#this is poorly framed bc I'm v tired and overstimmed. AND i mentioned Ace Discourse. so i expect a shitshow tbh.

[thedreadvampy]

that post I rbed about cultures is so full of white Americans in the notes going But How Culture If Bad which like

it's a really good example of a certain mindset in Tumblr Discourse which is like uhhhh

how to explain it

taking a very common and understandable yearning for clarity and stability and surety. and assuming that everybody ELSE has that and ONLY YOU don't.

like in this example. the mindset seems to be. "I don't have a culture which I find rich, rewarding and exciting. I find the cultures other people were raised in look rich, rewarding and exciting. Therefore Having A Culture means having an uncomplicated positive relationship to a culture that enriches and rewards you, therefore I Don't Have A Culture and it's Not Fair."

when in fact. nobody has an entirely uncomplicatedly positive relationship with their culture. most of us have blind spots about what our culture is and take it for granted. most of us are reacting against aspects of our culture and want them to change. most of us feel unmoored and uncertain.

anyway it reminds me of a thing that always bugs me in queer discourse where a lot of folks seem to be under the impression that they're Uniquely Conflicted About Their Identity. like eg how imo a lot of 2010s ace discourse boiled down to "as aspec people we are the Only People To Experience Complex Relationships To Sex" you know?

basically there seems to be this consistent idea that if you had the Thing, your life would be simple and understandable and uncomplicated. and since it isn't, you must be being uniquely deprived. and that's how this "Americans Have No Culture" shit is raging too me tbh.