#weekly blogs!

[re-strictedaccess]

Access Denied

January 29, 2023

By: Dawn_of_the_silver_age

Have you ever wondered why some things are digitized while others are not?

Not me, until I was annoyed when I wanted to access a resource only to find out that it was only available in a museum or a library far, far away.

Recently, I read an article that made me think about who does and does not have access to resources. Kamposiori, Warwick and Mohanty explained the stages of the research process, the difficulties that researchers encounter when digitizing resources like art and texts, what can be done to solve them. The author's style was very scientific and thorough and identified the following issues:

Lack of access to materials in private or smaller public collections as many remain undigitized

Access to locations (cost, language, accessibility, reliability of information, and availability to the public)

I have thought quite a bit about access as I am a Disabled student. I have found it a challenge to access textbooks and other resources, forcing me to adapt my learning and research processes.

Digitization on its own does not give full access to Disabled people. For digitization to be accessible, we must think beyond what is needed for neurotypical people and centre Disabled folk. Often what is stylistically pleasing to the eye makes it less accessible to Disabled folk.

Changing fonts are a straightforward way to give meaningful access. When creating texts, we need to think about improving access.

It’s much easier to read San-Serif fonts like Arial and Calibri.

Instead of fancy fonts.

When sharing images, we need to provide image descriptions and Alt Text. Digital resources must be available with OCR, font size options, colour overlays, audio recordings or text-to-speech. OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition, allowing screen readers to read the text. In Online Disabled community forums, you can easily see that the lack of OCR is a significant issue because of the volume of discussion. I rely on OCR to use my text-to-speech software, and blind students need OCR to access texts using text-to-speech or use a braille interface. Rarely are the needs of Disabled people even considered when we create digital sources. Texts must be digitized using formats that Disabled folk can access.

Digitizing text and artifacts gives everyone with internet — access. Imagine a world where everyone with the internet could access all texts and artifacts, even rare ones! When you think about it, access to sources democratizes learning. Access to the internet is another issue!

The cost and physical accessibility of visiting collections mean that some folk will never have access. Rarely do non-disabled people consider wheelchair accessibility, that stairs prevent access to artifacts and texts, signs without braille and large print and a lack of audio guides deny people entry. This needs to change.

There has been a lot of talk about intersectionalities lately. Let’s be clear, accessibility is not only about Disabled folk. It's also about race. Watching the documentary, The Recorder: Marion Stokes, I found myself as a white settler questioning who is left out of data-finding stories and that the process of searching, collecting, writing, collaborating and researching in the digital sphere (chaining, browsing, verifying) means that marginalized people, their way of knowing and how they experience the world are excluded. There is a whole database of Black women in physics and astronomy whose research and methods are rarely taught. We need to digitize and welcome everyone by providing access for everyone so we can all develop, analyse, reflect, evaluate, learn and communicate with one another.

It’s 2023, and it’s time to consider real inclusion. It’s time to showcase those who have been excluded. We need to see the brilliance of Black women in the arts, and Disabled people in the sciences. We need to digitize databases, artifacts and texts so that everyone can access them, learn and analyze them, be part of the dialogue and contribute to research.

[caruliaa]

staff still hasn't given me polls, what should i do?

🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪 their moms 69%

🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪 their dads 31%

grace image os i get to look at her

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I started reading Dungeon Meshi last week, became instantly charmed and captivated, and blitzed through the entire manga in 4 days (and changed my profile picture about it). With that in mind, I would just like to say...

I love your dungeon meshi art so so much

CHILCHUCK!!!!!!!!

Thank you kindly! I love Dungeon Meshi a lot, so I'm happy to see so many people get into it for the first time.

CHILCHUCK!!!

[rating-bears]

Today’s bear meme is!! This is a bear

An oldie, but a goodie! Very few bear memes are as iconic and timeless as this is a bear! It’s also VERY factually correct!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5!!! My only note is that the bear ears are not denoted as being where the love is stored, even though they are and that is where the love is stored

[chiimi-png]

Started setting up for my new semester. wanted to start with my planner, I'll still be using my filofax but with blank paper for more customised pages

[mrsriddles-blog]

Reads of the Week: Mar 24-Mar 30

*indicates smut

green font represents multiple characters (poly, rh, etc.)

I could give 50 reasons by @thatdammchickennugget

Ruin The Friendship by @amongemeraldclouds

Intoxicatingly Sweet* by @hpimagines

Tumblr Girls* by @thugpugs4lrh

Hate Me by @luverboychris

Hate Me Pt.2* by @luverboychris

I’ll Make It Up To You by @space-matt

How Long* by @chris-slut

Drivers Pleasure* by @sturnioz

Not So Innocent* by @mega-katya44

wisdom teeth removal by @freshloveee

Drunk by @sturniolo-fall-enthusiast

massage by @flynnriderishot

gross* by @sturniolosstar

First Hit* by @sluts4matt

All Too Well by @vanteguccir

12 am by @flynnriderishot

Always yours by @vanteguccir

Secure* by @rootbeerworshiper

Sleepy by @slutz4sturniolos

pranked by @orangelala

Right here* by @evie-sturns

[puppyeared]

fake ep idea + doodles

[nipuni]

Some photos of this week 😊 We went to the theater to see a Flamenco show

[satans-knitwear]

Are we poppunk yet?? 😎

Ootd for Green Day! How fortunate that it happens to fall on a fishnet friday ✨👀

[belovedapollo]

3rd of august, trying different things this month✍🏼

reblog is ok, don’t repost/use

[re-strictedaccess]

Radioactivity: Gender isn’t Real

February 5, 2023

By: MADNESS00

As a person who has always been raised by my parents to see my body as a vessel through which I live, without expectations of how I was supposed to perform my gender, it’s interesting how socialized I am to see my body as a vessel of performance. My parents never really cared about how I dressed or how I acted as long as I was kind and put effort into the things I loved.  

But, through the corrupt education system and the effect of media (any media: movies, tv shows, social media, even books), I was suddenly conscious that I was (emphasis on was) a woman who had to adhere to gender norms, and norms of sexuality. That I had to perform this idea of what gender was and who I was supposed to love.

This has carried on through my life, as I’ve become more in tune with how my weird little brain works (the neurodivergence really hit me hard in high school but I didn’t really know what it was then), and become more aware of how these norms have been prominent throughout my entire life.

I recently read the introduction to Glitch Feminism, written by Legacy Russell, and I think it really encapsulates how I think of the body.  

Glitch Feminism talks about accepting the body how it is, and instead of using it as a vessel for performance, using it as a vessel to just exist. Russell explains that “The glitch is for those selves who joyfully immersed in the in-between, those who have traveled away from their assigned site of gendered origin.”

And this ‘glitch’ is also for how race and religion and disability (and so many more, enough to literally fill entire pages) makes performance even more prominent, as there are expectations of how someone is supposed to perform their gender based on these other identities.  

Many people, both in real life and online, spend their entire lives performing gender. This can also expand to how other identities interact with gender, as there is an idea of how Black women should conduct themselves and an idea of how Black men should conduct themselves. And, since the whole system is set up on gender binaries, people outside of the binary just don’t exist according to gender roles.

Another interesting thing is seeing how queerness is expressed through gender expression, as many codes and ways to dress were created to denote queerness to other queer people, which have obviously evolved as society has become more and more connected to technology. Even I, an out and proud queer person, am constantly wondering if I look queer enough because of how I’ve been socialized to view queerness.

And while media can enhance this idea of performance, it can also help people find communities of like minded people. I wouldn’t have accepted all facets of my identity as a queer neurodivergent person without having access to communities that not only shared information about these identities, but also accepted people as they were without expecting performance from people.  

This is true of all identities, and it doesn’t just help people find their own identity, but it also helps people who want to learn and to be accepting towards all.  

While I talk a lot about queerness here, this is applicable to all marginalized communities, and some even experience greater power imbalances because of the historical significance of performance. For example, how Black people are expected to adhere to a certain amount of whiteness to be acceptable, and Black women are held to an even higher standard of femininity than white women. These two expectations, of whiteness and femininity, also converge so that Black women are expected to uphold both, and erase what they know about their own identity.

I think my overall takeaway from Glitch Feminism is mostly that gender isn’t real, and we shouldn’t be expected to perform our identities in a way that continues to create power imbalances. And if we continue to practice glitch feminism, we can start socializing people to just see bodies as bodies and not as vessels of performance, which also in turn starts to take away power from the systems that thrive off of performance of the body.

[daily-basil]

The Strangerrrrr

[mangachi]

[gimmick-swag]

!!GIMMICKVERSE WEEKLY WILL BE A THING!!

after much consideration, support, and a poll, Gimmickverse Weekly (GVW) will actually be brought to life and be a thingy!!!!! >:3

the show will probably start at the end of may/at the start of june. i've gotta figure some stuff out first, mostly personal stuff and how the show will run, but I've made a blog for GVW already! @gimmickverse-weekly

if you need context..

please reblog and spread the news!

also, if you were one of the people interested in helping out then please dm me (or send an ask if you dont mind) from your main!!

[kinnbig]

KP Anniversary

KinnPorsche the Series + faceless shots per episode

[weeklysonadowadventures]

New header image folks!

What do you think?

There’s still a photo coming this Friday, dw :)