#erasing womens faults is misogyny

[autismmydearwatson]

Women aren't perfect lovely angel goddesses who never commit crimes out of malice.

Women aren't justified in every abuse they commit.

Women aren't always innocent.

And if you for one minute believe that every woman is flawless, justified, and pure, you are dehumanizing them.

#fuck i hate radfems #erasing womens faults is misogyny #yeah yeah i get it #im afab and no ones gonna care enough to even fuckin gender me correctly #but even if i were fully woman enough i promise you i deserve the consequences of my shitty actions #and so do you radfem fuckers #anti radfem #anti bioessentialism

[the-great-ladyg]

Did someone notice in the new Somerton's video that he didn't adress any of the misogyny or transphobia accusations? Like, yeah, he said "people say I hate women but that's not true" and only that. And he also addressed the misinformation, in which we can include the misgendering, but he still didn'h fully talk about this even when those accusations were, along with plagiarism, the most talked about on the internet.

This dude didn't give any reason for why "he doesn't hate" women or trans people, it truly was a "source: dude trust me" and Somerton expects us to believe him, when no, he threw shit on women in every chance he got, he showed transphobia in many times for no fucking reason other than he's got something against women and trans people.

And he also didn't address any of the racism people has pointed out since a long time, but more specially since HBomberguy and Todd's video. This dude only focused on plagiarism, and even that he sucked at since he implied it was an accident. How can you plagiarize on accident?, you have to write, to read, to check what you're doing, he read and Nick's scripts, he must have noticed the copying and still left it with no citation. He said he loves investigating and reading, then he must notice the copying, yet he also said he "didn't notice", like this dude can't recognize he did this on purpose, it was all "an accident".

Also, he just tried shifting the blame, placing it on Nick or, again, like it was an accident and he didn't mean to it. Somerton knew what he was doing, all of us are taught at school, specially college, that plagiarism not only is bad, it it diminishes the quality and credibility of the person that stole those words, it can get you expelled or fired, and let's not forget the people you're hurting by stealing from them, and this case the people whose experiences and words were stolen. Somerton is in a more privileged position than many people in the LGBTQ+ community since he's a cis white man, and yet he decided to attack this way many POC and trans people, not only he stole their words, but he also used racist and transphobic rhetoric, he misgendered, he erased sexualities and put all of us on the same box of "cis straight white women".

"I wanted to make my channel a safe space", yeah, sure man, like saying all the negative things of an MLM media is straight cis women's fault, or misgendering, erasing the bisexuality of a woman or changing "trans" for "queer" is going to make to make your channel a safe for queer women and trans people.

I just deep down know he won't change at all, maybe except for the citations, but we must expect he'll continue being a misogynist racist transphobe dumbass that will keep ignoring this accusations and using the homophobia card.

I really feel sorry if he truly felt so bad he harmed himself and ended up on an hospital, if that's real I hope he gets better and never gets to that point again. Maybe I'm naive, but I want to believe this is not a tactic to manipulate us to forgive him, but... idk, I just expect anything from this man that has used the homophobia card to protect his ass from any criticism.

But talking by myself, as a genderfluid AFAB person who consumes and creates queer content and felt so insulted by his racism, his misogyny and transphobia, and noticing how he avoided the topic, I don't accept his apology and hope he disappears from the internet before he can do any more damage.

#james somerton #james somerton can kiss my enby ass #james somerton can kiss my afab ass #I'm really hating this man for what he did #and what he avoids mentioning

[emepe]

— Pairing: Eren x Reader, friends to lovers

— General info: series, 18+, modern AU, serial killer AU, smut, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

— Summary: Fate is a tricky thing. Certain situations can’t be avoided as much as certain people’s lives can’t be kept from intertwining. With a serial killer on the loose, and unexpected relationships blooming, how will the universe intervene?

— Chapter summary: A journal entry. Meanwhile, Armin does what he can to help Eren out.

— Content warnings: mentions of murder and torture of a woman, misogyny.

— Notes: Hello, hello! Thank you to everyone who liked and reblogged chapter 1 of this series. I really appreciate it <3 Happy reading, bubs!

Links: Read on AO3 | Chapter guide | Masterlist

just friends

September 8, 2024

There’s nothing I hate more than arrogant women. That’s why I had to kill her. 

All I wanted was for her to smile at me. She wouldn’t. I filled her room with all her favorite things and even loosened her handcuffs. But she was so fucking hard-headed it drove me crazy. The little bitch even dared to spit at me. I had to teach her a lesson. I had to let out my anger somehow. 

For a while, it was exciting to watch her writhe in pain. I can’t even begin to describe how thrilling it is to see how much a human can tolerate until they break. I told her it was compensation for the look she gave me the day we met. She kept lying and saying she didn’t even remember having bumped into me on the street.

I really wish she could’ve bounced back this time. I’m so lonely without her now. I miss her.   

Humans are social by nature, it's what all the books say. When one is young, we need protection and love from our caregivers. As we grow, our world gradually expands and we bond with other people — friends from school, teachers, neighbors, coworkers. If one must stick to tradition, there's bound to be a romantic relationship to develop at some point. But for some people, that imposed path doesn't come naturally. Or rather, there have been blockages throughout the years that resulted in stunted social growth. 

That's where you find yourself. It's not your fault. When one grows up forced to believe she's nothing but a burden, it's only natural to try to take up as little space as possible. But again, it's not your fault. One doesn't acquire those thoughts on their own. 

You ruined my life!

As much as wellness and self-help gurus will preach there's a place in the world for everyone, self-awareness keeps you from blinding yourself toward the baggage you carry. It wouldn't be fair to lay that on anyone else. 

So you've shrunk yourself. No making yourself seen, no making yourself heard. No talking outside of what is strictly necessary to survive. No inserting yourself into other's lives. For the most part, it's worked. Albeit, you've been deemed unlikable, weird, and rude. It's better this way. There's no use in putting yourself out there if there's so much to feel ashamed of. It's too much to trouble others with your pitiful self.

Who in the world would want to put up with you?

After the usual snarky murmurs and judgmental glances, you're rarely acknowledged save for when someone — usually a man — tries to “take a crack” at you and the whispers float in the air for another while. Other than that, you're at peace with yourself. You're almost convinced you've developed invisibility powers. 

That is until Armin came along. At first, you sighed at the prospect of going over your routine yet again. Cementing boundaries and erasing any hope that it just takes the right guy to “loosen you up”. It was disgusting to have your quietness be misinterpreted for arrogance by the men at work. Even if that were the case, who was anybody to assume you needed to be knocked down a peg through sexual advances?

But Armin proved himself to be different. He tore away at your skepticism by simply being kind with no ulterior motives. Men can be so stupid. They'll believe a girl can't pick up when they're being slimy. It must've shocked them when you started having lunch with Armin more frequently. 

It was thanks to him that you slowly expanded your world's limits. It was because of him that you began to question the voice that rang in your ears. After receiving the housewarming party invitation, you wondered whether to step forward or back. There was no denying Armin's expansion had awoken something in you. You wanted company — craved it — but you didn't want to risk bringing trouble into the group. What if Armin was an anomaly and the things that echoed in your head were true? Maybe Armin wasn't an anomaly at all, he just didn't know enough about you. You certainly didn't let him in enough. 

In the end, your heart overruled your brain. You wanted more. With a hopeful heart, you went to the party. 

A heavy sigh slips past your lips as you pick at your dinner on Sunday night. Your hair is still damp from the shower and it rests uncomfortably along your neck. Your phone lies next to your plate, buzzing every few seconds to match the texts that come into the group chat — arrangements are taking place for the next get-together with Armin and his friends. 

After your moment of realization on the balcony, you faked a yawn and went back inside to pretend to fall asleep.

This morning, you avoided being alone with Eren. Not out of fear of something happening, but you needed to sort out your feelings on the situation.

There's no denying Eren is an attractive man — but that doesn't faze you. 

Catching Eren's eye wasn't something you planned. Your world suddenly expanded outside of your will — out of your control. You're not annoyed, just overwhelmed. 

Being the center of someone's attention means more expectations, more to live up to — he has no idea you're not the kind of girl he needs. Nobody needs someone who's a burden. It's not as if you're open to reciprocating any special attention, anyway.

If history has taught you anything, it’s that love isn't in the cards for you. It's best not to entertain any silly ideas.

Friendships are tricky, but no more than romance — or whatever crossed Eren's mind each time he looked at you. Keeping to oneself is easier than either one. But with the latter idea being too late to return to, you'll have to nip this problem in the bud.

The few hours before lunchtime seem to drag slower every Monday. Given that sparing time to eat was nothing but another task to check off your to-do list, you never used to pay much attention to the clock. But since Armin, lunchtime means more than bringing food to your mouth, methodically stretching your pace to fit the length of your lunch break.

Now it means meeting with a friend, having someone fill in the silence with tales from the accounting department, and occasionally going on quick drives to Kuchel. 

So when you venture off to his cubicle, only for him to tell you he's swamped with work and won't have lunch until later, you're mildly disappointed. You don't let it show. After all, work trumps your trivial need for company.

So you wish him good luck and return to your desk. Without any conversation to fill in the minutes, you finish your food fairly quickly. When you glance at the time on your phone, barely fifteen minutes have passed. Your fingers tap rhythmically against your desk before you decidedly stand, grab your bag, and head for the elevator. 

The coffee shop on the corner of the street has been your go-to spot since you started working here. You've been there alone and with Armin. It's where your feet take you on the rare occasions when Armin is too busy. There's nothing wrong with the in-house coffee kiosk from your office building, but you find more comfort in being surrounded by strangers who keep to themselves than bumping into someone who doesn't like you. 

The early September days serve as a transition into cooler temperatures. A light breeze has added to the warmth leftover from summer. The leaves have yet to develop a clear change in color, but some yellow streaks are popping up here and there. The beginning of autumn pushes you toward all things cozy. By the time you reach the shop, you've got your heart set on having a warm cup of cinnamon tea.

You settle at a table, place your order, grab a book from your bag, and wait. Before you can reach the second paragraph of your read, a shadow casts over your left side, forcing you to look up in confusion. It's too soon for your tea to be ready. 

You're met with striking green eyes and plump lips that pronounce a bashful hi.

It's a strange coincidence. You wish you could say you've never seen him around here before, but you've never bothered to commit any face to memory if it's not necessary. 

“Eren, hi.”

The tint on his cheeks you remember so well from two nights ago resurfaces. A nervous swallow pulls at your throat. You never did map out a plan — then again, you weren't expecting to see him again so soon.

“I wasn't sure if it was you. Are you here with someone?” he asks, taking a second to look around the shop.

You shake your head. 

“No. Armin's busy so I came here alone,” you explain.

He nods, rocking his weight on his heels. A question seems to linger on the tip of his tongue as his gaze flits between you and the floor. It takes him a moment for him to find his voice, though. In spite of yourself, you have to admit it's actually a bit endearing. It's different. It's refreshing.

“Is it okay if I sit with you?” His eyes are overflowing with hope. 

You nod. He sits. The book in your hands is put away.

For a while last night, you debated the validity of your theory. Maybe Eren wasn't interested in you in the way you thought. After all, it was your first time meeting and he might’ve been nervous. You know enough about the way you present yourself to acknowledge you're not the most approachable person. Maybe all he needs is time to get used to you.

“Do you want to order something?” You ask, prepared to wave over a server. He stops you with a dismissive hand.

“It's okay, I already had some tea.”

Your eyebrows rise in surprise.

“Not a coffee guy?” 

He shakes his head, sputtering a nervous chuckle.

“Not really. I don't like bitter things.” His nose scrunches as if he can savor it on his tongue.

A server brings over your tea along with a small tray of additives. You thank them before returning to Eren's statement.

“You can always add sugar,” you point out with a shrug. 

He shakes his head again. This time you're relieved to find a playful smile dancing on his lips.

“Nothing can beat tea with honey.”

Your hand pauses mid-air on its way to pick up the wooden wand half lost in a jar of golden syrup. 

You hum in thought as you reach for the sugar spoon instead. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. That's how my mom made it for me when I was little. I'd get a stomachache or a cold and it was the first thing she'd make for me. I feel like a kid each time I drink it. It makes me think of her.”

The corners of his lips tug into a smile. You find yourself mirroring his expression as you look down at your hand stirring the sugar into your tea. 

“Your mom sounds nice,” you murmur.

“Oh, she's the best. I love her.”

Eren's shoulders relax. He feels at ease talking about his mom. He feels even better knowing he's successfully carrying out a casual conversation with you. In the light of day, everything is less scary. There's less to worry about. That carefree feeling blankets over everything. Suddenly, the motive he walked into this coffee shop for seems doable. 

Then a sinking feeling comes over his stomach. 

“Sorry.” The word bounces off his tongue without thinking.

“What for?”

He doesn't want to say it, but he hopes his apologetic gaze is enough to convey an explanation.

Your eyebrows shoot up in realization at his hesitance. Then they furrow as you press your lips into a fine line and shake your head dismissively. 

“Oh, that.” 

The recall of Saturday night when you drunkenly talked about your mom causes your cheeks to flare with heat.

Guilt settles in Eren's stomach. He didn't mean to bring up his mom. He also didn't mean to be so quick to apologize. It just made things worse now that you know he's tiptoeing around you. That's probably the last thing you want — to feel purposely pitied.

Flustered, he rummages through his brain for a solution — a way to get back on the track he was on. 

You fix your gaze on him. It's obvious he feels troubled. It's a foreign experience having someone worry so much about if they've caused you any harm. You're unsure of what feelings to associate with it other than guilt. He's not at fault for your crappy family life.

“So you and your mom are close?” you ask.

The crease in his forehead smoothes over. 

When he shyly reconnects with your gaze, your eyebrows raise ever so slightly in encouragement. The movement is so subtle it's hard not to miss — but not for Eren, who takes in every detail of your face with so much care. For Eren, the small shifts in your features are so interesting to look at. You express so much with so little. And yet there were times when you would accentuate your expressions as much as you could. What you held back vocally was compensated tenfold through your face. It's fascinating to him.

“Yeah.”

His voice is soft — a trace of his withering embarrassment.

“She's my best friend,” he adds with a little more confidence.

You take a sip of tea. The drink warms your stomach, mirroring that of your chest elicited by Eren's words. The fondness in his voice taints him with a childlike innocence. 

Eren Jaeger isn't worried about looking cool. He's honest and clumsy. It's charming.

A light shake of your head keeps your thoughts from drifting further.

“So not a coffee guy but a mama's boy, for sure. Got it.” You nod along with an overly serious expression painted on your face. 

He laughs, the sinking feeling in his stomach now dissolving into nothing. Had he not been on the receiving end of your bluntly spoken teasing the other night, he might not have laughed so easily.

A blush spreads across his cheeks. 

“Come on, don't tease me,” he mumbles.

You bite your lip to keep yourself from smiling. Eren falls back into his previously relaxed state. 

The conversation continues to flow in between every sip of your tea.

“Do you come here often?” you ask as you prepare to take another sip. 

Your eyes are locked on his. He struggles with the intense eye contact. At least, it's intense on his end.

“Not really. Armin mentioned it to me so I thought I'd try it out.” 

The pads of his fingers drum a nervous beat on the table.

You nod, relieved. You'd feel silly if it had turned out he was a frequent customer and your disregard of the people surrounding you kept you from noticing him. It would've piled onto your embarrassment from the Kuchel incident. 

“Ah, so are you on your lunch break, too? Do you work around here?”

“Um, kind of. I do media production and marketing for a museum, but I do a lot of hours at home. My place is just a few minutes by car.” 

“That's so cool.” 

The amazement in your voice in addition to its sudden turn up in volume is enough to make him blush. 

“It's nothing special. I'm definitely not raking in the big bucks like Jean.” 

“Still, it's cool. It's a lot more interesting than being an office manager.” 

Your eyebrows scrunch together with newborn disdain for your job before you finish the remainder of your tea.

“Well, I can't argue there,” he says, imitating the sliver of bitterness in your voice.

You gasp in mock hurt. 

“Hey, only I can say it.” Your tone is serious, but he knows you're joking. He can tell by the twinkle of amusement in your eyes.

He laughs.

“How long until you have to get back to work?” 

You peek at the clock on the wall across the room.

“I still have some time. It's a short walk back, anyway.”

Despite your wording, your answer triggers his nervous antics. You're bound to part ways eventually and he swore to himself he would get the words out. He runs a hand through his hair to distract himself from the anxious flutter in his stomach. 

It's no big deal, he thinks. She's just a girl. 

He regrets not ordering something else when you asked him. It would give his hands something to do. Then again, he can't keep them from shaking as he gathers the courage to pronounce his next thought. So it's better he doesn't have any breakables in his hold.

He pronounces your name carefully. His heart skips a beat when your eyes meet his. It's strange to think that you hold so much power over him within just a couple of days since meeting. He wants to get closer — he needs to. Again, that feeling of wanting this moment with you to stretch farther squeezes at his chest. 

“Do you want to hang out sometime? Just the two of us?”

He can feel himself growing numb to his surroundings as he awaits your response. It's similar to the feeling he gets after stepping foot off a rollercoaster. The adrenaline is pumping furiously through his veins while his mind goes blank. It's a weird moment of chaos and bliss all at once.

You clear your throat. 

“So… a date?”

He swallows thickly and nods.

He watches you contemplate his proposal. Your lips are pressed in a fine line, your gaze low and brow furrowed.

It's too much to hope you're equally attracted to him — he's aware. But he hopes you like his company just enough to say yes. Or at the very least, you're curious to know more.

Your mind is in conflict. This is more than you've bargained for. All you wanted was to get along with Armin's friends.

“I'm sorry, Eren. No.” 

He instantly deflates to your firm tone. 

“It's nothing personal,” you explain. “You're a really nice guy. Really. But I'm not interested in dating… at all.” You sigh, dreading the pending words on your tongue. “And I don't really see you that way. I just want to be friends.”

He remains quiet, chewing on the inside of his cheeks as he processes your words. 

The situation is uncomfortable for you, but his defeated form weighs heavier on your heart. He looks so small. It's definitely worse for him. 

“Eren?”

Your voice grounds him. 

“Sorry, I really spaced out there,” he nervously laughs. “Friends, though. Yeah, friends is good. Friends is perfect, actually.”

The word leaves a bitter taste on his tongue each time. He can pat himself on the back for shooting his shot later but, for now, his senses have been blurred by the disappointment of being turned down.

“I really like talking to you, Eren. Really.” 

Your attempt to lighten the defeat on his shoulders works — a little. It's a relief you're not entirely opposed to having him around, at least. Eren finds comfort in that. Maybe it'll suffice while he fights away at his attraction. 

“I like talking to you, too.” His voice carries a tint of helplessness. 

Your eyes soften. 

“I should get going.” 

You pull out a fresh bill from your purse and place it under the empty teacup before standing.

He stands with you and holds the door open. It's not until you're both out on the sidewalk, bidding each other goodbye, that he forces a smile. 

“I'll see you around.”

“Bye, Eren.” 

“Sorry I couldn't make it to lunch,” Armin says. He leans against the edge of your desk with his hands in his pockets.

It's been an hour since you got back, and you've been typing away, replying to emails. 

You shrug, tossing a small reassuring smile his way before focusing back on your computer screen.

“It's fine. I wasn't alone this time.”

He perks up.

“Really?”

You hum in affirmation.

“I went out for tea and bumped into your friend Eren.”

Armin's jaw falls open.

“Huh. Well, what do you know? That's a crazy coincidence.” 

There's something suspicious about Armin's theatrical tone, but you're too engrossed in going over your email for typos to notice. You only manage to murmur a simple uh-huh. 

“What'd you talk about?”

You send off your email with a satisfied click and look up at Armin as you lean back in your chair.

“Just this and that,” you reply nonchalantly. 

His lips press into a dissatisfied line.

“Well, what do you think of him?” His eyes light up expectantly. 

“He's…” You lose yourself in thought for a moment. Images of blushing cheeks, boyish smiles, and shimmering green eyes flash through your memory. You remember the honey and his simple confessions. “... like a little kid.” 

Armin's face bears a mix of confusion and amusement.

“What do you mean by that?” 

A soft pensive hum vibrates through your throat.

“Dorky,” you reply firmly. 

Armin snorts, readying himself to come to Eren's defense, but you continue.

“He's… honest, like a little kid would be. And he's a little clumsy with his words but it's… Kind of endearing. He's a sweet guy.”

Armin nods along, his face serious. Finally, he smiles. 

“Sounds like you had a nice talk, then.”

Date proposal aside, your moment with Eren was enjoyable. Even taking your rejection into account, you didn't sense any resentment directed at you and that just further proved your pure perception of him.

It's not the first time you've been asked out. It's certainly not the first time you've said no — that's always been your response, albeit for different reasons. A few guys in the office have tried getting closer to you but, even if you were open to dating, you can always tell it's nothing genuine from their approach. Their overly kind performance just makes it easier for you to decline. Once that's been done, their creepy narcissistic truths come to light — you're stoned with sexist slurs and disgusted looks. It'd hurt more if you were still the kind of person who craves approval from the wrong people.

There's a clear difference between them and Eren. So even though you rejected him, you still wish to be close as friends. He's a nice person to know.

“I did,” you tell Armin.

There's a shimmer in your eyes he manages to catch. Your features are soft and serene as you prop your chin on one hand while you mindlessly scroll through your emails with the other. Your lips are shaped into a discreet smile. Like a kid.

On his way back to his cubicle on the opposite end of the floor, Armin hums a cheerful tune to himself. There's a proud bounce in every step he takes. 

“Armin, check your phone. It was buzzing like crazy a few minutes ago,” a female coworker says in passing before grabbing a manila folder from her desk and rushing off to a meeting room across the hall.

“Thanks, Mina!” he calls after her.

Armin taps the missed call notification on his screen and brings the phone to his ear, grinning expectantly.

“You suck,” Eren's voice comes through the speaker after the first ring.

“Woah, woah, woah. What did I do?” Armin laughs as he steps out onto the empty smoker's balcony. 

There’s a groan on the other end.

“What do you think? I crashed and burned.”

Armin’s face contorts in confusion. From what he could gather on your end, the coffee shop incident went well. You were smiling, and although the things you said about Eren didn’t seem like it, you meant them fondly — Armin knew you well enough to confidently confirm that. At the very least, it meant you weren’t completely repulsed by his company. Even if there are different sides to every story, the discrepancies shouldn’t be anything major.

“What are you talking about?” Armin sighs.

Another groan on Eren’s end. If Armin wasn’t so patient, he would’ve hung up. 

He really is like a little kid, he thinks.

“I asked her out and she said no.”

Armin’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. How could you keep that part out of the conversation you had earlier?

His shock doesn’t stem from your rejection, but rather because of Eren’s unexpected bravery. Although Eren was tough on the playground when they were kids, he grew up to be a fairly meek guy. When it comes to a girl he likes, he’s never been the bold type. Armin found it a bit strange at times. Eren’s had a track record of being popular among women, so his confidence should be over the roof and his personality, unbearable. But if he’s honest, it’s a good thing he doesn’t pay much attention to those things. It’s easier to root for a friend who only acts on more honest feelings. Even if that confidence didn’t stick with him.

“This is all your fault, Armin. So much for having my back.”

Even through the phone, Armin can tell his best friend is pouting. He has to hold back from rolling his eyes — it feels deceitful to do it behind his back when he has to play the role of a sympathetic friend right now. 

He rubs at his nape, unsure of whether he should feel proud of Eren for making a move or apologetic for not contemplating what seemed like a far-fetched risk. 

“To be fair, buddy, I didn’t send you over there to ask her out. I just thought you would like the chance to talk to her and get to know her a little better.”

“You couldn’t tell me that before? I don’t think I can ever face her again!” Eren half-yells.

Of course, Eren chooses to focus on the negatives. Armin cherry-picks the situations he meddles in. Even if it’ll serve as a confident boost to reveal to Eren what you said about him and how you said it, it could do him some good to bounce back on his own — and learn to pace himself. 

“First off, you have to relax an—”

“I can’t.” Eren’s voice is reduced to an embarrassed murmur. “She makes me nervous. I can’t help myself.”

There’s a long moment of silence. 

It’s been obvious from the start that Eren is attracted to you, but the near confession pulls at Armin’s heartstrings. It’s times like this when he’s reminded how cute Eren can be. 

“That bad, huh?” Armin smiles down at the people walking on the street.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not in love with her or anything but…”

There's a long pause on Eren's side, only disturbed by some light rustling as he moves his phone around.

“... I like looking at her… and I like hearing her talk. Do you ever notice how soft her voice is? There’s just something about it… There’s this thing with her eyes, too, it’s crazy.”

“Well, as long as you’re not falling in love with her.”

Eren releases a third groan.

“Armin, please. I just want to get closer to her. And I don’t want to make myself look like an idiot each time we’re alone. I wish there was something I could do to make her like me.” 

“I don’t think she dislikes you if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“She said she doesn’t see me that way. She just wants to be friends.”

Eren’s desolation is seeping through the phone now.

“Maybe I jumped the gun by asking her out so quickly.”

When Armin suggested Eren find you at the coffee shop during your lunch break, he figured it would help him get used to you. So that when the time came, he could ask you out without being more anxious than he needed to be. Had everything gone accordingly, Eren wouldn’t be moping now and wondering what would have happened — if anything was meant to happen — if he had just given you a little more time.

“Maybe,” Armin echoes.  

“Do you think I blew it?”

Armin shakes his head even though there’s no way for Eren to tell.

“I think you just got a little excited. You never know how she might feel later on.”

“I don’t want to make her uncomfortable. I hardly think she’ll like me any better if I act like those guys who can’t take no for an answer. I should just try being her friend.”

Armin wants to beg him not to feel discouraged — that there’s a reason why he was so excited to introduce you to each other, and why he teased him at the housewarming party after he caught him blushing while doing the dishes with you.

It didn’t start that way but, the more he got to know you, the more he thought you and Eren would be good together. 

Soft-spoken girl who keeps to herself meets the most dependable and kind-hearted boy.  

Armin would be lying if he said he wasn’t swayed by the promised satisfaction of playing matchmaker in the fantasy playing out in his head. Not that he felt you absolutely needed to get together. But he could feel it in his gut. You and Eren could do each other a lot of good. He already knew Eren would feel a pull upon meeting you and, if there’s anything he gathered from both sides of the coffee shop incident, it’s that you like Eren enough to let him stick around. It was a good call on your end, though he may be biased.

If you happen to fall in love along the way, then so be it.

“You’re a good guy, Eren. Everything will turn out fine.”

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#snk fanfiction #aot fanfiction #eren yeager x reader #eren jaeger x reader #aot x reader #aot x y/n #snk x reader #snk imagines #eren x reader #eren jaeger x y/n #eren jaeger fanfiction

[sharkboywrites]

It’s “listen to and uplift trans voices” until it’s a trans man talking about their experience in a way you don’t like, a way that challenges your black and white thinking. It’s “don’t tell trans people what to do” until it’s a trans man doing what they want, because they’re either doing too much or not enough. It’s “trans mental health matters” until a trans man talks about what makes them dysphoric, then they’re contributing to misogyny and toxic masculinity. It’s “make trans people feel comfortable” until a trans man tells you that what you say makes them uncomfortable, then they’re dramatic. It’s “terfs are bad people targeting trans people” until terfs invade trans men’s spaces, then it’s our fault. “It’s protect trans people/kids” until a trans man is getting death threats or actually attacked and killed, then you all turn your heads the other direction and/or say that it wasn’t because of our trans identity. It’s “forced detransition is bad”, and yet most of you don’t even know how many trans men are forcibly detransitioned, the horrible things done to us. It’s “trans people aren’t the enemy” and “don’t listen to people who try to demonize trans people” until someone’s telling you that trans men are inherently evil and all hate women. It’s “stop infighting” until suddenly you feel the need to make every situation where a trans man is going through something about how trans women have it worse. Once again it’s “protect trans people” until a trans man is getting death threats, and you don’t care/say it’s justified because they said something you didn’t like. It’s “don’t group people together” until a trans man was mean to you once, then suddenly all trans men think the same and all trans men are evil misogynists. You say “don’t let them erase trans people” yet you silence trans men you don’t like and call our erasure a privilege. It’s “not all people transition the same” but you still push the idea that transitioning and passing as a trans man is easy.

All of you are hypocrites. You do the exact opposite of what you say to trans men, but you don’t care because it’s trans men. This behavior would be unanimously be called transphobic if it was directed at any other trans people, but you don’t care because it’s trans men.

#sharkboyrambles #trans #transmasc #trans ftm #trans man #ftm #transmasc problems #trans erasure #transmasc erasure #trans visibility #trans support #trans awareness #trans issues #transphobia

[decolonize-the-left]

Hello.

My sister's friend had gone to the USA because her dad got transferred from India. She was there for, I think, 2 years before coming back home and you WILL not believe the kind of discrimination that 9 year old kid faced in that stupid American school.

She could not make any friends. She was left alone in the playground because her class mates were of the opinion that Indians are liars. And get this- the teachers did NOTHING about it, on the grounds that she would ' eventually make friends'.

For a country that considers itself the epitome of equality and whatever crap it calls freedom, American schools do little to promote cultural equality and erase assumptions of kids based on nationality. The television shows potray brown people as idiots who won't eat cows. In a nickelodian TV series- the creators openly call out Indians for what they deem as 'silly'- auspicious days and occasions that are celebrated by wearing ethnic clothing. This was in the show 'Jessie'. In the Big Bang Theory, a woman cooks chicken, she lays it on the table, and asks Raj, 'Oh, is that something you don't eat?' Everybody laughs, because, of course, the stupid Indians. We'll excuse school shootings and political transphobia and homophobia but, oh no, he's vegetarian?!

I would like to add that India wasn't homophobic before the British arrived. Homosexuality and being transgender was normalized, until the British criminalized homosexuality and began punishing transgenders by execution or imprisonment. Transgenders were, in fact, termed as 'godly' and 'magical' people- even during the Mughal era. Women now demand their rights, rape is an offence punishable by execution (as it should be). Dowry is banned and you can get arrested for it. Is there misogyny? Yes, there is. But we women are combatting it.

Get this straight- Not all Indians are straight, or Hindu. That country has a booming Muslim and Christian population, a growing queer population, communities that are growing woke. Queer communities are still facing oppression- but they're getting over it, they're crushing it. I'm not saying you shouldn't potray India with problems. India is violent. But stop radicalizing your views. India isn't evil. The country is changing. It has the same problems as any other country. The faults of country shouldn't be talked of as the faults of the people. If anything, it's the politics, and the way they brainwash people. If you're going for 'equality' and 'representation' show the good parts as well, or don't try at all because television and media have a huge impact on people. Incomplete pictures just poison other communities against each other and it's the children who are affected.

.

#asked #answered #india #colonization #whiteness #assimilation #white supremacy #colonization is ongoing

[horizon-verizon]

At least, Cersei is the one to refuse to go public with their incestous relationship and isn’t out there proposing to marry Myrcella to Tommen, unlike Saint Jaime who call his sister ‘queen of whores’, treat her as his property, and victim-blame her (I tell you, he [Robert] loves me not/And whose fault is that, sweet sister ?), and never spare a thought for Tysha (or Bran for that matter), but thats normal, its because he’s a feminist and teenage girl-coded. No wonder he has some sympathy for Criston Cole, lmao. Do people genuinely believes Jaime is a victim of patriarchy and that his gender doesn’t favor him over Cersei ?? Insane. Can’t wait for him to die. It’s 2023, Jaime isn’t Adam and Cersei isn’t Eve, dude is a misogynistic, racist and hyperprivileged white man and his father’s golden boy. Funny how you all talk like Green/Criston’s stans when it comes to Cersei and Jaime.

*EDITED POST* (9/21/23)

Probably from this recent post that itself has 3 links to other posts where I talk about Cersei as a character.

Um...when did I ever either imply or directly say that Jaime was "a victim of patriarchy and that his gender doesn’t favor him over Cersei"? Or express that he was better than his sister, morally? Or express that Cersei deserved to die more than he did?

Perhaps you have that impression because I never talked about Jaime exclusively once, or you're just going off of what you recently read and horribly misinterpreted the purpose and argument of that post. If the latter, I advise you to reread. If the first, I don't write about Jaime much simply because he doesn't interest me as much as Cersei or Tyrion, no one asked me my thoughts about him, and I'm not thinking of him apart from his relationship with Cersei or Tyrion. His knighthood and masculinity are...not "easy", but direct enough for me to not dwell as much as his other siblings' issues. (look to this post by blankwhiteshield about Jaime) I generally care more about women, children, and other marginalized people in fiction, even when I do sympathize with some white cis straight men some of the time.

I mean pre-Brienne Jaime. That's just how GRRm wrote his arc.

For me, blankwhiteshield's posts about Jaime HERE and HERE both suffice to give me a picture of who Jaime is bc they fill in some blanks I had in my pre-existing assessment of Jaime. Which actually wasn't favorable, anon. I find Jaime to actually be very annoying, and no, I do not think that he is Cersei's victim. He is deluded in some ways as much as her and is not a good person because of the abuse and emotional neglect they all get from Tywin/Westerosi society. I actually should have, since again, there were blanks. You can take a look at those links as well.

Look, Cersei is evil & abusive AS WELL AS a victim of domestic abuse woman & of misogyny since childhood. These are not mutually exclusive nor does it NOT mean that her domestic abuse only and directly caused her power-hungriness and need to control if not every, most aspect of her life and those she sees will help her get or maintain control and a good image of herself. Neither the abuse nor misogyny against her erases the fact that she develops hatred towards women, going so far as to violently and sexually objectify them like w/Taena. (Her using what she's observed men do to affirm power and copying it). Or that she pinched her baby brother's penis at a very young age, showing her classist and blase willingness to target children/one of the most vulnerable groups for her own sense of control over her husband, family, etc., and political power. She is also very willing to sacrifice/risk the entire city for her own control of power, similar to Aerys II. Cersei is complicated and there is nuance to her character, but she is unmistakably evil simultaneously. What I like about her or what I find compelling about her (if you haven't read the post about it) is that I can understand her motivations, and relate in some ways, and from practically babyhood she's been trying to be essentially "good enough" and perfect through external, social values of competency BUT also as someone has said: her need for perfection and power and total love comes across as pure in its own sort of twisted way. Her emotions are so intense and uncontrolled and she remains totally unaware of her loneliness that she comes across as childlike.

I also find it very funny how you're criticizing show!Rhaenyra for wanting to marry Jace to Helaena (I presume, you don't specify but that is the closest betrothal to the one you make b/t Myrcella and Tommen) when you say: "At least, Cersei is the one to refuse to go public with their incestous relationship and isn’t out there proposing to marry Myrcella to Tommen". Because while this would have done nothing to assuage Alicent--which was what Rhaenyra was trying to do--it was also not that bad of a deal for Helaena or Jace themselves. I personally dislike it bc, again, we're erasing Rhaenyra's relationship w/Laena and how she ever made it so that Jace married Laena's daughter...but I digress. OR you probably were referring to Jaime expressing the desire to go public with their relationship, that conversation? Again, what does this have to do with my argument in the post I recently posted and that I assume you're responding to?

#asoiaf asks to me #cersei lannister #the lannisters #jaime lannister #agot characterization #cersei's characterization #jaime lan's characterization #asoiaf parenthood #asoiaf #agot

[jewishbarbies]

I think what is really pissing me and so many people off is that we who are critical of Taylor of being accused of being mysogonist. Like, I'm sorry but being a woman doesn't give you a free pass for fucking shitty ass behavior. As a Tik toker said, if a majority of your "haters" are poc/lgbtq, you might need to do some soul searching.

EXACTLY like it’s not randos on the internet kicking up a stink over nothing, it’s poc and lgbt+ and jewish people talking about the very real effects celebrities have on society with their words and promoted beliefs. no amount of misogyny is going to erase what she’s doing, and it doesn’t exempt her from consequences. there will ALWAYS be sexist/misogynistic people complaining because they hate women. it’s up to us to use critical thinking -a wild concept to some apparently- to differentiate between plain old misogyny and valid criticism. she and her fans are incapable of doing that because it would mean admitting fault. and the media gains too much from supporting her to actually do it’s job and report on the real problem.

#Asks #anonymoose #anti taylor swift #swifties dni

[loser-female]

Disclaimer: I'm doing a night shift so yeah, mistakes and all that jazz have a reason to be.

OOP post was about the difficulty of having a romantic relationship with a man because he was misogynistic.

Here are responses that bothered me and I've decided to make another post to highlight how damaging this is on feminism and women. Under the cut because this is stupid long.

For context, I'm in a relationship with a man and I'm in several women-majority groups.

Women and feminists are NOT a rehabilitation center for misogynistic men - and this is such dangerous advice because when I see a woman complaining about the relationship she has... It's ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS watered down to not make the man look like the abuser he often is.

Don't settle for an asshole - right, because a man's misogyny is a woman's fault. And because we all know men go around with a misogyny level tattooed on their face, so women know they can avoid it and if trying to fix him could work.

The fact that men can be better is irrelevant to the questions OOP was rising. She deserves a better partner *now*, not to invest herself in a building-a-boyfriend project that won't work.

And there is more than that: even if you date the perfect man the relationship will always be unbalanced in his favour.

This is because women in relationships are seen as less productive, less "trustworthy" than men in relationships, for which it's the opposite. And the woman is always assumed to earn less, to do all the housework and childcare.

OOP complaints about this are absolutely valid.

And this "but there are better men!" Is actively undermining the efforts of the literal 4 feminists left to fight domestic inequality.

Because that's an issue no one cares about. Mainstream feminism tells women men have changed (they have not, they just adapted their misogyny), so it's "safe"to date men and when this doesn't work any criticism on 2023 misogyny goes down the toilet, because "stereotyping an entire gender is wrong", shutting down any conversation about domestic inequality.

Which, if you call yourself a feminist of any kind, should be aware about. Especially how it ties directly with domestic violence.

Then the comment that enraged me.

Acknowledging misogyny or inequality in a relationship doesn't mean having a victim mentality.

Also, radicalisation ≠ radical feminism (what the hell even, but okay, what this is supposed to mean. Online radicalisation is a serious issue, but generally speaking we are talking about terrorists. People you don't like ≠ terrorists. The manosphere is a recruitment center for right wing domestic terrorists, this why the intelligence pays attention to it, because -at least in the europol reports - it's the primary concern for authorities. Radical feminism = addressing the root of the problem, patriarchy, by dismantling the current power status. But whatever, why I even waste my time like this.)

People of all genders can be shitty - well, we have several studies that show us what "gender" is shittier, like we have numbers. I don't know what the reasons are for these numbers, but it doesn't matter, because this is not the point. The point was that a relationship between a man and a woman, even if you are a rich housewife from the suburbs of IDK what city is cool now in the US, is still unbalanced. And this cannot be fixed by picking a "better man", because it's not necessarily about finding a better man, a good man doesn't erase patriarchy or other men's misogyny.

More importantly: what is a better man?

That's a question that is rarely answered in a genuine way. A lot of people say that a good man is a leftist, other a Christian...

Because, well, it's not like we have a scale of measurement of misogyny. We draw our conclusions from the past experiences (although things like trauma influence them), from the people around us, from the culture we are in and our personal values. "Look out for good men" is not a solution to OOP problem, is not a solution for *any* problem, as it isn't denying that there is, in fact, a problem.

It's also funny that the author of this comment thinks that the acknowledgement of unfairness in a relationship with a man means isolation. You know what is even more isolating? Having people that calls themselves feminists (!!!)deny your personal experience to protect an imaginary man feelings.

Conclusion:

The replies to a perfectly normal post like "I hate that my boyfriend is misogynistic" have been incredibly sexist, not surprisingly, coming directly from the victim blaming repertoire of "not all men", "you could have chosen better", "don't play the victim". It misses "you're crazy" for an inch, with zero acknowledgement of the hurt OOP was experiencing (and no, "your feelings are valid BUT" is not acknowledging anything) and the fact that... it probably was just a vent post, which makes the "NAM" preaching 10 times worse, adding this to focusing on OOP's actions like she was personally responsible for her boyfriend bad behaviour or, to me even worse, guilty of passively (according to these comments) accepting it or not trying enough.

Which is bad.

(yes I was bored. Nothing happened tonight. Now I go to sleep)

#ada.txt #relationships #men #misogyny #feminism #radical feminists safe #radical feminists do touch #domestic inequality

[rosalesbeausderholle]

What makes you think conservative lawmakers give a shit what radical feminists think? They’re not consulting us or following our lead, they have their own agenda. it’s not the fault of a small + highly unpopular group of feminists that conservatives are… continuing to be conservative. You’re reinforcing the first rule of misogyny: “women are responsible for what men do”

I'm not saying you're solely responsible, I'm saying you're helping fuel the moral panic about it, and propping up people fuelling these moral panics.

Like, you know all those t-shirts that say "woman: adult human female" you know who made them? Posie Parker who was an actual Trump sympathizer. A big Spanish radfem organization that claims to fight against "the erasure of women" repeats QAnon "this is the fault of George Soros" antisemitic conspiracies. Radfems were on Fox News. WOLF members took money from right wing conservative organizations (and did not say a peep through their official channels when Roe was struck down). LGB Alliance also worked with conservatives. Radfems in Italy fought against the Zan law just because it would give some more protections to trans people, completely not caring about all the protections it would also give to LGBT people, in a country that's severely lacking in LGBT compared to the rest of Europe. Same thing happened last year in Japan.

For years now, there's been conservatives in online radfem/GC circles just hanging there and agreeing and repeating those points and participating.

And there was no criticism of this from the great majority of mainstream radfems and "gender critical" people (because radfems are too transphobic to care and gender criticals and these conservatives are the same people), but at some point when it's getting this big and this blatant you need to look within yourself and stop with that: "radfems are too small a group for conservatives to care what we say" because i know that helps you sleep at night, but they're still using some of your arguments to "protect women, stop erasing women" and you as a meat shield all while feeding your movement conservative points and fear mongering tactics which you are too happy to repeat because the funding and the attention is good.

And you will start to see all of this once you start trying to push against this and you're met with a brick wall of "this never happens!" you criticize liberal feminists and the trans rights movement for group think and cult like strategies but you do the same.

Like do me a favor and look over at the whole RF/GC scene on Twitter (aka the more mainstream version bc no one is on Tumblr) and just examine with a critical eye who all these people are, who they're retweeting, what they're saying and why. You'll find conservative ties after conservative ties after conservative ties.

[nothorses]

feels pretty weird to see people who are the target of a constant slander campaign that erases their serious issues by claiming that any attempt to address those issues is just hateful misogyny say "it's awful, they're saying we're like MRAs, people who are totally actually as bad as it's claimed we are". I'm not saying there aren't shitty transphobic MRAs, but, like... people smeared by a broad brush should probably check their own brushwork a little.

The men who actually want to solve the problems men face under patriarchy are fighting patriarchy, not women. The entire point of the shit I have been saying is that it isn't women or trans women who are at fault for the problems we face- those problems come from the same source their problems do. They're our allies.

If you can't see that, and if you're blaming women for your problems, you are in fact a shitty misogynist. Pay some fucking attention to what I'm saying or get off my blog.

[girlcalledwhatsername]

Okay so I'm seeing a lot of people lately (and some older theorists of course) talk about how cis men as such are Not an oppressor class, and that misogyny is the fault of patriarchy not of cis men and therefore they should not be considered the oppressor class in terms of gendered oppression. I respectfully disagree with this on a political level.

Let me preface by saying I am a brown disabled genderfluid person from a "third world country", so this is informed by the many intersections I have experienced and the political understanding I have built thereof.

1) The oppressive system of "patriarchy" is responsible for gender oppression and not an oppressor class - this can be said of any kind of oppression if one wants. I have heard people talk about how it's racism that is the problem and not white people, and that is true, but that doesn't change the fact that white people are the ones (in Western countries particularly) who have created laws and enacted behaviours and benefitted from and upheld social structures that oppress people of colour. It is white people who colonised my country and spread racist rhetorics which they still continue with and benefit from, and therefore even though all white people aren't gonna be racist, they very much are the oppressor class because they hold that power over coloured people. And much like with the patriarchy, our freedom struggle has stories of white people who supported poc and were punished for it by their own kind, the way men who don't adhere to ideas of patriarchy are punished by the setup. Likewise the way that women often also uphold patriarchy: there is plenty talk in freedom struggles and outside that too of brown people (and I'm sure other poc but i can only speak for brown people) who upheld racist setups because they got some small benefit from it. Or like rich queer people siding with Republicans (this one's for the Americans mwuah). That does not change the fact that men have historically made laws keeping women oppressed and continue to uphold systems that oppress us.

2) Coming to the other intersection real quick, people argue that men aren't the oppressor class because women often hold positions of privilege over men: this is also true of other intersections. The rich gay man holds position of power and privilege over all his working class employees, including the straight ones. The white queer person possibly holds power over the brown cishet guy. A rich brown man also holds power over his working class white employees btw, still doesn't mean white people are suddenly not an oppressor class. It seems to me that these situations are a lot easier to understand when race plays in so I bring it up because not once ever have I had a progressive person tell me it's Not All White People when I make a general statement about the power white people hold and exploit.

3) The matter of the Cis woman. I will bring up again here the fact this is my political opinion and my political framework for understanding intersectionality, and I understand that a lot of people think there is gonna be One True Politics to stick to but I don't believe i have to agree with all leftist political ideas in order to have the "right opinion". So here is mine: cis people have long oppressed and continue to oppress trans people in the exact same way that cis men oppress women. Cis and perisex people in general are also an oppressor class holding privilege over trans and intersex people, cis and perisex people have made laws and upheld systems that oppress trans and intersex people. The fact that cis people hold power over trans people does not erase the fact that cis men still hold power over cis women and other oppressed gender and sex classes. Both can be true at the same time. Men being oppressors doesn't suddenly mean that a trans man is the oppressor class for women too because 1) cis women hold power not by virtue of being women but by virtue of being cis and 2) trans men are not oppressing other queer people, lateral aggression aside we aren't oppressor classes for each other we are in the same fucking boat.

4) It absolutely is not bioessentialism to say this the same way it isn't bioessentialism to say that white people have been oppressive. White genes didn't make em do it, it was a choice, the issue is that they continue to make that choice because it's easier for them. Same with cis men. Masculinity doesn't make them do this. Masculinity isn't inherently anything and I appreciate both masculinity and feminity as a genderfluid person myself. It's about the inherent power that men hold over women in any society but also particularly the one I've grown up in which a lot of Westerners will easily ignore.

TL;DR: When I say "men are an oppressor class" I do Not mean that cis men will never ever be in a position where they are oppressed because that's the point of intersectionality. I do not mean that trans men are also an oppressor class - because they are also oppressed by cis people (including cis men) and in terms of gendered oppression cis men are still upholding systems of oppression that directly benefit them and oppress women.

Note: if you have are gonna argue with me the least you can do is read the whole thing first though, I can't fit nuance in the tldr

#misogyny #I've been meaning to write this a while now but I was having too many breakdowns to also handle anon hate earlier #here it is finally #transphobia #racism #colonialism #gender discourse #politics

[helenekuragina]

thinking about it and i honestly do not agree at all with that person’s assessment that tolstoy put nothing in himself to make hélène be anything other than evil. obviously he didn’t like her and she’s meant to be an antagonist but i? he put in himself that her parents don’t love her and then literally has her commit suicide like... while overly prioritizing what they assume is his “authorial intent,” they also erased what tolstoy does do. to say there’s nothing to analyze just feels entirely false to me, considering he could have made her much more one note than he did. we know i hate tolstoy and i don’t think he can write complex women, obviously, which is largely just the fault of being a man in the 1800s like it’s not at all revolutionary to point out the misogyny, but? there are things there and i don’t think it’s pointless to comment on them

#plus claiming that it's pointless to analyze anyone but the men is not only misogynistic but also incredibly Boring #i am having fun with my reading experience i'm sorry you're not! #🪵.txt

[brickmail]

Hello Hello your boyfriend linked me hear sorry I was sleeping but let's get into it. I want to start with I don't bare ill will to you, just your man I just felt like being self destructive and picking a fight but I feel better now and you're reply made me smile. If your boyfriend had as much patience as you this conversation could've already been over. Anyway I just quoted you with my general reaction to what you said.

“you're assuming i have a problem with men that can get pregnant when i am a man that can get pregnant” Maybe I wasn't being clear. I was giving the most common examples people quote when saying omegaverse is gross or transphobic. One of those examples is ew cis men getting pregnant that are demasculinizing and gross (which is harmful to transmen) OR it’s transphobic because cis men getting pregnant ignores trans men (which there's transmen).

“omegaverse is often times misogynistic because the works use misogyny trauma porn as a plot point while simultaneously replacing the women” Yes OFTEN they can do this but it doesn’t all the time and that’s a authorial choice not the choice. It's not the fault of Omegaverse there’s no rule of omegaverse fics that says 'erase woman and use their oppression'. Also half fanfiction or fiction in genre is misogyny trauma porn my earlist memory was this story about a guy kidnapping woman and murdering them but the main character was just to amazing and changed him. Or you have more mainstream stuff like the handmaids tale. “This trivializes a serious world issue.” It doesn’t in my opinion. If that were true a lot of work written by women would be trivializing the issue because oppressive misogynistic society is perhaps the most common thing in stories. This becomes a problem when women are completely removed but a lot of stories DON’T remove women and create new oppression. It's not a rule of the genre. The genre as you love to point out is being written mainly by cis woman even though we really don't have the statistics. So it's woman erasing woman which points to internal misogny OR as a lot a woman like to say they like to remove themselves from the situation because it reminds them of things they've actually gone through which is some BS occasionally.

“omegaverse is all-the-times transphobic because it blatantly fetishizes trans people,” No it doesn't for example if I use ao3 (sorry) of 168,000 (I'm rounding up) fanfics 35,000 are teen or Gen 14,000 are not rated. So it's not at ALL times because there's people that genuinely want to a explore a world like this. Also how do I say this? It was never about trans people in the first place (like we weren't a thought it the eyes of these people) and trans people were added in later after various complaints were made. Mainly about anatomy but also about a lack of trans people. The people adding trans people into fics are mainly trans, the people that had complaints about anantomy, and then the possible fetishizers. “while disguising it by making up entirely new sex designations so nobody has to worry about getting called a chaser.” Making up new sex designations was the point of omegaverse well actually that not true I think those came later because I remember early on the groups in it weren't settled yet the actual point was fuck or die a trope that came from star trek it being about gender came later. I don’t think it was intended to be malicious or fetishize trans people fuck we don’t even know who made it, so they may be trans. It’s a secondary sex meaning you still have societies made up of gender roles like man, woman, ftm/mtf, and nonbinary then you have an add-on that doesn't replace anything really. 1/2

i cant feasibly respond to all of this but i did read it and im going to post it so other people can too

👍

#do you have a flowerfield in your head #long post

[bluiex]

So for Hades and Persephone myth. I don’t think there is a wrong way to interpret it since the beauty of Greek mythology is just how you interpret it and I love how everyone made it into a positive thing which I dig!

it’s a big FUCK YOU MISOGYNISTS FROM THE PAST WE MAKE PERSEPHONE A GIRLBOSS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY YOU HELPED CREATE!

But like it’s kinda fucked how this myth is now seen in one way since it was told so many times we don’t know the first word of mouth of it (but that’s the beauty of it! But god people like to die in their hills about myths, I just want it to be seen in every POV without taking away from the other. Like Hades and Persephone later not when she just gotten kidnapped get to be happy and in love, but that doesn’t take away the fear of Demeter thinking something horrible happened to Persephone and being rightfully scared given the context of Greek mythology)

Like this myth after so many times has been told by mouth and looses some of the story has painted Demeter as a helicopter mother instead of a mom who is so scared of her daughter getting kidnapped and hurt and when she looks away for a moment, Kore ( Persephone’s original name before it gotten changed) is nowhere in this plane, looking through the earth in grief, destroying it since she is the reason why the earth lives, and trying to see if she makes the earth die a lot so someone will fess up, and then being told by Zeus in a scared manner, “oh yeah I married Kore off without her or you knowing,” and just, fucking Greek poets favorite things to write about are goddesses being powerless in situations like this.

Look at Zeus’s wife being always being cheated on and made to be in the wrong if she retaliates (it’s a very unhealthy relationship that made the Trojan war rose), look at Ariadne being left behind to die by Theseus and not given much credit, look at Medusa being dragged into Athena’s temple by Poseidon and was turned into a gorgon without Poseidon getting any slack even by Athena herself!

and just, there’s so much misogyny put into these tales by the Greek poets. Every women in greek mythology is either a tragedy or is depicted as someone who’s in the wrong for everything.

It’s sad that when it comes to historical context and such, this myth was used to make kidnapping someone you’re going to court (even without talking to them at all) as fine and it just disgusts me. But it’s a melancholy but happy feeling of how we make this tragedy about a mother losing her daughter and destroying the earth to look for her into something completely else, but the feeling of how this myth was intended for is still there somehow.

Like as if making Hades completely innocent (he’s not fully innocent, he isn’t the perfect dude, very flawed but not entirely his fault for Zeus being a fucking asshole) and demonizing Demeter ( a lot of people make her out to be abusing Persephone even though she’s paranoid, and was proven right in her paranoia in the myth) is how we can make this a girl power depiction of this myth instead of the tragedy and horror in the older ones. I think that’s the scary part, we can erase so much without erasing history since this story was originally just word of mouth. That we make it girl power only in this way by demonizing Demeter, but not in other ways, and Persephone is powerful and stuff, she gained her merit but I don’t want every part of this myth’s flaws and traits changed to just support one side. It be best to account on how two truths can exist at once.

That’s the beauty of Greek mythology

- the anon who knows too much but too little about Greek mythology. Idk what to call myself

MMMMM GREEK MYTHOLOGY *slurps this up* But yeah this.. I love all your points in this dude. A lot of people don't really see it how a lot of this is actually told, how the men back then and how word of mouth makes it weird. Like the story itself its kinda fucked up in away, but like you said it shouldnt be changed to support one side but kept as is and seen that two truths can exist together.. But in a sense its like welp what can we do, its the internet now. ppl will make something its not, and run with it and twist it how they please to make themselves happy LOL But MAN i love greek mythology and this just made my night

#bluie gets an ask poggers #greek mythology #long post

[thatstudyblrontea]

Hi, I’m the female writer anon (I think that makes sense)

Anyway - thank you for replying and being so nice about it! I’ve had a little think about it since class and since I read your post and I think part of the reason I don’t really read any books by female authors is because I’m a queer man, and I just don’t have any interest in reading cis het romance/reading books from a female pov as it’s just not something I relate to or feel ‘comfortable’ reading. Obviously female writers don’t just write cis het books or books from a female pov but those are just the most recommended and most talked about ones. In fact, I just checked my shelves and I only own 8 books by female writers and of those 8, 6 of them are queer (mlm) books. I don’t really know what to say of that :/

I also find it interesting that for example I adored (and hated but not in a bad way) A Song Of Achilles but really didn’t enjoy Circe, despite them both being by the same author. I think this links back to my ‘only’ enjoying queer books (but also I’m a huge Greek mythology nerd and I find it so strange that there’s all these books being churned out about not so great female figures from history being reborn in this new light and how it’s not her fault and how it’s everyone else’s wrongdoings that made her become evil and really she’s such an angel despite the hundreds of thousand tales about said female that all follow the same chain of events, and how these new books just decide to ignore the facts in favour of painting the woman in a different light).

I don’t even know if any of what I’m saying makes any sense 😅 but I could talk about this topic endlessly and I’m just happy(?) that you didn’t shut me down!

But yes - I’d love non romantic (unless it’s queer) book recommendations from female authors as it’s clearly a huge gap in my reading preferences and I’d like to try and give female authors a chance.

Hi anon! I'm so glad you wrote back, and I gave more context. I too love to discuss books and literature freely and in depth, sadly the bookblr/studyblr community is too often more about aesthetic and achievements than constructive discussions and sharing of knowledge.

I will start by giving my very-unpopular opinion on rewritings such as Miller's. Having studied classics for five years, and having had a really, really good teacher, who was able to show us the complexity and depth of the characters from Ancient Greek mythology and literature, it really saddens me that the female ones have been flattened out buy some feminist critics, who can only see an acceptable female character in one that wins and is good and right all the time. Now, were many of these women depicted in a way that was biased by stereotypes and misogyny, and often gave them an excessive emotional reaction, or considered this reaction as a cause for evil? Yes. But I believe that if the feminist critique has to find such a fault, also has to understand that rewriting these myths and these characters from scratch won't do the trick, won't erase the misogyny; it will only cover it up, so that future readers won't be able to acknowledge its presence in the a culture that is rightly glorified for its richness and complexity. In short, accessible literary criticism and analysis >> pop culture rewritings.

Now back to your reading preferences. Everyone tends to prefer books that reflect their lives – it's normal and right that you enjoyed The Song of Achilles more, and that you prefer books that reflect your own experiences.

You know, I think that one can find something they can relate to in every well written book, regardless of the romantic pairings, or even the presence of one, or of the gender of the author. Of course, it takes a little more effort sometimes, like with experiences that are very different from ours; but in the end, it allows you two have multiple perspectives on the same matter, on life in general. Say, if I read a book with a mlm couple – taking on an attitude less of a fangirl and more of an attentive reader, of course –, I may find elements that are hardly ever portrayed in wlw or wlm couples, but that I can relate to, or that can help me fix real life problems by offering a new perspective.

Personally, I've never been particularly fond of romance in books, but replying to your asks made me realize that I actually don't have many books by female authors that are not about romance, and that is something that I really want to fix in the future. I'm sure there are plenty of well written, deep books that don't write about romance in a frivolous or stereotypical way (nothing wrong with enjoying that, but it's just not my cup of tea!) that are waiting to be discovered. In the meantime, I renew the recs from my previous answer: I fell in love with Atwood's writing style, and while there's a het relationship somewhere that I didn't particularly enjoy, it takes up 3/4 pages out of a few hundreds, and the rest is absolutely worth reading; The Last Cato has a het romance, too, but it comes really late in the book and it's very subtle, definitely sidelined by a heeeaavy historical thriller/almost fantasy plot that is never boring, never too much, mostly thanks to the fact that it's narrated in first person by a Sicilian nun. Wow, I need to reread this one soon!

Thank you for giving me the possibility to share my otherwise unprompted opinions – that I'm slightly afraid to share actually, but which I don't believe are excessively radical, also this is my blog, so yeah. Here they are.

Feel free to add your (respectful, polite) opinion folks, and especially drop book recs for anon and me if you have any!

#ask #asks #answered ask #classic literature #literary theory #literary criticism #literary critique #feminist literature #healthy feminism #tagamemnon #female author #literature #book recommendations #book recs #bookblr #books #booklr #book discourse #book discussion

[dykeotomy]

i've been reading through the radfem tag and it just really astonishes me how a good chunk radfem vs libfem debate (from my point of view; I haven't been reading too much so maybe I'm missing an important key point) could be solved of we treated words we use for ourselves as part of our presentation.

If a gnc woman presents masculinely thought clothing, body language, etc (being really stereotypical for the sake of clarity here) then what's stopping us from considering things like pronouns part of our presentation too? Trans spaces already widely accept that the pronouns don't equal gender, and radfem spaces think the same (though you do equate sex and gender) so by extension other words would also fall under the "presentation" category: a female that wants to appear completely masculine because that's how she feels more comfortable may also want to be referred to by other pronouns and be called masculine terms as part of her own presentation. I just feel like this is a brick wall that is really paper thin and that if both radfems and libfems talked about these things more we could reach agreements so much more easily, specially now that in the us abortion rights are in danger those of us who are affected by this should unite instead of fight over semantics, specially because this is a medical issue where transness shouldn't be an obstacle because both libfems and radfems agree on the fact that only cis women and trans men should have an important voice regarding abortion -L.A

i agree with you that there’s a lot of things we can and should be compromising more on, but i think we’re still misunderstanding each other.

i don’t think radfems equate sex and gender. we advocate for the abolition of gender, and we don’t think sex can be changed, but we know gender is a real social phenomenon and there are trans people who have effectively switched their gender roles. we aren’t denying that—we are having conversations about the misogyny involved in that.

i never understood the talking point of “pronouns don’t equal gender.” of course pronouns equal gender. they are quite possibly the most gendered part of speech that exists in the english language (and many other languages as well). generations upon generations of english-speakers equating pronouns with gender cannot be erased by trans academic theory. that is simply not how language and culture work.

in my perfect, ideal world, there would be no need to change terms based on presentation because gender wouldn’t mean anything. i do think it’s misogynistic to equate masculine presentation to being less womanly. “man” and “woman” should not express or communicate anything about a person other than their sex. i should not be able to assume anything about a person’s personality, aesthetic, or presentation based off that information. it is gender that complicates this, and it is misogyny that created gender roles.

i understand that people experience dysphoria based off gender presentation—i have a lot of sympathy for this and i know it must be really difficult. but this is only one more reason for me to NOT believe in trans theory. why should i support a system that cannot exist without gender roles?

ignoring the reason why abortion rights are being taken away (the state wanting control over women) does nothing for any female human, be it a “cis” woman or trans man. we are being targeted because we are female and because female people are an oppressed class. changing genders does not relieve anyone of this oppression.

side note; i believe it is precisely trans activism’s fault that it’s more difficult for trans men to have access to reproductive care than it is for women. advocating for self-ID to be used on legal documents does strip you of certain sex based rights—which is wrong, imo, but happens—walking into a planned parenthood as a transitioned trans man who only wants to be called a man is bound to be confusing. again, i’m not condoning this behavior from medical professionals, but it is not some huge government conspiracy that trans men find it harder to have access to women’s spaces. they removed themselves from these spaces and then demanded to be included again, when the space was already inclusive of them from the beginning.

great to hear from you again! sorry for the late reply, i’ve hardly had a day off work

#asks #gender critical #reproductive rights #LA asks