there are a lot of posts out there that are positive and healthy coping mechanisms for handling the holidays. this is not one of them :)
i think there's like. going to be times in your life you will be stuck in a social situation that you cannot escape from gracefully. i do not know why the internet doesn't believe these times exist. it's not always just that your physical safety is at risk - sometimes it's legit like "i just don't currently have the energy or time to put in the effort of responding to this." sometimes it's a coworker you hate so much. sometimes it's just like, fine, you know? like you know you can handle your aunt when she's cheerily horrible, but if you actually set a boundary around her, it's going to be weeks of fallout with your father.
i don't know why people think the answer is always just "cut them out!" or "don't let them get away with that!" because ... the real world is tricky and complicated. i think kind of a lot of us have an internal "radiation poisoning" meter for certain people. like - i'm talking about the ones who are absolutely giving you gradual ick damage. like, you can handle them, but you'll be exhausted.
and yes. you absolutely should listen to your therapist and the good posts about handling others and set good boundaries and take care of yourself. prioritize peace.
HOWEVER :) ...... since im often in a situation with a Gradual Sense of Ick person i cannot just "cut out" of my life (without losing someone else precious to me) - i have sort of developed the most. maladaptive form of mischief possible. because like, if i'm going to have to listen to this shit again, i like to have a little bit of private fun with it.
now! again, i am physically safe, just mentally drained by this man. you should only do this with people you are not in danger with. which leads me to my suggestions for when your Unfortunate Acquaintance shows up and says oh everyone pay attention to me.
my favorite word is "maybe!" said as brightly and happily as possible. whenever the Horrible Person starts in on a topic you do not want to go further with, particularly if they make a claim that you know to be inaccurate, do not respond to it. you and i have both tried to actually argue with this person, and it hasn't gone well, because this person just wants the drama of an argument. however, "maybe!" gives them literally nothing to go on. it is incredibly disarming. they are used to people having some response. they know they can't prove what they're saying, and maybe! treats them like the child they are. it dismisses them in the politest way possible.
i like to say maybe! and then, in their stunned silence, immediately change the subject. this is because i have adhd and i will have something unrelated to talk about, but if you can't think of topics fast enough, i recommend just pointing to something and saying, "isn't that lovely?" because fuck you let's bring in some positivity.
by the way. that second trick - of pointing to something and stating an opinion about it? - that just works on its own, like, 70% of the time. i picked it up from teaching preschoolers. it's an intentional "redirect". it stops children crying and it also stops grown adults from finishing their explanation on why women belong in kitchens. dual wielding!
keep it silly for yourself. i absolutely do not care if people think i'm fucking stupid (it's more fun if they do) and as a result i will purposefully misunderstand things just to see how long it takes them to realize i've completely removed them from the subject at hand. when they say "women aren't funny" i get to be like. "which women." "all women." "all women in america?" "no in the world." "like the mole people? the people in the world?" "what? no. like, alive." "oh are we not counting the mole people?" "what the fuck are you talking about." "you don't believe in the mole people?"
similarly, i play a personal game called "one up me." my Evil Acquaintance literally knows this game exists (my family & friends caught onto it and now also play it) and it always fucking gets him. i don't know why. you have to be willing to be a little free-spirited on this one, though. the trick is that when they make one of those horrible little bigoted or annoying comments they are always making, you need to go one unit weirder. not more intense, mind you - just more weird. "you don't look good in that dress." "yeah, actually, my other dress was covered in squid ink due to a mishap at the soup store." "you shouldn't wear such revealing clothes." "wait, what? oh shit. sorry, your son tears off strips when no one is looking and eats them. i swear it was longer before we left the building."
the point of "one up me" is to completely upend this person's narrative. we both know this person likes setting up situations where you cannot "win" and then they really like telling other people how badly you handled it. in a usual situation, if you respond "please don't say something that rude", you're a bitch. but if you let it happen, you're letting yourself be debased. they are not usually expecting door number three: unflappably odd. because what are they going to say when they're telling everyone how badly you behaved? "she said my son eats her dresses" ".... okay?"
if you can, form an allyship with someone whomst you can tagteam with. where they can pick up on your weird "soup store" story and run with it.
the following phrase is amazing and can be deployed for any situation: "oh, be nice :) it's the holidays!" i do not know why this works as often as it does. i'll say it for the most random shit. i think this is bc most of the time these people know they're being impolite, they just like to fight.
godbless. when in doubt, remember that you could always start stealing their pens.
the whole point of this is - if you can't escape. maybe see how long you can just be. like. a horrible little menace.
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WEEOO WEEOO UPCOMING SKIRT!!!
I have a new skirt design cooking with @mayakern and two slightly different color options test-printed for it!!
If you can't tell the difference, the one on the left has a slightly darker, slightly more emerald green bg, and the one on the right has a slightly lighter, slightly more warm green bg!
I'm very inch rested which version ppl like more, not just visually, but what colors would be nicer as a skirt that you can match outfits with!
and also here's the concept sketch for the skirt. ok thank you pls vote!
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Recently I've been regretting being out. I wish I could take it back. I used to freely talk about my gf and my sexuality, but now I keep it to myself and pray that the people I've told will forget I'm gay. I've never experienced this. I've never been at a point in my life where I've felt comfortable telling someone I'm gay and then wishing I never had. It's usually a one and done deal.
There's this guy at work. I like him. We get along very well. I used to look forward to working with him because I thought he was a lovely man. Suddenly he drops the f slur, and I'm extremely taken aback. Days prior to him dropping the slur, he makes a subtly homophobic comment. I've told him I'm gay. I've told him I have a gf. Now I sorely regret it.
This past Saturday, I'm working with someone I don't usually work with. We get on the topic of people saying slurs. I bring up the fact that this guy says the f slur. The person I'm talking to tries to defend him. He says "I feel like guys don't mean that in a homophobic way. It's more like an insult rather than a slur". I try to argue with him but he doesn't let up. I once again feel very disheartened.
Right now, I'm sitting in my car after a personal training session with a trainer that I get along well with. I've told him I'm gay. Today he tells me he thinks being gay is a choice. He tells me it's the tap water turning people gay. Yea, I know that sounds hilarious, and yes, I did laugh, but he was being serious. Maybe if the incidents I described above weren't so close to this one, I'd feel less strongly about it. Maybe not.
I get on the internet and see people saying that males can be lesbians and females can be gay men. I see women claiming to be lesbians who earnestly say they like dick and that they like fucking men ("cis" men). I see people saying that gay dudes and lesbians fuck and they're both still gay. It seems like nobody realizes that this is extremely homophobic, disrespectful, and nonsensical.
There's no escape. I've been telling people I'm gay since I was thirteen. But maybe I knew better at twelve.
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i'm so so sorry to the people that didn't get to see saltburn in theaters because imo it was truly the best way to watch it
feeding off of the energy of all the other people in a packed theater, it feels SO much more voyeuristic with strangers sitting right next to you in a dark room with all your senses heightened, the soft gasps, the shocked laughs, people mumbling "what the fuck" to their movie partner next to them under their breath, i cannot describe the high i got off of seeing it in theaters
the genuine goosebumps i had from the soundtrack in surround sound, from rosamund's gut-wrenching scream, it is just not the same at home
i feel like if you didn't see it in theaters, it's not fair to give it a terrible review because it is really a completely different experience
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