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didanawisgi · 3 years ago

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mRNA vaccine development for COVID-19

Optimization of mRNA vaccine design

Typical vaccine development using live-attenuated or inactivated virus or a pseudovirus system involves tedious and time-consuming steps and has become a bottleneck for responding to an epidemic or pandemic caused by newly emerging viruses. As described above, mRNA vaccines possess distinctive advantages of rapid development and versatility as exemplified by the swift development of multiple COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. More importantly, recent preliminary data from clinical trials have shown that two licensed mRNA vaccines, mRNA-1273 and BNT162b, have higher protective efficacy than ChAdOx1 vaccine developed using a chimpanzee adenovirus (~95% vs. ~70%) 4, 41.

However, some intrinsic features of mRNA molecules demand special strategies to guarantee the stability, efficacy and safety of mRNA vaccines. First, mRNA are intrinsically unstable and prone to degradation due to the omnipresence of RNases in the serum and plasma 42. Second, the cellular machinery recognizes exogenous RNA molecules as immunological mimic of viral infection, which results in an immediate immune response 43. Thus, it is a prerequisite for the design of mRNA vaccines to maximize the stability of RNA and translation efficiency and avoid the innate immune response by host cells 44, 45. Below we will discuss the major strategies used in designing mRNA vaccines, including 5'-capping, nucleoside modification, codon optimization, and efficient delivery of mRNA molecules with nanoparticles (Table (Table22).

5'-capping of mRNA vaccines

Endogenous mRNA molecules undergo post-transcriptional modifications, including 5'-capping and polyadenylation, for the stability of mRNA and efficient translation. Naturally, 7-methylguanosine cap (m7G) is added to the first nucleotide of a mRNA chain via 5' to 5' linkage. The 2'-OH of the ribose of the first nucleotide is further methylated to form m7GpppNm, also known as cap1. 5'-capping is critical for protecting mRNA from exonuclease activity, facilitating pre-mRNA splicing, and serving as the binding site for eIF4F, the heterodimeric translation initiation complex 46-49. Recent studies have indicated the 5'-cap structure as a major determinant by which the host can discriminate between self vs. non-self mRNA molecules 50-53. A m7GpppNm cap was added to the 5'-end of the majority of the mRNA vaccines reported thus far during their IVT 54-57.

Optimization of 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions and the length of polyadenylation tail

Regulatory elements in the 5′-untranslated region (UTR) 58 and the length of 3′-UTR 59 increase protein translation. In addition, the polyadenylation (polyA) tail stabilizes mRNA and increases protein translation. Several recent reports have shown that the length of polyA tail is closely associated with the translation efficiency 60. However, the information on 5'- and 3'-UTRs and the nature of polyA signal sequence remains proprietary and undisclosed for the seven reported mRNA vaccines.

Nucleoside modification during IVT

Kariko, et al., demonstrated that RNA recognition by Toll-like receptors (TLRs) is suppressed via modification of the nucleosides in mRNA molecules 61, 62. Incorporating m5C, m6A, m5U, s2U, or pseudouridine into mRNA molecules abrogates the immune response by evading the activation of TLR-3, -7, and -8 61. For all the seven reported vaccines, pseudouridine was incorporated into the mRNA vaccines in the place of uridine. In addition, the substitution with pseudouridine, m6A, and s2U in RNA molecules suppresses the degradation of RNA by RNase L 63. Thus, the nucleoside modifications not only enhance the stability of RNA but also reduce the innate immune response.

Purification of IVT

The contaminating impurities during IVT can massively affect the safety of mRNA vaccines once they are introduced to human cells. Even residual amounts of double-stranded RNA and DNA-RNA hybrid molecules can trigger the innate immune response as they can be recognized by the cellular sensors pattern recognition receptors. Various purification techniques have been used to remove residual impurities from IVT reactions for all the seven mRNA vaccines currently on clinical trials. A previous study indicates that the purification of mRNA reduces the expression of type I interferon and increases the protein translation 64. As summarized in Table Table2,2, various purification techniques such as Oligo dT column, LiCl precipitation, and silicone column have been employed to remove contaminants from in vitro synthesized mRNA 45.

Codon optimization

Several parameters have been considered for the codon optimization, which affects the translation efficiency, protein folding, and mRNA abundance. One example is that the GC content in the sequence. Although GC-rich sequences may be problematic for the secondary structure formation of mRNA, the translation efficiency of a GC-rich sequence can be 100-fold higher than that of a GC-poor sequence 65. The translation elongation rate highly depends on the availability of the cognate tRNA species and the optimization of the codon usage to avoid sequences that match rare tRNA species and incorporate sequences that match more abundant tRNA species 66. Moreover, the codon optimization is essential for the mRNA stability as the codon-dependent translation elongation rate has been implicated as a major determinant of the mRNA stability 67. Mechanistically, reduced translational elongation of mRNA with suboptimal codons results in the recruitment of the DEAD-box RNA helicase, Dhh1p, which triggers mRNA decay 68. Two additional codon optimization methods involve the use of the codons with human bias and the maximum adaptation index 69, 70. Other bioinformatics approaches can be explored to further enhance the stability of mRNA, e.g., via design of the secondary structures and prediction of the expression level based on deep learning 71, 72.

Designing platform and target immunogen for the seven mRNA candidate vaccines

Each of the seven mRNA candidate vaccines was synthesized in vitro from a DNA template encoding either the full-length S protein or RBD of SARS-CoV-2 using bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase. mRNA-1273, CVnCoV, LUNAR-CoV19, and LNP-nCoVsaRNA mRNA vaccines used the template encoding the full-length S protein with 2P substitutions at K986 and V987 positions to produce the stable pre-fusion form of S protein 73. Pfizer/BioNTech have developed two immunogens, the RBD (BNT162b1) and the full-length S protein (BNT162b2). BNT162b2 has been shown to be safer than BNT162b1, especially in older adults in a preliminary clinical trial, and thus was chosen for a phase 3 clinical trial 74. ARCoV vaccines are based on the RBD of SARS-CoV-2. Whereas the sequences of the 5'- and 3'-UTR of the mRNA templates were not revealed in the literature, the 3'-UTR of BNT162b mRNA vaccine derived empirically by screening naturally occurring 3'-UTRs for the highest RNA stability 75. On the other hand, CVnCoV and LNP-nCoVsaRNA were built on the saRNA platform containing a self-replicating replicon of Trinidad donkey Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV). The viral protein-encoding gene of the replicon is replaced with a modified S protein-encoding gene of SARS-CoV-2 with two proline mutations in the S2 subunit, K986P and V987P 54, 55. Consistent with the notion that saRNA vaccines can self-amplify after delivery into host cells, the dose used for vaccination was one to two magnitude lower than conventional mRNA vaccines. As shown in Table Table2,2, the dosage range for CVnCoV and LNP-nCoVsaRNA was 2-12 μg and 0.01-10 μg, respectively. In comparison, the typical dose range for the conventional mRNA vaccines was 30-100 μg.

Packaging mRNA vaccines with lipid nanoparticle (LNPs)

An early study has shown that the transfection efficiency of naked mRNAs is nearly two orders of magnitude lower than that of mRNA bound to lipofectin formulation 27. The lipofectin-based carriers effectively help mRNA delivery into target cells and protect mRNA from RNase 36, 76. The formulation of liposome-based transfection reagents containing cationic lipids has remarkably been improved in recent years 77. In particular, LNPs, composed of proprietary components including positively charged lipids, cationic polypeptides, polymers, micelles or dendrimers, have been widely used for in vivo RNA delivery 78, 79. LNPs encapsulate mRNA and assemble it into the stable lipid bilayers, which are then ingested by cells through a variety of endocytosis pathways. Below is the information for packaging of mRNA vaccines with various LNPs.

1. mRNA-1273: It was loaded into two proprietary cationic LNPs, WO2017070626 and WO2018115527. Although the exact formulation is not known, the composition of the LNPs was described as follows, SM-102, polyethylene glycol-2000-dimyristoyl glycerol (PEG2000-DMG), cholesterol, and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC) 80.

2. BNT162b mRNA: It was encapsulated by patented LNPs with improved efficiency of the mRNA delivery according to its clinical trial report (#NCT04368728) 81, 82. The LNPs are composed of ionizable amino lipid, phospholipid, cholesterol and a PEGylated lipid prepared at a ratio of 50:10:38.5:1.5 mol/mol 82, 83. It is interesting to note that BTN162b and mRNA-1273 vaccines are suggested to be shipped and stored at -80˚C and -20°C, respectively 80, 82.

3. CVnCoV: It was formulated with a proprietary LNP, referred to as RNActive® technology platform. The LNP consists of four lipid components: cholesterol, DSPC, PEGylated lipid, and a cationic lipid, however the detailed formulation information was not disclosed. CVnCoV remains stable for at least three months when it is stored at 5℃ as suggested by its manufacturer. Moreover, CVnCoV can be stored at room temperature as a ready-to-use the vaccine for up to 24 hours 84, 85.

4. ARCoV: It was encapsulated in LNPs of a proprietary composition using a preformed vesicle method and found thermostable at different temperatures, including 4°C, 25°C, and 37°C for up to one week 86.

5. ARCT-021: Currently undergoing phase 1/2 clinical trials, it combines two technologies, i.e., saRNA STARR™ and LUNAR® lipid-mediated delivery method. It was designed to enhance and extend antigen expression, enabling vaccination at lower doses 87. In addition, LUNAR® lipids are pH-sensitive and biodegradable, causing minimal lipid accumulation in cells after multiple dosing 87

6. LNP-nCoVsaRNA: Developed by Imperial College London using cationic liposome as the carrier, it has just entered phase 1 clinical trial 55.

#covid-19 #covid-19 vaccine #mRNA vaccine #epigenetics #genetics #family medicine #RNA #RNA binding proteins #prion-like domains #pseudouridine #print this off later #GC-rich sequences #RNA-binding protein #RNA-binding proteins

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comrade-meow · 4 years ago

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The “world historical defeat” of the female sex continues apace.

Women in their tens of thousands are trafficked into sexual slavery every year. Increasing numbers of poor, black and brown women are virtually imprisoned on commercial surrogacy farms, producing babies for the benefit of rich couples. Brutalisation of women in the porn industry is feeding through into its viewers’ sex lives, with grim consequences, while teenage girls face an epidemic of sexual harassment at school and on the streets.

The frequency of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage has shot up during the Covid-19 crisis. Domestic violence has likewise rocketed. In the UK, prosecutions are so limited that rape is virtually decriminalised. Abortion rights are under attack, from the USA to Poland. And international ‘men’s rights’ networks like ‘Men Going Their Own Way’ attract millions of viewers to videos that dehumanise and pathologise women to an extreme extent.

This is a resurgent global system of exploitation and oppression targeted on women, a reaction against the many gains of feminism. The increasingly commercial nature of many of these deeply exploitative and oppressive practices - the porn industry, for one, makes billions every year, some of it from content involving rape, child abuse, non-consensual filming and the like - drives home the desperate need for a socialist analysis that exposes the roots of these ancient but enduring patriarchal oppressions. And we need an understanding and a language that enables that analysis.

But at the same time as this shocking acceleration of anti-woman attitudes, practices and policies, the categories of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ are being rapidly taken apart in response to a worldwide ‘trans rights’ movement. In a rush to embrace the new world of multiple genders, organisations and corporations as diverse as Amnesty International, Tampax, the stillbirth charity, Sands, the Harvard Medical School and many others are in a sudden rush to delete the words ‘woman’ and ‘girl’ from their vocabulary and replace them with a new, ‘inclusive’ language of ‘menstruators’, ‘gestational carriers’, ‘birthing people’, ‘cervix-havers’ and ‘people with uteruses’.

At the same time, the word ‘sex’ has progressively been replaced by the word ‘gender’, which is used to refer not only to reproductive class, but also to aspects of human life as disparate as individual psychology, personality, mannerisms, clothing choices and sexual roles. And the words ‘male’ and ‘female’, ‘man’ and ‘woman’, are being repurposed to refer not to the sexes themselves, but to aspects of psychology, personality or clothing that are traditionally associated with one or the other sex.

Is this new language - and the renaming and breaking up of the category of people formerly known as women - the tool we need for the job of dismantling the worldwide discrimination, exploitation and abuse of women that is so often focussed on the female sexual and reproductive characteristics? I would argue not. These misguided attempts to dismantle the language used to describe women’s bodies and lives does nothing to reveal or dismantle the oppression itself.

This is because the conceptual framework that is driving the change in language - and stretching and distorting the categories of man and woman into meaninglessness - is fundamentally wrong. And badly so.

Sex as fiction

The political driver behind these linguistic changes is the ‘trans rights’ movement, which bases its arguments on the most extreme and illogical aspects of queer theory. Many trans activists insist that to even question the precepts that they advance is actively hateful, even fascistic in nature - witness the social media furore when any celebrity, such as JK Rowling, dares to say that the word ‘woman’ means a female person. But it is neither hateful nor fascistic to question arguments that have neither intellectual nor political integrity.

I will quote from Judith Butler’s book Gender trouble1 - first published in 1990, and often hailed as a foundational text of queer theory - and its 1993 follow-up, Bodies that matter2, to illustrate the thinking behind the current trans activism movement. Queer theory is an unashamedly post-modernist, anti-materialist and psychoanalytic school of philosophical thought that frames sex, sexual behaviour and sexual identity (being gay, bisexual or straight) as social constructs, and takes its arguments so far that it claims that the two sexes (not just gender, but the sexes themselves) are fictional. The phenomenon of intersex is thought to prove that sex is not ‘binary’, with only two possibilities, but exists on a spectrum between male and female (I, among many others, have debunked this notion elsewhere3). But in queer theory, gender is not just “the social significance that sex assumes within a given culture”.4 Queer theory goes much further, purporting that the two sexes themselves are social constructs, like money or marriage. Thus gender replaces sex altogether: “... if gender is the social construction of sex, then it appears not only that sex is absorbed by gender, but that ‘sex’ becomes something like a fiction, perhaps a fantasy.”5

Therefore, according to queer theory, male and female are not objective realities, but ‘identities’. Everyone is required to fit into one or other of those two ‘identities’ in order to enforce reproduction through “compulsory heterosexuality”:

The category of sex belongs to a system of compulsory heterosexuality that clearly operates through a system of compulsory sexual reproduction … ‘male’ and ‘female’ exist only within the heterosexual matrix … [and protect it] from a radical critique.6

It is therefore through the power of language, and the naming of male and female, that gender oppression is created; and it is by the power of language that it can also be defeated. In order to dismantle the oppression that has resulted from this categorisation, it will be necessary to implement an “insidious and effective strategy … a thoroughgoing appropriation and redeployment of the categories of identity themselves … in order to render that category, in whatever form, permanently problematic”.7 This feat is to be achieved specifically by “depriving the … narratives of compulsory heterosexuality of their central protagonists: ‘man’ and ‘woman’”.8 The category ‘women’ is particularly promoted as being ripe to be emptied of meaning. It should be

a permanent site of contest … There can be no closure on the category and … for politically significant reasons, there ought never to be. That the category can never be descriptive is the very condition of its political efficacy.9

It is evident that the programme of queer theory is working, in the sense that it is changing and dismantling the language. But does the whole of gender oppression across history really originate in the simple naming of male and female? Because, if it does not, then this new movement is a dead end that is ultimately doomed to failure as far as challenging the structures that bear down on women’s lives.

While it is true that human thought and culture must have developed in tandem with the particulars of our species’ sexual behaviour, reproductive biology and mating systems - such as menstruation, which, although not unique to humans, is unusual among mammals - it is futile to protest that sex did not exist prior to the emergence of the human race.

Queer theory, however, rejects any understanding of human sex or gender that involves biological sciences. Our evolutionary history simply disappears in a puff of smoke:

... to install the principle of intelligibility in the very development of a body is precisely the strategy of a natural teleology that accounts for female development through the rationale of biology. On this basis, it has been argued that women ought to perform certain social functions and not others; indeed, that women ought to be fully restricted to the reproductive domain.10

For those who believe that reproduction is the only societal contribution appropriate to the class of people that possess wombs, by virtue of the fact that they possess wombs, altering the use of the word ‘woman’ cannot change that. It is the reproductive ability itself, not the words used to describe it, that the argument is based on. Nothing materially changes - moving words around will not change the position of the uterus, or its function. It is as futile as rearranging the labels on the deckchairs on the Titanic. Or like renaming the Titanic itself after it has hit the iceberg - thus, miraculously, the Titanic will not sink after all.

Many of the abuses and exploitations that oppress women target the real sexual and reproductive aspects of women’s bodies - our materiality - so a materialist analysis is essential. Can any such analysis work, when its starting point is that sex is a fiction?

Applying Occam’s Razor - accepting the simplest explanation that can account for all the facts - queer theory’s conceptual framework does not cut the mustard. If sex is a fiction invented to enforce heterosexuality and reproduction, it leaves vast swathes of the picture unexplained. An analysis worth its salt would bring together multiple, seemingly different, inexplicable or unconnected aspects of social and cultural attitudes to sex under one schema. A materialist analysis that takes into account the reality that there are two meaningful reproductive sex classes fares far better, and explains far more of the problematic - and often bizarre - social and cultural practices and attitudes around sex.

Is it not a far better explanation that people became aware of the blindingly obvious early on in human development - that there are very clearly only two reproductive roles, and that the anatomical features associated with each are astonishingly easy to identify at birth in nearly all humans? And that the possession of those distinct anatomies resulted in them being named, in the same way that other significant natural phenomena are named - because, irrespective of any relative value placed upon them, they actually exist?

Leaving aside that blatantly obvious counterargument, there is a further problem with queer theory: homosexuality just does not need to be eradicated in order to ensure reproduction. Why? Because occasional heterosexual intercourse, at the right time, during periods of female fertility, is all that is needed. A woman could sleep with a man just once or twice a month, and have it away with another woman for 20-odd nights a month, with exactly the same reproductive outcome. While it is true that there would be no reproduction if every sexual encounter was homosexual, strict heterosexuality, or anything approaching it, is not required to ensure childbearing. Likewise, a fertile man can sleep with a woman a few times a year and be almost certain to father children. And since one man can impregnate many women, significant numbers of men could be largely or exclusively homosexual without any impact on the number of children born - so why persecute and punish homosexual behaviour so severely?

The ‘compulsory heterosexuality’ argument has no basis, once examined in this light, and thus a central plank of queer theory falls easily.

Queer theory proposes that the so-called ‘complementary’ aspects of masculine and feminine behaviour have been created by culture in order to justify the compulsory pairing of male with female. Genders, including the two sexes themselves, are understood to be performative: brought into being by repeated ‘speech acts’ that, through the appearance of authority and the power of naming, actually create that which they name.

Thus, each individual assumes - or grows into, takes on and expresses - a ‘gender’ that is encouraged, promoted, and enforced by social expectations. I broadly agree that many of the observable average differences in male and female behaviour are largely culturally created, and reinforced by oft-repeated societal expectations. The fact that the expectations have to be so often stated, and sometimes violently reinforced, is testament to the fact that those differences are in no way innate, but are driven by the requirement to conform. But the origin of the expectations of ‘complementary’ male and female behaviour is not, as queer theory suggests, to counteract homosexuality and force the pairing of male with female.

The specifics of masculine and feminine behaviour do not point towards such a conclusion. Why is feminine behaviour submissive, while masculine behaviour is dominant? Why not the other way around? Why must one be dominant and the other submissive at all? Wouldn’t a hand signal do instead? How do the particular, specific manifestations of gender serve the purpose of enforcing heterosexuality and eliminating homosexuality, when many of them, such as FGM, reduce heterosexual behaviour in heterosexual women? True, any enforcement would require bullying of some kind, but why is it that so much of the bullying related to sex focuses on (heterosexual) women, and so relatively little on heterosexual men? Why is virginity in women prized but of little account in men? Why is so much actual heterosexual behaviour, that could lead to reproduction, so viciously punished? Why are women punished, humiliated, shamed far more than men for sexual promiscuity - heterosexual promiscuity? Why is it girls, not boys, who are the primary victims of child marriage practices? Why, in so many cultures, are women traditionally not allowed to own property, and children are considered the property of the father and not the mother? What answer does queer theory have to all this? None. It is not even framed as a question that needs to be answered.

Patriarchy

All of these disparate cultural practices spring sharply into focus when we understand the simple rule formulated by Friedrich Engels, the primary and founding rule of patriarchy, which exists to enforce the rights, not of men in general, but specifically of fathers: when property is private, belonging to male individuals rather than shared communally, women must bear children only to their husbands.

Why? Because the mechanics of reproduction mean that, while a woman can be certain the children she is raising are indeed her own, a man cannot - unless he knows for sure that the children’s mother cannot have slept with any other man. Thus when private property is concerned, men have a strong motivation to ensure that the children to whom they pass on their wealth are their own offspring. Herewith the origins of monogamous marriage. And with it, as an integral part (indeed as a driving force), the origins of women’s oppression - or “the world historical defeat of the female sex”, according to Engels.11

The gender rules developed in order to ensure paternity and inheritance. This simple explanation takes us a long way to understanding the specifics of how gender oppression manifests itself globally, in the enforced submission of women to men, and specifically to their husbands, and in seemingly disparate cultural values and practices that prevent women from having heterosexual sex with multiple male partners, outside of marriage, or punish them if they do.

How do men, individually and collectively, stop - or attempt to stop - their wives from sleeping with other men? Promises are not enough, as we know. How do you stop anyone from doing something they want to, from expressing their own desires? You bully them. You humiliate, threaten, harass, attack and perhaps - occasionally - even murder them. In these multiple ways you seek to enforce compliance, through assuming social dominance and forcing social submissiveness and subordination. Society and culture evolve around these values, and develop in ways that satisfy the needs and desires of the socially dominant group. Meanwhile members of that socially submissive group are discouraged from banding together (they might mount a revolution), and learn to adapt their own behaviour to avoid harm. And, since conflict is costly, disruptive and traumatic, both groups develop strategies to signal their social position, to defuse and avoid conflict and possible injury, with social rules and expectations developing around these behaviours.

The global hallmarks of masculinity and femininity would be recognised in any other primate species as the unmistakable signs of social dominance and social subordination. Socially dominant primates (and other mammals, plus many other vertebrates) make themselves large, take up space, monopolise resources. These are the core components of masculine behaviour. Subordinate animals drop or avert the gaze, make themselves small, move out of the way, and surrender resources. These are typical feminine behaviours. In primates, attending to the needs of the dominant members of the group, by grooming, is also characteristic of social subordinates. In humans, grooming as such has been replaced by a far broader suite of behaviours that involve serving the needs of the dominant class.

Gendered behaviours and the social values attached to each sex reflect this pattern worldwide. Societies globally and throughout time promote and encourage these masculine and feminine behaviours - better understood as dominant and subordinate behaviours - as appropriate to men and women respectively. Western cultures are no exception.

The enactment of dominance (‘masculinity’) and subordinance (‘femininity’) can be understood as partly learned and partly innate. Innate, in the sense that the expression of these behavioural patterns is an instinctive response to a felt social situation, or social position - anyone will signal submissiveness in the presence of a threatening social dominant who is likely to escalate dangerously if challenged. Thus, nearly everyone signals submissiveness extremely effectively, and unconsciously, as soon as they have a gun pointed at their heads. And it is hard not to display these behaviours, when we feel ourselves to be in the presence of a socially dominant or subordinate individual or group.

So femininity is a stylised display of primate submissiveness - a behavioural strategy that reduces or avoids conflict by reliably signalling submission to social dominants. Members of either sex, when they find themselves towards the bottom of any social hierarchy, deploy different, but similarly ritualised and reliable, submissive gestures. Examples include bowing, curtseying, kneeling or prostration before monarchs; the doffing of caps with downcast eyes and slumping shoulders in the workplace; and the kneeling and bowing (in prayer) that is such a large part of patriarchal organised religions. It is easy to recognise such gestures as signals of submission to social superiors, and they should be opposed as manifestations of social hierarchies that need to be abolished as an implicit part of the project for universal liberation. Neither the bowing and scraping of the dispossessed nor the arrogance and high-handedness of the wealthy should be welcomed or celebrated. It is time to apply the same approach when it comes to gender.

Moving beyond their instinctive component, the specifics of so-called ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ behaviour are learned and then practised until they become habitual; and sometimes deployed consciously and strategically. People do what other people do; children start to mimic others around them, especially those they perceive to be like themselves, at a very young age, perfecting gestures, postures and vocal tones that may be cultural or, within each culture, gendered. Learned and practised from a young age, it is no wonder that these behaviours can feel like a natural part of a person’s core being - especially when they also incorporate an instinctive response that is deployed after rapidly gauging the level of threat posed by others. In addition, both sexes are explicitly taught to behave as expected - and so the dominance of males and the subordination of females is reinforced and perpetuated from one generation to another.

Anything that undermines the position of men as dominant and female as subordinate is a threat to the established order. Thus the second rule of patriarchy: men must not act like women, and women must not act like men.

This explains why homosexuality, cross-dressing and other forms of refusal to conform to gendered expectations are persecuted in many societies. For men to start acting ‘like women’, either sexually or socially – ie, submissively, which has come to include being penetrated sexually - would be to undermine and threaten the superior role of all men. Similarly, for a woman to act ‘like a man’ is a shocking insurrection - she must be kept down, and such behaviour has to be punished and made taboo. Since clothing and other behaviours are cultural markers that help to distinguish between the two sexes, cross-dressing breaks this law very blatantly. And further, to allow cross-dressing potentially allows the mixing of the sexes in ways that could undermine paternity rights.

On this reading, then, the persecution of homosexuality, cross-dressing and all other forms of gender non-conformity originated secondarily from the enforcement not of compulsory heterosexuality, but of compulsory monogamy for women in the interests of ensuring paternity rights. This is an important distinction, for, while it accepts that gendered behaviours and values are cultural, it acknowledges the material existence of the two sexes as a real and significant phenomenon, with powerful influences on societal development.

Combating oppression

Understanding and placing ourselves as animals with real, material, biologically sexed bodies - rather than the smoke-and-mirrors erasure of sex and materiality itself that queer theory promotes - gives us a far more powerful tool to understand and combat the oppression of women, and homosexual and transsexual or transgender people, than queer theory’s baseless speculations ever can.

It explains not only the different social and cultural values and expectations around men and women, but it also explains many of the specifics of what they are and why the expectations are so strongly hierarchical. Women must be submissive to men (‘feminine’) because they must be controlled - from the male perspective, in order to bear children fathered by the man who controls them. From their own point of view, they must allow themselves to be controlled, and teach each other to be controlled, in order to avoid injury or worse. It also explains widespread cultural practices that control the sexual lives and reproduction of women - from FGM to child marriage, to taboos around female virginity and pregnancy outside of marriage. These things happen because sex is observable, and real, and known from birth. At birth, it is in nearly all cases blatantly obvious whether a person can be reasonably expected to be capable of bearing a child, or of inseminating a woman, and it is on this basis that the two sexes exist as classes. To suggest otherwise is to enter the realm of absolute fantasy, or at least of extreme idealism, which indeed queer theory does, since “to ‘concede’ the undeniability of ‘sex’ or its ‘materiality’ is always to concede some version of ‘sex’, some formation of ‘materiality’.”12

The current queer theory-led trans movement seeks to dismantle the second law of patriarchy - men must not act like women, women must not act like men. We do indeed need a movement against sex-based oppression that acknowledges and unites against that law. We need to work towards a world where qualities like strength, assertiveness, caring and gentleness are rewarded, encouraged and promoted in both sexes rather than mocked and punished when they are exhibited by the ‘wrong’ sex; where it is impossible for men to act ‘like women’, or women to act ‘like men’, because gendered expectations attached to each sex no longer exist and anyone can, without censure or even mild surprise, be an engineer or a carer, be logical or emotional or wear a dress or make-up or high heels or a tie or cut their hair short, irrespective of their sex. But to pretend that the sexes themselves do not exist is a nonsense. And it is a dangerous nonsense, when it obscures and denies the existing power relations between men and women.

Female oppression is not an inevitable consequence of the differences between male and female bodies. Yes, the fact that men are bigger and stronger on average can make it easier for them to establish social dominance through direct physical threat; while the risk of being left literally holding the baby and having to provide for it can put women in an economically vulnerable position, where social subordination is a likely outcome. But under different material conditions - and a different value system - there is no reason why we cannot shed these destructive, dysfunctional habits of gender that oppress and limit our humanity.

There is nothing inherent in being a man that makes men oppress women - it is their position in society that allows them to do it, and rewards women who collude with them. Power is the ability to harm without being harmed yourself, and therefore, with sufficient motivation, many people when they have power will use it to cause harm. Currently, men very frequently have that power in relation to women, and so they use it, resulting in very many harms. When, within any given social grouping or class, men occupy a position of power with respect to women, it is not an inevitable effect of human biology: it is a position gifted by property, by wealth, by tradition and by law.

We must seek to rebalance power to prevent harm. That involves, among many other things, abolishing both masculinity and femininity - no progressive cause should support or perpetuate a social system in which dominance is encouraged in one group, while social submissiveness is promoted in others. It is absolutely contrary to all ideas of human dignity and liberation. How could any liberatory movement adopt a position that posits an innate, inescapable hierarchical system at the heart of human nature, with close to 50% of humanity born inescapably into a submissive role?

But in today’s gender debate, the position of queer theory-inspired trans activists is exactly that. For them, to be a ‘woman’ is not to be female, but to be ‘feminine’- in other words, to be a ‘woman’ is to be submissive. It is here that we begin to see the true social regressiveness of this supposedly liberatory movement. For, while it is understood that biology does not determine the gender of trans people, the flipside of that argument is that most people’s gender is indeed innate, as social conservatives have always thought. Why? Because, according to trans activism, most people are ‘cis’ - they ‘identify’ as the gender they were born into. If 1% are trans, then 99% are cis; perhaps being trans is more common, especially if it includes the non-binary category, but still the vast majority of people are cis. So, since most people born with female reproductive systems are ‘cis’ women, they are supposedly innately feminine, which is to say, innately submissive, subordinate, and servile. Meanwhile a similar proportion of people born with male reproductive systems are considered to be ‘cis’ men: innately masculine, and therefore born into a socially dominant role. It is likely that many activists and well-meaning people on the sidelines of this debate have not thought it through far enough to understand that this is the logical and necessary conclusion of their arguments.

While most trans activists avoid definitions like the plague, such a conclusion is borne out by the attempts of some to redefine ‘woman’ and ‘female’. Definitions of ‘woman’ include such gems as: “a person who acts in accordance with traditional gender roles assigned to the female sex” and “anyone that culturally identifies and presents as the combination of stereotypes and cultural norms we define as feminine” or “adhering to social norms of femininity, such as being nurturing, caring, social, emotional, vulnerable and concerned with appearance”. And femaleness is “a universal sex defined by self-negation … I’ll define as female any psychic operation in which the self is sacrificed to make room for the desires of another … [The] barest essentials [of femaleness are] an open mouth, an expectant asshole, blank, blank eyes.”13

This is what we are fighting. It is why we are fighting. We refuse to submit.

#Anglo.txt

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collapsedsquid · 5 years ago

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The implicit assumption here is that development is partly a function of incremental investment per capita: a country always grows as it approaches the capital frontier set by the United States. Poor countries are poorer than rich countries, according to this assumption, mainly because they don’t have the levels of technology and capital stock that rich countries do. As they continue to deepen their levels of capital investment, their productivity levels will rise until their incomes converge with those of rich countries.

If this assumption were really true, economic convergence would be a much more obvious fact of history than it seems to be. In actual fact, convergence is so rare as to be almost non-existent. I would argue that there have really been only four cases of very undeveloped economies reaching advanced economy status, and in every case this occurred for very special reasons that cannot be easily replicated by capital deepening. Two of them—Singapore and Hong Kong—are tiny trading entrepots that got rich by exploiting massive financial and trading efficiencies. The other two—South Korea and Taiwan—are also very small economies that benefited from their key political roles during the Cold War.

This doesn’t mean that more investment does not lead to more wealth. It does in certain conditions and it doesn’t in others. Rather than simply assuming that either it always works or it never works, I think it is far more useful to consider the basic conditions under which more investment increases productivity and wealth and the conditions under which it doesn’t. I have discussed this before (for example, here), but to simplify, I would suggest that we begin by distinguishing between countries whose investment levels are far below their capacity to absorb investment productively and countries whose investment levels are not.

The key assumption here is that the upper limit of an economy’s productive capacity—which we can think of as its ability to take productive advantage of labor, capital, technology, and other resources—isn’t uniform across all countries. Instead, it depends on the set of formal and informal institutions (political, legal, financial, tax, social, and educational) that govern economic behavior.

To cite just one hypothetical example, Canada, in other words, isn’t richer than Bolivia because Canadians have more gold, oil, computers, bridges, or airports, but rather because of a complex constellation of institutions that allow Canadian workers and businesses to operate at much higher levels of economic value creation. Take a relatively educated Bolivian and transport her to Canada, and once you eliminate constraints of language, discrimination, and social conformity, her productivity will quickly rise to Canadian levels.

This is because the amount of capital and technology the average person in Canada can absorb productively is much higher than that which the average person in Bolivia can absorb. Almost everyone would agree with this point, but not, apparently, with the obvious conclusion it points to: increased capital deepening is not enough bring Bolivia to Canadian levels of wealth and productivity without a complete transformation of the formal and informal institutions that have held Bolivians back. So, without this transformation, how much capital deepening is appropriate for Bolivia? Enough to “catch up” not to Canada, but rather to whatever the appropriate level of capital and technology may be, given its particular set of formal and informal economic institutions. Canada might benefit economically, for example, from highly advanced transportation and communication facilities that would be wasted in Bolivia.

I will refer to this level of capital and technology as the Hirschman level because Albert Hirschman wrote so brilliantly and extensively about this process. More capital, in other words, will generate further real growth in Bolivia as long as the country is below its Hirschman level of investment, but once it reaches that level, further development comes not from more capital deepening, but rather from institutional reform.

Consider European countries after 1918 or Europe and Japan after 1945. They were highly advanced economies that had been devastated by war and thrown into poverty, but because their institutions remained largely intact, they were nonetheless able to grow extremely quickly after the wars, largely as a function of rapid increases in investment. They had, in other words, very high Hirschman levels, even though, after the war, their capital stock had been destroyed to way below their Hirschman levels. But after many years of spectacular growth driven by capital deepening (in large part restoring the infrastructure and manufacturing capacity that had been wrecked by war), each of these countries reached that point again, after which their growth rates slowed rapidly. Their actual levels of investment had “caught up” not to the capital frontier set by the United States but rather to the Hirschman levels consistent with their own domestic institutions.

The same has been true of China. When the reform era began in the late 1970s, the country had emerged from five decades of anti-Japanese war, civil war, and Maoism that had left it terribly underinvested—relative not to the capital frontier set by the United States, but rather, more meaningfully, to a Hirschman level of investment that its own institutions allowed it to absorb productively. China was an educated and highly organized economy with extremely backward infrastructure and punishingly limited manufacturing capacity, so, like the European countries ravaged by war, its investment level was very low compared to the upper limits set by its institutional development.

Interesting piece by Pettis but I notice that he conspicuously does not discuss how to increase this “Hirschman level“ apart from “a direction some might argue is very different from the direction it is currently following.“

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edendaphne · 5 years ago

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“Discordant Sonata”- Ch. 13

84 years later, I finished the next chapter!

>Read it here on Ao3<

>Read it here on Wattpad<

CHAPTER 13: FANTASIA

Music glossary:

Fantasia - a musical composition with its roots in the art of improvisation. Because of this, it seldom follows the textbook rules of any strict musical form.

(Mood Music: Morceaux de Fantaisie, Prelude in C Sharp Minor (Op. 3 No. 2) - Sergei Rachmaninoff)

One thing that most everyone can agree upon, is that first times are usually pretty nerve-racking. The first day of school. First sports competition. First music recital. First dental procedure. First date. First kiss. First time driving. First time traveling alone.

This “first” was no different. It was nerve-racking, as they normally are.

Except, most “firsts” generally don’t involve the possibility of getting hurt or killed.

Nevertheless, here Chat was, about to embark on another “first”.

This was his and Ladybug’s first time fighting together as a team against his father. Or against… whatever he was at this point.

Ladybug and Chat Noir sprinted and leaped across the rooftops towards the location the Ladyblog’s akuma notification had specified. The city passed them by in a blur as they weaved across buildings with practiced ease.

But that was the only thing that was easy about this situation.

Chat’s insides twisted and turned. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling at the moment. Was it excitement to finally be at Ladybug’s side as her ally, as they’d always meant to be? Was it dread that he’d have to face Hawkmoth again since their last confrontation, and almost getting killed? Was it fear that he’d fail to protect his Lady– of being inadequate as a partner? Could he measure up to her expectations?

Was he prepared enough, mentally, physically, emotionally, for this moment?

He took in a shaky breath, attempting to shut off his brain and stop thinking. He needed to focus.

Whether I’m ready or not doesn’t matter; this is happening NOW.

The two heroes landed on the darkened street with a soft thud and quickly scanned the vicinity. Nobody was around; the akuma must have moved elsewhere.

As they began to look around, they noted the distinct lack of… anything. No destruction, no collapsed buildings or cars being demolished. No people, no screaming. There was nothing. Not even light; every single street light was out, and all the buildings’ windows were dark. Chat couldn’t help but feel a biting cold crawling down his whole body as he took in the desolate, eerie settings.

Before they began to scout further, Ladybug reached for Chat’s forearm.

“Hey,” she said softly, brows upturned in concern. “You alright?”

Chat blinked at her. She must’ve noticed the tension in his shoulders, tension he hadn’t realized was there until now. He forced himself to smile, despite his nerves. He had to be strong for her. Like she always was.

“I’m fine,” he replied as evenly as he could. “Just first time jitters.”

She smiled at him, rubbing his arm lightly. “Everything will be fine, Chaton. We’ve got each other’s backs.”

Chat’s chest swelled with affection for his partner, and he placed his own hand on top of hers, squeezing gently. “Yeah. We do,” he replied with a small smile.

With confidence bolstered, the pair continued their hunt for the akuma. They searched the area for clues, but there was nothing to show that there’d been any struggles. The only thing that would even indicate that there was an akuma attack was that, at this hour, the city would normally be bustling with nightlife. But right now, it felt more like a graveyard.

Just then, Chat’s cat ears twitched as his amplified hearing caught some fluctuating air waves in the opposite direction. His head whipped around; they led towards a large plaza. He placed his hand on Ladybug’s shoulder and wordlessly signaled towards the new target. She nodded and followed.

The commotion grew louder as they approached. Swallowing heavily, Chat flexed his hands, extending the retractable claws from his gloved fingertips. His tail unconsciously whipped back and forth, agitated, betraying the façade of calm he was attempting to exude.

As they approached the center, they saw someone: a man lying on the pavement, curled up into a fetal position. The man sobbed quietly, staring blankly at nothing. Ladybug knelt and shook his shoulder, but to no avail.

A choked cry from across the way startled them. A woman knelt low, covering her face with her hands. Her breaths were ragged and heavy, punctuated with the occasional whimper.

“What in the world…?” Ladybug muttered under her breath.

As they wandered, they found more and more people suffering from the same mysterious affliction; none of them responsive to noise, sight, or touch. The oppressive atmosphere was stifling, and Chat could feel his skin getting clammy under his suit.

These were not the sounds that usually accompanied an akuma attack; they were sounds of sheer terror and despair. Whimpering, wailing, screeching. People clawing at the ground, at their surroundings, at themselves.

“This isn’t an ordinary akuma,” he heard Ladybug say, barely loud enough for him to hear. “We need to be careful.”

Chat took in the entire sight, his pupils narrowing into slits as he stared at the bodies strewn throughout the plaza’s grounds. Young, old, rich, poor; this strange condition did not discriminate between its hosts.

“What’s wrong with them?” Chat murmured, indistinct. “It’s almost as if–” His eyebrows furrowed and he could feel his fists begin to tremble. “–as if they’re having a nightmare.”

His stomach churned as icy realization coursed through his veins. He recognized the signs very well, as he’d had to deal with them almost every single night for the past few years.

His head whipped towards Ladybug and he rushed back to her side, body tensed with increased urgency. “They’re trapped inside their own nightmares!” he cried in horror. “We need to help them!!!”

Ladybug opened her mouth to reply, but movement at their peripheral caught her attention. She shoved Chat away and used her momentum to somersault backwards, both of them narrowly dodging a black swirl of energy.

A young woman materialized beside them, dressed in a midnight blue ensemble with stars scattered throughout. A spinning whirlpool that resembled a black hole lay at the center of her torso under an ornate pendant. The long, satin-like, almost sheer train of her dress brushed the ground as she floated. In any other situation, it would have been beautiful. But here, her ghostly form emanated an unsettling emptiness, subtly drawing light towards her as she hovered, so she looked blacker than night itself.

“Give me your miraculous,” she demanded, hand outstretched.

Ladybug collected herself and straightened out her body, rolling her eyes as she began spinning her yo-yo. “Why do they always ask? As if that’s ever worked before.”

She glanced at Chat, expecting that he’d make some sort of follow-up pun or wisecrack, like he always did during any past akuma encounters. But this time, Chat didn’t engage in pleasantries or conversation.

Instead, he lunged at the akuma.

The woman dematerialized as Chat reached her, and he passed straight through her now incorporeal body, almost tripping.

Catching himself, he pivoted around and surged towards the woman again, claws outstretched, trying to grab at her; but again, to no avail. He whipped his staff out of its holster and swung it in a wide arc, missing her again while she chuckled loftily. With a snarl, he turned around and continued to strike, looking for a weak spot as she circled him.

After a few more missed strikes, the akuma became solid again and lifted her arm, palm open, aiming it directly at Chat. His eyes grew wide and he leaped away as she fired, letting out a growl of frustration as the stream of blackness barely missed him. .

Throughout the skirmish, Ladybug studied the villain’s movements, trying to locate the akumatized item as well as a way to render it vulnerable. Once the akuma fired at Chat, Ladybug saw an opening and threw her yo-yo, which wrapped around the woman’s arm. The akuma whipped her head towards Ladybug with an annoyed scowl. She dematerialized yet again and the yo-yo dropped harmlessly to the ground.

“You cannot hurt what cannot be touched, Ladybug,” she stated coolly. “I’m invulnerable to your attacks. Stop looking for weaknesses where there are none.”

“You won’t win. None of you have succeeded, and none of you ever will,” Ladybug replied, voice strong, feet planted in a wide, solid stance.

“Every empire has a downfall; and I am yours. If you won’t hand over your earrings, I’ll take them from you. Or better yet...” she said with a grin that sent a chill skittering down Chat’s spine. “You’ll rip them off your very own earlobes, once they turn into searing hot coals in your upcoming nightmare.”

Chat felt a giant lump form in his throat and for a moment he forgot how to breathe. He fought back the part of him that began to panic. The thought of Ladybug trapped in a nightmare… No. He couldn’t let that happen.

With that, she lifted her hand, aiming at Ladybug. Ladybug readied herself using her yo-yo as a shield. But as the akuma was about to fire, Chat jumped in front of her, effectively blocking her attack. He managed to shove her arm sideways, and the ray hit the side of a building instead.

“Chat! Be careful!” Ladybug yelled.

She frowned. That was reckless. He could have gotten hit, or the shot could have hit a civilian.

Chat didn’t seem to listen, however. He continued to engage with the akuma, always on the offensive, never letting her attention leave him. At this rate, he was going to tire himself out, and fast.

Is he trying to get himself killed?!

Chat continued to bob and weave his way around the akumatized person’s attacks, but gradually started to show signs of slowing. His breaths became hard and ragged, his hair clumping with sweat, his twists and turns no longer holding the grace of a cat as they usually did. Ladybug knew they had to try a different approach or Chat would soon succumb to the akuma’s attacks.

Ladybug blocked a sneak attack that the akuma shot her way, and the akuma’s frustration started to show.

“You can’t avoid me forever, Ladybug. Your horrified shrieks will be music to my ears, and I can’t wait,” the akuma sneered.

“I’m not letting you lay a finger on her,” Chat warned, almost hissing.

“Be silent, traitor,” she spat, not turning her head to look at him.

Chat visibly flinched and recoiled slightly in surprise. Ladybug shot a glance at him, unsure of how he’d react.

However, instead of rising to the bait and attacking in anger, Chat paused. He needed some time to catch his breath. He needed a distraction. And distractions were something he could do very well.

So he cleared his throat, straightening himself to his full height and confidently placed a hand on his hip.

“What, can’t your boss be bothered to insult me himself?” he scoffed, brushing off the snub. “How very typical of him. Where is he right now? Sending akumas out of a bathroom stall or something?” he taunted with a wily grin. “I bet he really misses that dank, ugly lair of his. Tell him to have fun with the repair bill. I wish I could see him try to explain that mess to the building contractors.”

The glowing butterfly mask appeared on the akumatized person’s face, and her expression instantly changed into something else entirely. From bored indifference to irritated disdain. She turned her body around, glaring a thousand daggers at him.

“I see you’re still as childish as ever,” the woman spoke, but it was Hawkmoth speaking through her.

“If you don’t like children , you should’ve thought about that with your other head 18 years ago,” Chat quipped back.

The woman– or rather, Hawkmoth– let out an annoyed groan, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I should’ve guessed that spending even a few days with your little so-called ‘friend’ would influence your manners. And here I thought you couldn’t do any worse than that ruffian, Nico, or whatever his name was– and yet here we are.” “Hawkmoth” shrugged in exasperation. “But playtime’s over. This is your last chance to return willingly. Otherwise, you’ll force me to do it the hard way.”

“Get used to disappointment. I know I am,” the young man scoffed. “I’m not going back, and you’ll never find me.”

“You won’t survive on your own. You’re too weak. People will take advantage of you, exploit you where you’re most vulnerable. They’ll earn your trust, feed you delicious, honeyed words as they manipulate you, deceive you into giving them everything they want until they suck you dry.” He scoffed, “Ladybug? Believe me, I know what women like her are like.”

Chat’s eyes narrowed and his hands curled into tight fists. He seethed through clenched teeth, “You leave her out of this.”

Hawkmoth ignored him. “She couldn’t care less about you, you know. You need to rely on someone who will protect you.”

“You call attempted murder ‘protecting’ me?!” Chat snarled.

“I only do what is necessary because you're naive and foolish. You need guidance; you need to be told what to do. Just think about it. You ran away and for what? To prove that you can be ‘independent’?” Hawkmoth chuckled darkly. “Your freedom is an illusion. Haven’t you realized that you’re merely obeying a new master now? Still not making your own decisions; just following this girl around like a lost puppy? Because that’s what you are to her. Just a plaything. A pet.”

Chat gulped, throat painfully dry. How dare his father speak to him this way?! Ladybug’s pet?? She would never think that. She wouldn’t...

He wanted desperately to argue back, but tendrils of doubt clawed around his throat, and whatever retort he might have had was stuck behind his tongue.

Across the way, Ladybug bristled with a sharp huff. “Leave him alone, you heartless jerk!!” she snapped. “How can you say such horrible things to your own flesh and blood!? Chat Noir is stronger than you could ever know!!”

“She’s wrong,” Hawkmoth glowered at Chat through the akuma’s eyes, the latter not turning their head to acknowledge Ladybug’s presence. “You are weak. Spineless. A coward who can’t handle when things aren’t easy and life doesn’t just hand over what you want. You’re a quitter.” The akuma narrowed her eyes at him, mirroring the look currently on Hawkmoth’s face. “Your mother would be so ashamed of you,” he hissed.

Chat’s face twisted into one of pure rage. The ice in his veins evaporated into roaring flames, and he couldn’t contain the fury that boiled in his chest.

“Don’t you DARE talk about mom! You don’t deserve that right! You don’t deserve her!” he exploded.

“I’m not the one who abandoned her, if you’ll recall,” Hawkmoth retorted.

“His mother...?” Ladybug muttered absently, unintentionally drawing their attention.

Hawkmoth sneered, nodding the akuma’s head towards Ladybug. “And what does she think about all this? Did she readily forgive you, and understand why she’s been dragged into this conflict for all these years? Did she accept you even after finding out how utterly selfish you’ve been?”

Ladybug looked at Chat in confusion. He gaped at her, looking like he was about to get sick to his stomach.

“Oh... I see,” Hawkmoth chuckled, a self-satisfied grin slithering across the akuma’s face. “You haven’t even told her, have you?” he mocked. “Maybe I was wrong. I guess you don’t trust her, after all.”

Chat’s eyes blew wide and he stammered in protest. “What–?! NO! That’s not…!”

“That’s good,” Hawkmoth interrupted, voice hardening once more. “You can’t trust her. You can’t trust anyone outside of your family. Your secrets are too great, too terrible. Nobody would ever forgive you.”

Despite the apprehension and uncertainty hanging between them, Ladybug pushed aside the uncomfortable nagging feeling that pricked at her insides and continued to argue.

“Stop it!!” she yelled. “Chat’s business is his own. I don’t need to know all the details of his personal life. I just want to help him, unlike you!”

“She’s lying; she’s always lied. You can’t trust this conniving shrew.”

Ladybug’s eyes popped wide open. “ Shrew?! Why, you big—!!”

“She doesn’t want to help you,” Hawkmoth continued. “She just wants your miraculous. Deep down you already know: you know that she’ll throw you away the moment she gets ahold of your ring, because without it, you’re useless to her. Without it, you’re useless to anyone. ”

“Th-that’s not true!” Chat yelled back.

But Ladybug noticed how he’d hesitated, could sense the fear in his voice; the fear that his father had used to control and abuse him all those years. The fear that gripped him so deeply, so tightly, so thoroughly, that it caused him to falter and tremble even now, despite Hawkmoth not even being physically present.

“Stop talking about him like he’s a possession!” she cried. “I don’t own him, and neither do you!”

Hawkmoth ignored her, as if she were no more than a tiny harmless insect, noisily buzzing around them, and turned to address Chat again.

“You know I’m right,” he huffed arrogantly. “You mean nothing to her because you are nothing. She’ll abandon you the moment she finds out who you really are. She’ll hate you.”

Chat’s gaze fell to the ground, self-loathing evident in his features and posture, which continued to wither and shrink the longer Hawkmoth was allowed to speak.

“Would you kindly shut the hell up?!” Ladybug roared, throwing her yo-yo at the akuma’s currently solid form.

The akuma dodged, body swerving in a jerky, unnatural motion, the glowing purple mask ever present on her face.

“You can’t ever tell her who you are,” Hawkmoth continued. “No one could ever possibly understand you. Only I do. This flatterer is just using you, seducing you with her words to gain your trust.”

“ Seducing?? You son of a—!” She threw her yo-yo again, missing once more, the desire to shut him up overriding her attempts at accuracy. She knew he was trying to make her angry, but damn it, it was working.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed how sweet and charming she acts around you, batting her eyelashes at you, cozying up to you. Isn’t it obvious that what she’s after isn’t you? Nobody would want you.”

“S-stop…” Chat protested weakly.

“You can try to deny it, but you’ll discover the truth for yourself soon enough. And once you realize that you’ve made a mistake, I’ll be waiting for you to return. Because out there, you’re all alone. But if you come back, you’ll still have me... and your mother.”

“STOP IT!! QUIT HURTING HIM!!!” Ladybug screamed, shrill and loud enough to draw the attention from both Hawkmoth and Chat.

Her whole body shook, fists clenched painfully tight, and she fought against the pinpricks of tears that threatened to form in her eyes. She took a couple of quaking, steadying breaths.

“You say he’s weak, but you couldn’t be more wrong.” Her posture straightened and she inhaled sharply, taking a step forward. “The one who’s alone here is you. That’s your big secret. That’s why you want him back. You know you can’t win on your own. You need him. Chat is stronger, more capable, and more important than you’ll ever admit. Because if you did, then you’d have to accept... that he’s the one who doesn’t need you . And for all these years, you’ve been trying to keep him from figuring that out. But he’s not alone. Not anymore.”

All was silent for several seconds. Chat stared at her as if she’d suddenly grown as tall as a skyscraper, while the akuma glowered at her, as if she could strike her down with malicious thoughts alone.

Seconds ticked on until Hawkmoth’s sharp voice cut through the silence, hissing, “We’ll see who’s the one left alone after all this. You’ll regret ever standing in my way.”

Then the butterfly mask disappeared.

Before anyone could speak or react, the akuma raised her arms and fired her attack towards the two.

Ladybug and Chat scrambled and dove out of the way, not expecting such an abrupt end to their conversation.

The akuma continued to shoot at both, but the ferocity of her attacks was focused on Ladybug, the latter fighting desperately to stay ahead of the beams of darkness that shot one after another in quick sequence.

To derail any further troublesome interference from Chat, the akuma switched tactics. She gripped the front of a nearby news van, her hands leaving deep gouges where her fingers dug into the metal. With a sharp yank, the akuma twisted her body around, using her momentum to lift and throw the van down the street.

Ladybug’s eyes followed the trajectory of the vehicle and her stomach dropped; a group of huddled, fearful civilians who weren’t under the nightmare spell had been hiding under some benches, and they wouldn’t be able to escape in time; they were going to be crushed. They shrieked helplessly as the van flew towards them.

Chat gasped in horror, but reacted automatically. He turned on his heel and sprinted on all fours to try to reach the group in time.

Ladybug also made to move after the van, but the akuma didn’t allow her to run off, shooting at the spot where Ladybug was about to step.

“Not so fast, you little pest,” she crooned with a menacing grin. “Now you and I can finally spend some quality time together. Hawkmoth promised me an extra nice reward for making your dreams particularly agonizing.”

With Chat no longer present, the akuma could now double on her efforts to take Ladybug down. Ladybug leaped and dodged desperately, her energy steadily depleting, quickly becoming more and more winded with every second that passed. The akuma walked them towards a tall building with no sharp ledges or windowsills; meaning there was nothing for Ladybug’s yo-yo to grab onto to escape. Cornered, she backed up against the wall, panting heavily, desperately searching for a way out.

“Lucky charm!”

She held out her hands and caught a tiny, round lightbulb. Her eyes darted around, looking for anything that she could use. But there was nothing.

The akuma, who called herself “Night Terror,” raised her palm and aimed it at Ladybug’s head.

“Your luck’s run out, Ladybug. You can’t light your way out of this darkness.” The black swirling energy emerged from her hand once again. “Sweet dreams,” she lilted darkly, and she fired.

Ladybug winced and squeezed her eyes shut.

And then there was nothing.

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ACK, SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER!!! >o>;;;; DON’T KILL ME PLZ

BUT!!! I'll be posting the next chapter next week, since it's almost finished!! :D

In the meantime, please feast your eyes on this gorgeous art that I commissioned from Khywae!!!

#Discordant Sonata #Miraculous Ladybug #Ladynoir #Enemies AU #Marinette Dupain Cheng #Adrien Agreste #fanfiction #Eden writes

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tarotchariot · 4 years ago

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A return, with the past.

Hello!

It has been a while.

Before I begin speaking, I would firstly like to extend my extreme gratitude to those who have followed me in my absence of many months, as well as especially to those who have kept following me through this.

Seeing how people have still enjoyed what I have created or shared is something that seriously encourages me and warms my heart despite any troubles. There are some people here who are so very beautiful inwardly, and I do not forget any wonderful interactions.

Returning here is my intention, to be clear. If you are interested in understanding a little about my disappearance, I invite you to read on - with a little surprise at the end. Maybe we can even have some common understanding.

Trigger warning: if you are struggling with mental health issues/addictions and are very sensitive at the moment to possible spirals, please avoid.

Get cosy, and have a nice beveragino, because my chattiness has come out.

We all have seen and understood very well how harsh the pandemic has been to everyone, indiscriminately. If you are well acquainted with tarot, which I enjoy using, you will likely recognise the aspect of non discrimination when it comes to the Death Card. Change and transitions, including physical death, are unavoidable. These things do not care if you are rich, poor or anything in between.

I have seen a very kind soul leave this earth last year, and I am sure quite a few of you have been sadly witness to a passing, whether you were close or not. If you are reading this and you have lost someone, please accept my deepest care and condolences. It can often seem so unfair and unjust. Even now with the uncertainty this creates over all, including perspective - I somehow feel there is something to hold on to.

Maybe it is each other, while we are still here. Maybe it is the new values we have recognised we share.

I won’t dwell on, but before I get to my personal point I would like to remind you: Those you have lost, are no longer suffering. I believe in synchronicity and signs. So please take this as a sign from them. They are safe, they are ok. They are still able to be with you in spirit. They are not completely gone. If you don’t feel like this even does it for you, please ask for a further sign. Go specific. Say you want to see a cute duck, or hear a certain song. Maybe you feel it’s too soon - your guide or deity may help you, and your loved one to communicate.

Now on with my original route. With what we have all been going through in the world, it is only natural it will affect your life and your mental health. Now, I am sharing this more personal aspect of my life for two reasons:

1. I feel a duty to take responsibility and be more communicative

2. Sharing is caring. The purpose is not to judge or be judged - It is to open up perspective and increase understanding.

I will admit, openly and honestly: My mental health had gone down the pooper, quite frankly. Despite my best attempts, I learned the hard way that you simply cannot be a “one man band”. My past is one that encouraged self sufficiency, but led to a lot of disconnect with others. Like many, speaking about internal issues was a no-no.

You might possibly be thinking: “But your content is positivity/self love/spiritual - how could you spiral with those tools?”

Or, something of the like. You probably don’t talk like that - you get my jist though, right?

My answer is very simply, we are all human. We all fall on our faces at some point. Anxiety, worry, and other stresses or confusion can grip so tight that nothing seems to work. I’ve seen that, I’ve felt it even before these months. Mental health difficulties (no matter what kind) can have such a damaging effect on your confidence, motivation, life, physicality that you really can’t get up yet.

This is why it’s so important, to talk to someone. These things make you feel alone, when truly you are not. Spiritually you are definitely not alone. Personally you might have that one trustworthy connection to turn to and be listened by. Or there could be free help or therapy available. There are kind souls and charity out there. So no, not alone. But it’s ok if you forget that for a moment. And sometimes things fall through in providing for you, it happens. And it’s ok to be angry.

In my experience, there is an unbeatable fog. It takes everything, and threatens to swallow you too. It becomes a free for all, and you are left grasping at something - anything to feel some kind of way better. Sometimes you find the universe to be giving, and others you find empty results. That kind of discussion in depth is for another time - about emptiness, and perception of generosity in the world. All I’m saying right now is in my experience, it can be very random. Like gambling, almost. You hope to put something out, ask for something, and get any kind of result that you can. You get so focused on fixing the way you feel - you get tunnel vision and forget everything else.

So, it does take. It takes by surprise, without you realising. It takes your hopes, your dreams, your loving memories. You drop them all, to focus on what is in front of you - alone - because you’re ‘independent’ and ‘self sufficient’.

So you forget that actually, you really enjoy that hobby.

You forget that you laugh so much with that person.

You forget that you are skilled with something.

You forget yourself, and just become this person, suddenly empty, fighting something inside.

But then, you remember.

Bit by bit you are reminded in little ways, breadcrumb by breadcrumb.

My latest breadcrumb was a past reading I did on my old account. I saved them before I deleted it, in case I felt it was right to share them again. I was aimlessly looking through my files, and by chance chose a pick a card reading. I was reminded about what I liked, who I felt more connected to inside.

And so, I sheepishly return with a token gift of my past pick a card reading. With much love and compassion, I offer this to you hoping someone can get some use out of it.

Here is the reading: https://tarotchariot.tumblr.com/post/641585663410634752/return-with-past-pick-a-card

And maybe, like myself, you will have an unexpected source of connection and help in your troubles, too.

If you have read this, thank you so much. I’ll be seeing you again.

#tarot community #psychic #spirituality #spiritual #spiritual community #tarot reader #tarot reading #witchblr #tarotblr #tw mental breakdown #tw mental health

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a4bl · 5 years ago

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Asians 4 Black Lives: Structural Racism is the Pandemic, Interdependence and Solidarity is the Cure

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a new surge in violence against Asian communities across the world. Several high-profile instances of anti-Asian racist violence—spurred on by casually racist remarks at every level of government, business, and popular culture—have created a terrorizing climate for many. In San Francisco Chinatown for example, overt xenophobia, combined with the economic impact of shelter-in-place orders, has left immigrants, elders, limited English-speaking people, and poor folks feeling like targets. In San Francisco, where a staggeringly disproportionate 50% of the COVID-19 mortalities are from the Asian and Pacific Islander community, the pandemic has ushered in multiple violences. This has been further exacerbated by pre-existing crises: gentrification, displacement, homelessness, police terror, inequities in education, a drastic uptick in deportations, antagonism against trans and queer people, poverty, and exploitation.

Nationally, Black people are dying from COVID-19 at rates twice as high as other groups, an outcome of deeply embedded structural racism in healthcare, housing, labor, and other policies. Communities are weakened from decades of housing discrimination and redlining, forced denser housing, targeted criminalization and incarceration, larger numbers of pre-existing health conditions, and less access to affordable healthy food. Black communities are more likely to live in places with air pollution, rely on public transit, and be essential workers, so exposure rates increase. When Black people fall ill with COVID-19, racism in the healthcare system means lack of access to quality care, testing kits, or funds for treatment. In some cases, like for Zoe Mungin, they are simply not believed and turned away from treatment, until it is too late.

We must recognize that the scapegoating of Asians as the harbingers of disease and the state violence against Black people (via systemic policing and state response to the pandemic) are two sides of the same coin. This system of oppression is what indicates whether we live or die. This moment makes it even clearer that we must radicalize our communities for cross-racial solidarity.

Asians and Anti-Blackness in the US

Asians in the US are not a monolith. Some of us are first-generation immigrants who came here to work under selective immigration policies that privileged our education and technical skills. Some of us are here through involuntary migrations—fleeing economic and military wars waged in our homelands by the US and other imperial powers. Some of our Asian families have been in the US for generations. Some of us were adopted from Asian countries by non-Asian families. Some of us are mixed-race and of Black and Asian descent. We cannot ignore the varied experiences and distinctions between how our people got to this land, our familial and community histories in the US, and the way in which mainstream American perceptions and portrayals impact us differently. What we do have in common is that we’re incentivized by capitalism and racism, particularly anti-Blackness, to hold up the dual evils of white supremacy and American imperialism.

In order to fight back, we need to be more informed. That means understanding how we’ve been asked to buy into this system and to uphold ideas, policies, and practices that ultimately go against our interests. That also means being active and vocal supporters of Black liberation, and taking responsibility to end our anti-Blackness. We must acknowledge that anti-Blackness is at the core of all racism and that non-Black Asians have benefited—conditionally—from a system of anti-Blackness politically, economically, and socially. See our statement on recent police killings of Black people for more on this. It also means understanding how the history of racial capitalism has impacted all our communities and continues to impact us.

A Shared History of White Supremacy and Imperialism

Today the current administration is seeding a second Cold War with China to protect its financial interests globally and in the Asian Pacific. Stateside, we see results of this expressed as public figures repeatedly call COVID-19 a “Chinese virus” or a “Kung Flu,” directly resulting in vigilante attacks on people of Chinese descent, or people perceived to be of Chinese descent. In the summer, we’re seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases as states push for “re-opening,” in part so that the state doesn't have to pay the brunt of unemployment benefits. This puts frontline workers (who are disproportionately from communities of color) at further risk—a decision not made off science but because of the drive for profit. In 2014-15, the Ebola outbreak also became a racialized pandemic, sparking widespread fear of African countries and a globalized anti-Blackness by Western countries.

We’ve seen this before: racist rhetoric, scapegoating, and, eventually, military tactics that target and intimidate communities of color to reinforce US capitalist priorities domestically and imperialism abroad. During World War II, fear of military threat by the Japanese government and fear of the economic influence of people of Japanese descent in the US led to the racist mass incarceration of Japanese Americans. Despite this despicable history, racist pundits have recently claimed the incarceration of Japanese Americans actually sets legal precedent for the targeting of other communities of color in the post 9-11 era. US government officials used Southwest Asian, North African, Muslim and South Asian communities as scapegoats during the “War on Terror” which put a huge target on their backs for vigilante violence, created massive surveillance and state-sanctioned harassment programs, and provided a cover for starting endless wars in the Gulf and West Asia for geopolitical dominance. During the rhetoric leading up to the various iterations of Trump’s travel bans we saw xenophobic language like “shithole countries” targeting both Muslim and African countries. We know that within the system of immigration surveillance and detention, Black immigrants are disproportionately targeted and deported.

We also know that the modern US police force was created in the antebellum period as patrols to hunt down people escaping slavery. Their present-day incarnation has been further solidified through continued targeting of Black communities as well as cracking down on unions and workers fighting for fairer wages and decent working conditions. Similarly, prisons are the contemporary progenies of slave plantations. These systems are undergirded by a dominant white supremacist narrative that insinuates Black people are inherently criminal and Black communities and families are irreparably broken. These narratives—built on more than 500 years of slavery, Indigenous genocide, and the theft of Native land—protect white owning-class privilege and power while resulting in death, disempowerment, and suffering, which disproportionately impact Black and Indigenous communities. These dominant systems, and the narratives that support them, have a firm grip on every aspect of contemporary US life. Understanding these critical connections is required political education for all—a more strategic resistance enables growth and strength across multiple communities of struggle. Without this, our communities are more vulnerable to counterproductive responses.

Moving Away from Counterproductive Responses

Unfortunately, in response to the rise in anti-Asian violence during COVID-19, we’ve seen vigilante groups form, bent on taking matters into their own hands. These responses reinforce the violent systems and narratives we want to dismantle. One such group that we’ve learned about in San Francisco Chinatown is composed of some ex-military. They have claimed they would perform citizens’ arrests, and have surveilled people they deem “suspicious,” and called the cops on them. Based on historic biases of the police and military, the folks targeted by this vigilante group have been Black, poor, unhoused, disabled, or a combination of the above. As we’ve seen for decades, police kill Black people at rates six times that of white people. This group has even co-opted language from the movement for Black lives in order to seem more sympathetic. Utilizing policing tactics like “patrols” and engaging in military-style surveillance and harassment of Black and poor people is an escalation and expansion of violence—not successful harm-prevention.

In this moment of the pandemic and uprisings, there is an opportunity to pivot to the future our communities want and need. Rather than attempting to solve the issues we’re facing by using tactics that replicate harm, we ask ourselves and each other: What new systems of support and care can we build and grow so that the world can be better? Asians cannot afford to hold on to the meager protections given to us by white supremacy; we can no longer be conscripted to fight the battles of white supremacy and American imperialism on its behalf while simultaneously being harmed by these systems. We need to recognize that our liberation is tied to our interdependence and solidarity.

Our Liberation is Intertwined

Hyejin Shim, queer Korean and prison abolitionist, poses an essential question: “What are the legacies we’ve inherited, which ones will we choose to protect?” In her piece questioning the limits of Asian American allyship, Hyejin reminds us that as Asian Americans, we have a rich, deep legacy of “Asian American prison abolitionists, anti-war activists, racial justice organizers, disability justice freedom fighters, queer/trans feminists & anti fascists, immigrant rights organizers, housing justice organizers, rape and domestic violence survivor advocates, labor organizers, artists and cultural workers, movement lawyers, and so many more, from both the past & present.” In all of these movements, Asian Americans have struggled alongside their Black siblings, with an understanding that our liberations are intertwined.

Again, Black and Asian solidarity in the face of systemic oppression is not new and we should continue to draw lessons from our vibrant shared history to inform our current and future work organizing for a more just society.

Early 1900s: Black US troops desert to join Pilipino independence fighters.

1969: Black, Asian, and Latinx students at San Francisco State University successfully lead a strike to create the first-ever Ethnic Studies program.

1970s: The Black Panther Party supports Pilipino residents of the International Hotel in their fight against eviction.

2006: After Hurricane Katrina, Black and Vietnamese communities in New Orleans protest the use of their community as a makeshift dump site.

2020: Black and Asian communities in New York lead a movement to Cancel Rent, focused on immigrant, undocumented, and homeless communities.

(For more on the above examples, check out these zines by Bianca Mabute-Louie!)

Grounding in Interdependence and Solidarity

In addition to deepening our understanding of our shared histories, we should deepen our interpersonal relationships—our trust. We should continue to build out the mechanisms through which we tangibly support each other. As Stacey Park Milbern—a dearly beloved queer mixed race Korean comrade and disability justice movement leader who recently passed away—taught us: “We live and love interdependently. We know no person is an island, we need one another to live.”

This month, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets, decrying the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many more. The people are mobilizing to uplift calls from Black organizers to defund the police while imagining and implementing alternatives to policing that actually promote community health and wellbeing. It’s a beautiful sight to behold and we must not forget that this incredible and rapid mass mobilization is a direct result of the tireless and intentional work of organizers who move in between these flashpoint moments: people who do the unsung work of cultivating and deepening interpersonal relationships over decades, holding difficult and educational conversations, supporting members through personal challenges, and creating venues for community to celebrate victories and accomplishments.

Deep, intentional relationship building is central to laying the foundations that make change possible; at the same time, it is not just a means to an end. Trust and interdependence are ends in themselves. As Asians 4 Black Lives, we aim to live out the world we are fighting for, and our deep comradeship and friendship is core to how and why we show up. For example, we have taken up the practice of beginning each of our regular meetings with personal check-ins: Do you have any needs that our community can help you with? Do you have any resources or bandwidth you can offer to community? We are often wrestling with the complexity of what it means to be people of Asian diaspora living in the United States and in joint struggle with our Black, Indigenous, and other comrades of color. This extends our questioning into deeper political territory: What, if any, is our role as US-based Asians in addressing anti-Blackness in Asian communities abroad? What does it mean to be called #Asians4BlackLives when that phrase is being used as a rallying cry for so many who express their solidarity in ways we may not be aligned with? Our work raises important questions that help us sharpen our analysis and build stronger ties with each other and the communities we are accountable to.

Whatever the world throws at us, be it interpersonal violence, a novel coronavirus, climate change, or vigilante racism, we know that communities are most resilient when basic needs are met. As others have noted, wealthy, predominantly white communities have much lower rates of policing and longer life expectancies than lower income communities of color. This isn’t because rich people or white people are less predisposed to do harm, or because they are physically or biologically predetermined to be healthier, but rather that these communities are allocated more resources and support structures. These communities are given more chances to address violence without being criminalized, but this often empowers people with privilege to continue causing harm without facing consequences. Instead of this model, we strive for a world where everyone’s needs are met and new systems help us address real issues of health and harm without relying on the carceral state.

The good news is we’re seeing more and more Asian communities move towards redistributing resources of time, money, and energy in this moment. Asian volunteers are phonebanking and getting donations pledged to Black groups—directly. Asians are encouraging each other to speak to their families and communities. Asians are supporting the campaigns and creative direct action efforts of Black-led groups to win the defunding and abolition of police and prisons. Asians are setting up strong alternatives to relying on these systems for safety. It is a powerful moment of mobilization.

As COVID-19 shifts social relations in unprecedented ways and oppressive forces leverage the pandemic to stir up fear and anti-Asian racism for their own benefit, we must resist the temptation to put up walls and isolate ourselves. It’s essential that we be resilient and creative in the ways we stay close. Let us continue to deepen our trust and ground ourselves in our rich legacies of solidarity. Let us leverage our collectivizing strength as we fight for a world that centers humanity, dignity, and the space to thrive.

#Asians4BlackLives #AsiansforBlackLives #BlackLivesMatter #BlackHealthMatters #Pandemic #Solidarity #Public Health #Health #COVID-19 #COVID19 #Coronavirus #Racism #Interdependence #Asians for Black Lives #Black Lives Matter

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hum02poverty · 5 years ago

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The Faces of Poverty in the Philippines

One of the several challenges that the country faces up until this day is poverty. Indeed, the Philippines is currently considered a developing country and yet the economy of the country is relatively weak and has a slow economic growth compared to the other developing countries in the world. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (2019), the poverty incidence among the Philippines’ population or the proportion of the poor Filipinos whose per capita income is not enough to fulfill their basic needs was estimated to be 16.6 percent for the year 2018. Although the poverty rate has decreased from 23.3 percent last 2015, it is still alarming that there are many Filipinos who remain to live in extreme poverty while the country continues to increase in population. Poverty is certainly a huge problem of the society; everyone is affected, regardless of age and gender. However, the youth are the ones who are greatly affected, if an innocent child is born poor, his/her future will probably not be secured and has to work hard growing up to earn a living. Nevertheless, the real question is: what is the truth behind poverty? What are the main and root causes of it? The application of the theories of poverty includes capitalism, politics, and inequality in the Philippines’ society.

Quite possibly the biggest culprit among the causes of poverty is the system itself, specifically this Capitalist system that the society has grown far of. What exactly is Capitalism? Several people tend to be unaware of its meaning despite living in a society which is one. It is the economic and political system wherein industries are owned by private owners or institutions rather than being owned by the state. Furthermore, it is built around the concept of the free market, competition, voluntary labor and the idea of being paid equivalent to what and how people have worked. A study by the Asian Development Bank in 2009 has stated the most common reasons, a few being: low to moderate economic growth for the past 40 years, low growth elasticity of poverty reduction, weakness in employment generation and the quality of jobs generated, failure to fully develop the agriculture sector, high inflation during crisis periods, high levels of population growth and high and persistent levels of inequality among many others. If these reasons will boil into one thing, it will only root out Capitalism.

A talk conducted by Prager University stated that the only way for the poor to rise from poverty is through the Capitalist system as it also revolves around the concept of accumulating profit and capital. They elaborate further stating that Capitalism promotes Economic Democracy, allowing the poor to have better wages and job opportunities as opposed to Socialism which will only lead to “Economic dictatorship of the elite”. The talk had a completely logical and historical evidence to support it but the practice was problematic. This is due to the fact that the current social system, apart from Capitalism has very prominent and severe cases of inequality and the sad reality is many cases are inevitable. Many private owners would cut corners in cost to avoid financial conflicts in the future thus leading to the unfair wages and compensation to their less-fortunate employees. This may seem like an act of greed, however if we look at it from a different perspective it is not as simple as it sounds as the system proves that even the slightest of fluctuation in profit can lead to economic disaster due to the constantly changing competition which will result in the fall of the employer but also their employees whom they pay. That is not to say that all cases are like that, the pride and reputation of many of those in the upper-class are also at stake and many are unwilling to set those aside for the greater good of their employees and subordinates. Some may be saying “What about those rags to riches stories we always hear?” which is a good question. Those people are simply benefactors of circumstance as they had the ample amount of qualifications alongside the opportunities. However, not everyone, in fact rarely anyone, is as lucky as those people as the same study by ADB (2009) quotes “Economic growth did not translate into poverty reduction in recent years”. Despite Capitalism being the only way for the poor to rise from poverty, the greed and lack of tact of many of those higher-up are holding them back from doing so.

According to the Asian Development Bank (2009), one of the major causes of poverty is having a large amount of inequality. It includes economic inequality that leads to social inequalities such as discrimination in gender or racism which gives an unequal opportunities to a society with various social statuses. The victims of these inequalities are people who doesn’t get enough resources like education, work opportunities, and privilege that is needed within a family against poverty. The United Nations Social Policy and Development Division (2009) identifies “inequalities in income distribution and access to productive resources, basic social services, opportunities” and more as a cause for poverty. Clusters like women, religious minorities, and racial minorities can be considered as the most vulnerable in this state. From time to time, it is difficult to distinct a social inequality and cannot be obvious for some since voices from people who are in need are left unheard and left out from any discourse that is of essence.

In the Philippines, a quarter of the country’s population is under the poverty line. According to the ASEAN Trade Union Council (n.d.), across the Southeast Asia, Philippines top the highest rate of economic and social inequality. For that reason might be because of the rising disparity between the rich and poor citizens that affected the educational and vocational programs and the distribution of lands. These inequalities mostly distress indigenous people and the ones who suffers the most. Inequality is a problem but also a challenge in the elimination of poverty. In addition, there are further theories why poverty is still existing and how its factors shows in a country.

There are many theories surrounding the cause and effect of poverty. Ranging from the classical and neoclassical theory of poverty to the Marxian or radical theory of poverty. Theories regarding poverty do not revolve solely around economy, many also revolve around politics or psychology. Many of these theories were derived from previously existing theories and have been further developed. One of such theories about the cause of poverty is the World Bank’s three-pillar theory of poverty. This theory was derived from Sen’s Empowerment Theory. The theory proposed that poverty is not merely focused on “extremely low or no income”, but that it is also a lack of political and psychological power (Sen, 1999). Sen suggests that modern society restricts certain citizens of their power and control, thus resulting in poverty for those citizens. Sen believes that to escape poverty three things are necessary: (1) political, economic, and social freedom; (2) security and protection; and (3) transparent governmental activities (Sen, 1999).

The World Bank’s three-pillar theory of poverty further expands upon the three points of the empowerment theory, security, empowerment, and opportunity. The first pillar, “security”, of the three-pillar theory includes factors such as clean water, adequate food and housing, and the reduction to natural disasters, in other words survivability (World Bank, 2001). The second pillar, “empowerment”, of the three-pillar theory focuses on providing the poor with the means to acquire a greater voice to help them fight for their justice and their society (World Bank, 2001). Psychologically speaking, “empowerment” encourages people to work “with” the poor and not “for” the poor (World Bank, 2001; Carr, 2003). Lastly, the third pillar, “opportunity”, of the three-pillar theory states that poverty exists due to lack of opportunity to independently participate in the economy (World Bank, 2001).

Looking at poverty in the Philippines through the lens of the World Bank’s three-pillar theory, it can be observed that the Philippines does not meet the criteria necessary to escape poverty. In the Philippines, it can be seen that the streets are often polluted and filled with people in poverty. This shows that the people in poverty are not given enough security to allow them enough chance to escape poverty. Since there is a lack of security, the people in poverty have their hands full trying to find ways to survive. They spend most of their efforts finding ways to survive thus they cannot spare enough effort to escape from poverty. It can also be seen that in the Philippines, people with power do not help the people in poverty, as can be seen from the lack of political movements aiming to support the poor. There is a severe lack of empowerment towards giving the poor a chance to voice out their concerns about their situation. The powerful do not empower and work with the poor to help them escape poverty. People have their hands full with their own situations to have the leeway to help others. Another thing that can be seen in the Philippines is that there are hardly any opportunities for the poor to escape poverty due to reasons ranging from lack of education to lack of jobs fit for them. The lack of opportunities to find a sustainable job robs the poor of their chances to earn a living. The poor can hardly be blamed for the lack of opportunities. The fault for the lack of opportunities lies with the society of the Philippines rather than the individual people in poverty.

In essence, the Philippines does not provide enough security, empowerment, and opportunity for people to gain the chance to escape poverty. It can be said that the system of politics in the Philippines is flawed for not meeting the criterion that allows people to escape poverty. Therefore, in layman terms, the system of politics and the government in the Philippines is one of the fundamental causes as to why poverty continues to persist in the Philippines despite the numerous previous attempts to purge poverty in the Philippines.

As stated in the essay, an in-dept analysis of the poverty in Philippines comprised of a capitalist system with an inequality standing and having an incompetent government. Being in a capitalist country might improve the situation of poverty, however, people with power or has a high social standing are the ones who’s depriving people in escaping poverty since it can or will affect their status. In inequality, all kinds of inequality depending on the situation can be considered in poverty since many are not privileged to be like this and that, it results to unequal opportunities that leads to poverty. In line with this, having an unequal opportunities means that people are just finding ways to survive and not be able to secure themselves against poverty because they lack resources. Furthermore, the government system of the Philippines can also be deemed as one of the fundamental causes of poverty in Philippines based on the lens of the World Bank’s three-pillar theory. Seeing that this theory has a criterion regarding the status of poverty, it can be distinguished that the Philippines does not meet the criterion to escape poverty because of the established claims that was stated in this essay.

BERNARDO, CO, INTAL, MARIANO, TALUB (IS211)

#hum02

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its-me-canada-blog · 6 years ago

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HOW IS CANADA TODAY?

Canada is the world’s second-largest country by surface but relatively small in terms of population. Is one of world’s top trading nations, and one of its richest.

Image source: https://www.plant.ca/insights/171911/

Economy:

Canada is the 10th largest economy in the world and the 8th freest economy. It closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system, patterns of production, and high living standards. Also, Canada is the third in the world in proved oil reserves behind Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, being United States the main importer of this oil, and about three-quarters of Canada’s exports go there, so the successful 2018 renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement was crucial.

Image: Thelinknewspaper.ca @ 2017

Social:

Canada is famous for its free Healthcare system, although there is no pharmacare policy. The country has very permissive Abortion laws, where a woman can interrupt the pregnancy at any stage, even the final weeks. The legal drinking age is 18 years old in some provinces (Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec) and 19 years old in the rest of the provinces and territories. Marijuana was legalized in 2018 but there are laws dictating when, where and how marijuana can be bought, sold and used, and can be prescribed for medical reasons too. Gun ownership is allowed but carrying them is illegal.

Canada has laws that prevent discrimination against race, gender, religion or sexual orientation, and protects those discriminated in their jobs and social environment. Since 1969, most legal bans on sodomy were lifted and in 2005 same-sex marriage was legalized. Also, gender dysmorphia is a legitimate medical condition so the cost of sex reassignment surgery is covered. There are a variety of pension and welfare programs to assist the less fortunate.

Image: Government of Canada (Source: TheTyee.ca@2016)

Politics:

Canada’s style of government is based on the British system, with the national government run as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. Also, Canada is divided into 13 provinces and territories with their own head of government called Premier.

Most Canadians can identify the Prime Minister and the Premier of their own province, and the vast majority of adults Canadians participate in politics by voting in elections. Canada has a “two party-plus” system which means that the country is usually dominated by two large parties (left wing: The Liberal Party of Canada, right wing: The Conservative Party of Canada) and a third one either on the further-left or further-right.

Image: Justin Trudeau (Source Kalinga-TV@2019)

Today, Justin Trudeau is the Prime Minister and he is the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada since April 14, 2013.

Sources of information: https://www.indexmundi.com/canada/economy_overview.html https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/economy https://www.heritage.org/index/country/canada http://www.thecanadaguide.com/culture/social-issues/ http://www.thecanadaguide.com/government/ http://www.thecanadaguide.com/government/political-parties/

WHAT IS LIKE LIVING IN CANADA?

Canada enjoys a positive global reputation as one of the world’s safest, most comfortable countries, with citizens who enjoy generally contented lives free from substantial hardship. Canada is the 6th most peaceful country in the world (According to the Global Peace Index, 2018) with low crime and homicides rates.

Canadians are generally healthy people, their life expectancy is 80 years for men and 84 years for women. This is accompanied by the fact that Canadians have free health care system.

Despite this, Canada is not a perfect country. Canadians of both genders are declared legally equal under the law but women are always less likely to work than men, and continue to be over represented in stereotypically female professions, such as teaching, nursing and waitressing, and because of this, discussion about pay gap are common.

Regarding work life, the balance between work hours and leisure is in an ill position compared with other countries, with long working hours.

Sources: http://visionofhumanity.org/indexes/global-peace-index/ http://www.thecanadaguide.com/basics/quality-life-canada/ http://www.thecanadaguide.com/culture/religion/ http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/canada/

Image: Tent in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (source)

Image: Luxurious Mansion in Vancouver (source)

ARE PEOPLE POOR OR RICH IN CANADA?

Canadians enjoy a high standard of living, and that this has been true for the entire postwar period. But Canada has generally high levels of economic inequality, with the gap between Canada’s rich and poor having steadily increased since the 1990s.

The richest fifth of the Canadian population hold close to 50% of the entire wealth of all Canadian families. On the other hand, 1 in 7 people in Canada live in poverty. So Canada is a wealthy country but only for the top percentiles of the population.

Sources: http://www.thecanadaguide.com/basics/quality-life-canada/ https://www.opencanada.org/features/inequality-explained-hidden-gaps-canadas-education-system/ http://www.cwp-csp.ca/poverty/just-the-facts/

ARE THERE MANY DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS LIVING IN CANADA?

Canada is a multicultural country. Most people living in Canada self-identify as “Canadian”. However, Canada is one of the most multicultural countries in the world, and responses to ethnic origin surveys are incredibly diverse. According to the 2016 census form, there were acknowledged multiples groups of origin.

Ethnic groups above the one million mark: Canadians (32,3%), English (18,3%), Scottish (13,9%), French (13,6%), Irish (13,4%), German (9,6%), Chinese (5,1%) Italian (4,6%), First Nations (4,4%), Indian (4%), Ukrainian (4%), Dutch (3,2%), Polish (3,2%). The are also at least 21 other ethnic groups in Canada that have between 200,000 and 1,000,00 habitants.

It is important to mention the Indigenous Peoples in Canada, who are also referred to as Aboriginal peoples. They formed complex social, political, economic and cultural systems before Europeans came to North America. There are three recognized Aboriginal groups in Canada:

- Métis: Métis are people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, and one of the three recognized Aboriginal peoples in Canada. While the Canadian government politically marginalized the Métis after 1885, they have since been recognized as an Aboriginal people with rights enshrined in the Constitution of Canada and more clearly defined in a series of Supreme Court of Canada decisions.

- Inuit: Inuit — Inuktitut for “the people” — are an Indigenous people, the majority of whom inhabit the northern regions of Canada. An Inuit person is known as an Inuk. The Inuit homeland is known as Inuit Nunangat, which refers to the land, water and ice contained in the Arctic region.

- First Nations: Is a term used to describe Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are not Métis or Inuit. First Nations people are often known by other names like Indians, Natives, Native Canadians, Native Americans, American Indians and Amerindians. There are 634 First Nations communities in Canada, speaking more than 50 distinct languages.

Video: “Walking in Downtown Vancouver BC Canada. City Life on Granville Street - Youtube”

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Sources: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/metis https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuit https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/first-nations

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originalrebelavenue · 4 years ago

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Full text: The Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020

The Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020

The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China March 2021

Foreword

"I can't breathe!"

-- George Floyd

"The scenes (the U.S. Capitol building violence) we have seen are the result of lies and more lies, of division and contempt for democracy, of hatred and rabble-rousing -- even from the very highest levels."

-- German President Frank-Walter SteinmeierIn 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc around the world, posing a major threat to human security. The virus respects no borders, nor does the epidemic distinguish between races. To defeat the epidemic requires mutual help, solidarity and cooperation among all countries. However, the United States, which has always considered itself an exception and superior, saw its own epidemic situation go out of control, accompanied by political disorder, inter-ethnic conflicts, and social division. It further added to the human rights violations in the country, the so-called "city upon a hill" and "beacon of democracy."

-- The epidemic went out of control and turned into a human tragedy due to the government's reckless response. By the end of February 2021, the United States, home to less than 5 percent of the world's population, accounted for more than a quarter of the world's confirmed COVID-19 cases and nearly one-fifth of the global deaths from the disease. More than 500,000 Americans lost their lives due to the virus.

-- Disorder in American democratic institutions led to political chaos, further tearing the fabric of society apart. Money-tainted politics distorted and suppressed public opinion, turning elections into a "one-man show" of the wealthy class and people's confidence in the American democratic system dropped to the lowest level in 20 years. Amid increasing political polarization, hate politics evolved into a national plague, and the Capitol was stormed in post-election riots.

-- Ethnic minority groups suffered systematic racial discrimination and were in a difficult situation. People of color made up about one-third of all minors under the age of 18 in the United States but two-thirds of all of the country's imprisoned minors. African Americans are three times as likely as whites to be infected with the coronavirus, twice as likely to die from COVID-19, and three times as likely to be killed by the police. One in four young Asian Americans has been the target of racial bullying.

-- Gun trade and shooting incidents hit a record high, and people's confidence in social order waned. Americans bought 23 million guns in 2020 against the background of an out-of-control epidemic, accompanied by racial justice protests and election-related conflicts, a surge of 64 percent compared with 2019. First-time gun buyers exceeded 8 million. More than 41,500 people were killed in shooting incidents across the United States in the year, an average of more than 110 a day, and there were 592 mass shootings nationwide, an average of more than 1.6 a day.

-- George Floyd, an African American, died after being brutally kneeled on his neck by a white police officer, sparking a national outcry. Widespread protests for racial justice erupted in 50 states. The U.S. government suppressed demonstrators by force, and more than 10,000 people were arrested. A large number of journalists were attacked and arrested for no reason.

-- The gap between the rich and the poor widened, with the people at the bottom of society living in misery. The epidemic led to mass unemployment. Tens of millions of people lost health insurance coverage. One in six Americans and one in four American children were at risk of hunger. Vulnerable groups became the biggest victims of the government's reckless response to the epidemic.

The U.S. government, instead of introspecting on its own terrible human rights record, kept making irresponsible remarks on the human rights situation in other countries, exposing its double standards and hypocrisy on human rights. Standing at a new crossroads, mankind is faced with new, grave challenges. It is hoped that the U.S. side will show humility and compassion for the suffering of its own people, drop hypocrisy, bullying, "Big Stick" and double standards, and work with the international community to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

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designstorytellingninasem2 · 4 years ago

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Chosen Issue: Poverty

Initial Research into Poverty

The existing situation with poverty.

In New Zealand:

There is poverty amidst prosperity: There are around 682,500 people in poverty in this country or one in seven households, including around 220,000 children. Some groups are more likely than others to be in poverty: Beneficiaries, children, Māori and Pacific peoples, and sole parents are more likely to experience poverty than other groups.

Discrimination plays a part in New Zealand poverty, for example Moari and Pacific child populations are significantly disadvantaged compared to other New Zealand children.

‘In the year ended June 2020, almost 1 in 5 Māori children (19.5 percent) lived in households that reported going without 6 or more of the 17 basic needs. The rate was higher for Pacific children at 26.1 percent. These rates compared with 11.3 percent for all New Zealand children. Māori children made up nearly half of the annual fall in the number of children in material hardship.’

Globally:

“Global poverty is one of the very worst problems that the world faces today. The poorest in the world are often hungry, have much less access to education, regularly have no light at night, and suffer from much poorer health. To make progress against poverty is therefore one of the most urgent global goals.’’

The world has made huge strides in overcoming global poverty. Since 1990, more than 1.2 billion people have risen out of extreme poverty. Now, 9.2% of the world survives on $1.90 a day or less, compared to nearly 36% in 1990. But the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse decades of progress in the fight against global poverty and income inequalities, and it jeopardizes the future of a generation of children.

While the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown, the World Bank estimates that an additional 88 million to 115 million people will fall into extreme poverty in 2020, with the total rising to as many as 150 million by 2021.

Trends with poverty.

In New Zealand:

Poverty can be a trap. For someone to get out of poverty, they need opportunities such as education, clean water, medical facilities nearby, and financial resources. Without these basic elements, poverty becomes a cycle from one generation to the next.

If families are too poor to send their children to school, their children will have a difficult time earning an income when they grow up. If medical facilities are far away, a parent loses income every time they take a sick child to the doctor. If rent increases in the more central suburbs and areas in Auckland, those with less income lose easy access to services and opportunities such as a job or education in these higher income areas.

The root causes of poverty are not only a lack of access to basic necessities of life like water, food, shelter, education, or healthcare. Inequities including gender or ethnic discrimination, poor governance, conflict, exploitation, and domestic violence (which is a large issue in New Zealand) also cause poverty. These inequities could not only lead a person or a society into poverty but can also restrict access to social services that could help people overcome poverty.

Globally:

Children living in poverty often lack access to quality education. Sometimes it’s because there are not enough quality schools, their parents cannot afford school fees, or because impoverished families need their children to work. Without a quality education, children grow up being unable to provide for their own children and so the generational cycle of poverty will continue.

Living in poverty also means not being able to afford a doctor or medical treatment. It means no electricity, limited shelter, and often little to no food on the table. For young children, improper nutrition can mean stunting and wasting that permanently impact their development. In impoverished countries where many people lack access to clean water and sanitation, poverty means the spread of preventable diseases and the unnecessary death of those with little access to medicine.

Drivers that effect these trends.

In New Zealand:

Income inequality plays a big part. It is not just the average income that matters for whether or not people live in poverty but how incomes are distributed. I can imagine that a poor person in an industrialized country like New Zealand will find it harder to interact within their society, than a poor person in a poor country. The disparity will be more obvious when there is a wider income gap between the rich and the poor. I’m sure with this inequality, the instances of crime are likely to increase when people find themselves looked down upon and disrespected, cycling them through the justice system and in turn possibly pushing them deeper into poverty. They would feel the injustice of their situation even more.

Economic growth alone will not necessarily address poverty and inequality.

The gap between the rich and the poor is large and shows little sign of declining.

Income disparities between Māori, Pacific peoples and Pakeha remain high.

Globally:

Economic Growth is a large factor. Understanding how and when countries achieved economic growth is crucial to understand how some countries left the worst poverty behind and how other countries can follow. However the problem with poverty is that the causes are extremely complicated with different factors contributing to the problem. Ending it requires more than just economic growth. “Developed” countries with strong economies still have a significant number of people who are struggling to survive.

Natural disasters and conflict can add to the cycle of poverty or add people to it: When a natural disaster strikes an impoverished community without functional public institutions, families are more vulnerable and often lack basic resources to recover, thus further submerging a community in poverty or jeopardizing one that had recently emerged.

No one wants to be poor. Sometimes you are born to it and your circumstances give you fewer options. You spend your days trying your best to survive, with no energy left to think about being creative and being concerned about the things that you and I think about daily.

What are the possible solutions we can propose to solve the problem of poverty around the world?

Bring education to the extremely poor to enable them to have better jobs.

Give them Health Care to improve their physical conditions and make them more competitive.

Use the budget allocated for War and Weapons to stop Global Hunger.

Governments should invest in programs and projects that will be beneficial to improving the lives of the poor – to open opportunities for them to lift themselves out of poverty. More schools, better sanitation, a cleaner environment and more income opportunities.

Give people living without electricity access to renewable energy.

Statistics, numbers, and information sources from:

https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty

https://www.worldvision.org/sponsorship-news-stories/global-poverty-facts#measured

https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/poverty-in-the-world-today

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/top-9-causes-global-poverty

https://www.compassion.com/poverty/poverty-around-the-world.htm

https://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world

https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/latest-release-of-child-poverty-statistics

https://nzccss.org.nz/work/poverty/facts-about-poverty/

https://borgenproject.org/tag/poverty-in-new-zealand/

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/124327740/child-poverty-declines-but-mori-pacific-poverty-rates-profoundly-disturbing

https://borgenproject.org/poverty-in-new-zealand/

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your-dietician · 4 years ago

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Things to know about your health as you turn 40

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/health/things-to-know-about-your-health-as-you-turn-40/

Things to know about your health as you turn 40

Let’s begin with a head to toe examination.

DALLAS — It is time for your health check!

And this week, we have a special series of health checks in honor of a big birthday our Sonia Azad has coming up: she’s turning 40 on Friday. As part of the lead up to the day, she will be asking medical experts their advice for what health details you need to focus, whether you’re staring down the big 4-0, just celebrated the milestone, or beyond.

It’ll all culminate in a celebratory “Bar Crawl” – but healthy, of course!

So, what are those big health topics you need to keep top-of-mind? Let’s begin with a head to toe examination.

Prevention

Dr. James Pinckney II, M.D. from Diamond Physicians says while aging feels like it happens overnight, it’s actually a gradual process, and the things we do today will affect how we feel tomorrow.

“Our metabolism slows down, we don’t produce as much of certain hormones, we don’t have the same energy levels,” he explained.

He encouraged everyone facing 40 to know their numbers:

Blood pressure

Cholesterol

Baseline heart rate

His doctors even do a “neck to pelvis” scan that takes a look at organs and assesses a patient’s future risk for heart disease by looking at the plaque in their arteries

Pinckney said taking that deep dive now can prevent bigger problems later.

“Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in this country and has been for the last 20 years, and it’s really something you have to focus on in your youth,” he explained.

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Also important for prevention: eye and dental health.

As we get older, our vision changes and sometimes that can get in the way of day-to-day life, like driving at night, reading menus in dark restaurants – or simply checking your text messages.

“What happens is, the internal structure of the eye, which are really flexible all of our life, that structure loses its flexibility,” explained Dr. Anisah Shahizadeh with EyeQ Vision.

While Shahizadeh said there’s not much that can be done to prevent this natural process, heavy computer use is contributing to more vision problems for people, across the board. A yearly dilated eye exam with your eye doctor is key to detecting any issues early, so they can be treated.

Checking for diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea – all these things really do affect our visual health, as well.

As for dental health, it might be something we usually neglect until there’s something wrong, like pain, cavities, or gum disease. In fact, half the population over age 30 experiences gum disease, and 95% of people end up with at least one cavity in their lifetime.

Dr. Michael Fooshee, DDS at Apex Dental Partners said as we age, “more and more people end up on medications, which leads to dry mouth. That actually leads to a lot of issues with cavities in patients.”

Consider fluoride. He said it decreases the risk of future cavities by 75%.

Correct your bite. Fooshee said consider braces or Invisalign if your teeth have shifted out of alignment. Moving teeth back into place actually reduces the risk of gum disease because when your teeth are in alignment, you can clean them better.

Be careful of crunching on ice or hard foods. That can cause fractures over time.

Avoid highly acidic foods. They can lead to increased risk of cavities.

Get regular check ups. They are critical, and should be done every six months.

Skin Health

Age may be just a number, but let’s be honest – part of feeling young is looking good. That includes your largest organ: your skin!

Three of the most common complaints from people over 40: Wrinkles, acne and thinning hair.

There’s no specific guidelines saying that when you turn 40, you need to get your skin checked. But Dr. Corinne Erickson, a board-certified dermatologist said this age is “really a great time when you’re 40 to say, ‘alright, looking ahead 10 years, what do I want my skin to look like? What do I want to feel like at 50?'”

Erickson, who just turned 40 last year, said it’s never too late to start taking care of your skin.

“Some damage has been done, but a lot of damage hasn’t been done, so you still have an opportunity to protect what you have right now,” she encouraged.

Some ways to do that? Start with sunscreen.

“Starting to wear sunscreen every day can make a big difference,” she explained. “The magical number is 30. So, you want an SPF of 30. But feel free to go higher.”

Erickson recommends zinc- and titanium-based sunscreens. She recommended looking at the labels and trying to stick to less than two ingredients.

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Noticing differences in your skin tone – and texture? The good news: you’re not crazy.

Collagen break-down, over time, reduces elasticity, and we end up with wrinkles and fine lines. As for discoloration, those dark spots, freckles and redness appear for two reasons: genetics and photo-aging.

Photo-aging, Erickson said, are the changes that UV exposure induces on the skin. She said you can reverse some photo aging with either products or procedures – or a combination of the two. Anything that helps stimulate collagen or promotes more skin cell turnover.

That could include topical antioxidants like vitamin C, or even over-the-counter retinols, or retin-A. Erickson said it’s important to seek guidance from a dermatologist because those are not for everyone.

One more thing to talk about when it comes to skin: hormones.

If you’re wondering why you’re waking up with less hair on your head and more of it in undesired places, blame it on androgens, a group of hormones that become more apparent in your 40s. They’re the hormones responsible for female adult acne, and a lot of other fun stuff – for men and women.

“Androgen hormones can cause shrinking, decreased density of hair follicles on our scalp and promote hair growth in women where we prefer not to be growing hair,” Erickson explained.

When it comes to thinning hair, Erickson said PRP, or platelet rich plasma, injections can help, if you can afford it. But there are also oral medications, topical formulas targeting hormone-induced skin changes and other procedures. But again, whether you’re trying to grow hair – or get rid of it – the method is unique to you and requires a conversation with your dermatologist.

“There’s not a one-size-fits all solution for unwanted hair removal, especially because there are different types of unwanted hair, and it depends on the type of hair, the color of hair, texture of hair as well as the skin type.”

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, more than one million people are living with melanoma, and one person dies of the disease every hour.

So, something simple you can do today: make an appointment for a full body skin check.

Breast Cancer

One-in-eight women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.

For “average risk” women, the recommendation is to start yearly mammograms at age 40. But for high-risk women, you may qualify for screening earlier than 40 if you have a family history (particularly a parent, sibling or child) of breast cancer or if you have a “known genetic mutation” for developing it.

Why 40? Studies show one-sixth of all breast cancers in women happen younger than age 50.

“You’re in the developmental stages of breast cancer below 40 or below 50, and you don’t even know it,” explained Dr. Sean Raj, the medical director of Baylor Scott and White’s High-risk Breast Program.

That’s right – cancer is a slow process usually.

“The reason we do screening mammography is to be able to find cancers when they’re smallest and most treatable,” he explained.

At Baylor, every woman who comes in for a screening mammogram gets a risk assessment – at no cost.

I got a 3-D mammogram. It involved taking four pictures at different angles, with staff guiding me thru when to breathe, and when not to.

You feel a little pressure, but the whole thing is over in minutes. Then, the results. Typically there’s a waiting period, but for the purposes of our story, Dr. Raj offered me immediate feedback: nothing concerning on the initial pictures. But, he pulled up my screening images from 2017 for comparison. Because of my family history, I decided then to start screening earlier than guidelines suggest.

There was one area that Dr. Raj wanted to look at more carefully, so they took one more picture in order to look more closely at some subtle changes he noticed between 2017 and now.

After examining the layers of dense breast tissue, he gave me the all-clear.

“There you go. You got a clean bill of breast health. Congratulations,” he said. “That’s what we’re going for here.”

Along with stressing the importance of prevention, there are some myths about breast cancer that Dr. Raj busted”

1. That it’s painful. He said pain is usually not associated with breast cancer. If you are feeling pain, that’s likely either hormonal, or the result of a poor fitting bra.

2. That women with smaller breasts can’t get be diagnosed with breast cancer. That’s false. Breast cancer doesn’t discriminate.

3. That men can’t get breast cancer. Also false! While men don’t need screening mammograms at 40, they can get breast cancer. So, for men and women, if you notice any changes – a lump, rash, discoloration, focal pain or bleeding – definitely talk to your doctor for further examination.

RELATED: Take it from a survivor: Breast cancer is a ‘guy thing’ too

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