#by a decade and a half

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Can you say more about your thoughts on the anti-hero video? I feel that the whole thing is much more nuanced than either "side" is making it out to be and your tags make me want your take!

Anon: This is just to say that I absolutely agree with your thoughts on the Anti-hero video. It's been bothering me, and is a good example of the discomfort I have felt in certain aspects of online criticism in recent times.

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I've been thinking about Taylor a lot with her tour and so really wanted to come back to this question that I have a lot of thought of.

I should start by saying that I have only seen the most high level mainstream summary of the criticism of the video. For example: "[Taylor] made a choice to explicitly name her demon, the fear of being called fat, which is fatphobia in its most literal sense” or "Taylor Swift’s music video, where she looks down at the scale where it says “fat,” is a shitty way to describe her body image struggles. Fat people don’t need to have it reiterated yet again that it’s everyone’s worst nightmare to look like us." Both those statements absolutely fill me with rage, both because I think they're wrong about what the problem is about how the world works, and because I think they're even more wrong about how to change it.

My read on that scene was that it was a very real, if obvious point, about the messages she got about her body as a person and a performer. It was an artistic depiction of a common experience. I don't think anyone who was criticising was denying that there was something fundamentally accurate about what she was depicting. It was just that they thought she shouldn't depict it.

My disagreement is basically two fold - one is experiential and one is analytical. The experiential part is that I know what happens when women who live in our society feel unable to articulate their actual feelings around fat.

In my late 20s, I was part of an activist scene that had enough of a feminist understanding that people didn't talk about fear of being fat, but not a culture of actual liberatory fat politics. What this mean was that all the feelings that would have been expressed somewhat directly in another context - were filtered through the language of 'health'. Just making some things unacceptable to say hadn't changed the politics around it and hadn't changed the way anyone felt. Instead it just meant that the orthorexia talk went up to 11 - and it was even harder to address what anyone meant. Making the language that actually had meaning to people unacceptable made it harder for people to heal and harder for people to fight collectively.

And as one of the fattest people on this scene, it also didn't make me feel any more welcome or acceptable, it didn't feel like an act of solidarity. I always knew what people meant.

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From an analysis point of view - I think I just fundamentally disagree with the people who criticised Taylor's video about how fat hatred works in society. One of the things that I struggle with in the current moment is a version of analysis that maps one form of oppression onto each other. And one of the starting points is that there is a group that is oppressed and a group that's not oppressed.

I've never thought that's how it works in our society. I remember reading a very early version of a thin privilege checklist (I also hate privilege checklists, but that's a story for another day) in like 2005 that listed things like:

You don’t receive suggestions from your friends and family to join Weight Watchers or any other weight-loss program.

You can eat what you want, when you want in public and not have others judge you for it or make assumptions about your eating habits.

And just thinking - how do these people think the world works - do they really think it's possible for women to be thin enough to avoid this sort of policing?

There are many elements to fat hatred and the way it functions in society - but one important strand is as a way of disciplining and controlling everyone, but particular women. In this thread of fat hatred, fatness isn't a function of absolute body size, but falling outside what is acceptable in a particular context. (I do think there are elements of the way fat hatred - systems of oppression are complicated)

I have never met a woman so thin that I was able to assume that she didn't grow up being told that she was too fat by her mother and other female relatives. As well as this social element to what fat is - I absolutely think the same is true at work. I am absolutely sure there are waitresses, actresses, clothing retail workers, and people who work in the fashion industry as a whole, who are a fraction of my weight, but have not just had to deal with more fat hatred, but more material consequences in their employment for their size than I have. (And of course I can't know, but I think it's likely that my size has contributed to me not getting jobs).

So it doesn't make any sense to me to act as if you can draw a line around people based on body size and say - these people are affected by fatphobia and these people aren't.

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My third disagreement is basically the question of how we create change. One of my big criticisms of the fat acceptance movement in general is that it's incredibly individualistic. There's this huge emphasis on how people feel about their bodies as individuals - and I don't think think it matters so much. The idea that the problem is an individual woman being afraid of being called fat, as opposed to the structures of society that made her feel that way - is just completely fucking alien to my politics and makes me want to rage.

I do think there's a important discussion to be had about how to act in solidarity with each other - and that means not casually reproducing fucked up ideas in the lunchroom every work day. But I think it's incredibly important that there's space for people to make art that honestly depicts how oppression structures our life. We don't change the world, by having a problem with art that depicts how it is at the moment.

[inbabylontheywept]

I was walking out of the Walmart today, and a car passed me, and I got this incredibly vivid impression. It wasn't really in words, but if I had to put it into words, the two key points would be

a). I needed to watch that car and

b). That I needed to be careful, because the driver of the car was a massive bitch.

It kind of took me by surprise, because I really had no reason to be beefing with that car, and I also hadn't really had an impression like that since I was religious, which was in my teen years. Right? It'd been a decade since I had a little voice whisper in my ear, and I'd basically written it off as nonsense.

Anyway, I watched the car, because The Spirits or whatever were very insistent that I did. Car drove fine, went into the parking spot, inched forward, and right when it should've just stopped, the driver gunned it for some reason and it ran into the curb and cracked its bumper.

So, the driver got out, and she went to the front of the car to check that yes, she had cracked her bumper, and then she turned to look at me. The parking lot wasn't empty, but we were the only two people standing in that row, and I'd probably been staring at her for tenish seconds now.

She demanded very angrily to know why I hadn't warned her of the curb. And I could have said I didn't know you were about to gun it or is it my job to help every stranger park, or even could you have even heard me, inside your car?

And all of those would have been fine, but I was really, really busy digesting that I had somehow communed with Mormon Jesus again for the first time in fifteen years, and that the communion had mostly been there to let me watch someone park badly (?), so what I responded with was:

"Because it was foretold."

And I can't tell which would be funnier, if she went silent because there's not much to be said to that, or if she went silent because in Utah, she might actually believe me, but we parted ways without more words.

I'm still kind of digesting this myself, actually.

[wulfhalls]

corrupted godhood. reluctant false messiah. prophecy as a creeping all consuming malady. does the oracle see the future or make the future? the horror of trapping yourself inescapably on purpose. the chains of destiny dragging you towards the path you are fighting tooth and nail to free yourself from. there never having been a chance to begin with. no other choice to make. but making that choice regardless.

[pangur-and-grim]

it’s hard to regain your passion after a burn out. I read someone describe not as re-lighting the old torch, but as crafting a new torch to light, and that is what it feels like! it’s work!

[taffywabbit]

I finally watched breaking bad (all within the past week or so while I worked, finished it and watched el camino last night) and I'm confident this isn't a new thought I'm expressing or anything but genuinely how DID an entire generation of dudes convince themselves Walter White was cool and admirable and intended to be sympathetic. I know ppl just lack media literacy sometimes but I'm still so confused

I don't think I've EVER watched a piece of media that so blatantly depicts a guy making the worst possible decisions at every turn and having his life ruined for it and not being redeemed or made sympathetic in any significant or lasting way. the kinds of justifications villains USUALLY give that make people consider them "morally grey" or "tragic" or whatever (everything I did was for my loved ones, I did what I had to to survive, once I was in this I couldn't get out, I just needed you to trust me so I could keep you safe, etc etc) is ALWAYS framed as complete self-serving bullshit when Walt says it, and one of the only shreds of personal growth he ever exhibits in the whole series is when he finally fucking admits that. every time he does something even remotely cool or drops a quotable one-liner, something terrible immediately happens that makes everything worse and makes him look like an unreasonable idiot asshole again. by the end of the series the ONLY characters they can still contrast as being morally "worse" than him are literally a bunch of bloodthirsty neonazis who kept a guy in a cage for several months. this show is practically SCREAMING at you the entire time not to admire Walt. why did every dude I knew in highschool have his face on tshirts and Facebook pfps.

I just don't get it. at least with The Dark Knight's Joker it was like, a feature-length movie and that's it. you spend a lot less time with the Joker and it has a lot less time to delve into his motivations, so there's way more room for flanderization and misinterpretation as people extrapolate the few cool/interesting/sad things they saw into a whole nuanced misunderstood guy in their heads and online. Walter White has 5 seasons' worth of 45min episodes to convince you beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is a miserable fucking loser who ruins everything he touches because of greed and selfishness. if you weren't watching it for that, what WERE you getting out of this. what DID you think this show was about. am I just missing some key piece of context from 2012 or whatever that would help me understand this

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 271

“Grandmother is visiting,” Damian suddenly said with no warning and with his usual not-quite demanding tone. 

“Who?” Tim wasn’t the only one to startle, seeing as Bruce had practically froze, a downturn to his lips in a silent show of confusion. 

Damian scowled. “Are you deaf Drake? Grandmother is coming to Gotham to, quote, make sure I am being properly cared for.” None of them had known that Ras was with anyone actually. At least Tim was pretty sure that would have been in the files. 

“Oh?” Dick didn’t quite crouch to Damian’s height but it was a near thing. “She-” “He,” Damian corrected, interrupting him. They all exchanged a glance before Dick continued. 

“Is he coming to the Manor or…” 

Damian scoffed again, a tiny bit of a flush against his face. “No, Grandmother will most likely be staying with Akhi-”

Now wait one moment-

“YOU HAVE ANOTHER BROTHER?!” 

[disasterzoo]

dysfunctional girls jv tennis team vs the zombie apocalypse :]

[maverices]

Do you think Mav thought of Ice when he and Bradley marched through the snow-covered forest after being shot down? Do you think he thought of Ice as he felt the cold seep into his bones and the snow kiss his hair and the wind flush his face? Do you think he found the F-14, fully fueled and in near perfect condition, and thought of all the times Ice had gotten him out of a tight spot and back into the air? Do you think he flew the F-14 out to the open sea, hoping against hope there would be a familiar voice over comms, a second shadow on the glistening, deadly waves beneath him? Do you think he stood on deck of the aircraft carrier amidst a chaos of triumph and relief, and couldn't help but look for one particular face in the crowd?

[piosplayhouse]

"Oh dear," the unicorn thought. "I must've really mucked up the story beyond compare! The Red Bull Luo Binghe is protecting the last unicorn scum?! Unconscionable! He should have driven me off the cliff by now!!"

[simply-ellas-stuff]

Rhaenyra hugging Jacaerys while they both cry over the death of Lucerys.

versus

Alicent walking away from Aegon while he sobs hysterically over the death of Jaehaerys.

[pixelaves]

oh i thought the “dev’s name is development” thing was a joke. no dale actually just sucks

[macdenlover]

i really can not stand the “fandom is so fun we’re all just projecting and making shit up” thing. because no i actually deeply admire the canon of my favorite media and all the intention and care and craft put into it. we are not the same.

[dimespin]

I envied some of my character's geometric markings and then I remembered I can do whatever I want

[bryverros]

merlin fanart i disguise as an art study pt 2.

[kelvingemstone]

watcher trying to do a dropout is funny when they aren't offering as much, aren't doing it in 2018 and hence new to the game, and aren't doing it because they're broke! they've got no reason to do it and i think archiving the old videos is just such an unnecessarily petty move. feel free to give me ur password <3 feel free to never buy this :>