#they have serious serious racism issues and women issues but like.

[aeide-thea]

seeing multiple ends of a discourse football on my dash, reblogged by good well-intentioned people who i respect and think highly of and whose values i'm pretty sure have a great deal of overlap, and just thinking abt a post i saw recently that i'm p sure is still wending its way thru my queue, abt tumblr/socmed discussions as border skirmishes intended to underscore division, rather than as consensus-building...

[blackpilljesus]

I've not dated or had close relations with moids in years. I've been on the path to spending the rest of my days as a single childfree woman & committing to it as an osawoman. During this time here's what I've learnt, shorter version here:

This lifestyle is a privilege - being able to exist without having to directly depend on a moid romantically/sexually is a luxury. Know the privilege you have and how you can take full advantage of it and keep yourself set. We arent living this way solely bc we're smarter, we were just momentarily luckier. Most women are a political/natural disaster away from losing everything. Bear this in mind; along the way think of "what if" to best start preparing yourself.

Dont bother justifying your ways to people - Most wont and dont want to get it. Save your breath. By getting into back and forth arguments over not marrying moids & not having children you are digging a deeper hole for yourself by giving them more fodder to counter. They wont change their minds. End the conversation short & move on.

You cant save everybody - Ditch the saviour complex. We all get dealt bad hands in life; some worse than others. Other peoples lives arent your responsibility, there's only so much you can do because you've got your own issues too. Besides some are too far gone, you'll only end up drowning or being burned trying to save others especially if they dont want saving.

Recruitment is a waste of time - I often see extensive discourse around this topic w/ some women trying so hard to recruit others into this lifestyle or being separatists, wgtow, etc. All this does is waste time that can be spent on building instead. If some women dont get it oh well it's not the end of the world (although every woman does get it, they're just doing what they can t survive) it doesn't matter long term TO YOU because if you're serious you dont need other womens understanding/stamp of approval to build a network/resources for women; you can get started without them; heck some may join once they see the value like how so many women broke up with their partners after watching the barbie movie. Some women are more focused on recruitment than living the single childfree life they claim to be about and it consumes them - dont let recruitment consume you. Besides other women willingly engaging with moids buys you some time; those who know - know.

Most activism is a waste of time. Things only change when it benefits those in power but they will never relinquish their power entirely. It's great to put knowledge out there for others to learn but getting into discourse having to justify yourself & being swallowed by your activism will do more harm than good. Most activism is a stepping stone at most for the next chapter of your life. Learn to game the system instead of changing the system.

Focus on yourself. Everything as we know it is rooted in the system that has been perfected over the millenias. The problems of misogyny, racism, ableism, etc have existed before we were born and will exist after we die (part of why im not birthing into this mess). Trying to change it is a losing battle. This doesnt mean dont advocate or care about anything but look out for yourself first & be comfortable learning to existing between the cracks. It'll be quite the exercise tho as we've been socialised to prioritise others.

This is not a lifestyle one simply chooses it's something that chooses you. This isn't for everyone, those who know; know. If you require a lot of convincing or handholding then it isn't for you.

It gets lonely. Not because of not having a moidfriend; even when partnered with them many women still feel lonely. It's because most women are moid centric / obsessed and would want to be partnered with an xy someday or already are. Very few women truly commit to or understand this lifestyle irl tbh. Even my moots who are separatists or just single & childfree are halfway across the world. However that said, many women in the community can also be toxic; holding each other to high standards and there being constant bickering. You can befriend moid partnered women but be careful with them. We're surrounded by the system, existing out of core elements of it will come with a degree of isolation but on the bright side there's also peace if it all goes well.

Less is more. The less you say to others the less ammunition they have to hit you with. Bragging about this lifestyle to our predators will only make things harder because they've already got a huge upperhand. Too many of us moving in one go will bring unprecedented waves we're not ready to deal with. See 2, 3, and 4.

Ignorance is not bliss. Completely cutting off from xys including knowledge of their evil will make you unprepared should a threat strike. Not understanding moids nature is how some women think things are as easy as getting up and walking away without considering security & other factors then get suprised when moids strike. I'm not saying drown in true crime & xy evil but dont stray too far you lose touch of reality. Side note this is why women are gaslit about moids nature so that they dont have the chance to effectively prepare. Stay informed. I constantly learn from the women around me. Pay attention to xy motives & tactics. The power they hold, possible moves they may play etc. You wont be able to know/guess everything but stay in the loop nonetheless.

You will make mistakes be prepared to learn

It gets easier to control your attraction to moids overtime (if you're osa) as your focus is elsewhere as you realise there is a more fulfilling world out there beyond marriage & kids. Also life is just so much better. I know most women want the fairytale prince charming or an angel nigel but it's just not happening. Especially in a world like this. The freedom to be able to exist as a person & not a slave/punching bag for a rape ape is BLISS. You get so comfortable with it you wont wanna be with moids anyway especially when you see what other women go through. (Side note this is why women are pushed to being with moids as early as possible so this level of enlightenment is never reached & instead all women know + become accustomed to is suffering at the hands of moids).

As time passes and you mature into this lifestyle you can tell who's new and who's got skin in the game. I wont elaborate here as it'll digress and this note is long as is but those who know; know.

There's so much work to be done it'll last a lifetime. This lifestyle ain't easy. It strays from the norm so the typical guardrails that come with traditional options are out of the picture. The good news is that you can spend time crafting your own blueprint to follow or share with others who are willing. There's such little in terms of infrastructure & resources for single childfree women and yeah xys will likely try to destroy these things but at the same time if it can be done go for it and bear xy threat in mind we gotta start somewhere.

A purpose/guide is important. It's something that's going to guide your life through the ups and downs because it wont be a smooth ride but it'll be something that can make you in situations that break you. This isn't a "fuck you" to moids directly, it's about ourselves. Seeing this lifestyle as some type of "gotcha" against moids will only make things harder and lowkey misses the point of decentering them. I have my reasons for never getting married or having children that are solid (if you need inspiration checkout r/breakingmom on reddit). True comes from seeing something as bigger than yourself; find a purpose in this line of life to keep you going.

Invest in yourself. Personally, financially, etc. Pretty obvious but especially now that you're going to be more alone you need to be able to count on yourself more. With enough investment it can help other women too.

Invest in female network. No gyn is an island. Even though I'm not much of a social person the friends I have make my life better; they've been supportive but also honest. Also support female centric spaces online & offline; they're all that we have lest we be banished to the silo prison of the "nuclear family" or exploitative misogynistic communities.

Get comfortable disassociating/cutting people off. If you want to survive some things/people will simply just have to go.

You arent owed anything from other women, but you dont owe them anything either. The operating word here is owed, I aint saying women shouldn't help each other - I'm saying dont feel entitled. The feminist "girls support girls" schtick is bullshit. We're in a cold world full of ruthless oppression where everyone is just trying to survive however they can; in many cases it helps women survive when they turn on other women instead of on moids. Solidarity works because those who have solidarity politically speaking are people with power, it works in their interest to stand & work together as to keep + maintain their privileges in society so there wont be much female solidarity as in many cases it's not worth it to women long run. It aint right but that's how they perceive it so watch your back.

Everything is political. Always remember this. Many (privileged) people try to downplay politics & its effect but it runs our world which is why they want you blind to it. Pay attention.

There's merit to being around like-minded women even if it's just online. Like I said before it gets lonely. Very few women are willing to face & accept the truth about maIes. Being around like-minded women can be depressing sometimes as they drop blackpills bitter than you can initially handle but at least you dont feel so isolated/crazy.

[ranidspace]

i don’t get the whole rap battle between Kendrick & drake because, obviously kendrick’s the better one here but he apparently knew all this shit about drake being a pedophille and groomer the WHOLE TIME and then only spoke up in order to win a fight, and kendrick had Kodak Black on his last album, who was charged and plead guilty for sexual battery in 2016 for raping a teenage girl and also got in hot water for child neglect. same kinda shit as drake. idk, no matter how good his bars are and how good he pretends he is, kendrick still just seems like a typical man who protects and supports predators when they’re his friends and calls women bitches while he’s at it

yeah. context to those who dont know kodak black was convicted of rape in 2016 (6 years before mr morale dropped) and has a history of violence

i really cant argue against that, but i believe he wasn't added to the album as an endorsement of what he did. Mr. Morale is an album about personal growth, and about Kendrick himself. Kodak said himself that him and kendrick are very similar in a lot of small ways.

while kendrick's never said why kodak was added to the album, many believe it's the contrast of despite the fact they're similar, kodak has a history of violence and has went to jail many times, highlighting how even though kendrick is successful, others like him are still struggling with systemic racism and the cycle of violence and crime pushed by that same system.

The line as well "like it when they pro black, but I’m more Kodak Black" is literally telling the viewers he's not a Savior or a Mr. Morale, he's closer to a Big Stepper who makes awful mistakes

i can't say it was a good idea to include a rapist on an album, that does deserve criticism. but i believe it wasn't him supporting rapists, it more read as "there's growth and change both individuals and the entire system needs to do"

I'd definitely say i didn't explain this part enough because i didnt know too much about kodak black so i'd really appreciate others chiming in.

as for the "people have known about drake being a groomer the whole time" yeah. people have. he's gotten away with it until now. and it's a good thing that a well respected and incredibly famous person is bringing light to it.

kendrick had fuck all to do with drake since poetic justice so he didnt say shit about him. a lot of the industry kinda hated drake the whole time, and have been speaking out against him. kendrick's just the second (shout out megan thee stallion) to make it into a popular catchy song, which is a good thing as well because it gets more people talking about it!!!

Drake was the one who made Push Ups and Taylor Made and constantly went online to told him to make a response track. like the feud would have been over at Like That but it was Drake constantly provoking him to make content. Straight up doing things that kendrick said "hey if you do this i'm going to retaliate" and then drake did it, and kendrick retaliated exactly like he said he was. This whole thing is Drake's fault, he's the one constantly pushing it.

I can't say kendrick isnt also pushing it now, but everything's pointing to he's just making more songs to bring more people to talk about it. There's no ads on the videos. He's not copyright claiming anything. He's making serious songs to highlight issues and catchy songs to spread this info far. it's a genius use of the medium to bring light to the issues drake brings.

which is what kendrick is fucking known for. using music to bring light to the issues the world face

[fuzziemutt]

On the views of Rio in relation to Miguel within fandom

There's something I'm commonly seeing that has been worrying me which is the depictions of Rio "latina mom-ing" Miguel.

This includes Rio:

- slapping him

- coming at him with "the chancla"

- "dressing him down" verbally or yelling

- humiliating him

- straight up just... Beating him up

And I'm bringing this up because guys... This shit be low-key racist. I know racism towards latines has already been a problem (Yes. I am gesturing to the everything that is how Miguel is treated within the fandom), but I personally wanted to bring up this issue as well as I'm unsure if others have talked about it- and we all know how suck ass searching anything on this site is.

Anyways, I won't lie. I don't know how many latines are making these jokes, but it being so prevalent being her "main" interactions makes me feel even if it started as a latine joke, it sure as hell didn't stay that way.

But the depiction of Latina women as fierce, aggressive and (yes it is) straight up physically abusive (in general words) is a major fucking Problem. Latinas are often depicted in media as these "feisty exotic women" who takes no shit. Perpetuating that with Rio does not feel as #girl power as you guys might think. It feels like a step back in treating latinas not as these power houses but as... Y'know... People who aren't depicted as aggressors 24/7....

But also I really hate this cutesy look at what is a serious issue within latine communities. It's always "ha ha funny" seeing a Latina mom beating someone's ass but guys. That is still physical abuse. That is a serious issue and discussion that is held within the latine community. And seeing it so casually assigned to Rio kind of makes me feel sick.

And this isn't even tacking on that you're having a Latina beating/acting aggressive towards a canonical child abuse survivor (yes. Miguel is a child abuse survivor.) Which adds a whole new layer of how shitty this actually is.

Because I hate how people are boiling Rio down to just being an aggressor towards Miguel to "put him in his place". That's discrediting her character so badly.

Yes, latinas can be strong. Yes, latinas can be angry. Yes, latinas can get aggressive.

These are things people are and do because people are complex.

But I really need the fandom to stop for a second and really think about how they saw Rio, witnessed her give her heart on the screen, - a mom who's trying so hard to break these cycles of yelling and humiliation with kindness and understanding (even being a foil to Jeff's strong headed approach on purpose) -

took her and said "she would perpetuate a real cycle of abuse towards a fellow latino because he's the 'bad one'" and laughed.

I know you guys are depicting her like this as a means to defend Miles, but maybe not like this. Her character doesn't deserve being so bastardized like this for your stolen joke.

(which this whole "need" to defend him in the first place points right back to the racism towards Miguel if we're honest. I have complex thoughts on Miguel's interactions with Miles especially involving the end train scene but boiling a traumatized Latino man down to just being an "aggressive threat" that needs to be "put in place" as I've mentioned above is racist as hell too.)

You guys can reblog this, but don't fucking guilt trip people into reblogging this okay? I'm not giving you brownie points for that shit.

[gh-0-stcup]

Riley failed because the writers didn't understand the archetype they were trying to convey and their audience.

Riley's the all-American boy next door. His character model was so pervasive in other media because it's wholesome, simple, and nostalgic. Calling back to a nebulous time when people were nice, helpful, and virtuous. (Actually a rose tinted view of a nonexistent past - it calls back to the viewers childhood when everything felt that way.)

The most important thing with this character model is the feelings it evokes in the audience. The character must come across to the audience as

A moral paragon

Safe

The problem is that this type of character also has deep associations with heteronormativity, sexism, and racism. They have been used numerous times in media to help uphold and propogate these ideas.

But BTVS' very premise stands in direct opposition to the American values this character model tends to embody. It's more likely that this archetype will evoke the exact opposite feelings it's supposed to in fans of BTVS. They're more likely to have been victimized in their lives by the messaging imbeded into it.

It could have worked extremely well had the writers considered what would evoke the same feelings with their own audience.

Take one of Riley's early scenes - punching Parker for his comments about freshman girls and toilet seats. It's mentioned after that Riley does not take issue with his friends talking about women in "worse" ways. He reacted the way he did because he's got a crush on Buffy.

Imo, this is the moment the character failed. If you want to sell a character like Riley as a love interest to audience like BTVS', you must ensure the line between chivalry and chauvinism is never crossed. Once it is, that character's virtuousness will forever come across as a facade. A way to have control and possession over women under the guise of protecting their honour.

A minor adjustment to this one scene would help reframe Riley's motivations. He doesn't take kindly to men speaking that way about women, but it is odd for him to react violently.

In this version, he's someone who respects women in general but has more rash reaction than normal because his crush on Buffy is shaking him up. It also suggests he's not a man who's typically quick to violence.

Another important scene is when Riley finds Buffy outside at night and insists on walking her home. She puts up a fight, commenting on the sexism of assuming boys can take care of themselves but girls need to be walked home. Riley's response is that yes, this is absolutely what he believes.

Now, Riley is a trained soldier who knows there's very serious danger lurking around at night and does not know that Buffy is anything other than a tiny civilian. It's understandable that he would insist upon protecting her. The issue is entirely with how the dialogue is framed.

A better answer to Buffy's question would be "You shouldn't have to." Set him up as a man who understands many women can protect themselves, but believes his role is ensuring they never have to.

It shifts these gender roles from "woman weak, man strong" to Riley's sense of honour. Focuses on how he derives meaning from protecting civilians and those he cares about. Helps shed light on the mentality that led him to becoming a soldier and suggests that being a soldier is tied to his sense of identity and personal values.

It also more firmly shifts being a soldier from a day job to a duty for Riley. It gives him a connection with Buffy, who also believes it is her responsibility to use her strength to protect people.

Just two very simple shifts in dialogue and Riley's a much better character. Amazing how they got it so wrong without even understanding what mistakes they made.

[hazshit-hotel-hater]

What gets me with Vel is that we see she has a good rapport with her coworkers/friends. She may sometimes roll her eyes at the other two and their antics and of course when her direct business gets interrupted she gets frustrated, but we mostly see her on good grounds with the rest of the Vees. They respect her when it comes to serious business and in that last scene of the season they all look to be very much on the same page and in it together, smiling about their future... yet fanon (if it isn't infantalizing her as you've pointed out) is constantly projecting "angry black woman" stereotypes onto her.

It's gross and in my opinion clearly racially motivated that they see her as nothing more than a "bitchy" woman of color. While the fanon I've seen also has separate gross issues with Vox and Val they are at least allowed some nuance on occasion, but I just don't ever see that with Vel, she's just an angry woman rendered to the background in their eyes stripped completely of her professionalism, intellect, and cunning. She's one of my faves and it sucks so bad to see.

Hi. :) I wrote 5 paragraphs in response to this question and Tumblr so graciously decided to delete fucking all of it. :)

The Hazbin Hotel fandom has a serious racism problem and not enough people are talking about it. Aside from the infantilization of Velvette, other BIPOC characters are put into stupid stereotypes or treated like children because either Vivzie can’t handle writing competently or the fandom doesn’t know how to behave themselves. This is especially apparent for the women, but—and this is probably the only time I will talk about him in this way—Valentino is also suffering from this shitass issue.

Firstly about Velvette, just like how this said, Velvette used to be treated like a child in canon (now fanon) and is being portrayed as only a sassy angry black woman by the fandom. This is disgusting! I don’t think I need to say that! For some reason (misogyny) the Hazbin fandom just has this thing where they take a POC person or a woman—usually both—and decide to treat them like a child. Best examples being Niffty and Velvette being portrayed as Angel & Husk’s and Vox & Valentino’s children. Niffty is 22 and Velvette is in her 30’s. And of course they are both POC. I know there’s going to be someone accusing me of just whining about racism or being like “not everything is about race” but shut the fuck up because I’m busy talking.

I think the best scene to depict Velvette’s character—even though she hardly has any scenes. It shows that she will and can respect her colleagues but for other people, you either need to give her something she wants or her respect needs to be earned. She literally sings a whole song about it.

For other characters like Niffty I have a post for her in the works so I won’t spill it all here, but I can’t in good faith talk about the racism problem without mentioning Valentino. The fact Vivzie has made her worst character into the basic tall hot hispanic/latino man with the hot spanish accent stereotype. Honestly this sort of stereotype doesn’t bother me much, there’s a few villain characters I like with it like Alejandro from TDI, but Vivzie making this a big aggressive and dangerous POC person abusing a sad little white guy just grosses me out. It’s not like the situation would be any better if Angel wasn’t white, but it really does just leave that extra sour taste in my mouth.

Also I don’t need to explain why 90% of the POC cast being fucking grey or purple or blue is bad right.

[selkiemaidenfae]

so today i had an experience in my gender/race class that i feel like encapsulates why i've had such a problem with internet social justice lately.

in class, we watched the say her name tedtalk. in it, kimberlé crenshaw discusses the prevalence of police brutality against black women, which usually goes overlooked and undiscussed. she explains that we can't see a problem if we can't name it.

in this case, black women face an intersection of racism and misogyny, but black men are usually the face of racism and white women are usually the face of sexism.

because of this, black women are rarely considered for the unique oppression they face being a part of both of those groups. that's why we know the names of many black men killed by police brutality, but not nearly as many women, even though they face similarly high rates of police violence.

but my professor had a problem with this. my rich, white, very progressive professor. can you guess what it is?

crenshaw said that it's important to "see" a problem for what it is.

and that could be misconstrued as ableist against blind people.

so my professor-- fully serious-- suggested that maybe crenshaw's words as a black woman should be taken with a grain of salt because of her ableist language.

see another example. to be trans-inclusive, many people who are raising awareness for women's health problems are referring to certain diseases and disorders as things that happen to "people with vulvas".

here's the problem. for women who have not gone to college and live in a conservative state with shit sex ed, there's a good chance they might not even know they have a vulva.

they've always just heard everything down there referred to as a vagina. or maybe not even that. maybe they've only heard it referred to as a pussy, a cunt, their "lady parts".

they have no idea that these PSAs are being directed towards them.

so now, in an effort to inclusive, you've confused and alienated a group of women who desperately need that information about their bodies.

and that's the issue to me. we no longer use language to inform or educate; we use it to sound progressive and make ourselves feel good. and the people we're trying to help are slipping through the cracks.

[olderthannetfic]

While we're on the topic of Mainstream Publishing Discourse...

There's a lot of discussion about how a lot of sci-fi/fantasy written by women and especially WOC that is not YA gets miscategorized as YA on Goodreads and other sites like that. And sure, sometimes it's unfair and just misogynistic/racist. Like, no one should be calling NK Jemisin's writing "YA."

But sometimes you get writers who will make that argument about where you're like.... okay, the reason people keep thinking you're YA is because of actual features of your writing that are similar to YA. Like if R.F. Kuang (she's the one I feel like gets complained about the most lately and I recently read Poppy War and Babel and agree with the complaints) wants to stop being seen as YA, she could maybe learn to have enough faith in her readers to not feel like she has to mention the moral of the story - that is already obvious from every other feature of the story - explicitly spelled out like 50x. She also seems to assume that her reader will disagree with her unless she does that, which is a strange thing to conclude about "colonialism bad" which I don't think anyone who is picking up Babel and reading the description on it is going to go in thinking the opposite of! And that is what makes it feel like YA: because so much YA is designed as intros to "serious issues" for teens that writers assume don't pick up on that stuff without explicitly being told (which I think is a bit insulting to teens, but whatever, it is the genre convention and it is why by 15 I was already reading books for grown-ups in both my free time and my classes). You don't NEED to do that and if you didn't, way fewer people would think your books are YA!

Or like Erin Morgenstern, you'll be seen as YA less if you were able to construct a coherent plot and characterization and didn't instead seem to be going entirely on aesthetics and vibes. Or like Casey McQuiston, whose books absolutely do read like YA books that just have more explicit, fanficcy sex scenes in it. You cannot be shocked people think of Red White and Royal Blue that way when it has such a YA-tastic romance premise that there have been multiple actual YA books since that were blatant rip-offs of it.

I also saw a post about how a lot of these books seem to be set in things like "magical boarding school" or focus on teen protagonists and like, yeah, I feel like in general if your books keep focusing on teenagers in a very similar to way books written FOR teenagers, you can't be shocked that people keep thinking they're YA. Of course there are books about teens that are for adults, but they are usually approached in a very different way with different plots.

Anyway, I do wish people would stop assuming that books that are clearly not YA "are YA" because they are sci-fi/fantasy written by women, because it just makes it that much harder to talk about the ones that really do feel like YA in ways where the authors should probably take that criticism to heart a little bit more. Someone like Kuang clearly does want to be writing for a more adult-litfic-style audience, and should probably listen to the people telling her that her books are too didactic in a way that feels insulting to people who aren't BookTok YA readers.

I tried to bring that up to my book club though when we read Poppy War and one person wouldn't stop shouting me down about how it's "just sexism and racism." And I had to keep shouting back, dude, yeah, I know that's what the discourse is. I know that's why writers like this can brush that off. I'm saying though that in this case, I think some of it's warranted based on how *the book is actually written*

--

[hadesoftheladies]

One of the biggest reasons that I know majority of current transgender ideology is faux-oppression is because of how copy-paste it’s analysis is, which makes its lack of serious academic thought that much more obvious. it’s activists use buzz words from other activist movements like the black liberation movement and feminism (“black trans lives matter”/“cis women can’t identify as transwomen”), co-opt terms from other oppressed groups like the intersex community (AFAB/AMAB), and when it comes to creating their own language, the words are utter nonsense, like “transmisogyny”, which is a nonsense word that pairs two charged words together without considering the internal meaning of either.

what oppression do trans-people face for being transgender? being trafficked (that’s usually black, homosexual people in poorer areas), refusal of hormones or surgery (which are damaging to your body), perception of transness (usually homophobic or misogynistic hatred), being killed (black people again), being the wrong gender (gender is made up you can act and wear whatever you like, and if it is harming you, is it not more helpful to reject gender than redeem it?) And yea, there can be issues of intersection, but what about transness is specifically targeted or resisted on a structural level? The analysis has to keep borrowing from other struggles (being a woman, homo/bisexual gnc person in a patriarchal misogynistic world, being black, the taboo of being intersex) and then labeling those issues as “trans” or “gender” issues. Dysphoria is disorder brought on by existing in a sick social environment, much like dysmorphia and depression can be (because gender isn’t innate). It isn’t about “female” or “male” brains. These are very real issues that women, gnc LGB and intersex people have gone through. Is it a coincidence that these demographics are where dysphoria most thrives? but they’ll never analyze that. gender has to be innate. they won’t analyze how consumeristic trans culture is. they’ll cry about how awful the trans genocide is, but the black trans-identified people dying in brothels won’t push most of them to criticize porn culture or criticize the pro-porn trans icons in their group. interesting.

which is further evident in the huge absence of internal diversity of thought. the rise of micro identities and the way a lot of “queer” activists speak (the endless virtue signaling and verbal diarrhea) shows that this is an “oppression product.” they popularized oppression olympics. having a micro identity is a fad. who is being denied a job for identifying as greysexual? mom and dad I’m so sorry I’m sapiosexual please don’t kick me out.

most prominent trans icons are from the rich white upper class. and also mostly male. they are product influencers, convincing women and children to please buy thing so they can finally be satisfied. isn’t being part of a niche underground “oppressed” group cool? when your oppressed people listen to you, and doesn’t that just feel so good? it’s so white. it’s so capitalist America. it’s so MRA in how it trivializes historic, academic and global human rights movements. like listening to a porn-addicted man ramble on about how feminism is actually just about hating men, and anti-racism is about hating white people.

devoid of any true social analysis, because then we’d actually have to talk about the underlying rot which real activist groups are being killed and censored and disrupted to stop addressing.

[max1461]

Are you also looking for charitable interpretations of Mein kampf, Audrey Hale’s screed, SCUM manifesto, Stalin etc. Or do you feel more naturally inclined towards compassion and interest for those who identify women as the source of their issues and the “just” group to oppress, than those who land on say Jews, republicans, men, or the bourgeoisie? I wonder what attitudes would give rise to such a bias, if it is present for you.

So I think this is in reference to my post about BAP. To be clear, I don't have any sympathy for people who want to oppress women, which you would know not only if you had read that post more carefully, but also if you've read this blog much at all. As for people who cite the bourgeoisie as a major source of society's problems... I'm pretty sure I'd agree with them! I don't want to "oppress" the bourgeoisie, but I want the social conditions that allow them to exist as such to be changed!

It would not be acceptable to oppress men, republicans, or Jews either, but I don't really know what you're getting at with this list of examples.

But yeah, as a general rule, I am looking to understand everything I read and every perspective I encounter. This doesn't mean interpreting them "charitably". In the context of that post about BAP, it means: if someone tells you they're unhappy, believe them! BAP is a misogynist and racist, and as I was pretty clear about, I have no sympathy for his misogyny or racism. But I do have empathy for his unhappiness, I am unsatisfied with cheap explanations like "well he must just be entitled" or whatever, and I want to understand it better. For the record I have been pretty open about applying the same logic to e.g. TERFs, to radfems that identify as misandrist or so on, to racists, to incels. I understand why some people would shy away from this kind of thing, but someone's gotta do it.

I think I've gotten a lot of new followers lately, and many of them may not have realized, like, what I'm about. Universal compassion and non-judgement are two values that I try to practice in all serious matters in life; sometimes they run afoul of the kind of the ways that the discourse expects you to talk about things. It is what it is.

[femsolid]

"I was besieged at once by males who, one after another, asked nearly the same question: "It's good to talk about feminism, but can you talk about the other 'issues'? If you run for President, you'll have to talk about economics, and foreign policy, and issues other than women's rights. Are you aware of that?"

Each time I somehow recovered from these slaps in the face, and answered mildly that of course I knew that Presidential candidates have to talk about those issues. I wanted to talk about them. Fortunately, feminism includes economics, foreign policy, and all the others. Of course, this didn't reassure them at all. And all the while I was carefully noting their condescension. 

The women had their chance to reveal their priorities and level of consciousness, too. Several of them descended upon me to bemoan the fact that I had made their men very uncomfortable, and surely the best way to set things right would be by working together. "But the men aren't working," I pointed out, "and they won't work on this problem until they're made distinctly uncomfortable. Discomfort always precedes change, and accompanies it. That's why change is so hard. It won't hurt the men to be uncomfortable, just as it doesn't hurt whites to be made uncomfortable about racism. Don't be so protective of them. They can take care of their own feelings, and should start doing so, the sooner the better." 

One woman approached me with tears in her eyes, her lips trembling. Taking hold of my arm, she looked beseechingly at me and pied, "Please, Sonia. Don't polarize men and women!" Though I could hardly bear to begin at the very beginning again, I explained as patiently and briefly as I could that feminists are not polarizing men and women; we are making patriarchy's intentional polarization of the sexes visible, and shining light upon the reasons for it. Some people always assume that if you mention a problem, you caused it.

Sexism prevailed, and as the day wore grimly and predictably on, I went from angry to murderous. No one would have thought to ask a man the questions I had been asked, in the manner in which I had been asked them - as if I were a somewhat dense child. Nor did the women seem to understand their oppression, either in the world or in the party.

I was scheduled to be in Albany for a press conference a few days later, my second in that city. The assistant coordinator told me that since I had done my "woman's stuff'' in Albany the last time I was there, this time I had to be serious. One press conference on inconsequential matters was enough. There are men's issues - the important, serious, military matters such as Central America. Then there is the softer, less "universal," less urgent "women's stuff," such as gang rape totally unconnected to events in Central America, of course with which you don't want to bore and embarrass "sophisticated" press people.

The reporters' first question to me was, "How can you base a national Presidential campaign on a single issue?" It is discouraging enough that the public views as a "single issue" the concern of half the human race about every aspect of our lives, public and private. They squirmed and looked around for a way out. I could almost hear them turning me off with, "I hate it when women get like this. You can't even talk to them!"

The situation was very difficult for all of us, but it rapidly became unbearable for the male assistant coordinator. "There's no role for men in this campaign," he'd storm, though men were working in the campaign all over the country. What he meant was that since there has been only one generally acceptable role for men in relation to women for many millennia - the leader - when he couldn't be leader, there was no other role visible to him as a possibility. Though he was actually playing a very important role in the campaign, since it wasn't that role, he didn't perceive it as a role at all."

- Going Out of Our Minds by Sonia Johnson

[ca-suffit]

to all the ppl wanting receipts on maven, let me explain this to u.

racism isn't just slurs and some single "gotcha" moment. especially when it comes to white women. racism is hidden behind several layers of "nice" when it comes to them because whiteness and womanhood protect them from certain judgments and being more easily seen as "victim" than "abuser." why do u think anne rice even had a career. u think a black or brown woman could have done all that and still got paid? hell no. shit, u think even a black or brown *man* could have done that either? double hell no. that shit is only reserved for white ppl.

a lot of white women in this fandom don't think they're racist at all because they vote democrat and don't say slurs and also watch the interracial vampire show. but u don't talk to real ppl. and then u do all kinds of shit bts to black and brown ppl otherwise because u feel justified about it as a white person. u see ppl criticize whiteness in lestat and u say but he has trauma too, how dare u say this! and you come down episode 5 style on everyone and say "see this is what u deserve" without *any* self awareness. maven's videos say harmful shit throughout them, which are made more harmful because she looks and sounds so fucking stupid. Her weird stans rely on that to come after anyone who says "what the fuck is this" (in regards to what she's actually saying) and say "why are you abusing this white content creator who does nothing but this silly dance to entertain us, what do u do with ur life!" Just like u all love when white men on the show are some kind of funny drag queen cunty slay yasss mother as they outright look to slaughter black and brown characters physically or emotionally, so also do u love to say don't criticize this woman, it's not that serious. or don't judge anne rice, she was soo CrAzY (affectionate), old and/or dead now. "ur so mean!!!!!" u never want it to be serious because u never want to have this conversation. that's what's real. fragile fucking bitch ass egos of urs. we're having this fucking conversation now. Maven creates a safe space for racists by being a popular, uncritical white book fan who associates with other racist book fans. she has witnessed racism happening in this fandom for years and years and never once used her big platform to talk about it (or learn about racial topics in general before opening her dummy mouth about the show). she is a spineless, basic ass white woman who only cares about herself and her own white attachment to these books. inaction against harm u know is happening around u and lack of speaking up is racism. creating a safe space for racists is racism. making white fandom comfortable with u is racism. for the quickest test of whether someone is promoting white fandom shit or not, see how many black and brown fans will recommend that person or thing. nobody here can stand maven except white fandom (and white fandom is not just white ppl, it's any person who promotes the idea that talking about race is harmful and we should remain colorblind except for supporting white ideals and values). there's ur fucking answer by itself.

this is not done out of malicious focus from what white fandom would have u believe is "jealousy" over popularity (another tactic meant to distract from talking about the criticisms themselves). this is done out of real concern of who tf is gonna cause harm or not. maven does not create a safe space except for white fandom and her ignorance to that is her issue at this point because it's LONG been documented. not everyone who isn't supporting u is some general "hater" for no reason and ur fucking dumb if u don't ever examine the reasons ur being criticized. wake tf up, bitch.

[observers-journal]

https://www.facebook.com/QuintaFuerzaMX/posts/el-modus-operandi-de-la-pseudoperiodista-karina-velasco-es-asociarse-con-millona/3235955466657614/

https://quintafuerza.mx/quintana-roo/karina-velasco-la-periodista-de-onlyfans-que-vivio-con-florian-tudor-lider-de-la-mafia-rumana/

https://twitter.com/kaoryvsco/status/1509676221919109121

https://twitter.com/kaoryvsco/status/1668813348270399489

https://twitter.com/kaoryvsco/status/1669553281612361728

Best case scenario she is a grifter (Velasco).

Regarding TH, the public image and the idealisation of the general public is just projection. He has never dated a woman darker than himself, all the women he has been with are light or white, up till today.

There are other victims of TH, the social pressure and the fear of being mocked or discredited are keeping them silent. Beyond the stealthing, other acts might not be illegal but are still immoral and sexist. That's the man you wish to support?

There are other activists and men/women of color against racism and colourism, support them in your heart and elevate their voices no?

Hello, thanks for putting together all these links. I started this blog post for Tenoch, and if you have seen my last few posts (including my pinned post), you will be able to see my stance is wait and watch. I'm conflicted and I don't have an opinion exactly. And I'll tell you why

I always believe in victims first ideology. So I respect María and her courage to speak about it in the open.

Her timing is questionable, but I still want to believe her. Now what erodes my trust in her is that her history of frauds, bullying and extortion is very serious. But again, I am not dismissing her.

Tenoch has been hated on a lot for being outspoken, and his "womanizer" demeanor has been taken out of context. Whether it was the court case of his elder daughter, or the Skype scandal or whatever else. All of those were won by him through proper legal means. So this has happened with him before, and we don't know what this case is. Fernanda Tosky also accused him of being a bad lover who ditched her, but then she deleted her tweet. Why?

And why I am skeptical of him? Because men who are "womanizers" often indulge in toxic and misogynistic behaviors, which although may or may not be criminally prosecutable, cannot absolve him of his issues.

If he's found guilty, I'll be the first one to leave. If he's not, know that his career would have ended before it even began. And no one will hold María accountable.

In respect of both the people, I am not posting any new Tenoch content, unless it relates to some investigation or evidence on this case. I am posting both sides, whatever to me looks like a logical take.

As for Velasco, I have seen an interview she took of him. She's a supporter to me, that's all. In the big picture, she doesn't matter to me. Nor do I care about her history. Unless it's influencing the case in some way, which I don't see happening.

As for dating dark-skinned women, that's a big statement you write. He's written in his book Orgullo Prieto that he has had a dark skinned girlfriend before. He prefers to keep that side of his life private so I never bothered digging into it. We don't know much about that part of him, and we might just learn in this case.

If there are more women who have suffered, my heart goes out to them. I hope they find the courage and justice.

TH is just one person. I have dedicated my whole personal and professional life to supporting women and working against systems that promote racism. Don't worry about that 👍

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Letter to President Lula on Brazil’s Candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council

Dear Mr. President,

We are writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch ahead of the October elections to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) for 2024-2026. As a candidate, it is crucial that Brazil demonstrate a relentless, principled and consistent defense of human rights both at the national and international level.

In establishing the Council in 2006, the General Assembly provided that Council members “shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights” and “fully cooperate with the Council.”[1] Brazil’s voluntary pledges and commitments for the upcoming elections include “strengthening and improving the international human rights system and the HRC in an integral and comprehensive manner, based on its founding principles,” among which are the aforementioned.

Since taking office in January 2023, your administration has taken a strong stance on human rights in foreign policy, including by calling out the incompatibility between democracy and racism, advocating for the right to free primary and secondary education, and committing to promoting women’s rights before the Council. You have also elevated the issues of poverty and hunger and the protection of the environment on the global agenda.

At the same time, we had hoped that you would have taken advantage of your recent interactions with Chinese authorities and of renewed diplomatic ties with Venezuela to condemn the serious human rights abuses taking place under those governments and promote non recurrence. Given that you have also repeatedly shown interest in leading peace talks to bring about an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, we had also hoped that you could have included in the center of your calls the need for accountability for serious crimes, in addition to having criticized United States President Joe Biden’s recent decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, a move that does not contribute to peace and could put more Ukrainian civilians’ lives at risk for years to come.

We would like to encourage your government to ensure that Brazil plays a greater role in the promotion of human rights worldwide, as mandated by its own constitution, addressing human rights abuses in a principled and consistent manner—regardless of the ideology of any particular government and not driven by geo-political interests—on the basis of the principles of universality and impartiality, which Brazil highlights in its voluntary pledges and commitments.

Continue reading.

[magicalgirlagency]

Your take on the whole pasted potential of reincarnation/ isekai stories on webtoon is absolutely right. That why I’m glad I recently discovered a mention canvas story titled “This Isekai Maid is Forming a Union” by Frostlight Comics that is a major deconstruction of this whole trope. The mc(who is bisexual dark skinned woman with freckles) had been reincarnated ten times as a maid and is tired of all those others reincarnated mcs who get reborn as nobles women but instead of using their position for good, they just want more powers and mistreat those they deem beneath them. The maid decide to form a union to better the situation for her and the other maids. This comic tackle so many issues wonderfully ( it have trigger warning everytime they discuss serious topics ) like classism, colonial and racism. One of my favorite aspect is that how they tackle colorism by showing the darker skinned folks are treated.It called out other the romance tropes within this genre by addressing how the female lead says they will divorce their toxic husband/ fiancé but always get together again because he’s a sad edgy boy or he apologized. Or how the fans of these tropes excuses behaviors from the mc noble women like slavery because she’s a “girlboss” This is a refreshing take on this genre that I think you will love.

Oh, worm?

This all sounds too good to be true!

[menalez]

Imma be honest with you, I consider myself a radfem, have been raised in a muslim family, my father is Lebanese (pro hezbollah type), I'm a febfem and have been repeatedly outcast for my gender non conformity (I'm highly masc) and my sexuality by my Arabic family. So we are somewhat similar.

I dont post anything about palestine on tumblr. I post on Instagram, Facebook (lost many Jewish friends doing that btw) but on tumblr because it's terribly limited for things that are not informative. I guess I'm sending this message to tell you you're not alone, there are radfems that are not pro genocide, there are women that care. Don't lose hope ❤️

thank u for the msg kind anon ❤️ i’ve been following more women who are speaking on the issue and unfollowing the ones that have only talked about israel while ignoring what is going on to palestinians. i had had enough of it. i even saw a mutual talking about how criticising jkr for only speaking on israel means ur antisemitic and support terrorism.. i’m tired of it and i just need to curate this space to fit what i prefer to see. ultimately the way i’ve seen western white women treat this issue has made me question why i should waste my time advocating for their issues when they will never spend any time doing the same for MENA women. they didn’t do it with iranian women, or afghan women, or anything else. their solidarity for us seems only to extend as far as calling muslim men horrible animals and muslim women brainwashed class traitors. my posts criticising islam get lots of notes, yet i’m an islam shill bc i draw the line at discriminatory and racist rhetoric from them. my posts about what MENA women face that reject the notion that our issues were invented (rather than reinforced) by religion are often overlooked or lead me to face harassment, my posts about racism woc face from white women gets me harassment and ppl falsely claiming i would support white women getting raped, etc like. why should i waste my time with posts about how karen is misogynistic or how the hate of pumpkin spice products is misogynistic or whatever else that is specifically used to mock white women, when more serious issues woc face are overlooked by white women? they can go focus on being called karens like it’s the most pressing problem in the world and ignore our plights and actively even be racist against us, they’re hopeless, i’ll focus on our issues the way they focus on their own. that’s been what i’ve been telling myself to cope at least lol

sorry i ended up rambling!! it’s a bad habit of mine. but point is, thank u i appreciate it