#beef's queer theory

[nerevarbignaturals]

very controversial trans take; detransitioners are not our enemy. they're people who took the time to question their gender, to explore their identity inside and out, and came to the conclusion that their identity best aligns with what they were assigned at birth. i wish everybody could take the time to sit and think deeply about the identities they hold, particularly things like gender that are inherent, but also deeply socialized. the detransitioners who are spouting anti-trans rhetoric have been taught by the system we live in that even questioning your gender is wrong, so for many of them, that rhetoric is a survival tool for assimilating back into cis society. doesn't make it okay to hold anti-trans views, for certain, but it does expose the fact that the enforcement of a restrictive gender binary hurts everyone, even cis people.

#nobody is helped by the gender binary #that's not to say that people cannot identify as men and women lol #that tends to be the takeaway a lot of ppl get when i talk about this #it means that forcing everybody to identify within the categories of man and woman is harmful because not everybody is a man or a woman #also the gender binary enforces such strict roles for men and women that anybody who deviates from those is punished #this was inspired mostly by the fact that i had a really cool conversation today with a person who had detransitioned #i went to the food bank bc a bitch got medical bills ahaha #and had a neat conversation with a person who was on T for seven years and went through tons of deep identity processing #before realizing that they were actually a gender nonconforming cis person #they're also black so we talked a lot about the ways that the gender binary harms BIPOC folks #she's a masc lesbian so she doesn't present her gender in the same way as a femhet woman might #and much of the standards we hold in the western gender binary are racist bc they're based solely on white ideas of gender #everything from hair to clothes to eyes #beef speaks #beef's queer theory

[thoughtsfromataco]

It's funny, as I've gotten older, I've found that one way a girl can get on my bad side immediately is misandry

#well he's probably just like that cuz he's a man #taco thoughts #i think its a combo of having great guy friends and also becoming versed in queer theory/rejection of gender essentialism #to be clear there is a big difference between ranting with my gal pals about how shit men treat us sometimes #and girls who just radiate misandry #idk i find they tend to make it their whole personality #this may come across as internalized misogyny but i swear i fucking love girls and i have so many friends who are girls #and i think the level on which we connect is so special #this thought just came up because i met this girl recently who has beef with one of my guy friends (for some reason) #and while im not gonna tell her she has to like him #when she was ranting about him she said something along the lines of #im like... girl #anyway point is fuck misandry all my homies love boys :)

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

hey sex witch, I know ur mostly knowledgeable in sex ed but my friend and i were talking ab identity and being lgbt and we came to the subject of labels and how compartimentalised it all feels, and the discourse around it/contemporary queer discourse and i just wanted to know more, i couldn't answer his questions why it feels this way. Google doesn't help much.

Do you have any resources, videos, or articles about recent discourse, theories and labels and such???

this is like. you're asking for, minimum, a semester-long queer theory course. and you're asking for it in the inbox of some idiot on tumblr. you're ordering beef wellington at a mcdonalds.

[iwanthermidnightz]

*sigh*

The way some (because it’s not all) of *them* are acting over what someone intentionally picked out from the entire prologue to share online (lol after screaming not to leak things lol), knowing it would go viral and lead to harassment of Gaylors/Kaylors is sad.

Especially when it proves that they go with whatever satisfies their insecurities over the possibility (re: TK for the time being). Lavender Haze “ended Gaylors/Kaylors” until the entire song and video came out, right? Or what about when “It’s Time To Go” and “Right Where You Left Me” were released and ended Gaylors/Kaylors” because they were about Karlie’s “betrayal”? Which led to Taylor commenting and saying what those songs were about.

When she deleted the reel about the LH, who was in shambles?

It doesn't change the fact that Taylor:

Wrote queer-coded lyrics and had an entire era of queer themes

Asked why people were mad when they could be glad (GLAAD) in a video where she placed herself in the queer community.

Pushed for the Equality Act to be passed and wrote letters, which she signed and added a rainbow to.

Said “out now” while wearing a rainbow dress to say reputation was available.

Has said, “I want her midnights”.

Wrote an entire song referencing a tattoo and a Tumblr account that a woman had removed and deleted.

Gave permission for “Seven” and “Ivy” to be used during scenes between queer characters on “Heartstopper” and “Dickinson”.

But somehow, Gaylors/Kaylors are projecting these things and creating them from their imaginations?

I am straight, but I have picked up on the queer-coded themes, etc., that she puts out. I actually…take the time to observe and listen to her lyrics and ask my queer mutuals on here questions about things I don’t understand because conversations help, and they matter. I don’t disregard their feelings or discredit their perceptions of her lyrics because I am mature and secure enough to respect their connections from her music to their life experiences.

From the excerpt (seems to be getting all the focus), it seems they think she is singling out Gaylors/Kaylors, but I think she’s simply saying that she was hoping that if the focus was taken off her dating life and that energy/focus were placed into her female friendships and having that concept empowered, they wouldn’t sensationalize or sexualize them.

Yet, they still sensationalized her friend group by criticizing /saying it was elitist, non-feminist, and a publicity stunt because all of her friends in the group happened to be white, rich, and thin. As for sexualizing, she specifically addressed the media by saying for her 25th birthday, she would like for THEM to stop accusing all her friends of dating her. While this was after kissgate, when the main discourse was not only still on her dating life but whether or not she and Karlie had kissed, let’s also look at these select lines from the reputation prologue:

“When this album comes out, gossip blogs will scour the lyrics for the men they can attribute to each song as if the inspiration for music is as simple and basic as a paternity test. There will be slideshows of photos backing up each incorrect theory.”

The same people who say Gaylors/Kaylors are sexualizing (because let’s be honest, that’s the only word they zoned in on. Lol) her female friendships have (along with the media) been sensationalizing the alleged “beef” with one of those female friends specifically since 2017. They also engage in sexualizing her male “relationships” that are also sensationalized until they aren’t because they loved all her “boyfriends” (Calvin less than others, lol) until they ended.

Anyways, thanks for letting me rant, IWHM. I wish you and others who stand to be harassed or cyberbullied over this peace, patience, and strength.

you came in hot with that one! thanks anon 🙃

[respectthepetty]

Before I get into the "What the hell is happening in episode ten of Hidden Agenda?" let me enjoy Joke looking at Zo like Zo is his entire world. I'm going to soak it in because this episode, for me, a person with nothing but wild ass theories, was DELICIOUSLY WILD!

So now - What the hell is happening?!

Joke does have beef with his parents. He doesn't want them around for his birthday, and that's why he only chills with his grandma. Wild Theory approved ✔

Which leads into the overall topic of this episode - Childhood trauma from our parents and how it influences us as adults.

Because Zo hesitates in his decisions since Puen gaslight-gatekeep-geekboss-ed him, and his mother reacted poorly to the incident.

Oh so poorly.

And because of the immense pressure Zo feels to "make up" for his flaws, he believes winning this tournament will prove his worth even though his mom was subtly insulting him by questioning if he could handle harder topic. "Paging Dangerous Romance's Kanghan to stage"

He even told Joke that he wanted to wait to tell his parents about them until after he won the tournament, but PSA to my fellow queers - being queer is not a flaw, so no amount of prize winning or abiding by societal norms will please people. Which is why Jeng had to quit the soccer club. Que triste.

And Zo and Joke are in the same our-families-are-not-really-accepting boat

Because statistically, 50% of families suck.

But, even though it was framed as a positive because Joke was concerned about Zo, Joke still crossed a line to help Zo and went through Pat in order to get Zo's address. This was THE issue last episode, so did Joke really learn his lesson? That's gonna be a "no" from me, dawg.

Which might be the reason we see barriers pop back up between them next week while they are boxed in. (Time skip in episode 12 or Director Tee is playing!)

But the real meat of this episode was Wave x Trin. Wild Theory approved ✔

These two haven't made it a secret that they have beef, but Wave finally gave the reason when he stated Joke would ruin Zo's chances of winning.

I DO think shit is gonna go down with this competition and the scholarship because of Joke's constant line crossing to protect Zo, but Zo pressing the issue with Wave shows growth in his character.

And it's no surprises the Joke-to-Trin pipeline was the true issue.

But this backstory was very much in the same realm as Puen-gaslighting-Zo, and . . .

Zo is right. Wave not having feelings for Trin is fine and dandy,

but I hope this conversation about separating school and personal doesn't come back to bite Zo in the ass the way it did Alan in Moonlight Chicken, and if Wave is apologizing, I need it notarized and publicized because he PUNCHED Trin as a result of Trin's confession when a simple "no" would have been suffice.

Now that I have my 1) Joke's parents ain't shit theory crumbs, and 2) Wave x Trin have tension theory good to go, it's still time for my 3) Kot has feeling for Pat theory to get some light, and 4) we are getting a time skip for episode 12 because something will happen in episode 11 that calls back to the freshy contest outcome.

I ate well today.

#Hidden Agenda #episode 10 #give me a time skip Tee #do it because Joke hasn't learned his lesson #and give me Pat and Kot #long post

[ninadove]

Miraculous Masterpost

Because I did not expect to write about this series as much as I did, so now my Random Ramblings Masterpost looks like a never-ending shopping list, and we can’t have that.

Generic 🦋

Miraculous’ philosophy of consent: all’s fair in love and plot [S5 E19]

A word on show-don’t-tell (Get it? A word? On show-don’t-tell? I’ll see myself out —) [S5 E18]

London Callin’ (Maybe) (We’re not sure) [S5 E24]

The Shadow Weaver-ification of Gabriel Agreste — Part 1 [S5 E26]

The Shadow Weaver-ification of Gabriel Agreste — Part 2 [S5 E26]

The Shadow Weaver-ification of Gabriel Agreste — Part 3 [S5 E26]

I love the Sentimonster Theory Canon and you can pry out of my cold, dead hands [S5 E26]

Felix Graham de Vanily / Argos 🦚

"Duusu, spread my feathers!" — A queer reading of the Sentimonster theory [S4 E26]

Felix is a little b*tch (affectionate) [S4 E26]

Taking risks in Strikeback (Get it? Risk? Strikeback?) [S4 E26]

On the beef between Felix and Chloé [S5 E18]

Felix’s masterplan was brilliant, actually [S5 E18]

Leave my fucking child alone — Part I: "There’s only one thing worse than Gabriel —" [S5 E18]

Leave my fucking child alone — Part II: A very chill rant about Adrien’s amok [S5 E18]

Reminder that yes, Colt SUCKS, but he’s not the only one [S5 E24]

On cracked rings and broken chains [S5 E24]

Surviving child abuse through humour [S5 E24]

Badass in the arena [S5 E24]

TRANSMASC. FELIX. PROPAGANDA. [S5 E24]

On Felix’s wish [S5 E26]

Kagami Tsurugi / Ryuko 🐉

To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve [S5 E18]

Thinking about Kagami Tsurugi ❤️ [S5 E24]

On Kagami and the cousins’ silly antics [S5 E26]

Feligami 🦚🐉

On Feligami and the (absence of) masks [S5 E18]

Beware of first impressions [S5 E18]

Transmasc Felix Propaganda [S5 E18]

Feligami Fastburn my beloved [S5 E19]

Feligami Flexes [S5 E19]

It’s the way they hold hands, your honour [S5 E19]

Some Ship Bingo Ramblings [S5 E19]

Incoherent screaming over Kagami’s amok [S5 E19]

The quickest prison break ever [S5 E24]

You come to MY post, you disrespect MY blorbos — [S5 E24]

A word on jealousy [S5 E24]

Finding beauty in the monstruous [S5 E24]

Feligami’s couple cosplays [S5 E24]

A word on monsters [S5 E24]

Feligami Writing Guide [S5 E24]

From queer neurodivergent child abuse survivors to lovers [S5 E24]

Draw me like one of your British boys [S5 E26]

Felix doesn’t get the monopoly of the heart eyes [S5 E26]

On defying the narrative [S5 E24]

*Fireflies from Owl City starts playing* [S5 E26]

Beauty and the Beast AU

Felix’s fanfictions

Adrien Agreste / Chat Noir 🐈‍⬛

Remember kids: necromancy bad — [S5 E26]

On the S6 Redesigns Dread™ [S5 E26]

Graham de Family 💍

Flairmidable’s formidable costume [S4 E26]

The Senticousins Agenda — Part I: NEWSFLASH, ASSHOLES!!!!! Felix has cared about Adrien the entire goddamn time [S5 E24]

The Senticousins Agenda — Part II: The Path to Isolation [S5 E24]

The Senticousins Agenda — Part III: L’Enfer est pavé de bonnes intentions [S5 E24]

The Senticousins Agenda — Part IV: Sun and rain [S5 E24]

The Senticousins Agenda — Part V: Sun and moon [S5 E24]

The Senticousins Agenda — Part VI: Mirror, mirror [S5 E24]

The Senticousins Agenda — Part V: First draft [S5 E24]

#LetAmelieStabABitch2023 [S5 E24]

On Felix, Emilie and Solitude [S5 E24]

On Felix, Emilie and loneliness [S5 E24]

All I’m saying is, Emilie should have been a lesbian [S5 E24]

Some thoughts on Sentisouls [S5 E24]

Adrien is a disappointment to his entire lineage (and we love him for it) [S5 E24]

Let’s play Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise! [S5 E26]

A word on accents and guillotines (with a title like that how can you NOT want to click)

Marinette Dupain Cheng / Ladybug 🐞

Do NOT talk shit about Marinette [S5 E26]

In defense of Ladybug’s suit [Miraculous World: Tales of Shadybug and Claw Noir]

Chloé Bourgeois / Queen Bee 🐝

Can a bee change her stripes? [S5 E18]

That one time I accidentally made myself a Chlolila shipper [S5 E22]

Master Fu 🗝️

Ah yes, the good old cycle of abuse and neglect

Lukadrien 🐈‍⬛🐍

A word on… Swear words

#miraculous ladybug #felix graham de vanily #argos #kagami tsurugi #feligami #adrien agreste #senticousins #amelie graham de vanily #emilie agreste #graham de family #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #love square #luka couffaine #lukadrien #chloé bourgeois #chloe bourgeois #gabriel agreste #hawkmoth #monarch #mlb spoilers #mlb strikeback #mlb emotion #mlb pretention #mlb revolution #mlb representation #mlb recreation #ml recreation #recreation spoilers #random ramblings

[bengiyo]

Theory of Love Rewatch Ep 2 Stray Thoughts

Last time, we returned to this project because of @lurkingshan and I'm already feeling very different about it. Third is a mess with a hard-to-pin-down sexuality. His friends like girls and girls like them. He's in love with his friend Khai, who has no idea about this, and regularly gets mad at Khai for not picking up on his feelings while hiding the extra things he does for Khai. We left at Third crying his eyes out and Too walking in to recognize the crush he has on Khai.

I am okay with White playing the friend who doesn't mind that his bestie is queer.

Ep 2: Love Actually

Khai sure does have a high estimation of himself.

Everyone wanting to be with Earth is so valid.

Maybe the Venus in the Sky team should have had a conversation about recording ambient sounds.

Honestly, they got meddlesome straight friend correct with Too. Straight people trying to help are so much.

Whoever was cinematographer on this was so attracted to Gun, especially his lips.

I don't remember when I turned on Khai last time. I didn't really like him out of the gate both times, but I don't feel righteous about him at all this time.

Oh shit, Prigkhing!

I do get Third's fear of rejection and losing a friend. It's different when you lose your boys.

I'm with Third. Movie popcorn is for people who show up on time.

Is Khai playing on his phone during the film?? Now he's napping? Isn't he a film major? He invited Third out! Egregious!!!

Okay, he was faking to let Third cry because he doesn't like romance.

Two's suggestion to use a scene from a romance isn't bad, but it doesn't seem like Khai really likes romances to even appreciate the gesture.

They let Gun sing, but I am having fun with the classic film references.

Oh, maybe it was Khai not understanding the Love Actually confession from Third. I'm feeling annoyed that he read it only as Third trying to help him get back with a girl.

I don't really like the lies to force cohabitation.

Bone has a boy's room. It's filthy.

Yeah it was definitely Khai dismissing Third's flirting that set me off.

Oh no it's Bone's thing with this teacher's launch point.

I forgot this show mentioned Moonlight. How did X mention it before Aof, Jojo, New, Cheewin, and Tee?

I think this is where I originally started to beef with Khai. Third isn't being forward enough, but I had had similar experiences where I felt like I made it clear and it was completely ignored. That stings so much.

#theory of love #thai bl #bl series #Ben watches

[agoddamn]

My personal relationship with the word "queer" is that I always say it with the same bitter venom as most people say the word "faggot" because "queer" genuinely was still a slur when I was growing up. I've seen those posts like "queer being a slur is a terf conspiracy theory" but I'm sorry, I lived the experience of an elementary schooler being called "queer" as a filthy, nasty thing.

It happened. Even though I now live in a big city where "queer" is the default, socially acceptable term, "queer" still makes my hackles go up.

And it's fucking fine if you feel like "queer" is a normal word with no bitter aftertaste! I'm not beefing with you!

Just...accept that it's a nasty, ironic word to me, you know? You can tell me all day that "queer studies" has been the socially acceptable term since the 80s and it's gonna mean nothing to the little girl being called queer as in something disgusting because she only drew girls in her small town in 6th grade.

#I'm not even telling you not to use it just. accept that i have complicated feelings from my own perspective #sorry i don't normally go on about this just. I'm having Homo Emotions #gay shit #grinding teeth like i generally understand that people come from different places and do not feel the need to debate this #but. a human emotion has been unlocked within me. how awful

[let-it-rip-bear]

The Topic of Chef's Kiss

Part 1: Context

I very rarely interact with fandom at all. I was a shy kid and still nervous, though I've found ways around it. I write, read, and comment on fanfiction works, and that's about the extent of it. Then The Bear came along. It's a small fandom, but it's very active considering season 2 is about to come out. I hyperfixated intensely on season 1, though I had to take a break for school. As a result, I scrolled through the tag with a thoroughness that I had never employed before. I was a bit disappointed to see so much shipping discourse.

Before anyone tries to say otherwise, I'm not against shipping. I promise this post will not stop anyone from having fun.

Anyway, I'm not big on shipping. That's not to say I avoid it entirely. It's just not a priority. I primarily engage with media by trying to understand my favorite characters and playing with found family dynamics. So, it's frustrating seeing so many posts focusing intently on Carmy and Sydney's potential relationship instead of their current dynamic. Many people take all of their interactions and put them through the lens of romance and only romance. This is exhausting to me.

And again, before anyone tries to assume anything—just because I find something frustrating does not mean I think it's objectively bad or morally wrong or what the fuck ever. It's an opinion, not a condemnation.

Another bit of context for this post: I'm a queer trans man. I don't mean to use that as leverage, by the way. Disagreeing with me is just a difference of opinions. I'd never claim it's on the grounds of trans/queerphobia. I'm including it as a piece of context for the following point.

Mainstream media romance has always been bland to me. Much of it is saturated with pairings that feel empty and soulless—straight couples getting together for no reason other than being a man and a woman, and that's apparently enough. Many pairings are virtually meaningless because the relationship doesn't change anything. Their arcs are unaffected. They aren't intertwined in any compelling way, they have no chemistry. The carelessness and heteronormativity are exhausting. That is where I am coming from and why I don't ship them all that much.

Part 2: Chef's Kiss

None of what I said in the previous paragraph applies to Chef's Kiss, though. Sydney and Carmy have great chemistry as the two leads. I, personally, don't see it as romantic. That's subjective, though, and I can see why someone would ship them! They're a cute pairing—in theory.

But considering canon, I don't want to see them together. At least, not where their respective characters are at the end of season one. In my opinion, it would be disrespectful to their characters to throw them together just for the sake of it being canon. There are a lot of reasons why they shouldn't have dated in the first season, beginning with the power imbalance, since Carmy is technically Sydney's boss. of course, by the end of the season (really, by the 3rd or 4th episode), Sydney has cemented her role as one of the very reasons that The Beef survived at all, so that's not really an issue (I think) going forward into the next season!

Another reason is that Sydney and Carmy both have these personal issues at their core that dictates their every move, respectively. Carmy, obviously, has his grief to deal with and his fear that Mikey never truly loved him the way he loved Mikey. Sydney feels so much pressure to prove herself, despite the fact that she already has and is an amazing chef and business partner. She has to process the failure of Sheridan Road...and I'm not entirely sure she's done that by the end of season 1? That's not exactly the point in all of this, though.

My point is that I don't think it works for them to be together currently (subject to change with season 2, of course) and that is why I don't really ship them, especially because I'm honestly more concerned with their current state in canon. That doesn't mean I don't find them cute and enjoy some SPECULATION on their relationship's potential, whether platonic or romantic. They might be great for each other in the future.

I'd also like to point out that shipping is traditionally centered around pairings that aren't canon. There aren't any requirements for a ship, so it's totally valid to ship two characters that aren't currently compatible in canon. Again, I'm just explaining why I personally don't ship it. I'm not at all saying that people shouldn't ship them.

Part 3: Shipping Discourse

Firstly, I want to acknowledge that fan spaces have been notoriously racist and specifically anti-black and continue to be, as well as misogynistic, and that the intersectionality of black women is relevant in all parts of life, including the consumption of media. Discussions of misogynoir are incredibly important. I'll always support fans who call out hateful shit in fandom, particularly because it can be a scary thing, considering the attitude many fans have and the tendency to dogpile an individual. It is not my intention to claim that fan spaces are untouched by real-life issues or that there can't be discussions of real-life issues within fan spaces. With that established, I'll continue.

It seems to me that the two primary reasons why some fans don't ship Chef's Kiss are 1) they would prefer The Bear to not focus on romance, and/or 2) they don't feel that Sydney and Carmy's chemistry is romantic/they value the platonic relationship between the two. My issue with the shipping discourse in this fandom is how much of it stems from people pushing the idea that the show itself has to be setting up their romance, or else. Not only do many posts that condemn Chef's Kiss nonshippers completely ignore the aforementioned arguments, but they also leave absolutely no room for nuance. You either ship it or you're a racist.

I've seen many posts in which a question is posed: "What are your thoughts on Sydney/Carmy?" with the response being "Fans that don't like it are racist lol". I don't believe that is a proportional response. There are also posts in which people in this fandom argue that anyone who is against Chef's Kiss is motivated by misogynoir and that, at the heart of it, fans who don't like the ship or support the lack of romance in The Bear believe that Sydney is not worthy of being with Carmy because she is a black woman. I am by no means saying that this is not possible. That is not the argument I am making.

It is my opinion that shipping discourse is not a platform meant to handle topics such as misogynoir—though that's not to say there are no meaningful arguments to be made there. In fact, there's at least one post in the tag that speaks about Chef's Kiss, and that I think did a good job of articulating the undercurrents of misogynoir found in fan spaces. There are also plenty of essays out there on fan culture and social/political issues within it. The thing is, those essays have the purpose of articulating the grievances of a marginalized community through the lens of their experience with fan culture. Whereas the situation that I'm describing is, instead, minimizing very complex ideas to argue in favor of the validity (and even canonical presence) of a fucking ship.

I guess what I want to say is this: fans with marginalized identities should always be supported in calling out shitty, hateful, and discriminatory behavior in fan spaces. Those discussions should be given the time and attention they need. Though the characters are not real, the people within the fandom are. With all of that said, I think that it is, at the very least, distasteful to use the discussion of racism in order to defend a ship. The way that discourse concerning Chef's Kiss employs, quite rampantly, the issue of misogynoir in order to argue that Chef's Kiss is, should be, or will be canon is inconsiderate and tactless. Furthermore, equivocating a person's stance on a ship to their moral standing is bizarre and scummy.

Now to end this post, which is even longer than I thought it would be, I implore anyone who may or may not feel obliged to respond to do so with civility. also, remember that this is a tumblr post in which I did my best to cover everything necessary and articulate my thoughts, not an academic essay. I am just a guy who hyperfixated on The Bear.

#the bear #sydney x carmy #chef's kiss #shipping wank #shipping discourse #i am swinging a bat and desperately hoping the piñata is not a hornet's nest #long post #edit: there are actually MULTIPLE posts that are reasonable respectful and well-articulated about chef's kiss!!!

[punkcaligula]

2023 READING LOG

JANUARY

-> Books:

HURSTON, Zora Neale; Their Eyes Were Watching God

WILLIAMS, Tennessee; A Streetcar Named Desire

-> Essays & articles:

CHRISTENSEN, Joel; How do chatbots dream of electric Greek heroes?

DYHOUSE, Carol; Why Are We So Afraid of Female Desire?

EDWARDS, Stassa; A Little Madly: Hysteria at the Moulin Rouge

HOOKS, bell; Romance: Sweet Love

LAING, Olivia; NYC blue: what the pain of loneliness tells us

LIEBERMAN, Jeffrey A.; “The Miracle Cure”: A Brief History of Lobotomies

LORDE, Audre; The Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power

SHUSHAN, Gregory; Near-death experiences have long inspired after life beliefs

STADONILK, Joe; We’ve always been distracted

TÁÌWÒ, Olúfémi; The idea of ‘precolonial Africa’ is vacuous and wrong

WYPIJEWSKI, JoAnn; How Capitalism Created Sexual Dysfunction

FEBRUARY

-> Books:

DOUGLASS, Frederick; Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass

WINTERSON, Jeanette; 12 Bytes: How We Got Here, Where We Might Go Next

-> Essays & articles:

BLACK, Bob; The Abolition of Work

BURDEN-STELLY, Charisse; How Black Communist Women Remade Class Struggle

COBB, Michael; Bigmouth Strikes Again

GOODLAD, Lauren M.E.; Now The Humanities Can Disrupt “AI”

HALBERSTAM, Jack; Towards a Trans* Feminism

HARVEY, Katherine; Medieval babycare

ROTHFIELD, Becca; A Body of One’s Own

RUKES, Frederic; The Disruption of Normativity: Queer Desire and Negativity in Morrisey and The Smiths

STRINGER, Julian; The Smiths: Repressed (But Remarkably Dressed)

VENKATARAMAN, Vivek V.; Lessons from the foragers

MARCH

-> Books:

AMADO, Jorge; Gabriela, Clove & Cinnamon

-> Essays & articles:

ALEXANDER, Amanda; Making Communities Safe, Without the Police

BOURDÉ, Guy; The philosophies of history

ELLIOTT, John H.; An Europe of composite monarchies

ERNAUX, Annie; A Community of Desires

HARCOUT, Bernard E.; Policing Disorder

JABBARI, Alexander; After the mother tongues: what we lost with Persianate modernity

MANTEL, Hilary; Anne Boleyn: witch, bitch, temptress, feminist

MANTEL, Hilary; Holy disorders

MANTEL, Hilary; Night visions

MANTEL, Hilary; No passport required

MANTEL, Hilary; The shape we’re in

MINER, Horace; Body Ritual among the Nacirema

RUSSEL, Francey; What It Means to Watch

WEBB, Claire Isabel; Cosmic vision

APRIL

-> Books:

MISHIMA, Yukio; Sun and Steel

OLADE, Yves; Bloodsport

-> Essays & articles:

BATESON, Gregory; A Theory of Play and Fantasy

CÉSAIRE, Suzanne; The Great Camouflage

CHARALAMBOUS, Demetrio; The Enigma of the Isle of Gold

DAVID, Kathryn; How Stalin enlisted the Orthodox Church to help control Ukraine

SINGLER, Beth; Existential Hope and Existential Despair in AI Apocalypticism and Transhumanism

WYATT, Justin; The Smiths, Pop Culture Referencing and Marginalized Stardom

-> Short stories:

ELLISON, Harlan; The Man Who Rowed Christopher Colombus Ashore

SAYLOR, Steven; The Eagle and the Rabbit

MAY

-> Books:

PLUTARCH; Life of Sulla

-> Essays & articles:

BRAUDEL, Fernand; Clothes and fashion

CHAMPLIN, Edward; Nero Reconsidered

GARTON, Charles; Sulla and the Theatre

HAY, Mark; The Colonization of the Ayahuasca Experience

HSU, Hua; Varieties of Ether: Toward a history of creativity and beef

PROBYN, Elspeth; Cannibal Hunger, Restraint in Excess

STAR, Christopher; How the ancient philosophers imagined the end of the world

TELUSHKIN, Shira; Meet Eva Frank: The First Jewish Female Messiah

#reading log #articles #essays #reading recommendations #reading recs #feminism #psychiatry #leftism #communism #anarchism #race #nationalism #imperialism #anthropology #anti-work #the smiths #tech #ai #ecology #religion #occult #bob black #thomas sankara #hilary mantel #audre lorde #bell hooks #annie ernaux

[creedslove]

I literally hate deuxmoi with all my heart. They always spread misinformation about celebrities from random people who can easily fake things. Like a while ago a person said to deuxmoi that Pedro was their neighbor and he was living with his girlfriend there cause he was filming something and they said how Pedro was always so rude and called him an as*hole psycho (like bffr) and he always shouted at them for parking near his house. Like what??? What’s the reason for posting things like this when you don’t even know if these are true and putting in the shadow a celebrity, someone like Pedro who has worked his ass off to get where he is after 30 years of acting. Like seriously, what’s the reason? Now this pregnancy rumor and him and Bella not talking to each other??? Wtf is wrong with people cmon now. I personally don’t believe the pregnancy thing either the beef with him and Bella (or whoever the other costar is)

Anon this is gonna be the last ask I reply about gossip about his personal life, just because I don't like this kind of content in my blog, the only reason I replied to that first one it was just TOO bizarre not to

I have no idea where these info come, as deuxmoi states: some of them are real and some are bullshit, just like Hugh Jackman's divorce, if someone had told me he would divorce his wife I would've laughed my ass off but turns out it was true.

These rumors are either true or false, there's no in-between, if they are false that's great if they are true also nothing to be done.

An accidental pregnancy could happen to anyone, regardless of both parts wanting a baby or not, and well, in January I saw some sketchy gossip websites saying Liev Schreiber (my former crush lmao) was going to be a dad again and I just shrugged it off because I was sure he wouldn't have a kid and well, his baby is about two months old now 🥴

The pregnancy thing could honestly fit half of Hollywood, I guess people are projecting too much on it because of the constant speculations of his sexuality; idk if Pedro is queer, honestly, he probably is, my guess is that he is bi so having a girlfriend and going out with men wouldn't be impossible to happen just as accidentally knock someone up

***AGAIN, THIS IS JUST ME AND MY SPECULATION AND I WON'T KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT THIS SO PLS DONT SEND ANY MORE ASKS ABOUT THIS SUBJECT***

idk like, I feel some part of it holds onto this rumor with hope he isn't dating another guy (who's way too ugly for him in my opinion btw lmao) while other people are just so into the idea of him being "gay" they treat it almost as a fetish making up conspiracy theories to prove it obsessively, to the point they can't see him STANDING next to another man they are sure they are together, i mean wtf (yes I'm talking about that ugly bitch from tiktok)

Now, about him and Bella, idk I guess everything is possible, sometimes you get angry with people you love the most and you need a break from them, or sometimes you just drift apart from someone you like when you don't work with them anymore, things just change, your routine changes you know? For example, there's always that one co-worker or classmate whatever you used to like a lot, but once you don't see each other all the time anymore you grow apart, you might still like the person but you aren't on the same vibe anymore so honestly, all these rumors can be true or they cannot be true

and even the neighbor thing could be true because like, everyone is entitled to be angry sometimes and especially at neighbors lmao

what we need to do is to remember that pedro is a human being, apart from being an amazing person he's still got faults like everyone else so yeah, the rumors can be true or not true like I said before, what we really need to think is: does it even matter?

You will be less of a fan if he has a secret girlfriend and got her pregnant or if he has a boyfriend? if he isn't friends with Bella anymore?

Honestly, to me he's is so unproblematic I don't really see why anything around him needs to turn into a fuss, he can date whoever he wants, fight or befriend whoever he wants, it simply doesn't change my life, at the end of the day I still need to bury myself in a job I don't even like to earn enough to survive lmaof that's way more dramatic to me than any of those gossip combined together 🤷🏻‍♀️

And once more: no matter if you besties agree or disagree, please don't send me any more asks about it because I'll not reply to them. Enough with gossip/drama ❤️

#ask #answered

[itsclydebitches]

Okay, maybe this is just due to OFMD’s hand-wavy plotting — or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m writing this at 2:00am and am thus forgetting something important, that’s always a distinct possibility — but what exactly does Spanish Jackie get out of this team-up with the British + Izzy? I mean, I know she says she’s got beef with Stede because “He broke my nose jar and one of his crew murdered my favorite husband” but she also kinda... doesn’t? Because we watched Jackie choose to let Stede go once she learned Blackbeard wanted to speak with him, despite the whole nose jar thing. That’s settled by her telling him not to come back. And then we watch Jim show up of their own free will, entirely unrelated to Izzy’s plot, and Jackie’s having drinks with them in under three minutes. Unlike the very strong motivations of “I want Stede Bonnet dead for murdering my brother” and “I want Stede Bonnet dead because he’s ‘done something to my boss’ brain,’” Jackie just seems to be involved because Izzy had nowhere else to go. I mean, does she actually do anything besides providing a place to meet?? Calico Jack is the one who does all the work of separating Ed from Stede, Chauncey leads his armada to attack The Revenge, and Izzy is ready in the wings to take over as Captain. Jackie, meanwhile, just kinda chills and presumably has no idea whether this plot of theirs even worked.

On the one hand, a lifetime of analyzing media has me hooked on Izzy’s promise that he can “offer a more lucrative proposal” than Geraldo’s bar food idea, suggesting that Jackie was meant to get something else out of all this, beyond the — meh— pleasure of Stede dying. It kind of sounds like Izzy meant to repay her somehow once he was in charge, or things were back to normal with Blackbeard. That would also fit with the various theories that Izzy tied himself to the British and/or simply intended for a very different outcome for them all (beyond Stede’s obvious death) before the Act of Grace threw a wrench in those plans.

ON THE OTHER HAND, acknowledging that OFMD is a loose collection of plot-points working almost purely in service of queer romance and fun, I love the idea that Jackie is just... there. That’s it. That’s the reasoning. She’s there because she’s Spanish Jackie and she’s awesome. Like no, she never actually had a larger role to play, or a major stake in this outcome, which makes Izzy’s scenes with her SO much funnier to me. This rat man swaggers in promising to make you money, so you offer the guy a free drink and agree to hear him out, but then he proceeds to just bitch about his crush’s crush for god only knows how long, periodically burning himself on your candles and scaring off any other patrons. Then this admiral or whatever shows up, questions your name, is generally stinking up the place, the rat man is still talking like falling in love is some kind of disease, and you’re... just going along with all this, you guess? Yeah, Stede Bonnet is a strange and off-putting man. Dude broke your nose jar. You wouldn’t mind him being dead. But wasn’t the rat man going to make you money? Why the fuck are we teaming up with these assholes now? Geraldo, how did this happen?

Oh look, now Jim’s here.

I don’t have a point beyond my enjoyment of Jackie potentially vibing in the background of this entire mess. Does she actually know what’s happening? Eh, only kind of. Is any of this turning out like how she was promised? Not in the least. She’s going along for the ride only to realize halfway through that the ride is not what she expected, but hell, she already paid for a ticket, so no sense getting off now. Season 2 Izzy is going to show up again, do another sexy wall lean, slick back his hair, spout off some nonsense about needing her for the next Grand Plan, and Jackie will just be like, “Babygirl, you’re here to talk smack and drink me dry, don’t pretend.” Whether she let’s him, kills him, or makes him her next husband remains to be seen.

#OFMD #Our Flag Means Death #Izzy Hands #Spanish Jackie

[communistkenobi]

I also got that performative vibe from the ep which usually really bothers me but idk i just....didnt care this time? like it was done really well and added a decent amount of depth to the world by exploring how people survive outside of qzs (be it preppers or raiders or what have you). they also expanded on bill's character in a way that makes him more of a parallel to joel and highlights the theme of survival. bill chose to die with the person he loves where joel chooses to keep surviving after each person he loses. idk i feel like yeah it's performative but done in the best way possible to expand on the themes of story and the world if that makes sense

That’s totally fine! I don’t honestly have strong feelings about Bill’s role in the narrative, so if people enjoyed that change then I have no beef with that. I’m not inherently opposed to adaptational changes in general, like I think treating source material as a sacred text that needs to always be 100% faithfully reproduced is a bad way to go about approaching adaptations in art. This just did not land for me personally. I don’t know if it was because the actors didn’t have the right chemistry or that I was too distracted with the THIS IS IMPORTANT GAY REP framing of it to enjoy it. idk it just did not work for me. I guess I just also was not open to entertaining like, intimate queer rep with a conspiracy theorist libertarian guy - there was a very weird dissonance between like “the beauty of gay love” versus the character’s vile politics. It’s something that was maybe more charming or quaint 20 years ago, but again with a show that is consciously paralleling itself to covid, a guy who is like a government conspiracy end-times survivalist type - especially one with a libertarian flag in his garage - is not a character I am going to have any sympathy for, no matter how sanded down and palatable his politics are made to be for the audience in order for him to have this beautiful love story with another man.

So like I guess my reaction is just like, I know I am supposed to take this rep as meaningful and profound. In and of itself I don’t find this offensive, even if I’m not particularly persuaded by it, but coupling it with parallels to irl right wing conspiracy theory people, I have an extremely hard time buying into that

#asks #tlou hbo

[exitpursuedbyasloth]

(So I originally wrote the following in a reply to the post screencaped above. I wanted to reblog this as the S3B is premiering in a couple days and I have major concerns over this potential plot direction. However OP blocked me for my reply and I can’t, however they’re my words so I will repost them as I see fit. Including the original post for context only, and I added some additional clarifying comments.)

…that would be pretty terrible, ngl.

Canon Radovid (in the games, he’s like 12 at the end of the books, although his future turn is hinted at) turns genocidal towards sorceresses and other non-humans both for political power, but also because of the festering resentment of the abuse, manipulations, and wrongs he sees him and father suffer at the hands of the sorceress Phillipa and Dijkstra, including his father’s assassination by an elf at the behest of Phillipa. Phillipa controls him throughout his teenage years. That hate festers in him for years until he grows up, and instead of simply getting revenge on those who personally harmed him and his family, he decides the only way to rule was with an iron fist, and turned that fist against all sorceresses, witches, magic-users and non-humans (both because he hates/fears them, but also for political gain, as these things tend to go). He encourages the non-human hate, uses humans superior numbers to overwhelm and destroy groups of non-humans and magic users. He’s relatively militarily adept too. He made sure of that, because he wanted revenge against Phillipa even as a boy. I don’t think the show would abandon everything that makes Radovid Radovid (but then again, Eskel...), I don’t think he’s just going to be Some Guy. So his sadistic bigotry towards and genocide against all non-humans and (most) human magic-users will come into play at some point. And if it does, his relationship with Jaskier will HAVE to factor in somehow, that’s unavoidable at this point. But should this theory OP mentions come to pass (and there is a good chance it might, I have been concerned about this since it the news leaked of who Jaskier would be paired up with), that would mean the show made a conscious choice to have adult Radovid turn villain…cause his boyfriend dumped him? His boyfriend of like a couple months chose his family of 20+ years over him, and that was enough to make him lose it and just start stabbing everything? Or cause he was angry that Jaskier was using him as a shield because Phillipa was threatening him? And Radovid, a grown ass man, cannot handle this? This would put a homosexual relationship at the core of a xenophobic campaign of witch-burning, be the catalyst of it. And they would put that on Jaskier’s shoulders? Because he dumped Radovid?

Why? What does this do but add cheap angst where it wasn’t needed? There is no need to A.) Start Radovid’s xenophobic hate campaign 15 years early (they have so many world-spanning plots they already can’t write well, why add more?), and B.) connect it directly to someone in the main core cast by having them be the inciting incident for Radovid. That’s unnecessary, that doesn’t offer any narrative improvement to the story at all (FFS, the world is bigger than Geralt, Yenn, Ciri, and Jaskier). And is this the reason Jaskier is now canonically bisexual? Was that the only reason they did that, just to make him the casus belli of a genocide? That really would not be the kind of queer rep anyone should praise, and by god, does it feels downright spiteful.

And to be clear, I don’t think every queer story has to be all sunshine and happiness or perfectly positive (something I’ve been accused of when criticizing questionable writing of gay/bi characters in the past). But there is a vast ocean of difference between “Sunshine and perfection” and “Hey! Let’s change this catalyst for this genocide from ‘Paranoid Fascist takes what should have been a beef between him and like 5 people, and turns it into a full scale witch-burning industry and non-human genocide, for both political gain and cause he’s a paranoid xenophobic fascist’ to 'gay prince super bummed his boyfriend dumped him’, and let’s make sure we wait to show the boyfriend as canonically bisexual until the last possible second, just so people wonder if that’s the only reason we even bothered ”. A vast fucking ocean.

I’m fine with adaptational changes that add to or improve the canon material, or are just different but stand strongly on their own. But this? Would be a terrible miserable hateful idea, and is just cheap writing for forced angst (and I honestly would not put it past the Witcher writers, which is the worst part).

How is this good? How would this an improvement? What does this add? How does this stand on it’s own? Why would they take a bloody campaign of witch-burning and genocide that had a believable catalyst already, and retcon it happening because of The Gays? Cause a dude dumped another dude? If they did this, the writers would have to consciously make the choice to change the catalyst of the genocide to ‘a gay guy was like super bummed that his boyfriend left him for a Witcher’. Do y'all see what that looks like?

#The Witcher #Jaskier #Radovid #The Witcher Netflix #The Witcher S3 #brand new kinds of homophobia #if they plan to keep Radovid to his canon route why change his personality and mannerisms so much?? #[I mean I think I know why...] #[But that's another kettle of fish and another post entirely] #Honestly this is one of the worst choices the writers could have made #which is why I think they'll make it #Jaskier/Radovid #Jaskier/Radovid critical

[respectthepetty]

I’m new. Ok. And only just watching BAD BUDDY and erm….. colours. Obviously they have different over shirts at school anyway! Pran- red over shirt and Pat - Blue over shirt.

But before I embarrass myself with trying to do a theory - I have come to your Holy corner of the interweb for your colour expertise and knowledge because I can watch any shows without looking at colours and barriers, mirrors and windows. Like.

Help. 😅

Anon, I knew Bad Buddy would eventually come up because it was rich with colors, so I was prepared to cushion this answer with good meta before I dropped the landing:

I updated my master post of colors to add more color-coded queer shows <- Shameless Plug

@dribs-and-drabbles did an amazing job analyzing the colors in Bad Buddy, which every post can be found here -> this awesome link!

@shortpplfedup examined Bad Buddy through the lens of Romeo & Juliet and compared the common themes between the two *chef's kiss*

@miscellar wrote about the tropes Bad Buddy leaned on to tell a compelling story, but admits to being "garbage at tagging [their] own stuff," so the linked post has some links within it of their posts.

I gave you all of this beforehand because . . .

I didn't like Bad Buddy

It's not the show! It's me. I became very frustrated in the last quarter, so I zoned out and refuse to rewatch it. HOWEVER, I will give you a quick Bad (Color) Buddy post since you were brave enough to ask about this show.

In general, Pat is a Blue Boy (loyal and stable - he kept that guitar for a very long time), and Pran is a Red Rascal (stimulating and passionate - he fell first).

Even their parents were color-coded, but the switches in colors, and the barriers gave away some of the underlying issues between the parents.

But when Pat thought about it, the love (and the color exchange) was always there between them, right? They are sleeping on the other's color.

Because when they met on that roof at the end of episode five, they had already exchanged colors, multiple times

BURY ME WITH EPISODE FIVE!

Even when they were fighting, the love (and the colors) were there. Pran is wearing Purple Pair (when Blue & Red mix), and Pat has the red name tag.

But the second their friends found out about their love, their colors morphed into the darkest timeline versions

But they figured it out, only for Pat to GET SHOT with his Blue Boy Squad while wearing both his and Pran's colors and love

So Pran continued to show up at the hospital in his man's blue to give him love and support, only for Pat's family to show up trying to give him love (in red)

It was okay though because when Pat got out of the hospital, he declared his love for Pran in front of the whole school while wearing Pran's color

So we were all lead to believe all would be okay . . .

But shit goes sideways outside of a Trader Joe's when Pat and Pran run into Pat's family

They run off to the beach to live Kinn and Porsche's dream out where Pran falls even more in love with his Blue Boy

Then they have sex on their colors because they were already sleeping on them since day one

But they decide to BREAK UP because they realize their parents will never give them peace or relief due to the long-standing beef between them. But it's okay *cries into my pillow* because the ladies got their happy ending.

Ink is a Yellow Yal (communicative and creative) and Pa is a Green Gal (optimistic and relaxed).

They exchange colors and love because they aren't complicated and just want to be together while not making us cry.

We get a time jump and see Pat wake up in the . . . red? But that's Pran's color.

Then we see Pran getting ready with his red and . . . blue comforter.

They both attend a class reunion, but are distant with each other not speaking to the other one since they are no longer even friends

BUT IT'S ALL A LIE

As if the colors didn't give it away before the reveal, and we find out they have been together THIS ENTIRE TIME

So they slut it up right in front of Nong Nao's salad

And live happily ever after having sex on every surface of their apartment like they deserve, exchanging colors for all their lives. Amen.

Thanks for the ask, and I hope we never forget that Pat was shot ON CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!!

#Bad Buddy #Pat x Pran #the colors mean things #color coded boys in love #episode eight was when it got wild

[kiefbowl]

argh I also hate the Kinsey scale because I think it gave a lot of straights a way to “Id” as bisexual without actually being bi? Like a girl I knew in high school said she was bi but “would never date a girl” because she was on one end of the scale?? And I was like “okay but are you attracted to women? Because this sounds like you are straight with some ~spice~”

mm, yes I think the kinsey scale gets leverage in this way with the rise of pop-queer theory. my main beef with it is that it doesn't so much measure human sexuality in a meaningful way, rather it is like...Kinsey observing that the people he interviewed had varied sexual histories and self perceptions. wow, how not surprising, you interview a ton of people and it turns out some of slept with both sexes and some of those people have complicated feelings about it. slap some numbers on it, and it seems like it has a measure but not actually.

the simplest explanation of sexual orientation is that people are either exclusively attracted to one sex or the other, or they're attracted to both, and this is innate. but humans live within a culture and don't have equal access to information, support systems, media, health care, or have the same values...so how each individual lives their life is going to be so varied regardless of orientation. people act against their own self interest and desires all the time, unfortunately. kinsey scale doesn't measure this at all in a meaningful way.

not surprisingly, at the most divorce, biological understanding of sexuality, a sexually reproducing mammal (humans) has a majority of heterosexual activity. But the kinsey scale doesn't measure data like this either. it just literally says "okay if you talk to some person, anyone at all, they might have different experiences between my scale of 0-6." yeah no shit, you ask someone how often they're willing to swim in the ocean, you can make a scale of "never ever" to "I'm swimming in it right now" to an indefinite number. I mean, he could have easily made it 0-8, or 0-10, or 0-26 with more precise definitions of how often you experience same sex attraction, because it's only measuring what people are willing to identify in themselves when presented with it (aka, a useless measurement).

And at the end of the day, anything that's not 0 or 6 is just describing bisexuality. If you're bisexual, you're bisexual. If you want to measure your "value" of bisexuality, I guess that's on you, and you might see a positive to that, I ultimately don't. just seems to be a way to not investigate your own homophobia as a bisexual ("I'm bisexual, but only a lil bit, tee-hee. actually I'm very normal"), or to try to opt our of your homosexuality as a homosexual ("I'm mostly attracted to my own sex, but don't worry, I'm also attracted to the other sex a little bit I promise!"), or if you're a straight, like anon says, to try to force your stupid ass into a community your don't belong to ("i've kissed a girl, I'm a 1 on the kinsey scale, so I get carte blanche to give my opinions on the gay community, xoxo you are all bigots and sinners repent :^*").