#''actually the way transphobes talk about trans people is funny and correct when it's done towards someone else'' bro do u hear urself

[undead-potatoes]

Now that some of the biggest voices in right wing media is openly attacking asexual people the same way they've been attacking LGBT people, you think all those aphobic queer people are gonna have a rude awakening and realize just how fucking stupid they've been, or are they just gonna keep following in the footsteps of TERFs like they've always done and go "well the fascists are right about this one!"

[bro-strider-hate-blog]

YOUR TAGS ON MY SIS POST??? IMMACULATE

I will include my tags again but only because i cant get enough of myself and not to sound like im tooting my own kazoo but this is the one time in my entire life that ive been objectively correct in every way

Lengthy and unrelated thing under the cut: 

Let me talk about canon bro for a second 😌 even though its barely and tangentially related to this and you dont have to read it <3, in fact i would encourage you not to read it i just wanna run my mouth. People love to use him as a cheap villain in their dave angst fics which is like... hilarious to me. Like i get it, since hes abusive he must also be misogynistic and homophobic and transphobic and also genuinely hates dave and revels in his suffering right? Lmeow no, hes just some guy and despite everything he is in fact trying his best. Hes naturally intense and aggressive and this doesnt translate well to child rearing, especially since his one goal is to make dave strong enough (physically and mentally) to Survive whats coming. The random sneak attacks ? The traps littered around the house ? To keep dave on his toes and buff his spatial awareness. The cameras ? To monitor his progress (if hes not up to standard then we’ll just up the “training”) and / or film some puppet snuff (puff ? Snupp?) so he can keep running his dumb website and like provide for them or some shit , or ig to buy random crap and throw it around the house. Who cares if the kid sees the porn anyway its just puppets, plus hes seen way worse at that age and turned out fine (no he didnt). Dave has to be resourceful , he has to be creative and think on his feet , lets have impromptu rap battles and scrabble games. He has to know numbers like the back of his hand (idk why this is even a phrase do any of you memorise what the back of your hands looks like) to effectively utilise his sylladex.... actually nobody even uses that shit idk why bro was so insistent on it. Dave is his protege, his charge, dave is NOT his friend and hes not gonna let him forget that. He teaches him all he knows, in the way he knows. Making comics, mixing music, ironic jokes, being cool and getting shit done. Actually its GOOD that the kid is terrified of him, if hes the scariest thing in the room then dave wont fear anything else. Lets spar then, if dave wins then hes trained him well. If dave loses then hell become resilient. Either way he has to be strong or else hell die, training is necessary. Its either this or failure and failure equals death. Do your own laundry, ration your own food, become independent as fast as possible because i wont be around to take care of you forever

Nothing bro does is without reason, neither is it “sadism”, its all very logical to him despite being horrific to any sane person because his only friend is the mansplain-manipulate-manspread puppet that raised him and he has awful coping mechanisms that barely stretch past beating himself 1. up 2. off. Like he kept his baby alive to the point where it could keep itself alive (kind of alive) and thats a win to him.

That was my thesis on why bro is not a bigot like ,, he makes porn of fucking smuppets, that gives him zero chance to fetishize The Ladies. I doubt he has porno mags littered around the house its just endless plushie dicks and asses (and the two puppets handcuffed together were legit kinda funny like Why). So why would dave have internalised homophobia if it did not stem from his brother ??? Acting as if his only friends werent exuding anti gay vibes, like christ, john “im not a homosexual” egbert, him and rose’s competitive flirting gag (before they found out they were related >.>), just generally the three of them accusing each other of being gay, yknow, as kids do (jade is exempt from the argument we love jade here). Things were just more homophobic back then and its not like bro and dave had a sincere talk about gender and sexuality in the 13 or so years they lived in the same house like why would you even come out to your younger sibling if you could just not !!! Lol !!! I could be getting all this info wrong lol so correct me if im wrong but bro has this cute comic artstyle and it was about someones charge (? Sibling?) straight up dying and the saw guy makes an appearance the end , like there was no sex or gore or whatever but if you look at sbahj the second page literally has an incest sex joke like where does dave even get his material from , which online sites has he been trawling , well haha its not bros job to monitor his kids search history lets ignore it and move on if the kid wants to be gross and make dumb jokes who is he to judge , spread your problematic wings and soar into the cancel clouds little guy

Anyway heres a disclaimer: if youre gonna clown on this post and tell me im an abuse apologist or some shit just understand that i have a lot of free time and love being a huge asshole when provoked but like youre so welcome to add to the discussion i love bullying my favourite character bro strider by steamrolling him we’ve talked about trans rights for too long now is the time for trans wrongs

[nothorses]

So I have a question/something I'd like your input on, since I feel like you'd have something interesting to say about this.

Anyways, some background: i'm in a child and youth care program in a rather left leaning, relatively progressive college, in a rather left leaning/progressive city.

It's actually been a very validating experience so far--I feel so much more accepted here then at my last school, which, while it was located relatively close to the city, had a rather more conservative student body and faculty. I had to fight for accomodation and acceptance, and I didn't end up going to my convocation since, when I had asked, they said they wouldn't call my prefered name when I'd get the certificate at the ceremony, or use the right name on it (they made it seem that their hands were completely tied, even though I know of other schools who've done this exact thing, incl the school I'm at now, without needing proof of a legal name change).

Anyways, at this school, i'm even having instructors I don't even know well going to bat for me and using their connections to get the help I needed when I was having trouble with my name being displayed wrong in the online classroom. Like, thank god for having CYC's as profs, right?

So, to my point: one of our classes is all about inclusion and anti oppressive practices. It's literally the name of the class. I actually enjoy the class a fair bit--despite classes being virtual, my class is sharing a lot and there's a lot of bonding and openness going on in the virtual lecture space. It's encouraged me to be open about my own troubles as a trans person, and people have been v supportive.

In a recent lecture, we start talking about the different terms of discrimination against various groups that face oppression (like, racism, albleism, etc). So she asks us: what is the term for discrimination against trans people? And I say Transphobia. Because that's the term I see most often, and the one I say myself. Apparently the Proper term now is cissexism (or cisgenderism?), and I got chided for saying transphobia.

I went and turned my mic on and basically said that I feel like transphobia is the term the general population is only Just started to take seriously, and the instructor argued that as we're in an academic circle, and as CYCs, it's our job to use the most progressive terms to move things forward, and that we shouldn't be conflating the discrimination trans people face with a phobia. Since, not only does it validate the fear of trans people, but it's not fair to those that have legitimate phobias.

I dropped it there, but I was brave and I asked to speak with the instructor after class.

During that talk, I pretty much said that it's hard being probably the only trans person in at least first year, and being visible and open as one, and having to be told the "right" term to use for my own experiences. She could relate, she said, as she's a black woman, and have faced probably similar experiences from white people correcting her on terms she uses for her own experiences. She did say though, as she's in the role of an instructor, it is her job to educate herself, think on what they're saying, and potentially make changes to her language.

But, she also said she can't speak for my experiences, and she won't make me change my language.

I was appreciative, and I talked about things I've personally faced, and how, even just 10 years ago, trans people were treated so frequently as a joke. Even on screen deaths were funny in media. I brought up that the trans panic defense was still considered a valid defense to use in court not long ago (and still probably is in some places), and someone won a case recently that way. Even just the term "transphobia" is only just recently been taken seriously, in my eyes, while before it was often brushed off as not a legitimate concern. Even when I was first coming out, I was told I was just confused, or trans people were just doing it for attention. I still face open glares sometimes, purposeful misgendering, fights with my sister about some of her transphobic views she refuses to question... And while it was hard to be that vulnerable, the conversation ended on a very good note.

I personally don't feel ready to change this language. But I don't really know if I was in the right to argue all of this. I'm only one trans person, I don't want to talk over those who've probably fought to switch the language away from "transphobia" as the valid term. But, i'm in an awkward position of being an unofficial spokesperson as the token trans guy in the class, talking to a lot of folks who've admitted I am the first trans person they've met. So, i dunno, i'm weird with conflict and I was wondering what you're thoughts were on all of this.

This is kind of a tricky one for a lot of reasons, tbh? And I have... a few thoughts. This is already super long, so under the cut it goes!

The first thing is that “transphobia” and “cissexism” aren’t actually interchangeable; they’re different concepts. “Transphobia” refers to bigotry against trans people or transness in general, while “cissexism” or “cisgenderism” is appealing to (or is) the wider system of oppression. (x)

That’s not to say those words are actually used that way in practice, because they’re not, and I certainly don’t use them that way every time either. Like you said, “transphobia” is the word people more often understand. When I’m writing for or talking to audiences that don’t already have a strong background in trans theory, I stick to “transphobia” for clarity’s sake.

But if you’re positioning yourself as an educational authority on the subject, and even going so far as to correct trans people on those terms- you should know that. If your question is “which term refers to discrimination against trans people?”, your answer is reliant upon how you choose to define “discrimination” in that context.

It’s also reasonable to assume people would answer with the first term if they don’t know both of them, and what she’s set up sounds like an unfair “gotcha!” meant to cow uninformed cis people.

And tbh, I take issue with that. There’s a great essay on this- The Cycle of Socialization by Bobbie Harro. The core of this cycle, which allows oppression to continue and encourages its perpetuation, includes confusion and insecurity: oppression is complex, and big, and people are afraid of taking a stand and doing it wrong. They are insecure in their knowledge and position, and afraid that if they try, they’ll get it wrong, and they’ll be punished. So they stay silent. What is that “gotcha!” moment doing except enforcing that fear and silence?

The other thing here are her reasons for using “cissexism” instead. She’s absolutely right that there is dialogue about what terms to use, and her listed reasons are informed and well-educated. I don’t know how I feel about the discussion myself, honestly, as I’ve seen it from the start and I’ve watched it play out for multiple years.

I don’t know if I agree that it’s ableist, part of that being that the “-phobic” thing was originally created as a “compassionate justification” for people’s bigotry against gay people (though there is the “-misic/misia” replacement for “-phobia” if you prefer). That’s still problematic for different reasons; like she said, it might validate bigotry as “fear”. “Cissexism” illustrates bigotry as enforcing a system rather than being honestly rooted in feelings, and that’s generally a good thing, imo.

But, y’know, “transphobia” is what people readily understand, and punishing people for using it is counterproductive. Using “transphobia” as a starting point for a discussion and an understanding is helpful, too; it connects these ideas back to what people already know. It meets them where they are. If you want to add “cissexism” to their vocabulary from there, please do! But that shouldn’t be rooted in shame.

I don’t know if any of this is helpful, but I thought I’d throw out what seemed to be the core of the issue to me, in case it resonated with you. If you still feel weird about the interaction, it might be worth it to address that with her again; she seems like she’s genuinely trying, and cares, and like she’s open to making changes. If nothing else, you might be able to sort out what’s still bugging you and address it as a feelings issue, rather than a language one, if that works better for you.

Good luck! And sorry for the super long answer, lol.

[queer-as-frikc]

My coming out story is weird, it gets a lil transphobic so tw near the end tw long post too

So, pretty much throughout my time growing up through elementary school and half of middle school, i grew up in a white middle class area. I didnt know about the LGBTQ+ or anything other than what I saw, which was white people and an occasional poc. Eventually I had to move and I ended up in a super diverse area, and ended up becoming best friends with this person (they are ftm now so imma use the right pronouns but they were f when this story mostly takes place) he told me all about things I didnt know, specifically the LGBTQ+ community and that he was pan, and it was new information so just like any 13 year old learning new things, I questioned myself, I questioned if I could like the same sex or not or possibly more.

Sadly, drama happened between my best friend, his girlfriend and I, so thing got a little weird. But there was a time in winter, when he was off that relationship for more than a month and he said he'd like to date me, and I really thought about it before hand and said yeah, I couldnt tell you how happy I was to have this experience.

I told my mom that night, in a round about way cuz I was nervous, "Hey mom, what if I liked girls?" She told me she doesnt think that I do, because I always expressed feelings for guys, and when I tell her I didnt really understand what being gay was when I was younger, I didn't really know it was a possibility. She snapped at me and said, "Unless you are willing to kiss a girl and do the other stuff, you arent gay at all."

Eventually I have a sit down conversation with her, about how confusing this all was and how I wish I knew how I felt, and so on. She said she had a similar questioning phase but it never stuck so she doesnt think I am.

Like a month later I figure it out and dude that was so gratifying. I came out as bi to my mom, who just dismissed the whole thing, but I was terrified to tell my uncle (it's a long story about that, no it's not "sweet home Alabama") because he always said bi's were wh*res so yeah. I ended up telling him, and he goes, "You know my opinion on it but that doesnt mean that I'll disown you or anything." Btw the relationship (dating wise) with my best friend after he came out as ftm because he went back to his ex, it's all cool tho.

So that was that, or so I thought. It was my first year of high school, and I finally really understood the definition of pan, what was holding me back though was the trans experience, I thought because I didnt know what it was like, I couldnt be pan, even though I didnt have a preference, turns out it just means you like people no matter their gender and it like, clicked finally so yeah. I've told my family about that since but I a similar reaction: my mom said she doesnt think I am and she lectured me on my generation having so many labels and how she hated it. My uncle said he appreciated that I was pan more than me being bi which confused me but he just had a better view of pansexual than bisexual. (I explained to both of them what the difference was but idk man)

I believe it was my second year of high school when I really started to question my gender, and that was mostly because I saw a video of what gender dysphoria looks like if it's not that strong and you arent aware for ftm. So like wearing bagging clothes all the time, always wearing sports bras, and practically no other bra, feeling really good if someone accidentally calls you sir, etc. And I was like, oml it's me. But it wasnt, I didnt find that out until later tho. So, with my friend group, I find a name that seems to fit me well and ask them to address me by it and he/him pronouns, as like a test of sorts. (All of my friends are gay in some way so it was cool) In the end tho, I got a little iffy about the whole thing and wouldnt ever correct them at times or it was just off for me. I felt really bad because I thought that they might have thought that I was just trying to force myself to be more like them, but I wasnt, i still felt bad though and kinda dropped it.

I'm not sure 100% how I figured it out tho, but I remember talking to my best friend (not the same one from middle school, they were my best friend as well but they arent the same person) about the whole experience and I believe they brought up the idea of genderfulid, and I was like :0.... what that. They explain it, you go aall over the gender spectrum, some days you might feel like a boy, others you might feel like you have no gender, some days you might feel like your gender is something completely weird and different, that's just what it is. And I was like, "It fits but like, I barely feel femme at any point in time, maybe like once a year." And they tell me, that's ok and stuff as long as my gender just decides to be a completely weird and went all over the place, it counted, so I was like, "I finally figured it out!!!" And i was so happy.

Then came the time I was comfortable enough to tell my parents. I had been using the label genderfuild for over half a year already and I thought that it was what I was so it was ok to tell them. I saw how ok me being gay went, so I was nervous but not as nervous as I should have been, probably. I told my mom first, she went on a similar rant of her no liking my generations labels and such, but it went fine, I explained it, I thought I was through, I thought I was fine, apparently not. One day I'm in the shower and I hear my mom being very expressive with what ever shes talking about to my uncle, which is fine, she needs someone to vent to sometimes. When I get out though, and I can here her clearly, I hear sees complaining about what I told her recently, that I'm genderfulid, but instead of saying that, she only says I want to be a boy. (Oh no) So shes complaining to him, asking why I cant be more like her and just be a masculine girl and be fine, why do I have to fit in with the crowd of my generation to feel special, why cant I just be fine with who I am now? Etc.

The sad thing is, that night, I was going out shopping for pants and underwear with my uncle because I needed some and I wore men's pants already at that point, because they are more durable, and stuff so I knew it was gonna be a long ride. My mom was snippy with me that whole night, just the entire time which sucked.

When we finally left to go get clothes though, I didnt know it could get worse. My uncle lectured me about how that's just my generations fad, and how his was making tattoos and piercings ok in the work place and mine is being trans a gay and all that crap, and that I'm just trying to fit in, I'm not being myself, no matter how much I chop myself up and cut my hair and take hormones my chromosomes will never change and so I can never be an actual guy. He also said that I would bring just more attention to myself being a woman who does guy things rather than try and be one, and he thinks I'm doing this all for attention. I was mad but silent at this point, I didnt want to cause anything to happen. He ended up asking me, "So did you pick a different name?" I was surprised but I said yeah, and my friends were using it and it seemed to fit better. He asked me what it was and fear over took my body. I told him, "I'll only tell you if you dont use it against me if your mad." He says, "i cant promise that." And then gets mad because I wont tell him. Though I do, because I feel obligated since hes buying me clothes. To be even more confusing, he buys me guys underwear, and undershirts along with the predetermined pants he promised me and now I'm so confused.

But it gets even worse. When we get home, my mom freaks out on him because be bought me all that mens stuff and she said he was encouraging my behavior and stuff, he defended with it's just clothes, and yah it is. Eventually things settle down, obviously my mom isnt talking to be, but that's for the best at this point. I'm in the living room with my uncle and he just then starts harassing me with questions like, how do you know? he asks. "Well, I just feel that way, same as you." I say. But why do you wanna be a guy? he asks. "I dont wanna be a guy, it's just weird that way. Also it's not me being a guy, it me being many more than that," I say. He says that's bullsh*t. I offer to show him videos that better explain what trans is and how it's an actual sciencey thing and stuff but he said he wont take a video because he wants me to say it. And then he just goes off, saying the name I picked out shows how self centered I am because I am selfish, he kept asking me if i liked to fight, to catch and play with bugs, to be strong, to be angry all the time, and all these stereotypes for men and I just left, and went to bed. He wasnt going to listen to me, so there wasnt a point to me staying.

But, it gets worse. The morning comes and I'm awoken by the slam of my door by my uncle and the laughter of my mom. My uncle starts being really aggressive and starts cleaning my room, I only have clothes on the floor mostly so that's all it was, but he starts saying, well if you're gonna be a man, imma start training you like one, the man of the house picks up after everyone, the man of the house does everything he can to help the house run smoothly, the man of the house has to be strong, and all that stuff. (Which I thought was funny because he was "the man of the house" yet I did everything, and still do. I clean up most after him, funny huh.) And, I know what's happening and so I stay in bed, I don't want this to happen. But I literally get ripped out of my bed by my uncle and get told to stop being a little b*tch and a brat because I'm being selfish by my mom and I'm yelled at to sit in the living room and wait while my uncle cleans my room. When hes done hes starts lecturing me and being all aggressive and in my face. He keeps asking me a million questions with the tone that he didnt care so I knew he wouldn't listen. Eventually, him and my mom leave, I'm told to stay there until I get back. When they do get back, they act like everything is fine, nothing happened between them and I and it's just been so hard for me to talk to them about that since.

I'm greatful that I dont have to deal with that anymore but every time something that that is brought up with my family, I panic so much now. I'm fine and I'm safe but it was very traumatic for me. And uh, thanks for listening.

hey, thank you so much for sharing your story. this was just. so heartbreaking. noone deserves to have a person like your uncle in their life. im so sorry you had to go through all of that. i hope you’re in a much better place now <3 (also i loveeddd reading about how you figured it out) =)

again, tysm <3

[spineofdeathwing]

My Final rebuttal/Testimony to Shadowtusk Clan.

So, on 2/17/21, I made a testimony over the Shadowtusk Clan guild in response to their growing presence on Twitter: https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1srje97 which is the Twitlonger I posted here. It holds my personal views towards Bazu's Twitter @Batzu, and my experiences. On this same day, their GM made a reply to my Testimony (https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1srjefm), and I just wanted to address it here- all the lies, all the speculation. We're gonna start with his first point of when we met. This is semantics. We did meet at an event but didn't actually have a full conversation until he came to falsely accuse me of metagaming with little to no actual evidence. His log is correct but misrepresents the actual context with his own speculations.

Next up: Apologizing for someone being a dick to me OOC when they spam me with crap about wanting to kill my character and then going, 'IC isn't OOC' doesn't compute. Pick a fucking side Bazu. 

Here's the first misrepresentation: his remarks about IC racism. I didn't take issue with the existence of it itself. In fact, my quote was, 'the IC racism that was so venomous in nature that I almost thought they hated me for playing Di OOCly- I realized I had few friends very quickly.' My issue was how fucking hard your guild plays into that, not that it did to begin with. That's like responding to someone complaining about a flood with, 'BUT WE ALL NEED WATER TO SURVIVE'.  Next up was actually an issue I forgot, that being Bazu's ableism. 

 Now, the context was people were fighting over something I said in guild chat. We had a safeword, and I was overstimulated and having an anxiety attack. Bazu, I don't know if you let your agenda make you forget, but I'm fucking Autistic you caustic slime puddle. Conflict and shit can make me get overstimulated- your GM, Zu'daba knew I was autistic to start, as did you as I mentioned that in voice chat. I'm glad you apologized in your Twitlonger, but I'm gonna give the story here for the sake of the transparency YOU forgot. Onto the Zu'daba and Kyr'gal shit. The screens are correct, but there's a misrepresentation of fact. Zujia's advice in that screenshot was over my general concern over Kyr'gal- not over the incident that made me leave. For that, Tezuli advised me as shown here: https://imgur.com/a/mO6UI3G Zu'daba did use Tezuli's advice and guiding to me to admonish me. Blame was initially put onto me from this, Bazu- your screenshots and personal statement even support my argument.  So, what about Di being shamed? Bazu claims I was eager for it, and liked that! It'd sure be a shame if I had screenshots that show that my consent to this was dubious at best to an outsider looking in. Oops!: https://imgur.com/a/tmx1nfU Turns out, I have receipts of me talking to one of your core where I very clearly was Not Okay With That. 

The Gay Baby Jail incident WAS addressed- that still doesn't excuse that your officer was wrongly calling me homophobic in private when I myself am very openly LGBTQ...including being Bi- including my constant advocacy for LGBTQ rights. Including my huge fucking track record of improving when I even do something slightly to offend. What about me with Zea'lani? The source of that tension was me using a transphobic word in an ERP context without the realization that it was transphobic over 4-5 months ago at this point. When I realized what I said was wrong, I immediately addressed it publicly on Twitter, and left that community. I'd later return to it to ensure that message was deleted, and left again because that wasn't something I wanted in the world. While I am trans myself, that doesn't excuse my slipup. However, when your officer actively supports transphobic game devs and tries to 'expose me' for something I handled way before she even saw that, I'm gonna take issue. Especially when she tries to expose me when I am opening up about someone being transphobic and objectifying to me- alongside being racist to black people. Your attempt to get me to fucking repeat the big ass mistake I made to be 'transparent' Bazu, is noted.

Onto the stalking claims. The person who stalked me literally confessed to it Bazu. When you confess to something, you take fucking ownership of that. Which Eztli did: https://imgur.com/a/3A7rKH3 as shown here. I've called Eztli my friend for ages before this drama, Bazu. Your attempt to claim I fish for sympathy when I actually am just being consistent on how I saw someone. Perhaps projecting onto me is a bad idea.

To tie that up, yes. Your recount of the events addressing Lani's behavior is right. You saw blatant harassment, agreed that it wasn't okay, and excused it anyhow. I only posted when you were done talking- and for good reason. When you get someone's friend to backstab someone, and make a bunch of lies and having people stalk them- that person's gonna go public. I urge you to cope, Bazu. So, cultural appropriation. I think this is my biggest issue here. He gives the impression that no one came to him about him appropriating Black Culture and African Religion. Lemme fix that: https://imgur.com/a/uPhAzGq The video I link refers to Hatian Zombies, Bokors and the history of Voodoo/Vodou- with heavy input made from practitioners of Voodoo and Vodou, as well as even having a Bokor speak on the issue and sacred nature of their title. As you can see, he acknowledges seeing this.  However, lemme point out the racism here: 'If any member of the various animistic faiths that inspire Blizzard's depiction of "Voodoo" would like to ask me to stop or offer direction in how to portray these practices more respectfully, I would be open to that. If my limited amateur research on the acceptable uses of the title of "Bokor" have misled me, I'm happy to apologize and to strike it from our record.' You were given a certifiable and primary source as to why your behavior is wrong. A basic fucking google search tells you why you are wrong. But you demand that Black people of this faith, who has suffered countless times at the hands of White Supremacy, baby your ass on this. It's not cute. It's not funny. It's incredibly fucking racist, and shows you have no desire to fix your appropriation. The art theft stuff is true. Now, what about harassment, racism, all that?  Another misrepresented point. If we look at my Twitlonger, I mentioned that they've had a past of it. This isn't hidden fact, Shadowtusk on this blog alone has been exposed countless times for homophobia, racism, pedophilia- the list goes on. As it is misrepresented, I'm not addressing that further. It's a joke. What I will say is that for OOC racism not being tolerated, Bazu, you sure are hella eager to appropriate and steal from Black Culture more than even Blizzard does for the sake of your own immersion- even when you are given more than enough of means to educate yourself.  That's my final rebuttal. If you want all the screens that show every instance of bullshittery I had with STC: Here ya go.  And Bazu? I understand you are a spineless fucking coward, and you have Indicinis backing you on your lies regardless of the truth. The Troll RP community deserves more and better than your filth. I'd pray for you to grow as a person but given the sheer amount of your delusion? You aren't worth that. And PPS? Me including the creation of my guild for the sake of giving an accurate portrayal of chronological events and explaining my reasoning for it, isn't a plug. Keep that insecurity to yourself. https://imgur.com/gallery/1eR9N5p https://imgur.com/gallery/0UhtYd8 https://imgur.com/gallery/9ljDdRG

[yogpetshame]

In the latest Triforce podcast, they complain about politically correctness, about the left-wing, and Lewis defends *notorious transphobe who spends all his time harassing trans people* Graham Linehan. It's fucking awful.

You know, I got kind of a different impression and I figured I might as well labor through explaining why, since we’re dealing with a really long piece of media that’s hard to “digest” the way you would normally be inclined to. 

The part where it starts, where they’re talking about Curb Your Enthusiasm, is so-so. It feels like listening to a guy talk just a little too passionately about how they relate to Rick Sanchez, or Bojack Horseman, or Walter White. The core of Curb is not, as Sips says, to “comment on cancel culture.”

Anyway, the salient bit comes way later in the podcast. I flick through the YouTube auto-generated transcript in moments like this and think, goddammit, this technology needs to hurry up. So before you go “Holy shit, YPS transcribed all that?!” …No I didn’t, which is why it’s going to read like fucking shit. I’m just going to correct it when the words are wrong but I’m not doing any not-strictly-necessary punctuation. Nooo thank you.

Lewis: Something like I think that okay a good example is like JK Rowling and you know actually for example someone tweeted me this week saying you should unfollow Graham Linehan who wrote like father Ted I think when I signed up to Twitter about 10 years ago I automatically followed a lot of people who I was a fan of 

Sips: or thought you were because you don’t know these people 

Lewis: Bill Bailey-

Sips: writes a funny show that you like 

Lewis: cuz I want to see funny tweets on Twitter from them you know I like father Ted I want to see his funny tweets you know and someone tweeted me and said you should unfollow him because he’s done a load of anti-trans stuff and commentary and I I was like you know what I don’t think I’ve- I will. I think I’m just gonna unfollow him. I don’t think it’s worth trouble wise I don’t I don’t think that this guy particularly is obviously like I but it’s a little bit in my head though I’m a little bit like Oh father Ted’s now a bit tainted like Harry Potter’s a little bit tainted by 

Sips: the thing is okay fine you’ve unfollowed him you’ve unfollowed him after suggestion of somebody but you haven’t you haven’t unfollowed him for like the pure reason right you’ve just done followed him because it’s like off 

Lewis: in my head 

Sips: he’s pressuring me and I don’t want to be seen as somebody who agrees with what this guy might have said 

Pyrion: so that’s what cancel cultures is about

Sips: exactly 

Pyrion: I still think the main thing the  main thing to do is if I mean first of all I don’t want to know Graham linehan I don’t care what his opinions are, I want to see Father Ted

Sips: no i want to see the funny stuff  is it something on Twitter that’s even remotely funny and related to father Ted great that’s why I followed him in the first place because the father Ted you know what I mean like 

Lewis: yeah 

Pyrion: well so Twitter is real easy to be as puritanical as you like about whatever it is you believe in but I guarantee you even people you know really well there’ll be something of opinion that they hold that you think what that’s fucking bizarre like I can’t get my head around this weird that you you what are you gonna stop seeing that person because there’s something you disagree with them about I don’t know I mean I know lots of people whose politics are wildly different from mine or their opinions about all kinds of stuff are wildly different from mine it doesn’t change the fact that they’re they’re essentially a decent enough person that I could be friends with them 

Lewis: no absolutely

Pyrion: I just think it’s it’s not worth analyzing with a micro microscope every single aspect of a person’s personality because no one is clean no one is gonna come out of it and you’re gonna be okay with everything they said 

Lewis: I don’t think they’re evil if they have flaws like that or beliefs necessarily either I think it’s that they’re a product of their their cultural like like teachings been informed of over the years via media and Hollywood and books and people and friends of family and surroundings and locales…

So at worst, to me, this reads like Lewis is willing to concede that some people do not deserve your attention because of their words and deeds. Mostly, it’s like not wanting to be bothered about it and cause an argument outweighs his attachment to old media by a good deal. And he even will admit that separating the art from the artist is futile. I don’t really have an issue with it.

Pyrion comes in with the dog-tired “I don’t care who made it, I live in a Solipsistic world where the only things that matter are the things I observe.” Stupid, but inoffensive.

But you can see Sips starting some shit which he follows through on almost as soon as he gets a chance to.

Lewis: so what I’m saying is don’t be too hard on yourselves if you find that your your beliefs are challenged you know 

Sips: I don’t hold a strong belief on that though like you know like like I if if if that offends somebody to laugh at that and they’re around me or whatever I  would apologize I would say oh sorry 

Pyrion: you know like it’s not worth clinging to that kind of 

Sips: I’m a reasonable person I’m not I’m not gonna fight for my right to laugh at prison rape jokes I just don’t care enough but I could but equally 

I’m not I’m not going to to to falsely support like like trans rights and stuff as well by unfollowing somebody on Twitter because as much as I support somebody’s right to be who they are or who they want to be and and freedom and stuff like that these are things that don’t really affect me 

I’m not gonna be as passionate about them as somebody who is who is affected by it you know or or living that life or whatever you know what I mean I think there’s I think there’s a lot of like almost like false support for movements nowadays just to appear sort of like politically correct or popular or something like that and I don’t agree with that either I you know I think people that are coming out and and being like overly  sort of supportive about something that they have nothing to do with or whatever is is is it’s not it’s not a genuine thing it’s it’s it’s a lie

Pyrion: you see that in Hollywood a lot 

Sips: of course you do 

Pyrion: cos they cast something and it’s like the cast is like you can tell they’ve they’ve fucking they brainstormed the shit out of how to get the perfect cast for essentially for to avoid bad reviews on on Twitter and in the media 

Sips: sure 

Pyrion: it feels disingenuous 

Sips: yeah no 

Pyrion: it’s not from the heart no they haven’t changed they just going with the trends 

Sips: it is it’s it’s it’s some sort of formula for like popularity or for money or sales or something like that and it doesn’t feel nice it doesn’t feel good like like 

Lewis: yeah we should be on top of that stuff 

Sips: I think you need somebody to support me with with with just about anything really but like you know what I mean like it’s I don’t know like III think I think just I think it’s important to just be yourself and not get caught up in that in the hype of everything you know what I mean like just yeah like and don’t be an asshole yeah

It’s like Sips thinks that by burying it 55 minutes into an hour long podcast he’s going to get away with saying he doesn’t have sympathy for anyone who isn’t straight and white. Like I understand the way he’s trying to couch it, by saying that it’s slacktivism or it’s not a genuine demonstration of support, or that he’s not required to demonstrate his support in any way. But when you find yourself following someone who actually represents something you really believe is hateful, how can you not care, just because well, he’s funny, and he doesn’t happen to hate you? I don’t think it’s fair to make a snap judgement about a person based on who they choose to follow on Twitter… rather, I think it’s very fair to make a judgement about how they rationalize continuing to follow that person. “He doesn’t hate me so it’s not my problem” is bullshit.

Sips pauses for a minute and comes back in a few minutes later, as though he realizes what he just blurted out:

Sips: I feel like this podcast would be way better if I could actually articulate my thoughts like in an intelligent manner or not just like being a dope

Lewis: this is what this is though I said at the very start the podcast it’s that words are not enough like we we I think we need speeches

Pyrion: ‘More than words,’ that’s this week’s theme is the song ‘More than Words’ by Extreme.

Lewis: prepared speeches that are finely honed and crafted to not-not-not cuz but a lot of time people to get the wrong end of the stick from this podcast they’re gonna think Lewis said this sentence and people are gonna take out of context and it’ll and it’ll mean so which is the opposite of what I meant

Interlude… that’s why I bothered to pull the transcripts out in the first place. Hard to argue I was fucking around with context when I’m cutting out fat chunks like this.

Sips: I meant yeah yeah I know 

Lewis: it’s a very complex topic

Sips: alright I do my best I think I’m a reasonable person I don’t think I’m overly offensive to any one person or a group of people III don’t have hate in my heart for anything other than people who are sweaty at overwatch oh you know what I mean like I know I’m not going out of my way to like spread hate or to spread misery or whatever I think I’m like a pretty easygoing you know happy-go-lucky sort of sort of person.

Unfortunately nobody is handing out medals for bullshit, so your rambling appeal for sympathy was for naught, Sips.

[winterywitch]

anyway heres a summary of my discourse beliefves:

cishet aces/aros do not belong in gay spaces, bi spaces, lesbian spaces or trans spaces

for me my whole life the LGBT community has been more than that. my perspective is not that of some sad brainwashed child, forced into being more ~tolerant~ than i should be. i genuinely believe and have always believed the LGBT community is more than that, and im not just gonna drop that anytime soon, because i dont think the right to only consider the LGBT community as for “SGA and trans” people is liberation.

therefore cishet aces/aros belong in ace/aro spaces, which for me, count as LGBT.

but not gay, bi, lesbian or trans spaces.

there will be overlap because they are LGBT. but no, cishet aces/aros should have no claim to anything specifically for the L, G, B or T of the community.

for me the community is

Lesbians

Gay men

Bisexuals [SGA or not - as an SGA bi person, i get to speak on this.

Pansexuals

Trans people

Nonbinary people [counting agender, genderfluid, genderqueer, etc. non-cis, non-binary identities]

Intersex people (of course should they want to - the point of this list isn't YOU HAVE TO BE LGBT it's You Can Be Included)

Queer people [anyone who isn't cis or isn't het, including aroace people. non sga bi people im a little iffy on re: them 'reclaiming' queer]

Allies [i think this is important for people in the closet, as long as we dont let cishets get too big for their britches]

Aroaces

and hell, here’s a + to include anything i might have forgotten

aroaces are not functionally cishet.

straight privilege is straight privilege. it isnt not-homophobia privilege. to experience straight privilege you must be straight.

they definitely benefit from not experiencing homophobia. they can be absolute dumbasses abt homophobia for that exact reason.

but they dont experience straight privilege, because they’re not straight. that is all straight privilege has ever meant for me in my LGBT community.

cishet aces are cishet, and also aces. this means they benefit from cis privilege and straight privilege, but aphobia weighs down that straight privilege because they dont perform straightness in the Right way. i dont believe this necessarily makes them systemically oppressed the same way we are. but i dont believe aro or ace identities are privileged either.

there is no coherent Ace Community boogieman that is unanimously a bunch of homophobic, transphobic, racist jackasses, and if you believe that, you are a complete dumbass

yeah, the ace community is comprised of white cishets but, im gonna wager even more commonly, its comprised of literally every LGBT identity and race you can imagine. the ace community is not the white cishet community. it’s the community of everyone who IDs as ace or aro. this is not white cishets as a rule, as a majority, or even half the time.

that being said, inclusionists can say some stupid, shortsighted shit sometimes that is completely ignorant of LGBT history/oppression. i dont agree with the implications that i dont stand for every single thing they say and will not be held accountable for every single thing they say.

similarly, unless you wanna be held accountable for every single thing your side says/does before being allowed to call us out, uh, dont expect the same of us. the onus for this is on exclusionists, i have been around long enough to know you guys started this one. it is up to you guys to start being decent on that one, and then we’ll follow suit. those of us who dont are jackasses.

you are never at liberty EVER to explain to an ace person why their abuse or rape took place. that is called gaslighting, and no, you don’t get to throw a fit when someone calls this what it is. when you call a rape/abuse survivor an annoying disgusting freak for daring to talk about why their rape/abuse happened (since they factually know why it happened and you dont) and then proceed to insist that your headcanon of their trauma is the correct interpretation and theirs is not because theyre a filthy cishet ace (which they rarely are), that is quite literally the definition of gaslighting. and hey, don’t do it.

you are never at liberty EVER to explain to an ace person why their parents forced them into Therapy Specifically Designed To Convert Them Away From Asexuality (which may have a more efficient, shorter name). you dont know how that therapy worked or how the therapist worked because you werent there. you dont know that it was only because of homophobia so therefore this person has no right to claim their own trauma.

not everyone you hate is a cishet ace. don’t call people cishet aces unless you know for a fact they are cishet aces. i imagine you wouldnt want to call a trans lesbian a cishet, which exclusionists have done too many times for me to count. your platform should not be “you said something stupid and harmful, youre a cishet ace,” it should be “you said something stupid and harmful, end of statement.”

for some reason this is a controversial point in some discourse circles, but no one owes you sex. your partners don’t owe you sex. relationships do not equal sex. relationships do not even equal romantic love. relationships are a decision between multiple people on closer emotional intimacy.

if romantic and sexual aspects of a relationship are necessary for you, that’s understandable and okay! but you aren’t OWED that. people don’t need to out themselves as aro or ace for you. people dont need to feel pressured to give you anything they dont want to give. and you dont need to stay in relationships that dont make you happy.

allosexual privilege is not real. no one but white cishet men are 100% celebrated and privileged for experiencing sexual attraction. even white cishet women are oppressed for their attraction in many ways, and repressed from early childhood - so you can imagine how absolutely horrific sex-based oppression is for the LGBT community. we are not celebrated for sexual attraction, we are treated like we are dirty, and we are sexual predators.

WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, yeah, sometimes we are definitely, blatantly favored over aces, and people run around saying asexuality is unnatural, and sexual attraction is what makes us human. this is harmful and damaging, and it shouldn’t happen. i dont consider it systemic oppression and it definitely does not make allosexual privilege a thing.

calling people allosexuals is not something i condone. its not comparable to “cis” as a label, because cis people are an actual oppressor class towards trans people - non-ace LGBP folks are not towards ace people.

intracommunity bigotry is real and it is traumatic. people devalue it constantly and pretend it’s just a slap on the wrist, but it is an absolutely traumatic thing to have to face every day of your life. but it isnt the same as OPPRESSION, and we dont have to conflate the two concepts for intracommunity bigotry to be treated with the seriousness it deserves.

similarly, dont call people REGs unless they are not only aphobes but also truscum or TERFs. i also personally dont really believe in equating aphobes with truscum/TERFs but i dont believe in silencing trans people who openly talk about the similarities, either.

dont call people AERFs unless youre a trans woman holy shit

as someone who was directly affected by the truscum discourse when it happened [not debatable, by the way], this is pretty much recycled truscum discourse in my eyes. you dont need to lecture me on how its not.

just because someone on the “other side” called something you did ableist, misogynist, homophobic, transphobic, racist, etc., does not mean you get to shut your eyes and plug your ears. ESPECIALLY if you are part of a privileged class relevant to that accusation. for example as a white exclusionist you dont get to ignore the concerns of inclusionists of color or lecture them on the racism of the ace community. for example as a cis inclusionist [or honestly, even just a non-trans-woman inclusionist] you dont get to ignore the concerns of trans exclusionist women or lecture them on the similarities between TERFs and exclusionists.

“aspec” is not exclusively for the autistic community and i have NEVER seen claims that it was until ace discourse started. thats transparent as fuck to me and youre not fooling anyone. dont just make shit up lmfao

jokes about how Oh Lol Cringe aces inherently are, arent funny especially considering how many of these Jokes are steeped in anti-autistic ableism

idk when this happened but recently ableist jokes are the new Hot Topic of Comedy and thats like, mind-numbingly bad

i dont care what side youre on, IF YOU ARE USING THINGS LIKE FICTIONAL CP/PEDOPHILIC SHIPS/INCEST/RAPE CONTENT TO COPE WITH YOUR TRAUMA, YOU BETTER BE DOING THAT SHIT IN PRIVATE, ONLY SHARING IT WITH LIKE-MINDED, ADULT SURVIVORS, AND NEVER LETTING THAT CONTENT CIRCULATE OUTSIDE OF THAT GROUP. end of story. no ifs, ands or buts about it. speaking as a survivor who uses stuff like this to cope, being a survivor does not give you a free pass to, inadvertently or not, contribute to the pedophilia and circulation of grooming material on the internet. it is your RESPONSIBILITY as a survivor to not continue that cycle. if you avoid that responsibility, you have no right to play victim or pull the “im a survivor ;-;” card when people call you out on this.

educating kids on asexuality is not pedophilia, grooming or sexual abuse. jesus christ lmfao you dont have to assume people word it in a way thats inappropriate or predatory just because theyre pro-ace. kids NEED label/identity options, they are discovering who they are and without a label that fits for them, theyll likely feel like shit. let them have their labels. knowing about asexuality might greatly improve their life if it fits them!

for this reason, stop being weird about mogai labels/trying to “ban” them from everyone’s vocabulary/trying to turn them into some Cringe Joke that is only about Cishets Trying To Be Special. they didn’t fuck over EVERYONE.

inclusionists, in advising kids and questioning people who ask you for answers, be more open-ended. the insistence of “oh youre not a lesbian you’re a quioromantic demi-homosexual!” without also making it ok to just be a lesbian is what hurt and confused so many people on their journey to discovering their identity and its why they resent the whole mogai thing, fairly so. make it okay to just be a lesbian, or just be gay, or just be bi, or just be trans, while letting people know their other, more specific options.

asexuality is not an NSFW or TMI orientation

ace headcanons arent INHERENTLY homophobic, racist or ableist. they absolutely can be and ive seen that shit with my Own Two Eyes [pure innocent baby ace autistic papyrus headcanons back in the undertale fandom (shudders)], but they are not INHERENTLY so.

headcanons for characters with marginalized identity labels that arent identical to the ones you headcanon that character with are not oppression. and you dont get to police this shit as if its factually wrong

absolutely zero sexual interactions with minors ever, thanks!

trying to Bother The Pure Aceys by talking about sex is unacceptable

posting bullshit in ace positivity tags is unacceptable

stop calling people doing nothing but talking about their experiences “freaks”???

dont engage in the whole Oh There Are Valid Identities And There Are Special Snowflake Identities thing its not a very good look

biphobia is its own thing independent of homophobia

biphobia perpetuated within the community isnt necessarily systemic oppression but its traumatic and wrong and shouldnt be treated like some Lol Cringe Joke

you cant just say UM THAT LITERALLY NEVER HAPPENS???? when someone calls your side out on shit lgfkhghgfh especially when it literally does, all the damn time

ace [IRL person, whether or a celebrity or god forbid a flat out bigot] moodboards arent funny

you shouldnt agree to sex that you as an ace person dont want in a situation that you can control if the sex happens or not, but the pressure to provide sex to a non-ace partner is very real. stop blaming ace ppl for that pressure lol speaking as a victim of coercive sexual abuse, you cannot blame the one who didnt want it, even if they COULD have spoken up.

you’re not a bad person for wanting sex if your ace partner doesn’t. there is nothing immoral about not being ace. you just dont get to have sex anyway and you arent owed it if you are set on this committed, monogamous relationship - if sex is a big deal to you, you need to leave that relationship or work out an open situation.

laughing off peoples’ experiences as The Discourse is completely unacceptable, it encourages people to shut up and never analyze themselves and their identities

its not cute in your ace ship headcanons if the ace character is an asshole that rolls their eyes @ or judges their non-ace partner

similarly its not cute in your ace ship headcanons if the non-ace partner is an asshole that rolls their eyes @ or judges their ace partner

you dont get to tell people “ok you identify as heteroflexible but ACTUALLY you’re [insert identity]” literally ever, i understand the concern with people using “safe” identity labels to avoid facing their LGBT identities but acting on that concern in that way is not concern, its concern-trolling and its not fuckin okay.

legitimizing your own identity by delegitimizing the identities of others is bad

DO NOT, AND I REPEAT, DO NOT, BLANKET-TERM PEOPLE AS QUEER, LITERALLY EVER. DONT DO IT

DONT FUCKIN DO IT!!!!! NOT EVERYONE HAS RECLAIMED THAT SLUR, AND IT IS 100% A SLUR ON TOP OF BEING A CULTURE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY

JESUSS CHRIST DONT FUCKIGN DO IT!!!! WHEN YOU REFERENCE THE QUEER COMMUNITY YOU BETTER ONLY MEAN PPL WHO CALL THEMSELVES QUEER AND HAVE RECLAIMED IT/ARE PART OF THAT SUBCULTURE

we need more nonsexual, non-alcoholic spaces for LGBT folk that are safe for minors, trauma survivors and ace people, but thats not our fault, the prevalence of sexual and alcoholic spaces exists because we were literally not allowed to exist anywhere else until very, VERY recently, and even now it’s a Barely thing

you cant tell someone their experiences didnt happen like my god

we think ace discourse is about more than cishets because exclusionists make it about asexuality as a whole. you guys cant make it about more than cishets and then be like But Ok It’s Just About Cishets You IRrational Crazies?? :/

yes self harm through exposing oneself to the discourse tag is possible, no it’s not funny, no it’s not just ~cishets~doing that, triggers are not exclusive to PTSD survivors, shut the actual fuck up

you dont have any room to comment on the validity of quasiplatonic relationships if you’re not in one, most of the time you guys complaining about them and saying theyre Special Snowflake Things dont actually know what they are. mind your own business lol let people live

if youre not intersex, you dont get to tell people that the intersex community doesnt wanna consider itself LGBT, so they are wrong for saying intersex people are allowed to consider themselves LGBT. youre not being a good ally. sit down, shut up and let intersex people talk amongst themselves.

[to be added to at some point im sure]

asexuals STOLE dragons from CHILDREN to make themselves seem PURE AND INNOCENT, the MONSTERS

[leiflikesdisney-blog]

Transgendered Villains Response

A response to Amanda Putnam’s “Mean Ladies: Transgendered Villains in Disney Films,” put under the cut for length. Because while taking notes on the article, I realized I had a lot more that I wanted to say in response to this article, so why not get a post out of it?

So, I’ll be honest, when I saw this article title on the syllabus, I immediately felt my anxiety rise. The first thing that stood out to me is the use of the word “transgendered.” I’ll grant that this piece was written years ago (2013), but that is not the proper word. It’s simply transgender, for a variety of reasons.  Firstly, transgender is already an adjective, so it does not need the -ed at the end. The only time you have an -ed is when you are converting a pre-existing noun or verb to an adjective (ex. fatigued, disgusted, right-handed).  Secondly, you do not use “transgendered” in the same way that you don’t use “gayed.” I am a transgender guy, not a transgendered guy. I am a gay man, not a gayed man. The only time I have heard “transgendered” is by cisgender people, and often in a negative context. It is most often used in a negative context, because, if you’ve ever talked to a trans person and actually listened to them, you would know it isn’t transgendered. But, I was very closeted in 2013, so I don’t know what language was used at the time, I just felt it would be nice to have a short response to the use of this word, in preparation for class.  The Huffington Post also wrote a very nice article over this issue here.

Also, while we’re on the use of vocabulary, Putnam discusses the assigning of “transgendered attributes” and “gender-bending” traits. This can get to be a mouthful sometimes, and I feel like cisgender, heterosexual academics who try to discuss these issues tend to get ahead of themselves and fail to actually research how the LGBT community has personally discussed these issues. The LGBT community has already coined a term for this. It is most commonly referred to as “queer coding,” though those that don’t desire using the slur queer prefer “LGBT coding” or “gay coding.” The Daily Dot describes queer coding as “the use of stereotypically negative queer traits to demonize characters.” You can read their article about Disney’s attitude towards queer coded characters here. Or, if you’re really tired of reading, here’s a nice video on queer coding. Also, TVTropes has a fairly comprehensive list of queer coded characters here. Though, I am disappointed that this list leaves off Sideshow Bob, Cecil, and Mr. Burns from The Simpsons, but they aren’t Disney, so I’ll digress from that...

Anyway, the importance of terms like “queer/LGBT coding” is because, otherwise, you end up with the phrase “transgendered villains,” which is problematic, to say the least. You cannot describe a cisgender character as “transgendered” when what you really mean is that they are coded as queer. It is grossly inappropriate to call a character “transgendered,” when, for as far as the audience knows, the character is cisgender. Also, many personality traits or mannerisms associated with being gay and being trans have overlap, which is why umbrella terms like queer/lgbt coding are necessary. It’s difficult to have a character be gay coded without also being trans coded, and vice versa. Also, this is just me being nit-picky, but Putnam’s definition of being transgender is way too wordy. Being transgender just means you don’t identify with the gender you were assigned at birth. (Transsexual is outdated and commonly used in a negative connotation, used transgender instead. I know cis people will swear up and down on their grave that using transsexual is more correct, but here is an actual trans person telling you that no, it isn’t. Please use transgender instead.)

So, now that the vocab lesson is done, let’s get on to the real meat of the article.

I wholeheartedly agree with Putnam. Disney has firmly planted its roots in the demonization of queer people through their villains’ appearances, actions, and mannerisms. Scar has always stood out to me, through his perfectly messy mane, his dark, drooping eyelids that mimic Disney’s typically feminine seductive style of eyelids, and his campiness that is especially evident in this scene and this scene. Also notably, many queer coded antagonists (typically gay men) are well-educated academics that look down on those of lower intelligence, which is...90% of Scar’s personality, and it’s especially high lighted in scenes with the hyenas, especially when you compare his deep, almost theatrical English accent to Shenzi and Anzai’s urban accents, which are commonly associated with a lack of education.

Also, this queer coding plays into our discussion from earlier this semester about why people are drawn to queer coded characters. As a child struggling with gender identity, seeing characters that broke Disney’s strict gender roles was a breath of fresh air, even if they were villains. In fact, I didn’t even make the connection until recently that queer coding was specifically the reason I tended to identify more with villains than heroes. For some reason, feminine men with tendencies associated with homosexuality, along with campy personalities spoke to my young closeted gay self.

As Disney’s movies have shown, actual scenes that can be read as homosexual are played for laughs. The first that comes to mind is, following their fight with the villagers, when Lumiere kisses Cogsworth, which results in a disgusted face from Cogsworth as he smacks Lumiere away, and it is played off as laughs. Because, remember kids! The only time guys show affection to other boys is at moments of hysteria when they aren’t thinking clearly! Riiight...Also notably in Beauty and the Beast is the hyper-masculine villain Gaston, which would be a nice subversion of the effeminate male villain stereotype...if it weren’t for Lefou. Now, don’t get me wrong! I absolutely adore Lefou! He’s a great comic relief, and a foil for Gaston. In fact, it’s his relationship with Gaston that raises questions. 

Lefou is the very dimwitted comrade of Gaston’s who spends a majority of his dialogue being touchy-feely towards Gaston and flooding him with compliments. He spends as much time swooning over Gaston as the blonde village girls do. For whatever reason, Gaston decides to spend every waking moment with Lefou, rather than with the women, as one would expect him to.

The dialogue between the two, combined with the fact that Lefou is constantly with Gaston, and the physical contact between the two feels like Disney’s odd, caricatured version of a gay relationship. For some reason, whenever character’s sidekicks are animals, it’s harder to read their relationship as romantic.

Finally, Jafar is the most obviously queer coded man of the bunch, with his feminine-attire, including his eyeshadow and eyeliner–attributes that Disney would never dare give to a good heterosexual man. In fact, the only time we see a man wearing feminine attire in Disney films, they are a villain, or, even more commonly, it’s played off for laughs.

Because it’s funny when a guy wears a dress, right? It’s funny to show other characters stare in confusion and/or disgust, right? It’s definitely not harmful to show young trans girls that their identity is a joke, right? Uh, sorry guys, media affects people, particularly media consumed by young children. Disney’s portrayal of gender and gender expression causes children to consume and partake in transphobic/transmisogynistic ideas. The overdone gag of “man dons a dress for a cheap joke” is, simply that, overdone and inherently transmisogynistic. 

Also, regarding the part of the essay about Drizella and Anastasia, I completely agree. Normally, Drizella and Anastasia’s features wouldn’t stand out, but they are regularly laughed at for their masculine ugliness. Also apparently Disney associates beauty with being essentially featureless, because I find the stepsisters’ designs infinitely more interesting and compelling than Cinderella’s doe eyes and button nose. But hey, that’s just me.

Either way, Disney has a strong rooted history in queer coding villains, leading to homophobic and transphobic portrayals and jokes. Even in modern films, it is easy to see Disney give preferential treatment to the hyper-masculinized men over the effeminate men, and the hyper-feminine women to the masculine women. 

In Frozen, Hans is thin, well-dressed, and well-mannered...up until the part where he tries to kill two women. Meanwhile, Kristoff, the good guy, has a more masculine build, climbs mountains, and he has significantly shorter and paler eyelashes than Hans, as well as a more masculine face shape.

In Tangled, Rapunzel has golden blonde hair, a tiny button nose, and is effortlessly youthful and beautiful. In stark contrast, Mother Gothel, the villain, has a square, masculine face and a strong nose, and she has to manipulate and use Rapunzel in order to achieve her youth and beauty.

Heck, in Wreck-It Ralph, the main protagonist is King Candy who speaks with the stereotypically homosexual lisp, lives in a pink castle, and bounces around everywhere in a pixie-esque manner.

So, yeah...Disney has no problems using gender roles and proper gender presentation in their characters as a means to show good vs. evil. Disney’s regular queer coding is what makes me cringe when people bring up the possibility of a gay, bi, or trans princess. Disney regularly makes LGBT people out to be villains, and I don’t trust them to portray an LGBT character correctly or in a positive light. So, as much as I would love to have an animated film feature a strong LGBT character, especially from a company as big as Disney, I don’t know if I trust any animation companies to produce that film yet...Although, I have heard that Warner Brothers’ new Lego Batman movie features a relationship between the Joker and Batman that is heavily coded to be romantic in nature, and that the portray it rather adorably. I personally haven’t seen it yet, but I look forward to that.

P.S. Yes, I know Paranorman has a gay character. He’s wonderful, and I love him.

[tragicbooks]

How to criticize Caitlyn Jenner fairly — and oh, there's a lot to criticize.

A simple tip for tough discussions and disagreements.

Caitlyn Jenner has history of giving troubling sound bites.

In the wake of a shooting attack on Republican members of Congress, Jenner "joked" that "liberals can't even shoot straight." She once told BuzzFeed that, "the hardest part about being a woman is figuring out what to wear." During the 2016 election she said she wanted to be the "trans ambassador" for vehemently anti-LGBTQ politician Ted Cruz.

Take into account her public transition and her connection to the Kardashian family, there's no shortage of people ready and eager to call her out for comments like those.

I'm no fan of her, either. Trust me. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.

Though we can't know for sure Jenner's intent, her status as a public figure and her habit of saying offensive, inappropriate, and ill-informed things makes life for trans people like me that much harder. She wants to speak for my demographic, and yet, when she opens her mouth, she often says things I vehemently disagree with.

It's embarrassing. It's exhausting.

Also exhausting, however, is the reaction I see play out every time Jenner says something problematic.

For every on-point criticism of whatever it is Jenner said, there are waves of people who respond with transphobic comments and "jokes" that misgender her and refer to her by her old name.

It certainly seems as though many people feel that Jenner saying or doing something awful gives them the green light to let out some general anti-trans feelings on the world — even if by accident.

While those sorts of comments may be directed at her, they send a really unfortunate message to all trans people, implying that being called the correct name and pronoun is a privilege to be "earned" and that can later be revoked in the case of bad behavior.

Those types of comments suggest that the person making them is merely humoring trans people when using our correct pronouns and names instead of taking us at our word when it comes to who we are.

The bottom line is this: Calling Caitlyn Jenner a "man" or using her old name doesn't really address what makes her so objectionable.

There's a name for this kind of bad argument.

It's called "ad hominem," and it's basically when someone comes to an argument to insult someone's character or body as opposed to their ideas. It's a pretty weak way to make a point, and honestly, it often affects more than the intended target.

Calling her a "man" sends a pretty rough message to other trans people. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

So how can you criticize Caitlyn Jenner without being transphobic? Simple: Avoid ad hominem.

After Jenner's comments about the congressional shooting began circulating, here's an exchange I saw take place on Twitter:

One person posted a link to the recent story about her "liberals can't even shoot straight" comments. Out of nowhere, people replied to that tweet calling her a man, saying things about how her "real name" was "Bruce," and lots of stuff that had nothing to do with the stupid thing that she actually said.

A better way to respond would be to criticize her comments as being offensive or inappropriate in the wake of the tragedy she was talking about.

What if you just won't be satisfied unless you can crack a joke? LGBTQ activist Dan Savage pretty much nailed it with his response to her comments: "The liberal black lesbian married cop who took out the shooter got the job done."

Boom. Critical. Funny. Most importantly, not-transphobic.

There's nothing wrong with criticizing Caitlyn Jenner — whether the person doing the criticizing is trans or not.

Just because ad hominem attacks aren't OK doesn't mean Jenner gets some sort of "free pass" to say troubling things unchecked. It doesn't mean she shouldn't be held accountable for her words or that she shouldn't be criticized for her views or politics.

If people feel the need to criticize her for her political views, her charmed reality TV life, or her actions, they absolutely should do that. Believe me, there is plenty there to address.

There's just no need to bring transphobia into it.

Clarification 6/20/2017: A previous version of this post stated Jenner means well with her comments; it was updated to reflect that we don't know her intent.