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diversemymedia · 3 years ago

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I'm writing a detective and assistant "Sherlock Holmes-style" gay couple short story/book mystery series set in Chicago which means I have to write diversely and that's getting too much for me. I'm trying to look up and read things from Mexican-Americans, Puerto Rican-Americans, Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans, Indian-Americans, Chinese-Americans, African-Americans, etc to make my stories more realistic. It's just so hard and making my head swirl to think about how many beta and sensitivity readers I'll need to make these stories turn out right and authentic to the point it'll cost too much to do. There are so many tropes to avoid and "don't do" lists that it feels exhausting reading on writing-with-color. Can I just not give characters races in my short stories and books or is that too much of a cop-out? Why is this so hard for a writer who is a poc?

firstly, I just wanna say that no one's perfect and all of our journeys are different. and honestly, I don't know if you want to hear this but i would probably recommend taking it easy a bit. if you're becoming too anxious about making mistakes that might offend people, it's probably just best to stick to your guns and stick with what you know.

i would ask the time period in which your story takes place because if it were set in earlier times, I could understand why you might be so inclined to look up things related to said groups, culturally. but at the same time, i just want to say that it's okay to write characters just like you would any other. I was told by a user once that "not all tropes are bad tropes" and ever since then, I started writing a lot more freely because I was just like you--terrified to make mistakes and i thought all tropes were inherently bad, but that's not always the case. For instance, most white women might hate the damsel in distress trope, but i've seen some black women sort of like the idea of having to be protected and rescued by characters who adore them because it's a refreshing take. but that being said, there's also nothing wrong with black women being badasses who know hand-to-hand combat. i have female characters (3 black, 1 east asian, 1 mena, all diff age groups) who I wanted to write them so perfectly to avoid them from coming off unlikeable but it's set in an apocalypse, and realistically, people will change, people will kill, people will get angry, people will be cowards, and bad things will happen to them. now, i do try to handle those types of things delicately and try not to go overboard (for instance i cannot kill off the only character of said race. something about that just seems wrong to me) but it's all about learning, and sometimes, it really is best to stick with what you know and follow your gut. if something feels wrong to you, redact it. im black so clearly, the majority of my characters are black. i also have some nonblack poc but there is also the option of just characters be "poc-coded" (dunno if that term is offensive, if it is, forgive me) such as physical traits and/or dialects. that tends to work for me because a lot people are standoffish and many of my characters are on the go and it doesn't involve a lot of getting familiar with people. so try using the "show, dont tell" method. maybe your characters can be overheard communicating a different language to someone else and that's literally good enough.

I think its also great that you're doing research, but im worried that relying on too much on information might make your characters lack three-dimensionality. For instance, lets say you're writing a character who was born in alabama and you're so afraid of making them come across as violent or poor (i.e. tropes that are often associated with black/brown people) that you avoid any sort of confrontation with this character so you build them up to be this perfect person. they attended an HBCU, were raised in an extremely wealthy family with two parents, they dress really dapper, speak extremely proper, and he's super nice to everyone...and that's it. i mean, there's nothing wrong with it--you avoided the negative tropes and they're a nice character, but there's not really much gradation to them and it makes them less interesting. again, that's just my personal take and some people are okay with that. everyone's different and you cant please everyone. im more than with characters being messy and not so perfect.

you can make mistakes and writing is essentially just writing what you think would make a good story. some things might work, some things might not and i that's okay. i understand that we're also in an extremely critical generation right now but don't let it stop you from making mistakes because it's how we learn. if there happens to be an issue with that you've written just take a mental note of it and avoid it.

not much of a tip, but just some advice. happy writing!

#writing resources #representation #stories #long posts

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corvidshipping · 3 years ago

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modern au red/milo dump while i try to get myself together to answer asks nd work on ATJ:

(tw for alcohol mentions near the end, also this is an EXTREMELY long post, its so long that even after i split it into categorized sections each section could be its own post)

CLOTHING

milo absolutely has no sense of fashion. i feel like this is basically canon - for the styles at the time, he dresses fairly basic, mostly focused on looking put together for his job (definitely dresses aimed more towards how he would like to be treated by his peers, despite his actual position - then again our best example outside of the expedition is when he's about to deliver what he considers the most important presentation of his life, so who knows, maybe he usually dresses like a slob). aside from that his main concern seems like practicality and comfort. his wardrobe is dominated by earth tones - beiges and greens set with white and greys. all of that taken into account, i can see him dressing like this in a more modern era:

basically- a lot of cardigans, usually collared shirts or comfortable turtlenecks (since he does still occupy a research position at the smithsonian, even if only in title), big ol' coats, khakis and chinos and slightly stiff dress pants complete with ironed creases. i can see him wearing similar clothes outside work, just more comfortable - jeans and knitted shirts, henleys, more turtlenecks, and comfy cardigans over short sleeved shirts. i dont really see him wearing a lot of prints, i think he'd veer more towards solid clothes in lighter colors, but maybe he has a few. hes definitely the kind of guy to think of wearing the single graphic tee he owns as "bold and wild".

im very married to the idea of him wearing converse though. i cant explain it. milo in converse keeps me going in this world

hes kind of broke so i think maybe he got the converse secondhand maybe? or a gift of some kind. aside from the converse i can see him wearing a lot of oxfords and maybe wingtips

i want to see him in a hawaiian shirt so bad. i am losing it at this thought. he buttons it all the way up to his neck like someones awkward dad. milo wears a hawaiian shirt to "let loose". he wears it with like, khakis. or knee length jorts AHHHHDJHDSGJHDSJGh

a tie??? does he wear his hawaiian shirt with a tie???? does he think it makes it look cooler?????????? i am sobbing

red is the COMPLETE opposite. in the canon 1914 setting, red is already very rebellious for an AFAB person of their era- theyre openly a suffragette, they frequently refuse to wear skirts even in public and dress in mens clothes even before they were openly nonbinary, despite not being accepted into the male-dominated research fields and colleges they continue to educate themself with or without help, they purposely aim for an "unfeminine" silhouette when they dress, refuse to wear corsets, etc. (spoiler alert- there's a clear reason they get on so well with audrey in ATJ)

theyre also easily mistaken by people that didnt know them prior to their transition for being just a very small/young cis man- even though they canonically have a very soft "traditionally feminine" face

so basically, in any era theyre set into, red is always gonna aim to be ahead of the curve- both in their personal beliefs and practices and in their fashion. theyre also very androgynous in their clothes, although they tend to aim a bit more masculine (thats partially due to the era though, and having been forced into skirts exclusively for their entire life- i think in a modern setting where its more acceptable for AFABs to dress and act in a less hyperfeminine way, theyd be more okay with a fluidity in their gender presentation).

all that taken into account, i can see them dressing like this:

lots of baggy clothes, especially baggy jackets and shirts. they like loose fitting high waisted pants like JNCO jeans, cargo pants, etc but they arent averse to pencil legs. they rarely ever wear skinny jeans or drainpipes though. messy hair is a lifestyle for them- their haircut is definitely home-done

you know how in BICSTLY they used to have really long hair before they cut it? in a modern au i can see them impulsively doing the cut at like 3am and waking milo up at his door cause they screwed it up and he ends up having to help fix it (even though hes literally no better at cutting hair than them. worse even)

definitely have an undercut bob- bob on top, shaven on the bottom layer. they might end up growing their hair into a mullet at some point if they get bored. probably dyes their hair all the time out of boredom and then regrets it later and has to use dye remover.

lots of ripped tights and fishnets, leggings with big loose crop tops, big hoodies, safety pin jewelry and homemade jewelry. maybe some sticknpokes.

all that said, they still know how to dress in a professional situation. since its a modern au theres really nothing holding them back from the education and career they canonically want but cant get in the 1910s, so i imagine they would work at the smithsonian as well, maybe their father helped them get the job? potentially in that case they might be his assistant- after all, he trusts their opinion on artifacts more than anyone else's.

at work you can still very much see the punk/skater/grunge/goth style but its more understated- turtlenecks, high waisted and looser dress pants, lots of black, slightly unbuttoned collared shirts with a loose overcoat and no tie

since i elaborated on milos shoe taste i may as well elaborate on red's: they definitely wear converse as well, probably newer than milo's since their father is fairly wealthy and they can afford it. they also have a doc martens collection. they have a pair of demonias but they never wear them and milo is really the only person to even know they own them, let alone see them in them. they really dont like to wear heels much, but they own a few just to play around with. they have a bad habit of wearing any laced shoes untied, but they never trip over the laces. they also use lace code- their most-worn Docs have purple laces on the right foot and yellow on the left. some of their Docs have (reclaimed) pink laces.

has an extensive pin collection including feminism pins, anti-racism pins, punk-related pins, skater-related pins, and pop culture pins (80s music, modern music, old movies, etc)

MUSIC TASTE

milo's into a lot of older music- stuff from the 50s is his favorite. really into jazz and ballroom style stuff. his favorite band is queen, i think- he likes the old-fashioned sound, the jazz-chamber-ballroom influences, the diversity of their lyrics, and the complexity between the guitar riffs, the basslines, and freddie's vocal runs as well as the vocal harmonies.

sometimes he hums good old fashioned lover boy to red and they two-step in the living room in their pajamas :pleading:

also very into rush. yes, he is a rush guy :pensive:.

also listens to a surprising amount of lo-fi? he really likes stuff that remixes older music with hip hop and lofi elements, like earl grey. nearly exclusively into instrumental stuff but also very into louie zong. he listens to it while he works a lot.

knows a lotttt of foreign artists, especially niche ones. fuckin LOVES casiopea

red's spotify is a goddamn mess. everything from 2000s emo, to classic 70s punk, to post-punk and new wave, to 90s pop, to rap. they cant be easily classified at all

their favorite bands are oingo boingo, prince, queen (they listen to a lot of their harder-rock music, but milo knows theyre into the ballads too. theyll never tell anyone else though), doja cat, lil nas, fall out boy, and billie eilish.

red recites the intro monologue to lets go crazy very seriously to make milo laugh, sometimes. they get very into it with their facial expressions. sometimes it devolves into a full air guitar/keyboard/drum and wild dancing session. milo does not know how to participate in this but he loves watching them have fun with it. sometimes they pull him off the couch to make him dance with them, though

they are a huge sucker for dark pop, vaporwave, retrowave, EDM, hip hop, emo, punk... etc etc. anything that combines any two or more of those genres in an original or interesting way gets their attention right away

there's a lot of sharing between the two of them- even though their music tastes are so different, they like a lot of the others taste, and theyre always up to listen to whatever their partner is playing.

red is a huge softie, and milo has found them more than once listening to or humming something he was playing for them the other day because it reminded them of him

speaking of which- in the 1914 canon, red can play piano. i think that carries over to a modern au, where they could play piano and by extension keyboard. i like to think they experiment with a lot of instruments but i doubt they ever really mastered any others. maybe theyre okay at drums or bass?

they learned to play and sing teo torriatte for milo, as a surprise. when they first performed it for them, they had everything set up for when he got home from work- the lights were dimmed, they had candles lit around the keyboard, they draped stuff in cloth to make it look pretty, they scattered flower petals around. when milo walked in and saw it all, he almost proposed then and there- the only thing that stopped him was that he would kick himself for the rest of his life if he did that without a ring.

HOBBIES/ACTIVITIES

milo is still an avid chess player in this, but i like to think hes in some kind of groupchat or text or discord server for it. he doesnt necessarily consider any of the others in the chat close friends, but he does know them all by name

he tries to get red into chess but they never really get it

he tells them all about the stuff that goes down in the games and they just. do not understand. but they love listening to him get excited about it anyway

"red you're not gonna BELIEVE this, eddie played an italian game on star today! i thought for sure she would see through it since everyone knows it but she slipped and he beat her in like, 13 moves! i wouldnt have believed it if i hadnt been there!"

"yes sweetie please tell me more" (barely disguised pained expression)

red is a skater and a regular at the skate park by the smithsonian

most regulars there know them by name, they can spot a newbie a mile away

they have a sticker of a broken tv with a skull inside of it on the underside of their board, its become recognized as a symbol of them unofficially

since theyre so regular and have been going there a lot longer than most of the other skaters that frequent the place, a lot of what they say is kind of just accepted as the rules

they have a bad habit of lecturing new kids who show up without knee/elbow pads or helmets at the very least. all the other skaters enforce it too. kids dont end up showing up without protective gear very often after their first visit

they brought a first aid kid and left it there and everyone has kept it stocked pretty well without them having to have much input. its kind of just a communal first aid kit

they once drew the broken tv symbol on the inside of a half-pipe and everyone started calling it red's ramp after that

they also started calling the bowl at the center of the park the Soup Bowl and now thats just accepted as the name. some of the newer kids genuinely thought that it was called that by the park and were shocked when they found out it was just a random nickname red gave it one day

theyve brought milo a few times but hes extremely awkward on his feet and could never really get his balance on a skateboard, and quite frankly red is afraid of what might happen if he tried even a low ramp, so he usually just sits at the rim of the bowl while red skates around

everyone knew he was their boyfriend before they even met him. a few of the regulars called him by name right away. one of them was certain red had brought him before.

but no

they just talk so fuckin much about him that its like they already know him

aside from skateboarding, red is pretty good on rollerskates/blades

they tried to take milo to a roller rink once but it was a disaster and they ended up going home, changing into pajamas, ordering chinese food, and marathoning movies till they fell asleep on the couch together. so not a total loss

theyre both very into movies. red is deep into horror and milo likes indie/art movies and just Cannot handle horror at all, but they both agree on old movies, from the 80s and 90s to like the 30s.

red has shown milo some of the classic horror movies and the niche old ones (from like the 40s) since theyre not difficult to stomach

every so often when red brings up wanting to see a horror movie milo is like "aw babe we can watch that tonight i promise it wont be bad" and he genuinely thinks he can handle it this time

he cant

he never can

it is always a lie

red ends up holding him every time and talking him to sleep, but it thankfully never causes like a major panic attack or anything like that

they love going to museums together, of all kinds. they love art museums. they also go to aquariums and aviaries

sometimes they like to go to other history museums and criticise the veracity or accuracy of exhibits/translations, all in good fun of course. theyre never actually being mean about it

SIDENOTES/UNCATEGORIZED

they both used to work at starbucks, when they were younger and before they worked at the smithsonian. they worked at separate stores 2 blocks from each other.

milo cant stand soda or carbonated drinks, red can and will chug a java monster in order to survive a long workday if they must. milo is constantly concerned for their health and wellbeing

they r both lightweights when it comes to drinking. they can split a six pack and both be falling-over drunk by the end of the night.

given the changes in beauty standards people DEFINITELY think milo is more attractive than they would in 1914. cmon. hes a lil twinky nerd. you think people wont eat that up?

he never really catches onto the flirting much though

did u think i would forget ki/da and the others? youd be wrong.

i simultaneously like the idea of something similar to the movie happening, but also just like... ki/da just being a regular person living on the surface. in either case they r all friends still

in the case of ki/da just being a regular person on the surface- i like the idea of atl/antis just being A Place in this au, maybe its a bit of a closed off country though? like, not many foreigners live there and to get there you basically need to be there as a diplomat or a scholar

maybe ki/da visits DC as a diplomat? she is a princess, after all

red meets audrey online cause they both yell at the same misogynistic asshole on twitter

they exchange discord names in the replies of the tweet and tell the guy not to interrupt them while theyre talking in his replies

i like to think red and milo are selected to go on an academic visit to atl/antis (to learn about the culture, with permission of the king), and audrey ends up as the mechanic on the ship during the visit and theyre like (spiderman pointing meme) at each other

red and audrey have so many inside jokes that they basically speak a different language. milo gets some of the terms from context and pop culture (they use "so very" in real life- as in "wow, that shirt is so very.") but he is hopeless to learn all of it

one of their inside jokes is any variation of "milo hot girl summer" and they REFUSE to explain it to him no matter how much he begs

milo wears that iconique tank top on the ship and they say it literally any time he bends over, picks anything up, reaches for anything, moves, BREATHES. he is bewildered and at this point concerned

(in truth, the joke came from red taking a really blurry picture of him in a short sleeve shirt where he looked pretty cute and captioned it "milo's having a hot girl summer rn" and they just could not stop repeating it once audrey met him IRL)

they have a minecraft world. i do like to believe that every so often vinny finds a way in- theyre never sure how- and griefs the shit out of them by blowing up EVERY. monument.

this post is getting long bc im enraptured by the idea of an atl/antis modern au so im cutting it off here but expect WAY MORE later

#paper_heart.txt #s: i didn't say it's the smart thing. but it is the right thing #alcohol ment tw

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jolie-auletta · 6 years ago

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Lose Yourself, To Find Yourself.

So, I had the honour of being part of an international women’s day seminar yesterday. Hosted by the beautiful Gaia Rose, at her annual awakened woman gathering.

Part of a 7 woman strong team, I made my first public speech.

Stood in front of 50 women I didn’t know, I spoke about something that had impacted my life. How I fully and completely lost myself, but found my true self by doing so.

So here goes;

When I first found out I was going to be speaking today, I was an anxiety ridden mess, I was almost automatically filled with all kinds of insecurities. What if my story isnt as exciting as everybody elses. What if people judge me. What if I dont even inspire any one?

And as normal as that thought process is for someone who has never spoken in public before, it isnt actually very logical.

While I was writing this speech I sent it over to my friend to read over and I told her I felt somewhat guilty for mentioning someone from my past.

I am literally about to say things to a room of strangers that I've never even said a loud before!

But that's when it hit me, I want to be part of teaching our daughters and the next generation of women to not be afraid of simply speaking the truth!

I was always an intelligent kid. I taught myself how to speak other languages, play musical instruments, top of the class.. so I should have been a grade A student, gone to uni and I could have been living 'the dream' right now.

I know that the dream is just perspective. The dream is what you make it. But what I’m trying to say, is I could have had a smooth and easy life, if things had been different.

I don't dwell on that though, devine alignment is something I speak of often. All that is meant to be, will be.

My secondary school days were awful. I started later than I should have, so perhaps that had something to do with it? I don't know. But I felt like I was just always having to try harder than normal, just to make friends. Constantly seeking approval from my peers, constantly trying to be ‘one of them’.

What I've realised it comes down to, is I've just never had good social skills. Which no body believes when I tell them because I come across so confident and eccentric!

But honestly I'm what I like to call a social chameleon. I can blend in with any group, but it's all down to analysis of behaviours and mimicking. In a sense it's just acting.

And that's what school was like for me, I shuffled between groups, making friends then falling out with them over things I just didn't understand at the time

It's like I just didn't know how to integrate with people , or be myself.

So along with feeling like I has no real friends.. I was actually bullied too. The entire time.

I remember having to leave school early just to avoid confrontation. The worst part is, I didn't tell a soul I until I was 25? So a whole 10 years went by without even telling my own mum that I was bullied!

That's something I really regret now. Because I believe it all stems from there and if I had reached out to someone, it could have all been different.

Anyway, the last year of school rolled round and I'm obviously so happy to leave!

But then this fear kicked in. What if I get bullied again!?

So I had an ingenius plan. (in hindsight this was not an ingenius plan at all)

I firstly completely went off radar. I chose a college in a new area, where no one would know me and heres the ingenius part. I made a new personality. Who is the most unbullyable person, I thought? All my previous bullies where quite 'rude girl' personas, so thats when i pieced everything together and decided who I’d be.

And it worked. No one picked on me and I was actually popular.

The mask was working, but that’s all it was, a mask.

I was still constantly seeking approval from people, always trying to be what I thought other people thought was cool, not what I actually thought was cool.

About 8 years ago, i was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and BPD. I was on medication but I took myself off of them when I fell pregnant. I did see a psychiatrist for a number of years, but I'm due to have another evaluation because I tick a lot of the boxes for autism!

This was literally a lightbulb moment! When I found out I could be on the spectrum- everything in my life made sense. And it turns out its really common for women with autism to go under the radar, or be diagnosed with depression, anxiety or bipolar/bpd like I was, and that's it, autism isn't even considered.

I am quite obviously high functioning, but every day scenarios like dealing with my emotions, sensory predicaments and simple socialising are a daily battle for me.

I have done A LOT of self healing and I have made a lot of progress, but I have come to the conclusion that whether I'm one, none, or all of the above , I just don't fit in a box and that's okay!!

I found my release in music, it was a coping mechanism, a world to get lost in.

But this leads me onto the second part of my story. During my music years, I met someone who would change my life.

A narccissist.

As i said before i do believe everything happens in devine order and its all lead me to where I am today. And I don't even hold a grudge towards this person. What's done is done.

And we were actually friends for a long while before getting together, we were best friends in fact, I can't even fault the friendship.

But the relationship was TOXIC!

The mental abuse was off the scale. And he also introduced me to cocaine. Now, in the beginning, it was all fun and games. Parties, recreational and I had no responsibilities in life so I thought why the hell not.

But it became more than that. He got me involved in not only taking it, but selling it too.

The entire relationship became based on that.

And ultimately it was detrimental to my soul.

I didnt even recognise myself. My family didn’t recognise me. It was like I had all these layers of personality I had invented to hide behind, but I couldn’t even remember who I was underneath it all!

I became more and more involved in this crazy lifestyle, so much so I ended up in prison because of it.

Honestly I look back and just think, how could I be so STUPID. It took me so long to admit that I was in a controlling and abusive relationship.

This guy had a hold on me. The kind of hold only a narccissist can have.

This wasnt some teenage crush where i 'loved' him so much and I'd do anything for him. I was a crushed soul, bowing down to a dictator.

I did what he wanted, when he wanted. I didn’t even exist. It was all about him.

My mental state was in pieces.

Im honestly so embarrased to tell people Ive been to jail. I mean even saying the word jail. It makes me cringe. I rarely tell people. There are family members that don’t even know!

But that prison freed me. From the jail that was my own body.

Its almost heartbreaking to think of myself all alone in a cell, no friends or family , but I had time to be on my own. With ME! The actual me, not the me I had been playing the part of for the last god knows how many years.

I honestly remember the day the penny dropped, it was when I put my nose ring back in. It sounds so crazy, but when I put it back in, all the pieces of me started to sort of fall into place too. I wore the clothes I wanted. I wore my hair how I wanted and I was starting to love being me again.

The mask was off! I existed again! And that was a beautiful feeling!

I can’t believe I’d kept up this charade for so many years! I should have been an actress, seriously 😂

So fast forward to today, I have a daughter, My Isabella Amethyst. I honestly love her more than I ever thought was even possible and she has played a major role in me becoming the person I am today, because she deserves me at my best and no less.

Another point to make is… As some one who was too foreign for the white folk; yet too white to be black… my whole life I had never fit in to a ‘group’.

I started researching my ancestral heritage and had a deep spiritual connection with the Italian and Spanish parts of my DNA. I even discovered I had Amerindian and oceanic DNA. Which was amazing and even more soul grabbing for me, it gave me a sense of belonging.

A lot of people say wow jode, you've changed so much!

But i am now, who I actually was before I was pressured in to believing I wasn't good enough as myself! Before I invented a new me, just to fit in with everyone else!

So along with becoming a parent, Ive managed to start my own holistic business too!

I do everything I love now, everything that makes my soul happy. I say yes to my intuition and say no to anything that doesn't serve me. We as women have to learn put ourselves first! We have to learn to trust ourselves, love ourselves and actually learn to be a bit selfish!

Life has given me some lemons, as they say. My world was incredibly sour at times and I have found my self in the darkest of corners, alone. But as clische as it is, after the darkness comes light.

I can wholeheartedly say that although I may not be 'living the dream' I could have been, if I had chosen all the 'right' paths in life, I am infact HAPPY. My soul is content and I am ME.

No matter what any of us have been through in life, we not only grow through it, we can flurish beyond it. These awful things happen to us, but they do not define us.

Sometimes we just have to lose ourselves, to find ourselves.

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mithliya · 3 years ago

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Sorry I wanted to ask anonymously but not sending any hate your way - my family is Cypriot from 60’s back if I’m correct this is prior to any Mediterranean people being inside the country and mainly Turkish and Cypriot people upholding the country. I’m mainly asking to see if this is correct information and is Cyprus is in the Middle East as I know it is only politically in Europe? Also would you be categorised as brown from the 60’s backwards and where I can find more information on this and the stuff you talk about; thank you kindly

im not sure if cypriots were at some point considered brown, tho i know in many western countries (at least the UK), greek cypriots are perceived as white while turkish cypriots are more of a grey area. i guess its purely based on the names and ethnic group names? bc from what ive read, they're quite closely related genetically speaking. but i remember there being a study about how greek cypriots are treated better in the UK (but both are classed as white in the UK despite difference in treatment). however it is possible historically that they were grouped with mediterranean people like levantine (rather than mediterranean europeans) at least in some regards. but im not sure on that. i would assume thats the case since southern europeans were at some point viewed as Other from northern europeans, so why would cyprus which is right south of turkey be any different?

as for whether cyprus is considered the middle east, at least in the middle east and by most standards ive come across, no it is not. its considered europe for a reason i dont fully comprehend. i assume its bc of the history w greek & how greek cypriots (who afaik are the majority) are usually predominantly european & part middle eastern to varying degrees (but some are half & half), and are considered greek by some. genetically speaking, greek cypriots on average are similar to mediterranean white people like southern italians:

so it may be because of this and its historical affinity with european countries why its considered a european country despite the fact that geographically its closer to the middle east. if there are specific things youre looking for tho pls let me know and i can try to research into it until i find what ur looking for!!

#some of what i said is just pure guesses but some r just what ive read in random studies #hopefully i made it clear which is which sdfhfhfd

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sereniv · 4 years ago

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On commenting of what you said of that white passing blog post, can you reiterate of what u mean by in to detail bc you are sending alot of miss signals?

Okay so the anon wanted to know is as a pale person, would they be considered a person of color. And from what I've seen, some people say you have to visibly have color and experience direct racism (therefor if you are white passing, you are not considered a poc), and ive seen some say that as long as you have family that is PoC like parents or grandparents only then you are PoC, and ive seen like the person I reblogged from, say that if you have a ancestor of color pretty recently then you are PoC.

And what im saying is that PoC is just a term to help bring people with similar struggles together, and to create a safe space from their white oppressors. But it gets hazy when talking about white passing people. Like anon asked, they range from 25 to 50 in BQ. DO we go off of that? is 25 too low when pair3d with pale skin or even white passing?

Thats why there should be less stress and anxiety put on whether you are a person of color, and more of what that means. Less of using a simple label, and more of where you fit in the narrative

And what I said was that you can define what you are. That because the term PoC is made up, and race and ethnicity are too, that there's no science, no fact to tell you whether at 25% poc, if that paired with pale skin means you are poc or not. And no one else can tell you- they can not include you, they can not believe you, they can still feel uncomfortable around you, etc etc.

But ultimately as white passing people, its up to us to ask whether PoC fits. And I dont feel comfortable using it as a term

But that doesn't make me white. I'm mixed. I have white privilege. I identify as indigenous and italian (white).

The labels of white and PoC are extremely important and needed our society i want to make that clear. There should be spaces for PoC only who can feel relaxed away from white people.

But again, some PoC will welcome someone like me even if i don't identify as a PoC, but as mixed. And some don't. Some will say im a PoC, some will say im just white.

It matters what PoC who identify as that think of me, because if they see my white skin and feel my BQ is too low, and recognize my experiences and privilege and dont feel comfortable around me in a space made for people who experience direct racism, then I understand and I personally dont hate that person BECAUSE I understand.

And when I say PoC I mean people who identify as. Not just PoC passing people

I'm trying to say is how can we agree on how much color someone should have in them to make them a PoC? all we can do is encourage people to do their research and listen to people who identify as PoC and their experiences, and let them decide where they fit in the conversation and if PoC is what they are.

But again its a label to connect people. It isn't a science. Which is why you can't find people agreeing what PoC means. Do we go off this definition or this one and why etc.

And I dont feel like I said a PoC passing person gets to define who is PoC. Because my whole point is focusing less on BQ and more on community, experience, culture, language etc. And your unique position in the narrative. Knowing when to speak up, and knowing when to stand by or behind.

I'm just one voice and im voicing my opinion on the matter just as the person I reblogged from did. My opinion isn't fact, but of course something to think about.

So in all, I think the whole thing is complicated and it's up to the individual to play it by ear. Though some people consider me PoC I dont think that matters as much as knowing that when talking about racism, a poc passing native should get the spotlight over me. But that in other situations, I can provide my unique experiences and struggles.

Also to go over again what I said about loving your other heritage before moving on to the 'poc' heritage- Anon's question pops up a lot in different ways and so sometimes I forget which im replying to, but a lot of people ask that question after they have taken a dna test.

They find out they are native and don't know if they are poc or not, even if they always knew they were native or Mexican etc. But actually seeing the percentage brings up the question of whiteness and PoCness(?).

And because a lot of people who otherwise identified as white bc either they were told they were, or bc they didn't know what poc was- sometimes they can lose site of whats important in the situation.

So I just remind them that if struggling with the identity is hard, try starting with something that you already identified with.

That its important when questioning "does this make me poc? am I not white?" to know what that means to you.

Okay ill take me. STORY TIME

Growing up i struggled with identity. I didnt know what white and poc was, but I knew i was italian and mexican/hispanic. those were the words used for me. And knowing I was mexican, I also had an idea that I was native, but because I had no connection with my dad, I had no way of knowing anything

I didnt want to see my dad but also did. I was always thinking about the side of me i didn't know about. When I read about Mexico and mexican culture and native people I just felt sad. I had a want to know more about me but I couldn't. I also struggled with skin color, seeing as mexican kids I knew had darker skin. and I knew my dad especially in the summer got darker skin. so I felt especially not mexican enough

but I never knew what was white, so I identified simply as italian and mexican. and when it came time to write down race and ethnicity when I was older on forms, I was told to put down white (which I still didn't claim bc i didnt know what that meant), and sometimes I'd put mexican. bc before it was white and not mexican/hispanic, or vise versa. there was no choice for both.

So later on I take a dna test, and learn "okay so I AM mexican. my dad once said spanish, and thats not mexican so I was confused and lost on identity, but now i know I am mexican and yes native." so it was confirmation and pieces put together that made me happy and excited because I was finally getting to know more of what I always wanted to find more on.

Contacted a cousin who is a quarter like my dad and looks JUST like me. Enough BQ to join the tribe if he wanted to. Learned more about family and that we are Yaqui

Finally felt at more at peace and less anxious about identity and felt more comfort.

I then wondered though, does this make me a person of color? And eventually I figured that that doesnt matter to me, and that I dont feel comfortable identifying as one.

Also i wrote most this last night and forgot the main reason why i put my story, there was a point I just can't remember if I already wrote it

TLDR; But yeah, Anon wanted to know if they were poc bc someone said they are too pale to be. And there is no real criteria that is going to be able to be used for everyon3 because everyone is different, so Anon instead should focus on connecting, community, and finding out where they fit in a conversation, and they will find that some people view them as PoC and some will View them as White, and some just as Mixed. They are allowed to get angry at other mixed people or monoracial people telling they aren't enough, but i personally think people should understand where they are coming from, but you dont have to. I personally understand if someone doesnt feel comfortable around me bc they view me as just white.

I hope i answer your question, sorry I get side tracked and then forget what I wrote. If not feel free to ask again in a different way;;;

@thisbadbitchneedsmoney sorry for the wait

#ask #thisbadbitchneedsmoney #also tlsorry for any typos im on mobile

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trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

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Imagine living with this crap: tempers in Venice boil over in tourist high season

As residents leave and visitor numbers soar, the citys quality of life is being eroded. This summer, irate locals have taken to the streets

Emotions run high in Venice, the Italian island city that fascinates visitors even as it exasperates the dwindling band of local inhabitants.

Venice is still known as La Serenissima, the most serene, and was once a place where the population rubbed gracefully along with visitors made up mostly of intellectuals, writers and artists. It is difficult now to imagine that happy coexistence, when you wander through the intricate maze of alleys and waterways and speak to local people. Depopulation and mass tourism have long been causes of local despair. But this summer it feels as if a tipping point may not be far away.

Earlier this month an estimated 2,000 Venetians marched against a tourism industry they argue has eroded their quality of life, that is damaging the environment and driving residents away: Venices population has fallen from about 175,000 in the post-second world war years to 55,000 today.

Carlo Beltrame, one of the events organisers and a researcher in humanities at Venices Ca Foscari University, yearns for a time when taking a motorboat was not stressful or when a trip to his doctor in the Rialto Bridge area did not involve getting caught up in the slow-moving tourist throng.

Around 2,000 people leave each year, he said. If we go on this way, in a few years time Venice will only be populated by tourists. This would be a social, anthropological and historicaldisaster.

Whether irritated by selfie sticks, noisy wheelie suitcases or people snacking on one of the 391 bridges, Venetians contempt towards the 28million visitors who flood the city each year has reached alarming levels.

On a July morning in Cannaregio a neighbourhood tucked away from the congested Piazza San Marco area you can still catch a glimpse of the authentic Venetian lifestyle. The scene playsout much as it does in otherItalian cities: smartly dressed people chat animatedly as they shop atthe butchersand bakers or congregate at the bar. Children play freely on the streets.

The area remains mostly undisturbed by tourists, but Luciano Bortot, who was born here, is feeling anything but serene. Youre asking me what its like to live with this crap? he said. It used to be wonderful, we had lots of artisans the problem now is the mass tourism, the people who come for just a few hours and see nothing its as much of a nightmare for them.

Like many of his neighbours, Bortot despises the behemoth cruise ships that chug through the Giudecca canal four or five times a day, emitting fumes before disgorging thousands of people on some days as many as 44,000 into the historic centre.

A ship glides into the city one of several every day. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

He also laments the surge in the number of B&Bs, which make it impossible for residents to find a home to rent on a long-term contract.

With its carnival, star-studded film festival and the Biennale art exhibition, Venice has a long history of cultivating tourism. It is an industry that brings millions to the coffers each year and provides thousands of jobs. The city cannot live with it or without it and, even among themselves, it seems that stressed Venetians are becoming increasingly fractious.

Venetians of today are not so proud, not like our ancestors were, said Michelangelo Adamo, 23, a restaurant worker who is training to be a boat skipper so that he can escape to the quieterislands. They dont really care about art or culture, they drive speedboats and eat junk food, its more like Miami Beach.

Another resident of Cannaregio is Galliano di Marco, the CEO of VTP, the Venice passenger terminal that manages and provides services to the cruise liners and their passengers. Originally from the central Abruzzo region, he enjoys life in Venice, despite being a target for those involved in the No Big Ships activist group, which for years has battled against the cruise liners and in June held an unofficial referendum in which Venetians voted in favour of ousting the ships from the citys lagoon.

Venetians are quick to point the blame at cruise-ship passengers for the demise in their quality of life, arguing that they stay for only a few hours, spend little money and leave a trail of litter in their wake.

Di Marco disputes this, citing figures that paint a different picture: only 1.5million of the 28 million visitors to Venice each year arrive on a cruise vessel, with the rest coming by bus, car, train or plane. With an average age of 65, they spend between 120 and 160 per head, bringing about 250m to the city each year. The passenger terminal also provides jobs for an estimated 5,000 people.

But the well-publicised controversy, which even prompted New York mayor Bill De Blasio to urge his Venice counterpart, Luigi Brugnaro, to ban the ships, has left VTP and the cruise industry in turbulent waters. With this in mind, since taking on the role in December Di Marco has striven to strike a compromise between the sector and the activists, devising a plan that would see the ships instead take a longer journey into the lagoon via the Vittorio Emanuele canal.

The proposal needs approval from the Italian government, but is backed by the cruise companies. It will take 1.5 hours longer to enter and leave the lagoon, but the cruise companies accepted that because they want to keep Venice on their itineraries its one of the top three destinations in the world, he said.

Its not our call, but we are doing whatever we can to take the big ships away from the Giudecca canal because really, enough is enough.

Map of Venice

Di Marco is less conciliatory towards demands for the passenger terminal, a vast, well-structured area that also provides services to hydrofoils arriving from Croatia and Slovenia, to up sticks to Marghera, an unsightly industrial area on the mainland.

Theyre trying to build a ghetto for the cruise passengers and I will fight this as much as possible, he said. At the moment passengers arrive in the living room of Venice; in Marghera it would be like welcoming them in thetoilet.

The citizens who marched recently carried banners reading: Im not leaving. But despite their determination to stay, they are pessimistic about the future. Residents were hoping that Unesco would send a strong signal to the authorities by following through with a threat to place the world heritage site on its endangered list. Instead, the organisation recently granted the city another year to come up with measures to protect its monuments and preserve its fragile environment.

It feels as if were at a point of no return because its already out of control, said Beltrame. He would like tourist numbers to be limited, while focusing on improving the quality and promoting the city as a hub for scientific and maritime research.

Luciano Bortot, meanwhile, looks with envy towards the neighbouring semi-autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige, which until the end of the first world war was part of Austria.

He believes the answer to Venices woes lies in the Veneto region, among Italys richest, obtaining greater, if not full, independence from Rome. A non-legally binding referendum will be held in October. Venice would be better managed by Venetian heads, not Roman ones, he said. If we had an official referendum, Veneto would definitely vote to break away.