Latest Posts by witchvspatriarchy - Page 2
Booksmart (2019) Crush (2022)
Zelensky: on the ground with his fellow citizens
Putin: squeaking from his bunker
thats all you need to know about these two. actions speak louder than words
@TSN_Sports: Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev writes "No war please" on the camera following his advancement to the final in Dubai.
There are Russian citizens who understand that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is wrong, and they are showing up & showing out.
👉🏿 https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-cracks-down-home-front-its-troops-invade-ukraine-2022-02-24/
For all the tankies and misguided “leftists” who somehow think that backing Putin is the way to show how “pure” their “communism” is—THIS is how you do it. THIS is how you rise up. These Russian protesters aren’t talking shit, while hiding behind a keyboard, in the safety of a country that’s safely not being invaded. These Russian citizens are openly protesting Putin’s war and their own government. They are putting it all on the line and literally risking everything to protest Putin’s imperialism. They are showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Bravo. 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿 Bravo. 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
Stand With Ukraine 🇺🇦
Heroes of our times: this woman who stopped shaving, plucking, moisturizing, fixing her hair and applying make-up because her douche boyfriend kept complaining she spent too much time in the bathroom and YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.
[Spoiler: he learned women don’t actually ‘look like that’ and tried to force her to ‘take care of herself’ again, while she realized she was wasting so. much. time. and is now living her best hairy, unplucked, unmoisturized, unblow-dried and unlipsticked life. Truly a blessèd day.]
.
.
.
Taemin, thank you.
Thank you for 14 years. Fourteen years of your smiles. Fourteen years of your laughter. Fourteen years of your shenanigans. Fourteen years of your dancing. Fourteen years of your singing. Fourteen years of your heart.
Thank you for always giving it your all, for performing with all your strength, and for reaching out to us fans and showering us with love.
You have brightened up our lives in so many ways and have been there for us fans more than we could ever deserve or imagine. You are more than our SHINee maknae, dancing king, vocal powerhouse, and king of Kpop.
You are a light and love and we are so blessed to know you.
You asked us during the concert if we would stay with you, and the answer has been and always will be yes. We will be there for you and stay by your side through all of this like we always have. You can count on us. And we will be cheering the loudest and giving you the best welcome when you return.
Thank you, Lee Taemin, for everything. We love you to the moon and back. Always.
normal sounding nicknames that are actually short for random words/unconventional names:
Ted, short for Haunted
Levi, short for Leviathan
Sue, short for Suture
Babs, short for Babylon
Nic, short for Funicular
Roy, short for Corduroy
Maggie, short for Magnet
Sassy, short for Assassin
Ward, short for Windward
Fisher, short for Kingfisher
Cal, short for Calligraphy
Vera, short for Veracity
Ava, short for Avalanche
Gil, short for Gilded
Sam, short for Flotsam
When I was a kid, the “Oh my god, you got so big!” comment from grown-ups used to really annoy me, because it felt broadly infantilising. But now, as an adult myself, I realise it had very little to do with me, and almost everything to do with said grown-up feeling suddenly attacked by the passage of time, yet not wanting to blurt out “shit, fuck, I just pissed away like four years of my life without noticing, then, huh?” in front of an 8-year-old.
people misunderstand what ‘gifted kid’ actually means but it’s ok it’s fine it’s cool it’s good
“May I?” “You may.”
Please read this!
+
So, the women’s speed climbing world record got smashed today by Aries Susanti Rahayu (@AriesClimber). 6.995 s. First posted sub 7 sec time (with a splinted middle finger!). Amazeballs!
“When I meet others like me I recognise the longing, the missing, the memory of ash on their faces. No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark”
— Warsan Shire, from “Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth: Conversation About Home (At The Deportation Center)”, published c. 2011.
Update: In June 2020, seven months after Hara's death, Jong-bum (ver ex-boyfriend 💩) was sentenced to a year in prison in the revenge-porn case, with a South Korean court ruling (via the South China Morning Post) that Jong-bum had "seriously damaged" Hara's reputation and left her with "irreversible trauma."
Goo Hara's story is one of the most tragic and rough in kpop history. And in light of the recent events, I'd like to share it.
It's pretty possible that most of you (ppl who weren't around for 2nd generation prime) dont know Goo Hara or her legendary group KARA. The group was among the top three girl groups nation wise, and number one in Japan.
But when KARA debuted it wasn't very popular, so when one member left, the company saw the opportunity to revamp the group and they added two new members. One of those was Goo Hara. She was introduced as main dancer and visual.
Hara's integration helped the group. Her innocent beauty in contrast to an effortless sex appeal caused men and women, children and adults, to fall in love with the idol, and this new fandom catapulted the group. Even though before debut she already had many fans, she already had antis too. A big portion of the original fandom rejected the integration of Hara. So from day one Hara had a strong individual fandom, but the group's fandom hated her.
Hara became the it girl of the moment, getting all the commercial contracts - this generated animosity from the fandom that questioned why she was the only one who was given the opportunities and why she did not participate in the commercial activities of the group. This did not weigh much on Hara at first, since she was somewhat accustomed to hate for no reason - in high school she was the victim of such extreme bullying that she had to change schools several times. She had the general public in her palms, so a portion of the fandom hating her was manageable.
But the love and support from the general public didn't last long, as netizens searched the internet to find something to destroy her and succeeded. They found Hara's teenage blog from before she was and idol, and in it they found photos of her in a hostel on her 17th birthday with her boyfriend at the time. They published them saying that Hara had had a romantic stay at the hostel and therefore she had sex while being a minor. And although the company denied it and Hara's friends said it had been a group trip, the netizens sought witnesses to support their accusations and thus began the gossip that Hara was promiscuous. This accusations gained notoriety when her relationship with Junhyun of B2ST became public. And so netizens invented her love affairs with many idols.
The situation reached a climax in Radio Star, when the MC asked KARA what topic they didn't want to talk about, to which Hara replied "dating." The three MCs started joking with Hara's promiscuity in a rather heavy way. And although it is well known that this type of image is harmful to an idol (mostly female idols) the MCs continued with the jokes. Hara tried to laugh it off but it was a comment from Kyuhyun that made her crack, being the gossip expert on the show, he said "if I said what I know, her career would be over." It was then that Hara threw him a bottle of juice playfully and then broke into tears. Hara was accused of being violent, unprofessional and disrespectful by netizens. And when one of the MCs came out in her defense and apologized for what they had done, the netizens said that "Hara's tantrums had forced him to apologize" and they hated her more.
Shortly after this, KARA disintegrated. But despite everything, Hara made a fortune as a commercial model. And there is nothing that netizens hate more than a successful, independent and wealthy woman. Especially if she achieves so despite public hate. And even more, if this successful, independent and wealthy woman is best friends with another successful, independent and wealthy woman (Sulli) that netizens also tried to destroy. And so, Goo Hara moved on with her life, even though the hate never stopped.
On September 4, 2018, Goo Hara (who is 1.64 and is so thin that she has been accused of being anorexic) was accused of beating her boyfriend. For the following week there were no signs of Hara, while the boyfriend appeared in the media several times a day giving interviews about it, and saying that she had gone crazy when he tried to end the relationship. He said he wasn't going to go public at first but when he got home he realized she had "disfigured" him and his face "is a big part of how he makes a living" (he's a hairdresser) so he decided to let everyone know the type of person she is. At some point the guy gave an interview in a hospital gown and connected to serum, despite having given interviews without these things several days before, and the hospital records shows he only had scratches. But despite being suspicious, the netizens did not need more, and cited what happened on radio star, her promiscuity and her friendship with Sulli as evidence of her violence and imbalance, and demanded jail time for Hara.
Time after that, Hara finally appeared on the media, which she had not done because she had been hospitalized due to the beating that the boyfriend (the alleged victim) gave her. Attack that damaged her internal organs to the degree of causing severe bleeding. Incidentally, there was damage to her intimate organs, so a rape is suspected, although it was never confirmed as such. And although Hara presented evidence and a witness, the netizens did not believe her, they said that she paid the witness and that, because she was promiscuous, her word had no worth. It was then that Dispatch revealed that the boyfriend had offered them the premise of the matter, then screenshots of the guy blackmailing Hara with an intimate video that he filmed against her will came to light. Just then the netizens decided to listen to her. The witness (Hara's roomie) came out to give her version of the facts: the guy had entered without permission with the access code and had woken Hara by kicking the bed. The witness and the messages proved that Hara had broke up with him and he wanted to blackmail her with the intimate video and threatened to end her career, Hara tried to take the video, and the guy beat her up. After that, he destroyed averything and anything he could find at the apartment, while Hara begged him not to publish the video. In the week that Hara was hospitalized the guy sent her threats and fragments of the video as blackmail.
For a while Hara had the empathy of the netizens, but the case was never resolved judicially, and the public eventually forgot what happened and attacked Hara again. This year Hara uploaded a photo to her social media for the first time, thanking the support she received in those difficult moments. And the netizens accused her of attention seeking, they said that if she was really hurt she shouldn't be on social media after what happened, and accused her of being unaware of the damage she caused her ex - who could no longer show his face in public. Soon she went to Japan to fulfill previous contracts and they accused her of fleeing, of indifference and said that what had happened hadn't been so serious if she was already working and she had made a big drama for nothing. Meanwhile the ex is active in social media and opened a new beauty salon, which was very successful. And as if that were not enough, the ex-boyfriend, Junghyun (B2ST) ended up entangled in the Seungri/Rising Sun scandal. And although it has been said that he was not an active participant beyond commenting on the videos that JJY sent, the netizens insisted that there were videos and intimate photos of Hara in the infamous chats.
After this, Hara uploaded a picture and netizens accused her of getting plastic surgery. Hara said that she had eyelid surgery for medical reasons and asked people to stop attacking her, but the netizens ignored and attacked her for the surgery.
May 25th 2019, Hara was found unconscious in her apartment. It was said it had been a suicide attempt. This incident, unlike others in the world of kpop, did not have a wave of positive and empathetic comments wishing her recovery, but the comments were insults, offenses and ridicule towards Hara. They even reproached her for her lack of success in committing suicide, accused her of faking it, said that the news were false to get attention and attacked her more than ever.
Soon after that Hara los her best friend.
This news were devastating but they were not a surprise, at least to me. I made a post about Sulli's passing asking people to support Hara, because I knew that she would be next. She had already tried. And she got hate for not succeeding.
A lot of the kpop fandom now wasn't around for most of the second generation mess. We had idols poisoned, attacked, and destroyed by netizens. There still are many idols victims of slave contracts and abuse but back then you saw the proof of those things regularly. With idols passing out and stuff.
Korea, specifically its treatment of celebrities is crap. Its inhuman. As international fans we should spread love for idols. And ask the companies to care for them, we should watch for their best interests as humans. What Hyuna and Edawn are doing, going on variety shows and doing photoshoots together as a couple is huge. What Mamamoo has been doing is huge. What Holland is doing is huge. Please support the idols who are actively fighting to change Koreas celebrity culture. ITS IMPORTANT.
And its important to know the stories of idols like Hara, Hangeng, T-ARA... because this idols were victims and where given nothing but hate. Hate that ended their careers or in Hara and Sulli's case, their lives. Hate kills. Haters kill. Not allowing people to live a plenty life, kills. Not allowing people to make mistakes, kills. I hope you read Hara's story and pay attention to female idols with a bad reputation, they're vulnerable in so many ways. And I hope that, in the future, when an idol survives a suicide attempt y'all wont ignore it like you did Hara.
REST IN PEACE🙏💔💔🙏
It's easy for me to tell people to erase Harry Potter from their lives, because I'm not a fan. It didn't change who I was as a person, I didn't grow up with it and it doesn't help me cope with life.
I dont know what it feels like to have something like that, and then be in the situation that interacting with it supports transphobia/transmisogyny/racism/antisemitism.
If you don't experience racism or transphobia or antisemitism it might be hard to make the connection. To feel strongly enough to severe every feeling you have for it to where it's easy to drop. You might feel strongly about the situation, but might still struggle with liking the content and wanting to find a way around it.
But interacting with the content has real world consequences. You talk about Harry Potter publicly, post fic, you are keeping her relevant.
And that gives her power and access to more people and thus helping to spread her bigoted rhetoric.
So I might not understand what fans are feeling with the situation, and I know for some it helps you get through life. But thats why you need to focus on her bigotry. Or make some effort by finding something to turn you off of it.
You have to connect things visually for yourself, about the bankers with hooked noses to the nazi drawings of Jewish people. Compare that visually.
To the transmisogyny she spews to the trans women and other trans people she's hurting, and the bills she help support. Sometimes you have to actively look at someone right in the face and then think of the discrimination they are facing due to something you like in order to remind yourself that this is real life and not just words on a screen.
When we love something or it's helped us, it's hard to sever that connection, even in extreme situations.
But that's why you have to work at it. You can't just assume you will naturally fall out of the thing you like because racism is bad. It should, but I know things can be complicated in the brain. Which is why you have to be active about it.
Eventually, when you think of Harry Potter the bigotry in it will stick out too much and it won't have the magic it had before and that's okay.
Also there are people posting alternatives, so you have new series to try and help you make the switch. Ones you can be loud and proud loving.
I see a lot of posts on here rightfully upset. But I realize most aren't fans, and most don't use it as a coping mechanism
And this post isn't coddling. It's to the people who might feel they aren't addressed in the other posts.
So this is for the people that had the book help them not kill themselves. Who kin the characters or the characters helped keep them above water. For people who are comforted by the story. Who helped them through bad things in their life.
For people who feel that if they stop interaction with the fandom and series, that they don't really know where to go and that they will feel empty and lost.
And to some this might seem ridiculous but some people need to have a post like this.
If you're this person remember that the words and the world's and the personalities and the wonder can be found somewhere else. And that this book had helped you and made you feel happy for a while, and that another series needs to take that place.
You don't have to go cold turkey and get rid of all your stuff and delete your fics and fanart
But you CAN try the other stories, get into a new series and remind yourself that moving on and switching over is the right thing to do. Eventually it'll be your new hyperfixation and your new comfort series that makes life easier
Jk rowling is a bigot in many ways and her books bare traces of that. When people see you talking or interacting with the series now, they will wonder "do they support rowling?" and I don't think that's what you want
So yeah. Just explore other series and find new stories that help you, make you feel happy and giddy and obsessed! And know that whether you feel it or not, you would be helping to make Jk irrelevant and thus making a bigot not have as much power. And I think thats good.
TERFS/RADFEMS/TRUSCUM/TRANSMEDS WILL BE BLOCKED
I think I'll just rant about this so tw for transphobia and some swearing ahead
•••
I'm SO damn sick of people defending JKR. From the "It wasn't that bad" to the cis(!) people saying "What she said wasn't transphobic", fuck all of that.
And fuck cis people making it all about themselves when trans people talk about how harmful JKR is.
The first person I ever came out to as non binary was my best friend at the time. Not even a week later she talked to me about how much she loved Harry Potter and all. Which was fine by me, she's allowed to like whatever the hell she wants, I can't police her.
However, personally, it makes me uncomfortable to talk about JKR's stuff cuz her views just bother me. So, I just said "Sorry, but I personally try to stay away from Harry Potter and JKR in general because she's a terf".
Cue: Cis person making it about themselves.
"Oh so you say I'm transphobic?" "Harry Potter meant a lot to many people when they were younger, do you just want to take that away from them?" "Stop calling me a TERF, I'm not." "You're really overreacting here."
Mind you, I never once said that the people who like Harry Potter hate trans people. I just said I don't like JKR because she's a TERF.
She went on to defend the life out of it like "It's not gonna change that much if I support it anyway" "It means so much to me, I don't wanna just stop consuming it" "Just separate the art from the artist" "Well, I can't control my hyperfixations" all that stuff that you constantly hear from people trying to justify themselves.
There was no "I acknowledge that JKR is bad and while I still want to enjoy the series, I try to do so in a way that doesn't support her" or anything. In the end, I was the one apologizing to my friend because I dared to "imply she's a bad person".
And it's not even just her who acted that way - every time I see someone criticize JKR, the comments are flooded with these people getting defensive and angry at the person speaking up about it.
It's incredibly tiring when I as a non binary person have to constantly apologize for making cis people uncomfortable just because I try to speak up against a TERF - not against them, just against JKR.
-------
I'd like to also take two points that are constantly being raised because they're starting to get tiring.
"Separate the art from the artist", "death of the author" and "Hatsune Miku wrote Harry Potter":
It isn't that damn easy. Death of the author doesn't work because JKR is still alive and well, and probably will be for at least another 15 or so years. That woman is only 56 years old. She's gonna be around for a while. And for that time, she will continue to profit off every cent you spend on official HP merch, on her books, her movies and games. You keep giving her a platform that she can continue to use for her blatant transphobia.
Additionally to that, you don't need me to tell you that her transphobia isn't the only issue with her and her works, because lots of people from those groups have ready explained the racism and antisemitism in a far better way than I ever could. You can't entirely filter out her harmful views. You can't separate art from artist because that means you'll stop critically consuming her works because "well Hatsune Miku wrote those books so it's nothing bad." No. If you HAVE to consume her stuff you better acknowledge that it's not all sunshine and rainbows and be honest with yourself.
"It's my hyperfixation, I can't control that":
I want to make it clear first that I'm ND myself. I know how hyperfixations work. I know it's not the same for everyone.
That being said, stop using you being ND as an excuse. It's not.
Because unless your hyperfixation is "Giving money to transphobic people", the same applies to you - You don't have to actively give her money. You're allowed to have your hyperfixations, but being ND doesn't mean you can't consume content in a responsible way.
Jk Rowling has got to be the dumbest person on the planet. She had all the goodwill and adoration in the world and threw it all away to be transphobic on Twitter. Like millions of people in my generation would've been buried with their fav Harry Potter book and now we will despise her for the rest of our lives. She's so anti-trans she chose to destroy her entire legacy to be a terf lmao
The year is 2021, nearly 2022, and JK Rowling has posted yet more TERF bullshit.
I'm not going to post it here. If you're trans, you've probably already seen it, and if you're cis, you don't need to see it.
It is far, far, FAR past time for you to drop Harry Potter if you haven't already.
I get it. Harry Potter was an important piece of many of our lives. It shaped many of our formative years. Choosing your house became a form of self identification for a not insignificant portion of the population. And you're allowed to feel mixed feelings. But there's one thing that needs to be clear:
Harry Potter fandom, in any form, especially done by TME people, harms trans women.
Now I understand what you may say. "Oh I'm not gonna spend any money on it but I'm still gonna make posts/fanfiction/etc about it"
And sure, not giving money that'll go to its TERF creator to fund her TERF desires is just about the bare minimum. But by continuing to engage with the work, by continuing to maintain a fandom presence, you are giving your tacit support to JK Rowling and anyone that agrees with her.
Your trans followers will see this, and the vast majority will be made to feel unsafe as a result.
But perhaps you don't care about trans women. You certainly wouldn't be the only one. So it only seems fair to mention a few other bigotries transphobia is joined by in the Harry Potter series:
Antisemitism: Goblins as a whole, trying to claim "Anthony Goldstein" as Jewish rep despite him barely being relevant and having an incredibly stereotypical name, and once again, GOBLINS AS A WHOLE
Racism: The name "Cho Chang", Lavender Brown starting out as Black in the movies before being whitewashed as soon as she became relevant to the plot
Homophobia: The use of werewolves as an HIV/AIDS metaphor, but where the infection actually IS dangerous to others, not to mention a character who actively targets children to "infect", trying to claim Dumbledore is gay and it never showing up anywhere in text
Sexism: Hermione's whole "not like other girls" schtick that's backed up by the universe itself, traditionally feminine characters being villainized (Lavender Brown, Umbridge)
These are by no means an exhaustive list, but worth mentioning nonetheless.
If you're looking to read other YA books instead, here's a few recommendations to get you started
Diane Duane's Young Wizards series is my top pick for anyone looking for another series about wizards coming of age while they face down the forces of darkness. It's been ongoing since 1983, and the author has shown an admirable willingness to go back and fix plot points that include topics she wasn't well informed enough to be sensitive about at the time. The author herself is actually active on this website, her url is @dduane
Katherine "KA" Applegate's Animorphs will always hold a special place in my heart. If you like sci-fi, aliens, and the horrors of war, this series is for you. The author is fairly vocal of her support for the trans community, and has a trans daughter herself. Her husband is Michael Grant, who both did some work on Animorphs and is the author of the Gone series which is also worth highlighting here
Tamora Pierce has multiple universes of book series largely focused on growing up in magical worlds. While her Song of the Lioness quartet and following series in the same world were great, I was always a big fan of the Circle of Magic books myself
Rick Riordan is well known for his mythology-based series. Starting with Percy Jackson, he contextualized Greek mythology in a modern setting, from the outset giving representation to people with ADHD and dyslexia. As he continued, writing series focusing on Egyptian, Roman, and Norse mythology, he added more representation into his books. While he has sometimes had issues with how he has portrayed these marginalized groups, he has largely shown himself to be receptive to criticism
Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant series is another fantasy series that I quite enjoy who's author has shown explicit support for the trans community. While I am not up to date with the most recent books, it is my understanding that they include an explicitly trans and genderfluid character, and the books' magic system and themes goes into the nature of identity and names many times, in a way that even when it isn't explicitly trans, often FEELS very trans
The TL;DR is this: however you may try to justify it, participating in Harry Potter fandom in any way IS harmful to trans women, and there's a world of other series to go for instead
The fact that people are boycotting JK Rowling for her blatant transphobia and not mentioning her blatant racism exemplifies why people are white before they are trans or gay.
The Wizarding school North America (Ivermory) is riddled with blatant appropriation of Native American cultures, but no one gave a shit.
But no one gave a shit until she started starting transphobic rhetoric.
She literally takes Native American beliefs and... I don't know what the words are for this bullshit. Misrepresents them to capitalize on them? Appropriates them? Completely ignores the original beliefs in order to make up her own?
Although the new insights into the universe of Harry Potter were welcomed by many, the author was strongly criticised online by a number of voices from Native American communities, particularly over her writing about skinwalkers, which in Navajo legend are said to be evil witches or wizards who can take on the form of animals.
Rowling writes that the myth “has its basis in fact … A legend grew up around the Native American Animagi, that they had sacrificed close family members to gain their powers of transformation. In fact, the majority of Animagi assumed animal forms to escape persecution or to hunt for the tribe. Such derogatory rumours often originated with No-Maj medicine men, who were sometimes faking magical powers themselves, and fearful of exposure.”
Responding to a question on Twitter, Rowling said that “in my wizarding world, there were no skinwalkers”, with the legend created by those without magic “to demonise wizards”.
But yeah. The transphobia is why we're boycotting her.
(This isn't to say the transphobia is okay or to minimize trans issues. This is to point out that white people only care about issues that effect other white people.)
Look. All I'm saying is if you're going to make a post about why we don't like JK Rowling. Say "we aren't going to support JK Rowling because of her racism and transphobia."
Not to mention. How shitty of a writer must you be if you can't create b your own myths and legends? The fact that she's gotta steal from others completely exemplifies how shitty of an author she is.
-fae
Friendly reminder not to go see the new Fantastic Beasts movie in theater or on a streaming service!! All your doing is supporting a Terf if you do so, and saying that you think a stupid movie matters more than actual trans people and their rights :)) (and before any of you fuckers open your mouth I’m pretty sure shes actively involved in politics and basically runs a smear campaign against trans people on twitter)
fuck JKR
If you DO want to see it at LEAST consider donating an equal or higher amount to a trans or queer charity or just pirate it
Have a nice day
Since joining Tumblr, I’ve met a lot of young queer people. Look, I’m a bisexual man in a gay relationship, and I’m approaching 30. I was still a kid when Matthew Shepard’s story was being covered on the news. I remember thinking, “I better keep my mouth shut about these feelings I’m having.”
And then I met Dominic when I was 12, and people could see how in love we were. And we got the shit beat out of us. The year I met him, some kids in the grade above me held me down against the bleachers in our gym and stomped on my hand until my fingers broke. Instead of sending me to the nurse, the teacher sent me to the assistant principal to explain the situation. She asked why the kids had beat me up. I said, “They were calling me gay.”
Her response was, “Well, are you?”
My, “I don’t know,” earned a call to my parents, and I was outed. Efforts were made to keep me from seeing Dom. Throughout high school, Dom’s stepmother intensified these efforts. He slept in the basement of the house. Although he was an incredibly talented student, he was prohibited from participating in any extracurriculars. He suffered a lot of physical abuse during those years.
The day he turned 18, he packed up everything he had and walked to my house, and we’ve lived together ever since. Things are better, but they’re not perfect. I’ve had trucks pull up next to me at stoplights and, seeing the pride sticker on my car, through old drinks and garbage into my window. I no longer speak to my dad’s side of the family. I haven’t been to see them for Christmas or Thanksgiving in years. One of my uncles had cornered me at Thanksgiving when I was 17 and said, “I’m not going to judge you, but I’d be happy to break your neck so God can do the judging a little sooner.”
I joined a support group for trans and intersex people. When I joined, 40 people attended regularly. Within the year, the group was half the size it had been. Some couldn’t make it anymore, because they were staying at the shelter, where their stay hinged on them agreeing to instead to attend homophobic sermons. Some were put in correctional therapy. Five of them died. Three of those, I didn’t know, but I knew Alex, the 19 year old who was fag-dragged in Kentucky and died a day later in the hospital, and I knew Stephanie, who went home to Alabama to care for her mom in hospice and was beaten to death with a baseball bat by her mom’s boyfriend.
Tumblr is not reality. The dynamic here does not reflect the dynamic out there. Here’s the part where I finally make a point, and it might be extremely unpopular - but guys, value your allies. Value each other. We are met with enough hate in our daily lives to enter an online safe-space and meet more hate from our own, over petty things. Don’t go after one another over every little thing you find problematic.
Learn to see nuance. Maybe the word “queer” bothers you, and you see a gay man using it as an umbrella term. Maybe someone called a trans man a trans woman because they’re confused about terminology, but the post where they did it was voicing support for the trans community. Maybe someone is just asking a question, wanting to learn more. Stop. Attacking. These. People.
Allies are being driven away. Members of our own community are being ostracized. Others are feeling nervous and estranged, and it’s largely because of places like Tumblr, where the social justice movement is quickly becoming violent and radical. I am begging you, stop nitpicking “problematic” things and start directing your efforts to create real change. When it comes to comes to your allies, forget the “social justice warrior” mentality and put down your torch. Educate calmly. Be respectful. Be understanding. Be forgiving. And I’m certainly not saying that your anger doesn’t have a good place - when you are met with bigots on the street, congress members who want to pass hateful laws, violent protesters, abusive parents, prejudiced teachers, that is when you need to be a warrior. That’s when it counts. In the real world. When you have the opportunity to protect people from real harm. Attacking your would-be allies via anonymous asks is just going to lose us ground in the long run. And we don’t have time for that, not when trans women of color are being murdered every day, not when states are still fighting against marriage equality, not when there are politicians in office who believe that trans people are possessed by demons, not when we’ve just lost 50 brothers and sisters to one gunman, not when the media won’t even admit that the attack was homophobic.
Please step back. Look at the big picture. Look at where we are, globally. Don’t just log on to your safe space and attack your allies over small missteps. That’s like washing the dishes in a house that’s on fire, kids. Let’s fight on the battlefield, and when we come home to each other, let’s just focus on bandaging up our wounds so we can go out and win the war.
YOOOO
We didn’t have a word for our, as you guys call, gay/lesbian people. So we coined that word as an umbrella for all our tribes. We never said, “Well, you’re transgender. You’re bisexual. You’re lesbian.” We never knew those terms. Those are all from Western culture, you know, LGBTQ and all that. So on some level, it’s about getting rid of labels. Those terms were forced upon us.
Absolutely love how every self-respecting latino despises with all their souls the word “Latinx”, to the point even our progressives do so too since it completely undermined their efforts for a true gender-neutral language in the form of the -e suffix, as everyone feels it’s something Americans forced upon us without never asking, which is actually what happened.
Seriously, fuck Latinx, all my panas and parceros hate Latinx, do not support that denomination rooted in racism and imperialism!
compare.
real people being partially closeted or ambiguous about their own sexuality while making Gay Art is not queerbaiting