#white cis het

[thescentofrainonstone]

On Class in Britain and why the same kind of actor ends up getting our panties in a twist (see Hiddleston, Cumberbatch, Goode, etc...)

Isn't it peculiar that all this adoration and fandoms tend to be about white-cis mostly het (thought admittedly that's the more laxed of attributes) able thin, tall, pale but most importantly coming from riches guys?

You look at a Tom Hiddleston and his first headshots and roles and the wonder has got to be there: "how much time and means were available to him to get his degree from Oxbridge and then decide to do another entire BA on top of it at RADA?"

Admittedly he gets off easy going back historically("just" baronets in his line) when in his league we have Benedict Cumberbatch, whose existence is literally dependant on the slavery his direct ancestors built their empire on in Barbados, and were paid compensation when the end of slavery came to England. Finally his Wikipedia has a full description of this even though when I worked on the essay that took the Downton Abbey series and films as examples of the inhumane social divide the UK depends upon, it was all incredibly well swept under virtual rugs with a vague quote from Mother Cumberbatch advising her son to change his surname in case "they come after you for money" where money stands for "reparations" and considering the luxury of an arts career like the last few Cumberbatches have had is something intrinsically entrenched in wealth and privilege makes perfect sense if you ask me. A councillor in New York carries the same surname and she is Black. Slaves carried the surname of those who owned them.

Let that sink in: there is currently a commissiomer (and Professor at Columbia) in New York who carries the Cumberbatch surname because they are a direct descendant of the Slaves the Cumberbatches owned and owe their fortune to. Stacey Cumberbatch.

So yeah, when people think the UK is not the US, they Invented class and the divide that come with it. It is so crucial to come from a family that can afford you connections and the luxury to work for nothing while never risking bills or rent going unpaid.

And I guess what I'm trying to say is: it's ok for all the fandoms to salivate over anyone, I just think it's important we know why the media propels in front of our eyes the same prototype of Englishman over and over, and perpetrates the production of new pieces of media that casually seem naturally meant for white, rich, het passing people.

The system works like a bottleneck for privilege and I think the SAG-AFTRA strikes also show that: everyone that had some privilege and didn't do anything to average out the system will see their own reduced over time until only the tip of the top remains. And "eat the rich" is going to be another post but you get the gist.

That is to say, next time I go to Insole Court (the Victorian house where a Lot of A Discovery of Witches was filmed, including Matthew's "rooms at Oxford") will I touch every single book of the reading room because likely I will have touched something Matthew Goode touched when he was there filming? Sure.

I also do know that house was paid for by coal miners who actually died in a tragedy in the mines owned by the Insole family and that admittedly I find the only decent way to keep real estate built with the blood of people can just be that: give that back to the people.

It's about educated choices, that's what I'm trying to say.

Fun fact: I started watching a discovery of witches because after filming the essay at Insole Court, wanting to bring down the bourgeoisie, I learned the show was also filmed there. So i went and found it and now I have another white, pale, lanky, English twink to lose sleep over just because he's been given a character created by the mind of a woman who dreams enough, possibly because unfulfilled in some part of her life -because when we're happy we go out, we don't vomit pages over pages let's be honest -.

If none of those elegant white British men who embody the characters we love come from a program that allowed them to raise from the working class... or are anything but white or adhering to a white-er standard (Rege- Jean Page is the quintessential example of this, better than nothing but still, my point)...Maybe we should ask ourselves why, and how is that ok.

Just a random though on a day I wanted to go back to Insole Court for the aforesaid reason.

[t4tails]

male characters can be "female-coded" for ambiguous suffering but god forbid you start actually headcanoning them as trans women

[pickled-flowers]

Ok so a while back I had a conversation with my friend's aunt. She's a trans woman well into her 50, who has kids and grandkids, and she came out when she was in her 40's. Me and my friends were talking about our queer space, and mentioned the well known "token cishet man"

Now, I'm sure most of us have that guy in our friend group, and it was common for us to just call him the straight guy. But my friend's aunt offered a different perspective ; she once was that token cishet man in a queer group of friends. Getting categorized so strongly as "the cis straight guy" made it harder for her to come out and accept herself. Since that talk with her, I've been careful about it, and guess what? Two women I've once called "the straightest person I know" (different occasions, and it was high school) now have girlfriends! You literally cannot know if someone is queer, and honestly most people are not the straight cisest person out there.

Anyways I'm not very articulate and English is not my friend but like I think everyone would benefit from being a little more careful about the way we treat our "token straight guy", she might be thankful later!

[weallpartyatybcpatricksfuneral]

"girls support girls-" okay but are you normal about queer women? are you normal about BIWOC? are you normal about disabled women? are you normal about autistic women? are you normal about fat women? alternative women? unattractive women? are you normal about women who choose not to shave their legs and armpits and faces? are you normal about butches and tomboys and masculine women? are you normal about trans women? are you normal about trans men? are you normal about nonbinary folk and people who lie outside the gender binary or renounce gender all together? are you normal about women who absolutely despise and detest the latest trends? are you normal about weird women who unsettle you with their interests? are you normal about women who don't wear makeup, who will never wear makeup, who openly dislike makeup and the makeup industry?

[squiddlysq]

The only thing better than pathetic men is pathetic men who are out of their fucking minds. I want Gabriel carnally and I can only express this through shitpost art

[schooltown-follies]

actually cannot handle it when people draw kon not in a leather jacket looking like he’s fresh out of a combo punk rock band rehearsal and halloween party. what do you mean he’s just wearing a black shirt with an s on it and skinny jeans??? where’s the personality in that??????

[mueritos]

Hi, Matteo! So, I have just about the stupidest question to you as a fellow transmasc artist/creator: whenever I find myself trying to create a female character, I end up struggling with forming the idea of her personality and motivations etc in my mind, and then when I try to sort look at the character from different angles to 'get' them, boom! My hand slips and they're genderfluid now, or nonbinary, or transmasc, or transfem. The point is, they're never a cis woman in the end. No issues with male characters, cis or trans. Is this a common experience for other trans/nb creators? Or is it a 'default misogyny instilled in us all by society' thing? I just want to be able to create female characters too! and I kinda feel like an asshole for not being able to. So, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that!

this isn't stupid at all! first of all, it's entirely fine if you only want to draw and create trans characters. It's also okay that you have preferences toward certain characters. I hilariously fall into this same problem of struggling to make female characters, because my attraction toward men makes me want to always create gay/MLM centered stories. My brain is giving very much "no women no girls this is...The World of the Gays" image. But here's the thing, what you draw and what you choose to invest your creative energy into doesn't say anything moral about you. I would say things start becoming more complicated depending on the intentions behind art, how characters are depicted, and the harm it may cause to others (example, racist depictions of characters, colorism within art, etc).

However, it sounds like you do want to make female characters, specifically cis female characters. I struggle making cis female characters too, and i don't know if you relate, but after many years of being forced to be a Girl and to be Feminine, I now avoid situations or things that make me feel like I'm going back to GirlMode. But, it's important to remind ourselves that this avoidance can become maladaptive and prevent us from opening ourselves to new experiences. You're not an asshole, and clearly you care enough about making diverse art because you're trying to seek different perspectives.

my thought process when making female characters is essentially the same with all characters, but there are many characters I have intentionally chosen aspects of themselves that i do not relate to to push myself. It sounds like you need to make a decision to keep a cis female character and protect her from your transgender mind beam haha. Give her something you relate to, like a hobby or a lived experience or an outfit you like, and perhaps it can help alleviate any feelings of wanting to push your connection to her through shared transness. Another thing you can do is base her loosely off a cis woman in your life! I've done this before and it prevents me from changing her gender, mostly because I feel like it would be disrespectful to make them trans if they're based off someone I know haha. Or, if you still want a trans character in proximity to her, give her a trans friend, sister, cousin, partner, or enemy! That way the dynamic is not just based on their relationship, but also their different genders :)

also, don't worry if you're being misogynistic or not. every character you make may have some form of a stereotype or some "problematic" aspect. I have a cis female character who falls into the "wants to get married and only things about men stereotype", but she is brave and often far more driven than the men and women in her life because she cares about the man she loves (enough to break from her social status and become a fighter to save him). I ALSO have all kinds of trans characters I created just to lewd them up, and I know for sure there's probably someone out there wagging their finger at me and saying i'm "fetishizing" trans people. I also like to draw the occassional cute girl because I think women are beautiful and I admire the ways I see the women in my life carry themselves. My point is, characters are flawed because WE are flawed and we internalize a lot of messaging from the world. as long as you are seeking our ways to re-learn messaging and incorporate that into your work, you're doing enough. There exists no perfect squeaky clean un-problematic non-stereotypy character ever, because we all aren't squeaky clean un-problematic non-stereotypy people.

hope that helped ^-^

[genderkoolaid]

I don't think No True Scotsman-ing feminism is helpful but there are a lot of people (esp, in my experience, middle class cishet white women, but not exclusively) whose entire feminist education is pop feminism, & they tend to have a very shallow view of feminism & its politics while thinking they are better educated than they are. and they also have very badly made arguments that physically hurt me to hear made even if I agree with the point they are trying to make.

& tbh I think this is part of how radical feminism gets so popular especially amongst the aforementioned group. because radical feminism, for all it's flaws, DOES promise to make feminism a radically left movement again, purposefully ties itself to historical Marxist feminist theory. & if you are tired of lukewarm liberal pop feminism & want something with teeth, that's really enticing. and if you are a cis woman, especially a white one, it's very easy to let that desire for something with teeth & unexamined transphobia/cissexism guide you into Being An Asshole

[triviareads]

Liana de la Rosa calling this wave of "feminist" heroines in historical romance a new marketing tactic is hard facts

[butch-bakugo]

Oh my God a fucking " anti-transandrophobia truther" perisex fuck wrote word for word, in a massive fucking post " I wonder if intersex people know being Intersex affects your gender" (NO SHIT???)

And!

" I'm pretty sure all the afab/cafab (coercive meaning ya know ... GENITAL MUTILATION OF INTERSEX BABIES FORCING THEM INTO THE AFAB IDENTITY. The whole camab/cafab thing was stolen from the intersex community.) intersex people who claim the transfem title don't actually have transfem experiences"(regardless of the kind of the type of intersexuality they are?? You are just outting yourself as someone totally fucking blind to actual intersex experiences.)and! " They need their own term because they don't 'fit'". They tried to dress up the offensive bigoted nonsense they just spewed by trying to make it sound like they had our best interests at heart and "shouldn't be forced into using perisex language".... You are litterally trying to push intersex people you don't like out of our terminology to other them .... This literally reeks of literal terf rhetoric " most intersex lean one way and therefore shove them under that label" like...

Ur both intersexist freaks and bigots just in different ways. Imagine trying to claim you care about intersex people then try to determine our labels for us and push us in the way you think we should go regardless of our actual fucking lived experiences because you don't like sharing the transfem community with people who've experienced both transmysogny and transmascphobia. Not to even mention the fact the last time people tried to make a term to talk about their experiences, you've not shut up about it in years and called it a mens rights movement to try and silence an entire fucking portion of the trans community so you don't have to care about them. You literally fucking said " trans men experience both transphobia and mysogny but not at the same time (we do????) but trans women do" ok and ur blind to Transmasc issues because you think that nonsense and we are the same as cis men. Ur blind to our issues in the way you accuse us of being blind to your issues but only expect us to shut up and listen.

Anyway, denying that trans men can't face their own issues while also ignoring any trans man who disagrees with you and then attempting to delegitimize all intersex people who look you dead in the face in the transfem and Transmasc playing fields and tell you ur wrong...

Bro just say you hate Transmascs and anyone who might be slightly aligned with them and go home you intersexist piece of shit.

Also the whole " stop calling anti-transandrophobia truthers baddels! That's something specific"

My brother in CHRIST, THEY ARE LITTERALLY UNIRONICALLY IN THE USERNAMES OF THE PEOPLE YOU REBLOG FROM. BULLSHIT.

Anyway the fact y'all are all fucking white trans women and CONSTANTLY bring up black and indigenous people's experiences with gender while also being unironic baddels aka a horrifically abusive to trans men (including rape) and racist ASF movement within your community tells me everything i need to know as a native american two spirit intersex person with no "lean" whose experienced transmysogny and transandrophobia.

This is why they don't trust you motherfuckers, you got no class, just entitlement and weak ass attempts at silencing people you already hate and a weird trauma fetish for black and indigenous people. There is over lap between the transfem experiences and bipoc experiences but there is also an overlap between Transmasc and bipoc experiences, nonbinary and bipoc, like almost everyone can relate to our shit, ur not special 😭 leave us alone and don't use our oppression to try and legitimize your fundamentally transphobic views.

[odinsblog]

Bootlicker 🥾👅

[tiefling-queer]

it is ENDLESSLY frustrating to watch white queers, white women, and white neurodivergents, day after day, frame our oppression as uniquely effecting and terrifying and claim that all problems come from cishets, or men, or neurotypicals, when they are describing problems that are symptomatic of white supremacy. or hell, even events that are OBSERVABLY BECAUSE OF WHITE PEOPLE.

HALF OF ALL WHITE WOMEN WHO VOTED IN THE US THIS YEAR VOTED FOR TRUMP. but even when they're not busy blaming people of color for it, white liberals seem incapable of reckoning with the idea that white supremacy appeals to white women, and that includes the patriarchal elements of white supremacy.

i feel like im going insane every time a white woman or white queer pushes themselves into a panic attack over the possibility of facing some heinous form of oppression or violence that IS CURRENTLY BEING FACED BY POC IN THEIR COUNTRY. i can't imagine how much more infuriating this pattern of behavior is for people of color.

[plantmommoonbaby]

After listening to the WotC subclass Fireside, I cannot wait any longer for Brennan to write his own gaming system. It feels like he is ready to homebrew at any tickled fancy of one (or an entire table) of hisplayers. And ibam so ready for the LORE BOOKS GIVE THEM TO US, BRENNAN

[invinciblerodent]

you made me laugh very hard thinking about max volume BASS-BOOSTED CARELESS WHISPER, thank you for that. please say more about this thorne i'm besotted

Aah, thank you kindly! ❤️ (watch me proceed to rant for about an hour about him lol)

As a quick summary, Tristan Thorne was born in Ferelden in roughly 9:13, in a village (that's more of a homestead rather than a true settlement) near Lothering- aaaand then promptly (kind of, sort of) died on the battlefield of Ostagar in defending his home when he was just 17 years old. Except luckily, he survived his injuries just long enough for the battle to settle, and curious spirits (Compassion, Courage, Hope, Loss, and others) to take notice, and begin pressing against the Veil.

It was a spirit of Purpose who was drawn to the dying boy's sheer determination to keep drawing breath, and touched his mind, saving his life in the process (through what some might consider a deal, though that opens up some unfortunate lines of discussion)(it's not a demon, I swear! .... maybe!) to allow the spirit to come and experience our world through his eyes.

Wandering the wilderness, dazed and disoriented and with the Blight in his veins (and a spirit invisible to all others riding piggyback), he was found an uncertain amount of time later (could have been days, weeks, or months even) by the arriving Orlesian Wardens somewhere near the Wilds, and was promptly recruited, as they thought him on death's door.

Tristan then took the Joining with remarkable ease (a curiosity the Wardens also noticed- really, it was almost as if the draught had no effect? But that's impossible, that could only happen if the sickly boy was somehow already a Warden without even knowing? He must just have remarkable constitution)(could it have had something to do with the curious herbal mixture he got from a local lady to calm his nerves the night before the battle? who knows), and fell naturally in line with the Warden teachings.

Fast forward roughly 22 years, he is now 39-40 years old, doesn't talk much about his life before beyond calling Ferelden his home, and is a decently respected Senior Warden with a secret not many have ever known of, on top of a bristly, brusque attitude that makes him difficult to get to know, and a propensity to head single-mindedly towards any goal (and flout rules in the process), as if drawn on a string.

He's also not great with people, has not had a relationship since that one time in his teens (in part because he's not sure how it all is supposed to work, but he's fairly sure you can't exactly open with "by the way, I'm kind of not sure if I'm even really alive" and have a romance start from there, or keep something like that a secret long), has quite a few scars that chronicle many blows that would have felled any fully mortal man (and many more tattoos that tell of the same), and likes to do embroidery in his spare time- by his claim to keep his fingers' fine motor skills from deteriorating, but also because of his secret affection for pretty things.

...... In a more meta sense, I made him because I wanted to toy with an undead/necromancer dynamic before release (and before learning about Spite, I thought possession would be a unique way of doing that- egg on my face lol), so Tristan is not exactly an abomination. Not really.

Nor is he a zombie in the traditional sense, or wholly separate from-, or even truly fused with Purpose, like we've seen among the companions before.

I think he... sits kind of in the eye of a three-way Venn diagram between Wynne, Cole, and Anders: he's someone kept alive partly by a spirit who is not just influencing the world from across the Veil and is fully present, but also isn't trying to exert control of the host body, OR a person of its own right, and rather acts more as a silent, approving passenger. They're not the same person or completely separate, and they're not in the same place, but also not apart. If that makes any sense.

I like to think that since Tristan and Purpose are very closely aligned in their goals and temperaments (and have been together longer than Tristan has lived on his own before, which gave them time to grow to trust one another), the separation between them is pretty much nonexistent- you can't draw a line of demarcation between them any more than you could separate yourself from your right hand.

This makes it somewhat difficult to tell whether they even have an impact on each other, whether it's him who was made more bullheaded by his connection with Purpose, if it was Purpose made more humane and compassionate by its decades in the world of the living, or if they just found each other by chance and ended up meshing and merging perfectly without much of a need for a conscious compromise.

I liked the idea of this remarkably close synergy between mortal and spirit being fascinating to Emmrich, and prompting a thorough study (both arcane and medical) of Tristan, which would sort of then turn into a more.... personal interest as well.

I've not yet gotten far past the prologue in that game yet, but I think it'll be very fun after finishing my very Emotionally And Conventionally Intelligent Ingellvar to explore this lonely, self-reliant, gruff man, and playing through his little gay crisis as he gets swept up by Emmrich's charm embarrassingly quickly.

It'll be really nice to roleplay as he discovers the Magic of Friendship, slowly becomes the third single dad of the group (only his children are basically everyone except for Emmrich and Davrin), and finally lose his v-card before he'd literally become the 40-year-old virgin.

.... i also found this after making that post, and it has been making me giggle for the past day- it sounds like you're outside his head and listening in to the sound escaping through Tristan's ear:

[ladychlo]

x

[loki-zen]

Unfashionable opinion: if, as a white man, you've written a book on identity/diversity-inclusive practice in your field, which claims to include gender as one of these axes - and yet, when you actually flick through the relevant section, it's a series of anecdotes in which you let black and asian women tell you you're racist - then I don't believe that you actually believe sexism is a problem!