#Global Instability | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ghelgheli · 20 days

Note

hey you might've been asked this before sorry if so, but have you read or do you have any thoughts on A short history of Trans Misogyny?

I have read it! I have a few thoughts.

I think it's a strong and important work that compiles historical archives into sharp analyses of how "trans misogyny" (using Jules Gill-Peterson's spacing) is not a recent phenomenon but a globalized structure with centuries of history. I also think it's flawed, for reasons I'll get into after a quick summary for those who haven't had the chance to read it yet.

JGP divides the book into three main chapters, the first on the notion of "trans panic". There, she traces how variants of this anxiety with the trans-feminized subject have presented—to deadly effect, for the subject—in such different settings as early colonial India, the colonization of the Americas, the racialized interactions between US soldiers stationed in the Philippines and the local trans women living there, and of course the contemporary United States itself. In every case she analyzes this "panic" as the reaction of the capitalist colonial enterprise to the conceptual threat that the trans-feminized subject poses; we are a destabilizing entity, a gender glitch that undermines the rigid guarantees of the patriarchal order maintaining capitalism. Punishment follows.

The second chapter is my favourite, and considers the relationship between transfeminine life and sex work. I posted a concluding excerpt but the thrust of the chapter is this: that the relegation of so many trans women and trans-feminized people to sex work, while accompanied by the derogation and degradation that is associated with sex work, is not itself the mere result of that degradation inflicted upon the subject. In other words, it is not out of pure helplessness and abjection that so many trans-feminized people are involved in sex work. Rather, sex work is a deliberate and calculated choice made by many trans-feminized people in increasingly service-based economies that present limited, often peripheralized, feminized, and/or reproductive, options for paid labour. Paired with a pretty bit of critical confabulation about the histories of Black trans-feminized people travelling the US in the 19th century, I think this made for great reading.

In her third chapter, JGP narrativizes the 20th century relationship between the "gay" and "trans" movements in north america—scare quoted precisely because the two went hand-in-hand for much of their history. She emphasizes this connection, not merely an embedding of one community within another but the tangled mutualism of experiences and subjectivities that co-constituted one another, though not without tension. Then came the liberal capture of the gay rights movement around the 70s, which brought about the famous clashes between the radicalisms of Silvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson (neither of whom, JGP notes, ever described themselves as trans women) and the institutions of gay liberalism that desired subsumption into the folds of capital. This is a "remember your history" type of chapter, and well-put.

I think JGP is correct to insist, in her introduction, on the globalizing-in-a-destructive-sense effects of the colonial export of trans womanhood. It is, after all, an identity conceived only mid-century to make sense of the medicalized trans subject; and "gender identity" itself (as JGP describes in Histories of the Transgender Child) is a psychomedical concept conceived to rein in the epistemic instability of trans existence. This is critical to keep in mind! But I also think JGP makes a few mistakes, and one of them has to do with this point.

In her first chapter, under the discussion of trans misogyny in colonial India, JGP of course uses the example of the hijra. Unfortunately, she commits two fundamental errors in her use: she mythologizes, however ambiguously, the "ascetic" lives of hijra prior to the arrival of British colonialism; and she says "it's important to say that hijras were not then—and are not today—transgender". In the first place, the reference to the "ascetism" of hijra life prior to the violence of colonialism is evocative of "third-gender" idealizations of primeval gender subjectivities. To put the problem simply: it's well and good to describe the "ritual" roles of gendered subjects people might try to construe contemporarily as "trans women", the priestesses and oracles and divinities of yore. But it is best not to do so too loftily. Being assigned to a particular form of ritualistic reproductive labour because of one's failure to be a man and inability to perform the primary reproductive labour of womanhood-proper is the very marker of the trans-feminized subject. "Ascetism" here obviates the reality that it wasn't all peachy before (I recommend reading Romancing the Transgender Native on this one). Meanwhile, in the after, it is just wrong that hijra are universally not transgender. Many organize specifically under the banners of transfeminism. It's a shame that JGP insists on keeping the trans-feminized life of hijra so firmly demarcated from what she herself acknowledges is globalized transness.

My second big complaint with the book is JGP's slip into a trap I have complained about many times: the equivocation of transfemininity with femininity (do you see why I'm not fond of being described as "transfem"?). She diagnoses the root of transmisogyny as a reaction to the femininity of trans women and other trans-feminized subjects. In this respect she explicitly subscribes to a form of mujerísima, and of the trans-feminized subject as "the most feminine" and (equivalent, as far as she's concerned) "the most woman". Moreover, she locates transfeminist liberation in a singular embrace of mujerísima as descriptive of trans-feminized subjectivity. As I've discussed previously, I think this is a misdiagnosis. Feminization is, of course, something that is done to people; it is certainly the case that the trans-feminized subject is in this way feminized for perceived gender-failure. This subject may simultaneously embrace feminized ways of being for all sorts of reasons. In both cases I think the feminization follows from, rather than precedes, the trans misogyny and trans-feminization, and there is a fair bit of masculinization as de-gendering at play too, to say nothing of the deliberate embrace of masculinity by "trans-feminized" subjects. Masculinity and femininity are already technologies of gender normalization—they are applied against gender deviation and adapted to by the gender deviant. The deviation happens first, in the failure to adhere to the expectations of gender assignment, and I don't think these expectations can be summarized by either masculinity or femininity alone. I think JGP is effectively describing the experience of many trans-feminized people, but I do not think what she presents can be the universalized locus of trans liberation she seems to want it to be.

Now for a pettier complaint that I've made before, but one that I think surfaces JGP's academic context. In her introduction she says:

In truth, everyone is implicated in and shaped by trans misogyny. There is no one who is purely affected by it to the point of living in a state of total victimization, just as there is no one who lives entirely exempt from its machinations. There is no perfect language to be discovered, or invented, to solve the problem of trans misogyny by labeling its proper perpetrator and victim.

Agreed that "there is no perfect language to be discovered"! But JGP is clearly critical of TMA/TME language here. Strange, then, that less than ten pages later she says this:

this book adds the phrase trans-feminized to describe what happens to groups subjected to trans misogyny though they did not, or still do not, wish to be known as transgender women.

So JGP believes it is coherent to talk about "groups subjected to trans misogyny", which she thinks consists of the union of trans women and what she called "trans-feminized" groups. If this is to be coherent, there must be groups not subjected to trans misogny. So we've come around to transmisogyny-subjected and not transmisogyny-subjected. Look: you cannot effectively theorize about transmisogyny without recognizing that its logic paints a particular target, and you will need to come up with a concise way of making this distinction. But JGP dismissing TMA/TME with skepticism about "perfect language" and immediately coining new language (basically TMS/not TMS) to solve the problem she un-solved by rejecting TMA/TME... it smells of a sloppy attempt to make a rhetorical point rather than theoretical rigour. It's frustrating.

I have other minor gripes, like her artificial separation of "trans women" from "nonbinary people" (cf. countless posts on here lamenting the narrow forms of existence granted TMA people if we want recognition as-such!) or her suggestion that "a politics of overcoming the gender binary" is mutually exclusive from rather than necessarily involved with struggles around "prison abolition, police violence, and sex work". Little things that give me the sense of theoretical tunnel-vision. But I don't think all this compromises the book's strengths as a work of broad historical analysis. I would simply not take every one of its claims as authoritative. Definitely give it a read if you have the chance, especially for the second and third chapters.

#ask answer #jules gill-peterson #(i haven't been asked this before ty for asking <3 🐐)#note that this was mostly off the cuff except what i had taken pictures of bc i left the book in toronto for my mom to read

294 notes · View notes

astrolovecosmos · 23 days

Text

Aries is associated with the metal Iron, the metal of weaponry and tools, Aries forges ahead.

Taurus is associated with Copper. Copper is known for its warmth, beauty, and conductivity.

Gemini is associated with the metal Mercury, Mercury represents the volatile, fluid, and transformative aspect of the alchemical process. It is often associated with the mind, spirit, and principle of change and transition.

Cancer is associated with Silver and the popular and healing Copper. Silver is a metal known for its lustrous appearance, malleability, and association with the Moon. Silver has been revered for its purity and connection to the divine feminine.

Leo is associated with Gold, the metal of power, royalty, and luxury. The metal of the Sun.

Virgo is associated with Mercury and Copper, showing the multifaceted nature of the sign. Metals of flexibility, one associated with mental agility and the other healing properties.

Libra is associated with Copper; Copper is often seen as a symbol of balance and harmony in various cultures.

Scorpio is associated with Plutonium and Iron, a metal of destruction and a metal of war.

Sagittarius is associated with Tin. Tin is a highly malleable metal, known for its ability to be easily shaped and molded. It is also widespread, used globally in many things.

Capricorn is associated with Lead and Platinum. Lead is known for its heaviness, density, and stability... and poison. Platinum is known for its durability, strength, and resistance to corrosion.

Aquarius is associated with many metals: Lead, Platinum, Uranium, and Aluminum. Lead and Platinum reflect Saturn's serious and heavy influence on the sign. Uranium is a radioactive element known for its instability and transformative power. Aluminum is a lightweight, versatile metal known for its strength and conductivity.

Pisces is associated with Tin, the flexible metal that historically has been used to decorate or in the arts.

#zodiac #astrology #metals #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces

232 notes · View notes

luaveltarot · 2 months

Text

What do you need to erase from your auric field ?

⏰ ⭐️ 📜

⏰

You carry or possess three items with yourself, one thing made up of wood 🪵 and they hold a meaning to you from the past, may be some friend who is not in your life gave you that and I really sense that you need to get rid of that thing. These items hold energy that has been clouding your mind and has left you unstable. The friend who gave you that item is no longer into your life and i feel they held opinions of you that were just straight up toxic and yes you don’t need it so just give to someone or bury it somewhere.

Also, a key 🗝️ to your previous place or home or a shop, something that is and won’t be useful in the future needs to be discarded. Something happened in that place or when you lived there, something happened that has given you deep rooted memories and it’s really weird but i got the numbers 38 and 460, it could be the end or starting digits of the key.

Also, your energy is so dehydrated. It feels so dry and and rough. I think this pile really needs to oil their body and drink plenty of water because your thoughts and mental stressors have sucked all the moisture, to feel alive you need a change of air and spend some time close to a waterbody if possible. Avoid chilly and spicy food, eat more greens and do breath work also.

(I’m unable to sense the third thing which you need to erase from your auric field but I sense that it’s your opinion of some fruit or veggie which you feel is not good for your gut but that’s not the truth and it’s something else that’s causing that problem. It’s random but it doesn’t have to resonate.)

⭐️

You are going through something on either national or international level 🌐. There’s this feeling where you can’t express your views freely or unable to control what’s going on a global level. You can idolise a person/celebrity/influencer🖥️🎙️ a lot and they have a huge influence on your mind so much that I think you are living life according to them than according to yourself.

Secondly, I feel that something that you know inherently by birth, that’s being questioned and you have started to doubt yourself, your ability and left you feeling that you are wrong and maybe that you are an unfit in the world or have no knowledge but that’s far from the truth. I think you need to stop questioning yourself just because someone plants this seed of doubt.

What you really need to erase from your auric field is to let go of the control others have on you. What others say might not be the whole truth and you need to process what kind of content you are really consuming because i feel this pile is so heavily trapped in the media world, that their personality is yet to be carved.

Also, due to such negative content, your manifestations are put on hold because you are not ready to welcome what you truly deserve, your mind is putting limitations on you and where you really deserve to be and the content you are consuming is parallel, they’ll never meet so be more open minded in your life and then notice how drastically your life changes.

📜

This group could be having job related issues or facing financial 💰instability. If not then this isn’t your group.

So it’s clear that you want a higher position 🪜 in career and because of this, you are suffering, your life is like a land with wild grass and wildflowers. You feel stuck, stagnant and just so disturbed in life. You are waiting for destiny to show some miracle and it’s not helping. You need to erase this idea that a miracle will happen and everything will be fine.

I see that these mountains of hopes and wishes is not going to get you where you want to be. Life has something else in stored for you which will be revealed to you with time. But rn let go of these notions of yourself whatever that is. Not everyone has it easy in life. 🪄

People your age or gender might be doing things which are in accordance with the so called right time stereotype and that’s making you feel more hysteric in day to day life but please don’t worry, I see you at a higher status in life but that will happen a little later in life. This time is that time where you work with whatever you have.

Your life will up level in stages and not by a miracle. You’ll work your way to the top. Rn an authoritative figure in your life might be troublesome for you, could be loading you with work or extracting the last bit of blood left in your body but try to find a way out of that situation. Ik some situations have no way out sometimes, no matter what someone says but you have to find a way to cope.

#tarotblr #tarot #tarot reading #divination #pac #pick a pile #pick a card #tarot community #tarot witch #luaveltarot

163 notes · View notes

mapsontheweb · 2 months

Photo

Global Peace Index, 2023

Map of the Global Peace Index (GPI)! In assessing peacefulness, the GPI investigates the extent to which countries are involved in ongoing domestic and international conflicts and seeks to evaluate the level of harmony or discord within a nation. Ten indicators broadly assess what might be described as safety and security in society. Their assertion is that low crime rates, minimal incidences of terrorist acts and violent demonstrations, harmonious relations with neighbouring countries, a stable political scene, and a small proportion of the population being internally displaced or refugees can be suggestive of peacefulness. This includes number/duration of international conflicts, number of deaths from internal and external conflicts, number/duration of role in external conflicts, relations with neighboring countries, level of perceived criminality in a country, number of refugees/displaced peoples are percentage of population, political instability, impact of terrorism, political turmoil, number of homicides per 100,000 people, level of violent crime, likelihood of violent demonstrations, incarceration rates, military expenditure as % of gdp, number of police per 100,000 people, volume of global weapon transport, military personnel per 100,000 people, financial contribution to UN peace keeping, nuclear and wmd capability, and ease of access to small arms are all factors that are taken into account when analyzing the world’s nations for the GPI.

by powerfulcountries

#maps #powerfulcountries #igsourced #gpi #2023

194 notes · View notes

fxirysforesight · 17 days

Text

My Theory on The Recent Misfortunes in Kpop

This K-pop Era is something else. Parasocial relationships are crumbling due to the increase in relationships being revealed, entertainment and news companies are being sued back to back, the public images of celebrities are being shattered due to their past misdeeds, and the big leagues are slowly crumbling.

A large portion of this is the result of Pluto having recently moved into Aquarius, testing the stability and boundaries of fame and fortune while also shedding dead weight and bringing light to the dark side of the entertainment industry.

Right now, the event chart for K-pop has Pisces Mars, Neptune, and Saturn transiting its 7th House indicating a focus on relationships, businesses, partnerships, and the overall harmony and balance. When Neptune crosses your 7th House it can indicate a lot of sneaky and shady behavior occurring. Even more so because right now, Neptune is currently conjunct Mercury in that chart which alludes to false claims, lies, deception, etc. Similar to in a Natal Chart where it can indicate being cheated on by a partner or being slighted in some way by someone else, it can take on the same meaning in an event chart where romantic relationships are not the focus, meaning this could be a betrayal in a partnership or a business. Mars is a planet of drive and ambition.

Mars always pushes it’s limits and tests the boundaries, oftentimes creating power struggles and sort of “lighting a fire under” previous issues as it is a planet that gives people the courage to bring up issues that have been sat on for a while combined with Neptune. Now I will say that Mars is already in the 7th House in Pisces in the Chart of K-pop. Highlighting the instability of the relationships and partnerships formed through it. With it now returning to its place in the 7th House it’s sort of like it’s coming back to bite them in the ass if that makes sense. Now Saturn is nobodies bitch. Where Saturn is at, is where Karma will be dealt. So with it being in the 7th House, that would be failing businesses and partnerships, the ending of relationships, etc. (especially with Mars here)

“But Zana! Why are all of these companies being sued?”

Great question. If you look at the chart, the ASC ruler which is Mercury is currently transiting the 8th House which rules defamation. If you take that and combine it with the fact that the Sun is also in the House (indicating that the “Spotlight” is being cast on that House, as well as the fact that Mercury is square Uranus which is the ruler of the 6th House (which rules Litigations) you get some not so fun things.

Now as for WHY? I said before how the 8th House rules Defamation which is already a big problem in the industry right now. But not everyone is going to be sued for defamation. The other possibility I see is being sued for theft, fraud, and laundering because the Ruler of the 8th House (And the 8th House ruled money you get from OTHER PEOPLE) which is Mars is currently in the 7th House in Pisces…which speaks for itself as per my explanation of Mars in Pisces in the 7th House in the beginning.

I’ll end this with a prediction. In a few days The Sun will enter Capricorn in the 9th House and will be Sextile Saturn. Where it will join Jupiter and Venus. We may see an increase in global expansion from a few companies such as branching out and building other locations in different cities and countries. It’s also possible that we may see more deals and acquisitions being made as well. We could also see the emergence of a global boy or girl group.

#🍓 fairytalks #kpop tarot #kpop astrology

76 notes · View notes

probablyasocialecologist · 2 months

Text

Climate change is political but it’s “not the imaginary politics of universal consensus,” he writes in the book’s pithy prologue, nor the “anti-politics of miraculous technological salvation”. It’s also “not the end of the world”. Instead, it’s a struggle between “actually existing people over actually existing crises with actually existing differences, interests, and prospects. Climate change is about power.” Politicians in the global north rarely talk this way. They think of climate as an “on/off switch”. “‘We’re doing some climate’”, says Chaudhary, mimicking them, “‘would you prefer we do nothing?’”. But there are two large clusters of “doing something”, both of which Chaudhary examines. The first is what he calls “rightwing climate realism”. This encompasses a “broad spectrum”, from those who favour “slower climate mitigation and adaptation” to climate barbarism, but it’s ultimately about concentrating, preserving and enhancing existing political and economic power. That is why Chaudhary is insistent that, when we think of climate policies, we must pay attention to plans for borders and policing, too. He considers Joe Biden a type of rightwing climate realist. Among the US president’s most important climate policies is not just the Inflation Reduction Act but the US National Security Strategy, Chaudhary argues. “It is insanely jingoistic,” he says. It describes, for instance, out-competing China. If that’s the framework, he argues, we’re doomed, “because US-China cooperation is vital”. Ultimately, rightwing climate realists know there will be “instability” and “they are preparing for it”. That they will be successful is not only “plausible and possible, but probable,” he says. That is why the second avenue of “doing something”, composed of “the rest of us”, is so important. Chaudhary advocates for “leftwing climate realism”, which accepts the science, not because it’s a discipline “beyond impugning” but because it’s quite clear that there are ecological limits on this planet. We need a slower life, he argues; a circular economic system, where firms compete for the same amount of finite profit and the state dominates certain sectors. This will be good for the planet and for people, producing “a world relieved from social, economic, and ecological despair and exhaustion”.

#climate change #degrowth #Ajay Singh Chaudhary #exhaustion #climate realism

125 notes · View notes

alpaca-clouds · 3 months

Text

Solarpunk vs Nation States

I was told I should post a bit about Solarpunk again, so let me talk about another thing that I think a Solarpunk future cannot and should not have: Nation states.

These days we consider them a very normal part of life, but let me remind you that for most of history they did not exist. Even in the middle ages nothing like states would exist - not in the way we see them today. Sure, there were kingdoms and duchies, but for most people it did not really matter in what kingdom they lived in, as it was not part of their identity.

The nation states we have today, meanwhile, were created by colonialism and are a product of colonialism more than anything else. And this is why they have to go.

Because here is the thing: Even if we tried to decolonize, pay reparations and what have you... As long as the nation states still exist, some of the effects of colonialism will never cease to exist. Effects like the uneven distribution of riches and things like that. Effects, too, like the political instability of the global south at large.

See, in the global south some of the nation borders have been drawn intentionally to destabilize regions. By putting tribes or religious groups into one nation that the colonizers knew would not get along. And at times splitting tribes apart, who belonged together as well. Splitting cultures apart.

Meanwhile in the "west" the nations are used to keep riches within certain groups. Over here in Europe it is super noticable. I live in Germany, a rich nation, but right next door we have Poland, a considerably poorer nation. And whenever people from Poland or other eastern Europe come to Germany to work, people will fearmonger about the people "fleeing into our good economy".

So, yeah. Nation states are used to destabilize, exploit and keep people apart. If we really want to have a Solarpunk future, we have to get rid of them. They never were a good idea to begin with.

#solarpunk #anarchism #utopia #political #nation state #colonialism #decolonize #decolon #decolonisation

102 notes · View notes

communistkenobi · 8 months

Text

This is going to be an extremely messy post, but I’ve been grappling with the argument that “fascism” is nothing more than an exceptionalised label for the cyclical political crises of capitalism, as opposed to an actual historical force in and of itself - just as capitalism has cyclical economic crises which are necessary for its continued functioning, fascism represents the political crises of capital, a bulwark against class consciousness and socialist organising which threaten capitalist rule. Fascism does this by instead emphasising a racial or national consciousness, using white supremacy and the promise of property to divert people away from class consciousness. In Anatomy of Fascism, Paxton talks about how important the promise of property ownership to Italian peasantry was to establishing fascist rule there - class mobility up into the middle classes was used in concert with racial/national politics to stop people from identifying with the proletariat (“homeowners are too busy to be communists,” to paraphrase that American housing developer I forget the name of atm). This is especially weaponised against Jewish people, who are framed as having no national affiliation and are thus eternal outsiders to the bourgeois Christian homeland.

I have encountered a lot of definitions of fascism. The most productive and evocative definition I’ve found is Cesaire’s - colonialism come home. He was speaking of Europe when he said this, saying that Hitler was only doing what Europe did overseas. But what does this mean for settler colonial states? There is no “home” for colonialism to return to for countries like the United States or Canada, because this colonial process has to constantly and at all times maintain itself upon indigenous land in order for the state to continue to exist. The colonialism is always home, always domestic (while also obviously being exercised globally through imperial domination and violence, especially in the case of the United States). Are these states essentially fascist in conception? If this conclusion is true (which I’m leaning towards yes), is “fascism” a useful analytical category at all? If we speak of the political processes of capitalism when we speak of fascism, can we simply just call it all capitalism? It would be like if we called all periods of economic crisis “collapsism” and partitioned these periods of depression or economic instability into exceptional circumstances divorced from the history of capitalism (which we already have done with The Great Depression in the 1930s, or the 2008 Financial Crash - these are exceptional periods where something “went wrong,” where the system “failed”). Sitting with this conclusion for a moment, calling these processes fascist is to divorce them of their material history, to decouple them from the violence and exploitation inherent to capitalism, and to ensure that any analysis of fascism does not conclude with a call to abolish capitalism - for if fascism is merely an interruption of normal capitalist democratic functioning, then preventing future fascisms does not require the abolition of the current economic and political system.

I’ve been engaging with this essay recently, which calls liberals the “left wing of fascism,” and argues that liberalism, far from providing an alternative to fascist rule, instead provides a stabilising quality to it, acting as a stop-gap to the more destabilising right-wing bourgeois elements of capitalism. And despite these conclusions I still find fascism a useful label, both because I think it has a lot of strategic value to engage with particular historical periods (such as right now) as fascist - fascism as a label has widespread recognition, if not widespread understanding - and also because it provides a neat shorthand for the historical process of capitalist political decay.

Anyway I’m talking this all out publicly because I’m in the process of reviewing a lot of literature on the subject for my PhD, and I keep coming to this conclusion - that fascism is not “real” in the sense that it cannot be divorced from capitalism itself, and in fact is a necessary process to the continued functioning of capitalism - but I’m having a hard time seeing what analytical limitations this conclusion produces. I have so far been the most persuaded by post-colonial and Marxist accounts of fascism, but I wonder if multiple definitions of fascism are still strategically or analytically useful to use in concert with one another, even if I disagree with them

#book club #anatomy of fascism #.txt

143 notes · View notes