#also i don't think it's just the fact that kamala is a woman but rather everything that tr*mp represents

[ishikawayukis]

This isn't prev anon and I'm not usamerican but still . It's so sobering to think about the fact that more than half the voters would vote for a felon but not a woman . Are we just doomed?? As women ????

it's a mixture of things, one of the main ones being that worldwide the far right movement between men, especially young men, has been gaining an insane amount of momentum because they're afraid to lose all the privileges they have that are solely a men thing. so between that and in the US especifically the very self centered mentally of me first me second me third and the refusal to create communities, it is honestly looking kinda grim and there needs to be a shift in this systemic issue specifically. but i do believe, maybe naively so, that that change can and will happen even if it feels like we're taking 10 steps back for every one forward

[lizajane2]

This will be the only time I speak on politics on THIS blog. I stand with Palestine but I do not stand by people who think my rights aren't important. Mine, as a woman, will be stripped away because of Trump being in office. If I got pregnant right now, I'd die from having a miscarriage because the doctor would refuse to perform surgery.

And I'm embarrassed to even be remotely in the same sentence as "white women failed us." 52% of the vote?! 20% of registered Democrats refused to vote because "A vote for Kamala means you support genocide." No, we were trying to preserve the rights we had rather than vote for a man who is a racist, fascist, homophobic, and a rapist. Let's also mention the fact that he is a felon. That is the man who will be sitting in office and if you think he's going to help Palestine, he's not.

"Oh well, you should've just voted third-party or not at all." No. The US is not built for a third-party system. They never win a certain percentage of the popular vote and they are denied Federal Funding. Not voting is also worse. It helps put Trump in office which is exactly what happened when millions of registered voters didn't exercise their right.

"Well, Kamala has been Vice President for 4 years." Do you know what the VP does? Their role is to break tie votes in the Senate. They also prercide over impeachment trials, presiding over electoral vote counts, successor to the President, and acting President. They are also a governing partner, a representative at events, a congressional liaison, and a national security council member. All those things don't involve foreign policy.

And as a white woman who voted for Kamala, I mean this with my whole fucking chest, i don't wanna hear white women MAGA supporters complaining about how they're not getting the healthcare they need after their daughter, sister, aunt, or life long friend dies of sepsis because the doctor refused to perform surgery and save her life. I feel for the women having to go through that. But you, who voted for that, who WANTED that, well that's your bed and you get to lie in it. Don't look to my white ass asking for help because you can't afford the funeral expenses. Don't come to me looking for sympathy. I'll have sympathy for your daughter, who probably could've lived but you stripped that right away from her because you had to stand on being pro-life. I will not help you.

[prodgermmath]

List of reasons to vote for Kamala Harris, for those unconvinced:

Elon Musk really wants Trump to win.

Jeff Bezos also wants Trump to win.

She'd be the first female US President, and that'd be nice.

It'd lock in that Hilary Clinton can't be the first female US President.

Hilary Clinton will have to be hanging around and facing up to the fact that the first female US President isn't her, and I think that'll be neat to see.

It'd lock in that the first female US President won't be Ivanka Trump.

Honestly I'm not as worried about that as I was four years ago, but it'll be nice to not have to worry about it at all.

Elon Musk is probably going to somehow become even more divorced if Harris wins. On the other hand, if Trump wins, he'll become worse than ever.

If Trump becomes President again, I'll have to think about that all the time! I don't wanna think about that all the time! Do it for me!

You know that thing where Right Wingers keep posting pictures of Ella Emhoff (Harris's stepdaughter) and saying "This is the dangers of letting Harris into the White House! The Daughter she raised looks like this!!!", and everyone is just like "Huh? She's a normal woman? What's even your point." and the right wingers go "Oh... erm. Well, yeah. We'll see. Just saying."? What's going on there? Frankly I want to see where that ends up going over the course of a Harris Presidency.

Speaking of Emhoff, she's a vocal supporter of trans rights, and I think it'd be nice to have that in the First Family, rather than whatever's going on with the Trumps.

Seriously, I just really don't want to have to hear about Trump all the time! If he gets in, my Dad's going to be talking about it all the time. Please! For me! Don't get him in!

And to put the disclaimer here to stop people being mad at me. Yes I know these are all petty reasons. I'm not saying any of the big stuff, because look at what the title is. Also yes, I know Harris also sucks, everything sucks!! We only have bad choices! Oh no!

[bandedbulbussnarfblat]

Alright y'all, I'm going do something I don't normally do and get political for a minute. I mean, I reblog things that are political sometimes, but I don't make my own posts about them.

So, I was on Kamala Harris' wikipedia page. Bc she's running for president. And I'm gonna vote for her bc she's not Trump. But I wanna see what she stands for or whatever. For what that's worth in American politics these days. (btw how fucked up is it that everyone refers to Biden and Trump by their last name, but Kamala by her first? like with Hillary there was the excuse of her last name being tied to a former president aka her husband. but with Kamala Harris there is no reason to justify it? it's just plain old sexism)

And I found this:

That's a screenshot from her wikipedia page. Oh shit, screen readers won't be able to pic up what that says. Let me copy and paste it here:

In February 1998, San Francisco district attorneyTerence Hallinan recruited Harris as an assistant district attorney.[55] There she became the chief of the Career Criminal Division, supervising five other attorneys, where she prosecuted homicide, burglary, robbery, and sexual assault cases – particularly three-strikes cases. In 2000, Harris reportedly clashed with Hallinan's assistant, Darrell Salomon,[56] over Proposition 21, which granted prosecutors the option of trying juvenile defendants in Superior Court rather than juvenile courts.[57] Harris campaigned against the measure, which passed. Salomon opposed directing media inquiries about Prop 21 to Harris and reassigned her, a de facto demotion. Harris filed a complaint against Salomon and quit

For those of you who don't know what Prop 21 is, here is a summary from the wikipedia page:

California Proposition 21, known also as Prop 21, was a proposition proposed and passed in 2000 that increased a variety of criminal penalties for crimes committed by youth and incorporated many youth offenders into the adult criminal justice system. Major provisions of the proposition, as summarized by Attorney General of California are:

Increased punishment for gang-related felonies; death penalty for gang-related murder; indeterminate life sentences for home-invasion robbery, carjacking, witness intimidation and drive-by shootings; and a new crime of recruiting for gang activities; and authorizes wiretapping for gang activities.

Requires adult trial for juveniles 14 or older charged with murder or specified sex offenses.

Elimination of informal probation for juveniles committing felonies.

Required registration for gang related offenses.

Designation of additional crimes as violent and serious felonies, thereby making offenders subject to longer sentences.

As someone who works with kids, let me just say that charging a literal teenager as an adult is absolutely horrendous. Because they are not adults. Studies have, in fact, shown that the adolescent brain is only about 80 percent developed.

I have worked with teenagers. They are not children, but they aren't adults. Like Britney Spears said "Not a girl, not yet a woman" Except you know, replace girl and woman with whatever your gender is.

And it's tough for these kids. I think a lot of adults forget how hard it is. Puberty. Hormones. The social hell that is high school. And there are so many of these kids walking around undiagnosed. Bc a lot of mental illnesses can trigger in your teenage years, most commonly depression and anxiety. Which is like, just a natural fear response to the American education system, tbh. Not only for mental illness, but also for disorders and disabilities. There are parents who refuse to get their kids help. I'm not talking about the 'I don't want to medicate my child' people, though they are annoying af too. Like, there are parents who will be told somehow by the school system that their child is showing delays, etc. And they just...refuse to process that. They can't accept it, so their kid goes their whole life until adulthood without getting the help they need. Some of them get help as adults. Some of them don't. And that's not even to mention the dozens of kids who fall through the cracks.

So I personally think it's a good thing that our possible future president was opposed to it. Like, she's got that going for her. And in today's political hellscape I take my wins where I can.

[jyndor]

I'm not gonna punch left ever. like yes do I have both strategic and ideological disagreements with some leftists? yeah obviously since leftist infighting and disagreement is the feature not the bug.

I'm still not saying I'm voting for kamala but I do think she will be a better opponent than trump. I believe in strategic voting so tbh if your district is a swing district, if you are in a swing state, I think voting democratic is smart because they are at least able to be beaten into some concessions from the left when we are organized. one big issue is the liberals who see any criticism as support for the republicans, and they're gonna be annoying as hell but I do think more people are aware that the democrats suck now than they did during the obama years.

that said, it is totally understandable for people in the global south to be hostile to any us president. and it is reasonable for them to hate us for anything we do politically because all these freaks have done material harm to millions of people globally. so I'm not offended as a white queer us american woman that a third world maoist might hate that I am considering voting for kamala harris. it's cool, they're not wrong to be angry with us americans' selfish politics.

and at this same time imo there is no real path forward for a third party candidate in the us. and it's deeply frustrating to me that so many amazing activists use their time and resources on what is to me a herculean task, running for president as a third party candidate and not even for a party like the greens which has name recognition. I'd rather they focus on local politics and even statewide politics, where they have more of a chance. I also don't think they're wreckers though, I just don't agree with their strategies. and they can call me a liberal or whatever for saying that, that's fine whatever lol I'm not going to punch leftists doing important work.

it is one thing to disagree on strategy, even on ideology and politics. but to assume that they are not genuine in their politics... it's just gross and dismissive. you do not know what you're talking about. I don't love the PSL for a few different reasons but I respect the activism they do, and I'm not gonna disrespect leftist activists doing far more than I ever will, even if I don't agree with everything they do.

tumblr is full of white liberals who might in fact have access to financial resources that many others do not have, and that's important for us to understand because it does impact how we view politics. it does. it's so easy for you vote blue folks to call ANYONE who criticizes democrats bots or russian ops or whatever. it does you no favors politically. you do not want to negatively polarize potential allies by constantly treating them like they've got ulterior motives for not supporting the democratic party.

but most people who for instance supported the uncommitted campaign and who were working to get biden out of the race all these months are likely doing so because we WANT to vote against trump. not that everyone in the free palestine movement is a democratic voter or even is in favor of electoralism, but a lot are in the states. so... it's weird to me that liberals treated us like ignorant wreckers who don't care about abortion or queer rights or voting rights etc, or somehow PALESTINIAN RIGHTS LMFAO I mean I'm trying to stay nice and call these libs racist cunts for speaking down to voters of color in particular but that's what it is.

do you really think the people who are the most tapped into politics are not going to vote??? really???? some won't but most will. especially those in swing districts. do you think that someone like me, who has been politically active since I was TWELVE, does not understand the utility of voting???

as always, your job is not going to be speaking down to people so politically engaged that they are threatening to WITHHOLD THEIR VOTES BECAUSE OF FOREIGN POLICY. IN THE UNITED STATES OF NOBODY GIVES A FUCK ABOUT FOREIGN POLICY. they're doing the work you should have been doing this whole time. you will have to sit with your complacency at some point.

your job is going to be getting off your ass and convincing everyone you know who is not registered to vote because they don't care about politics or don't like politics or whatever that they need to be invested in our political system.

bad news: you will not do that by shaming them for being ignorant or apathetic.

good news: a lot of people are very easy to get on board with shit like rent caps (which biden was just talking about the other day, 5% caps on rent federally! that's amazing and would help so many people - we should pressure kamala to adopt that policy) and reproductive justice. a lot of apathetic people care about this shit, they just don't know how it impacts them or where to start engaging with this shit.

do not pull the smug liberal shit, do not speak down to them, meet them where they are at! ask them about the things that they are bothered about, things like potholes and shit. that matters to people. get them registered, drive them to the polls. you will do more good than shouting at lefties on tumblr dot com. otherwise you're just preaching to the choir.

[dgcatanisiri]

I need to grouse some out of my system, because... Well, I don't want these thoughts to stick around, cluttering up in my head.

Absolutely, let's acknowledge the fact that this was the combination of racism and sexism, that letting a black woman become president was so unpalatable, so many voted against their interests.

But there was also so much FAILURE on the part of the Democrats to really recognize the magnitude of the threat, and it was really only when Kamala Harris stepped forward as the nominee you could really see a change in their overall ground game. Unfortunately, that was too little too late.

Because the Democrats never let the threat sink in. Systemically, they could not accept that things weren't going to just go "back to normal," despite the obvious. They let things just sit, they didn't push back, and kept pushing the business of "when they go low, we go high."

They never fully accepted that the Republicans tossed the rulebook aside, swapped the ref with their guys who'd let them do whatever, and that if there was going to be any solution, it had to involve taking action. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented actions - Trump should have gotten thrown in jail the second he left the White House in 2021, all his trials should have been fast-tracked, and impeachments of sitting senators and judges should have been on the docket as of day one, but they just trusted in "the system," the system that had been gamed for YEARS already.

And now we're here.

And people will die.

And we may never see another election in this nation in our lives.

I'm scared. And I'm a lucky one in that I can probably survive, assuming I keep my head down - I'm a cis white guy, so long as I'm not spotted kissing another guy, I can make it out of this probably intact. But people I love and care about will be hurt, will likely die because of this.

I don't want to leave - if anything, I want those responsible to leave, since they're the ones who are saying that we need to "go back" to a time that never existed. Like... Go make your "greatness" somewhere else, while the rest of us aim to make things BETTER.

But I also want to just get out on MY terms, rather than let them destroy everything I love because they think that people not like them getting rights means they lose them.

Hell, I'm even hoping for a Hail Mary eleventh hour miracle, like a reveal of massive corruption making a recount happen and prove that the results were reversed, the Democrats growing a spine and saying "there's no way we're letting a convicted felon and his fascist traitorous cohort take charge," hell, God himself to get off his cosmic cloud and smite the bastard and everyone who supports him, SOMETHING that will say that this is not the world we will have to exist in going forward.

This shouldn't be reality.

[nodynasty4us]

More from the reblogs:

Also worth noting that asking people who they're voting for or discussing candidate policies is pretty illegal on polling location grounds.#If you're a federal worker there's something called the Hatch Act that makes discussing political affairs SUPER ILLEGAL!#But yes your activism is commendable but it's more important for you to be safe. Lie like hell if you have to in order to stay safe!

how much you wanna bet republicans are going to try to go after private voting after this?

I hate that we hold up honesty as this unassailable virtue#that we don't teach people the difference between wanting to avoid taking responsibility and needing to protect yourself#it's another reason I hate corporal punishment so much#if you teach your children that it's wrong to lie even if they know you're going to hit them for telling the truth#then how are they going to know that they don't owe their spouse a truth that the spouse will hit them for?

my older sibling voted for Obama and never told our mother even tho mom was the one who DROVE them to the polling place

Republicans are really out here saying they’d rather be cucked than have their wives vote for Kamala and not tell them.

I was definitely too spooked to vote too far out of line the first time#Fun fact you don't gotta be spooked just vote whatever

for a group that loves tradition conservatives have really forgotten that so many peoples grandparents would NEVER discuss politics#EVER#my parents would never know who their parents were voting for#it was private. secret.#I never knew my grandfather's politics#either of them

and also don't say you wrote in yourself or him or someone you know because if your county releases a record of who received votes#and you or he don't appear with having received a solitary vote then he could extrapolate that you lied#so just say you voted for who he wanted you to vote for#and make plans to leave him#because if hes this frothing mad at the idea of you voting based on your own conscience then you need to get out

seriously you ain't gotta tell nobody who you vote for#also the volume and intensity of their outrage is meant to intimidate you#they are trying to scare you#'

What's "nauseating" is that these men - Watterson and Kirk - obviously don't believe in women as people, who have rights separate from men - from their fathers, husbands, or sons.

But imagine the gender-flipped scenario: An ad that tells you that you don’t have to vote for who your wife wants to vote for, and you don’t even have to tell her who you voted for — after all, you’re your own man, right? Suddenly, it sounds like common sense.

I hope we see a MASS of divorces after this.#that said I think we need to start getting ready to give additional support to battered women shelters.

If it was 1% more socially acceptable and politically strategically viable to say so, they would just straight up tell you that they want to take away your right to vote as a woman.

i remember seeing some right wingers saying that women shouldnt vote because why would you need to vote differently than your husband#and while i think comments like that are made to get people angry and talking#it's interesting to see the same exact sentiment described in this article#“imagine a man working so hard just for his wife to vote against him” thats crazy#proof they hate women and proof they hate democracy#but we already knew that

And they want to take away no-fault divorce. They don't want partners, they want possessions.

"How'd you vote?" "Same as everyone. Secret ballot."

Also if you have to lie you might seriously want to consider a lesbian affair. At least I think that's what Republicans are saying.

also the fact that the republicans were so mad about that ad proves that the ad is right#there's a reason your wife has to lie to you bud

this is on the heels of one trillion pity party op-eds scolding liberals for not wanting to date conservatives or estranging RW family

12:01 PM

The desperation to control woman is disgusting. Crazy from the party of "freedom"

republican men feeling entitled to control how their wife votes is so fuckin….#i'm grossed out for these women#we need to make it easier for divorce in the usa and i'm not joking

not quite related but u can also lie to the democrats themselves#you can say ''i wont vote for you unless you stop giving weapons to israel''… and then vote for them anyway#this is the having your cake and eating it of using your vote for political activism#except that in this case you actually can have your cake and eat it#as long as you're not discouraging others from voting just telling the democrats themselves this (#(in calls to your representative in emails etc etc)#it has no particular downside

my sisters told me they lied to our mom cause they came home to her angrily watching a trump rally#i dont know HOW she believed them#this is the same person who told me 'im not sure im going to let you leave the house until youre voting for the right person'

Republican men don't believe in female autonomy. You, as their wife, daughter, sister, and even mother are their property and its your job to vote their beliefs. Don't worry you're pretty little head and "try" and think for yourself ladies they'll do the thinkin for you….. Don't know how anyone could stand being married to or dating a man like that, but it sure seems to be quite common.

lie about who you voted for and then cheat on your husband, problem solved

Really makes me think of all the whining they do about how liberal women don't want to date conservative men. They'll say that we can just agree to disagree, but then act like a husband owns his wife's vote.

in 2016 I almost got into a fight with my aunt when I told her I voted for Clinton#it really shook me up and I think I cried afterward#both my mom and my doctor separately comforted me and told me “’you never have to tell anyone who you voted for#if they ask tell them it’s none of their business’#they went on to lament how when they were younger it was common courtesy not to ask how someone voted and they don’t like how people#feel entitled to know how someone voted

lying is easier than a divorce#he'll never know#and then maybe one day this decision can help get you the other tools you need to be free of a controlling man

Absolutely lie if you need to. This thread and the ad reminded me how my conservative parents refused to take me to absentee vote when I was in college because they knew I wasn't going to vote GOP. It was the first time I was old enough to vote, and I didn't have a car. My grandmother took me so I could vote before I went back to school. This was over 30 years ago!

so if believe these people think voting for a different candidate is like having an affair#does that mean theyre fucking trump. or something

Amazing how many republican men see their wives as extensions of themselves and not people with their own minds#to paraphrase Granny Weatherwax “Thinking of people as things is were Evil begins.”

it's a secret ballot for a reason#seriously this is why ballot selfies are banned; to protect the secrecy of your vote

“wife lying about her vote is as bad as an affair.” US is wild! Here, you go vote and press a button. Over there you go out and FUCK THE CANDIDATE! Now I understand why the voting time spread through a lot of days! It never made sense to me, but they do need to recover, get some electrolytes…

Man, conservative men just love announcing how fragile they are.

it is always okay to lie to keep yourself safe. it'd be good to start working on a plan to get tf out of this dangerous situation, mind. but: baby steps.

I don't live at my parents anymore#and I'm in a safe space so I don't give a shit about being as vocal as I am#but once upon a time I wasn't#and I got into a huge fight with my mom about it because she voted for Trump and#and I did not#and it was really touch and go whether or not I'd still have a home after that#republicans are always deep into their own dramatics#this is NOT the same as cheating and they're lying to scare you

Every man who has had an affair deserves a woman who votes for Kamala. (Not really, he deserves to be alone. His significant other certainly deserves better. I just was trying to adulterer-shame)

this ad feels sooooo familiar for anyone who's ever been in an emotionally abusive relationship#i would not put it past my dad to pull this shit if any of us (including my mom) still lived with him#all the troll comments going 'but wHy WouLd YoU LiE tO yOuR hUsBaNd???' are being intentionally dense#so that he doesn't make her life even more of a living hell behind closed doors! that's fucking why!

From the October 31, 2024 article:

“In the one place in America where women still have a right to choose, you can vote any way you want. And no one will ever know,” Roberts says in the ad as a woman on screen meets up with her husband after casting her ballot for Harris.

The voter winks at a fellow female voter as her husband asks if she made the “right choice.”

Republicans have responded to the video with outrage, with some claiming that a wife lying about her vote is as bad as an affair.

“If I found out Emma was going to the voting booth and pulling the lever for Harris, that’s the same thing as having an affair,” Fox News host Jesse Watters said on air Wednesday in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.

Other GOP members including Charlie Kirk said the thought was “nauseating.”

[blue-slxt]

I'm not American but we're also mourning because we're about to enter another dictatorship era. Lemme send you and my other favorite Americans a hug 🫂

I appreciate it a lot.

Matter of fact, I have a lot of shit to get off my chest about this whole thing so this is probably gonna be kinda long. Apologies.

It’s so difficult to describe exactly what I’m feeling with this whole thing. I’m terrified and frustrated and angry and sad and so many other things.

The hypocrisy of it all is what really throws me. Like a felon can't even vote for the president but can BE the fucking president????? Hello???? And he's openly said that this will be the last time we ever have to vote, but he actually cares about democracy? You want to leave and go to a different country if he loses, but don't want to let immigrants live here when they leave their country? He can go on live national television and say that illegal aliens are EATING CATS AND DOGS.... and people still look at him and go "yea, I'm gonna vote for that guy". Fucking huh??????

And one of the most heartbreaking aspects of this whole thing is the divides this has caused in my personal life and relationships. There are people that I’ve known for literal years (even my whole life for some) that I’m about to cut out of my life because of this whole thing. Seriously. Like this is not simply about disagreeing about who's better for the economy or whatever. This is about you actively choosing to be okay with racism, homophobia, policing women's bodies, endangering their lives, abandoned unwanted babies, police immunity from brutality, no Medicaid, no social security, no more department of education, the deportation of people that live here and ones that were BORN HERE, hatred, and violence and so much other vile shit. This is about disagreeing on a moral level. You've showed me what you actually value and care about and it's clearly not me or anyone like me so how could I ever want to continue a relationship with someone who feels that way??? Like can we please pretend we have 2 fucking brain cells to rub together and form an actual coherent fucking thought? Not to mention I’ve seen so many people that voted for him saying how crazy it is to cut off someone because of who they choose to vote for because that’s their right and I can’t help but think how funny it is how everyone suddenly understands the concept of letting everyone have their own choice when it comes to a fucking election, but not when it comes to people having autonomy over their own fucking bodies and health.

As a Black queer woman that works in healthcare, I fear deeply for the future of this country. I work in a NICU so I see firsthand what happens to neglected babies, abused babies, abandoned babies, UNWANTED babies and we’re about to just have so many more and it breaks my damn heart.

It’s so sad to see how many people have fallen for his hateful cultish rhetoric. Kamala was a FAR superior candidate in literally every single aspect, but America hates Black women so bad that they’d rather give the power back to a literal convicted felon that was ALREADY FUCKING IMPEACHED ONCE BEFORE.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE ACTUALLY DOING?!

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk 🥲

[nothorses]

heyy! first of all i hope you're doing well. thank you for taking the time out to read and respond to this (if you choose to). this has been bothering me for a while and i'd like your opinion on it.

i read these two articles recently - the first one is about a lesbian professor of gender studies + sexuality arguing why women should be allowed to "hate men"; the second is an interview with her about the article in which she addresses some of the negative responses she got to that article.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-cant-we-hate-men/2018/06/08/f1a3a8e0-6451-11e8-a69c-b944de66d9e7_story.html

https://outline.com/ttKscw

i have a lot of questions about this.

firstly, i cannot tell whether this is the sort of reductionist, radfemmy, "fuck all men" feminist you've been talking about. i understand her sentiments but i disagree with her statement, and i want to get better at identifying shallow feminism. i don't think my personal opinion is credible enough (yet) to draw any conclusions right off the bat. are there any 'tells' or signs that indicate what sort of feminism someone is speaking about (in the same way that there are certain idenitifiers of TERF ideology even when it is not explicitly mentioned)? for example, in the interview, she explicitly says "Where is discrimination? Where are men being excluded? Where are men being abused? Oh, come on." as well as her implied praise of kamala harris as 'the feminist we need in office'. are those things indicators of whether her position on feminism is credible/an appropriate portrayal of how Feminism™ should function? in short, do i take this woman entirely seriously about all this?

secondly, how do you feel about gender being a social construct, as she states? does that not contradict the very real physical dysphoria that a lot of us experience? doesn't it invalidate almost all the experiences of struggle against transphobia and cissexism, as well as our identities, by painting gender identity as 'not a big deal' or 'fake' by virtue of being a social construct? also, is gender identity not influenced by biology to some extent?

thirdly, along a similar vein, how do you feel about gender abolitionism? i don't exactly have a v specific question about this one, i just want another trans person's opinion on how that sort of society would affect them. i do not wish to be stripped of my identity, and i am opposed to gender abolitionism because of that. is this sentiment a product of some misunderstanding i have?

if you have any other thoughts at all about the articles, i'd love to hear those. thank you!

Oooh, anon, these are such good questions.

Why Can’t We Hate Men? by Suzanna Walters

Follow-Up Interview with Walters

Walters does a weird sort of dance in both articles: her argument is that “hating men” is okay and even good, but she has to completely misrepresent what “hating men” is, does, and means in order to make her point align with what she actually believes is defensible.

“Hating men” is not actually about hating men, she says; she doesn’t hate men at all, in fact. She knows they’re not the problem, but rather the systems of patriarchy in place. She knows racism and other intersections make “hating men” complicated at best, and harmful at worst. She just wants men to “lean back” and understand the power they hold; to be feminists. She thinks it’s a good thing to welcome men into feminism.

So then what the hell does “hating men” actually mean, to her? Why make that the hill to die on, if nothing in her argument has anything to do with that hill?

I don’t think she really believes any of the arguments she’s making in the first place. Walters pays lipservice to racism and intersectionality in a brief comment, then never brings it up again. Her view of feminist issues is narrow and shallow, dealing mostly with “the safety of women” and the representation of women in positions of power; both of which fail to address the structural issues of the patriarchy and how it functions, and prioritize Making Women Powerful over dismantling the systems of oppression giving people power over each other in the first place. She believes that all men are universally and inherently benefiting from the patriarchy, and that men in fact are the system to be fought.

Some of this pings as TERFy, too. Walters never really argues against radical feminism. Her argument against gender-essentialism is, as you said, that gender shouldn’t exist at all- but she claims the patriarchy discriminates based on genitalia.

You caught that as well; “where are men being oppressed/abused?” she says, after her performative gesture toward intersectionality. Walters also compares the oppression of women to racism at the same time, which... holy shit.

I’d personally peg her as a mainstream liberal feminist. She’s a successful white professor who sincerely believes that her experiences as a woman are universal. Her takes are surface-level and shallow at best, and edging dangerously close to radical feminism and quiet TERFism at worst.

TL;DR: The Author

She’s a mainstream liberal feminist who makes a string of confused, contradicting arguments because she chose to die on a hill she doesn’t really understand. Her arguments stray TERFy and racist on multiple occasions.

RE: Gender questions

What gender is and where it comes from is a complicated question, and I don’t think there’s a simple answer to it. The major arguments are that it’s social, biological, or psychological; either it comes from how you’re socialized, what your genitals look like, or it’s something built into your brain chemistry (think “wrong body” trans theory).

I personally think it’s a bit of a mix, leaning toward the social and psychological, and that where gender “comes from” is a little different for each individual. Biology has a bit to do with it; we’ve had somewhat consistent ideas "man” and “woman” across various cultures.

But what gender means in each society is different, and how people conceptualize it has been different. What gender someone feels they are may be influences by their culture’s gender expectations. Some indigenous cultures even have anywhere from two to five distinct “genders”, and I can say personally that my conceptualization of my own gender relies pretty heavily on how other people perceive and treat me.

Not to mention that trans people have existed for as long as people in general have, even in societies that lack any formal gender concept for trans folks. So psychology must play a role, too.

So if we strip away all social expectations of gender, we’re still left with psychological and biological influences on gender. Which is part of why I don’t think we can abolish gender to begin with; people will always have internal understandings of gender to some extent, and they’ll always express them, and therefore there will always be a social element to gender. We can, however, work toward abolishing restrictive, binaristic, oppressive gender structures that limit and punish expressions of gender.

And as a sidenote, the whole “gender is just a social construct, but genitals are real” and “we should abolish all concept of gender” thing is extremely TERFy. There are thoughtful and trans-inclusive ways of approaching the question, but usually we’re talking about gender as part of a system of power and oppression. Walters is using the TERF framework that their “gender critical” comes from: gender isn’t real, therefore trans people aren’t real. Patriarchy is just based on biological realities and sex, and we should abolish the idea of gender (as code for abolishing trans rights and theory).

TL;DR: Gender

I personally believe that gender is a synthesis of biological, psychological, and social influences that is highly unique to every individual. There’s no real way to “abolish” it, only systems of power and oppression that rely on and enforce it. Walters’ way of discussing it is extremely TERFy, and her arguments should be heavily scrutinized.

[foureyedfreezy]

I would have rather directly commented on your post but since I can't (and since I'm not sure if your post was just rethoric or if you really wanted an answer) sending you this ask. First Riri, that would definitely be too close to Ironlad power/skill-wise, and replacing him wouldn't make any sense, he's the one who created the team in a specific situation for specific reasons, also Kang has been cast as a Black man so that's good. Now I also do not want Kamala nor Peter on the teams simply because I don't want more straight people in one of the few mostly queer teams. Cassie and her boys, and whatever Eli and (lol)Kate had going on, were already awkward & embarassing enough thank you. Does it still sound petty? I'm okay with it, I'm a tired queer person, and I'm tired of straight people ^^ not sorry.

Also. I'm thinking about Sam's Avengers. That gotta be one of the New Avengers rooster or a mix of some. To me it would make way more sense to have a more diverse this time and "family friendly" (urgh) team for the Earth Mightiest Heroes movies, so : Sam, Bucky, Kamala, Peter, Riri, possibly Yelena, 1 or 2 others, and maaaybe the introduction of the Mutants with one of them as a new character here. Anyway, just my opinion, as an old Spidey fan as well as all those new diverse heroes. It's really not a question of dumb "it's not like that in the comics" case ;)

Here is why I don't agree with the following reasons:

One, there is no proof Riri is replacing Iron-Lad's story. The idea of her connection to Kang is just a fan theory. She has her own story. Her is about a black girl raised in a dangerous neighborhood while suffering PTSD and having black women loving and supporting her struggles. That is rare and important for black women like myself who has insecurities and illnesses but we're generalized with the "strong black woman" trope . No offense to Nate, he's great. But MCU (and DC) is oversaturated with white male geniuses. Ironheart is the only Marvel project with a black female lead. And her presence isn't that random; she is friends with the Young Avengers.

Two, I agree with Peter as a Young Avenger is unnecessary. He has many movies and t.v. shows in the course of 40 years that we don't need more Peter Parker content in general. But Kamala is needed. Yes, she's straight but she's also a Pakistani-Muslim girl who is represented as a normal teen girl; not someone "oppressed" by her religion and culture for a white savior. People of color are still underrepresented, cis/straight and LGBT. And adding Kamala will not change the fact America, Kid Loki, Billy, Tommy are LGBT and they're confirmed in MCU.

Three, part of Riri and Kamala's character development is being around other children. Kamala's leadership consist of the younger generation standing up for themselves and Riri needs to learn socialize with people her age since she's a kid genius surrounded by adults. It would be difficult if they're only around adults 30+ their senior. MCU plans for a Young Avengers/Champions combo and I see nothing wrong with that. As a black bisexual woman, we get to have a dark-skin black girl with a mental illness and a Pakistani Muslim girl as a nice addition to an already diverse team of children of color we desperately needed.

[morningstar-ledger]

@wilwheaton - I admire you and respect you. I do. But you are being foolish. And idealistic.

You think Kamala Harris can win?

Racism and ageism and misogyny are not exclusive to the Republican party, I'm sorry to tell you.

Kamala is qualified. She has the ability. She has the skill. She has the will. But none of that matters.

She is young, a woman, and a woman of colour, at that. I don't say that as a slur. I say it because it matters much more than you possibly realise.

There will be Democrats who would rather not vote (or vote minor third-party) than vote for that. This is a fact, not a guess. Biases cross political barriers. (And social ones.)

If you don't believe that, I suggest that you talk to some of the most powerful, competent women in your industry and ask them how far qualifications, ability, skill, and will matched against men who simply would not choose them over a man.

All hopeful wishing aside, the United States is still too steeped in misogyny and racism to take such risks in the most critical Presidential Election in US History.

As for Joe Biden's ability - you may want to ask yourself: how did one "debate" shake your confidence so deeply when just a few days before you were one of the biggest cheerleaders for Biden in your postings? You "haven't seen anything" to hold your confidence in Bidin's abilities? His accomplishments in the last four years were crippled and rendered useless in your eyes because he had a bad showing in the "debate", and in post-debate media blurbs?

I suggest you base your choice in accomplishments, not MSM - almost all of which is owned and run by Republicans and Libertarians. I also suggest you read intensely about what propaganda campaigns are, and recognise how you're falling for one.

If Biden's health really is of concern, and so far, there's no proof of that beyond a reasonable doubt as yet - you'll get your wish any way. Kamala Harris would then become President the only way she reasonably can - through inheritance. A vote for Biden is a vote for Harris. That's how the office of VP works.

“Clooney wrote of the “profound moment” the country is currently in, noting how just last month he hosted the “single largest fundraiser supporting any Democratic candidate ever, for President Biden’s re-election.” “I love Joe Biden,” Clooney wrote. “As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced.” “But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time,” he continued. “None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe “big F—ing deal” Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.” Regarding the debate, in which the 81-year-old President stumbled continually, Clooney wrote that “our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw.” “We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign. The George Stephanopoulos interview only reinforced what we saw the week before. As Democrats, we collectively hold our breath or turn down the volume whenever we see the president, who we respect, walk off Air Force One or walk back to a mic to answer an unscripted question,” he wrote.”

—

George Clooney calls on Biden to drop out to “save democracy” — just weeks after hosting fundraiser

George Clooney has nothing to gain and everything to lose, by telling the truth right now. Politicians and their supporters hold grudges for eternity. He’s speaking up and saying this now, knowing exactly what the stakes are for him, and for our country.

This is what I’ve been wanting to know. This is what the campaign has been hiding from us: WE all saw that President Biden had a bad night. The question the demands an answer is: was it a bad night? Or has time and age caught up with the president? Are we going to believe our lying eyes, or clap louder?

We don’t vote for just a president; we vote for an administration. For the most part, this administration has been fantastic, more progressive than I ever dreamed, to say nothing of rebuilding a nation out of the wreckage of four years of Trump.

And all of that is going to be burned to ash if President Biden can’t mount an effective campaign to defeat fascism and its leader. Since the debate, the campaign has kept him behind teleprompters and away from unscripted interactions. That’s alarming, and a tacit admission that he can’t fight like he once did, that the person we saw at the debate is the person he is most of the time.

If we lose this election, America will be plunged into decades of authoritarian, theocratic, christian nationalist fascism. The stakes will never be higher, and President Biden and his team need to do what is best for the country.

We will not win this election by clapping louder and gaslighting ourselves. We need — this crisis demands — a candidate who can clearly and easily refute Trump’s lies, and simply and clearly explain to voters what the stakes of this election are. The 2020 Joe Biden could do that; the 2024 Joe Biden doesn’t seem to be capable of that, anymore, and that puts our entire nation and way of life at risk. George Clooney is telling us that he literally just saw, privately, what we all saw in public, and it was not a one-off. He also reveals that every single elected Democrat he talks to agrees with him, but they are too afraid to speak up. That’s horrifying, and I desperately hope it isn’t true.

But if George Clooney is telling us a hard truth, risking the wrath of countless powerful political players, and we should listen to him; not because he is rich and famous, but because he was literally in a room with President Biden and his supporters, and is now on the record that the President Biden we saw at the debate is not a guy with a cold or whatever, and now journalists can follow up with other people who were there to confirm or deny George Clooney’s observations.

These are tough questions that demand answers, now, because we are four months out and this shouldn’t be close, at all. America hates Trump, and he has lost every election since 2018 as a result.

President Biden and the Democrats need to run up huge margins in Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, and Ohio, to overcome the inevitable MAGA fuckery. We need a candidate who is fifteen points ahead of Trump, not someone who has been in the margin of error for his entire presidency – which is fucking insane when you look at all of Trump’s felonies, judgments, impending trials, and all of his corrupt criminality that the SCOTUS MAGA Majority twisted itself into knots to protect.

This should be a landslide against Trump and MAGA. It’s close because the candidate running against him isn’t – likely can’t – be out there, every day, banging the podium and forcing a change in the narrative. 

Did you see my governor after the debate disaster? He was on fire. That guy would destroy Trump in a debate. Vice President Harris would be laser focused on prosecuting the case against him. President Biden is the only candidate who Trump could drag into a fucking dick waving contest about golf scores when the fucking future of American Democracy is at stake. There is not a single other credible candidate who would take that bait. My god.

President Biden has done so much more than I ever thought possible. He doesn’t get credit for all his progressive achievements, for pulling America out of a economic calamity (caused by Trump and his allies), forgiving student debt, his appointments to the FCC, FTC, and other regulatory agencies that had been captured by industry during the Trump regime.

All of that will be wiped out in a matter of days, if Trump seizes power again.

George Clooney is warning us that President Biden doesn’t have the stamina and focus to win reelection and secure not just his legacy but the future of our country. He is saying out loud and as publicly as possible that we are not crazy, that we really did see what we saw.

This is DEFCON 1 for Democracy. This isn’t politics as usual. This is a moment of tremendous existential danger that only gets worse with each passing day. IF President Biden remains the candidate, I will vote for him, obviously. But I hope that he will fire everyone involved in preparing him for the debate, because they failed him, they failed America, and if Biden is going to take the fight to Trump and MAGA the way he needs to, it he needs a team who understand who they are fighting against, how to punch Trump in the nose, and what the stakes are.

[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

Okay, cool, @yangsrose I'll do y'all a favor and put it under the read more.

So first of all quick recap for the girls who don't know. Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, has a sort of polymorphing ability, I believe it's referred to as Morphogenetics in the comics but forgive me it's been a while since I read them. To sum it up, she can elongate, reshape, and alter parts of her body at will. To add onto this, she can change her appearance. Keep that in mind, we'll head back to it later. There's also this one time she time traveled because of her abilities but we don't need to get into that rn anyway onto the rant.

One of Kamala's defining character arcs is, unsurprisingly, her first one. Basically, one night she has a dream where she meets three heroes who she idolizes, Captain American, Iron Man, and Captain Marvel. She expresses to Captain Marvel that she's inspired by her the most and when she wakes up she finds that she now looks just like Carol Danvers. She freaks out, figures out that she can polymorph, and, this is the most important part, she transforms back into what she looked like before.

Coming from a brown girl, albeit a different brown girl (Kamala is Pakistani and I'm Filipino) that shit hits. A lot of Kamala's struggles, developments, and understandings revolve around her cultural identity as a Muslim Pakistani woman, the fact that she chooses to remain herself is something that just resonates so strongly with WOC specifically. She has the opportunity to take the easy route, but she chooses to stay true to herself. It's her accepting her identity and rarely thinking of straying away from it despite having the ability to that makes her polymorphogenetic abilities so important to her character.

Not to mention, many times the people who created her have emphasized how important her polymorphing abilities are. I believe the correct words they used were something along "it's an uncomfortable and slightly ugly power, but she's proud of it." And it's true, Ms. Marvel's staple move is enlarging her fists to pack a bigger punch (excuse my pun), it's something akin to a message of body positivity, be proud of the parts that people typically frown upon. It's what makes you you. I saw a tweet today that literally said "I'm so glad they're getting rid of her ugly big fists" like idk who that was but they're part of the problem.

She as a character is inspired by, and this is straight out of the comics, the "beautiful and awesome and butt-kicking and less complicated" Carol Danver's Captain Marvel. But she's not supposed to be her. She knows she doesn't have her abilities, she knows she's not a white woman who belongs in the cosmos, she's a highschool pakistani girl. That's part of the reason why her abilities don't match Captain Marvel's, they're not supposed to. It highlights Captain Marvel as her inspiration rather than her predecessor, and it brings their differences to light and it shows how they're unique characters but are still remarkable because of it. Kamala doesn't want to be her, she wants to be like her. Look back at the quote, none of what she said mentions Captain Marvel's powers at all, it's all her character, her personality.

Of course, I'm still going to watch the show. Not watching the show will just make the big corp that is Marvel/Disney think that people don't care about BIPOC heroes when we do, we just want them to be represented correctly. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about how they're going to handle it, but allow the WOC comic fans to be upset about the power change because it's so much deeper than just "the MCU should stay comic accurate."

Anyway, TL;DR, changing Kamala's powers in the MCU drastically changes an integral part of her character development. Her polymorph abilities are important to Kamala because she is a woman of color. Changing them to "cosmic abilities" greatly affects that.

Anyone who's reading this feel free to correct or add on to my ramblings lolol

Do you guys wanna see my rant on why Kamala Khan's power change in the MCU pisses me off and why I think everyone who prefers her power change raises red flags in my head :D