clericofthebalance

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I desperately wish people would start actually reading the AO3's TOS before confidently making 'user guides' to the AO3 that are just blatantly, flatly wrong.

Yes the AO3 has banned content. They do not allow anything that's illegal under US law - though US law, importantly, does not ban fictional depictions of things - and they do not allow any commercial content. That includes your ko-fi link, or mentions that you do fic commissions. If you do post fic commissions to AO3 and want to mention the commissioner, the fic is a 'request' from the commissioner. This protects the AO3 and you from copyright law.

No the AO3 is not 'a creative fanfiction archive'. It is a fandom archive. Your meta, insights, and theories are absolutely welcome and encouraged there. AO3 also encourages you to post other types of fanworks, like fan videos, podfics, and art, but unfortunately isn't able to natively host those like it does text, so fic has kind of become what it's known for. That absolutely does not mean that other types of fanwork aren't allowed, or are discouraged by the site culture! Anybody who tells you otherwise is just plain wrong!

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the biggest scam tumblr pulls is all the people who come here convinced they want to be tumblr famous

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listen we’re always pushing back against anti-vaxxers with the science showing that no, vaccines don’t cause autism, but can we please talk about the underlying problem here which is that people hate autistic children? 

even if the poorly researched pseudo-science was right and vaccines had any link to autism in children, i would still want myself and my children vaccinated because guess what, there’s nothing wrong with autistic people.

 what i hear when people say they don’t want their children vaccinated against deadly illnesses because they believe that vaccines cause autism is not just that they’re horribly misinformed, but that they’d rather have a sick, dying, or dead child than an autistic child. and honestly, that’s pretty fucked up and just goes to show that neurotypical people don’t view us as people who are equally entitled to life.

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Can you talk more about Elle Woods being autistic in Legally Blonde? :)

Elle strictly follows the traditional rules of femininity as dictated by southern californian culture, with special interests in the color pink, fashion, and her parter. She is extremely trusting and takes people literally when they are kind to her which is OK when she “stays in her place” as gender norms dictate, but as she leaves her familiar habitus in which she has cultivated social, cultural, and symbolic capital through careful study and adherence to these social norms, she finds herself ostracized and abused. Even though she is hyperlexic and has a high IQ (as traditionally defined), she has difficulty reading social cues in new environments. She also copes with transitioning into new circumstances by falling back onto familiar routines of personal hygiene and filling her personal space with familiar items. She is also extremely ethical to her personal morals which gets her into difficulty when social norms dictate being flexible with one’s ethics. She also does not privilege human companionship over other species. 

damn…. I should write an article on this. This was fun. Mostly because I’m the Elle Woods flavor of Autistic in many ways. 

Elle Woods is the kind of Autistic that most neurotypicals can’t recognize because she is camouflaged in “socially acceptable” practices, but to someone who is also Autistic is clear that the way she approaches these practices is neuroatypical. Many Autistic women survive and ‘blend in’ by making traditional feminine norms their special interests, and their neuroatypicality can often become disabling only when they change habitus, which means the circle of people and environment and all the culture and practices that go with it. They spend a lifetime getting “good” at one habitus and fitting in, but suddenly stand out as “different” when their habitus changes. Autistic women are also often extremely trusting, and when they are “attractive” by traditional feminine norms they don’t question when people are kind to them. They assume people mean well unless they say otherwise, making them highly susceptible to abuse and bullying, often by fellow women. Many Autistic women have above average IQs (by traditional definitions) and apply these abilities to traditional feminine practices such as fashion, art, homemaking, pop culture, etc. So they don’t fit the stereotypes of the “absent minded professor” which is extremely gendered male and white. As many Autistic people often feel that other people, often partners, are their special interests, some Autistic women are camouflaged by their focus and dedication to a boyfriend or husband, because gender norms literally normalize this as an acceptable, desirable practice. Practicing their ethics with strict black and white rules, they can appear to be extremely “pious,” religious, and “dedicated” wives and mothers, which again is normed by gender practices and camouflaged. If they experience OCD qualities, these are often practiced in homemaking-related skills like cooking, cleaning, and personal hygiene, again… all camouflaged by gender norms as simple being a “good girl” and a “good wife and mother.” 

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never forget the universal rule of the order of things: People Will Not Read It

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I feel like in the rush of “throw out etiquette who cares what fork you use or who gets introduced first” we actually lost a lot of social scripts that the younger generations are floundering without.

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'Perfect sense of direction + geography nerd' Sonic, anyone?

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Text: decoupling pregnancy from femininity means accurate and more inclusive language and treatment, but it also allows cis women to refuse motherhood without refusing womanhood, which is great for feminism and terrifying for misogyny.

–THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS. As a sterile cis woman who doesn’t want to have children anyway I feel this is every ounce of my being. “Define woman” types tend to do so in a way that excludes me too, so I got to stand with my trans sisters.

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reylo was probably THE worst thing to happen to star wars. just had to drool over a genocidal 6 and help encourage the derailing of an entire trilogy. no luke skywalker shouldn’t have killed him bc it would have gone against his morals but he should have phoned a friend

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All my haters become aligators when I activate my gatorinator.

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Daniel Sloss- “Jigsaw”

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i can't be the only one who's just straight-up ... bored with women hating themselves. my mom keeps lamenting to me how upset she is about her gray hair. my friend stares at her laugh lines every day in agony. my sister loses sleep over the horrible unbearable thought of looking fat. and every time these women i love open up to me, i can't help but think ... then stop staring at yourself? stop drowning yourself, narcissus, and just fucking live your life instead of sitting in front of a mirror obeying cosmetic corporations' lies. just stop it. this is getting ridiculous. you're too smart to be falling for this bullshit. "oh no but these men who hate women told me that if i'm ugly i'm worthless!" girl if you actually believe that then good luck. but i am getting worse at being supportive of people whose nonsense worldviews keep them trapped in pain. stop looking at yourself start fucking living i am pleading you deserve to be happy and it is stupid that you disagree

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Her Majesty, Amidala, Queen of Naboo.

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original by clairetablizo

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Audio is from Gayle, episode 15