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forever-will-last · 17 days

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HEY!! what're your fav cadina fanfics? and do you have any suggestions for new fanfic writers 😭

omg okay so i saw this morning while i was at work and knew this had to wait until i got home to get my FULL attention and then i had to stay at work late so here we go!!! this is LONG so i put it all under the cut!

cadina fic recs (first, some ones from my friends, and then many others i heavily recommend, in no particular order):

Get in, Loser! We're going... to fall in love? - SUPER cute slow burn made by the incredible amazing talented stunning 16Sydd16. Genuinely one of my favorite Cadina fics of all time.

ANYTHING by the Cadina Captain herself, Chisamaya. Maya's been holding down the Cadina fort for YEARS and has 13 INCREDIBLE Cadina fics on her AO3. She's also on Tumblr @chisamayas and posts super cute fanart of Mean Girls and Cadina all the time! My personal favorite fic of hers is Collared (very smutty pet play fic) and I will live and die a Collared stan.

can i come and sweep you off your feet? - super adorable (and angsty at some points, especially for poor regina) fame AU by my very talented friend ninesixtheenths / @girlkisser-wieners on Tumblr! i absolutely also recommend her rugby fic, which is rejanis but is 10/10.

(mean girls) series by anonymous - this is from another friend of mine who posts these anonymously instead of tying them to her account. there are SO MANY good ones in here (12 at time of writing this) including a soulmates au, a superhero au, and some GREAT character studies of both regina and cady. there are a few rejanis fics in this series too but they're all phenomenal.

okay onto fics that aren't from my friends but i heavily recommend, in no particular order:

Mirror Me Back - okay i know i said no particular order but this one's a lie. if you haven't read MMB yet, stop what you're doing and read it right now. it's very smut heavy, however, this is genuinely the fic that got me into writing for this fandom and it is one of the best fics i've ever read across any fandom. every day i perform rituals for an update /j

On Predators and Pack Dynamics - omegaverse fic that is genuinely incredible. obviously very smut heavy but i love the characterization of them here and i also often pray for updates on this one.

if i could tell her (how she's everything to me) - role reversal & arts high school AU from 2020 where cady is the popular one and regina is a little socially awkward. very cute, very sweet, very fun.

Pretty Girls - mean girls 2024 rewrite where cady and regina were anonymous pen pals before cady moved to evanston. really loved this one!! one of the first i read in the tag.

To You, I Can Admit That I'm Just Too Soft for All of It - grad school au that i absolutely LOVE. the chapters are unordered snippets but they are so cute and fun. the author also does some social media stuff with it, i believe on tumblr, so it's a cute little tie in!!

you would find her in a polaroid picture - SUPER good college au!! genuinely recommend anything this author writes tbh i adore their stuff!!

i choose you and me, religiously - once again recommending anything this author writes as well. SO talented. this one is a slow burn idiots in love au and it's just. chef's kiss. muah. i love it.

to answer the other part of your question, about the writing advice, my genuine main piece of advice is to just keep writing. even if it's stuff you don't intend to publish, or a half-baked idea. write drabbles for yourself and just let the words get on the page. i used to publish in a different fandom circa 2017-2019 and hadn't published in YEARS until i started writing a thousand pictures (well, really, don't look for me, but ya know, this all REALLY took off with a thousand pictures). despite the fact that i haven't published in a very long time i never really stopped writing. my google drive is full of folders of assorted drabbles of self indulgent bullshit. snippets from other fandoms, self insert scenarios, some original ideas that with a lot more cooking, could potentially be novel worthy one day. (i am a LONG ways off from that though lol)

my point is, publishing fic can be daunting. even writing coherent or long enough fic to make a cohesive story can be daunting at first. it's better to write for yourself and get the practice of writing even just singular or small series of scenes if you aren't ready for a full fic yet. writing should be fun! make sure you're having fun doing it and trying not to stress the details too much!

if you have any other questions about writing please feel free to ask!! i love talking about my process and stuff and am always willing to share gjsnkgng

#ask

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april-is · 1 year

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April 29, 2023: June, Alex Dimitrov

June Alex Dimitrov

There will never be more of summer than there is now. Walking alone through Union Square I am carrying flowers and the first rosé to a party where I’m expected. It’s Sunday and the trains run on time but today death feels so far, it’s impossible to go underground. I would like to say something to everyone I see (an entire city) but I’m unsure what it is yet. Each time I leave my apartment there’s at least one person crying, reading, or shouting after a stranger anywhere along my commute. It’s possible to be happy alone, I say out loud and to no one so it’s obvious, and now here in the middle of this poem. Rarely have I felt more charmed than on Ninth Street, watching a woman stop in the middle of the sidewalk to pull up her hair like it’s an emergency—and it is. People do know they’re alive. They hardly know what to do with themselves. I almost want to invite her with me but I’ve passed and yes it’d be crazy like trying to be a poet, trying to be anyone here. How do you continue to love New York, my friend who left for California asks me. It’s awful in the summer and winter, and spring and fall last maybe two weeks. This is true. It’s all true, of course, like my preference for difficult men which I had until recently because at last, for one summer the only difficulty I’m willing to imagine is walking through this first humid day with my hands full, not at all peaceful but entirely possible and real.

(June is my birthday month and also the best month. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.)

More like this: » Steps, Frank O'Hara » After Work, Richard Jones » Dolores Park, Keetje Kuipers » Awaking in New York, Maya Angelou » A Step Away From Them, Frank O'Hara

Today in:

2022: Poem to My Child, If Ever You Shall Be, Ross Gay 2021: Choi Jeong Min, Franny Choi 2020: Earl, Louis Jenkins 2019: Kul, Fatimah Asghar 2018: My Life Was the Size of My Life, Jane Hirshfield 2017: I Would Ask You To Reconsider The Idea That Things Are As Bad As They’ve Ever Been, Hanif Abdurraqib 2016: Tired, Langston Hughes 2015: Democracy, Langston Hughes 2014: Postscript, Seamus Heaney 2013: The Ghost of Frank O’Hara, John Yohe 2012: All Objects Reveal Something About the Body, Catie Rosemurgy 2011: Prayer, Marie Howe 2010: The Talker, Chelsea Rathburn 2009: There Are Many Theories About What Happened, John Gallagher 2008: bon bon il est un pays, Samuel Beckett 2007: Root root root for the home team, Bob Hicok 2006: Fever 103°, Sylvia Plath 2005: King Lear Considers What He’s Wrought, Melissa Kirsch

#summer #poetry #city life #nyc #poem #alex dimitrov

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strawberrybyers · 5 months

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for the past few years i’ve been keeping track of every film i watch for the first time ever throughout the year. in 2023, i watched the most amount i have documented so far! out of those 132 films—i wanted to share some of my favorites <3

1. aftersun (2022) dir. charlotte wells

2. the bling ring (2013) dir. sofia coppola

3. king richard (2021) dir. reinaldo marcus green

4. the whale (2022) dir. darren aronofsky

5. nine days (2020) dir. edson oda

6. air (2023) dir. ben affleck

7. top gun: maverick (2022) dir. joseph kosinski

8. glass onion (2022) dir. rian johnson

9. take care of maya (2023) dir. henry roosevelt

10. the king’s speech (2010) dir. tom hopper

11. girl in the picture (2022) dir. skye borgman

12. green room (2015) dir. jeremy saulnier

13. pulp fiction (1994) dir. quentin tarantino

14. red, white & royal blue (2023) dir. matthew lópez

15. boys don’t cry (1999) dir. kimberly pierce

16. scream vi (2023) dir. matt bettinelli-olpin & tyler gillett

17. the menu (2022) dir. mark mylod

18. the quiet girl (2022) dir. colm bairéad

19. barbie (2023) dir. greta gerwig

20. interstellar (2014) dir. christopher nolan

21. the super mario bros. movie (2023) dir. michael jelenic & aaron horvath

22. the craft (1996) dir. andrew fleming

23. bones and all (2022) dir. luca guadagnino

24. bullet train (2022) dir. david leitch

25. when harry met sally… (1989) dir. rob reiner

26. pearl (2022) dir. ti west

27. molly’s game (2017) dir. aaron sorkin

28. pain hustlers (2023) dir. david yates

29. elemental (2023) dir. peter sohn

30. nyad (2023) dir. elizabeth chai vasarhelyi & jimmy chin

31. the other zoey (2023) dir. sara zandieh

32. oppenheimer (2023) dir. christopher nolan

33. eloise at christmastime (2003) dir. kevin lima

34. leave the world behind (2023) dir. sam esmail

35. tinker bell (2008) dir. bradley raymond

36. prayers for bobby (2009) dir. russell mulcahy

37. little women (1994) dir. gillian armstrong

38. saltburn (2023) dir. emerald fennell

39. candy cane lane (2023) dir. reginald hudlin

40. the grinch (2018) dir. scott mosier & yarrow cheney

41. a season for miracles (1999) dir. michael pressman

42. bottoms (2023) dir. emma seligman

(these are ranked in the order that i watched them)

full list of films i watched in 2023 on my letterboxd

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tallonstyles · 5 months

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Hi!! I wrote a little thing!! If you wanted read it and give me feedback that would be greatly appreciated!🤍 (also should I turn this into real story and upload on wattpad??)

(Also sorry this has nothing to do with Harry or Taylor!! I’ll stop bugging you now!😁)

Here’s a little cast to help you see how I picture everyone!!

matthew davis as Austin Moore.

Sydney Sweeney as Taylor Wright.

Maya Hawke as Cherry Levi

In Taylor’s first year of college. day of Austin’s and Taylor’s first date 2017

“Oooo!” My best friend Cherry squealed. “Why are you so dressed up?!” I laughed at her reaction to me walking into our English literature class where our patient professor was waiting.

“What! It’s just a top and pants!?” I defended myself.

“It’s not just a top and pants,” Cherry dramatically said as I sat down in the empty seat next to her. She always sat at the front of the class. “it’s your favorite top and pants!” I smiled at her. Cherry and I have been friends for a little over 10 years, we knew each other better than we knew ourselves.

“Well, since you noticed, Austin Moore asked me out, and we're going on a date tonight!” I told her. Her jaw dropped in shock.

“You… Omg!” She threw herself off the chair she was sitting on and onto me wrapping her arms around my neck.

“Cherry” I squeaked, grabbing her arms. “You’re suffocating me.” Yet she did nothing but squeeze me harder. “Charlene” I said her full name getting her attention. She hated being called by her full name so I knew this would get her to release her grip.

“Yes?” She stated, placing her hands on her hip. She now stood tall in front of me. I took a deep breath refilling my lungs with oxygen.

“You were suffocating me.” I began glazing past her eyes, falling into my negative thoughts once again. It’s no doubt that everyone has worries and insecurities when getting into a relationship. For me, I tend to think that my significant other won’t understand the wants and needs I want for my future, or we might agree to disagree on real-life decisions as the relationship becomes more serious.

“Hey?” Cherry’s smile dropped as she noticed my change in demeanor. “Are you ok…?”

“Can we have a girl-to-girl talk, Cherry?”

“That’s what I’m always here for, Taylor. After all, you’re my best friend, so let’s talk.” She’s right. And seeking advice from someone I trust the most will help me more than I know.

“I’m scared,” I told her. It wasn’t that I was scared of Austin, it was more I feared what could happen between us. “you know how all of my past relationships have gone…” I referenced the two other men I’ve dated. One of them cheated on me, and the other lied to me about a lot of things.

“Tay, just because those two didn’t work out, doesn’t mean this one won’t” she reassured me.

I nodded knowing she was right. I always let the bad thoughts get the best of me, it was something I struggled with. As much as I wanted to get into a relationship, my past kept holding me back.

[***]

“So!? What happened? I want to know everything that happened!” My best friend eagerly asked me as she jumped onto her bed In our shared dorm. I had just walked through the door, and she already wanted to know everything. I threw my Gucci bag onto the floor right next to my closet door, which was right next to our dorm's door considering we had a rather small dormitory. I went straight to my pajama drawer in my closet. I picked out an oversized Rolling Stones graphic tee and grey sweatpants.

“You would not believe-” I began as I stripped from the loose black dress I had on. I had changed into something nice before I had to meet Austin. Cherry had obviously helped pick the dress. I quickly threw on the t-shirt and sweatpants I had picked out moments before. “Cherry, he is the sweetest man I’ve ever meet”

“See! What did I say!? Not every man is a horrible liar!” she bubbled in excitement. She quickly scooted over to the left end of her bed and patted the empty spot next to her. I pranced over to her nice and neat bed; unlike me, Cherry enjoyed having a nice clean room and a made bed. I have always struggled with making my bed and cleaning my room. Guess that’s what happens when you have a maid who does it for you. “Tell. Me. Everything.”

I giggled, beginning to tell her how Austin took me to an gorgeous Italian restaurant, and how he would actually take the time to ask about me and not just talk about himself. He was such a gentleman, not letting me pay even though I could very much afford the cost of all the food we got and making sure I was happy at all times we were together. And of course I had mentioned how good he looked.

“Taylor! He’s perfect! He’s nothing like Tyler or Miles,” Cherry maintained as I cringed from the names.

I smiled brightly at her. Maybe he could be the one I thought to myself.

Book: Beautiful disaster

[***] at college graduation

“Hey blondie!” I joked as I stood next to my boyfriend. I had spent over 10 minutes trying to look for him in this huge crowd of newly graduated students. He interlocked his large hand with my small little one. He lifted my single hand above my head and twirled me as if I was a princess. Our eyes met, both of us couldn’t help but smile. He cupped my cheeks then softly kissed my lips. It was sweet and gentle.

“Congratulations baby,” He whispered, pulling away from the kiss. I pulled him into a hug.

“We did it Austin, we graduated.” I was always the type of person to say

“I'm going to drop out of college” only because I hated school so getting through college and graduating was a big step for me.

“How about,” Austin began, untangling himself from our hug and taking my hand once again. He began walking us towards where his parents were “we go have a nice dinner? you know to celebrate us graduating ?” He asked me, hinting at the fact that he knew I wanted to drop out.

“Or…” i dragged on the word “what if we just went to my house, ordered pizza and watched a movie?” I could tell by the way his movements slowed down for a second that he was quite taken back by what I wanted. It caused me to let out a little laugh. “I’m just so, so tired.” I complained, grabbing his arm and pulling on it saying “pleaseee” without actually saying it.

“Fine but only because I love you” he gave in as we reached his parents.

“Who’s ready for pictures!” Austin mom squealed, pulling her phone out of her luxurious bag. Loud groans both left me and Austin

I feel so comfortable, I thought to myself. I was currently in my movie theater watching Indignation, cuddled up in Austin’s arms. Completely lost in the movie, my body jumped as Austin’s voice interrupted my calm state of mind.

“What do you think our first kid will be? A boy or a girl? Something’s telling me it’s gonna be a girl.”

Okay, no. Just no. No way he’s randomly bringing this up right now. In the span of 10 seconds of me standing silently still, frozen in his arms, every reckoning thought circulates and rushes through my brain.

Complete, utter shock filled in each and every one of my bones. I mean, this came out of nowhere. I wasn’t expecting him to blurt out this serious question, I thought we were just going to watch a movie and call it a night.

Madness formed inside of me. I mean, how does he get to dictate my life, my future? Isn’t it supposed to be your significant other asking what you personally want for your future?

Anxiety came crippling down on me. I don’t want this future and he thinks I do. So what will the status of our relationship mean now?

And yes, every single one of these thoughts happened in only 10 seconds.

Austin grabbed my attention as if I was coming out of a thirty-minute trance. “Are you okay? Did I do something?”

Uh, you think???

“Austin, I love you . I really do. But we just graduated” I pleaded. He looked at me with a confused expression, almost as if he was shocked by the fact I wasn’t on the same page as him.

“What? You don’t want a mini you running around our home?” He asked me, bringing up another recent conversation we had; buying a house.

A chill ran down my spine at the thought of having a miniature version of me or Austin.

“Austin, don’t you wanna enjoy life a little longer? Get out, Travel the world? Make new friends.”

“Of course I do Tay,” he whispered, taking a hold of my hand and fiddling with my fingers . “But we can still do that with a family. It doesn’t need to be just us to still enjoy the wonders of the world”

“Yea, I know. But do you know how much harder doing that with a would be?” I queried. Of course I wanted to have a family with Austin, but not yet.

[***] 6 months after graduation

I had never thought I would be the one to end a relationship with someone who I have spent years devoting my time and love to.

“Taylor!” My mom called to me from the bottom of our stairs. I was in my bedroom getting ready for my last date with my boyfriend of 5 years, Austin. “Your boyfriend is going to be here soon.” Mom’s voice echoed through the empty hall of my large house.

“Ok, just one more second!” I yelled back to her. I took one last look in the full length mirror next to my unmade bed. My curled hair framed my face perfectly, and I had put on some light makeup since I didn’t want to overdo it. I was wearing a gorgeous, navy blue maxi dress from Chanel, and I paired the dress with black pumps. Feeling confident, I made my way downstairs towards the front door where I saw Austin. Suddenly, all the confidence seemed to drain from my body. I walked over to my front door where Austin was.

“You look gorgeous,” he whispered to me, pulling me into a hug. I gave him an awkward laugh back.

“Thanks.” He grabbed my hand and began to pull me outside to his car. I looked at our hands like we had never held hands before. I hope he couldn’t feel how much my hands were sweating.

“Taylor, don’t forget to give your mother a hug.” My mom gestured, almost as if she had to say something. I gave Austin a weak smile, apologizing for my mom. He nodded at me, telling me he understood. Yet after 5 years of us being together, I still felt bad for him having to wait when my parents would force me to hug them before I left our house. She had a huge smile plastered across her face as she opened her arms wide for me and grasped me in a huge bear hug. She whispered into my ear, “Stop being so awkward. He’s going to catch on to you wanting to break up with him before you even get the chance to tell him.” I nodded into her shoulder, letting her know I understood her. Since my mom said that, it felt like my anxiety level rose 10 times. Uncomfortably, I walked back over to where Austin was and we went out to his car heading our way to dinner.

“This place is amazing!” I told Austin, looking at a fairly empty restaurant. I suddenly felt a sense of guilt coming over me, knowing that I had to break Austin’s heart. I kept trying to figure out the right way to tell him that I felt we should no longer be together. My brain was stumbling over random words and phrases that I could use to break the news to him. Hey Austin, I think we should break up-. No. I’m getting to the point quickly. It’s not you, it’s me. He would definitely think it’s his fault. We are ju-. Suddenly I heard a voice pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Taylor!” Austin said, interrupting my train of thought. “Hey,” he began. He gently placed his hand on top of mine. “Are you feeling ok? You haven’t been acting like yourself tonight.”

“Yea, I’m okay. I’m just hungry. That's all.” I smiled trying to reassure him.

“Ok, I’m just making sure.” he told me.

The dreaded time had finally arrived. After an amazing dinner, Austin and I had decided to go for a walk around the park right outside the restaurant.

“Thank you for dinner.” I cooed. He laughed a little before interlocking hands with me, causing me to look up at him. He looked at me as our eyes met like I was the only girl in the world...like I was the only thing that mattered to him. You're only making this harder for me!

“Anything for you, Taylor.” I let go of his hands knowing this is when I had to tell him, I needed to do this.

“Austin” I said as a cold sweat took over my body.

“Mhm, what’s up?” He replied quickly.

“I think we should talk. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you” I mumbled. He nodded in response. I awkwardly connected my hands together in front of me. “I- I don’t-” I fumbled with my words. Do it Taylor, you need to do this. “I don’t think we should see each other anymore” I huffed, blowing a large puff of air out my mouth. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until now.

“You … what?” He faltered.

“Listen Austin, these past 5 years have been nothing but amazing,” I began explaining myself. I grabbed both of his hands and stood in front of him. “This was a hard decision, really.” He looked at me with such sadness.

“Then why do you wanna breakup?” He asked, very confused.

“We both want different things in life right now.” I told him, trying my best to stay strong. I was one of those people who cried during breakup scenes in movies, so experiencing this in real life was definitely a hard task.

“What do you mean “we both want different things?” He mumbled.

“Well, like you said the other day ‘you wanted to get married and have a family’ and Austin I'm just not ready for that!” I said getting louder at the end of my sentence.

“Ok then. If that is what you want to do Taylor, then that’s fine. But I can’t say that I’m not upset because I thought we had something more. I only brought up marriage because it's what I thought would be best for us. To finalize our relationship,” he admitted to me. I didn’t know what to say. What was best for us?

“But see, that’s where you're wrong. I don’t want marriage. I don’t want kids. I don’t want any of that. At least not yet.” Then there was silence which left us feeling more confused than ever. It was like neither of us knew what to say and I mean, there really was nothing to say. I let go of his hands and took a step back from him, “I think we could work if we could just both agree on something. But let's be honest, we both know that won’t happen. So I think the best thing for us is to split up.” I said in a quiet tone, almost a whisper. “Just know I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t love you. I don’t want you to be upset because I don’t want the Same things as you.” I consoled him and grabbed hold of his hands once again. “Austin, go find the girl who wants that. The girl who wants to have kids, get married, the girl who wants to be with you till you're grey and old. Because Austin, that's not me.” I finalized everything I had been thinking over the past couple of days. I stared into his eyes for the last couple of moments, knowing that both our hearts were broken. Slowly, I let go of his hands again, just like how I was letting go of all hope. But this…this could be the new ending that is truly what’s best for us.

[***] 1 month after the breakup

December 1, 2023

Dear diary, It’s been a little over a month since I broke up with Austin. I had to flip to a new page in our calendar. The calendar that Austin got me for Valentine’s Day, the one that had a different photo of us for each month. December was the picture from when we went snowboarding in Idaho. I felt my heart ache at the image from our past. But I told myself that it was for the best knowing that neither of us would be unhappy with the other's decision. Lately I have been trying to get on a journey to find my inner self again; I’ve been hanging out with Cherry more often, trying to bring back the friendship we once had. I’ve also been going for walks outside more often, I had never really noticed how beautiful the world was. Like how the leaves would dance with the wind or how the sky would be painted with all sorts of colors when the bright Florida sun would set. You really take in the small things when you're feeling like a small thing. And I found that it’s ok to be feeling small, like you are just a fish in the ocean, or just like a star in space because in all honesty you are. You are just a person in this large world, as am I. And that’s okay.

December 1, 2023

Dear diary, Life’s good. I found myself a new girlfriend who wants to get married and have kids. Her name is Daniella, and she’s one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen. Call me crazy but I think she’s the one. So this Friday once we get to her family’s house down in Arizona I’m gonna pop the question; I’m gonna ask her to marry me. Yes, it might be early but when you know it meant to be you know.

#wattpad #harry styles #taylor swift #writing #writers on tumblr #story

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samasmith23 · 5 months

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Sigh... as wonderfully awesome as Jeremy Whitley's run on Unstoppable Wasp is, these referential jokes in particular have tragically not aged well due to then-unforeseen real-world events.

Blame a certain once-beloved children’s author who decided to go full-fledged mask-off TERF... (Unstoppable Wasp was written between 2017 & 2018, while JKR's transphobia wasn't widely known by the general public until December 2019 when she publicly defended fellow TERF scumbag Maya Forestarter).

And @jeremywhitley himself actually agreed with me on this back when I still used to be on Twitter (aka, from BEFORE Elon Musk took over the website):

Well on the bright side at least, the reference to The Empire Strikes Back and visual parallels with the dancing-robot episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion serve as an awersome counterbalance!

From The Unstoppable Wasp (2017) #1 by Jeremy Whitley & Elsa Charreiter.

#unstoppable wasp #nadia van dyne #wasp #agent of g.i.r.l.#screw jkr #jk rowling is a terf #jk rowling is a transphobe #star wars the empire strikes back #neon genesis evangelion #pop culture references #jeremy whitley #elsa charretier #marvel comics

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ukrfeminism · 2 years

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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jk-rowling-nicola-sturgeon-is-deaf-to-women-s-concerns-over-gender-id-tn03x6gjv

Just over a week ago, I posted a picture of myself wearing a T-shirt printed with the words “Nicola Sturgeon: Destroyer of Women’s Rights” on Twitter. I did this to show my solidarity with women who were protesting outside the Scottish parliament against the proposed Gender Recognition Act reform bill.

Some of the women, like Maya Forstater and Helen Joyce, have public profiles, but most of the women protesting do not. They also knew they might be taking a risk in demonstrating. It takes guts for Scottish women to stand up for their rights these days — not, I should emphasise, anywhere near the same guts as Iranian women are currently displaying, but guts nonetheless. They risk being targeted by activists, police complaints being made against them and even the threat of a spell in jail for posting what are seen as “transphobic” comments or images by their complainants.

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, believes the protesters outside parliament on October 6 have nothing to complain about. The woman who calls herself a “real feminist” said to the BBC that her proposed new Gender Recognition Act “doesn’t give any additional rights to trans people nor does it take any rights away from women”.

I disagree. So, to name just a few who were also protesting that day, do Rhona Hotchkiss, the retired prison governor with a Masters in Law and a qualification in Research Methodology; Isabelle Kerr, former manager of Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis Centre, who was awarded an MBE for her international work helping rape and sexual assault victims; all-female independent policy analysis collective Murray Blackburn Mackenzie; and For Women Scotland, a grassroots feminist group that has emerged as a leading voice for Scottish women over the last few years.

If Sturgeon’s new act passes into law, a person will be able to change their legal gender as long as they’ve lived in their acquired gender for three months, and made a statutory declaration that they intend to keep doing so. Remarkably, nobody seems able to explain what living in an acquired gender actually means, so how those granting certificates can judge whether the criteria has been met is anyone’s guess.

Under the current act, those who wish to change their gender need a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, ie, persistent distress and discomfort with their natal sex. However, all medical gatekeeping has been removed from Sturgeon’s revised bill. I presume this is in response to the strong push from the trans activist lobby to “depathologise” trans identities. The argument is that trans people aren’t mentally ill: being trans is as natural as being gay. As Rachel Cohen, campaigns director of Stonewall wrote in 2017: “Being trans is not about ‘sex changes’ or clothes, it’s about an innate sense of self.” You may ask how anyone can assess the authenticity of somebody else’s “innate sense of self”. I haven’t a clue.

Soon, then, in Scotland, it may be easier to change the sex on your birth certificate than it is to change it on your passport. In consequence, intact males who’re judged to have met the meagre requirements will be considered as “valid” and entitled to protections as those who’ve had full sex reassignment surgery, and more male-bodied individuals will assert more strongly a right to be in women’s spaces such as public bathrooms, changing rooms, rape support centres, domestic violence refuges, hospital wards and prison cells that were hitherto reserved for women.

In 2019, The Sunday Times made a freedom of information request to the Ministry of Justice that revealed almost 90 per cent of sexual offences committed in changing rooms happened in those that are unisex. Nevertheless, Sturgeon loftily dismisses anyone who fears her new legislation could be wide open to abuse. “It is men who attack women [feminists should worry about] and we need to focus on that, not on further stigmatising and discriminating against a tiny group in our society that is already one of the most stigmatised.”

In saying this, Sturgeon is employing no fewer than three arguments beloved of trans activists.

The first is that trans women are extremely vulnerable, far more so than biological women. This is in spite of the fact that no trans woman has been murdered in Scotland to date, whereas 112 women were murdered by men in Scotland between 2009 and 2019.

The second argument is that men who transition, uniquely among all other categories of those born male, never harm women. Yet there is no evidence to show that trans women don’t retain male patterns of criminality. According to Jo Phoenix, Professor of Criminology at the University of Reading: “Sex is the single strongest predictor of criminality and criminalisation. Since criminal statistics were first collected (in the mid 1850s) males make up around 80 per cent of those arrested, prosecuted and convicted of crime. Violent crime is mostly committed by males . . . This remains the case regardless of stated gender identity.” The Ministry of Justice’s own figures show that there are proportionately more trans-identified men in prison for sexual offences than among incarcerated males taken as a whole.

The third argument Sturgeon uses is that it’s transphobic to suggest any man would fraudulently claim a female identity. This claim is extraordinary. Nobody but the very naive can fail to be aware that predatory men are capable of going to great lengths to gain easy access to victims, and have often sought out professions or special status that offer camouflage for their activities. Sex offenders have historically been found among social workers, teachers, priests, doctors, babysitters, school caretakers, celebrities and charity fundraisers, yet no matter how often the scandals break, the lesson appears never to be learned: it is dangerous to assert that any category of people deserves a blanket presumption of innocence. Incidentally, it seems that prison is the perfect space in which to discover your innate sense of self: half of Scottish prisoners currently claiming a trans identity only did so after conviction.

This shouldn’t need saying, but in the current climate, it does: literally no feminist I’ve ever met claims all trans women are predators, any more than we believe that all men are predators. As I’ve already stated publicly, I believe that some trans people are truly vulnerable. That, though, is not the point.

I’ve spent much of the past 25 years campaigning for and funding initiatives to help women and children. These have included projects for female prisoners, campaigns for the rights of single mothers, the funding of safe spaces for victims of rape and male violence, and the fight to end child institutionalisation. I’ve also learned a huge amount about safeguarding from experts, both in relation to vulnerable children placed in institutions, who’re often abused or trafficked, and in the context of sexually abused women.

I say all this to make it clear that concern for women’s and children’s safety isn’t something I’m pretending to be interested in to mask a deep hostility to trans people. The question for me and all the feminists I know is, how do we make trans people safe without making women and girls less safe?

One of the most damning things I’ve heard about the consultation process for Sturgeon’s new bill is this: Murray Blackburn Mackenzie identified five female survivors of male violence who were prepared to meet with the committee and explain what had happened to them, the severe impact it had upon their lives, and why they fear the government is making it easier for violent or predatory men to get access to women and girls. The committee declined to meet the survivors, telling them to put their concerns in writing. Susan Smith, one of For Women Scotland’s founders, told me: “These women were prepared to parade their trauma and were rebuffed.” The committee did, however, find time to meet 17 trans-identified individuals.

In 1983 Andrea Dworkin wrote: “No matter how often these stories are told, with whatever clarity or eloquence, bitterness or sorrow, they might as well have been whispered in wind or written in sand: they disappear, as if they were nothing. The tellers and the stories are ignored or ridiculed, threatened back into silence or destroyed, and the experience of female suffering is buried in cultural invisibility and contempt . . . the very reality of abuse sustained by women, despite its overwhelming pervasiveness and constancy, is negated.”

Nearly 40 years later, Rhona Hotchkiss says that vulnerable women in Scotland are being told “their concerns, their fears, their despair, must take second place to the feelings of men who identify as women. Politicians who say there is no clash of rights have no idea about the lives of women in situations they will never face.”

Rarely in politics is it easy to draw a direct line from a single policy decision to the harm it’s done, but in this case, it will be simple. If any woman or girl suffers voyeurism, sexual harassment, assault or rape in consequence of the Scottish government’s lax new rules, the blame will rest squarely with those at Holyrood who ignored safeguarding experts and women’s campaigners.

And nobody should be held to higher account than the first minister, the “real feminist” who’s riding roughshod over the rights of women and girls.

• A new poll shows Nicola Sturgeon is out of step with Scottish voters over her proposed gender recognition law (Jason Allardyce writes).

A Panelbase survey of 1,018 voters for The Sunday Times suggests her plans command little public support – even among SNP supporters – and that opposition is growing as people have become more engaged with the debate.

The poll, conducted on October 7-11, found 62 per cent opposed to reducing the age at which people can change gender from 18 to 16, with just 19 per cent in favour while a further 19 per cent didn’t know. Among SNP voters, only 26 per cent backed Sturgeon on the age issue, while 52 per cent were opposed and 22 per cent didn’t know.

Just a quarter of the voters polled (25 per cent) back the plan to cut the time required to change gender from two years to three months plus a three month-reflection period, while it is opposed by 50 per cent and 24 per cent don’t know. More voters oppose than support the proposed removal of the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria (39 per cent v 26 per cent).

The poll follows claims that some young people who change gender are pushed down a medical route and may benefit from better counselling to establish whether gender change is right for them.

A Scottish government spokesman said: “Our support for trans rights does not conflict with our continued strong commitment to uphold the rights and protections that women and girls currently have under the 2010 Equality Act, which includes a number of exceptions which allow for trans people to be excluded when this is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

“Those exceptions are important and the Scottish government supports them. The Gender Recognition Reform Bill does not make changes to Equality Act or to those exceptions.”

Q&A

How does the existing Gender Recognition Act work? Under the 2004 law, a trans person can apply for a gender recognition certificate (GRC), which recognises their acquired gender under the eyes of the law. They can then obtain a birth certificate with their recognised legal sex.

What does the Scottish government want to change? It plans to end the requirement for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, reduce the minimum age of application from 18 to 16 and let people obtain a GRC after living in their acquired gender for three months and a further three-month “reflection” period. Applicants would make a statutory declaration that they intend to live the rest of their lives in their acquired gender, with false declarations a criminal offence punishable with up to two years’ imprisonment.

How many people are expected to change gender? More than 6,000 GRCs have been granted across the UK to date, with an estimated 25-30 in Scotland each year. Based on Ireland’s experience, ministers expect 250-300 applicants a year.

What are the main arguments for reform? Ministers say the current system is “intrusive”, “distressing” and “unnecessary”, denying trans people the right to live and die in their true gender.

And the main arguments against change? Opponents believe vulnerable women will be placed at risk, with trans people with male anatomy gaining access to women-only spaces including changing rooms, public toilets, prisons and refuges. There is concern that some people with trauma, depression or other conditions could be pushed down the route of irreversible medical transitioning from an early age when counselling about their needs would be better.

Can the plans be stopped? A majority of MSPs are expected to vote in favour of the new legislation, with backing from SNP, Labour, Green and Lib Dem ranks while Conservatives are expected to vote against. The strength of public opposition, including among SNP voters, could lead to elements being watered down.

#The link isn’t inserting properly - my apologies

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vensulove · 6 months

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i ended up barely watching anything in my quarantine bc honestly I felt so bad I just slept the entire time! what I did end up watching was weird horror movies and some documentaries so here are my reviews lol!

would you rather (2012): watched on Hulu. has the least amount of plot possible in order to set up the game. I saw a review calling this torture porn but honestly it was pretty mild compared to some of the stuff I’ve seen. it’s like saw’s kid cousin twice removed by marriage. went by pretty quickly. sad ending. ⭐️⭐️

the menu (2022): so….I get that there was supposed to be like a big social commentary on something but I watched this like day 2 of Covid and just did Not get it. Anya Taylor joy is gorgeous though and such a good actress. Cult vibes. The one time I thought there was going to be cannibalism in something and there actually wasn’t 🤷🏼‍♀️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cadaver (2020): watched on Netflix. feel like it has a strong premise, plenty of intrigue, but lacked execution. Definitely did not keep my attention. post apocalyptic cult vibes. I saw the twist coming from 10 miles away like cmon guys 🙄 could have been 30 min shorter and would have lost no plot ⭐️

The ritual (2017): watched on Netflix. Sweden is just full of folklore spookiness isn’t it? 4 idiot men get themselves lost in the middle of the forest and end up being hunted by a creature. ended up being a pretty solid horror movie. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

take care of maya (2023): watched on Netflix. very sad. lots to think about as I can see both sides of the story and understand why each side did what they did, even if they went about it the wrong way and handled it horribly

Eli(2019): watched on Netflix. definitely did not go the way I thought it was gonna go. should have just kept it a normal ghost movie 🙄 ⭐️⭐️ 1/2 because the ending was stupid and ruined the whole movie but up until that point I was really enjoying it :(

Escaping twin flames (2023): watched on Netflix. Literally insane like?????????? The couple running this are bonkers and it’s crazy that they’re denying all these allegations whenever there’s literally video proof of them…proving the allegations

#personal

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fioras-resolve · 1 year

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it is kind of amazing, a lot of the most passionate ace attorney fans i see these days have gotten into it fairly recently, like after the series basically finished. the modern ace attorney fandom is largely a better one than what i saw back when the 3DS was the hot new thing.

maybe it's a different experience getting into the series now because the games are all out. i got into this series a decade ago when the original trilogy came out on the WII, so while i did have the entire DS era to appreciate, i had to experience dual destinies, spirit of justice, and the layton crossover as they came out, and they kind of had to stand as their own experiences. while the layton crossover came out in japan in 2012, we in the states had to wait another two years, after dual destinies came out.

and to me both of these games were like? fine? you know i had a fun time with them, and they're not bad mysteries, but they also didn't make me feel the way the original trilogy did. i played apollo justice back in 2012, then waited a year to find out its themes would get undermined in the next game. it took another three years for spirit of justice to come out and reveal that the series really is in a strange relationship with itself now. it gives us a new set of characters each game, a new game mechanic to enhance the trials and blur the mechanical focus the series once had, a new backstory for apollo justice instead of bothering to develop the plot threads that were established at this point 15 years ago.

(ugh) i don't mean to mean to be negative about the modern trilogy. it does have a lot of charm to it, and i'm actually more willing to defend spirit of justice than you might expect, but like. when you wait years for "pretty good, yeah" it starts to make you a bit jaded about the future of the series. i've chosen to believe that, since the last new game the series has gotten was in 2017, that there simply isn't a future. the series is done now, and i can make of that what i will.

but if you got into this series recently, you basically have the entire series to binge, and can do so as a full package. you get to see phoenix wright's growth over six games, his relationship with edgeworth, maya, the law as a whole, and you get to appreciate all the characters for what they are rather than anticipating what they could be. if you don't like the games, you can just play another one. or, hell, watch a longplay of it. it's probably a better experience because the trial design of JFA and T&T are fucked.

i'm excited for the future of the AA fandom, but i wonder what place i really have in it. i mean, i'm a game designer now, part of why i made those graphs was just to understand the mechanical design of the trials, what makes these things work or not work. but ace attorney is enjoyed as a story first and a video game second, and i can't bring myself to get passionate about the story anymore. these days i'm more often impressed by games than i am excited about them, and in general my mechanical analysis mind doesn't work well with the kind of fandom that is primarily about characters and relationships. i envy the modern ace attorney fandom.

at this point i've... i don't wanna "moved on," but it's more like "branched out." i've tried a lot of other mystery games! a few mobile ones, aviary attorney, ghost trick, her story, layton, socrates jones (which is fucking excellent by the way), and umineko, which is textually a game but not practically. i might try famicom detective club sometime? i dunno, i just like trying new things, because i love discovering ways that games can surprise me. maybe ace attorney 7 comes out and makes me reconsider all this. but, in the meantime, i'm glad to be here for what the ace attorney community has become

#ace attorney #god i missed making longform posts like this

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fictionz · 1 year

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New Fiction 2023 - January

"Psalms" (1-100) ed. Richard Challoner (1752)

Okay so this is where priests pull all the one-liners that they drop during sermons.

"The Husband Stitch" by Carmen Maria Machado (2017)

Can’t let it go despite the peril.

"Inventory" by Carmen Maria Machado (2017)

When in doubt, a list.

"Mothers" by Carmen Maria Machado (2017)

Penitent daughters of singular mothers.

"Especially Heinous" by Carmen Maria Machado (2017)

You learn sooner or later that they were always dead girls.

"Real Women Have Bodies" by Carmen Maria Machado (2017)

They’ll always find you.

"Eight Bites" by Carmen Maria Machado (2017)

When left with little recourse, it’s only natural to sing the song.

"The Resident" by Carmen Maria Machado (2017)

Make things around people? No, thank you.

"Difficult At Parties" by Carmen Maria Machado (2017)

The party parable rings universal.

"The First Peer" by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore (2010)

The things we do when we failed to realize we’re not at fault.

"Reservoir Ferengi" by David McIntee (2010)

Can’t make a song bird do your taxes.

"The Slow Knife" by James Swallow (2010)

The only reasonable conclusion to plotting.

"The Unhappy Ones" by Keith R.A. DeCandido (2010)

Carving out the place you’re due from bone.

"Freedom Angst" by Britta Burdett Dennison (2010)

You can play the part, but when will you live it?

"Revenant" by Marc D. Giller (2010)

Once more: Star Trek is primed for horror.

"Work Is Hard" by Greg Cox (2010)

Achieving a satisfactory life.

"The Briefcase" by Rebecca Makkai, performed by Victor Garber for NPR's Selected Shorts (2009, 2023)

The skin is loose but if it fits...

"Paradise" by Yxta Maya Murray, performed by Tanis Parenteau for NPR's Selected Shorts (2020, 2023)

Limited options means limited solutions.

Honor in the Night by Scott Pearson (2010)

That’s the stuff. A cross-generational Star Trek mystery is just my game.

Trapped in Bat Wing Hall by R.L. Stine (1995)

Goosebumps books are simply a delight.

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, presented by Rice University Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts (1595, 2013)

Hey, this Shakespeare guy was pretty funny.

"Comet as Paperboy" by Samantha Blysse Haviland (2022)

Forever waiting.

"The Art of Negotiation" by Meghan Privitello (2016)

We’re still waiting.

"Forest Spirits" by Secondlina (2022)

Give them space.

"Forest Spirits 2" by Secondlina (2022)

Gotta have a Joe.

"With Sympathy" by Oglaf Comics (2017)

You can have it.

"it went like this" by chaumas-deactivated20230115 (2023)

Power of the belly.

Simpsons Comics Colossal Compendium - Volume One (2013)

Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in.

"Full Void Demo" dev. OutOfTheBit (2023)

Oh this is great. I've been in the mood to play a game just like this. 2D movement, careful and considered locomotion, single screen puzzles with no frustrating resets to far back in the level when a player dies. It looks and sounds amazing, and I love the environment design.

Thunderbirds dev. Saffire (2004)

I worked on this nearly twenty years ago but somehow wasn’t sure that I’d actually completed the game. Now I know.

"bugs" dir. k. pakiz (2023)

Of course there’s hats.

"enter initials" dir. k. pakiz (2023)

Three letters, no supervision.

Avatar: The Way of Water dir. James Cameron (2022)

Looks pretty, stops short.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody dir. Kasi Lemmons (2022)

A respectful consideration.

Thunderbirds dir. Jonathan Frakes (2004)

I wasn’t sure about the game, but I know I hadn’t watched this movie. Something in the wake of the Spy Kids era.

M3GAN dir. Gerard Johnstone (2023)

It builds up but doesn’t quite land. Not sure what I expected, but it seems to have done well so they’ll get another shot.

Corsage dir. Marie Kreutzer (2022)

Just follow a person for a while and listen.

Broker dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda (2022)

There’s no conscious family.

Skinamarink dir. Kyle Edward Ball (2022)

You had me without the jumpscares.

Plane dir. Jean-François Richet (2023)

Plane goes down, plane goes up.

Missing dir. Will Merrick & Nick Johnson (2023)

They ratchet up the melodrama.

That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond dir. Yasuhito Kikuchi (2023)

As lost in the weeds as expected.

A Man Called Otto dir. Marc Forster (2023)

I mean, so would I.

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish dir. Joel Crawford (2022)

This many characters done so well. An impressive story.

Women Talking dir. Sarah Polley (2022)

Stageplay tragedies.

Thunderbirds - "Trapped In The Sky" (1965)

An impressive VFX showcase.

Tales from the Crypt - "The Man Who Was Death" (1989)

This is supposed to be the best the series has to offer? (But I’m here for the cheese anyway.)

The Outer Limits - Seasons 1-3 (1995-1997)

Speaking of cheese, this is perfect 90s sci-fi, and a fine example of Canada’s dominance of 90s TV production.

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mainstreamelectricalparade · 1 year

Text

I posted 801 times in 2022

13 posts created (2%)

788 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sincerelyciarra

@pumpkin-spice-dragon

@wolfiereblog

@re-animatored

@livesincerely

I tagged 136 of my posts in 2022

#omg - 2 posts

#q - 2 posts

#volume warning - 2 posts

#yeah - 2 posts

#💀💀💀 - 2 posts

#xX - 2 posts

#long post - 2 posts

#>.> - 1 post

#and then my dad would come tell me dinner was ready and i said i can't we're playing princess - 1 post

#elephant - 1 post

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#man im pretty sure homeschool didn't really do me any of the favors my mom was expecting it to do but still. fuck the public school system

My Top Posts in 2022:

ah, yes, my favorite characters: harry, ron and... *squints and writing on hand* ...herobrine

2 notes - Posted November 28, 2022

cackling at this review of the netflix app on the microsoft store

2 notes - Posted July 6, 2022

well well well if it isnt the consequences (bring me to life gregorian chant) of my actions (visiting my sibling's room)

3 notes - Posted November 1, 2022

ducktales 2017, star stable online, american girl franchise, encanto, and supernatural

THANK YOU FREN OMG

(long post and nonsense warning below cut)

DuckTales 2017

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

Webby

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

Louie

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

Mrs. Beakley

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

Lena

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

Gyro Gearloose

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

Scrooge

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

Doofus Drake

Star Stable Online

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

Linda or Lisa

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

Maya

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

Mrs. Holdsworth

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

Catherine

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

Björn

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

See the full post

4 notes - Posted February 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

so many quizzes lately want to tell you exactly what's wrong with you, what deeply buried trauma you're secretly harboring, or whether or not you qualify to be shaken in a Pringles can. for a refreshing reprieve, answer some questions and i'll assign you a random book off my bookshelf! not a lot of deep psychoanalysis here, just some appreciation of literature.

19 notes - Posted March 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #long post #wow i used my ''top tags'' sooo many (2) times #also the yir website telling me off for not tagging my posts bc if idont then people wont find them..... yeah... i dont want them to #sometimes (always) my posts are just for me and like one other person #if anyone else finds them im like WHOMST

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venusstadt · 4 years

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It's Not That Fashion Doesn't Know How To Uplift Black Workers – It Simply Doesn't Want To.

(DISCLAIMER: This article was originally published 6/18/20 on Medium.com, prior to the creation of venustadt.com. As such, my opinions may or may not have altered since the text below was originally written. This article has been re-published here to track my growth as a writer.)

Beyoncé’s September 2018 Vogue cover was an incredible moment in fashion. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour gave Beyoncé full creative control, which the singer leveraged to hire Tyler Mitchell, the first black photographer to shoot a Vogue cover.

This moment was particularly important to former Vogue creative director and editor-at-large André Leon Talley. To him, the Beyoncé shoot was full of symbolism, inspired by the “unnamed armies” of hardworking black women in the South.

Talley’s piece about the cover was published in The Washington Post. Though it was sent to various editors at Condé Nast, none of them, including Wintour, responded.

“Editors I’ve worked with for decades didn’t understand the immense importance of this occasion simply because they are not capable of understanding,” Talley writes in “The Chiffon Trenches,” a memoir detailing his experiences as a black man in the fashion industry.

“None of my contemporaries have seen the world through black eyes,” he continued.

The fashion industry was called to action as consumers pushed brands to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Valentino, Nike, Savage x Fenty and other companies have made social media statements and donations to various organizations. Meanwhile, publications like Dazed and Harper’s Bazaar are linking petitions and sharing information on how to contribute to the movement.

Still, many people are not impressed by corporations’ bare-bone displays of solidarity.

Some companies have been criticized for hypocrisy regarding their toxic, racist workplace cultures. Retailer Anthropologie, who posted a Maya Angelou quote and participated in Instagram’s #BlackoutTuesday, has been accused of training employees to use code names for black customers. Sustainable brand Reformation’s founder Yael Aflalo stepped down after workers revealed they were segregated in stores, with black and other employees of color working in stockrooms with no AC as white employees worked the sales floor, among other things. And fast-fashion brand Dolls Kill, which has been criticized for racial insensitivity in the past, drew outrage when its founder Shaudi “Shoddy” Lynn posted a picture of police near the brand’s storefront during a protest: “Direct Action in its glory.”

Fashion publications haven’t escaped criticism either. Stephen Gan, editor-in-chief of V Magazine and creative director of Elle, has been accused of racism and misogyny by employees and has recently stepped down from his position at Elle.

Vogue has faced criticism in the past for its handling of race, such as in the case of the infamous April 2008 LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen cover or the allegedly “diverse” March 2017 shoot.

Anna Wintour recently penned a company email in which she sorrowfully expressed that Vogue had not “found enough ways to elevate and give space to” Black creatives.

“It can’t be easy to be a Black employee at Vogue, and there are too few of you,” Wintour wrote. “I know that it is not enough to say we will do better, but we will — and please know that I value your voices and responses as we move forward.”

Former employees Zara Rahim and Shelby Ivey Christie took to Twitter to discuss their experiences at the company.

Rahim stated that as communications director, Vogue paid her $50,000 less than the woman who had filled her position previously — a white woman.

“There are people who hold these keys and have held them for decades,” Rahim stated. “They know what they are doing, fire them.”

Christie called working for Vogue the “most challenging and miserable time” of her career. She also noted how overqualified the black employees were, while white employees relied on connections.

“My white counterparts had no prior relevant experiences, just nepotism,” she tweeted. “Black employees were overqualified and underpaid.”

Talley also responded to Wintour’s apology during a discussion with Sandra Bernhard on SiriusXM’s Sandyland.

“The statement came out of a place of white privilege,” he said. “Dame Anna Wintour is a colonial board. She’s a colonial dame.”

In his memoir, Talley, who was at one point the most important black man in fashion journalism, revealed that he received only $500 per episode of Vogue’s podcast toward the end of his tenure with the publication. After unexpectedly being replaced by YouTuber Liza Koshy on the 2018 Met Gala red carpet, he left Vogue altogether.

“I am not sure Anna ever really wanted me to become something larger than the role she perceived for me,” he writes. “She compartmentalized me as someone who served her as trusted expert….”

A petition calling for Wintour’s resignation has been circulating high fashion twitter, despite Condé Nast chief executive Roger Lynch’s insistence that she is “not going anywhere.” Meanwhile, black creators have come together to start the #VogueChallenge to challenge Wintour’s inaction and showcase black talent.

The problem with apologies like Wintour’s email and social media statements from companies like Reformation, as well as sudden compilations for black creators appearing on media websites, is that they come across as an insincere way to save face during a time of public crisis.

Wintour’s email comes as Condé Nast deals with internal racism scandals. Bon Appétit editor Adam Rapaport resigned June 8 after a picture of him in brownface came to light. Also, the magazine’s editors of color allegedly did not receive payment for video appearances as their white counterparts did.

Wintour frequently has been dubbed the most powerful woman in the media and fashion worlds. She’s been editor-in-chief of “fashion bible” Vogue since 1988 and became artistic director of Condé Nast in 2013. Three decades is more than enough time to feature black creators. After all, if Vogue and other companies can acknowledge their mistakes and showcase black talent now, why couldn’t they before?

It’s far too late for apologies. The fact that it took the violent deaths of multiple black people for the fashion industry to realize that non-white workers should be treated fairly is atrocious.

If fashion truly wants to take a stand against racism and support its black employees and consumers, companies and publications cannot simply post a black square and a ubiquitous message about solidarity. What black people need is real, noticeable change, as well as access to opportunities that are readily given to their white peers.

#new york fashion #fashion #diversity #anna wintour #old post

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miasfoxxden · 1 year

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I tried to quit when you went to shit, when you proved to the world that you only cared about yourselves and not the people who needed you most. But here I am coming back for more like a god damn junkie. I kinda hate this, not gonna lie, but there's really nothing else like VRchat.

VRchat is a weird and amazing thing when you're queer. The aging 2019 Unity Engine LTS build it uses, although held together by duct tape and super glue, provides near infinite capabilities for self expression to those who have the time and patience to understand how to use it's SDK toolkit alongside other community tools like various Blender Plugins. It goes without saying, for those such as myself who have struggled with their own identity for a long time, this shit will crack eggs. And it shattered what remained of mine in the beginning of 2020. This is why this badly written and mismanaged clusterfuck of a Unity game holds a special place in my heart.

To make a very fucking long story short, I've been on VRchat since basically the beginning. My earliest memories of VRC were in late 2017, early 2018 where everything was far more raw, simple, and experimental. VRchat itself was a blank canvas, and on that canvas was a tight knit community that spawned an iconic culture all to its own. And yes, before anyone asks I do know de wae. But for those early years, mainly because of my lack of budget and stable income, I was tied down to just keyboard and mouse controls from a desktop PC. It's a sub ideal way to play VRC but you make do with what you have in that kind of situation and make the best of it. So when I had the means to get my own headset in the beginning of 2020, an Oculus Rift S, you can bet your ass the first thing I loaded into was VRchat.

Before we continue, I need to introduce the concept of phantom touch or phantom sense. Phantom touch is a term that was originally for amputees who could feel their missing limbs when given certain stimuli, typically some form of mirror therapy or sometimes via ones prosthetics. Phantom senses in VR are along the same lines. For all intents and purposes, your avatar in VR is the same as your body to your brain. Now, not everyone gets this, and those who do get it in varying amounts in just different ways. I'm admittedly on the more extreme end of this, as far as my brain gives a shit my avatar is my body and that ends up causing some interesting sensations. Most importantly, it pretty much drives my own choice of avatar since a lot of options out there just don't feel right. Yeah an avatar may be super cute or super funny but with that level of immersion for someone like myself it becomes very apparent that a lot of things will give full on dysphoria. This isn't really limited to anything either, I've noped off of cute looking avatars for a variety of reasons, sometimes even just small things like clothing, hair style, body proportions, height, etc. On the flip side of that, the right avatar can relieve a lot of dysphoria for someone like me who does experience gender dysphoria regularly in their day to day lives. So what were my options then?

Wade through a lot of public avatars until you find something anywhere between just right to perfect. The world of public avatars available is almost limitless, as games driven by user generated content tend to be so there's plenty of options.

Make your own avatar, either from scratch or a prefab base. This is again where the limitlessness of the engine comes into play, where the only limitation is your own technical abilities with Unity SDK, and tools like Blender or Maya.

I got lucky and took option one. I found one that felt just right, a Tda based red haired fox girl in a cute hoodie, crop top, and jeans, and only needed a few minor tweaks. While there was a bit of a language barrier, the creator of this avatar and I got something worked out and the image above is the result. This is me. This was when what remained of my egg, so to speak, was completely fucking shattered into oblivion. This was where I realized that "Nah yeah I'm not fucking cis," after years of going back and forth and being on the fence about my own sense of self. Ultimately, VRchat ended up a coping mechanism for my dysphoria. I was free. I was me. I ended up parting ways with the guy who made the model posted above for reasons I won't get into. I was never given the source files to update the model to SDK3 so where it is now is where it will be forever until SDK2 gets dropped entirely. So, in mid 2021 when I found a prefab base that was relatively well support and easy to work with on booth.pm called Imeris, I jumped on that. I re-made me.

Maybe to a bit of an extreme, but whatever. Bouncy squishy boobs on my chest makes girly gender euphoria go brrrr in a way I can't get over. But this is how I stayed for about a year without any major changes save for some new outfits every now and then.

In August, 2022, VRchat implemented EasyAntiCheat into the game. The reasoning for it is all over the place and while I have some insider information as to why it's not been stated publicly and I don't feel like getting sued into oblivion. But regardless of their reasoning, no matter how much public backlash they got, no matter how many members of the community who relied on third party client mods for accessibility for various disabilities and basic usability and quality of life functions not present in the base game, they pushed the patch out live anyways. They pushed out a patch knowing it broke compatibility with some Oculus headsets and software, this even was noted in the patch notes. They didn't care about us. That much was clear.

I swore off VRchat then and there, but the reality is the other options all sucked. NeosVR had NFT integration which is something I despise on principle. ChilloutVR, while promising, still lacks a lot of the functionality for their dev tools that makes a lot of my shit work. It was on par with early VRchat SDK1 and SDK2 tools, which compared to SDK3 with Udon were beyond archaic. I tried to give that some love, but it's so far from ready to take the place of VRchat that I couldn't switch over. Maybe some day, though, CVR will be in a position where it's a suitable place to call my home in the metaverse.

So after dealing with VRC being broken for months on my machine, I finally figured out a workaround. Turns out my main issue where VRchat was crashing to desktop was because of some sandboxing options I had enabled way back when I was still running Windows 10. Disabling these settings fixed the crashing to desktop, but Oculus overlay still crashes any time the virtual desktops are used. This, however and unfortunately, is a documented issue because of how EAC works, and there's no real fix for it. In any case though, I can be me again. And while unfortunately a lot of my friends have left VRC entirely post EAC update, there's still enough to justify sticking around.

At the time of writing this, I'm a month out from hopefully receiving hormone replacement treatment and beginning my transition proper. It's a bit overdue, admittedly, but I know some day soon I'll feel comfortable in my own shell. For now, this will continue to be my escapism from the dysphoria that's plagued me for years.

Stay floofy~ 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈❤️

#VRchat #gender dysphoria #transfem #the trans experience #metaverse #trans rights

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