#leotard sale

[maryse127]

The leotard and ballet skirt I ordered yesterday are now both sold out in my size so hopefully this means I got the last ones and not another instance of your order is being cancelled because we don't actually have your items in stock which happened last time I fell in love with a leotard and skirt combo

[hvly]

— ⋆｡˚｡⋆ ｡˚ 𓆩𖥔𓆪 ˚｡⋆｡˚｡⋆ —

wrestler!yuuji who doesn't fit your typical wrestler's description. most of the guys on your school's team are big, burly, and quite mean. their faces fixed in a constant scowl, shoulders squared in case anyone dares to step a little too close to them while they're walking by. then there was yuuji. bright pink hair, a constant smile on his face, and a happy-go-lucky personality that could draw anyone in. his cheery disposition was a definite plus to the team's overall school presence. in the past, they'd be lucky to have one section of the bleachers filled. now, the stands seemed to be overflowing with support at every match. even if most in attendance were just fangirls coming to see yuuji in action, it could hardly be seen as a negative.

wrestler!yuuji who wasn't all too interested in the sport at first, but caved after the wrestling coach's 15th attempt at recruiting him. "you've got talent ! and we could use someone like you on our team !" he was used to various sports' coaches coming up to him, talking about how his athleticism would be a great addition to their respective teams. but wrestling was different because he could put his background in martial arts to use in certain cases. with the promise to use and build on what he already knows, it was a pretty easy sale. after a few mock matches, he slowly comes to enjoy wrestling and realises he's not too bad at it.

wrestler!yuuji who's almost an entirely different person on the mat. when he was in his starting position, he looked at his opponent with a fiery determination to win. he was focused, eyes narrowed as he rocked in his crouched position, waiting for the referee's whistle to start. it was almost impressive how quickly yuuji could take down his opponent. you only caught a glimpse of his pink hair and the next thing you knew, he was being awarded a point and being told to reset. even when yuuji was on the defensive, it wasn't for too long. with a flip, a hook, and a roll he was back on the offensive and securing yet another point that would aid in his inevitable victory.

wrestler!yuuji who's so humble whether he wins or loses. he doesn't gloat or showboat, helping his opponent up off the mat with a solid, genuine smile and "good match" handshake. he jogs off the mat right up to the stands, where you're sitting front and center. he's sweaty and panting, hair and singlet clinging to his body alike. he pulls out his mouth guard and lets it dangle from his headgear, a wide toothy smile on his face. "So? I'm pretty good at this wrestling thing, huh?" You nod in agreement, sweeping peak strands from his forehead. "Yeah. And you don't look too bad in that leotard either." He scoffs, pulling the straps of his uniform before letting them go with a snap. "It's called a singlet," he replies. His coach calls for him in the distance, signaling it's time for him to head back with the team. He starts to make his way back before abruptly stopping and swiveling on his heels. "Hey, head over to my place. We should celebrate my win tonight," he says, giving you a wink before trotting off across the gym. You feel a mess of butterflies form in your stomach as you watch him reconvene with his fellow wrestlers. You had a feeling he was going to show you his moves weren't just for the wrestling mat.

— ⋆｡˚｡⋆ ｡˚ 𓆩𖥔𓆪 ˚｡⋆｡˚｡⋆ —

© 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 hvly 2024. 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘧y.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

i think you've done this with the worst ones already but top 5 favorite canon riddle guy designs in comics for you

god this is one of the hardest asks I've ever received. he kind of wears the same shit with small variations in most comics and it would be so much easier and this would definitely be a different like if I could include non-comic designs. but I think. I think I've done this.

5.) Tim Sale's absolutely WRETCHED Dark Victory (1999) Riddler... this is a newt of some kind. pathetic. a stuffed animal rescued from a damp parking lot.

4.) I really like the Riddler in Batman: A New Dawn (2009) because he's just Some Dude. like he's just a used car salesman. who does riddle crimes. he's not exaggeratedly ugly he's not some freakish little creature he's not trying to be a hot prettyboy like more recent Riddlers he's just hanging out making silly faces in a pretty standard outfit. he's so perfect to me.

3.) just THE classic Riddler question mark leotard with purple gloves + mask, shown here in Detective Comics Annual #8 (1995).

2.) the classic costume but with a broken arm to be twice as pathetic. these examples come from Detective Comics #662 (1993) and somewhere in Detective Comics #705-#707 (1997). if I had a nickel, etc.

1.) the fucking. frog suit. from the Batman Adventures Vol. 2 #11 (2004). this issue makes him much cuter (in a weasel way) than his animated counterpart and SOOOO expressive, so I'm very fond of him in general but this outfit in particular is everything to me. that's my scringly little blorbo bleebus in his little climbing outfit.

[antiporn-activist]

A Marketplace of Girl Influencers Managed by Moms and Stalked by Men

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/22/us/instagram-child-influencers.html

Seeking social media stardom for their underage daughters, mothers post images of them on Instagram. The accounts draw men sexually attracted to children, and they sometimes pay to see more.

Feb. 22, 2024

By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries and Michael H. Keller

The ominous messages began arriving in Elissa’s inbox early last year.

“You sell pics of your underage daughter to pedophiles,” read one. “You’re such a naughty sick mom, you’re just as sick as us pedophiles,” read another. “I will make your life hell for you and your daughter.”

Elissa has been running her daughter’s Instagram account since 2020, when the girl was 11 and too young to have her own. Photos show a bright, bubbly girl modeling evening dresses, high-end workout gear and dance leotards. She has more than 100,000 followers, some so enthusiastic about her posts that they pay $9.99 a month for more photos.

Over the years, Elissa has fielded all kinds of criticism and knows full well that some people think she is exploiting her daughter. She has even gotten used to receiving creepy messages, but these — from “Instamodelfan” — were extreme. “I think they’re all pedophiles,” she said of the many online followers obsessed with her daughter and other young girls.

Elissa and her daughter inhabit the world of Instagram influencers whose accounts are managed by their parents. Although the site prohibits children under 13, parents can open so-called mom-run accounts for them, and they can live on even when the girls become teenagers.

But what often starts as a parent’s effort to jump-start a child’s modeling career, or win favors from clothing brands, can quickly descend into a dark underworld dominated by adult men, many of whom openly admit on other platforms to being sexually attracted to children, an investigation by The New York Times found. 

For this investigation, the reporters analyzed 2.1 million Instagram posts, monitored months of online chats of professed pedophiles and interviewed over 100 people, including parents and children.

Thousands of accounts examined by The Times offer disturbing insights into how social media is reshaping childhood, especially for girls, with direct parental encouragement and involvement. Some parents are the driving force behind the sale of photos, exclusive chat sessions and even the girls’ worn leotards and cheer outfits to mostly unknown followers. The most devoted customers spend thousands of dollars nurturing the underage relationships.

The large audiences boosted by men can benefit the families, The Times found. The bigger followings look impressive to brands and bolster chances of getting discounts, products and other financial incentives, and the accounts themselves are rewarded by Instagram’s algorithm with greater visibility on the platform, which in turn attracts more followers.

One calculation performed by an audience demographics firm found 32 million connections to male followers among the 5,000 accounts examined by The Times.

Interacting with the men opens the door to abuse. Some flatter, bully and blackmail girls and their parents to get racier and racier images. The Times monitored separate exchanges on Telegram, the messaging app, where men openly fantasize about sexually abusing the children they follow on Instagram and extol the platform for making the images so readily available.

“It’s like a candy store 😍😍😍,” one of them wrote. “God bless instamoms 🙌,” wrote another.

The troubling interactions on Instagram come as social media companies increasingly dominate the cultural landscape and the internet is seen as a career path of its own.

Nearly one in three preteens lists influencing as a career goal, and 11 percent of those born in Generation Z, between 1997 and 2012, describe themselves as influencers. The so-called creator economy surpasses $250 billion worldwide, according to Goldman Sachs, with U.S. brands spending more than $5 billion a year on influencers.

Health and technology experts have recently cautioned that social media presents a “profound risk of harm” for girls. Constant comparisons to their peers and face-altering filters are driving negative feelings of self-worth and promoting objectification of their bodies, researchers found.

But the pursuit of online fame, particularly through Instagram, has supercharged the often toxic phenomenon, The Times found, encouraging parents to commodify their children’s images. Some of the child influencers earn six-figure incomes, according to interviews.

“I really don’t want my child exploited on the internet,” said Kaelyn, a mother in Melbourne, Australia, who like Elissa and many other parents interviewed by The Times agreed to be identified only by a middle name to protect the privacy of her child.

“But she’s been doing this so long now,” she said. “Her numbers are so big. What do we do? Just stop it and walk away?”

In investigating this growing and unregulated ecosystem, The Times analyzed 2.1 million Instagram posts, monitored months of online chats of professed pedophiles and reviewed thousands of pages of police reports and court documents.

Reporters also interviewed more than 100 people, including parents in the United States and three other countries, their children, child safety experts, tech company employees and followers of the accounts, some of whom were convicted sex offenders.

This is how The Times found its sample of 5,000 mom-run accounts.

The accounts range from dancers whose mothers diligently cull men from the ranks of followers, to girls in skimpy bikinis whose parents actively encourage male admirers and sell them special photo sets. While there are some mom-run accounts for boys, they are the exception.

Some girls on Instagram use their social media clout to get little more than clothing discounts; others receive gifts from Amazon wish lists, or money through Cash App; and still others earn thousands of dollars a month by selling subscriptions with exclusive content.

In interviews and online comments, parents said that their children enjoyed being on social media or that it was important for a future career. But some expressed misgivings. Kaelyn, whose daughter is now 17, said she worried that a childhood spent sporting bikinis online for adult men had scarred her.

“She’s written herself off and decided that the only way she’s going to have a future is to make a mint on OnlyFans,” she said, referring to a website that allows users to sell adult content to subscribers. “She has way more than that to offer.”

She warned mothers not to make their children social media influencers. “With the wisdom and knowledge I have now, if I could go back, I definitely wouldn’t do it,” she said. “I’ve been stupidly, naïvely, feeding a pack of monsters, and the regret is huge.”

Account owners who report explicit images or potential predators to Instagram are typically met with silence or indifference, and those who block many abusers have seen their own accounts’ ability to use certain features limited, according to the interviews and documents. In the course of eight months, The Times made over 50 reports of its own about questionable material and received only one response.

Meta, Instagram’s parent company, found that 500,000 child Instagram accounts had “inappropriate” interactions every day, according to an internal study in 2020 quoted in legal proceedings.

In a statement to The Times, Andy Stone, a Meta spokesman, said that parents were responsible for the accounts and their content and could delete them anytime.

“Anyone on Instagram can control who is able to tag, mention or message them, as well as who can comment on their account,” Mr. Stone added, noting a feature that allows parents to ban comments with certain words. “On top of that, we prevent accounts exhibiting potentially suspicious behavior from using our monetization tools, and we plan to limit such accounts from accessing subscription content.”

Influencers use TikTok, too, but Instagram is easier for parents to navigate and better suited to the kinds of photos that brands want. It is also home to a longstanding network of parents and brands that predated TikTok.

From time to time, Instagram removes child-influencer accounts for unspecified reasons or because people flag them as inappropriate, The Times found. In extreme cases, parents and photographers have been arrested or convicted of child exploitation, but barring evidence of illegal images, most of the activity does not draw the attention of law enforcement.

Like many parents, Elissa, who received the threatening messages about her daughter’s photos, said she protected her daughter by handling the account exclusively herself. Ultimately, she concluded, the Instagram community is dominated by “disgusting creeps,” but she nonetheless keeps the account up and running. Shutting it down, she said, would be “giving in to bullies.”

The account’s risks became apparent last spring when the person messaging her threatened to report her to the police and others unless she completed “a small task.” When she did not respond, the person emailed the girl’s school, saying Elissa sold “naughty” pictures to pedophiles.

Days later, the girl tearfully explained to her mother that school officials had questioned her about the Instagram account. They showed her images that her mother had posted — one of the girl in hot pants and fishnets, another in a leotard and sweatshirt.

Elissa had reported the blackmail to the local sheriff, but school officials only dropped the matter after an emotional interrogation of the girl.

“I was crying,” the girl said in an interview. “I was just scared. I didn’t understand what was going on.”

‘Walking Advertising’

In today’s creator economy, companies often turn to social media influencers to attract new customers. Giants like Kim Kardashian, who has 364 million followers on Instagram, have turned the phenomenon into a big business.

Young girls strive to do the same.

In the dance and gymnastics worlds, teens and preteens jockey to become brand ambassadors for products and apparel. They don bikinis in Instagram posts, walk runways in youth fashion shows and offer paid subscriptions to videos showing the everyday goings-on of children seeking internet fame.

“We costumed somebody for ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ thinking that would be huge P.R., but we ended up finding out the bigger return on investment is these microinfluencers,” she said. “We have parents that will spend thousands of dollars to buy styles that no one else will have. That’s our best market.”

The most successful girls can demand $3,000 from their sponsors for a single post on Instagram, but monetary gain can be elusive for others, who receive free or discounted clothes in exchange for their posts and have to pay for their own hairstyling and makeup, among other costs. Even youth fashion shows, including events in New York that coincide but are not affiliated with New York Fashion Week, charge the girls to participate and charge their parents to attend.

In interviews, parents defended spending the money to promote their daughters’ influencer ambitions, describing them as extracurricular activities that build confidence, develop friendships and create social media résumés that will follow them into adulthood.

“It’s like a little security blanket,” said a New Jersey mother whose mom-run account has led to paid modeling jobs for her daughter and invitations to work with sought-after choreographers. “She can help pay for college if she does it right,” she said.

A mother in Alabama said parents couldn’t ignore the reality of this new economy.

“Social media is the way of our future, and I feel like they’ll be behind if they don’t know what’s going on,” the mother said. “You can’t do anything without it now.”

One 12-year-old girl in Maryland, who spoke with The Times alongside her mother, described the thrill of seeing other girls she knows wear a brand she represents in Instagram posts.

“People are actually being influenced by me,” she said.

In 2022, Instagram launched paid subscriptions, which allows followers to pay a monthly fee for exclusive content and access. The rules don’t allow subscriptions for anyone under 18, but the mom-run accounts sidestep that restriction. The Times found dozens that charged from 99 cents to $19.99. At the highest price, parents offered “ask me anything” chat sessions and behind-the-scenes photos.

Child safety experts warn the subscriptions and other features could lead to unhealthy interactions, with men believing they have a special connection to the girls and the girls believing they must meet the men’s needs.

“I have reservations about a child feeling like they have to satisfy either adults in their orbit or strangers who are asking something from them,” said Sally Theran, a professor at Wellesley College and clinical psychologist who studies online relationships. “It’s really hard to give consent to that when your frontal lobe isn’t fully developed.”

Instagram isn’t alone in the subscription business. Some parents promote other platforms on their mom-run accounts. One of them, Brand Army, caters to adult influencers but also has “junior channel” parent-run subscriptions ranging from free to $250 monthly.

“Message me anytime. You will have more opportunities for buying and receiving super exclusive content😘,” read a description for a $25 subscription to a minor’s account. For $100 a month, subscribers can get “live interactive video chats,” unlimited direct messages and a mention on the girl’s Instagram story.

The Times subscribed to several accounts to glean what content is being offered and how much money is being made. On one account, 141 subscribers liked a photo only available to those who paid $100 monthly, indicating over $14,000 in subscription revenue.

Some of the descriptions also highlight the revealing nature of photos. One account for a child around 14 years old encouraged new sign-ups at the end of last year by branding the days between Christmas and New Year’s as “Bikini Week.” An account for a 17-year-old girl advertised that she wasn’t wearing underwear in a workout photo set and, as a result, the images were “uh … a lot spicier than usual.”

The girl’s “Elite VIP” subscription costs $250 a month.

Brand Army’s founder, Ramon Mendez, said that junior-channel users were a minority on his platform and that moderating their pages had grown so problematic that he discontinued new sign-ups.

“We’ve removed thousands of pieces of content,” he said. “The parents’ behavior is just disgusting. We don’t want to be part of it.”

‘The Wealth of the Wicked’

“You are so sexy,” read one comment on an image of a 5-year-old girl in a ruffled bikini. “Those two little things look great thru ur top,” said another on a video of a girl dancing in a white cropped shirt, who months later posted pictures of her 11th birthday party.

For many mom-run accounts, comments from men — admiring, suggestive or explicit — are a recurring scourge to be eradicated, or an inescapable fact of life to be ignored. For others, they are a source to be tapped.

“The first thing I do when I wake up and the last thing I do when I go to bed is block accounts,” said Lynn, the mother of a 6-year-old girl in Florida who has about 3,000 followers from the dance world.

Another mother, Gail from Texas, described being desensitized to the men’s messages. “I don’t have as much of an emotional response anymore,” she said. “It’s weird to be so numb to that, but the quantity is just astounding.”

Meta does not provide public information about who uses Instagram, so The Times analyzed data from the audience firms Modash and HypeAuditor, which estimate follower demographics based on their own algorithms.

The proportion of male followers varied greatly in The Times’s sample, according to the estimates. Many accounts had a few thousand followers who were mostly female. But while men accounted for about 35 percent of the audience overall, their presence grew dramatically as accounts became more popular. Many with more than 100,000 followers had a male audience of over 75 percent, and a few of them over 90 percent, the analysis showed.

To be sure, not all men following the accounts have bad intentions. Some are grandparents and fathers of the young influencers. Many have inoffensive profiles and simply post compliments or greetings, and mothers react appreciatively.

“In responding or even hitting ‘like’ on it, it boosts your algorithm,” said a mother in Florida whose 16-year-old daughter has been an Instagram influencer for six years. “We tried shutting comments off at one point, and some of the brands didn’t like that.”

Brands that feature children from mom-run accounts face similar challenges.

Dean Stockton, who runs a small clothing company in Florida called Original Hippie, often features girls from the Instagram accounts, who earn a commission when customers use personalized discount codes. After initially deleting many male followers, he now sees them as a way to grow the account and give it a wider audience because the platform rewards large followings.

“The Bible says, ‘The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the righteous,’” he said. “So sometimes you got to use the things of this world to get you to where you need to be, as long as it’s not harming anybody.”

Mr. Stockton said he deleted male followers who were disrespectful or sexual in their interactions. An examination by The Times of the three dozen brands that are popular among mom-run accounts found inappropriate, predatory or pornographic followers in almost all of the brands’ accounts, including Original Hippie.

Many of the men posted pornography, or their bios included sexual language and emojis that child protection experts say pedophiles can use to signal interest in children. For instance, one follower of a children’s dance wear brand described himself as a “thong & anl sx lover.” A user named “sexy_69nazi” followed a children’s apparel company and exclusively posted pornography.

Chixit, a brand selling swimwear and other clothing, describes itself as “an International Sorority,” but business records show that it was run by Philip Russo, who advertised himself as a tutor operating out of his home in the Hudson Valley of New York. Other websites registered to Mr. Russo’s email are a tutoring business and inactive domain names describing sex with animals.

After The Times reached out to Mr. Russo, the website for his tutoring business went offline. He did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment.

‘Girls Become a Currency’

The vast world of child-influencer followers on Instagram includes men who have been charged with or convicted of sex crimes, and those who engage in forums off platform where child sexual abuse imagery, including of girls on Instagram, is shared.

The Times traced the account of one follower, who goes by the moniker “jizzquizz,” to a man named Joshua V. Rubel, 39. He was convicted in 2008 of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl and is listed on the New Jersey sex offender registry. (Instagram’s policy bars sex offenders from using the platform, and the company said it removed two accounts after The Times pointed them out.)

Another account belongs to Daniel Duane Huver, a man in Lansing, Mich., who told law enforcement in 2018 that he had “top fan status” on girls’ pages, a designation bestowed by Instagram’s sister company, Facebook. The police searched Mr. Huver’s cellphone after it was confiscated by his probation officer and found hundreds of images and videos of children, including many considered inappropriate and sexually suggestive and two believed to be illegal (showing minors engaged in explicit acts.)

Mr. Huver told officers he was sexually attracted to children and masturbated to images of them, according to police records. He was charged with possession of child sexual abuse material, but the prosecutor in Eaton County later dropped charges, citing insufficient evidence because of the poor quality of the imagery.

Mr. Rubel did not respond to requests for comment. Mr. Huver said that the police mischaracterized his words and that the lack of prosecution was evidence he had done nothing wrong.

In monitoring multiple Telegram chat rooms, The Times found men who treat children’s Instagram pages and subscription services as menus to satisfy their fantasies. They trade information about parents considered receptive to producing and selling “private sets” of images.

A group with more than 4,000 members was highly organized, with an F.A.Q. page and a Google sheet that tracked nearly 700 children, identifying them by hashtags to help members find them within the long chat history. The group’s logo showed a child’s hand in an adult hand.

The Times asked the Canadian Center for Child Protection, an organization that monitors online child exploitation, to review links and other potentially illegal material posted by the Telegram groups and elsewhere. The center identified child sexual abuse imagery involving multiple underage Instagram models from around the world, as well as sexualized videos of others, including a preteen girl wearing a thong and a young teenager raising her dress to show her bikini bottom.

Men in these groups frequently praise the advent of Instagram as a golden age for child exploitation.

“I’m so glad for these new moms pimping their daughters out,” wrote one of them. “And there’s an infinite supply of it — literally just refresh your Instagram Explore page there’s fresh preteens.”

A small group of men go even further and cultivate business and patronage relationships with mothers.

One man posts videos and photos on Instagram of girls thanking him for shopping sprees, gifts like iPhones and iPads, and cash. If he does not receive a message of gratitude quickly, he sometimes shames the mother and daughter on his private Instagram account.

Another makes recommendations about increasing visibility by using specific hashtags and photographers. But two mothers said they became suspicious, and stopped working with the man, after he suggested they make certain their daughters’ nipples and other private areas could be detected through their outfits.

A third man tried to persuade a mother to sell her daughter’s used leotards because many men, including himself, were “collectors,” according to a recording of the conversation.

“In retrospect I feel like such a stupid mom, but I’m not stupid,” said a mother of a young gymnast, who dealt with similar men before she realized they were predators and received threatening messages from several of them. “I didn’t understand what grooming was.”

Sometimes the men flirt or try to develop virtual romances with mothers, offer to protect them and become possessive and angry if they interact with other men.

“It’s almost like the girls become a currency,” said the gymnast’s mother, who did not want to be named.

This feeling of ownership and jealousy can drive attempts at blackmail, The Times found.

Instamodelfan, who sent threatening messages to Elissa, sent blackmail threats to at least five other mom-run accounts. When one mother responded, he demanded that she sexually abuse her child and send him photos and videos, emails to the mother show. She refused and contacted law enforcement.

The Times communicated with a person identified on Telegram as Instamodelfan who said that he lashed out at the mothers because he believed other men got illegal images of children and he wanted them for himself.

Reporters also received information from an anonymous tipster, who they later found was linked to the blackmailer, indicating that some parents had produced explicit imagery of their daughters.

The Canadian center reviewed the imagery and said it included illegal nude photos of two girls. One girl’s mother said she was shaken to learn of the photos and did not know who could have made them. The other girl, now 17, said in an interview that the photos were for her and a girlfriend and that she told law enforcement that they had been stolen.

Others images either were borderline illegal, were too poor quality to be conclusive or were digitally altered, the center said.

Several mothers who had been identified by the tipster said they reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which, they said, had conducted an investigation. The F.B.I. declined to comment.

Ultimately, the gymnast’s mother said, a federal agent told them to stop talking to men online.

“They told everyone to get off Instagram,” she said. “‘You’re in over your head. Get off.’ That’s what they told us.”

‘My Limit of Pedophiles’

Meta failed to act on multiple reports made by parents and even restricted those who tried to police their own followers, according to interviews and materials provided by the parents.

If parents block too many followers’ accounts in a day, Meta curtails their ability to block or follow others, they said.

“I remember being told, like, I’ve reached my limit,” said a mother of two dancers in Arizona who declined to be named. “Like what? I reached my limit of pedophiles for today. OK, great.”

Mr. Stone, the Meta spokesman, said “there are lots of reasons an account might face limitations or restrictions based the account’s activity,” and therefore it was difficult to know why parents encountered these problems.

Ms. Pastore of LA Dance Designs said it was “very much overdue” for Instagram to add the ability to filter by age and sex to help identify suspicious followers. “If you’re starting to gain a following, there needs to be some sort of way to control it,” she said.

Even some egregious violations led to no action by Meta.

One parent reported a photo of erect male genitalia sent in a direct message. Another reported an account that reposted children’s photos with explicit captions. A third reported a user who propositioned her child for sex, offering $65,000 for “an hour” with the girl.

In response to those three reports, Meta said either that the communications did not violate “community guidelines” or that its staff did not have time to review them. In other cases, Meta told parents that it relied on its “technology” to determine the content was “probably” not a violation.

Separately, The Times found comments that included links to sites identified by the Canadian center as trading illegal, nude imagery of children. None of those reports received a response from Meta.

Former Meta trust and safety employees described an organization overwhelmed despite knowing about the problem for years.

“You hear, ‘I reported this account, it was harassing my daughter, why is he back?’” said a former investigator for the company who requested anonymity. “There are not enough people, resources and systems to tackle all of it.”

In recent years, conspiracy theories like QAnon, which claims Democratic politicians are trafficking children, have led to an excess of unfounded reports that have muddled the evaluation of child abuse tips, three former Meta trust and safety employees said.

A 2020 document that surfaced in a lawsuit described child safety as a “non-goal” at Meta. “If we do something here, cool,” the document said. “But if we do nothing at all, that’s fine too.” The lawsuit was brought against Meta and other companies claiming damage from using social media. Lawyers for the plaintiffs declined to provide more information about the document.

In documents from 2018 included in a separate lawsuit making similar claims of harm, a top Facebook executive told Instagram’s chief executive that unless changes were made, Facebook and Instagram were “basically massive ‘victim discovery services,’” an allusion to the considerable evidence of abuse on the platforms.

Mr. Stone, the Meta spokesman, disputed the suggestion that the trust team was understaffed and underfunded, saying that 40,000 employees worked on safety and security and that the company had invested $20 billion in such efforts since 2016. He also referred to a previous statement about the lawsuits, saying they “mischaracterize our work using selective quotes and cherry-picked documents.”

In addition, he noted that Meta reported more suspected child abuse imagery to the authorities than any other company each year. In December, it announced plans to encrypt its messaging services, which would reduce the reports.

‘It’s All Over Instagram’

Experts in child protection and development say young people should never be made to have negative feelings about their bodies. But clothing that is appropriate in a gym or dance competition may take on an unintended meaning when shared online.

Children’s dance attire regularly features strappy bra tops, sheer fabric and bikini bottoms, and popular cheer outfits combine sports bras with little skirts — part of a long-term trend toward more revealing clothing for girls.

“In the dance world we’re in, they’re half naked all the time and their legs are in the air,” said a mother in Massachusetts who declined to be named. “And if you’re not used to seeing that, maybe it’s different.”

Lynn, whose granddaughter in Texas is an ambassador for a cheerleading brand, said there was no logic to the reactions her posts received. Photos of the girl’s feet attract the most extreme comments, she said. “You can’t stop weird people, I guess.”

Still, many of the would-be influencers suffer. In some instances criticism of the posts, and accompanying bullying, becomes so severe that mothers turn to home-schooling.

“She got slaughtered all through primary school,” said Kaelyn, the mother in Melbourne. “Children were telling her, ‘We can’t play with you because my mom said too many perverts follow you on the internet.’”

In the United States, parents have substantial leeway in making decisions about their children. But people who suspect illegal behavior on Instagram quickly discover that the authorities are overwhelmed and typically focus on the clearest-cut cases.

Even the most unsettling images of sexualized child influencers tend to fall into a legal gray area. To meet the federal definition of so-called child pornography, the law generally requires a “lascivious exhibition” of the anal or genital area, though courts have found the requirement can be met without nudity or sheer clothing.

There have been criminal prosecutions against parents accused in child sexual abuse cases.

In Louisiana last year, a mother was arrested and charged with working with a photographer to produce illegal images of her daughter in a thong bikini. In Texas, a mother was sentenced to 32 years in prison in December for producing nude photos of her 8-year-old daughter with the same photographer. And in North Carolina, a mother is awaiting trial on charges that she took her 15-year-old daughter to a photographer who sexually abused her and she failed to get medical help when the girl tried to kill herself, according to court documents.

Still, those prosecutions are rare, and some male followers of the mom-run accounts openly welcome the windfall.

“As long as this stuff legally exists, I just enjoy it :),” one of them wrote on Telegram.

“Exactly,” another responded. “It’s all over Instagram.”

[goggles-mcgee]

Musa!

Design wise, I leaned more into her somewhat teased punk style. There are way more accessories because she deserves to have all the accessories XD. In total, she has ten piercings, four on each ear, and one on each side of her nose. She is wearing one of those fish line chokers and has many backups for it if it breaks or she loses it. Many bracelets, though the spiked one she found at a yard sale when she was younger and it instantly became her favorite accessory. She wears a leotard under her crop top, and the crop top was also thrifted. Also, her shoes do light up on the bottom.

You can't see it clearly, but she does have earphones in, and they double as earphones for her music or noise-cancelling earphones when everything becomes too loud. The band on her right arm holds her MagiMusi Player so she can have her music close by. Her drawback is her supersonic hearing as she does get overloaded by everything she hears sometimes. This leads to migraines a lot of the time, which is why she has a small bag attached to the chain on her belt that holds her migraine potions as well as a pair of sunglasses as her eyes sometimes become too sensitive to light because of said migraines.

Her fairy form is probably the one that stayed closer to the original than the others. I just love her original, but I did add more purple to the design and gave her a piano pattern that acts as a sash and well as on the heel of her boots. If she brushes her hand across the whole of the piano sash, it will actually play piano notes, and if she does this, she will summon her flute.

Headcanons!

• She has perfect pitch.

• She is a synesthete and sees music and voices as colors. This is another reason why she wears her sunglasses, and it can be overwhelming given how big her hearing radius is.

• Her full name is Musa Lu-Maestri

• She actually really likes poetry and her and Flora often visit this cafe in Magix that does monthly poetry slams.

• She is allergic to peanut butter but loves it.

Bloom

Stella

Flora

[gold-lightcycle]

Bio on my second Tron OC (1982/Encom Grid), Val!!

Designation: Program (Encom Grid) Name: Val (Short for "Vending/Retail All-In-One Logistics", also a play on the name Valerie) Username: Her User is Tiffany (aka Tiff) Pronouns: she/her Age: (Complied sometime in the early 80s) Occupation: Retail Database Management, retail music play tracking.

Height: 5'7" / 171cm

Build: Average build, Slightly above average fat to muscle mass Hair: When she's not wearing a helmet: dark shade of gray (since it's the Encom grid), bangs, hair held in a high off-center ponytail by a circuit covered scrunchie. Eye color: dark gray Light line color: hot pink (like, OBVIOUSLY!) Appearance: Body-wise, Val shares the exact same appearance as Tiffany: Average, more on the curvy side. In most Games, she'll wear the typical warrior helmet, but outside of that (or in games that aren't as dangerous), she'll wear her hair out with a circuit-covered headband covering her forehead. Her outfit: A full-body grid suit, similar to most of the typical program outfits, except a lot more "thin" and with not too many circuitry patterns. Near the neckline, there's a circuit with a shape in the middle that gives off the impression of a necklace. Right above her knees, she has a circuit pattern that looks like a chevron. Over that, she wears a high-cut aerobics style leotard that has a bit more complex circuit patterns all along the length of the front. On the back, there are a few more patterns (including circular ring-like paths on each side contouring…umm… the butt shape). Over that, she has the typical warrior belt. On top, she wears an off-shoulder crop top made of a similar fabric to the warrior togas/loincloths. She also wears wrist gauntlets similar to Clu1, along with form-fitting gloves on her hands. On occasion, she will wear neon glowing "jelly bracelet"-like…bracelets that hang somewhat loose from the wrist guards (they're loose but they don't fall, almost like the bracelets are magnetic to the wrist guards. She has legwarmers similar to Yori, with a broad horizonal circuit stripe that encircles near the top of it. Her "shoes" under that look similar to a basic, digital version of Reebok high-tops, with no lacing. About: Val was compiled in Encom's mainframe, in a sector used for projects and more consumer-friendly programs. She was originally written to track retail clothing sales, which she thinks is like "so, TOTALLY cool to see trends and top sellers!" Over time, she gained new tasks from her user, including music jukebox play tallies, and even as a scheduling utility for aerobics classes. She befriended Clu1 from a chance encounter (he explained to her that his user Flynn was trying to fix some overcharges on some shirts.) She would occasionally accompany him in his tank on his many (not-so-legal) adventures to please Clu's user….. …and also because Val was TOTALLY hooking up with him constantly.

Personality: Val has the spirit of Tiffany embedded in her, and of course, that means she's an 80's valley girl at heart. She is high-energy, with a heavy valspeak accent (which translates into the system as program/grid twists on a few different sayings). She's always eager to meet new programs and recruit them into her friend circle. When she (or her friends) are intimidatedor threatened, she can become a ruthless Mean Girl (RIP to all the red warrior elites that crossed her path the wrong way). Sometimes her passions get the best of her, and she can get easily annoyed when things don't end up the way she had originally calculated. Despite being written for retail and basic music data maintenance, she LOVES the games (when they're safe for everyone). She's also got a lustful side like Tiff that tends to make her a little too mischeivous at times.

Can others draw this OC?: YES FOR BOTH SFW AND NSFW!! (just let me know first )

[bluenews]

19TH  - 25TH AUGUST 2024.

HEADLINES

CAT-ASTROPHE! A Felines! The Original Musical Review. Words by Phoebe Yates.

This weekend hosted the "original" musical of Felines! (Not in association with ALW's Cats!). And to say they took the cat out of the bag too soon would be underestimating the horror presented on stage for all of the town to see. Giving credit where it's due, the wonderful actors of the Blue Harbor Amateur Operatic Society did their best with a script which seemed like was created via a prompt on Chat GPT. The songs — heavily "borrowed" from the "better" feline-based musical — almost seemed parody like, and the costumes that consisted of too-tight leotards and cat ears provided by the Spirit Halloween clearance sale, gave me a sense of uncanny valley I hadn't experienced since I had the displeasure of seeing the Jason Derulo cat from the film adaption of this musical. Sorry. Of Cats! (And you know it must be bad if I'm slating something that featured Taylor Swift...) Upon entering the theater, I had two questions. One; is the original that amazing they had to make their spin on it? And two, what on earth am I about to watch? The show is akin to the concept of Schrodinger's cat; but instead of wondering if it's dead or alive before you open the box, you wonder if it's as bad as it was rumored to be, or a hidden gem upon entering the theater. (Spoiler: it was terrible). Final Review: 1 out of 5 stars.

WEEKLY FORECAST

The temperature is steadily climbing this week, the last of the summer sunshine to be captured whilst it can! Though a bit breezy at the beginning of the week, it should be all clear by the weekend!

Monday — 72°F / 64°F — sunny with clouds

Tuesday — 70°F / 61°F — bright sunshine

Wednesday — 72°F / 60°F — bright sunshine

Thursday — 76°F / 62°F — sunshine

Friday — 79°F / 68°F — bright sunshine

Saturday — 83°F / 73°F — bright sunshine

Sunday — 80°F / 71°F — bright sunshine

TOWN HAPPENINGS

This week, Blue Harbor is keeping the summer party vibes going as we reach the last of the August days. Check out below to see what the party people are up to!

Get Shrek-ed at Aurora this Saturday! The club is hosting a Shrek-themed rave, encouraging all 21+ patrons to get in their swamp and unleash your inner ogre! 

Swing by Bluebottle Vineyard at the Farmer’s Market this Wednesday to catch their one-day only offer of the Five Flight Tasting Menu! A small sample of five different, decadent champagnes to choose from, all from a set price!

Margz and Margz Bottomless Bites! For this week only, the novelty eatery is hosting a bottomless pizza and margarita package. Book today via their website.

[newsatsix1986]

||| “Please welcome Miss Helen Norville, and Mr Dale Jennings.”

|||| Anna Torv and Sam Reid as Helen Norville and Dale Jennings in the Season Two trailer of The Newsreader, accompanied by some wild and wonderful friends.

One of the aspects of the Season Two trailer that I positively squealed over was the variety show set! The set itself is sooooo stunning, and I don't know where else to start! The dancers! The dance sequence! The leotards and shiny suits! The super duper energetic host called Gerry (if I'm reading the sign properly)! And don't even get me started on Helen and Dale's royal entrance and Helen's dress and curls! 😍

The 1980s was a huge decade for some iconic Australian variety, talk and game shows! These shows were much loved by Australians and you could guarantee that those around you would be tuning into these during the week and on the weekend. Families joyously sang along to the talented kids on Young Talent Time and children looked up to the show's young stars, laughed to the zany antics of Hey Hey It's Saturday and came up with their own Red Faces acts, and Australians would tune into Sale of the Century each night to see Tony Barber, his selection of game show girls, and people winning some awesome prizes.

Now, remember that Evelyn frequently calls Helen a "game show girl" in the show!? I wonder if this might be explored in this scene. I reckon Helen did help host a game show in her earlier television career, and that her natural charisma on camera, combined with her reporting skills, made her a very compelling pick to co-host News At Six with Geoff. Probably helped her get the job in 1984!

From the promo, the Gerry bloke almost seemed to have an American accent, which made me think of Don Lane and his Done Lane Show. Don Lane was an American entertainer who found his home in Australia, and from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s hosted his own chat show, with Bert Newton joining him too. You can see the pair of them with the late great Olivia Newton-John in one of these pictures I found on Google!

With additions like Gerry's variety show in The Newsreader's Season Two, it is feeling bigger and more electric than before, and I cannot wait for every second of it. Do you have a favourite variety/entertainment show from any era? I have such a soft spot shows like The Big Gig and The Sideshow, which allowed our comedy and cabaret talent to shine! 💖🇦🇺🌟

[six-costume-refs]

Cyber Monday Deals for Six Materials (US)

Hey y’all! A few of the materials that would be great for Six cosplays are on sale today. These are all from Joann in the US; I’m not sure if international shipping is available. I haven’t finished looking through all of today’s sales yet and will likely reblog with updates as I find more. A full post is also coming with what I’m using for my black alt and suggestions for other costumes. This is just what I saw on sale today.

Please note that these are NOT all stage accurate. We all have different preferences in what materials we would like to work with, what our budget is, what our skill level is with different materials, and how stage accurate we want our colors and/or materials to be. I try to reflect this in my recs and as such I included links to materials that could work well for a variety of different intentions or skill levels. I did try to note a few of those disparities and am happy to answer asks about different materials, but ultimately use your own discernment for what works best for you!

Vinyl/vinyl dupes Yaya Han Cosplay Collection 4 Way Metallic Fabric - this could potentially work as a replacement for the colored vinyl for Aragon, Parr, black alt, silver alt, or Boleyn (this is more of an emerald and between the lighter and darker shades we see in Six). It is not a holographic material but it works well if you’re alright with that. Note that it is a 4 way stretch material. Performance Stretch Apparel Fabric Silver Electric - this would work very well as a replacement for the vinyl used for silver alt. It is holographic and is what I would use if I made a silver cosplay. Note that it is a stretch material. Yaya Han Cosplay Collection 4 Way Stretch Vinyl Fabric - this could work very well for black alt. It is a shiny vinyl like the show uses. Note that it is a 4 way stretch material. Yaya Han Cosplay Collection 4 Way Faux Leather Fabric - this works well for black alt as a cheaper alternative, but it is a matte pleather rather than the shiny vinyl used onstage. Note that it is a 4 way stretch material.  Yaya Han Cosplay Collection Low Stretch Faux Leather Fabric - this works well for black alt as a cheaper alternative, but it is a matte pleather rather than the shiny vinyl used onstage. This is the low stretch alternative to the previous. Note that it is fairly thin and needs backing/structure to work for Six. Black Smooth Faux Leather Sportswear Fabric* - this is what I’m using for my black alt cosplay. It is a pleather and not a shiny vinyl, but it has a nice sheen to it. There is a subtle texture to it but it’s significantly less noticeable in person than that picture shows and doesn’t bother me. Not perfect if you want stage accurate, but I personally really love it for black alt. Sequins/sequin dupes Apparel Stretch Velvet Fabric Black Foil - this could work as a replacement for the sequin and mesh panels on Seymour’s skirt and leotard. Note that it is a stretch velvet.  Special Occasion Fabric Confetti Dot - available in shades that could work for Boleyn, Cleves, Howard, Parr, and teal alt. This works as a replacement for the sequins, but still needs black mesh over.  Metallic Dot Fabric* - available in shades for Aragon and black alt. This works as a replacement for the sequins and mesh for black alt, but Aragon may need a separate layer of mesh over depending on your tastes. Leotards/skintone materials Skin Tone Tulle Fabric* - This has a fair bit of color range in the medium-dark skin tones. Note that it is a tulle so it’s not particularly opaque and may or may not work depending on your comfort/intended use. Structure Fusible Buckram

* = denotes a material I’m using for my own black alt cosplay

[icarus-suraki]

Classic, owl, skeleton for the spoopy asks :D

Spoopy ask game ooooooh~

Classic: What’s your favorite classic spooky movie? I could get really pedantic here like "But what do we consider a 'classic' and what is a 'spooky' movie? Indeed, what is a 'movie'?" But I'm not gonna.

I'm gonna go way back to a true classic: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari from 1920.

The German Expressionism turned up to 11, the irrational and disproportional sets, the establishment of a buncha tropes, the influence it had and still has, the visual elements, the twist ending, Conrad Veidt in a black leotard and a lot of eye makeup…!

I like a lot of spooky movies, some more spooky than others, and I could just sit here and list them, but Dr. Caligari is just so iconic and influential in so many ways.

The art museum here had a showing some years ago accompanied by a live string quartet and I desperately wish I could have gone. Alas!

Owl: What creature would you have as a familiar? This is tough! I mean, I can always fall back on the classics: cat, crow, raven, owl.

Whatever, I'm kind of basic: cat. But it would be interesting to have a hairless cat. I worked with a guy who once said that I seemed like the kind of person who'd have a hairless cat. Maybe he's right. My hairless cat familiar and me, practicing experimental chaos magic in a minimalist house all done in black and white. That's the dream.

Now, speaking of, I did have a dream about a skinny black-and-white cat (more black than white, but he had white toes) named Honk who I saw in the bay window of an old bookstore next to a sign that read "Honk is not for sale!" So if I ever find Honk (who will be adoptable, I'm sure, but not for sale), maybe he's my familiar?

Skeleton: What never fails to send a shiver down your spine?

A lack of context!!!!!!!!

Let me explain: the less context or explanation there is around an image, a sound, a video, &c, the creepier or stranger it is (to me).

This is why I get disappointed partway through basically, um, every analog horror series or internet horror creation: sooner or later, there's too much context and/or too much explanation and it destroys the mystery. It puts too much of a frame around the concept. It solidifies it. And it immediately defangs it.

Once there was all this lore that evolved around The Backrooms, they immediately stopped being interesting to me. Do I like that The Backrooms are this collaborative storytelling project? Absolutely. And I enjoy some of the things people have made in that whole concept. But they've ceased to be as eerie to me because there's all these explanations now.

One of my favorite(?) examples of no-context-horror is from just before the US-made version of The Ring came out, the "cursed video" was posted online--and it was just the cursed video. There was no context, just a series of unnerving and (seemingly) disconnected images. (It was 2002 and I remember watching it on my friend's desktop in her dorm room. We were all scaring each other with it. If you had a cell phone, you'd call your friend's dorm number right after she'd seen it lol.)

And, yes, a lot of the images are gross or disgusting unto themselves--twitching severed fingers in a box is gross. But not knowing how everything connected together made even benign images like a plain wooden chair all the more horrifying. As in, if the images will go as far as a finger jammed onto a nail, the implications of the plain wooden chair are even more horrifying.

But then you see the whole movie and it's like seriously? That's it? It was a real letdown for me. The suggestions were scarier than the facts.

And, honestly, anything that you do show can't be as horrifying as what might be shown. I don't even mean Cloverfield-style where you don't really see the monster but you know a monster is there. I mean leaving the whole thing open-ended enough that the benign becomes the terrifying. Why are weird sounds in the dark scary? Because you don't know what's out there; you can only imagine it. Or worse, you can only half-imagine it.

I think The Blair Witch Project (1999) just about managed this because they never showed the witch. You got no satisfying explanation. That made it scarier (to say nothing about the "is it real or isn't it?" marketing, as Cannibal Holocaust did back in the 70s).

Nowadays, it feels like all the found footage stuff explains too much. It's like the creators think of something for the backstory so therefore they must include it in the main plot. No, don't do that. Stop that. You have to hold some things back.

Same thing with most modern "real ghost videos." It's Too Much.

Back in the early 2000s on YouTube there were actually decent "real ghost videos" that had no context, no explanation. Some of my favorites were compilations of ghost videos and photographs from Japanese horror/ghost televsion shows--I remember the photos giving me the absolute creeps in particular. And it was because I had very little context. The language and culture barriers made everything scarier--to say nothing of the time distance, since most of the clips I was watching were from the early-mid 90s. So it was all low-quality VHS tapes and film cameras, which made it just that much harder to really parse out what you were seeing. And then when you see it, you will shit bricks.

And I think this lack of explanation is what makes Tool's video for "Sober" by Fred Stuhr so fucking disturbing. Humans like narrative and explanation right? And, yes, there's some kind of narrative here but it doesn't entirely align. There seems to be a story here but it's not clear. At one point, this human-like figure the camera has been following opens up a pipe and there's raw meat flowing through it. What does it mean? What's going on? Why is this happening? We want an explanation, in part because the raw meat is distressing unto itself, but we get nothing, which makes it more distressing than just gross-out images. (The video always reminds me vaguely of Kafka's writing, and he understood this too. See: The Trial and The Penal Colony.)

I could talk about this for hours because I really think "showing the monster" is both the escape hatch or the release valve of horror but it's also the weak point of horror. Stephen King loves to show the monster eventually in his books and I don't usually find his books all that horrifying. But Revival actually almost got me because of the creepy visions the main character experiences and the whole "Mother is behind the paper sky" line. There's not much explanation in the plot/text about this, but it's not totally unexplained. But I can tell you, the first time I hit it in the book it actually got me. And that's rare.

I think that lack of context is very hard in the, well, context of a narrative. I mean, narrative demands context. Narrative is context. So the things that get me are the rare things without much of that: the cursed video from The Ring, music videos (like "Sober"), certain kinds of visual art (Francis Bacon's early work, especially), butoh dance, early internet stories and some urban legends, ghost videos/photos that don't try too hard… Lose the context, gain the fear.

(I think this is why I like the smeared, almost-but-not-quite look of older AI art, like Midjourney v3. It's in that other uncanny valley: it should be recognizable and yet it isn't entirely right.)

Oh my gaw this went on longer than it should haaaaave...

[nickgerlich]

Get Ready To Shop

It’s fun to think back to the 80s. While it seems like they weren’t that long ago, we must sober up and realize that was—um—40 years ago, depending on which year you’re recalling. Those were good years for me. I earned a BA, MBA, and PhD, and started my job at WT. Oh, and got married the first time. OK, four out of five ain’t bad.



It was the time of hair bands, women in colorful leotards and cozy leg warmers, and Ronald Reagan. Actually, if you could mash up all of them into one, it would be pretty funny. And it was also the decade that televised home shopping clubs took root, thanks to the prevalence of cable TV.



Home Shopping Club (later Home Shopping Network, or HSN) was founded in 1982, and four years later, QVC (Quality Value Convenience) came along to compete. They’re both still in existence today, although the company that owns QVC now also owns HSN. It’s an alphabet soup, but the premise is the same: nonstop 24/7 live selling.



While these started out primarily as liquidators, they quickly grew into a variety of categories, especially clothing and accessories sought by women. Fashion designers jumped on board, drooling at the prospects of a sales platform that could stretch as long as the company wanted. Create excitement, show a quantity available countdown clock, and voilá! The phones were ringing off the hook as folks called in (remember, this was pre-internet!).

To be honest, I think those original stations preyed upon lonely old women. My mother was one of them. She bought a lot of worthless junk from them, but at the same time, they provided entertainment. For the life of me, I cannot understand how having someone sell to you nonstop is entertaining, but it was.

I never tuned in to those stations on my own, but would be subjected to them whenever we visited Florida. And now that both are gone, I haven’t even given a passing thought to them. Well, until right now, when I discovered that livestream shopping may be the new rage, and outlets like Amazon, TikTok, and YouTube are actually banking on them.

It’s a new spin on an old idea, and looks and feels a lot different from the 24/7 onslaught on cable. This time around the people doing the selling are influencers, and they call the shots for when they go live. And among the three platforms duking it out for prominence, only Amazon can actually stock the inventory and make for seamless transactions.

All of which means that, if you are a fan and potential customer of someone you follow, you better be ready to go shopping whenever they pull the trigger. In some regards, this now sounds like BeReal, in which users have no control over when they are called to action.

Perhaps the most ironic aspect of livestream shopping is that it became a “thing” in China a few years ago, especially during the pandemic. And while Amazon found it could not export its ways to China, the opposite may very well prove to be true here. Looks like another weather balloon to me.

Personally, I’m just not that much of a shopper. I tend to be very purposive, having done my homework for a long time on pricey objects, saving my money, and waiting out the periodic sales. I do not, however, respond well to someone barking out orders and telling me to get on this.

But then again, it may very well work stateside, where I suspect the demographics will trend sharply toward Gen-Z, and, depending on the product categories, probably more female than male. I cannot speak for all of the people of my gender, but I’ve got too many things going on during my waking hours to even consider being on-call for a sale. That’s me, though. YMMV. And to be fair, I can’t picture many women beyond their 20s—working, with children, bills to pay, spouses or partners—yeah, this may be a non-starter with them as well.



Thankfully, online shopping and app usage is lowest among seniors, so people like my mother are probably not in the new target market. Otherwise, we might see history repeating itself.

Just leave the bad clothing in your closet.

Dr “Hard Pass“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

[captain-kit-adventuress]

The only thing I will add to this is that #8 is misleading because the article used to back it up, while sincere, is itself based on faulty weight and nutritional science. Chemically speaking, HFCS and table sugar are nearly identical, and have identical health effects. (CW: problematic claims about fats, calories, and regular usage of o*slur)

You know what did change? The "health and wellness" switch from an individualised, medical perspective to a largely mass, commercial one. And that definitely did explode in the '80s. Thighmaster, Stairmaster, Olivia Newton John, shiny pink leotards and horrible blue leggings, Richard Simmons, Slim-Fast, they were everywhere. The most trendy thing you could do in the '80s was a new diet. I don't have a direct resource for this one, but as someone who lived in America during this time, it rings true as an experience. It was all about cutting calories, cutting fat, cutting this, cutting that. And there is significant evidence that cutting calories in general leads to the very health changes "predicted" by the use of HFCS.

That said, HFCS in everything isn't good either, just for a different reason, and it's as much to do with ecology as it is human health: it's lead to widespread monoculture-growing with crops that aren't planted or rotated properly, and as humans need variety in their food, it's led to the massive overuse of a single ingredient to make pretty much everything, which is nutritionally unsound.

We eat too little, and what we do eat is so much corn. That's a more accurate look at the issue, not HFCS. The real problem is the tailoring of the entirety of American food production to a single company's sales metrics, and if that's not heavily representative of the Regaon '80s, I don't know what is.

the funny thing is that i don't think younger people - and i mean those under the age of 40 - really have a grasp on how many of today's issues can be tied back to a disastrous reagan policy:

war on drugs: reagan's aggressive escalation of the war on drugs was a catastrophic policy, primarily targeting minority communities and fueling mass incarceration. the crusade against drugs was more about controlling the Black, Latino and Native communities than addressing the actual problems of drug abuse, leading to a legacy of broken families and systemic racism within the criminal justice system.

deregulation and economic policies: reaganomics was an absolute disaster for the working class. reagan's policies of aggressive tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, and slashing social programs were nothing less than class warfare, deepening income inequality and entrenching corporate greed. these types of policies were a clear message that reagan's america was only for the wealthy elite and a loud "fuck you" to working americans.

environmental policies: despite his reputation being whitewashed thanks to the recovery of the ozone layer, reagan's environmental record was an unmitigated disaster. his administration gutted critical environmental protections and institutions like the EPA, turning a blind eye to pollution and corporate exploitation of natural resources. this blatant disregard for the planet was a clear sign of prioritizing short-term corporate profits over the future of the environment.

AIDS crisis: reagan's gross neglect of the aids crisis was nothing short of criminal and this doesn't even begin to touch on his wife's involvement. his administration's indifference to the plight of the lgbtq+ community during this devastating epidemic revealed a deep-seated bigotry and a complete failure of moral leadership.

mental health: reagan's dismantling of mental health institutions under the guise of 'reform' led directly to a surge in homelessness and a lack of support for those with mental health issues. his policies were cruel and inhumane and showed a personality-defining callous disregard for the most vulnerable in society.

labor and unions: reagan's attack on labor unions, exemplified by his handling of the patco strike, was a blatant assault on workers' rights. his actions emboldened corporations to suppress union activities, leading to a significant erosion of workers' power and rights in the workplace. he was colloquially known as "Ronnie the Union Buster Reagan"

foreign policy and military interventions: reagan's foreign policy, particularly in latin america, was imperialist and ruthless. his administration's support for dictatorships and right-wing death squads under the guise of fighting "communism" showed a complete disregard for human rights and self-determination of other nations.

public health: yes, reagan's agricultural policies actually facilitated the rise of high fructose corn syrup, once again prioritizing corporate profits over public health. this shift in the food industry has had lasting negative impacts on health, contributing to the obesity epidemic and other health issues.

privatization: reagan's push for privatization was a systematic dismantling of public services, transferring wealth and power to private corporations and further eroding the public's access to essential services.

education policies: his approach to education was more of an attack on public education than anything else, gutting funding and promoting policies that undermined equal access to quality education. this was, again, part of a broader agenda to maintain a status quo where the privileged remain in power.

this is just what i could come up with in a relatively short time and i did not even live under this man's presidency. the level at which ronald reagan has broken the united states truly can't be overstated.

[jesisfashionz]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Costumes, Dancewear & Cosplay.

[zealouslifestylequotes]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: NEW! SXY caged back black one piece jumper/leotard/bodysuit.

[greatmountainfloofsquatch]

Strong Sad: "My gender identity can only be expressed through interpretive dance! Let me get my leotard!"

Strong Mad: "HE HIM! HEEE HIIIIM!"

The Cheat: *shrugs indifferently* MEH!

Marzipan: "I generally use she/her, but I'll answer to they/them. My guitar, on the other hand, is strictly nonbinary."

Pom-Pom: *bubbling noises, produces a card that says "he/they"*

Bubs: "Neopronouns for sale! Ten bucks a dozen! I got xe/xem, ze/hir, ey/em, and all the rest! No refunds! Get yours today!"

Coach Z: "Ohh, gee dere, I never went pronoun. I couldn't make the big leagues, so's all I gots is a participation noun. Going pronoun's a tough jorb!"

King of Town: "Doohoo...pronouns? I ate several for breakfast!"

Poopsmith: *shrugs, holds out shovel full of whatsit*

Homsar: *floating upside down* "Dyaahhh! Gender, I hardly knew ye! I'm a noun from the 60s!"

If you asked Strong Bad what his pronouns are he'd be like "Alright listen here Blonkus, judging by the cadence of your tone, I'm sure you're expecting some high-larious answer about how I don't understand the question, or how I think the "pro" in pronoun stands for "professional" for some reason, or how I think a "pronoun" is some sort of exotic dessert, or something else that implies I HAVEN'T BEEN MOCKING PEOPLE'S GRAMMAR ON THE INTERNET FOR OVER 20 YEARS. You think I don't know what a pronoun is!? Do better." and then refuse to answer the question

Meanwhile if you asked Homestar Runner what his pronouns are he'd be like "Oh hey! Thanks for asking! No, I already ate"

[poshshelley]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: ☀️ 3 for $20 Sale Funnycokids Multicolored XL (150) Mermaid Leotard.