#reference : mean girls(2004)

[pigeonneaux]

''that's so fetch!''

- Delsin after seeing a neon graffiti, probably.

[whereis-mypizza]

[tiredistic]

[gethernumber]

Hey guys i just posted the first chapter of my new story ‘maybe this time (I’ll win)’ 💗

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66343960

[transgwender616]

10 year old me seeing comic book Nick Fury in the Marvel Encyclopedia

[i-made-a-bg3-blog]

The nice thing about Gale being a Certified Old™️ is that when I make Certified Old™️ references in modern AUs, it's just because I'm so good at writing him in character, and certainly not because I myself am a Certified Old™️.

[wlwcatalogue]

A Gay Girl's Guide to Takarazuka

L to R: Sagiri Seina, Ouki Kaname, Amami Yuuki, Asumi Rio, Wao Youka, Asaji Saki, Shiraki Ayaka

If you’re queer and into theatre or Japanese media, chances are that you will have heard of all-female theatre company Takarazuka Revue… but it’s also equally likely that you won’t have checked out anything of theirs. For those who are curious but were intimidated by its over 100 years of history, or who just want a quick primer to ease in, click below!

1. Why get into Takarazuka?

L to R: Rei Makoto in Tiara Azul (2024), Yuzuka Rei

For those into androgynous women

As you probably already know, Takarazuka's big selling point is that it's an all-female theatre company where the male characters are played by women. The actresses are expected to continue presenting that way off-stage, which in practice means a lot of handsome women with short hair in binders and men's clothing... Why that might appeal to people who are into androgynous women (or GNC/enby folks) is pretty obvious.

Reality Check:

Sadly, after "graduation" (i.e. leaving Takarazuka), nearly all such actresses will transition into feminine presentation and take on female roles. It's similar to the "lesbian glasshouse" idea in Class S yuri, but for gender non-conformity. That said, there are some notable counter-examples: Shion Yuu and Nanami Hiroki have basically refused to change their presentation after graduating (the latter still frequently plays male characters in both anime and stage productions), and things are more relaxed lower down the rungs too.

L to R: Wao Youka & Hanafusa Mari, Sagiri Seina & Sakihi Miyu

For those into butch/femme pairs

Just as roughly half of Takarazuka's actresses specialise in male roles (otokoyaku/男役), there is another half specialising in female roles (musumeyaku/娘役). On top of that, Takarazuka is split into five different troupes, and for any given production, the male lead and female lead are automatically assigned to that troupe's "top star" (leading otokoyaku) and "top musumeyaku" (leading musumeyaku) - the "top combi".

Unlike leading pairs in other theatrical traditions, the "top combi" concept extends to them being marketed as a pair in interviews, magazine features, TV programmes, etc. Just watch the mini TV special where Sagiri Seina and Sakihi Miyu visit Tokyo Skytree and Sumida Aquarium-- it's basically a date, and is described as such by the commentating TV announcer. Likewise, Wao Youka and Hanafusa Mari were interviewed about being a "golden combi" by women's magazine Fujin Kouron (though to be fair this was after they had, improbably, managed to win a Kikuta Kazuo Theatre Award - an award for individuals - jointly, for their "splendid performance as a combi" in 2004's Boxman).

Taken to its extreme, there have been cases where the Japanese public have been convinced that a top combi was dating, as with the immensely popular 1980's pair Daichi Mao and Kuroki Hitomi... It's no wonder that the actresses themselves frequently describe it as being like an arranged marriage.

Separately, due to certain reasons, it's practically part of the job description for top musumeyaku to adore their top star partners. This, in theory, inadvertently creates a safe space for any top musumeyaku who could be gay for their stage partners... Just to illustrate, during her graduation speech, Hinami Fuu repeatedly referred to her feelings for her top star partner Hokushou Kairi as koi (恋), a word specifically denoting romantic love, and nobody blinked an eye.

Reality Check:

Due to conservative attitudes in both Japan and Takarazuka itself, most actresses go on to marry men, including many of those named above. Vanishingly few are publically out, though former otokoyaku Higashi Koyuki (stage name Aura Maki) is a queer activist and was one half of the first same-sex couple to be married in Japan, and another former otokoyaku, Misuzu Aki, has been living with her female partner in Europe for years. Just, well, don't forget that being married to a man isn't necessarily evidence of heterosexuality.

L to R: Asumi Rio in The Poe Clan (2018), Sagiri Seina in Rurouni Kenshin (2016)

For lovers of anime and manga

Takarazuka is probably best-known as the inspiration behind Revolutionary Girl Utena, Revue Starlight, Kageki Shoujo, and Sailor Moon’s Haruka and Michiru, but did you know that it also inspired seminal works featuring androgynous female leads such as Princess Knight? If you enjoy “prince-type” characters in yuri, you’ve got them to thank

Apart from inspiring anime and manga, Takarazuka also does quite a few animanga adaptations itself! Most famous are their Rose of Versailles musicals, but other popular adaptations include Ace Attorney, Rurouni Kenshin, Lupin III, Boys Over Flowers, and Hagio Moto’s bishounen vampire vehicle The Poe Clan. They’re also doing a Castlevania musical this year!

Wao Youka & Hanafusa Mari in Phantom (2004)

For the theatre nerds

Female Phantom of the Opera, duh

Jokes aside, Takarazuka’s unique position in the theatre world can't be overstated. As a rule, all-female productions are either smaller-scale, one-offs dependent on the work, or part of a theatrical tradition completely separate to Western-style plays or musicals (hello, Chinese Yue opera). Takarazuka is the exception: it offers productions comparable in size and scale (and budget) to the largest West End and Broadway musicals - it just so happens that it's all-female.

If the all-female aspect doesn’t excite you then why are you here, then let me emphasise again: Takarazuka is totally worth checking out as a production company in its own right. It is very much a part of the broader Japanese musical industry, and one of its powerhouses at that. Just take a look at some of these clips from past productions (all around 5 mins or less):

(a) Maeda Keiji - a musical loosely inspired by real-life samurai Maeda Keiji; features an uncannily convincing horse performed by two people in costume which needs to be seen to be believed (b) Ephemeral Love - a period piece about the doomed love between Prince Rudolph of the Hapsburgs and his lover Marie Vetsera (c) The Man Who Never Sleeps - a biographical musical about Napoleon Bonaparte (d) Casino Royale - an adaptation of the 2006 James Bond movie of the same name (e) BADDY - an off-the-wall sci-fi comedy featuring loads of velvet suits, silly shellfish outfits, and queerness.

Wao Youka and Hanafusa Mari in Dracula (2011)

2. Random Queer-ish Trivia

It's pretty common for former otokoyaku to be cast in WLW roles: Sena Jun headlined the 2018 Japanese production of Fun Home, Otozuki Kei cameoed as a lesbian escort in 2022 LGBTQ-themed J-drama Kojinsa Arimasu, and Seto Kazuya played the owner of a lesbian bar in 2024 yuri J-drama Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko. (Incidentally, Sal Jiang, the original creator of Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko, has mentioned being a fan of Sena Jun when she was younger)

Otokoyaku are sometimes mistaken for men, with amusing results: Yuzuka Rei was thought to be a “host” by a passer-by while talking to her fans, and Houshou Dai has mentioned being hit on by a woman before. But the prize goes to Todoroki Yuu, who like many women once had to rebuff unwanted advances from a man—except in her case, he thought that she was a guy

Before entering Takarazuka, Sou Kazuho – eventual Snow Troupe top star – went to a co-ed school and had long hair. To her confusion, this didn’t stop her classmates from asking her to play a male character (possibly the male lead, IIRC) in the school play. They saw her as an otokoyaku even before she did!

Continuing with the high school theme, former Cosmos Troupe top star Wao Youka has boasted about how in her high school days, she received more Valentine’s chocolates than her brother, and in fact second-most out of her year. Important note: she went to a girls’ school

Speaking of Wao Youka, her 2011 Dracula (see photo above) - from @cryoverkiltmilk's “Cunt Dykecula” post - wasn't actually a Takarazuka production! Since Wao was acquainted with and later married its composer Frank Wildhorn, some assume he was the one to cast her, and that Hanafusa Mari was brought in due to being her old stage partner. But Wildhorn had wanted Wao to play the female lead. It was she who insisted on Dracula. And Hanafusa wasn't just a third party... she had been Wao's manager since 2007, having retired from the stage after graduating and only just returned with 2010's Dietrich. (She played Edith Piaf, legendary chanson singer and “very good friend” of bisexual icon Marlene Dietrich, played by Wao.) Dracula was the swan song for their partnership, with Hanafusa going on to conquer the Japanese musical industry as she had Takarazuka-- but it marked the first, and so far only, time a top combi performed as romantic partners after graduating.

On a separate note, renowned queer photographer Leslie Kee has been responsible for taking the cover portraits for Takarazuka's offical monthly publication Kageki (歌劇) since 2010. You should definitely check out his ongoing "Out in Asia" project – he's taken literally thousands of photos of out queer people in Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan in a bid to raise visibility

Lastly, in November 2015, Takarazuka City became the first Japanese city outside of Tokyo to announce its support for same-sex partnerships… though this may of course be a total coincidence.

Flower Troupe in Takarazuka Fantasia (2015 Taiwan tour)

3. Where to Start?

Nearly all Takarazuka shows since the 1990's are available on DVD (earlier ones are on VHS), and these recordings are very well done - they have great video and audio quality, are well-edited, and use a large number of camera angles

They do livestreams and live broadcasts of performances as well! You can watch a livestream from your mobile or PC by spoofing your location. For a more communal experience, if you're in Japan, Taiwan, or Hong Kong, you can catch live broadcasts of Grand Theatre performances at a local cinema

VODs of selected productions are available on various platforms, including Amazon Japan, though this still requires location spoofing. If you're actually living in Japan, you can also consider subscribing to Takarazuka's official TV channel (yes, that's a thing) Sky Stage - they do a lot of reruns of past performances

With that done, here are several recommendations if none of the productions mentioned throughout the post caught your eye!

(a) Elisabeth - Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay's musical about Empress Elisabeth ("Sisi") of Austria and the fall of the Hapsburg Empire, featuring an (inevitably very sexy) personification of Death and fantastic music. Takarazuka has done many, many productions of this, so just search them and pick whichever looks most appealing - but you won't go wrong with the 2014 Flower Troupe production, which has a very strong cast and a more refined version of the staging

(b) Phantom - Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston's adaptation of Phantom of the Opera. Though obviously not the ALW version, the music is actually pretty great and Takarazuka goes all-out on the costumes and stage magic. All the productions are wonderful, but my favourite is the original 2004 version (which is also the one which went viral on Tumblr before - thanks, @wheel-of-fish!)

(c) Rose of Versailles - no list would be complete without Takarazuka's representative work, buuut I wouldn't necessarily recommend starting here if you're looking for a typical musical experience. There are loads of productions to choose from - note that these are split between a version focused on protagonist Oscar, and another focused on Marie Antoinette and her lover Fersen - but the 1991 Moon Troupe production is my personal pick

(d) Casanova - a light-hearted romp in which Casanova is reimagined as a charming playboy who falls for the feminist-minded daughter of Venice's mayor... only, she doesn't know his real identity. The very catchy music was commissioned from Dove Attia, the producer behind French musicals Mozart, l'opera Rock and 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille. Check out the performance digest here!

(e) Shinjuu: Koi no Yamatoji - Takarazuka puts Chikamatsu Monzaemon's tale of the doomed love between a commoner and a courtesan to a classic rock score (see this clip!). An Edo-era work that doesn't just focus on samurai and nobility, this romantic tragedy offers a grounded look at the social pressures of the time. (Though if you do want to watch something focusing on Japanese nobility, I highly recommend Takarazuka original and guaranteed tearjerker Hoshiai Hitoyo.) There are quite a few productions of this, but I've only watched the 2014 Snow Troupe one, which was very good.

Thanks so much for reading! Please feel free to DM me or send an ask if you have any questions~ I definitely want to do a follow-up post on musumeyaku, and maybe delve into Wao and Hanafusa's history (it's messy, but fascinating)... but we'll see!

[indecisivekatz]

DAY 2 OF KPOP DEMON HUNTER ANALYSIS!: Headcanon or Actual Theory? Here's Why Abs Saja Might Have a Complex Against Jinu + Cracked Headcanons for the Saja Boys

I'm really doing this am I? Heads up, this is going to be a bit more sillier than my last analysis- XD So please expect more Mean Girls references

Warnings for potential spoilers!! (But I'm like 90% sure this is not going to be happen, for all we know Abs Saja might only have abs on his mind). Also warning for me respectfully roasting the Saja Boys. is it really respectful if I'm still roasting these demon bois?

Okay, we should probably start with quickly introducing who Abs Saja is- Since these guys are a bit harder to differentiate these plastics from one another.

This is Abs Saja, he's got dark pink hair (not to be confused with Romance Saja who has light pink hair) and giant abs.

That's why his abs are so big, ThEy'RE fULL oF sEcReTs

Okay- you see this man, right? Right. Okay intros over- XD

Here's my theory/headcanon. I think this man HATES Jinu (aka the leader of the Saja Boys) and is very envious of his position as the lead boy of the Saja Boys. But it's not just that, I have reasons to believe he also admires Jinu. It's complicated--

Now- bear with me for this slight tangent, in the 2004 film, Mean Girls, what did Cady Heron do when she "hated" Regina George? But also still admired her power?? She became a plastic....... and also like- sabotaged her and indirectly got her hit by a bus and she stood by Regina's side.

What I'm suggesting is, what is Abs Saja (I swear to god, we need these guys' names, I can't take myself seriously as I type this XD) is similar to Cady, in that, he always follows Jinu around... shadowing him.

Notice how whenever we see Abs Saja, he's always next to Jinu!

See a few examples here:

Now this could just be chalked up to it being the Saja Boys' marketable lineup positioning (notice how Aqua Haired Checkered-Sweater-Wearing Saja is also always next to Jinu)... but!

As even outside of their marketing when they're just casually plotting to destroy the HUNTR/X like any normal demonic boy band would do, there we see him, standing next to Jinu. And this time, Aqua-Haired Checkered-Sweater-Wearing Saja isn't!

And it's not just that

There we see him, Abs Saja. Standing next to Jinu!

It's a lot harder to see here since the lighting makes it difficult to see, but through a process of elimination, Romance Saja is on the far left, Aqua-Haired Checkered-Sweater-Wearing Saja (god why did I decide to call him this for a dumb bit- my fingers are getting tired- XD) is to his right, then in the middle is Mysterious Saja. Which only leaves... yep, you guessed it Jinu and Abs Saja!

"Wowee, we're gonna be walking past our rivals! Hey Jinu, do you mind if I trail just behind you? Since I'm like super fit, I can look very intimidating behind you--"

I like to think that part of why Abs Saja is always trailing Jinu, is because he's genuinely drawn to Jinu's charisma and does believe in him... and regardless if my theory about him hating Jinu is true, it's obvious that he definitely will follow whatever Jinu tells him to do....

"Go do my laundry Abs Saja!"

Okay, so what if Abs Saja is always near Jinu? Maybe he's the second in command and so he HAS to always be there next to him...

But you know what's kinda interesting that I noticed?

Okay, so we haven't seen the actual start to this song-- but, I find it, forgive me for repeating my words, interesting that we see Abs Saja in the middle...

Almost as if he's clawing at the chance to at least get some attention. Like this is an opportunity to be perceived as important for once. I know the other boys shift into the middle in future songs (Mysterious Saja seems to do this in the Awards Show Song), but it could be a deliberate decision to have this man be in the centre in what most likely is the boys' debut song.

EDIT: oh my gosh- I can’t believe I forgot to mention this but in their Soda Pop outfits, notice how the other guys are wearing longer sleeves, whilst Abs Saja and Jinu show off their arms? This very much could just be a coincidence, but I headcanoned that as them being the most open and proud about their demon heritage.

Another note, I know I've shown this image off three times already but...

Isn't it interesting how Abs Saja is leaning ONLY on Jinu. Sure, Aqua-Haired Checkered-Sweater-Wearing Saja is also leaning on Jinu, but he also is wrapping his arms around Romance Saja. And we don't see Abs Saja doing that for Mysterious Saja...... pfft, maybe the two secretly hate each other, and Jinu noticed Abs Saja excluding Mysterious Saja out, so he forced the two to get their sh** together and that's why the next time we presumably see them in a marketing image, he's shown to be leaning against him.

This doesn't really necessarily prove nor outright debunk the whole Abs Saja hating Jinu theory- but I definitely think it supports some parts of it.

Now like I said, a lot of what I've said could actually be chalked up to Abs Saja either being the second-in-command to Jinu or him genuinely admiring the man so much he follows him around like a puppy.

But since this story is embedded with themes of being in a KPop band, it could be fun to see representation of feeling inadequate compared to the lead face. Sure, Abs Saja wants to defeat the HUNTR/X! But perhaps there's just a small part of him that hates how much love and attention Jinu's getting from everyone. Maybe even in the demon world, Jinu's getting all the credit for this brilliant idea. But what about him? He put in just as much effort in studying BTS and learning how to "Hey batter, batter swing"- WAIT sorry, lemme go back to being serious.

He put in just as much effort to be the best fake boy band member he could possibly be! So it's not fair that Jinu's going to be the mastermind behind this entire plan!

Lol, I even made up the silly headcanon that reason Abs Saja got his abs is just so he could have something over Jinu ahahaha XD

Anywayy- I think that's about it for Abs Saja.

NOW LET'S TALK CRACK HEADCANONS

I have a dumb headcanon that Mysterious Saja has only like one eye, so that's why he covers up his upper face with both his bangs. And... well, now he literally can't see. A few people in the KPop Demon Hunters Discord server even pointed out how in this photo, he's not even looking at the camera-- Probably because the man can't see where the camera is

I have no evidence for this at all, but I like the idea that despite the guys seemingly getting along super well, it's total cat-iness behind closed doors (even in the Demon World).

I specifically love headcanoning that Abs Saja has major beef with Aqua-haired Checkered-Sweater-Wearing Saja and Romance Saja. Just utter hatred for each other. Maybe Romance Saja ate Abs Saja's last tub of ice cream and Aqua-Haired Checkered-Sweater-Wearing Saja ate from Abs Saja's cooking jar before proceeding to use all of Romance Saja's makeup. So all three of them just hate each other-

Now... we all know Jinu can play an instrument (still a bit unsure which instrument that is since I can't count the strings on the instrument he's seen with in the trailer, for me to be 100% sure), indicating that he was already musically gifted...

And assuming the other Saja Boys are just as musically gifted.... what is these guys are Demon Musical Theatre School drop outs-- 😂

"Oh yeah, our plan is to turn into a rival music band...!"

"So like this doesn't have anything to do with you guys failing the audition to Demon Theatre Camp--"

A final cracked headcanon that I have is... right now, we're unsure if the Saja Boys are related or not. And I genuinely love the implications of either one.

Either Jinu's known the other Saja Boys for a long time (maybe they're brothers, maybe they're all best friends, maybe they're exes (I swear to god, if they're brothers, this joke is gonna age so poorly)), so he really walked up to the group and said, "Hey, let's start a band--"

Or- if he didn't know them... then that implies Jinu must've held auditions or something- XD

"Calling All Attractive Demons! Do You Think You Can Sing??" p.s must be good with tigers.

Last cracked theory:

Bobby’s (The HUNTR/X’s manager…? I think) the twist villain-

Just kidding- lol xD…. Or am I?

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chaotic theories and headcanons I've wrought upon Tumblr....

I'm going to sign off now, leaving you with... whatever the heck these theories are 🤣

[wisteria-lodge]

SORTING DISNEY LADIES (1999-2004)

Part 1 - Disney Ladies 1937-1985

Part 2 - Disney Ladies 1988-1993

Part 3 - Disney Ladies 1995-1998

I’m going in chronological order, and doing both A Squad and B Squad, because I’m interested in tracking how the ideal “disney girl” has changed in the last (almost) 90 years. Right now I’m only looking at the human-shaped heroines of Disney animated theatrical releases. A more detailed break-down of the system I’m using is right here, but the basics are these: 

PRIMARY (ie MOTIVE) 

BADGER ~ Loyal to the group.

SNAKE ~ Loyal to yourself and your Important People.

LION ~ Subconscious Idealist. Ideals are linked to feelings and instincts. 

BIRD ~ Conscious Idealist. Ideals are linked to built systems and external facts. 

SECONDARY (ie METHOD) 

BADGER ~ Connect with the group. Make allies, work steadily and well. Be whatever the situation calls for. If you find a locked door, knock.

SNAKE ~ Connect with the environment. Notice things. Tell people what they want to hear. If you find a locked door, get in through the window.

BIRD ~ Collect skills, tools, knowledge, personas, useful friends. If you find a locked door, track down the key or learn to pick the lock.

LION ~ Be honest, be direct, speak your truth. Either the obstacle is going down or you are. If you find a locked door, kick it in.

JANE PORTER (1999)

(& Tarzan, Kerchack)

Disney’s Tarzan is a ridiculously Snake primary movie. Like,  just to make this really, really clear, the first thing we see - the absolute cold open, is - 

Burning ship! Storm! Fire! Tarzan’s parents get into a lifeboat! He looks at her. She looks at him. Phil Collins --

PUT YOUR FAITH IN WHAT YOU MOST BELEEEIVE IN!!!!!!

We get it. You can lose literally everything, but if you’ve still got your Person, you’re going to be OK. 

And this movie’s ethos is definitely Snake, not Loyalist. Badger primaries do not get a flattering edit. The antagonist for the first half is Tarzan’s adoptive father Kerchack, who is deeply protective of his band of gorillas (all girls, by the way. He's the only guy. Which is how gorillas work, and the film doesn’t exactly bring attention to it, but still. Interesting detail.) He’s a loud Badger primary: the only thing that matters is keeping his family out of danger, and from his perspective Tarzan is a problem from day one. He is too obviously an outsider, not a true member of the community, and Kerchack makes it clear that Tarzan is not his son. “You can’t learn to be one of us," he says.

The antagonist for the second half of the film (it’s a weirdly structured film) is the Jaguar/Clayton. They are 100% the same entity. Clayton shows up immediately after the Jaguar dies, and shows up wearing the exact same color palette. There is a recurring misunderstanding where Tarzan refers to the sound of a gunshot as “Clayton.” This is not supposed to be a person, this is violence personified.

Clayton is also our visual representation of The British Empire/Colonialism, with his spats and his khakis and little pencil mustache, and Brian Blessed doing his voice. He is there to grab the resources (gorillas) and take them back to England. So… that means we’ve got some more Toxic Badger going on here too.

In this film, the Badger primary idea of “community” is framed as stifling, artificial, at odds with nature. Clayton, Jane, and Jane’s father show up in the jungle dressed all wrong, and while the sympathetic Porters gradually shed layers, Clayton’s character design never changes. He does not learn to adapt to the jungle, he is only England™

There’s also the recurring joke of Jane’s “Proper Victorian Lady” persona. It’s very useful for getting Clayton specifically to do things for her… but she also brings it out in moments where it seems false and not terribly appropriate. Like when she’s talking to monkeys, or to Tarzan. The second she realizes that Tarzan can speak English she snaps into “Proper Victorian Lady” instead of following up on the attraction that’s clearly there. She’s holding him at arm's length, and why??? The moment where he comes out dressed in European clothing is bittersweet, like Tarzan is hiding or losing part of himself. “Society” is at odds with instinct/freedom/love, and in terms of Primary, that’s the major conflict between Tarzan and Jane.

JANE. Tarzan, you can't imagine what's in store for you. You're going to see the world. Everyone's going to want to meet you. Kings, scientists and famous writers. (...)  TARZAN. And I'll be with Jane.

Jane is talking like a Badger (you’ll be part of the community.) Tarzan is talking like a Snake (I’ll be with you.) And Jane DOES feel like a Badger through most of the movie. She talks a good game. But right at the end - when it really comes down to it - that’s not the call she makes. 

JANE. I belong in England, with you and people and — PROFESSOR PORTER. But you love him. Go on.

At which point Jane joyfully jumps off the boat and swims to shore, implying that her Badger primary was a model, and she was always a Snake primary underneath. 

Jane Porter might model Double Badger extremely well, but she’s actually a double Snake like Megara. She’ll go all Proper Victorian Lady to flatter Clayton, but she’ll also manipulate the baby monkey (“Oh I can’t believe you fell for that one”) before commenting on how its performance isn’t quite up to her standards (“Don’t give me those crocodile tears.”) She’s also something of a Single-Player Environment snake. When she gets comfortable, she starts learning how to use the things in her environment. She’s delighted when she learns she can use her parasol as a weapon. Jane also seems to pick up that Tarzan is a Bird secondary and interacts with him accordingly, which her slideshow of buildings, customs, and art from the mainland.

(Tarzan is definitely a Bird secondary: he's an inventor, he makes weapons, he loves teaching himself things. He’s much more tactical than Kerchak, who - as a 300 pound gorilla - uses his lion secondary to literally charge into fights. Phil Collins tells us all we need to know about Tarzan with the lyrics: “I want to know / Can you show me?” Perfect Snake Bird anthem.)

When we see Jane at the very end of the film she’s entirely improvisational and fluid, down to her absolute bottom layer of clothing, surfing the vines with Tarzan. It’s a gorgeous bit of animation. I definitely get a sense of the joy she feels at being so unconstrained and evenly matched. That's one more thing that makes me think she's a Snake secondary, who ends the film in Neutral.

KIDADIKASH  “KIDA” NEDAKAH (2001)

(& Milo, King Kashekim)

Atlantis is so close to being a good movie. All it needs is a slightly longer runtime, and like… two less characters. (Mole and Cookie. Don’t need them.) Kida gets less screen time compared than some of the the other ladies on this list, but she has enough presence and a cool enough design that she easily earns heroine status. It also helps that she’s basically the plot.

Kida wants to restore the traditions and knowledge her people have lost, and that motivates pretty much everything she does. She finds the history and culture of her ancestors deeply important, comforting and grounding in a very Badger primary sort of way, and laments that “We were once a great people. Now we live in ruins. The kings of our past would weep if they could see how far we have fallen.” She is very much not Jane, who needs to shake off “civilization” in order to live her best life. 

The problem though, is that Kida falls into a very Badger primary trap. When she’s asked to give up everything to protect the group - including her well-being and identity - she does it without a second thought. She gets turned/turns herself into a magic crystal in order to power her civilization while it’s under threat, and I cannot think of a better metaphor of what it means to be an Invisible Badger, who is only the group with no identity outside it.

The ‘Heart of Atlantis’ crystal that “thrives on the collective emotions of all who came before us [and] in return, provides power, longevity, protection” is just a good metaphor for a ‘Badger Primary’ in general. Also, the way that the Atlantean King tries to weaponize it, ultimately destroying his civilization, works as a metaphor for the way a Badger primary can Explode, becoming authoritarian and harmful to the same people it is trying to protect.

Clearly the film itself is not a fan of this decision, as our protagonist Milo loves Kida and does everything he can to un-crystal her. I think it’s implied that his love is one of the main things tethering her to humanity? Still, I would say that this film, unlike Tarzan, has a pretty Badger ethos. King Kashekim is our tragic misguided Snake primary, willing to let his whole civilization crumble so long as he gets to keep his daughter, and our villains seem to be mostly Hedonist Snake treasure hunters, willing to destroy a culture so long as they get paid. The film is definitely critical of certain types of Badger primaries, but ends on a note of collectivism. Milo has finally found a community that values him, and he stays behind to help Kida, now the Atlantean Queen, rebuild her civilization. She’s still a Badger, just one with better boundaries. 

She’s also a Lion secondary. Kida moves in straight lines, speaks her mind, and doesn’t care if you have a problem with that. She does the thing where she’s so honest and blunt it’s almost rude. I suspect that her father is also a Lion secondary - we know that he was reckless and militaristic when he was young, and he seems positive that if Kida even knew about the Heart of Atlantis, she would make the Lion secondary call and dive headfirst into it. Sadly, in the main timeline of the movie the King’s secondary is extremely burned, and he’s basically incapable of any kind of action. 

Milo has an idealistic Lion primary that's a bit Burnt at the start of the film. When we meet him, he’s spent years being told that everything he believes is a joke, and he’s finally starting to doubt himself, scraping by just using his Bird secondary. Like a lot of Burnt Lions, Milo latches onto someone (Kida) for their confidence and their purpose. Luckily, once he unBurns there's a Paragon Lion under there that matches up very well with her Badger.

LILO PELEKAI (2002)

Lilo is an interesting one to sort, because she’s little - and also kinda going through it. Her parents died in a (fairly recent) car crash, and even though they’re not *on screen* and honestly mentioned very little… their absence is felt. Lilo's unofficial family motto is “Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind.” But objectively, Lilo’s parents did her behind, and she spends the entire film trying to reconcile that.

Lilo is very young, dealing with a tragedy, and I also think the interpretation that she’s on the autism spectrum makes a lot of sense. We see her having meltdowns, struggling to transition from one activity/location to another, she clearly wants to make these connections with kids her own age, but it’s just… not working. All of that could absolutely point to a five (six?) year old on the spectrum. So the question becomes - okay, so is Lilo acting this way because that’s her personality, or is she acting this way because of the autism/trauma? That's a question I get a lot, and my answer is… I don’t think the traits this system is interested in are created out of nowhere. But, circumstances can absolutely make them louder or softer. 

Like, Lilo has a number of very strict rules that tip over into magical thinking. She can only eat peanut butter sandwiches because she has to feed part of her sandwich to her fish, and she can’t feed her fish tuna (dead fish) because that’s “an abomination.” It’s very important that she keeps her fish happy because her fish controls the weather. And THAT’S important… because her parents died in a rainstorm. All of this is 100% a coping mechanism: Lilo is trying to create rules in a chaotic world to feel safer. She’s after a sense of control. This also ties into her fascination with 'goodness' versus 'badness:' she’ll say things like “I’ll be good I promise,” worry about being an “abomination,” make charts of Stitch's "badness level" and also voodoo dolls because “my friends need to be punished.”  It’s something she's focused on, and I think it’s because she is aware that… she’s kind of a problem.  

Her older sister Nani loves her… but Nani also loses her patience (she’s 21, 22 at most) and Lilo is aware that she stresses out her sister and makes her life more difficult. But, she has trouble changing her behavior because she's, you know, a traumatized autistic six-year-old. Which is really important when it comes to understanding Lilo’s relationship with Stitch. On one level, she identifies with the way he leaves all this destruction in his wake. He makes her look better by comparison, and I think she also sees a path towards redemption in teaching Stitch to be “good” (ie - useful and less weird.) When she tells him “You wreck everything you touch, why not try to make something” - I think she’s projecting, and really talking about herself. If Lilo is teaching Stitch to be good, then she has a purpose, and a way to affect the world. We know that feeling powerless is a big thing for Lilo. 

So, if I’m putting her in the SHC system, she is definitely an External primary. None of this is about being true to your heart or even being true to another person, this is trying to figure out the rules of the world and putting together a workable system to live with. This focus on morality and punishment is also something I see a lot with young External primaries. While this trait might have been exaggerated by the events of Lilo's life, I do think it’s something that was just in her the whole time. 

At first I thought she was a Badger, because of the way Lilo focuses on the importance of family. Also, her first instinct after she thinks Stitch has betrayed her is to outgroup him: “You’re one of them - get out of here.” But “Ohana means family” seems like it was something her parents said a lot, and ‘Stitch isn’t one of us,’ is something she’s heard from Nani (absolutely a Badger primary.) I think a big reason Lilo values hula dancing is because hula dancing is important to Nani.

So now I’m leaning towards Lilo being a young Bird, trying to cobble together a system for understanding the world under non-ideal circumstances. She’s very comfortable believing fantastical things, and is cool with accepting that Stitch is a weird kind of dog. Like Tarzan and Atlantis, Lilo and Stitch is lightly critical of that Badger ethos: the group is wonderful, yes - but the group will not always be there. The conclusion Lilo (and the film) comes to is: Ohana means family, family means never getting left behind… but sometimes people leave. Either because they want to, or because they have to. What you have to do is remember them. You make them part of yourself. As Lilo puts it, "I’ll remember you, though. I remember everyone that leaves." I think this is such a lovely way of understanding Bird primaries, which unfortunately have a reputation for being cold and detached.

In terms of secondary, I think Lilo is probably a Lion. She’s very direct, very honest, terrible at lying, and unintentionally trails destruction. Nani tries to give her a kind of script to follow when the social worker comes over - but even in the moment she seems to know it’s kind of a lost cause. However, Lilo is also really young and the narrative doesn’t give her the opportunity to solve many problems. So I would not be surprised if Lilo's secondary looks different when she gets older. She is fascinated by Stitch, and Stitch is a shapeshifter-mimic. He’s kind of a cartoon version of a Snake secondary. Maybe that's a clue that Lilo's best self is a Snake Secondary too, but she hasn’t built a bridge to that part yet. Eh, I could see it either way. Definitely an Improvisational secondary though.

NANI PELEKAI (2002)

Nani is a very Burnt Badger primary. There’s this recurring thing with her and her love interest David, where they’re kinda dating, or were dating… either way, Nani can’t quite bring herself to let him into her life. Even though she likes him, he likes her, and he even gets along with Lilo. She spends a lot of the film looking like she’s 100% focused on her little sister in a Snake primary way… but Burnt Badgers look like miserable, stressed-out Snakes, and that is absolutely Nani. She clearly used to have a big community - at one point she even tries to leverage it for a job. But I think she responded to the death of her parents by closing up, refusing to let anyone new close to her. She might lose them too, and that would hurt too much. 

This film is also really good at putting Nani in situations that would be really rough on a Badger primary specifically. Nani clearly feels deeply connected to her Hawaiian culture - she’s an accomplished hula dancer, she loves surfing, and in the most heartbreaking scene of the movie she sings “Aloha Oe” to Lilo, when she thinks child protective services are going to take her away in the morning. This is famously a song written by deposed Hawaiian Queen Lili'uokalani, after she was forced to leave her people. These are all things that Nani pulls on to give her strength. However… she is also working as an honestly quite objectified waitress/hula dancer in a theme park-ified version of Hawaii catering to tourists. She’s not happy there, and it's an important moment when she leaves. 

Even when she’s in really serious trouble, Nani can’t bring herself to tell anyone what’s going on, to get help or even just emotional support - and that's the Burnt Badger talking. When she is absolutely at her wit’s end and has no idea what to do, she grabs David and she grabs Lilo and they all go surfing. It’s that Badger primary need for community, even if there’s no way that community is going to help.

Nani is probably a Bird secondary. She practices when she's nervous and has a lot of skills - but is much more overwhelmed during the wacky finale than Lilo, and definitely needs a second to get it together and figure out the situation. She conceptualizes ‘dealing with Lilo’ as a skill that she has learned and gotten better at: she’ll build little ‘traps’ to catch her younger sister, and can translate things into “Lilo.” I think she may have constructed a bit of an Actor Bird model for dealing with her sister (and another for dealing with her boss.) Lilo will use bits of her system to argue with Nani, and clearly expects this strategy to work.  

LILO. Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind, or forgotten.  NANI. I hate when you use ‘ohana’ against me.

CAPTAIN AMELIA SMOLLET (2002)

If Nani and Kida share a deep connection to their cultural history, Captain Amelia and Kida share this incredibly direct, blunt, borderline rude Lion secondary. Only Amelia's is is less 'cultural misunderstanding' and more just... British.

Captain Amelia absolutely rubs Jim Hawkins and Doctor Doppler the wrong way (an occupational hazard of being a very loud Lion secondary.) But she also comes off as extremely trustworthy, which something you get from the You-Move secondaries (Lion and Badger.) Amelia is a version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Alexander Smollett (just also a cat girl, and in space) and this bit from Treasure Island suits Treasure Planet equally well: “Contrary to all my notions, I believe you have managed to get two honest men on board with you, that man [Captain Smollet] and John Silver.” 

Of course, Captain Amelia wins over Jim and Doppler once they understand that she wants her crew to be equally direct right back at her. She wants all the information, as quickly as possible, so she can make the best decisions. Her eyes light up when Doppler tells her she’s wrong about how supernovas work... because she’s able to use the new knowledge to create a daredevil way to escape the situation. Near the end of the film, Jim comes up with a crazy solution that involves a piece of alien tech. He knows how the tech works, doesn’t have time to explain it. But because they’ve had enough practice being honest with each other, Amelia just does what he says - no questions asked.

This is also why she gets so offended when John Silver tries to flatter her… and Silver’s good at flattering. He charms his crew, he charms Jim. But Amelia tells him to “keep that kind of flim-flammery for your space court floozies” because of course the two captains on opposite sides of the mutiny are foils. Silver makes Jim feel important and special. Captain Amelia tells him point-blank when he’s being an idiot and gives him no special treatment. The nuanced position this film takes is that Jim… kinda needs both. 

In this movie about treasure hunting, Captain Amelia is the only character who doesn’t seem to care about the “Loot of a Thousand Worlds" at all. She is here to do her job, and is deeply skeptical about treasure hunting in general. Her speech at her First Mate’s funeral makes her priorities clear: “Mr. Arrow was a fine spacer. Finer than most of us can ever hope to be. But he knew the risks, as do we all. Resume your posts. We carry on.” Her highest praise is that Arrow did his job well... and part of doing your job well is making peace with the fact that you might not make it out alive. She takes her job, her title, and her ship extremely seriously. 

So, Amelia is definitely an Idealist primary, and her Cause seems to revolve around being the best captain possible and… going on adventures. This is also the case with Doppler, who she ends up with at the end. He frames his treasure hunting trip in very Badger primary language when he’s talking to Jim’s very Badger Primary mom… but in reality he just wants to go on an adventure. 

I could honestly see either Lion or Bird primary for Amelia. But, the fact that she’s ex-military and still in good enough standing to write Jim a recommendation letter makes me lean Bird. (I think a Double Lion Amelia would have burned more bridges.) Also, the rules and organizational system she lives by seem to exist outside of her in a very Commodore Norrington sort of way. It’s not something she feels internally, and this is comforting. Honestly, Amelia gives off very Commodore Norrington energy in general, and he’s a pretty loud Bird primary. 

HELEN "ELASTIGIRL" PARR (2004)

( & Bob/Mr. Incredible, Edna Mode)

Helen’s superpower is ‘flexibility,’ so of course she’s going to be an Improvisational secondary. I'm going with Lion instead of Snake because - like Captain Amelia and Kida - Helen is very comfortable being incredibly direct. She actively sets up confrontations, waits in the dark for Bob after he stays out late with Frozone, then actually gets in a plane to confront him when she thinks he’s having an affair.

Bob Parr is also a Lion secondary, and unlike Helen (who is able to turn down the volume during Dash's parent-teacher conference) he has trouble even softening what he says, phrasing it in a way that’s palatable to the person he’s talking to. That trait gets him in trouble with Buddy/Syndrome, then his boss at the insurance company, and there’s also the implication that the government keeps relocating them because Bob keeps blowing their cover. (This is 100% the case in a cut scene set at a neighborhood barbecue, where Bob appears to cut off a finger and instead breaks the knife.) 

I also think the fact that Helen and Bob are both Lion secondaries is a big part of what makes their relationship function. Lion secondaries seem to really value the opportunity to have arguments and fights… while also knowing the interaction is fundamentally safe, and isn’t going to spill over into the other parts of their life. When Bob gets back late, he and Helen fight in a way that honestly just seems like their way of blowing off steam. They’re both able to turn it off completely when the kids walk into the room. 

Helen also calls herself out for “overreacting” and has to force herself to take a moment to think when she first figures out that Bob is lying, a very Lion secondary moment. She gives Violet the insanely Lion secondary advice that “When the time comes, you’ll know what to do. It’s in your blood.” Edna Mode is also a cartoonishly loud Lion secondary, and I'll bet that shared secondary is a big part of why she adores the Parrs. Also, Helen loves her motorcycles, which at least in fiction is a very Lion-secondary coded mode of transportation.

Helen’s flexibility extends to her primary as well. When we first meet Elastigirl in the “documentary” prologue, she’s completely happy doing the superhero thing while Mr. Incredible is already thinking about settling down. But, in the main timeline of the movie, Helen seems perfectly happy doing the suburbia thing and raising the kids. Then in the sequel, after the Deavors convince her that she can do the most good by being a poster child for non-threatening Supers, she has a fantastic time doing *that.* The fact that she’s able to change her worldview so easily without having a big emotional crisis about it (the way that Bob does) makes me think she’s probably a Bird primary. That difference in primaries seems to be where most of the friction in their relationship comes from. 

Helen actually tells us her philosophy in the sequel: “If laws are unjust there are laws to change them, otherwise it’s chaos” and “World is what it is, we have to adapt.” It’s a bit Badger flavored - work within the system, adapt to the system - but the way she lays it out is Bird. And then she gets a little tipsy and starts debating philosophy with the villain for fun. Which is a very Bird primary activity.

VIOLET PARR (2004)

(& Dash)

Violet feels very at odds with both her family and her world… and since she’s a Badger primary, that’s especially rough. She wants to fit into a community, but there is no community for her. She’s the only member of the family who actively does not want powers: “We act normal, Mom! I want to be normal (...) What do you know about normal? What does anyone in this family know about normal?” We also get the line, “Mom and Dad’s lives might be in danger, or worse - their marriage.” Which is definitely a joke about Violet’s slightly cartoonish Badger primary priorities. 

It makes absolute sense that she’s so hung up on the idea of popular dreamboat Tony, at the center of so much community, since that's exactly what she wants. And because she herself is very not normal, she tries to hide - both with her superpower and with her hair. Violet is the first computer animated character who wears their hair long and loose, and the animators put in the effort because it’s so tied in with her character. As she gets more and more in tune with her family over the course of the film, the way Violet wears her hair changes. Her mom tucks it behind her ear, her dad comments that he likes this new way she’s wearing it better. She eventually pushes it back with a headband because she’s not hiding from them anymore. Violet is happy and effective being a part of the superhero team that is her family. It’s interesting that her powers (invisiblity, creating force-fields around herself) are fantastic support/team-attack powers, but not that useful on their own.

However, one more source of friction between Violet and the rest of the family is that she’s the only non-Lion secondary. Her little brother Dash is a Lion. (He’s probably a Double Lion like his father, they’ve both even got a little of that Glory Hound Lion primary thing.) But Violet’s powers keep her out of sight, she is the opposite of confrontational. It took me a second to recognize her as a Snake secondary, because most fictional Snakes are much more comfortable around people…  but Violet is also in a less-than-ideal situation. Still, she is observant, good at picking up on what’s going on around her, and uses those things to solve problems. It’s her idea to track down Syndrome using the coordinates he’s put in the rocket, and in the sequel she’s the one who figures out how to use Jack Jack like a gun, and successfully turns the out-of-control ship around.

Violet is sneaky, using her abilities to spy on her parents and stow away on her mom's trip. She doesn’t like using her snake secondary at other people - she’s very self-contained - but she is more than happy to direct it out at the world. Violet is also perceptive when it comes to people, and will often just come right out and say things like “Are we going to talk about it… the elephant in the room” or “I think Dad has made some excellent progress today, but I think it’s time we wind down now.” Which can look a little like Lion... but in this case, it's definitely Neutral Snake.

Tl;dr

Jane ~  Snake / Snake, models Badger / Badger

Tarzan ~ Snake / Bird

Kerchack ~ Badger / Lion 

Kida ~ Badger / Lion 

King Kashekim ~ Snake / Burnt Lion 

Milo ~ Burnt Lion / Bird

Lilo ~ Bird / Lion (possibly Bird / Snake) 

Nani ~ Burnt Badger / Bird

Captain Amelia ~ Bird / Lion 

Helen/Elastigirl ~ Bird / Lion

Violet ~ Badger / Snake

Dash ~ Lion / Lion 

Bob/Mr. Incredible ~ Lion / Lion

Edna Mode ~ Bird / Lion 

(art credit to Cursed Concepts for the beautiful pins I have used to illustrate this series.)

[nerdygaymormon]

Happy Pride 🏳️‍🌈

I want to wish a happy Pride to:

Vests

The vest is an iconic lesbian wardrobe staple. For a long time, lesbian fashion has incorporated staples of working-class men's clothing because they are practical and unpolished, which is not typical of women's fashions, and therefore it challenges gender norms. Whether the vest is formal or casual, they are familiar yet subversive when worn by women, thus making them a lesbian standard.

Frog and Toad

These cottage-core gays are good role models of a loving queer relationship. The first Frog and Toad book was published in 1970. In 1974, the author Arnold Lobel came out as gay to his family. Arnold's daughter has said, “I think ‘Frog and Toad’ really was the beginning of him coming out” because they're “of the same sex and they love each other.” So yes, Frog & Toad are a gay couple.

I'd Rather Have Cake

In the 1990's and early 2000's, a popular dessert was the Better Than Sex Cake, which was a rich chocolate cake. Well, when you're asexual, the name of that cake hits a little different. In 2004, asexuality.org (AVEN) started using cake as a symbol of asexualness since they believe cake IS better than sex. Asexuals may not have much of an appetite for sex, thus the a phrase they commonly use is "I'd rather have cake."

Limp Wrists

Why do we associate a limp wrist with male homosexuality? The ancient Romans viewed limp wrists as effeminate, and the association was further strengthened in the 17th & 18th centuries as one hand with a limp wrist and the other hand placed on the hip in an "I'm a Little Teapot" pose was seen as something men in the royal courts would do, and that sort of leisurely life was considered unmanly. In the modern era queer men have been seen as effeminate, so the limp wrist became associated with them. This association was embraced and reclaimed by queer men, and the wider queer community as a whole.

Unicorns

Unicorns have been used in art since the 4th century BCE and it was the Victorians who firmly linked unicorns with rainbows. In 1978, Gilbert Baker created the rainbow flag as a joyous symbol of the queer community. Given that rainbows and unicorns are so intrinsically linked, it’s unsurprising that the mythical creature started to also be used as a symbol for LGBTQ+ people.

Pansies

“Daisy,” “buttercup,” and especially “pansy,” are flowers which have been used to mean a “flamboyant gay man.” Sometimes the word "pansy" has been positive, oftentimes it is not. In the 1920's & 1930's, the underground clubs of the Prohibition era became a hotspot for queer nightlife with drag queen entertainment becoming hugely popular even among the straight clientèle, and this became known as the "Pansy Craze" in reference to the colorful clothing the performers wore. In 2013, because of the association the pansy has to queer people, a group of people in Atlanta started blocking out hatred by putting cardboard pansies on poles tall enough to hide the protesters’ signs, and voila, the Pansy Patrol was born.

Queer Sitting

Improperly sitting is one of many seemingly arbitrary traits (like walking fast and not being a good driver) that the online queer community has claimed as part of queer culture, but it's deeper than it seems. Girls are often taught to sit like a lady, such as keeping their knees pressed together, therefore an act of rebellion can be a woman sitting incorrectly. By not sitting properly, it's a rejection of rules about what we can do with our bodies. For decades, censorship in movies & television worked to silence queer voices, and creators developed sophisticated ways of coding queerness through body language, such as the way a character sits. Queer sitting resists the process of assimilation and instead says: do what feels right, do with your body what you would like, not what you are told is proper.

RuPaul's Drag Race

Many of us in the queer community take RuPaul's Drag Race for granted with its 15+ seasons, multiple Emmy wins, spin-offs like All Stars and Secret Celebrity, 15 different international versions, a successful Las Vegas show, and the many memes and catchphrases that have come from the show. It’s easy to forget in the 2000's things were very different. There were some gay characters on TV, and reality shows like Survivor had openly gay contestants, but until RuPaul’s Drag Race premiered in 2009 there wasn’t a truly successful series made by queer creators, starring queer cast members, and made specifically for a queer audience.

RuPaul's Drag Race brought drag performance to a large audience and presents topics traditionally considered taboo on television, such as that it's okay to not conform to societal expectations around gender and sexuality. The show has spread awareness and acceptance as it provides positive representation of queer people and humanizes us as it showcases the struggles of gay, lesbian, gender-nonconforming and transgender people as the contestants tell stories of coming out, being affected by HIV/AIDS, being rejected by their families and attacked in the streets.

Quiche

In Anglo-American culture, French cuisine is not viewed as "manly" food, which is the first mark against quiche. During the 1970s, quiche was served at brunch spots frequented by gay men which led to it being seen as a quintessentially queer dish, which was another mark against this food. Quiche came to be seen as so effeminate that a 1982 best-selling book satirizing masculine stereotypes was titled Real Men Don't Eat Quiche. Instead of the French name "quiche," if it had been called "scrambled egg pie" it likely wouldn't be considered a food for women and the gays, which just goes to show how lame it is to think of food as gendered in some way, but as long as they keep serving it for brunch, we'll keep eating it

Tumblr

Tumblr is known as the "queerest place on the internet" and as a platform that "queer[ed] an entire generation." According to Tumblr, the people who use its site are 193% more likely to be LGBTQ compared to those on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Twitter, and Pinterest. Tumblr estimates that 1 in 4 of its users identifies as LGBTQ. An important reason for this is that Tumblr does not require identity cues to be featured, such age, gender, location, relationship status or legal name, which allows users control over their self-presentation and makes it far less likely family and friends may discover their Tumblr account. This privacy allows queer people on Tumblr to feel more comfortable exploring and expressing their queerness.

Tumblr has been a place of important contributions to queer culture. One example is the large number of queer Pride flags which were first introduced and adopted on Tumblr:

In 2010 Jasper V. introduced his design for a Pansexual flag on Tumblr.

The Polysexual flag was created in 2012 by a Tumblr user named Tomlin. 

The Genderfluid flag was created by agender Tumblr user JJ Poole in 2014.

The Agender pride flag was designed by Salem X in 2014 on Tumblr.

The Aromantic flag was created and posted by Tumblr user cameronwhimsy in 2014.

The omnisexual flag was designed in 2015 by Tumbler user pastelmemer.

Tumblr user 2Sanon posted a 2 Spirit flag in 2016.

In 2018 a nonbinary lesbian Tumblr blogger named Emily Gwen introduced the Sunset Lesbian flag to be inclusive of butch, trans, and enby lesbians.

[digi-lov]

Digimon & Tamagotchi

Bandai V-Pet Crossovers Part 1 (Part 2)

In 1996 Bandai and WiZ inc. released the original Tamagotchi. To their surprise, the toy proved to be popular among boys as well, despite it being mostly marketed for girls. And in 1997, as a more targeted approach to this demographic, Digital Monsters was born!

A huge virtual pet boom followed and not only did Bandai and Wiz release new versions of Tamagotchi and Digital Monsters, and try multiple v-pets with a variety of styles within the next couple of years, but other companies also tried to bandwagon on the success of these virtual pets!

(Such as Nintendo in 1998 with the Pocket Pikachu-)

While the Tamagotchi was shaped like an egg (jap. tamago) with a crack in its shell where the screen is, the Digital Monster was shaped like a brick cage with bust-open bars! It also featured the ability to connect and battle! Otherwise they both use the same three button layout and similar menu icons. On the Tamagotchi, the toilet icon is portrayed by a duck themed potty, which is also used as the look for the Portable Potty items in many Digimon games.

Now with how closely these two franchises were developed, there's bound to be more that connects the two, right?

One such thing is Tamagotchimoji and Digimoji/DigiCode!

You can see that the two scripts are basically identical, just stylized differently. While Tamagotchimoji got used sparsely until they stopped using it in 2004 (But had a surprising comeback in one social media post on April 10, 2023?!), Digimoji has been used, and still is being used everywhere in the Digimon franchise! There is also a separate set of characters for the Latin Alphabet.

[Tamagotchimoji on the left, Digimoji on the right, respective Hiragana above the character]

Just like we know it from the Digimon Franchise, the Tamagotchi also grow through evolutionary stages along a branching path, depending on how well you take care of them! The original line of Tamagotchi as well as Digimon owe their designs to Kenji Watanabe! Generally all Tamagotchi's names end in "-tchi" or "-chi", similar to how Digimon names end in "-mon".

In these evolution charts, the Tamagotchi and Digimon are arranged by how well they've been taken care of / how good they are, with the top line being the best, and the bottom being the worst.

But that Tamagotchi chart is actually just the international version, which had "Bill" (aka Gaijintchi/Ketotchi) as secret character past the adult stage. Instead the Japanese version featured "Oyajitchi" (jap. oyaji means "old man").

But wait, doesn't that face look familiar...?

According to the Digimon Reference Book, Nanimon's true identity is unknown and it in fact came from another dimension, where it was known under the title OYAJI. In order to survive in the new environment of the Digital World, Nanimon had to go through a lot of training and battling.

Nanimon's name is also a play on its bizarre nature. In Japanese, "nanimon" is a casual abbreviation of "nanimono" which means "what (thing)". So, with intonation indicating a question, "nanimonda" can mean both "What are you?" or "I am Nanimon".

This joke is even included directly in Digimon World when the player encounters Nanimon.

「ん？なにもんだ？！」 "N? Nanimon da?!" “Huh? What are you?!” 「ナニモンだァ！」 "Nanimon da!" “I’m Nanimon!”

Nanimon's nature as an alien to this World is also reflected in his trait in the Card Game being "Invader".

Nanimon BT6-058 by Kenji Watanabe from BT-06 Booster Double Diamond

So yeah, Nanimon is supposed to be Oyajitchi who came from the Tamagotchi World to the Digital World.

Stay tuned for next friday when we talk about another World connected to the Digital World!

Special thanks to: tamagotchi wiki, gotchi-garden and tamatalk for being great resources!

If you're interested in more Tamagotchi stuff, go check out @tamapalace !

[thegirlwholied]

fellow period-piece swooners, I have a movie rec for you and I am downright flexing my hand about it. and I am sorry, so sorry, that you cannot watch it right now- because I attended the world premiere at TIFF last night and apparently it's still seeking distribution which means unfortunately there are no gifs yet for me to reblog - but this is your notice to keep a weather eye:

the movie is the Widow Clicquot. the plot is champagne!

...not the celebratory spritz and spray of it all, but the dedication and innovation and passion and knowing-your-taste-and-insisting-on-it of getting bubbles to be just the right size and fuck Napoleon's embargos actually...

also, the people expressing opinions about Napoleon are a British cast pretending to be French - which I guess appeals to the piece of my soul that is Les Mis.

it's beautifully filmed in a way I specifically associate with Pride & Prejudice 2005... which makes sense given the director, Thomas Napper, directed the second camera unit on P&P 2005 & Atonement & Anna Karenina & etc. Joe Wright, who directed those, is a producer here (and was on stage last night & I had no idea who he was whoops).

there's a scene of exploding champagne bottles that may haunt me forever the way the floating cotton in North & South 2004 does. that & the vines.

to quote Taylor Swift, "it's giving cinematography."

the Widow Clicquot herself is played by Haley Bennett (who has been in many things I haven't seen...yes I had to imdb Haley while sitting in the row right behind her but) who I have seen before in Music & Lyrics! As Cora Corman! "Way Back Into Love"! & "Buddha's Delight"- I believe in karma (la, la, la)

anyway she's great in this - the Q&A host after called her performance "transcendant", not wrong - she had a SAG-AFTRA waiver to be there, and thankfully because this was very apparently a passion project throw-everything-you-are-into-it role for her. And her post-movie quotes speaking both about the character's passion and her own- "do something that makes you feel like a goddess!"; "do what you love and let it kill you"- made me a fan.

the Widow Clicquot's dead husband? Tom Sturridge, The Sandman himself and playing just as much a dream as Dream (note: I do not promise "dreamy" I promise "dream" which can also have adjectives like "wild" and "fever" applied). You need a good voice when leaning on some voiceover from letters/memory for a character; he sure has it.

but. Sam Riley. aka Mr Darcy from Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, and Maleficent's hot raven (and looks even better in this imho)- his character is Louis Bohne, Veuve Clicquot's wine merchant, and as much as the Widow herself, his character made me go, "I need to read the book" to learn how much was history v fiction there.

the character dynamic was: damn, of course you're cool with your husband's libertine BFF/possibly-lover, you're secure and he's such fun company.... your husband's tragically gone but his friend helps you out & appreciates your true love of the vineyard without overstepping... well. get yourself a friend you can both giggle with over how hot the new foreman is (Leo Suter filling a historical-eye-candy role) ... AND hook up with yourself. you go girl, & bless your hot bisexual heart fictionalized Louis Bohne.

(hottest kiss in cinema off the top of my head is always the Timothy Olyphant & Jennifer Garner first kiss in Catch & Release. But some scenes here flirt with that level, & it was the Widow/Louis scenes for me).

the sound alone made this one worth seeing in theaters; sounds were so well used (maybe when a movie is so much about taste, & you can't convey taste through a screen, you double down on the senses you can) and it was scored by Bryce Dessner from The National (whose brother has been collaborating on Taylor Swift's recent best tunes)-

the Widow's name is Barbe-Nicole and not to make a Champagne Barbie reference but this hit in the spot Barbie also reached for, in a subtle way, with the effortlessly close relationship she has with her maid (Lizzie from Peaky Blinders! thanks imdb, knew I knew that face) and the woman in a man's world of it all - obviously one who created a successful dynasty of champagne and how did I never know how instrumental women have been in creating champagne as we know it, about to jump down a historical rabbit hole here-

+ also. grief. "you don't understand. he wasn't just someone's first love". an early line + the one that stuck with me.

anyway. not to say I think it's a perfect movie (there were a few "wait I need more information" beats that left me feeling like I *need* and not just want to read the book)... and it didn't make me think "this better be up for an Oscar" (One Life, with Johnny Flynn & Anthony Hopkins which I saw Saturday: made me cry & should be)- though I think it could be for sound!... and I don't know if I'd say it's the movie I enjoyed the most (Flora & Son, out Sept 29) or learned the most from (Paul Simon documentary, all 209 minutes of it, probably takes that of the 4 films I saw)-

But it's the one I'm writing this post about. & I'm going to get the book. It made me want a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne. & to go to the champagne region. & to see gifs of it on my dash, immediately. & I would read fan fic if there was some- it built the characters and its own movie world enough for that, with enough space left to wonder- and when a movie can do that, it thrills me.

anyway Tumblr, or at least the side I always land on. I think you'd like it. I think it's your kind of movie too. and it's filled with a lot of love from people who clearly loved making it. here's to independent productions and the unions fighting for fair deals to make a living doing what they love, here's to feeling like a goddess, here's to gorgeous period pieces and gif makers of scenes to come, here's to the author in the audience who got to see her book on screen- and the movie star who got it made and all of us still working on making our own art into something that can be seen someday. Here's to the passion of creativity in whatever shape it takes, pour the champagne 🍾🥂

[w2yang]

‎‎‎ㅤㅤETHYRIA Members Profile and Facts

ETHYRIA (에티 리아) is a 7-member Global girl group under L<OTUS Entertainment, consisting of Gara, Millie, Zuhi, Coyeon, Kira, Y.N, and Cassie. They debuted January 1, 2020, with their first mini album, ROMANCE IS BORING.

ETHYRIA started off as an independent group who covered multiple songs in 2016, but the group only started presenting their own music during the COVID-19 quarentine, growing rapidly to become "The Trendsetters of Fourth Gen", only a few months after oficially making their debut, the company L<OTUS Entertainment was quick to recrute them and sucessfully snatched the group who would make them a threat to the residing Big Three companies.

Group Name Meaning: Each letter of ETHYRIA is meant to represent the firt letter of each of the members mother's. It is set in the age order of the members.

ETHYRIA Official Fandom Name: LAZULI

Fandom Name Meaning: During one of the group's first Vlives, the members delve into the topic of the colors that catch their attention the most and quickly realized that the blue shade present in the semi-precious stone Lapis Lazuli was the most eye catching one.

ㅤㅤ ㅤ ETHYRIA Official Color: MAROON

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤETHRYIA Official Logo:

Latest Dorm Arrengement(the group is now separeted into three apartments, each member has their own room):

— napolitan i-scream [gara, millie, zuhi]

— totally spies [coyeon, kira, cassie]

— sunkiss apartment [y.n, her dog, her cat]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤOfficial SNS:

ㅤㅤㅤㅤWebsite: lotusent.com/ETHYRIA

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤInstagram: @ETHYRIA

ㅤㅤX: @ETHYRIA / (Japan): @ETHYRIAjp

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤTikTok: @ethyria

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ YouTube: ETHYRIA

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBiliBili: ETHYRIA

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Weverse: ETHYRIA

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤWeibo: @ETHYRIA_LOTUS

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ETHYRIA Member Profiles:

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤY.N

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤStage Name: Y.N

ㅤ Position(s): Leader, main rapper, lead dancer

ㅤㅤㅤㅤBirthday: January XXth, 2004

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤZodiac Sign: Capricorn

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Chinese Zodiac Sign: Monkey

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Height: 153 cm (5'1'')

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBlood Type: A

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ MBTI Type: N/A

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNationality: Brazilian

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Representative Emoji: 🦝

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤInstagram: @petalyn

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Y.N Facts:

— She has a cat named Nuclear Bomb, he responds to Bobo too.

— It was found in a predebut tumblr blog of hers that she is openly bissexual.

— Her favorite movies are Fantastic Mr. Fox and Captain America: Winter Soldier.

— Her canine teeth are very sharp and fans often compliment her wolfy look.

— She has many nerdy interessests which led to fans and group mates referring to her as "loser" pretty consistenly.

— Knows how to play multiple instruments but her favorite one is the guitar.

— Her favorite color is red.

— She is mostly quiet in social situations, which confuses fans since she nevers stops talking while on a livestream.

— Streams video-games in the streaming plataform Twitch every once in a while.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Show more Y.N fun facts...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤGara

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤStage Name: Gara (가라)

ㅤㅤㅤㅤPosition(s): Lead rapper, dancer

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Birthday: May 11th, 2002

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤZodiac Sign: Taurus

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤChinese Zodiac Sign: Horse

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHeight: 166 cm (5'4'')

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBlood Type: O

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤMBTI Type: INSP

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNationality: Korean

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤRepresentative Emoji: 🦁

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤInstagram: @garazing

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤGara Facts:

— Despise being the oldest member of Ethyria, she is the yougest in her family.

— Her role model is RM from bts.

— She audictioned to YG Entertainment when she was twelve years old but never heard back from the company.

— Members complain about her "dad habits" such as falling asleep during movies, refusing to sit to watch the tv, and many more.

— Her favorite color is baby pink.

— If she could eat any food for the rest of her life she would drink Coca&Cola, when it was pointed out to her that Coca&Cola is a drink, her answer remained the same.

— She isn't lacotse intolerant but hates milk a lot.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤShow more Gara fun facts...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤMillie

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤStage Name: Millie (밀리)

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤPosition(s): Main vocalist

ㅤㅤㅤㅤBirthday: September 19th, 2002

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤZodiac Sign: Virgo

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤChinese Zodiac Sign: Horse

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHeight: 1,60 cm (5'2'')

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBlood Type: A-

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤMBTI Type: ENFP

ㅤㅤㅤNationality: Vietnamese/Colombian

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤRepresentative Emoji: 🐹

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤInstagram: @mililililie

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Millie Facts:

— Her mother once paid her 7$ to stop talking.

— She has a The Sims 4 adiction.

— When the members lived all together, she would go to Y.N's room every once in a while to fight her for no reason because she thought that she needed more human interaction.

— When asked she answered that her role model is Mother Gothel from Rapunzel, she did not elaborate any more.

— Her favorite place is Zuhi's bed.

— Often described by her members as a "Super Extrovert".

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤShow more Millie fun facts...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤZuhi

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤStage Name: Zuhi (주히)

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤPosition(s): Lead vocalist

ㅤㅤㅤㅤBirthday: September 23rd, 2002

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤZodiac Sign: Libra

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤChinese Zodiac Sign: Horse

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHeight: 1,62 cm (5'3'')

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBlood Type: O-

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ MBTI Type: ESFJ

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNationality: Chinese

ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤRepresentative Emoji: 🐢

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤInstagram: @zuhiptaly

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Zuhi Facts:

— She was raised by her grandparents in the country side and hated it.

— Her ideal future is being alone in a massive apartment in the city.

— Doesn't know how to cook.

— She says that her favorite hobbie is watching horror movies but her members claim that she's lying and can't handle scary movies well.

— Her favorite animals are cats.

— Zuhi isn't afraid of heights.

— Her favorite season is fall.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Show more Zuhi fun facts...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤCoyeon

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤStage Name: Coyeon (코연)

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤPosition(s): Rapper

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBirthday: October 3rd, 2003

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤZodiac Sign: Libra

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Chinese Zodiac Sign: Goat

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHeight: 1,67 (5'4'')

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Blood Type: B+

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤMBTI Type: ENFJ

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNationality: Korean/Canadian

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤRepresentative Emoji: 🐿

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤInstagram: @idcoyeon

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Coyeon Facts:

— Gets lost everytime she visits her grandparents in Busan.

— She loves playing sports and was the head of the sports department at her school.

— She doesn't like ice cream because her teeth are very sensitive.

— Her favorite color is Powder Blue.

— Claims to have beautiful calliografy but all of the members seem to disagree.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤShow more Coyeon fun facts...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤKira

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤStage Name: Kira (키 라)

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤPosition(s): Lead rapper

ㅤㅤㅤㅤBirthday: November 29th, 2003

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤZodiac Sign: Sagittarius

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤChinese Zodiac Sign: Goat

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤHeight: 159 cm (5'2'')

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBlood Type: A-

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤMBTI Type: INFJ

ㅤㅤㅤㅤNationality: Japanese/American

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤRepresentative Emoji: 🐱

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤInstagram: @kiraraw

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤKira Facts:

— When asked, she aswered that her favorite passtime is bothering her members.

— Gave most of the nicknames of the group's duos.

— Is known to give ratings to Lazuli's memes and can be quite brutal.

— She doesn't care about super hero movies but fakes caring so she can argue with Y.N about them.

— Her favorite color is orange because she loves sunsets.

— Claims to have never read a book.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤShow more Kira fun facts...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤCassie

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤStage Name: Cassie (캐시)

ㅤㅤㅤPosition(s): Main dancer, vocalist

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBirthday: March 3rd, 2004

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤZodiac Sign: Pisces

ㅤㅤㅤㅤChinese Zodiac Sign: Monkey

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHeight: 164 cm (5'3'')

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBlood Type: O+

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤMBTI Type: INFP

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNationality: Thai

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤRepresentative Emoji: 🦥

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤInstagram: @cassiopeia

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Cassie Facts:

— She has said that her parents are jealous of her relationship with her members.

— Her favorite color is black.

— Complains about asking to Y.N to teach her how to play instruments, which she agrees to but then never does it.

— She is the third tallest member and is very proud of it.

— She seems to be close with Kep1er's Bahiyyih.

— If she could eat only one food for the rest of her life it would be Y.N's carrot cake.

— Has a puppy named after BTS's Jimin.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ Show more Cassie fun facts...

You can follow ETHYRIA's updates here.

──────────────────────────────

[eternal-echoes]

“Originally, the Greek root of the word "gender" meant "the manner in which one generates." The first usage of the English term can be traced to the fourteenth century, in reference to grammar.(3) For example, Latin has three genders for its nouns: masculine, feminine, and neuter, while some languages have as many as five gender categories.

A century later, "gender" was used as synonym for biological sex, but such a usage was rare until the twentieth century.(4) Today, many legal documents and online forms use "gender" and "sex" interchangeably. This usage can also be seen in popular phrases such as a "gender reveal party." Such celebrations aren't revealing anything about an unborn baby's internal sense of "gender identity." It simply means sex. Nonetheless, the word "gender" was predominantly used within the English language in reference to grammar until the 1970s.

The word "gender" was non-existent within medical literature until the psychologist John Money introduced the term "gender role" in an academic paper focused on hermaphroditism in 1955. He defined it as "social norms and characteristics associated with being a man or a woman."(5) For Money, one's identity is "private to an individual," whereas one's "gender role" is a "public expression to others."(6) He later explained, "The majority of people who contributed to this new meaning of gender were hermaphrodites or intersexes."(7) By 1980, the word was used ubiquitously in medical literature, primarily in relation to the gendered social roles that men and women live out. Feminist writers adopted the terminology, viewed John Money's claims as a scientific endorsement for their ideologies, and were quick to point out that socially constructed roles for men and women are malleable and purely culturally conditioned.(8) In turn, the public became habituated to using "gender" to mean "sex" or "sexual difference."

Most recently, the term "gender" is equated with "gender identity." Because gender theorists reject the significance of sexual difference (male/female), they disconnect "gender" from the sex binary. The World Health Organization explains: "Gender identity refers to a person's deeply felt, internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond to the person's physiology or designated sex at birth."(9) Such definitions partly reveal why the term "gender" is often missing from glossaries of gender theory: How can one define it without reference to the male/female binary?

…

The reason why the concept of gender seems to be so elusive is that the word itself is prone to shapeshifting, taking on whatever meaning best suits its user. But regardless of how one might define the term "gender," one thing is for certain regarding the recent evolution of its meaning: In the words of Dr. Abigail Favale, "The concept of gender, then, has ultimately served to pry a wedge between body and identity."(18)

If one's identity is untethered from the body, then it will anchor onto one's personality. However, there are as many personalities as there are persons. Thus, everyone becomes entitled to their own "gender identity?" As some activists say, "Your gender is as unique as your fingerprint. No two are the same." When the human person is understood in this way, the effects can be dizzying.”

-Jason Evert, Male, Female, or Other: A Catholic Guide to Understanding Gender

—

Works cited:

3) Cf. Lexico, "Gender," https://www.lexico.com/definition/gender.

4) Cf. D. Haig, "The Inexorable Rise of Gender and the Decline of Sex: Social Change in Academic Titles, 1945-2001," Archives of Sexual Behavior 33:2 (April 2004), 87-96.

5) J. Money, An Examination of Some Basic Sexual Concepts: The Evidence of Human Hermaphroditism, Bulletin of Johns Hopkins Hospital 97:4 (October, 1955), 301-319.

6) Money, "An Examination of Some Basic Sexual Concepts," 301-319.

7) John Money, preface, in John Money & A. A. Ehrhardt, Man and Woman, Boy and Girl. Gender Identity from Conception to Maturity (Northvale, N): Jason Aronson, 1972).

8) Cf. Kate Millett, Sexual Politics (New York: Avon Books, 1970), 54.

9) World Health Organization, "Gender and health," https://www.who.int/health-topics/gender#tab=tab_1.

18) Abigail Favale, "The Eclipse of Sex by the Rise of Gender," Church Life Journal (March 1, 2019).

—

For more recommended resources on gender dysphoria, click here.

[shedidntevenswear]

Mean Girls (2024): tries to gen z-ify the 2004 movie by updating references to social media and removing some bigoted language

also Mean Girls (2024): somehow still uses the word "grotsky" like anyone below the age of 40 has ever used that word casually

[bisnes-socks]

The Big Finnish Music Project for International Kääryleet, part 4.

Go to part 1 for all the context. We pick up where we left off in part 3, as the list is (more or less) in chronological order.

2000's here we come.

Anssi Kela

Within Finland, in the domestic market, one of the most successful artists of all time. His debut album was the most sold music album of the 2000's, only dethroned in 2012. A singer/songwriter popular among people of all ages, all over the country. Less of a massive star today, but still a well respected artist. Käärijä references and quotes his song 1972 in Menestynyt yksilö, but I wanted to link possibly his biggest hit, Puistossa, from 2001. A massive, massive hit and most people who were alive in 2001 can still sing this chorus, if nothing else.

Lordi

You might have seen Mr. Lordi in the DNA Christmas Kääryle ads last year, and if you're european and were alive in 2006, you probably know Lordi. But they became popular in Finland a few years prior to their Eurovision victory, with this song, Would You Love a Monsterman.

Pikku G

Okay but why did Nace mention Pikku G as a favourite finnish artist in their discord album party. Pikku G was a massively popular teen rapper in the early 2000's and made some sort of a comeback in 2017, i think. This song, Me ollaan nuoriso, was impossible to escape in 2003. He was 15 at the time.

PMMP

Iconic pop-rock duo, who made a comeback tour this year. This was their first single, Rusketusraidat, in 2003. It was a bit of a shock to a lot of people, two girls being so unruly and wild, and as such of course Paula and Mira of PMMP were quite the idols to especially a lot of young girls. They went on to have a really strong, popular and critically acclaimed career, and have since also done solo work. Paula Vesala in particular has been very successful solo as well.

Zen Café

Listen, Jere is a millennial. Which means chances are, he was traumatised by this video just like the rest of us, at the tender age of 10. Zen Café were a very significant band in the Finnish rock scene in the 2000's. They broke up in 2007. This song, Piha ilman sadettajaa, is from 2003, when they were at the height of their career.

METAL CORNER

I meantioned Lordi earlier as well, but Lordi could also count as hard rock, rather than metal. The early 2000's were a massively important time for Finnish metal, and it was when metal became almost mainstream in Finland. In the early 2000's, metal was everywhere, and as metal is very clearly an important influence in Käärijä's music, let's take a look at the metal scene in Finland back then. Again, not a complete list, but the two most internationally massive bands out of Finland, and the holy trinity of metal in the Finnish language.

--

Nightwish

Hands down the most internationally successful Finnish band of all time, Nightwish has sold well over 10 million albums globally. The linked song was their global breakthrough Nemo, in 2004. Nemo features their first singer, Tarja Turunen, who was very publicly fired in 2005 in a feud that resulted in a media scandal unlike anything before or since in the world of Finnish music. I'm not kidding, the literal prime minister was asked to comment on the situation. Still active, Nightwish is still to this day one of the biggest names in Finnish music and their influence in the world of symphonic metal globally is undeniable. They hold the record for most Emma Awards (Finnish Grammy) with 16 awards.

Children of Bodom

A metal band that is hard to pin down to a single genre, but melodic death metal gets mentioned the most. Named after a lake known by all Finnish people as the scene of a still unsolved triple murder, Children of Bodom is one of the most internationally successful Finnish bands of all time. The frontman Alexi Laiho, was voted to be the best metal guitarist in the world multiple times in international metal media. Alexi Laiho passed away in 2020. This song is one of their bigger hits, In Your Face.

Kotiteollisuus

They are like the suomirock band of the metal scene. They started in the 90’s, but had their breakthrough with their 2003 album Helvetistä itään. The linked song is Minä olen, the biggest hit off that album, and probably their biggest hit ever. If you watch the video, notice the logo in the upper right corner? Yeah, that’s the logo of a tv channel, because this was back in the day when they actually showed music videos on television, and in Finland that meant a lot of metal videos too.

Mokoma

Mokoma rose to fame in the early 2003 and they also started their own record company Sakara Records then. Sakara has become a significant company in the metal scene in Finland, so Mokoma and its members are quite influential and important players in the field. Mokoma itself is known for having quite a raw sound with very poetic and beautiful lyrics. I’m linking their song Takatalvi from 2003, mostly because the comment section is a hilarious living shared journal of Finnish people recordning the takatalvi phenomenon through the years (takatalvi = lit. “back winter”, meaning when winter conditions suddenly return in the middle of spring and everyone wants to collectively find a way to actually murder snow somehow)

Stam1na

There’s a photo of them with Käärijä crew somewhere, and if i remember correctly, Jukka likes them a lot. One of the Sakara Record bands, Stam1na (pronounced stamina) also rose to fame in the early 2000’s, and have become one of the most critically acclaimed metal bands in Finland. Their style is quite experimental yet distinctive, with quite clever and sort of intellectual lyrics. 

Now, the link is to their video for Likainen parketti but WARNING this video has graphic violence and blood. The reason why i’m linking this video from them is to further highlight what the music scene was like in the early 2000’s. You can see the graphics of the tv show Musiikki-TV in the linked video, which was a music show that ran on Yle TV2 from 2006 to 2009. They showed music videos on television, on the national broadcasting company’s channel, five days a week, and this sort of video was actually shown. So this is the sort of thing a 13 year old Jere might have come across on television in 2006.

Again, the video is graphic (four men get beaten up badly, one graphic shot of a bad wound, lots of blood), proceed only if you are okay with that.

End of part 4. Next part is back into the world of poprock and the rise of rap and humour music in the 2000's.