#(well. that and the sexism thats usually there in situations like this)

[nomaishuttle]

listening to the new sadboyz and im like. rly disappointed with how theyre talking abt the sssniperwolf shit ...

[arodrwho]

ideal ds9 ship situation:

keiko/miles/kira

kira & odo (qp)

miles + julian (vague handwavey undefined thing that they don't rly acknowledge as a thing until after the war - and even then if asked to dress it up in specific terms theyre just kinda like [shrugs] do they have to put a label on it? anyway about the holosuite - )

julian/garak (it takes them forever to talk about their feelings and even longer to actually get together)

julian/ezri

(garak is jealous of ezri at first, mostly bc she's still on the station after the war and he isn't - but he gets over it more quickly than he got over julian & miles becoming friends back in the day; he held SUCH a grudge against miles for so long, partly bc he thought miles didnt deserve julians friendship after being such an asshole, and partly bc he knows miles hates cardassians)

bonus: worf/jadzia and kira/jadzia fwb

yes

[zombifiedheartg]

Yandere Mike and alters( team up if you want! ) with a darling that is the most sweet,caring and calm person of the world! That would never ever make something bad and protects everyone!

If you can't is ok! Take your time,rest well and have the best day of your life!!!! 💞

of course <3 and thank u so much, ur so nice! i didn't include chester for this, i'm sorry !! , i'm so sorry this took so long & it was pretty short :( i rlly hope u enjoyed it raaahhha

yandere mike & alters x caring darling..

cw : delusion, basic yandere behaviour, obsession, mentions of harming ppl, violence in general, mal in general, mike being clingy, manipulation & gaslighting , sexism, jealousy of course .

.

mike

˚﹟🪐 'ಇ.

he thinks you're the sweetest thing thats ever happened to him!! your caring nature is so alluring to him, you're like a dream. most of his life he's been made fun of, ridiculed and just overall bullied.

but with you, it's refreshing not to be mocked almost 25/8. and you always defend him, it's so nice! he's attached himself to you, he's so clingy.. he never goes anywhere without you. where you go, he goes.

it's so suffocating and annoying not to have any alone time, but you'd never tell him that, you don't wanna hurt your precious boyfriends feelings do you? the guilt would just eat you alive!

you're an angel to him.

the weird glances you get from people as he practically hangs on to your waist are worth it.

he's more possessive than he'd like to think, he gets jealous sort of easily. i mean, he trusts you! you're most loyal person he's ever met! another trait he loves about you, but it's not exactly you he's worried about.

he just doesn't think any guy or girl that flirts with you actually deserves the attention you bring them.

mike can't help but think your kindness is a bit too much, people never actually repay the favour. you practically give the world to others and get nothing in return! it's so unfair,

he'd never treat you like that. you aren't a stepping stool to him. you're so much more than that, why can't you just properly accept his love?

he also loves how calm you are, you can easily defuse any situation. your aura overall is just enchanting, it's usually so hectic on the island, surrounded by people who are polar opposites, followed with chris's sadistic life-threatening challenges, you always make him feel at peace somehow.

and that's something he always longs for.

''god, you're so cute!''

.

manitoba

⋆｡‧˚ʚ🪒ɞ˚‧｡⋆

none of the diamonds and other valuable things he's found in his adventures compare to how much you mean to him.

you're a real sweetie, and he loves it!

your compassion has quite the charm, he's found himself with a few scratches here and there after a wrong turn during exploring, and to see your beautiful face up close as you tend to his wounds, he's never been happier.

but lets be honest here, he's kind of a sexist at heart. he prefers to be the ''chivalrous'' one. sure it gets annoying when he doesn't let you do literally anything, but you'd never tell him that.

you're like a pushover in his eyes. so he'd rather cling on to you to ''protect'' you. you obviously don't need protection.. you're perfectly capable. he's seen the way you handle yourself, you could kick someone's ass for him if he asked! he babies you.

but this way, it boosts his ego to see you immediately going to him for help.

and you can really tell someone off if they tried anything, you're so trustworthy. he's honestly obsessed with your company.

he gets quite jealous. he knows you like talking to people and just overall being nice to others, but he can't help it. that person's lucky to even get a spare glance. let alone hear your voice.

''you're a treasure, aren't ya?''

.

svetlana

༘ 💋 ⋆｡𓍢ִ໋🌹 .

oh you're a darling!

she adores how graceful you are.

you two are for sure the cutest couple on this island. you're the perfect person for her! you're just lovely to be around, she treats you amazing aswell!

she's one of the more tame yanderes. she's alot more gentle around you

she likes to teach you dances and such, sure she has way more experience, but she just wants to be close to you.

her love for you is passionate! she's so obsessed with you, you're always on her mind. and she always finds a way to include you in every conversation..

it's a bit of a problem for mike on the other hand. most of his friends are just tired of hearing about you, but svetlana can't help it! if anything, they should be glad to be hearing about you.

when you defend her, she just swoons!

and don't get her started on your beauty, your kind nature just intensifies it!

''your form is just wonderful!''

.

vito

༘ ⋆｡˚🎗

damn, you're a doll.

he's always around you with an arm around your waist, or your shoulder. it's kind of a way to let people know you're ''his''. and he just likes touching you

he always takes your basic human decency towards him as a flirt. every time you even interact with him he's filled with butterflies,

he likes how calm you are, and how easy you take his flirtatious comments with just a small giggle. it's so appealing, sure he likes it when you're flustered, for some reason he's attracted to your peaceful-ness.

he was already cocky, but now that he's with you, it's just intensified. he feels so lucky to be with you. but who wouldn't?

he brags about you so often, it's tiring.. but also endearing, you're always the first person he goes to when he has a chance, that's a thing alot of the yandere's have in common, they can't stand to be away from you.

he tries to impress you as much as he can, whether that be with his looks, or his strength, he just wants to hear words of encouragement from you.

he gets jealous pretty easily, even if you're doing something as simple as helping someone, i mean c'mon, only the vito should hear his belˈlettsa's voice! he knows its just the way you are, but jesus.

''ay, can't get enough of me, huh?''

.

mal

੭﹕ ̊ ̟ 🩸

god it irritates him so much, you're so nice and benevolent its infuriating. he wants your attention fully focused on him most of the time, how can that happen when you're too busy caring for some fucking dork that probably wouldn't even spit on you if you were on fire.

he only likes it when you're gracious to him. with the others though? no way.

he's for sure way more violent than the others, he'd actually hurt you if it meant you'd just fall in his arms.

and you totally just foil his plans, he knows if he hurts anyone that even dared to get close with you, they'd still end up with you somehow, except with closer proximity. which is worse!

but that still doesn't stop him. he'll go as far as to kill that person. he knows who you'll go to for a shoulder to cry on..

he also can't help but think your harmless nature is adorable. you remind him of prey, just so innocent and full of life. he thinks the fact that you won't do anything bad is sorta annoying because he finds himself getting scolded by you for nearly murdering someone.

''what, you think they'll give you the same treatment i do? you can't be that stupid..''

¿࿔💉࿔?

.

.

[jewpacabruhs]

????? new ep was lowkey sexist. they pulled a huge double standard with how they treated meghan, calling her stupid/dumb, not even treating her as a person but more an accessory of the prince…and then the prince got a redemption arc. come on like that was pretty nasty no…and this is coming from someone who loves kyle focused eps. first ep of the season wasnt too bad tho. lets hope for more of that

[wrote this reply up right after i got this but posting 2 weeks later cuz i was meaning to proof read and post but i got busy)

i get ur perspective but honestly ive never thought to view south park thru a sexism lense or to try to condemn them for it. its satire of female and male celebrities is equally scathing, the men are depicted as similarly vapid and irritating. i don't think sp's history of mocking women is particularly targeted and nasty. as i said in my other post (which you sent me an additional anon about so i kno u read it), sp is about exaggerating things, not always accurately, to make a point. and sometimes that means portraying capable and normal women as, what, mid-00s MTV-type party girls? and sure, that's one of the many features of sp that's technically 'problematic', and the reason so many ppl have 'sp fans dni' on their blogs - but we're here, aren't we, watching this bastard show and trying to juggle watching it critically and enjoying the stupidity?

i dunno, im neutral towards meghan & harry, if anything i respect them, but i very rarely have actual firm opinions on the shit matt & trey choose to make fun of, and this was a situation where it was just their usual shitting all over their celebs of choice who i personally have very little opinion on, and i thought that what they were trying to say in the episode was good. sp's only ever been abt making an individual or group represent something, and then using it all as a way to bitch about a genre of prevalent stupidity. that's what this ep did. was it at the expense of a woc? yeah, and usually that'd be immediately condemnable, but matt and trey have pretty firmly made it clear they're in the "we can find stupidity ANYWHERE" libertarian boat. i have enough respect for them as satire-oriented comedy writers to believe that they're sufficiently capable of lacking bias or prejudice in who they mock, for the most part at least, and that's why i can't condemn them for it specifically. though i know that's very subjective, as im aware that lots of people don't think satire is clever and it's just thinly veiled bigotry. but i'd assume the majority of sp fans who actually care about the satirical plots would be attuned to where matt & trey are coming from.

im disliking the way im seeing south park fans on tumblr perceive episodes lately. people forget that it's a satirical show, and it goes so thoroughly over their heads. but ig thats what happens when smth develops a tumblr-type fanbase, and in this case it's at the expense of critical readings of a sometimes rather insightful show. but i digress. i rlly did think the first ep was terrible. this one at least had smth to say.

(update, as of 3/3: the most recent ep came out the other day and it was a tad boring but very much, again, fairly well-done satire. i didnt even check how ppl reacted to it tho, im not rlly caring lately tbh)

[thewritingstar]

I would ask you 1-100 but that's a huge request and doubt you'll do it, UNLESS🤔🙃

UNLESS....

1. Name- Deanna or as everyone knows me, Star

2. Nationality- American

3. Age- 19

4. Birthday- April 5th

5. Zodiac sign (or your primal zodiac sign)- Aries

6. Gender- Female 

7. Sexuality- Bi/Pan (im fine with either)

8. Your looks (add a picture or describe yourself)- Dark brown hair, greenish eyes and body of a 12 year old boy

9. What do you/did you study?- Animation

10. What’s your current job like?/What job would you like to have?- I work in an ice cream shop just as a job but i wanna be an animator or writer for shows

-

11. Your birth order- Youngest of 2

12. How many siblings do you have?- One

13. Do you have good relations with your family?- for the most part

14. How many friends do you have?- I would say I have about 8 close friends and then just a ton of other friends

15. Your relationship status- single but accepting applications 

16. What do you look for in a SO?- usually a pulse and good hair 

17. Do you have a crush?- kinda but also no

18. When did you have your first kiss?- haven't yet :(

19. Do you prefer serious and meaningful relationships or casual dating/one night stands?- prob meaningful

20. What are your deal breakers?- smoking and drugs and how they treat others

-

21. How was your day?- well i just woke up so i guess good. 

22. Favourite food & drink- Raspberry iced tea/Vanilla Lattes and Chowmein or burgers

23. What position do you sleep in?- either on my side or stomach. Im usually curled up in a ball so prime cuddle position...just saying 

24. What was your last dream about?- I think it was about cake..

25. Your fears- bugs and the overwhelming thought of me being a failure

26. Your dreams- being someone where others can be inspired by 

27. Your goals- to live a life with no regrets (i know typical right?) but also have a successful career. 

28. Any pets?- 2 doggos 

29. What are your hobbies?- drawing, painting, writing, video games, reading 

30. Any cool places in your area?- kinda but you gotta drive to them so not really 

31. What was your last awkward situation?- me stuttering over my words at work

32. What is your last regret?- idk 

33. Language/s you can speak- English and barely any French 

34. Do you believe in astrological stuff? (Zodiac, tarot, etc.)- hell yeah

35. Have any quirks?- i can make a guinea pig noise and can stand on my head for a while. 

36. Your pet peeves- having my neck being touched and mouth breathing

37. Ideal vacation- Any disney park

38. Any scars?- only mentally 

39. What does your last text message say? “Shes being a big girl and taking 5 classes.” 

40. Last 5 things from your search history- im to lazy to check but prob youtube or fics

41. What’s your [device] background?- Phone background is a painting from a museum and my computer is a bunch of Nintendo items

42. What do you daydream about?- being a voice actor or a pirate 

43. Describe your dream home- one that looks like a castle

44. What’s your religion/Your thought about religion- I was raised Catholic but i really dont practice it anymore. I think it its a beautiful thing and alot of good comes from it, however i dont like it when it is used to harm others or defend evil people

45. Your personality type- So i took a test based on the 16 different ones and I am an Advocate type which apparetnly is very rare and less than one percent of the pop are it. https://www.16personalities.com/ heres the link if you wanna take it!

46. The most dangerous thing you’ve done- I used to suck on batteries as a child

47. Are you happy with your current life?- for the most part 

48. Some things you’ve tried in your life- Snorkeling in Hawaii (which i almost died), Crystal Cave tour and donuts which i hate

-

49. What does your wardrobe consist of?- hoodies and graphic tees 

50. Favourite colour to wear?- black

51. How would you describe your style?- comfortable and sometimes i look good 

52. Are you happy with your current looks?- ye

53. If you could change/add something to your appearance - impossible or not - what would it be?- I want blue hair one day 

54. Any tattoos or piercings?- have my ears and now my nose pierced but i do want tattoos in the future

55. Do you get complimented often?- usually for my hair and i find it happens often 

56. Favourite aesthetic?- Gothic and pastel 

57. A popular trend that you dislike- crop tops 

-

58. Songs you’re currently obsessed with?- “Good Night Moon” by Go Radio

59. Song you normally wouldn’t admit you like.- My Little Pony and Sofia the First songs slap

60. Favourite genre?- pop punk or pop 

61. Favourite artist/band/genre? -Panic!, Taylor Swift

62. Hated popular songs/artists?- I wouldn’t say hate but im not really a fan of Billie Ellish, maybe i need to sit down and really listen but its just not my jam. I think shes a cool person and i love watching her on tv and what she stands for. By i hate Drake and Chris Brown for sure. 

63. Put your music on shuffle and list first 5- Head above Water, Happy when im sad, Love bug, Casual affair, I believe. So Avril Lavigne, Jonas Brothers and Panic!

64. Can you sing or play any instruments?- Im not the worst singer but im also not fantastic and i can’t play

65. Do you like karaoke?- sometimes

66. Own any albums?- like cds then yes

67. Do you listen to radio? What stations?- not anymore

-

68. Favourite movie/series?- Any disney or pixar 

69. Favourite genre of movies/books/etc- YA like adventure books 

70. Your fictional crush/es- oh here we go. Juvia and Gray (Fairytail), Catwoman, Danny Phantom, Captain Hook and Regina Mills and Henry (Ouat), Steve (stranger things), Riddler (gotham) and Molly Hooper (Sherlock) and prob more. 

71. Which fictional character is you?- prob a mixture of Momo and Deku from My Hero and Honey from Ouran 

72. Are you a shipper? List your otps, if so. Am I a shipper? ha. aight Gruvia, Nalu, Gajevy, Jerza, Kiribaku, Kacchacko, Todomomo, tododeku, LadyNoir and the love square, Captain Swan, Outlaw Queen, The powerpuff girls and the rowdyruff boys (respected partners) and like five thousand others

73. Favourite greek god?- Hades and Persephone 

74. A legend from where you live that you like- literally nothing from where i live

75. Do you like art? What’s your favourite work or artist?- love art and i cant just pick one

76. Can you share your other social media?- i mean you can follow me on twitter at StarsnShortcake but all thats there is my shitty tweets and interactions with my friends and Voice actors lol

77. Favourite youtubers?- Mikes Mic, Macdoesit, Twamiz, Larri, Dan Howell, Amazing Phil, Jenna Marbles, Shane Dawson, Steph Inc, Garret Watts, and like a ton more

78. Favourite platform?- Tumblr or twitter

79. How much time do you spend on the internet?- too much

80. What video games have you played? Which one’s your favourite?- I love anything Nintendo

81. Your favourite books (manga also counts)- Kingdom Keepers, Suicide Notes and the Selection Series to name a few

82. Do you play board/card games?- Yes

83. Have you ever been to a night marathon in cinema?- nope

84. Favourite holiday- thanksgiving for the food

85. Are you into dramas?- ye

-

86. Would you use death note, if you had one?- haha ye

87. What changes would you make in the world, no matter how impossible, if you had the power to?- no racism, sexism, homophobia and legal marriage everywhere. Also that no one goes hungry and everyone has a nice place to live.

88. Could you survive a zombie apocalypse?- probably 

89. If you had to be turned into a paranormal being, what would it be?- a hot demon

90. What would you want to happen to you after your death?- I turn into a goddess

91. If you had to change your name, what would be your pick?- ooo Celeste is a cool name 

92. Who would you switch your life with for a week?- hmmm Tara Strong 

93. Pick an emoji to be your tattoo- either the stars or the black heart or the fireworks

94. Write 3 things about yourself - only one of them must be true- Ive never eaten a chicken nugget, I can do the splits and I have cat

-

95. Cold or hot?- hot

96. Be a hero or be a villain?- oooooo um im a sucker for villains

97. Sing everything you want to say or rhyme?- Rhyme

98. Shapeshifting or controlling time?- Shape shifting, i could be a plant

99. Be immortal or be immune to everything aside from natural death?- bold of you to assume i would wanna live forever

100. ….. or …..?- :0

--

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS ANON CAUSE IT TOOK FOREVER. 

[nightcoremoon]

I wanna coin a term:

Cismisogyny

the misogyny that cisnormative people utilize is focused on "biological/natal sex" and birth assigned gender, as well as intersex erasure, and is basically just glorified genital supremacy. that people with penises have power over people with vaginas, and therefore people with a uterus are inferior. it's a very particular type of sexism that's a blend of transphobia and misogyny but from a cis lens.

transmisogyny is specifically prejudice against what they deem to be trans women (as they're unaware that "passing" trans women exist), so cismisogyny would be specifically prejudice against what they deem to be cis women (or what they would just say is women), and is a separate notion entirely from the misogyny that misogynist trans men and misogynist but not transphobic cis men (and brainwashed dumb white blonde haired blue eyed bimbo trophy wives for conservative men so think a cookie cutter carbon copy of tomi lahren) frequently feel.

so to clarify:

Misogyny: hating all women

Transmisogyny: hating trans women

Transphobia*: hating trans people in general

(*includes gender binarism and truscum)

Cismisogyny: hating people with vaginas, indeterminate of whether they're trans or not

...

It's a very specific term but it describes a very specific type of sexism, you see. As someone who does not have a vagina, is transgender, and has the benefit of viewing things from an objective standpoint due to autism, it's a very disturbing trend I see in many parts of society. Even here on Tumblr.

I just saw a take that was blaming trans men and dfab nonbinary people for the lack of trans women's voices in trans spaces, and saying that they are silent about it because the silent oppression of trans women benefits them. A very cold take indeed. Trans men and dfab nonbinary people aren't responsible for the transmisogyny. Cis people are. And the reason why is because cis people typically are usually also male supremacists. If what a cis person perceives to be a male tries to "become a female" such as trans women and dmab nonbinary people (because cis people and male supremacists typically are also binarists), that is them rejecting the privilege society awarded us for having the magic Y chromosome that allows humans to be treated with dignity and respect. If what a cis person perceives to be a female tries to "become a male" such as a trans man or a dfab nonbinary person (see my prior parenthical remark), that is them attempting to reject femininity and embrace the superiority of masculinity, which accepts them into their ranks.

So trans men and dfab nonbinary people are typically lauded by many cis male-supremacist people are socially acceptable, especially since many of them seem to be okay with tomboys and women wearing suits and just a general overall sense of women embracing masculinity and rejecting femininity. That's acceptable to a bunch of white christian post-colonials. And of course degenerates would feel it's an "added bonus" to ~get~ to see breasts and vaginas in the locker room because tHaTs sO hOt.

But dmab people who identify as anything but men? Absolutely loathsome, in cis eyes, because femininity is EVIL and BAD and INFERIOR.

Cissexism is of course a definition I've seen, but it seems to be basically a synonym for transphobia. But see, while cismisogyny as I am describing it is indeed rooted in transphobic ideology, it doesn't seem to be in and of itself explicitly transphobic. I'll have to explain that.

Like. All white people are racist. Every person with white skin color benefits from the privilege accompanying it, at the expense of the people who don't. We perform microaggressions that we don't notice all the time. We absorb all of the negativity and racism society forcefeeds us, subliminal propaganda, and it releases itself. Now, a white person could actively fight and campaign for black rights. They could respect black culture and art. They could listen to and understand wu tang clan without ever letting a slur pass their lips. They could date black people who don't find them racist. They could be the least racist person you've ever met. But they would still be at least somewhat racist because that's how human development works. But just because they're not republican or a 4channer, don't laugh at lynching jokes, don't use slurs, don't treat black people as less or inferior, don't literally murder black people, that doesn't mean they aren't racist at all. It just means they're not specifically that kind of overt explicitly violent antiblackness like the kkk. It's a different tier of racism. It's not as severe or as noticeable, but it's still racism.

And it's the same way with cis people. Many cis people are supportive of trans people on the surface. They'll smile and welcome you into their homes and hug you and walk you to the bathroom and respect your name/pronouns and go clothes shopping with you and be the shoulder to cry on when someone attacks them and fight congress for your rights and punch a transphobic asshole in the face. But they still can & do perform transphobic microagressions for no other reason than society instilled those ideals in their heads since birth when they put the M or F on your birth certificate or in slightly rarer cases performed surgery on your infant genitals without parental consent. They can sympathize, they can attempt to empathize, but they will never fully understand. And that's okay. If they try, that's good enough.

Just as there are many tiers of racism there are many tiers of transphobia. Cismisogyny is one such tier that intersects with binarism and standard misogyny. People who aren't typically transphobic could still be cismisogynist. Even I can admit to experience cismisogyny in my life through sexual exploitation. My orientation is bisexual with a strong preference towards cis women, trans men, and dfab nonbinary people. I don't want it to be like that. And it's not like cis men, trans women, and dmab nonbinary people are not attractive to me, because they are (unf chris hemsworth 👌🏻🤤), but due to the social conditioning in my being born and raised a "straight white christian red blooded hoosier man" and the cismisogyny accompanying that, the entitlement complex that manifested side by side with my "nice guy in the friend zone" complex, that I didn't unlearn until after I was already a fully grown adult, that's how my brain be like. I recognize it in myself, and that's how I know that it exists. And it took that ignorant shitty post for me to actually be able to put these thoughts in writing.

I don't blame trans men and dfab nonbinary people for my social isolation and distinct lack of friends who are also trans women. I don't blame this new wave of drag kings and bio queens. I blame cissexism, cisheteropatriarchy, transphobia, transmisogyny, and cismisogyny. I blame the people responsible for the situation of our society. I don't blame my brothers, my siblings, my friends and family. I won't throw them under the bus, just as they didn't throw me under. We're all in this together, and I'm glad that they're having less difficulty than I am in that specific situation. Especially because due to my aforementioned objectivity, I've also noticed all of the hatred and vitriol hurled towards them, especially by dudebro gamer culture. I've seen it. I know it's there.

So I know I'm not really popular online. Very few people know me. My only claim to fame is the "aliens: [slide $40 to nasa] nasa: lmao what aliens" post and even then they don't know the individual URLs of the three of us involved. In fact I'm pretty sure the number of people I'm blacklisted by and blocked by is double my follower count. Even with the bots. Maybe even triple. Things I've said taken out of context have in the past made me look like I'm racist, transmisandrist, a sexual predator, a fucking rape apologist, and worst of all a person who "didn't get a joke" that I ignored heaving pile of religious intolerance that hates jews, muslims, christians, and... everyone else (people who weren't judeochristian didn't seem to care). Certain circlejerks herald me as a king of clowns of a sort (I'd say queen but they were mostly transphobic lmao). So I know that this post will get ignored. Maybe two or three people will like it. Maybe one person will reblog it... like that one crimson lady monarch, or the mildly irked homosexual wyvern, you two know who you are. Maybe nobody will. And looking back it's much more likely for a bunch of dumb uglyass terf cunts taking my sexual preferences bit out of context to make all trans women look like evil sex predators, than any people will see my vocabulary suggestion. But there is a reason why I'll hit post and not delete.

Cismisogynist trans women don't speak for me. Despite the problematic microaggressions my shit tier bad brain development perpetuates, despite what any ignorant cis tries to tell me, despite all of that shit... if you try to talk shit about my family I will obliterate you.

[im-gayer-in-french]

I wasn't going to bother but since you went through the trouble of DM'ing me. Here you go.

One thing first though, I want to make clear that this isn't a discussion. This is a footnote. I am entirely uninterested in your response. Have fun.

Women, naturally,

Whenever you see this phrase, you know the person speaking is about to say something really stupid.

are more interested in people

*Nope. People are interested in people. In fact there's multiple branches of science that are based on the study of human beings. Which, historically, women weren't even allowed to be a part of.

and usually have more romantic views of the world

Another baseless claim. Easily contradicted by pointing to any male author with a romantic take on the world so we'll do a chose you own adventure on this one.

and men are interested in things and functions.

No. Some men are interested in mechanical stuff, some women are interested in mechanical stuff. Another broad stroke generalization that isn't based in fact.

A lady can write about how pretty a color is and all the emotions it fills her with, the memories that come to her, her hopes and dreams.

A) How vapid do you think women are? Jesus.

B) What you are describing has nothing to do with gender or sex. It's a stylistic choice. You know who tends to talk more about color? Artists. Because that's something they have an interest in and chose to pay attention to.

A man can convincingly write several pages about how a sci-fi replicator works, when it doesnt work, how to repair it and maybe will say something like “

Nope. Being a man does not magically grant someone the ability to write about technical things. You know what does? Studying those things. Jules Verne wasn't handed knowledge of space travel when his dick came in. He did extensive research and a full engineering anlysis of what it would take to go to the moon.

and the food that comes out of it is pretty good too.” No big problem.

I know my man Brian Jaques did not spend entire mouthwatering chapters describing feasts at redwall to be so shallowly maligned like this.

However!! Men cant ever win in this situation.

*Looks straight into camera*

If they were to be sensitive and romantic their leading ladies would have characteristics that no living woman in real life would ever have, because, you know, fiction!

Men are perfectly capable of writing women well. The issue is that many of them don't bother to. Many of them already write "sensitively" and "romantically". Because, again, that's a stylistic choice not a trait of "the female"

Theyd still be accused of sexism, people would yell about toxic masculinity, white and or male privilege, misogyny.

*The camera I have made eye contact too long and it's starting to get uncomfortable*

If they were to decribe the skin of the woman as anything other than “porcelain”, there’d be yelling about racism and how how oversexed and “oppressive” the writer is for fetishizing WoC.

^This had no relevance to the OP's post and honestly just looks like reblogger here is just trying to start something. Also: yikes. 😬

If he went the non-oversexed route hed probably be seen as repressed or straight up gay, maybe too religious.

Oof. 1) there are plenty of authors who Don't write super sexy characters. It's not a prereq. 2) being gay doesn't prevent you from writing straight romances. Where on earth is that ~~logic~~ coming from? *

If he fought back against those claims people would accuse him of homophobia, maybe throw around “oppression” a little more.

Here's a hint. If you use the word opression in quotation marks you are an asshole.

Thats probably why the women they write suck.

*Nah. Lazy, sexist writers don't get a pass on writing sexist, lazy cardboard cutouts instead of real women. They have the ability. They have the opportunity. They just don't put in the effort.*

Its much easier to be hated for writing a stale predictable girl than it is to have to deal with all the crap he’d get for probably basing the girl off someone he literally knows and have women readers be angry, trying to cancel him because they dont like her.

Writers do this all the time. Robert Jordan for instance, based nearly every female lead in his books off of his wife. (Are they perfect representations of women? No. Because having several hundred characters based off of one main personality type has some issues. But there is still obvious effort put into to making them unique and fleshed out characters with agency.)

Maybe its because those women

"Those women". Which women exactly? The made up women in you scenario with daffodils for brains?

think women like her don’t exist…because they’ve never really spoken to other women outside of their own comfort zones either?

*How can you look back at this sentence and not see how rife with sexism it is?*

If a woman (and i mean genuinely, and wasnt being all “women can do anything!!”,)

*The camera man and I have been staring at each other so long, 2012 tumblr has begun to ship us*

tried to write about a piece of machinery, just function, no flowery emotional stuff,

Ah yes, because poor women's flower brains just aren't masculine enough for technical writing. Waah.

and it wasnt convincing the worst that would happen is men would help try to fix it…and we all know what happens when men try to fix things…

Oh you mean mansplaning? The thing that obviously is just women overreacting, as they are wont to do, silly inane creatures that they are, and not something that women deal with on a daily basis ESPECIALLY in technical fields.

Source: I worked as a draftsman for a Engineering company. Also I have eyes.

Additional note:

You are dismissed. ;)

women write men with so much nuance and care and more dimension than most men in real life will ever have and men write women like they’ve never spoken to a woman in their entire life 

[tayegi]

I knew it. I fucking knew that you would do that. The whole chapter showed us a stellar example of a beautiful relationship, full of understanding and respect. It was too good to be true. And then you crushed us. I can’t wait to see what happened on that damn date to make JK act that way, what made him so insecure. I’m so immersed in this story, and I love every word of it, but I also know that the time skip and scenes leading up to it will be the end of me. Thank you. 🙏🏻

Anonymous said:Hey, I just finished reading chapter 9 in New rules, and I just have to tell how good of a writer you are. Feel free to delete this ask or not answer it at all if you feel like it's a spoiler, but I just have to say how shocked I was from Jungkook's reaction to the girl's "confession". Like... holy shit! I did not have that coming in my head at all. First I was shocked that she actually went after him. I knew he wasn't gonna agree, but that specific reaction really threw me off.

Anonymous said:Its mentioned numerous times that the OC is cold.The readers know she can be vulnerable and thats because we are reading from her POV. JK can only interpret the OC from her actions and there has been sooo many instances in NR where the OC is the one who pushes JK away. She’s told JK about the rules and she’s never failed to constantly remind him of them. SO in saying that, it’s obvious JK has to be guarded. I don’t get why some people are surprised as to why he acted the way he did at the end.🦋

Anonymous said:I mean both characters seem to keep track of their feelings and I LOVE that. I appreciate the realness (I don't know if that's a word) of the personality of each character. I hate it when a character is oblivious to their feelings, it just seems fake and reflects, in my eyes, the weakness of the writer. That's why I loved it when the girl would freak out if Jungkook seemed sincere and loving, and then would totally relax if he made a sexual move afterwards.

Anonymous said:🦋I also wanted to add and say how much of an amazing writer you are, it’s insane. I absolutely adore you💕

Anonymous said:It shows that she understands how her feelings are going to change if he were being sincere (which I believe he was, but that's not the point). That is why I was surprised by his reaction. He is not stupid! he sees, analyses and understands, and it just blows me away that he decided to respond that way. I would expect that from the girl but not him, and that is why I am so fucking in love with the story, that girl, Jungkook (OF CORSE!) And finally you! Great job.

Anonymous said:And the last thing that I want to add is that, it is very obvious that the girl reflects your actual opinions on sexism, feminism and all of the other social issues adressed in the story. I personally try to educate myself as much as possible on these matters and consider myself to have been raised in a feminist home, but your story and opinions opened my eyes to issues I never thought about... so thank you ❤

Anonymous said:is2g if jimin ends up being another seokjin i am going to scream™ (but at the same time im all for that angst if it does happen cause you write that good shizz and im highkey addicted)

Anonymous said:After reading (and thinking about for days)the latest chapter of NR, I feel like I get jk on a spiritual level. I see him as truly valuing the oc as a friend and loving her platonically. That doesn't make that affection any less valuable or genuine. That being said, I've found myself in situations like this in real life. I've definitely been the Jungkook before. Anyway, just some thoughts. Love and appreciate your hard work always. 💓💖💓💖 Thanks!

Anonymous said:Hi Lu, how r u? So, i just want to give my humble opnion on NR, because is the story of my life, literally. (English is not my first language so i hope u understand) A couple of years ago, i started hooking up w this boy, basically to forget his best friend, and something that beginned as a fwb kind of secret developet into love, but only for me. At that time i couldnt understand what happend bc everything seemed to be going in the direction of a relashionship (1)

Anonymous said:He was a amazing friend, supportive, caring, and i thought that the sentiment was mutual, even if the agreement was not feelings related. Anyway, long history short, he cut me out, and life moved on, and day by day i stated to understand and separate what we were to what we have. Reading the last chapter of nr i felt everything again, but not in the bad way. I was so concetrated in 'jk is in love with the oc' that i forgot his personality, who he is, and what they have. (2)

Anonymous said:Reading the last chapter of nr i felt everything again, but not in the bad way. I was so concetrated in 'jk is in love with the oc' that i forgot his personality, who he is, and what they have. This chapter reminded me why I love so much ur fics, because how human they are, how the characters have so much personality, how everything is not just good or bad, right and wrong. Thanks so much for the update and i'll be waiting anxiosly for the next, you are amazing!!! 💕 (3)

Anonymous said:Hi! I don't think you got these asks so I'm sending them again.~Okay since we only see everything from OC's POV, what if JK rejected her because he thinks the OC doesn't like him? Because from his POV most of the time the OC is rejecting him and has made it clear he isn't her type. Starting with the first chapter he already had an inkling that she might have had feelings for Jimin, secondly, just like JK the OC also has repeatedly reminded him that she could never catch feelings for him.(1/5)

Anonymous said:Third usually whenever she interacts with him she somehow brings up sex and JK even says "why is it always about sex with you" so here we can clearly see that JK would automatically assume that the OC doesn't interact with him for anything other than sex. Fourth, she didn't even admit she found him attractive until recently and lastly she has never kissed him and everytime he suggests it she says something like "eww." (2/5)

Anonymous said:So like how everyone said that even though JK said he doesn't want a relationship but his actions speak differently, similarly the OC's actions also give a loud and clear message and it's natural for JK to assume she doesn't like him. And maybe when he rejected her he was protecting himself and was doing it as a defense mechanism. I mean think about it, JK was drunk and he confessed a lot of things, wouldn't he be a slight bit worried that OC might suspect that he actually likes her. (3/5)Anonymous said:And when she was confessing to him in the end what if JK felt that she was calling him out for his not so platonic behaviour and drunken confession and he just laughed it off and rejected her as a defence mechanism. I'm not saying it's entirely the OC's fault that JK rejected her because I do feel there's something related to his past as well but the OC's actions towards JK also play a huge part in his behaviour towards the end. (4/5)

Anonymous said:I really want to know your thoughts on this. I know you don't want to give away much but do you think I'm completely off and at looking differently or maybe I'm kind of on the right track? (5/5)P.s. sorry for such a long ask, I went overboard, but NR is SO intriguing that I just had to! 💙

Once again, I have to thank you guys for sending in all your thoughts and feelings regarding the new chapter. It’s literally my favorite thing to read and im always blown away by how deep and insightful you guys are! i love you so much and you guys 100000% win best readers of the year! :D 

[freebooter4ever]

I've never seen it but now I want to watch The Magnificent Seven. But I have to study. Rip me.

I heartily reccommend it my dear anon! I was super hesitant going in and reading reviews that were like “the minority characters were flat and tokenized” . and I mean like you read the summary and goody is a ex confederate marksman and theres only one native american role so thats like ugh why but the key here is that this is a western directed by a black man with a black male lead playing the role of that mysterious righteous sexy cowboy archetype usually reserved for white dudes in the 60s. I also read complaints that the lack of racism wasnt “historically accurate”, but damn it if white cowboy movies got to rewrite history and tell noble self sacrificing but ultimately Hopeful and Good and Happy stories  about the brutal american wild west, so can this one. My one complaint is that there is a heck of a lot of religion in this movie, but its done in a spiritual way and the native religious traditions are treated with equal reverrance/romantic cheesyness, and mostly it only adds to how Noble the overall movie feels, so I kinda liked it. Racism warnings and stuff under the cut because I know theres gotta be other people who are hesitant watching things

I also take issue with the claim that the main characters dont experience racism. Because they do, except in this story every instance of that racism is not only shown as bad and gross but also is overcome. I dont want to give spoilers, but the first badass moment Sam’s Suave Cowboy gets is the bartender refusing to serve him while the rest of the all white clientele watch. bar tender gets what he deserves and Sam proves his skill and superiority with ease in smooth cowboy style. It is badass and I got all fangirly. There is also a moment at the end where Sam’s motivation is finally revealed, and it is intense, but again Sam proves that he is a force to be reckoned with and ultimately, is the better person for overcoming the racism and getting his revenge (this is the one moment where sam almost loses control). Also, most of the white dude characters serve as foils for sam’s character, like Sam forgiving and befriending Goody, who clearly deeply regrets his role in the civil war, is used to show how much pain Sam has gone through and how he now is the one with the upper hand - its sams choice to forgive if the man EARNS Sams forgiveness and goody works really hard to do that. Or how Chris Pratt’s characters goofy bumbling drunkenness is shown in stark contrast to Sam’s steady, wise dignified old cowboy persona - that is straight out of western tropes, I have seen bits and pieces of enough of my step dads shitty old john wayne movies to know. And Sam is Always the leader, like there is never any question. And yeah, maybe this is what people mean when they say it doesnt feel historically accurate because our society cant imagine a black man being a leader immediately after slavery, excet for the fact that Sam proves his leadership abilities again, and again, and again, and there are logical reasons for all these six men to accept him as their leader. And even if that wasnt the case, again, wild west movies rewrite history, the director should be able to just give us a black leader without question lol.

The other minority characters fall into some tropes, which leaves a little to be desired, but not in a totally horrible way. Billy nearly crosses the line into model minority, stern silent Asian fighter stereotype but like he has so many badass scenes, its hard to be bothered by that too much. Also the movie makes it clear that Goody uses his white privilege to diffuse situations between racist assholes and Billy. The Mexican character is…well almost as flat as the white trapper character. He was charismatic and had a debonair sense of honor and definitely gave back as good as he got but theres not much for the actor to work with. I dont even remember the poor dude’s name. Same with the Comanche character, who is again used mostly as a foil for Sam, to show Sam’s sympathy for Native Americans and Sam’s ability to act as peacekeeper/leader even across cultures. It would have been great to see more of the native characters, and have them be less magical but honestly the representstion is leaps and bounds better than say that norman reedus flick “Sky” which was just plain embarrassing. This comanche character clearly has his own agenda and motivation, and he is given quite a few “woah!” fight moments. If anyone can find a good critique of the movie by a socially aware critic, I’d love to read it!

Oh, also the female roles were non existant but this falls under the LOTR type sexism where like…women arent really there much or relevant to the plot at all so you dont need to put blinkers on to watch it lol. Theres a throwaway female character and shes super beautiful and gets her crowning moment at the end but mostly shes just there to look pretty. They put her in the most impractical revealing outfits like lady if you are traveling across country on a horse under the hot desert sun dont wear a dress that exposes your shoulders and the tops of your breasts to sunburn lol. Kinda funny that they werent historically accurate with that but they did decide all the people doing the fighting had to be male becsuse men did war back then and women just hid under floorboards. Except the female lead becsuse shes Special.  lol. At least no one is gross or sexist to her, that was refreshing.

BASICALLY haha for someone like me who hates the politics of westerns but loves the aesthetics and the desert vistas and the adventure feel and the damn catchy music, this one feels like a breath of fresh air and i’d watch it ten times in a row like i did with the 3:10 to yuma remake when it came out haha.

[theboywhocriedbooks]

Femme by Marshall Thornton 

[Goodreads]

Queeny cocktail waiter, Lionel, wakes up to find himself in bed with Dog, a straight-acting softball player and the two embark on a rocky road to romance. A journey that requires coming out of the closet, going into the closet, a pair of red high heels, many pairs of red high heels, a failed intervention, a couple of aborted dates, and homemade pom-poms. Mostly, Lionel and Dog learn what it means to be a man.

Thoughts: 

What a read! So, the author of this novel contacted me to see if I was interested in receiving a copy. I was slightly hesitant because one of the character’s is named Dog (lol) but also because I saw it was about 20-something gay men and most of my experience with books about them tend to be very much erotica. This ended up being so freaking good! Being as I’m in my 20’s now, I’ve wanted to read some gay adult romances that didn’t read as a cheesy porn and thats exactly what I got. Coincidentally, this story took place like 20 mins from my house so that was great. There was just something about the dialogue and interactions between the two main characters that just felt very authentic to me, a gay 20 something who is dating in SoCal. The book is pretty short but there is so much perfectly packed into it that it felt a bit longer, while also feeling again very authentic. I loved the pro-femme attitude and a bunch of small or big issues touched on that are in the community, all wrapped up in a funny cute romantic (yet sexy at times) bow! So, go read it! because I’m going to now go on about it in spoiler-y detail below:

There were a couple of things I probably cringed at but I can’t really remember them. It probably was a couple random lines of dialogue. Aside from that, I was pretty damn pleased with this book. First off, I felt very interested in it because I saw that the author got his MFA at UCLA, which is where I am about to start at in about a week! I’m an english major, and I would probably like to write books one day so that was interestingly perfect. After that is the fact that the author is a man, I’m assuming gay, which is important because it plays into the authenticity of the story. I’ve seen or read a couple of stories about gay male characters over the age of 18 and they usually were by women, many times written for women. They come off very porny, very fetishizing. The ones I’ve read that were by men tended to not do that, and tended to have a very personal touch that helped make them great.

Like I mentioned, the book takes place somewhere that’s not that far from me at all. Long Beach, California, which is where I lived when I was younger and now live near by in LA. Even more interesting enough, I vaguely recognized some of the bars that were mentioned in the book. The names were slightly, and comically, different but I’m pretty sure I know the places they were based on. It cracked me up for some reason but it was also cool and had a very real feel to it.

The romance was great. I really loved their dynamic and I’m all for a “we’re pretty damn different but we also fit pretty damn well” situation. Moreover, I think the fact that it was a femme guy and a masculine guy was very relevant, even for today. Sure, there’s a whole “one has to be the woman, one has to be the man” stereotype but that kind of goes against that in a way as well. There’s become such a negative connotation with femme guys, especially in regards to dating them, which is very much seeded in sexism and heteronormativity. Very “I’m gay, I like men, not girly men.” That is such a tired thing. We’re all men, stop letting the hetero’s get to you.

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the “I like you anyway” line yet, but the way it was expressed later was interesting. I think I liked the idea of it to an extent, that they weren’t what each other had expected to date but that it worked so well regardless. Despite that. I kind of can relate majorly in my current love life, so that was cool. And as for the sex scene’s, I thought they were great. The last one got a lil more steamy than I expected, but the character literally says something to the effect of “well, not really any other way you can really do that” so *laughs and shrugs*

Honestly, this was such a pro-femme book (which you could have guessed from the title) and I love that. Toxic masculinity is so gross and makes people within our community act gross which isn’t helpful at all, especially when we already get enough grossness from our society. Aside from within the community, it’s also shown with the family (specifically the dad), and I liked how that went about. Ended a lil too nicely maybe but it’s fiction, let me live. Either way, this story really puts on some big red heels and stomps toxic masculinity into the ground, whilst also giving you a cute lil romance at the same time. So, I’m very pleased that I read it!

[heartstatereview]

Interview: Pat of Anti-Flag talk their new album, Donald Trump’s effect on the U.S., and much more!

We were lucky enough to sit down with Pat from Anti-Flag not too long ago on Warped Tour. Anti-Flag has been one of our favorite bands here for a while now, so it was great to get the chance to catch up with Pat. We talked about Warped Tour, a little bit on their new album, Donald Trump and his effect on the U.S., and much more.

Check out our interview with Pat below, and check out all of their upcoming tour dates here -- you won’t want to miss them if they’re coming near you!

How has warped tour been for you?

Well this is the first show we have played where it hasn’t rained on us specifically, so today was great. Warped Tour as a tour for a band is quite hard. You’re trapped in a parking lot all day, don’t know what time you’re gonna play, all of those hardships. Other than that, it’s been fun.

This also isn’t your first Warped Tour, so I’m sure you’ve learned some things that made it easier over the years.

Correct. We definitely know how to play the game. Like getting water in the morning, making sure you have enough ice, making sure you get parked, and making sure your tent doesn’t blow away. We’ve learned those skills along the way. It doesn’t have anything to do with music, it’s just about surviving the experience of Warped Tour.

I was talking a few years ago to Bowling for Soup, and Erik told me “yeah we’ve learned to wake up early, steal the ice, and then go back to sleep.” So I think you’re onto something there.

It’s definitely a unique touring experience on Warped Tour, compared to any other tour.

Yeah, I mean, your days here are super long days and all of that.

Long days, and the tour is long too. You know, you’re up more early in the morning. Somebody can do a study on Warped Tour and how it’s evolved -- what’s worked and what hasn’t worked, because it’s the only festival like this that I have ever played.

For sure, you don’t see really any traveling festivals like this anymore.

It’s interesting, because in Europe the festivals are weekends and it’s in one place, so everybody goes to that festival. But that doesn’t work as well in the states because European kids’ parents tend to let their kids have more freedom. In the state, though, the parents are more afraid of everything; from alcohol, to guns -- which makes sense because we kill a lot of people in the U.S.

European kids’ parents are like yeah “go to this festival, stay the whole weekend, camp with your friends, and just take the train home.” In the states, though, that just wouldn’t happen.

Warped Tour was created in the fear world of American parenting, and American alcohol laws. Warped Tour is certainly a product of those ideas.

Which is why it’s one day, and it starts early.

Yeah, starts around 11 in the morning and is over by 9 at night. There’s not a lot of older bands because they have to appeal to young people that aren’t necessarily of drinking age. Most other festivals have alcohol components, where Warped Tour doesn’t really have that. But because of the alcohol laws and the fear mongering parents, this is what Warped Tour is.

Which, you know, I’d say their fears are certainly justified here. A lot of crazy shit happens here.

It sure does. But we could solve that with some gun laws and a more liberal alcohol policy that could make things a little better. It is what it is, and a kid from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who’s in a punk rock band isn’t gonna be able to change these things -- and neither is Kevin Lyman.

Right, and neither is us just sitting here like this. But, we can certainly talk about it which will hopefully start some sort of conversation out there.

But when you talk about it, you realize how fucked up it is, and you’re like “oh it doesn’t have to be this way.” That’s the first step to change, is realizing that the way it is now is not the way it has to be. Like you said, through dialogue, things can certainly change.

Warped Tour itself has gone through changes, and even had it’s own share of scrutiny over the years -- including this year. How do you think Warped Tour has stayed so prominent?

That’s a good question. It continues to put bands in front of young people, I think. The bands they pick are usually somewhat relevant. There’s so many bands that you get good value for your money; most of them are shit, but you get a lot of them regardless. My band is included in that, I’m not saying that we’re outside of that. It’s the only game in town for this group of young people, and they’ve been able to make it work for...twenty some years now?

Yeah, I think it’s been twenty three years, which is a lot of years.

It is. But you look at festivals like Lollapalooza that has worked some years, and hasn’t worked the others. Riot Fest is doing a bit better, I heard it’s been more consistent. But those are more based on a central locations, and they’re also mainly alcohol sponsored - which Warped Tour doesn’t do.

There were some other traveling festivals, too, like Taste of Chaos, Mayhem, but those didn’t quite stick around.

Which were Kevin Lyman festivals, and they were a little more club based so it’s a different experience, and less bands. So that’s the thing, if you put 100 bands on, there’s gotta be a band that some kid thinks is interesting. Having that many bands is definitely a benefit to Warped Tour.

For sure. But, let’s switch over, I believe Anti-Flag is working on a new album now. How far into that process are you guys?

We’re actually listening to the mix, I have some mix notes on my phone. So hopefully they’re going to be implemented, and then we’re going to have a new record that will come out in the fall. It will be fucking amazing.

It’s gonna be the best one ever, right?

Yeah well of course. We took some risks, went in some different directions, and have some statements in there that I think are interesting. So yeah, it’s gonna be really cool for people to hear it.

What are some of those influences in there? I know you said you took some risks on the record.

Well, I can’t talk about that now. We’re gonna wait until we get into that interview cycle, but I’d love to talk to you about it when that time comes.

That’s fair., we’ll definitely try to set that up then. But, obviously your band has been very vocal about everything going on in the U.S. Thats something that has been with your band for 20 plus years now. How much of that do you really let into your lives? It’s gotta be exhausting -- I mean it is for all of us, to watch the kind of news we see every day.

I’ll separate everybody else from me here, but I get to play shows. I go to cities, countries all over the world and see people who are angry about these situations, believe that they can change, and are excited to see things change. 

Whereas everybody else sits in their hometown and hears the same fucked up, racist uncle saying bullshit and they’re like “well this is never going to change.” It’s like their isolated and they’ve got this racist uncle or grandfather who is crazy, and everyone else in their school are pieces of shit -- which I get, because if I lived in that I would want to shoot myself in the fucking face.

We are incredible lucky that we get to travel and put from 5 to a thousand people in a room and there’s a different vibe in that room for that night. We attract like-minded people so there are people there that think things are different. So that inspires us to feel good about the world and not just want to burn it all down.

Sometimes that would still be nice, though.

Yeah, but the problem with that is you’d have to be the first person to go.

And nobody wants to make that sacrifice.

Right. Everyone’s like “yeah we’re gonna burn it down, and burn everybody else down” but they don’t realize they’d be the first to go, so then it’s like “well somebody else burn it all down then.”

Something that I think is weird, is it seems like certain regions that have these different mindsets. I live in Ohio and it’s like, there’s a different mindset there than what’s here in New York, you know? I was at this festival in Ohio and outside of the gates there was a man selling Donald Trumps shirts, the “lock her up” thing about Hillary Clinton. Then I came here and the first thing I see walking into Warped Tour are shirts against Donald Trump.

Yeah, and I mean there are certainly racist pieces of shit in New York, just like there are in Ohio.

Of course.

Some of them might be more organized, or they might have more friends or whatever. It is true that they are everywhere, it’s just we want to try and isolate them as much as we can.

You know, the unfortunate thing with Donald Trump being president is that the bigotry and sexism has become normalized. It has allowed your closeted racist uncle to now feel like he can say that shit outside. The silver lining to that is now you know they are piece of shit. But also, the unfortunate thing is they feel like they can say their bullshit out loud. Now, that allows us to counter what they say and confront them on it. to explain that their beliefs are backwards, ancient, and stupid. That is where we are in 2017 with Donald Trump as our president.

That kind of leads into this next question here: your song “Fuck Police Brutality” came out 20 years ago, but now seems to be more relevant than ever. So I don’t know if it’s one of those things that’s happening more now, or we’re just paying more attention to it.

There was a great interview that was with, I think a black civil rights lawyer, and he was talking about his heritage. He said “my grandfather told my father how not to get killed by the police, my father told me how not to get killed by the police, and now I’m telling my kids the same.”

I think it’s something that has been going on, and the rest of us in the U.S. have been woken up to this fact. When we have this things videotaped, it’s not something that happens in some nowhere town, now it’s on the news. The rest of America now has to confront it, which is awesome, because it’s been happening the whole time and has been pushed under the rug.

You mentioned the song “Fuck Police Brutality,” and for me, it brings up Woody Guthrie and how he was talking about immigrant rights in the 1940′s. His songs about immigration were about Oklahoma people trying to go to California and how the California people were trying to keep them out, because they didn’t want those people to steal their jobs. Now, we look at it and the battle line is the southern border with Trump and this wall, and we are trying to keep people from Central and South America, and Mexico, from the U.S. It’s the same argument, the same simple minded people who are fighting to keep out arguments. When you see that, it’s not just “oh people in the U.S. are better, we need to keep foreigners out,” it was people in California trying to keep people in Oklahoma out. So, it doesn’t matter where that boundary is, there’s always stupid people trying to keep other people out. When you realize that, the same thing with “Fuck Police Brutality,” these issues don’t go away. We are always having to continually fight against the people in power abusing their power and oppressing the under classes.

It’s definitely like history is repeating itself; like you said, the line is just moving down to Mexico.

Yeah because we always know that shitty people want to do shitty things to other people. It’s our job to enlighten people, if I can put myself in that category, and shine light on the stupidity and encourage people not to be stupid.

I think it’s specifically more of ignoring the real problem, right? We want to blame other people and say “oh we can build this wall and that’ll solve that,” but it wouldn’t.

I agree. That is a tactic of people in power all of the time. When we are all seen as equal, the people in power don’t have that much power. So they have to put up these boundary lines and say who’s better and who’s worse, so they can get more power. It’s a strategy that has been used throughout history; it was used by Hitler, Mussolini, and Trump is just another example of a shitty person using that tactic to keep power for himself.

It’s weird because it’s not going to go away. All of our leaders have had their issues, but I think these are just what they are.

They’re human nature and power struggles. But, when you see these things as human nature and the same tactics used over and over, it gives them less power. When you’re like “no, everybody has used this tactic before” then you have some ways to fight against it. When you see them as just another example of how shitty people gain power, you can look at how people in the past; through education, through humanizing the others, those are ways to take power away from these power hungry monsters. 

Hopefully, you know, this conversation can be had by many other people.

Right, and just realizing that this is all just a tactic and that we can fight against it.

I know that you guys bring some of these things up at your shows, and it’s fun to see because not a lot of other bands do that. A lot of bands don’t talk about it, especially during their shows - it’s something they just shy away from. Anti-Flag has always been vocal about it and I think that’s been great for people to see, that there doesn’t have to be silence.

The interesting thing about that is we grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is a socially activist city. It has this culture of activism, especially in the music community. Growing up, we thought that every band should have a political or social message, if you don’t then what’s the point? So it was interesting for us to go travel the first time to other cities and it was like “why are you singing about beer?” But, as we have gotten older we realized there’s a place for all of these things

It wasn’t like we had this great epiphany where we were gonna sing about social and political issues. It was just the community we grew up in and the people we were around. It was inspiring to us and we are the next link in that chain of moving that down the road.

I was gonna say now Anti-Flag is the point of being over 20 years deep into your career, so now you guys have been influencing others.

Yeah, and there are other bands who are creating their own image and speaking about things that are important to them. Some of them might be talking about social activism, somebody will be somewhere at least.

One of my favorite bands that was coming up, and I don’t know how much you knew them, but it was Hostage Calm.

For sure, we did a couple tours with them and they’re good dudes.

Yeah, and when I was talking to Chris a few years back, he mentioned you guys and how big of an influence you were. Unfortunately, they’re no longer a band, but I think that message is certainly out there and it’s just waiting for another band.

I mean, we listen to the Clash. Everybody listens to the Clash, and thinks that’s cool. There’s so many bands out there that you don’t have to listen to us to get to the same point. There are so many bands that we’re influenced by that still got us to the same point, but from different ways.

I don’t have too much here for us, but after Warped Tour, what does Anti-Flag have lined up?

Well the record is done, the artwork is pretty much done, too. Our lives for the past 25 years have been to play shows, then go home for a little bit, and go back out to play more shows, so that’s what we’re going to continue to do. After this, we go home, go to Europe for some shows, come home, and then I think back to Europe? It’s just enough time to feed the gold fish, kiss the wife, and move on to play more shows.

Is that rough to be out that often?

It is. It’s not so much a challenge for us, as it is for the people we leave behind. The thing that I’ve learned is when I leave for tour, it’s like one long day -- it’s just one crazy day, whether the tour is one show or 5 weeks of shows. You come home and it’s like “oh I was just gone for a day” and everyone else is like “no, you were gone for five weeks.”

Seasons have changed by the time you get back, yeah.

Right, exactly. So it’s much more of a challenge for the people around you. Luckily, I have an amazing wife who puts up with my bullshit.

[tenaciouswaitres-blog]

It’s those damn Pennslyvania females....

I am a hostess. As a hostess, I often work side-by-side with a male co-worker for hours at a time. These boys and I, we have a bit of a problem. They just don’t seem to understand I do not like being talked over. I don’t like being contradicted in front of customers, I do not like being cut off. However, for some reason this seems to be a daily challenge for these brew boys.

Customer: Can we have a table outside? Me: We are actually on a waitlist right now, but if you give me- Brew Boy: There’s outdoor seating upstairs! The left side is open seating and                       the right side is dining. You guys can just go ahead and check it out! Customer: Okay, thanks! 

2 minutes later

Me: I don’t like it when boys talk over me. Brew Boy: What? (brow furrows) Oh. (comprehending) Okay. (thoughts forming) 

3 minutes later

Brew Boy: It’s cause you’re so quiet. Customers can’t hear you. I’m louder.                          (Waves arms in a forward motion) You need to PROJECT your                              VOICE. (continues to provide interpretive hand gestures) I can be                        chipper for the both of us today. I’m not hungover so I feel great,                        usually I’m super hungover you know? Me: I’m not quiet, my voice is just softer than yours. And you talk over me when        I try to answer questions. It’s not a matter of pitch, you cut me off                        regardless. As a ~FeMaLe~, boys often interject while I’m speaking without        even noticing.  Brew Boy, (right away): No thats not it. I’ve noticed you’re quiet. Seriously. Me: Honestly what does that even have to do with it please just stop                           interrupting me when- Brew Boy: Hey ya folks! How are we today? (turns toward couple in the corner)                    Are we thinking beer, food, or both? (My objection evidently was                          unable to sustain Brew Boy’s interest) I am accustomed to having these conversations. I’m patient with each and every brew boy, though constantly struggling not to demonize them all. I want to unleash one of the numerous diatribes rolling through my mind, berating their blissful ignorance and not giving a damn about whatever weak retort they throw back at me.

I am Hillary Clinton, debating President Trump. I do not throw a tantrum when men continue to do what I’ve asked them not to do dozens more times. Clinton showed great discipline and grace while debating President Trump, regardless of how many times he demanded to be heard over her, regardless of the offensive side-comments he made during one of his on-air tantrums. President Trump was forced to allow a woman to speak at length and he was not to interrupt. This was a completely foreign concept to him. To Clinton, however, the events of the debate was nothing new. She has spent her whole career working ten times harder to ensure her voice is heard over the steady roar of entitled, misogynistic, male politicians. Clinton was not rattled.

I am not graceful and have little discipline to speak of, but I often think of those debates and do my best to be steady and calm. To be fair, the brew boys are largely not comparable to President Trump in manner or intellect. That being said, my frustration does not waver.

I just don’t understand why these co-workers refuse to even consider my words. My projected self, as a woman, is clearly important to me. My interest in being treated no different from a man should not be considered such a grievance in the minds of these boys. Why they can’t just accept what I’m saying without attempting to find some other reason for their temperament?

The day got even more fun. 

Foreign Tourist Husband: Is the pizza thin-crust or thick-crust? Me: It’s thin-crust, and it’s very good! Foreign Tourist Wife: Okay, very nice, we don’t like deep-dish. (foreign couple                                      slowly turns from the host stand and they begin to walk                                         away) Brew Boy: ACTUALLY (clearly unable to contain himself any longer) I would NOT                  say the pizza is thin-crust. (turns his head towards me in                                      acknowledgment, chuckles at my fatal error and then addresses the                    couple) But it’s not deep-dish either. Its DEFINITELY between                              thin-crust and thick-crust. Like, medium-crust, you know? (foreign                      couple look back and forth between us with uncertainty, Brew Boy                      continues to grin at them) Me: 

Brew Boy: (grin starts to fade as my waves of rage wash over him) Oh, sorry, it’s                   just I didn’t want them to- Me: I’m from Chicago. I know my fucking deep-dish. Our *clap* pizza *clap* is          *clap* fucking *clap* thin *clap* crust. Brew Boy: (still nervous) Ha ha ha ha ha! (grins again and addresses the frozen                    internationals) I guess it depends where you’re from! Ha ha, ha!                           (foreign couple laugh along, clearly lost in translation, and make a                        break for the front door)

At this point I curl myself over the sanitation bucket and methodically start to ring out a rag in the dirty water, silently calling upon whatever spare divinity is available to give me enough strength to resist popping the lid off this kid, whom, by the way, is still grinning. 

Our next exchange was what was truly BASS ACKWARDS.

Brew Boy: Sorry. I’m sorry, okay? It’s just I didn’t want them to think they were                     having super thin-crust pizza, you know, cause it’s not super thin-                       crust. But I didn’t mean to interrupt you again. It’s mostly where I’m                     from, like my family and friends always yell and talk over each other                     at home. It’s where I’m from, it’s where I grew up. We always                               talk over each other. Me: Okay. Well, that’s interesting. I guess.

At this point I’m letting it go though I still disagree. He was taking responsibility in a way by acknowledging he was behaving in a way that was untoward. Brew Boy was not blaming me for these exchanges or attempting to invalidate my feelings. Perhaps I shouldn’t have settled, but that’s just the way it goes for me sometimes. But then this happened.

1 minute later

Brew Boy: Yeah. (still talking, folding menus mechanically) Yeah, so, all the girls I                   grew up with yell all the time. Even when they’re not mad. I have to                     yell and cut them off sometimes, you know? They are really insanely                   loud man. Me: (attempting to take a beat, barely) OH REALLY? It’s those CRAZY                         Pennsylvania girls, huh? Gotta keep them in line? Exactly what suburb are         you from again?

Whatever god I prayed to decided to TEST me today instead. Dance monkey, dance! 

Apparently, the town Brew Boy is from is populated with women who speak loudly, which of course, prompted him to correct the situation by ensuring he was always the one who was dominating the conversation in all his exchanges. It is because of those damn Pennsylvania females, that’s why he demeans me in my place of work.

Brew Boy has a problem with me "talking too softly” and has a problem with girls from his childhood “yelling”. This kid seems difficult to please when it comes to the pitch of the female voices around him. Perhaps he should determine the exact frequency he deems appropriate for women. Not too soft, not too loud. Talk a little, not a lot. This dude is the Goldilocks from my own personal hell. May he someday find the female frequency he finds to be just right.

This may seem like one of those famous PMS-induced fits people assume passionate women like me often suffer from. Or perhaps I can once again be accused of overreacting, as women supposedly often do.

Whether I shout or whisper, my words are not taken as law. My male co-workers speak, and their words are untouchable. Their statements are protected and regarded as concrete. Any thoughts or reactions I have are up for debate and tossed aside at will. If my male co-workers lexicon is concrete, the female lexicon can be reduced to hypothetical play-doh, readily passed around, torn apart, tossed aside. Most importantly, it is always regarded as malleable. 

I do not have an influence. I would argue it is because I am female. That is why my co-host made me especially angry today. I have zero influence on what is going on around me, and women categorically experience the same phenomena throughout their lives. If women were able to shape the person he was growing up, then convincing him to take my wishes as a woman seriously probably wouldn’t feel like pulling teeth from a seizing toddler. 

If women had such an influence, we would get birth control universally accessible and affordable! Hell, let’s get our birth control delivered to our door! For free! Instead, we have we have white male politicians actively blocking any steps taken to improve women’s healthcare. Viagra can be delivered straight to your doorstep, by the way.

There are so many forces at work that keep sexism alive, and it would be ridiculous to claim just one person or aspect of the machine is at fault for the society in which we live. There are constructs innate in all communities that help keep patriarchal values alive. I would love to do whatever possible to work away at these constructs and start to build a country that offers equal rights not just in name, but in practice. 

The arrogance of what I see daily is something I don’t know how to address. Birth control remains relatively unaccessible. Yet the law allows for men to get their viagra hand-delivered to their doorsteps. This lawful contradiction, along with Brew Boy’s refusal to admit women experience sexism in the workplace, boils down to a matter of ego. And it drives me mad.

Countless incidents later, my shift was almost over. The familiar feeling of being defeated by my circumstances was beginning to wash over me. A man came over to the host stand and asked a simple question about seating. I answered his question. He looked at me then turned to Brew Boy, inverting my answer back to him. Brew Boy confirmed my answer. The man walked away. Brew Boy then turns to me and says “Hey. Maybe you’re right.” I nodded. 

The man had needed a male confirmation to be convinced my feedback was correct. The weird part was I hadn’t even noticed. That is what scares me most. How much of my life am I spending in my own innate ignorance? Perhaps time will tell. In the meantime, if the blame is to be placed on anyone, the obvious answer would be those damn Pennsylvania females.

[mllemaenad]

Personally... I feel that WEaWH tries to remove itself from TME because it realizes that TME is fucking irredeemable garbage, and tries to make its WLW representation less appalling. So I'm entirely willing to overlook continuity errors for the sake of one relationship between women in the entire series that can go well.

I’m sorry, but I don’t believe that. I’m not going to argue with you on the merits of The Masked Empire, as you’re entitled to like or dislike any media you choose, but I don’t think Bioware is trying to distance itself from the novel. I also don’t think their motive is positive representation, or that they’re seriously suggesting a happy ending. However, even if they were I would call the choice to reunite Celene and Briala without any serious examination of the issues that drove them apart … disquieting.

1) On distancing themselves from the novel.

To begin with the obvious, several of the Dragon Age novels provide not only context for the quests in Inquisition, but also promotional material maintaining audience interest between games.

It’s hardly an accident that Asunder is a prequel to In Hushed Whispers/Champions of the Just, The Masked Empire is a prequel to Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts (as well as giving you a roundabout introduction to Solas) and Last Flight provides you with some context on why Weisshaupt is just no help at all during Here Lies the Abyss.

They do kind of want you to buy all their stuff. And if you started with Inquisition and liked what you saw, they want you to run back and buy all the earlier stuff for context. Video game tie-in novels aren’t generally considered high art, so they’d need serious reasons to want to reject the novel as part of their canon. Just in case, I checked The Masked Empire’s Amazon page, and it’s currently got 4.4 stars – so it doesn’t look like something they’d be particularly desperate to ignore. They’d rather you bought it and gave them money.

To move more to the specific, the game references the novel constantly. In addition to devoting a whole main quest to resolving its plot, it also includes cameos from Mihris, Michel and Imshael, which really serve no other purpose than to provide a bit of closure to the people who read the novel and wondered what became of them. This is actually more than it provides for, say, the characters of Asunder: Rhys and Evangeline appear only in a war table mission, Adrian doesn’t appear at all – and who knows where Shale has wandered off to.

It also references the murder of Briala’s parents directly:

Cole: She’s still behind the curtains in the reading room, watching the blood pool on the floor.

Briala pulled the red velvet curtain aside. Her hands shook as she did. There was a pool of red on the floor of the reading room, staining the rich Nevarran carpet. It had spread almost to the curtain.

At the other end of the pool were Briala’s parents.

– The Masked Empire

If they really wanted to distance themselves from The Masked Empire, they wouldn’t put that in there. If they wanted to say that that this didn’t happen, they’d have retconned the story – or at the very least not mentioned it.

In fact, the choice of words is particularly distressing. Cole senses pain. When he says Briala is ‘still behind the curtains’ he’s emphasising that the trauma and anguish are still very much with her, making a reconciliation, particularly a reconciliation that utterly fails to address a thing that they have confirmed happened, even stranger.

 I would say that one motive for their choice to reconcile the two characters is simplicity. I like parts of Inquisition, but honestly it’s over ambitious. They set up a series of continent-wide catastrophes, each one intensely political: the mage rebellion, the Orlesian civil war, the collapse of the Chantry.

Each one probably requires its own game for a satisfactory solution. I realise they were probably going for something similar to the galaxy-wide political collapse in Mass Effect 3, but the Dragon Age games are at a serious disadvantage because they lack continuity of characters.

Mass Effect 3 had its own problems, of course, but for example – I think most people have fun curing the genophage for the krogan. But what they remember is Mordin Solus and ‘There’s a reaper in my way, Wrex!’ When it worked it was able to build on characters who were present across the series.

Inquisition is faced with trying to find resolutions for groups of people that have no direct connection to each other, and whom the protagonist has never seen before (even if they player has). This is hardly the only time their attempt to fix everything in a single quest ends up making no sense.

2) On positive representation

I’m afraid I don’t think what we get in Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts is especially positive. I think it’s … kind of infantilising, really, and has a whiff of sexism about it. I mean – again, I’m not asking you to like The Masked Empire. But this:

“It would have been a locked suite in the palace for a few years, nothing more!” Celene kept her voice low, aware that Michel and Felassan had stopped planning and were looking their way. “It would have changed nothing for us.”

“Your hair still stinks of the smoke from the people you burned,” Briala said. “That is a change.”

The dead leaves crackled under Celene’s feet as she stepped forward. “How many wars can our empire survive in such a short time? I wanted my legacy to be the university, the beauty and culture that made us the envy of the world. Instead I may be known as the empress under whom Orlais fell. You have the luxury of mourning Halamshiral’s elves and holding my heart hostage. Sitting on my throne, I see every city in the empire. If I must burn one to save the rest, I will weep, but I will light the torch.”

Briala swallowed. “You’re not weeping, as far as I can tell. Nor are you sitting on your throne. She stepped away, her movements fast and jerky. “With your permission, Your Radiance, I shall go indulge myself in my luxury.”

– The Masked Empire

… is at least an argument between adults, with the details of what they believe laid out. Celene honestly believes that the empire and her legacy are worth 'a few thousand elven lives’: she believes that maintaining the strength of Orlais is worth thousands of lives in sacrifice, as is the vision she has for the country’s future. Briala is facing up to the fact that this is the bargain she’s made: stay with Celene and she might see an elven scholar graduate from the university – but she’ll likely also see elves burn every time there’s a crisis, because elves are the most expendable people in the empire.

Briala wavers throughout the novel, obviously, because there is genuine feeling between herself and Celene. But the discovery that this has all happened before, that this is not the first time Celene has shed elven blood to impress her rivals and gain power, and that her own parents were among the victims, brings her to a decision.

You don’t have to like it, but these women are serious about what they want and believe.

But in Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts we get stuff like this:

Sera: Elves-elves-elves, but it’s really a pissing match with an old lover. Don’t know the rest but that explains a lot.

It’s hardly coincidental that they chose Sera to say this. Sera the commoner, who despises the nobility. Sera the Red Jenny, with contacts in every corner of Thedas. True, Sera’s background has led her to reject a lot of elven culture, but her biggest objection is usually to ‘moping’ about the past. This:

Briala thought for a moment. “Celene and Gaspard saw an army, but that would be fighting their fight. With the paths, I could get food to alienages where elves would otherwise starve. They would let me move ahead of an oncoming army and warn the target, or move behind them and attack their supply lines.”

– The Masked Empire

… sounds more like the practical stuff she favours: she’s said getting revenge would be a preferable option, and this is getting food to the poor, terrorising the nobility and giving little people a shot at being part of something bigger. But now we can’t take it seriously, because Sera has reduced it to a lovers’ tiff.

That isn’t meant as a criticism of Sera, to be clear. They do this when they want a mouthpiece. This is the equivalent of having Cole approve of Cullen.

And as for it going well, this is their epilogue slide:

Where once war raged, there is now a shaky peace. Orlais is resurgent, the empress a patron of arts and culture.

Many attribute this recovery to her lady love, though others wonder how long their reunion will truly last.

– Epilogue (Inquisition)

I mean – maybe they’ll forget about this. They have been known to forget their epilogue slides. But it doesn’t read as though the intent was to write a strong and loving partnership. Rather it looks as though they are selling the relationship as tempestuous.

That’s one place where I am very uncomfortable. This is the revolt of an oppressed people, and the politics an empire. And there’s a sense that they’re saying ‘Oh, those women and their emotions! Today they love each other; tomorrow they’ll hate each other; the day after they’ll probably love each other again. You never know, with women.’

I appreciate that Bioware is fairly progressive, for a game company: the character choices, the romance options, the NPCs – they are trying to represent a variety of races, genders and sexualities. But it doesn’t mean they never fuck up. I mean, there’s a bit in Mark of the Assassin where Isabela tells Hawke that Gamlen has been sexually harassing her and two responses blame her (You find something inappropriate?/Break him. And wear pants.).

Given that they are already struggling to resolve a massive plotline in a ridiculous amount of time, I’m not surprised they fell back on this. It’s narrative shorthand, and that can be handy for desperate situations. But it’s still sexist shorthand, and I very much wish they hadn’t done it.

3) Removing The Masked Empire from the equation doesn’t solve the problem

I mean, it makes some of the bigger issues like Briala’s dead parents a little easier to miss, sure, but it doesn’t make the problems go away.

I appreciate that representation is important. I do. But romantic relationships between women are not the only representation issue at stake, here. There’s no single source for the elven people, of course, but it’s easy enough to see that Bioware has borrowed from the experiences of Jewish, Romani and aboriginal peoples living under empires and/or colonialism.

And have we ever established that it is shit to be an elf. The city elf origin story in Origins is an abduction/rape/murder combo. The Dalish clans in Origins and DA2 can be slaughtered. It’s terrifyingly easy to kill off clan Lavellan in war table missions, and even though this is the protagonist’s family the game doesn’t make a thing of it. There’s a whole side quest in DA2 about a serial killer who targets elves, and who keeps getting away with it because no one gives a shit. We are up to our eyeballs in codex entries on the treatment of elves.

And here we have Briala, the leader of a rebellion in Orlais – one of the nations best known for oppressing the fuck out of the elves and trying to destroy their culture.

Even without The Masked Empire this is:

a) providing only the most minimal description of the nature of her rebellion and what she hopes to achieve.

b)allowing her to be dismissed as primarily involved in a lovers’ tiff.

c) pairing her with a woman the game actually says massacred the Halamshiral elves.

d) using the massacre as evidence against her because she was sleeping with Celene, rather than as evidence against the woman who actually committed it.

That’s … all pretty shitty, even at the simplest level. The game doesn’t address any of this. It doesn’t even force the characters to discuss what happened before throwing them back together. It spends as much time tsking at Briala for destabilising Orlais as it does Celene and Gaspard. It loves the idea that they’re all as bad as each other – which allows the player to justify just about any ending.

And this is a thing they do repeatedly: they tsk at the mage rebellion as well. They seem to be very good at describing the sufferings of the elves, the mages, the casteless dwarves … but don’t approve of them actually doing anything about their oppression. At least not anything more forceful than writing a stern letter of complaint (for those lucky literate characters!) to the local lord or revered mother.

And so minimising the problems of Celene and Briala’s relationship, and waving a locket around (which, even out of context, does not seem like a forceful enough declaration of love to startle Briala) does … not strike me as very respectful of peoples who have suffered under empires, and who have had to fight tooth and nail for every sliver of justice.

It’s not that I want to exclude a healthy, positive romance between two women in order to have Awesome Revolutionary Briala. I just don’t understand why we couldn’t have both.

Couldn’t Briala show up with a new girlfriend? Do it properly: give her a codex entry and make her active and important in the quest. Show the two of them both being affectionate and working together for the cause. Make sure that at least some of the possible quest endings leave them alive, together and continuing to better the lot of the elves.

I can understand that you may not like The Masked Empire and may want to exclude it from your personal headcanon. That’s absolutely fine, obviously. But I do not believe that was Bioware’s intent in writing the the Briala-and-Celene reconciliation, and I still have serious issues with it.

[baeddel]

@dollygrls

most of those who face violence are black and/or live in poverty and/or are sex workers. 

Mmmm, kind of. I’m talking about childhood domestic abuse & csa, not street violence in this case. I don’t know the statistics, but I’m not sure they reflect the same tendency - it seems to me that one is not more likely to suffer domestic child abuse if one is black or in poverty, unless it’s a case of a black child being raised by white adoptive parents or w/e, some mitigating circumstance. Maybe I’m wrong. Most trans women I know, of any background, have suffered in such a way in childhood, to the degree that the commonality is being trans girls - or, perhaps that the misogynist abuse is what made us trans girls.

However, even in dealing with street violence against adult trans women, this formulation is somewhat backwards - trans women who are black, poor, sex workers, usually all three, etc, do not experience more transmisogynistic violence simply because they’re black, poor, etc. That doesn’t make a lot of sense. I do not see people saying - well, white trans women are fine, but I draw the line at black trans women... Yes, trans women like that are probably more likely to draw the ire of transmisogynists by being also something else thats hated, or whatever, but I think its not really the main factor at play.

What is happening is this: trans women are unacceptable universally, and will face street violence, will get bashed, if the opportunity arises. Black trans women, poor trans women, trans women in sex work, etc., have far fewer options for avoiding dangerous situations where transmisogynist attacks might occur than white, rich, etc., trans women. Wealthy white trans women have gated liberal communities in san francisco, private medical care which caters specially to trans people at a price, so on and so forth, poor/back/mentally ill/criminal trans women don’t have this, and have to face the full expression of transmisogynist horror.

i'm really not going to argue with someone who says "transwomen are women" as if womanhood is a feeling and not a biological reality lol. your "womyn have lady brains!" ideology is the same one that the patriarchy uses to subordinate us for centuries. 

This is such a weird comment! I’d like to link you to some of the arguments that I had been making earlier, so you can maybe get a good idea of my actual position. Here, for example, or here. I am *definitely* not of the opinion that ‘womyn have lady brains’, that there is any such thing as a ‘female brain’, or that gender is anything but a system of oppression which has to be immediately abolished.

Actually relatively few trans women buy into that kind of thing, but even so, its a very high standard to hold trans women to - most cis women have very patriarchal ideas about their gender, too. I would wager very few cis women believe gender is a construct or w/e. That’s the way of things. Most workers think their bosses deserve the salaries they get!

and your fifth grader gamer boy level "omg!! their url says the word vulva!! haha get it?? stupid nasty cunts am i right lol" just proved mine and every other woman who commented on that post's point 

I said it was a good url!!! Tbh I was mostly laughing abt the ‘queef’ but, I’d never heard a radfem talk about queefing before. It’s good. It doesnt have to be mean spirited its a funny url. I’ve been getting barraged by terf shit for like 2 days now let me have this

women are oppressed for having vaginas. transwomen are oppressed for not performing masculinity. that simple. sexism = based on sex, not your identity. socialization and how the world treats you = based on how you are perceived, not how you perceive yourself 

I really don’t think that women are oppressed ‘for having vaginas’, that’s a very simple formulation. If that were true, it seems to me there is nothing we can do - women will continue to have vaginas, we can’t change that. So we can do nothing about patirarchy - it is biologically pre-determined, because women have vaginas which causes them to be oppressed. Surely it is not such a sad story!

I think that women are oppressed because patriarchy emerged out of specific historical factors within the construction of society of which it has become an essential feature. In order to reproduce itself civilization must mark out a certain population as ‘female’, who are subordinated by the ‘male’ population, and divides their relationship to the means of subsistence along these lines. As Monique Wittig says, ‘oppression creates the sex and not the contrary!’

As for ‘perceived’ vs ‘identify’ I think this is also a very problematic formulation. How I see myelf and how others see me are always in dialogue. My self-consciousness does not arise from the ground magically, it is a product of the way I am treated by others. It is the total of my experiences. I do not see how I could ‘idnetify as’ a woman if I have not been ‘identified as’ a woman, ie. how can I be socialized male but believe myself to be female? Wouldn’t the socialization have simply failed, in this case, because I did not identify with maleness as I was socialized to do? Would that not, then, make me not socialized male, and perhas socialized female, despite other’s best intentions? This is, IMO, more or less the mechanism at work. Comrade, I am saying this to you very seriously! Trans women are socialized female.

Will continue in next post, as again, this is very long.

[viralhottopics]

Uber recruiter would like you to know sexism is systemic in the tech industry

Uber is failing at step one: Admit you have a problem.

SEE ALSO: Why sexual harassment scandals like Uber’s are bound to persist in tech

The latest example comes via a tweet from Kamilah Taylor, a senior software engineer and coauthor of Women In Tech, who was recently approached by Uber hiring’s team with a job offer.

@nrrrdcore You should see this actual exchange I had with a hiring manager there a couple weeks ago. http://pic.twitter.com/yrabqc7e7k

kamilah taylor (@kamilah) March 22, 2017

So per Uber HR, they do “understand” the concern of “Uber’s questionable business practices and sexism,” as Taylor brilliantly phrased it.

But rather than immediately accept that and share what they are doing to change the problem, the representative instead decides to blame… society?

“I just want to say that sexism is systemic in tech and other industries,” the rep said.

Wow.

We have a five-question interview with Taylor below but first, let’s unpack Uber’s response.

First, sexism CAN BE a systemic problem at companies. I am not here to deny that. But, why in god’s name are you throwing the whole industry under the bus instead of saying how YOU will fix things?

@nrrrdcore So is the argument that there is no systemic sexism or is it that Uber is just one of many with systemic sexism? http://pic.twitter.com/gGoOt0C2sU

kamilah taylor (@kamilah) March 22, 2017

Second, you say you’ve met “some of the most inspiring people here.” Alright, same. But I’ve met a ton of female engineers and product managers in Silicon Valley who have interviewed at Uber and would never work there, even before former Uber engineer Susan Fowler Rigetti blew the whistle.

One former engineer I spoke to told me, “I knew two women engineers who both experienced psychological trauma after being at Uber.”

The Huffington Post founder and Uber board member Arianna Huffington has said she will put “feet to the fire” to get the apparent problems fixed.

Huffington is not leading the investigation into the workplace culture at Uber and Rigetti’s allegation, rather it’s Eric Holder (you’re welcome, Uber PR!). But if she’s having conversations with employees at Uber, she might want to start talking to Uber recruiters.

Here’s what Uber PR had to say in response to Taylor’s claims, first reported by The Guardian:

We are investigating but this message was not sanctioned by Ubers recruiting department.

The company said it was also working to improve its recruitment efforts by ensuring we have diverse panels of trained interviewers

Here’s what Uber PR added in an email to Mashable:

Earlier this week our chief HR officerLiane Hornsey spoke about ways we our recruiting efforts overall:

“Were focusing on improving candidate experience, ensuring we have diverse panels of trained interviewers. We are running interview training for women in tech to ensure our female employees are really well equipped to be involved.”

And lastly, here’s our interview with Taylor:

1. Take me through what you experienced in Uber’s recruiting

“So it’s not the first time that Uber has reached out to me. They hire a lot of people so they’ve reached out to a lot of engineers recently. I was surprised that they did the cold reach out right now in midst of the scandal. I thought they would have toned down their process.

That’s why I responded. I was shocked they were carrying on business as usual. They cant just pretend that nothing has happened. This is now completely out in the open. Everything that has been whispered about for years. She [the recruiter] didnt respond for awhile. In that I found out that my friend had been contacted as well and she responded to him. Then, she responded to me.”

2. Why did you respond the way you did?

“Ive had many friends that have worked at Uber over the years, some of whom are still employed, and I have not heard great things. It’s a deeply personal issue for me. I know that the situation is bad internally. I wanted to get that message through, that this is not normal.”

3. What was your first reaction to the #DeleteUber movement and then Susan’s letter?

“I was not that surprised with [Uber’s actions] following the Muslim ban because it seemed like Uber’s standard business practices. I think i was sort of unfazed. Thats Uber.

With Susans story, I had sort of started to hear some of it again [from] internal sources so when it came out I was not that surprised sadly, but I was surprised by how much traction the story was gaining, in a good way.”

4. Do you agree to the claim that sexism is ‘systemic’ throughout the tech industry?

“I agree with the claims that there is a lot of sexism in industry and tech is an industry. Yes, there is sexism, but I dont agree with her claim that this I just what you find anywhere, that this is no different than anywhere else. Thats where I draw the line.”

5. What do you think Uber should do now, in regards to recruiting and other operations?

“I think they really need to sort of take this as a moment to reflect on their entire process and realize that until its actually very clear to us in the industry that theyre actually trying to fix this internally, nothing’s going to change.

Right now the efforts do not feel sincere. As long as that is true, they cant act like this is normal. My male friend independently had sent a similar response. This isnt just women in the tech industry. We all are watching if your efforts sincere.”

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from Uber recruiter would like you to know sexism is systemic in the tech industry