#also go listen to Intersectionality Matters

[misschanandlerbong-3]

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I really appreciate that this is a time of year designated to spend time with family and engage in family traditions of meals shared together and community.

However. At the same time, and not discounting that. This is your annual reminder that the Thanksgiving origin stories we tell play a significant role in the propagandizing narrative of American innocence with regards to indigenous peoples.

This time of year, we often, in addition to spending time with family, do the ritual retelling of the "origin story" of Thanksgiving, whether this be kids learning in school about the first Thanksgiving between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag/Wôpanâak peoples, watching the Charlie Brown special retelling this, or dressing up as pilgrims and Indians. This narrative, regardless of its veracity or attention to the surrounding context, is often one of the only narratives we tell about American colonies and indigenous peoples. Its dominance in our collective imagination is reinforced by our ritual retelling of it every year. And it does this in the relative scarcity of narratives about the horrors American colonists inflected upon indigenous peoples as they wiped out large swaths of indigenous people through violence and disease, not to mention various forms of gendered violence.

I want to emphasize that it is the lack of these narratives of the violence Americans inflicted (and continue to inflict) upon Native Americans, in combination with the dominance of the Thanksgiving narrative, that contribute to a continuing imagining of America as innocent, as not owing indigenous peoples reparations as well as an end to violence and recognition of sovereignty.

And this trope of American innocence is not limited to our relation to indigenous peoples. It comes up again when we talk about slavery and African Americans (see, for example, the resistance to The 1619 Project, which was attempting to relieve the narrative scarcity around the horrors of slavery). It comes up again when we talk about Asian Americans the specific forms of racist violence that America has always subjected them to (from the treatment of Asian immigrants working on railways to the Japanese detention camps of WWII to the violence visited upon Asian Americans during Covid). And so much more.

And this narrative of American innocence is especially reinforced by trying to put temporal distance between the oppression Americans acknowledge and us now. For example, when people respond to BLM or demands for reparations with "but that was in the past, get over it." Or the continual rhetorical positioning of indigenous peoples as "ancient" or as not continuing to struggle for existence and thriving.

And we see it again in the US's respond to the mass genocide of Palestinian civilians by the state of Israel.

As I said at the beginning, I appreciate Thanksgiving as a time to come together with family and participate in family traditions. But I can simultaneously recognize that Thanksgiving and the narratives we tell around it are part and parcel to the, I repeat, propagandizing narrative of American innocence, which serves to legitimize the continuing oppression of people of color, indigenous peoples, and many other minority populations in the US, as well as abroad.

I highly, highly encourage you to:

(i) read up a bit on these attempts to tell other stories countering the trope of American innocence (for example, Viet Than Nguyen's The Sympathizer, or the 1619 Project, or Dorothy Roberts's Fatal Invention, or Kim Tallbear's Native American DNA, or Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's As We Have Always Done, or Nesrine Malik's We Need New Stories, and so many others)

(ii) support indigenous groups like the NDN collective, and educate yourself on the indigenous peoples who lived and continue to live in your area (so, for Pittsburgh, look into the Council of the Three Rivers American Indian Center)

(iii) learn what indigenous groups are actually asking for, for example the NDN collective's statement concerning Palestine, or educating yourself on what demands for "sovereignty" mean for indigenous peoples in the US

But I also encourage you to enjoy your time with family this holiday! It's a special time that I'm glad the institutions of America give us time for

[tirfpikachu]

when someone says that women weren't allowed to do xyz until a certain date mainstream tras might give a side look like hmm :/ this isn't inclusive of trans folks... but otherwise leave it alone.

but if you say that specifically cis/bio women and transmasc ppl weren't allowed to open their own bank account until 1974, suddenly you're making the transfems feel a bit too privileged and it causes a riot bc you're pointing out that amab/male folks used to have an INSANE amount of privilege on the basis of being born "amab" and even if they were super gnc, they still had that privilege from birth. to this day, cis/bio men and transfems do NOT go thru many specific struggles that cis/bio women and transmascs experience. but that's somehow controversial as FUCK to say in most tra spaces. why?

fr why is that? why?? why are transfems so fucking oversensitive to anyone pointing out that they're not oppressed on every single axis of oppression? meanwhile transmascs are bending over backwards being super fucking supportive of transfem rights and having so much nuance about things without much knee-jerk defensiveness at all. could it be that perhaps... hmm... "amab" upbringing does not teach amab/male folks what it's like to face misogyny, so they often do not enter feminist spaces, and now that they enter leftist spaces they don't know that we're all about intersectionality and nuance and acknowledging the ways one might be privileged in some ways and disprivileged in other ways? instead of showing allyship to cis/bio women and transmascs, transfems and their more extreme allies instead sit on their thrones and get offended whenever anyone implies that they might need to be good allies too. why is that?? why are cis/bio women and transmascs enabling that behavior so much?

hmmm it's almost like how afab/female folks are conditioned to excuse inappropriate behavior from amab/male people from a very young age... almost like the stereotypical One Of The Boys (in this case Males) trope, trying to be a Cool Girl (or Cool Trans Boy) to be validated by the ones in charge, the amabs, who are just poor sweet misunderstood cinnamon rolls uwu. i think mainstream tras really idolize transfems. which comes from a sweet place, and might feel good, but also means you're infantilizing them like precious perfect little princesses who can do no wrong. that might be validating for transfems ─ who doesn't like being coddled every now and then? ─ but also means not holding them accountable the way we're supposed to hold EVERYBODY accountable in leftist spaces. or at least that's what we generally pride ourselves in, right? isn't that supposed to be a leftist thing? intersectionality and all that?

and this is why so many cis/bio women and transmascs are joining radblr. this is why even some transfems are saying okay, this is too much now, and actually seek out female/afab voices and hear their povs and apologize for how they're treated by tras. the tables are starting to turn. people are too fed up with this shit. we are getting muzzled for talking about the most basic feminist stuff ever, things that back in the day oldschool trans folks were WAAYYYY more likely to see as common sense and feminism 101. systems of oppression are complex. you can talk about how hard transmisogyny is, and you'll get sympathy from most of us, but you gotta listen to how hard anti-female/afab misogyny is and how we're uniquely persecuted in specific ways you aren't. and you gotta work hard to learn how to be a good ally to us, you gotta research, you gotta learn. so many transfems have no fucking clue how to do that. so many cis/bio women and transmascs are acting like their loud guard dogs too, coddling them, speaking for them, enabling them. it's leading to really bad shit to happen. it's enabling transfems-on-female/afab abuse and bigotry... and you just sweep it all under the rug, say it was just a "terf" roleplaying, it must be a troll, it doesn't matter. it's just one or two victims, why should we even care about them? why make any changes to prevent further victims? that's such a classic male apologist mindset!!! this shit is not okay. we will never accept that bs.

you need to clean up all the misogyny and homophobia in your spaces or the only sane folks will come to radfems and find actual nuanced discussions about oppression, and you'll be left with crazies. if y'all are gonna act like oversensitive toddlers then radblr is gonna be where it's at for real leftist activism. enjoy your little tra circus ig 👋

[redditreceipts]

https://www.reddit.com/r/196/s/Qr3rxB9mw1

Jesus fucking CHRIST why do they always talk about their straw man as if it's so matter of fact??? WHICH radfems are they even talking to? God it's so hard to try and be open minded about how genderists think when they get literally everything wrong about radfems.

It's like all they do is watch Contrapoints or Lily Alexandre etc. talk about radfems instead of actually engaging with radfems and radfem theory.

Okay, so let’s go through this bit by bit: 

okay, what nuances are these? 

so this is the claim that radical feminists don’t understand intersectionality. Which is just not true. I also have never heard anyone say that??? I mean, maybe there are radical feminists who don’t believe that white women participate in a system of racism, but I haven’t met a single one yet?? Who is saying that white women don’t benefit from systems of racial oppression? (genuine question) 

Okay so this might be a hot take but I actually do think that a member of a marginalised demographic is allowed to not be as nuanced while talking about their oppressor. To stay with the racism analogy: If a person of colour said things like “I’m fucking done with white people and I don’t want to be friends with any of them because I don’t want to go through the tedious process of finding out who is racist and who isn’t”, I wouldn’t be offended or anything, because they are probably right. I as an autistic person personally also wouldn’t want to date a neurotypical person again, because in the past, there have been considerable difficulties in communication. And now imagine how a survivor of rape or abuse or sex trafficking would feel like! 

So is hating men a solid political theory? No. But is hating men a way of life that makes the life of many women safer and happier? Definitely. 

FOR THE THOUSANDTH TIME: WE DON’T WANT TO BAN SEX WORK! WE WANT TO BAN PEOPLE BUYING THEIR WAY INTO NON-CONSENSUAL SEX!!! This can’t be true. How often has it been said that radfems want to criminalise prostitution or throw every prostituted person in jail 😭

Who the fuck thinks that men are inherently predatory 😭 I can’t anymore.

No, men are not inherently predatory. Men are socialised into being predatory, or at least to a large degree. Which is why we want to change that socialisation process. Have you ever listened to any feminist ever in your entire life? 

Also, saying that a movement is cultish and people are being manipulated into joining is not patronisation. By that logic, you also wouldn’t be able to criticise Jehova’s Witnesses because you saying that they manipulate people into joining would be patronising the people who did join. 

I mean it’s possible that some feminists agree with the takes presented here, but acting as if it was some sort of foundational belief to radical feminism is just stupid 

[disast3rtransp0rt]

MICHIGAN PROVES WHY VOTING MATTERS

Voting is actual class warfare. And they're scared because we're turning the tide in the favor of young people. But in order to keep winning, we must keep educating and sharing and encouraging.

The report’s county-by-county look at Michigan’s young adult voter turnout also revealed that young voters without any college education are much less likely to vote.

Places with a larger college-educated population — including Washtenaw County, which had the smallest gap in young voter turnout of any Michigan county in the 2022 election and was among the top 10 counties with the smallest gap in the 2020 election — tend to have more active young voters than areas with fewer college-educated residents.

“The thing about college students is that they’re easier to target because they’re all in one place together, typically, and young adults who are not in college, they’re kind of sprinkled into the regular population, so they’re not as easy to get to,” Kestenbaum said of his team’s voter education efforts.

Look at what we can do when we show up!!!

We expanded our Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect all queer bodies. All of them. Yes, especially trans. Because we voted in a woman with a queer child.

Vote, register to vote, fuckin DM me and I WILL HELP YOU FIGURE IT OUT IN YOUR STATE! Solidarity and intersectionality are key, but you can only hold people accountable who will listen. And even if you may not agree with them 100%, black and white thinking isn't going to make things better. Showing up will. Raising your voice will.

[olderthannetfic]

I’m more than a little disappointed to see you agree with the “male privilege is radfem rhetoric” anon. The previous anon’s point was that male privilege is not any different from any other privilege. Yes, intersectionality exists and complicates how privileged men of particular groups are, and sometimes their maleness combines with those oppressed identities to add to that prejudice — but even with that, black men still do benefit from being men in *other* ways that black women don’t. There are some benefits to being a man in a patriarchal society you’ll get no matter who you are, again, just like being white in a white supremacist society or being straight or cis in a cisheteronormative society. Denying the existence of male privilege because some marginalized men don’t benefit from it all the time is like denying the existence of straight privilege because there are some ways that patriarchy uses straight women’s exclusive interest in men to police them that don’t as easily apply to non-straight women, or because their greater likelihood of being in intimate relationships with men putting them at (statistically. this is hard numbers) higher rates of IPV than lesbians — like yes, that’s a way that being straight and also a woman is harmful, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t many other benefits to being straight that straight women experience that lesbian/bi/ace women don’t, benefits they share with straight men, meaning it makes sense to call that “straight privilege.” Or it’s like saying cis privilege doesn’t exist because cis women have to worry about access to abortion and trans women don’t. No form of privilege isn’t complicated by intersectionality.

(Also, Kimberlé Crenshaw absolutely never intended the idea of intersectionality that she created to be used to just outright deny male privilege.)

When we start taking these Feminism 101 concepts and declare them “TERF rhetoric” or “radfem rhetoric” that is not just ignorant but actively DANGEROUS and that’s why I’m so disappointed that you agreed rather than argue with them and explain how that anon didn’t understand the concept of privilege. It’s dangerous to start defining basic tenets of feminism as “terf/radfem” because frankly a lot of people on tumblr don’t realize how many people first encountering these ideas don’t actually know any trans people or sex workers or whomever or are not familiar with ideas about those groups’ rights, but HAVE noticed things like male privilege through just living in the world as a woman. When someone like that sees that these basic observations they’ve witnessed with their own eyes are being denied by one group, do you think she’s going to be inclined to listen to that group? Or is she going to go to the group that is affirming what she saw (that she knows is real, because she saw it)? Do you see how this is harmful and helps radicalization?

Please, do better next time.

--

[molsno]

im the genderkoolaid complainer anon from earlier just saw your response- that transunity shit is soo bullshit 😭 (saying as a black person) its literally all lives matter for trans mascs. most trans men from Real Life aren't even that annoying ey're just the most insane vocal minority. i could get behind transunity if it was like uplifting trans ppl of any flavor no matter what (ex: trans mascs standing with your trans sisters when faced with transphobia/transmisogyny(noir), trans fems standing with their trans brothers when faced with transphobia/transmasc hatred then making out about it) but its just like ":/ Why are the girls getting more attention than me!!! I have it worse than them!!! [totally not bio essentialist]" It's crazy. literally most online subset of mascs. there's a reason many of the truthers r white they've never experienced or know what basic intersectionality is

I mean yeah I'm all for trans unity in the sense of sticking up for each other against transphobes and supporting each other when we're in need, but like there has to be an acknowledgement that the things we go through are not exactly the same and that there are privilege dynamics between us even as fellow trans people. I generally like to assume good faith, so I feel like some of the people who are suckered into transunitism genuinely believe that it's good-natured and don't realize that it's spearheaded by a bunch of transmisogynistic trans guys. I'd like to think that some of them can actually be shown the truth, but they need to be willing to listen to trans women first.

and yeah, you're absolutely right. I've compared it to "I'm not a feminist, I'm an egalitarian" plenty of times before but all lives matter is a great analogy too. a lot of poc have pointed out that transandrophobia truthers are mostly white, and I've definitely seen that too. it makes sense then why they all view oppression as strictly interpersonal, rather than being anything systemic.

something I've also noticed is that they use the fact that black men are portrayed as more dangerous and are thus subjected to more violence as proof that antimasculism is real. now, I'm white, and I'm fully aware that because of that I don't have the nuance to describe the causes of this phenomenon in detail, but it just seems so callous and cruel to use the violence black men face as a tool to strengthen their ideology. and in doing so, they explicitly ignore the fact that black women (and black trans women especially) are ALSO subjected to violence due to being portrayed as a threat to white cis women and white children. it's just another way that transandrophobia truthers demonstrate the biologically essentialist "afab = vulnerable, amab = dangerous" attitude that they've all internalized, which is wrong for many reasons, one of which being that afab people are only portrayed as vulnerable if they're white.

[milfbrainrot]

thinking a lot about separatist attitudes on here that have done more harm than good in the past

remembering how when i was younger it was common to reblog posts about discrimination etc with a disclaimer in ur tag that you don't personally experience what's being talked about, or at least something on ur blog listing out ur privileges. and like, privacy concerns aside, i also remember when it then became Problematic to do tags because it's a Reminder to the minority op that... other people exist and were trying to make the post about themselves or something?

like maybe the argument was that it came off like a way to get points for reblogging a post about oppression while not experiencing it urself, even though... in my experience the reason we did that was because our identity labels determined what we could/couldn't do in the eyes of our surveilling mutuals. if i reblogged a post about racism without clarifying my own identity, people might assume i wasn't white and put my opinions through a lens i shouldn't have had, because i also fully believed the idea that only people who experience a thing can have valid opinions on it.

it also determined whether you were Allowed to reblog posts with certain slurs, or reblog posts about something as simple as listening to music if it was from a blog with bpd in the handle but you didn't have bpd because listening to music with a mental illness makes it... different somehow. so you needed to be as transparent as possible so people could judge your morality appropriately and it was normal to want that because otherwise what are you trying to hide and don't you want to improve? etc. and i do think, superiority complexes aside, people did think they were doing a good thing when they'd send me asks like "hey you reblogged a video where a black person says the n slur but you're white so you shouldn't be communicating that by extension!!!"

like of course we have to keep our own privileges in mind when discussing certain topics. it does have an impact, something something intersectionality. but the culture around this being SO micromanagy and invasive seemed to create more divides because relating to people with different experiences was Bad and trying to be supportive was impossible to do in The Right Way.

we need to be more critical of the info we get, of course! but being in a tumblr sphere where you could only listen to minorities about their oppression meant that when some black blogger said it was fetishistic to find people of color attractive, i went "okay i won't do that then!!" instead of realizing... hey maybe barring myself off from finding anyone who isn't white attractive as an attempt to not be racist is in fact looping right back around to being racist. you need to be mindful of what that attraction entails and how to go about relationships fairly etc, but it was basically asking us to find people of color unattractive????? which kinda sounds fucked up!

and that doesn't even begin to cover how so many minorities have different opinions on things, and then i later realized if i could be wrong and change my opinions about things related to my own identity that's not a solid mindset to have. "listen to minorities instead of platforming oppressors about these matters" got totally misconstrued into listening to takes that make no sense from 15yr olds who had been identifying as lesbians for 2 months total, because ur made out to be an idiot who can't think for urself if you don't share an experience. i say this as a lesbian but lesbians seemed to spearhead so much aphobia that it was justified because welp, gotta listen to lesbians and other queer people about this even though they haven't yet unpacked the personal issues that come along with intersectionality yet! and ofc, ignoring the queer people who did support aces and aros because that was decided to be homophobic to do.

i think we can go forward into these conversations consciously without going so hard about it that we end up creating new walls between us and anyone different, but thinking it's okay because These Walls Say I'm A Good Person For It. like, back to the disclaimer tagging, i feel like if i made a post abt lesbian stuff and ppl were tagging it with a disclaimer abt being straight it would be weird but appreciated that it's solidarity from people i wouldn't have expected it from at the time.

i also think that having microlabels and split attraction and all these different ways of letting people embrace queer relatability (for example, since this applies to some things more than others) even if they're not the traditional definition of the label is a good thing because more investment and support for an oppressed community can only be a good thing in the end. but no, you can't have an icon of a character of color if ur white, even though doing so would help other people find the show and therefore support it!

we are all so much more similar than we are different and as long as people are mindful of their experiences versus those of others in the right contexts, and as much as i get why people did want to treat their tumblr circles like locked forums where they wouldn't have to deal with cis people asking questions or having misconceptions on their posts... i just don't think the infighty/hostile ways we went about it and still do go about it sometimes ended up as helpful as people treated it to be.

but whatever, tumblr is tumblr.

[dykeulous]

i think the problem is that most people don’t understand, and, quite frankly, don’t care to understand feminist theory of gendered socialization.

“male socialization” is not a binary. it is not a clear-fit box. it is not something that can never vary, change & depend on multiple complex factors. feminists are not using it to declare homosexual males & those perceived as homosexual males “privileged”. homosexual men & those perceived to be, doubly so if gender nonconforming, are heavily persecuted & discriminated against. feminists aren’t denying that. the problem is that so many lgbt activists just aren’t willing to listen to & learn from feminists. they aren’t willing to listen to what we actually believe & are rather declaring all of our meaningful analysis as “unproductive” & “bigoted”.

one of the most important aspects of transmisogyny is that it forms on the basis of homophobia against male people– firstly, it starts with gncphobia, that is heavily intertwined with homophobia, then it escalates into transphobia & creates transmisogyny; the highest stage of transmisogyny being conditional misogyny (which passing trans women & transfems go through). we aren’t saying that non-passing transfems are highly privileged. we are aware that, since they most of the time experienced a childhood of high-level homophobia & lived the childhood of a gnc boy, they definitely, undoubtedly were ostracized, othered, isolated, and even abused by the upperclass of the system. we are aware that the patriarchy oppresses & marginalizes against them in a very specific & unique way. however, a lot of you people simply refuse to acknowledge that homophobia is born out of misogyny. the system & the patriarchal upperclass oppresses against them on the basis of viewing them as lesser beings & traitors of the superior male sex– which creates a perfect foundation & patriarchal justification for transmisogyny. yes, transfems, even non-passing ones, a lot of the time experience a very different childhood & have much, much different life experiences than cis men do, and they are not the upperclass under the gender hierarchy. however, we also must understand that this is a uniquely male experience– making it, in fact, male socialization. this is the kind of experience only transfems (& gnc men & gay men) will understand, hence the term “transmisogyny”. male socialization can hurt & harm those who went through it– and in some cultures, the levels of transmisogyny are so high the abusive segregation becomes even more stark & oppressive; which i believe can form what i call third socialization.

we aren’t trying to say you are highly privileged over us on the basis of having been socialized male. we understand & empathize that male socialization can harm those affected by it just as much as female socialization harms us. we are aware that you have a unique perspective, and we find it very valuable & worth listening to: but we will not tolerate outright dismissals of our activist terminology. intersectionality matters. we are all privileged & disprivileged in some ways. i believe transfems have a very unique voice in feminist spaces; but their voice shouldn’t cancel out the voice of those directly & systemically oppressed by female-specific misogyny. we are united in the very fact that we are all seen as subhuman under the gender hierarchy, and the violence of the patriarchy won’t spare us if we spend time blaming each other for the problems we face by the hand of the patriarchal upperclass. while our issues can intersect, they also do differ– and we need to have discussions about this. we aren’t saying your oppression is less valid & less damaging. we are just saying it is different. i believe it is important to have meaningful discussions about how the ways we are marginalized on the basis of gender differ, and that there is time & place to speak about the unique experiences & situations of each & every gender-marginalized group. we should be spending time discussing at length & acknowledging intersectionality, and the ways we might hold power over one another, despite both of us being disadvantaged on the same axis. so, i might hold power over you in some areas, but you also might hold power over me in other areas. this shouldn’t be hard to digest, and it is about the most lukewarm activist statement i could have made.

the theory of gender socialization was not made to oppress against you. it was coined to explain the sociological aspects of misogyny & debunk bio-essentialist explanations for it. you can critique the people using it maliciously (& i’m not going to claim that doesn’t happen, because it absolutely does & i’ve seen it happen) without trying to debunk the existence of gender socialization itself. do better.

Here's a key part of the transfemme experience that is very overlooked: when you don't pass, people don't actually see you as a man, or treat you like a man.

[jfordeducation5041]

Reflection: What Insights, information, or perspectives have you gained from further exploration?

There are several themes from this movie that will be explored further, which include:

Capital (social, cultural, and economic will be explored and their impacts on outcomes for some of the characters in the story)

Privilege and intersectionality (how did identities shape characters and how did this dictate their paths?)

Prejudice – there are multiple layers of prejudice in this story, that will be peeled away and explored.

How all these themes ultimately tie into social justice will be the conclusion of this section.

Part One: Capital

Before diving into the amounts of capital that each character possesses in “Dead Man Walking”, it is important to define the different types of capital one can have. Cultural capital, as defined by Bourdieu (1986), includes the preferences and behaviors which are typically used in the dominant society. He also defines it as “institutional cultural capital”, which is the “form of educational qualifications” one has (Bourdieu, 1986, pg. 242). Finally, he defines cultural capital as “objectified”, which is the ownership of cultural goods that are considered “mainstream” in that society (Paschos, 2020).

Let’s look at Matthew Poncelet under this lens of cultural capital. Matthew is from an extremely poor socioeconomic background, his mother works very hard to support four sons, but dad is ultimately no longer in the picture. As a result, they all live in a trailer in a “poor” area of town. The amount of “objectified” cultural capital that Matthew and his family possess is not comparable to what is considered “mainstream” in American society at this time (or anytime for that matter). For institutionalized cultural capital, it is already apparent that Matthew has not had an opportunity to seek any type of higher education, and perhaps he also did not finish high school, which is not confirmed but is alluded to throughout the film. As a result, Matthew does not have the “typical” educational background in north American culture that would provide him with any substantial capital. Finally, let us look at the “preferences and behaviors” which are typically used in the dominant society. Matthew is on death row for murder and rape, and the events that led up to that terrible night are not in positive correlation with the expected behaviors or preferences of north American society, BUT it should be noted that Matthew’s behaviors were considered somewhat normal to those he was associating himself with, such as Vitello (the other murderer and rapist) who unfortunately became somebody Poncelet tried to model and look up to. This will be looked at further with social capital.

Before we move to social capital, let’s look at Helen Prejean under this cultural capital lens. Helen comes from a wealthy family, as her father is an important figure. Her home is full of Victorian style furniture, and is spacious enough to accommodate her entire family and their spouses for regular dinners together. Although Helen works and lives in the projects as a nun, she frequently visits home throughout the movie and discusses her progress with Matthew as well as listens intently to her family members responses and concerns. Her mannerisms and behaviors would be considered preferable to mainstream American society. Her education includes a B.A in English and education from St. Mary’s Dominican College, as well as an M.A in religious education from Saint Paul University of Ottawa, Canada (please note this information is not disclosed in the film, but it is important to note this to gauge Helen’s cultural capital). It should be pointed out that Helen comes from a wealthy and powerful family, and chose to become a nun, which shows how caring her personality is, since her siblings did not go that route.

Before discussing Carl Vitello, who is the other assailant involved in the rape and murder case with Matthew Poncelet, I want to discuss social capital, since it is the one thing that puts Vitello at an advantage over Poncelet when it came to the trial and charges. Social capital can be seen as several resources that result in a network of relationships and recognition (Paschos, 2020). Vitello, who is likely of a similar upbringing as Poncelet, is much older than Poncelet, and as such has higher social capital because he knows more people than him. This is made apparent when Helen visits Matthew Poncelet in prison and he discusses how Vitello “escaped” the death row sentence because he knew a lawyer, a lawyer that he did not share with Poncelet and as such managed to get a life sentence during the trial instead of death row.  During this trial, Poncelet had no representation except a lawyer provided by the state (which in most cases is not a very effective attorney), which yielded him no favourable results as he ends up being sentenced to death.

This is one important difference between Matthew Poncelet and Carl Vitello. While they have very similar cultural capital, Vitello had a larger social circle which he was able to use to his advantage to get him off death row. It is also may allude to the idea that Vitello also has high economic capital (aka money) than Poncelet because he was able to afford this lawyer he knew of while Poncelet had no economic resources to draw from to help with his case. This is not confirmed in the movie, but it is very uncommon for an effective lawyer to take a “pro bono” case when representing a guilty man such as Vitello, so he would have had to come up with the funds somewhere.

Part Two: Privilege and Intersectionality

It is important to determine what intersectionality is and how it impacted the various levels of privilege of the main characters in “Dead Man Walking”.

“Intersectionality refers to the interconnected nature of a person’s multiple identities (e.g., race, or ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation), whose unique combination results in an accumulation of barriers (Simon, Boyd, & Subica, 2022, pg. 34). What Simon et al. admit is missing from this definition is the process that causes these identities to overlap, resulting in systems of oppression and privilege (2022).

Why is it important to know what intersectionality means in relation to Matthew Poncelet, or Carl Vitello? Simon et al. (2022) have determined that there is “…an importance of using an intersectionality lens to understand how identities interact with institutions and social systems to produce inequality” (CSWE, 2015; Murph et al., 2009; Nadan et al., 2015 as cited in Simon, Boyd, & Subica, 2022, pg. 36).

Helen makes several references to the idea that death row is a poor person’s issue. Not only in the movie, but in her book(s), and in her advocacy of human rights.

“The death penalty is a poor person’s issue. In the end, it is the poor who are selected to die in this country. You’ll never find a rich person on death row” (Kenyon, 2021).

Although Poncelet and Vitello are white, that is where their privilege ends. The combination of all of their identities (extremely poor, uneducated, inexperienced) yields unfavourable outcomes for both of them. Even though they are both guilty of the crimes they committed, Poncelet never received a fair trial as he couldn’t afford any legal representation.  Because he was too young and not educated on how the legal system works (or doesn’t) he did not realize his fate at the time (being sentenced to death).

Perhaps what Simon et al. (2022) are pointing out is that there is a theme of certain intersectionalities that produce inequalities within the legal system, and it is important that we are aware of this to alleviate them. “Accordingly, intersectionality provides a critical lens for bringing awareness and capacity to social justice efforts to expand and deepen interventions to address the systemic oppression of clients (Crenshaw & Harris, 2009, as cited in Simon, Boyd, & Subica, 2022, pg. 36).

Helen has a certain level of privilege that has allowed her to give back and advocate for those that are less fortunate. Helen grew up in a stable household with a considerable amount of wealth, was well educated, and was a devoted Catholic, all providing her with a substantial amount of capital and privilege, which she used to fight oppression and raise awareness of the plight of those less fortunate such as Matthew Poncelet in the film, and actual inmates in real life.

Part Three: Prejudice

It is shown that Matthew Poncelet possesses a significant amount of prejudice throughout the film, but it is also apparent that many others have a highly prejudiced opinion of Matthew Poncelet, which should be explored.

Prejudice can be defined as “bias which devalues people because of their perceived membership of a social group” (Abrams, 2010).

Prejudice is more likely to develop when groups have differing values, people from other groups are seen as “different”, when people perceive their identity in terms of belonging to particular groups, and when one group discriminates against other groups (Abrams, 2010, pg. 3).

One of the questions that Helen poses to Matthew while visiting in jail was “have you ever been an object of prejudice?” This is a powerful question because throughout the film Matthew has established that he is not the same as the African Americans he grew up with, he comments several times about growing up with “them”, but Helen makes him admit that he has never taken the time to get to know any of his neighbors of color. Matthew discusses how one time when he was a kid, he was throwing rocks at some of the other kids who were black, and then complained that they took his bike the following day. Sister Helen responds with “would you blame them?” Matthew responds with a quick no.

Sister Helen tries to make Matthew realize that although he had prejudiced views, he was also a victim of prejudice being somebody on death row. She asks, “what do people think about inmates on death row?” She goes on to tell him that they are seen as “monsters”, “disposable waste”, “good-for-nothings”, which is exactly what Mr. Percy referred to Matthew as when Sister Helen was leaving their home (at their abrupt demand after learning she was acting as his spiritual guide on death row).

Matthew’s developed prejudice against African Americans and Jewish people (he makes several discriminatory comments about them during an interview that was recorded), are a product of belonging and associating in certain groups with particular people as he grew up, such as Carl Vitello (and most likely others). If Matthew had other opportunities to hang around different people, to have a stable upbringing, an opportunity to get an education, would these prejudices have developed? Would the Percy’s and Delacroix look at Poncelet as a “monster” then? Because they associate Poncelet with all inmates on death row, they no longer see him as a human. Hilton Barber, the lawyer who is working with Sister Helen and trying to help Matthew, discusses the idea that “it’s easy to kill a monster but hard to kill a human being”. They spent the entire duration of the film trying to convince the State that although Matthew was guilty of horrendous crimes, he was also a human who was brought up in circumstances that would make it very difficult to have a fair shot at life and to develop the types of cultural and social capital that is considered preferable to north American society. He associated with the wrong people and modeled his behavior after Carl Vitello because that was the only option he believed he had.

Part Four: How it all ties into Social Justice

Why is “Dead Man Walking” a film on social justice? It is important to define it before we bring in the themes of capital, privilege, intersectionality, and prejudice and their impact on the film’s characters and outcomes.

From Oxford, social justice is “the fair distribution of wealth and opportunities within a society”. This applies to “Dead Man Walking” because the film clearly determines that there is an unfair distribution of opportunities within the society of the film, which is based in America.

“Dead Man Walking” and Sister Helen Prejean in particular, have determined that those who are in prison on death row have a common set of intersectionalities, cultural and social capital, and level of prejudice both within them and put against them. These commonalities amongst the inmates on death row are a result of the lack of opportunities many of these inmates have had, whether it is the opportunity towards receiving an education, associating with various groups of people, having stability growing up, having the opportunity of economic prosperity, the right of geographical mobility (you can’t move if you don’t have money), access to role models (Matthew Poncelet didn’t have a father figure, similar to other inmates), and an overall lack of experience caused by these barriers and potentially others as well.

“Dead Man Walking” is a social justice film because it brings forward the plight of the poor in north America. Those who are in vulnerable and precarious positions within the legal system are often poor, and as a result are unable to get a fair defense or prior to that, have a fair opportunity at life similar to those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. The legal system preys on those facing oppression due to various intersecting identities including class, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and others. Although Matthew Poncelet was a white American all his other identities had him portrayed as a “monster” and nobody bothered to investigate how he ended up there in the first place, except for Sister Helen Prejean. This is a common and sad story that is continuing to happen in north America today.

[a-queer-seminarian]

so ya wanna know about autism: masterpost

I give this google doc link out to individuals a lot, and realized it might be useful for a lot of people if i shared it more widely. It’s a masterpost of a whole bunch of Autistic Stuff -- here’s the link to the actual doc, but i’ll also post it all here on tumblr (under a readmore after the table of contents).

(edit: if the hyperlinks aren’t working for you, here’s the google doc url that you can copy and paste into an internet browser to access everything: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16BqhRv4IlZ6KcElGAEZOx8sFYwRs4W1jF-ddY_XKYnE/edit?usp=sharing )

Please spread it around (including sharing the google doc link outside of tumblr wherever you want). Feel free to comment with more resources, tumblr posts, articles, etc. that you find helpful! And if any links are broken, let me know.

It can be a major challenge for adult autistic folks to find content for us and by us, because so much “official” content is 1) ableist and harmful and 2) geared towards parents of autistic children. So I’ve compiled just about every resource I’ve got that discusses autism by and for #actuallyautistic folks.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

- ORGANIZATIONS AND SELF ADVOCATES

- DEFINING AND DESCRIBING AUTISM

misc.

Metaphors and images for autism

Disability models

Issues with Functioning Labels, ideas of “Mild” - “Severe” autism

- AUTISM AND INTERSECTIONALITY

misc.

Autism among women

Autism and race

Autism and LGBTQ

- STUFF ON SELF DIAGNOSIS

misc.

Is it ADHD or Autism??

Tests / checklists

- STUFF ON PROFESSIONAL DIAGNOSIS

- AUTISTIC PRIDE / CULTURE AND HISTORY!

misc.

Autism / disability history and culture

The Neurodiversity Movement

Person first vs. identity first language

Cureism

- AUSTITIC TRAITS (BEYOND THE ONES COMMONLY DISCUSSED!)

Misc. - samefoods, lists, needing to know what to expect, etc.

Stimming

Communication stuff - misc. - Verbal/nonverbal - Infodumping - echolalia - Prosopagnosia - Aphasia - Eye contact

Special interests / hyperfixations

Auditory Processing Disorder

Sensory issues / Sensory Processing Disorder

Meltdowns and Shutdowns and Burnout

Executive function

Emotion stuff

- MASKING / PASSING / SCRIPTING

- WHY AUTISM SPEAKS AND ABA ARE SO BAD

- MISCELLANEOUS

Suicide

Allyship / for allistics - For parents of autistic persons

More non-speaking autistic self-advocates

misc.

_________________

SOME ORGANIZATIONS AND SELF ADVOCATES

ASAN!!

The Autistic Woman and Nonbinary Network

Amethyst Schaber’s “Ask and Autistic” YouTube full of videos on various autistic stuff

Lydia X.Z. Brown / Autistic Hoya 

Dr. Nick Walker

Mrs. Kerima Çevik

“Non-Speaking Autistic Speaking” - Amy Sequnzia’s blog

“The thinking person’s guide to autism”

The How-To Wiki for autism is actually really helpful! 

Ollibean blog .

DEFINING AND DESCRIBING AUTISM

Video: “What is autism?”

“About autism”

“What being autistic means to me”

Myths about autism .

Metaphors and images for autism - “Autism is a sundae bar” - “Autism is purple” - “Understanding the spectrum” comic - Another visual on the idea of a spectrum - And another visual on the spectrum - not an on-off switch .

Disability models - Understanding disability models - Video: models of disability discourse .

Functioning Labels, “Mild” or “Severe” autism - Article on functioning labels - “What’s wrong with functioning labels? A masterpost” - Another article on problems with functioning labels - “I don’t experience my autism mildly; you experience my autism mildly” - A non-speaking autistic who is labeled non-functioning discusses labels - “Most people would consider me low-functioning, but I hate that word” - Tweets from actual autistics on functioning labels - How the same person may be labeled low or high functioning at different times - “Mental Age Theory hurts people with disabilities” .

AUTISM AND INTERSECTIONALITY

Article on autism in communities of color + in the LGBTQ community

Autism, intersectionality, and STEM college outcomes

Articles on intersectionality on The Art of Autism .

Autism among women - A reminder about talking about differences in autism in “females” - “I thought I was lazy: the invisible struggle for autistic women” - “The women who don’t know they’re autistic” - “The gas-lighting of women and girls on the autism spectrum” .

Autism and race - “Being Autistic, Black, and Femme” - “Black and Autistic: Is there room at the advocacy table?” - “Autistic, Gifted, and Black” - “I, too, am Racialized” - Autistic Hoya on being Chinese & a transracial adoptee - Video: “Growing up BLACK in a neurotypical legal system” - The Autism Wars: Mrs. Kerima Çevik’s blog .

Autism and LGBTQ - “Autism and gender variance - is there a cause for the correlation?” - “The intersection of autism and gender” - Issues being transmasc and autistic - “Gendervague: At the intersection of Autistic and trans experiences” - “I’m an autistic lesbian and no, I don’t wish I were ‘normal’” .

STUFF ON SELF DIAGNOSIS:

A self-diagnosis masterpost!

Autistic self-dx is valid

“Reasons why self-dx is good from the pov of a professional” 

Some reasons why autism may go undiagnosed 

“Five reasons I am self identified as autistic”

“Beware of gatekeeping”

A masterpost of “resources for women who believe they might be autistic”

A therapist who’s never met an incorrect self-dx-er .

Is it ADHD or Autism?? - Links to information on the intersections between autism and ADHD - A list of things that are more ADHD, things that are more autism, and things that are both - Science: decoding the overlap between ADHD and autism - The concept of neurodivergent “cousins” .

Various tests / checklists: - ASD Checklist - List of inclusive autistic traits - Book: I Think I Might Be Autistic: A Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis and Self-Discovery for Adults .

STUFF ON PROFESSIONAL DIAGNOSIS:

Privilege in being able to get a diagnosis

Pros and cons of getting one

Someone answers the question “Was it worth it for you to get diagnosed as an adult?”

Professional diagnosis can get some people deported :/

This person’s journey from self-dx to pro-dx .

AUTISTIC PRIDE / CULTURE AND HISTORY!

The wiki how-to on accepting your autism

The wiki how-to on autistic strengths 

“7 Cool Aspects of Autistic Culture”

“I’m autistic and proud of it”

“You are not a burden” 

“What is self advocacy?” .

Autism / disability history and culture - Video: “Is autism a disability?” - A google drive “disability library” full of amazing content - A tumblr tag full of posts with autistic history - Book - Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking includes essays that explore the history of autism and of autistic self-advocacy - Book - Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity .

The Neurodiversity movement - The neurodiversity paradigm - Video: basic terms and definitions - Video: what is neurodiversity? - Liberating ourselves from the pathology paradigm .

Person first vs. identity first language (“person with autism” vs. “autistic person”) - ASAN on identity first language - Why it matters - Video: Autism ACTUALLY Speaking - Science: a study on what labels actual autistic persons prefer - An image showing the difference between person first and identity first language .

Cureism & seeking causes of autism - Video: “Autism and the disability community: the politics of neurodiversity, causation, and cure” - Video: Self advocacy in a culture of cure - An analogy against cureism - It’s okay that some autistics do want a cure - Quotes on Truth Is by Julia Bascom about not needing a cure - Cureism is eugenics - “If a cure is found, no one will force you to take it” .

AUTISTIC TRAITS (BEYOND THE ONES COMMONLY DISCUSSED!)

“Thinking about patterns of opposite extremes among autistic people” (e.g. how we tend to be sensory avoidant or sensory seeking, extremely gender conforming or extremely gender nonconforming, hyper-empathetic or hypo-empathetic)

An essay on inclusive autistic traits

This tumblr is dedicated to answering people asking about whether various things are autistic traits!

This person lists the reasons they think (know) they’re autistic; the list includes a lot of traits that often aren’t talked about 

“Some autism things” .

“What are samefoods?” - “Why do autistic people tend to samefood?”

It’s okay if you don’t like certain things / avoid certain things because of your autism

Wanting/needing to know how long something will last, what to expect .

Stimming! - Video: what is stimming? - Video on self-injurious stims - Video: autobiographical look at stimming and its role - More than a coping mechanism - A masterpost of examples of various types of stimming - Video on vocal / verbal stimming - Examples of vocal stimming as communication - A tumblr blog with a tag full of examples of body stims .

Communication stuff - Trouble with volume modulation; repetition; inconsistent talking habits - Autistic idiolects - Autistic dialect? - Autistics communicate differently amongst each other! . - Verbal/nonverbal - - Selective mutism - - Semiverbal communication - - Different amounts of access to speech - - A person on being non-verbal and using AAC - - People who are nonverbal still deserve to be listened to .

Infodumping - What is infodumping?

Echolalia - “Autism and Echolalia: what you need to know” - What is echolalia? - A tumblr blog’s tag featuring examples of echolalia

Aphasia and autism

Prosopagnosia (Face blindness) - Science: a study confirming that some 67% of autistic persons have some degree of facial recognition difficulties - Science: a study offering theories for why this is!

Video: Autistics and eye contact - Science: Researchers explore why autistic people avoid eye contact

Tendency to overexplain .

Special interests / hyperfixations - Some info on hyperfixations - Video on special interests - Emphasizing the intensity of these things - “What’s so special about a special interest?” - “Why we love what we love and why it should matter to you” - Not every autistic person knows everything there is to know about their special interest - “Interest hopping” - Dividing our life into “eras” of special interests .

Auditory Processing Disorder - Examples of APD - “You might struggle with auditory processing if…” .

Sensory Processing Disorder - Video: What is sensory processing disorder? - Video: a virtual experience of what it’s like to be at a party as someone with SPD - A post about some of the weird sensory stuff that many autistics experience (such as feeling nauseated when your real issue is a headache) - Many sensory issues aren’t just annoying, but physically painful - Difficulty in explaining autistic hypersensitivities - Auditory sensory musings - Trying to describe sensory overload - Not noticing when we’re hungry - Weird tolerance for big pain, intolerance for small pain - Science: “Unseen Agony: Dismantling Autism’s house of pain” - Tumblr blog with a tag of other posts about sensory issues .

Meltdowns and Shutdowns and burnout: - Meltdowns vs. shutdowns - Video: “What are autistic meltdowns?” - Video: “What are autistic shutdowns?” - A description of meltdowns - Signs of a shutdown in autistic people - How to support someone having a shutdown - Science: “Autistic shutdown alters brain function” - How to avoid meltdowns - “Dealing with meltdowns” - “The protective gift of meltdowns” - Video on autistic burnout - Article on burnout - Science: Autistic burnout described by a researcher - An article on autistic regression (burnout) - “Help! I seem to be getting more autistic” - talks about how things like burnout, aging, new environment, being around other autistics, and more can cause this .

Executive function - Video: “What is executive functioning?” - A chart describing the different aspects of executive function - “Executive functioning problems - a frustrating aspect of being autistic” - Autistic inertia .

Emotion stuff (including empathy) - Our emotional regulation is different - Article: (some) people with autism can read emotions, feel empathy - Video on misconceptions around autism and empathy - “Double standards: The irony of empathy and autism” - Science on the “double empathy problem” involving relationships between autistics and non-autistics - Not a bad person for not having empathy - More musings on autism and empathy - “Autistic grief is not like neurotypical grief” .

Alexithymia: - Science: Overlap between autism and alexithymia - Video: what is alexithymia? - “I don’t know how I feel”

MASKING / PASSING 

Video on passing

An infographic on autistic masking

Another video on masking / “hiding” in a neurotypical world

We are not obligated to mask or “act less autistic”

When you mask less and get told “you’ve been acting more autistic”

Getting called high-functioning because you mask/pass well

Scripting: - Video: what is scripting? 

WHY AUTISM SPEAKS AND ABA ARE SO BAD

A guide to identifying good autism organizations (and how they can improve!)

Autism Speaks:

Some facts and statistics 

An AS masterpost

Another AS masterpost

Video: What’s wrong with AS?

Video: a non-speaking autistic’s response to discussions between Autism Speaks and GRASP

“Enough with the puzzle pieces”

“I resign my roles at Autism Speaks”

“Responding to Autism Speaks” .

ABA:

Video: what’s ABA? 

“Studies find thin evidence for early autism therapies” 

Masterpost of why ABA is harmful

More on how ABA is abusive even if a kid “seems to like it”

An autistic describes ABA’s “quiet hands” method

And another post on how ABA is harmful

Trauma and autism

Alternatives to ABA

MISCELLANEOUS 

Suicide - Video: Speaking to suicidal autistics - Science linking autism and increased suicidality - Video: “diagnosis saved my life” .

Allyship / for allistics - Video: How to be an ally - Resources for supporting autistics during Autism Acceptance month and year-round! - Autistic accessibility needs - “How to be a friend to autistic people” - 15 things you never say to an autistic person - What to say / not to say to an autistic adult - Video: what shouldn’t I say to autistic people? - Video: Things not to say to an autistic person - Video: “Isn’t everyone a bit autistic?” - Don’t talk about “mental age” - “To those who tell autistic persons ‘everyone experiences that’” - Why it’s not helpful to say “well I don’t think of you as disabled / as autistic” - How to support a loved one who’s gone temporarily nonverbal - How to support someone having a shutdown - Help reduce meltdowns in a loved one - Don’t restrain an autistic person having a meltdown - Understanding why autistics seem “so picky” - Making communication easier for your autistic friend - Avoiding ableism against AAC users - How to protect your autistic employees from ‘no script found’ situations” .

For parents of autistic persons - “Don’t Mourn for Us” - “You don’t ‘lose a child to autism’” - Advice from autistic adults on treating your autistic children with respect - A masterpost of advice for “autism parents” - It’s okay if your kid doesn’t hug you or say “I love you” - “They keep publishing these violent articles” - “When you’re autistic, abuse is considered love” - You don’t have to tell everyone who comes across you and your kid in public that your kid is autistic / you don’t have to constantly apologize for your kid! - Your kid isn’t bad / uncooperative just because they have certain differences - Don’t tell autistic adults we are “nothing like your child” - A tag full of more tumblr posts about / for “autism parents”

More non-speaking autistic self-advocates - Video: “In My Language” by Mel Baggs - Mel Baggs: “Don’t ever assume autism researchers know what they’re doing” - Lysik’an: “You don’t speak for low-functioning autistics” - Film: Deej

Autistics and the idea of “getting out of your comfort zone”

Autistics accommodate allistics far more than the other way around 

It is icky when autistic persons are only valued when we’re “productive” 

Parents who are themselves autistic

Autism as genetic? - Science: “Autism Genetics, Explained”

Science: links to some studies on autism and gastro-intestinal issues, autism and caffeine, autism and sleep, autism and stimming, autism and queerness, autistic strengths, and more

[orikoaurora]

Can Palestinian Lives Matter?

“Palestinians don’t exist,” they said. With time this moment would blur, but not fade, mingling with innumerable interactions in which strangers would likewise inform me of my nonexistence. In that moment, though, it was a wholly new experience. I felt the brief flicker of a laugh before the sick sense of outrage landed in my gut. Before I could find the words to respond, the accuser was gone.

How strange, to tell a living, breathing human being, to their face, that they are “unreal.” And what would be the proper defense? How does one reply to a delusion?

Because something happens at the mention of that word Palestinian. In the moment it is uttered.

Palestinians as a people, are visible but rarely seen. We do not “exist” as others do; we have neither a formal country nor any economic or military power to speak of. We have a history and culture, but these are eroded and appropriated more with every passing year. Mostly, we are collectively obscured by what people think they know, what they think we are: threats, troublemakers, terrorists.

This is how we can be in so many headlines and yet die such endless deaths. We die, in part, because that is what the world expects of us. Our name is invoked only in connection to brutality and strife, which are presented as inevitable, our natural state. Reports read like weather reports: The “climate” “heats up” then “boils over” into “another wave of violence.” Our casualties are like the seasons — a crop of dead every few years, usually in Gaza.

All this because we are among the world’s disposable people. What kills us is not only Israeli state violence but the international community’s collective failure to imagine us as human beings. It is the same failure that has allowed so many Black bodies to be murdered in the broad daylight of viral videos, with so little systemic change. As Elizabeth Alexander has written, “Black bodies in pain for public consumption have been an American national spectacle for centuries.” With such a violent collective memory, it’s no wonder white Americans have been so egregiously slow and equivocal in responding to anti-Black violence. For who is more visible in the U.S. than a Black person? Yet who is the most seldom seen?

This is the lethal contradiction that generations of Black intellectuals and activists have worked to dismantle. The “problem of the color line,” as W.E.B. DuBois called it, will only be solved when the U.S., as a whole, grasps the full humanity of Black people, who have been systematically dehumanized. There can be no going forward, in short, until the U.S. internalizes the most basic truth that Black Lives Matter.

In this way, the U.S. and Israel confront a similar moral failing: Years of intentional disenfranchisement, abuse of and theft from a people in the name of another group’s supremacy — in one case, under the banner of whiteness, and in the other, Zionism. Both have gambled on their ability to suppress these peoples’ efforts to resist their oppression, through the means of mass incarceration, state violence, and legal discrimination. And both have seen that even the most brutal crackdowns cannot squelch the human spirit forever.

Black Americans has shown us, again and again, that they will not allow themselves to be made unreal — and this last year, many more people seemed to listen. For Black Americans who routinely face state violence, the murder of George Floyd was tragically unsurprising. Yet this particular death seemed to penetrate the larger American imagination, managing, somehow, to puncture the gloss of indifference with its sheer visceral force, its specificity. Floyd was seen as an individual, a human being, and his name became a movement. “Black Lives Matter” had a resurgence, thanks in part to the sudden recognition by white Americans of a particular Black life, and death.

Palestinians were quick to respond to the George Floyd movement, protesting in solidarity, drawing parallels between their own experiences of mass incarceration, militarized law enforcement, legal discrimination, knees on civilian necks. Floyd’s face decorated stretches of the Israeli barrier wall, alongside murals of Palestinians killed by Israeli police and soldiers, including Iyad Hallaq, an unarmed man with autism, shot on his way home from school. Floyd’s death also prompted discussions in the Palestinian and wider Arab communities about their own anti-Blackness. This internationalism is not new: For years, Palestinian activists have looked to the American civil rights movement, the South African struggle against apartheid, and others for inspiration. They have also offered their solidarity and support to movements abroad, including the Standing Rock protests and other efforts for Indigenous rights.

Perhaps something, this time, will be different. With the newfound skepticism of law enforcement and incarceration wrought by the George Floyd movement, many in the “woke” world seem to have found resonance with the scenes of Palestinian civilian protests throughout the territories and Israel, launching marches of their own around the globe. Perhaps, after a year in which the words “decolonization” and “intersectionality” have become memes, in which social media has become a streamlined highway for outrage and mobilization, this “clash” will be recognized at last for what it is: a fight for the Palestinian right to be human.

Such a shift would be a breakthrough: Just as the U.S. will remain haunted until Black lives are fully, truly, and equally valued, there can be no peace in Israel-Palestine until all the lives involved are reckoned with as human. Such a reckoning is understandably terrifying for nations built on the systematic denial of certain humanities, but there is no other way. And if the last year has taught us anything, it is that no odds can outmatch the individual’s need for dignity.

“The myths of self-defense” — Israel’s — “and both sides are becoming more and more penetrable,” Mohammed el-Kurd, whose family is facing forced displacement from their home in Sheikh Jarrah, said in a CNN interview this week. “People are being able to see through these myths and call an occupation for what it is and an aggressor for what it is.”

And perhaps, too, they will begin to see us.

[beatrice-otter]

#if at any point your  ideology appears to state#that some humans are less human than other humans#it is time to step waaaay back --tags via findingfeather

I want to highlight this important bit from @nothorses​

Radical feminism is essentially second-wave feminism without the intersectionality brought in by third-wave feminism.

This is absolutely true, and it is a giant red flag and something that people need to be aware of.

Second-wave feminism arose in the 60s and flourished in the 70s. It was very much into basic consciousness-raising, i.e. getting lots of women together and talking about their lives so they could all have great big eureka ‘aha!’ moments about common experiences. The problem was, their idea of getting rid of the patriarchal power structure was to get rid of men. And once you did that, there would be this great utopia, right? Because men are the root of all kinds of problems! They were really fucking bad at addressing issues of race or class or ability. They were really fucking bad at dealing with the possibility that some women might be cruel or manipulative or abusive not because of the patriarchy, but because they were cruel people.

And in most places, the people who were most likely to have the free time and energy to come to feminist events were ... upper middle class white women. And the concept of privilege didn’t exist yet. They honestly and genuinely believed that if you say you have no hierarchy, then everyone is equal, and thus nobody can possibly be exerting power over anyone else and nobody can possibly have more status within the group. Therefore, if you feel like you are not being listened to, if you feel like your concerns are being dismissed, if you feel like you’re being mistreated or abused or like other people are freezing you out of the group, the problem is you. Because there is no formal hierarchy, therefore there is no hierarchy, therefore nobody has any more power than you.

Therefore when you point out racism, classism, ableism, homophobia, abuse, manipulation, or anything else wrong with the group, it’s because you’re a horrible person working for the patriarchy. White feminists in the 60s and 70s regularly told Black women that the problem with Black women was they were too focused on race and didn’t think of themselves as women, and if they did think of themselves as women and join the feminist movement (by agreeing with the goals and beliefs of white feminist women) they would be better off.

There was a lot of really great ground-breaking stuff happening in feminist groups in the 60s and 70s and 80s. It’s just that there was also a lot of racism, classism, ableism, etc., etc.

And then came the Third Wave Feminists of the 1990s. Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term ‘intersectionality’ in 1989 to reflect the experience of Black women specifically but also other marginalized identities. That Black women experience gendered oppression differently than white women. That all axes of oppression can work together and against each other and you can’t take any one axis and go “X is the root of all evil! fix class and everything will be perfect!” You have to listen to people about the lived reality of their lives and realize that race and class and gender and ability and sexuality and religion and a whole host of other factors genuinely matters to how people are oppressed in different ways, and you have to take that into account when dealing with social problems. Which meant for feminism that it had to begin reckoning with its racism, and homophobia, and ableism, and classism.

Most feminists, at that point, eventually went, “you’re right! that is important to do!” And a lot of them had to be dragged into it kicking and screaming, and it is imperfect, we haven’t solved these problems yet but at least we’re aware of them. That yeah, gender is a major factor of oppression, but there’s also a lot of other factors that we have to grapple with as well.

The radical feminists of today are the ones who refused to do that. Who said “no, sex is the only root of discrimination. Period. Literally EVERY OTHER PROBLEM IN THE WORLD can be traced back to men oppressing women (and it’s all men oppressing all women). And if you believe differently, you hate women.”

It is deeply, deeply beneficial to TERFs if the only characteristic of TERF ideology you will recognize as wrong, harmful, or problematic is "they hate trans women".

TERF ideology is an expansive network of extremely toxic ideas, and the more of them we accept and normalize, the easier it becomes for them to fly under the radar and recruit new TERFs. The closer they get to turning the tide against all trans people, trans women included.

Case in point: In 2014-2015, I fell headlong into radical feminism. I did not know it was called radical feminism at the time, but I also didn't know what was wrong with radical feminism in the first place. I didn't see a problem with it.

I was a year deep into this shit when people I had been following, listening to, and looking up to finally said they didn't think trans women were women. It was only then that I unfollowed those people, specifically; but I continued to follow other TERFs-who-didn't-say-they-were-TERFs. I continued ingesting and spreading their ideas- for years after.

If TERFs "only target trans women" and "only want trans women gone", if that's the one and only problem with their ideology and if that's the only way we'll define them, we will inevitably miss a vast majority of the quiet beliefs that support their much louder hatred of trans women.

As another example: the trans community stood relatively united when TERFs and conservatives targeted our right to use the correct restroom, citing the "dangers" of trans women sharing space with cis women. But when they began targeting Lost Little Girls and Confused Lesbians and trotting detransitioners out to raise a panic about trans men, virtually the only people speaking up about it were other transmascs. Now we see a rash of anti-trans healthcare bills being passed in the US, and they're hurting every single one of us.

When you refuse to call a TERF a TERF just because they didn't specifically say they hate trans women, when you refuse to think critically about a TERF belief just because it's not directly related to trans women, you are actively helping TERFs spread their influence and build credibility.

[littlemixnet]

To me, a good ally is someone who is consistent in their efforts – there’s a difference between popping on a pride playlist or sprinkling yourself in rainbow glitter once a year and actually defending LGBT+ people against discrimination. It means showing my LGBT+ fans that I support them wholeheartedly and am making a conscious effort to educate myself, raise awareness and show up whenever they need me to. It would be wrong of me to benefit from the community as a musician without actually standing up and doing what I can to support. As someone in the public eye, it’s important to make sure your efforts are not performative or opportunistic. I’m always working on my allyship and am very much aware that I’ve still got a lot of unlearning and learning to do. There are too many what I call ‘dormant allies’, believing in equality but not really doing more than liking or reposting your LGBT+ mate’s content now and again. Imagine if that friend then saw you at the next march, or signing your name on the next petition fighting for their rights? Being an ally is also about making a conscious effort to use the right language and pronouns, and I recently read a book by Glennon Doyle who spoke of her annoyance and disappointment of those who come out and are met with ‘We love you…no matter what’. I’d never thought of that expression like that before and it really struck a chord with me. ‘No matter what’ suggests you are flawed. Being LGBT+ is not a flaw. Altering your language and being conscious of creating a more comfortable environment for your LGBT+ family and friends is a good start. Nobody is expecting you to suddenly know it all, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a perfect ally. I’m still very much learning. Even recently, after our Confetti music video I was confronted with the fact that although we made sure our video was incredibly inclusive, we hadn’t brought in any actual drag kings. Some were frustrated, and they had every right to be. You can have the right intentions and still fall short. As an open ally I should have thought about that, and I hadn’t, and for that I apologise. Since then I’ve been doing more research on drag king culture, because it’s definitely something I didn’t know enough about, whether that was because it isn’t as mainstream yet mixed with my own ignorance. But the point is we mess up, we apologise, we learn from it and we move forward with that knowledge. Don’t let the fear of f**king up scare you off. And make sure you are speaking alongside the community, not for the community. Growing up in a small Northern working-class town, some views were, and probably still are, quite ‘old fashioned’ and small-minded. I witnessed homophobia at an early age. It was a common thought particularly among men that it was wrong to be anything but heterosexual. I knew very early on I didn’t agree with this, but wasn’t educated or aware enough on how to combat it. I did a lot of performing arts growing up and within that space I had many LGBT+ (mainly gay) friends. I’ve been a beard many a time let me tell you! But it was infuriating to see friends not feel like they could truly be themselves. When I moved to London I felt incredibly lonely and like I didn’t fit in. It was my gay friends (mainly my friend and hairstylist, Aaron Carlo) who took me under their wing and into their world. Walking into those gay bars or events like Sink The Pink, it was probably the first time I felt like I was in a space where everyone in that room was celebrated exactly as they are. It was like walking into a magical wonderland. I got it. I clicked with everyone. My whole life I struggled with identity – being mixed race for me meant not feeling white enough, or black enough, or Arab enough. I was a ‘tomboy’ and very nerdy. I suppose on a personal level that maybe played a part in why I felt such a connection or understanding of why those spaces for the LGBT+ community are so important. One of the most obvious examples of first realising Little Mix was having an effect in the community was that I couldn’t enter a gay bar without hearing a Little Mix song and watching numerous people break out into full choreo from our videos! I spent the first few years of our career seeing this unfold and knowing the LGBT+ fan base were there, but it wasn’t until I got my own Instagram or started properly going through Twitter DMs that I realised a lot of our LGBT+ fans were reaching out to us on a daily basis saying how much our music meant to them. I received a message from a boy in the Middle East who hadn’t come out because in his country homosexuality is illegal. His partner tragically took their own life and he said our music not only helped him get through it, but gave him the courage to start a new life somewhere else where he could be out and proud. There are countless other stories like theirs, which kind of kickstarted me into being a better ally. Another standout moment would be when we performed in Dubai in 2019. We were told numerous times to ‘abide by the rules’, which meant not promoting anything LGBT+ or too female-empowering (cut to us serving a four-part harmony to Salute). In my mind, we either didn’t go or we’d go and make a point. When Secret Love Song came on, we performed it with the LGBT+ flag taking up the whole screen behind us. The crowd went wild, I could see fans crying and singing along in the audience and when we returned it was everywhere in the press. I saw so many positive tweets and messages from the community. It made laying in our hotel rooms s**tting ourselves that we’d get arrested that night more than worth it. It was through our fans and through my friends I realised I need to be doing more in my allyship. One of the first steps in this was meeting with the team at Stonewall to help with my ally education and discussing how I could be using my platform to help them and in turn the community. Right now, and during lockdown, I’d say my ally journey has been a lot of reading on LGBT+ history, donating to the right charities and raising awareness on current issues such as the conversion therapy ban and the fight for equality of trans lives. Stonewall is facing media attacks for its trans-inclusive strategies and there is an alarming amount of seemingly increasing transphobia in the UK today and we need to be doing more to stand with the trans community. Still, there is definitely a pressure I feel as someone in the public eye to constantly be saying and doing the right things, especially with cancel culture becoming more popular. I s**t myself before most interviews now, on edge that the interviewer might be waiting for me to ‘slip up’ or I might say something that can be misconstrued. Sometimes what can be well understood talking to a journalist or a friend doesn’t always translate as well written down, which has definitely happened to me before. There’ve been moments where I’ve (though well intentioned) said the wrong thing and had an army of Twitter warriors come at me. Don’t get me wrong, there are obviously more serious levels of f**king up that are worthy of a cancelling. But it was quite daunting to me to think that all of my previous allyship could be forgotten for not getting something right once. When that’s happened to me before I’ve scared myself into thinking I should STFU and not say anything, but I have to remember that I am human, I’m going to f**k up now and again and as long as I’m continuing to educate myself to do better next time then that’s OK. I’m never going to stop being an ally so I need to accept that there’ll be trickier moments along the way. I think that might be how some people may feel, like they’re scared to speak up as an ally in case they say the wrong thing and face backlash. Just apologise to the people who need to be apologised to, and show that you’re doing what you can to do better and continue the good fight. Don’t burden the community with your guilt. When it comes to the music industry, I’m definitely seeing a lot more LGBT+ artists come through and thrive, which is amazing. Labels, managements, distributors and so forth need to make sure they’re not just benefiting from LGBT+ artists but show they’re doing more to actually stand with them and create environments where those artists and their fans feel safe. A lot of feedback I see from the community when coming to our shows is that they’re in a space where they feel completely free and accepted, which I love. I get offered so many opportunities to do with LGBT+ based shows or deals and while it’s obviously flattering, I turn most of them down and suggest they give the gig to someone more worthy of that role. But really, I shouldn’t have to say that in the first place. The fee for any job I do take that feels right for me but has come in as part of the community goes to LGBT+ charities. That’s not me blowing smoke up my own arse, I just think the more of us and big companies that do that, the better. We need more artists, more visibility, more LGBT+ mainstream shows, more shows on LGBT+ history and more artists standing up as allies. We have huge platforms and such an influence on our fans – show them you’re standing by them. I’ve seen insanely talented LGBT+ artist friends in the industry who are only recently getting the credit they deserve. It’s amazing but it’s telling that it takes so long. It’s almost expected that it will be a tougher ride. We also need more understanding and action on the intersectionality between being LGBT+ and BAME. Racism exists in and out of the community and it would be great to see more and more companies in the industry doing more to combat that. The more we see these shows like Drag Race on our screens, the more we can celebrate difference. Ever since I was a little girl, my family would go to Benidorm and we’d watch these glamorous, hilarious Queens onstage; I was hooked. I grew up listening to and loving the big divas – Diana Ross (my fave), Cher, Shirley Bassey, and all the queens would emulate them. I was amazed at their big wigs, glittery overdrawn make-up and fabulous outfits. They were like big dolls. Most importantly, they were unapologetically whoever the f**k they wanted to be. As a shy girl who didn’t really understand why the world was telling me all the things I should be, I almost envied the queens but more than anything I adored them. Drag truly is an art form, and how incredible that every queen is different; there are so many different styles of drag and to me they symbolise courage and freedom of expression. Everything you envisioned your imaginary best friend to be, but it’s always been you. There’s a reason why the younger generation are loving shows like Drag Race. These kids can watch this show and not only be thoroughly entertained, but be inspired by these incredible people who are unapologetically themselves, sharing their touching stories and who create their own support systems and drag families around them. Now and again I think of when I’d see those Queens in Benidorm, and at the end they’d always sing I Am What I Am as they removed their wigs and smudged their make up off, and all the dads would be up on their feet cheering for them, some emotional, like they were proud. But that love would stop when they’d go back home, back to their conditioned life where toxic heteronormative behaviour is the status quo. Maybe if those same men saw drag culture on their screens they’d be more open to it becoming a part of their everyday life. I’ll never forget marching with Stonewall at Manchester Pride. I joined them as part of their young campaigners programme, and beforehand we sat and talked about allyship and all the young people there asked me questions while sharing some of their stories. We then began the march and I can’t explain the feeling and emotion watching these young people with so much passion, chanting and being cheered by the people they passed. All of these kids had their own personal struggles and stories but in this environment, they felt safe and completely proud to just be them. I knew the history of Pride and why we were marching, but it was something else seeing what Pride really means first hand. My advice for those who want to use their voice but aren’t sure how is, just do it hun. It’s really not a difficult task to stand up for communities that need you. Change can happen quicker with allyship.

Jade Thirlwall on the power, and pressures, of being an LGBT ally: ‘I’m gonna f**k up now and again’

[emerald-studies]

How to be an ally

(I fixed ALL the links so fucking reblog)

1.  Check In On Your Black Friends/Acquaintances

In my opinion, I believe the best way to be an ally is to reach out to your Black friends and check in on them, consistently. If you can recognize the times we are living in are absolute hell, you should be checking in on the most effected. None of my friends have checked up on me to see how I was doing or just to talk. They didn’t even bring up the protests until I did. It feels very very lonely and scary to not be checked up on by the people who say they support and love you. So, I’m making this the first point because I don’t want anyone else to feel this way, not trying to complain.

2.  Learn More About Black History

It’s important to learn about the Black activists that our history books left out. Yes, Martin Luther King Jr. was, and is, important but we need to reflect on why he was pushed on us so much in our history classes, compared to other Black leaders. Is it because our government would rather us walk down the street holding signs than actually defending ourselves against the cop who’s beating us?

Here’s a master list of activists to start you off.

3.  Go to Rallies and Protests (If you can)

Find protests and rallies in your area by looking on Twitter and search #yourcityprotest. Or watch your local news channel to see where they are (if they’re being covered on the news). Also search on Facebook. Wear a mask.

4. Donate and Sign Petitions

If you don’t have extra money to donate, that’s fine. If you still want to be an ally then sign all the petitions you can. Take a day to research all the ones you can sign/haven’t signed and sign them!

(Also you don’t need to donate to change.org! Directly donate to non-profit organizations and victims’ families!)

George Floyd - change.org

George Floyd - amnesty.org

George Floyd - colorofchange.org

Get The Officers Charged

Charge All Four Officers

Breonna Taylor - moveon.org

Breonna Taylor - colorofchange.org

Breonna Taylor - justiceforbreonna.org

Breonna Taylor - change.org

Breonna Taylor - thepetitionsite.com

Ahmaud Arbery - change.org

Ahmaud Arbery - change.org 2

Ahmaud Arbery - change.org 3

Justice for Oluwatoyin Salau

Pass The Georgia Hate Crime Bill

Defund MPD

Life Sentence For Police Brutality

Regis Korchinski - change.org

Tete Gulley - change.org

Tony McDade - change.org

Tony McDade - actionnetwork.org

Tony McDade - thepetitionsite.com

Joao Pedro - change.org

Julius Jones - change.org

Belly Mujinga - change.org

Willie Simmons - change.org

Hands Up Act - change.org

National Action Against Police Brutality

Kyjuanzi Harris - change.org

Alejandro Vargas Martinez - change.org

Censorship Of Police Brutality In France

Sean Reed - change.org

Sean Reed - change.org 2

Kendrick Johnson - change.org

Tamir Rice - change.org

Tamir Rice - change.org 2

Fire Racist Criminal From The NYPD

Jamee Johnson - organizefor.org

Darius Stewart - change.org

Darius Stewart - moveon.org

Abolish Prison Labor

Free Siyanda - change.org

Chrystul Kizer - change.org

Chrystul Kizer - change.org 2

Andile Mchunu (Bobo) - change.org

Eric Riddick - change.org

Amiya Braxton - change.org

Emerald Black - change.org

Elijah Nichols - change.org

Zinedine Karabo Gioia - change.org

Angel Bumpass - change.org

Sheku Bayoh - change.org

Visit these sites for more info:

http://www.pb-resources.com/

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

5. Educate yourself and others.

Articles:

- “America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer | Atlantic (May 8, 2020)

- Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement (Mentoring a New Generation of Activists

- ”My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas | NYT Mag (June 22, 2011)

- The 1619 Project (all the articles) | The New York Times Magazine

- The Combahee River Collective Statement

- “The Intersectionality Wars” by Jane Coaston | Vox (May 28, 2019)

- Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups developed by Craig Elliott PhD

- “Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?” by Courtney Martin (June 1, 2020)

- ”White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Knapsack Peggy McIntosh

- “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)

Movies/TV Shows:

When They See Us

American Son

Hello Privilege, It’s Me, Chelsea

The 13th

Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story

What Happened Miss Simone?

The Two Killings of Sam Cooke

Who Killed Malcolm X?

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson

Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce (Lighter in tone)

LA 92

Dear White People

Videos:

- Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives: Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, Charlene Carruthers (50:48)

- “How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion” | Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools (18:26)

- American Oxygen - Rihanna

- Formation - Beyonce

Podcasts:

- Malcolm X Speeches

- 1619 (New York Times)

- About Race

- Code Switch (NPR)

- Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw

- Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast

Books:

- The Autobiography of Malcolm X

- Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About RaceBook by Reni Eddo-Lodge

- Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins

- Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper

- Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

- How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

- Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

- The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs

- The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

- This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe Moraga

- When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson

- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD

Follow:

- Shaun King: Instagram | Website

- Antiracism Center: Twitter

- Black Women’s Blueprint: Website

- Color Of Change: Website

- The Conscious Kid: Website | Instagram

- Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): Website | Twitter | Instagram

- NAACP: Twitter | Instagram |

- Ziwe | Instagram | (She has discussions about race with White people, kinda grilling them, every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Super thrilling to watch.)

Here’s Some Music Too:

Change Gonna Come - Sam Cooke

Chain Gang - Nina Simone

Missisippi Goddamn - Nina Simone

Fuck Da’ Police - N.W.A.

This is America - Childish Gambino

I’m Not Racist - Joyner Lucas

Fight the Power - Public Enemy

Freedom (Live) - Beyonce

I Can’t Breathe - H.E.R.

American Oxygen - Rihanna

Brown Skin Girl - Beyonce

+

My Playlist With A Few More

Black Artists Matter Playlist

What a large list! It looks so overwhelming! Don’t worry, you don’t have to read/watch/listen to everything. It takes a lot of effort!

Jk.

[thechangeling]

I had a question for you, and if you would be willing to answer I would greatly appreciate it. Since your last post referenced this, I was wondering if you had any tips on writing Ty specifically, or autistic characters in general? I think that you might have posted on this before, but I couldn’t find it, so I figured I would ask you. Anyway, like I said, if you don’t mind answering that would be wonderful, but if you don’t want to, no hard feelings!

For me I guess it's more intuition like if something just feels right, but that's kind of hard to explain to people so I'm gonna try and put this into words.

I like it when people make an effort to understand Ty's emotions and where he's coming from. I appreciate people taking care of Ty's emotions through the narrative even when it's angsty and treating them as valid. Also putting in autistic traits in a way that doesn't seem forced. Especially more nuanced things like rubbing your neck or running your fingers through your hair. Acknowledge the fact that Ty is pretty smart. I can't stand fics that dumb him down. But don't write him like a super genius who knows everything either.

I wanna see autistic joy. I wanna see Ty getting so happy and excited after finally figuring out the answer to a tough mystery and not being able to hold back his happy stimming. Ty rambling about his special interests to Kit because he trusts him and stimming with Kit's hair and fingers.

I would also like to see autistic anger. Ty getting rightfully pissed and the narrative actually explaining why. Ty losing his shit in ways that aren't pretty and instantly regretting it. Ty getting weighed down by burnout and avoiding Kit because he doesnt have the energy to be social or be around people at all without snapping. Give me Ty trying so hard to tell Kit how he feels despite not being able to find the right words. So he writes letters where he uses other peoples words and quotes to explain.

Address the trauma he has been through! Address the fact that it is just as valid as Kit's trauma!! Acknowledge the shit that his father put him through!!! Explore how complicated that makes his memories of his father especially compared to Ty's siblings. Acknowledge the fact that growing up autistic isolates you from everyone else and forces you to constantly compromise.

Show me Ty loving Kit but also being jealous of him for not having to deal with the ableism that Ty does. Show me Ty being strong but still vulnerable and not invincible. Show me Ty being afraid of messing up with Kit and violating social boundaries and being afraid Kit might not say anything because of his past trauma even when his feelings are hurt.

I don't think allistic writers should be writing internalized ableism, but you can write about how the opinions of others affect him. Don't infantalize him compared to the other characters. If the others are drinking, let him drink. If the others are swearing let him swear. If the others are talking about it having sex then let him do the same. Autistics don't really flirt in my experience, at least not traditionally. But we usually end up smiling more and touching the other person or trying to be around them a lot.

Explore the intersectionality of Ty being queer and autistic. Or maybe don't if you're straight idk. This will probably require further research.

Autistic people acquire new special interests over time. I don't think he'll drop Sherlock yet because he's pretty invested but he might add a new one. You can have tons of special interests at once actually. I currently have five.

Look up theory of mind and how autistic people lack it. Think about how Ty will perceive everyone's actions if he assumes everyone knows what he knows. Maybe show Ty going non verbal after going through a lot of stress and using pictures or a text to voice app to communicate.

Ty listening to other music besides classical! He uses it to calm down and that's valid but I don't like the implication that autistic people only like soft or slow music. That's not true! I personally love heavy metal and alt rock. I lowkey headcanon Ty as a Queen fan idk.

I can't think of anything else but if other autistics wanna add on then go for it. But my final thought is just let him be autistic. Let him stim, let him be blunt, let him be overwhelmed, let him feel music with his entire being, let him have stim toys and comfort objects but don't have him be just his autism. Let him talk about and show interest in other things besides his special interests, let him show his personality, let him make jokes, show him being a shadowhunter. Also let him have a connection to his sexuality! I swear I've seen so many fanfics where Ty talks about being not straight only in relation to his love for Kit or not at all and acts like it doesnt matter. This bothers me a lot. It does matter! Even when you're autistic.

If you have any questions you can always ask me as long as you're respectful.

[the-voice-of-night-vale]

like ok. listen. not everyone is going to be able to get a minor in queer theory, not everyone is going to take an intro to queer theory course, obviously. hell, not even everyone has the spoons to read a wikipedia article about it (altho ironically i’ve noticed other spoonies tend to embrace intersectionality and understand this stuff hmm 🤔)

but like. i think it’s a very simple rule of thumb not to make jokes about a culture and a theoretical framework thats decades older than you when you understand literally nothing about it

not only does it make you look like a clown but you’re also being incredibly bigoted and enforcing the structures of oppression you claim to be against. and like i know a part of this is the internet and a result of the AIDS epidemic and making it really really hard for like. normal queer and lgbtq+ folks to get a grip on the younger communities and it’s way easier for bigots to do it, but like.

this is me pleading with everyone who reads this post to educate yourself as much as you are fucking able about queer theory. it doesn’t even matter if you, yourself, identify as queer because queer theory is important to understanding intersectionality and it will teach you so much about why people in certain corners of our community (TERFs, Transmeds, aspec exclusionists, pan exclusionists, queerphobes, etc.) are actually doing so much harm and are actively doing the work of our oppressors

and if you don’t know where to start? my inbox is always open, i intend to always keep anon open. i’m a queer theory minor and i’m very passionate about intersectional feminist activism and about queer empowerment. i’m also very very autistic and i like to infodump. if you come in genuinely asking me questions, genuinely clueless, genuinely wishing to educate yourself, i will do literally anything i can to help you.

that being said, if you come into my inbox being a clown, i’m not only going to block you, but i’m going to mock you mercilessly and also use your cruelty and bigotry as a teachable moment. so it’s best to just stay out.

this post isn’t safe for: terfs, transmeds, aspec exclusionists, pan exclusionists, queerphobes, anti-kin, people who make fun of polyam folks, proshippers, fash, racists, anti-semites, concern trolls, MAPs, DDLG, fatphobes, and bigots of any kind.

otherwise, I encourage you to reblog this post!