#especially when they are only exposed to these gendered roles through old media

[seagull-scribbles]

what if they where T4T?! What then?

[duckymcdoorknob]

Ok this may be offensive to some but it has to be said.

CW BELOW THE CUT: Mentions if p*rn, mentions of slurs, mentions of threats of vi*lence, mentions of gr**ming, mentions of b*llying.

Dear Governor DeSantis,

Fuck you.

Do you really think your little bill will work?

Are you truly that dense?

Welcome to the age of IPad kids and Mass Media. How many elementary schoolers do you know with IPads? Plenty im presuming. And how many of those kids have TikTok or Instagram or any other social media account?

Do you think that kids won’t learn about the LGBTQ+ community from there?

Sheltering a child does nothing but delay their exposure to the community.

Do you really think that kids don’t have an impact on each other?

I’ll say it again to get it through your brain.

Sheltering a child does nothing but delay their exposure to the community.

Peer influence is the most beneficial, but also most harmful, way for an adolescent to learn.

Studies have shown that adolescents are most influenced by the ones around them, especially in close proximity to their age.

That being said, how many children are going to listen to you?

Do you think that they’ll just magically be sheltered from the LGBTQ+ community until you think they’re old enough?

Since you assure that stopping the topic in school will ensure that kids are safe and sheltered…

I was six years old when I watched my first p*rno in the basement of my family home. Do you know who showed me it? My best friend, who was in third grade at the time.

I was seven years old when I made my first threat of vi*lence against a peer. I told him to shut his mouth before I shut it for him. Now, Mr. Governor, my parents are absolute saints and would never hurt a fly. They kept me from violent tv shows and only let me watch certain channels with safe programming. So, sir, where do you think I learned that threat from? The boys in my second grade class.

I was eight years old when I learned about the R slur and the N word. Now, my third grade history class didn’t teach me about it, my friends did. They whispered it in my ear and giggled as if it was some sort of contraband they were spreading.

I was asked to trade n*des at age twelve. Now, I didn’t know what these were, but I knew they were unsafe. I didn’t learn about them in an online safety class. No, I learned from my classmate, who had already had advantage taken of her through them.

I was gr**med on this app at age thirteen. A role play blog constantly messaged me and asked me what I looked like, so I sent them a fake photograph. They told me go pretty I looked and how they would love for me to meet them. Block and delete after that of course, but imagine if it was someone more naive…?

I was bullied relentlessly from age thirteen to fifteen. One person decided that they didn’t like me, so the rest of my classmates shouldn’t too. They made group chats for entire classes, where they would ridicule me for the smallest things. It didn’t stop until I was in high school.

I was sexually harassed by one of my peers at age fifteen. He made a comment about my butt, claiming that I “had a fat ass.” And that “it’s a shame i’m so fat though.”

I was offered a drink at age sixteen. Not by my parents, but from a peer, whom said I would be “such a fucking funny drunk.”

If you want to shelter kids from the “atrocity” of human sexuality and gender identities, shelter us from the shit that actually matters too.

I don’t care if kids learn about drag queens or gay families.

But God damn it, don’t let them be exposed to the shit I was.

If you’re going to enforce safety, give us the safety we truly deserve, not the safety you old farts think we need.

Learning about gay people is not unsafe.

Being exploited for another person’s sexual gain is unsafe.

Being offered gateway drugs is unsafe.

Being told slurs and their meanings is unsafe.

Being bullied to the point of hopelessness is unsafe

Being threatened by a classmate is unsafe.

Being exposed to the harmful world of p*rnogr*phy is unsafe.

The common thread in all of these?

None of these were exposed to us by our school systems, parents, or home lives.

They were brought upon us by our schoolmates…

Our teammates…

Our cast mates…

Our staff mates…

So, Mister Governor, sir.

What’s your next move?

[gaymershigh]

hulloh! I've only been on tumblr for a few hours, and me and my friend already love your work! Is it ok if I request some TWST parent scenarios with Riddle,Lilia,Sebek,Vil and Floyd? If so, thanks! Also once again, me and my freind love ur works alot!

Of course! Since there's no s/o really mentioned in here but people might still want to be included, s/o will be mentioned just a tiny bit (the kids being biological or adopted is up to you since I want to make the s/o gender neutral.) Also, thanks a lot! I'm still and probably be forever an amateur writer so this means a lot to me 🥺💞💞

Triggers: None

Parents au: Riddle, Lilia, Sebek, Vil and Floyd edition!

From what we've seen, his parents are not the best role models like, at all. They were too strict, pressuring him and treating him like a trophy child. However, he will definitely not treat his child like that at all after Ace slapped him with reality.

He will be a bit strict, having some rules and will scold them if they did something wrong but not as scold them the way his mother does. He won't raise his voice at them, showing them the right path after he scolded them. He will give them freedom and try his best to not make his children suffer the same thing he did, especially when he's the source of the pain.

Though, he might accidentally adapt some things from his mother and project her ways to his children, being completely not self aware. If you're his s/o, please teach him the baby steps to avoid this from this occurring too often.

Unfortunately, having a good life and children won't make his short temper extend. This is the only reason why he doesn't spoil them too much, they might act entitled and may be too late to change them back to the innocent infant they were back then. He tries very hard to control his temper if his children unintentionally knock furniture over or damage something. He just needs a few minutes alone, everything will be back to normal later.

There was one time where his child's birthday was near and decided to bake a cake from scratch, without any assistance from Trey nor his s/o. Thinking he could do it and don't want anyone to underestimate him. He was planning to make a burnt strawberry cheesecake and did the mistake of leaving the oven on for an hour for 400 degrees fahrenheit. The cake went on fire but it tasted very good when he for some reason tasted it. Nobody knew about the incident and the cake was actually used for its purpose. Yay for him, I guess.

He was already pretty outdated in trends when he was in his teens so do expect him to be like a middle aged soccer mom on Facebook every time his children send him memes or something like that. If he does even use any sort of social media and stumbled upon a 'funny' minion meme or something, he will definitely send it to the family group chat. He will make those 5th grade types of edits with one of the family pictures with a "I love my family". It's funny but still wholesome so don't laugh at him.

There is no alternate universe where Lilia isn't a good dad. Silver and his other wards are already an amazing example of how amazing of a parent he is! He has gained a bunch of experience so he got this in the bag.

Though, his way of taking care of children might be different from how it is now. Times have changed, there are probably some new and uncomplicated objects or toys to entertain the baby or child. He would love to go on a shopping trip to buy some fascinating kids toys he found in the toy store. Please stop him from buying everything in there because it looks "intriguing".

If you're his s/o, you're very lucky since if you have a baby who always cries at three in the morning or a kid who really have trouble sleeping, Lilia will sing a lullaby and they'll doze off in any second. He can wake up easily or he'll just always stay up playing his games so you don't even need to break a sweat in this situation.

His kids or any kid in general loves him lots. He will always tell his tales anywhere, anytime. If the kids ask him for a story to tell, he will always have a new one ready to tell. They also make amazing bedtime stories! It can be funny little innocent stories like his funny experiences taking care of his three wards to actual battles he went through. Any story is a good story.

He really got along with his child when they're young and innocent but when they get into their teenage years, oh boy. He will unintentionally embarrasses them but their friends won't mind. If anything, they will love him being around as he's always keeping up with the games and trends, not being a fat, shirtless creepy dad. One of the positive parts about his child growing up is that he can play video games with him just like he did with Silver! Reliving the nice memories.

He would always try to cook something in any opportunity he gets and of course, he gets stopped by either s/o or his own children. Yes, they have to go through the hard way to realize their father is garbage at cooking. He would always try to cook some food everytime something good has happen in order to celebrate but most of the times, he just wants to cook something for them to show how much he loves them. They really made him happy, he finally have a biological/adopted offspring to watch growing up (again).

Sebek unfortunately doesn't have that much time to spend time with his children due to being Malleus' trusted escort. Of course, when he does have free time and is not exhausted he will use the opportunity to spend it with his adorable younglings.

Knowing him, he still loves and worships Malleus but he's no longer his only priority in life when he finally has a life of his own other than just being Malleus' bodyguard. He will ramble and tell so many stories about his young master to his kids. They will be infatuated but will later complain about how everything is just "Malleus this, Malleus that". He will get a bit upset about that comment, so he will only talk about Malleus stories for 3 days a week.

He only has focused his life on guarding Malleus and advancing himself on magic and education. Now that he's now an actual father, this is a new chapter in his life and he's not prepared at all. He will seek Lilia for guidance and of course, Lilia being Lilia will rope him to doing something absolutely ridiculous and he would of course, woefully fall for it. Pretty surprising that no matter how much he has fallen for his teacher's trap, he still seeks him for advice.

His kids will definitely learn how to read fast. He loves reading and he really wants his kids to appreciate it too. He was about to immediately give them the books that have old and poetic language without even knowing what the alphabet was. Lilia put a stop to this and you couldn't even bear seeing how sad he looked because he needs to wait for a few years for him to have little reading buddies. Oh well, it doesn't matter now. He will teach them how to read and appreciate the art of reading no matter how long it takes.

He has exposed his children to a bunch of Malleus propaganda so there's no surprise if the children become just like him. Loud screaming, Malleus worshipping, smart but naive and other things Sebek has. If you're his s/o, please keep the children in check as they might cause problems to the neighbors. As this might be troublesome, it's at least entertaining experience I suppose.

Just like Sebek, he has even less time to spend with his kids as he always has modeling, acting and other businesses to attend. He's probably going to be exhausted when he comes back as well. Though, of course he's going to try to use all his energy to talk to his children till he can no longer open his eyes anymore. He prefers an s/o that is a stay-in mom/dad so the children won't feel lonely while he's gone.

They're definitely gonna grow up just like him. A model, actor, media influencer, or the combination of the three and it's not a bad thing. If they're going on the same route as him, he will teach them in a strict but still in a somewhat caring manner as he has learned a lot from his experience of the VDC boot camp and the overblot incident. He will only show his threatening side if they start to misbehave like those ADeuce rats.

Just because they are his children, doesn't mean they get a free pass if they intentionally neglect or not doing their best at all times, especially when it comes to appearance. He's known to be a neat-freak and a very hard worker to the point it's concerning. He will scold them if more than two pimples pop up on their face but he knows when to cross the line. He learned this easier if their child is rather sensitive and just emotionally fragile in general but they still need to take care of themselves.

He expects his children to follow his footsteps when it comes to where they're schooling. He wants them to enter a prestigious school like he did for his reputation and for the sake of his children's future. This is optional (not really) but he also hopes his children to enter Pomefiore as well and take the dorm head title at least the second week they enroll in this school. If they were sorted to a different dorm, they still want them to have a role in their dorm or in the school at all.

He begs to the Great Seven that paparazzi or desperate losers obsessing over him don't intrude into his personal life, especially if it's about his family. The last thing he wants to witness is his family in pain or being uncomfortable for their whole life. He usually avoids or straight up tells the interviewer that he's not comfortable answering questions when they're going too personal when it's about questions of his family.

You cannot feel anymore blessed when you see his smiling face when he received news about having a vacation. He can finally spend more time with his wonderful kids he's raising with all his heart. He will tell them about some funny incidents in the studio while he was involved in some modeling gig or he will bring them to a private island with gorgeous scenery for both of them to enjoy. Of course, his children's happy faces are more beautiful than the island.

Floyd is seen to be very warm and sweet despite having a very intimidating height. Naturally, he's not going to be ruthless and act the same when it's with his children because it's his children of course, family is precious to him. He has a lot of energy even after a long shift at Mostro Lounge, so he will always spend a lot of time with his kids.

He's physically affectionate so expect him to be always close and wrapping his arms around his children at almost all times. He'll usually let them sit on his lap when they watch TV or sleep with them if they can't go back to sleep because of a nightmare. Headpats are needed, especially if the kids did something good or got good news. Not saying he won't give any headpats if something bad happens, maybe headpats of sympathy perhaps.

He's very patient when it's with his children because he doesn't want his children to fear him when they grow up. If anything, the s/o have to do the scolding to avoid him snapping or anything like the sort. They rarely do anything bad though, since they're aware of how their dad acts from how he treats a dirty burglar who once tried to break in.

Since he's usually very active and hates just standing around, he expects his children to be just like him. It's never boring if your dad is Floyd as he always has something really entertaining to do at most times. If you're his s/o, you have the free entrance to see an eel man dancing around with his kids or playing some basketball either inside or preferably in the backyard. He tried showing the art of parkour but is stopped due to it being very risky. He sulked about this but oh well, once they're ten, they have no choice but to learn it!

Floyd is an amazing cook and he sometimes lets his children be involved like chopping some vegetables or stirring the macaroni. He sometimes teaches them the perfect way of doing it or let's them try doing their own meal with his assistance. There was one time they decided to make one of the weirdest food combinations and try to eat it, he won and ate it all as it was too gross for the kids to eat it. It's not gonna be a surprise if everyone in this household is an expert cook when Floyd is here.

If possible, he really wants to bring his kids at work no matter how troublesome they could get. If Azul has a "bring your kids to work" day (which I doubt of him doing), he's going to bring all his children no matter how many he has. If there's no day like that, who cares! He's bringing his kids anyway and nobody's stopping him. Sure, he will get scolded by Azul but if that's the only thing stopping him then he'll take his chances.

I don't if it's still Christmas or not since I don't celebrate it but if it's still is, Merry Christmas! 🎉 I'll just say this is a Christmas gift for you and your friend, Mouaietaru! Especially for that Jamil and Silver fanfic that you made. It's very good, keep up the fantastic work! ✨✨✨

-𝕸𝖎𝖗𝖎

[ilovejevsjeans]

Meet Ellie Norman – Formula One’s first female executive on a mission to rebrand the sport

The world of F1 is finally shifting, and this is the women driving the change

Ellie Norman was working at Virgin Media when she got a call in the beginning of 2017 from her now-boss Sean Bratches, Managing Director of Commercial Operations at F1, asking to meet him for a coffee. Today, Formula One’s first high-profile female executive under Liberty Media, is doing her very best to change the sport’s false perception.

Did you feel comfortable going into Formula One?

‘Believe it or not, as a ten-year-old girl I dreamt of being a female Formula One driver. I never got to the stage, as you may have guessed, but I’ve always had a love for cars and speed – I obtained my racing license in 2007 – and I am fascinated by the engines and technology in cars. Having that general, sort of basic, knowledge of the automotive industry, made the transition easier.’

Growing up as a girl interested in cars, did you ever feel like the industry was primarily targeted towards men?

‘That’s really interesting because from a very young age, I’ve never seen any barriers. I grew up on a farm with my sisters – my dad was a farmer – and we weren’t really exposed to gender stereotypes. I got thrown into the deep end, worked outside with machinery and altering vehicles like tractors. I’ve never looked at anything and thought: that’s more of a boy’s thing versus a girl’s thing.’

You’re the Director of Marketing & Communications at Formula One. What keeps you busy on a daily basis?

‘My role is structured around delivering the business’s three main objectives. First, we want more people to engage with the sports, this can be via TV or via digital channels. Secondly, we want more people to attend the races around the world. And finally, we want to grow our fan base, make Formula One as relevant to as many people as possible. There is a false perception that F1 is a male-oriented sport, but 44% of our fan base is actually female. I believe that as an organisation and as a sport, we have the responsibility to look for ways to further increase that inclusion and diversity.’

Is that why you removed the grid girls? ‘We realised that if we wanted to grow our female fan base, this was a decision we had to make. Their roles were no longer relevant – the drivers couldn’t actually see the lollipops these girls were holding, neither could the audience that was watching the race on TV. This one simple move has allowed us to shine the spotlight on other highly skilled women in the sport, like the women in the pit crew, broadcasters, marketers and event managers – there are a lot more women taking on roles in this sport than you might expect.’

So you never doubted this decision?

‘Oh no, not at all. t’s fair to say that it was a controversial decision that didn’t make everyone happy. Especially for the older fan base – those who have been avid fans of F1 for years – it was a big change. It was incredibly interesting to see the amount of support we received from newer fans and the Generation Z audience, as well as from young guys who found the whole concept slight archaic.’

Tell me more about how you’re getting Gen Z interested?

‘One of our goals is to inspire the younger generations to consider careers in Formula One. The sport has always been perceived as quite elitist. We want to break down these barriers, open up the conversation with Gen Z, and the best way to do that is via social media. We had Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things come in and join us. That gave us an opportunity to create relevant content and portray the sport in much more relatable way to her fan base.’

It is still very much a male-dominated industry. Do you have a lot of women working for you?

‘When I joined the company, I got an office, a mobile phone, a laptop and essentially a blank sheet of paper. I was very conscious about how to build my team – we’re a small team, only 22 people – so my recruitment strategy was to hire 50-50 men and women, some with experience outside the industry, as well as people from within F1.’

What advice would you give young girls that want to get into Formula One?

As an aspiring race driver, you have to stay focussed and keep the momentum up – work hard and go for it. There are more and more young women coming up through the ranks, like Tatiana Calderón – the first woman to compete in Formula 2 – and Jamie Chadwick. If you’re interested in the business side of F1, remember to be brave, be bold and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.’ (X)

[ratingtheframe]

Why Armie Hammer’s Scandal Is More Than Kink Shaming

The 34 year old actor has had numerous allegations thrown his way this past month, from cannibalism to an obsession with BDSM. But do these allegations go beyond a widely accepted community of kink lovers and venture into deeply rooted misogyny?

Warning: this article contains mentions of cannibalism and sexual assault. 

For those of you who aren’t aware of Armie Hammer’s presence on screen, you may be scratching your head and wondering what on earth people are talking about, seeing the cannibalism aspect to this all as face value without making the connection between Hammer’s past behaviours and current allegations. The actor who rose to prominence in Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher’s The Social Network (2013) playing both of the Winklevoss twins, has become quite the favourite amongst the film industry. His role Oliver in Luca Guadagnino’s Call me by your name (2017) has sent Twitter into a permanent frenzy as memes and daily adoration for Chalamet and Hammer’s on screen romance continue to thrive even 4 years after the film's release. As well as Call me your name, Hammer is known for roles in Sorry to Bother You (2018), Rebecca (2020), On the Basis of Sex (2018) and soon to be released, Death on The Nile (2021). He currently has another film due to be released and a Call me by your name sequel in development. Sounds as if he’s got a lot going for him and despite him not being the biggest star to be churned out of Hollywood today, the recognition is still there and with that, he’s still being paid. 

The Allegations

At the beginning of the year, an account emerged under the handle of @houseofeffie, that was created to expose some lurid and unpleasant communication between several women and Armie Hammer. Some of which he had relations with whilst married to his now ex wife Elizabeth Chambers. The nature of these dms are incredibly disturbing and worrying considering that Hammer not only has children but as an actor, spends a proportionate time around women.

These are just a few of the messages that were exposed that led the media to brandish Hammer as a “cannibal”:

Hammer:

 “You are the god damned standard I hold women to in terms of kink and enjoyment of fucking the[n]...”

“I need to drink your blood, why the distance?” “...thinking of holding your heart in my head and controlling when it beats”

“I am 100% a cannibal...I want to eat you....Fuck...that’s scary to admit..”

“I’ve cut the heart out of a living animal before and eaten it while still warm”

“You were the most intense and extreme version [that I’ve ever had]. Raping you on the floor with a knife against you. Everything else seemed boring”

“You [were] crying and screaming, me standing over you.  I felt like a god. I’ve never felt such power or intensity.”

“You just live to obey and be my slave”

“Would you come and be my property till you die? If I wanted to cut off one of your toes and keep it with me in my pocket so I always had a piece of you in my possession?”

“I want to see your brain, your blood, your organs, every part of you… I would definitely bite it...100%”

...O-kay. Lots to unpack here. First and fore mostly, I’d like to address the kink shaming element to all of this. I personally don’t see any harm in kinks, BDSM, pornography, as long as people are consenting and aren’t inflicting unsolicited pain upon people. Therefore, kink shaming and finding Hammer’s taste in sexual preferences isn’t what we are here to discuss. In fact when I first read the allegations, that wasn’t even my initially thought. CNN posted an article two days ago titled “Armie Hammer May Be Disturbed, But Is Shaming Him the Answer?” an opinion based article by Aaron Weaver that explores the allegations and believes Hammer shouldn’t be shamed for his kinks. But this begs the question whether Hammer was actually being shamed? I didn’t see much evidence for this seeing as people were mostly horrified by his taste in human flesh than anything else, a kink that is uncommon in the BDSM community and is only practiced by the most extreme. 

Kinks aside, the most worrying thing about the DMs above is the way in which he views women and their bodies. It’s clear to see that he might not have much respect for women seeing as he proudly states his willingness to cut them up and drink their blood. And funnily enough, the sexual objectification of women’s bodies for one's own sexual pleasure without considering their comfortability is classed as misogyny. A reddit user made an extremely good point on a thread about Hammer’s scandal stating:

“To me, the problem is not that he’s into rough sex, or that he has kinks some people find scary. It’s not about yucking his yum, so to speak. I’m more concerned that he may have ignored safe words and pushed his partners beyond their limits. I feel like the media is focusing so much on his kinks and sexuality as opposed to his ignoring of consent, which is a complete and utter inversion of priorities”

Past Relationships

Another example of Hammer disrespecting the boundaries of women and sexual pleasure would be his past girlfriend Paige Lorenze. Lorenze is a 23 year model and former professional skier who has shone a light on Hammer’s worrying behaviour and his involvement in BDSM activity. The sources of Lorenze’s allegations are highly unreliable, which is one of the most frustrating things about this entire charade. The BBC BRIEFLY covered the fact that Hammer dropped out of his latest film amid the allegations, without fully going into detail about the allegations or the abuse subjected towards his former partners. It just goes to show we’re rubbish at taking abuse seriously enough to the point where people are punished for their wrongdoings. Had a more reliable news source covered this story, then it’d make it more viable to the public. Even though this scandal is in its early days, that doesn’t necessarily mean it's unimportant or should be swept under the rug along with the hundreds of other scandals that Hollywood refuses to expose.

Only the Daily Mail, The Sun and Page Six seem to have gone in depth with the accusations, making the entire story rather murky for the reader. Anyhow, Paige Lorenze said to the Daily Mail that Hammer had carved an ‘A’ above her groin without her consent and licked it whilst it bled. He had also reportedly tied her up and hit her with paddles to fuel his BDSM obsession and sexual desires. Lorenze was quoted saying 'Any man who is fantasizing about crushing bones, eating them, having sex with female limp bodies is a danger to all women'. Hammer insisted to Lorenze that his behaviour was normal, and that there was an entire community of people that carried out the same things he did on her. This is partially correct seeing as the global sex play market is worth over $30 billion, with practices in such activities dating back to the mid 19th century. However, the one thing the BDSM community doesn’t condone is not giving consent, which is where the fine line is drawn in between Hammer’s sexual preferences and the BDSM community. His choice to carve that ‘A’ into Lorenze isn’t backed up by a wider community of people who enjoy a variety of sexual pleasure. Lorenze claims he also DMed nude photos of her being tied up to people without her consent, further perpetuating Hammer’s lack of respect towards people’s boundaries. This is a serious incident, that sees someone with more power (Hammer is 6’5 and Lorenze is 5’6 btw) assert their dominance and by doing so, degrades and harms someone else. We shouldn’t be kink shaming Hammer, but shaming him for thinking that this behaviour is acceptable.

Hammer’s previous relationships can also draw some light into his lack of respect for women. He and his wife Elizabeth Chambers divorced in July 2020 after a decade of marriage. Though it's unknown what triggered the separation, these recent allegations may have something to do with it. Furthermore, two other women have come forward to express their distaste towards Hammer and his questionable fantasies. Entrepreneur and ex-girlfriend of Armie Hammer, Courtney Vucekovich, told Page Six that Hammer wanted to “break [her] rib and barbecue it and eat it”. She also expressed how easy it was for Hammer to charm his way through into getting women, especially young women into doing what he wants through “active manipulation and making you feel like he’s never felt this way about anybody.” Lorenze was also subjected to similar retort after reporting that Hammer too wanted to barbecue one of her ribs because she “didn’t need it”. Writer Jessica Ciencen Henriquez took to twitter last summer after a lunch date with Hammer and expressed that she had blocked him on Instagram. She later went on to tweet this:

“If you are still questioning whether or not those Armie Hammer DMs are real (and they are) maybe you should start questioning why we live in a culture willing to give abusers the benefit of the doubt instead of victims”

Exactly my point here. There’s not much to this scandal other than the fact that several people were hurt and undermined and someone else caused it. Someone who is societally above everyone because of their race, class, status and gender, with a well connected and dominant family support system. 

His background and past 

Hammer comes from a very powerful and wealthy family. Hammer’s great grandfather, Armand Hammer, was the chief executive officer and president of the Occidental Petroleum company founded in 1920. Now if you’re wondering the exact scale of such a company that is still running today, they are the 4th largest oil and gas acquisition in the entire world worth over $100 billion. ONE HUNDRED, BILLION, DOLLARS. Not all actors in Hollywood can say that their great-grandfathers were worth that much, which gives me little hope in seeing Hammer be held accountable for what he’s done. He was also kicked out of UCLA after apparently not “being able to do it”.  Just another rich white male with enough power, malice and money to work his way around any struggle.

Now that we’ve established Hammer’s allegations, it’s worth looking back to see whether the signs of such behaviour were already prevalent in the numerous interviews he partook in over the years. Complex highlighted an episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2017, where the host brought up Hammer’s obsession with knots, to which he laughed off and claimed that “knots make sense” that they are a “language” and referenced how man used knots before the wheel. Valid points but ones that are debunked in light of his interest in BDSM. during a 2013 interview with Playboy (appropriate) Hammer expressed that his “sexual appetites changed'' when he married his wife and that hair pulling used to be something he enjoyed but could no longer do now that he was married “even though he wanted to”. This is quite the backwards comment when we’re talking about respecting boundaries and it's clear to see it was only a matter of time before his desires could no longer be repressed.

Since this whole shit storm began to travel Hammer’s way, he has since dropped out of the film The Billion Dollar Spy, which would’ve seen him star alongside Jennifer Lopez. BBC News reported that this move was made as Hammer stated that “I cannot in good conscience now leave my children for four months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic” following the ‘vicious’ online abuse he’s been subjected to. Hammer was again put in the firing line by Grand Cayman law enforcement for lying about a woman provocatively shown in a video was Miss Cayman of the Miss Cayman beauty pageant that’s held on the island. He and the woman were warned for their misconduct and had confirmed the matter is now closed. 

Final Thoughts

There are enough red flags in Hammer’s behaviour to open up a flag store, and I would go as far as to say that this isn’t the end of it. For someone who’s grown up having the majority of things they want, it's easy to want more beyond morality and despite the discomfort of others. Hammer’s move to drop out of his latest film was an attempt to lessen the blow of hate being turned towards him as opposed to the benefit of those he’s hurt. So far, him and his lawyer have denied all allegations and further action hasn’t been taken against the Hollywood star. He’s apologised for the DMs and brandished his actions a “foolish attempt at humour”. 

Wrapping his own behaviour up in humour is an attempt to detract from the severity of the behaviour itself, whilst excusing it, something he can get away with because of his status. 

Major media outlets haven’t done much in even attempting to expose this man’s behaviour and have left it up to unreliable sources to piece together the true persona of Armie Hammer. Though innocent until proven guilty, common sense is widely available to the general public meaning we should be delving into the past a little and comparing it to these allegations. Along with Hammer’s character, family and unnerving Instagram posts of cutting up meat and eating raw steak, there doesn’t seem to be much in the actor’s favour. 

All I would say is as a director, producer, writer or actor, would you feel comfortable in being associated with someone who believes they're a cannibal and marvels at the idea of drinking human blood? Or someone who goes as far to objectify women to the point where they become nothing but sexual fulfilment and pieces of meat? 

That’s all I’ll say and those who do feel comfortable doing such a thing means that Hammer may still have a career at the end of the day. One point to Hollywood, no points to political correctness and respecting women. 

[queermediastudies]

Creating Identities: The Coming Out Narrative of Love, Simon

Love, Simon is a 2018 film adaption of the book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, written by Becky Albertalli. The film follows the life of Simon Spier, a seventeen-year-old closeted high school senior and his relationship with his parents and younger sister, his friends Nick, Abby, and Leah, his blackmailer Martin, and his anonymous crush who goes by the alias of Blue. Simon himself knows he is gay and has known since he was thirteen. However, he has never had the opportunity to engage in this part of himself, as he has been in the closet for the last four years and surrounded by assumedly only straight friends and family (I say “assumedly,” because, later in a companion novel the audience learns that Leah and Abby are both bisexuals). Love, Simon, both as a book and a movie, explores concepts centering mainly around aspects of coming out and being gay in a heteronormative society, the production and engagement of queer identities amongst queer people who are in “the closet,” and finally touches on issues surrounding who is allowed to create and produce queer stories.

The movie begins with Simon narrating his life, explaining that he is a typical high schooler with a great family and amazing friends. However, Simon then reveals he has “one huge-ass secret,” he is gay. Moments up to Simon revealing this secret to the audience, we see him looking longingly at a boy across the street who is doing yard work and is interrupted by his dad, who jokes about Simon being in a relationship with Gigi Hadid. While this moment is deceptively simple, throughout the film, many characters make similar comments about sexuality. For instance, later on, when Simon and his family are watching the Bachelor, his father makes numerous comments about how the Bachelor is gay and describes him as “so fruity.” While Simon knows his family would still accept him for being gay, it is moments like this that queer audiences can relate to, and the exact reason that Simon does not feel comfortable coming out to his father. These scenes and jokes reflect both the dominant, mainstream ideology of heteronormativity and the reality many queer people face daily. Additionally, scenes such as this or the one between Simon and Leah, where they are guessing the identity of the anonymous gay classmate and Leah, assumes a classmate is gay because he likes Les Mis, which demonstrates contemporary stereotypes of gay people and the reinforcement of gender roles that support these stereotypes.

While we do see instances of Simon’s queer identity, it is not until Simon discovers Blue on the school’s blog, Creek Secrets, after reading Blue’s post about the ups and downs of being closeted, that Simon finally gets to engage queer identity work (Cavalcante 2017, 12-15). Queer identity work is “the collective labor of crafting, articulating, and performing LGBT identities” (Cavalcante 2017, 13). Throughout the film, we learn how Simon and Blue can engage in crafting and performing their identities as gay teenagers in the closet through their developing relationship over a series of shared emails. The boys have conversations about the dynamics of coming out being only for queer people (there is a hilarious, imaginative sequence where Simon’s friends come out as heterosexual out to their parents), college as a fresh start to be open, and the difficulties of being in the closet.

 Although it is cute to see the developing relationship between Blue and Simon, at one point, Martin, another classmate, screenshots the emails and weaponize Simon’s sexuality against him by blackmailing him into helping him win Abby’s affections. Ultimately Simon agrees, fearing that if the emails and his identity were leaked, Blue would be scared off and goes through with interfering with his friends’ lives. Predictably this all goes wrong, and a hurt Martin exposes Simon’s sexuality anyway. As a consequence of being out to the whole school, there is an instance in the lunchroom where Simon and Ethan – an openly gay classmate – are bullied. Although the teachers and vice principal are on Simon and Ethan’s side, their bullies are told the school expects them to be tolerant. Walters (2015, 2) states, “it doesn’t make sense to say that we tolerate something unless we think that it wrong in some way.” This quote is important in its relation to Simon’s fear of coming out because he does not want to be treated differently or “tolerated,” Like many other queer people, he just wants to be himself and accepted. After this, the film quickly wraps itself up, with Simon becomes more confident with himself after some heartfelt conversations with his parents, reconciling with his friends, making a public post about his sexuality, and asking Blue to meet him at the Ferris wheel. In general, the last half of the movie does feel rushed, which is a shame because Simon seems to lose everything and get it all back too quickly.        

While overall, I think the film succeeds on many marks relating to a more positive coming out story save for the part about blackmail and outing someone, there are moments in the film that can be perceived as problematic. Firstly, while I disagree with many of the points made in Ashley Kim’s (2018) review of Love, Simon whereby she explains why she sees it as a poor representation for queer stories, I can agree with her that the scene in which Simon learns Blue’s identity does feel like a “spectacle,” as she calls it. While it is nice that Simon has support, the fact that so many of his peers are watching him riding the Ferris wheel waiting for Blue felt strange, especially when one girl – who thankfully the other characters stopped – tried recording the whole event. It just felt odd that so many people were intruding on this personal experience, especially since I feel like having that many people watching would have made it difficult for Blue to want to reveal his identity to Simon (since this was a conflict throughout the movie of Blue being not ready to do so).

Another issue with the representation in this movie is that although there is a diverse cast in Love, Simon, it would have been nice to see a focus outside of the one placed on the coming-out narrative. In Dow’s (2018, page) analysis on the visibility politics on television, she mentions that there is a refusal to “recognize the existence of organized, systemic, or politically oppressive homophobia.” Similar to the Ellen episodes, I think while coming out stories are still necessary forms of representation, the lack of intersectionality with any other issues (besides two instances of Simon and another gay character getting bullied), there is no discussion about the repercussions of being gay in a heteronormative society. The biggest issue for Simon is coming to terms with himself and his identity, and the fact that he was outed to the whole school. Although the film does address that Simon is privileged with having an accepting family, I would have loved if this theme was explored more.

Finally, the last issue is about my point on how Love, Simon represents a debate about who can produce queer movies and stories. At the time of the movie and book, Albertalli was assumed by many to be a straight, cisgender woman. However, since then, Albertalli (2020) in a post called “I know I’m Late,” discusses how at the time she was questioning her sexuality, but so many people had already assumed she was just a straight, cisgender, white woman writing about a community she isn’t apart of. Albertalli also brings up how it is fair to question the production of queer stories and want more queer authors, but asks audiences to recognize not every queer author is out of the closet. Going forwards in our studies of queer media production, I wonder how we can reconcile queer content made by people who are in the closet and those who are straight and profiting on a community that is not their own.

References:

Albertalli, B. (2020, August 31). I know I'm late. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://medium.com/@rebecca.albertalli/i-know-im-late-9b31de339c62

Cavalcante, Andre (2017). “Breaking into Transgender Life: Transgender Audiences’ Experiences With ‘First of Its Kind’ Visibility in Popular Media.” Communication, Culture & Critique, 1-18.

Dow, Bonnie (2001). “Ellen, Television, and the Politics of Gay and Lesbian Visibility.” Critical Studies in Media Communication 18(2), 123-140.

Kim, A. (2018, April 06). Stop praising Love, Simon. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from http://cu-sentry.com/2018/04/04/stop-praising-love-simon/

Walters, Suzanna D. (2014) “Introduction: That’s so Gay! (Or is it!?)” in The Tolerance Trap: How God, Genes, and Good Intentions are Sabotaging Gay Equality, 1-16.

[yileyang]

Older Media VS New Media

Newspaper VS Online Journalism

History of Newspaper

Johannes Gutenberg's printing press has lowered the price of printed materials and paved the way for the Newspaper. The first weekly Newspaper emerged in 1609. This Newspaper has achieved success and spread through central Europe. In 1621, England printed the first Newspaper called Corante, and in 1641, the Newspaper spread into every country in Europe (4.2 History of Newspapers, 2016).

At the beginning of the 19th century, the circulation of Newspapers is deficient. With the development of technology and the rise of literacy, the circulations have increased, and the Newspaper's price decreased. For instance, "The Times, for example, increased circulation from 5,000 in 1815 (price seven pence) to 50,000 by the mid-19th century (five pence) (Newspaper, 2020)." In the United States, Benjamin Day has created the first successful penny paper, "the Sun in New York City," in 1833. Later, the Newspaper was shaped into many modern journalism directions, including entertainment, political, and economic (Newspaper, 2020). 

Why Newspaper is important

Newspaper is using to expose scandals, discover the government's issues, and identify the health danger. Newspapers have transmitted the information to particular audiences. For instance, general readers will be interested in politics, crime, wars, and economics. However, a farm newspaper will make some developments in farming technologies and the price of the crop. Before, people used to know the latest events from the Newspaper. For example, in the recent international event- COVID 19, people always get information about the situation from the news. Since the limitation of technology, Newspaper is the best way to transmit data. Newspaper can provide knowledge and improve readers' levels of literacy. Also, Newspapers can deliver job opportunities for people. Before, there is various job information posted in the Newspaper. With the development of technology, online news has started replacing the Newspaper.

The transformation from Newspaper to the online journalism

With the development of the new communication technologies, the media has transformed from Gutenberg's printing press to online journalism. Since the appearance of the age of the internet and Web 2.0, the media has changed to a digital way, which made information dissemination faster and more efficient. For news, it has been changed from a one-way information flow to serval spreading flows. People can now share their comments on the internet, and they can get the news more quickly with their cell phones.

Social Impacts

News media expresses the political consciousness, spread the ideas and culture of the society. The article "Newsprint media representations of the introduction of the HPV vaccination programme for cervical cancer prevention in the UK (2005–2008)" shows that Newspaper is a tool to diffuse information. This article argues that Newspaper is beneficial for the introduction and promotion of HPV vaccination. According to the report, "positive media campaigns to promote immunization have been shown to improve uptake rates by increasing public knowledge of the dangers of vaccine-preventable diseases (Wallace, Corben, Turahui, & Gilmour, 2008)." This quotation shows that news media can enhance people's understanding of HPV and the importance of vaccination. The article demonstrates that news media should introduce positive reports about HPV, which contributes to influencing the public's acceptance and necessity of HPV. When people perceive the disease's risk and perceive the vaccination's safety, the incentive to vaccinate will increase (Smailbegovic, Laing, & Bedford, 2003). This article indicates that Newspaper is an essential tool to transmit knowledge, and the news may influence the public's ideas and improve people's health. 

Cultural Impacts

The news media make people accept and understand things more quickly. Syamsul Zahri Subir's article argues that homosexuality issues in Malaysia were discussed widely in news media. The author contends that Anwar Ibrahim sodomy started the debate about homosexuality in Malaysia. The news media played a crucial role in homosexuality issues and tackled homosexuality's sensitive issues about homosexuality (Subir 15). Moreover, Newspaper impacts the culture of the countries.  The article "Gender Stereotyping in Newspaper Advertisements: A Cross-Cultural Study" demonstrates that Italy and the Netherlands use stereotypes in newspaper advertisements.  The Netherlands is one of the most feminine European countries and the sixth more equalitarian nation globally. However, Italy is the second most masculine European country and one of the less equalitarian European countries. Therefore, compared with Netherlands' media, Italy's media always portrays women as sexual objects instead of working roles (Tartaglia & Rollero 1104). Thus, media representation from different countries will constitute the cultural differences, especially on gender roles. For the appearance of online journalism, we can see comments from everywhere, which helps people get ideas from different cultures.

Political Impacts

The government controls newspapers, and news information only shows what the government wants people to know. Syamsul Zahri Subir's article about Malaysia's homosexualities shows how the government influenced news media. According to the reading, "The media's content and its nature of message are usually decided by the media's organization or its affiliation. This includes the setting of the agendas, deciding on what is deemed important and whom to include and exclude (Carter & Steiner, 2004)." It argues that the organization controlled the media content, deciding what should include or exclude. Although Malaysia's homosexuality problem has existed for a long time, the story about this issue did not get attention from the local news outlet due to the illegal of same-sex unions (Subir 14). Therefore, this reading shows that the harmony of Malaysia influences the news media. News media are unable to post the information that the country does not allow to post. However, online journalism is hard to control by the government. Since everyone can post on the internet, these posts are hard to control, and those posts' truth is hard to define.

Economic Impacts 

Printing news spends a lot of money on printing and distribution, but online journalism only needs the internet, and the news producers just post the information online. Besides, online journalism can quickly define target audiences. For instance, we can choose the news category online. If I want to read social news, I can find them as soon as possible. However, newspapers are printed, and it is hard to find specific information in a short time.

Conclusion

New media is a term that defines everything to do with the internet and the interaction between technology, images and sound. By Contrast, old media is any form of communication that preceded digital technology, including radio, television and printed matter such as books and magazines. Although new media has many benefits for both readers and producers, people should not forget the old media.

References

Blogger, G., & Chow, J. (2012, April 12). John Chow dot Com. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.johnchow.com/how-new-media-has-transformed-traditional-journalism/

Newspaper. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/newspaper

Subir, S. Z. (2019). BEYOND THE CLOSET? THE TRENDS AND VISIBILITY OF HOMOSEXUALITY COVERAGE IN MALAYSIAN NEWSPAPERS, 1998 – 2012. E-bangi, 16(9), 13-30. Retrieved from http://myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F2396319866%3Faccountid%3D14771

Tartaglia, S., & Rollero, C. (2015). Gender Stereotyping in Newspaper Advertisements: A Cross-Cultural Study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46(8), 1103–1109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022115597068

What is New Media? (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/2020/02/what-is-new-media

4.2 History of Newspapers. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/4-2-history-of-newspapers/

[ilikelookingatthings]

Barbie’s Duality and Untapped Role Model Potential

this particular essay by Clarisa Calderon-Figueroa

When I say Barbie, what pops into your head? A plastic doll with blond locks? The color Pink? Princesses? Glitter? Gender segregated toy sections at Target? Ripped off limbs? Maybe personal memories of playing with Barbie yourself scroll across the back of your eyelids. Or a sense of shallow distaste as you think of plastic surgery, removed ribs, and righteous complaints about body image. Barbie is a household name that has been steadily embedding itself in the world's collective consciousness since “1959,  with her vast array of careers that stem from CEO to astronaut, but who simultaneously is more associated with the lyrics "I'm a blond bimbo girl" by the band "Aqua" ( Dockterman "A Barbie for Every Body") than the female empowerment message she goes out of her way to promote. The collective consciousness pulls "that age-old move" of "'demeaning' a powerful woman" and undercutting Barbie’s influence and the values she actually promotes by "'reducing' her to her appearance." ( Dockterman "Wonder Woman Breaks Through"). She is unfairly accused of selling a sexist, objectifying message under the veneer of empowering girls, stifling the untapped potential this icon has to teach children and adults the value of feminine traits.

 Barbie has been accused of being inappropriate because of her body shape; on the surface these concerns are valid. According to a journal Barbie's design had been closely based on the "Lilli dolls, designed by O & M Hausser created in 1955…" which were "... racy..." dolls meant to be "… suggestive…" "… gag gifts..." that "… were not intended for children"(Hunter et al 138). She supposedly had the male gaze built into her and was repackaged for young girls. A 2006 study found that"girls exposed to Barbie at a young age were more likely to worry about their weight" (Dockterman "A Barbie for Every Body"). However, the study fails to consider that Barbie is not the only doll children would be playing with in real life. Some of those dolls have even more severe proportions than Barbie with a less wholesome image. Match up a Veterinarian Barbie with her "5-inch waist", "11.5-inches of height" and a "bust of 5-inches" against a Bratz doll with their "pouty lips", "bare midriff-baring tops", and half the waist with 7/10th the bust size(Hess). The disproportionate proportions winner is the Bratz doll. The study also proclaims that Barbie wouldn't be realistic if she was scaled up to actual human size, but Barbie is not meant to be scaled up and has never claimed to be realistic.

Barbie has tried to address the criticisms about her proportions by creating the "petite, tall" and "curvy"( Dockterman "A Barbie for Every Body") barbie body molds and with her worldwide reach, she can soon normalize the doll shapes from a young age since as of yet little girls still "snicker" at curvy barbie" which was noted by Tania Missad who had watched the test marketing of these new body types. If Barbie was the source of these body image issues kids would not snicker at different barbies but while she is not responsible she does have the ability to influence kids, especially with live examples of powerful female role models "Beyonce, Christina Hendricks" and "feminist leaders like Lena Dunham" with their "un-Barbie-like figures onscreen, fueling a movement that promotes body acceptance"(Dockterman 46). Barbie has the unique enduring appeal that has been picked up by generations of children; soon her different body types will recalibrate at the new normal.

 Instead of blaming the society and the media that girls are exposed to daily, the blame is thrust on to Barbie even though "she's just a body" that "society can project on"(Dockterman "A Barbie for Every Body") and no one tries to blame boy toys like G.I. Joe of being a bad influence on young lads despite being the hyper-masculine ideal. Barbie is not even the only female icon that has her appearance dragged out to ridicule and used to distract from their actual accomplishments. The superhero Wonder Woman was sculpted from the mind of a "feminist, psychologist and… inventor of the lie-detector test..." "William Moulton Marston" in "1941" as "icon for little girls". Wonder woman's message of empowerment became so iconic the "U.N." dubbed her the "Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls..". Unfortunately, her position was rescinded due to a "petition objecting to "a large-breasted white woman of impossible proportions..."; dismissing her as a "... epitome of a 'pinup'" (Dockterman "wonder woman breaks through"). Wonder Woman has been around since Batman and Superman and yet she has had only "one" film compared to the "'Batman's' nine" and "'Superman's seven". People even criticized Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, not for her acting talent but for the size of her breasts, according to an interview mentioned in the Wonder Woman Breaks Through article. Evidence that the phenomenon of society judging the looks of females and using them as excuses to undercut the messages those ladies represent live people and imaginary characters.

 Another complaint lobbied about the Barbie brand’s narrow view of positive, cheerful girl power. It's true, Mattel could be promoting one type of image of what being a girl is like, but the fact that Barbie from her inception has "inspired resistance" to even her own "script" (Weida el al [103]17-31) and has inspired conversations about what it means to be a lady. Even when Barbie seems one note she can be used to articulate a change. Barbie, as mentioned before with the body molds, has adapted to these arguments; just as feminism has grown and changed over time. Barbie has even purposefully used start a ripple of change for young girls to become interested “in the field of computers and information technology” by filling the gap caused by the “lack of well-known female role models” with the Barbie computer science "coding program"(Martincic et al 7).

 The classic Barbie doll is often accused of promoting a shallow, stereotypical view of the female gender. Its true Barbie is blonde, pretty, fashion-obsessed, loves glitter, and associated with the term princess, however, seeing these as a negative from the get go is sexist in and of itself. If someone is blonde they shouldn’t be taken less seriously than a brunette. If their preferred color is pink it doesn't mean they should be judged more than if their favorite is blue. Enjoying clothes isn’t inherent shallow as it is a method expressing yourself; and glitter is gender-neutral. By associating these feminine aspects with negative light it can lead to dismissing other traits deemed as feminine, such as kindness or compassion, as weak. If girls don't respect those aspects how will they get boys to respect those aspects? Barbie takes those stereotypical girly aspects people have been conditioned over time to avoid and proclaims there is nothing to be ashamed of.

 Even the idea of princesses has become synonymous with being a damsel in distress; a passive prize to be won. In reality, princesses are leaders and have " 'spanned' nearly all cultures and time periods…" and have a "myriad representations"(Weida el al 17-31) of what princesses can be like. The damsel image can immediately be changed when you change the princess to an active main character who drives the story. Barbie has a large association with princesses due to her movie franchise that almost slaps the term princess or mention of a royal in a majority of her films that I am a big fan of because Barbie is always the main character and the goals of the movies don't revolve around romance. Barbie's overly pink girly image is associated with the damsel stereotype which also means when Barbie breaks that stereotype over and over again it will stick. Barbie draws in little girls with her pretty dresses and sparkly animation and can inspire and teach little girls' leadership by normalizing the idea that guys can "… play subordinate roles in comparison with the female characters" (Änggård) since Barbie is the active problem solver.

 Barbie as a female-focused brand explores scenarios where girls are the central focus without the expectations that they'll be brushed aside in favor of boy characters which can happen in more neutral, family-oriented. Slipping in an accidentally positive preference bias toward guys. Eva Änggård had noted that while the girls had included boys in their stories, none of the boys included girls in their own stories. The boys seemed to associate "The presence of female figures…to romance" which caused "teasing" from other boys. It had gotten to the point at least "two girls" had become "angry because they were not allowed to play in the boys' stories" so they "wrote their own stories" (Änggård) that used the themes the boys had favored. Kids reflect the society around them so the fact that the boys dismissed the girls entirely from the story is a micro-example of what happens on a large scale around the world. Barbie can fight those expectations due to her wide media presence. If the media would stop focusing on the flaws Barbie is ironing out and talk about how entertaining her shows or toys are, or the lessons she actually endorses, Barbie might teach the guys who aren't just forced to watch with their sisters the leadership qualities and friendship lessons.

 Barbie has a wide reach not just as a toy, but through her "39" ("List of All Barbie Movies Online") movies and TV shows including Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse. Barbie has computer games and clothing lines. Barbie appeals to nostalgic adults with their collector Barbies; using that connection to prompts those adults to introduce Barbie to their kids. Barbie has an online presence that includes a motion capture Barbie YouTube channel, the Facebook page, or her twitter account ("Barbie YouTube"). Her worldwide appeal is already strong so if the instinct to brush aside girl-oriented media and jump on every minor flaw Barbie has was curbed, she could influence young children when they are the most impressionable to accept many wonderful traits.

 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

 Cite

Änggård, Eva. "Barbie Princesses and Dinosaur Dragons: Narration as a Way of Doing Gender." Gender & Education, vol. 17, no. 5, Dec. 2005, pp. 539–553. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1080/09540250500192777.

"Barbie." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/c/barbie/videos.

Dockterman, Eliana. "A Barbie for Every Body. (Cover Story)." TIME Magazine, vol. 187, no. 4, Feb. 2016, pp. 44–51. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=112553378&scope=site.

Dockterman, Eliana. "Wonder Woman Breaks Through." TIME Magazine, vol. 188, no. 27–28, Dec. 2016, pp. 98–105. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=120303854&scope=site.

Hess, Amanda. "Leave Barbie Alone! She's Not the Skinniest Doll on the Block." Slate Magazine, Slate, 5 Feb. 2014, slate.com/human-interest/2014/02/barbies-not-the-skinniest-doll-on-the-block-measuring-barbie-bratz-monster-high-and-american-girl-dolls.html. WEB

Hunter, Dan, and F. Gregory Lastowka. "BarbieTM." Tulane Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property, Vol. 18. Fall 2015, pp. 133-160. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct-true&db=a9h&AN=111415505&scope=site.

"List of All Barbie Movies (Online)." Princess Movies Online, Princess Movies Online Copyright © 2020. Disney Movies Online Kids Movies, 11 Aug. 2020, www.princessmovies.org/barbie-movies/list-all-barbie-movies-online/.

Martincic, Cynthia J., and Neelima Bhatnagar. "Will Computer Engineer Barbie Impact Young Woman's Career Choices?" Information Systems Education Journal, vol. 10, no. 6, Dec. 2012, pp. 4-14. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1136648&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Weida, Courtney Lee, et al. "Poetics of the Fairy Tale Princess: Products, Problems, & Possibilities." Canadian Review of Art Education: Research & Issues, vol. 46, no. 2, July 2019, pp. 17–32. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=138903133&scope=site.

[migleefulmoments]

So... Abby responds to her family's intervention by obediently telling them she'll stop (ie. lying to them). She then immediately tries to find ways to keep the blog in secret, hiding behind various usernames, lurking on her coven's blogs, more time deleting posts from both blogs we know about. Meaning, instead of getting help, she spends even MORE time online engaging in more batshit crazy crap to cover her ass. Yeah, sure, that doesn't signal dire need for mental health intervention AT ALL.

It looks like that is what is happening.  We will have to see what the future holds. What does Abby do? 

So far the fandom is flailing. Cassie got a couple of anons- one that reads like those anons Abby used to send herself as it covers all the issues they are most upset about so perfectly well (My comments in parenthesis and italicized:: 

Anonymous asked: Even if I am unsure about CC itself, I don't buy M*arr*n. I just don't. And the other side is using doxing and the fact that you and others say things they don't like about M as an excuse to do so and as a way to detract from the fact that their couple goals have some pretty big, glaring plot holes in their love story. I've not seen anyone on this side of the fandom out or dox anyone publicly as a way of humiliation. M gave up her privacy by dating D, but Abby didn't and they were wrong. Period. 

cassie1022 answered: Nonnie, I swear every time they diagnose us as mentally ill or say we’re bitter hags, an LGBTQ angel gets his or her wings. We all know my beliefs, but there are MANY people that are like you and don’t know for sure about CC but sure as hell know Miarren isn’t a normal, healthy relationship. (Funny thing, I don’t remember anyone diagnosing Cassie as mentally ill. Cassie is alwasy the wallflower that nobody wants to dance with and she tries so hard to be part of the fun people. Last week she was sad because I hadn’t sent her a “hate” message (See comment in last post below) 

Even if I remove D from the situation, I would still think M is a lazy, spoiled toddler with no discernable work ethic coupled with a superiority complex that rivals the Cheeto in Command of the US.

You are absolutely correct. Our fandom just wants to be left alone. We don’t send hateful asks to the other side. We don’t have to. They feel they have the right to dox CCers because they don’t like what we say about M, a woman that would light a cigarette from the flames engulfing them and not call 911 to help them. I mean, honestly, it doesn’t get much lower than mocking someone’s death. Plus, as you correctly said, M put herself in the spotlight “dating” D. If she didn’t want that attention, she would have stayed in the background. There are plenty of celebrities married to non famous people and we don’t see them at every event like we do M. (It is BAFFLING to me that they can’t comprhend something as simple and obvious as the reasaon they “see Mia everywhere” is because they fucking stalk her and they hyperanalzye every photo Darren is in looking for her. If they started stalking Ben Feldman they would see his wife just as much as they see Mia).    

Bottom line is what they did to Abby was deplorable, but, just like their kween, they feel justified in doing whatever they want. This isn’t the first time they’ve crossed a line with regards to my friend, but it was the worst.

notes-from-nowhere Anon, they love to throw the guilt of their actions on our shoulders, it’s how they justify what they do to themselves. They need us to be the bad guys otherwise what is the only option left? (I never know what the hell Notes is trying to say- throw the guilt of our actions on their shoulders? I’d love an example of that. I can’t imagine what guilty action I put on their shoulder. As for needing them to be the bad guys or what do we have left? OMFG are you kidding me? We critcize the cc fandom for being misogynistic, homophobic, bullies who attack  Mia, Darren, Ricky and their own Nonnies. They have viscioulsy attacked people in their own fandom who dared to question them. But the biggest reason we push back is because THEY LIE. All the damn time. So what do we have left? Being on the right side, being correct, not lying, not needing to lie, and the joy of watching Darren live his best life)   

Leka got a couple of asks but her answers were weak, confusing and pointless. It’s clear she isn’t ready to take over as their leader. She repeated Abby’s main talking points, tried to use big words to sound smarter and basically ended up not making a lot of sense:

Anonymous asked: I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but I think the character on the HW poster holding the girl is D's character, it would fit if you look at the other guys on the poster, maybe this is already the first hint to show D's character is not gay and so technically not breaking the no more queer roles rule his team set for him. It won't make it any better because it's still a career on the bag of LGBTQ+ people with it's teams but it's technically not a broken rule. I just really need for things to change, I want them to so bad, it kills me seeing someone so kind in a situation like that, and I truly believe D is one of the kindest people in that horrible town. He deserves better than M, I wouldn’t even mind if he goes onto another beard but she and RR just need to go. I really think it’s crazy people still think everything HW is real and PR relationships don’t exist, I wished that place was just better and had a moral compass, people deserve more it kind of shows just how jaded this situation has made me, I can’t even enjoy amazing promo material without directly twisting it into something negative, I don’t want to be this way and if I feel like this I can’t even imagine how D must feel. He is stronger than I’ll ever be living through hell every day, even if he’s not ok he’s still here and holding on, I don’t know if I could in his position. Sorry for the long message and the unneeded negativity, I guess I just had to vent a little

*********************************

Leka answered: So let’s look at the way HW is described:

“Each character offers a unique glimpse behind the gilded curtain of Hollywood’s Golden Age, spotlighting the unfair systems and biases across race, gender and sexuality that continue to this day. Provocative and incisive, HOLLYWOOD exposes and examines decades-old power dynamics, and what the entertainment landscape might look like if they had been dismantled.”

I do consider this the very intriguing thing about the news. (And it just goes to show that believing everything you’re sold is being utterly and completely ignorant.) Let’s say you’re right because ofc it’s possible. How does R/aymond fit in here? Given the excessive way team shit has pushed that article, a technicality won’t be good enough. There has to be a better plan. This doesn’t match what’s been said in his name.

What I think is this doesn’t necessarily have to mean much. You know very well what you see doesn’t have to be the (full) truth. That doesn’t just apply to the real HW. Especially considering the time period of this show. And let’s not forget the pap pics we got at a gas station. This doesn’t rule out SB as an inspiration. I would advise anyone to read up on him. We don’t know at this point. As we keep saying, the best thing to do is to wait and see. I’m certainly interested in finding out more.

As time goes on, the danger of this situation keeps becoming even clearer to me. D deserves much, much better. He’s incredibly strong, but the most toxic person in his life needs to go and she’s more than welcome to take the jumping jackass with her. That’s definitely the most important thing right now. (I’m curious what the danger of Hollywood is?)

awesome-fanfictionada: @leka-1998I’m just wondering - it must have been D who got himself this job on HW, right? Couldn’t this have been done on purpose to counter that ridiculous statement - which wasn’t even accurate, if the source was that interview where he stated that he wouldn’t want to be a casting director? Could in this case RM be a friend?

leka-1998:  @awesome-fanfictionada Yes, he did that himself. Again. And he said the show’s been sold late in 2018. According to an article that came out later, it happened in February 2019. Not true.

HW has been a thing before that statement was made, which is indeed very different from the answer D himself gave during the interview. That’s what makes the article seem like sabotage by team shit. And standing in RM’s way is never a good idea. So while I will obviously never like him, I’m reserving judgment on his current role until we know more.

Anonymous asked: The underlying issue in general is really that social media has made it so people think they get an accurate glimpse into the lives of celebrities, when in reality social media, like everything else that is publicly released about them, is used as a marketing tool. People are actually more inauthentic than they've ever been because they feel pressure to maintain a certain image for social media at all times. So anyone who decides D is living honestly, it's because they want to believe he is.

Leka: True, nonnie. Just look at the text lines that are becoming more popular again. Not nearly as genuine as people want to believe. In D’s case, what has to be brought up? M. Oh Halloween and her amazing shopping skills praised on SM. The work fam honeymoon pic promoting the place they stayed at. Coa/chella for the H&M ad. Mardi Gras posted shortly after the mockery to promote the designer. I could obviously go on. Most of what we see on SM shows the person the 10 year crew wants him to be. And what looks like a split personality if you compare certain posts. Which brings me back to ‘they want to believe’, as what you’re saying clearly isn’t a secret. Anyone can choose to ignore it but at this point, if that’s the case even though you’re more or less paying attention, it’s really a conscious decision.

Oh btw, there’s a HW IG account now and it already has a D follow. Imagine that. R/oyalties co-stars, anyone?

Flowers didn’t get any asks. Amazing since she has more followers than I do and she bragged about getting more “notes” than me.  She did answer azscc who posted an odd rant that baffles me.  Who the fuck is azscc and who is posting anything about her? I realize I am not the only person in this fandom posting about ccers But I just checked all the blogs that I know of and nobody is talking about her; 

azsc  its so weird how chillarrens call me a bully while i only say something rude towards them if they write bullshit towards me. and its just ironic how chillarrens go around calling people bullies while they are the reason why tons of cc accounts use their accounts private or don’t post their opinions and etc. the real threat to the fandom are people like you. so instead of going around throwing shit on people and calling them “mental, delusional...” get a life. no cc believer goes around hunting for chillarren pics and insult the account owner so why don’t you all grow up and realize no one has to agree with your opinions. every crisscolfer blog/twitter page/insta acc basically stan accs never asked for your opinions on their pages so why don’t you just let it go? no one cares about what you all say or do so why are you forcing it this much?

call me a bully i am pretty much okay with that. its obvious that people are unable to understand basic sarcasm and irony and i am not judging because to actually understand what people say you have to at least have an average IQ level. and if you don’t have it, it’s okay but that doesn’t mean you can twist people’s words and post them all over the internet. but its lowkey really funny that i only had my instagram acc for something like 4/5 months and i received over 300 hate/insult/blackmail/death wish messages and etc. and who are you people to call us bullies? (Nobody is a Chillarren. Darren and Mia are married and Chris and Will are in a long-term relationsihp,  Nobody has to “ship” them in order to believe they are together. In America, we accept that when someone introduces their wife or their boyfriend they are telling the truth. It is customary to address that person as their wife or boyfriend respectively. The crisscolfers on the other hand, must use a fandom ship name because they are shipping two people who are not in a relationship and never were. All evidence indicates Chris and Darren are no long friends; they are nothing more than former co-workers-friendly and polite when they see one another but no longer involved in one another’s lives. Chris and Darren both have denied (more than once) that the were ever in a relationship).  .   

flowersintheattic254 I have never in my whole time here posted an anon to a Miarren account. I have no desire to. I’m confident in my beliefs.

The interesting thing for me is that I’ve been here for about four years now and in that time I’ve seen the head of the fandom disappear, other people disappear because their families have been doxed, established long-term cc blogs with a wealth of history deleted without warning. I myself have had my daughters threatened.  This sort of stuff doesn’t happen anywhere in the fandom but here here. If we are a bunch of delusional crazy middle-aged women then this shouldn’t happen. (Who was doxed? Who dissappered? It’s all “liar liar” with everything ccers say. In the last 4 years Abby has been the only leader of the cc fandom. Michelle left between 4 and 5 years ago because her outrageious cc comments threatened her ability to raise money for her little Klaine-fanfic rip-off movie. I vaguely remember someone asking flowers how her daugther’s would feel if they read what she writes- hardly a threat. If there was something more she never posted any proof. As for blogs being deleted- so was D-Criss News.  It happens. The only cc blog that I know of that disappeared was DisneyPrincessModelWorld’s original blog which had was a hot mess of lies and catfishing. She visciously bullied Mia. Hardly someone to mourn their blog being deleted). 

It’s shocking that an actor may lgbt causes such drama. (HUH?)

Flower’s comment is so disingenuous. While it is technically true -she hasn’t sent me anons, she HAS instead publically ridiculed me and frankly, I can’t see how that is any different? I’d say it’s worse because they wanted their followers to see what they wrote and the only way to ensure that is to post it on their blogs. Flowers and Abby posted many public “Michy” posts.  Here is her most recent: 

flowersintheattic254Oh and I guess Michy sent us all some hate today.

I guess I have way more followers than you and only about 4 that send hate. You haven’t for ages.

I think I have over 70,000 hits currently to my blog. I must be saying something interesting.

He’s been married allegedly for a year and people still doubt. That’s gotta hurt you. Anyway......

✌️

ajw720 Michy told me today today that the outing couldn’t possibly be promo, because JS was only cast in September!  What a moron who clearly doesn’t know how HW works.  Sweetheart, it was ANNOUNCED in September;)

I was waiting for a few more months, but in 4 years, since i have been tracking, i have almost a million! (976,695 to be precise).

It is amazing that so many people care about what us bat shit crazy, irrelevant, psychologically unstable, threatening, hateful tin hats have to say!  And that does not include people reading on their dash or that hit you on the app!  So yep, Michy, clearly what we are saying is being monitored by someone.  And clearing making people think!! But you keep wasting your time writing for your audience of 4:)

cassie102 I feel left out, Michy didn't come at me today. Must hurt like hell knowing you're a joke that perpetuates a bigger joke.

leka-1998 Birds of a fake feather flock together. When the right person says tomorrow’s Christmas, tomorrow’s Christmas. Get ready, everyone.

If I narrow it down to the last six months, about 10,000 btw. Hm strange.

flowersintheattic254 @ajw720 the number of hits you have give me oxygen. If Michy thinks they are haters then she is delusional. People know when they are being sold something fake and they look for answers.

[hathhlynn-blog]

Why The Carrie Diaries showcases more social identities than any show that you have EVER watched!

The 1980's show stars Carrie Bradshaw, a 17 year old girl from Castlebury, Connecticut. The show captures Carrie's life during such an impressionable time as she begins her junior year of high school shortly after her mother passed away, capturing  her life with her friends, boys, her life in the city and her dream job. The Carrie Diaries allows for its audience to look through a theoretical lens and consider how pop culture influences the way we view social identities.

As a 17 year old, Carrie is a strong feminist and incorporates feminism into her everyday life. She does not believe that women should show their vulnerability or act dumb to have their man of interest like them back. She is a strong writer and also loves to read the feminist books her late mother loved. During this time in the early 1980s, a young woman in the workplace was still seen as taboo and made people uncomfortable. At this time, there were many people who did not support the ways of feminism. For Carrie to be this young and so strongly support such a controversial lifestyle at this time was such a big deal. She was so passionate that it became a part of her identity.

Carrie lost her mother at quite a young age. As one would imagine, this would be something a 17 year old girl would have a hard time dealing with. Throughout the show, she thinks about her mother and misses her. Carrie has a good relationship with her dad, but nothing compares to a mother/daughter relationship at this age. This is something that is not very traditional in TV. Not many shows will star a girl who no longer as a mother and shows the relationship with her father. Cambridge Educational in “Teens Dealing with Death” speaks on how dealing with the death of a close family member as a teenager can play a large role in the teen’s identification and follow them through a large part of their life.

Sebastian Kydd is the sexy new guy at school. He is super sweet, caring and undoubtedly charismatic. But what people don’t see is his home life. His parents have had a rough relationship with commitment issues and Sebastian wants nothing to do with it. This is why when he gets with Carrie, he loves and cares for her so deeply. Sebastian does not let his personal life define who he is as a person. Sinikka Elliott and Elyshia Aseltine in “Raising Teen agers in Hostile Envirnoments: How Race, Class, and Gender Matter for Mothers’ Protective Carework” speak on how teenagers will do one of to things when they are aware of the hostile home life. They will either try to suppress it and want nothing to do with it or they will carry out the acts they see at home. Sebastian was in who suppressed what he saw at home.

As Carrie’s mother has recently passed, her dad Tom starts to do everything he can for his two daughters. Dealing with two teenage daughters on your own is not an easy task for a father. But Tom is a seemingly more sensitive than most men on television. He is a busy lawyer but always makes time for his two girls. He always reminds them to be the girls that they should want to be like the woman their mother was. In the article “Effects of early parent death,” it is stated that if there is an early death of one parent, the other parent is quite likely to be more loving and emotional toward the kids than before the death. In the Carrie Diaries, Rom Bradshaw is a good demonstration of that.

Dorrit is Carrie’s 14 year old troublesome sister. It seems that she is not handling the death of her mother very well. She is very rebellious and careless. She has a hard time handling her emotions and it shows. She openly spites Carrie for having such a close relationship with their mother. She does a few rebellious things like dying her hair and getting into guys that she isn’t supposed to be with, just to be rebellious. Earhart and Brenton mention in the Family Relations article that often times teens are rebellious as a result of jealousy. This is exactly the case with Dorrit being jealous of her sister.

The mean girl of the school is Donna. She is known for being more fashionable and hotter than all the other girls in school. She is somehow able to get any guy she wants. However, Donna is played by an actress with big lips, a small waist, long legs, a large chest, etc. She is not really known for anything els other than being the sexiest girl in school, Donna is representative of the objectified girl in media. In “Supersexualize Me!” Murray mentions the exposure of media changes the ideal from objectification to sexual subjection. Just by having her midriff exposed, the producers of the show are allowing the audience to pick up on the subtle characterization of her role.

Jill Chen, better known as Mouse, is Carrie’s best friend. She is someone that is always there for Carrie. Mouse is an Asian and is portrayed with common stereotypes. She is the smartest girl in the school and takes school seriously. Mouse is quite shy and awkward at times and also is someone is considered a goody-two-shoes and is loved by parents. Mouse ends up falling for another character of color, a successful black student named Seth. Being a minority is well woven into her characters identity. in the 2008 Racial Stereotypes in Media video, it is discussed that often times stereotypes are made so that the audience can characterize the subjects better and make relations to their own life. This is why Mouse is characterized this way.

Carrie’s friends and the people around her would say that the previous summer was life changing. While Carrie spent the summer grieving and mourning the death of her mother, her friends spent the summer losing their virginities and having sex. She seemingly was the only one who was still a virgin. However, Carrie finds herself in the middle of not wanting to be a virgin any linger and not wanting to be seen as a slut. Valenti says it as “Look sexy, act as is if you are having sex, but if you do it ... whore!” There is no middle ground here, lots of gray area. Realistically it is hard to mimic something that is acted when you have never engaged in the act. Once she does lose her virginity, she is concerned about being called derogatory terms and being slut shamed. In one specific episode, she is even called a prude for not wanting to talk about sex on a crowded street, even though she had just had sex the night before. This shows the struggle Carrie endures as she identifies as a virgin to no longer a virgin.

The media often portrays people of color in media to fit the society’s common stereotypes. Black women are usually portrayed as loud, sassy, overweight, and less than. However, Larissa is a different case.She is a beautiful and successful British editor for a popular magazine company in the city, but she is also not afraid to let her wild and fun side out at times. Larissa is independent and led herself to her own success.The oppositional gaze is the way that the media lessens people of color. It puts whites above the rest. However, Larissa stands strong against the oppositional gaze in the series.

One of Carrie’s best friends is Walt. At the beginning of season one, he has a girlfriend named Maggie who is also in the friend group. He keeps his relationship with her while suppressing the fact that he is gay. Walt’s family will not be accepting to his true sexuality. Eventually his family finds out the truth and kicks him out of the house. During this time, homosexuality was neither understood nor accepted. The “Bury Your Gays” podcast, it is discuss that in media, gays are always the ones to suffer the most out of the whole cast and often times end up dead. This is medias way of showing that in society, gays are less than and carry such heavy baggage.

Another one of Carrie’s close friends is Maggie. Maggie is such a good friend and will always stand up for the people she cares the most about. However, she struggles a lot more than her friends even know. She seems to often turn to guys to give her a little bit of comfort and attention. She starts the show out dating Walt. She starts cheating on him with an older guy who is engaged and wants nothing to do with her and then is later engaged to another guy. She does not have the greatest relationship with her parents. She grew up knowing that she wasn’t going to go to college like most of her friends were going to. Maggie is seen as the friend that is seen as less than. Carla Bagnoli writes in her “Respect and Loving Attention” article that people, especially women, turn to love interests for attention to fill some sort of void. This is why Maggie has many love interests. She is missing part of her self that would qualify her or make her feel worthy. So she turns to men to fill the void for her.

Carrie’s new boyfriend is Weaver. He is a 19 year old writer and lives in the city. Because Carrie is only 17 and lives in the suburbs, she sees him as not only her lover but someone she turns to for advice. Carrie can talk to him about more mature things and get insight that her other friends would not be able to give her insight on. He is a good guy and cares for Carrie, even talking about marrying her someday before they soon break up. According to the editorial “Writing is a Painful Love,” 66% of women who are with an older partner often find themselves turning to their partner as their first person to give advice.

Samantha is NOT to express herself. She is one of Carrie’s friends but seemingly much more mature. She is unemployed and loves to have fun. Samantha isn’t one to care about responsibilities. She may not be the best influence for Carrie and her friends as she is notorious for making bad decisions. In Michael Green’s book “Self-Expression,” he speaks on how being comfortable and confident in yourself enough to express yourself is extremely difficult, especially when those around you may see you as irresponsible.

[mrnerdteacher]

The Way Splatoon Addresses “Othering” is Noteworthy and Inspiring

WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the Octo Expansion

Right from the outset, Splatoon was a series that was destined to be considered “fringe.” It was on a console very few people played. It was an online multiplayer game with no in-game chat. It lacked blood, or even bullets. It was a new IP, in a style no one had ever seen before. And despite its devoted following and growing popularity, my little brother, a Call of Duty lifer, refuses to touch it.

It should come as no surprise then, that a colorful (some might even say “fabulous”) game like this became a safe space for the LGBTQ community. Once the series really took off with the success of the Nintendo Switch, Inkopolis became a haven for young kids to come out of the closet and those questioning their gender identity to explore roles outside the expectations their real lives may have for them.

And sure, there has been some pushback. Some players just want to see posts about the game, and are clearly made uncomfortable or even annoyed by people openly speaking their truth and claiming ownership over a shared game space. But due to Nintendo’s dogged refusal to let people communicate with other players, bullying is kept at an absolute minimum. You can’t even see how many “Yeah’s” a post gets, and the only way to downvote is to report something for violating the terms of use. The only posts that get “seen” are the ones most people like, so the result is a truly democratic social media platform in which bullies are not just silenced but eventually turned invisible by a more compassionate playerbase.

However, all of this is a reflection of the players, and that is only one half of a game’s community. The game developers themselves have tackled the concept of “fringe” culture with its recently released Octo Expansion, and their approach was fascinating and brave.

As the DLC was released, Pearl commented on all the people hanging out in Inkopolis Square sporting “weird new haircuts.” Marina was visibly uncomfortable, because she (and the players) know that these are in fact Octolings (just like Marina). Is Pearl truly race blind, or is she refusing to acknowledge the arrival of the new immigrants into her city? If you know the backstory, it would be no surprise if some in Inkopolis reacted negatively to their arrival.

As most of you know, Octarians are a race of creature that fought against the Inklings for dominance in the first Great Turf War, and after their defeat were banished (or retreated?) deep underground. DJ Octavio tries over and over again to steal the great zapfish as a resource for his people, as they are running out of power and his society is literally crumbling as a result. Despite this somewhat sympathetic backstory, Octolings have always been one-note villains. They are the Nazis in “Dunkirk”: faceless, imposing, and nothing but a threat.

The Octo Expansion changes all that by letting you play as Agent 8, who was freed from her oppressor’s brainwashing by the soul-cleansing power of Squid Sisters rock. The Octo Expansion follows her/his fight for freedom, as a strange voice over a telephone tasks her with completing “tests” to find four holy relics known as “thangs.” Only then will Agent 8 be allowed to enter “the promised land”, which we all assume to be Inkopolis. By collecting little collectible erasers, Agent 8 reclaims her lost memories, and we learn that she is a sensitive, poetic person with anxiety about being accepted and meeting her idols. Plenty of shooter series have allowed you to play as the enemy (Halo, Killzone, etc), but few made me care about them as much as the Octo Expansion.

Throughout the course of the game you are able to read entries from an online chat room. Here, Pearl learns that Marina is not only an Octoling, but a former engineering prodigy for the enemy. Marina is anxious how Pearl and society at large will treat her when they learn of her past and her true identity, invoking the feelings of “coming out” that many Splatoon fans struggled with irl.

However, Pearl not only doesn’t care that her best friend is an “other”, but is actively excited to be exposed to the Octoling culture! She doesn’t just tolerate differences, she celebrates them. That Pearl is also a “white girl” from a wealthy family just makes her compassion more endearing, especially when we learn that she initially lost fans by teaming up with an “exotic girl” like Marina, and that she didn’t care in the slightest. Their friendship truly transcends all labels, and that’s amazing. Even Captain Cuttlefish, the salty old war veteran who openly distrusts Octolings, comes around and finds friendship with Agent 8 and Marina through their shared love of music.

Cut to the end of the game, in which we learn that the sinister telephone is actually an AI built by an ancient human scientist. His goal is to literally blend different species together (gross) to create one genetically perfect race to inherit the Earth. However, his goal of ethnic cleansing is replaced by ambitions of genocide when he learns that Octolings and Squidkids are warring tribes, despite being nearly identical in terms of DNA. Marina and Agent 8, two Octolings and former enemies of Inkopolis, are pivotal in the battle to save the city, and when the DLC ends, all signs point to them returning to an accepting, peaceful world without borders.

But is that really how the player base would feel? Splatoon 2 bravely put the compassion of its community to the test with a global splatfest: Squid vs Octopus. Tensions were high going into this one, because it felt personal in a way that “Pulp vs No Pulp” never could. In fact, according to Splatfest Law, one race would be considered legally superior. Yikes.

But then the actual Splatfest rolled around, and the lobbies were chock full of the most compassionate posts promoting peace and harmony between races. The love that permeated this competitive game space was nothing short of inspiring.

No one seemed to care who won; we all just liked playing together. And in the end, the Squidkids reigned supreme (despite team Octopus being more popular), but nobody gloated. No one was salty. Life, and the Splatoon community, went back to normal.

https://twitter.com/TwotoneStrauss/status/1020710444258881537/video/1

Octolings are here to stay, and for all that represents, I think that’s just lovely.

[ravenmorganleigh]

Rule #1: Always think critically and fight ignorance with facts.

BY KALI HOLLOWAY AND MARTIN MYCIELSKI | DECEMBER 15, 2017

A 15-Point Guide to Surviving Authoritarianism

President Donald Trump speaks about tax reform legislation during a lunch with lawmakers working on the tax reform conference committee in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on Dec. 13, 2017. (Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

This post originally appeared at AlterNet.

Nearly a year ago, intuitively recognizing the Trump administration’s authoritarian aspirations, Polish journalist and activist Martin Mycielski wrote “Year 1 Under Authoritarianism.” In those early, nerve-racking days following Trump’s inauguration, the piece was shared across social media, an ominous portent of what was to come. The document — helpfully subtitled, “What To Expect?” — offered a list of predictions and warnings about Trump’s first year in office, and exhortations to fight back at every turn. In his introduction, published just days after Trump’s inauguration, Mycielski noted the article was based on his own experience in Poland, where extreme-right nationalists have taken over the government, and in a recent ugly demonstration, the streets. The piece should be read as an instructive manual of sorts, culled from firsthand observation of the “populists, authoritarians and tinpot dictators” leading right-wing movements across Europe.

“With each passing day, the [Polish] government is moving the country further away from the liberal West and toward the authoritarian models of the East,” Mycielski wrote. “Hundreds of thousands have protested against every illiberal, unlawful step. Every time we believed it couldn’t get any worse. We were wrong. This is why we want you, our American friends, to be spared the shock, the awe, the disbelief of this happening to you. Let’s hope history proves us wrong and the US wakes up in time…[H]ope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”

Mycielski’s “survival guide” has only become more disturbingly relevant with time, its predictions proved frighteningly accurate. Like Umberto Eco’s guide to fascism, it presciently notes the actions and attitudes that now unquestionably define this presidency; the lies and obfuscation of truth, racist fear-mongering, historical revisionism, purposeful chaos and anti-First Amendment agenda. Manipulation and malice are the Trump regime’s forte. (To see how quickly a country can be remade by a charlatan and his abettors, go back and review some of the earliest entries from Amy Siskind’s weekly list tracking changes under Trump. It’s all pretty scary, especially seeing it unfold in real time.)

But if there’s any hope, it will only come from recognizing the reality of what’s happening here, how much damage is being done, how much earth already scorched. The year has somehow flown by, yet seemed interminable. It’s good to remember the very big, very frightening picture before us, how far we’ve already come, and to consider what recourse we have with complicit and corrupt forces standing in the way. — Kali Holloway

Here is Mycielski’s 15-point guide to surviving authoritarianism.

1. They will come to power with a campaign based on fear, scaremongering and distorting the truth.Nevertheless, their victory will be achieved through a democratic electoral process. But beware, as this will be their argument every time you question the legitimacy of their actions. They will claim a mandate from the People to change the system.

Remember — gaining power through a democratic system does not give them permission to cross legal boundaries and undermine said democracy.

2. They will divide and rule. Their strength lies in unity, in one voice and one ideology, and so should yours. They will call their supporters patriots, the only “true Americans.” You will be labelled as traitors, enemies of the state, unpatriotic, the corrupt elite, the old regime trying to regain power. Their supporters will be the “people,” the “sovereign” who chose their leaders.

Don’t let them divide you — remember you’re one people, one nation, with one common good.

Fight for every media outlet, every journalist that is being banned, censored, sacked or labelled an “enemy of the state” — there’s no hope for freedom where there is no free press.

3. Through convoluted laws and threats they will try to control mainstream media and limit press freedom. They will ban critical press from their briefings, calling them “liars,” “fake news.” They will brand those media as “unpatriotic,” acting against the People (see point 2).

Fight for every media outlet, every journalist that is being banned, censored, sacked or labelled an “enemy of the state” — there’s no hope for freedom where there is no free press.

4. They will create chaos, maintain a constant sense of conflict and danger. It will be their argument to enact new authoritarian laws, each one further limiting your freedoms and civil liberties. They will disguise them as being for your protection, for the good of the people.

See through the chaos, the fake danger; expose it before you wake up in a totalitarian, fascist state.

5. They will distort the truth, deny facts and blatantly lie. They will try to make you forget what facts are, sedate your need to find the truth. They will feed “post-truths” and “alternative facts,” replace knowledge and logic with emotions and fiction.

Always think critically, fact-check and point out the truth, fight ignorance with facts.

6. They will incite and then leak fake, superficial “scandals.” They will smear opposition with trivial accusations, blowing them out of proportion and then feeding the flame. This is just smokescreen for the legal steps they will be taking toward totalitarianism.

See through superficial topics in mainstream media (see point 3) and focus on what they are actually doing.

7. They will propose shocking laws to provoke your outrage. You will focus your efforts on fighting them, so they will seemingly back off, giving you a false sense of victory. In the meantime they will push through less “flashy” legislation, slowly dismantling democracy (see points 4 and 6).

Focus your fight on what really matters.

8. When invading your liberal sensibilities they will focus on what hurts the most — women and minorities. They will act as if democracy was majority rule without respect for the minority. They will paint foreigners and immigrants as potential threats. Racial, religious, sexual and other minorities will become enemies to the order and security they are supposedly providing. They will challenge women’s social status, undermine gender equality and interfere with reproductive rights (see point 7). But it means they are aware of the threat women and minorities pose to their rule, so make it your strength.

Women and minorities should fight the hardest, reminding the majority what true democracy is about.

[Editor’s note: This is a rare moment where I believe Mycielski gets it wrong. People of color and women of all races are doing all they can; existence is itself political, but many have already gone above and beyond, taking key roles in resisting. They cannot be expected to “fight the hardest.” We need the people with the most privilege to step up and use their powers for good.]

9. They will try to take control of the judiciary. They will assault your highest court. They need to remove the checks and balances to be able to push through unconstitutional legislation. Controlling the judiciary they can also threat anyone that defies them with prosecution, including the press (see point 3).

Preserve the independence of your courts at all cost; they are your safety valve, the safeguard of the rule of law and the democratic system.

10. They will try to limit freedom of assembly, calling it a necessity for your security. They will enact laws prioritizing state events and rallies, or those of a certain type or ideology. If they can choose who can demonstrate legally, they have a legal basis to forcefully disperse or prosecute the rest.

Oppose any legislation attempting to interfere with freedom of assembly, for whatever reason.

11. They will distort the language, coin new terms and labels, repeat shocking phrases until you accept them as normal and subconsciously associate them with whom they like. A “thief,” “liar” or “traitor” will automatically mean the opposition, while a “patriot” or a “true American” will mean their follower (see point 2). Their slogans will have double meaning, giving strength to their supporters and instilling angst in their opponents.

EVERY authoritarian, totalitarian and fascist regime in history eventually failed, thanks to the PEOPLE.

Fight changes in language in the public sphere; remind and preserve the true meaning of words.

12. They will take over your national symbols, associate them with their regime, remake them into attributes of their power. They want you to forget that your flag, your anthem and your symbols belong to you, the people, to everyone equally. Don’t let them be hijacked. Use and expose them in your fight as much as they do.

Show your national symbols with pride; let them give you strength, not associate you with the tyranny they brought onto your country.

13. They will try to rewrite history to suit their needs and use the education system to support their agenda. They will smear any historical or living figure who wouldn’t approve of their actions, or distort their image to make you think they would. They will place emphasis on historical education in schools, feeding young minds with the “only correct” version of history and philosophy. They will raise a new generation of voters on their ideology, backing it with a distorted interpretation of history and view of the world.

Guard the education of your children; teach them critical thinking; ensure their open-mindedness and protect your real history and heritage.

14. They will alienate foreign allies and partners, convincing you that you don’t need them. They won’t care for the rest of the world, with their focus on “making your country great again.” While ruining your economy to fulfill their populist promises, they will omit the fact that you’re part of a bigger world whose development depends on cooperation, on sharing and on trade.

Don’t let them build walls promising you security instead of bridges giving you prosperity.

15. They will eventually manipulate the electoral system. They might say it’s to correct flaws, to make it more fair, more similar to the rest of the world, or just to make it better. Don’t believe it. They wouldn’t be messing with it at all if it wasn’t to benefit them in some way.

Oppose any changes to electoral law that an authoritarian regime wants to enact — rest assured it’s only to help them remain in power longer.

And above all, be strong, fight, endure and remember you’re on the good side of history.

EVERY authoritarian, totalitarian and fascist regime in history eventually failed, thanks to the PEOPLE.

— With love, your Eastern European friends

KALI HOLLOWAY

Kali Holloway is a senior writer and the associate editor of media and culture at AlterNet.

MARTIN MYCIELSKI

Martin Mycielski is an activist with the Committee for the Defence of Democracy (KOD) NGO and protest movement, which has organized the largest mass demonstrations in Poland since the fall of communism, opposing the authoritarian and unlawful actions of the Law and Justice (PiS) government and its leader, Jarosław Kaczyński. Follow him on Twitter: @mycielski.

[transboygenius]

SE4SON: Chapter 1

Can...

Our story begins with Retroville's monarch of all things cool, Nick Dean, shutting himself in his bedroom, with the door locked. He sat at his desk, writing on a piece of paper with light hovering over. Every word he wrote down was in cursive. He was trying to complete a romantic letter to an unknown kid he wants to confess his true feelings for, but that kid should never know who their secret admirer is. That kid already has a partner of their own, or at least he thinks so. Not only has Nick disguised his handwriting for an identity seal, but also the note never included any pronouns or references to the writer's gender. Why go through all that trouble? Because, young reader, that kid he's writing to is a boy. Not a girl, a boy. A boy that left the young man's heart throbbing. The boy, probably straight, would freak out if Nick introduced himself as another boy in the letter. It's best if Nick didn't give the boy any hints of the writer being male, but he doesn't have to give any hints that he's female either.

This boy; He was short, arrogant, serious, nerdy, somewhat of a prick, he's the fault of all the calamity he saves us from, but Nick couldn't help but still adore him. Said boy has gotten on his nerves occasionally, but he always forgave him in the end. He can't stay mad at someone he's deeply fond with. He was talented, brave, and spirited, something that aroused Nick. While others find him annoying, Nick finds him cute. Of course, nobody should know that, so he plays along with the crowd. They wouldn't mind Nick being attracted to a nerd, but they would since this nerd is a boy like him. Nick would treat him like any other kid would, but inside, he apologizes afterwards. In all truth, he sympathized with the boy, but he's not allowed to be opened about it. Everything this boy did impressed him, as well as inspired him too. Luckily, nobody has ever caught Nick with any signs of him having a crush on said boy, because they are unaware of the young man's talent. He's a pretty good damn actor, one of the best you might say. He hasn't gotten all those main leads in school plays just by sitting around. However, what they don't know is that Nick also acts offstage, in real life. He's afraid people are not ready to know the real him, especially who he's in love with. Not even his own mom could see through his acting performances.

Boy and boy don't belong together, everyone says. They can be brothers, or friends, but not lovers. The same implies for girl and girl. In fairytales, the prince will only get a happy ending with a princess. In television and movies, two boys and two girls aren't allowed to show affection towards each other, so either will only end up with their intended opposite-gender love interest. Nick has seen it all, and it makes him sick to the core. These hetero romances in fiction are always so boring, forced, and unrealistic. Who falls in love in the middle of a battlefield? Why are love-hate (or abusive) relationships considered cute? That character could've had a much more healthier relationship with their same-sex bud. When queer characters are featured in media, which can only be aimed towards older audiences, they are portrayed as villains, then killed off in the end. And when not playing the villains' role, they are still killed off. All Nick asks for is positive representation of people like him, so he can actually love himself for once. Male and female romances are what people describe as "normal love." Meaning, you're only normal if you're heterosexual.

...anybody...

As for his feelings for said boy, he hasn't felt this way for another boy since preschool. During those early years, he had a crush on a boy, who loved to play dress-up and make macaroni art. Nick even drew a picture of them holding hands together. He didn't know anything about sexual orientation at that time, or what was considered right/wrong, he just believed in love. That afternoon, before Nick's mom came to pick him up, he walked up to that boy with a flower in hand. The boy freaked out and backed away in the corner, throwing building blocks towards him while saying Go away! Nick was just confused. Maybe he picked the wrong flower, he thought. When the children's parents finally arrived, the boy ran to his dad for comfort, and told him everything that happened today with a "scary boy."

This stirred up conflict between the boy's father, and his father, each one of them trying to put the blame on whose fault is it for Nick being into boys. When his emotional abusive father returned, he set Nick down on a chair, and yelled at him for two whole hours, cursing while hitting him with degrading words that stung his brain like needles. His father then showed him some old newspaper articles on the ugly truth, with graphic imagery, about how society treats minorities like him. He even threatened to boil him alive if he ever catches him being lovey-dovey to another boy again. Not really, but he knew how to scare his son straight. Daniel Dean didn't have any concern for Nick, he just didn't want to live under the same roof with a f*gget. After their man-to-man talk, Daniel restricted Nick of TV and his toys for two months. His mother was never angry, but she solely took his attraction in boys as a phase. He's currently 12 now, and he still hasn't grown out of this so-called phase.

Although Daniel walked out on his family a year later, part of him still remained with Nick. He's not here to hurt him, but that doesn't mean anyone else won't. He scared he might get shot in the head just for winking at a boy. Two male friends can't hug each other without being called sissies. If a boy takes interest in feminine things, such as glitter or Bonnie dolls, he is deemed a circus freak. No doubt, being openly gay in this society is dangerous. His kind is subjected to crude jokes and violence. Gay people are often visualized as explicit beings, and grown-ups fear children will start engaging into sexual activities if they're ever exposed to a same-sex pair kissing or holding hands. Most folks just find their way of love repulsive. Worse, Nick's a gay minor. Parents think they have the right to presume sexuality for their kids, looking upon homosexuality as for adults. He could grow up into a professional athlete, he could have muscles bigger than on any man alive, he could even take down a whole war by himself, but none of that will matter if he's gay. No amount of macho will save him from being dehumanized. Ever since he moved to first grade, he changed his image, took on a new personality, and lived as Retroville's new bad boy. He flirted with multiple girls, and kissed them on the cheeks. This was not who he really was, but people liked him that way. He has been living his entire life behind a mask. It can be tiresome pretending to be someone you're not, but it's what he does to protect his identity, even from who he loved. Nick Dean is the most popular kid in school, and if his true self ever came out, his social life would plummet.

As he reached fourth grade, he stopped all the kissing and flirting, for his own relief. Successfully convincing everybody he's straight, there's no need to try no more. However, he still lets his groupies get all over him. He doesn't have to persuade girls anymore, because now he can ignore them if he wants. Those poor empty headed broads; always fawning over him and trying to touch him. The other day, one of them stole his shorts from his gym bag. Sometimes, they will even fight each other for his love. Friendships were even ruined over sheer jealousy, just for talking to Nick. They'll take anything from the most gorgeous boy in town, whether he wears it or it came out of his mouth. While Nick respects them, and appreciates the fandom they built around him, he'd love them more if they all just leave him alone. He doesn't want any of those girls, nor do those girls have any chance of winning his heart. The only girl in his life is Betty, and she's his best friend.

...find me...

His eyes only set on one person, and that's the said boy. However, like the girls on him, Nick isn't likely to win the love of this boy, cuz he's probably straight. The boy used to hate girls, but it was only a phase most little boys go through: The cootie-phase. Nick never had a cootie phase, he had been gay all his life. This boy hit on multiple girls. Some were older than him. Said boy was head over heels for Betty Quinlan, tried to sweep this rodeo chick off her feet, and is possibly romantically involved with that Cindy Vortex. How? They hated each other. All the boys hate Cindy. Yet, Nick watched them as they slowly grow closer to each other. Things are changing, and so are they. The way those two suddenly turn nervous for one another, speak sweetly, and almost kiss. He once caught them playing footsie under the table, when he dropped to pick up his pencil. Their relationship is a hot and cold mess, yet they still don't part. One day, they're at one another's throats. The next, they're back to sweethearts. Day one, she strangles him to a near death, but then day two, they are going out to lunch hand in hand as if nothing happened.

The pairing was distastefully dysfunctioned, but why doesn't the boy see it? One thing for sure. Him and Cindy are both smart. Nick gets C's and B's. She always participated with him during missions. Nick's the one to only watch the events happen before him, maybe because said boy never asked him to tag along. The boy had more potential with Cindy than any other girl. She's always there for him, not Nick, despite her bratty and violent behavior. Nick does absolutely nothing about this, however. How could he even compete with that? Cindy used to be infatuated with Nick, but she was probably using him to make said boy jealous. Good thing Nick sought no interest in her. He hated seeing Cindy and the boy together. The way they hold hands and flirt twisted his stomach in knots. He could be a better lover to that boy than Cindy, and give him whatever he wants, but Nick knows he had no right to interfere.

This was the life of said boy, and he should do whatever makes him happy. Those two are together because they love each other. Nick's love is merely unrequited. What's the use of trying to win over a boy who doesn't love him back, especially if he's possibly straight? It's better if Nick just stayed out of the way, as usual. People think Nick is strong as he is, but they don't know he's mentally weak. Everyday, he's walking down that sidewalk, with an expression all relaxed and a sly grin upon his face. He may look like he's fine, and he's done a great job fooling the others too, but as he reaches home, he locks himself in his room, then lets out the tears he's been holding back. This boy is always on his mind, and Nick can't help but think about him, even while skateboarding through town. That could explain his numerous leg breaking accidents. If he truly loves this said boy, then he should respect who this boy really loves, even if it leaves him unhappy and lonely.

Every night, he puts all his energy into writing a full page letter, under an anonymous name. He wants that boy to know how much he means to him. He can't tell that boy up front and in person. If he is straight, then there's a good chance he might be homophobic, too. No way he could afford to live another preschool trauma. Just because they can't be together, doesn't mean Nick can't share how he feels. The boy can love whoever he wants, and whoever he chooses to be with is up to him, but Nick fears he will never get this angst off his chest unless this boy hears out his treasured secret. Every word is written by heart, and taken out of his head. Writing these letters always left his face glowing crimson red. His heart raced a beat. Cindy may have won the battle, but that boy deserves to know there is somebody else out there who loves him more than any other girl alive.

"Hi. We've interacted plenty of times before. Not sure if we're friends, and not sure if we're acquaintances either. You probably have no idea who's writing this. Well, it's best for the both of us. You may be unaware of this, but you don't know how loved you are. All those disasters that happen from your little cyber toys, I know they weren't your fault. From what I see, you were only trying to prove something. Hey, little man, it's okay. You still have a long way to go. Try being positive about yourself, because you being positive brings a smile on my face. You are creative, talented, and much more stronger than I am. Not physically strong, but strong in the real way. You make me proud. People say you are arrogant and show-offy, but that doesn't bother me. I've met guys far worse than that. I have been within those crowds of your peers, laughing at you, taunting you, but to be honest, I did that only as a cover up. Nobody would ever let me live it down if they knew how I really felt. I don't think they'd let me sympathize with you either. It can hurt me, just as it hurts you. These boundaries are the reason why we're separate. 

Listen, and listen good: I love you. There, I said it. I really needed to say something. No human being has ever made me feel this way in a long time. To me, you are worth more than anything valuable in the world, and no way I'd sell you. You play a much important part in my life than you think. I see you already have a significant other of your own. Cindy is her name, isn't it? Look, it says so on fate that we were never meant to be. I'm clearly not worthy enough for you, since I've mostly been absent in your presence. You're allowed to be with anyone you wish, and I have no intention of convincing you out of it. I'm only writing this to you because I feel I won't get any satisfaction unless you hear me out. If you were my sweetheart, I'd give you anything you want, just to make you happy. I wouldn't lay a single finger on you without your consent first. If you're ever in need for comfort, or a shoulder to cry on, I'll be there when you need me. Want me to get lost forever? I can do that! Please, you don't have to consider my love. I hope you understand."

Nick looked down on the letter. He seems to put more effort into creativity than his actual schoolwork/homework. The letter isn't quite finished yet. All he needs to do now is seal it into an envelope, ask for a hall pass during class, and slip it into the boy's locker without getting caught. It's time to set the record straight. He loves that boy, and damn right, he's gonna tell him he loves him before Vortex does. 

“GOD DAMMIT!”

Rage broke out for no reason. He took the letter and tore it to shreds. He never tears the envelope though, with said boy's name written on it. It happens every night after completing a note. Based on his opinion, none of them come out right the way he wants them to sound. He's been doing this for a year and two months already. He might as well give up. Laying his chin down on his desk, he picked up a small picture frame besides his lamp, looking eye to eye contact with it. It was a picture of the boy he loved. Why does he bother to continue looking at it when all it brings him is pain? He can't keep wasting his time and energy on a boy he knows he can never have. He can live with being gay. It's the perception of falling in love he never asked for.

...somebody to love!

[denisebing]

Not sleeping well? It may be the moon’s fault — especially for men, study finds

Aside from ocean tides, the moon is known to influence other earthly objects and beings, including trees’ size, crabs’ reproductive activity and corals’ spawning events.

The effect lunar cycles have on people directly is less clear, but new evidence suggests the moon may play a role in how well we sleep, particularly for men.

At-home sleep recordings from more than 850 people in Sweden found that men experienced lower sleep efficiency and spent more time awake after initially falling asleep during the moon’s waxing phase — when the celestial body is on its way to becoming full, appearing bigger in the sky — compared to its waning phase, when the moon appears to shrink as it approaches the new moon cycle. Women, on the other hand, did not experience changes in sleep quality associated with lunar phases.

Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden speculate male hormones and brain responsiveness to light could explain the gender disparities, though more study is needed to get a clearer picture of the components at play.

The findings held true even when the team adjusted for chronic sleep problems and obstructive sleep apnea. The study, published Sept. 9 in the journal Science of the Total Environment, adds to other research that has found slumber to be most disrupted during the full moon.

One possible explanation behind the moon’s ability to influence sleeping patterns is its power to reflect sunlight back to Earth.

As the moon approaches fullness (waxing phase), it becomes increasingly brighter as it bounces more sunlight off its surface. Waxing moons also rise during late afternoons or early evenings, meaning they sit high in the sky when it’s time for bed.

The extra night time light could explain why studies have found people tend to be more restless during waxing and full moon phases.

Waning moons behave differently. They tend to rise much later in the evening, meaning the light they give off peaks in the middle of the night when most people are already sleeping.

The lead author of a January study that found people go to sleep later and sleep for shorter periods of time in the days leading up to a full moon thinks there may be an evolutionary explanation.

“We hypothesize that the patterns we observed are an innate adaptation that allowed our ancestors to take advantage of this natural source of evening light that occurred at a specific time during the lunar cycle,” Leandro Casiraghi, a University of Washington postdoctoral researcher, said in a statement.

Why do men appear to be more powerfully influenced by the moon? Late nights spent scrolling through social media until your eyes tear up are testaments to the well-known fact that light at night can affect the quality of your sleep. That’s because it can hinder the release of the hormone melatonin in your body; natural levels are highest after the sun sets.

Printing in China.

The researchers cite a study that found levels of melatonin, testosterone and the stress hormone cortisol in the blood of 20 male participants were lower during the full moon compared to the new moon — patterns that have been linked to disturbed sleep. Men have also been found to have more sensitive brain responses to specific intensities of blue and red light than women.

There is some hesitancy about blaming the moon’s light for poor sleep, however. Moonlight brightness, according to the Sleep Foundation, only has 7% of the strength of sunlight, and people are often exposed to more artificial light via technology than moonlight.

Another culprit: the moon’s gravitational pull.

Because the human body comprises mostly water, some experts have speculated the moon may have similar influences on people like it does on ocean tides. What’s more, water makes up about 60% of adult men’s bodies while it makes up about 50% of women’s, a difference that grows as we age. Studies on astronauts have also shown the loss of gravity affects their sleep.

But this theory is likely baseless. The Sleep Foundation says lunar influence on gravity is just about equal during the full and new moon, so sleep disturbances are likely not caused by gravity alone. Not to mention its effect on a single person is “minuscule,” the researchers said.

The new study was limited by the team’s inability to test for other “sleep-modifying factors,” including noise, temperature and bedtime use of screens. A total of 492 women and 360 men between 22-81 years old were included in the study. Participants wore special electrodes connected to a recorder as they slept.

[kwatkins15]

**Gender Construction**

In this entry, I will examine the following critical questions: What gender norm is constructed or undone in this artifact, how is it rhetorically done, and how does it promote the dominant ideology over a marginalized group or push back against the ideology or gender norms? And is it productive or ethical?

I will analyze Disney’s movie Beauty and the Beast from the lens of gender construction and will be examining how the interactions between the two different sexes perpetuate and also push back against societal gender norms. This movie both challenges traditional gender norms by characterizing hurtful gender norms in the antagonist and positive gender norms in the protagonist, but also constructs traditional gender norms through the relationships that exist between males and females. The push back against traditional gender norms in Beauty in the Beast is somewhat productive, but also hurtful because the main audience, children, may not understand or realize that certain gender norms are being portrayed. Overall, Beauty and the Beast somewhat successfully

Beauty and the Beast is considered to be a classic Disney movie and was released in theaters in 1991. According to IMDb, the movie grossed 440.1 million USD when it was in theaters and according to The Numbers was the most profitable movie Disney had ever made at the time. According to these numbers alone, it is evident that Beauty and the Beast was a widely viewed children’s movie. Although the movie is now 30 years old, many children across the world, especially in America, still continue to be exposed to this movie and likely know Belle’s story. Additionally, a live action remake of the movie came out in 2017 which holds many of the same language, actions and tropes.

In her book called Undoing Gender, Judith Butler examines the ways in which we have constructed gender. She explains that “If gender is a kind of a doing, an incessant activity performed, in parti, without one’s knowing and without one’s willing, it is not for that reason automatic or mechanical,” (1). In this way, Butler is explaining that everything around our conceptions and understandings of gender are created by ourselves and that it is not an inherent sense of knowledge that someone is born with. This idea of gender construction is the lens that we will be reviewing Beauty and the Beast with because a variety of media outlets play a role on constructing perceptions of gender and what it means to be a boy or a girl.

One of the negative gender constructions that is portrayed in the movie is the characterization of Belle through her intelligence. Although Belle is the protagonist of the movie and is likeable, admirable and kind, she is also portrayed as being an outcast because of her appreciation of books. This is a constant theme throughout the movie and is even observed by many of the supporting characters in the story. Specifically, many of the supporting characters make fun of her and question why she is more interested in books than Gaston. Although she is the protagonist and a character that many children who view the movie most likely love, there is still the perception that being smart makes you an outsider. The movie could be pushing back against this stereotype because Belle is the protagonist, but the movie also couples this with pressure from outside characters that Belle should be heavily interested in men rather than books. Although this is challenged, by the end of the movie Belle still ends up with a man which implies that to be happy one must be interested in men more than they are interested in knowledge.

Another negative gender construction that is portrayed is the one that is portrayed through the male characters in the movie. In both Gaston and the Beast constant portrayals of male aggression, female objectification and lack of emotionality are present in these characters. This is present through Gaston’s allusions to “hunting” Belle and the Beast’s decision to hold Belle hostage in place of her father. The majority of emotions that are displayed by both of these characters (until later on in the movie) is aggression and anger. For children that are watching this movie, this gives them a strong perception that it’s appropriate for males to act in this way. Furthermore, it suggests that they should act in this way because although the Beast changes by the end of the movie and becomes a much kinder person, it suggests to young children that men who act aggressively or with anger will change. It gives a false perception that you can change someone and that they will change for the better.

Not only does the movie provide a gender construction for children in the relationships that they have with members of the opposite gender, but they also only focus on heterosexual relationships and disregard other gender fluid identities. In this way, gender is constructed and for children viewing this movie, they are likely seeing the relationships in this movie and building their own framework around the “norm” of being heterosexual. This pairs the idea of gender and sexuality together, even though they are two separate entities, and implies that if you are one gender you will have one specific sexuality.

Although this is just one movie out of thousands that a children or a person will see in their life, this movie repeats and perpetuates themes that are present in these thousands of movies. Other scholars have cited the importance of Disney and the tropes that are present in the movies because of the influence that these movies have on kids. Author Andreas Muller-Hartmann explains in an article called, “Is Disney Safe for Kids? – Subtexts in Walt Disney’s Animated Films,” that Disney plays a huge role in “forming their moral vision of what good and evil are, what gender roles one can aspire to, and how other ethnicities and cultures can be viewed,” (400). In this way, the messages that Disney sends are incredibly influential on the lives of children and the content in these movies should be rhetorically paid attention to.

Many children across the world, and especially in America, are exposed to Disney movies and the tropes they convey. Beauty and the Beast may be one in thousands of children movies, but the patterns of gender construction are never ending. More recent Disney movies may challenge traditional depictions of gender norms more than older ones, but there are still significant stereotypes, uses of language and tropes that are associated with one gender over another. Disney movies are an integral part of many individual’s childhood and plays a massive role in influencing the lens and framework young people have of the world. The small choices, actions and depictions in movies like Beauty and the Beast matter because collectively, movies with these types of situations create a world of understanding for those that are still learning.

 Works Cited

“All Time Worldwide Box Office for Walt Disney Movies.” The Numbers, https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/worldwide/all-movies/theatrical-distributors/walt-disney

“Beauty and the Beast.” Box Office Mojo, https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4490753/weekend/

Butler, Judith. Undoing Gender, New York, 2004.

Muller-Hartmann, Andreas. “Is Disney Safe for Kids? – Subtexts in Walt Disney’s Animated Films.” American Studies, vol. 52, no. 3, 2007, pp. 399-415.

[southeastasianists]

From the environment and LGBT rights to reproductive health and women’s empowerment, Cambodia’s female-forward young activists are blazing a new path

The forcible removal of Cambodians from their homes has created a subclass of the dispossessed, with hundreds of thousands affected by conflicts over land. But the suffering endured by the mostly poor evictees, usually moved on to make way for corporate interests, has had an unintended side-effect: galvanising a growing wave of female Cambodian activists.

The women of Boeung Kak lake, whose noisy and vibrant protests on the streets of Phnom Penh have seen them arrested multiple times, are perhaps the best known, with news of the deal to fill in the lake and seize residents’ land resonating in media outlets around the globe. Yet they are far from alone: Cambodian women regularly spearhead land rights demonstrations, and in recent years some have even parlayed their newfound activism into entering the political sphere.

“Persisting cultural beliefs about the traditional role of Khmer women as caregivers and homemakers mean that land conflict, and the lack of income it often brings, has a disproportionate impact on women,” Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR) executive director Chak Sopheap said earlier this year, “with the result that they are often the ones motivated to engage in activism on behalf of their community.”

And this desire for an end to such injustices has caused ripples in other spheres of activism. In 2009, Lim Kimsor, who also goes by Gigi, watched on in horror as her community was evicted from the Group 78 site in central Phnom Penh. “Our family was offered decent compensation, but my father said he could not leave the community behind. So we stayed and protested with them, for the sake of the whole group,” she said.

Inspired by this show of solidarity, the 28-year-old went on to become an outspoken activist for Mother Nature, the gritty environmental network that has exposed illegal sand dredging on multiple occasions (the non-governmental organisation was recently disbanded following sustained pressure from authorities, but its members plan to continue their work as a loose, informal coalition). Kimsor regularly travels to meet with villagers in remote areas, where she alleges she has been threatened, physically assaulted and, on one occasion, detained for 17 hours. “Whenever we have meetings or conduct any training [sessions] with villagers, plain-clothes police or security guards come [as an act of intimidation],” she said.

As an activist in a country where many women still cannot access education and are pushed into traditional homemaker roles, Kimsor feels a sense of responsibility to help guide other women to begin pursuing lives free of the confines of gendered expectations. “This is a powerful way to lift each other up,” she said.

The strict moral code set down in the Chbab Srey, or ‘Rules for Girls’, and their male equivalent, has long acted as a behavioural guide for men and women. It describes the ideal woman as being gentle, shy and subservient to her husband. Included as a course in the national school curriculum until 2007, a pared-down version continues to be taught at public schools in grades seven to nine.

But as Cambodia, a fast-developing nation, continues to undergo rapid economic change and smartphone technology proliferates, a social transformation is also beginning to take hold. Catherine V Harry, a 23-year-old vlogger known for her frank videos that mostly centre on sexual and reproductive rights, said that young women – particularly those in the increasingly cosmopolitan capital of Phnom Penh – were “rising up to claim their rights”.

“It has become this tug-of-war because there’s a generation gap,” she said. “The new generation, the majority of them are under 30 and social media is coming into play, people are being exposed to different cultures, different people in different countries, and they get more information – not just from their parents or their peers or their schools but they get information from other countries.”

Harry’s most popular video to date – an exploration of the taboos around virginity – has garnered two million views. But while her opinions have won her plenty of fans, they have also provoked a hostile response. “I also get a lot of hate, a lot of backlash. Many of them are men – they feel threatened because they think I’m trying to destroy the culture. But also there are some women saying I’m ruining the image of what a Khmer woman should be,” she said.

For Noy Chhorvin, the national coordinator of the Cambodian Young Women’s Empowerment Network (CYWEN), challenging stereotypical notions of Khmer womanhood is central to her mission. A vocal feminist, she is leading the members of her voluntary organisation as they focus on a trio of key areas over a three-year period to 2019 – gender-based violence, labour rights and education, all of which she sees as key areas for the progress of Cambodian women.

“The main point is to build up leadership through [imparting] feminism to our members,” she said. “We want to provide awareness-raising to people, especially young people, on gender equality.” Advocating for changes that have their roots in the West’s 1960s women’s liberation movement, Chhorvin and her contemporaries are seeking to transplant feminism into Khmer culture: a mission that’s not always straightforward. Like many women, she had to overcome the judgement of her relatives in provincial Kampong Cham before forging her own path, which to date has included becoming the first member of her family to earn a bachelor’s degree.

“When I was starting to pursue my education it was very challenging. Many people disagreed with my idea, they thought that women don’t need higher education, [that] just to graduate from Year 12 or Year 9 is fine,” she said. There was also opposition to the idea that she should attend university in Phnom Penh, far from home and deemed “unsafe for women”.

And while Chhorvin described herself as fully ensconced in the “sisterhood” of CYWEN, she has seen her own attitudes evolve since learning about, and embracing, feminism. “Before I felt discriminatory [toward] sex workers and LGBT people. Now I have made myself free of that,” she said. Now, she recognises that “everyone has their right to [fulfil] their potential by themselves”.

In that vein, gender equality still has a long way to go. Rachana Chhoeurng, also known as Tana, is well aware of the prejudice that Cambodia’s LGBT community faces: she came out as a lesbian five years ago at the age of 25 and has been subjected to discrimination. Now an activist with Phnom Penh-based human rights group CamASEAN, she works to tackle issues faced by the LGBT community, such as forced marriage, mental and physical abuse, and a lack of access to services. “I wanted to fight for my lifestyle, just to have a normal life,” she said. “We need to start the movement, starting from women and the LGBT movement. I won’t give up.”

Similarly to the other activists, Chhoeurng said that she would like to see all Cambodians embrace notions of equality. “It is not only LGBT people who should take control of this,” she said. “I would like the whole society to help raise each other up, not only the LGBT community, but everybody.”

As more men and women come to a similar conclusion, the movement for equality is mushrooming. Thida Khus, the executive director of Silaka, has been a mainstay of the fight for gender equality in Cambodia since establishing her NGO, which is dedicated to increasing women’s participation in politics, in the early 1990s. She believes that efforts to promote women’s rights are now passing into the hands of young female activists.

“Where we are today, it was not [a result of events] over the past 10 or 20 years. It was over the past 100 years that we have been neglecting [gender equality] and allowing this to take place. It is a continuous battle,” she said. “The next generation will make the change”.