#tw cultural erasure

[dragonturtle2]

The Collector’s Magical Kingdom of Appropriation

The Collector’s reign over the Boiling Isles is actually a huge illustrated metaphor of cultural appropriation. Sure, there are the more blatant signs of full on colonialism and genocide. We plainly see the entire native population is either enslaved or hidden away in fear, while Collector takes their territory for himself. But The Owl House has always spent time being a mirror held up to the consequences of the fantasy genre, and the desires of its fans.

Think of the stars with eyes that Collector uses to decorate the Isles, and deploys as enslaver drones. Why the star shape? It’s not just a reminder of how he/they are technically a little kid. It’s the overriding aesthetic of the Collector society. They seem to live in the cosmos itself, their clothes have celestial bodies all over them, and each one of them apparently had a phase of the moon stamped on their faces. So in order to make the Boiling Isles more appealing to himself, Collector stamped his local iconography all over them. He/They took one look at the native architecture and design and decided it wasn’t suitable to his wants. Along with morphing the citizens into wood and plaster, he gave them redesigned and rebranded outfits. Even the local ecology and vistas were crudely plastered over, to the point that a newcomer like Camila Noceda couldn’t distinguish what elements were original.

And these aesthetics are designed to wage war with each other. The inhabitants and architecture of the Boiling Isles are modeled after the free-range bizarreness of Hieronymus Bosch. The most mundane utilities are steeped in the macabre, and nobody even blinks an eye at. This reflects how the Witch civilizations have mimicked the dead giant that gave rise to their existence. Possibly how they’re so at ease with the very concept of death, since they live with the reminder of it’s inevitability, and how it can bring beauty.

What Collector prefers is an 80’s G-rated fantasy kiddie cartoon in the vein of Care Bears.

There’s also the metanarrative aspect with how Luz’s entire story has been passed on. The Collector has spent all these months play-acting Luz’s life; all her accomplishments, and all her sacred bonds. Yes it was King’s suggestion; “the Owl House” game. But Collector obviously loves it. Yet Collector has nothing but contempt for Luz herself, even as a concept. He/They get pouty or mopey whenever she gets referenced. We’ve all seen this pattern of thought with bad faith arguments from chuds online, when it comes to certain franchises. Where they don’t actually have any problems with the story or the particular tropes, they just get pissy when the protagonist is a female or person of color. Collector calls Luz “that human,” like who she was born as is an insult.

The only person Collector treats anything like a peer is King, because he is also a species that reaches Godhood. All the lesser species can be treasured pets, at best. The Collector shares a mindset (or at least outward habits) with bigoted gatekeepers, where the joys of a story or franchise aren’t deserved by people who don’t remind them of themselves. Even if those different types of people are the ones who created the story in the first place. Their accomplishments are only worthwhile if HE can use them, including stamping his name and face on them. Colonialism doesn’t just steal the fruits of labor, they steal your stories of the past, present, and future.

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:

As an aside, the actions of erasure also extend to the only remotely real bond Collector has, King. Which isn’t surprising given that he’s literally redecorating and playing games with the corpse of King’s dad. The process King’s gone through is assimilation by way of involuntary adoption. King is dressed in Collector clothes, lives in a Collector palace (built atop his dad’s resting place), and learns Collector lore as he reads Collector bedtime stories. Meanwhile, his mom and auntie are living behind bars while they scrounge for their prescriptions.

Although this isn’t quite the intended assimilation like Collector has done for the entire Isles and witch-kind; he/they are just offering King what they enjoy most, which mostly defaults to what they’re already familiar with. That’s just normal for kids, and people in general.

I believe this is a different kind of warning Collector poses to anyone who enjoys stories, and all us involved in fandom. Not just the terror of artistic gentrification. It’s seeking out stories, characters and settings to only fulfill our own desires and preferences. Searching for only baseline wish fulfillment can trap us in a bubble that stops us from growing. Then if something is unique or incongruous, we either throw it away or end up mangling the interpretation. And when art is swept aside and destroyed, we’re also degrading where it came from. It’s creator, it’s people, and it’s country.

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:

When King first came into his Titan power, I thought it seemed strange that it was a vocal attack. Just because the actual physical noises of the Titan - speech, language, cries - have never had any prominence in this show. Descriptions or theories of how that species have never been included in the lore reveals, or the musings or sayings of the local populace. The closest we’ve gotten is Belos’s original lie, “I am the voice of the Titan.”

I assumed it was meant to contrast with King’s squeaky voice and grand boasts being his main source of comedy. And just basic symbology about puberty. But after writing all this, I’m convinced it was setting up how to save the day from whatever Belos and Collector will try to inflict.

King will stand with his mother and sister (and hopefully aunt and Hooty) and they ALL scream out that what they have is perfect. They scream to prove they exist, and they don’t need to write any coherent song or reasonable argument to prove or earn that right. Their identity, their self perception and self respect, is their power. The most basic of expression can annihilate oppressors, as long is it’s honest. And of course, coordinated noise is a great opportunity for some musician to get involved.

Big thanks to @marztheincredible for Beta’ing the preceding essay concerning this very histories and complex subject.

#the owl house #toh #luz noceda #toh the collector #toh collector #king clawthorne #cultural erasure #tw cultural erasure #cultural appropriation #owl house Titan #tw colonialism #Youtube #toh king #toh titan #toh analysis #owl house analysis #owl house essay #marztheincredible

[lake-lady]

If you're from Germany, do you feel the need to be aware if your ancestors/great grandparents were Nazis? Like I wanted to look up if my family "owned" slaves (i dont recognize it as true ownership but don't know how to better describe it) and I had benefitted from that generations later. Turns out they did not because they were always coal miners but like. I needed to know.

#i know its a bit dark i just prefer to be aware of how far my privilege stretches. #i know my white european ancestors still benefitted from erasure of indigenous culture in North America so i try #to live in a way that recognizes that #tw slavery #tw racism #slavery #racism #tw oppression #oppression #tw colonization

[dysphoric-culture-is]

dysphoric transfem culture is feeling erased in your own community

Dysphoric culture is!

Also, oh no… mod has gotten variations of this ask from just about all parts of the trans community before. People really need to be more inclusive overall.

#dysphoria tw #gender dysphoria #dysphoria #dysphoric culture is #dysphoric transfem culture is #transfem #trans community #trans erasure #exclusion tw #transunitism #trans #lgbtq #lgbti #queer #nb

[uglyduchessrantsandcomments]

It is 2022 and I still have to listen to rancid takes about how bi people in relationships with a different gender don't belong in queer spaces. What's the logic? Are they no longer queer? Are they no longer allowed to discuss their experience with other people who've been through the same things? Who see the world through similar lenses?

Do people really feel threatened by them? Are we going to check everyone's sexual and romantic history before they even think of stepping into a queer space? Are straight transgender people not allowed in either? Is the point of these spaces just to find partners with the same gender as yours? Isn't that an extremely narrow definition of queerness?

I'm bi, and I've only recently realised that I'm nonbinary, but I still look like a woman. Is my relationship with my partner, a bisexual man, considered straight?

My point being: isn't this kind of gatekeeping exactly what we hate about straight culture? We've lived through so much just because we don't fit into these narrow definitions of what relationships and sexuality should be. And for what? To create more tiny boxes to force people into?

If you're so quick to push people out of these spaces, out of what you think queerness is, I ask you to seriously question why you're so ready to exclude other people who're just slightly different from you. To ask yourself why your ideal of purity is more important than the acceptance of others. Because if that's the way you view the world, I'm sorry to tell you that you're not any cleverer than the bigots from whom we're trying to protect ourselves.

#bisexuality #biphobia #tw: biphobia #bi erasure #lgbt #gatekeeping #purity culture #queer spaces #rant #sorry for the long post #and sorry for the angry rant

[genderkoolaid]

Intro to Anti-transmasculinity (ATM)

(also ft. an about me section)

Defining ATM:

Anti-transmasculinity refers to the systematic oppression of transmasculinity. “Transmasculinity” refers to the concept of people seen as female having a masculine or manly gender or gender expression*. Other terms used for this are transandrophobia, transmisandry, and transmascphobia.

In 1963, feminist Betty Freidan described misogyny as “the problem with no name,” illustrating how at the time, women’s language to understand, describe and communicate their oppression was underdeveloped. Anti-transmasculinity has been, similarly, a problem with no name; transmasculine people have not had the language or framework to understand, describe, and communicate our oppression. Transmasculinity suffers from erasure, often called “invisibility”. This does not protect transmasculine people from violence; it silences us to prevent us from speaking out against, or realizing, the violence done to us. It alienates us from our history, our brothers, siblings and sisters, and ourselves, by preventing transmasculinity from being seen, heard, discussed, or considered. For more posts of mine and others that help expand on the theory of anti-transmasculinity, see my #theory tag.

*This is not my definition of transmasculinity as an identity. This definition is for the form of transness targeted by transphobia, which is based around the idea of "female/woman trying to be male/a men." My definition of transmasculinity as an identity is any form of masculinity or manhood that is trans* in nature, regardless of presentation or assigned sex. I make this distinction because a GNC man assigned male could see his manhood as trans, but be targeted by transphobia based around the idea of a man trying to be a woman.

Who can be affected by ATM?:

Anyone can suffer from anti-transmasculinity, regardless of gender, sex or sexuality. Anti-transmasculine violence targets perceived transmasculinity, which means anyone perceived as transmasculine can be victimized. That is not the extent of how people are affected, though; people who perceive themselves to be transmasculine, consciously or unconsciously, or who have traits associated with transmasculinity can also be affected by witnessing anti-transmasculinity.

(TW: transphobic murder)

People who are associated with transmasculinity (such as partners, friends, and family of transmasculine people) can also be affected, not just through emotional pain but targeted for physical violence. As an example, Italian cis woman Maria Paola Gaglione was murdered by her brother to "teach her a lesson" after she got engaged to a trans man.

Who can be anti-transmasculine?:

Anyone can be anti-transmasculine, regardless of gender, sex, or sexuality. It is a systemic way of thinking that is spread throughout society and culture, and reproduces itself constantly in people's thoughts and actions.

Who benefits from anti-transmasculinity?:

In the grand scheme of things, everyone suffers from the restrictive nature of transphobia. However, in general, only cisgender, gender-conforming people systematically benefit from anti-transmasculinity. Other trans* people do not; trans* people do not systematically benefit from each other’s oppression.

* *trans is a way of writing “trans” that emphasizes it as a broad umbrella term inclusive of everyone who trangresses gender and sex norms

Is ATM caused by “misandry”?

In transunity theory, “misandry” is used to refer to the way that gender roles around manhood/masculinity are weaponized to harm marginalized people, (in this case) specifically trans* people; trans* people are viewed as having the worst traits of both masculinity and femininity, as well as the inherent negativity associated with androgyny. In this sense, anti-transmasculinity does involve misandry, as do anti-transfeminity* and exorsexism**. However, all of these also involve misogyny and misandrogyny***. Which one of these is more dominant varies between types of transphobia, as well as the individuals doing the violence and the ones experiencing it.

To quote this article, "Misandry [...] can never reliably be prevented from collapsing into transphobia."

*i use anti-transfemininity (ATF) as a companion to anti-transmasculinity, as an alternative to “transmisogyny.” This is because, as I explain, my philosophy on transphobia is that all transphobias are inherently misogynistic and all trans* people experience the intersection of misogyny. Additionally, transunity theory frames transphobia as being the intersection of many forms of gendered bigotry, so using the “anti-” terms lets me talk about these transphobias without having to specify it by only one kind (like -misogyny or -androphobia)

** exorsexism refers to oppression of people who violate the gender or sex binaries; it includes intersexism, but also oppression against non-binary people.

*** misandrogyny is the hatred of/bigotry against androgyny, a companion to misogyny and misandry. “androgyny” here refers to anything outside the exclusive male/female binary; examples of misandrogyny are violence done when someone cannot tell someone’s gender/sex, and the idea of nonbinary and genderqueer language as immature, annoying, and pointless, while binary language is considered mature, normal, and useful.

Evidence of ATM:

I have the tags #examples of transandrophobia and #experiences with transandrophobia; the first is posts showing transandrophobia in action, and the second is people describing the transandrophobia they have experienced or witnessed.

I also keep the Archive of Violence Against Trans*masculine People, which keeps a record of events of anti-transmasculine violence. This includes murder, rape, abuse, physical assault, harassment, and the suicides of transmasculine people. Also on this archive is a list of academic research & writing related to anti-transmasculinity; the studies provide more objective evidence of the systemic oppression transmasculine people face, and analyses which can help with understanding how anti-transmasculinity works.

You can also look at @transandrophobia-archive which collects examples of anti-transmasculine Tumblr posts.

Info on Me:

I’m genderqueer, transsexual, and a transvestite; I am a man and a woman and neither (all of which affect each other), and identify with both transmasc, transfem, and transother. I’m also aromantic + greysexual. My sexuality is everything everywhere all at once.

Originally this blog was just made for me to process and deal with my own internalized anti-transmasculinity, but then people liked what I wrote and now its a place where I talk about queer issues & related things I find important.

I’m multiply disabled (both physically and mentally) and I struggle with answering asks; if I don’t answer you for a while feel free to just send your ask again, I will not mind. Also feel free to ask me to explain anything in plain language if you have difficulty understanding something. I don’t mind educating people or helping people find resources, as long as you are respectful and are in good faith and all that.

I am going into philosophy and sociology with a focus on religion, and run @transtheology where I collect posts on trans-affirming spirituality and religion. If you have any questions or want advice related to transness and spirituality/religion (or madness & spirituality/religion) I’d love to help you the best I can.

If you would like to support me, here’s my kofi

Further Resources:

""Transandrophobia" Primer" by nothorses

"As a transfem, what's your insight on the way transmascs are treated when talking about their experiences?" by cipheramnesia

"This is just your regular free-of-charge reminder that when people argue that transandrophobia does not exist, or that its not important enough to talk about, they are explicitly saying they don't care about sexual assault victims or victims of suicide (among other things)" by nothorses

"Transandrophobia Posts Masterpost- 2022" by transgentlemanluke

Pinned post with links to discussions about transandrophobia, baeddelism, and other issues by nothorses

"What is transandophobia actually?" by transmasc-pirate, with additions by doberbutts and psychoticallytrans

"Transandrophobic Fundamentals and the Intersections of Trans Masc Marginalization" by none-gender-left-man

"Hello, I apologise if you've already received questions like this, but can you explain why you would say that transmisandry/androphobia is distinct from misogyny?" by transfaguette

"I Am A Transwoman. I Am In The Closet. I Am Not Coming Out." by Jennifer Coates

This conversation between doberbutts and folly-of-alexandria

Transandrophobia Explained carrd, by myself

Transmisogyny is not the intersection of transphobia and misogyny by luckyladylily

This post on misogyny, misandry, and transandrophobia by thorne1345

"tumblr can make fun of Blizzard’s Oppression Calculator all they want, that’s exactly how people act with discourse poisoned queer discussions" by cardentist

Invisible Men: FTMs and Homelessness in Toronto by the FTM Safer Shelter Project Research Team

On Hating Men (And Becoming One) by Noah Zazanis

There is a hidden epidemic of violence against transmasculine people by Orion Rodriguez

“Irl we just kiss”: ‘transmasc vs transfem’ discourse & reactionary ‘boys vs girls’ politics in trans spaces by S.L Void

Making Sense Out of the Murders of Trans Men by Mitch Kellaway

Collateral Damage: mathematical odds & the sum of survival. by S.L Void

Op-ed: Trans Men Experience Far More Violence Than Most People Assume by Loree Cook-Daniels

How the Criminalization of Testosterone Attacks Gender Variant People by Adryan Corcione

A Tale of a Trans Man in Pakistan by Ikra Javed

Not transmasc invisibility, but erasure: intricacies of transmasc invisibility, and the fallacies of strictly gendered transphobia by S.L Void

Girlboy Boygirl Blues: antitransmasculinity as a denial of individual history & more by S.L Void

The r/transandrophobia subreddit

#m. #finally a new pinned post #transandrophobia #transmisandry #anti transmasculinity #transunity #experiences with transandrophobia #examples of transandrophobia #theory #transmasc history #transmasc art #transmasc media

[ursie]

TT isn’t ableist it’s DC/the editors/ect stop blaming him ok but he wrote these scenes he wrote this dialogue and this is just off the top of my head not even touching the “subtle” ableism woven throughout the run :

⚠️

Major tw for ableism :

These may seem minor to you but they’re overt to literally any physically disabled person

-why couldn’t Barbara eat pizza in the park before? Take down low level thugs? She literally could. She literally did. This retroactive take on her years as Oracle is ableist. She was not miserable or useless or anything like that. She was quite literally still a crime fighter living an active lifestyle. She was happy as Oracle. In her own words “the joker took nothing from me”. But TT does not understand the disabled experience and cannot write a woman ok being disabled-this is not about Babs being able bodied now-this is about the language used. There are plenty of similar examples throughout the run (and dc period atm) TT did not have to write such dialogue. He chose to do that. It should also be noted that he wants credit for giving Babs accessibility aides but does not have any real interest in showing her use them (the justification of her not using a chair anymore) or writing her as a Disabled woman at all (a similar issue applies to his writing of Dick)

-Why reintroduce Risk and make the point to remember his prosthetic (I should also note he’s a recovering addict as well) just to kill him brutally and rather intimately on panel. It’s important to note that for all intents and purposes Risk was an invincible hero. Killing him (and frankly for shock value) is ableist. I’m not saying you can’t kill disabled characters but if you do it after consistent allegations of ableism it’s hard not to see Risk (and any physically disabled person in his run) as a proxy for the disabled people who criticized him after all they only seem to show up to get brutalized or be a joke. It’s important to contextualize that this was his introduction into main continuity again-they made the point to retain his disability (whilst under scrutiny for ableism) just for killing him without an once of dignity. It’s just horrific and genuinely these panels may trigger me the most.

-now I understand you may not see the big deal here because hey he’s not being hatecrimed here but yet again disabled characters are either brutalized or made into a joke. There’s multiple issues wrong here . You do not touch a hoh persons hearing aides. 1. You don’t touch anyones accessibility tools (especially hearing aides which are delicate at the best of times) w/o explicit permission. This joke is not funny to disabled people this is our lived experience and it’s called assault. 2. In line with TT previous inclination to not actually write the disabled experience this person does not seem to have any emergency setup such as a bed shaker for example which while not criminal does show a lack of research. TT would rather have a joke at our expense then just write a disabled person living realistically. And 3. Dick does actually canonically know sign language. There was no need for ableism in the first place. Instead of highlighting Deaf/Sign culture TT opted for dated jokes and further erasure of Dicks competence (which is a separate conversation). It should be noted that showing sign in comics is not new or impossible if Hawkeye can do it so can Nightwing.

Again these are just three out of many examples and that’s not counting TT’s ableist behavior on Twitter. That’s not talking about the artist. But three is enough. Three is a pattern. At a certain point when people refuse to reflect and address their behavior-when they refuse to even entertain the notion of fixing it-real accountability must be discussed, and if you cannot handle disabled fans discussing his accountability here-if you’re ambivalent, if you’re defensive, if you’re apologetic for him, you’re complicit as well. It’s 2022 we can do better. It’s July. It’s Disabled Pride month. Listen to Disabled voices. Do better. Or be quiet.

Ok to add on and discuss but no clowning and if you are able bodied you do not get to debate the ableism at hand.

* if anyone could write the image ids that would be great my hand feels like it’s going to fall off :(

image ids :

[Three panels from Nightwing comics by Tom Taylor. In the first, Babs is saying, “I have some pretty new technology holding my spine together.* (*see batgirl: three jokers) I’m happy to do most things--eat pizza in the park, take down low level thugs--but leaping from rooftops seems unwise” while Dick looks on. This is from Nightwing 79.

The next part is two whole pages. In the first panel, Dick in a narration box is saying, “..in metropolis” while there is the skyline of metropolis in the background. The next panel is Risk jumping off a building while his prosetic arm is clearly visible. The next three are of him saying, “enough running. I don’t know who you are but we are clear of civilians now. I’m ready to hit back.” The next panel is of him being hit by a purple laser while in the next he says, “ha! I’m invulnerable.”

The next page starts with three people in black suits and jetpacks flying towards him while the lead one says, “we know.” In the next panel, she has Risk slammed on the ground while saying, “we know all about you Risk.” In the next three panels, she drags Risk towards the water and sticks his head in it while monologuing, “we know you were a Titan. and we know that you still have to breathe. The rising has begun.” The last panel is of some bubble underwater.

The third example is one page. In the first panel, Dick (Nightwing) is hitting down a wood door while calling out, “Maurice!” In the next panel, Maurice is in bed while his hearing age is pointed out by zoomed in bubble. In the next panel, Dick has grabbed Maurice’s hearing aid, and is holding it out to Maurice while saying, “Hey. I just need you to put your hearing aid in.” Maurice replies while looking angry, “Is that what you do? Steal hearing aids?!” In the final panel, Dick says while looking confused and still holding out the hearing aid, “what, I’m not” before Oracle interupts him over the comms, “Nightwing!” He responds, “Oracle” end id

#tw ableism #ask to tag #anti tom taylor #dick grayson #barbara gordon #Nightwing #Oracle #Cody driscoll #risk #I babble #disabled tag #it’s disabled time <3 #anti dickbabs #ig

[jakowskis]

@buffetpallascat doing a good ol' days reply because i had enough thoughts on this to warrant some meta, in my typical rambling fashion. hope you don't regret engaging by the time im done dfhkdsf

for starters, you're very welcome, i'm glad you enjoy the post :D

as for your question - i meant moreso that it was typical of the fandom, although it was also very much influenced by societal trends of the time, too. fandom's always had a rocky history with women, especially women who supposedly 'get in the way of "slash" couples', but the way fandom misogyny is performed has changed; i see more willful erasure of female characters these days than flat out blatant misogyny. in tw fan content from the 00s, i've seen gwen hatefully AND casually called some pretty horrible things that i rarely see fictional or real women called nowadays, simply because standards have changed. hell, one of the comms i linked, the twgenre finders one, there was several entries requesting fic where gwen experiences, like, bodily harm? not in a whump-y way, they actually wanted to recreationally read fic about her getting physically injured and suffering, out of some bizarre sense of malice towards her. simply because she 'gets in the way of janto'. and i can't even fathom that existing nowadays. pretty much everyone outside of weird little 12 year olds knows that's not acceptable. not to mention it's just weird.

interestingly i've also noticed a lottttt of change in how the fandom... reacted to and treated janto as a couple back in the day, versus now. people in 2006 were not normal about gay people. we know fandom's history with fetishizing gay men, and it was even worse in 2006 with an exceptionally rare canon gay couple being received by a jarringly hetero-but-'slash'-obsessed fanbase.

i mean, i don't wanna generalize. i saw a poll recently about how fandom is not mainly composed of straight women, contrary to popular belief, at least anymore, and i guess the question is, was it ever? i have seen a lot of the people involved in fandom in the 00s identify themselves as straight, but was that partially because of the culture of that era? have any of those people since come out as some type of queer? maybe, for some of them, that was them exploring their queerness in a safe environment, when the culture around being gay in real life was a lot different.... the same way modern fandom culture continues to be for those of us who aren't in accepting homes. if they were 20smth year olds in the 2010s/2020s, rather than the 2000s, would they still identify as straight?

not sure. but i've made a habit of going on the profiles of old lj accounts, and i'll sometimes wind up going through the journals and the personal posts of authors i respect, etc etc. a significant amount of mid 00s fic writers were straight women in their 30s - 40s, many married, some with kids. very different demographic to modern fandom. very different climate they lived in vs the one we're in.

(although, bonus note, i also once found a thread of bisexuals in 2006 praising torchwood's depiction of bisexuality, and that made me exceptionally happy. but also maybe a little sad, because torchwood's my personal fav bi rep, too, in 2023, and the fact that we've had nothing better in seventeen years is a bit of a bummer. but i digress.)

anyway, this is all to say, i've seen some insanely fetishy shit about jack and ianto that rubbed me exceptionally wrong. that gross dehumanizing, severely homophobic place where it's like... ahh, ok, so you don't see them as people, you see them as sexy dolls you can mash together. but, ofc, that's how i view it as a bisexual person in 2023 who's been on tumblr far too long. they didn't see any problem with it. they might've even seen it as progressive. how can you be homophobic when you're obsessed with the little gay people on ur screen? but it's the opposite end of the 'homophobes reducing gay ppl down to what they do in their beds' trope, and it comes across as dated and icky now.

i mean, i consume a lot of older media, i know how to turn off my 21st century sensibilities and remind myself things used to be different, but it's honestly an impressive difference. there's some fantastic fics from that era of the fandom, in fact most of my favorite fics are from that era, but i often get quite a bit of culture shock reading things. particularly, i'm always impressed by people in the 2000s, an extremely biphobic era, applying their impressive period-typical 'bisexuals aren't real' beliefs to The Bisexual Show. torchwood's rep's not perfect (again, a product of its era), but i've seen a fantastic amount of gay!ianto and straight!owen, because bisexual men don't exist, obviously, and jack's not bisexual, he's the amazing slutty space man, except he's mostly gay because all that matters is janto. and i don't even really see explorations of gwen or tosh's bisexuality at all, because, again, women who?

i found a comm a while back, i didn't include it on my list because it wasn't torchwood-exclusive and didn't have much content in the tw tag, but it was a lgbtfest, and contained fics about the team and their relationships with their bisexuality, and it was really intriguing to me to see queerness as understood by regular people in 2007/2008, y'know, not by gay writers or activists or films. i have no way of knowing if any of them were speaking from any personal place, but it was just interesting, because none of the fics i read in that comm had that same brand of tone-deaf sex-focused homophobia to them, they were progressive for the time, but it was still apparent to me that they were written by people with a mid to late 00s understanding of being gay, and i do think it's interesting, that substantial difference.

got a bit off topic, but now that i mentioned the initial fandom being overwhelmingly composed of women, i can also add that i think internalized misogyny factored hugely into the fandom's disdain for gwen. the 'strong female' trope doesn't just annoy straight men, it also annoys a lot of women (though not consciously) - not because they're opposed to well-written women, but because society tells us certain things that'd be admirable and complex and sympathetic out of a male hero are unacceptable out of a female one. it's the double standard. jack does some awful shit, but i rarely see him criticized. i've straight up seen fans go "jack's kind of a bastard, but it's ok because he's hot", which is fine in jest, i've joked about shit like that with characters, but it's not so cute when those same people turn around and condemn gwen for her actions. hell, or owen. i've literally seen someone say they'd like owen more if he was more conventionally attractive. like, ok, you're clearly just here for the janto eye candy. you haven't brought any substantial critical thinking skills. pls take ur shallow ass and leave. but back to gwen - she was held to a standard none of the other characters are held to. they picked on her for the stupidest shit. and her worse sin, the infidelity, it's bad, sure, but i've seen countless male characters who cheat on their partners who are beloved by their fandoms. it's just fucking gross. i fucking hate hypocrites.

dude, yknow what?? i've even seen fucking tosh bashing. WHO THE FUCK HATES TOSH????

ok im done. sorry for my babbling. but yeah, i think it's a fascinating thing. i love how humans change and develop with the times and how we can map the changes and how they affect media, and it's fun to observe in fandom because it's there, too, but no one's looking so i get to feel like a little scientist fdskjfds. ok i will cease with the excessive babbling now

#mine #txt #torchwood posting #i love writing essays where i say nothing at all

[butwhatifidothis]

You know, i've long wondered whether or not Fodlan being left in a miserable state after CF was intentional on IS's part or not; the fact that shit like “Edelgard ordered a historical play to be shut down just because she didn't like how it portrayed her” is pretty clearly meant to be seen as a “cute girl getting embarassed lol” moment instead of the blatant and horrific abuse of power that it is, along with the information that Edelgard installed a secret police and orders her henchmen to spy on her citizens only being revealed in a throwaway line in a random paired ending, with no acknowledgement of how fucked all that is, leads me to think this might have been unintentional.

Ehhh, I wouldn't say it's unintentional - there's a good bit more in 3H to show off how deliberately villainous Edelgard is. Off the top my head and not including what I already said regarding the endings, there's the facts that Edelgard:

is the only person to be readily okay with sacrificing her own citizens (with the only other people who do the same being TWS and a crazed Rhea who is visibly not mentally stable - a state which neither Edelgard nor TWS are ever in when they sacrifice innocents)

has her path be constantly riddled with direct links to the "need" for mass death ("the pool of blood at my feet," "the scarlet path" Hubert prepared for her to walk, "no matter how much blood flows at her feet" - yes, that is a completely different reference from the first link - etc.)

shares much of her motivation (destroying the Church and eradicating the Nabateans) with TWS

has her route be the only one where the story cuts to the other side so that you the player can see the effect your actions have placed onto the antagonists when you kill their close ones (Claude, Rhea, Dimitri)

is the only protagonist to be explicitly and violently racist

initiates extreme and mass violence for the explicit purpose of imperialism

Along with a myriad of other things, one being that she's, uh, literally called a villain by her creators lmao. And imo, 3H would have done a good job of writing her as such... if it weren't for what this other nonnie points out:

Man if you get rid of the uwu cutesy moments, Edelgard really is a sinister villain. The racism, the victim blaming, her desire for genocide, what you mentioned before about taking out anyone who opposes her and spying on her citizens, taking over a religion and remaking it your way i.e cultural erasure, getting rid of two countries' autonomy over revanchist nationalism. Like holy crap, how does anyone not see this and say "yeah that's definitely villainous". Oh right because she wanted to walk with you, isn't it sad ;_;? Seriously though, Intsys kinda dropped the ball here. Like we could've had a sinister villain and in bits and pieces we get that, but a lot of it is obscured by "I wanted to walk with you sensei~", and "I drew a sketch of you. Don't see it uwu." It's like having a cake with a great batter but you put all your effort on the hard frosting instead.

Her villainous behavior, methods, ideologies, etc. are all obfuscated by the ever-present need for her to still be a waifu that's marketable. Yeah, sure, she's realistically speaking a massive piece of shit to put it lightly, but she wants to walk with you :( and draw you :( isn't it cute when she screams at rats :) and she opens up to you that she's scared of rats actually she trusts you so much :) and she asks you if you're sure you wanna fight with her on CF she cares so much about giving you a choice ignore how choosing to NOT fight for her means getting murdered by her instead :) and look at how sad everyone is to fight her :( Doesn't that endear you, the player spending money on this game and its DLC and its gacha spinoff, to her, the cute waifu who's the main face of the game's marketing and who just cares about you the player oh so much?

It's not that her villainy is unintentional, it's that her marketability takes precedence over her character

#ask #anon #anti edelgard #anti-edelgard #edelgard critical #edelgard discourse #just to be safe #like her more uwu tendencies aren't as bad as... certain fans... make them out to be #but they are there and do detract from her character #so while there is very much NO DOUBT that in 3H she is very much a villain who does very clear villainous actions for villainous reasons #it's held back by the unfortunate ''necessity'' to make sure people want to spend money on her #so she can't go all in on the villain thing - she still has to be cute and wovable #since the writers - for one reason or another - clearly don't have faith that a villainous women *would* be marketable

[demoisverysexy]

didn't the LDS think native Americans would turn white if they converted until like shockingly recently??? don't they still think they're actually descendant from ancient Isrealites???

The answer to all that is, quite simply: its complicated.

TW: racism, religion, christianity, mormonism

To be honest, I am not an expert of the historical views early Mormons had on race, especially around the 1800s. Suffice it to say, it wasnt great. Bruce R. McKonkie, a former apostle (read: one of the most powerful people in the church) of the church from 1972 to his death in 1985 was the proponent of a theory that black people had been cursed with a skin of darkness due to sins they had committed in the premortal existence. Which is, of course, hogwash.

Ideas like these were partially informed by Book of Mormon passages describing how groups of people were cursed by God with "skins of blackness" due to their unrighteousness, and how if these groups repented, their skins became white instead. This is language which has not aged well, to but it mildly.

Today, some theologians have wondered if these passages are not meant to be read literally, but instead metaphorically. Throughout the Book of Mormon, the color white is associated with purity and spirituality (the vision of the Tree of Life comes to mind, with its white fruit representing the love of God), and similarly, a bright countenance (facial expression) is associated with spiritual purity as well (Alma asks if we have "received [the image of God] in your countenances," for example). White clothing, bright countenances, both symbols for righteousness. Similarly, when Joseph Smith described the vision he had of the angel Moroni, the angel who would in time lead him to the Golden Plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated (if you believe him), he says that the angel had a "countenance truly like lightning."

Now, the theory is that when the Book of Mormon is referring to light and dark skins associated with righteousness, this is meant to be read as a figurative skin, as opposed to a literal one. In my opinion, 2 Nephi 30 verse 6 lends credence to this idea:

And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness [emphasis mine] shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a delightsome people.

This is a passage referring to the Lamanites, the ethnic group who was supposedly cursed by God to have a skin of blackness. Here, one could read this skin of darkness as a sort of spiritual darkness clouding the eyes of the unrighteous. When exposed to the truth, and the Goodness of God, this darkness can be removed. There is more to this idea, but I think what I have said here is sufficient.

Of course, none of this is to erase the harm verses about the curse of a skin of blackness has done. For one, it was the justification of decades of restrictions on black and African Mormons. Whats more, Mormon attitudes on native americans have, in the past, led to them aiding in atrocities against indigenous people (at best cultural erasure, at worst genocide). None of this is good. The mainstream LDS church has a long way to go to address and atone for these sins.

As to the question of whether Mormons believe that all natives are descended from israelites, the answer is: depends who you ask. Some people, especially your average church members, will say yes. However, modern editions of the Book of Mormon no longer claim that Native Americans are solely the descendants of israelites, but rather that israelites were among the ancestors of native Americans. Some Book of Mormon scholars who believe the BoM to be a historical document now even claim that there are context clues in the BoM that there were other populations besides the descendants of the israelites who came to the Americas. Which is certainly better than how Mormons used to claim that evey single bit of indigenous culture was evidence of the Book of Mormon (which like. Gross).

Whats more, if I recall correctly, one of the first proponents of the idea that Native Americans were descendants of ancient Israelites was Manasseh ben Israel, a Jewish rabbi. This doesnt necessarily make that idea less problematic, but I do think it complicates things.

At the end of the day, I dont think there are any clear cut answers. The history of the LDS faith is messy, in ways both very positive and extremely negative. It would be easy if we could say the church was wholly good or wholly evil, but sadly we cant. Rather, we have to look at the facts as they present themselves (and try to inform ourselves when we realize we are missing something) and do what we can to make as informed of a decision as we can.

#asks #demo answers #racism #religion #mormonism #queerstake #leftism #history

[strangestcase]

tw for mentions of child abuse, incest and kidnapping.

god, the Encanto fandom is pissing me off again

I mean most people are fine like "Ok Modern AU where everyone is gay/bi and repressed and live an apartment complex" Or what if it's the same setting but Julieta is trans and her daughters are adopted and Mirabel thinks that's why she doesn't have a gift even thought Luisa and Isabela are adopted too" or "Beauty and the Beast AU where one of the family members is a monster and Mirabel connects with them and they save the magic together" (understandably this is a subgenre of fanfic) "What if one of the grandkids gets kidnapped and then rescued" (this is a subgenre for some reason).

But between the erasure of Latin heritage, misunderstanding of Colombian and Colombian Indigenous culture, colorism and all the incest. The Incest. I....can't

As a person who is writing a trilogy where Bruno has to save first his family and then the world all while being a neurodivergent mess, I take every "what if Bruno was an evil child abuser" AU very personally.

I think it's also because he reminds me of MY uncle who actually is trans and bi and the stereotype of "your creepy gay/bi/trans uncle groomed you and now you're queer too" cuts way too deep for me.

Ough. Sorry to hear that

the Encanto fandom has always been... bad since day one.

[loneswaggingranger]

TW: Rant, Mention of Racial Inequalities

Seeing the Internet's reaction to Rachel Zegler as Snow White has made my skin crawl with some sort of unnamed desire to punch through a screen. The way headlines are written "Rachel Zegler's Snow White Controversy" and "Has Racjel Zegler been Fired or Replaced?" are just so... tacky. Like yeah, I get that titles are meant to be clickbaity but seeing the public's reaction to a single girl just trying to do her thing is just... mind-boggling?

Like yes, the whole thing with Disney remakes slapping on different races on white stories is a problem. It's giving, "No other story deserves to be told except ours." Even if they HAD wanted to alter the character's race (but seriously why don't just make another story from fairy tales that actually stem from different cultures?), they should have made far more effort than just... slapping a Latina's face on top and calling it a day. And yeah, Disney definitely fucked up with the whole erasure of the Seven Dwarves thing, and the anger against them is 100% totally valid.

That being said, how is literally any of that Zegler's fault? If an opportunity comes up, I'm going to take it - that's how jobs are. Hounding a young person for just doing their job and trying to give the movie they're working for good publicity is just... shitty behaviour.

Be mad at the producers. At the studios for trying to push diversity like it's just a box to be checked. Be mad at the system for making only traditionally Western stories be at the center of Hollywood entertainment such that stories from other cultures have no place breaking box offices or whatever. (Even stories told from other cultures have to be told through a Western lens to make it big in the movie industry - not saying I don't still enjoy these stories, just that it's a phenomenon that has been in the entertainment space LONG before Zegler was ever casted.)

It's a shame that a single girl has to be dragged for decisions that were well beyond her control. The internet can be so shitty sometimes. I personally agree with Zegler's outlook on the original Snow White fairy tale being problematic in lots of different ways, but obviously people can still like what they like. The story you love doesn't disappear just because you don't like the new version of it.

Take what you like and live your life. There's always a person behind the screen. One girl doing her job does not deserve your hate.

#rachel zegler #snow white #controversy #snow white 2023 #disney #rant

[libertarian-druid-in-greater-vt]

https://www.xinjiangpolicefiles.org/

This is some seriously heavy shit,but is also direct evidence, from the ccp, of the genocide happening in Xinjiang. These documents may be triggering for a lot of people. So be warned now

TW: Cultural erasure, guns, prison, blood, genocide.

Thank you to all the brave hackers that got these files out of China. This shit is maybe the most important thing I'll ever reblog. It's been verified by news outlets throughout the world.

But I want to remind everyone, this is not the actions of Chinese people outside of China. This is the actions of what now essentially amounts to an ethnostate attempt.

We need to stand together as a human species against this barbarism from almost a century ago. If Russia wants to stand against nazis, they'd be better off invading China. Their actions are the same, if not debatably worse, than those taken by the nazis. This is slavery and genocide of an entire culture. The one thing that makes humanity strong is our ability to work together despite cultural differences.

I'm just now learning about these files and I have to say, I almost puked. I'm still nauseous to think of what has been forced on the Uyghur people, let alone seeing it.

#fuck the ccp #china #Uyghurs #concentration camp #we only exist as a species because we are stronger together than apart #and cultural differences make us stronger #to any Uyghurs able to see this through a vpn #stay strong

[whtwclf]

I have read MK comics, especially the recent ones when he’s talking to his therapist about his conflict with his faith and heritage. I’m not trying to argue or erase anything, it is important to recognise the heritage and culture he comes from, just as it’s important to acknowledge that the trauma he’s been through has had an impact on how he views it

That’s an incredible and exactly correct point, Anon. It is important to acknowledge that trauma, but the MCU effectively erased the trauma that stemmed from acts of violence per the rampant antisemitism that existed around Marc Spector’s Jewish community. Instead that was replaced with a violent parent, wherein his Jewish roots were hamfistedly, vaguely, or not at all referenced.

However, this mun does an excellent job of detailing that point much better than I can: HERE

#ooc #mobile ooc. #answered #answered anon #moon knight comics #moon knight spoilers #current events cw #cultural erasure #tw antisemitism #mcu rp #mcu fandom #marvel fandom

[caesarflickermans]

Childhood in Panem

#1

With Panem's hosting annual Hunger Games, what/when do you think children being taught about it across Capitol and The Districts?

#2

What kind of childhood stories do you think were told in each districts and Capitol: specific books, fairy tales, legends, or folklore?

Example : District 4 (fishing district) = The Little Mermaid.

Thank you 😊

@curiousnonny

#1

districts

i would think this, at times, is something children know before they learn at school about. the games are mandatory to watch for the citizens in the districts, and they occur throughout the day. this isn't a late night movie, it's something that happens to siblings, to older kids already going to school, it's something that people talk about, it's people that are missing in families because they have been taken by the capitol. the reaping is an event that people gather to see because they have to. responsible parents don't leave their children alone at home; you'd have to take your kid with you, because presence at the reaping is mandatory.

as soon as you are conscious of the world around you, you will inevitably be aware of the games.

at least in district twelve, children also learn about panem's history at school:

Somehow it all comes back to coal at school. Besides basic reading and math most of our instruction is coal-related. Except for the weekly lecture on the history of Panem. It’s mostly a lot of blather about what we owe the Capitol. I know there must be more than they’re telling us, an actual account of what happened during the rebellion.

at least to me, that reads like the hunger games are part of the education system. the history of panem has to cover the games, an event that happened as a form of punishment because the district people owe the capitol.

capitol

even if it's not confirmed whether viewing is mandatory in the capitol, how could a child not notice the hype and those events? the games are everywhere, they are celebrated everywhere. it's so normalised that the death is something necessary and such a strong part of entertainment, that, to capitol citizens, this isn't something harmful. capitol citizens have been indoctrinated for generations to view the district people as something lesser. it will be part of children's upbringing to teach them that as well. even if they initially might only watch the colourful parade, they will learn about panem's history and why the "punishment" is just.

tw nazi germany

as a german person, we often learn about the nazis in elementary school. not necessarily about the holocaust--that comes later--but we are starting to be introduced to such a dark part of history. and mind you, we are those who didn't suffer. a jewish german author, laura cazés, mentioned that she doesn't remember when she first heard of the holocaust; that it always had been in the dna of her family. that she, in contrast to non-jewish germans, didn't have the comfort of having no knowledge.

within my own family history (i only know my mother's family), my grandfather left germany early on, and my grandmother was seven years old by the time that germany lost the war. yet, despite being so young, she was confronted with the ideology of the nazis, such as learning songs the nazis had changed to fit to their ideology.

i don't think it is any different in fictionalised totalitarian regimes, namely that children learn about the regime early on as to become model citizens in the future.

end tw nazi germany

#2

i am a big defender of panem not having had such obvious ties to the past. i would like to refer to george orwell and the erasing of history in 1984, which, likely, was also inspired by the book burning of the nazis.

collins has been very adamant in the books about the characters not using any references to religion. no one swears by saying oh my god or damn.

the erasure of history, of language, of culture. that's such a vital aspect of totalitarian regimes. folklore in north korea is about how the kim family was born as gods.

i can see panem and specific districts developing their own phrases and their own folklore, but i don't think anything significant would have ever survived.

the little mermaid, just to continue your example, might seem innocent, but it's uncontrolled history. it's references to another time and place. it doesn't matter what story content it has. if the nazis changed traditonal german songs just to create a culture of their own, why bother to keep the little mermaid?

#inbox #anon #thg meta #curiousnonny #the hunger games #thg

[incarnateirony]

Genuinely funny that, even when the plot is ignorance, projection, and refusal to read, there's dumb motherfuckers still going "THE AUTHORS CANT BE THIS SMART, THIS THING I AM PERSONALLY UNEDUCATED ON THAT *THE ENTIRE CREW IS ACTIVELY TWEETING OUT* COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE USED."

Irony, thy name is wincels. Bro they even had Lata call you narcissistic bastards out. Catch a clue, losers. Your ignorance bar isn't where the rest of the world stops. christianized colonization and cultural, religious and contextual erasure being over is also the plot. Catch up. Denial will not save you from the truth and will not save you from the end. See Bobo's recent tweets about your twitter thread.

It's gay. It's always been gay. We're peeling back the gay. Dean's accepting the gay. All the doors all the cards and all the closets buddies, no matter how many times you shit your pants about it or Your Opinion on twitter. Your Opinion isn't real. The real world and The Truth are real, and you're all running out of time and know it.

For a long time you deluded yourselves that All Opinions Are Equal, and that Nothing And Everything Was True, and Everything Could Be Manipulated To Your Perspective. But there's 6 episodes left, you're reading what I say, and you're reading it fully aware the last time I was this loud it was market testing, berens intent, Destiel confession, roadhouse, omissions, the pilot, the episode morals--you get the pattern here. You see it.

It's time to start coping and processing that the real world doesn't care about your opinions, interpretations, biases or what you want to try to force TW to be, because it's going to continue to be what it was made to be, whether you accept what that is yet or not.

If your preference is to be a screaming, delusional, pants shitting fool loudly screaming that The Show Can't Stop You Because You Can't Read in public until the bitter end... weird flex, but okay. You're about to get spanked anyway.

I get it. Antis lied to themselves and convinced themselves jensen hated us. they ignored context of his recent statements. lied and twisted M&Gs to their projections and were even caught. they've parasocially attached their identity to him and literally are mentally incapable of accepting it, bc realistically, these anti-destiel stans that claim to stan jensen realize. Well, he's a heller. He "betrayed" you. But he couldn't possibly do that to tumblr user uwudeanlisa dot tumblr dot com!! you paid good con money!! or something.

Too bad. He's ours. Has been for over 2 years. You're too late. where do these people think I got his let go/move on comments from two years early. Or 15.18 giving him a new take. Jesus. Earth to antis, come in antis, can you hear me/reality yet? Instead of denying reality start asking questions. *Why* would someone send a pitch. Well, bc we found out The Truth about Jensen. You're just gonna wait till it reams your ass harder than the queen is deans to accept it I guess.

#half the media world uses this shit #and they're pretending it's obscure #because they've lived their whole lives in ignorance and privilege #they've never encountered needing to grow #too bad assholes #grow or go #because we're going where we're going #and I haven't had to change my tune once #watch your 'sources' like 2po walk back from zero percent to maybies even today #you have no truth #no faith #no conviction #no belief #no knowledge #no confidence #and no self awareness #some day meredith is gonna sit them down nicely #and explain the use of HDM intentionally in SPN #except she won't #because authors only talk to people that listen #they literally hired us to design the show #they are literally renting from our clubhouse #they are literally using the Correct Wrong Layout #they are tweeting it out all day #and these idiots are still picking their noses in denial

[chorusmusarum]

RULES (MOBILE EDITION)

GENERAL RP:

Mutuals only.

Mun is 21+.

Cross-Fandom is usually reserved for friends.

Highly selective with OCs.

All icons come from official sources, and are edited by me.

HEAVILY Fire Emblem based, so please blacklist Fire Emblem (Fandom) if you don’t write it.

BLOG:

Alongside the obvious, I will not follow you if I spot: IRL religion bashing, bi or gay erasure or just anything that makes me uncomfortable, regardless of tags.

Muses and fandoms are tagged.

When DMing, please open with what you wish to discuss, rather than “How are you?” or “Do you want to RP?”

Hard block rather than soft block if you must. Tumblr does have unfollow glitches.

In that respect, I never soft block. If you’re suddenly not following me, feel free to re-follow!

SHIPPING, DOUBLES AND EXCLUSIVITY:

I am multi-ship but all must be discussed ooc first.

I don’t practice exclusivity. Ships are the exception, but only for close friends upon request.

Doubles are fine, especially if we write a twins AU.

TAGGING AND DASHBOARD:

Please tag TW: DOG BITE and TW: DOG ATTACK.

I used NSFW and NSFWISH as tags. The latter is for suggestive but not explicit content.

I don’t tag ships/characters (barring muse tags) but I’m happy to explain why in DMs, and we can negotiate.

Please be careful about backhanded compliments. “I only trust URL to write Muse A/URL’s Muse A is the best!” puts other writers down and I’m not comfortable being on either side of that.

DISCOURSE:

If I catch a vague post, expect an unfollow + a chat with the person in said post.

Callout culture is not welcome here.

There are exceptions, but I’m not comfortable explaining what they are publicly, and I expect to see any posts tagged appropriately.

If you’re concerned about who I interact with, please DM me and be open to me asking questions to make my own mind up. Anons are not acceptable.

Whilst I’m usually anti-callout, I don’t ignore problems. I’ll cut off people with recurring bad behaviour, if there’s no sign of change after being spoken to about it.

I avoid drama but should I need to reference it/end up in it anyway, TW: DRAMA will be used. I will never pressure someone to get involved.

#rules