're being taught a type of gayness that doesn't exist and will fuck up your expectations. If you're straight you're misinterpreting what an entire group of people are like (that's prejudice, FYI). And if you're somewhere in between you're learning really bad behavior patterns for your coming out and self actualization journey.

And no, I don't think you're capable of distinguishing fiction from reality, because you've just asked a question that patently demonstrates a burgeoning parasocial tendency. (And yes, parasocial relationships can and do form with fictional characters. Why do you think I am so terrified by KinnPorsche fandom and shipper culture?)

Here have some education, first one is free:

Imaginary Friends & Real-World Consequences: Parasocial Relationships (YouTube video)

But also, if you don't want me to rant about this, and you just wanted to justify your questionable taste, you should stop reading right now. I get it, denial is great! Go sail that river.

Here I am talking about the good BL can do. That doesn't mean I'm blind to its flaws.

Still reading?

Okay, well, now you asked for it.

And guess what, I'm not gonna sugar lube coat it.

Consider yourself Drunk Type lying in a bed and I'm Tharn's c*** shoving some dry BL reality into your a******.

Oh, don't like that image, do you?

Tough nuts.

Put yourself in my position. I don't wanna have to do this either.

Consider this a "BL narratives made me do it" post.

I'm not responsible for anything, I'm just an archetype.

I'll be your seme for today and you were all just "too cute" for me to resist and now you have to take some tumblr dub con...

But first:

Seme uke when it specifically conflates seme with "the man" and uke with "the girl" is old fashioned, anti-feminist, and anti-queer. Here's some of where I talk about it, but I talk about it a lot. Too much, some might say.

Pharm is a blushing maiden archetype character, I talk about it and what that means here:

It's sex negative. And a lot of it stems from internalized misogyny and ties to something called benevolent sexism. It's pretty rampant in BL.

Yes I think Pharm's behavior can be perceived as traumatized, but that trauma is brought about by In's past actions and the fact that In was punished (BY THE NARRATIVE) not just for being gay but for being a self-actualized pro-sex uke character.

There is a distinction being made between critical discourse over narrative versus how the characters behavior makes an audience feel (within the immersive experience of the drama). Some viewers care about this distinction, others do not.

I very much get why someone might like TharnType (I did) but actually also, you might want to think about why you like it despite the messages the narrative is sending... You might want to think about not just the characters in their little perfect romance world together, but consider if you were in the position of either of those characters how you would feel or behave.

And NOW the Dub Con Portion of tonight's BL party

Okay I was trying to be my usual semiseme-welcoming snark self but ya know what, let's be VERY FUCKING CLEAR HERE because I am jet lagged and tetchy....

We (the collective of BL critics here on tumblr) aren't always talking about WHAT is depicted so much as HOW it's depicted, and whether that HOW allows the WHAT to skate by without encouraging the audience to reflect on the damage the WHAT does to their own perception of what is romantic. Or what is queer. Or what is morally acceptable for decent human interaction.

Like thinking, for example, that it's okay for Tharn to RAPE Type while he is drunk.

Why on earth is that okay? It's NOT OKAY. It's just NOT!!!!

Did Type ask for it?

Did he dress too sexy?

Was his skirt too short?

Was he too much of a jerk?

Did he want it anyway?

Did he not protest enough?

Did he protest too much?

You gonna make that call for him, are you? You read his mind (apparently the way Tharn can?)

But SERIOUSLY.

What if you were actually in Type's position? Roommates with someone you didn't like who molested you when you were drunk. At home. In your own bed. What if that roommate didn't look like Tharn? What if your roommate were the wrong gender or body type or age or familial relationship (!) for your preferences? How would you actually feel?

Because if you're okay with this, really okay for yourself, you have a strong kink and you need to seek out the appropriate community or you are signing up for a very abusive relationship and likely an early death.

Can't put yourself in Type's shoes/bed?

How about Tharn?

Are you the kind of human who would molest a drunk person just because you desired him? Her?

Because they're homophobic and you want to punish them with your queerness?

Because they were a jerk to you?

You always get back at people by raping them?

You an old white dude putting your hand down secretary's shirts because they're just "too cute to resist"?

Why should you have to resist taking what you want? Who cares that there is a whole other human involved?

Grabbing ladies by the pussy any chance you get and bragging about it, are ya? Or is it somehow different or less damaging because TT is dude on dude?

So, are you gonna justify taking what you want and violating another person because they're the same sex?

Now who's being "gay for you"? This is going all the way into DL closet case "it doesn't count if it's with a man" territory.

Because if you are any of the above 8, please block me right tf now. (And... do I have a world leader to recommend for YOU to get into a car with.)

GAH!

Fucking TharnType.

Anygay...

I talk about dub con here:

My initial post about TharnType is here, but more recently here's us having a whole ThanType discourse unpacking Mame among other things as part of the BL movement both as a genre and as a fandom:

and here's an important article on rape culture in Thailand

Gay for you talked about here:

Wife language talked about here:

I'm gonna go watch some BL trash that, hopefully, doesn't have any rape in it. (You never know tho...)

Fuck me (consensually) I am so tired.

I'd drink but I did too much of that already this week.

Maybe I need to eat something.

Don't troll m,e just block me.

For heaven's sake please.

(source)

[olderthannetfic]

https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/731506695576109056/i-recently-came-across-an-anti-ao3-blog-and-the#notes

I used to be one of those people who believed that age-gap ships groom people, because I'd been in the fandom for one where I saw 20-something adults using it to convince teens that romantic and sexual relationships with them were normal, and other people following those blogs responding with "aww there's nothing wrong with this 23-yro 'dating' a 13-yro age is just a number!" and it grossed me out and turned me against that ship. The vast majority of people into that ship weren't like that, but there was enough in one particular community that concerned me about how a ship like that could be used for something like that.

What convinced me otherwise was staying in fandom and seeing that - sadly - grooming occurs in all corners. It occurs in fandoms for ships that have nothing "concerning" about them. It occurs in gen fic fandom. It occurs in corners of fandom that have nothing to do with fanfiction - in fact, IME, that's where it tends to happen the most, as those are the corners of fandoms with the most cis dudes who seem to do the most grooming. Groomers are opportunistic. Sure, if you're both into a ship where it fits the narrative they want to sell about adult/teen romance being "normal," they'll use it, but if it's not that, it's something else. Simply being into an adult/teen relationship in fiction is in no way "enabling grooming" any more than any other fandom activity is, if you do the right thing and when you see a real 23-yro trying to have a "romance" with a real 13-yro, you call that shit out, alert authorities if you know enough to do so, rather than excuse it with "age is just a number."

I'm not sure there's really anything in fandom that "enables grooming" other than that fandom is a community where it's not considered unusual for teens to be friends with adults. I'm not sure how to "fix that" given that I know a lot of people have had positive experiences of those inter-generational friendships, as the adults they talked to were not creepy or boundary-pushing. Perhaps for fandom circles to do more to educate younger people about what kinds of behaviors in adults are inappropriate, and also to self-police, call out when you see adults becoming inappropriately close to teens, making inappropriate requests of them, etc.? I do have to say that as someone in my early 30s, I am fine sharing general spaces with teens but can't really see wanting to become close friends with someone I feel like I have so little in common with as far as life experience goes. It kind of weirds me out if anyone my age is becoming besties with a 16-yro and would automatically raise my red-flag radar.

But even then.... a few years ago, one of my fandom friend groups had to kick out a guy in his late 20s who turned out to be sexually assaulting people and grooming teens. And we had no idea about it, because he kept that friend circle where he was doing that completely separate from the friend circle I was in where we were all closer to his age or older and where he played the role of a good male feminist who supports rape and abuse victims because he was one too (his "rapist/abuser" turned out to be one of his victims that he was using DARVO against). Of course, he used his friendship with our group (which included a lot of BNFs and professionals in the industry) to make the young people in the other group feel like they wouldn't be supported if they spoke up. Thankfully, a few of them didn't listen, since he was wrong. But without someone having done that.... we would've had no way of knowing about what this guy was up to. He was talking to these people on different Internet spaces, at different cons, etc. On the one hand I was proud of my group for all kicking him out when we found out, but I also felt kind of powerless, how long we might've not known if a few of his victims hadn't decided to ignore his threats and speak up anyway.

--

[noodlerock56]

I saw one of your top posts about how you're anti feminist but not because you're sexist but because you're disappointed in how many feminists have become angry man haters, this is something I 100% agree with

Back in 2022 I stopped labelling myself as a feminist for 2 reasons, 1 was because other feminists said I (a man) couldn't be a feminist, 2 I was tired of people assuming I was a male radical feminist who hated all other men and bootlicked women, right now if someone asks if I'm a feminist I just reply with "I believe in equality" or something like that

Even some of my female friends who are 100% for womens rights are now embarrassed to call themselves feminists, because they stand for women to be equal to men, not for women to be above men

Not only is it disgusting and disappointing to see a movement that started with so many brave women who did not wish to be above men but simply wanted to be equals become so toxic, not only do feminists hate men they also hate other women who do not agree with them

I've seen feminists get so angry at other women and call them pick mes for having a mostly male friend group, not labelling themselves as a radfem man hater or just doing anything that "doesn't break female stereotypes"

For example on TikTok there is an account where a woman makes cooking videos and she mainly cooks for her husband and kids, people in the comments say she's a conservative mormon with an abusive husband and makes these videos to "brainwash" other women into becoming "slaves of the patriarchy" when in reality she has never done videos on politics or mormonism, and in a few videos her husband cooks as well and they seem to have a loving relationship as well as their kids

Its funny how radfems say "women can do anything they want!" Yet they get so angry at a woman simply cooking for her family, radfems in general are on otherworldly levels of hypocritical

I am also of the belief that a woman (or anyone tbh) can do as she pleases as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, whether that be playing sports, cooking for her family, having a mostly male friend group, having a mostly female friend group, having a friend group thats a mix of both genders, wearing masculine clothes, wearing feminine clothes, etc

I have seen a few feminists online and IRL who genuinely care about keeping the two sexes on equal footing (Gloria Steinem and Lauren Faust are two great examples of this), but yeah, like I said in the post you referenced, a lot of them are just misandrists and transphobes masquerading as feminists. It’s a shame, too, because there are women in third-world countries who are legitimately oppressed by a patriarchal society, but these so-called “feminists” are too busy hating/stereotyping men to care about them.

“Girl power”, I guess?

[a-slut-for-smut]

Nanamin deserves better than Mei Mei

Don’t forget how creepy she is towards Ui Ui

Ya know, I really wish people were more willing to think critically about the stories they consume vs taking every at face value. Sure, when you see something questionable in a story, question it, but immediately writing off the story/story element as “problematic” just because you don't like it or triggers you is such a disservice not only to the storyteller but also yourself by stunting your own media literacy skills.

As ive addressed why NanaMei pair well in previous asks, i'll focus more on the controversy revolving around Mei Mei because its something i really want to get off my chest. The more i think about the arguments made against her the more i get these puritanical and anti feminist/non-conformist vibes from them and its really concerning to say the least.

She's Greedy/Selfish

Yes, shes money hungry. She shamelessly honest with what she likes and what she wants; she has a personal code/credo and stanchly follows it and its hard not to respect that energy. She's motivated and grounded in a way that seems out of place in the 'sorcerers must protect humans' fantasy world, but in the real world? Of course we'd look out for our own self-interest/preservation- shes as real and relatable as they come. She's logically driven (vs emotionally) and honestly if she was a man i bet the fandom wouldn't blink an eye (and prob would slobber all over him) but as always God forbid women have a strong sense of self and refuse to conform to the patriarchal ideals of what a woman should be.

THAT panel

A lot of the fandom screaming in*cest & p*edophile for this panel and i'll admit not surprised it raised eyebrows but not really reading this as sexual. Yes theres nudity, but body language makes it pretty obvious if nudity is sexual or not and well, its not- and how the first thing fandom thinks is "omg they f*cked" because shes topless or whatever is very telling. It's not a stretch to think she would be comfortable with nudity and a sense of propriety seems out of character with someone as shameless as her. She probably splurges on 1000 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets with all the money she makes, who wouldnt regularly sleep nude on those?

As for UiUi its inferred he used his CT to escape/save their lives directly before, all the more reason he would be tired. Mei Mei even apologies for waking him, implying his CT exerts him and he should rest for the day. Ui UI’s “oh my how shameless!” is said in surprise, indicating he probably blacked out after his CT and woke up fully clothed in bed with her, NOT that he’s tired from having a wild night banging his sister 🙄

I wonder about the japanese dialogue and if there is any nuance/context lost from the english translation, but I interpreted her "Do you not like me that way" was in reference to the shamelessness of her personality, essentially asking him "do you not like me the way I am?" and not her nude body because the translation used "that way" vs "this way", the latter being suggestive. And the fact that they shared a bed to sleep didnt seem OOC given their close familial dynamic.

Sibling Relationship

Its established in-universe that they are "calculating", so naturally they work very much in tandem as far as motivations go and re-enforced from what we seen in their battle tactics. Clearly Mei Mei is offense and 99% of the time can handle any issue on her own, but for that 1% she cant? Thats where Ui Ui steps in.

Ui Ui would never be in danger if Mei Mei is around, and fandom seems to ignore this fact when they say Mei Mei manipulates him to self-sacrifice himself (and her crows) for her benefit. If Mei Mei is fighting and her life's at risk, yall think Ui Ui (or the crows for that matter) stand a chance?? Maybe if he could teleport away himself which is what his CT suggests, but who really knows, and more importantly would he even consider abandoning his sister from what we seen?

I see it as a failsafe CT, only to be used in emergencies since it drains him considerably as Malaysia scene suggests- which is why he wholeheartedly waits (and binding vow) for permission from her to use it, not as a form of control or abuse or simply to please her, but to know if/when as accordance to the battle strategy mapped out by her. Shes shown as a tactician/extremely logical when it comes to battle and will use whatever is at her disposal to win if it means self-preservation (even if it means abandoning the battlefield altogether). Her loyalty is to herself above all.

And her asking “are you willing to die for me” is literally asking consent- she is asking, 'this could be the end- will you do what’s necessary for me to win this?' To which he resoundingly concurs, seemingly out of devotion but realistically if she dies where would that leave him? It’s as natural a response as one could be- in nature mothers will fight tooth & nail to protect their offspring, but at the cost of her life? What would be the point??? Offspring wouldn’t be able to survive without her, they’d be good as dead.

As far as their dynamic, there is clear affection from both sides- Mei Mei is more playful while Ui Ui is reverent. Ui Ui adores her, not atypical of a much younger sibling, but especially so given how accomplished Mei Mei is. It's stated that she inherited their weak family cursed technique, but rather than be solely defined by it, she trained herself to the maximum physical limit, THEN mastered her so called "weak" technique into one of the strongest out there (probably why she acknowledges Maki as a promising sorcerer, she sees herself in her).

If that isn't admirable than i dont know what is, and if GOJO of all people respects her, then thats saying something. But while he respects her and acknowledges her strength, does he trust her? Probably not, not like he does with Utahime who is supposedly "weak" in comparison. And i personally like that dynamic- despite not trusting her to "do the right thing" and expecting her to be self-serving, Gojo knows/respects her as a person and fellow sorcerer. Gege gives us layered interpersonal relationships between multi-faceted characters and yet so many are quick to reduce them to a single trope and its a little sad honestly.

In conclusion, yall need to relax on the pearl-clutching and have a little more perspective by all means hate on her if you dont like her but at least hate her accurately lol

[mswyrr]

“fixing” is actually a double-edged sword

The most discussed problem is the dynamics of who is obligated to care for who in terms of social privilege and power and also--even if, say, it’s a same gender couple--the harm of one person feeling they have to do that for another generally. That is important to discuss and covered quite a bit; I’ve pointed out my pov on the nuances of it here. (EDIT and I’ve updated with some “fixee” pov stuff here).

But “fixing him/her/them” is also bad for the “him/her/them”. It’s potentially dangerous and harmful to the person “being fixed”.

Being an amateur and poking around in someone's trauma and mental illness can actually  make things worse for them - it can cause real harm to someone. Even trained therapists can make things worse for someone by accident. It’s a known risk of therapy.

And this is (lol I’ve been trying not to say this for weeks!!) why I find C/laire kind of personally disquieting tbqh. Playing  therapist without a license on someone is kinda messed up! It's not just that women  "fixing" men is anti-feminist - that is true - it's that a non-professional using a  personal relationship to fiddle around in someone's head is also messed.  up and, frankly, dangerous.

I’m not “anti” her as a character - all the characters are flawed, this is a dynamic people fall into for various reasons, it’s as understandable a flaw/mistake as any of the things the other characters do. But there’s a ton of discussion of how it’s unfair to the “fixer” - but not really any about how unfair and potentially dangerous it is to the “fixee.” (Imo cultural ableism plays into why the violence toward the “fixee” is rarely (if ever?) discussed as a problem: neurodivergent people are often considered, by default, as problems to be solved rather than people, so the way it’s dangerous and harmful to a “fixee” is just - erased/ignored. The attitude is that they should be grateful a normal, healthy person is bothering themselves at all to be so generous as to try to “fix” them!). And she gets treated like she’s made of sweetness and light, and not deeply flawed, when what I saw of her was -- deeply flawed, like the rest of the characters.

I’m sorry but this is, in fact, a way that neurotypical partners can abuse neurodivergent people 🤷‍♀️ (shall I quote the stats on the high risk mentally ill people are at for being abused????? And how the (false!) idea that mentally ill people are more likely to be abusers plays into the culture around that?) all while coming across like a selfless hero to other neurotypicals for being willing to “fix” this “broken” person -- and yet how often is it ever discussed that that can be part of it??

I don’t think she was consciously doing it. But it’s dangerous even if not done intentionally abusively and some people do it to abuse on purpose. And they have so much room to cloak their behavior because of how the narrative of the double-sided nature of this isn’t widely discussed.

I’m sure she didn’t mean it that way precisely as a character - but IMO part of why she’s part of what gives Carmy a panic attack is that he interpreted her as wanting him to perform/share being unwell with her and then--after she said platitudes like “nobody’s counting shoes”--perform being all better and “fixed” for her.

That’s an incredibly draining performance to feel you have to give.

[butch-reidentified]

hi, in a post you recently said 'if you're ever questioning if something you're experiencing in a relationship is healthy, please don't hesitate to reach out to me and ask', so i was wondering if this was okay? if not, please ignore and sorry for the convenience. i hope this isn't triggering but it includes bdsm and rape fantasies.

i'm very lucky to be in a relationship with a man who made it clear for day 1 that he wasn't going to hurt me during sex, pretend to force me, or engage with any of that. i used to be big time into bdsm but over the last 10yrs i've been doing more feminist reading and having conversations with others and tried to unpack all of that, which has left me wanting to distance myself from it. i stopped justifying and defending bdsm, stopped engaging with bdsm-content in fiction and stopped watching porn all together. i got more involved with anti-prostitution and porn advocacy too.

the problem is that i'm still engaging with it internally. it's like a switch flips in my head when i'm with my partner and i construct this world where i'm being forced but can't show it. i used to think it was because of prior trauma and i was trying to get a sense of control, but it just feels like i'm using that as an excuse. it's a big thing in the bdsm community to justify it by claiming you're 'working through your trauma' but i was supposed to be past that now. it's been years so i feel like i don't have a good reason to be still doing this.

do you have any advice? once again, thank you.

I'm glad you asked! it wasn't exactly what I was talking about in the post - more internal rather than interpersonal - but I actually can relate in a sense. my wife tells me that sometimes when I get super stoned (which I rarely do tbf), I talk about wanting some fucked up things. I definitely THINK about some fucked up things. I'm quite far out from any posttraumatic mental effects, so I also don't feel that that explains it, and I'm fairly sure I had some questionable fantasies prior to my traumas, too. i wouldn't call it kink, though, bc they're not inherently tied to sex nor arousing to me on their own. I think I like violence and adrenaline and always have, and I don't really care which direction the violence goes, I just find it fun. but that's not a "need," as men would have you believe. it's just a quirk of my personality, and while I choose not to engage with it outwardly (I don't start unnecessary fights but I don't shy away either), I also refuse to make myself ashamed by it. there is no such thing as a thought crime. your stances against prostitution, porn, and, yes, bdsm as well, are not compromised or hypocritical because you have those thoughts. let them be, observe them, and release them as feels right to you. i think the idea that we must analyze such things to death is rather Christian in nature and likely in origin: the idea that our thoughts and desires can be sinful themselves, or that they speak to who we "really" are. I think that's a load of shit. I don't believe anyone who would claim to have never thought (or even desired!) some really unhinged shit. humans are weird! I'm glad I have someone I can tell all my unhinged thoughts to without judgment, but none of it means I'd ever act on such things.

tldr, we all have some out of pocket thoughts (beyond just intrusive thoughts, to be clear!) and I don't believe there's anything wrong with that on its own, nor are we obligated to explain them

I don't expect everyone to agree with this, but it is where I stand on the matter

[neikikardartv]

Buffy Still Slays with its use of Supernatural

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a cult classic TV series that aired from 1997-2003 with 7 seasons. The show follows the titular vampire slayer Buffy after she is chosen to be the slayer by fate “to battle against vampires, demons and other forces of darkness”, as the theme song goes. After becoming the Slayer she relocates from LA to Sunnydale California, which is located on a “Hellmouth” (meaning demons are attracted to the area). For her highschool is Hell literally. Buffy has to fight both literal and figurative demons alongside her friends who are affectionately referred to as the Scooby Gang. The format of the show is mainly ‘monster of the week’ style with each season having an overarching ‘Big Bad’ villain plotline. The cult following of Buffy has actually garnered lots of academic attention and scholarly articles, being referred to as “Buffy studies”.

Unlike how the article described Penny Dreadful I don’t believe that Buffy is anti-feminist in its subtext. I believe that Buffy instead uses the supernatural and gothic tropes to portray the complexity of the adolescent girl experience and coming of age. 

What concepts of Gothic doubling function to define the natural from the supernatural?

Buffy as a series has many Gothic elements with its themes and supernatural settings and even pastiche characters. Buffy herself is a modern Gothic heroine, while she is still virtuous she also possesses physical and mental strength. Many Gothic doubles are featured in the show as supernatural beings most notably being the vampires that terrorize Sunnydale. In the show vampires are the epitome of one’s shadow self, they are all “id”, once someone turns they become a cruel sadistic version of themselves with no soul or humanity. There is usually a very clear line between the natural and supernatural with vampires as there are countless scenes of Buffy staking each vampire she sees in her slayer duties that protect the town. The show uses visual effects to completely “other” the faces of vampires when they are attacking humans and vampires aren’t meant to be humanized at all.

(Buffy slaying stop around 30s) 

There is one notable exception to that rule in the early seasons that comes in Buffy’s first love interest Angel. Angel is unique in that he is a 200 something year old vampire that has been cursed with having a soul. This makes him feel remorse for all the evil acts he committed prior to the curse. When Buffy first meets Angel she is appalled to find out that he is a vampire and immediately wants to stake him. Once he proves himself to be “a good vampire” he and Buffy form a relationship and he attacks other vampires alongside her.

Angel is a very interesting character in that his gothic double is a part of his vampire form as well, he has an alter ego that comes out when he is soulless that goes by “Angelus”. Angelus first comes out in a pivotal scene after Buffy loses her virginity to him, next thing we know he’s become that guy who changes into an asshole after sex. This scene happens the morning after they had sex (he was gone when she woke up).

(skip 40s in).

As you can see Angel’s gothic double Angelus is a stereotypical asshole. Prior to this he was a loving and protective boyfriend, afterwards he becomes one of the seasons “Big Bads” who terrorizes Buffy’s friends and family and tries to destroy the world. In his Angelus soulless form Angel is back to being ‘othered’ and Buffy ends up having to kill him in the finale (he does come back as Angel again, spoiler). Through this dichotomy the divide between supernatural and natural becomes clearly defined, the Angel/Angelus gothic double shows that it actually is a lack of humanity that truly separates the supernatural from the natural.

 In what ways is gender performativity tied to the supernatural?

Gender performativity is tied to the supernatural in that character’s Gothic doubles often represent extreme stereotypes of masculine and feminine gender performativity. The doubles can sometimes even be manifestations of someone’s desire to ‘perform gender’ which is amplified by the supernatural. One such instance of this occurs in Season 3 episode 4 titled, “Beauty and the Beasts” . In this episode another Jekyll/Hyde like scenario occurs in what seems to be a normal highschool boy named Pete, who is responsible for a string of gruesome murders. Pete is dating another student Debbie and it is revealed that he has been taking a potion that transforms him into a monster. As seen in this clip.

 (1:00m in)

As you can see here it is pretty on the nose with the abusive boyfriend turning into an actual monster metaphor. In the clip it is revealed that Peter made the monster potion to, “Be the man [Debbie] wanted”. Pete has created a potion that forces him to perform gender and it leads him to become a monster double of himself. By having supernatural entities be extreme representations of gender performativity Buffy is able to demonstrate how gender stereotypes can be harmful. 

How does the series use the supernatural to liberate characters from oppressive normalcy?

Buffy’s supernatural strength and fighting abilities that come with being the “chosen one” as a slayer, liberate her from oppressive normalcy. Prior to being a slayer Buffy was a popular cheerleader at her old school. After she is granted her slayer duties she struggles with not leading a normal life anymore.

This struggle between accepting being a slayer and wanting to just be normal is Buffy’s main internal conflict in the earlier seasons. While, at first she doesn't find abilities liberating she soon is able to accept her fate and enjoys her power in slaying and saving others.

 Another character that is liberated from oppressive normalcy through the supernatural, is Buffy’s best friend Willow. Willow starts out in the series as a shy, studious girl. While she continues to be studious she begins to use her brains to also learn witchcraft. This escalates when Willow goes to college and joins a Wicca group on campus. While expanding her powers with the group she also meets another Wicca named Tara who becomes her love interest; leading her to realize she’s a lesbian (prior to this she had a boyfriend). Willow’s journey with growing her witch powers also aligns with her self discovery and coming out, liberating her from oppressive heteronormativity.

In what ways do Gothic doubles allow characters to transgress scripted gender that society imposes on them?

Early on in her witchcraft abilities, in the episode Doppelgangland, Willow casts a spell that accidentally puts her Vampire doppelganger from another universe into their world. This scene occurs before that happens.

(2:00-3:00 min). 

As you can see Willow is upset with how she is characterized by others. The article states that,“the double can be liberating for women (Saxey 2010), as it can allow them to transgress the traditional gender boundaries imposed on them by society”. Willow’s vampire double is the opposite of her and her desire to be less like herself ends up backfiring when her double terrorizes Sunnydale.

Clip from after she is captured.

(2:20-3:20). 

“That’s me as a vampire? I’m so evil..and skanky.. and I think i’m kinda gay…”

As shown, Willow’s gothic double transgresses Willow’s gender script of being sweet, innocent, and wearing fuzzy pink sweaters. Her doppelganger has dominatrix tendencies and is much more confident and sexual. Interestingly, the first hint of Willow being gay is with her double, showing that her double has been able to transgress the heteronormative gender script as well. As Angel’s, “Well actually...” suggests Willow’s gothic double is a representation of her most buried desires.

How are characters rewarded or punished for subverting their expected character traits?

Willow’s want to subvert her “old reliable” self ends up with her being punished as her plan backfires. Her extreme gothic double ends up being killed immediately via stake after she is returned to her original dimension (Interestingly, Willow didn’t want them to kill her double and instead casts a spell to return her). At the end of the episode we see that her gothic double actually helped her achieve her goal of not being forced to do her athlete classmate’s homework, as he is now intimidated by her. Her gothic double is punished for her gender digressions but her assertiveness ends up benefiting Willow by not letting her be ‘walked over’ anymore.

Buffy’s subversion of her expected feminine character traits are rewarded by her heroism. Her supernatural strength keeps her and her loved ones from being killed and also allows her to easily attack her unsuspecting creepy male classmates, who are always taken aback by her strength. This leads many of her male peers to refer to her as a “freak’ and someone to avoid, despite her looks and wit. However, this doesn’t phase Buffy as she enjoys the freedom that comes with her ability to protect herself.

Questions

Do you think that mythologizing the issues that come with ‘coming of age’, in the form of having the supernatural represent teenage woes, make these concepts more universal and accessible to young viewers?

Why do you think the show made Buffy’s two main love interests (Angel and then former nemesis Spike) vampires, even though her whole thing is that she’s ‘the slayer’?

Do you think that Buffy continuing to ‘other’ and slay vampires even while dating one is ethical? When they could also be potentially redeemed?

How do you think the face altering visual effects contribute to the ‘othering’ of vampires in the show?

@theuncannyprofessoro

Some Articles I read:

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Further thoughts on One Piece now I am a fair bit into the Little Garden arc:

1. Miss Wednesday?/Vivi is Tetra/Zelda from Wind Waker, in that she starts off as a somewhat goofy villain character, but then it's revealed she's a princess and her entire personality is reduced to Girl. I hate it!

2. Usopp is legitimately very funny, I expected him to be annoying but literally he keeps getting involved in Situations that make me roll with laughter, even better that Usopp and Nami bounce off each other very well.

3. I am glad that Usopp is not a pervert character and instead they have Sanji be the womaniser, or Usopp would be the worst character ever.

4. Zorro is incredible, his backstory is kind of shit compared to the other characters but it does the job of giving him powerful motivation for the shit he pulls. Most recently he got halfway through cutting his legs before Luffy and Usopp showed up. What an awesome character who does the stupidest shit with no self regard, and somehow survives because he refuses to die until he's fulfilled his vow.

5. Sanji so far is kind of the anti-Zorro... his backstory and initial character are cool, but they have had no relevance to either of the arcs we've seen him in since. Hell, he's been MISSING FOR THE ENTIRE TWO ARCS since they entered the Grand Line. Where is Sanji? Why is he just annihilated from the Baroque saga? Wtf? You gave a character arc to the fucking BIRD!!!

6. Sanji is also an anti-Zorro because Zorro treats women with equal hostility and respect as he treats men, and Sanji is like "YOU CAN'T MISTREAT A QUEEN!!!" and goes full heart eyes, and the irony here is that it makes Sanji incredibly sexist while Zorro is an aggressive feminist. See: their relationship to Nami. At least Sanji is a gullible simp rather than a creep.

7. I love how they can introduce a new island, new characters, new villains, and have a story that gets you just as invested as you were last time. One Piece is excellent at creating a world you can care about, and importantly, it gives reasons for its cast to care as well!!! Again, they gave a character arc to the fucking bird!!!

8. Talking of, Luffy - His rage is so GOOD. He is so lighthearted and happy most of the time but when he sees someone breaking someone else's dreams, he goes absolutely apeshit. It was heartbreaking watching him being wedged under a mountain and punching the ground as he saw the two giants fight to the death.

The point I am at now is that Luffy and Usopp and the bird have just shown up to beat the tar out of Candle Man and I want to see what powers his autistic assistant has.

[itsclydebitches]

I don't go here, but I really dislike how ubiquitous the notion has become in fandom that 'strong and independent woman' is somehow mutually exclusive with 'woman in a romantic relationship/prioritizing romance'. I feel like that's the kind of attitude that leads to terrible readings like 'The Little Mermaid is anti-feminist because Ariel gives up her voice for a man' which requires ignoring several key aspects of the film's plot and Ariel's character specifically (such as the fact that she sings Part of Your World before she ever lays eyes on Eric, and she spent her entire life collecting artifacts from the surface world and arranging them in her grotto), nevermind the fact that a story where someone falls in love and values that highly enough to make significant changes to her life to fight for it would still have value! Because love has value!

Like you said, just because there are a lot of cases where female characters are reduced to love interests and nothing else doesn't mean a female character caring about love and being motivated by love means she can't also be strong and independent. I feel like a lot of people just swing the pendulum way too far in the other direction and seem to think that being in love is what devalued those female characters, and not the fact that they were (by and large) written to be accessories for the male characters they were attached to and had nothing else to contribute to the story.

That is the problem, not romantic storylines themselves.

Precisely, anon! I'm really glad you brought up The Little Mermaid, both because the latest adaptation showcases how important intersectionality is (a black mermaid getting the "generic" love story is not the same thing as another white mermaid getting it) and because I've had similar gripes about many fans' readings of Cinderella. To be clear, I think the Disney + princess craze is a complicated subject with an equally complicated impact on kids, but a lot of people will attempt to simplify that conversation down to, "It's bad because she wants a man." Putting aside that this is not, as discussed, inherently a bad thing... did we miss the part where she's in a clearly abusive household, wants only to experience one fun night, and happens to meet the Prince without ever actively aiming for that to happen? This is a debate my friend and I have had for years, to the point where "Cinderella" is a bit of a code-word for, "We're never going to agree on this topic and others are getting annoyed at our impassioned arguments, so can we just move on now?" lol

I experienced similar frustration back when Jupiter Ascending came out and -- putting aside the quality of the film (or supposed lack thereof) -- people were up in arms about how terrible it is that the woman lead needs to be rescued by the guy, with the reason for that terribleness boiling down to, presumably, the idea that a woman is automatically weak if she needs help. Meanwhile, I was reading things through the lens of the show's realism (of course the average cleaning lady is not going to be able to fight off alien kidnappers without assistance) as well as the joy of seeing parts of myself in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy story. I'm not physically strong. I'm not a martial artist. I'm not someone who's going to immediately come up with a cutting remark and satisfyingly punch someone in the face. As cool as that archetype is, it's reductive to present a Strong and Independent Woman as solely physically strong and romantically independent. That definition should -- and does -- mean a thousand different things!

I do get it. I often have a knee-jerk reaction to certain writing choices for women (there was a maybe baby plot-line for one of Ted Lasso's characters this season that, far more than Keeley, I've been side-eying), but overall I try to approach each story as the individual text that it is. Yes, there are issues with these trends across media... but is this story actually falling into those stereotypes and harmful depictions, or have we just trained ourselves to reject anything in this category by default?

[sunflowerinthekitchen]

"taylor is a human, let her make mistakes"

This is not a mistake. This is an active choice she is making to not only a) be associated with/date/flaunt her situationship with a known racist anti-Semitic bigot but also b) be completely silent over the matter and throw attention to her previous relationship and how it ended to redirect the focus instead of addressing the issue at hand. She can respond to the Joe articles almost immediately by throwing some cheating songs into the setlist (she's aware how we dig into them and analyze them and uses those to feel her feelings, it's not a secret and the people who say 'you're weird for digging this much into it' are the same people crying every week over what choices she made and how it relates to how heartbroken she is), but can't acknowledge the uproar about m*tty?

Yes, taylor is a human and humans make bad choices. However, humans are also granted the ability to re-evaluate those choices and offer apologies, remove themselves from that situation, and uphold their previous promises when shown new information. I don't care how heartbroken she is, I don't care if she wants to be "messy", it's not an excuse to parade a racist around and very publicly solidify your space beside them.

It's at the point that it needs to be accepted that Taylor does not care. She is not the feminist she claims to be, and is instead the white feminist she pushed so hard to move away from being labelled as. You can't show up swinging only for causes that concern you and ignore the rest when it slightly inconveniences you. She's showing she is unable to apply her apparent beliefs to any situation that doesn't directly affect her or a close loved one in some way.

It's not dramatic or annoying to be upset by this. You SHOULD call out problematic behaviours that harm real people. You SHOULD hold celebrities to the standards of "don't support and excuse a fucking racist". You SHOULD demand more of the people paid millions of dollars to reach billions of people. They have the influence, they need to be aware of how much their public choices and decisions affect the people they're paid to reach. I hold taylor to the standards I hold anyone else to, and if you're this insistent on supporting someone as disgusting as m*tty, you have to be disgusting yourself even if you're just excusing and ignoring it.

[bookofmirth]

When people say Elain is an introvert (and it’s why she’s well suited for Azriel) and is currently thriving/happy…it makes me laugh a little and it’s kind of annoying. Compare ACOTAR & ACOMAF Elain to ACOWAR - ACOSF Elain and there is a massive difference. She is traumatized. In the beginning, Elain is described as laughing, talking, interacting and dancing with multiple people at parties. She personally greets them. She can convince anyone to do anything with a few smiles. In the human lands she was happy and the farthest thing from introverted. After being turned by the Cauldron, she becomes quiet. She has unresolved trauma. I think in SF, it’s stated that Elain is overwhelmed by crowds and she didn’t use to be that way; she loved balls and parties. That joy was taken away from her. Elain in the Night Court seems out of place. Shippers argue we’re being “anti-feminist” (or that we hate her) when we say Elain shouldn’t be in the NC (or with Azriel) even though she has became friends with the wraith twins and is making a home there for herself. Elain doesn’t seem like herself and as if she’s not happy. How can someone read SF and conclude that she’s fine and is meant to be in a court that “sucks the life from her.” Also adding, shippers say we really don’t care about Elain because we say she should choose who/what she wants and when she chooses to kiss Azriel we don’t agree with it. Well, we don’t know if she really wants him, because it wasn’t in her pov. She wanted to kiss him, yes, but is it only lust or is there romantic feelings? For Az, I only picked up on jealousy and lust.

Honestly some people learned about feminism from wikipedia and it shows. That's a rich criticism coming from a fandom who can't extend that same grace to other female characters, though. Just saying. Everyone is a feminist when it comes to Elain, but Mor? Nesta? Feyre? They forgot how to read.

Elain in acowar-acosf is a shell of who she used to be. in acosf it's described a couple of times that she is starting to seem more like her old self, but that old self goes away so quickly. She's being sly about something, we just don't know what. She has zero relationship with Nesta, whom she was closest with before. She's trying to help the IC when trouble comes, but gets shut down. She's not friends with anyone in the IC, which is weird to me considering how much time she spends with them. Something isn't clicking in the Night Court!

In fact, sjm said in an interview (in the back of the paperback of acofas, I think?) that Elain has been having nightmares about vines choking her. We haven't read about those in canon yet, so where are they? I assume she's still having them because we haven't had her story yet. We haven't even had a chapter that tells us her thoughts yet, like you mentioned.

I've never seen anyone argue that Elain shouldn't have tried to kiss Az - not saying it's never happened, I just can't speak on it. Personally, I've even said that I don't really care if she was hurting Lucien's feelings by doing so. Be messy, do what you want, follow your heart or vagina or whatever Elain, do it. But like you said, we don't know how she actually feels. There's nothing wrong with her (or Az's) sexual desires, no one has ever said that that in itself is a problem. It's the utter lack of romantic feelings that is putting us off, when paired with the idea that supposedly, they are in love? I can accept that they are sexually attracted to one another, but chafe at the idea of them being so in love when Az couldn't think of a single positive thing to say/think about her beyond that physical attraction.