#they take their viewpoints and share them online or with other people

[glittertimes]

Listen I get working class solidarity and my parents are teachers I know how overworked they are.

My dad is retiring this year and is extremely burnt out and comes home exhausted these days. I support teachers strikes and higher pay for educators.

However I still have a really hard time feeling empathy towards teachers as a whole. My parents were also abusive, and then I went to school and I was punished and shamed for my trauma symptoms. I was never given any kind of emotional support or counseling as a child, and I learned to shame and hate my trauma symptoms which has made healing from abuse take so much longer.

I’m still in emdr therapy unlearning things that my elementary school teachers taught me, trying to understand that their behaviors were not my fault.

I think the education system is built off of the oppression of children and teens, and many teachers assume that they’re entitled to respect but not all teachers treat their students with respect.

they choose punishment and shaming because it’s easier in the moment, rather than supporting youth to feel their emotions and work through the difficult situations they face.

I’ve always wondered how we expect teens and children to model emotional regulation and intelligence when most adults don’t model it?

And yeah, everyone has responsibility over their behavior and how they respond to their emotions, I take accountability for how I’ve harmed people and I’ve done so much healing since I was kid. But I also know if literally one teacher had sat down with me for a moment to understand what was happening in my life at the time, I’d be a completely different person today.

Obviously there are many teachers trying to fix this and creating more ethical ways to teach, but again they are overworked and overwhelmed with little support.

I also feel like if we truly valued children, teachers wouldn’t be as burned out and stressed and have so little resources. Schools in the US exist in a culture of white supremacy and capitalism, where we spend billions on the military and imperialism and deprioritize education and social services that would ensure that kids could come to school with the food clothes, school supplies and safe homes that make it possible for children to learn.

I’ve said it before but anti-capitalist movements should include the rights of children and teens. Teachers especially should recognize this since their struggle is inherently tied to the students they teach. It’s also incredibly important since teachers have an inherent power dynamic over their students.

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

My dear lgbt+ kids, 

If you sometimes come across the term “banned books” but don’t really know what it means, here’s a simple little introduction to the topic: 

“Banned books” refers to books that have been censored or removed from libraries, schools, or bookstores due to objections from certain groups or individuals.

When we read that definition, I think a really common and understandable response is: „whoa, okay, these must be really bad books full of dangerous ideas!“… and in some way, that’s true. 

Because, you see, to someone with a homophobic worldview, any book with a gay character is really bad and dangerous. And to a child abuser, any book that educates children on consent is really bad and dangerous. 

Among the top reasons for book bans are lgbt+ content, sexual content (including sexual education or education on sexual abuse), themes of racism and themes like drug use or addiction. Over the years, many books with significant cultural and educational value have faced bans - and this continues to be an issue all around the world, including in the US. 

When books are banned, it restricts the access to information people (including kids and teenagers) need to understand themselves and others. This negatively affects queer people and other marginalized groups (for example people of color or disabled people) but it also impacts everyone else. Diversity in literature enriches our understanding of the diversity of real life. It helps to build empathy, compassion, kindness and understanding. Access to different stories and viewpoints is vital for an inclusive society. 

Censoring queer books in particular also normalizes the message that queer experiences are inappropriate or “dirty” - which, again, is really beneficial to homophobes and transphobes. If it feels safe for them to say that queer books harm children, it paves the way for all other kinds of discrimination and harassment of queer people. 

Now you may think “this all makes sense when it comes to books with gay characters! But didn’t you also mention stuff like sexual abuse and addiction and racism up there? These are indeed bad and dangerous things!” 

I think this is another really common thought. These things happen in real life and it can be uncomfortable to even think about them. But that’s precisely why we need books about those “uncomfortable” topics! 

We may not like the idea that a child hears about racism or abuse - but in a world where kids can experience racism and abuse, they also need to be able to read about racism and abuse. They need to be able to say “this is what’s happening to me and this is not okay”. We need to be able to name bad things when they happen to us or when we witness them happening to others. We need an understanding of and a language for bad things. That’s the only way to fight the bad things. 

Another thought you may have is “Okay, and now what? I don’t have the power to do anything about all this anyway”, and honestly I wouldn’t blame you for that one either. Hearing about book bans (on top of all the other negative stuff we hear about) can feel really depressing. But there are things you can do to push back and help keep diverse stories accessible - even if you are young or have limited resources! 

Some ideas: 

use your public library (many public libraries actively resist censorship and make banned books available!) 

use a digital library (services like Libby and Project Gutenberg offer free access to many books) 

look out for online petitions or letter-writing campaigns by organizations that oppose book bans (for example PEN in America) 

look up if there are any “little free libraries” in your area (free book-sharing box operating on the honor system: anyone can take or leave a book for no cost) 

look up if there are any book swapping events in your area 

take part in reading groups, book clubs etc. (either in person or online) 

And of course the big one: if you can afford to buy books - make a point to buy banned books (or more generally, queer books and books from marginalized authors and books on topics that frequently get banned)! As a starting point, you can find lists of banned books online. Wikipedia has one, for example. 

If you have a bigger budget, you could even buy multiple copies and put some in your local “little free library” or bring them to book-swapping events or gift them to friends etc! (You could also ask your local public library (or school library or prison library or youth center or women’s shelter etc) if they take book donations, but you may want to hold off on buying before they say yes - not all of them can accept donations!).

Happy reading and resisting!

With all my love, 

Your Tumblr Dad 

[heartfullofleeches]

Oohhh I love the night gallery crew!! <3

Okay so- how would the art gallery harem react to the news that their precious night guard used to pose as a nude art model for one if their previous jobs? Bonus points if they end up digging around and finding old drawings/portfolio pics of them posted online lol

The Painter

Their muse - a model in the past? A nude one at that? They can't say they aren't jealous others have bared witness to their beauty, but they won't be so upset about it if their dearest is willing to come out of retirement and maybe send their older photos up to their study. They promise not to stare too much, but they pray their muse doesn't mind if their eyes linger. It's rare for them to be in the presence of such raw perfection. They are more of a hands on type of painter so their muse wouldn't mind a few touches, no? As they would say, it’s all just apart of the process.

Rosebud

Of course they are interested, but they won't press the matter unless Reader offers to share.... Please ignore the excitement of their roses - though they do reflect Rosebud's inner feelings they assure Reader it's just past their feeding time. Clearly more flustered than they let on. Refuses to look at the images because they would only make them more tempted to leave bites all over Reader to claim them as their own as they are when they see the Guard's exposed neck or wrists or pretty much any uncovered inch of skin.

The Scavenger

Hope staff gives the printer in the breakroom a nice funeral because if Scavenger gets its hands on those portfolio shots it's the end of the line for that poor machine. Anything relating to their precious treasure is the pinnacle of their collection. They must have more - even if it's the same picture a thousand times it's still not enough. If anyone comes across one of their copies it's best theu leave them their because even if they're trying to return them Scavenger will accuse them of stealing. There's not doubt I my mind they've eaten a copy or two because they're weird like that.

The Faceless Angel

Conflicted. On one hand they are interested in seeing their guard in all forms, but on the other it feels like an invasion of privacy. Unlike some, their intrigue comes from an artistic viewpoint rather than sexual. They'd give anything for the opportunity to touch Reader's warm flesh without clothing in the way. It feels like heaven on their stone skin.

The Lady in Red

It's the less images she's interested in and more the people who have seen them. Swiftly cuts down anyone who views Reader's pictures while in the gallery be they human or fellow exhibit. She can't do anything about the past, but does everything in the present to keep too many eyes off her love. Takes the photos Scavenger loses and while she keeps a few on hand - she burns the rest.

Julian

Slimy fuck is probably the first to come across them being the noisy little stalker he is. As an artist in his free time, he does use them for reference, but it's much more fun to use them for other things. Like teasing Reader about their past or taping copies to the breakroom fidge. He only does it when he knows they're the only two on shift because he'll have to hurt anyone who sees them nakee besides him. Like Lady, he's more likely to attack paintings who have gotten a hold of the scavengers copies.

Anri

Their favorite coworker was once a model? How fun! They aren't the best artist, but they can draw Reader too. A little bashful about seeing them naked so they stick to just about the shoulders. They want to at least waiting until their ten date with Reader before seeing them in such a state. Covers their eyes and runs off whenever someone tries to show them. Julian only allows Anri to see the photos because it's fun to chase them through the halls with them or point out various aspects of their features to make Anri flustered

The Director

Dislikes imagine of Reader because while they can be used to create copies of them, The Director wants the real thing. Still has one of Scavenger's photos tucked in his coat pocket.

[loveerran]

Is it tiring for you to have to explain yourself to all the bigots in the world

One would think so, right? I really appreciate the empathy and allyship behind this question.

Surprisingly though, I am finding it very energizing to relate my story. Most of the people I talk to are admittedly not hard core bigots or threatening. But they may be people who don't understand. Speaking to them and working with them not only helps them understand and see the queer experience in a different light, but helps me feel I am doing some good in the world. Even when people disagree with me, but are willing to talk, I usually find there is a path forward and a positive impact to be had.

Last year I spent some time talking to the mom and dad of a trans kid at one of the conferences I attended. The mom is gay and was wearing a 'gays against groomers' t-shirt. Even though she is part of the LGBT community, she was having difficulty relating to her child's gender journey. She was concerned about affirming voices, including online friends and medical professionals. She was worried she was losing the child she had given birth to, and that 'giving in' to being trans would negatively affect her child's life. Her and her husband even did a youtube video with a conservative host to talk about the dangers and evils of gender ideology. We probably spent the better part of an hour together, and I had an opportunity to listen to their viewpoint, hear their concerns, and share a bit of my story. I am not sure any opinions were changed, but it was still good to trade ideas, learn from each other and take away some things to think about.

I spent most of my life in hiding, terrified and full of self-hatred. Finding opportunities to share, to promote understanding (particularly in spiritual contexts), is incredibly healing for me.

The principles of my faith encourage not only the ministering of others to me, but my ministry to them.

[therawrliveson]

Some 9-1-1 thoughts I need to get down.

I know Buddie shippers are relentlessly positive that their ship will be canon one day and I respect it. But I have been active in fandom since I was 13 (almost late 20s now) and I’ve never seen a fandom be so obnoxious about it?? Every tweet is “when buddie becomes canon” “they’re clearly making buddie canon” “it’s not if it’s when” and it’s so incredibly off putting.

All media is up for interpretation, and they’re choosing to interpret any moments no matter how small as “Buck and Eddie are in love with each other” and I’m not going to ick their yum but… that’s their interpretation. And when you get people saying “actually ive never shipped this and always thought they were just friends and it’s a meaningful story to me still” and buddie shippers (BoBs mostly) scream at them that they’re wrong it’s just… too much. Because clearly this interpretation exists, and telling people they’re wrong is just incorrect.

This isn’t even about bucktommy at this point, it’s just about people wearing buddie goggles and refusing to hear what other people are saying and assuming their word is law because the “majority” of the fandom ships something… online… where they’ve placed themselves surrounded by other people who share the same viewpoint and block or do not engage with anyone who shares an opposing opinion.

Buddie may never become canon, and no one should be watching the show assuming that they do because all they’re doing is disappointing themselves and queerbaiting themselves and accusing the network of ship baiting them when Buck and Eddie are friends and they should be allowed to interact and be shown to interact without the screaming that buddie shippers were tricked into viewing.

And while I’m here I just wanna say the “we have platonic male friendships they aren’t special, making them canon would be way more important” argument I keep seeing is not the right take in my opinion. They aren’t just two dudes being bros. Buck is coparenting eddies literal child. I don’t know about y’all but I’ve never seen that dynamic ever? Platonic male friendships may not be “special” to some people but they’re important to show and this particular friendship goes deeper than nights playing games and drinking beer and chatting about women. They’re two men, who even in romantic relationships, have each others backs. They don’t bail last minute on each other for their partners, and Buck is still a present person in Christopher’s life. It’s just wild that some people think this complex but beautiful and meaningful relationship that currently exists on screen is not enough.

This is incoherent at best because many thoughts and not enough time in the world. Might get someone yelling at me over this but who knows.

[annabelle--cane]

Sending that ask reminded me of another one I was meaning to ask. I remember a while ago when Jonny and/or Alex said they didn't like Jon very much (I think? I can't remember it very well) and I saw some people be kind of shocked over that and say that that led to bad writing. Looking back now, I might be misremembering some context, but I also don't know that disliking your characters necessarily is a bad thing and wanted to know what you think, if you have an opinion on it.

off the top of my head, the closest either of them have gotten to saying they don't like jon was in this bit of the s2 q&a:

Alex: “Are the writer and actor Jonathan Sims, and the Archivist Jonathan Sims, at all alike or do the similarities end in the shared name or voice?” Jonny: I mean, I don’t think they’re super alike. Like, a lot of his, a lot of his aspects are small aspects of my own personality turned up to 11. Alex: I just think you mined the bits of yourself that you don’t particularly like. Jonny: I mean, yeah. Alex: And then, and then just built a personality around them. Jonny: No, I mined the bits of myself that are useful in a horror protagonist.

and if memory serves me I think the thesis of that bit of fan commentary back in the day was that basing a character loosely on himself led jonny to be overly self-deprecating-by-proxy, so he made the narrative/other characters come down too harshly on jon. it's an approach to criticism that always makes me feel a bit icky, I already dislike critical approaches that are primarily about the author's psyche and imo leveling it up into saying "this guy's self-worth is too low for him to write a good story" about an author who is still like. alive and online. is a huge and just plain weird overstep. and even beside that, this argument still supposes that the characters behaving badly towards jon is a writing flaw, and that's simply not a take with which I have ever agreed.

I have definitely seen fiction before where the creators clearly grew to dislike a certain character and started writing them Weirdly, where they would act out in ways that weren't consistent with their earlier characterization, or unfortunate things would happen to them that they didn't expect the audience to sympathize with, or their extremely reasonable viewpoints would be dismissed out-of-hand, but I think that writers can dislike their characters without it having bad ramifications as long as they're self-aware enough about it. for an example, alexander j newall kind of infamously didn't really like martin until the end of season four, but he is still a sympathetic character with a really solid arc.

[nozomi-kaizoku]

Hi!!!

Welcome to my Offical Tumblr!

This is where I will be posting all of my vent content (Mainly stuff regarding BPD and my thoughts on online drama), it's kind of like making a public diary lmao

I also reblog other people's vents that I relate to, so if you see me reblog your vent post, that's why :3 (if you need me to take it down, please let me know, and I will)

My spam account: @nozomi-spam

My posts on this account will contain or mention the following:

Suicide and suicidal ideation

Self harm

Any relevant drama that goes viral (ex: the YandereDev situation)

Negative perceptions of my relationships and myself

Sex, sexual topics and self sexualization

Ableism (including internalized ableism and stigma against my disorder)

Psych wards

Invalidation

Hopelessness for the future

The hardships that come with BPD (such as mood swings and dissociation)

Anxiety

Mentions of some problematic behavior I did back in 2021 (do not ask me about it btw, I'm not comfortable with going into detail and I might not remember everything)

Wanting to be in a relationship with older men (mainly with men in their 30's)

Attention-seeking behavior

Incel/Femcel stuff (I DO NOT ASSOCIATE WITH GENUINELY BAD PEOPLE)

Other things that might be potential triggering

If you are not comfortable with any of the above in any way, please DNI and do not come onto my page (see boundaries for other DNI criteria). I do not want my content to cause harm in any way.

Thank you.

Name: Nozomi Kaizoku, but I'm cool with Nozomi, Zomie/Zomi (doesn't matter the spelling), or just Luca(s) or Pheonix

I'm 17 (My birthday is 01/14)

Pronouns: He/they/it

Disabilities and mental conditions: autism (professionally diagnosed), ADHD (professionally diagnosed), PTSD (Professionally diagnosed), ARFID (avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder, professionally diagnosed), Iron deficiency (caused by ARFID), BPD (professionally diagnosed) MDD (Major depressive disorder, professionally diagnosed), GAD (generalized Anxiety disorder, professionally diagnosed), PDD (persistent Depressive disorder, professionally diagnosed). (all except autism, ADHD, PTSD and ARFID are provisional)

Sexuality and Gender Identity: Pansexual, Aromantic, and Non-Binary (Masculine and androgynous terms for me are cool with me)

Always Welcome!! (unless you end up on the DNI list somehow)

Neurodivergent people of all kinds (especially autistic and ADHD folk)

Anyone of any mental illness

FNAF fans, canon and AU (especially Tony crynight fans)

Any race, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, etc. (this is a safe space)

Any fandom (outside of what is on the DNI)

Weird/cringe people of all kinds (furries, therians, alt fashion, etc.)

Problematic in recovery people (basically any content creators who are problematic and in the process of stopping their problematic behavior) (this s a pro-recovery page)

Just cool people in general!

Anyone 14 and over

Unless I made you an exception, DO NOT INTERACT (DNI) (you will be blocked)

anyone under 14 (I'd rather not expose anyone that's really young to any sort of content that's gonna mess them up for life. Trust me, I saw some shit I wasn't supposed to at a young age and it messed me up big time.)

Anyone who openly shares their political ideology (No hate against any of you, but I've seen way too many people get into fights over one's political viewpoint, and I'd rather not have that negativity on here. I'm considered a "leftist/democrat/liberal" incase anyone is curious, but I'm not gonna talk about it much on here)

Springtrap x Ballora shippers (most of y'all are toxic as fuck and I don't like it)

DNI (no exceptions) (you will be blocked)

Anyone who fits into these categories: Ableism (especially against neurodivergent people and anyone with "evil" mental illnesses, such as NPD or BPD), Racism, Sexism/misogyny, Homophobia/ transphobia, Antisemitism, Pro-genocide of any kind, Nazis and Neo-Nazis, pro-"life", or any sort of discrimination that I haven't listed here.

People who justify literal bullying as "criticism" (seriously, it never helps, there's a difference between actual criticism that can help someone and bullying)

Tony Crynight Anti's (this is a Tony Crynight fanpage, and as such, any hate against him will be deleted and blocked)

Personality disorder Abuse believers (eg: Narcissist abuse believers)

People who make mental illness look like a quirky trend (Eg: saying "bpd = beautiful princess disorder", "I'm so OCD" etc.) (mental illness isn't fun at all, coming from experience) (ONLY APPLIES TO NEUROTYPICALS, SOME PEOPLE WITH THE DISORDER USE THESE JOKES AS A COPING MECHANISM)

Fashion Jirais (due to harassment and spreading harmful misconceptions about mental health and the Jirai community)

Anti-recovery (especially when it comes down to mental illness)

Cancel culture participants (most of yall are anti-recovery and pro-bullying.)

---

Feel free to reblog my posts if you find it relatable, but please be respectful about any criticism you have, otherwise you will be blocked.

---

That's all folks! /ref

[4th-make-quail]

May I ask a clarifying question on your boundaries? I don’t consider myself “proship” or “anti” as I think those terms are reductive, and two people who may both fit under one label could have incredibly different opinions. However, I believe that the way I interact with media could be something that someone would call “anti”, in that I find it more interesting to look at fiction through the lens of reality rather than “fiction doesn’t effect reality”, by which I mean when reading Lolita I like to go “okay so what is this saying about how the psych profession saw csa at the time?” “How was this influenced by Nabokov’s own experiences?”, I see Marius and Armand as a reflection of child sexual abuse and enjoy analysing it under a more realistic lens, and would find wincest more interesting as a look at enmeshment between siblings under an abusive parent, rather than a ship (although what people mean by the term “ship” is also really vague and can differ wildly).

Based on that, and what you say in your pinned post, would you prefer I don’t interact? I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable!

Okay so to preface this, I don't go into much detail in my pinned because I hate the whole thing, and I hate spaces which are super dedicated to the pro/anti discourse. I try to keep my online spaces free of discourse and drama because its simply not fun! I don't want to spend my days steeping in negativity.

This got very long, so I'm gonna put it under a cut!

So. The thing is anon, the proship label originally came about as a response to antis, to describe people who don't actually care what other people ship ("ship and let ship", "your kink is not my kink and that's okay" and all that), but it's been massively conflated these days and now people take it to describe what they call problematic ships or art. You're right about them being reductive terms - and in fact, I have a lot of freak friends who are super into things I personally dislike or am outright squicked by (and vice versa), because we're not a monolith.

My stance entirely is this: I don't care what other people ship. I don't care how they ship it, or how they want to analyse and engage with that source material. I think what people ship and what art people enjoy has no say at all in what their morals might be.

What you describe as how you engage with those pairings is a completely valid interpretation! Preferring to look at a relationship through those lenses is perfectly fine, and in fact lots of people do this under the umbrella of meta.

What I personally mean by "ship" is the usual description - I want those two characters to have a romantic and sexual relationship. However, I also have no issues with people who don't have that viewpoint because it quite literally doesn't affect me unless they go about harassing others.

Liking a "problematic" ship dynamic doesn't mean you also condone that thing in real life. There's a reason one of the top sexual fantasies is noncon (see: any women's magazine list of these), and it's not because the person secretly really wants to be raped in real life. It's because human beings enjoy exploring taboo subjects in a safe and fictional environment.

Where my opinion stands on this is simple. If you think it's okay to harass people for the ships they like, if you think it's acceptable to write call out posts and smear people's names because of the ships they like, then I don't want to know you. If you think liking Marius/Armand makes that person a paedophile, or that liking underage ships leads to the person eventually moving on to real life kids, or that being an incest shipper means you're gonna go fuck your own sibling, again, I don't want to know you.

The same goes for both sides of this frankly stupid issue - far too many people who call themselves proship proudly love to dunk publicly on antis or people who don't share their viewpoints, which imo makes them just as bad! If someone's out there being awful to people who don't ship their problematic ships, then it's just as bad!

This is also why I don't do any DNIs or anything like that. If I see someone start to follow me and they have big obvious "PROSHIP DNI" in their info, then I will go ahead and block them, but otherwise I'm not interested in policing who can interact with me in that way. It's not for me to decide whether someone else wants to interact with me, it's on you to decide if you want to.

I'm not gonna be going out and ripping on people who dislike a ship I like, or who engage with art in a different way to me. However, if I come across posts in my tracked tags or on my dash expressing anti sentiments, or going on a negative rant about something I love, then I will also probably unfortunately be blocking that person. I don't like seeing negativity about shit I love on my dash or in the tags (really, does anybody? lol) so I'm proactive about that because a) it depresses me, and b) I spent a long time in the ffxiv fandom, where people think liking Garleans makes you a nazi apologist, and where they love to go on ranting screeds about how my favourite characters should die painfully, and I'm honestly not about that in my fandom life.

Anyway, all this to say: if you're comfortable interacting with me, a Marius/Armand bitch who does indeed enjoy their fucked up relationship because of how fucked up it is (and finds it incredibly sexy, actually), then I'm fine with you interacting with me. I'm not gonna be sharing or posting about that specific ship anyway, and I'm certainly not gonna be awful about people who find it distasteful or triggering or even just plain don't like it for whatever reason. It won't make me uncomfortable in any way to interact with you because you engage with those things in a different way to me, as long as you don't also engage in the other activities I discussed further up.

Sorry this got so long, anon! Hopefully it all makes sense. As an aside, I'm not interested in having any debates about these issues with anyone and will not be engaging with arguments about it. Sensible discussion, yes. Arguments, discourse and wank? No. Thank you for understanding! 💚

[balefulbasal]

Why I Believe Miguel O’Hara (Spiderman 2099) Is an Autistic Coded Character

NOTE: I’m broke, so I have not actually seen the movie. I read spoiler articles, watched the limited clips available on the internet, and engaged in discourse online from casual fans all the way up to storyboard writers for Miguel O’Hara. Therefore, I understand that my perception of this has the potential to be incomplete and limited.

DISCLAIMER: IF YOU DON’T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT AUTISM, DNI!

TW: Autism, Neurodivergent, Neurotypical, term “Othered” used once, Depression, Mention of Psychiatric Conditions, Pattern Recognition, Misperceptions, Sensory Processing Disorder, Hyper Focuses, Special Interest(s).

QUICK NOTE: ND is an abbreviation for Neurodivergent. NT is an abbreviation for Neurotypical.

CW: I describe autism from my viewpoint because I am autistic. I DO NOT speak for all autistic people. While many of us autistic people have had nearly identical experiences, I choose to relate to Miguel from my own experience. I directly acknowledge specific aspects of my autism in this post in order to include those of us who do the same thing. We are all individuals, but that sense of community and understanding is very important to me, so I want to share that feeling. This was horrific for me to compile, but horrific in a way that has greatly helped me to face aspects of my own autism, despite how scary it felt writing this.

LET US COMMENCE!

Miguel O’Hara does not have Spidey sense: a “normal” aspect of all Spider persons. Miguel is a Spider person but is lacking a HUGE qualifier. Spider persons with Spidey sense can be likened to Neurotypical people, who are the majority of humans. Autistic (a type of Neurodivergence) people are known to “miss” many seemingly every day or normal things that Neurotypicals don’t have to think about. But NTs and NDs are both humans. But just like Miguel, NDs are a small minority of humans. Because of all the things we “miss” or “don’t sense”, we are “othered”.

MANY Autistic people are incorrectly diagnosed with psychiatric conditions, such as: OCD, ODD, and Generalized Depression. The deep sadness and desire for control in order to maintain inner peace is OFTEN confused with said psychiatric conditions. Miguel created the Spider Society to maintain control of what it is that he understands about how things work, so that he can rationalize the mistake he made that messed up the Spiderverse, while helping other people to not make the same mistake and mess things up even more. Miguel is operating within a trait common to autistic people called Pattern Recognition. I’ll explain it this way: If something has happened the same way MANY times over, and this thing began and ended the same way, no matter who the thing involved, then once I see Step 1 of the issue occur, I can warn/outline to people EXACTLY how all steps will carry out if they don’t do EXACTLY as I say to protect themselves. Miguel’s intense desire to HELP has been MISPERCEIVED as: aggression, control freak, irritability, and crazed obsession. No one is seeing things the way he is (NT and ND perception disconnect), but he still wants to help them at the expense of being PERCEIVED negatively.

In ATSV, we witness what happens when an autistic person (Miguel O’Hara) is trying to maintain control over a situation THEY KNOW will go south if they don’t DO SOMETHING TO STOP IT. The first step in a long list of detrimental events was Miles being an anomaly Miguel couldn’t prevent, and every step afterward is escalating towards the last pieces of the destruction that Miguel already anticipated and he is seeing that its beyond him now. NO ONE LISTENED BECAUSE NO ONE COULD SEE THE SITUATION THE WAY HE DID. When an autistic person loses their tight grip on the control they have consciously and intentionally curated for YEARS, they burn out. And while that is a figurative death for us autistic people, most NTs take this as an “overreaction as a result of overthinking”.

Miguel has sensory processing disorder (another trait common with autism): His suit is digital/holographic. Many of us with sensory processing disorder hate the way MOST clothes FEEL on us and we must choose between a long list of “evils” in order to figure out what we will be comfortable wearing. If I could have digital/holographic clothes, that would help me so much. He is sensitive to light. Bright lights overstimulate most people with sensory processing disorder. We love being in the dark, wrapped in a fabric comfortable to us, or not wearing anything at all!

Most autistic people have hyper focuses where we curate our special interests, and we LOVE to talk about them. It is usually seen as “overbearing”, “too much”, “CHILDISH”, “TAKES TOO LONG TO EXPLAIN”. Miguel can go into the most scientific and thorough explanation of something that he’ll express directly and with the right amount of nuance for the given topic but is cut short because he “doesn’t look” like he “should” be saying, acting like, doing, and behaving in the way that he is. I’m a societally attractive Black woman who is an introvert with an extrovert’s personality. Being autistic, a few of my many special interests are: Spiders (Jumping Spiders to be exact. Miguel O’Hara is my favorite jumping spider of all) small containers, all aspects of human behavior (even though NTs still baffle me), and sex. I can overabundantly relate to Miguel in that he and I are considered good looking, but no one seems to “get” why we are “acting this way”.

Miguel created Lyla. She is a fun, bubbly, silly, little character. Seemingly opposite from him. Raise your hand if when you were a little autistic kid, you had that one imaginary friend who you called to mind any time you were overstimulated and needed to cope, survive, force yourself to think, etc. and they were the version of yourself you wish you were emotionally safe enough to be. I feel that Lyla is who Miguel is on the inside, but if he showed that, he’d be taken advantage of. (Masking our true selves for self-preservation reasons, anyone?) Lego Spiderman is technically a toy. Most autistic children have THAT ONE TOY (or any object!) we DO NOT let go of, even into adulthood. It’s a comforting, safe, and easy to hold object that we use to calm ourselves down. I had a small stuffed puppy that I protected with my life. No one could pick it up or even look at it without my consent. Her name was Emmy. (The Phantom of the Opera introduced me to Emmy Rossum, and I thought she was so cool.) Miguel has fused his inner self representation of an AI assistant (Lyla), and his emotional support/comfort object (Lego Spiderman) into this small mix of what he feels he has left, because he lost anything else that would have brought him comfort.

This list could go on. But I’ll stop here. All these aspects of Miguel feel so specifically Neurodivergent/Autistic. I don’t know if that was intentional, but if it was, I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to the ATSV writers for this. And I am thanking all of you who took time out of you day to read this.

Thank you so much!

[rainbat]

Nowadays, a lot of people realize they’re queer online, and from that chunk of people, a lot of them explore their identity in a way that is solely connected to their identity on the internet, i.e. they do not extend their exploration to their real life. That’s not being said to minimize the journey of coming out or discovering yourself, it’s a difficult process that’s sometimes unsafe or impossible to navigate in real life, so coming out online by labelling yourself as queer and putting different pronouns in your bio is often the first and safest step in this day and age, but it’s not wholly representative of what it actually means to be visibly queer.

Extending your queerness to your real-life presentation (or, presenting as queer in real life before even existing in online spaces) opens you to being ‘visibly queer’ to the population at large, and when you do that, you very quickly realize that being strictly queer online shelters you from a large chunk of experiences you have when you’re visibly queer. Be it in your gender expression, the way your express your sexuality through your dress, how HRT physically changes you, or how being with your partner labels you to others as queer, a person who is visibly queer is immediately treated differently by society at large, in the streets, in the workplace, at school, etc., and is targeted ten times more than someone who is not. Since being visibly queer is, well, visible, it’s relatively easy to tell in person who falls into this marginalized group, and understand that when they speak on their experiences, they’re speaking from the experience of being queer.

The problem online, behind screen names and aliases and text posts, is that everyone and anyone exploring can add a label in their bio that makes them look visibly queer, even if they’re not actually visibly queer. These people are strictly queer online, and while that doesn’t make them any less queer, it does not expose them to the same experiences a visibly queer person has in real life, so their viewpoints are limited and the extent to which they can speak on the numerous issues visibly queer people face is short. But since the internet is its own space, where it’s nearly impossible to tell who presents the same in real life and who does not, you end up having no idea as to who’s speaking from the experience of being visibly queer, and who’s speaking from a strictly queer online viewpoint.

What’s been happening more and more with nuanced discussions on queer experiences online is that you have people who are strictly queer online speaking on topics and issues as if they’re coming from a place of being visibly queer, without disclosing that their opinions and views are not based in real life experience. These takes and opinions spread to other people who are strictly queer online, who interpret these arguments as if they’re coming from people who are visibly queer, and thus should be seen as definitive understandings of extremely nuanced issues. Then, when visibly queer people step in to challenge or question these ideas, they’re shot down or piled up against, because the majority, the loudest voices, are the people who spend their queer existence on the internet instead of interacting in real queer spaces, with their queer neighbors and elders, or with the partners in public spaces.

Constant arguments that no one is having in real life, insane opinions that any visibly queer person can tell you is based in homophobia, every voice being heard and applauded under thirty with extremely limited lived experience, have created a culture of online queerness that is fast and far removed from what it’s like to be visibly queer. And that culture is spreading like wildfire in spaces that have always been deemed queer-friendly: fandoms and niche interests, where people come together to create and talk, and share their experiences. All of a sudden trans and gay people are being pushed out because voicing their opinions based on being visibly queer has their own community trivializing, dismissing, or attacking them.

[skade32]

Do I deserve to be happy?

— — —

(a discovery I made about myself which in turn lead to a discovery about society’s obsession with a martyr-complex)

^^^ a study I did on my my own baby photos (I tried my best guys I’m being so fr I can’t draw kids)^^^

One thing I’ve noticed recently is that I look rather young for my age. Now granted, I still AM young but as I’m reaching the point of adulthood I’m starting to notice how I’m not losing the same features my peers have long grown out of— my round cheeks, my feathery soft baby hair that has yet to lose its youthful pallor, my stature, my flexibility, etc. all things I’m used to and have accepted as a part of who I am— and shockingly I also noticed that in no way am I insecure about the way I look. I chose to be positive about it and grateful for the little things that make me who I am. Just how the converse traits like looking older with scruffy beards, course salt and pepper hair and twinkling eyes are also positive traits.

As I’ve mentioned my transition into adulthood, I’ve been thinking a lot about identity and realizing I don’t know a lot about myself and this is one of the things I have recently realized and I really feel the need to express it because I’m excited to have a piece of the puzzle that is me and I really want to share it with the world but I’ve found that there often isn’t a positive connotation to how people view themselves.

Especially online when people write a self-reflective post, usually exhibiting traits of self-depreciation and such a viewpoint skews the frame of mind of the reader to the point where a simple observation such as my own taking a positive or even a neutral place in my self-esteem seems overtly narcissistic.

I’m kinda just ranting into the void at this point but I’ve just been thinking about this idea for some time and I think I need to get it out into the world so I can finally relax and let it go, knowing my revelations will not be lost to the chaos that is my mind.

Recognizing that I have a youthful appearance, and that I don’t necessarily despise that trait initially made me feel strange and insecure about my own confidence which is truly ironic. Something tells me that my experience with the oxymoronic attitude is unfortunately more universal than not. And it’s made me think about the implications behind the way that we as a society have chosen to assign negativity towards things like confidence and self-respect despite the hollow encouragements of posters and self help books adorning our guidance counselors’ offices.

Are we so corrupted that we starve ourselves of love and affection just to savor the idea that we deserve such things?

Is it possible that we have been unintentionally feeding each other’s anxieties and insecurities by projecting our own into the world? Have we unintentionally harmed those around us in an attempt to stave off the feelings of selfishness that haunt us every night? Do we crave so deeply to be needed, to be wanted, that we present ourselves as a thing that we despise despite not necessarily believing the things we say about ourselves? Do we simply say them because we don’t want to address the fact that we don’t beleive them? Are we all just trying to diminish ourselves every day because we can’t stand the idea that we might actually like ourselves, because we’ve been conditioned to think that anything positive is a selfish and undeserved benefit only fit for a person who is so humble and self-sacrificing that they would never accept such an idea anyway?

Do we earn the right to deserve love? Even if it diminishes the ability to experience love in the first place?

[cruyuu]

Haha totally! Bird place is awful. Something I have been noticing is that some other mangas/shows/etc is like they are losing fans or they don't comment too much anymore, I think people have drama fatigue

It's specially sad when you care about Yuji too, that place is awful, G fans not caring about Yuji, or telling YUJI fans to stop defending what they like. Saw one subreal conversation

Yuji fan: *ending theory*

G fan: ok but now G comes back and is proud of his students

Yuji fan: he won't come back it doesn't make sense, this is about Yuji

G fan: and? Gojo being there doesn't mean it would ruin it! You yuji fans are so sensitive

For real. They have been like this EVER since Shibuya

My biggest problem with them is that they complain about this being Sukuna Kaisen BUT they are just asking for Gojo Kaisen XDDDD

Maki drama with her sister? Non important

Yuta cool moments? Don't matter

Yuji i and megumi? Don't matter

Yuki? Don't matter

Also their OBSESSION with gojo vs sukunas fight. Like, I think even most sukunas fans despise that fight now but gojo fans keep insisting ALL OF JJK FANS only like that fight. No thanks

They also say the fights after Gojo (plus yuji development) don't matter. Sukuna vs yuta yuji? You can't like it. Sukuna vs maki? You can't like it. Sukuna vs todo yuji? You Cant like it

ALL must be about gojo yo. They complain about sukuna getting attention (imagine reading a manga about yuji AND sukuna lol) but then they are ok when Gege is dragged to some convention and they spend 1 hour asking him questions JUST about Gojo. Or the new book being about gojo. Yuji's grandpa? Doesn't matter. Kenjaku sukuna past? Don't matter. Yuki Todo past? Don't matter. Yuji's father? Doesn't matter. But hey now you know when Gojo takes a dump lol

Sorry for the rant, but it's sad how much harm fanboys can do to a community to the point I'm seeing even yuji fans leave.

Funny how they always claim Gojo and students BS when they clearly don't care about his students. And I don't even get this fascination, I don't even think I saw him talk to Nobara and only shared a few scenes with them. Even Nanami and todo felt more like protective teachers (remember the CANON is Gojo trying to reach sukuna lol). I could understand at least if this was like All Might relationship with Deku, but it's not even like that lol

Again sorry for the rants, really hope Gege won't concede, and if he kills sukuna it's because he wants to not because of pressure

You're right, anon, and don't apologize for ranting. It's totally fine to be frustrated about certain things which are prevalent in this fandom. This blog of mine will always be a place where people are free to share opinions and talk with me. Threats and insults over characters which don't exist will not be acknowledged. If anything, I'll just laugh.

Well, I'll tell you when I was on that app, I was pissed off almost daily. I was the happiest when I just read jjk and didn't look up stuff online related to it. I'll just say I'm not surprised why some people stay clear of this fandom.

That conversation that you saw sums up my experience trying to praise Yuuji without mentioning anyone else. Considering Yuuji is my fav, I like him for who he is and if he changes, I'll still love him. If he has roles or not, I'll still love him. If he doesn't live up to his promises, I'll still love him because I care about him and about his own viewpoint as a character. I believe that he can and should exist outside of others that are involved in his life.

Funny how 265 talks about the same thing. That people exist outside of memories, outside of roles. People say that speech Yuuji gave is wonderful yet can't apply that reasoning to him.

My biggest problem with them is that they complain about this being Sukuna Kaisen BUT they are just asking for Gojo Kaisen XDDDD

They do, lol.

Maki versus the Zenin clan was touching. It was also perfect revenge. Maki's arc also tackles misogyny (quite well, might I add) and I don't know why people in this fandom are ignoring it, but then again, this is this fandom. Notable for ignoring side characters in favor of other side characters. What pains me the most is that nobody is treated equal. Not even those side characters can stand side by side together and be praised.

To the fandom, a lot of things that happen in the story do not matter. What matters is who's prettier or who has a cooler CT.

Sorry for the rant, but it's sad how much harm fanboys can do to a community to the point I'm seeing even yuji fans leave. Funny how they always claim Gojo and students BS when they clearly don't care about his students. And I don't even get this fascination, I don't even think I saw him talk to Nobara and only shared a few scenes with them. Even Nanami and todo felt more like protective teachers (remember the CANON is Gojo trying to reach sukuna lol). I could understand at least if this was like All Might relationship with Deku, but it's not even like that lol

Like I said, it's alright, anon. If anything, I agree with you.

I always saw Nanami, Choso, Todo, and Higuruma as people that were more responsible and took care of Yuuji far better than Gojo ever did. Sure, I'm not discrediting the fact that Gojo was a teacher to Yuuji, one he looked up to, but holy shit the bar was in hell. Yes, cursed energy training. Yes, teaching him about the basics of jujutsu. But taking care of him? Of his mental health? Nope. He was only interesting because he was Sukuna's vessel and had survived digesting his finger.

Still, Gojo was never written to be a teacher figure. He only took the teaching job because of Geto, and because Geto told him that, you can imagine that it was done out of spite and hence why Gojo never dedicated himself to that role. It's precisely because he didn't care. Hence Gojo and his students is not 'it' to me. When I see those Team 7 (from Naruto) comparisons, I cringe and die a little on the inside. Like sure... if Gojo was written to truly give a fuck about his students (in some AU) it would work, but canon says otherwise.

Again sorry for the rants, really hope Gege won't concede, and if he kills sukuna it's because he wants to not because of pressure

I'm hoping so, too. Popularity should never affect the author's wishes.

[whentherewerebicycles]

wow you took that former friend/student stuff really well, like a really level headed reaction. Have you always been able to do that? How do you think you’ve reached that kind of mental equilibrium? I’ve always found anyone leaving my life so intensely stressful and upsetting even if it’s someone I want to leave.

haha well I’ve continued thinking about it several times a day over the past few days so I wouldn’t say the experience has been stress-free! in this case it helps that I’ve read like five different articles in the last week on people breaking off longstanding friendships or relationships over the Israel-Palestine conflict so I’m like ah well it’s not just me experiencing this… people’s emotions are super heightened right now and I think there’s a lot of tacit (or explicit!) encouragement to cut out people who don’t share your exact position or aren’t performing their opinions in the exact way you think they should.

I also think it helps to remember that in most interpersonal conflicts there’s not one person who is Right & Good and one person who is Wrong & Bad… instead people tend to be a little bit right AND a little bit wrong or biased or short-sighted. I think she is right that the situation is very urgent (people are losing their lives and it’s happening terrifyingly fast) and I think she’s justified in having her emotions run really high over this, as she’s been immersing herself in extremely graphic, wrenching content 24/7. but I also feel reasonably secure in my own position! I don’t think social media is a productive place to engage in political advocacy or to do any actually meaningful learning about complex issues. I don’t think we have a moral obligation to post graphic content documenting the horrible deaths of others on our private social media accounts (in fact I think the opposite!!). and I also think it’s okay for people to be like ‘you know what? I am not an expert in this. I need to take some time to read/learn/explore conflicting viewpoints—and I can afford to take that time because I am not a political leader or an army or a government, I am just a person half a world away who is trying to understand a different region’s insanely messy and complex history/politics so that I can hold an informed opinion and advocate for actions aligned with my beliefs and values.’

it kinda bummed me out that she chose to be like ‘bye forever’ given our many years of working together, but also, she had been posting stuff for days that was like ‘if you are not reposting this I am going to unfollow you I am watching you I am taking notes I see your silence as complicity’ so it wasn’t like, a huge surprise that she would react that way. idk sometimes interpersonal conflict like that can be painful but can also prompt good reflection… I feel like she’s pushed me to read a lot more (I don’t trust her sources, but it’s made me seek out sources I do trust to confirm some of the info she’s sharing). but I also feel like it’s reconfirmed for me that I am just not going to engage in super heated, super vitriolic discourse wars online and it’s okay with me if that choice leads some people to label me as not radical enough. idk if this answers your question I think this particular ending-of-a-friendship is pretty context-dependent, but I guess the whole, ‘two people can have a big falling-out and neither of them is all right or all wrong’ helps me avoid feeling too defensive or too wounded about it.

[nghialtrn]

WEEK 3: TUMBLR CASE STUDY

Once dominating the social media platform scene, boasting 108.5 million registered blogs and 50.9 billion posts (The Economist 2013), Tumblr surpassed its competitors to become a platform with over 20 billion page views per month at that time, as stated by its founder, David Karp. The question arises: Can this social media platform withstand the continuous emergence of competing platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and notably, TikTok?

What is Tumblr?

Tumblr - being one of the distinctive microblogging platforms (Chang, Y et al. 2014), has become a phenomenon, a usage habit among Generation X and Y.

The site itself offers users the opportunity to upload original or reblogged text entries, photos, quotations, links, chats, audio, and videos, as well as original or reblogged pictures and quotes. It is possible for users to "like" or "reblog" posts from other blogs so that they show up on their own blogs. This allows users to freely add their own opinions, analysis, and substance to postings without taking away from the original author's credit. Tumblr facilitates the development of both individualism and communities in this way; information that is repurposed, altered, and uploaded to a personal blog space stays current and connected to a broader community (Tumblr's dashboard and archive).

Because of this, Tumblr is a great platform for people to come together and connect, especially those who belong to underrepresented groups or individuals in society who need to speak up and fight for justice, such as members of the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, and advocates of women's rights. They are free to speak up here without fear of retaliation or intimidation. Additionally, people may identify and obtain information on topics they are interested in fast when hashtags are used to highlight or summarize important points in messages. It also gets easier to connect with people who share your interests, and most significantly, Tumblr gives them a sense of security.

Tumblr - a place where every opinion seems to have no template

The blogging site came into being at a period when the women's rights movement was getting more contentious in a few particular nations. Tumblr is therefore seen as a location where they may look for allies and attract people for the cause inside the community. In this instance, they discuss viewpoints on the feminist movement, important elements, and a new mode of operation as social media usage increased during that period. Online Social Networks (OSN) have profoundly changed the Internet ecosystem and permeated every part of peoples' everyday lives (Zhang et al. 2021). Even if there was a feminist wave at the time, social media was not extensively available in other countries, such as Vietnam, in its early years. This was because women could no longer endure the oppression, exploitation, and coercion of the “gender prejudice, take a male-centered” ideology.

It is essential to have the freedom to voice one's own thoughts, particularly when it comes to societal or personal matters that need deliberation before a choice is made. One of Tumblr's best features is the "reblogging" option, which not only extends the reach of postings but also tactfully conveys support for the author's point of view. This has made it easier for many viewpoints that were once marginalized or even silenced in public to gain support in the online community. By sharing personal perspectives, feminists may readily connect and engage with one another, resulting in a more real and expansive vision. Through internet and other media platforms, the feminist movement has grown significantly with the times. Since then, a number of further "Femvertising" (Feminism & Advertising) efforts have surfaced, according to Samantha Skey, CEO of She Knows. These ads use feminism-supporting messaging and imagery to create awareness of human self-worth, such as equal rights, hence empowering women and girls (Skey, S 2015).

One such example of severe discrimination against women is the ideal of beauty. In today's contemporary world, it is true that every nation and ethnic group has established its own criteria for beauty; nonetheless, a common model, or standard of beauty, for women is defined as having white skin, large eyes, a sharp jawline, pointed noses, full lips, slender bodies, and so forth. A critical society tends to support the establishment of norms for attractiveness and physical appearance (Raaziya, S 2023). Women who have long backs or somewhat chubby bodies are therefore frequently criticized by society, which has a negative psychological effect on them. They may express their opinions online on the problem of establishing norms for women's bodies thanks to Tumblr's open community. Those in positions of authority are free to utilize hashtags to explicitly state or imply what they believe and have said above.

Case study: “Love the Skin You’re In”: An Analysis of Women’s Self-Presentation and User Reactions to Selfies Using the Tumblr Hashtag #bodypositive

Because beauty standards are so strict, viewers and users on the internet have different ideas about what constitutes acceptable beauty. For instance, people expect superstars, exceptional actors, and beauty queens to have exceptional outward looks. Princesses are always shown as being very lovely in fairy tales, regardless of where they come from. These ideas have developed into ideologies over time. The above-mentioned case study aids in understanding the phenomena of selfies, in which users of social media frequently snap and share photos of themselves with attractive bodies, engaging personalities, or appealing viewpoints. Despite Tumblr's significant degree of variety, this is a result of individuals being too critical of themselves and having their psyches strongly affected to conform to conventional beauty standards. Likes and positive comments are considered a measure of a user's beauty and self-worth (Tiidenberg, K et al. 2015).

“Love the Skin You're In” is akin to a declaration that accepting and appreciating your physical attributes—be they large or tiny eyes or powerful biceps—is essential. Using hashtags in the feminist movement will help like-minded people communicate, as they recognize the severe problem of over-idealizing oneself and enforcing standards that are regarded as unnecessary. While the #selfie may be well-liked, but #bodypositive may empower people by facilitating the expression of many kinds of femininity and body shapes. These particular hashtags—like the hashtag #feminism, for instance—support gender equality online by aligning with the fourth wave of feminism.

When new platforms were coming, what’s happened to Tumblr?

Undoubtedly, Tumblr was once a secure place to voice one's personal beliefs. Though this site offered many distinct characteristics at first, the rise of competing social media networks has introduced several drawbacks.

According to Statista (2024), Tumblr faces threats from prominent online platforms like Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok, since its user base has shrunk from its early days. Popular photo-sharing websites Facebook and Instagram let users share and create highlights from photographs to help preserve special moments. The simplicity with which users can connect these two platforms—sharing moments on Instagram, for example, may instantly publish those memories to Facebook—is what makes this convenient. Instagram is frequently thought of as a place to explore companies, places, and events as well as find new trends. People utilize it to get fresh ideas and as a source of visual inspiration. Facebook, on the other hand, places more emphasis on interpersonal relationships and is largely used by users to engage with information published by friends and family.

With TikTok, a platform that has grown rapidly in recent years, particularly during the risky COVID-19 pandemic era when lockdowns enforced by the government forced most people to stay indoors in order to slow the virus's spread. TikTok's broad appeal may be ascribed to a number of elements that serve users' varied interests. Those looking for quick and interesting material may find the platform's short-form content structure, which lasts between 15 and 60 seconds, appealing. TikTok's intuitive UI, extensive music collection, and simple editing capabilities make it easier to create content. 

This is a significant obstacle for Tumblr since the younger generation is constantly looking for original and creative material. TikTok's development also means that Tumblr now has restrictions since content producers can use TikTok to share important information, support or oppose movements, warn users, and voice their own opinions.

Conclusion

To put it briefly, Tumblr continues to be a secure space for ideas and a fair forum for expressing opinions, assisting users in being integrated into the online communities in which they actively participate. Not only is Tumblr a social networking site, but it's also a developing online community where people actively celebrate diversity and self-affirmation. Because it “offers special social privacy to feminist girls, giving a sense of protection from both family, friends and anonymous trolls”, women on this social network have also grown stronger as a group to engage in virtual feminist action (Keller, J 2019, p. 9).

References list

Chang, Y, Tang, L, Inagaki, Y & Liu, Y 2014, ‘What Is Tumblr’, ACM SIGKDD Explorations Newsletter, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 21–29.

Keller, J 2019, ‘“Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms’, Social Media + Society, vol. 5, no. 3, p. 9, <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/2056305119867442>.

Raaziya, S 2023, ‘Dominating Beauty standards: 4 Reasons Why High Beauty Standards Are Dangerous’, The Times of India, <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/awesome-reads/dominating-beauty-standards-4-reasons-why-high-beauty-standards-are-dangerous-50709/>.

Skey, S 2015, ‘Femvertising’, She Knows, <http://cdn.sheknows.com/corporate.sheknows.com/production/nodes/attachments/24521/iBlog_Magazine-SheKnows-FemvertisingFeature.pdf?1429105587>.

Statista 2024, ‘Most Popular Social Networks Worldwide as of October 2023, Ranked by Number of Monthly Active Users’, Statista, <https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/>.

The Economist 2013, ‘What Is Tumblr?: the Economist Explains’, The Economist Online, ProQuest, viewed 20 February 2024, <https://www.proquest.com/docview/1353645764/857325A83B084F08PQ/2?accountid=14205&sourcetype=Magazines>.

Tiidenberg, K & Gómez Cruz, E 2015, ‘Selfies, Image and the Re-making of the Body’, Body & Society, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 77–102, <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1357034X15592465>.

Zhang, L, Li, K & Liu, J 2021, ‘An Information Diffusion Model Based on Explosion Shock Wave Theory on Online Social Networks’, Applied Sciences, vol. 11, no. 21, p. 9996, <https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/21/9996>.

[janevkirby]

How to Know When Your Artwork is Good Enough to Sell

Have you ever questioned the readiness of your artwork to enter the market? Uncovering the worth of your paintings can be daunting, but this is a crucial step for success in any auction setting, whether homemade or professional-grade art.    This comprehensive guide offers tools for assessing whether you’re ready to put that precious painting up for bid.   

Evaluating the Quality of Your Work 

Evaluating the quality of your work can help measure progress. Don't rely solely on your personal feelings about the worthiness of your artwork for sale. An outside perspective can provide insight into what others see in your art that you might have overlooked. 

Also, examine how people react online. If they're engaging with likes or comments, there's potential interest.    Be open-minded and take this feedback constructively. It reflects the public perception of your style. Consider entering local contests or exhibitions, not just for the possibility of winning but also to gain different viewpoints from fellow artists and judges well-versed in understanding diverse forms of creativity.    However, don't let validation determine whether you should sell paintings at an auction or elsewhere because only through selling will you know their actual value.    Remember: 'Perfection' is elusive in creative processes like painting, where continuous improvement makes every creation a bit better.   

Finding the Right Audience for Your Artwork 

Understanding your target audience immensely boosts the success of selling your artwork. A key step involves developing a buyer persona, a fictional representation based on known attributes and proficient guesses about potential customers. You might have varied personas, reflecting diverse clientele types.    Dive into specific details: their demographics, job profiles, interests, or favorite pastime activities. Understand what they read or how much they earn yearly.    Recognizing trends in follower insights can be beneficial if you are active on social networks. Doing so will help to refine your understanding of customers. Connecting genuinely with buyer persona is important not only for them to purchase but also for them to become strong advocates who can support you during times when creativity is lacking.    By sharing inspirations behind your art creation process and personal life happenings that align with your interest sphere, we deepen ties beyond transactional levels. 

Pricing to Optimize Sales Potential 

Consider the value of your artwork. Consider factors like materials used, size of work, and originality. Remember that larger pieces or ones using costly resources often fetch higher prices.    Original works typically command better rates than reproductions. Look at price trends for comparable art forms to understand market expectations regarding cost ranges within your niche. To do this, you should take the time to browse online art sales platforms. This will allow you to compare prices and better understand market values for your work. It can be tricky, but it is worth investing time to get it right.    A reasonable pricing strategy can act as an effective business driver, leading to increased sales conversions from potential customers who may make further purchases.    Ultimately, your artwork's readiness for sale is a mix of personal belief and market demand. Confidence in the value of your work is key. Yet don't forget to validate that confidence by consulting with Blackwell Auctions. Gauge reaction from others: keen interest indicates potential buyers exist! With these insights alongside quality artistry, you're set on a path to success. 

[salt-blog]

This YouTube channel is sketchy as hell.

At a legit news outlet, they'd label this video as "analysis" or "opinion", because saying "Israel is racist" is a conclusion that the journalist/host came to*, not one from a quoted source. Big red flag! 🚩🚩🚩

A media outlet sharing your point of view and sometimes reporting events/figures factually doesn't prove that they don't publish propaganda.

I don't have time to fact-check everything in the vid, but let's assume, for the sake of argument, that all of the stats and quotes in it were factual. That lends credibility to the outlet, and readers/viewers are more likely to trust pieces that they'd otherwise be more skeptical of—like this one, where Breakthrough News promotes the viewpoints of people who deny that China has any imperialist intentions in Africa**.

Also, this video looks very high-budget (for journalism that is), but unfortunately, there's not much money in "[telling] the untold stories of resistance from poor and working-class communities" (as they state in their bio). So, where does their money come from, really?

Their bio says they rely on funding from donors and "foundations that support our mission". However, I don't see a list of those foundations on their website.

A Daily Beast reporter dug into their funding, and you can read their article here ⬇️

I understand getting angry when you see the blatant bias towards Israeli nationalism in mainstream American news outlets. I get the urge to trust any outlet whose pieces don't align with American foreign policy goals (because their foreign policy goals suck ass).

But be careful about where you get your news & info. If you see a media outlet you've never heard of, at least look them up.

*I don't take issue with the conclusion itself (because Israel is an ethnostate after all), but instead with the fact that they don't label it as analysis or opinion. It's very dishonest and misleading, and journalism is supposed to be transparent.

**Africa is already chock full of neo-colonial economies, and if China can take control of those existing economic structures, that would be a massive payday for them.

Israel is one of the most racist countries in the world.