#he is... so fucking ableist

[yellowocaballero]

Omg hi Ms. Yellow Caballero big fan of your work <3 For real though, I'm really excited that your sharing the Weekenders, it was a joy to read and I'm bongocat-ing now that others also get the privilege to read it as well.

Referencing your tags, would you please elaborate of ableism in fandom and, like you said, how fandom treats characters with unpalatable disabilities?

Hi Ms. Bud Lite I'm a big fan of you <3

TL;DR A fear of writing characters of highly marginalized identities shields you from criticism and discomfort, but it's actively stigmatizing to people of these identities and as a writer you really need to get over yourself and write The Icky People.

I guess I'll come out swinging on this one and say that fandom doesn't like severe mental illness. (As a note, when I say severe mental illness (SMI) I mean illnesses such as psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, substance use disorders, personality disorders, etc)

Obviously, nobody likes people w/SMI. It's just insanely egregious in fandom to me, since fanfic writers absolutely love writing characters or HC characters with depression, anxiety, or a specific variety of PTSD That Isn't Scary. People actively reject any character HCs for a SMI. When people write a character with SMI, they nicely downplay it, ignore it, substitute it for a disorder they like better, or rewrite it. It's completely untolerated, in both headcanons and in fanfiction, and every time I bring it up I always get the most interesting reasons why somebody couldn't possibly acknowledge a character's SMI in their writing. I've heard all of these:

"I don't know enough about the disorder to write it accurately." Do research.

"I'm not X, so I can't really depict it." You probably aren't a cis white man, but you depict those guys just fine.

"It feels insulting to the character." There is no shame in having a SMI.

"I can't understand what it's like, so it's better to be cautious and avoid giving characters stigmatized identities." There are LOTS of experiences that you'll never understand because you've never had them - you just don't want to write anything you're uncomfortable with. People with SMI make you uncomfortable, and you don't want to write anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, or think of a comfort character in an uncomfortable way. SMIs are marginalized differently than solely depression/anxiety/The Nice PTSD, and by refusing to write them you're actively contributing to the stigma.

I think (?) I've spoken in the past about how I believe that the rigorous external and internal policing of writing people of marginalized identities is actively harmful towards efforts to increase diversity of experience and background in fiction. A lot of fanfiction writers are just terrified to write people who they can't directly relate with, because they're worried 'they'll get it wrong' and be Big Cancelled. I think this is negative enough when it prevents people from going outside of their comfort zone, but on a macro level I think this results in people refusing to write characters of marginalized identities as all. It's an insidious thought process, and it's reflected in people's unwillingness to diversity their writing or acknowledge canon diversity.

'Well, I don't understand what it's like to be Black, so I don't want to write Black people'. 'I want to project on this character, so I only want to write them with mental illnesses and identities I have'. 'If I write a marginalized character incorrectly people will yell at me, so I won't write a marginalized character who's marginalized differently than me at all'. Can you imagine writing a lesbian character with a boyfriend because 'you feel uncomfortable writing lesbian experiences'? It's blatantly homophobic. But people do that with disability and race/ethnicity ALL THE TIME.

People with SMI notice that you feel uncomfortable with them. It's obvious. They notice when a character has a SMI + anxiety, and you only write their anxiety. They notice when a character displays symptoms of a SMI in canon, but you write it out. And POC notice when the characters of color are written out. I know we all like to project on the blorbos and relate to them, and in the joys of your own head do whatever, but as a writer if you only stick to identities you're comfortable with you are actively being a worse writer. Which to me is the REAL sin lmfao.

#my asks #thanks for enabling me lizzy if i didn't get this out i would have just vagued for the rest of time #even just beyond all of this on a more subtle lvl. HC people with SMI cowards. just do it. its good for you. #the two times me/a close friend have proposed on a fandom server "hey I read X as having a SUD/being on the schizophrenic spectrum' #there was actual fascinating pushback and rejection #people got MAD. #'blorbo wouldn't be an alcoholic he's not a bad person :(' fuck off #i dont use the word often but its ableism and you can be mentally ill and still ableist #if you dont feel educated enough on something to write it then do research #and while research wont give you everything it's a start #if you feel like you can only write people just like you then frankly? skill issue #i mentioned that the last fic was a bit of a spite fic - well #it was scientifically fascinating how the majority of a fandom wrote/acknowledged a character as depressed and anxious #but actively got incredibly defensive when someone suggested that the psychotic character may have had a psychotic disorder #it was so blatant. very annoying. anyway.

[mangora]

#also platonic gwameron and gwourtney and scourtney were good tbh #and Duncan’s arc would’ve been cool if he didn’t BLOW UP A HOUSE AND GO TO JAIL #also yea Mal’s character is kinda inherently ableist and not well written #but he had potential #and he was funny asf #also I will say this until I die but the twist at the end of Spanish Inquisition was SO GOOD I love that episode sm #Platonic doey was also kinda cute ngl #I don’t hate all stars bc some of the writing was good but some of it is just so astronomically bad and insane too #alex’s td rambles #actually I take it back all stars is the worst season because Svetlana fucking died

[werewolf-transgenderism]

tumblr user miles blackbeardskneebrace is taking the knee brace speculation away from y’all until you learn the basics of how actual real life disabled people use those kinds of mobility aids and quit being ableist about it, oh my god

#like. i do not wear my knee brace 24/7/365 and yet! my knee is still fucked up! #‘we have two (2) shots of ed not wearing the brace so he must not need it!’ killing you with hammers #even if it IS just a mad max costume ref y’all are being WILDLY ableist about it

[gibbearish]

i will say tho as someone with memory issues we can like. talk abt this situation without calling that part into question. if i write something and can't remember/find the source, i Tell people that, i don't act like i came up with it myself. and as he says himself, there is plenty he could have been doing to mitigate those issues, and he didn't. and we can question if he's telling the truth about specific parts without questioning if he actually Has Memory Issues or epilepsy or head trauma, he can have those things and still use it as a convenient excuse to explain away active choices. similar to the suicide attempt i don't feel like this is the kind of thing it's the public's place to stick our noses in when we can criticize him just fine without it

#james somerton #and honestly this is less from a place of 'you shouldnt because its ableist overall' although that is part of it #its mostly coming from 'memory issues are so fucking hard to have because no matter how hard you try people will always #doubt your honesty because of things you forget‚ and that Really Fucking Sucks if you really are telling the truth' #like when you were a kid did you ever get in trouble for something your sibling did and then get in more trouble for 'lying'? #or 'making excuses' when ur like !!!! theyre not excuses its just an explanation #and like. to be clear. that shit was almost 100% excuses. like i said he can have these things for real and Also use it as an excuse #and he was still lying about Many Things #but idk on the off chance that part was true i dont want to be part of turning that around on someone else no matter how much they suck #origibberish

[devouringyourson]

so funny to me that edge lords will watch house md and think he's like their anti political correctness hero who loved offending people or whatever but in reality he was brazenly left wing for america at the time and beloved by an online army of queer people like the media comprehension of the right wing is sooo myopic and wrong half the time

#that man didnt give a fuck yes #and said some ableist misogynist shit #but my god were his actions pretty radical left for the 2000s #also he's diabled and queer so note that down

[thedisablednaturalist]

Oh so my parents are understanding about my otherwise abled autistic brother leaving puke in the sink for the whole day, but god forbid their kid with the degenerative spinal disease and autoimmune disorder has trouble keeping their room free of clutter.

#wrenfea.exe #he fucking threw up scrambled eggs which I have a serious aversion to and have since I was little #so yea im pissed that he didn't clean it up and left it to stink up the shared bathroom #and when I tell him to clean it up my dad says he did the best he could #and my mom starts hounding me about my room #which is cluttered but not disgusting #also! both my brothers rooms ARE disgusting!!! #suddenly IM the evil ableist not being understanding of my brother DEBILTATING disability #he can fucking clean my parents just never expect him to #and never hold him accountable #its so fucked up because it shows me my parents CAN be understanding about disability but only HIS #I should fucking plaster my X-rays around the house #chronic disability #chronic pain #fibromyalgia #degenerative disc disease #chronic illness #disability #spoonie #angry cripple #cripple punk #wrenfea.vent

[crippleddetective]

who has ever said that in the history of ever. what is cruel about wanting our own fucking exclusive space without able-bodied people in it. for someone with blah blah i drink abled tears or whatever the fuck on your profile, you sure do a lot of abled bootlicking.

#cpunk #cripple punk #cripplepunk #this is fucking ridiculous #fuckin ‘anyway you fucking insane people’ are you serious #who has ever swid anything like that #ever #in this community #wanting an exclusive phys disabled only space isnt fucking ableist . go and make your own punk space if you care so much about this. #idc #just because mental illness/disability has physical symptoms does NOT make it a physical problem. #my boyfriend can be bedridden by his depression that doesn’t mean he’s literally physically incapable of moving #in those moments its a mental block not an actual physical block. its still mental #even if it affects him physically its still mental #ykwim #same goes for mental disabilities as a whole #which may i add i have A Multitude of so dont come cruing at me about being an exclusionist #i have Literal Brain Damage do not fucking try me #but. YKWIM #phoenixonwheels

[kdramedies]

Some people really are so dumb and unable to think about anything from another perspective. Just saw some comments about how Min-woo is such a good character because he sees Young-woo as a genuine adversary and therefore is not ableist. Like, yeah he views Young-woo as an adversary, but he bases a lot of his reasoning for why she’s his competition on the fact that she has a disability! Remember the scene from ep 4 when he says he understands that Myung-seok is being lenient with Young-woo because she has ASD?? He believes she’s competition, not only because she is a competent attorney but because he believes she will get preferential treatment because of her disability, which is fucking ableist!!!

#extraordinary attorney woo #Not to mention the language he uses when speaking about Young-woo to others or even just the way that he lets other people ignore her #I saw this on another website but I hate confrontation so I’m ranting on here instead #tumblr people generally seem to understand so far #and to be clear I LIKE minwoo's character #I made a whole post about being excited to see his development #but he's fucking ableist #kwon min woo #kdramedies

[stayatsam]

mages in dragon age are systemically stolen from their families as young as possible, forced against having lovers and children, routinely sexually abused, lobotomized, exceedingly prone to suicide and self harm, and an entire circle can be slaughtered for one person's mistake or on a knight's whim,

but yes Anders is an awful evil villain for blowing up a church of the organization responsible for the treatment lol, after years of protesting peacefully and being hunted down. the series will try to make celene seem empathetic and emotional to reunite with her lover...whose parents she murdered and also committed an act of genocide against elves. oh but every character has to something shitty to say about anders for resorting to violence lol!

#his writer is extremely ableist also and he's one of the worst representation of bipolar disorder ive ever seen #sorry this is a rant but dragon age fumbled mages as an oppressed group so fucking bad and i hate celene #anders romance is a mess also having him guilt trip you into helping him build a bomb is so like. what a bad example of writing a bipolar #person. just atrocious

[scrawnytreedemon]

People are headcanoning Sephiroth as illiterate now. As in. The fucking reason he took so long in that basement was because he had to finger-read every single fucking book.

I'm putting Sheltered Sephiroth on the top shelf until you goons stop veering into outright ableism. For fuck's sake.

#scrawny rambles #ffvii #sephiroth #these people confuse vulnerability with infantilisation so much #it's driving me insane #this has been happening for years but it's hit a peak #i GET wanting to knock seph off his pedestal and make him human like the rest of us #especially after the Sexy Leather Daddy who Does Everything Flawlessly era #but like. This is downright ableist. They didn't say he had dyslexia they said he was *illiterate* #quick question Why the Fuck would ShinRa neglect their top soldier to this degree #reading is VITAL in systems like these you think Sephiroth ISN'T sifting through piles of paperwork on the reg??? #of all the characters to pick this has gotta be one of the worst #i've seen people make similar shitty claims about zack's education #(who is btw another vector for just. Stunning fanon ableism what the fuck) #but in that case even if it were *initially* true #ShinRa would almost certainly have funded the rest #there's a sliding scale of literacy but you NEED at least some to work in fucking *ShinRa* #curse be upon you cris for dropping this on my doorstep 😭😭 #this fandom loves confusing vulnerability with infantilisation. most do but again. What the Fuck. #disk horse #fandom wank

[clowndensation]

do think it's funny that the current roman theories all have to do with him literally fucking people. like i'm not saying it's not possible, the show can do whatever it wants and i trust it'll make sense. but. while there is something oedipally intriguing about the idea of roman replacing his father with another man and then literally fucking him, that doesn't... sound all that likely?

in the wake of "smart people know what they are" it makes significantly more sense to me that he's going to fuck over matsson (who's attempting to buy his father's legacy, and so, his corpse (the company + atn)) and get in deep with mencken as an ally (because the last good conversation he had with his dad was him telling roman that atn and mencken are where roman belongs), and the show is going to continue on it's very consistent path of making all relationships psychologically entangled to a fucked up degree, with no true physical release for anybody.

like. in a show where fucking someone has almost never been literal, i genuinely don't see why they'd stray from the metaphorical now.

#like a lot of people DO seem to be talking about metaphorical romencken fucking but good god #some of you very much are team 'but i don't WANT to watch roman suck mencken's literal actual dick in a real gay way' #which like. i mean 1. some people suck off fascists to cope so. um. that's ableist or whatever. #2. you won't have to? when has fucking someone ever meant Actually Fucking Them to roman roy. #like. i guess his dad dying could make him spiral in a 'start acting on all his repressed impulses' way #but. i will be honest. seems significantly more likely he's going to do his best to be The Best Son He's Ever Been out of reverence #and his dad very much did not want a f****t for a son. so. i think his impulse is going to be NOT to bend for people #literally or figuratively #like i'm kinda classifying some of you in the same category as the 'what if roman dies in the end' people like. i mean he could i guess #but why is that at the forefront of your mind as a Likely Possibility ajlafkjal? #this isn't spn. death isn't really on the table for most people. although it IS like spn in that gay sex is probably not going to happen #it's also like spn in the way that logan is in superhell now. btw. #succession

[bespectacledbun]

oh wow okay. damn. 9:15 in the morning and i’m seeing people be ableist as all fuck about keith and his DID. good fucking gods

#rant.txt #its ok to dislike keith’s personality but the minute you bring up his DID as one of the reasons you dislike him ur just being ableist #full stop #stop fucking demonizing systems and people with DID as being violent and murderous dear lord shiva #i immediately blocked op of the post i was so fucking furious #‘i dislike keith but not because he happens to have DID’ oh be so fucking serious right now #you literally conpared a system to violent and dangerous murderers you piece of shit

[avallachs]

repo! the genetic opera being an extremely anti-capitalist, anti-structure & anti-industrialisation satirical piece becomes incredibly whiplash-inducing with the added context that terrance zdunich, one of the minds behind it, is a massive bigot

#ophelia.txt #like. he’s homophobic. he’s transphobic. he’s ableist. he’s really fucking weird about the age of consent. so all this in mind makes #looking at repo through this lens really. surprising?

[mundanememorize]

i don’t have a better way of saying this but genuinely so glad laois got to beat the shit out of someone for not like getting his autism. does this make sense

#i don’t want to say like being ableist bc i don’t think that was like toshiros intention #because he was like two seconds from losing it in general #but like the unbridled joy i got of reading laois just beat the shit out of someone saying that awful shit YEAAAAAAA #i don’t hate talking things out but i always feel like someone misunderstanding someone’s autism or autistic traits in media is dealt with #in such a like ‘everyone be friends way’ and the autistic party in it is always like yayyy friends which like. isn’t untrue #but idk i just liked it i keep thinking about it. i’ve wanted to that a million times….live my dreams laois you’re so fucking awesome #i like toshiro btw. i like the archetype he is and i like that the first look we get at the ‘reserved prince’ type is him at his wits end #but he should not have been saying that…. #my notes essay. just send it

[hussyknee]

The 1975 saw a festival set cut short in Malaysia after frontman Matty Healy criticised the country’s government for its LGBTQ+ laws, and kissed the band’s bassist on-stage.

During their headlining set at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday July 21, Healy gave a speech calling out the Malaysian government for its hardline stance on gay rights.

“I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it. I don’t see the fucking point, right, I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,” said Healy.

He continued: “I am sorry if that offends you and you’re religious and it’s part of your fucking government, but your government are a bunch of fucking ret**ds and I don’t care anymore. If you push, I am going to push back. I am not in the fucking mood, I’m not in the fucking mood."

Healy later told the crowd that the night would not feature a set of their more “uplifting” material due to his frustration.

“Unfortunately, you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m fucking furious and that’s not fair on you because you’re not representative of your government,” he said. “Because you are young people and I am sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool. So I pulled the show yesterday and we had a conversation and we said ‘You know what? We can’t let these kids down because they’re not the problem’.”

He added: “But, I’ve done this before, I’ve gone to a country where, I don’t know what the fuck it is? Ridiculous. Fucking ridiculous to tell people what they can do with their that and that [points to groin and mouth] and if you want to invite me here to do a show, you can fuck off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before and it doesn’t feel good and I’m fucked off.”

Fan shot footage showed that after his speech, bassist Ross MacDonald walked over to him and then the two began to kiss. After their seventh song, ‘I Couldn’t Be More In Love’, Healy told the crowd that they had to go, claiming the band had “just got banned from Kuala Lumpur”. The 1975 then left the stage.

....

Malaysian law criminalises sexual activity between people of the same sex, with its penal code criminalising “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and acts of “gross indecency”.

This is not the first time Healy has spoken out against anti-LGBTQ laws in another country. In 2019, the singer kissed a male fan during a show in Dubai, defying strict anti-LGBTQ laws in the Arab state.

Footage of the moment showed Healy inviting the fan to hug him, before the pair shared a quick kiss.

Homosexuality is illegal in Dubai and is punishable with up to 10 years in jail.

Posting on Twitter after the show, he wrote: “Thank you Dubai you were so amazing. I don’t think we’ll be allowed back due to my ‘behaviour’ but know that I love you and I wouldn’t have done anything differently given the chance again.”

He added: “But who knows maybe they will let me back in let’s just wait and see."

CAN WE KILL THIS FUCKING GUY YET?? First the "ironic" Nazi salute to "dunk" on fucking Kanye, and now endangering queer people left, right and center?? HE KISSED A MAN ON STAGE IN SAUDI ARABIA AND THEN FUCKED OFF?? Is that poor dude even okay?? Did healy want to make him the target of a hate crime??? To be chased by police???? Now THIS???

He cheated a whole mess of people out of their money and pissed off and embarrassed a super religious conservative country where homosexuality is criminalized ON BEHALF OF "GAY RIGHTS??? Painting a huge target??? On Malaysian queer people??? And then fucked off?? Affecting not only his own fans but the festival staff and organizers, the vendors, the rest of the performers, future shows and festivals??? Because he didn't know what country he was booking shows in??

HUNT KILL STAB DIE MURDER KILL

Edit: He just got the festival shut down entirely. The music festival that was one of the few arenas where young queer people and artists got to express themselves, and a whole lot of poor vendors were depending on for some income. Stories already surfacing about the indie performers in the line-up affected by the shut down, including one musician who was planning for it to be her comeback performance dedicated to her mother after her death. Other concerts already scheduled and paid for the coming days are also now imperiled. All this so he could launder his reputation as a racist antisemite using queer people.

#THE CAUCASITY #I HATE THESE FUCKING WHITE ALLIES #MALAYSIAN QUEER PEOPLE ARENT ENOUGH IN DANGER FOR THIS PRICK??? #Im been so fucking frustrated about the whole ''Matty Healy is Nazi'' thing because no he's an edgelord PRICK #who didn't mind hurting Jews for the chance to ''call out'' Kanye's antisemitism in the most attention-seeking way possible #and then act like he's just a misunderstood progressive #THE FUCKING ENTITLEMENT AND EGOMANIA #FUCK white celebrities like this man #homophobia #tw ableist slur #white allies #white queers #racism #antisemitism #i don't even know what to tag this Im shaking with rage #anti matty healy #white liberals #western leftists #QPoC #malaysia #entertainment #music industry #white privilege #global south #knee of huss

[thedisablednaturalist]

Low support needs Adhd/autism havers are all defenders of the neurodivergent community until Donald Trump says something stupid and then they turn around and say the most awful ableist shit that Donald Trump himself will never see nor hear nor care about. But your so-called allies will. And the violence will hit them, not Trump.

#neurodivergence #neuropunk #madpunk #literally in the fucking comments of every post about donald trump are ableist and fatphobic rhetoric #even by self proclaimed neurodivergents #narcissists deserve solidarity #people with bipolar deserve solidarity #people with psychosis deserve solidarity #and yet they get fucking trampled over to make fun of a horrible person #i dont fucking care if donald trump has mental illness thats not why hes a bad person #hes always been terrible #literally saw someone call him mentally unwell as an insult and a psychotic freak #and i am saying this as someone with adhd #but im also psychotic and physically disabled #so dont fucking accuse me of punching down