#full of internalised misogyny

[edwardseymour]

“She was a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon for several years alongside Anne Boleyn, so she would've witnessed the way Anne held Henry off for so long by pleading her virginity. She watched, and she learned. There is a famous tale of how Jane was picking out items for her wedding to the king, while Anne awaited her execution in the Tower. If true, it would show sprinklings of a cold heart. [...] I wonder if Jane was reminiscing over these events, as she was dying of child-bed fever, and if so, what her thoughts on them were. Did she pray for forgiveness for the part she played? I like to believe that she did, given how spiritual she was known to be.”

abfiles comments writing fanfic fantasising about jane seymour in moments of terrible duress!

[tinylilvalery]

Shiv stans will literally think infantilising her to remove her from any responsibility of her actions is a hot take lol. Mf, Shiv is an adult like everyone else on this show, she's responsible for her actions. She's not a little feminist angel who has no agency.

[missmisandrytabletalk]

I hate it that soft porn and female nudity has become a norm on every social media platform. there's not been a single time I haven't had to see that bizarre promiscuous content surrounding teenage girls having their nips and bosoms out & don't even get me started with those comment sections which is full of those porn addicts constantly thirsting over them. though the most abominable thing is seeing those young women feel empowered in their own objectification and feeding those incels with exactly what they seek from women. what they fail to understand is that the liberal feminism itself is a hoax and reeks of internalised misogyny. i mean now look where are these young girls and women really heading to? plus these female celebs in the west infuriates me even more for promoting and glorifying the use of OF. and guys.. have you seen the trending shows on netflix recently? i mean more than half of the content is about male sexual fantasies and 365 days-ish eroticas. ofc the male audience is flourishing on such platforms. so appalling and a really high time for us to actually do something about this obnoxious filth taking over the internet.

[faggotthatwilldie]

It makes me SOOOO angry when people draw Marvin (especially revival Marvin) as some skinny or buff hairless pre-teen or just not the chubby body type he actually has. He’s a full grown man with body hair, he also has a lot of internalised homophobia and misogyny, he wouldn’t be shaving or grooming himself at all. He’s also definitely got more chub in act 2 than act 1 (I am an avid lover of gaining weight to symbolise happiness btw) but he definitely has it in act 1 too. He also has wrinkles, aging imperfections and he’s probably got chubby features/‘imperfections’ (e.x. Hip dips, stretch marks, rolls, rough patches of skin where its been stretched/pushed together). I do also hate when people draw Whizzer skinny when he, in fact, is muscled/toned and well groomed but he also is a young/middle aged adult, who is confirmed to have body/leg hair. Bottom line is, Marvin AND Whizzer aren’t little twinks, Whizzer is a muscley jock and Marvin is a grown ass middle aged man!

[theflashjaygarrick]

I hate this scene so much. Just to be clear I know that this does reflect a real experience a lot of women and girls go through growing up, the realisation that you don't actually hate feminine things and you just were taught to. And to give him credit I feel like Tom King read one feminist think piece about internalised misogyny and girls growing to like pink so congrats for the effort I guess.

But the problem is, did it have to be Cassie? Cassie is one of the few characters in the Wonder family, and honestly in DC, to be gender nonconforming (in presentation). And DC if full of kickass feminine women who can hold their own and fight. Hell, that is literal the entire point of the Wonderfamily and the amazons. Cassie being butch could have been shown girls and women that there are all sorts of ways to be a woman. That being gnc or more masculine doesn't mean you have to hate other girls or femininity. It just means that it isn't you. And that's okay.

Some gnc Cassie panels:

And sure, this isn't the worset thing that happened to Cassie (New 52 was a bad time) but it still frustrates me. To me this scene low-key implies (perhaps intentionally) that Cassie being a tomboy as a character flaw that she had to grow out of and did after meeting the Wonders. That the more butch elements of her characterisation that a queer fans saw themselves in was actually just her not believing feminine women could be powerful. And considering this is written by a cishet man (not a woman reflecting her own experiences with the struggle of femininity) I am not a fan.

[swordoffrivolousthings]

Aphrodite, a PJO opportunity not taken

The Percy Jackson Universe is full of gods and monsters, from many different mythologies. But personally, I find Aphrodite interesting. Call me a romantic, but I love love.

But my problem with Aphrodite in PJO is that she is only interested in romantic/sexual love, or eros.

It is established in canon that she is born from Ouranos, which would make her Aphrodite Ourania (Heavenly), the Aphrodite associated with pure/spiritual love, or agape. Which is an interesting choice on Riordan's part, seeing that Aphrodite is romance obsessed, uncaring individual.

And frankly, a missed opportunity. Aphrodite is perceived differently by every individual that comes in contact with her. We see it in TTC, when Percy meets Aphrodite during his quest "Thinking back on it, I can't tell you who she looked like.

Or even what color her hair or her eyes were. Pick the most beautiful actress you can think of. The goddess was ten times more beautiful than that. Pick your favorite hair color, eye color, whatever. The goddess had that.

When she smiled at me, just for a moment she looked a little like Annabeth. Then like this television actress I used to have a crush on in fifth grade. Then… well, you get the idea."

She changes her appearance, at quite a fast pace. But she resembles people, not really copying their appearance. But what Percy sees is who, subconsciously or not, interests him romantically, or finds pretty.

I suggest that what would have made it interesting, is that Aphrodite would also cater to familial love, friendship. And instead of cycling through them, have her retain certain aspects of every person exactly.

What I mean is that Percy would look at Aphrodite and see his mother's eyes, full of love, looking at him, the smile Grover always gives him when he sees Percy, Tyson's trustful body posture, Annabeth's face shape. (I invented some things, because they aren't really mentioned in the books, but you get the idea.) Aphrodite is a collage of the people one loves, in any way possible, what every person finds most beautiful in the people they love. (because of Aphrodite's beauty aspect)

It doesn't mean that Aphrodite can't annoy the part of Percy that has a romantic attraction to Annabeth. That doesn't mean that the goddess can't have a preference for romantic love (because this is what she uses to cause trouble for humans), or find it the most sensational.

Piper McLean could dislike her mother because she finds her obsession with eros unnerving, or unfair. But Piper finds joy in friendship and her grandfather's memory, so seeing some of her grandfather's features in Aphrodite's face could be comforting. Maybe lead to the two (2) of them forming a familial connection. It would also beat Piper's internalised misogyny over the head.

As for Reyna, it would be a punch to the gut. To see something of her sister in the goddess of love, and have her say that she won't find love where she wished or hoped would be like a punch to the gut. Of course, as a teenager Reyna would maybe think about romance. But later in life? It will potentially make her doubt her friendships and the love Hylla has for her.

[cluelessandsenseless]

Tim Laflour headcanon

Had to make a cute collage of my current obsession Tim Laflour (x blackfem!Reader- since I’m black and finding content for melanated girls is like finding a good man) use of she/her pronouns for Y/N.

Y/N is supposed to be Darryl’s little sister so like Bbf vibes. Cute bunny girl vibes just effortless, pretty and girly, ya know?

Y/N is Darryl’s sister who might transfer so she comes to check out some classes and tour the campus.

She’s only heard good things about Tim and thought he was hot when they first met.

Tim helps her carry her bags up even though Darryl is there (no ones complaining tho).

Tim thinks she’s cute but he thinks she’s probably judging him because of his fashion sense.

They get along so well when she arrives.

Y/N is kinda shy but not with Tim, he was just so sweet.

Y/N asked about the chiming sound.

They love how opposite they are to each other, like Tim thinks she’s so cute with the way she dresses.

Tim loves when she looks up at him with her doe eyes, she’s small in comparison to him (since he’s 6��4”).

Whereas she thinks he looks so cool/hot with the dark clothing, pierced face and how his personality juxtaposes his style.

Y/N loves everything cute but reads and watches horrors.

She loves Buffy the vampire slayer and clueless (because I do).

Y/N listens to Riot girl music and soft alt rock because she loves rock for girls

They just like to admire each other.

Y/N has long box braids.

She wears cute little pjs and always smells like fruits.

Tim loves that after Y/N showers the smell of her fruity body lotion and shower gel is all over the appartement.

Y/N loves that’s Tim smells like leather and cologne, she thinks it’s very masculine (ignore the low key internalised misogyny)

They don’t know that their crushes are mutual (Darryl does tho and he won’t tell).

Y/N deffo flirts with Tim in front of Darryl, she doesn’t see any issue with it.

Y/N always makes eye contact when he speaks to her, bites her lip and laughs at all of Tim’s jokes

She makes him blush.❤️

Gives him a kiss on the cheek for good luck (just a little too close to his lips) before he gets on the ice.

Y/N leaves lip gloss stains on his cheek.

He skates up to her whilst she is taking a tour of the campus (he’s even taller in the skates).

Tim offers to give her a better tour.

Gives her his jacket if she gets cold, It’s so big and harsh looking on her.

Y/N loves listening to Tim talk about whatever new thing he’s into.

I think Tim low key loves attention and she loves to listen.

When Darryl isn’t home they order takeout and flirt (they can’t help it).

They watch hockey in Tim’s room and she gets very comfortable meanwhile he can’t pay attention to the game because she’s wearing her pjs in his bed.

Tim takes her and Darryl to a punk bar, Y/N loves it.

Asks Tim to take her to get a piercing, Tim is conflicted because he think she would look hot but also loves how untouched she looks.

Maybe Y/N tells Tim she already has a nipple piercing/piercings and he melts at the thought.

Tim always compliments her outfit and hair, that she makes extra cute for him.

She thinks he’s pretty.

He thinks she’s pretty.

Y/N leaves after 2 weeks but transfers over the next semester.

They spend so much time together.

That’s all for now.

It’s just a bit too much text for a mood board collage but I wanted it to be like a headcanon almost, so we move.

All the photos are from Pinterest.

I love making little mood boards and I love my man Tim, he’s so cute and eats down I know it!

I might make more of these and maybe try and make them gender neutral. I could never write a full fic but I do love a good mood board. Xx

[mica-marie-96]

I had to remove myself from social media for a couple of days after Trump was elected President and here’s why.

Violence against women was declared a national emergency in the UK. Millions of Men (and disappointingly) women voted for that orange idiot to be their president, despite him being a rapist, racist, bigot, homophobic felon, who has actively said there should be a PUNISHMENT for women who have abortions, among a multitude of other horrific and horrendous things, including sexualising a TEN YEAR OLD GIRL, AND TO TOP IT OFF HIS OWN DAUGHTER. On top of that over the past couple of days ‘Your body, my choice’ has been trending, actually trending. I saw one pick me girl post a thirst trap in a skimpy dress with the caption above ‘my body, your choice’, this was the same girl who said that if the state wanted it she would be ok with slavery to return, FUCKING SLAVERY?! I have never seen a woman of all people so full of internalised misogyny and racism in this day and age. Afghan women are being banned from SPEAKING, even though they are already under strict ruling, which is quite frankly immoral. In Iraq are considering losing the age of consent from eighteen to NINE YEARS OLD, nine years old. I can’t even address this one without wanting to CRY… and if you really do your research there is so many awful things happening to our women across the WORLD. It wasn’t JUST that Trump of all people was elected President.

Do you know how fucking insane this all is? How immoral and DISGUSTING this all is?

Yet there are men still bewildered at the choice women are now making to participate in the 4b movement?

If you are unaware of what the 4b movement is, it is a movement that started in Korea. It entails…

- No sex

- No relationships with Men.

(And their are more but I’m not going to list them all)

These ‘Men’ must be losing the plot because WHERE WOULD YOU ALL BE WITHOUT US WOMEN?!

Everything our Mothers, Grandmothers, Great-Grandmothers, fought so HARD for us to have the privilege for, is slowly being ripped from us. We are declining backwards through history and it’s quite frankly SCARY to watch unfold in front of me.

I don’t even know how to help, but I’ll do my damn best to try.

[dusty-daydreams]

Haven't watched bridgerton but why did Cressida get such a bad ending? I searched it up out of curiosity and I'm confused. Couldn't they have given her a spark of hope? Made her and Eloise get together and not make Eloise and Penelope friends again? I mean jesus christ idk what happened but apparently Eloise was ruined this season. Like wow

Hi Fandom Lurker (affectionate)

I have been a fandom lurker for a lot of things before so this is a fandom lurker safe space

It is wild isn’t it - this show that prides itself on being a feminist take on regency romance (Jane Austen who did write biting social satire about gender and class is rolling in her grave)

This “feminist” “progressive” show - is full of internalised misogyny - to the point that their feminist character is not taken seriously and is often the butt of the joke (and has been given the moral backbone of an eclair in this last season)

To the point that a woman gets threatened with systemic marital rape at the hands of a man old enough to be her grandfather as a plot device to drive her to desperately try anything to get a enough money to escape. And her misguided attempts to escape are deemed such a crime that she is handed from the custody of her emotionally abusive father into the hands of an even more abusive aunt in exile away from her passions and interests

And we are supposed to think this is justice because she has been a bitch to Penelope in the past

Meanwhile Penelope who has been a bitch behind the anonymity of a pen name gets the guy, and the praise and the credit and gets to even keep writing - with out even a true moment for the people that she has hurt to be upset

Cool cool cool

Very feminist very progressive

And to go with it they ruin one of their truly politically engaged characters to do so

Representation in TV can be progressive- but I think we are at the point where we can start demanding more than just surface level representation out of our “progressive” tv

[femanthropy]

only guy i ever met who had a good reason for being in gynocology was this guy who for decades had the only abortion clinic in my state (nowadays there's three so still not great but marginally better!). he was a med student when his fiancée nearly died from an illegal back alley abortion and then he decided to become a gynecologist specifically to be an abortion provider. but with just your random run of the mill gynecologist i'm always so suspicious

I think that’s as close to a justifiable reason that I can see, from an outside perspective.

That being said, I think that in the vast majority of cases I believe that a man going into the field is suspicious at best, predatory at worst. And if it wasn’t for the lack of practitioners/ support for women in healthcare, no man should be in the field.

I moreso don’t understand the influx of women under the posts like that who swear up and down that male gynaecologists are better, more caring, more empathetic and willing to listen. It just seems so pandering to me that the general consensus of the (arguably, loud opinions) is that rhetoric.

I’ve had a bad female gynaecologist before, bad doctors (tragically) exist, but I fully believe it has to be internalised misogyny or something for so many women claiming men are better gynaecologists Full Stop because in medicine as a whole, that has historically not been the case.

Bit of a tangent there my end haha. But yeah. If it wasn’t for necessity/lack of specialists in the field. I don’t see a single reason why men would go into gynaecology of all things.

I hope this makes sense xD

[dancefloors]

Hard agree Taylor's interview was weird. There's almost no substance to any of her answers.

for real. I'll try to be brief or at least make this the last one (because I know I am being annoying about this but really I just find her a very fascinating case study), but for a songwriter who is often introspective and eloquent, it all seemed like a very shallow look at her life and career. a hodge-podge of buzzwords and dated pop culture references. I do wonder if that's just the nature of this being a sort of 'PR smooth over' for the unfamiliar audience, setting the record straight on a few accounts, and sort of rewriting the narrative of rep/her last relationship.

but it also was very intriguing how the image she paints of herself, and one she seems to internalise is that of her as a successful 'underdog', a perpetual victim in an uphill battle. I'm sure she's faced adversity in her career, but it's notable to me that the way she frames it ("female rage" at her image destruction, "freedom from patriarchal structures through the flow of economy") is in a way that sort of silently demands an obligation to celebrity and wealth. she points to her "cancellation" as gaslighting from a "social structure" but what structure is that? who is the perpetrator when the dip in your fame can be largely attributed to a PR fumble and public dissent at blatant money-driven strategic friendships (which she personally admitted), relatability marketing, and recognition that they are being sold an image? her song The Man/interviews regarding it detail how structural barriers that bother her the most are the ones preventing her from flaunting her money, chasing fame and fortune openly, being praised for the strategy and calculation behind her capitalist endeavours, from using people and discarding them when done (à la Leo in San Tropez or her partners being "playthings for [her] to use"). is it a structural issue when you leave your record label of your own accord and those very same business strategies and ploys are used against you? are fame and art to be free of criticism? is it victimhood when people point out the parasocial and expositional practises that gave you your fame, which you intentionally intertwined with your image?

I won't brush aside the misogyny that came with it. I believe women have the right to feel safe, supported, their sexual exploits not held against them, their career progression not halted purely because of their gender, that artists have ownership over their work.

but do I think they are owed fortune, that a couple months being reclusive in million dollar mansions and jet-setting around the world equate to 'cancellation', that people becoming aware of hollywood PR ploys is misogyny, that public favour is owed and losing it is the highest punishment (especially when they actively wield their team to push puff pieces to bury their own and their associate's/partners' bigotry), that speculation about a public figure's personal life is the greatest crime, that their own role in their career deserves to be seen simultaneously as that of an innocent subject of magical coincidence AND a mastermind strategist (but never the dagger of "calculated"), that their cries and causes should be heralded and never doubted or viewed with a critical eye even though the activist outfit is only ever put on for themselves, that they should be viewed as a brand when they want to shirk responsibility and an individual when they demand sympathy, that fame is owed, that any common person should think about all of this - consider their 'full story' and believe the image they want to sell of themselves? that we should be actively celebrating their excessiveness (it's for our own good!)?

no. maybe because i lack empathy for the rich and famous, but it all seems very out of touch. it's never been more blatantly about consumer feminism, bread and circuses, a prayer to her own idolatry, even further out of reach at the moment.

her fixation on the past, her own endlessly self-referential world, speaking about "defeating enemies"..... its just fascinating. and confirms to me that her main gripe has always been with the contradictory nature of her own fame. why can't she have it all? i don't say this in a bitter way, i think she's just an interesting case study, especially watching her career come up from the beginning. you only enjoy the circus when they are cheering for you. and she seems to have leaned into that more recently. i don't know what has gone on in her personal life (seemingly many references to a "life she gave away"), but it seems to have driven her closer to that, aware that at least in THIS world (that of fame, fortune, etc) she is somewhat an insurmountable titan not even stoppable by "a force majeure", whatever she may claim. maybe she can't control her personal life, but she can control this to a degree, and if not, the things that stand in her way can be / must be regarded the most unjust of nondescript "social structures".

again.. no hatred, just fascination. her image, success, and fan relationships hinged on relatability for so many years. this feels like a departure from that. an acceptance that she is extraordinary and that even her struggles are out of reach for the common man. she's operating in a different echelon, she's the centre of her world (why wouldn't she be), and she is free from the shackles of self reflection on her place in the broader world... I guess she's too soft for it all. I don't know... an interesting change. I'm sure someone smarter than me has something more interesting and eloquent to say.

[redditreceipts]

I’ve been closed to getting peaked and checking out radblr for a while but something gets me about how much a lot of radblr hates ftms idk. There’s a lot of emphasis about how even if sex is otherwise consensual, lying to get consent you wouldn’t have otherwise gotten is rape by deception, which I agree with. However, on a post talking about straight men admitting they claim to be gay just to get sex from ftms “desperate for validation” I didn’t see a single radfem calling this out as rape by deception??? Just honestly people making fun of “delusional straight women” and how them getting manipulated by straight men into believing gay men want them “makes dating life harder for real gay men” and something just irks me about it. There’s a lot of talk about how feminism needs to fight for even female people who disagree and fight against our own rights but it feels like some radfems have no sense of solidarity for ftms, and can only conceive of us as tragic self hating lesbians or manipulative homophobic straight women. And it’s just frustrating because anyone who’s been ftm/some kind of transmasculine in trans communities know how much we don’t get to say fucking anything if it might remotely offend mtfs. I think claims of solidarity for women you disagree with is bullshit if you can’t find solidarity for female people who identify as trans.

hey :) sorry for the late answer

I think that this impression comes because of three reasons:

a lot of feminists receive insane amounts of harassment from ftms. like, death threats on a regular basis. especially on tumblr, where there are a lot more of trans men than trans women, it's just statistically more likely to get harassed by a trans man. but because of this, many have this kind of reaction towards trans men when they really shouldn't. I get that it's kinda hard to fight for the right of a person when they have just sent you death threats, but at the end, you are of course right and we have to fight for every female person, no matter their opinions. also, not all trans men engage in that kind of behaviour.

a lot of people here are detransitioners or desisters (people who have identified as transgender, but now have decided to not take the medical route). I myself have been identifying as non-binary for some time, but now I know that this came from internalised misogyny. I'm sometimes scared about what would have happened if I had listened to many ftm activists and taken the medical route. it's hard to not get bitter when I see people on here telling women just like me to start testosterone and maybe make the biggest mistake of their life. and there's always the thought of "that could have been me". but well, in the end, we can't act as if all trans men did that kind of thing. it's just a portion, even though they are the most vocal ones oftentimes. (also, there probably are some people for whom medical transition is the best option. we talk a lot about how internalised misogyny influences gender dysphoria, but there might as well be cases of gender dysphoria that people are just born with, or that are so ingrained that they can't be healed. these people deserve compassion and acceptance too)

for the thing with trans men in gay male dating spaces - that's probably where we disagree the most. I have been on lesbian events where there have been "trans lesbians", and there has been an insane amount of guilt-tripping, incel behaviour, and I have been sexually harassed by a "trans lesbian" who later went on to rape a lesbian (and yes, this weren't some internet people, all of that was in person). a lot of us have been exposed to this kind of predatory behaviour, and I think that there is no excuse for a straight person to go to a gay event and expect people to date you. full stop. is it shitty to trick trans men into sex by pretending to be a gay man? yes. is it sex under false pretenses? yes. are both of the involved parties engaging in a similar behaviour (i. e. acting as something you're not to have sex with members of a marginalised demographic)? yes. should we fight for and try to protect trans men? also yes. is it hard to have sympathy for a person that went into a space trying to do conversion therapy on gay men so they can have sex with them and got tricked themselves? at least for me, it is. but should we try to get over that feeling and help these trans men as well? definetly.

but well, I actually think that you yourself can add some interesting perspectives. being a feminist is not a religion, and you can find your own opinion. you don't have to agree with everything that is said here, and we are not like certain other online groups where everyone has to be in line or they're a traitor (or at least I hope not). if there are things you think people on here are wrong about, speak about it! tell us how to better support trans men and even better if it's from your own experience :) if you think that there is a voice missing, you yourself can be that voice. :)

[melonteee]

There are more examples of Zoro's misogyny. When he spared Tashigi and argued with her in Loguetown. When he used the flat of his blade on a female bounty hunter in Whiskey Peak. When he fought Kamazo to save Hiyori and Toko despite them being total strangers.

Those examples help illustrate what Zoro's problem exactly is, which is that he has internalized Kuina's struggles in exactly the wrong way. He took away the lesson that "Kuina was right to feel bad, women are weaker than men and do need protecting".

Based on the Monet fight, I get the impression that Zoro doesn't like that he thinks this way, that it's more subconscious than intentional.

HMMM Tashigi was indeed a bit different cause she looked exactly like Kuina, and that fucked Zoro up. But it wasn't fair on Zoro at ALL to push his own anger and stress on Tashigi, which is why Tashigi got so angry at him. She was literally just existing, and Zoro said he HATED that she existed. How unfair is that on Tashigi?!

Sorry got a wee bit long

Hiyori is also a different case because she ASKED for Zoro's help, and she had a child in hand while being clearly weapon-less and defenceless. I wouldn't say that's a "how Zoro sees women" thing, I'd say that's just a "Zoro does not agree with the strong picking on the weak" thing.

But ofc, when it comes to Monet, that's where it's internalised. Whether Zoro admits it or not, or LIKES IT or not, he's internalised that women ARE weaker. Even MONET calls him out on it, because Zoro did nothing but block her attacks with the blunt of his sword. Zoro sees fighting women as "the strong picking on the weak," as he believes himself stronger due to being a man. This is exactly why Tashigi got so angry at him, and he couldn't even take Monet out - TASHIGI had to deliver the final blow.

When Zoro says he would've done that anyways, Tashigi calls him a fucking liar!! And anon, I agree with you! I agree he took the wrong thing from Kuina's breakdown! Because imagine the person you admire, telling you that YOU'RE going to be stronger because you're a man, and THEY'RE going to be weaker because they're a woman - combined with the fact Zoro was raised by an incredibly sexist man.

I don't think Zoro LIKES that he's like this, I think it eats him up inside! This line of thinking has been programmed into him, and if he's going to be the strongest swordsman, he must take ALL opponents seriously - including women who label themselves warriors. Hell, even SANJI says Zoro's a softie, knowing full well Zoro would not greatly injure Monet.

I know a lot of fans, especially Zoro fans, don't like that this is the case. TONS of people think Zoro should see women as equals due to Kuina, but from what we've seen in the story, it's clearly gone the OTHER way - and there's written reason for it to be like that. The most important thing is this aspect of Zoro, first and foremost, is treated as a FLAW. His hesitance against women on the battlefield is NOT a good thing! One Piece characters ALL have flaws they need to work through, that's what makes them human. Whether we like it or not, this is clearly a WRITTEN FLAW Zoro has, considering it's literally IN the text. We just need to hope it's followed up on eventually!

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/730572795212398592/what-is-up-with-all-the-trans-men-on-this-hellsite?source=share

As a trans man, I might have some insight into this one. I'm a lot older than the standard uwu sparkle anti, but I was in my mid twenties for the first wave of weirdness about trans boys on Tumblr about a decade ago, so I was just too old for it then, and I saw a lot of guys my age and a little younger get swept up in it.

OTNF rightly points out that young trans men are a particularily vulnerable demographic. This is part of it, but we're also a demographic that doesn't sit comfortably with our identites (gender identities or otherwise) and are told by everyone (on every side) that we are Doing It Wrong, that our existence harms others, and that we must be this specific way to be good people.

I'm sure you've seen the "trans men are better than real cis men" rhetoric. It's meant to be inclusive and to reassure us that we're not bad people just because of our gender, but it also denies us our entire gender identity.

So basically, you've got a bunch of young guys, most of whom were socialised like girls and learned to never be too assertive, many of whom are straight up suffering from dysphoria and stress, being told by people both within and outside of their communities that the are Wrong and Bad and Harmful just for existing. It makes sense that a lot of them would would find a movement based on moral posturing that will accept them if they perform correctly and will use their real name and pronouns. That's what Antis are; they say "use this vocabulary, send hate mail to that person, put these terms in your DNI, don't be caught reading that story", and, unlike other groups that police people's tastes and performance that hard, they're not overtly hostile to trans identities. So you can spout the right rhetoric, use the right tumblr icon, and they will actually accept you (on the surface, for a time, but we're talking about young and desperate people who aren't looking at the long game).

Helping them harass those badwrong horrible NOTP shippers or aces or middle aged women or some random artist who got caught drawing the wrong age gap or whoever is the fashionable target will prove that you aren't a horrible monster for being a man, you're moral and upright and correct.

And yes a lot of it is internalised misandry (that word has a lot of dumb baggage, but how else can I describe a boy who hates himself for being a boy?), or self-loathing born of dysphoria and just plain having to live in a world that's hostile to trans people.

Being an anti is a way out. It's a way to manufacture acceptence. And they're too young and too hurt to realise that that acceptance is as temporary and hostile as the people who accept them only if they pretend to be girls; the antis will turn on them the moment they start acting a little too manly or if they're caught liking the wrong ship.

(I've seen something similar happen to young cis queer guys and trans girls, too, but it isn't as pronounced since being raised as a boy means you probably already learned that standing up for yourself is ok sometimes)

--

I'm sure it also doesn't help that tumblr is absolutely full of BL/slash fandom. There's certainly plenty of gender diversity in these spaces, but it's inescapable that the majority of participants are women. So for a young, insecure guy trying to assert that he is a guy, it's easy to fall prey to "Waaaah, I need to reclaim my hobby for me!" gatekeepy nonsense.

Sure, it's going to be turned on nbs even harder than on cis women and will be used to misgender other trans men in the end and misogyny isn't cool anyway, but that's not what your average traumatized young fool is thinking when they first join up. They're thinking "I hurt."

TBH, though, probably the largest component is that all of us—all of us—have a mental image of a default human for a given context. It's rarely a trans man. And so anything a trans man does stands out and is A Thing Trans Men Do.

This is true even if you are trans. It is true even if you are not a transphobic dickhead. Unlearning the 'why girls are bad at math' xkcd strip is extraordinarily hard because recognizing patterns and having mental defaults is just how human brains work.

There are shittons of cis women who become antis, but they're just not notable in the same way.

Are trans men more vulnerable to becoming antis? It's possible, and the reasons you outlined above are likely why. I think it's an interesting question to discuss if we are specifically discussing why the trans men who do become antis do so.

But we don't actually have any hard facts to support that they are more prone to it than anybody else. My guess would be that vulnerable people are more likely to become antis, so any cis woman with a strong source of vulnerability like a shittastic home life is similarly vulnerable to a young trans man with no support network, but who knows.

Maybe only 5% of trans men on tumblr are antis and 50% of cis women. Maybe it's 90% of trans men and 20% of cis women. Maybe it's 1% and 1% and they're just all very loud.

We have no data. We just don't know.

And we will never be able to trust our own brains on this until trans vs. cis is such a nonissue that we don't even notice it.

[ghoultrifle]

There's a First Time For Everything

The first chapter of my full-fic version of this drabble is up now.

Read on AO3 or below the cut!

cw for internalised misogyny, internalised transphobia, and gender dysphoria. this chapter is very much hurt/comfort and got more angsty than i was expecting. there is no sex in this chapter, although the use of sex toys and penetration is a theme throughout.

He’s never used a toy before. Never been on the receiving end of penetrative sex. Never been vulnerable enough to acknowledge his anatomy with his partners. Dewdrop’s always been a giver; not out of love but out of hatred for himself. Perhaps hatred is a strong word, more an apprehension so strong he would rather isolate himself forever than even entertain the thought of being penetrated. And while there’s nothing wrong with being a top, Dewdrop desperately knows he isn’t one. He does it out of necessity. Had he been summoned with the correct body, he knows he would bottom the majority of the time. He longs to be filled, to be taken. Longs for his body to be used as it was intended, to have someone or something reach those unattainable spots and make him scream in pleasure. 

But he’s scared. Scared he’ll enjoy it too much; that it’ll confirm he’s been faking everything and he really is a woman. It’s nonsense, of course, Dewdrop has spent years being too dysphoric to even think about making self pleasure, or indeed sex, pleasurable. Too dysphoric to make the experience anything more than a quick hand diving between his legs to satiate his body’s needs. Even during sex he prefers to stick strictly to pleasuring his partner in ways that don’t involve stimulating his own body; oral, handjobs, using toys on them. It’s rare that Rain will see Dew throw on a strap and half-heartedly fuck the water ghoul, his mind clearly elsewhere. More often, the fire ghoul will have Rain on his back, legs thrown over Dew’s shoulders as the smaller ghoul sucks him dry, making him cry out for mercy at the heat of his mouth. Rain will offer to return the favour, but Dewdrop just shrugs and says the moment’s passed, sometimes he’ll lie and say he’s already come if he’s feeling particularly guilty.

So Rain’s slightly confused when he receives a text from Dewdrop, two links to an online sex shop with the accompanying message, “Thoughts?” He’s confused because he already has a large collection of toys, including ones similar to the dildo and vibrator he’s been sent to look at. He barely has time to think of a response before another text pings on the top of his phone screen, “For me, I mean?”

Oh

Rain immediately rushes to find Dewdrop, running through his mental list of where the ghoul might be, he wasn’t about to do this over text. He goes on a wild goose chase around the ministry, the common room, the kitchen, Dew’s bedroom, his bedroom; the fire ghoul is nowhere to be found. 

Dewdrop is holding his phone in front of him, trembling, blue light illuminating his tear-stained face as he hits send on a third text, “Forget I asked, it was stupid” It was stupid for him to think Rain would want to see his boyfriend succumb to his womanly urges, to regress to his biological form, just a lady who needs to be bred. Why else would Rain not have responded? He must be sitting there dumbfounded at the stupidity of Dewdrop’s question, too stunned to respond to his idiot of a girlfriend.

Rain hears the chime in his pocket but he ignores it, surely there aren’t many more places the fire ghoul could be? He’s running out of nooks to check and people to ask. As a last resort he bangs on the door of Copia’s office, his poor Papa deep in the ministry’s taxes, he desperately doesn’t want to interrupt the man but he doesn’t have any other choice.

The door gives way to Rain’s fist, creaking open on its hinges to reveal Dewdrop, tears glistening in the light of Papa’s desktop computer. His nose is raw and red, the floor strewn with the tissues he’s tried to console himself with. Rain moves towards the quivering ghoul, steadily closing the distance between them. Dewdrop sniffles, eyes burning a bloodshot red, “It’s fine, I never loved you that much anyway,” he bites, as much as one can bite between choked back sobs.

“Firefly, what are you on about?” It’s Rain’s turn to tear up now, eyes welling as he fights his body, he needs to be strong for Dew, but it stings to hear him say that, to hear the true love of his life say he was never invested in their relationship, in what they built together. He can see Dewdrop’s phone on the desk, their text thread still on the screen. Rain’s brows furrow and his face drops as he realises there’s another message, shit. He pulls out his own phone in a rage, reading the message, anger directly only towards himself. Why didn’t he just ask Dewdrop where he was? Why didn’t he reply? Why did he let his love get so worked up?

“Droplet, you’re my world, my everything. You’re the reason I get out of bed, the reason I didn’t quit the project all those years ago, you’re the reason I’m here. Nothing you say or do could ever change my opinion of you. Nothing.” Rain cries, tears spilling with abandon, “I need you to believe me, Dewdrop. Can you do that for me?”

Rain perches on the desk, facing the fire ghoul. He pulls another tissue from the pack wincing at the rough sound of the paper against cardboard. The tears on Dew’s face are coming thick and fast as he convulses at Rain’s confession. Rain does his best to dam the flow with the tissue as he gently holds Dewdrop’s chin, the smaller ghoul finally making eye contact.

“Really? You don’t think I’m a freak?” he asked, eyes wide.

“Do you think Swiss is a freak for owning all of his sex toys?”

“No, why woul-”

“Exactly. Why would you be an outcast for it? And don’t start coming at me with the ‘Swiss has had top surgery and I haven’t’ bullshit, because that’s exactly what it is, okay?”

Dewdrop stutters over his words, this isn’t the reaction he was expecting. He had genuinely convinced himself he was about to be broken up with. It’s all he can manage to apologise, “I’m sorry, Rainy, I do love you, so fucking much. Wanted to share this with you for a while now but kept getting scared. ‘s why I just texted you.”

“I know, baby,” Rain coos, “how about we pick some toys now, if you’re feeling up to it, hmm?”

A silence lingers heavily in the air, interrupted only by the occasional sniff and deep breath. Dewdrop extends his arms, inviting Rain in. He obliges and they sit in each others’ embrace, Rain’s cool skin soothing the fiery red Dew has turned. The fire ghoul almost can’t believe he let himself get so worked up about it all. Perhaps it was because he’d taken so long to be comfortable enough to even consider penetration, that he thought Rain would look at him differently. Swiss has always been comfortable in his body, but it’s been a long road for Dew.

“Yeah,” Dewdrop whispers into Rain’s neck, “Jus’ wanna cuddle first though.”

They sit there for what seems like hours, Rain’s feet going numb from where he’s perched on them, Dewdrop’s thighs equally as affected from the weight of the water ghoul atop him. It’s uncomfortable but neither of them want to be the one to break the hold. Both ghouls thinking they’d sit there forever and a day if it meant an eternity with the other.

“Why are you in here, anyway? Where’s Copia?” Rain asks, breaking free from his spot in the crook of Dewdrop’s neck.

“Papa’s on a conversion trip with Sister. Came here so I could look at the toys on the big screen. I wanna get the right ones, you know?”

“Of course, Droplet. Can’t be having you scared off before you’ve even started!” Rain jokes, although Dewdrop knows that the water ghoul could be holding a vibrator millimetres away from his junk and he’ll stop if Dew asks. In fact he’s sure that if he so much as furrows his brow, Rain will be on him- checking in and peppering him with kisses. It’s just that kind of love.

[murillo-enthusiast]

—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—

🖼️𝑁𝑒𝑦'𝑠 𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑒🖼️

—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—

Previously... 🐱Internalised Catgirl Misogyny: ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ) 🎨An Interloper in the Gallery 🖼️Ney's Painted Paradise: ( 1, 2, 3, 4 )

—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—

"I feel that the only time when he was feeling truly like himself was when he could command. I admired it but… the more I’m thinking about it… ACHOOOO!" — Levavasseur of @le-brave-des-braves "For the first time... I have come to my complete senses, yet I don't want to push myself." — Marmont of @askgeraudduroc "Think we're fixing to have trouble. Try to not be the first one to attack." — Murat of @your-dandy-king "Hm. Let's keep this tour brief now...has anything caught your eye?"— Davout of @perdicinae-observer "Wait a minute. . . Why is it so quiet? Isn’t it a bit too early for the little ones to be in bed already?" — Napoleon of @alexanderfanboy

—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—

As described by @le-brave-des-braves...

The park is large. Probably larger than it should be. There are romantic scenes full of statues and benches. There is a lake with one single boat lazily swinging in the waves. The birds are singing their tributes to the incoming summer. On the left side, where Levavasseur is heading, there is the Marshal’s tree. The lake is on the right. The water mirrors the surroundings almost perfectly. What might be slightly unnerving is the colour of it - you can’t see the bottom although the water seems clear. [...] As the Soult’s party approached the chateau, they might have noticed the cat sitting on the window, wagging its tail nervously. The moment it saw the newcomers, it hissed and disappeared in the window which didn’t appear quite as open as it would make sense. The chateau’s facade is flawless as if it was painted only yesterday. The bird song might start to feel eerie to you the moment you realised that the theme is getting mildly repetitive. Also, the shadows are… everywhere? It is hard to describe, but this might be the first time you’ve realised how little attention you pay to the shadows around you. Now it feels like they are pushing into your eyes and your mind and demand to be seen and perceived. It might feel overbearing to some.

—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—

To the beautiful surroundings, to the hissing cat, to the singing birds and the deepening shadows, Soult does not react. Oh, he has opinions, he always has opinions, that cat looks very familiar and he'd have a comment about that, the shadows are concerning, everything is too perfect, but he is just a painted veneer right now. But soon that will fade away, and he will be revealed for what he hates.

Soult: This is not a painting. But it is much like one. I can feel time passing, but it will never be time to sleep. The children are irrelevant except to lead us to Ney.

He looks towards the two groups that he ordered to split up, and calls towards them, loudly.

Soult: Return quickly and report what you see!

His teeth... are they growing into grotesque sharpened splinters, like the claws on his hand and his foot? Soon he won't be able to speak.