#INTERSECTION MAGAZINE

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Christina Buttons

Published: May 31, 2024

The prominent science journal Nature has launched a new opinion article series on sex and gender. One paper in this series explores research attempting to search for a biological basis for trans-identity, arguing that such research could “pathologize” and “harm” the trans community. The authors discourage “investigations into the underlying bases of transgender identity” and propose various steps for researchers to incorporate transgender activism into their work to influence research outcomes — signaling the end of Nature’s commitment to pursuing scientific truth over ideology.

The article starts by reviewing neuroscientific studies aimed at finding the cause of trans-identity in the brain, identifying 83 papers from 1991-2024. It highlights the transgender brain-sex hypothesis, which suggests that trans-identified people have brain regions resembling those of the opposite sex. However, it neglects to mention that this hypothesis falls apart because the studies did not control for confounding variables such as sexual orientation.

The article does acknowledge that “the results of these analyses have been inconsistent.” Yet, when the media covers these studies, the public is often informed by headlines such as “transgender people are born that way,” “science proves trans people aren’t making it up,” and “attacks on trans people are also attacks on science itself.” You can read a simplified explainer I wrote debunking the brain-sex studies here.

The authors move on to the more plausible “own-body perception” theory, which proposes that reduced structural and functional connectivity between certain brain networks is responsible for gender dysphoria. However, these studies do not show a causal link, only an association. Abnormalities in body perception networks in the brain are also associated with many other conditions, including body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia, body integrity identity disorder, schizophrenia, and autism.

After reviewing the neuroscientific studies, the article’s language shifts into typical activist rhetoric, claiming that research into transgender identity can be “harmful.” The authors argue that if brain scans or some other objective test could assess whether someone is experiencing gender dysphoria, it could be used to prevent people from accessing cross-sex hormones and surgeries if they are not deemed “eligible.”

"A second possibility is that neuroscientific findings related to transgender identity will fuel transphobic narratives," the authors write, citing a “feminist perspective” social science journal article on "Transprejudice."

For example, they state, "Some people argue that allowing transgender women to access infrastructure, such as public toilets or women’s prisons, threatens the safety of 'real women'." It is odd and audacious for a serious science publication to use "real women" in quotations. Moreover, their source for this claim is an article about Kathleen Stock, who does not argue that transgender women threaten the safety of biological women. In fact, she explicitly states the opposite: "I am definitely not saying that trans women are particularly dangerous – they are definitely not."

The authors also take a dig at sexologist Ray Blanchard, claiming that autogynephilia “hasn’t held up to scientific scrutiny,” citing a "feminist analysis" paper by a trans activist. Apparently, they haven't spent any time on trans Reddit, where they would encounter a vast discourse on "gender euphoria boners."

The authors end by setting “four actions” for researchers studying transgender people to prevent further “harm” from being done. They suggest researchers set up an advisory board and multidisciplinary teams consisting of transgender people to consult on their study designs and “prevent the outcomes of neuroscientific and other studies from being described and published in an overly deterministic and simplistic way.” They also dictate what should and should not be studied, suggesting researchers "prioritize research that is likely to improve people’s lives" rather than searching for the cause of trans-identity.

The final suggestion is to “rethink how ethical approval is obtained,” which relates to an example they provided of a 2021 UCLA study that was suspended after significant backlash from transgender activists. The study aimed to examine the brains of trans-identified individuals by showing them images of themselves wearing tight clothes, intending to trigger gender dysphoria. Although the study obtained ethical approval from their research institute and the transgender participants provided informed consent, it seems they weren't the right transgender people to ask permission from. Their suggestion implies that researchers must obtain approval for their studies from transgender activists.

The authors seem aware of the implications of their recommendations, as they conclude their article by admitting their approach would limit scientific inquiry:

“Our aim is not to halt scientific enquiry. But when it comes to transgender identity, knowledge cannot be pursued in isolation from the many societal factors that shape how that knowledge is received and acted on.”

This statement translates to prioritizing activism over truth-seeking when the findings might be inconvenient or misaligned with political narratives and activist goals. Such a stance compromises the integrity and credibility of science, reducing it to a tool for activism rather than a means of uncovering and understanding reality.

It is disheartening to watch one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals compromise their credibility by continuing to prioritize ideology over truth.

Besides, the authors' concerns about discovering a biological cause for trans-identity are misplaced. While there are biological traits associated with being transgender, such as same-sex attraction and gender nonconformity, “transgender” itself does not appear to be an inherent condition one can be born with. The concept of "transgender," as understood in Western cultures, is a cultural construct that doesn't have a direct equivalent in many non-Western societies.

Research into a cause for gender dysphoria would be difficult because the transgender population has become so heterogeneous. Even if one were predisposed to a psychiatric condition like gender dysphoria, predispositions are not predeterminations of a transgender outcome. The notion of transgender identities being fixed at birth is further contested by the increasing number of detransitioners and extensive research on desistance among children, suggesting that such identities can often be temporary coping mechanisms for young people in distress.

==

We're just supposed to accept that hacking off body parts and giving life-altering drugs and hormones is a completely normal part of life. And that wondering where this is all coming from, what's underlying it is the problematic part.

At its core, the point of this ideology is to pathologize the completely normal and normalize the pathological.

Carl Sagan warned us about this:

"The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true." ― Carl Sagan

Reality is not obliged to conform to people's wishes or preferences, and we are not obligated to lie or consign ourselves to ignorance in order to placate those wishes and preferences. We don't allow "if you find out what's true, it'll hurt our feelings" - i.e. blasphemy - for the religious. Why are we allowing genderist fanatics to get away with it, when it's still just an accusation of blasphemy?

When people say, "you're not allowed to go looking over here, it's a moral failing to do so," the correct response is to go, "now I want to go look over there even more."

-

"Sex is real... But the belief that we have a moral duty to accept reality just because it is real is, I think, a fine definition of nihilism." ― Andrea Long Chu, gender cultist and lunatic

“The facts may tell you one thing. But, God is not limited by the facts. Choose faith in spite of the facts.” ― Joel Osteen, religious nutcase and lunatic

[misterradio]

i think factory pomo will always be my sweetheart aesthetic i just love the geometric stylings. i always used factory pomo style clip art in school projects i thought it was suuuch a cool style.

looking thru that website... memphis jr is also great, kind of similar geometric style with brighter colours. i even used to have the toy used as the example image, and for some reason images of LSD:DE are used as an example lol

[luminalunii97]

What Real Heros Of The Year Have Been Up To!

TW blood and rubble bullet wounds

These are real pictures of Iranian women inside of Iran fighting for their basic rights. Fighting to replace a misogynistic regime with freedom and a better democratic future. These were made by nxtanimal a content creator on Instagram.

[chialattea]

genuinely considering making easy-to-read pamphlets/posts about some STEM concepts, specifically about genetic engineering (CRISPR), how GMOs actually work, what epigenetics are and/or what popular lab procedures basically do. However. That would be like, incredibly niche and science-y. And this is also basically a fandom blog. And unless they’re fanfic writers trying to write a scientist or something I don’t think people come to tumblr to read this kind of stuff. Maybe… if I make them with anime characters…?

[musicmags]

[dewitty1]

FILE - Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes attend the Ms. Foundation for Women Gloria Awards at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York, May 1, 2014. Scott Roth/Scott Roth/Invasion/AP

Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a pioneering Black feminist, child welfare advocate and lifelong community activist who toured the country speaking with Gloria Steinem in the 1970s and appears with her in one of the most iconic photos of the second-wave feminist movement, has died. She was 84.

[erotetica]

Fuck Trump, here’s all the civil rights orgs I know:

(Most have education pages and/or socials to follow and boost if u can’t donate right now)

LGBTQ+

Trevor Project—queer crisis hotline/counseling (NOTE THAT THEY CALL POLICE IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS)

List of Crisis Hotlines/etc compiled by Inclusive Therapists .com which DON’T CALL POLICE

Point of Pride—helps trans folks having trouble accessing gender affirming healthcare

Trans Lifeline—community support/resources/financial aid for trans folks

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

National Network of Abortion Funds—financial assistance/transport/childcare for people in ban states seeking abortions.

Brigid Alliance—same

Sister Song—reproductive justice for WOC

Indigenous Women Rising—helps Indigenous families access abortions/menstrual hygiene/midwifery/etc

Afiya Center—reproductive justice/HIV care for Black womxn in Texas

Abortion access orgs for Americans in the

Midwest

South

Appalachia (they also offer free emergency contraception/support services/etc)

RACIAL JUSTICE

NYU Law Center on Race Inequality—self-education resources on racism & antiblackness/how to contact elected officials/how to protest safely.

List of orgs protecting Black Americans, compiled by NYU (incl NAACP, Audre Lorde Project, BLM, Black Voters Matter, etc)

National Immigration Law Center—fighting for asylum seeking/DACA; helping immigrants access healthcare/worker’s rights/etc

American Civil Liberties Union—working on many intersectional initiatives

Southern Poverty Law Center—same

GLOBAL AID (While we Americans wait for shoes to start dropping, let’s not forget others in need, and that Trump’s atrocious foreign policies will affect everyone!)

World Central Kitchen—hunger relief

Action Against Hunger—same

War Child—supports and educates children in conflict zones, like Yemen and DRC

Medecins Sans Frontieres— medical aid

Islamic Relief USA—emergency aid

PALESTINIAN AID

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund— medical aid for kids

Anera— emergency relief & long-term development resources for Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan

United Nations Relief and Works Agency—aid for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon/Syria/West Bank/Gaza/Jordan

Palestine Red Crescent Society—medical aid

SUDANESE AID

List of humanitarian orgs working in Sudan, compiled by 500 Words Magazine

CONGOLESE AID

Panzi Foundation—supports assault survivors & their families

Eastern Congo Initiative—supports ands funds local/community-based Congolese efforts

Please reblog, & add any legitimate humanitarian organizations you know of! I love all of you!!

[kaiijo]

PARALLELS — OIKAWA TOORU

pairing: oikawa tooru x reader content: gn! reader, long distance relationship, light angst, fluff

when the cherry blossoms bloom, you think of oikawa. of days spent hunting for beetles at the base of the trunk when you, he, and iwaizumi were kids. afternoons in middle school when oikawa would roll his eyes at you and repeat again: “parallel lines will never intersect” and ignore your “what if”s. the evening when oikawa pulled you aside during your three-way graduation party and kissed you under the canopy of brown branches and pink flowers.

“oi,” iwaizumi’s gruff voice breaks you from your memories and he asks, “thinking about him again?”

“missing him, more like it,” you say. you glance back at the cherry blossoms, petals translucent in the light of the setting sun. you breathe in the fresh scent. you loop your arm through iwaizumi’s and drag him close to you for a selfie. he offers a small smile to the camera, a dim contrast to your beaming grin.

“we’ve gotta hustle,” he says, checking his watch. “gonna be late for the team dinner.”

“right.”

iwaizumi has the two of you power-walking down the street, thought it’s more like a light jog for you given your friend’s long, steady strides. you pass a convenience store down the street and you do a double take, stopping to stare at the magazine display in the window.

your boyfriend’s face is plastered on the glossy cover, his argentina uniform fitting him in all the right places. he smiles up at you for the paper, the blurb next to him promising a tell-all interview with juicy details. your eyes lock in on the words “love life” and “latest fling” and you can’t help but frown, stomach flipping slightly.

you know all of it is tabloid fodder, nothing but eye-catching headlines, and you trust and love oikawa with everything in you. still, you can’t deny the jealousy you feel when you see him cozied up with a beautiful, leggy model for a photo shoot. jealous that she gets to be physically present with him and you’re halfway around the world.

you hear iwaizumi urge you to come and you quickly catch up with him, your boyfriend’s blindingly white smile flashing through your mind.

the beach makes oikawa think of you. when your parents would take you guys there and you’d all run off to the tidepools and gawk at the starfish and crabs inside. when you two buried iwaizumi up to his neck in sand. when he would scoop you up and dunk you in the salty water, despite the shrieking pleas you let out, begging him not to.

oikawa sighs heavily. he leans against the balcony that over looks the seaside, watching the crystalline water ebb and flow. his phone pings on the small, glass-topped table behind him and he picks it up.

a notification lights up his screen: @.officialhinatashoyo mentioned you in a comment: we’re coming for you @.oikawatooru!!

oikawa opens his phone and finds hinata’s comment underneath a photo of japan’s national volleyball team enjoying drinks and food together.

he swipes through the photos, a bunch of group shots with other players (bokuto and hoshiumi are notable making stupid faces in many of them). oikawa stares at the last picture. hinata’s got his arms thrown around your shoulders and he’s clearly said something that has you giggling right at it was taken.

hinata’s tagged you but he also mentions you in the caption, thanking you for taking these pictures and every other photo of them as the official photographer for the team.

oikawa tries to push down the hollowness spreading in his chest, zooming in on your face. you’re glowing — you always are — and he’s happy you’re happy, but there’s the undeniably envious part of him that wishes he was there. making you laugh and smile. maybe sneaking in a kiss or two in between.

he loves playing for argentina; he likes his teammates, the country, and is grateful for how he’s grown, but he’ll never stop missing you when you’re this far away.

oikawa thinks his thumb moves on its own, dialing your number with practiced ease. he memorized it right after you got your phone, begged his mother to let him get a phone so he could input your contact immediately.

you pick up on the first ring and oikawa can’t hear your very well. he assumes that you’re still out with the team, ears straining. you say, “wait, hold on, tooru.”

he thinks he hears atsumu in the background, “ooh! you’ve got a boyfriend! you’ve got a boyfriend!” and he definitely hears you reply, “this is why you get no bitches, ‘tsumu.”

your voice gets clearer as the background noises fades. “hi, love,” you say, and oikawa can’t help but grin at the words.

“hi, baby,” he says. “you picked up quick! you must really like me, huh?”

you chuckle, “something like that. everything okay?”

“yeah, i just wanted to hear your voice.”

“now who’s the one who likes who?” you tease.

his smile only grows. “you know it. i’m obsessed.”

“right back at you, love.” there’s a short lull in the conversation, but it’s not uncomfortable or awkward. it never is with you two.

oikawa’s alarm breaks the silence, the buzzing of the alert sending vibrations through his hand. he frowns. “i’m sorry, baby, i’ve got to get ready for practice.”

“alright. i miss you and love you, tooru. have a good practice. we need you in top form for internationals.”

he laughs. “yeah, you better tell the guys to watch out. especially ushiwaka and tobio.”

“i let them know.”

“i miss you and love you two.”

“we’ll talk later.”

“promise?”

“i promise.”

[longreads]

What do you do when they tell you that you'll never race again? You run farther than you ever have before. Our latest Atavist Magazine excerpt highlights Todd Barcelona's recovery from a traumatic brain injury.

On the afternoon that changed his life, Todd was driving home from work in his sky blue 1994 GMC Sierra truck. He had purchased it used and lowered the suspension so it sat closer to the ground. It did not have airbags.

Todd approached the intersection of Austin Peay Highway and Old Brownsville Road heading north. A Shell gas station, fields of crops, and stands of trees filled his view. The light ahead turned yellow, and he continued through the intersection. A gray Honda Accord driving south made a left at the light at the same time, failing to yield the right of way. It smashed into Todd’s truck almost head-on.

Visit Longreads to read the full excerpt.

[pia55tri]

Plz share wag/hab Carlo, TP Carlos, RB Carlos with the class plz

i was only going to share a few bits bc they're all very messy wips, but i talk too much, so... (please talk carcar with me tho, i will always welcome it)

WAG/HAB carlos

the longest of my wips, with the longest timeline (starts in 2021...)

super self-indulgent. they get together relatively early in the timeline, and then spend the rest of it being disgustingly in love.

carlos sees first oscar first. there's a f2 quali in the same city as his tournament, so he goes. he switched his career and started playing golf professionally a little later than most, but he's raced his whole life. it's in his blood. he knows when he's looking at a great driver on the track. so he stays through the session and ends up seeing oscar piastri take his helmet, and then his balaclava off. his hair poofs about his head, and carlos is sold. he is endeared, charmed. he thinks that he'd like to see more of this young man.

they meet some race weekends later in barcelona. carlos has now been to a few of oscar's races, has cheered for him even. oscar doesn't recognise him — he isn't a fan of golf, after all. oscar is still riding the high of a good race and a new trophy to his name. it's the endorphins and the adrenaline rushing through him that makes him more outwardly happy than he'd otherwise be. it's also why he doesn't shy away when a handsome stranger congratulates him for a brilliant drive.

“I just think you’re brilliant,” he says, with his big brown doe eyes and plush lips pulled into a smile. Like he means it. Oscar doesn’t know what to do with that. He continues earnestly, “I believe that you’re going great places. That you’ll be a Formula One World Champion someday.”

Oscar laughs. “Yeah? You know a lot of World Champions?”

The outrageously handsome man smiles wider, looking even more outrageously handsome. Oscar wants to file a complaint to God himself for sculpting him. “You could say that I know enough World Champions quite well.”

they get together in early 2022... oscar becomes a test driver... carlos climbs the world ranks... summer breaks and off-seasons are spent together... carlos teaches oscar how to play golf... racing each other in the sainzes's estate... oscar moves to monaco and takes carlos with him...

while oscar is a test/reserve driver, carlos still visits the track, but doesn't linger in the alpine hospitality. instead, he bothers his only close friend there — max. max, of course, finds it all to be hilarious. (“I don’t think I’ve seen you so often since you quit,” Max observes one day as he enters his room to find Carlos laid on his sofa. “Do you just miss me or do you get too lonely when loverboy is busy?”)

the wag/hab part comes after oscar is signed to mclaren and suddenly there are more cameras on him and his entourage. carlos can be often found around the mclaren hospitality or garage, and it's always a treat when the cameras zoom in on him. he's also not shy about posting on his socials when he's with oscar, not shy about sharing oscar's post-race posts either.

tl;dr: au where carlos is a pro golfer, and oscar is the same. in 2024, oscar is a race winner and carlos is an olympic athlete and also oscar's gorgeous friend who's always in the paddocks. all sorts of worlds are colliding, and those with the eyes to see are Looking.

TP carlos

short and sweet (hopefully?)

au in which carlos comes out of a retirement no one was really expecting (least of all himself) to join his old team as their team principal.

oscar is new to the grid. he'd signed literally just before carlos was kicked, so they haven't intersected yet, not really.

so oscar doesn't know what to think of their new tp, who's just a bit too young and too handsome and too there.

Oscar doesn’t know what to make of Carlos Sainz. He knows him, of course. He knows every Formula One winner in the last few years, and even before then. He’s seen Sainz on magazines, on the television, on his phone, and even on Lando’s. Carlos Sainz is a familiar figure to anyone who’s touched Formula One racing in the last half decade. But that’s Carlos Sainz, the handsome Ferrari driver. 

This is Carlos Sainz, McLaren’s new TP and test driver. It is an absurd situation, but everyone in the team is seemingly happy to have him around. It makes it exceedingly obvious, how young Oscar is, and how new he is to this space.

carlos is a very hands on tp who values driver input in every step of the process. he's also already rather familiar with oscar's teammate. this means a lot of meetings, phonecalls, and late night meetings with room service...

RB carlos

essentially, an au where things are just slightly different.

in which carlos grits his teeth and sticks through toro rosso until a rb promotion.

oscar signs with mclaren. that same year, carlos sainz, jr. becomes the 2023 wdc, the second spanish driver to do so in the history of the sport.

more or less a character study (?) of how it'd be if carlos stuck with rb despite everything. in this au, he's less friendly with the other drivers, more serious (not that he isn't already hh), and just generally a little exhausted all the time. his two closest friends are max and charles, and spends time with other drivers through their association only.

oscar piastri, however, is not the bright-eyed rookie carlos had been expecting. there is Something about him, and suddenly carlos is interested in someone outside his racecar, outside his very tight circle. carlos is so intrigued and so charmed. oscar is reserved, subdued, quiet. but there's a sharpness in him, a harshness that comes out only, it seems, when carlos rubs him the wrong way on track. it makes carlos wants to peel away his layers, see who he is beneath the pr training and the papaya fireproofs. maybe even beneath those.

oscar doesn't really like sainz. he knows he's spanish racing royalty and lando has put him on this pedestal as one of the greatest drivers ever, but he's just... a boring bloke. a vicious driver, sure. handsome with a nice smile, but rarely with anything behind it. serious. a little sad. he's winning races — and ruining oscar's, while he's at it — so really, if anyone should be upset, it should be oscar and not mr perfect.

max — along with charles and lando — is of the belief that they could be good together. meddling ensues.

tl;dr: carlos and oscar Noticing each other, but not doing anything about it until their friends catch on.

[marzipanandminutiae]

Now that we are speaking about the old timey pixie cut, I was wondering if it is somehow related to people who were selling their hair for wigs. I guess some of them would sell their hair, specially if it was long before the cut, but do you think it could be one of those fashions where the rich notice the poor looking a certain way because poverty and going "well, if it isn't A Look" and copying it? I don't know the social perceptions of selling your hair, but do you think there is an intersection here somehow?

Interesting thought, especially because fashion rarely moved upwards from the bottom in that way during the 19th century

Selling your hair was seen as terribly noble and Romantic...if done for reasons almost nobody ever had in real life. literary heroines of the time sell their hair to feed their children (Fantine in Les Mis- written later but set around the Directoire era), to bail out an unjustly imprisoned fiance (a magazine story I read once), etc. whereas in real life, the thriving human hair market among hairpiece-makers usually sourced its raw materials from "hair fairs" around the European countryside. peasant women would sell their hair for money to augment their usual incomes- I've read a few cases of women doing it to fund travel to a city, for better job opportunities. some women were even serial hair sellers, growing it out again each time for the sole purpose of cutting it for sale when it was long enough

how aware upper-class women would be of this, when their sole experience of the idea was Selling One's Hair For A Noble Cause, I'm not certain. and it WAS seen as a tragic sacrifice in most of those stories, with commentary of the aftermath confined mostly to the lady's Poor Shorn Head and Steadfast Love rather than "omg so cute! a Lewk!" so it's possible the thought would have held cachet for them based on a fantasy, but that fantasy did little to proclaim the aesthetic qualities of short hair. and to notice it on a poor woman and think positively of it would have required some other inducement from a pre-existing source they had positive associations with, if that makes sense? so I'm personally skeptical that that could have been the origin

apparently, when a brief short hair craze arose in the US and specifically Chicago in the 1880s, there were newspapers theorizing that some lady of fashion may have been ill and cut her hair in the throes of fever, as was commonly thought to vent heat from the brain back then, and either liked the result or put a brave face on to pretend she did. It's possible that that had something to do with the Titus making its jump to women as well, earlier on? or it could just have been getting lost in the neoclassicism sauce, as the name of the style suggests

it's interesting too because it's a unisex style, but you see it in fashion plates and portraits (and later, photographs) of women who are NOT masculine or androgynous at all- to me that's what differentiates Ye Olde Pixie Cut from A Woman With A Men's Hairstyle. it's a different mindset; not trying to look masculine, but adopting an unconventional fashion popular among decidedly feminine women

[luminalunii97]

"I'm an Iranian woman, what's your superpower?"

Time introduces hero of the year. Need I tell you that I cried? Specially when I saw Sarina's face, the girl was so special and I still haven't dealt with her murder.

[rainedragon]

Mini Lolita Fashion History Lesson: MILK

Today, MILK is generally known as an 'otome' or 'girly' brand, and many of their modern items don't look like what modern lolita think of as lolita.

A recent MILK collection However, in the late 80s and early 90s, MILK was considered to be one of the quintessential Lolita brands.

1990s lolita wearing MILK In a 1994 zipper interview about the history of lolita fashion the brand representative for MILK states "I think what is now called lolita fashion is the fashion that milk has been making for a long time."

MILK was founded in 1970 by Hitomi Okawa (大川ひとみ). When Hitomi Okawa started as a designer there were not many DC brands yet and ready to wear fashion was really just starting to become more widespread in Japan. Okawa attended an art university in Kyoto because of a love of drawing that started in elementary school. She used to draw illustrations of girls and make things like paper dolls. At the age of 11, she drew many pictures of the same clothes and changed the patterns (polka dots, checks, flowers). She grew up the daughter of a doctor, in an affluent home where her mother would read magazines like Harper's Bazaar with 1950s and 1960s American fashion. She also looked at American fashion catalogs as a child, and cites this study of clothing in magazines and catalogs as her earliest sort of "studying" of fashion. 

50s/60s Harper's Bazaar In addition to drawing inspiration from the 50s & 60s Harper's Bazaar & American clothing catalogs, she also drew inspiration from military uniforms and how they have custom buttons and custom fabric and details like that, as well as current trends in London and Tokyo as the brand continued to develop. When she started however, she says that she was the only one making this sort of cute girly clothing in Japan and she felt like she had to make it because no one else was making what she wanted to wear.

50s/60s Harper's Bazaar

After graduating from Seian College of Art and Design, Department of Design, she started MILK in Harajuku. She wanted to start in the coolest place possible, so she decided on Central Apartment.

MILK Shop Front in the 70s, Central Apartment

She had come to Harajuku when she was either in High School or her first year of University and had stood in the middle of the pedestrian bridge right off Harajuku station, and she looked down at Omotesando and thought "Here is the coolest place, I want to be here!", and that's why she chose that location. The Bridge doesn't exist any more, it was torn down in 2011. She wasn't aware at the time that Central Apartment was a popular place for creators, she just thought that street was nice and that Central Apartment was modern and cool. In a 2021 interview she confessed that she sometimes still goes up to the pedestrian bridge on the Yoyogi Park side and looks at Omotesando, and when she does, she feels the same way she did when she was 20 years old.

Central Apartment (原宿セントラルアパート) was initially an apartment complex built in Harajuku in 1958 at the intersection of Meiji-dori. It was initially built for special international travelers like US military personnel. In the mid 1960s/early 1970s, the lower floors were converted into stores with offices in the upper apartment floors.

The Coffee shop Leon on the first floor was a popular spot with creative people. There were also shops like Mademoiselle Nonnon launched by designer Taro Aramaki which sold French style clothing and lots of horizontal stripes. Mademoiselle Nonnon is considered to be the source of the border (horizontal stripe) trend in Japan.

Initially, "MILK", was expensive and unrealistic for everyday wear, so it was mainly used as a stage costume for idols, however, people started wearing Milk as everyday clothing as time went on.

MILK also experimented with a Bridal line in the 70s as well.

While their runway looks were generally a bit more loud than the way the pieces would have been worn in real life, you can see some prairie revival influence their early 70s items as well as some silhouettes in the '76 collection that are starting to look more lolita-esque.

Here are a few runway examples from the 1980s, note the border print of a carousel in the 1988 collection and the knee length ruffled skirt in the 1982 one.

By the early 1990s, MILK was heavily featured in coordinates worn by young women who considered themselves lolita in magazines like Cutie and Zipper, and was also advertising in those magazines.

1990-1992 Cutie advertisements for MILK

Early 1990s looks from MILK were fairly consistent with what was on offer from similar shops like PRETTY and Shirley Temple.

MILK Coordinates from Nene magazine, 1995

Speaking of Shirley Temple, the founder of Shirley Temple, Rei Yanagawa (柳川れい), worked as a designer for MILK before starting the Shirley Temple children's brand in 1974.

As time went on, lolita fashion started to diverge from the MILK style, while MILK followed their own design concept and look more at current trends in girly fashion. Today, some iconic MILK items like their heart purse are still frequently used in lolita fashion, however, it would be difficult to walk into MILK today and put together a coordinate that would read the same as one made from items at Angelic Pretty.

While goth and punk brands typically have no issue relating themselves to goth or punk fashion, brands popular with lolita have sometimes resisted self-describing themselves as lolita, most likely in an attempt to not alienate non lolita customers, due to lolita fashion having a mixed reputation. MILK, like many other Japanese brands, especially DC brands, maintains that they make MILK style, even though their influence on what we call lolita fashion today, is unmistakable.

Past Posts: Olive Girls

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

Taylor Swift constantly being compared to MJ by not only her fans but big media outlets is white supremacy and feels icky. It's not just they compare her to him, they compare everyone to him every 3 Business days. It's the mere FACT they hype up a mediocre white woman's achievements and dismiss the one from a BLACK man. A man who had to fight racial discrimination, who had to bust his ass off for his videos to be shown on mtv. Who thanks to him, black artists where able to crossover in the mainstream market.

It's how she has not even addressed it once, that really puts me off of her. It's how they keep lying how she broke some of his records without added context. At this point, I've come to the conclusion that her team pushes these articles.

This shit doesn't piss me off that much if they do that with the Beatles. Yes, the Beatles have more impact and influence than Taylor Swift. But atleast they're white. Atleast they didn't have to overcome racial discrimination and work 100 times harder white people get for just being alright.

Not to sound insane- but I 100% believe that Swift is the one, or her team, that is putting out the articles comparing her to MJ or The Beatles- or Madonna

I don't under any circumstance believe that Swift has no control over what the media prints about her- it is obvious with the way the whole media immediately pivoted to reporting on Travis Kelce like it was their mission in life to inform the public that this mediocre white man is a footballer.

The whole narrative of "Taylor Swift is bullied by the media is BS" and has been for at least a decade- so, on the flip side, it is most likely the Swift feeds the editors of whatever magazine story topics she would like to see about herself. And I think she wants to be "one of the greats" so badly that she is willing to buy and bully her way there.

I do agree with you, though, about the intersectional aspect of this faux pas- it does feel rather strange that the whitest woman on Earth is trying so hard to be thought of as better than a black man.

There is a lot of lore about Swift that ranges from vaguely- to outright- racist, that I cannot help but to think she is doing it on purpose.

[thesleeptokenarchive]

On This Day: August 14 2018

Sleep Token posted on the official Twitter/X account about being present in the newest edition of Rocksound Magazine in August of 2018. [X]

Today, He graces the pages of the @rocksound magazine. Next week, He performs Rituals IX & X, at the @OfficialRandL Festival on 24.08.2018 (Leeds) & 26.08.2018 (Reading) respectively. Worship.

Full article provided by PINQTEETH [Reddit]

SLEEP TOKEN MYSTERIOUS YET BEAUTIFULLY BALANCED SOUNDSCAPES WITH A VERY HUMAN GOAL

INTENSE, PENETRATING AND intoxicating, the most haunting music is sometimes the most beautiful. That's where Sleep Token come in. Anonymous and shrouded in mystery (though we can assume they're from the UK, at least), the collective exist for one definitive reason. 

"The ultimate goal is to engender a constructive emotional process within as many people as possible," leader 'Vessel' explains. "Simply the basic concept of understanding oneself better, understanding others better as a result."

Through the act of 'worship' (playing live) and conducting of 'rituals' (shows, to you and us), the project has gained passionate followers with an intense and different vibe.

Intimate, gripping and punishing both lyrically and musically, it's a powerful soundtrack that eschews genre. "Sleep Token draw from the most profound experiences we have in life and, most crucially, where they intersect," says Vessel. "We're all driven towards intimacy, away from death. We're all scared. We're all in love. To see this within yourself, and then to see it reflected in others - this is the essence of worship."

Though music is their primary tool, it seems that Sleep Token's main ambition is something much more human. "We all desire to see the darkest, most profound aspects of ourselves reflected in the expression of others," Vessel adds.

"That's what tells us our existence is anything more than a meaningless sequence in an endless tangle of physical and chemical interactions. We're here to provide this expression, so it may serve as a device with which people might understand themselves better."

WORDS: Jack Rogers

[thepotentialof2007]

“A bolt of lightning you don’t expect. A rare flower that seemed like it would never bloom again. The parable of Ferrari, the most prestigious and successful team in the three-quarters of a century of history of F1, and that of the baronet Lewis Hamilton, the driver with a cabinet full of trophies like no other, will truly intersect.”

_ Il Messaggero as quoted in Motor Sport Magazine