#we are actively regressing as a society

[robinsbanduniform]

“my roman empire” “the girl version of the roman empire” PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!! just say the fucking topic that you’re interested in, or the thing that you find intriguing!!!!!!!!!

[chilledagridolce27]

"Censorship doesn't help anyone. Censorship does not protect anyone. Censorship does not prevent bigotry, and in fact only serves to reinforce it."

Your personal triggers and squicks do not get to determine what kind of art other people make.

People make shit. It's what we do. We make shit to explore, to inspire, to explain, to understand, but also to cope, to process, to educate, to warn, to go, "hey, wouldn't that be fucked up? Wild, right?"

Yes, sure, there are things that should be handled with care if they are used at all. But plenty more things are subjective. Some things are just not going to be to your tastes. So go find something that is to your tastes and stop worrying so much about what other people are doing and trying to dictate universal moral precepts about art based on your personal triggers and squicks.

I find possession stories super fucking triggering if I encounter them without warning, especially if they function as a sexual abuse metaphor. I'm not over here campaigning for every horror artist to stop writing possession stories because they make me feel shaky and dissociated. I just check Does The Dog Die before watching certain genres, and I have my husband or roommate preview anything I think might upset me so they can give me more detail. And if I genuinely don't think I can't handle it, I don't watch it. It's that simple.

[comicaurora]

I'm sorry that the terfs made their way onto your blog but it does feel good to see you support trans people. Thank you for that

Always.

I think, charitably, that the discourse going down on that post is an extrapolation and over-focus on one element of the point I was making: that for me, determining with certainty that I was cis was a rather fraught process. I was presented with many alternatives, but underlying their imposition on me was the oddly regressive idea that the things I liked, the principles I valued, the parts of myself I was proud of were not permitted of women. My whole life I got smacked with the background radiation that I couldn't like being strong because women aren't allowed to be stronger than men. I couldn't like being loud and boistrous because women aren't allowed to take up space. I couldn't be a math geek because women aren't smart. It was all deeply regressive misogyny from day one, but I started getting hit with it slathered in a fresh coat of paint - all those assumptions still held to be true, but now there was the out that I could do all those things if I just wasn't a woman.

Concluding that the underlying bioessentialist premise was wrong was very important. Absolutely none of those statements were true, and were only ever maintained by cultural saturation, goalpost-readjustment when they were actively disproven, and the occasional bout of lying with statistics to pretend they weren't just Shit All The Way Down. The core premise that certain things were only permitted of or possible for men was bullshit, and I didn't need to surrender the gender I liked best in order to play in the spaces I wanted to. I could simply exist the way I was already existing. I didn't need anything else.

The misinterpretation is the assumption that this being true of me means this is everybody's relationship with gender. I turned out to be cis, so for me, feeling that holding onto my assigned gender wasn't allowed was distressing - just another invocation of the same bioessentialist bullshit I'd been dealing with since the preschool playground. This is because misgendering is fundamentally denying that a person has the right to express themself the way they want. When aimed at me, it says I'm not performing traditional femininity well enough to deserve my pronouns. The same disrespect is the root of misgendering when aimed at trans people. "Perform your gender to my satisfaction or I will confiscate it."

The problem is, bioessentialism is 100% ingrained into the terf playbook, which is why, for instance, all their shitty talking points about trans athletes eventually boil down to "no woman can ever defeat a man in any contest because we are simply naturally weak and stupid and there is nothing we can do about it" and quite frankly nothing disgusts me more than the defeatist acceptance of the very lie that feminism is dedicated to overcoming. Instead of accepting that the paradigm of bioessentialism is a false dichotomy right from the jump, they embrace and weaponize it against the people whose existence proves the dichotomy is a lie. If gender essentialism is fundamentally false, then it is nobody's fucking business what anybody does with their gender. If the lines don't exist, nobody needs to enforce them. And yet there the terfs go, hunting down people whose lives are none of their business and trying to argue that they represent some great and terrible evil, some downfall of society made flesh, something that makes it totally correct and normal for them to spend so much time thinking about strangers' genitalia. They want this to be a noble crusade so badly they won't even examine what flag they're flying.

I love and support the trans people in my life and will always, always stand on the side of your right to exist, but alongside that, terf rhetoric especially disgusts and infuriates me because it is, at its heart, utter cowardice. The world told them they were weak and stupid and inferior and they fucking believed it. And now they think Fighting The Good Fight For Women means turning around and using the same paradigmatic weapon that hurt them to hurt the people whose existence outside the binary proves the weapon is a lie. They're the same shithead schoolyard bullies who made me believe my entire existence was foundationally wrong for years of my life and I will never, ever side with them or the shitty, cowardly rhetoric that contributed to the loneliest years of my life.

Figure out who you are and do it on purpose. Find the real source of the misery in your life and try fighting that instead of the other crabs in the bucket. Trans rights.

[asses-to-ashes]

Pedophiles don't belong in the proship community. Zoophiles don't belong in the furry community. Can we stop conflating these communities.

If you're recovering from a paraphilic disorder, great! Can't afford a psychologist but are anti-contact and anti-enabling? Also great! I wish you the best.

My problem comes from the normalization and celebration of paraphilic disorders on this site specifically under the disguise of disability or queer activism. A psychologist will NEVER, EVER recommend that you post about it or engage in an online community of enablers. Paraphilic disorders are not kink. Embracing paraphilic disorders is not disability activism.

You can be anti-contact and anti-enabling without being hateful or making assumptions about people who have a disorder, but people who run Para Blogs are not anti-enabling. The ProPara community has turned into a cesspool of enablers and legitimate pro-contact pedophiles who hide behind the fact that people have empathy for those with disorders they can't control. They've created a space where people brag about being pedophiles and celebrate attraction to children. This is the opposite of how the disorder is treated by professionals.

Stay away from fiction & communities that could cause you to relapse or backslide. Proshippers are not attracted to minors, our stories don't exist for pedophiles to displace their attraction onto.

The reasons paraphilic disorders are different from fetishes is because:

1. They include unwilling people or people who cannot consent, such as voyeurism or pedophilia

2. They cause the participant or others harm that is potentially lifelong

3. They prevent a person from functioning or adjusting in society

I'm going to address a post I saw earlier. EXTREME TW for the defense of pro-contact "big 3" paraphilias

START QUOTE --------------------

END QUOTE --------------------

Being gay harms nobody. It is an attraction between two consenting adults.

PARAPHILIC DISORDERS are not normal attraction. Comparing being a pedophile to being homosexual is not the #WOKE PEDOPHILE WIN that you think it is. It's insanely regressive and harmful.

To reiterate, you are not evil for having a paraphilic disorder.

You are not a bad person. You are a bad person for glorifying it, enabling yourself and others, fighting for your right to harm other people without consent, and engaging in an online community of pedophiles.

[vanderdyks]

I geniunely cannot stand when allistics try to say Resident Alien is actually making fun of autistic people because they believe Harry is too childish now because I JUST-

In the beginning, Harry tried SO MUCH HARDER to fit in with the humans around him. He mimicked their speech patterns, consistently observed them, emersed himself in their activities so they wouldn't suspect he was different.

The Harry now? He doesn't care. He's loud in places he should be quiet. He talks how he wants. He laughs FREELY. He's learned large crowds of people? Not for him. He doesn't like being touched by strangers.

He's just Harry. Himself. Because he can be. Because he's realized even if some of the people of Patience find him strange, it doesn't matter. They'll never guess he's from outer space.

Have you noticed that every other alien we have seen is not like Harry? Not the greys, or the half human hybrids, not even Heather. When Heather is around humans who know she is an alien, we get to see the difference, but when she isn't? She fits in so well with any other neurotypical human.

Not Harry though. So yes, he is autistic because I said he is. Because I am autistic. And if you're allistic, you don't get to tell autistic people they shouldn't headcanon Harry as autistic (even though it is very obvious they're purposefully playing him as neurodivergent now.)

When you take an autistically coded character that a lot of autistic individuals relate to, and try to argue the character is actually a "child" and being "infantalised," you're actually being ableist.

You're saying that the traits we have resonated with are childish... Harry seems like he's "regressed" because instead of trying to adapt and pretend to be human, he is becoming something else entirely. Not human, but not fully alien either.

The body of doctor Harry Vanderspeigle was once just a disguise. Now it IS Harry's. It's his body, his own skin. And he's gotten comfortable in it and you know this because you deliberately witness times where he might be holding his hands like he would his claws (primarily when he's sleeping.) His brain doesn't realize he's not in his normal form, because in many ways, this is his new normal form.

He has emotions. He cares. He's in completely new territory and finding himself. And in doing so, that carefully crafted human mask? It's fallen a bit.

So that thing you label as "regression" is a thing I label as progress. He's learning still. Let him learn. Let him be. And give it time. And I hope to GOD Harry never becomes fully human to the point we can't recognize him. I hope he never loses his unique inflictions, or his love for pizza and pie. I hope he continues to love the quiet. I hope he ALWAYS laughs obnoxiously. I hope he always runs like he doesn't know what to do with his limbs. I hope you always see his emotions throughout his body because they simply cannot be contained. I hope he continues to jump when excited or pace when he's angry. I hope he stays obsessed with Law & Order forever.

Because if you take all that away, you're taking away the bits that make him Harry. You want a carbon copy human. I want the autistic alien struggling to understand human nature.

That being said, of course you can express your opinion him. And it can be discussed because everyone is going to have a different perspective.

But you don't get to dictate an autistic perspective if you are not autistic. Or try to cancel anyone for it either.

I love Harry. And I relate to him SO MUCH. And I love how much representation I can see him through him for me. Because I personally believe Alan and the writers have chosen to keep presenting this character as ND.

It's okay to dislike the direction of his character development. It's okay to find the flaws. It's okay to share that perspective. What's NOT okay is dictating the feelings of others because they might not agree with you.

I don't find him childish. I see him as an autistic individual trying to navigate a society that his brain hasn't been hardwired to understand.

And if you think he's too childish, please look closer at the why you think he is. Really be introspective on this one.

Because Harry is a parent. And has a child. And he has relationships. And he takes care of himself. Not only that, he is the town doctor and takes care of everyone else too. He is the smartest. He is the strongest. None of the characters have had to worry about the wellfare of Harry specifically. Its why no one realizes the greys have captured him. Because of course Harry would be fine, hes the alien expert. He knows what he's doing. So while everyone else spent so much time worrying about each other, no one was left to worry about Harry.

So ask yourself why you believe Harry has become "too childish" and if your answer comes down to any of his quirky traits or his misunderstandings of human nature, then you really need to consider if what you're actually uncomfortable with is autism/autistic traits.

[dysphoricangell]

my two sense on trans ideology as someone with sex dysphoria :O

ヘ(^_^ヘ) ヘ(^o^ヘ) ヘ(^_^ヘ) ヘ(^o^ヘ) ヘ(^_^)/

trans ideology is a direct attack on women, gay people, gender nonconformity, and children. the fundamental beliefs of trans ideology/“trans rights activism” are antithetical to basic human truths (such as women are adult human females, and homosexuality is exclusive same-sex attraction). it’s such an incredibly unappealing ideology that I cannot fathom being able to support it without feeling the least bit guilty about the bs I’m spreading.

and now because of this regressive ideology, we have a good portion of young gay people thinking they’re “bigots” for not being attracted to the opposite sex— women in prisons having to share an already traumatizing space with MALE RAPISTS because TRA’s have proposed legislation to make that happen— literally every single-sex space that feminists have fought for women to be able to occupy has an open door policy for males (regardless of if they call themselves women or not) due to similar legislation being enforced— male fetishists pressuring lesbians into liking their dicks (literally conversion therapy)— gender nonconforming lesbians/gays being groomed by TRA’s on the internet into believing they are somehow men/women (another form of conversion therapy)— and many many more pitfalls that I won’t be able to get into too much or else this post will be a decade long. but here’s a list!— funding big pharma, enforcing sexual stereotypes and gender, supporting the misogynistic and racist cosmetic industry, mass chemical castration of gender noncomforming children in the name of “gender affirming care,” doing everything in their power to the destroy the public’s perception on the LGB, so much medical malpractice against women (any male doctor that has destroyed a woman’s genitalia through gender affirming “bottom surgery” should be shot in the back of the head), politicizing language (“misgendering” someone is considered a crime in multiple places around the world), as well as warping language to fit their ideology without any empathy for how it affects the vast majority of society (“birthing person,” “non-man loving non-man,” “uterus haver,” etc)…

It affects literally every facet of life, and none of it is good.

٩(⊙‿⊙)۶

[acesw]

The "Storm"

"The 'Storm' brings frequent anomalies. And also more development and field missions. Sadly, combat is not my thing; luckily, data analysis is!" - X, Xtreme Talent

The "Storm" is an intriguing topic to look into in the world of Reverse: 1999, and a lot of people tend to be confused on how it works alongside the functions of the immunity zones. For this post, this'll essentially be a more detailed explanation on it. This post will cover what the "Storm" is, its patterns, and the function of the immunity zones with Asymmetrical Nuclide R. This'll be a really long post, so hold tight. :) [Spoilers for Chapter 5-6]

What is the “Storm” anyway?

The “Storm”—or the "Emanation" to the Islanders—is a supernatural phenomena that is affecting most of the globe. It destroys the current era of society and reconstructs it into a point in the past or in the future. It “reverses” time, with the tendency to regress through eras. This means human technology increasingly deteriorates while arcanum flourishes.

Being a phenomena caused by arcanum, the “Storm” is difficult to be studied. Basic understanding of the "Storm" requires affinity with arcanum.

The “Storm” is unpredictable; Besides the Manus and the Apeiron to some degree, no one knows when the “Storm” happens, but the closer we get to its occurrence, the easier it is to figure it out. Manus activity is shown to accelerate the "Storm", with events beginning to deviate from the historic timeline due to their influence.

As of ‘The Star’ and Chapter 6, we find that Laplace has been keeping track of possible “critical points.” Critical points indicate where the eye of the “Storm” might be. An “eye” tends to be located at places globally significant, where historical events take place. It can be a cultural event, a significant movement, or a major conflict. These events don’t have to directly affect the entire world, per se. They merely have to be significant enough to leave a mark in the world's history.

Right now, 8 “Storms” have passed and we have one that is currently beginning to take place. With the information we have of each one, we find common themes among them:

1. Most of these “Storms” occur at least 1 year after the other. There are 4 exceptions to it: 

1999 (The Progenitor)

1987 (3 years)

1929 (1 day)

1914 (5 months)

2. They’re triggered when the timeline destabilises, or strays from what is the normal ‘course’ of the world’s timeline. (As said by Greta Hofmann)

3. The nature of the “Storm” and the Storm Syndrome are usually based on the themes of the era and the conflict.

A very clear example of this would be the “Storms” of 1966 and 1929. With 1966, we see how the height of the “Storm” deconstructs everything around the critical point with booming bold colours and pop-like art, reminiscent of the UK’s Swinging Sixties (as mentioned by the game itself).

With 1929, we see how the Storm Syndrome affects the mass population of humans, with how they sell food in exchange for gold and money to eat because of how it references the sudden rise in the American stock market. This led to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and the crash caused an economic recession in the US.

Important notes about the "Storm"

Now we have to keep in mind that there are some things that need to be noted about this phenomenon. For one, the “Storm” doesn’t induce the grandfather paradox, since the survivors of the phenomenon don’t cease to exist whenever they arrive in an era that precedes their lifetime. They don’t encounter the younger versions of themselves either.

Also, since this is an event caused by arcanum, the people who are mainly affected are humans and mixed people who don't have strong arcanum. Pure-blood arcanists tend to be the ones who are the last to be affected by the "Storm," since they only begin to feel the effects once the countdown is approaches near-zero.

The memories of the survivors are quite faded. For example, none of them could remember what happened during 1999 that caused the first “Storm.” Greta and Vertin themselves confirm that they and the Foundation have rather vague memories of that time for reasons yet to be found.

And lastly, as stated before, the “Storm” can be accelerated / triggered early by orchestrating a chain of events that further puts strain on the critical point, and significantly causes disruption in the original timeline. This is the case with 1929 and 1914 right now.

Immunity Zones, Asymmetrical Nuclide R, and Vertin

With these out of the way, there is now space to talk about the points of immunity. For a location to be immune, the area would need a “core” that distributes a high concentration of Asymmetrical Nuclide R.

AN-R is a nuclide that’s present in the “Storm's" rainwater, as well as the fog in Apeiron, the Spinning Wheel, and possibly the Yuān temple in Pei City alongside Uluru in Australia. The nuclide creates a structure that makes it possible to survive the “Storm,” but it is an unstable component that can quickly disappear when isolated from the rain drops.

A more stabilised structure of these nuclides are those found imbued in the Manus Vindictae Mask, and the fog surrounding the cores of the immunity zones. However, when one comes close to said fog, it can affect people’s minds to the point of deep sleep until they’re taken out of the area. Otherwise, time flows normally within the immunity zones, unaffected by the “Storm.”

Meanwhile, as the truth remains unknown (noting that Asymmetrical Protein G is a false biomolecule), Vertin is the only person who is able to cross the “Storm” unharmed. She is able to endure most of its effects such as the fog.

For example: In the fog surrounding the Apeiron and the caves of the Island, she wasn’t afflicted with the deep sleep most of the time until she was fully immersed in it. However, she only needed to be woken up by any sort of disturbance. (i.e. pain caused by the bangle)

Despite this however, she’s unable to perceive and predict the “Storm," needing technology from Laplace to keep track of its countdown.

Anyway, AN-R tends to spread throughout an entire area and creates a range of immunity from the “Storm.” This range becomes theoretically weaker as one strays further from the main source; it's why Vertin’s breakaway group got reversed as they played outside the tower, while Madam Z survived while being barely outside the building. (Chapter 3)

It may also explain why the humans did not survive being in Vertin’s suitcase, since the spinning wheel might not be a strong enough core for the nuclide to resonate really well with humans. But I’m not exactly sure why this is, so this is only an assumption for myself.

For now, this is all the information that I have of the "Storm" and the immunity zones. There are some pieces of information that I also found while looking into it, but I've kept these as footnotes for now to go back to later once things begin to come together.

Many ideas can be thought of on how the phenomenon could affect many other areas, but this is essentially how it works based on what was observed in the story. I hope it answers a lot of questions for some who don't quite understand the "Storm." And if there aren't, feel free to ask me anything. Thanks for reaching the end. :)

[olderthannetfic]

So I'm not like an anti, I would never send death threats or anything to people but I do wonder if there is something to be said about perpetuating the sexualization of teenagers through fanart/fanfic? I recognize that that is a cultural issue, and I recognize that sexualizing fictional teens is not on the same level as sexualizing real teens, but it still perpetuates the concept. Even if society has normalized something, it's worth fighting back against it in smaller ccommunities.1/2

--

This isn't to say that people should be harassing others, nor is it to say that I think proship are child predators. I think there's a lot of reasons why someone might like a character that doesn't equate to them wanting to harm real people. I do think we have a responsibility to discuss these things in fandom. While fandom itself isn't activism, pushing back against concepts like homophobia has always been an important aspect of fandom. Fetishizing youth is a problem & should be critiqued. 2/2

LOL.

Okay, first of all, we've had this conversation about a billion times. The fact that you're still stuck at a 101 level does not make this new territory.

Second, where do you think YA fiction comes from? It's not written by teenagers. Lots of authors like to reminisce about their teen years. It's not about an older person being horny for teens. It's about remembering being that age.

Third, you might have no libido, but I was a horny little demon as a teen. It wasn't about ~fetishization~. Wanting to fuck was a normal part of my teen experience and the teen experiences of everyone around me. I didn't manage to get laid until 16 because I was a mega loser, but I'd have gone for it at 14.

The idea that teens are pure and sexless

FUCKING BONKERS

Come back when you've un-learned your regressive Christian purity bullshit.

[jillflame]

It kind of sucks that after 8 years, the best thing that Izuku could think to do with his life and experience studying to be a hero is teaching.

This is NOT a diss at teachers- they are literally the backbone of our society. And we all love Aizawa and everything he brings to the series, but Izuku's character isn't written like Aizawa's. He's never really shown to be someone drawn to teaching. There isn't any foreshadowing for this in his character.

Some might say "but 'children are our future' is a huge theme of mha", and it is, but not for Izuku. The point of Izuku's character is one of a student, not a teacher. It's literally called My Hero ACADEMIA. He is the youth. He is the future. We even see him walk into the school as an adult with a backpack, not a briefcase, because he's always going to be a student. He's a lifelong learner.

He's our walking, muttering, quirk-encyklopedia boy. And while being knowledgeable and studious are certainly qualities that could be found in a good teacher, Izuku has shown to have these behaviors less for a "having the knowledge to pass it on" sake, but more for his own desire to expand on them. Izuku is a natural researcher.

Teachers look backwards so their students can look to the future. As a quirk researcher, Izuku could have been working directly with his friends in the field, constantly recording stats and finding new and safe ways to push his friends' powers further than ever before. He could have been applying his talents in quirk analysis while addressing the quirk-singularity theory, actively finding solutions to help the future generations and the up-and-coming heros of now. And if for some reason he HAD to get a job working with kids, he could have been working as a quirk councler alongside Uraraka in one of her programs (where he could have been an amazing role model to younger children who might not know many quirkless individuals!). And I'm not a shipper, but that could have at least been a nod at how his and Uraraka's relationship developed beyond school.

He could have been working with his friends. He didn't have to be lonely, caged in the walls of UA. It kind of feels like he gave up, and that sucks knowing that that's not the Izuku we met at the start of the series (in a sad regression of character kind of way).

When All Might told Izuku he couldn't be a hero because he was quirkless, he walked home crying to himself because he wanted to follow the advice of his idol, but couldn't. He begged and tried to reason with himself to face reality, and struggled because he couldn't go against his own heart. This Izuku feels broken, like he gave up that unreasonable part of his heart, and it feels wrong to end the series on that note when that part of him was what was emphasized as what made him a hero to begin with.

Granted, it's already established that teaching was not the end-all-be-all for Izuku, and he gets to be a hero in the end, but as sweet as it is that Bakugou and his friends pitched in to help make that dream come true, it could have been all the more meaningful if he played a role in continuing to chase that dream by working in the field any way he could too, instead of waiting around to literally be handed the opportunity again.

[forgiveness-in-the-misery]

My reminder to put out that Toki's not poorly written and that the way he behaves in Army of the Doomstar and the way he behaved post season two wasn't the creators of the show thinking "if he talks more femme and acts like a kid it's funny" it was literally the progression of a character with canonical bipolar disorder and severe PTSD.

Toki was as a lot of people point out "normal" or close to it when season one and some of season two aired, but that's also total bull shit. Toki acted "normal" as people like to say during season one, but only until the episode featuring their parents which involved Toki not speaking at all the entire episode, he just fucking shuts down and goes completely catatonic and looks terrified like a nightmare followed him into his real life.

The shit with the little girl dying happened which further traumatized him, his guitar teacher died, both ending up with pictures on his bedroom wall to remember them by due to their deaths impacting him heavily because he blames himself for them dying.

Then his abusive father gets sick and Toki forgives him because it's the mature thing to do, not the right thing to do by any means, but he has been made to feel by society that he should forgive his dad because it's what he's supposed to do. Despite the fact his father never voices regret for abusing Toki and even has the balls to ask his son to take him to his childhood home one last time.

Then Toki pretends he's fine and it's okay, but then at the Snakes N' Barrels concert sees a trigger and goes off beating a man possibly to death in a fit of rage.

After that the finale features him getting totally drunk all day long so that he doesn't have to cope with anything that's happened in the past couple of months.

Then Offdensen dies.

Then season three we see him doing okay in some episodes while in others he's more petulant and depressive and angry or acts more immature than other times, then Dethzazz happens and we get a very full view of the sort of physical abuse he endured through his childhood especially at the hands of his father. He never calls it abuse, he claims he deserved the punishments for making mistakes despite the fact nobody deserves the horrific shit his dad did to him.

After that, again Toki worsens and regresses more often than he was before, he clings more to Rockzo and tries to cling to his friends but often they distance from him.

Season four he clings to Magnus and we see Toki regress the most, then the funeral happened and Doomstar happened and now we have Army of the Doomstar where he is just completely fucking shattered which makes sense.

His kidnapping and torture just happened, he barely has had time to recover before the world is actively ending and the sky is falling and the world is burning down around them. He's had no time for therapy or counseling or medication etc so his friends, Pickles specifically are just coping with this situation the best they can while not being able to actively help him at all, because they can't. Plus again the world is a burning pile of broken satellites and collapsing buildings so that is an additional stressor on top of everything else Toki has been through very very recently.

So just want to put this out there before anybody says it's cringe or weird or bad writing that somebody with very severe PTSD is not handling life well or handling it at all.

[lesbian-disaster-academic]

Since there's been some discussion of this on a prior post I made, let's address

Neurodivergent Skill-Regression: What is it & Why Does it Happen?

Content Warning! This post will make brief mention of various topics, including: childhood abuse (not explicit), depression, suicidal ideation, car accidents, the COVID-19 pandemic, and throwing up.

Okay, let's begin with a quick preface. I'm writing from the Global North, in a capitalist economy, and in a country founded on (ongoing!) systems of colonialism. Therefore, that's how I'll be situating this discussion (just because it's what I know best). Neurodivergence and Capitalist Exploitation Under capitalism, productivity and extraction in the name of profit become of the utmost importance. Extraction can take place in the form of extracting physical resources (think fracking on Turtle Island), extracting labour, etc. Ultimately, neurodivergence itself is not an ill-formed or "bad" mind. It is only conceptualized and coded as such because capitalism and various other interlocking systems of oppression are actively hostile to minds that, in some way, subvert capitalist and colonial ideals. (however, this is not to negate, invalidate, or trivialize the fact that adhd/asd/ocd/bpd/etc. are disabilities. by their very nature, they impede and disrupt functioning. what is considered "functional", however, is determined by this capitalist/colonialist state and the things it values. this is all simply to say that we would be able to more easily exist and thrive within a society that doesn't reward self-destruction in the name of accumulating capital for the upper class) Of course, living in a system that is not built for you is going to be exhausting—it takes a toll on you, both physically and mentally. This can be further compounded if you are marginalized in other ways; for instance, if you're a person of colour, working class, a woman, 2SLGBTQ+, an immigrant, or a combination of these.

Masking and Burnout Many neurodivergent folx are forced into positions in which they have to mask. For the sake of clarity, "masking", in this case, involves concealing one's neurodivergent traits. For me, that might look like suppressing compulsions, consciously regulating my facial expressions, working longer and harder to accomplish tasks because I can't focus, or scripting conversations before I have them. These manifestations are often invisible to outsiders, but they take a heavy toll on us, and can often result in neurodivergent burnout. This is where the skill-regression comes in. An Example... Let me give you a personal example of what neurodivergent skill-regression can look like! Prior to the pandemic, I was a highly productive person. I was designated "gifted" (whatever that means) and was top of my class in every single class. I was participating in (and running) multiple clubs, working a steady job, volunteering within the community, and learning new instruments and languages. I was a skilled pianist and painter, and also very athletic. From the outside looking in, I appeared successful: I had a massive scholarship lined up at the most prestigious university in the country. I was generally well-liked. I was creative and skilled in both the humanities and STEM (mostly humanities lol), etcetera etcetera. But I was in no way okay. I was incredibly depressed and suicidal. I had multiple undiagnosed anxiety disorders and neurodivergencies. I was experiencing relentless abuse at home. I was throwing up every few days out of pure fear and stress. I was constantly sick, crying (in secret, and then later too numb to cry), overwhelmed, exhausted, and apathetic. And yet I refused to stop pushing my body and mind to their limit because I had this ingrained belief surrounding my productivity—if I slowed down, would I be worth anything? At the time, to my mind, the answer was a staunch no (even though I didn't apply this thinking to anyone but myself lol). So I repressed everything. I pushed it all to the side and kept moving forward. To put it in perspective, I got hit by a truck at one point, but I was so scared of being late to a thing and disappointing my parents that I just apologized and kept going. This kind of behaviour went on for close to a decade. And then the pandemic hit. And I was forced to stop. I was made to (by virtue of my relative privilege) take a moment to sit down, look around, and actually feel things. And it hit me like a ton of bricks: All the weight of the anger and fear and everything that I had been repressing for the sake of survival came RUSHING in. Now? You want to know what I'm like now? I am very burnt out and incredibly unproductive. I have the attention span of a gnat. Where I used to be able push through exhaustion or else tamp it down with consistently high levels of adrenaline, I now almost ALWAYS feel tired, to the point where I have to lay down. I used to be able to toss together an essay in the span of a couple hours. And, yes, while I can still put an essay together quickly, it’s not going to necessarily be good. Likewise, where I used to be able to mask my neurodivergent traits, I'm now hyperaware of how exhausting it all is, which makes it more difficult to appear neurotypical in public.

The thing is, when you have something like adhd as well as an anxiety disorder, the anxiety can pretty effectively mask the adhd. But once I started medication and more intense therapy, I got a hold on my anxiety and alllll of my coping mechanisms fell away. I no longer had that constant, vibrating fear to force me to maintain attention, and push myself to the breaking point.

It’s like not aging for 80 years and then suddenly having decades collapse into you in the span of moments. So Where Does This Leave Us? Okay, that was a loooong tangent, sorry. Returning to the original point. As the infinitely cool and talented @revenantscholar mentioned in a previous post of mine, when you exist in an unsafe environment (or one which is generally not built with you in mind), it's difficult to hold onto the skills you once had. Your body goes into survival mode and prioritizes keeping you alive. Once you have returned to a space where you can unmask and be physically/emotionally/mentally SAFE, you have the capacity to relearn some of those skills. Not all of them, necessarily, and not all at once. But these things do return—and even if they don't (listen to me, this is important), that doesn't make you stupid/bad/worthless. You are living in a world that is not built for people like you and I, and it sucks, and it's painful and scary, and we will continue to fight for a better future. In the meantime, it's important to remember that you are worthy of care, compassion, empathy, and support regardless of what you can contribute/do. You are incredibly important and I'm so glad you're here. (Thank you for listening. I'm drawing on my human rights knowledge from my degree, and also my own personal experience. However, feel free to correct me or ask any questions you might have! I'm also happy to provide resources/citations if needed. Now go drink water and rest if you need to! Ily!)

[cuubism]

Hey just wanted to say you're not a killjoy at all, you're actually absolutely correct

Thank you, I wish I didn't have to be 😔 I wish we lived in a world where gender equality was so long solidified that we could make silly jokes like that and not have it inadvertently feed into real world misogyny. I could see a world where women's inequality was so far in the past that 'ugh i wish i could just have someone else pay for everything' could be a funny #relatable 'we all hate working' kind of joke because everyone understood we don't actually want dependency. But that's not this time period when so many people genuinely believe that a woman's place is only in the home, and when young women might see that joke and believe that giving up their independence is a good idea or that women fighting for the right to equality in employment was a mistake. It inadvertently feeds into the rising tide of misogyny and points people towards those "traditional values" influencers that really push the idea that women should (god i hate the phrase "women should") submit to men and that their only valid life path is being a wife and mother. Especially when algorithms tend to push people down alt-right rabbit holes, like, even my insta feed is full of trad wife fundamentalist christian content because I hate watch it and then the algo feeds me more 😂 that's on me really I should just block all those accounts.

I mean, I sympathize, I hate my job sometimes too, I think everyone would like to have a life where they didn't have to work 40+ hours a week and had more leisure time. Unfortunately we live in a world where money by and large equates to freedom. So my go to complaint isn't wow I wish I had no life choices and was dependent on a man for my livelihood! when I'm irritated about work 😂

A lot of the content made by younger women online recently seems kind of regressive in its approach to gender roles, "i can't do this i'm just a girlie" and so on (I'm aware it's a joke, but oftentimes stuff starts as a joke and then reaches people who don't see it as one), and I worry about us backsliding. I'm concerned by young women idealizing the Trad Wife lifestyle, not knowing their history and how dangerous a position it puts women in. I'm concerned by the 'stay at home girlfriend' trend, possibly MORE dangerous for how it lacks even the meager property and alimony protections of marriages. I'm concerned by the increasing gendered political divide and radicalization of young men, the way misogyny has become more and more virulent and loud and normalized over the past few years. The way women's rights are being rolled back with even more restrictions being pushed by the Right in an attempt to hold onto power and maintain their hierarchical worldview.

We need feminism more than ever right now, and additionally I think we all need to reclaim it from radfems and terfs. The word has become too associated with them, to the point I fear people are afraid to call themselves feminists for fear of it being misinterpreted, and I'm sick of it, why should terfs get to define it? Especially when our rights in society are all entwined. Reproductive rights--an issue that doesn't solely impact women but does disproportionately affect women--arises from the same root issue of fundamental bodily autonomy as does trans rights. Moreover the existence of trans and nonbinary people reinforces gender equality because if gender and sex are malleable, not fundamental and binary, then upon what basis is the oppression of women? How can one claim that women are less than men, or that women and men 'should' hold such and such roles when even the role of 'woman' or 'man' is not discrete. I hope terfs can come around to seeing that.

I don't believe in policing people's online activity unless it's like actually threatening hate speech, so I'm certainly not going to tell them they can't joke how they want. I just hope they think about why that's where their mind goes when they don't want to work, instead of wishing that society didn't work people to the bone, that people had more leisure time, that jobs were better and more meaningful etc. I hope they think about the women around the world who are still denied education and denied the right to work and forced to depend on their family or husband with no freedom or autonomy, and how much work it took women in the past to even get where we are, and how much there still is left to do.

[nostalgiclittlespace]

Gender Binary and Age Regression

TW: Discussions of gender rules, mentions of k!nk

Being non-cis, genderqueer, nonconforming, or similar is an interesting experience in the Age Regression community.  I think that regression is very much accessible, and this is an overwhelmingly accepting community, but I don’t see the experiences being talked about much.  But why is that?  Especially considering the large demographic of regressors that aren’t cis?

So as I always do on this blog, I’ll talk about it myself!

Granted, I can only speak for my personal experience, observations, and analysis.  People experience both gender and age regression in very personal ways, so I don’t mean to erase or disregard anyone’s experiences that are different from what’s discussed. As such, I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts on this subject.

Firstly, something I notice about the community, namely through aesthetic posts and blog presentations, is that it can be very binary at times.  This makes sense if you think about it. As children, most of us were raised with strict gender rules and expectations that we conformed to.  Girls were expected to play house, with dolls, or other nurturing activities.  Meanwhile, boys were expected to be messy and wild; toys like trucks and action figures encouraged more active play.  When we regress, it’s natural that these social expectations and rules come back. 

Additionally, a lot of children’s items are categorized into these binary standards.  As such, in the regression community we tend to see things that are femme or masc leaning.  Eg.  Almost all ‘girl’ toys are pink or purple. ‘Boy’ toys are blue or green.  Dolls and princesses are only ever marketed towards girls.  Cars and superheroes are only marketed to boys.  Walking into a toy store, you can clearly see that certain isles are meant to appeal to the gender binary.

Furthermore, I think that for a lot of people, having a binary regression is important.  For example, I know some trans regressors utilize Little Space so they can have the properly gendered childhood they didn’t originally receive.

Lastly, I wonder if (unfortunately) the k!nk community has something to do with it.  Granted this is all speculation, but DDLG is one of the most popular subsets of ABDL.  As such, a lot of adult sized baby items are geared towards femininity.  This probably doesn’t affect the actual regression community very much, but I think it has indirectly influenced the general population into gearing Little Space towards ‘girls.’  

Even unrelated to those k!nk communities, society is a lot more accepting of fem-presenting being childish than masc-presenting.  Boys are expected to grow up faster and be tougher than girls, at least in my experiences.  I’m gender-fluid, so I’ve seen personally that I’m a lot more self conscious about regressing in public when I’m masc.  It’s just not as accepted.

These reasons combined—original binary expectations we learned in childhood, the market for children’s items, repairing childhood, and outside social influences—make the regression community fairly gendered.  Again, I know this is an overwhelmingly welcoming and supportive community.  I haven’t seen any agere accounts that would discriminate based on gender, and many of us are genderqueer ourselves (me included!)

So is there a way we can make this community more inclusive to genderqueer/nonconforming people?  Yes, for the most part.  I’ve seen plenty of gender neutral regressors, blogs, and boards, which is a step in the right direction.   I think ‘boy-re’ is also gaining popularity for masculine regressors to get the attention they deserve. Of course, we alone cannot influence the entire world to be more accepting of breaking the gender binary.  But we can take steps within our community to ensure that anyone existing outside the gender binary is respected and recognized.

I also want to remind you all that this is not meant to take shots at any binary regressors.  Furthermore, some regressors who may seem binary on first glance can still be genderqueer. For some people, these experiences are very important, and that should be respected.

To all my fellow regressors,no matter how you present on the outside, and no matter your agere aesthetic and binary, you are a valid and loved member of the community.  I wish you nothing but kindness, acceptance, and lots of love!  Happy regressing, everyone!

—Marty 🦖

[floridakilo]

the way certain gen z women on the internet talk about relationships in 2023 is so diabolical like what the fuck is hypergamy soft life wife material girlfriend activities hookup culture we are regressing as a society beyond the point of return

[dysphoricangell]

writing up a quick dissertation because some idiot on tiktok called me “transmisogynistic” for not calling a TIM a woman.

i believe that trans ideology was birthed out of anti-feminist brainrot in order to gaslight *specifically* gender critical women into believing that there’s a sect of males who can be saved from socialization.

it’s so clear that trans activists only have one goal, ensuring that society regresses further. i mean, who else is surprised that a movement comprised nearly entirely of mentally ill women, and misogynistic men, is winning at what they’re trying to accomplish? because i’m not! it’s actually not surprising at all that TRA’s are winning with this ideology, considering it works directly against women in favor of males. so many institutions like this already exist and do the same (pornography, the cosmetic industry, etc), so why would trans activism be any different??

trans ideology is incredibly sexist. we know this. but in my opinion, it gets infinitely worse when you have people deluded enough to start ACTUALLY blurring the lines between the two sexes.

a male could never experience misogyny.

for centuries women have been othered, treated as inhuman, the “lesser” of the two sexes. this is even more topical today in countries under islamic regime (as-well as in third-world countries across the board). i mean for christ’s sake, women in afghanistan are fucking imprisoned and brutalized for showing their FACES.

and what is this all based upon? what has kept women from being able to participate in society, and being dehumanized to the point of needing multiple human rights movements in order to be treated somewhat decently by men? the very neutral fact that there are two sexes, and that women are of the female sex.

being a woman isn’t a costume or “identity” for a man to take on. being a woman also isn’t taking sterilizing drugs everyday, or inverting your penis inside out and having your skull cut up. it’s literally just being born female. making this distinction is incredibly important.

so no, “transmisogyny” is not a thing. what a ridiculous statement 😭

[inside0ut-dotnet]

Amidst a nationwide surge of legislation aimed at curtailing the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, especially transgender persons, Pride events have faced significant opposition. The Human Rights Campaign, an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, reports that states have introduced over 500 such legislative pieces this year. Pride celebrations have attracted crowds throughout the country, with both new and longstanding events fostering unity and inclusion among LGBTQ+ individuals. However, some festivities have been overshadowed by protests and threats, leading to the cancellation of certain events due to harassment. Traditionally, many companies have demonstrated support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. This year, however, some have chosen to reduce their involvement due to escalating societal polarization and concerns over violence, vandalism, and customer loss, causing apprehension among brands about openly endorsing the LGBTQ+ community. The LGBTQ+ community perceives the reduction in Pride-themed marketing by major corporations as a regression in the pursuit of equality and acceptance. Pride Month, a period marked by celebration and increased visibility, feels less supported by corporate entities, which is disheartening for many. In states like New Hampshire and Oregon, library story hours featuring drag performers were cancelled. In Los Angeles, a fight erupted at an elementary school. Such events underscore the persistent division and intolerance within society. The wave of legislation is a troubling development in the United States, signifying an orchestrated move to diminish the liberties of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly targeting transgender people. This legislative push poses a grave challenge to the rights and freedoms of the LGBTQ+ community, fostering a hostile environment where discrimination and prejudice are not only tolerated but actively encouraged by the law. This can have serious implications for the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals. Despite the challenges and setbacks, it is important to continue advocating for equality and acceptance. It is crucial for advocates and allies of the LGBTQ+ community to speak out against this legislation and work towards protecting the rights of all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. By raising awareness, mobilizing support, and advocating for change, it is possible to push back against these harmful laws and promote equality for all. Pride month serves as a reminder of the progress that has been made, but also the work that still needs to be done to create a more inclusive and tolerant society. By standing together and fighting for equality, we can create a more inclusive and accepting society for all individuals.