#addressing female representation

[myfandomrealitea]

Just a reminder that:

Joey Batey has actively combated scenes, information, plots, details and lore being cut from the show by including it in his songs.

Joey Batey has been the lead songwriter and composer for all of Jaskier's music since the start of the show. That's three whole seasons worth of music so far. That's six years of writing and producing music.

Joey Batey has embodied Jaskier as bisexual since day one, and actively admitted to having to write over 7,000 words across multiple emails (excluding phone calls and in-person meetings) to fight against the choices the writers and runners were proposing for the 'reveal' scene(s) and future scenes.

Joey was one of the first people during the video interviews to praise Henry after the DeuxMoi smear campaign and has displayed nothing but respectful support for him amidst the chaos. He also did his best to imply that Henry hadn't been fired, despite the active rumors otherwise and the blanket ban on addressing actual details.

Joey filmed the Rience torture scene for over twelve consecutive hours despite being in pain and feeling nauseated and experiencing significant mental distress and being in freezing cold temperatures, outside, in the middle of winter.

Has, without fail, always supported his female co-stars and had nothing but good things to say about them. Has never sexualised them once or behaved inappropriately, and always ensures they get equal press coverage when doing group or duo events.

Read the books, played the games and asked Henry to help him prepare for and portray Jaskier as an accurate representation of Dandelion and Dandelion's personality and characteristics despite the show's shoddy writing.

[blindtaleteller]

Tags.. because people conveniently forget those were things, in Ragnarok: and blame it on the gay hate instead of what disliking -both- films actually is: they were both of them, very bad out of character films in the franchise: as out of character and universe/s, not to mention the running premise and basic concept of the franchise itself making the terms phase 3 and phase 4 a thing. The Thor corner started going off track with Gagnarok.

But and yes; just as he promised to back then? Waititi absolutely was keeping his promises to destroy the title and every character in it, all the way through into Love and Thunder. (Yes those at that link are Taika's actual, official interviews at the time screen shotted and scanned in from varied articles published both on the web and in hard print at the time.)

[hallowpen]

I figured I might as well make this a little blog series, since there will be more to address in upcoming episodes.

Before we dive into the nitty gritty... I really want to acknowledge the production value of The Loyal Pin and all the hard work that went into making it. The characters, the sets, the wardrobe, the dialect... everything was an honest representation of a historically accurate period drama. The first episode was perfectly curated to establish the series' universe. I was really impressed with Becky in particular because I've been following her since GAP, and I know how much she struggled with reacquainting herself to the language when she moved back home to Thailand from New Zealand. To have the added pressure of maintaining a period accurate dialect was not easy for her. Freen has proudly commented on how hard Becky worked to really learn the script... and it shows. Well done, Bec Bec!!!

Let's Talk Thai Culture...

We'll start off by breaking down Thai Royal Language Terminology (คำราชาศัพท์)

The Savettavarit Royal House Consists of 1) His Royal Highness, The Prince Thai Royal Title: พระองค์ชาย (pronounced phra-ong chai) reserved for direct male descendants of the king

2) Her Serene Highness, Princess Alisa Thai Royal Title: หม่อมเจ้าหญิง (pronounced mom-jao ying) a non-inherited title for being the wife of a prince (abbr. M.C.)

3) His Serene Highness, Prince Anantavut Thai Royal Title: หม่อมเจ้าชาย (pronounced mom-jao chai) a title for male children of a prince, meaning secondary prince (abbr. M.C.)

4) His Serene Highness, Prince Anon Thai Royal Title: หม่อมเจ้าชาย (pronounced mom-jao chai) a title for male children of a prince, meaning secondary prince (abbr. M.C.)

5) Her Serene Highness, Princess Anilaphat Thai Royal Title: หม่อมเจ้าหญิง (pronounced mom-jao ying) a title for female children of a prince, meaning secondary princess (abbr. M.C.)

The Kasidit Noble Family Consists of 1) Her Serene Highness, Princess Pattamika Thai Royal Title: หม่อมเจ้าหญิง (pronounced mom-jao ying) a non-inherited title for being the 'adopted' sister of the prince (abbr. M.C.)

2) Lady Pilanthita Thai Noble Title: หม่อมราชวงศ์ (pronounced mom rat-cha-wong) a title assumed by 'commoner' children of หม่อมเจ้า (M.C.), meaning their ancestry can be traced back to a king (abbr. M.R.) The Common Address: You'll hear certain characters use the term ท่าน (pronounced than). It is the formal address between members of royalty/nobility to acknowledge certain members of higher rank. It essentially means "Your Highness". For example, regarding Princess Pattamika, Pin addresses her 'adoptive' mother (f.) as ท่านหญิง (than ying) and Anil refers to her 'aunt' as ท่านอา (than ah*). *อา (ah) is how one would refer to their father's younger sibling

Another term you might have heard was เพคะ (pronounced phe-kha). It is less formal and used to express familiarity. Both Prik and Lady Pin use this response to address Princess Anil as "Your Highness". Princess Alisa can also be heard using this phrase in conversation with, and to respond to, her husband.

She is considered a Noble 'Commoner', so Lady Pin would be formally addressed as คุณหญิง (khun ying) given her title. However, Pin is depicted as being more reserved and adherent to social structure. This is very telling of her social class amongst the higher ranking royal family who took her in. Pin has a lot more to lose than Anil should she stray from class expectations, and they did a wonderful job establishing that in the first episode. (I'm sure this will come into play even more as the characters age up... and I'm very much looking forward to it.)

Lower ranked servants/attendants (บ่าว - bao) can be heard using the term เจ้า (jao) to indicate their showing of respect when addressing someone of superior status.

Pronunciation and Formality: Without even knowing the Thai language, you might have noticed that the characters heavily enunciate their dialect when speaking. It's an accurate depiction of a "prim" and "proper" royal family. Even how Anil addresses her two brothers is very formal: พี่ชายรอง (meaning second eldest brother) and พี่ชายใหญ่ (meaning eldest brother). If you're going to do a period drama... this is how it's done!!!

Should we discuss the Thai dishes highlighted in this episode? ...Why not?

สองมาลีลอยแก้ว (pronounced song mali loy kaew) is a Thai dessert comprised of watermelon and mamuang dong (มะม่วงดอง - pickled mangoes). The fruit is carved into floral shapes and arranged to "float" in sugar syrup with ice, hence its name... which literally translates to 'Two Flowers Floating in Glass'.

นำ้ปลาหวาน (pronounced nam pla whan) is a Thai dipping sauce comprised of palm sugar, fermented fish sauce, shallots and chili. It's usually paired with firm and tart fruits... like green mangoes. (It's an acquired taste hehe)

The last thing I wanted to mention are Thai night markets and fairs (ตลาดกลางคืน). They are still hugely popular for social outings and, like the series has shown, are comprised of various stalls offering street food, clothes, accessories, attractions, etc. They're very popular amongst tourists, as well.

I hope this wasn't too overwhelming with information... but I just wanted to be as thorough as possible because this series is shaping up to be, what is essentially, a love letter to Thai tradition.

[cyberthot666]

why did it have to be gender that became the new rebellious thing. it’s always been cool to be gender non-conforming. it’s always been a big fuck you to the establishment. but it has been warped into like this meaningless performance. men painting their nails and insisting that somehow makes them non-male. women going out in corsets & fishnets with a he/him pronoun pin on. and yet not many people actually addressing gendered issues aka literal misogyny. like I never really see any of those people talking about what’s happening to women in afghanistan. where are the conversations about fgm and child brides and pimped women and abusive marriages and there not being enough female representation in legislation. people just post a blue & pink flag on their instagram story and that’s their bad ass activism for the day. like please. there’s not even any talk about gay rights anymore! the people who talk the most about being gay aren’t even gay. it’s a fun and cute little performance for them. a little hehe haha look at me being naughty in the eyes of polite society or whatever. like give me a fucking break.

[disconnectedkat]

On Judging Older Rep By Today's Standards

This wall of text inspired by this take that bioware are pussies for not having an all-pan romance cast until Veilguard. This idea that all past representation is mediocre or bad because today's is better is very irksome. I'm irked.

To begin, a little history:

Bioware has been including queer romance in their games since the early 2000s. First in 2004, when they released Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. This game had a character you could recruit named Juhani. Juhani would become the first LGBTQ+ Star Wars character. She could be romanced by a female player character, though it basically amounted to a couple lines of dialogue. Why so little? Because it was 2004 and they practically had to sneak even that much in.

In 2007, Mass Effect 1 released. This game had arguably the 'safest' queer rep, an attractive woman kissing and having a fade-to-black implied sex scene with another attractive (alien) woman. A while later a mainstream media outlet (Fox News, you may have heard of them) ran a hit piece on the game. They ran the usual stuff, degenerate porn simulator, think of the children, etc. This was a big deal, as having a mainstream, large and popular (unfortunately) news channel targeting your game is not great for several reasons.

Keep in mind this was the, again, arguably the safest queer rep you could go for, and it still received that level of attack.

In 2009 Dragon Age: Origins released. Not much to say here, some time had passed and DA managed to avoid the targeted hate that Mass Effect received, despite having a bisexual man and woman as romantic options.

Mass Effect 2 is believed to have suffered the most from the Fox News debacle. Jack was originally planned as a pansexual character, and while I don't recall if the devs have stated exactly why that was cut, the obvious guess is they feared another round of attacks.

Alrighty, history recap over. Now to address the issue:

"They should've done it years ago." Well, they actually did with DA2 and it received a good amount of flak. Because that was 2010, and this is 2024. Representation is a social thing. It changes and grows as we do. In 2004 Juhani, with a minimal amount of actual content, became the first LGBT Star Wars character. You do what you can and try to push the envelope a little more each time. People struggled and fought for all that old rep you see as not good enough by today's standards.

"They bowed to the bigots because of money." Games, and all media, take money to create. They then need to make money to create more. There would be no Veilguard without the successes of previous games. And unfortunately, in the past that sometimes meant choosing your battles. Frustration is understandable, but misplaced.

None of this is to say that Bioware, (or any company or media, this post is just focusing on them) is beyond reproach as long as they're trying. There will always be things to criticise, and areas to improve, of course. But that isn't what I'm seeing here.

This to me is indicative of a common sentiment I've been seeing far too often in queer and leftist spaces recently, people judging older rep by today's standards and decrying it and it's creators without understanding the history.

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

I gotcha, dawg.

Well, there's lots I could say here, but perhaps the easiest thing to address is you yourself saying you want to remain anonymous so as not to get "in trouble" - I presume from Democrat Tumblr users(?)

In a democracy, you shouldn't have to be frightened to say who you voted for or the concerns you have about an election.

This present climate of fear of saying the wrong thing or using the wrong pronoun or is one of the things I find most refreshing about the Trump train: he's the only mainstream politician in America openly pushing back against Wokeness - which is a 21st rebranding of Political Correctness - which is in turn a perversion of the word "correct" to mean "in line with present party policy" that first appears in Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. Also the only U.S. mainstream politician against the present transgender madness (the castration, sterilization and brainwashing of children) and open borders. These are very commonsense positions necessary for any nation's survival that have massively widespread support amongst the majority of ordinary people, but no-one else in government was doing anything to represent them.

It took an outsider not in the pocket of the donors who own the arms companies and the oil companies and the media companies and the pharmaceutical companies and so on to actually push back against the status quo and have a thick-enough skin and good humour to not back down. That's who Trump is. Yes he's a flawed and sometimes buffoonish-like figure, but the fact that he is a bullheaded businessman has meant he's been able to look at America as an enterprise in decline that needs fixing and overhauling to make "great" again, and just charge through the red tape to do whatever actually needs doing.

The first Trump presidency was a time of democrats and other hysterical left-wing activists burning, looting and rioting in America, but on the global stage it was a time of relative peace: Trump invaded no country or started any new wars (the way Biden did only 6 weeks into his presidency), and there's no reason to think he will this time round either. He did nothing to incite the very silly January 6th free tour of the Capitol Building, but for telling people to be peaceful and go home he - the sitting president - was silenced and booted from every social media platform.

So much was made this election over abortion rights - and I myself have always been pro-choice - but he didn't (and has repeatedly stated he won't) ban abortion but simply made it an issue that individual states can decide for themselves, which makes sense given the range of opinions on that matter in different parts of the country. It's probably my least favourite aspect of his policies, but the fact that such a relatively trivial matter was placed front and center in the Democrats' campaign and all that the hosts of The View and other female media dross could talk about for a year just tells you how shockingly debased and distracted political discourse has become in the west.

I could go on, but rather than addressing one claim after another, I would suggest you simply make a list of all the things you can recall the media and the democrats claiming Trump has said or done, and then go look up the original unedited videos that the out of context soundbites have been taken from, and then ask yourself whether what they presented you with seems a fair and unbiased representation of any individual, and whether it seems reasonable to trust the people who relentlessly deceived you in this way. That would do more to broaden your point of view than anything I could say.

[ukrfeminism]

Music colleges and conservatoires are deterring women and girls from playing “masculine instruments” such as drums and trumpets, a parliamentary report laying bare sexism in the music industry has revealed.

Female students are “cat-called in rehearsals”, held to a higher standard with “masculine” instruments and being told they cannot play properly if “they didn’t sit with their legs open”, the report states.

The Misogyny in Music report by parliament’s women and equalities committee found female musicians faced “endemic” discrimination in the industry which they described as a “boys’ club where sexual harassment and abuse is common”.

A series of female musicians and DJs including Annie Macmanus, Rebecca Ferguson and Katie Waissel gave evidence to the committee about discrimination and abuse they had witnessed or experienced.

Waissel, the former X Factor contestant, told the inquiry how “at the age of 16, she was grabbed by a much older man and placed on his lap in the recording studio while they were reviewing the track she was recording”.

The report found that many female performers who had been the victims of “discrimination, harassment and abuse” continued to be silenced through the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

It said: “Women in the music industry have had their lives ruined and their careers destroyed by men who have never faced the consequences for their actions. 

“People in the industry who attend award shows and parties currently do so sitting alongside sexual abusers who remain protected by the system and by colleagues.”

The report went on: “Much of the evidence we received has had to remain confidential, including commentary on television shows and household names.

“That is highly regrettable but demonstrates the extent of the use of NDAs and the culture of silence.”

The report outlined gender disparities throughout the industry. For example, less than 5 per cent of the producers or engineers on the top streamed tracks in 14 genres were female or non-binary, while of all the songwriters and composers who received a royalty in 2020, only one in six were female.

It also pointed out that the record label departments charged with finding new talent were dominated by men, concluding: “Women have significant additional barriers to pass to get a foothold in the music industry and must navigate acts of passive aggression, ridicule and misogyny to have a sustainable career. 

“Female artists are routinely undervalued and undermined, endure a focus on their physical appearance in a way that men are not subjected to, and have to work far harder to get the recognition their ability merits. Despite increases in representation, discrimination and misogyny remain endemic.”

The committee also called for music colleges, conservatoires and other educational establishment “to do more to address the gendering of instruments, roles and genres.”

Its members heard that “in many cases women are discouraged from playing certain instruments at all’, with one witness saying: “There is this idea that if you’re a girl you can’t play the drums, or if you’re a girl you can’t play the trumpet really loudly because it will make you look ugly.”

The report said that the Musicians’ Union had described female students being “cat-called in rehearsals”, “made to feel uncomfortable by male lecturers” and being told “they couldn’t play their instrument properly if they didn’t sit with their legs open in orchestra rehearsals”.

Caroline Nokes, the Conservative MP who chairs the committee, said “endemic misogyny … has persisted for far too long within the music industry.”

She added: “A shift in the behaviour of men — and it is almost always men — at the heart of the music industry is the transformative change needed for talented women to quite literally have their voices heard and be both recognised and rewarded on equal terms.”

[xx-ames-xx]

it is so plainly ableist for a book series centered around a neurodivergent kid to spend a not insignificant amount of run time on narration that treats him as stupid. i don't care if you think it's because he's insecure, that is clearly not how it's being handled and it is never being addressed as such. if that were how it were handled you would see it in conversations with annabeth, someone who knows him better than anyone, knows him inside out. if he had such a blaring insecurity do you honestly think empathetic, sensitive annabeth who knows him like the back of her hand would not have picked up on it and addressed him? that she would scold him and continue to call him stupid nicknames about it?

conversely it is also ableist to take the extremely rare femme/afab/female neurodivergence representation and turn her disability into a complete non issue. it barely exists except in name. something she never appears to struggle with at all on the sole basis of "she's smart". a justification that he uses to push her into doing things and making choices that simply would not make sense for her character in a flailing and lazy attempt at writing her.

these two issues combined in the same story create the implication that if you struggle with your disability you are unintelligent and intelligent smart people do not struggle with it.

i've kept a decent distance from newer publications from him because i knew they were no longer worth my time but i do feel i have to point out how incredibly disappointing it is for this man to have had every opportunity to explore and write about how two deeply traumatized, neurodivergent teenagers navigate a huge shift in their life, how that affects themselves and their relationships, using the backdrop of mythology and humour, to seemingly recoil at any attempt to do so. and what a disservice that is to some of his longest and oldest fans.

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

We NEED FlowerByte: Addressing the lack of Black Girl Representation in ATSV -

[a MEDIUM length essay addressing how FlowerByte IS NOT a threat to GhostFlower, and how the ship is actually NECESSARY to the ATSV fandom]

and examining the criticism against Miles x Margo:

Remember there's nothing wrong or desperate about people shipping FlowerByte. It's natural, fine, and to be expected.

Because - if you have doubts about FlowerByte - have you ever considered how there's no black girls other than Margo in ATSV? That ISTV features no black girls as reoccurring characters?

That the only two POC female characters - Jess and Rio - are adults in nurturing positions, shown only ever taking care of others?

Up until this point, have you noticed how much black girls are missing from ATSV?

Or did you not realize? Most don't. But black girls do.

Because black girls are one of the only demographics not shown or supported in the ITSV series.

As we know it, we have no young black girl characters that have more than maybe 10 lines. So far we have Gwen's bandmates and Margo.

Black girls are probably the only demographic NOT seeing themselves swinging around.

The only two black women characters are grown women, specifically MOTHER FIGURES. Characters written to aids others through their arcs, saving and comforting in times of need.

That's why I wrote Diane's background as it is. She's a born and raised Black Panther Party member, raise in the meeting house of her local chapter.

She's a black radicalist, and that's the center of her world and character. From her mirroring black disco divas like Diana Ross, to being a Black Panther, I wanted Diane and her world to be unequivocally black.

There's never any scene of a black girl in a Spider-suit, swinging around or saving the day. Not once.

And it's never been mentioned. To most people, it's not a concern.

To most people, the sad reality is - black women aren't a concern. Just side characters.

And that shows. Not only on screen, but in fandom as well.

At no point in ITSV are young black girls given a character in which they can see themselves - not even as background characters, let alone as a romantic interest.

You make think that FlowerByte is silly, because 'they don't really have chemistry, right?'

But there is nothing wrong or silly about black girls wanting to see Miles calling them pretty, or admiring them, or dating them.

Margo truly is the only black girl we even see Miles have a conversation with for the entirety of ATSV - for the entirety of the SERIES thus far.

And chances are - most people reading this didn't notice this. But black girls DO.

Imagine seeing multiple characters of the same race, but different gender as you - but NONE of your gender (nb peeps know what I mean)

Never being called cool, or strong. No gifsets of cool black girls fighting. No black girls in the fanart. Left off posters. Never seen as pretty, never shown as desirable, never having male counterparts consider them.

The message - and damage - it sends to young black girls is clear - even in ATSV.

'You're not a person to be desired or admired. You are a plot device and nothing more.'

It sends the message 'You are not an actual person. You're there to save Gwen, and let Miles escape. After that, get off the screen. Your character will be judged based on how you serve the characters around you. We don't have enough time to flesh you out any further. And we know no one will ask about it.'

Black girls notice how they're one of the only ones who doesn't get a character to wear as a Halloween costume, or as a cosplay. They notice when they see merch and there's none of anyone that looks then them. They notice when their only options are 'genderbent' Miles and Hobie, because most don't see Margo as a main character.

They notice when none of their favorite characters give black girls a second glance, or have crushes on black girls. They notice when the only black women aren't actually stories about BLACK WOMEN. They're stories about white women - with the character being drawn or cast as black.

Example: You'll never see MCU MJ talk about racism or something. Because she's not written as a black girl first. She's written as a MARY-JANE first - and the basis of her story is that and nothing more. Anything about her black identity is seen as at best unnecessary or worse, contradictory to the character of MJ - so her race is left as only a visual element, only a feature of casting, and not a true aspect of her character.

There's literally nothing wrong with Flowerbyte and I admire those that are making works for them.

Black girls deserve every bit of love, and ffs they're CUTE together.

Hobie and Noir get shipped together all the time and they don't even know each other (yet). No one cares. People think it's cute.

But Miles and Margo get shipped together - and suddenly theres a discussion on how 'unlikely' or 'forced' that ship is.

The same with Hobie x Black!readers, or Miles-42 fics - it's often when black women seek to fill their own lack of representation that others even consider them apart of the conversation. And even then - it's to force them back into their place.

'Miles is meant to be with Gwen. That scene meant nothing. They don't have chemistry. You just hate Gwen. You just want them together because she's black'

YEAH, AND? Liking FlowerByte doesn't mean they have it out for Gwen. It means they're desperately looking for representation.

YOU should be calling for that representation. Now that you know, doesn't this lack of representation disturb you? If it doesn't, but FlowerByte does, then I can't help you.

But yeah. Just a friendly reminder, FlowerByte is good for the soul and the fandom.

We as fans of ATSV have to be candid in admitting that the series SEVERELY lacks representation of young black girls, which is A HUGE problem.

The one black female Spider-woman they have had to be CREATED as black, from a white rendition of the character.

So far, Margo is the one and only original black Spider-woman in ATSV.

That needs to change. But until then, let FlowerByte sail on. If you're a Gwiles shipper, you can always double ship. Nothing wrong with it. I suggest maybe you check out some FlowerByte stuff. Maybe you'll like their dynamic, or understand why writers write it a bit more, if not ����🏾 hey, you tried.

I think we can all agree though - Miles' got the rizz.

Remember to support black women today. BYE.

[susandsnell]

Re anachronistic feminist characters, you are absolutely right and you should say it.

Maybe people who want to read "write women who sew" type stuff should just go do that instead of trying to make every single female character fit into their worldview. Because I don't want every character to be Eloise, I'm fine with variety, but a lot of people seem like they can't stand even one woman challenging gender norms.

No amount of faux progressive language will change the fact they sound like highschool bullies picking on girls who are too GNC or too "weird."

Thank you so much! Ideally, you'd have feminist characters more representative of the feminist or proto-feminist views of their era where the work is going for historical accuracy to honour the different points of where we were in history and also acknowledge the flaws of the movement at different points in time (1994's Little Women versus the hilariously bad 2019 version comes to mind), and certainly there's an element of repetitiveness in this character type, but this is seldom if ever the criticism I see. The truth of the matter is that in fact many early feminists did denigrate work designated as feminine, but we can acknowledge this as misdirected anger at having one option deemed valid.

Instead, we've somehow arrived at "wanting to be treated with human dignity is internalized misogyny because it really cramps my ability to romanticize the past". As you say, nothing wrong with valuing the labour more frequently done by women, but the fact of the matter is you can do that and show that there were always many people who resisted or did not fit into the tight boxes that society forced them into. Instead of, you know, ridiculing them for wanting to break the boxes while enjoying the fruits of having to fit into fewer boxes than our predecessors precisely because of women who loudmouthed and fought back and didn't fit into certain people's fantasy of being a submissive little princess. The kind of girls you made fun of and ostracized in high school, one might say.

To address a particular point you raise that I think is the most important in this entire ongoing discussion:

No amount of faux progressive language will change the fact they sound like highschool bullies picking on girls who are too GNC or too "weird."

I keep saying it, but a certain type of liberal feminist are now using "NLOG" the way it was socially acceptable 10-15 years ago to call someone a lesbian/homophobic or transphobic slurs because they didn't wear makeup or want a boyfriend. It is absolutely high school bullying mentality and has gone from an imperfect attempt at addressing internalized misogyny to active misogyny and latent/often overt homophobia and transphobia.

This is what the numbskulls making video essay after video essay about the apparent 'NLOG crisis' fail to grasp. The Heathers and the Plastics are not 'demonized for being feminine', they are accurate representations of how under patriarchy, social capital is gained through strict, obsessive adherence to white, Western beauty standards (which corporations can profit off of endlessly by manufacturing infinite insecurities, so bonus to the rich girls) and excelling at heterosexuality and pleasing others, and this system self-reinforces by the 'winners' bullying those who do not conform as easily. Jo March, queercoded dynamo that she was, took nothing away from the sisters who were happier with more traditional lifestyles because she wanted better for herself and the girls of the future, and represents so many women who fought for just that. You're not actually an intellectual for thinking Daphne Bridgerton has more value than Eloise because she was designated the season's Diamond, a literal in-universe (and true to life) Prize For Being Correctly Female, and unquestioningly accepts being paraded around like an ornament and smiling at being auctioned off to the highest bidder while Eloise fought back, criticized, and wanted an education more than any boy until they forced heterosexuality upon her. You are in fact a vanguard of the very patriarchal system the franchise even presents as backwards, because you don't want anyone raining on your arranged marriage fantasies.

There is nothing, and I mean nothing feminist, about snarking girls who do not like or for whatever reason, cannot or will not perform conventional femininity.

There is a certain sour-grapes defensiveness that comes from beig ostracized and punished for Failing At Your Gender if you weren't good at what was expected of you/resisted it. Femininity is derided, but it is also imposed (the two work in tandem to oppress women); and if you fail at its imposition, it's natural to try and gain protection by participating in the derision. Hell, I theorize that people who proclaimed themselves "not like other girls" in the contemporary age often did so out of resistance at the fact that we're supposed to perform (cisheteronormative) sexiness from the time we hit our teens, and of course the panopticon self-reinforcement that is how Other Girls treat you if you, an adolescent girl, shirk performance of femininity in any way. Certainly, I've also read much about GNC girls (of various identities) and neurodivergent girls equally having turned to this, which makes sense, as they're frequently targets for such bullying.

I do also think - and have personally experienced - it was an often imperfect articulation of queerness in many cases. The societal ideal of women under a patriarchy is cisheteronormativity; our value is derived from our appeal to men, and from the time we start maturing, sexual availability and appeal to men is the highest virtue. Therefore, women whose sexuality is not limited to men - or heaven forbid, doesn't include them at all - 'fail' gender, and accordingly often feel a sense of alienation and ostracism from other girls when they don't get as excited about dating boys. Also, in many cases (anecdotal I admit from people I know, but still significant), people who had a phase of asserting they "weren't like other girls" were in the process of discovering that they weren't girls at all!

And in some cases - again, I've mentioned that I was an Eloise for all the handwringing about how girls of that era wouldn't say that or do that and it would never occur to want more than what they had (...okay, so why are things different now?) - it's a frustration from the outspoken feminists and reformers at not being able to get other girls on board with us, because deviation from expectation will make you the weirdo who gets punished and rejected because ugh, annoying! As one historical costuming youtuber I won't name so charmingly puts it in her godawful video essay, "the women who made a big show of fighting back were freaks." (Way to convince us you care about feminism...)

All this to say the anti-NLOG brigade have utterly worn out my patience, and at best seem ignorant of the battles that have won us the freedoms we have today because it's not fun to consider how your escapist fantasy might be problematic (understandable, you don't always have to reflect on this to be aware), and at worst? They're getting the chance to be the mean girl in high school again/that they never got to be, they're just dressing it up in the bastardized language of feminism.

[leikeliscomet]

Racism in the ace community is seen as a joke from the outside and a confusing concept in the inside but it's pretty bait tbh:

Barbie, Wednesday and Elsa are ace-coded but not canon aces but they're widely accepted as ace icons in the community. Lacking genitalia, disliking romance and being single are not inherently asexual yet the community happily claims them as ace solely on those reasons. But Selah Summers? Nah she actually didn't say the words "aroace" even though the director confirmed it so she didn't really count. Abbi Singh? Nah she had a girlfriend and her superpower is being a succubus and it's not like the Imperfects actually addressed the themes of an asexual lesbian South Asian woman and her sexuality or anything. Fei Hargreeves? Well yeah the actress and producer confirmed it but she never said it on screen. Ace characters of colour always get held "screened" for approval to be "real rep" in a way white aces aren't its so weird (this also happens to gay aces but that's another post)

Almost anything involving Yasmin Benoit. The reason she's unacceptable ace rep is because of misogynoir. She's spoken so many times about never dating and not having sex (which mind you is none of our business and she shouldn't need to explain herself in the 1st place) and yet she's "too sexual" to represent the community. Again with the nitpicking, popular white ace accounts were so quick to dogpile her for not-so-good takes but when she speaks about racism? Crickets. When she spoke about sexual harassment? Crickets and not only that but they defended her harasser. The main ace activists that defended her were other Black aspecs.

Not understanding how desexualisation affects POC. Specifically, Black women are excluded from representations of love and sex because we're seen as undesirable. It's common for TV/Film to pair up everyone but the Black girl, or have a rebound Black partner for the non-Black main character who's disposed of when they're ready for their "real" non-Black partner again. This isn't done for Black aspecs benefit. It's a form of dehumanisation. Friendship especially in m/f is needed but exclusively pushing for friendship between Black women and non-Black men when there is romance coded or confirmed and shaming Black women in fandom or in show for shipping the Black female character is not doing what you think its doing.

Not understanding how sexualisation effects POC. Again linking to Yasmin, POC, especially Black people have been sexualised due to white supremacy. The "allosexual privilege" framework fails to acknowledge this because Black people's sexual attraction and sex is seen as aggressive and animalistic. Black people aren't "allowed" to be ace because of this sexualisation and why Yasmin regardless of what she wears or does is seen is too promiscuous.

Not acknowledging ace POC as ace rep. Again, where was the acknowledgement of Selah and the Spades as groundbreaking rep? The first aroace darkskin Black girl as a lead in any film? Sherronda J Brown spoke about Big Mouth's Black ace character and someone said it didn't count just bc they dislike the show. Again with Abbi and Fei the community didn't make noise for them like they did Todd from Bojack Horseman or Florence from Sex Ed (mind you the gap between how they did Florence vs O is jarring in itself) Isaac from Heartstopper was inspirational for many aspecs and I wont take that away but the way he's instantly credited for ace representation when he has so little screentime compared to the others is wild.

Just tired tbh. "Listen to POC aces!" "POC aces are valid!" Prove it then...?

[myfandomrealitea]

You're the one making an assumption here... I never said everyone who ships is bad. I mean that there's enough of a problem with shipping that I and others feel uncomfortable associating with shipping culture. I'm saying more people should try to address issues with bigotry in their fandoms instead of acting like reality and fiction *never ever* interact. Proship is just a bad term and I hate that it's so common (so is anti)

Where did I make the assumption?

When you said:

"I'm not an anti, but I'm still going to criticize people for ignoring female characters or characters of color for the sake of only ever shipping boring white men"?

How about when you said:

"Proship sounds like you just ship totally uncritically which isn't any better than ONLY criticizing"?

And then there's:

"Proship is a bad term and I hate that its so common."

If you can't even recognise, understand and respect the literal definition of and history of a term, you are simply not ready or in a position to be trying to grandstand about it or argue about it. If you want to talk about bigotry, how about the female actors who get paid a fraction of what their male co-stars do?

How about authors of color who are told to use a white-presenting pen name in order to sell more books?

How about the fact that abortions are being controlled by religious fascists who are coming for birth control next?

How about the fact that China won't allow any form of queer representation in movies even if its only implied?

No? You're just mad that people aren't buying into the ship where the female character's sole role in the movie is to be the 2D love interest who's entire personality boils down to owning breasts and being either quirky or hypersexual?

I see.

[mimikyuno]

trans representation: my hopes and fears about mizuki5 🏳️‍⚧️

im writing this post so that i can keep a record of all of my current thoughts on the upcoming n25 event, which im fairly certain will come soon (september?). i just. i have a lot of thoughts on this topic and i wanna share them before the event drops.

disclaimer: i am tme, and while i am not cis, i am not transfem.

depiction of transfeminine characters in anime has been quite… how do i even put this into words. trans women are depicted as either a joke, or as an “otokonoko” which for brevity’s sake let’s translate to femboy (i highly recommend on reading on the history of the term though). the trope of “tr*ps” was quite common, and used for comedic effects. i think of ruka from steins;gate, who is clearly a trans woman; she has dysphoria, asks okabe to go back in time so she can be born biologically female etc. yet, her womanhood is never taken seriously. “she’s a dude after all.”

i have already written a small post about the history of the “otokonoko” label and the way trans women consistently get third gendered in the anime scene so i won’t repeat myself. the thing is, many transfem characters i have seen in anime are either uncracked eggs or, when out, are often not taken seriously by the rest of the cast. a lot of transfem characters i know of fall in between being an uncracked egg and being out; these would be the very many “girly boys” who identify as male, while living their lives as women and being happy about passing, while people around them who know about their agab either treat them as men or third-gender them. for example, kuranosuke from kuragehime stays an egg throughout the series. as i mentioned in a previous post, i see makoto from the currently airing senpai wa otokonoko as a closeted trans girl struggling with internalised transphobia. she has dysphoria, is happier and feels like her “real self” when presenting as a girl, displays gender euphoria when she passes, and more. narratively, she is coded as a girl. i havent read the manga, but i know the author drops the ball, and makoto never gets to come out in the series.

i can only think of a handful of trans women who are both out AND are taken seriously within the narrative. for example hana from tokyo godfathers, nao-chan from skip and loafer, or isabella from paradise kiss (iirc). though i have not watched these anime, i know that lily from zombieland saga, alluka from hxh, seiko from lovely complex and shuuichi from wandering son also tick both the “out of the closet” and “taken seriously” categories.

the situation is slightly different in manga. in manga, i have always found more trans representation (both transmasc and transfem). however, before we move on to mizuki, i really want to talk about one of my favourite mangas, namely “love me for who i am”, aka fukaboku (anime adaptation when ;-;). this manga revolves around mogumo, a non binary teen who is struggling to make friends. their classmate, a cis boy, mistakes mogumo for an otokonoko, and invites them to work at the crossdressing cafe that his sister (a trans woman) owns. mogumo is initially upset; they are not a girly boy, they are non binary. mogumo is reassured that the cafe is a place for people to be who they are, and they dont have to identify as an otokonoko to work there. this strikes a nerve with mei, one of the kids working there, who is a closeted trans girl. throughout the manga, these characters all come to be more and more unapologetically themselves. lgbt themes are addressed constantly (they even go to a pride parade!!) and the trans women depicted in this manga are some of the best written ones i have come across. because they are actually acknowledged as women.

the reason why i want to talk about fukaboku before discussing mizuki, is that the 4 kids who work at the cafe cover the spectrum of “crossdressing boys” we usually see in anime, though taking it a step further with mogumo and mei. firstly we have ten-chan. he mostly identifies as a boy. he likes anime and manga and cosplaying, he’s into girls (but also hinted to bi maybe? i need to reread this), and he’s an adorable weirdo. to him, dressing as a girl in the cafe is fun, clothes have no gender to him. then there is sou, who is gay and also identifies with his agab. sou has a boyfriend, and the cafe is the only place where he gets to gush about him and feel accepted. he likes cute clothes but always dresses masculinely outside the cafe. then there’s mogumo. as mentioned, mogumo is non binary. they like cute things, so they sometimes like feminine clothes like the maid uniform they wear at the cafe, but they actually prefer a cute androgynous style (they often wear shorts instead of skirts). lastly, mei (my fave, my daughter, light of my life). at the beginning of the manga, mei is a closeted trans girl. initially, she resents mogumo for rejecting the “girly boy” (otokonko) label that she thought she had to embrace to survive and be who she is. thanks to mogumo’s courage, and the guidance of two older trans women (one of which is the owner of the cafe and the other is her friend, who works in fashion), she finds a more stable sense of herself, and canonically and textually identifies as a girl.

AND NOW, onto mizuki. first things first, i see her as a trans girl. her struggle with her identity, the way she presents, her history of bullying, dysphoria (the covered mirrored), and depression (in middle school, before transitioning), visual metaphors (all the pink and blue symbols, i should make a post about this tbh) all hint at her being trans. i really dont think mizuki is an otokonoko; typically, in anime narrative, when there is an otokonoko, the fact is revealed early on, and the struggles are about being accepted as a boy who dresses like a girl or as a funny gag (tr*p). tbh, i think it wouldnt make sense for mizuki to be an otokono. if she were, her main struggle would be to accept that she wants to dress as a girl. once accepted, the arc should be resolved. and she wouldn’t be scared to say “hey im a boy” when people assume she’s a girl. especially with niigo? they met online when she was still pre-transition, if she was an otokonoko it would have made more sense if niigo thought she was a boy, and then irl saw that she looks like a girl and THAT would have been the obstacle. but that is not the case with mizuki. she is happy in people assuming she is a girl, and is terrified of being outed. that is not in line with the trope of otonoko. in fukaboku, we have two characters who are Actually “girly boys”, ten-chan and sou, and neither are like mizuki at all. they dont present femininely with their family nor at school. mizuki is way more similar to mei, when it comes to gender presentation and identity. characters who are similar to mizuki from other media and who dont identify as girls all share the same trait: they are commonly regarded as eggs.

my hope for mizuki5, is that she gets to come out as trans to ena and the rest of niigo. mizuki being confirmed trans, indirectly or not, would make the most narrative sense, looking at her story, imagery, and the build-up for the reveal. and while i desperately hope this is the case, i am overwhelmed by fear. times are changing in the anime scene, and we got canonically gay and trans characters in similar games (the lesbian couple in d4dj or the trans girl in enstars). however, project sekai is massive in japan, and quite renowned internationally too. and that comes with expectations and pressures. when gundam witch from mercury finished airing, bandai namco had to issue a statement that the relationship between miorine and suletta was “up to interpretation”, despite the fact that the two literally get married. gundam is also a huge franchise, and bandai namco chose to issue a statement that would give them plausible deniability. not only is project sekai huge, but as i previously mentioned, representation of transfeminine characters overwhelmingly labels them as an otokonoko. i think the label of “otokonoko” is very useful when it comes to plausible deniability in media; u can see this character as a closeted trans girl, or as a crossdressing boy. you pleased the transgenders, and you pleased the transphobes. expect, u didnt please us. im gonna say it, i hate the crossdressing boy trope in animanga. in most instances, it’s a way to deny the character their identity, and in others, it’s treated as a means (willingly or not) to perpetrate violent and harmful transmisogynistic jokes and stereotypes. tho i will admit, i love a lot of “otokonoko” characters, tho for my mental health i tend to view as transfem nb or just trans women.

project sekai, with the massive reach it has, has the opportunity to give its audience a canonically transfem character. a character who is a fan favorite, whose story has, so far, been handled with so much love, kindness and understanding. mizuki could become the new standard, she could change the way transfem characters are portrayed in mainstream animanga for real. i know we have to let go of the expectations that queer characters have to verbally and explicitly state their identity for them to be taken seriously by the audience but fr i hope this will be the case for this event. i dont think most people would get it otherwise, and will just keep seeing mizuki as an otokonoko. which is in itself sad; being cishet is such a default, that gay and/or characters who never explicitly come out are either misunderstood or seen as a sign of “queerbaiting” (dont get me started on yuribaiting and how insane some of y’all are calling a show with gay women “yuribait” if they dont kiss or say “I AM A HOMOSEXUAL WOMAN).

mizuki’s and ena’s VAs told us to please be kind and understand the characters in preparation for the upcoming event. i hope they go for it. i really, really do. this could for real be a huge game changer in the industry. i see how project sekai keeps inspiring other shows and games (i should make a post about this too lol), so i hope mizuki won’t be third gendered, or shoved into the otokonoko label. i hope she gets to be herself. a girl. and be accepted as one by ena and the rest of niigo. it could be huge. or it could be a flop. no in between. which is why im both excited and terrified of this event. SEGA pls-

[srbachchan]

DAY 5864

Jalsa, Mumbai Mar 8/9, 2024 Fri/Sat 10:48 AM

🪔

March 09 .. birthday greetings to Ef Altaf Ali Kondkar from Riyadh - KSA 🇸🇦 .. and Ef Misti Das from Assam .. 🙏🏻🚩❤️

Wedding anniversary greetings to the most dedicated Ef Prashant Kawadia and his respected wife Rekha .. for completing 16 years of togetherness .. on March 9 .. keep going stronger 💪🏻 .. 💐🙏🏻❤️

Wedding anniversary greetings to our Mili from Bangalore .. Ef Mukherji Ratna .. 44 years .. on March 8 .. may Shivji keep you blessed .. 💐🙏🏻❤️

Wedding anniversary greetings to Ef Manoj Lahoti and Ef Amit Lahoti .. both celebrating on same day same year .. March 08 .. 17 years of togetherness .. and our wishes multiplied .. 💐💐🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️

Wedding anniversary greetings to Ef Sanjay Patodiya and his respected wife Soniya Patodiya .. 24 years .. on March 07 .. love and joy .. 💐🙏🏻❤️

..

Greetings 🙏🏻

अर्धनारीश्वर !!

अर्धनारीश्वर स्वरुप का अर्थ है आधी स्त्री और आधा पुरुष. भगवान शिव के इस अर्धनारीश्वर स्वरुप के आधे हिस्से में पुरुष रुपी शिव का वास है तो आधे हिस्से में स्त्री रुपी शिवा यानि शक्ति का वास है. भगवान का यह रुप संकेत दिया जाता है की स्त्री और पुरुष एक ही सिक्के के दो पहलु हैं और दोनों एक दूसरे के बिना अधूरे हैं.

A half female and male form .. Lord Shiv is ever depicted thus .. Shiv in its half , and the female form is the representation of 'Shakti' - power, strength of women .. the male and the female are two sides of the same coin, and both are incomplete without each other ..

.. and with that acceptance we live and exist in peace and calm .. and in its coincidence comes the opportunity to release a book " Swallowing the Sun", written by Laxshmi Murdeshwar Puri, ex Foreign Service , ex Ambassador of Hungary when I was shooting for my film 'AKS' there ..

Married to Hardeep Singh Puri , ex diplomat and now Minister

A delight to spend time in her company .. and be made aware of her contribution in the UN Womens where she served as Deputy ..

The opening of her book is inspired by ..

.. a story of the book which addresses pan India sentiments, and enumerates the several hidden stories, that become the source of inspiration for women in particular ..

But a delayed day .. primarily because of the miserable defeat of our team last night ..

It's not that we lost , we did not try to win .. complacent , over confident and slack ..

I do not mind losing .. but without a fight, is not acceptable ..

A 'plucky loser' to me is more valuable, than the winner ..

My love

Amitabh Bachchan

[novlr]

I've often seen many publications and publishers often require a cover letter for submissions along side the work itself. Do you have any advice on how to make a decent cover letter when submitting fiction?

Query letters can be intimidating, but they’re completely manageable if you approach them in three easy steps. We’ll walk you through each one:

1: The introduction

This part’s pretty simple. You say hi to the agent; you get their name right (v. important!), you scatter in some personalisation, and you state your cause: to secure representation for your book. 

A few important things to remember:

Address the agent by their first name — not by “Sir or Madam,” and definitely never as “Sirs.”

If you open your query letter with “Dear Sirs” and send it to an all-female agency, your letter’s going to get chucked in the shredder. If the women of this agency are particularly vindictive, they may then take the shreds and make them into a voodoo doll.

Open with a quick note about why you chose this agent in particular. It might be that you heard them speak at a conference, you loved the books they listed as influences on their website, or you noted that they represent one of your favourite authors. Even though agents know that you’re querying several dozen others, they want to feel like you’ve chosen them for a reason.

2: The pitch

So now you’ve got their attention and made them feel special; it’s time to introduce them to the headliner. In this section, you state the novel’s word count and genre. Then you describe, in just two or three sentences, what the book’s about. Finally, you throw down a few comparison titles or authors that encompass your target audience. 

This is the trickiest part, because these are the lines that’s going to make the agent interested in reading your book. You may find it helpful to get some feedback on your pitch from other writers before writing your query. In your pitch, you’ll need to strike a delicate balance between writing in a literary tradition and writing something new. If your book is too weird and progressive, the agent might not feel confident it will find an audience. But if it’s too similar to titles that are already out, the agent won’t feel like you’re offering anything fresh. 

3: The humblebrag

Now that you’ve sold the agent on your book, the next and final step is to sell them on you. At this point, you can mention any writing you’ve published in the past (including short stories or related articles), any training you’ve undergone as a writer, and any biographical trivia that directly relates to the book you’re pitching. 

You may not have a huge amount of professional history to share at this point, and that’s okay. The agent just wants to see that you’re serious about embarking on a career as a writer.

Then, you thank them for their time and sign off. See? Easy!

Want some more detail? You can read the full post in the Reading Room at the link below!

[yurimother]

Kadokawa and Bandai Namco Attempt to Walk Back Lesbian Marriage in Edited 'Gundam: The Witch from Mercury' Interview

In statements made regarding discrepancies in a Gundam Ace magazine interview, Kadokawa and Bandai Namco Filmworks appears to deny the widly accepted interpretation of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury's finale that female characters Suletta and Miorine are married, saying, "We would like to leave its interpretation up to the perspective of each individual viewer who has seen and enjoyed the story."

On July 30, Bandai Namco Filmworks (previously known as Sunrise) addressed differences between the print and digital versions of an interview with voice actresses Kana Ichinose and Lynn. Ichinose and Lynn voice Sulleta and Miorine, respectively, in The Witch From Mercury, the latest entry in Bandai Namco's long-running Mobile Suit Gundam franchise.

In the interview's print version, which was published in the September issue of the Gundam Ace magazine, Ichinose refers Sulleta and Miorine's union:

I liked the epilogue scene where Miorine rests her head on Suletta's shoulder. After three years, I could feel that they were much closer, and seeing the two of them get married really touched my heart.

However, fans noticed that as of July 28, the digital version was edited to exclude the line about the characters' marriage.

In a statement released on the Witch From Gundam website and Twitter account, Bandai Namco apologized and explained the situation in their statement, saying, "In the article, there was a statement based on the speculation of the Gundam Ace editor, and despite requesting revisions during proofreading, the corrections to the passage were not reflected in the July 26 release."

Kadokawa, which publishes Gundam Ace, released a similar statement that likewise attributed the discrepancy to an editor's speculation, along with management and proofreading errors. Translated copies of both statements are available below.

The relationship between Miorine and Suletta garnered praise for its LGBTQ+ representation. A scene from the first episode where the two become engaged after Suletta wins Miorine's hand in a duel went viral online in 2022. Their relationship became a central part of the narrative, and they remained engaged for the majority of the anime's two-season run, which concluded on July 2.

The anime also gives copious evidence that the two are now married. After a time skip, the two women are seen sitting together while wearing matching wedding rings on their left hands and say, "Let's go home," implying that they live together. Additionally, Eri, Suletta's sister, refers to herself as Miorine's "sister-in-law."

Given this evidence, most took it for granted that Suletta and Miorine were now married, including their voice actors, who spoke about their relationship in the Asticassia Radio Committee program (Majo Raji). They became outraged by the apparent censorship and accused Bandai Namco and Kadokawa of homophobia.

Bandai Namco Filmwork's full statement (translated):

Thank you for your continued support of Mobile Suite Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. Regarding an interview published in the September 2023 issue of Monthly Gundam Ace, some of the descriptions in the paper magazine and digital versions differed, confusing everyone who supported the work. We are genuinely sorry. In the article, there was a statement based on the speculation of the Gundam Ace editor, and despite requesting revisions during proofreading, the corrections to the passage were not reflected in the July 26 release. Regarding the work, we would like to leave its interpretation up to the perspective of each individual viewer who has seen and enjoyed the story. Once again, we would like to sincerely apologize for causing so much trouble and worry to everyone who supports the work. Thank you for your continued support. July 30, 2023 Bandai Namco Filmworks

Kadokawa's full statement (translated):

Regarding the Mobile Suite Gundam: The Witch From Mercury interview published in the September 2023 issue of Monthly Gundam Ace, some of the descriptions differ between the paper magazine and digital version. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience we caused to everyone. During the proofreading process, there was a statement based on the editor's speculation, and although Bandai Namco Filmworks pointed out the error, the correction was admitted due to a mistake, and it was released on July 26. This incident was caused by management and proofreading errors by the editorial department. After consulting with Bandai Namco Filmworks, which owns the rights, the digital version was edited with the correction it had initially indicated. Once again, we apologize for causing confusion and misunderstanding. We will strive to prevent this from happening again by strengthening the editorial department's confirmation system. July 30, 2023 Kadokawa Corporation Monthly Gundam Ace Editorial Department

Sources:

Gundam Ace September 2023 No. 253 (digital edition)

Gundam Ace September 2023 No. 253 print edition (as captured by Twitter user zeonicscans)

Mobile Suite Gundam: The Witch From Mercury official website

Gundam Ace official Twitter account