#nonormal

[camguts]

Look, there's no way I was gonna get a clean piece out. BUT! I wanted to start strong for October with Kamala Khan!

[iamjynxs]

No Normal

Ms Marvel ( Kamala Khan) ❤️💙

[ada1r-arc]

@nonormality / one-liner call !

"a little birdie said you have something to give me."

[giantsreach]

❝ you’re like (your) our father in more ways than you know. ❞

ghosts of tsushima | @nonormality

     he wants to believe that’s a compliment. but memory can be fickle, biased towards the bittersweet at best ( and the regrettable at worst ). for a child grappling with magic, whose standards could be higher than a preternaturally gifted parent’s?

     " . . . do you remember him well, bethany?" the question, and the expression from which it peers, is soft but tight. like the lining of eggshells. faint wrinkles take to the fair skin above his ruminant eyes. "sometimes, when i try to think back to the way things were before — "

     a sigh, clipped short as though carver had tucked it into his cheek on second thought. "it's not even his voice i hear. mostly it's just garrett's. saying things that father told me."

[worms-in-my-brain]

It’s actually awful how hostile the trans community is specifically to people who are both trans and intersex.

If you’re trans people still want to force you into their stupid little AMAB/AFAB binary. You have to be either a trans woman (or at least transfem) or a trans man (or at least transmasc). Even ignoring how exorsexist this is, it leaves no room for intersex people who are between cis and trans, no room for intersex people who are trans in nonormative ways (ex. AMAB* trans men, AFAB* trans women, intergender trans people), no room for intersex people who are trans in more than one way (ex. transfemasc/transmascfem people).

Gender and sex isn’t either/or, guys, and experiences are varied.

* I normally don’t like the widespread usage of AGABs because they (or at least the way people use them) erase intersex experiences but I’m using them here to demonstrate my point on how other people discuss trans and intersex people.

[ghelgheli]

The Stuff I Read in June/July 2023

Stuff I Extra Liked is Bold

I forgot to do it last month so you get a double feature

Books

Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee

Heteropessimism (Essay Cluster)

The Biological Mind, Justin Garson (2015) Ch. 5-7

Sacred and Terrible Air, Robert Kurvitz

Wage Labour and Capital, Karl Marx

Short Fiction

Beware the Bite of the Were-Lesbian (zine), H. C. Guinevere

Childhood Homes (and why we hate them) by qrowscant (itch.io)

piele by slugzuki (itch.io)

بچه‌ای که شکل گربه میکشید، لافکادیو هرن

بچه های که یخ نزدند، ماکسیم گورکی

پسرکی در تعقیب تبهکار، ویلیام آیریش

Küçük Kara Balık, Samed Behrengi

Phil Mind

The Hornswoggle Problem, Patricia Churchland,  Journal of Consciousness Studies 3.5-6 (1996): 402-408

What is it Like to be a Bat? Thomas Nagel, (https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674594623.c15)

Epiphenomenal Qualia, Frank Jackson, Consciousness and emotion in cognitive science. Routledge, 1998. 197-206

Why You Can’t Make a Computer that Feels Pain, Daniel Dennett, Synthese, vol. 38, no. 3, 1978, pp. 415–56

Where Am I? Daniel Dennett

Can Machines Think? Daniel Dennett

Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons, Derek Parfit (https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118922590.ch8)

The Extended Mind, Andy Clark & David Chalmers, Analysis 58, no. 1 (1998): 7–19

Uploading: A Philosophical Analysis, David Chalmers (https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118736302.ch6)

If You Upload, Will You Survive? Joseph Corabi & Susan Schneider (https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118736302.ch8)

If You Can’t Make One, You Don’t Know How It Works, Fred Dretske (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4975.1994.tb00299.x)

Computing Machinery and Intelligence, Alan Turing

Minds, Brains, and Programs, John Searle (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00005756)

What is it Like to Have a Gender Identity? Florence Ashley (https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/fzac071)

Climbing towards NLU: On Meaning, Form, and Understanding in the Age of Data, Emily M. Bender & Alexander Koller (10.18653/v1/2020.acl-main.463)

On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big? 🦜 Emily M. Bender et al. (https://doi.org/10.1145/3442188.3445922)

The Great White Robot God, David Golumbia

Superintelligence: The Idea that Eats Smart People, Maciej Ceglowski

Misc. Articles

Ebb and Flow of Azeri and Persian in Iran: A Longitudinal Study in the City of Zanjan, Hamed Zandi (https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110694277-007)

WTF is Happening? An Overview – Watching the World Go Bye, Eliot Jacobson

Using loophole, Seward County seizes millions from motorists without convicting them of crimes, Natalia Alamdari

Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens, Cathy J. Cohen, Feminist Theory Reader. Routledge, 2020. 311-323

Is the Rectum a Grave? Leo Bersani (https://doi.org/10.2307/3397574)

Why Petroleum Did Not Save the Whales, Richard York (https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023117739217)

‘Spider-Verse’ Animation: Four Artists on Making the Sequel, Chris Lee

Carbon dioxide removal is not a current climate solution, David T. Ho (https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00953-x)

Fights, beatings and a birth: Videos smuggled out of L.A. jails reveal violence, neglect, Keri Blakinger

Capitalism’s Court Jester: Slavoj Žižek, Gabriel Rockhill

The Tyranny of Structurelessness, Jo Freeman

Domenico Losurdo interviewed about Friedrich Nietzsche

Keeping Some of the Lights On: Redefining Energy Security, Kris De Decker

Gays, Crossdressers, and Emos: Nonormative Masculinities in Militarized Iraq, Achim Rohde

On the Concept of History, Walter Benjamin

Our Technology, Zeyad el Nabolsy

Towards a Historiography of Gundam’s One Year War, Ian Gregory

Imperialism and the Transformation of Values into Prices, Torkil Lauesen & Zak Cope

[upismediacenter]

Robin Padilla, aso ka ba? Bakit ka in heat?: Ang repleksyon ng mababang pagtingin sa mga kababaihan

Illustration by Nina Andres

!! TW: Mentions of sexual violence (abuse, rape, harassment) !!

“Hindi mo naman pinipili kung kailan ka ‘in heat’. […] Wala ka sa mood, paano ako [na] nasa mood?” 

Ito ang tanong ni Senador Robin Padilla sa Women’s and Children’s Rights advocate na si Atty. Lorna Kapunan noong Agosto 17 sa pagdinig ng Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media ukol sa mga polisiya ng mga TV network at Artist Management Agencies kaugnay ng mga reklamo ng pang-aabuso at harassment. Nabanggit niya ang tanong matapos mapunta ang kanilang pagdinig sa usapan ng mga relasyon at nangyayari sa loob ng tahanan.

Nakakaalarma ang pagtatanong ni Senador Robin Padilla nito dahil siya ay isang opisyal na dapat pinoprotektahan at tinutulungan ang mga mamamayan sa pamamagitan ng pagpapatupad ng mga batas na tumutugon sa ating mga pangangailangan. Dagdag pa rito, siya ay repleksyon ng taumbayang naghalal sa kanya, kaya maaaring sinasalamin ng kanyang pahayag ang mas malawak na pag-iisip ng mga kalalakihan sa bansa. Makikita natin na patuloy pa ring nakakaranas ng pang-aabuso ang ating mga kababaihan dahil sa mababang pagtingin sa kanila ng mga kalalakihan. 

Kaugnay sa komento ni Senador Padilla, masasabi natin na talamak at laganap pa rin sa ating lipunan ang makalumang gender roles—maging ito man ay sa pang-aabuso o sa mga paniniwala na nakakaapekto sa pang-araw-araw na kilos. Kung susuriin natin ang mga datos, ayon sa Child Protection Network Foundation Inc., 646 na kaso ng karahasan laban sa mga bata at 216 na kaso ng karahasan laban sa mga kababaihan ang naitala noong Enero 1 at  Pebrero 4, 2024 lamang. Base sa 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) na isinagawa ng Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), 17.5% sa ating kababaihan na may edad na 15-49 ay nakaranas ng pisikal, sekswal, at emosyonal na karahasan habang nasa isang relasyon. Noong 2021 naman, 8,399 na kaso ng pisikal na karahasan, 1,791 panggagahasa, at 1,505 na acts of lasciviousness ang nabalitaang ginawa ng mga lalaki sa kanilang karelasyon.

Malinaw na ipinakita ng ganitong pahayag ni Senador Padilla ang patuloy na pag-iral na baluktot na pagtingin sa kababaihan o ang tinatawag na “objectification.” Ayon sa Ferris State University, ang termino na “objectification” ay nangangahulugan ng pagtingin sa mga kababaihan na mas mababa pa sa pagiging tao o bilang isang “bagay” na kailangan nilang kontrolin at angkinin upang matupad ang kanilang mga sekswal na pagnanasa. Nagreresulta ang paniniwalang ito sa iba’t ibang uri ng pang-aabuso sa mga kababaihan. Ayon naman sa UNICEF, ang “sexual objectification” ay isa sa mga dahilan ng pagkakaroon ng mga masasamang gender stereotypes sa mga kababaihan na nagreresulta ng karahasan tungo sa kanila. Dahil sa paniniwalang ito, napapalaganap ang mga stereotype tulad halimbawa ng pagtingin na sila ay dapat manatiling masunurin (nang walang hangganan) at “maganda” at dapat sundin ang gusto ng mga kalalakihan sapagkat sila ay “mas dominante.” Dagdag pa rito, lalong binibigyang-diin ni Senator Padilla ang paniniwalang ito sapagkat ang paniniwala na mayroong “sexual rights” ang mga lalaki sa kanilang asawa ay laganap sa mga ilang rehiyon ng ating bansa. Ayon sa isang analisis ng 2021 Young Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFSS) na isinagawa ng University of the Philippines Population Institute, higit sa 30% ng Pilipino sa edad ng 15-24 ay naniniwala rito. Ang paurong na mga paniniwalang ito’y nagreresulta lamang sa patuloy na pagsasamantala ng mga kalalakihan tungo sa mga kababaihan lalo na sa mga batang babae sapagkat ito’y naitanim sa kanilang utak simula pa sa murang edad.

Laganap sa ating lipunan ang pag-objectify sa ating mga kababaihan tulad ng “catcalling” at lalong tumitindi ito sa pamamagitan ng pagkalat ng pornograpiya sa social media dahil ito ay nag-nonormalize sa pagtrato sa mga kababaihan bilang sekswal na pantasya sa mga kalalakihan. Ani Rep. Arlene Brosas ng Gabriela Women’s Party, “Women portrayed as sexual objects reinforce the country’s culture of misogyny and sexism.” Binanggit din niya na higit na delikado ang laganap na pagkalat ng pornograpiya sa social media dahil madali itong ma-access ng mga kabataan. Ang pag-access ng mga nakakasuklam na media na ito sa murang edad pa lamang ay nagreresulta sa madalas na sekswal na pang-aabuso lalo na tungo sa kapwa bata. 

Nakapagtataka rin ang pagbanggit ni Senador Robin Padilla ng terminong “in heat” dahil ito ay naaangkop lamang sa mga hayop. Ayon kay Gangestad at Dinh (2022), hindi nakakaranas ng mga “heat” o ang tinatawag na “estrous cycles” ang mga tao. Kaya maliban kung siya ay isang daga, aso, o baka, ang pagiging malibog at pagkilos ayon dito—maging sa opisina man, bahay, o kahit sa anumang kinalalagyan—ay hindi makatwiran. Makikita natin na naghahanap lamang siya ng palusot para bigyang-katwiran ang kanyang malibog na pag-iisip. 

Ayon sa datos ng UNICEF na mula sa 30 na bansa, 1% lamang ng kababaihan na nakaranas ng karahasan ang humihingi ng tulong. Sa dami ng ating kababaihan na nakararanas ng matinding karahasan, may mga kaso na hindi pa rin naiuulat dahil sa takot ng mga biktima na sila ay makaranas ng tinatawag na “victim blaming.” Ito ay kung saan sinisisi ng ibang tao ang biktima mismo para sa karahasan na naranasan nila. Nakababahala ang napakaliit na porsyento na ito dahil kahit laganap ang pag-oobjectify sa mga kababaihan, halos walang nagsusumbong sapagkat hanggang ngayon, ang ating lipunan ay naniniwala na kasalanan ng mga biktima na sila’y nakaranas ng ganitong karahasan at nararapat sa kanila ang ganitong pagmamaltrato. 

Mayroon tayong mga batas na layuning protektahan ang ating mga kababaihan tulad ng RA 7877: Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 at RA 8353: Anti-Rape Law of 1997, ngunit marami pa rin ang kaso ng karahasan laban sa ating kababaihan. Kaya mas mabuti na simula bata pa lamang ay naituturo na ang pagrespeto sa mga kababaihan sa kanilang paligid. Maisasagawa ito sa pamamagitan ng pag-expose sa kanila ng mga karanasan ng mga kababaihan, pagtulong sa kanila na maunawaan ang mga karanasan na ito, at ang pagturo sa konsepto ng consent. Ani nga ni Atty. Kapunan, “‘Pag sinabing ‘no,’ no means no… It applies to both genders.” Bilang mga estudyante, mahalaga na sa murang edad pa lamang ay may kaalaman na tayo sa mga karahasan na nararanasan ng mga kababaihan. Sa pamamagitan ng pagkuha ng litrato o video ng mga “catcallers” at pag-ulat nito sa kanilang mga opisyal ng barangay, at ang pag-monitor sa mga kabataan sa kanilang ginagawa sa social media para maiwasan ang pagkonsumo nila sa pornograpiya ay ilang mga hakbang upang kalabanin ang mga pang-aabuso tungo sa mga kababaihan. Ang pagmulat sa mga tao sa mga panganib na nagmumula sa objectification sa pamamagitan ng social media, ang pagsali sa mga organisasyon na nagtataguyod sa mga karapatan ng mga kababaihan, at ang paghikayat sa mga kababaihan na huwag ikahiya ang kanilang karanasan at magsilbing boses para sa mga iba pang naging biktima ng karahasan. 

Ang mga kababaihan ay higit pa sa kanilang mga katawan lamang. Ang ating mga kababaihan ay hindi para sa iyo upang matupad ang inyong mga sekswal na pagnanasa. Karapat-dapat sila sa respeto na iginagawad sa bawat tao anuman ang kanilang kasarian. 

//ni Mayden Bartolabac

 Mga Sanggunian:

Center for Women’s Resources. (2023). Filipino women mired in gender equality and human rights setbacks despite CEDAW commitment – women’s think tank. https://centerforwomensresources.org/blog/2023/10/11/filipino-women-mired-in-gender-equality-and-human-rights-setbacks-despite-cedaw-commitment-womens-think-tank/

Chi, C. (2023). Nearly all Filipinos biased against women due to ‘culture of misogyny’ — Gabriela. PhilStar Global. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/06/14/2273846/nearly-all-filipinos-biased-against-women-due-culture-misogyny-gabriela

Cruz, RG. (2024). ‘No means no’: Lawyer explains consensual sex to Senate Panel. ABS-CBN. https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/15/-no-means-no-lawyer-explains-consensual-sex-to-senate-panel-1947

Cudis, C. (2019). List of laws protecting women in PH. Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1063739

Ferris State University. (n.a.). De-Humanization and Objectification - Exhibit. https://www.ferris.edu/moso/objectification/index.htm#:~:text=Using%20women's%20bodies%20to%20sell,objects%20for%20the%20male%20gaze.

Gangestad, S. W. & Dinh, T. (2022). Women's Estrus and Extended Sexuality: Reflections on Empirical Patterns and Fundamental Theoretical Issues. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9251465/#:~:text=Estrus%20is%20the%20relatively%20brief,(Symons%2C%201979%2C%20p.

Gould, H. & Swift, J. (2021). Not An Object: On Sexualization and Exploitation of Women and Girls. UNICEF USA. https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/not-object-sexualization-and-exploitation-women-and-girls-0#:~:text=Objectification%20and%20sexualization%20of%20girls,least%20once%20in%20her%20life.

Manila Bulletin Online. (2024). Senator Padilla, Atty. Kapunan discuss sexual consent between husband and wife [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ixBdgpEDYXM?si=CcLDlb0EOrJCBy8E

Moraleda, D. (2024). Press Statement: Let’s Teach Children Consent. Roots of Health. https://rootsofhealth.org/press-statement-lets-teach-children-consent/

Philippine Commission on Women. (n.a.) Violence Against Women. https://pcw.gov.ph/violence-against-women/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%202022%20National,violence%20from%20their%20intimate%20partners.

Philippine Statistics Authority. (2023). 2022 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). https://www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/PR146/PR146.pdf

Supreme Court of the Philippines. (2024). SC Reaffirms Commitment to Ending Violence against Women; Calls for Unity and Inclusivity. https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/sc-reaffirms-commitment-to-ending-violence-against-women-calls-for-unity-and-inclusivity/#:~:text=Citing%20the%20data%20from%20the,and%20February%204%2C%202024%20alone.

Teaching Sexual Health. (n.a.). Consent. https://teachingsexualhealth.ca/teachers/sexual-health-education/information-by-topic/consent/#:~:text=Consent%20includes%20knowing%20and%20respecting,want%20to%20do%20the%20same.

[no-1-rosalind-lang-apologist]

What's your favorite book, and why? <3

Not one book but the Foul Lady Fortune duology. I read Foul Lady Fortune for the first time during my last year of high school while I was working toward graduating early to get out of a pretty insane family situation. I think Rosalind and Orion's arcs and the way they learn to move forward rather than constantly live in the moment of the bad things that happened to them really tangibly affected my life in a very positive way. Then Foul Heart Huntsman for a variety of reasons. I read the scene where Rosalind cuts her dad off a few months after I stopped talking to my dad. I connect with Oliver's guilt at having to leave his siblings behind a bit and generally a lot of the complicated family mess in those books, and the complexity and care with which they were written means a lot to me. I also think the way Silas and Orion's friendship is portrayed, from both Orion's pov in FLF and Silas's pov in FHH, is the first time I've really seen a platonic relationship be written with that much genuine love if that makes sense.

Then also Dear Wendy is the first and only time I have read a book and been able to read about the main relationship and connected with it and seen it as something I would want which was cool.

The on a surprisingly similar vein the Six of Crows duology was the first time I saw any portrayal or a relationship with a nonormative approach to things like touch which meant a lot to me at the time.

[msaprildaniels]

Teachers can suuuuuck if you're nonormative in a way they don't like.

highkey one of the worst liberal ideas that a lot of leftists port over is the notion that teachers are ontologically good.

There are lots of good teachers, but there's also many many awful teachers, because teaching is a profession with a built-in power dynamic at entry level and jobs like that (see, cop, nurse, priest) tend to attract pretty awful people.

[carlaseneca]

I cannot behave … and for what will you ask me? #nonormal #peterpansyndrome #energy #fun #losangeles #hollywood #film #movies #venue #actress #producer #corridor #hallway #nobody (at The Hollywood Roosevelt) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSr0PsWJATe/?utm_medium=tumblr

[caja-de-chocolates]

My Reality

To some, she will become a distant memory 

But to me, she is my reality

A reality I must accept every minute of everyday

A reality I can’t comprehend 

So far from the life I once knew

I’m forced to find a new normal

But in reality I force myself to pretend

Pretend that I am okay

Pretend that I am strong

Pretend a smile

Pretend a laugh

For her, for him, for every one but me

I don’t want to smile I just want to cry

I don’t want to laugh I just want to scream

Take this reality and turn it into a bad dream

A dream I can awake from

A dream I can run from

I just want the reality I once knew

The reality where I could call her

To share the bad dream that should never come true

The bad dream that is now my reality 

[gbrailyn]

Mayo es el mes de concientización sobre la salud mental. Estamos condicionados a querer ser normales. La verdad es que todos somos diferentes. Y eso está bien porque no existen los llamados "normales". Así que no te etiquetes tú mismo. Y si necesitas ayuda, habla conmigo o con alguien de confianza. Recuerda, no existen los llamados #subnormales Reclama este marco! Al enviar un mensaje de texto con tu foto al 41785. #blackandwhite #dontfilteryourself #subnormal #dontfilteryourselfforanyone #Sinfiltro #normal #nonormal #noteetiquetesatimismosubnormal #saludmental #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawarenessmonth https://www.instagram.com/p/CAXq-R_HooO/?igshid=bzv6ptf18z4u

[daisyfaceflow]

It’s a rollercoaster. . I’m happy. I’m sad. . I’m grateful. I’m discontent. . I do it all. I do nothing. . The pendulum that swings, weighted by the same situational gravity everyone is facing now & I actively invalidate my own feelings when challenged with “It could be so much worse.” . But, isn’t it being bad enough? . Isn’t the fear, pain, grief, discomfort I’m sitting in, I’m leaning into e n o u g h ?! . Give me sunshine. Give me summer. . Let’s get away, run away. Camp & never return. . Normal isn’t coming back for any of us anyway. . . . #journalentry #freeflow #fromtheheart #pentopaper #cathartic #journal #writer #creative #hammocklife #vermont #runaway #getaway #literallyanywhere #byeboston #vacation #trip #escape #nonormal #newrules #nopants #noshoes #noproblems #freespirit #wildride #rollercoaster #pendulum #yogaretreat #daisyfaceflow #yogabnb #strattonmountain (at Stratton Mountain, Vermont) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_kqt79AyJm/?igshid=9ptb84uo5s2d

[postitforward]

Technology x Mental Health: The Mix

A lot of people, particularly young people, navigate the digital world as a means of self-discovery. With today being World Mental Health Day, we wanted to pass along some interesting stats from out partners at The Mix, the UK’s leading support service for young people.

About 70% of 16-24 year-olds surveyed by The Mix actively seek out for support in online communities when they feel low or lonely.

13% did not have any online community or internet friends to talk to.

17% said they felt that digital life was bad for their mental health

42% said that seeing friends having fun online made them feel worse when they were already feeling low.

76% of 16-24 year olds reject the idea of being normal.

In response to their survey, The Mix is set to tell the stories that say no to normal. Above is a video featuring young people who know normal is a “subjective, abstract concept.” 

It’s more important to be united, but unique. And with that, they are launching the #NoNormal campaign to reject what normal means. 

What do you think, Tumblr? How do you combat the idea of normalcy? 

[yourbiggestfangirl]

We passed the mic to Anisah Jabar on this week’s episode to hear all about her connection to Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan and how she inpired her professionally, personally, and creatively! Link in bio to listen! 📸:@katya_gimro @gimrofilms #marvel #marvelfan #marvelstudios #kamalakhan #msmarvel #marvelcomics #avengers #superhero #kamalakhancosplay #cosplay #marvelcosplay #cosplaygirl #girlpower #filmmaker #journalist #fanvideo #fanvid #nonormal #embiggen #inhuman #msmarvelnyc #transformativeworks #yourbiggestfangirlpodcast #ybfgpodcast #ybfg #fandom #fangirl #podcast (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvXRXlqBFRZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=a2sqkqyw1eam

[phtalogreenpoison]

ITIS I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO REREREAD IT. I'M SO NONORMAL ABOUT IT.

i don't have a good one for the t/f thing either (it shouldn't be this hard to come up with one)

So what's your favorite moment or line in a book you've read?

hmmmmmmm OOH I KNOW.

"To be a guardian is to wear death on your chest."

- The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern, page 51

I LOVE THIS MOMENT IN THE STORY. It really drew me in, and it also is such an evocative image. It also comes back to haunt the narrative in a really cool way. :)))

for you Rania <333