#sexism anecdotal

[nepenthean-sleep]

actually, glorian shieldheart, queen of inys, was pregnant with queen sabran vii during the battle where she led her country to victory against the dragons during the grief of ages, and is one of the most celebrated warriors in inysh history, so... 🙄

#a rare priory of the orange tree shitpost from me #sorry i saw this fucked up tweet and it immediately reminded me of that anecdote about glorian iii JKSFNJKSNF #priory of the orange tree #neph.txt #cw sexism

[moonrosegirl]

I feel like the cis men in my life expect that me to watch series made and marketed for men but don’t then listen to my recommendations about series made and marketed for women. And then when they do consume something marketed to girls, they expect praise for it.

Like I can get told a million times to watch whatever shonen of the season or to give Naruto or One Piece a second chance. But they’ll never listen to me recommending Utena or Fruits Basket or Bee and Puppycat. And then when they do watch Wonder Egg priority they act as if they’re suddenly an expert in girl power.

It’s like I’m not even allowed to escape a world centred around men when I’m watching a damn TV series and I’m constantly expected to watch things about men.

#this is anecdotal to the men in my life fyi - not my dad or partner though. they’ll watch girly shows with me #also like ‘the girls are badass!’ ok?? but are the nuanced?? are they important??? are they given at least as much respect as tuxedo mask is #sexism #feminism

[bonefall]

So, I'm writing an essay on the whole STATE of misogyny in WC for one of my university classes, and I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of things! No pressure of course, please feel free to say no!

A) Could I reference your good takes with appropriate harvard referencing and links back to your blog?

B) Are there any specific moments from the books that you think should be covered the most?

C) The end result will be a visual essay, so it's like those fun infographics people on Tumblr make on like ADHD and stuff, so when it's done, would you like to be tagged to read it?

(Sorry for anon, I'm nervous lmao, but if you'd be more comfortable I'll resend this off anon)

AAY good topic! You've got a lot to work with. Absolutely feel free to reference anything I've written, and tag me when you're done.

While you're here and about to write something so legitimate, I'm also going to recommend you check out Sunnyfall's video on gender in Warrior Cats. She breaks down the arcs into numbers, directly comparing the amount of lines mollies have to toms, and examining the archetypes women are usually allowed to be.

I think it's a must-have citation in a paper about WC misogyny.

...and, I think it's insightful to look at the WCRP Forum thread about the video. Note how the respondents immediately come into the thread to complain about how the video is too long so they didn't watch it, dismissing Sunnyfall as not being entertaining enough to hold their attention, even whining that she starts with statistics to prove her point, which I'm convinced she did exactly because they would have cried that she "had no evidence" if she didn't.

I am not a scholar, so I don't know how to document or prove that the books have an impact on the audience outside of anecdotes. But I think if you do write a section about fandom, it would be worth mentioning the in-universe and metatextual apologia for Ashfur and its reflection in the real world discourse, the authorial killing of Ferncloud because of fan complains, and the utter defensiveness against the discussion of misogyny you see outside of Tumblr.

You may also want to check out Cheek by Jowl, a collection of 8 essays about sexism in xenofiction by Ursula K. Le Guin. There's a very unique manifestation of authorial bias in animal fiction, having a lot to do with how the author views "the natural world," and it's worth understanding even though Warrior Cats are so heavily anthropomorphized.

So... Warrior Cats Misogyny

I think discussing individual instances can be helpful, but I'd implore you to keep in mind what's REALLY bad about WC's misogyny is framing and the bigger picture.

Bumble's death is shocking and insulting, but it's not just that she died. It's that the POV Gray Wing sees her as a fat, useless bitch who took his mate so she deserves to be dragged back to a domestic abuser, and he's right because the writers love him so much. It's that Bumble's torture and killing only factors into how it's going to hurt a man's reputation.

It's how Clear Sky hitting, emotionally manipulating, or killing the following women,

Bright Stream (pressured into leaving her home and family)

Storm (controlled her movements and yelled at her in public)

Misty (killed for land, children stolen)

Bumble (beaten unconscious, blamed nonsensically on a fox)

Alder (child abuse, hit when she refused to attack her brother)

Falling Feather (scratched on the face, subjected to public abuse and humiliation)

Tall Shadow (thrown into murderous crowd, attacked on-sight in heaven)

Rainswept Flower ("blacked out" in anger and murdered in cold blood)

Moth Flight (scratched on the face for saying denying medical treatment is mean, taken hostage in retaliation against mother for the death of his own child, which he caused)

Willow Tail (eyes gouged out for "stirring up trouble")

Is seen as totally understandable, forgivable, or not even questioned at all, when killing Gray Wing in an act of rage would have been "one step too far" with the ridiculous Star Line.

"Kill me and live with the memory, and then let the stars know it would only matter if a single one of your murder victims was a man."

It's the way that fathers who physically abuse their kids out of their ego (Clear Sky, Sandgorse, Crowfeather) aren't treated anywhere near the same level of narrative disgust and revulsion the series has for "bad moms", even if they're displaying symptoms of a post-partum mood disorder (depression, anxiety, and rage), an umbrella of mental illnesses 20% of all new mothers experience but are heavily stigmatized with (Sparkpelt, Palebird, Lizardstripe).

It's Crookedstar's Promise giving him two evil maternal figures in a single book, while bending over backwards to make every man in a position of power still look likeable in spite of the fact they're enabling Rainflower's abuse. Leader Hailstar is soso sorry that he has to change Stormkit's name for some reason, in spite of leaders being unaccountable dictators the other 99% of the time, and Deputy Shellheart functionally does nothing to stop his own son from being abused or even do much parenting before or after the fact.

It's the way men's parental struggles are seen sympathetically, and they don't have to "pay for it" like their female counterparts (Crookedstar's PPD vs Sparkpelt's PPD, how Daisy and Cinders are held responsible for Smoky and Whisper being deadbeats, Yellowfang's endless guilt for killing her son vs Onestar's purpose in life to kill his own), even to the point where a father doesn't have to have raised their kids at all to have a magical innate emotional connection to them (Tree's father Root, Tom the Wifebeater, Tigerstar and Hawkfrost).

It's less speaking lines and agency for female characters, being reduced to accessories in the lives of their mates and babies, women getting less diversity in their personalities, with even major ex-POV characters eventually becoming "sweet mom" tropes.

You could zoom in on any one of these examples and have an amoeba try to argue with you that "Oh THIS makes sense because X" or "Ah well my headcanon perfectly explains this thing" or "MY mother/girlfriend was abusive/toxic/neglectful and I've decided that you are personally attacking ME by having issues with how a character was written or utilized," but the beleaguered point,

That I keep trying to hammer in, over and over, across books worth of posts,

Is that these are trends. More than just a couple one-off examples. It's the fabric that has been woven over years, showing a lack of interest in, or even active prejudice of, women on behalf of the writers.

LONG STANDING trends, which have only gotten worse as the series progressed. From Yellowfang being harshly punished with a born evil son who ruins her life in TPB and the mistreatment of Squirrelpaw that begins in TNP, all the way up to the 7 Fridgenings of DOTC and Sparkpelt's PPD being a major character motivator for her son Nightheart.

So, I would stress that in your paper, and structure it less as "the Sparkpelt slide" and "the Yellowfang slide," and more as "The paternal vs maternal abuse" slide, and "the violence against women" slide. They're really big issues, there's tons of examples for each individual thing.

Anyway to leave off on a funny, look at this scene in Darkest Hour that I find unreasonably hilarious,

"Everyone who matters to me; my truest friend, my sensible and loyal warrior, the wisest deputy I've ever known, and 2 women." -Firestar, glorious idiot

He can't even think of a single trait for either of them what the hell does "formidable pair" mean lmaooo, when I finished a reread about a year ago this line killed me on impact.

#bone babble #cw misogyny #warrior cats analysis #SO good luck!! Absolutely ping me when you're done I wanna see lmao #Full disclosure I'm bad at responding to DMs because I open them and then forget #But I can try to answer your questions #Feel free to send questions in tho. You don't have to come off anon if you don't want i don't mind #I cannot stress enough. I'm just a guy who likes to yell about cats.

[leonisandmurex]

This is an old news, probably already on Tumblr but i was just thinking about Sigrid, her music and came across this anecdote:

“I was invited to perform with the Norwegian royal family at their castle because they had Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge,” says Sigrid. “At the time, I was just so unaware of being an artist or how you are supposed to be in that type of environment. I showed up and it was really cool, and I started to sing. I was honestly s***-faced nervous but I was thinking I have to treat it as a performance.”

Afterwards, Sigrid recalls frantically plugging her breakout song “Don’t Kill My Vibe”, a defiant call to arms about music industry sexism, to each and every person there. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were particularly encouraging. “They were so lovely,” she says. “So I invited them to my Shepherd’s Bush show and of course they couldn’t come. But they sent a lovely note. It was like, ‘We can’t make it to the show but thanks for inviting us,’ and then Prince William signed at the bottom of the letter: ‘I have downloaded the album.’” It was 2017 and the album William was referring to was in fact Sigrid’s four-track EP, Don’t Kill My Vibe. [The framed letter from Prince William is in Sigrid's flat]

X

#I wonder if he still listens to the album? #Its one of my faves #if I could edit I'd choose it & over use it lol🎶 #Norwegian royal family #Prince William #Kate Middleton #Princess of Wales #Prince of Wales #Duke of Cambridge #Duchess of Cambridge #BRF #British royal family

[isaksbestpillow]

is japan a sexist country in general? because damn some questions that i read in japanese actors' interviews are crazyyyyy the cultural shock is harsh like wdym you don't want women to be "too independent"? lol

short answer: yes, very.

of course there is sexism in all countries. finland constantly comes on top in happiness and gender equality rankings, but when sanna marin became the prime minister in 2019 it highlighted so much sexism that had remained under the surface. a 30-something woman can become the prime minister in finland, but there will be people trying to undermine and attack her skills and character every step of the way. so i'm well aware sexism is a problem everywhere, but japan has a particularly poor track record in dismantling it.

if you look at rankings or statistics, in 2023 japan ranked 125h out of 146 countries in the global gender gap ranking, well behind south korea and china. what's even worse, they ranked 116th the previous year, meaning things have not been improving at all, or if they have, it's been too slow. i don't know if you're familiar with the parks and recreation episode where they create an all male panel to discuss gender equality, but that's how it is in japan. a bunch of grandpas in the room wondering why the population keeps declining, year after year. there are few women in positions of power, be it politics or business. foreigners say how safe they feel on the streets, which may be true, but sexual harassment at workplaces is rampant and really hard to report.

i don't mean that every japanese individual is sexist, but you're very much surrounded by sexist narratives and representations. if you look at talk shows on tv, it's older men talking and pretty young women reacting. a couple of weeks ago i saw a news clip of an annual award given to female celebrities with beautiful legs. the pressure to be pretty or act in a certain way can be quite consuming. it only stops once your children are grownup and you have proved yourself as a woman. 女子力 literally means girl power, but it doesn't mean what spice girls said it means. it means to be skilled in performing femininity.

i can't comment on that interview without knowing the context, but i'm not super surprised some actor might say that. japanese male celebs disappoint you all the time lol. i'm still gonna go not all men here, because not all men. my spouse is a lovely person who hopes i'll make more money than him one day so he can quit his job and focus on housekeeping. i remember one anecdote from his work when he was washing the tea cups and his older coworker said why are you doing that, leave that for the women. it isn't only women who suffer from this strict framework, it's everyone who doesn't meet the expectations of masculinity or femininity.

that was a lot of poorly constructed rambling, but i will leave you with this thought: as matters stand, a woman can never become the emperor of japan, the symbol of the nation.

#asks

[bitchesgetriches]

Post a Salary Range in the Job Description, You Fucking Cowards

It might seem like a small measure in the fight to close wage gaps based on sexism, racism, and ableism. But you guys… it’s working. According to Business Insider, “Thanks to Colorado’s new law, no region has seen a bigger boom in pay transparency than the Rocky Mountains. There, job postings that include salary information have quadrupled since 2019, according to Emsi Burning Glass, which tracks labor-market data. But the trend is taking place everywhere: “In March through June of [2021], 12% of job postings nationwide included salary information, up from 8% in 2019.”

This law is the nuclear option. But apparently, it’s necessary. I have ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE (the most irrefutable kind of evidence) that if we don’t drag employers kicking and screaming towards pay transparency, they won’t go themselves.

My dude. Come on.

Keep reading.

If you found this helpful, consider joining our Patreon.

#salary range #salary transparency #salary secrecy #job search #how to get a job #job application #salary #wages #fair wages #wage gap #salary gap #jobs #career advice

[mmmmalo]

On the off chance anyone here has watched Signs (2002) recently: did anyone else get the themes of sexism? Joaquin Phoenix insisting the aliens were too athletic to be women (rebuked for this by the woman sheriff), the Culkin boy condescending to his little sister all the time... also Mel Gibson telling the cop and the clerk not to call him (church) Father maybe, it's a bit curious that he only delivers that line to women. Maybe the part where Gibson says his vote counts as 2 because he's 2 parents now (the mom passed) is the tell -- like there was some sort of gendered panic over filling in the roles that used to belong to Mom, with his abandoned role as a church father obscuring a sense of defection from manhood... the image of two men leading the household, despite their formally being brothers, also seemed to be exploited to connote gay couples -- a scene where Phoenix tells Gibson not to let go of his hand (because they want to maintain radio resonance and hear the aliens) piqued my curiosity a bit. Maybe... the alien invasion is the threat of encroaching effeminacy...? Even if Bo's water technically defeated the alien, and the story of Bo being Angelic seemed to oppose her to the more Demonic aliens, it felt like their shared aversion to water and otherworldliness was more of link between the two? Especially since you see Bo's face appear on the alien's chameleon skin just before Phoenix reclaims his legacy of masculine prowess and beats the alien to death with a baseball bat. Which represents driving out his effeminacy or something? is the best I can make of it... I suppose if athleticism is the sexist's standard for masculinity, Culkin's asthma naturally makes him a natural target for the alien-as-effeminacy... even if formally his asthma saves him from the alien's poison? Or maybe that story beat from the climax, the threat of toxic injection, should mapped back to Phoenix's earlier anecdote about how his (unmasculine?) hesitation to kiss a girl prevented her vomiting into his mouth -- avoiding the nauseous injection of femininity by avoiding women (even though that's kinda gay, and therefore effiminate). Sexist circularity

Anyway it was a funny movie. Recommended

#movies #signs 2002

[emcscared-whumps]

IS WHUMPLOVERS COLLABORATE TRANSPHOBIC???

I'm going to start off this post by saying that I usually like to stay well-clear of drama. I have no desire to get myself involved; I like to stay in my dark little corner and write my dark little stories. However, a post 'exposing' the transphobia and misogyny in the whump Discord server @whumplovers-collaborate was brought to my attention, and I could not sit idly by and watch it pass by, so I will make an exception to my rule.

Without further adue, I am emc, and I am a member of the mod team over on Whumplovers Collaborate. I have been a member of the server since, 20/11/2021, two days after the creation. As I write this post, I have been assisting in modding it for roughly a year (honestly, I don't remember ^-^').

A serious accusation of transphobia and misogyny has been made against the WLC Discord server: is it true?

It is NOT true.

Transphobia and transphobic behaviour is a serious and abhorrent offence that must always be taken seriously, and I am pleased to see such a large response from the community. This also means that allegations should not be made lightly. In spite of this, I would like to express my deepest disappointment by how quickly a sparsely sourced, anecdotal post was spread within our community (if you could even call a few out of-context quotes and the offer of screenshots sources). It was borderline slanderous to the owner, my team, and my friends; and it attempted to tear up our hard work.

Mateship is extremely important to me, so when I saw this, I could not let it go unchecked. In response, I am making this post to shed some light on the situation. I will be including fully sourced screenshots and quotes, and responding to allegations, so that you all may come to your own conclusions.

PLEASE READ TO THE END.

Warning: This will be long. I will make it as long as it needs to be to convey the information correctly with proper sourcing.

This post contains evidence of misogynistic, sexist, and harmful statements on sexual assault that may be upsetting for some readers. Proceed with caution if this is something that could affect you.

Source links associated with screenshots are hyperlinks attached to the image.

What even happened?

In short, there was an incident in February this year (2023) following the question of a member on the controversial topic of why they didn't like lady whump, the discussion veered into the meta theory behind it, which sparked misogyny, accusations of misogyny, sexism, accusations of sexism, accusations of transphobia, and grossly incorrect statements on the effect that sexual assault and rape has on male (and other AMAB (Assigned Male At Birth)) people.

[Read the whole conversation].

(This is a Discord link to the beginning of the incident. If you are a member, you have likely already seen it).

You can read the Tumblr post in question [here].

(Also, please keep in mind that I am Australian and it all happened from 0100-1000 AEST on a work day (Friday). I did not have a direct hand in this conversation as it happened. I did, however, assist behind the scenes after).

Mods at the time:

Orange User

Purple User

Blue User

Yellow User

Server Owner:

Sky Blue User

The Allegations

The discussion of lady whump is not without controversy in terms of gender identity, because there are many different areas of the spectrum that are not explicitly covered in the tagging systems, which are usually binary with a couple of umbrella tags of other nonbinary genders, which by nature can never fully describe the deep way in which humans experience and express gender.

Alleged Transphobia:

Firstly, let's define transphobia, and then have a look at the incident with that in mind:

Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to social gender roles. [Source]

Transphobia and trans-exclusion are not the same.

Trans-exclusion is the intentional and malicious exclusion of transgender people from certain spaces, activities, and discussions. The exclusion of transgender people in certain contexts, such as some gender discussions where transgender people are not the focus, and in which no attacks are made, are not themselves transphobic. However, trans-exclusionary behaviour is often co-morbid with transphobia, hence the association.

The mod censored in orange had expressed an interest in only reading whump of cisgender men. Subsequently, it was argued that the tagging of lady whump, alongside the tagging of male whump and nonbinary whump is inherently 'transphobic' because of the exclusion of other more or less binary genders.

(Screenshot 1)

That is trans-exclusionary at worst, but that is arguable.

The red user misinterprets the mod censored in purple's previous message "some people don’t like to bother with it" in relation to tagging or not tagging for transgender characters [Source], and incorrectly assumes that the meaning was "‘some people don’t like to bother’ with trans characters."

(Screenshot 2)

The full message from the mod censored in purple that the user censored in red had replied to reads:

10/02/2023 01:34 Some people don’t like to bother with it. And I think that’s something people can respect [Source]

The above message sent by the mod censored in purple was in reply a previous message the user censored in red sent in reply to the mod censored in orange. It provides the context for "some people don't like to bother with it." It reads:

10/02/2023 01:31 I still question how you want to know if they’re cis like, I think tagging every piece of work stating a character is trans is,, not always necessary or good That’s just what I wanted to clarify like you will not always get to know what’s in someone’s pants [Source]

This does not count as trans-exclusionary, because it could be effectively argued that tagging for a transgender character when that fact does not become relevant is wrong.

The user in red took then took the mod censored in purple's whumpee gender preference to mean main character (of general fiction) gender preference, and insinuates that they are transphobic.

The conversation was not transphobic as the post purported it do be, nor was it truly trans-exclusionary.

The most 'transphobia' that happened was in relation to users' expressed preferences for whumpee gender for the purposes of reading (and writing) whump fiction for whumperflies, rather than fiction in general; and the insinuations of a user's transphobia in relation to if and how a user chooses to or not to tag the genders of the main characters, (especially whumpees), in their whump works.

This is a long established debate within our community, and while some members (of the whump community at large) may express certain preferences for transphobic reasons, no one in this specific conversation did.

I believe the accusation that the whole server is transphobic arises from the fact that two of the mods at the time expressed a whumpee gender preference for only cisgender men. Whumperflies in my experience (and that of many others), are a very physical sensation in reaction that I cannot control to whump that I enjoy, therefore, calling certain whump gender preferences trans-exclusionary is incorrect.

There was another part of the conversation that took place after the previous screenshots, and there was some trans-exclusion inherent in it because of the focus on of sex and gender in relation to that subject, but it is a completely different issue, and it will get its own subsection.

Misogyny, and Harmful Statements on Sexual Assault and other Violence Against Women vs Men:

In the previous subsection on alleged transphobia, I mentioned another part of the conversation would get its own section. This is that section.

A user made a frankly disgusting, untrue, and extremely harmful statement on the severity of the effects of rape and sexual assault of women and men, saying that it is not as inherently bad when it happened to men and other AMAB people.

(Screenshot 3)

The full message from the user censored in pink reads:

10/02/2023 09:10 I do see the point some people make about how certain kinds of "whump" tropes are treated or developed with women vs with men, especially in mainstream media, but sometimes some people do go overboard with the downright sanitization of those tropes in general, and apply specifically in fanfiction [Source]

Those statements made by the user censored in brown were not okay, and that part of the conversation caused the biggest stir among the mods, which will be covered under the Actions section.

The statement of that user was far more misogynistic and offensive to victims of any kind of sexual abuse, than it was trans-exclusionary. It was not transphobic. Regardless, it was wrong, and every single mod, including myself, and the owner, understands that beyond the shadow of a doubt.

The user censored in brown also went on to say that (general) violence, as well as sexual assault against men and AMAB people, was also inherently less serious because of their sex, adding that it was humourous in some contexts.

(Screenshot 4)

(Screenshot 5)

One of the mods on the scene, censored in orange, made a subject change request four minutes after these harmful statements began [Source]. There was one other response from that mod called into question by the post this one responds to, but I will cover that in the following section Accusations.

The conversation, without question, was misogynistic and sexist, and harmful.

Overall, the reductive and infantilising way that women and AFAB people were discussed by the user censored in brown was, without question, misogynistic and sexist. The way that sexual assault and violence was discussed by the user in brown was gross, ignorant, and perpetuated harmful beliefs on the subject, particularly where men and other AMAB people are the victims. In all instances, the user censored in brown was called out by other users and told that those statements were wrong. (I did not include that in the second screenshot above, as I feel the first screenshot adequately represents the general response. Once again, you can read the full conversation from start to finish [here]).

Again, there was no transphobia present in the user censored in brown's discussion, only the omission of non-cisgender and other nonbinary genders when discussing a given gender. There were NO direct attacks made against transgender and nonbinary people that invalidated them.

(Screenshot 6)

It should also be noted that the user censored in brown openly admitted ignorance in the matters of gender, gender expression, and other topics discussed, and expressed willingness and desire to learn.

(Screenshot 7)

This does not take away the hurt and harm of their statements, and whether true or not, it should still be noted.

Accusations: The Post

The post made a few other accusations against us, which I will now address. Some will be covered in this section, others will be covered in the following section on Actions.

We did introduce a new policy "not to talk about 'controversial topics' or get into arguments," [Paragraph 2], however, it is not a numbered rule. This will be covered in the Action section, but that was not all that was done.

Paragraph 5 is somewhat true. As detailed in the previous section, the transphobia was not present, trans-exclusion was barely present the omission of non-cisgender and nonbinary genders, but, one section of the conversation was overtly misogynistic, sexist, and ignorant. The main core of the problem was misogyny, and the harmful way in which sexual assault was spoken of. At no point were any direct attacks and invalidations made against transgender and nonbinary people or characters.

eventually, i shut it down by saying that this was not the appropriate venue for a transphobic cis person to get educated about the nuance of the trans experience and trans issues, but what he was saying was transphobic and he needed to stop now that he'd been told that. [Paragraph 6]

The above approximate statement made by the author in the server during the incident is pictured in Screenshot 7.

"After I shut things down for good," (the alleged shutting down is [here] on 10/02/2023 09:26), is misleading. The conversation did end shortly after that on 10/02/2023 09:53, 27 minutes later [Source], after more mod intervention, but not before veering into race representation in general fiction and the whump community.

The statement, "throughout this interaction, mods were emoji-reacting and responding to other things. at no point did any mod step in to help me or shut down the 'transphobia' or at all intervene in what was happening," [Paragraph 7], is false.

Two mods were present and attempting to mediate, and towards the end, got more explicit in their requests to change the subject and shut the conversation down. The author of the post in question mentioned that the mods didn't respond to the transphobia while it was happening, but given the timing of the messages, and that people, including the mods, cannot be present for every single second of a conversation, that is an unfair and untrue statement.

The first harmful statement made by the user censored in brown was made on 10/02/2023 09:08 [Source] and the mod censored in orange stepped in and requested a subject change at 10/02/2023 09:15 [Source], 7 minutes later. At the same time, that mod was stated to not be at home, and was also organising a media stream [Source]. They also notified the mod team of the issue [Source].

(Screenshot 8)

(The above screenshot is in the mod channel of WLC).

The reactions would have partly been to show that the mods have seen up to certain places, perhaps agree with certain points so that the present members could anticipate a reaction without further perpetuating the conversation, and were going about their responsibility to catch up with, and deal with the situation. Mine were for those purposes, especially considering I was asleep and commuting to work at the time the incident occurred, and caught up when and as I could. It is not fair to say we did nothing at all when we did not respond instantaneously, and when it is also untrue.

Additionally, I speculate the direct response to the transphobia the author of the post in question would have wanted was a direct, verbal, public denouncement of all of those statements made by the user censored in brown, and the user themselves. When other users had already done that, some quite eloquently, it would have been both unnecessary and harmful for one or more mods to have participated, especially when the present mods were already busy handling the situation behind the scenes with the rest of their team, and the current #1 goal at the time was to end the conversation, not perpetuate it. It would have turned into dogpiling, which is unbecoming of the professional way the mod team is expected to act and handle situations when they are doing their jobs, and it is damaging to a potential future ally, perpetuates the incident, and is generally unfair.

We cannot allow the dogpiling of any person or member, even when they're in the wrong, and especially not by the mod team, because that could turn into us dogpiling anyone we disagree with, and then it could happen to anyone we dislike. An authoritative group who acts irresponsibly like that is not one you want in charge of any community space, nevermind one as large and as diverse as the WLC Discord server. I am sure those of you reading can understand the reasoning.

Also, to touch on the claim of ignorance and desire to learn; in the name of fairness, the mod team must put aside our biases and opinions. As there is no way to prove nor disprove the truth behind those claims, we must therefore act in good faith, especially when so many allies have similar beginning stories.

Paragraph 7 also mentions a seemingly questionable quote from the mod censored in orange. The Author of the post stated:

after i shut things down for good, one of the mods said 'thanks for keeping everything respectful’ which was a truly laughable thing to have said in that situation. [Paragraph 7]

This is mostly true. The mod censored in orange did make a similar statement, however, it was not a direct quote, it certainly wasn't sourced in the post, and the misleading nature of the first clause of the above quote makes an implication that the author of the post was the only one to do anything about it, which is incorrect.

(Screenshot 9)

Read it in full context from [here].

This message was sent after a subject change request from the topic covered in the subsection Misogyny, and Harmful Statements on Sexual Assault and other Violence Against Women vs Men, made by the same mod, to which all of the current participants agreed to and did not rebuke [Source], but did not obey.

As counterintuitive as this seems, there was a reason for this wording.

When asked about the intention behind that message, the mod in question responded that their intention was to thank the members involved for respectfully responding to their request and not arguing it.

(Screenshot 10)

(The above screenshot is in the mod channel of WLC).

They also added that they acknowledge that the conversation was not especially respectful, but were using that wording as a de-escalation technique commonly used in the workforce, as well as thanking the participants for not actively and directly harassing each other.

10/11/2023 23:37 It was just like… ok they haven't exactly been all that respectful, but they haven't been actively nasty either, so I'll just say thank you before asking them to move on. You say "thank you for your consideration" or "thank you for the respect" even if there was neither of those things [Source]

It was ignored, but users did not express animosity toward the mod censored in orange.

The following statements will be addressed:

"i was blamed for causing drama, essentially," [Paragraph 2]

and

"[The server owner] blamed me for what happened because i refused to allow rampant transphobia to proceed unchecked." [Paragraph 10]

You did not receive any direct blame in any channel, nor was the announcement (Screenshot 21) aimed at you specifically. You actually handled yourself extremely well without attacking anyone, and given the situation, that is genuinely commendable.

(Screenshot 11)

(The above screenshot is in the mod channel of WLC).

Yes, there was indirect blame in the announcement, but it is spread among every participant, including you, irrespective of if they were right or wrong, because they were all to blame for disobeying multiple direct mod rulings (see the Actions section for evidence), to end the conversation and change subject. The team decided singling out individuals, especially publicly for this, was not the right move. This is the reason that it was stated in DM conversation from the owner that the user censored in brown was not the only one at fault.

Relatedly, the announcement never said that calling out transphobia [referred to in Paragraph 13] is wrong. It took issue with the fact that no one obeyed a mod ruling, which resulted in the elongation of the incident. If it had been obeyed, it would have been over much faster and with far less hurtful statements.

According to Paragraph 11, asking why someone left a server is weird. Asking for feedback isn't weird, even Discord will ask you why you have left a server with a little survey. Anyone who has spoken to the server owner person-to-person for more than five minutes would know that they value and are always looking for feedback. Asking why a member left, especially after an incident like that, could be coincidental or related to the problem, therefore, they were seeking clarification. Gathering feedback is not weird.

Additionally, I have never known the server owner to "whine" or "throw a fit." Frankly, the statement is extremely insulting; especially when it is backed up by nothing, not even a transcript or approximate quote.

Paragraphs 14 and 15 express discontent with the mod response. I will respond to this personally for one moment because I was one of the mods the author of the post DM'ed, so please forgive the coming bias and informality, I will do my best to mitigate it.

The author of the post expressed satisfaction at the time with their interactions with me.

(Screenshot 12)

(The above screenshot is a DM).

I also was not "unwilling to do anything in the moment," [Paragraph 15], nor were the mods. I was asleep and going to work, while they were trying to end the conversation. I most certainly did not "[fail] to do anything after the fact either," [Paragraph 15], and nor did the other mods. Direct actions will be covered in the next section Actions. Additionally, if you look at the dates on some of the screenshots, you'll find that they are after the incident. In fact, most of the discussion happened after as those who were not present caught up and then started the process of discussing what actions to take. I was working very hard after the fact to get the response I thought was needed, so I do not appreciate the sentiment with which that statement was made.

the mods i spoke to also got defensive and upset when i pointed out that by not expressing disagreement with the owner’s actions and by throwing up their hands and saying 'oh well, nothing we can do!’ [Paragraph 15]

False.

I did express disagreement and discontent with some aspects of the way the incident was handled, but, in your hurry to accuse us of transphobia and bigotry via 'silence,' you have forgotten that I am part of a team that assisted the server owner, and we did not have the final say. As a team, we all expressed our opinions and what we thought should be done, but at the end of the day, we, and I certainly, will respect the ultimate decision, and will not betray the trust of every team member and the server owner by taking matters into my own hands.

As a team, we collectively agreed among ourselves on possible actions, and that was the advice we delivered to the owner.

That is how a team works.

The complaints of Paragraph 8 and 9 will be discussed further throughout the post.

Action: What was Done About the Incident and did it Work?

Subject Change Requests:

During the incident, four subject changes were requested, but were ignored.

(Screenshot 13)

Another subject change was requested only minutes later, (see Screenshot 9), however, conversation on the previous topic continued.

(Screenshot 14)

See also: Screenshot 7.

Eventually, conversation switched to POC representation in whump and fiction, another subject that could potentially lead to a discussion with harmful statements like this one.

The last explicit mention of the previous topic occurred on 10/02/2023 09:30, 14 minutes after the previous subject change request at 10/02/2023 09:16 [Source].

Another two subject change requests were required during that following convesation before any further issues arose.

(Screenshot 15)

Several hours earlier at the subject of whether or not to tag character gender, the mods left a subtle hint that a subject change may be appropriate made by the orange and purple mods, which ended up being too vague, so it will not count toward the total number of subject change requests during the incident.

(Screenshot 16)

Mod Response:

The mods censored in orange notified the team (Screenshot 8) when the user censored in brown started posting. The team then responded in the mod channel, calling for a warning or another similar level of punishment to be issued. However, as we are spread across time zones, it was difficult to reach a consensus right away. Here are just a few snippets of the discussion:

(Screenshot 17)

(The above screenshot is in the mod channel of WLC).

(At the time, the user censored in brown had no introduction, so their approximate age was unknown).

(Screenshot 18)

(The above screenshot is in the mod channel of WLC).

(Screenshot 19)

(The above screenshot is in the mod channel of WLC).

(Screenshot 20)

(The above screenshot is in the mod channel of WLC).

Announcement:

There was a lengthy discussion among the mods about whether or not to issue penalties (that will be discussed in the Penalty subsection). Many of the mods agreed with me that two participants (not the author of the post in question) should have been reprimanded and/or spoken to in some way. However, it was collectively decided not to go this route, and, as a member of the team, I respected the decision. In light of this, instead of penalty, we pushed for an announcement, which we got.

(Screenshot 21)

Rule Change:

In response to the ignored subject change requests, a rule was created to give mods the enshrined power to request and enforce a subject change requiring immediate adherence by all users in case a situation like this arises in the future:

5. If I or a mod asks you to change the subject, do so immediately. There should be no further discussion of whatever it is by any of the participants. If you’d like to know why you were asked to change the subject, dm [the server owner] [Source]

The announcement also advised against discussion of discourse, and other meta and/or controversial topics within the server. The reasoning was that this incident stemmed from a topic surrounded in discourse, and we are not interested in being a space to discuss those topics because it only leads to situations like this. There is no explicit rule banning meta and discourse topics, however, the mods reserve the right to end the conversation if necessary.

Mod Power Increase:

As a mod team, this incident was the first real test of how well we work together as a team. We were a new server, and the mod team was relatively new, so it was very difficult for the owner to gauge how well things would run. Behind the scenes, every mod handled themselves well, gave their honest advice, and respected the collective. Seeing this, the owner's faith in us increased, and as a direct result, mod powers were increased across the board.

As a direct result, the mods have more influence over decisions, and mod powers were increased across the board. In addition to the new rule on subject changes, a select extra couple of mods were granted kick and ban permissions to deal with any violations of the rules should the owner be unavailable.

There is also a jail role which every mod is able to utilise in the event of the kick/ban powered mods being unavailable, or if a user incurs a punishment where a kick or ban would be too harsh, and a strike inadequate.

Penalty:

To address Paragraph 12, the user censored in brown indeed received no official punishment for breaking Rule 1 (despite the strong advocacy for one).

The user censored in brown left approximately one month later, on 16/03/2023.

(Screenshot 22)

A ban would have been too harsh given their admission to ignorance and expressed desire to learn and do better (Screenshot 7), which we cannot ignore. Therefore, they should have received a strike for their appallingly sexist and misogynistic statements. Nothing further would have been required as the immediate response from other users in public, in our opinion, would have made it enough.

As a whole, we recognise the mistake concerning the lack of official penalty, and we strive to do better every single day by regularly refining our policies and protocol, and recognising the signs of an incident faster.

This said, the consequences for the user censored in brown are not null. If they were to get involved in another incident, the consequences would be immediate and harsh because of their actions in, and our learning from the incident in February.

The user censored in brown returned on 29/09/2023 [Source] with no incidence.

Additionally mentioned in Paragraph 12, the owner had every right to "whine," [Paragraph 12], as you say, about the assumption that nothing was done about it, because that is wrong, and it was very insulting to the mod team, including myself, who worked hard to make action and change happened following the incident.

The Insinuation what WLC is Unsafe for Queer People and Other Minorities

... Is incorrect.

We do not "actively [enable] bigots." Four attempts at shutting down the conversation were made by the mods present, but participants did not obey them. (This made everyone participating in the subsequent conversation at least partly to blame for the incident).

Furthermore, the statement "no rule was present to begin with making clear that bigotry was not tolerated, nor was one added," [Paragraph 9], is false. I would have thought that that Rule 1 was sufficient because respectfulness always excludes transphobia, homophobia, misogyny, and other bigotries.

1. Be civil, be respectful, be chill. No slurs are permitted in the server. [Source]

Additionally, there is a rule stating:

8. If you see anyone violating any of the above rules, or if you need an immediate question answered, feel free to @/Caretaker (Mod) at the site of the issue, dm [the server owner], or put it in #help-box

This can happen at any point in the conversation, including if there is no mod present, of if you don't think enough is being done.

The incident could still have been handled far better, but that does not make us a dangerous server, and that certainly doesn't mean we "actively [enable] bigots." At the time, we were still a relatively new server, some of us were inexperienced, and that was our first incident, (which is not to excuse my point). To have something of that severity happen as our first test was startling, however, we have learnt, and continue to learn and grow through continuous hard work and improvements to server policy and mod protocol.

I can say with full confidence that should a similar situation arise in the future, the response will look very different.

Sources: Is the Call-Out Post Reliable? Is this Post reliable?

The Callout Post:

No, the callout post is not reliable.

In addition to everything covered so far in this response, the original poster cannot reliably speak for the current state of the server, as they left on 16/02/2023, within a week of the incident (approximately 9 months ago)

(Screenshot 23)

The post in question was posted on 06/11/2023, approximately 9 months after the referred incident, which occurred on 10/02/2023. The timing indicates that it was a response to the advertisement in the Whumptober Discord server, which was posted 05/11/2023 (and was since taken down by the Whumptober mods who were linked the post in question).

Given the timing and the personal stance the post takes, I question the author's focus on grossly exaggerating their allegations of transphobia and failure to get what they wanted, rather than directly calling attention to the far more alarming and explicitly harmful statements regarding sexual assault. This post, which is seemingly designed to gain traction and support on Tumblr, almost completely ignores that and chooses to attack the server owner and management instead.

The author shares their personal experience and then tells everyone reading it to side with them without letting them decide for themselves using real evidence. It is almost completely unsourced. It is anecdotal and makes use of recalled quotes and summaries with no links or screenshots to substantiate them. The promise of receiving screenshots on request is not good enough, and "[not wanting] to make this even longer," [Paragraph 16] is not an excuse for not including any real evidence at all. I would also like to add that it can be done with message links rather than screenshots.

With the presence of misleading statements and misquotes, it does not bode well for its reliability.

This Post:

Is this post reliable?

I have done my very best to provide accurate and minimally biased explanations of what occurred (or if I did find myself responding to something personal, I alerted readers to possible bias), backed up by as much information and as many links as I possibly can so that any reader may access the evidence behind my claims and responses. I have also stated my affiliation with the server.

It is up to the readers to decide for themselves whether my post is reliable.

So, now we Know what Happened, Are we a Transphobic Server? A Conclusion

No.

@whumplovers-collaborate is NOT a transphobic Discord server, nor do we allow other harmful behaviours and statements to be shared within it.

Not one of us in management is transphobic, misogynistic, or bigoted as the post accused us, and not one of us supports or endorses it.

The actions of one member do not speak for an entire server.

One incident does not speak for an entire server.

While it could have been better handled, action was undeniably taken, and we have since learnt and modified policies and mod powers to ensure a faster and better outcome in the future.

This incident has also helped us realise the kind of space we want to be. Instead of a divisive and uncomfortable space rife with meta discourse, we want to be a space dedicated to the love of our craft, and the enjoyment of our hobby.

We are all here because of what we have in common; our love of whump.

Every day, we get closer to our ideal through the hard work and dedication of the mod team, and the server owner, without whom, this server would not exist.

We are very proud to report that there has been no incident since.

My Extremely Biased Conclusion

Before you spread the post that warns the "server is unsafe for trans people and the server owner is actively enabling bigots," [Paragraph 3], I urge you all to decide for yourself the quality of WLC based on the sources, the actual incident, and your own research, and your own experience, rather than a word-of mouth post from a disgruntled ex-member who has not been a member of the server for 9 months (and counting).

I also have a couple of questions:

Why on earth would a mod team where the non-queer members are the minority allow transphobia to fester in their server?

Does one incident make an entire server transphobic and unsafe?

Does a single member speak for the quality of the server and its community as a whole?

Who of you actually DM'ed the author of the post and requested evidence before you spread it?

Look up the definition of transphobia.

Have a think.

(These are rhetorical).

Also, to those of you who blindly reblogged this without doing your due diligence: shame on you.

In my opinion, it was a personal attack from a disgruntled ex-member who wanted the attention of a callout post on Tumblr, and you all fell for it.

Do. Your. Fucking. Research. Before you decide to slander and tear down the server owner, the mod team, and our server.

Do better.

Our server is not transphobic, nor bigoted in any other way. It never has been, and we are fully committed to making sure it never will be.

An Outro

Phew...

With all that off my chest, if you read through the whole post, thank you, I really do appreciate it. If you had a read through the sources too, that's even better :)

And I mean that genuinely regardless of the conclusion you come to.

With all this said, I will return to my dark little hole. I likely will not respond to any followup questions or argument on the matter, as at this moment, this is all I have to say, and making sure it was this thorough took a lot of time. I will not respond to any hate or harassment. Absolutely do not harass any member mentioned in the sources of this post. I will find out, and we will have words, that is a promise.

#long post #whump meta #discourse #whump discourse #whump community #whumpblr #whump discord #whumplovers collaborate #transphobia #important

[antifainternational]

REVIEW: WE GO WHERE THEY GO: THE STORY OF ANTI-RACIST ACTION Shannon Clay, Lady, Kristin Schwartz, and Michael Staudenmaier 2023, PM Press Reviewed by K-Dog In February I read the excellent new book WE GO WHERE THEY GO - The Story of Anti-Racist Action written by Shannon Clay, Lady, Kristin Schwartz, and Michael Staudenmaier, with a cool graphic-style Forward by Gord Hill - and published by PM Press. This is the first-ever in-depth history of the influential direct-action anti-fascist youth movement - and the authors do a great job of trying to organize that story into chapters covering the defining struggles and evolutions of the network - including the turf battles between anti-racist skins and nazi boneheads, the protracted struggle against the Ku Klux Klan's organizing efforts, ARA 's innovative and effective work in Canada, and the fierce opposition to both anti-choice fascists and sexism within our movement. The book is driven by interviews with over 50 ARA veterans, fellow travelers or first-hand observers who provide quotes, reflections, and war stories - often with a biting sense of humor.

I spent a good part of my teens and twenties building ARA in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Detroit, Chicago and supporting other chapters across North America. It was my university. So it was fun and sometimes emotional to read stories of fights we were in or see quotes from friends who have put in the work and paid their dues in this movement. I always knew that what we did mattered - even if it wasn't often treated that way by the mainstream left - not to mention broader society. But I have to admit its rewarding to have the history treated as something significant, even crucial. More than giving props to the OG antifas tho - what's really meaningful is that this book will help a new generation, confronting new forms of the fascist threat, find inspiration and lessons in both our successes and failures.

A few things off the top of my head that I thought the book did well was: 1. Quantify the victories against the fash - a surprising number of fascist organizations went out of business after sustained campaigns by ARA - a material contribution to the fight against white supremacy 2. Deal openly and honestly and without hype with the question of political violence - both its efficacy and dangers 3. Emphasize the role of culture (not just the bands - but yes the bands) - the way the movement LIVED and FELT and WORKED 4. Skillfully review the disagreements and controversies within the movement without trying to score points or dismiss points of view 5. Argue for the need for movements that are both militant AND outward facing - radical AND popular 6. Letting the people speak! This isn't a book of academic citations or leftist rhetoric - its the voices of regular, mostly working-class people, mostly without college degrees sharing their thoughtful insights, compelling stories, and clever anecdotes

My criticisms of the book are really more criticisms of ARA. Did we really never articulate a thorough understanding of what fascism is? Or at least establish some solid competing positions? Did we never find a way to talk about strategy beyond the various direct action campaigns we were running? Did we never propose ways to further embed ARA within wider sections of the working-class - and especially relate to communities of color more consistently and systematically? Looking back, some of our short comings are embarrassingly obvious.

For me Anti-Racist Action was a real living example of a genuine "United Front" - the concept of different groups, tendencies, and individuals working together and having each others backs in struggle DESPITE many real and important differences. A United Front does not mean everybody is all happy with each other all the time - quite the opposite, it means we're all often annoyed, angry or arguing with each other - but we don't sulk away when we lose a vote or don't get our way or face some criticism. We do appreciate what other folks are bringing to the table tho, we give them their respect, and we recognize the common goals we are fighting for - because those goals actually fucking matter.

The other thing about ARA I'd like to highlight was the de facto method of leadership - the anarchistic "leadership by example". Instead of a top-down structure where a few intellectuals dictate strategy and tactics on the larger mass - ARA chapters made their arguments by producing real world examples of what they were talking about. Think we should all do Cop-Watch patrols? Show me what that looks like. Convinced we need to make feminism a core part of our culture? Build a crew that exudes that vibe. Want economic demands as part of the program? See how we are doing it in our town, etc. etc. etc.

I have a lot of love for the hundreds of young people who organized and fought for ARA; for the few elders from the 60s/70s generation who embraced ARA, helped build it and make it more sophisticated; and the bands that saw what we were doing and kney they could help by promoting the work on tour and on records. ARA was a militant movement - we took risks and took licks - and gave 'em back too. I remember once calculating how many arrests ARA had taken over the years and by my loose tally we were well into the many hundreds when I gave up counting. Many of us got stitches and casts, relationships got tested and burned, and two of us were murdered by nazis in the desert. Now in my 50s I'm still unsettled and angry about a lot - and I'm still active on a few fronts - will be 'til the day I die. But I have a calmness when I'm around my ARA homies with our jokes, arguments, scars, and PTSD. My people. Virtual book launch of WE GO WHERE THEY GO, hosted by Asheville, NC's Firestorm Books: Tuesday, March 28th @ 7pm. Register here.

#antifa #anti-racist action #we go where they go #pm press #never let the nazis have the streets #antifascist #firestorm books #antifascism #asheville

[loki-zen]

Unfashionable opinion: if, as a white man, you've written a book on identity/diversity-inclusive practice in your field, which claims to include gender as one of these axes - and yet, when you actually flick through the relevant section, it's a series of anecdotes in which you let black and asian women tell you you're racist - then I don't believe that you actually believe sexism is a problem!

#like if there are plenty of cis het men of colour in your book then it's sort of weird if there's not a single white woman #or a single example with a woman of any ethnicity that actually primarily addresses gender

[sixties-doctor-who-stan]

It feels weird that Terrence Dicks only died in 2019, like a lot of his contemporaries (like Malcolm Hulke and Robert Holmes) died decades earlier and even Barry Letts died in 2009.

Was watching the Terrance Dicks tribute on the Season 8 Blu-Ray and was shocked that he had Doctor Who figures in his house! Not just Classic Who, he even had the Anne-droid and a Kerblam! robot (Kerblam! came out in 2018!)

Was also surprised that Frank Skinner was presenting and not Toby Hadoke (since it’s usually Toby Hadoke)

It was an interesting tribute, I didn’t know there was a place called East Ham.

And I think his writing principles were something to admire (“don’t turn a late writing day into a no writing day” was my favourite)

His sexism was mentioned a little bit but is mainly just a “humorous” anecdote. I don’t think they NEEDED to dwell on it, btw, since this is a tribute but maybe treat it a little more seriously?

I do think he was an important figure to Who but the fact he lived much longer than other writers and interacted a lot with fans definitely makes him more “familiar” to fans than someone like Robert Holmes or especially David Whittaker (who were equally important writers — even if I personally don’t like a lot of Holmes’s writing)

This is a bit of a ramble but just my thoughts I guess

#terrance dicks #doctor who #classic who #blu ray

[annlarimer]

When I was young, the people who wrote about SF/F conventions painted them as idyllic and safe places where you would find your tribe. They would then often contradict themselves with the 'hilarious' anecdotes they told, but whatever. This proved to be untrue, and over the decades I have had encounters with groping guests, Nazi costumers and wargamers, stalkers (one left fat letters written on hotel stationery under my room door, which I was not fool enough to read), racists, homophobes, men explaining comics I've already read to me, a guy handing out condoms with a cheery "Get to know me better!", and a woman who physically tackled me from behind because she liked my t-shirt. And my adventures were pretty mild - I'm white and cis and have never had to endure being spoken to in that "OH MY STARS, YOU'RE AN ACTUAL A BLACK PERSON!" tone of voice.

Anyway, if anyone tells you this kind of shit is new, they are lying.

CN: sexual harassment, sexism

#isaac asimov #sf history #conventions

[jhsharman]

ferocious fems, the chaperone

Dexter Taylor may have something here, the young ones prone to skipping any even unreasoned argument and just physically pounding at each other.

Okay. So. Football, of all things, in 1949. But. The reason? They need to raise money for they really care about, a beauty pageant! Okay, fingering that fine line between sexism and misogyny.

1975. A girls' baseball team. Is that particularly crazy from this vantage point? Yes, the first blushing of Title 9 did have some women with zero interest before scholarship opportunities pulled them in -- anecdotally I know a couple woman who never picked up a stick before and for that matter ever again but now were indeed in the early 1970s woman's hockey players -- and a women's athletic culture developed from here after being squelched for quite some time. But. We are a year off from Amanda Whurlitzer as the star pitcher of The Bad News Bears. Betty Cooper herself is a good baseball player over the past two decades when the story calls for it, and not good when the story calls for that. Actually, from whence comes everyone joining a baseball team for its own sake off of the comically exaggerated amount of ignorance we will see?

The mainline Archie version has some teen boys horny to see these "dolls in action". Not a plot point that is going to be adapted to Little Archie, though I do have to wonder about Little Mr. Weatherbee here -- probably just how I assign the line in the original. Semi-cutely, Little Archie sneaks us some zap action from Little Sabrina. The one thing with this era of Little Archie is where we see a good reason a reader would view much of the material as stuck in the 1950s, the Little Sabrina slot comes in new.

I have no clue what size crowd my high school's Powder Puff game drew. The only reason I know there was at least one was that I was in the same room while some of the planning took place, hearing them deciding on where to limit it to as short a time as they could get away with because -- really no one was there to see some great competition. Today you can probably scour old yearbooks to find pictures from these events to see if you can embarrass a politician making hay over a Drag Queen Story Hour.

The abstractions of money get lost in the Little Archie version, dollars traded in for sodas. Conflict of interest anyways -- what athletic association allows the umpire / referee from one of the same schools? Jughead is corruptible -- 1957's "Buck Chuck!" Is this same gag.

The line on "The deuce / to heck with the ball" gets a different meaning with the Little Archie variant, an extension of their ignorance on the game as opposed to the desire to just kick the living snot out of the other girls for perceived personal gain.

The "playing rough", I should note, was run of the mill baseball playing -- ball hit toward you, tagging you out. But. Either way, melee time. And after this they beat the living snot out of Reggie. The End.

#Archie Comics #Archie Andrews #Reggie Mantle #Veronica Lodge #Betty Cooper #Mr. Weatherbee #Hiram Lodge #Sabrina Spellman #Little Archie #Powder Puff Football #baseball #High School athletics #fundraising #elementary school athletics #George Frese #1950 #Dexter Taylor #1975

[random2908]

I seem to have gained a ton of new followers, due to a physics post (!). So I guess I should put together a master-post of all my physics posts and maybe pin it. A couple things are listed in multiple categories. I’m sure I missed some posts, especially in the “physics news” category, but I think I got most of my big explanatory and philosophical posts. [NB: This is not primarily a physics blog, although I’m nearly always happy to talk about physics. This is an everything blog, but I just happen to be a physicist.]

physics news

black hole polarization

LIGO detection of gravitational waves

changing the definition of mass

atom laser announcement and list of related topics (short post)

what is fusion? and the 2022 NIF fusion energy result 

physics explanations

entropy 

entropy followup

entropy the short version

Bose-Einstein condensation

kitchen experiment! Rayleigh scattering to simulate daytime, sunset, and eclipses using milk and flashlights

states of matter

Emmy Noether’s law of symmetry (explanation not by me) 

sources of elements (explanation not by me)

how different types of medical imaging work

quantum mechanics in sci-fi, coherence, and Schrodinger’s cat

atom laser

what is fusion? and the 2022 NIF fusion energy result

double pendulum (comment on another post)

equivalence principle

a darkness flashlight

philosophy of science

second quantization (is light REALLY a particle?)

quantum interpretation as religion

many worlds (flippant)

skepticism

quantum interpretation and superdeterminism

conflicting definitions of “weight”

nothing, my first love

cautionary tale about extraordinary results

Planck constant

luminiferous ether is back on the table!

equivalence principle

blackbody radition and second quantization (silly convo with my brother)

skepticism 2, and string theory

quantum mechanics isn't causal and that's ok

brief musing on energy as topography

compatibility between science and religion

brief discussion of the paradox of verifying precision measurement

the full Planck length rant

if you pick the wrong approach for the type of physics you're asking about, you get the wrong answer to even seemingly dumb-simple questions like "where are you"

social stuff

worst lab safety anecdote

random anecdote of benevolent sexism at work

the social poison of being a physicist

the tolls of getting a PhD

musings on science funding vis-a-vis the military-industrial complex

rant about how science and math ARE part of the liberal arts 

tumblr search for the word “safety officer” on my blog to get mad science stories

overselling your work to get funding

[beardedmrbean]

Oh yeah Ronald Erwin McNair, sorry I thought he was on that other space shuttle that fell apart during launch.

Also that program with Nichelle Nichols, I recall a lot of space exploration and travel polices were created to prevent another colonial empires power struggle which gave us the world wars and the eugenics horror show.

So space was showed to be “EVERY HUMAN CAN BE IN OUTER SPACE!” Now of course only humans of peak condition can be astronauts but stuff like Star Trek suppose to show a possible future where we all can coexist with each other.

Of course NASA was like “okay let not pull a Nazi and show that non whites and women can be astronauts too” but when most of your organization made up of geeky white people…

I can see why Nichelle Nichols was chosen as she inspired many people especially in the blacks and women into science with her uhura role.

And the whole racial tension that she of all people understands. So she basically help convince a lot of black people and women who you know grew up in segregation and heavy gender roles so NASA definitely felt like an out of reach idea for them.

Sorry you are a bigger NASA fan than me. I’m just curious how da fuck is math racist when we had a black astronaut that grew up in the Deep South?

🤨

He was, that was his 2nd flight, Challenger, Jan 28 1986. That's a day embedded in my memory.

NASA has pretty much always been THE government agency that didn't care about anything other than if you can do the job, obviously politics still showed up and they weren't going to send a woman or black man to the moon, woman bit was less sexist than it was a technology and biology thing, going potty and all, still sexism but it was really more cost effective to not have to worry about the other bits.

Nichelle Nichols thing, I hope she fully grasped how important she was to women in general and black women especially. This is the best anecdote about her, at least that fits the theme.

Roddenberry knew what he had created already, why else have a black woman and a Russian on the bridge crew, Nichols found out when Dr King let her know what she meant.

She also wrote that she had "a short, stormy, exciting relationship" with Sammy Davis Jr. in 1959.

GIRL!!! lol

>Sorry you are a bigger NASA fan than me. I’m just curious how da fuck is math racist when we had a black astronaut that grew up in the Deep South?

And a physicist at that.

It's not, I think the issue is that people don't like that there's going to be a right and a wrong answer for math, 1+1 will always equal 2 is problematic somehow.

There's also claims that the way it's taught is geared toward white students, which I'm not sure how that works, but even if that's true they're playing to the majority which sure would come out discriminatory but that's a no win situation unless you bring back segregation.

It's reading but, I think we may be in the market for this happening in math too.

As a teacher in Oakland, Calif., Kareem Weaver helped struggling fourth- and fifth-grade kids learn to read by using a very structured, phonics-based reading curriculum called Open Court. It worked for the students, but not so much for the teachers. “For seven years in a row, Oakland was the fastest-gaining urban district in California for reading,” recalls Weaver. “And we hated it.”

The teachers felt like curriculum robots—and pushed back. “This seems dehumanizing, this is colonizing, this is the man telling us what to do,” says Weaver, describing their response to the approach. “So we fought tooth and nail as a teacher group to throw that out.” It was replaced in 2015 by a curriculum that emphasized rich literary experiences. “Those who wanted to fight for social justice, they figured that this new progressive way of teaching reading was the way,” he says.

Now Weaver is heading up a campaign to get his old school district to reinstate many of the methods that teachers resisted so strongly: specifically, systematic and consistent instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics. “In Oakland, when you have 19% of Black kids reading—that can’t be maintained in the society,” says Weaver, who received an early and vivid lesson in the value of literacy in 1984 after his cousin got out of prison and told him the other inmates stopped harassing him when they realized he could read their mail to them. “It has been an unmitigated disaster.” In January 2021, the local branch of the NAACP filed an administrative petition with the Oakland unified school district (OUSD) to ask it to include “explicit instruction for phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension” in its curriculum.

From a different article same subject

I like that they put the numbers in this one,

But ya, they didn't like the system they had and even though they were getting year to year improvements with it they changed it because why not throw students under the bus.

Maybe they should learn from Ron McNair, but that would be the students taking the initiative and learning on their own, which might require a sea change in the community as it relates to education.

There's a reason this program has kept going since 1987, but ya colonization of students minds, there's a math one too not sure how good that is.

And there's people who just can't get some math honestly, I know I'm one of them, full spectrum dyslexia is not something I'd wish on anyone.

#anonymous

[headcanonsandmore]

I find it really saddening that so many see RTD as "coming back to save Doctor Who". 

Not because I have any strong feelings against him as a showrunner, but because (in my mind) Doctor Who doesn't need to be saved anymore.

It hasn't needed that since 2017. The Chibnall/Whittaker era was what got me back into the show after M*ffat's era left me cold. There was a half-decade gap where I, as an autistic asexual nerd, felt Doctor Who wasn't for me, because of M*ffat's sexism, ableism and general obsession with wanting to seem clever at the expense of telling a good story with fun characters. And I wasn't the only one; there are masses of anecdotal evidence from people who dropped away from the show at the same time.

No joke, I stopped watching Doctor Who completely between the fiftieth anniversary special in 2013 and the first series of the Thirteenth Doctor in 2018. For me, the Chibnall/Whittaker era did save Doctor Who; it made it a fun, sci-fi show with engaging characters again. And, once again, I wasn't the only person who noticed this; many fans who lost interest during the M*ffat era came back during the Chibnall/Whittaker era because the show felt like the Doctor Who they’d adored before.

So, no, RTD is not coming back to “save” Doctor Who. He doesn't need to; the Chibnall/Whittaker era already did that.

#thirteenth doctor