#culture tag: america

[haveyouheardthisfolksong]

Culture note: US American initially, at the very least since the mid-20th century there have been French, Welsh, German, Norwegian and Icelandic versions with the same tune but sometimes vastly different texts (submission)

If you have heard any version of this song, vote "yes."

[magicalgirlypop]

honestly, i am so deep into magical girl fandoms that i forget their focus on female characters and sapphic ships isn't the norm in every fandom. like i was just watching this video because i needed some background noise while i drew

and i was so blown away by how male centered all the fandoms featured here are. m/m ships are the front and centre while f/f ships and female characters are pushed to the back. even in fandoms with a more platonic/family oriented focus, the relationships between male characters always take precedence over those of female characters. and you can't tell me "well, the female characters in x media just aren't well written" because male characters can be worse written and fandoms will take what little personality they've been given and make so many aus, hcs, fanart, fanfics etc. bbc sherlock fandom gave a male character who never even fucking appeared in the show a whole personality, backstory, characterization etc but never bothered to do the same with the female characters they claim were poorly written.

and honestly, its so sad. because there's so many good female oriented media and f/f ships out there but they just won't get the attention that male oriented media gets because people always need a man in everything. you can use the excuse of the female characters being poorly written all you want but even in media where they ARE well written, they get pushed aside in favour of men.

and god forbid you call this out, especially if you're a lesbian, you'll be accused of being homophobic and hating all mlm. i've seen it happen so many times on twitter. just because someone criticizes how mlm always gets precedence over wlw, doesn't mean they hate mlm. mlm rep is important but it sucks how its always given preference over wlw just because people prefer following men's stories than women's stories.

[usernamesarehard1]

[coca-coeli]

more effort could hypothetically come at some point in the future. psychic japanese youth eats specialty thai food and it’s so spicy he time travels to 1965 oklahoma

[a-star-that-burns-brightly]

(x) David - bisexual with a strong female lean. but he describes himself as “straight but also not opposed to any random impulses that may arise”

I kind of overlooked this for a very long time admittedly, as I assume a lot of people did because I rarely appear to see this discussed in depth minus one, but like. I know this is an Andrew Garfield quote, but the actual prospect of David being fifteen feet in the closet makes so much sense. He is an incredibly notable figure in the universe of DRDT, his whole character is basically built upon that fact. Something else that's pretty obvious is that David is someone who cares a lot about how he's perceived by others. He works hard to make himself as palatable and uncontroversial as possible to other people. It's no wonder that he would hide and/or sugarcoat his attraction to men when describing his sexuality to the public, or even begin repressing it himself. And not only that, but it makes the inappropriate way he responded to Nico being forcefully outed make so much more sense

(x) David: So then, revealing your secret was a good thing, right? That way, you won’t have to be misgendered anymore. Nico: … Nico: I wasn’t ready. David: This is definitely an improvement. It’s good for everyone to be open with their secrets.

Like no wonder this man cannot be trusted to handle queer identity in a respectful way, he's repressing his own so far that it's going to come out of his ass.

[mr-payjay]

i am making my own ii human names list, but very slowly, because i am pedantic. also, i will not be counting mephone creating them as canon. ive had these ethnicity and family hcs for ages, and i will base my names on them. now, here are the two most important names.

OJ: Olivier-Jean "OJ" Jacques Silveira. my oj interpretation/gijinka is brazilian (paternal side) and ivorian (maternal side). his last name comes from his father and is brazilian portuguese. his first name and middle name were given by his mother, as many people in côte d'ivoire speak french (french colonization —> it's the official language now but there's MANY others accompanying it). a lot of people who speak french like to use "jean" in hyphenated names (trust me ive met a bajillion of them), so i included it. i think his name sounds quite classy.

oj was born and raised in america, speaking english at school and french at home. as well as some portuguese, but he never actually learned it. i think he would become quite pissy when kids at school would pronounce his name incorrectly (Olivier-Jean is... very not intuitive to english speakers. i believe they would say it like Oliver-Jeen) so they ended up using oj as shorthand. and he was fine with that, so it stuck. but at home he's Olivier and Olivier-Jean. he tells new people he meets to call him oj just because it's consistent and because he doesn't like the sound of his real name being mispronounced. coming from someone who constantly gets her real names mispronounced.

Paper: Paige Hsu (foreign name) and 许佩妍 / Xǔ Pèiyán (original name). my paper interpretation/gijinka is han taiwanese, so fully of han chinese descent. more specifically, hoklo (chosen because i hc he can speak mandarin AND hokkien). his family immigrated to taiwan from fujian (province in china with hoklo ancestry) post ww2. Xǔ is a particularly common surname in fujian, so i chose it for him. be gentle with me if i messed up with his given name LOL i know much less about chinese than french (but DO inform me if you know more about it and spot any mistakes!). Pèiyán means, in a way, beautiful garment. to wear something beautiful. to be adorned. etc. it's partially based on trying to make it seem a bit like the name "Paige", partially based on what i think his mother might name him (no real hopes or dreams for him so it's a little shallow), partially based on him as i know him (focused on presenting himself). it's also, as far as i know, a name mostly used for women. note that my interpretation of paper is usually a trans man.

now, Paige is unisex, it sounds like page, and it's a loved one of mine's favourite name for him, so i like it. i also think it makes sense for when he immigrated to canada with his mother as something they chose, and something he can still keep (being conveniently unisex). Hsu is one of the taiwanese romanizations for Xǔ. im not sure if he'd take on oj's last name. perhaps he'd hyphenate them. he's not particularly attached to his family, but Paige Hsu is quite a pretty name.

bonus: nickel is named Nikola Stević. this one was easy because my interpretation of nickel is kosovar serb. last names come from the father but the exact practice of it is a bit outdated so Stević is likely from his grandfather or great-grandfather (unless im misremembering how it works). i don't like the name Nicholas his name is Nikola. Nicholas sounds like a sweet little boy Nikola sounds like a menace. i see Nicholas everywhere start calling your nickel Nikola

[americaisdead]

modernist drive-in bank vestibule. wichita falls, texas. september 2023

© tag christof

[iminthebackdrinkingpepsi]

I can feel the ghosts of the ones before, whispering through the cracks in the floor.

[minisophia]

Consider: globalization sucks in a lot of ways - at least, how it's used by wealthy capitalists to exploit laborers and extract natural resources without the consent of Indigenous groups, etc etc - but in this day and age, it is so much easier to be a truly "global" citizen and partake in as many cultures as you like. The internet makes it possible to learn about anything, and you can buy items from almost anywhere.

Why wear just Western clothes when you can buy a sari? Or a kimono? Or a hanfu? You can support creatives making a living selling their cultural clothes, and have such a bombass wardrobe, too.

There was an African clothing store in my mall that I passed a bazillion times but finally went in one day, and when I finally went in, I was so glad that I did. I left with a gorgeous shirt, an amazing headwrap, and a whole two-piece outfit. They get many compliments whenever I wear any of them.

My wife and I wore hanfu to our wedding. Why? Because she adores hanfu and finds them to be the height of fashion. She also has always wanted to wear hanfu alongside me. Is she Chinese? Am I Chinese? Nope.

Same goes for music. I love listening to K-pop and I don't speak a lick of Korean. I recently have gotten into Northern African rock, and it fucking slaps.

I do belly dancing (that's a very Western term, but it's really called raqs sharqi) that's mixed with flamenco. I want to learn Argentine tango and Brazilian samba so bad one day. I'm also very interested in learning how to properly twerk.

It goes on and on for all the art and media you can consume... don't let subtitles stop you from watching that foreign media. Yes, taking the time to read subtitles and experiencing the media in the original language makes a difference, imo. Dubbing ain't the same.

Don't let claims of cultural appropriation stop you from partaking in other cultures. We live in such a beautiful, diverse world and it's so much better to celebrate it. It allows for so much more connection.

In a globalized world, cultural appropriation is inevitable. It's part of cultural exchange. Just don't act like you invented stuff you didn't (which is the problem with how American white people tend to engage with Black culture, for example. It's not internet speak, it's AAVE). Take the time to learn about the cultures you engage in, talk to those people, educate others. And you're golden.

I also love how this fits with having an internationalist view of politics. I want to care and be invested in humanity far beyond the made-up borders of my country. I want to be able to connect with people all over. And funny how learning about other cultures broadens your views, reduces bigotry, and generally makes you more accepting and open. Just a thought.

[arathejedi394]

snippet of ch6 of my warlord/prince fic

Steve purrs and nuzzles into Bucky’s neck, seeking out his scent gland. Bucky tips his chin up to let him. Post-coital, Steve is drowsy.

“Nap, darling,” Bucky encourages. “I’ll wake you up in about an hour for the games.”

Steve nods and yawns. He snuggles closer to Bucky’s neck, but shivers a little. Bucky grabs a fur blanket and pulls it up, covering them. Steve sighs happily.

“Thank you, Daddy,” he mumbles.

“Of course, sweetheart.”

Steve dozes, content with the scent of his Alpha in his nose. Vaguely, he’s aware of Bucky slipping his cock from him at some point, after his knot released. Steve just presses closer, hands tucked between their bodies. 

Then, sometime after Bucky pulled out, Steve wakes to Bucky’s soft, deep voice.

“Time to get up, little one. We have games to attend.”

Steve yawns and nuzzles into Bucky’s scent gland. Bucky kisses the top of his head.

“You’ll enjoy watching,” he promises. “I’ll be in each fight.”

“Won’t get hurt, will you?” Steve asks.

“If I do, it’s the will of the gods.”

Steve scowls at that. He pushes up and catches Bucky in a kiss.

“If you get hurt, I’ll beat you,” he whispers boldly.

Bucky laughs, throwing his head back. Steve takes the opportunity to bite none-too-gently at his scent gland. Bucky laughs again and rolls them over to put Steve on his back, then kisses him soundly.

“Feisty little one, aren’t you?” Bucky purrs. “I swear, darling, I won’t get hurt. It’s bad luck, after all.”

Steve is satisfied by that. Bucky pushes up and pulls him into a sitting position, then lifts him off the bed. He puts Steve back on his feet, then picks up the discarded shift.

“Arms up,” he says.

Steve lifts his arms and Bucky pulls the shift onto him. Bucky then picks up the robe, unbuttons it the rest of the way, and helps him into it. Steve steps back into his slippers and Bucky puts back on his shirt and boots. Bucky guides him into the sitting room, and then out. They return to the first floor, then go through the grand front doors outside.

An arena has been set up in the courtyard. Spectators are already gathered, but the arena is empty. Bucky walks with Steve over to a tent, enters it with him, and they find Thor and Brunhilde waiting, wearing armor. 

“How was it?” Brunhilde asks with a grin.

“Oh, he’s a dream,” Bucky answers, swinging his arm over Steve’s shoulders. “Better than anyone I’ve ever fucked, and he has zero experience, even.”

Steve blushes. Thor and Brunhilde laugh.

“It’s the virginity,” Steve mutters under his breath.

Bucky, Thor, and Brunhilde still hear him and they all laugh again. Bucky yanks Steve against his side and kisses his braids.

Natasha then enters, her face painted with red warpaint and wearing armor, but no sleeves. Her armor is also decorated with teeth, but no human bones. 

“Looking forward to trying to cut you,” she says to Bucky. “But I’ve heard even demi-gods don’t bleed.”

“We don’t,” Bucky says with a feral grin.

Natasha snorts. Bucky crosses to a trunk and opens it, then, strangely, rips his shirt off. He dons the same sort of armor as the day before though without his shirt, and with a different vest that has less coverage; straps connecting metal-reinforced leather over heart, belly, and low back but exposing skin elsewhear. Steve is once again disconcerted by the jawbones that look very human. Bucky paints his face with black stripes and ties back his hair with a leather cord. He then reaches out for Steve and Steve immediately goes to him. Bucky grabs him by the waist and kisses him thoroughly. Steve forgets anyone else is in the tent and he whimpers, standing on his toes to press his clothed prick against Bucky’s tasset.

“He really is easy,” Natasha quips.

Steve jerks back and blushes, but Bucky laughs. He steps back and picks up a massive sword, made of black metal and sheathed in leather decorated with more animal teeth or claws, and gold. He straps it to his back, then picks up a helm made out of iron and a large, vicious looking skull, which he puts on. His eyes show through the empty sockets of the skull and the upper jaw frames his cheekbones. Bucky pauses, grabs Steve by the jaw, and roughly wipes his mouth with his thumb. It comes away black. Steve touches his lips.

“Good enough,” Bucky says. “Let’s go.”

They all exit the tent. The spectators see Bucky and cheer. Bucky raises a fist in triumph to them, then guides Steve to where his parents are standing, looking sour again.

“Spend a little quality time with your son,” Bucky says. “But not too much. I don’t want him distracted from the ring.”

Neither Sarah nor Joseph say anything. Bucky catches Steve’s waist and kisses him sharply but briefly, leaving more black on his mouth. He then turns and strides up to the arena, hopping the fence marking it. The spectators cheer louder. Bucky throws up both fists and circles the arena predatorily. He stops in the center, then throws his head back and howls like a wolf. The spectators fall silent.

“Let any who wish to challenge me cross the fence!” Bucky shouts. “By our laws, it is tradition I be put to the test before my mate before I wed him! Make it a good one, folks!”

The cheering starts up again. Immediately, Natasha jumps into the ring, drawing two short swords.

Bucky draws his greatsword, then the two begin to circle each other. The cheering doesn’t stop. Natasha and Bucky seem to be exchanging words, but they are not audible.

Suddenly, Joseph grabs Steve by the arm and hauls him close. Steve yelps and is startled, but Joseph slaps a hand over his mouth.

“Silence!” he hisses in Steve’s ear. “There is one thing left you are good for –”

He shoves a sheathed scian at Steve. Steve fumbles with it.

“Hide it,” Joseph growls in a command.

Steve finds himself obeying. He shoves it into his stockings and straightens up.

“Tonight,” Joseph continues to command, “you will rid us of this pagan usurper. Slit his throat and we will absolve your sins.”

Steve gasps.

“Silence!” Joseph commands. “You will not speak of this. You will do your duty by your people. When Barnes is dead, we can drive out his armies.”

Steve is distracted by Natasha charging on Bucky. Their swords collide and it rings in the air. 

“Do I make myself clear?” Joseph demands.

Steve just nods. He doesn’t know what to do.

Abruptly, he hears Bucky laughing. Natasha ducks under his sword and slashes at his legs, but Bucky jumps out of the way. Steve finds himself shaking. Joseph shoves him away again. Steve glances at Sarah, but she won’t look at him.

“But…” Steve whispers. “Isn’t – isn’t murder a sin?”

“You are already a sinner!” Joseph snarls. “You may find forgiveness after you do this. I will bite you so you do not suffer bondsickness. Then you will be sent away. Your mother will have another child.”

Steve looks at his mother again. She makes no expression. She’d only ever had one litter because it had nearly killed her and out of the the three pups she’d born, two were stillborn. He knows she’s refused to have another litter every time Joseph asked her to, which only worked because their personal physician recommended she didn’t try another litter. He can’t believe she’s caved to this.

“Speak no more,” Joseph demands. “Watch your… your Alpha,” he spits out.

Steve turns, shuffling. Bucky brings his sword down on Natasha and she catches it with both of hers, forming an X. Bucky then kicks her between the legs, but she darts back. Bucky charges on her and she ducks, circling around so Bucky puts his back to Steve. Steve, even from a distance, can see sweat dripping between Bucky’s bare shoulder blades. The two cross blades once more, then Bucky throws Natasha off and she stumbles. Bucky swings his sword and the tip catches her on the cheek. Blood immediately forms along the cut. She draws back, at once sheathing her swords.

The crowd cheers tenfold.

“FIRST BLOOD HAS BEEN DRAWN!” Bucky calls above the din, raising his fist to the air.

Natasha exits the ring. She’s followed by Brunhilde.

Steve shakes the rest of the morning. Bucky fights Thor, then Loki in trousers instead of his – their dress, then Rhodey, then even Wanda, and after her, a handful of warriors Steve doesn’t know the names of. Bucky wins each and every match, though Steve can tell his opponents are truly attempting to draw blood with how viciously they attack. The dagger under his robes is a heavy weight. Steve doesn’t know what to do.

The sun is high in the sky as Bucky jumps the fence again. He walks in a straight line to Steve and, still upset by the scian in his stocking, he lifts his hands for comfort. Bucky takes him by the waist, then lifts him and tucks him against his chest.

“To lunch,” Bucky says, a bit out of breath. “I’ve worked up an appetite.”

Steve nods. Bucky begins to walk again and Joseph and Sarah fall into step behind him. The captains including Domino  and chiefs and their partners then follow, and after them, the crowd of spectators. Servants open the front doors and Bucky strides through them. They go to the great hall and many people are already waiting. Bucky walks up to the high table, crosses behind it, then takes the center seat. Joseph sits at his left and Sarah beside him. There are nine seats, and beside Sarah sit Bruce and a woman Steve doesn’t know. On Bucky’s right, Natasha sits with Clint in her lap and Wanda, Darcy, and Jane at their right. Bucky pulls Steve across his lap and waves a hand. Servants stride up with food, then they serve it, holding each dish and putting food on their plates before going to the right to serve the next plate.

Bucky puts his hand on Steve’s leg and it lands on the knife.

“What’s this?” Bucky says, flipping Steve’s robe up. “Now, I didn’t give this to you, pet, where did you get it?”

Steve sucks in a breath. Joseph is staring straight ahead. Joseph had commanded him to tell no one, so he cannot speak. But Bucky’s word is his law. He feels compelled to answer.

[jasmineiros]

Valentina Cid de Sinhazinha da Fazenda no Festival de Parintins 2023. 🤍💙🤍

[haveyouheardthisfolksong]

General Disclaimer: While this song has religious connotation, this blog is purely for polling and does not intend to promote any religious ideologies.

[the-everqueen]

...not to be insane but i stumbled on a fic where h*b is the Nahuatl deity Quetzalcoatl and i. i cannot. the once slave trader has been posed as a Native god. what.

[autisticlinkk]

I ask this with shame: Please donate a small amount that may save my father's life, he needs daily medication worth 55€ and will undergo surgery worth 250€💔, Please don't ignore my message and don't hesitate to help me 🍉

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The last donation was a while ago😞

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[isaacsapphire]

re-watching Star Trek Voyager, and I’m suddenly reminded by the degree to which “no nonsense reddish-haired woman of Celtic ancestry” was just a standard female character archetype in late ‘80s through very early 2000s nerd fiction. What was up with that? Seemed to also be a major thing in romance novels, although I haven’t read more than one of those, being a man and all. Every so often it seems like I should, get some insights onto what women are into these days.

To be clear, I’m not complaining, in many ways I grew up with a 80s-90s media diet, despite not being in that generation. I still prefer a lot of the nerd culture stuff of those days to modern SF/Fantasy, if I’m being honest. It’s just funny that the celtic women thing was so ubiquitous that I hadn’t really even noticed it was a trend until it stopped happening. Probably the reason for my dating history and deep affection for petite women with big personalities, tbh, although sadly I’m not much of a Space Fabio myself.

amusing aside, much of my life as a little kid and teenager I had this kinda low-grade fixation on wanting to be jacked n stacked, and I’m pretty sure it was from seeing romance novel covers at the grocery store. Never bring this up with the other dudes at the gym, but my fitness origin story was being 8 and wanting to be like that cool guy on those weird books I wasn’t supposed to look lmao

The use and position of redheads in older media seems to have been replaced by Blacks, and in some cases redhead characters are been changed to Black in more recent renditions of properties (eg. Annie).

The Celtic women archetypes in that era were one facet of the wider culture moment that Celtic stuff was getting and Caucasian curly hair was having a moment too. And all that was about the position of Irish Americans, and the internality of those Americans, and also probably a bit encouraged by the IRA or its supporters in retrospect.

[ishomieokay]

As a Latin American, there's nothing more infuriating for us than a person with Hispanic descent who thinks they are better than other Latinos because they speak English or because they have an American passport.

Even worse, the motherfuckers who understand Spanish but refuse to speak it. Lmao, I know it doesn't make sense but I'd pick a white supremacist over you any day.