#nor is it aimed at any specific individual

[gendiebrainrotreceipts]

Lmaoo they make it sound like I’m out here doxxing, harassing or threatening people when the extent of what I do is literally just ‘look at this bad take that is the product of gender ideology’

#‘personal information’ you make it sound as if I have their home address… #do you mean their blog name because that’s the extent of any personal info i have on people #why are they so dramatic all of the time…. #also idk what call out posts they’re talking about tbh…do they mean the receipt posts? idk #gendie brainrot receipts #gender critical #radfem safe #and op I really don’t have to look that hard for homophobic and misogynistic takes in gendie circles #nor is it aimed at any specific individual

[pocketsizedquasar]

TPOC-Prioritized writings on anti-transmasculinity / transandrophobia

transandrophobia / anti-transmasculinity are both theories that have been spearheaded primarily by trans poc, particularly Black transmascs and transfemmes.

unfortunately, as with Everything created by queer and trans poc, particularly Black queer ppl, white trans ppl (regardless of gender, and regardless of whether they "believe" in this form of oppression or not) have coopted these theories and dominated these conversations, such that both "sides" of the "discourse" are divorced entirely from the racial connotations in which these theories were created, and the ways in which they were created specifically as an intervention against white feminism, and to highlight the ways multiple marginalizations affect the marginalization of masculinity. these are theories that explicitly interact with and can only be understood in conjunction with transmisogyny, as well as other oppressions like racism and misogynoir.

*"anti-transmasculinity" as a term and theory was coined by Black trans folks (some of whom's writings are linked below), and is specifically a theory within the context of Black transfeminism antiBlackness, and transmisogynoir, and cannot be divorced from that context. i try be very intentional about my use of the terms 'anti-transmasculinity' and 'transandrophobia' in different places here, because i do not want to dilute the former’s very particular context.

anyway, here's a list of miscellaneous writings on the subjects, with a priority for collecting writing from trans poc (not all of the authors are tpoc, but this list was intended to prioritize tpoc voices). the intention of this is not to be a be-all end-all on the subject, nor exalt any one of these individuals or pieces as exclusively ~correct~ or whatever, but to combat the whitewashed nature of these discussions online, and raise awareness to the myriad of people speaking on this subject. (nor do i claim to speak for any of them, or claim that any of them speak for me. i tried to make sure i didn't platform blatant racists, zionists, transmisogynists, or other bigots, but i'm not pretending to be 100% accurate about that.)

they aren't in any particular order (except the first one, which i think is an extremely foundational text for anti-transmasculinity theory as delineated by its creators, within the context of antiblackness and transmisogyny, and necessary reading to understand anti-transmasculinity as a theory). I tried to group all the links from the same authors together.

This is a non-exhaustive list! I will likely come back and add more writings as I find them. please feel free to recommend to me any works to include (including your own! especially if you yourself are a Black trans person or a trans POC).

Now with an Archived Read-more Link!

Racial-Class Paternalism and the Trojan Horse of Anti-transmasculinity by Nsámbu Za Suékama. if you read nothing else from this list, read this.

“But even as TME struggles escape the mainstream imagination, they persist, and are often both fueling and being fueled by the war on trans women and transfeminine people. Nothing makes this clearer than in how a Western binary system triangulates that war with Anti-transmasculinity. This is why I say that Anti-transmasculinity is a Trojan horse for Transmisogyny. Like the wooden horse in the Greek myth, it might not seem like what it is, for its actual contents and character are invisible, but at the heart of it, there is a violent campaign going on that is key to how the West aims to lay seige to its civilizational "enemies." And, like the walls of the city of Troy, materialist transfeminism has fortified the opposition to Western domination, in such a way that to overcome the stronghold requires a new strategy for the Man, one that follows up the open and vicious attacks on TMA people with a different, more hidden form of warfare.”

“today’s gender paternalism frames any manhood and masculine embodiment outside of (western) cisheteronormativity as not just biologically illegitimate but also the result of a barbaric threat to civilization. And who typically figures as the face of that barbarism but the Black trans woman? Materialist transfeminism has to theorize Anti-transmasculinity.”

"Non-Men", maGes, and Black Masculinities by genderfugitive / disrupthehuman

One such argument, which is really a collection of arguments but can be consolidated into one, is that trans men are attempting to take a place alongside cis men in the hierarchy of patriarchy. In other words, while they may not have been so before naming themselves as trans men, they are aspiring to be oppressors. This employs a number of rhetorical devices that I have identified before including the idea that trans men are “betraying” cis womanhood and therefore should be seen as threats unless they act as footsoldiers for transmisogyny. The problem with this is that it treats trans manhoods as embodiments that exist as something which merely aspires to be cis manhood.

"For Those Seeking Fight or Flight: Black Trans*feminist Nihilism" / primer on transmisogynoir by genderfugitive / disrupthehuman (not about anti-transmaculinity specifically (though it does come up), but a very good + important read on Black transfeminism & transmisogynoir, so I'm including it)

anti-transmasculinity needs its own theorizing outside of general "transphobia" by genderfugitive / disrupthehuman

anti-transmasculinity & antiblackness inherently linked (& another) both by genderfugitive / disrupthehuman

There is a hidden epidemic of violence against transmasculine people by Orion Rodriguez

a thread master post linking to multiple threads about anti transmasculinity by Salem L. Void / thewarmvoid

a thread on anti-transmasculinity as an epistemic injustice (translated) originally by magicspeedwagon in French; English translation by Salem L. Void / thewarmvoid

Not transmasc invisibility, but erasure by Salem L. Void / thewarmvoid

Girlboy Boygirl Blues - antitransmasculinity as a denial of individual history & more by Salem L. Void / thewarmvoid

"irl we just kiss" - ‘transmasc vs transfem’ discourse & reactionary ‘boys vs girls’ politics in trans spaces by Salem L. Void / thewarmvoid

transmascs & being treated as predatory by Salem L. Void / thewarmvoid

transmasc mental health statistics by Salem L. Void / thewarmvoid

violent anti-transmasculine hate crimes by Salem L. Void / thewarmvoid

thread on examples of systemic anti-transmasculinity by magicspeedwagon

a thread on anti-transmasculinity and its erasure by storyjunkie

anti transmasculinity & transmisogyny and the degendering of Black people by afrodykee

anti transmasculinity & transmisogyny cannot be theorized in opposition to each other by afrodykee

white transfeminism's anti-transmasculinity by afrodykee

Black trans people & erasure of TPOC voices from the trans community by thatspookyagent

transmasculine nonwhite expereince by thatspookyagent

trans men being silenced by thatspookyagent

queer POC being pushed out of conversations by thatspookyagent

cis women's harm to trans men by novascotioducktoller w/ addition about TMOC by thatspookyagent

medical violence in anti transmasculinity by Caleb / sethpuertoluna

example of medical anti transmasculinity by Dominick / transguyenergy

response to inclusion of a trans man in an ad (thread) by Dominick / transguyenergy

anti-transmasculinity around periods by Dominick / transguyenergy

anti-transmasculinity towards pregnant trans men by Dominick / transguyenergy

transitioning as a transmasc of color by gendercriminals

white (cis) women & racist transandrophobia by dead-lavender-society

transandrophobia as an indigenous trans man by petrichorvoices

examples of transandrophobia by transvermin

the “lost lesbian” narrative & antitransmasculinity by vaguefiend

cis women & transandrophobia by vaguefiend

intersectionality & transandrophobia by visible-schizo-spectrum

more transandrophobia from cis women by cock-holliday

tl;dr : there’s LOTS of theory and discussions out there abt anti-transmasculinity, transandrophobia, how these things relate to other forms of transphobia, how it interacts with other marginalizations, most especially race, and the ways in which it affects transmascs. this information is everywhere. it’s out there. y’all (white ppl) are just refusing to engage with it.

#trans #lgbtq #queer #transphobia #transandrophobia #anti transmasculinity #transmisogyny #racism #long post #quasartalks #been compliling this for ages but i think it's finally at a point where i feel comfortable posting it #like i said though it is very much subject to change! i would love to add more things to this #it is extremely shitty that discussions on antitransmasculinity and transandrophobia have been dominated on here by racist yt ppl and their #token trans poc that they so clearly are just using as a shield against when ppl call them out on aforementioned racism. #anyway. dont bother clowning on this post i will just block <3 #so much of this 'discourse' boils down to: transmascs and trans men (esp transmascs of color) saying: 'hey i experience this thing' #and other ppl (esp white ppl!) going 'no you don't.' it's so blatant lmao #it's just the complete denial of our Authority to talk about our own experiences. we are not trusted to be authorities on our own lives. #which. where have i heard that before. smells like racism. smells like misogyny. #also bc ppl can't read: none of this means transmascs have it worse than transfemmes; that transfemmes oppress transmascs; or that these #-experiences ONLY happen to transmascs. those are all extremely bad faith readings of these discussions. #AND ALSO to the (especially white) transmascs who also can't read and take these discussions as excuses to be racist & transmisogynist: #we cannot combat transandrophobia & anti transmasculinity without combating transmisogyny. they are linked. #anyway. good night

[communistkenobi]

the individual intentions of the writers feels kind of secondary when talking about how reactionary the mandalorian has become, but if you wanted to be extremely generous about what’s going on, I think that the very simple and boring answer is that there is no financial incentive to care about what happens in the show anymore. Disney lost over a billion dollars on Disney+ last year, despite the wild success of the mandalorian and other D+ shows. I’m assuming the primary way they make money is off of mando and baby yoda merchandise - this would explain why the showrunners reunited both of them before the first episode of the third season even aired. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the mandalorian now exists primarily to sell the mandalorian merchandise. it has become an advertisement for itself.

and this would explain a lot! It explains why virtually all of the narrative threads from the previous two seasons have either been dropped or quickly resolved. It explains the exponential increase in nauseating Star Wars references like “Han shot first” “it’s a trap” yoda doing backflips etc. It explains why Din has become something of a zombie, going through the motions without any particular motivation beyond whatever deranged escapade he and Bo-Katan get up to on a given week. There’s no point to caring because the only real pressure is getting eyes on the screen and selling more baby yoda stickers. This is why we went from an Ahsoka cameo in season 2 (an obvious ploy to launch another show but still somewhat reasonable for the story) to having Lizzo and Jack Black in season 3 (literally no narrative reason at all). Those celebrities are really popular and their inclusion in the show produces media headlines that combine their names with the mandalorian, optimising search engine results and presenting the opportunity to sell merchandise to Jack Black and Lizzo fans, even if they aren’t Star Wars fans.

but the shape of this not-caring takes on a particular political form in the show - its lack of care for politics doesn’t equally produce progressive and reactionary political conflict, it’s only reactionary. And one of the reasons for this is because I think a lot of pre-existing Star Wars canon, which this show is leaning more and more heavily on, is so politically fraught that using it without thinking about it produces reactionary narratives. I think this is a large reason why 3x03 was so deeply disturbing politically, because it was all set-up for the arrival of the First Order in the Sequel Trilogy. The show doesn’t seem to take any specific perspective on this aside from telling the audience that its all very ominous, but it’s only ominous because the First Order are established as the villains of the Sequels, not because the rise of fascism in a fictional world is a specific horror that Favreau wants to explore, and the reasons for its rise are extremely lazy, boiling down to “the government is too wrapped up in bureaucratic processes to care and too forgiving of the empire to notice.”

and two I think that in general, positioning your story in opposition to politics - not a specific set of political beliefs, just “politics” as a whole - also produces de facto reactionary narratives. the show is not espousing any positive beliefs about what an ideal world may look like, nor is it precise in its criticisms about what it believes to be the flaws that currently exist in the present day world. It’s just against bureaucracy in general, democracy in general, technology in general. and the show abdicates responsibility for taking a position on why it thinks any of these things are bad. Din dismissively scoffs “politics” in 3x06, perhaps the laziest possible admission that the show is not interested in exploring anything it considers political, and aims to position the characters as being outside of politics. but that itself is a reactionary position, to assume that presenting a “direct democracy” as an overly-decadent, hyper-tolerant society who is too scared to give cops guns but will arm citizens if their cultural “feelings” allow them to carry firearms as “not political.” Again to be way too overly generous, perhaps Favreau is attempting to wave in the general direction of current society and say wow doesn’t this suck! too much democracy produced trump, too much technology produced ipad babies, too much bureaucracy produced complicated tax forms. That’s still stupid and wrong but it’s at least not an openly fascist position. but when you don’t confront those things as political and just say “they suck” in a way that you believe to be outside of politics, the perspective you take is that of a reactionary. a refusal to confront what you consider political is itself a political position, one where you intentionally shrink your imagination of politics to, like, government employees who work at the government building, and everything outside of it is just “natural” society - or, in this case, deeply unnatural, perverted by politics. the only apparent solution for the political conflicts in the show is to scale back “the politics” that are preventing natural society from flourishing. That’s fucking reactionary! and like sorry to pull this card but the whole “I’m above politics” schtick has a pretty extensive history of appearing in fascist slogans, from Mussolini to fucking Alex Jones, a rallying cry that these people eternally get behind - “We’re above the Left-Right divide.” positioning yourself as above politics is itself a political act, one that has a lot of baggage that, by virtue of positioning yourself as being too good for politics, you will not engage with.

so like I don’t know if Favreau is “really” a reactionary. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter because his current cultural output is deeply reactionary. but I don’t think any of this is done with intentional malice. I think when you turn art into a purely financial instrument you produce art that is fascist by default, because its only goal is to concentrate financial and political power for the ruling class by appealing to “common man” interests like. fucking Star Wars!!!!!!

#mando.txt #sw.txt #mando spoilers #mando meta

[hiiragi7]

Parts language is not dehumanizing, but the way people in the plural community treat parts language makes me feel dehumanized as a person who uses parts language.

I was reading that damn "Why the Theory of Structural Dissociation is Ableist" article written by Stronghold and released by the plural association (bluntly, I find it to be a very poorly written article - not in its strongly worded opinions, but because it spreads blatant misinformation regarding the success of final fusion based on a study the author did not understand, and I also find the piece to be incredibly ableist against systems who use parts language and seek final fusion).

Specifically, I want to talk about this paragraph from the article today, as I find it illustrates a lot of the problems that I have encountered in the plural community with regards to parts language:

Although I do not think personalities is the right term for us, nor is the word parts. It is derogatory, dehumanizing & it is taking away from our autonomy, roles and authenticity as individuals. And so I often wonder whether the alter integration they desire, equals just not being Plural anymore in the minds of the writers of Structural dissociation. If it does, it makes sense to diminish us to parts. And it also makes sense to claim “no one has to go away”, if they never believed we are separated in the first place. After all, it is the ‘experience of separation’, not actual separation, as they say, we did not split off. So was using the term ‘parts’ in 1987 progressive, or a step to further diminish, gaslight and silence us?

While I find questioning the intentions of the authors valuable and think it is important to explore whether any given medical intervention is truly aimed at individual wellbeing or whether its goal is normality and conforming to ableist ideas of what health looks like, I find it completely unnecessary to shit on parts language in order to do that.

This idea that I or any other system which uses parts language is "diminished" to parts carries the implication that parts are something less-than, undesirable, or have less value than systems which are not parts. This narrative is surprisingly anti-system for an organization which claims to be "empowering those with Dissociative Identity Disorder, OSDD and all other forms, labels and experiences of Plurality."

I am not diminished to parts; my parts are me, and I am a person. I cannot be diminished by my own personhood.

Additionally, the idea that parts language is "derogatory, dehumanizing, and takes away from our autonomy, roles, and authenticity as individuals" may imply that systems which use parts language are self-harming, that they are being derogatory and dehumanizing towards themselves, and stripping themselves of their own autonomy and individuality. This is an extremely negative and biased view of not only parts language but also those who use parts language as well. I use parts language for myself out of self-love, not hate.

Further, if we are to acknowledge plurality as a spectrum, then even if parts language really did mean system members were less individual from each other, how is that a bad thing? Median systems have long existed and have described their experiences as "different versions of me" or "different modes"; why is this fine, but saying you have parts as a system is not? Why is there such a focus on individuality and personhood to the point that it excludes those systems who do not experience their systemhood in that way? In what way is that inclusive?

Parts language should not be forced onto anyone, as it is important in general not to force a view of self onto someone that does not align with how they identify; yet, it feels as though people completely forget that rule when sentiments such as "your system members are 100% different people" or "calling your system members parts is derogatory and you are dehumanizing them" are pushed onto people as some sort of objective truth. That is just not how my system works; It would be just as wrong to say my system is not parts as it would be to say to a system who is not parts that they're actually parts.

Critiquing the language which medical professionals use to describe the experiences of their patients has its place, absolutely, however you must also have a level of respect for the people who relate to and use that language that all too often is lacking.

#didosdd #parts language #ableism #dissociative identity disorder #complex dissociative disorder #syscourse #?

[avikats66]

You know what, I’m getting real tired of calling people Pro-Life when they are really just Anti-Abortion and do exactly nothing to save or even just marginally improve the quality of the lives of any actual human person who has been born - including the same infants and children who were once the fetuses they were so concerned with saving.

Edit: I am not saying that every pro-life individual or organization does nothing to help and/or save the lives of born people (often specifically focusing on infants/children and their parents/caretakers, especially those who might otherwise have been aborted/got an abortion). Nor am I saying that every pro-choice individual or organization is out there giving their all to help/save lives and support infants/children and their parents/caretakers. This post specifically calls out pro-lifers who aim to stop other people from getting abortions without taking any other sort of “pro-life” action to help or save any life that isn’t a fetus, embryo, or blastocyst.

If your pro-life agenda is to help and provide support for infants/children and their parents/caretakers, then I am in full support. If your pro-life agenda is to help and provide support for infants/children and their parents/caretakers and stop people from being able to get abortions under whatever circumstances you don’t agree with, then I am in support of the former but not the later. If your pro-life agenda is to stop people from being able to get abortions under any circumstance you don’t personally agree with - then I am in full opposition.

Thanks to everyone who shared their own thoughts in the comments. One of the reasons I post is to get feedback and learn new insights/information. However, I now ask that you please do not respond if you only mean to spew rhetoric and/or insults at me.

#pro choice #abortion is a human right #abortion is healthcare #real stuff #my thoughts #bodily autonomy

[tavyliasin]

The Scent of Cinnamon Masterlist

Links to the Raphael and Haarlep Prequel fanfic series The Scent Of Cinnamon.

About the Fic

A prequel to the events of Baldur's Gate 3, exploring the relationship between Raphael and Haarlep from the moment they first meet and following through several key events in their long and storied history together as both seek their own goals and find how they connect between them.

There will be a lot of smut in the works, as well as a fair amount of angst and character exploration. I aim to keep clear tagging of each individual chapter as the content will vary and I would rather allow people a choice to skip parts of the story if there are tags they dislike, or to easily bookmark and return to tags that they adore~

There is no set schedule due to life factors and multiple ongoing series that I switch between, but comments and interactions do help to inspire work on it.

Notes: Haarlep will always be referred to with they/them pronouns in this piece and will utilise shapeshifting. The story is built from the scraps of lore we see in the game alongside my own interpretations of both characters and the potential depths lurking behind them.

My headcanons are entirely my own and I completely respect (and truthfully also adore) other interpretations of the characters and story. Please feel free to contact me to discuss the story and characters or anything else about the work, and I welcome Beta readers who are willing to give feedback and corrections to improve the work both before and after publishing (sometimes mistakes slip through the net, so please let me know to fix things here if needed)

Chapter Links Below The Cut

Series Playlist

Each chapter has a song assigned that has lyrics and/or a mood that matches the tone and story in that chapter. The main post will also contain a cut of the lyrics that I feel best match what I'm expressing with the song choice. They're all very optional! But I'll put the Spotify list here for anyone who is interested in it.

The Cambion, The Gift, and The Contract

Raphael has a new home, but the halls are remarkably empty. Mephistopheles has seen fit to send him a gift, though as with all things in the Hells, nothing is ever quite so simple... Meanwhile, an incubus with no name stands in front of a portal, ready to take the first step in the only plan they have left. One that will either secure their future or seal their fate... 4,301 Words

Summary: Raphael and the incubus meet for the first time, and the specifics of a contract are worked out between the pair. Pairing: Raphael/Haarlep SPICE Rating: 0.5/5  Content Warnings: Mild power play. There's not a lot of spice in this one, it's the following chapters that will raise that bar~

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The Scent of Cinnamon 2 - The Contract, The Kiss, and The Cambion's Pride

With the talking over, it is time for the deal to be sealed. However, Haarlep is not willing to relinquish their physical form so quickly, nor are they in any rush to finalise the contract with Raphael without enjoying it first. 4,965 Words

Summary: Haarlep draws out the first kiss into far more devious uses of their own lips as well as Raphael's. They will ensure he doesn't forget a single thing about them. The sound of their voice, the feel of their touch, the taste of their- Pairing: Raphael/Haarlep SPICE Rating: 3.5/5  Content Warnings: Oral Sex, Shapshifting, Power Play, Mild Choking, BDSM, Aphrodisiacs, Incubus Kiss, Mild Blood, Mild Humiliation/Name Calling

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The Deal, The Devil, and The Promise Beyond

The deal is finalised as Raphael and Haarlep continue their night together, sealing the contract with sex that will quite literally be life changing for both but not in the hyperbolic manner most would assume from the thought. For Haarlep, they take on the identity they have been given, sacrificing their physical form to take the shape of the man who owns them. For Raphael, he has fully accepted an incubus spy into his House and his bed, and despite his best laid plans he has not fully realised the consequences of the terms of that deal. 4,708 Words

Summary: Haarlep reaches the conclusion of the deal, but is in no rush to end the encounter before both of them are fully satisfied. The night, just like their body, must be unforgettable... Pairing: Raphael/Haarlep SPICE Rating: 4/5  Content Warnings: Power Play, Oral Sex, Anal Sex, Aphrodisiac, Mild Praise Kink, Porn with Plot, Mild Pain Play

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The Morning, The Tailor, and The Fit of the Glove

Raphael wakes up to the consequences of the deal he made the night before, and realises Haarlep has no clothes to wear save for his own which are somehow a poor fit on his copied body. A trip to Waterdeep sparks more conflict as the two fiends begin to find their places with each other, pushing each others boundaries. Haarlep also has to reckon with the consequences of their end of the bargain, with shadows of their past biting at their heels. 5,139 Words

Summary: The pair head out to Waterdeep to a tailor who can make something for Haarlep to wear other than Raphael's old clothes that feel like a poor fit on the incubus' borrowed body. Pairing: Raphael/Haarlep SPICE Rating: 0.5/5  Content Warnings: Mild Power Play, Mild Angst, ---

The Night, The Incubus, and The Empty Bed

Raphael has left Haarlep to the Boudoir, settling to go over some contracts. The incubus, on the other had, is restless, unused to their new shape... 4,893 Words

Summary: Haarlep takes the time to get to know their new body, much to Raphael's frustration... Pairing: Raphael/Haarlep SPICE Rating: 2/5  Content Warnings: Mild Power Play, Mild Angst, mild emotional hurt/comfort, Mild Use of Safe Word, Masturbation, Edging, Teasing, Massage, Maybe DubCon if you really squint at it.

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Scent of Cinnamon 6 - The Command, The Deal, And The Touch of Serendipity

Continuing directly from the last installment in this series, Raphael has agreed that it might be easier to get used to feeling Haarlep's effect on his body if he watches and instructs them on what to do. A simple task, or so he thought before he realises now that he has to actually decide what he wants. Meanwhile, the incubus is more than happy to tease their new master with the illusion of control.

3,928 Words

Summary: Raphael instructs Haarlep on exactly how to touch his...their body, while he watches Pairing: Raphael/Haarlep SPICE Rating: 3.5/5  Content Warnings: Mild Power Play, Mild Angst, Masturbation, mild alcohol mention, implied sounding (but no actual sounding), Aphrodisiacs (with consent)

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More to follow!

BONUS - SFW(ish) EDITS!

I'm editing this fic to remove the smut, making it...not SFW but a lot closer. It's coming out as a little fun, and a little silly as all sexual references are replaced with hugs or snacks~

For now I only have the first chapter on here because it takes time to copy out of my docs, but I'll swap this link for the masterlist link once I have one!

#FanFiction Series #the scent of cinnamon #baldurs gate 3 #haarlep #bg3 raphael #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 #fanfic #masterlist #fanfic masterlist #prequel #prequel fic

[eretzyisrael]

by Zach Kessel

Last week, I wrote about the upcoming Palestine Writes Literature Festival, to be held at the University of Pennsylvania from September 22 to 24. Featuring as speakers noted antisemites, running the gamut from Marc Lamont Hill to Roger Waters, the festival promises to be a veritable cornucopia of hatred of Jews: calls for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the land of Israel, accusations of Jews being subhuman, insinuations that a Jewish cabal controls American media, you name it. If it’s a form of antisemitism, it’s sure to be found on Penn’s campus this weekend. I hope it’s a coincidence that the festival’s last day coincides with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism.

There’s an update to this story, and for those familiar with the rising tide of antisemitism on college campuses across the country, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Since the festival began drawing attention over the past week or so, there have been strident responses from the university’s Jewish alumni and supporters. More than 2,000 such concerned individuals signed an open letter sent to the university’s president, Liz Magill, urging her to issue a statement — without equivocating or falling into both-sides-ism, as higher-education administrators often do when they lack the courage to condemn antisemitism — “specifically denouncing the event’s platforming of known antisemitic speakers.” The letter’s authors noted that, had a university department sponsored a festival promoting anti-black or anti-Asian racism, homophobia, or any other kind of bigotry, there’s no question that Penn would immediately distance itself from and condemn the event. Of course, within the academy and progressive intelligentsia more broadly, Jews are themselves oppressors, and antisemitism isn’t a legitimate form of hatred deserving of attention.

Though the University of Pennsylvania does and should aim to foster an environment of free expression, the letter notes, “neither academic freedom nor freedom-of-speech principles prevent the university from using its own voice to speak out against antisemitism wherever and whenever it occurs, especially on campus.” The Palestine Writes organizers have a right to voice their opinions, but they do not have the right to do so on Penn’s land.

It turns out that’s too much to ask of Magill. In a statement obtained by Jewish Insider, she made perfunctory comments about how the university opposes all forms of hate including antisemitism, how Waters has been roundly condemned for his past words and actions, and how she is “personally committed more than ever to addressing antisemitism in all forms.” You’d think part of that commitment might entail disallowing such vile displays from taking place on the campus she runs. Apparently, at least in Magill’s eyes, it doesn’t. She invoked the university’s “responsibility to foster open dialogue and cultural diversity on campus.” But there’s a massive difference between open dialogue and cultural diversity and tacitly endorsing speakers who traffic in this kind of antisemitism.

And then, Thursday morning, something at once entirely predictable and yet bone-chilling for Penn’s Jewish students happened: A student at the university vandalized the school’s Hillel building. As the Daily Pennsylvanian reported, “a regular attendee” opened the building’s doors for a morning service, and the culprit entered:

“When I walked into Hillel, I noticed that the lobby was completely trashed — one of the podiums was smashed, one of the tables was smashed. There was stuff everywhere,” [University of Pennsylvania student Marc] Fishkind said. . . . “He immediately started smashing things, yelling ‘F**k the Jews’ and ‘They killed JC,’” Fishkind recounted from what he was told by someone who was there, adding that eventually, the perpetrator ran out of Hillel as the police arrived.

Make no mistake: As university president, Magill bears responsibility. By allowing the Palestine Writes Literature Festival to take place on her campus, and by allowing multiple academic departments to co-sponsor the event, she has helped foster an environment of antisemitism at Penn that empowers people like the student who vandalized the Hillel building. Magill doesn’t seem to understand that her inaction has consequences and that by building a permission structure for antisemitism, she has allowed antisemitic acts to occur.

It’s insane that we have to keep writing about events such as these. From my May 2022 piece in National Review:

Last month, several student groups signed a statement written by NYU School of Law’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter defending terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and accusing Zionists of controlling the media, a well-worn antisemitic canard. On April 26, Georgetown Law School’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter hosted Mohammed El-Kurd, an activist who has accused Israelis of harvesting the organs of dead Palestinians and of having “an unquenchable thirst for Palestinian blood & land.” In recent weeks, the Rutgers chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi — a historically Jewish fraternity — faced multiple incidents of antisemitic harassment. First, activists waving Palestinian flags yelled antisemitic slurs and spat at fraternity brothers. A few days later, vandals threw eggs at AEPi’s house during the fraternity’s Holocaust Remembrance Day proceedings — the second year in a row the house was egged during Yom HaShoah. On Saturday, April 23, at Northwestern, where I am an undergraduate, the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter organized a candlelight vigil and painted messages across Northwestern’s “Rock,” a boulder on campus that student organizations paint for various promotional purposes. By Tuesday morning, alongside the SJP chapter’s Instagram username, the rock bore the slogan “From the River to the Sea.”

Hatred of Jews on campus, of course, didn’t end in May 2022. Antisemitic attacks at American universities have nearly doubled in 2023, and almost 60 percent of Jewish college students in the United States have either experienced or witnessed antisemitism at their places of learning, according to an Ipsos poll. Another Ivy League school, Princeton University, has included on a humanities course syllabus the book The Right to Maim, which claims that Israelis harvest Palestinians’ organs, a variant on the time-worn “blood libel” canard.

The longer academic institutions take to actually address antisemitism on their campuses, the longer they’re allowing it to flourish. By hiding behind rote affirmations of a school’s commitment to diversity, to equity, to whatever progressive buzzwords they like to emblazon on their overpaid and underworked administrators’ doors — and by refusing to act when the time comes, like right now — university presidents like Liz Magill create the conditions in which, for instance, Hillel buildings are vandalized. I’m left with only one question: What did she think was going to happen?

#palestine writes literature festival #antisemitism #university of pennsylvania #campus antisemitism #liz magill

[psalm22-6]

The Continuing Saga of Les Misérables and Censorship

"Continuing" in that I continue to find out more about this one specific instance that took place in Philadelphia in the late 1890's. To recap, Miss Dalcourt, a French teacher at an all girl's high school, proposed an abridged version of Les Misérables as part of her curriculum. However, the majority of the school board voted that it should be banned, as the topic of "grisettes" was inappropriate. The story was picked up (and mocked) around the country, including in the Vestkusten and the Abendblatt (newspapers for Swedish and German immigrants, respectively.) [See here for the full saga.] @sherbertilluminated had previously translated an article for me from the Abendblatt, which told how Les Misérables was ultimately allowed in Miss Dalcourt's classroom and asked me to keep an eye out for any other German language articles on the subject. And so today Sheb and I (but mostly Sherb) bring you this opinionated piece from the Abendblatt, published the 13th of October 1897:

The decision of a committee of the Philadelphia School Board not to recommend Victor Hugo’s moral novel “The Poor and the Miserable” [Les Miserables] as a French text for the public high school for girls has aroused scrutiny and consistently suffered derogatory judgment. Superintendent Rover’s proposal to use the book in a girl’s school for instruction in the French language may appear conspicuous and could rather have deserved censure. One can find the goal of the author to introduce the reader into the lives of the lowest classes meritorious, and nevertheless need not consider the filth uncovered there to be a suitable intellectual nourishment for immature daughters. One does not lead the youth into those classes in real life, why should one then do so in school? The task of the school is to enrich the youth with knowledge, not with things whose acquaintance has a very dubious worth also for [those of] mature age. Novels will be written in order to create the largest possible draft; there the moral aim is least determinative and will be most highly followed, incidentally. And then the moral aim is not to make the uncorrupted youth acquainted with the blights of human society, but to make attentive toward suppressing these blights those who can work toward such. A teenage girl [“baked fish,” apparently a slang term?], seated at school, cannot do this. Certainly Hugo did not write the novel for school. That Victor Hugo’s books are found in our public library has long proven nothing. In our public library are found quite many books which were not designed for youth, as in our Art Institute are found quite many statues before which a chaste maiden need not linger in critical observation. One does not suit himself for all, neither in the visual arts nor in the scriptural. There are parents who would never ever, if they knew it, foist such reading material onto their children, but there are also parents who would, and those who would never ever, if they knew that Victor’s work “Les Miserables” also visited the [children] of the High School, would put it in their hands. We must thus defer to the committee. In any case, the judgment of a whole delegation, according to the trials put before them, is greater than the judgment of an individual who only admires the language in the work. The pupils of the Philadelphia High School are in any case not so advanced that they cannot know to differentiate between a work of Hugo’s and [that] of another of the better French writers. On this point we can be assured. Full respect to Hugo’s spirit and his creations, but also full respect to the discrimination of the Philadelphian committee, who, itself in danger of exposing itself to the accusation of prudery, has the courage to refuse the youth a dish which they still are incapable of digesting.

The bold parts are just me highlighting the parts I found most entertaining. Also, the whole second paragraph, where the author says that the goal of Les Mis is to effect change and that high school girls can't effect change....wow rude. I do love to read an opinionated article though, even if the opinion is not one I agree with. Anyways, thanks again to Sherb for sharing this with me! There are so many different archives online with materials in different languages, I would encourage anyone who is interested to check them out. When you find something really cool, an old article that probably hasn't been read in decades, it's an awesome feeling.

#les miserables #translation #les mis #censorship #lm in america #lm in education

[boozye]

I am a little curious about your thoughts on the relationship between Satan and Lucifer, considering they're a top two and have a strained dynamic! Feel like spilling?

I have just some thoughts.

Satan. Yeah he is calm, but if anything I'm the living testament that you can live out of spite and people can still think you are pretty chill (yes I may be projecting). And so, he is just so full of spite. Sure, noone asks to be born, but at least the rest of his brothers were made intentionally by The Creator™️. HE WAS A FUCKING ACCIDENT, HE WAS BORN OUT OF SCORN, DISAPPOINTMENT, FEAR, RAGE AND BITTERNESS. He is the residue of the war.

He is what's left.

And he knows this. Personally I shake my head whenever people imply Satan made any mental growth only thanks to MC. If anything, he is the only one who made any mental growth in the whole family before that. He chose who and how he was going to be, and did it. He is damn certain he is an individual outside of Lucifer's identity long before the idiot sheep arrives. By the time the program starts he has already separated himself from the origins of his birth, he is already in the process of being someone outside of that (it's others perception of it that bothers him). He's a socialite, he reads to have the power of knowledge. A power that he acquires by himself, outside of his family status. Think about it. Yeah, Lucifer is knowledgeable, but that's just something innate of him apparently, none of his other brothers seem that interested in academic knowledge.

And Lucifer... he was not fit as a parent figure, only as a brother. A brother who was recovering from one of the greatest injuries of his life. And who had to deal with 5 other wounded people, who looked to him for guidance.

They deserved better. Everyone deserved better.

Do you know, a big part of overcoming generational trauma sometimes is having enough self love to be mad? Because at the begining is normal to just feel miserable, and that you deserve everything that's been done to you. But as you recover and recognize what happened, some people react with rage. And it is righteous. Rage because you finally respect yourself enough to stand up for yourself. Rage because you realize you deserved better, and that you didn't deserve that harm, nor did your siblings. Rage at the injustice the very person who claims themelves "just" commited. The same being who deemed themselves fit to bring you upon existence, can just decide to take it all away. Can just decide to execute your sister. Rage rage rage, aimed directly at the center of your life. This is the rage I think Satan was born out of. Not the rage fueled by the adrenaline of a battle cry, not even for the aesthetic of some shallow bloodlust, no. Rage against their creator himself. Pure, righteous, certain, and insatiable.

And I think that specific sort of rage is relevant to who Lucifer and Satan are, and their relationship. Lucifer is still coming to terms with the fact that he felt an emotion that was probably ingrained into him as "wrong" during his time as an angel. To such a degree. And his time in the Devildom has let him feel more freely. Keep in mind that at the same time were, presumably, Satan's most formative years. I would not be surprised if not just Lucifer, but Satan also had had to do some of the comforting the rest of his hurt family.

#this wound up in my drafts somehow whoops #obey me #obey me swd #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me satan

[run-me-through-but-not-like-that]

Hi!! I had a random thought for Izzy where the reader wakes up really early one day and goes to make tea and Izzy walks in and startles them and they spill boiling water on their hand?? And then Izzy becomes like weirdly sweet and gets a cold rag or something and touches their hand slightly too long?? And they have a little moment?? This is so weirdly specific so sorry if you don’t like that kind of thing but I thought I’d ask if you’d write something like this anyway because I feel like you’d do it well❤️❤️

Clearly, I had no idea what to title this. Anything just something short and kinda sweet pre-relationship! I fully believe Izzy's love language is acts of service so tending to injuries is definitely a way he expresses his feelings!

When making a cup of tea goes wrong (but then goes right?):

It wasn't really like you to be up as soon as the sun began to rise, normally you aimed to get as much sleep as possible. To awake with the rest of the crew, sometimes after Roach had risen and already started on breakfast.

You had tried to fall back asleep but eventually gave up, hauling yourself out of your bunk and creeping out of the room as to not wake anyone else.

Deciding there wasn't much else to do with nobody else awake, you headed for the galley. Actually, a warm cup of tea to sip while sitting out on the deck to watch the sun finish rising sounded quite nice. So, you got to work on boiling some water.

You hummed one of the tunes that Frenchie often played as you prepared your cup and the tea leaves. Lifting the squealing teapot, you were just about to pour the water when the door to the kitchen abruptly opened.

Having been caught up in your own little world, the intrusion startled you. The way your body jumped wouldn't have been that big of a deal, if you hadn't been holding a pot of boiling water.

The boiling water poured straight over your hand that was holding the mug, causing you to withdraw, letting go of the teapot. Letting it smash against the floor.

"Fuck!" you shouted, followed by a litany of various other curses.

You instinctively clutched your wounded hand, thankfully not burning your other. Despite the door opening being the reason for your startle, you had completely forgotten about the door having opened until you began aware of something shuffling around the kitchen while muttering to themselves.

"Here," a gruff voice spoke, prying your hands apart to wrapping something around your wounded hand.

It was a cloth, a damp cloth. Somewhat soothing to the burns on your hand.

Blinking up at your assistant with tears in your eyes, you were taken back by the familiar face of Blackbeard's first mate.

"Thank you..."

Izzy glanced up at your face before turning his attention back to your hand. You slowly relax despite the pain, letting your hand unfurl. Izzy removed the cloth before neatly folding it and wrapping it around your hand properly.

"Hold this and go sit down," Izzy ordered, "what the shards." You nodded shakily, clumsily avoiding the pieces of shattered teapot before taking a seat at the table. Cradling your hurt hand.

Izzy didn't speak as he moved around the kitchen, nor when he joined you at the table with a bowl of cool water.

"Let me see your hand," you had never heard his voice so soft, finally not scolding you for something and helping instead.

Holding out your wrapped had, you allowed Izzy to take hold of your wrist, keeping your hand steady without touching any of the burns. He removed the cloth, placing it in the bowl of water before examining your hand.

His touch was surprisingly gentle as he turned your hand back and forth, even if he ignored your little sounds of pain here and there.

"Make a fist," he ordered and you did. "Release it," you did as he said, watching the intent look on his face. "Move your fingers individually," you wiggled your fingers, hissing as you did so.

"It hurts," you complained, as if that wouldn't be obvious.

"Of course it does, you poured boiling water over it," Izzy scoffed a little, but still brushed his thumb over the inside of your wrist in a somewhat soothing gesture.

"...is it bad?" you asked, assuming he had some sort of experience with this type of thing since he knew what to do and reacted so quickly.

"Dunno if it will scar, might though," he shrugged slightly, wringing out the cloth with one hand and bringing it back to your hand.

"That it?" you fought through your wince as he wrapped the cloth around your hand again.

"Honestly? It might effect the feeling in your hand but it's still functional, so just be grateful it wasn't your dominant hand," he told you. It wasn't completely reassuring but like it said, you hadn't lost function so it could have been worse.

"Thank you, Iz," you sighed, still letting him apply the pressure to your hand instead of doing it yourself. "Last time I ever get up early," you muttered to yourself.

"I don't think waking up early was the problem," Izzy hummed, tucking the cloth in a way that it would remain wrapped around your hand without you having to hold it.

"I swear I can normally handle making a cup of tea...I'm not that incompetent," you knew that the first mate already thought so lowly of you all, and you were certain this was only giving him more reasons to convince Blackbeard to just be done with you all.

"I know you're not," he assured you with a small sigh.

"...you do?" you asked, eyes widening slightly. Considering how much he berated the crew, it was definitely a surprise.

"One of the more competent members of Bonnet's fucking crew," he shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal.

"Well, from you, that sounds like a ringing endorsement," you teased, a smile taking over your face. Even if you were injured.

"Maybe...once your hand heals, you won't be working with the ropes for a while," he warned you, sure you wouldn't be using your hand much at all for a little while.

"Oh no, how tragic," you sighed dramatically.

Izzy have you a small smile of amusement, just a tug at the corner of his mouth really. You would have easily missed it if you weren't watching him so intently.

That's when you meet each other's gaze properly, the two of you lingering there for a moment.

That fragile moment was quickly shattered when the door swung open again and somebody walked in, making you both snap your heads towards the door. As if you had been caught doing something you shouldn't.

"Am I interrupting something?" Roach questioned with a smirk, eying the two of you before the shards of teapot scattered across the floor caught his attention. "What the fuck did you do?" the cook's attitude quickly changed, his smirk being replaced with a glare.

"Sorry, Roach, I'm sure we have another one, I'll clean it up," you promised, knowing how particular he could be about his kitchen.

"This is why I don't let people into my kitchen," Roach huffed but you knew he would forgive you, the others had done worse to the place.

Izzy rolled his eyes at the complaints before turning back to you. "I'll clean it up, you go ask Bonnet if he's got anything sort of fucking ointment or cream for burns. Probably does, fucking twat," he muttered, making sure the cloth was secure before releasing your hand.

"See, maybe he's no so useless either," you teased as you stood from the bench.

"Go on," Izzy scoffed, waving you off.

Once you were gone and the door was closed again, Izzy turned to Roach. "I'll send someone to clean that up. Just boil water in a pot like a normal fucking pirate," Izzy told him before leaving as well, letting Roach complain to himself.

#izzy hands x reader #israel hands x reader #izzy hands #ofmd izzy #our flag means death #ofmd

[coochiequeens]

“Any person or group with good intentions does not vilify parents, purposely mislead the public nor regard themselves as above reproach. These are clear red flags,” Kimmel said.

ByShay Woulahan

July 24, 2023

A mother in Ireland was visited by police after she raised concerns about the speaker and content of a “family friendly” event which had been aimed at discussing the medical and social transitioning of children.

On July 19, Tara Hewitt, the newly-appointed head of Ireland’s largest trans activist organization, led a discussion regarding the medical transitioning of children. The event, “TENI & Tea,” took place with the support of Donegal County Council.

But the event drew concerns from women’s rights advocates in the community, especially those particularly concerned with child safeguarding. As the event was billed as “family-friendly,” many began to point out that Hewitt had a disturbing history of opposing safeguarding measures and had previously signed a declaration calling for the release of all trans-identified inmates, including pedophiles, from prison.

Last week, Jennifer Kimmel, a local women’s rights campaigner, expressed her concerns when speaking with Reduxx about the event. Kimmel pointed out that Hewitt, the new CEO of Trans Equality Network Ireland (TENI), was a self-professed BDSM fetishist.

Kimmel called into question the motives of the event organizers, Bród na Gaeltachta and TENI, for targeting minors and “vilifying” concerned parents.

“Any person or group with good intentions does not vilify parents, purposely mislead the public nor regard themselves as above reproach. These are clear red flags,” Kimmel said.

But Kimmel’s concerns about the event quickly attracted the attention of trans activists, who characterized her Tweets as “hate speech.”

Speaking to Reduxx, Kimmel explained that in response to her vocal opposition to the event, trans activists involved with “TENI & Tea” reported her to law enforcement, citing “concerns about the safety of their staff” and accusing Kimmel of “hate speech.”

On July 20, a police officer visited her home, where she said she was then “lectured about being homophobic.”

The police officer gave her a warning, stating she was treading a “fine line” and had been reported by the main organizers of “TENI & Tea,” Robbie Matthews and Pól Penrose. The officer dismissed her concerns and told her that she should “run her own event.”

Leading up to the arrival of an officer on her doorstep, Kimmel says she had called Pobail le Chéile, a local “social inclusion” voluntary organization in which Penrose is involved. Her intent was to raise safeguarding concerns given Hewitt’s history.

Kimmel explained to law enforcement that she had not harassed any particular individual, and had only called to inform the community group about the potential risk to children. She also told the officer that the event staff had insulted her in a variety of ways, calling her a “bigot, fascist, homophobe, anti-gay, cockroach, and TERF,” slurs which had led to her to receiving harassment.

Speaking with Reduxx about her interaction with the officer, Kimmel said: “I am a local mother who is very familiar with the damage trans ideology can do to women and our children. I simply attempted to register my child safeguarding concerns about the upcoming TENI event specifically targeting children.”

She continued: “This was framed as ‘far right bigotry‘ and I was referred to as anti-gay, a cockroach, fascist and a Nazi by the men promoting the events who thwarted all my attempts to address this matter through proper channels.”

She then explained that the men promoting the event purposely put her and her family in danger by referring to her in an extremist and derogatory manner.

But despite local opposition, the event went ahead as planned on July 19, and was categorized as a “health class” on Eventbrite. According to the registration page, the discussion, led by Hewitt, was meant to “provide up to date information, knowledge and allow for discussion on how best to support trans and non-binary young people.”

Tara Hewitt was previously the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group. In his role, Hewitt requested that medical personnel ignore a guidance put forward by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) preserving single-sex spaces for women receiving health services. Hewitt also branded the guidance by the EHRC as “transphobic” and urged his colleagues within the NHS to ignore its guidance. 

“This guidance is highly likely to be found unlawful at Judicial review & is incredibly transphobic … When will attacks on trans people end in UK? I urge my equality professional colleagues to give this guidance the credibility it deserves by putting it in bin & continue as usual,” Hewitt said.

With his statement, Hewitt deliberately ignored a widely-publicized incident that had occurred one month prior wherein a woman who had been raped in a single-sex hospital ward by a trans-identified male was told her assailant was a “woman.”

Hewitt has been politically active in both Labour and, more recently, the Conservative Party, for which he stood as a councilor. During his campaign it emerged that he had an interest in BDSM and dressing up as an animal during sex, euphemistically referred to as “furrydom.” He is also known for openly having discussed the acceptance of men with sexual fetishes at events focused on healthcare. 

During a 2016 presentation for the LGBT Cancer Support Alliance, Hewitt spoke about men who cross-dress for sexual pleasure, and clarified that men who wear women’s underwear to satisfy a fetish are included under the trans umbrella.

Speaking to a room filled with women, Hewitt claimed: “You’ve got people that fetishistically cross-dress and wear clothing to get a sexual desire out of the clothing of the opposite gender. It generally tends to be associated with men wearing women’s underwear.”

At the same presentation, Hewitt revealed that he had also worked with Action for Trans Health, an organization which published a manifesto demanding the immediate release of all trans criminals from prison.

“We demand that trans people are immediately freed from police, military, and government contracts without repercussions. We reject the system of blackmail that corporations and governments engage in, whereby trans people who can work are ‘rewarded’ with slightly less mistreatment in exchange for the exploitation of our labor,” read the document.

The manifesto, which has since been deleted, was published on Tumblr in 2018 and also demanded tax-payer funded access to all forms of plastic surgery and body modification without any questions asked by medical professionals.

“We demand the freedom to alter our bodies without justification. We demand an end to all surgical prerequisites — nobody should have to prove life experience, health, or have to be taking hormones in order to exercise bodily autonomy,” Action for Trans Health stated. 

“We demand that these surgeries can be highly customized to meet our individual and unique needs. We demand the right to multiple surgeries, including reversal of previous surgeries if desired, so that we do not have to fear regret.”

#Ireland #TENI & Tea #Donegal County Council #Jennifer Kimmel is speaking the truth #Trans Equality Network Ireland (TENI) #Bród na Gaeltachta

[cowboymaterials]

"Identity—more specifically, gender identity—is an assault on the individual. Trans people are well aware of this incursion on our Unique [Egoist term for the individual beyond the confines of identity]. Dysphoria is an encapsulation of this violence; we internally beat ourselves for behaving like something we are not and we physically cut ourselves for failing to appear as something we are. No matter how well we “pass” as our preferred gender, our dysphoria will always show us the imperfections. This points to a possible solution; to end our dysphoria it is not enough to fumble about in the boxes of gender, rather, it is imperative we destroy all that upholds the gender binary. Dysphoria exists as long as the phantom of gender possesses us and everyone else in society; it was not something we were born with but something that was instilled on us from the moment we are born. This is not to say that we must simply conform to our assigned gender in order to do away with our discomfort, far from it. Instead, we should annihilate all apparatuses of control and description that would seek to impose their draconian rules of identity onto our unruly selves...

"The moment I was ejected from my mother’s womb I was immediately referred to as ‘it’. By using this pronoun the doctor was not identifying me by anything; he was neither gendering me, nor imposing his humanity onto me. Instead, he is denoting a lack of identity altogether, as all that currently existed was the (extremely) limited experiences of a new born baby. However, in an unfortunate about-face, this led directly into my gendering; the complete sentence being “It’s a boy!” This was the first time a gender was appointed to me. By using it/its pronouns I aim to journey back to just before this time; I seek to undo my domestication by harkening back to a time that has long been lost. I only wish that, in doing so, I can revisit myself prior to when identity was instilled onto my individuality...

"‘It’ carries with it the implication of negation; as stated above, ‘it’ holds no specificity in regards to what it is being used for. No identity is being imposed by the usage of ‘it’. Instead, ‘it’ is a universal term that suggests complete ambiguity and no identification of the object, person, thing, animal, etc. Through this negation and ambiguity, it is my ambition to achieve the eradication of gender and a leap into the void of Nothingness. Gender exists to subjugate and specify; I will not be pinned down by definition, and I most certainly will not concede to domination. Rather, I will transform into a fiery, impassioned, inferno that burns and shreds-to-bits every inch of this wretched society...

"While my favored form of attack exists within the unfolding of a riot, I can also find moments of freedom within the anti-identity of it/its pronouns. If I cannot constantly be physically burning and smashing the likes of bank storefronts and Starbucks windows, then I will metaphorically do so by existing as a monstrous vulgarity to the gender binary. If I cannot constantly be dressed head-to-toe in solid black, obscuring any identification, living outside of societal bounds, then I will obscure identification of my Unique under the disguise of what is now deemed to be socially acceptable; If it is now socially acceptable to introduce ourselves with our pronouns, then I will introduce myself with pronouns which shatter the illusion of societal acceptance and which broaden the holes created by my queerness."

Excerpt from Anti-Gender Monstrosity by Rebellious, I.

#gender abolition #anarchism

[ovaruling]

i say this as a rad-adjacent feminist at best speaking from observation of radblr of late—but i think a lot of women perhaps feel like they’ve maybe “earned” the title of radical feminist by reading the text, the posts, and by going through the emotionally traumatic process of peaking and reassessing their environment and their experiences and their worldview. peaking tends to involve the realization, all at once, of a lot of lies and suffering, and that can feel like a trial that you’ve passed and have earned an achievement for, especially if you first peaked on a gender critical front.

but imo “radical feminist” is not like. a badge or a rank anyone earns that’s being threatened by any kind of purity test—it’s a very specific descriptor for a member of a movement that, as part of its main goals, openly aims toward female liberation and dismantling the patriarchy, like. the very robust goal of dismantling it and applying those goals to one’s real life in a palpable way. i know this definition has been debated to death recently, but i think we need to be honest about why radical feminism is its own branch.

supporting and helping women in your real life offline is already part of feminism, and i cannot stress that enough. it’s vital, it’s precious, it’s necessary, it’s work that women cannot survive as a community without. but i do believe female liberation and disarming patriarchal society are very distinct, active goals of a movement that has to have prerequisites that do set it apart from general feminism, which already covers aid on the ground to all women. feminism is not broadly defined as total female liberation in and of itself. not all dogs are poodles, but all poodles are dogs, etc etc.

not falling under the exact category of All the goals involved in radical feminism does not undermine our real life efforts in feminism in any way. it does not make the work we do in our community any “less feminist” or any less valuable. it is simply just not precisely describing the specific kind of effort (or sacrifice) in pursuit of a very specific goal within feminism: liberation from men (socially, politically, legislatively, and so forth)—a dismantling of the patriarchy at the root. which, yes, requires very dramatic changes to be made to your life and your relationships and your behavior.

you are not being revoked of the feminist card in general. but i think a lot more communication could be effectively had if we could get past the uncomfortable admission that some of us here just realllllly want the title of “doing thee most extreme feminism i can which is distinctly not liberal feminism because i just graduated from that and also i want the feeling of belonging to a community that’s critical of xyz”

i’m not totally certain why the desire to be called a radical feminist is so strong that it sparks balking. because your individual actions that help women are not rendered less valuable for having the discussion of what is and is not furthering the goals of the branch of feminism called radical feminism specifically.

tbh maybe it’s because i have experience as a vegan in vegan circles but being able to distinguish more extreme, or maybe i should say more tightly focused, branches of broader activism is pretty necessary and i don’t think it’s a purity test nor any kind of an insult nor an undermining of effort to have those discussions and realize what your goals are as an individual and, for lack of a better expression of it, how much change you are willing to participate in.

#for emphasis. i do not consider myself a radical feminist bc i do not do enough in my life to fit that very specific description #i hold rad beliefs and support the ideals of radical feminism but my actions are not yet that focused #i think it’s weird to call that a purity test or a no true scotsman fallacy. it’s a definition i don’t fit. that’s all

[a-little-revolution]

good luck with your surgery, and happy new year! (i am not a little person, as a disclaimer) i've been jerked around by doctors and surgeons for over a year now in regards to my legs: i'm eligible for limb lengthening surgery, i'm not, i'm eligible but my rheumatoid arthritis is too severe, et cetera. i have miserable malaignment among other things, but the issues that would be addressed by osteonomy would be the twisting and turning of my tibias. i have knock knees, but in an atypical way, as my femurs and hips are correctly aligned, but my lower legs are all out of whack.

surgeons seem to schedule based on part of the leg, but the only options i'm ever given is "foot and ankle" or "knee and hip." i've been bounced between these subdivisions thrice now, as the one doctor that does address tibial misalignment and deformation specifically doesn't accept my insurance, but that's a whole other rant.

i was wondering if you had any personal experience with leg misalignment prior to your leg lengthening surgery, and if the surgery corrected that? i'm really worried about recovery or lack of improvement if we do go to surgery, but my legs are in constant pain and weak, and my tibias feel like they're going to bend until they snap. as far as it's been explained to me, i would be undergoing what's considered leg lengthening surgery, but i'm not very knowledgeable on the subject - and i wasn't aware they left hardware in! will removing it threaten the integrity of your bones...?

i hope your surgery and recovery go really, really well! i wasn't aware limb lengthening surgery was common, nor that it was common for people with dwarfism to undergo. is that because people pursue it to improve their quality of life, or because doctors are encouraging/pressuring patients? i'm ignorant about this topic and feel like it's important to know about, since it broadly affects so many people!

surgery can be really scary and hard. you're really inspiring and loved, and i can't send you enough well wishes. thanks for your time, too! ♡

Hello hello! Thank you so much for sharing your story. The surgeries I underwent as a child (ages 12 to 16) were not leg lengthening surgeries, but rather procedures to straighten the bowing of my tibia and fibula bones - so yes! I have experience to that regard, and the surgeries were successful.

My legs were straightened in two ways. The first was an external fixator installed in my right leg which operated sort of like an oral expander; metal posts and wires went through my bones, connecting at an external frame, which was twisted and turned gradually to straighten them and then removed. The second was a medical break which was done to both legs individually, where they realigned the bones and attached them with posts and screws, and filled any gaps with fake bone until it healed. Ten years later, my body was rejecting the metal installments, resulting in my most recent surgery to have the posts and screws removed. Since my bones have fully healed, I've been told their integrity is fine without.

I have heard there's been a new wave of American doctors persuading patients (particularly parents of child patients) to undergo limb lengthening surgeries. When these surgeries are pedaled for purely aesthetic reasons, they can often reek of a culture that aims to "cure" dwarfism and force mainstream beauty standards onto disabled people.

Though my surgeries did give me a few extra inches, their goal was to alleviate pain and improve mobility. Many little people go through similar procedures, as club food and leg bowing are common medical issues for people with dwarfism, but lengthening for the sake of lengthening is fairly uncommon due to it's problematic nature.

Thank you so much for the well wishes! I am just about two weeks post-op and healing well :) - Elliot (they/them)

#asks #dwarfism #dwarfism medical #disability #cure vs care #dwarfism awareness #disabled #little people #cw surgery

[kin0th]

◣Kino ┊Interaction Guide ◥

——ℌ𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔦𝔫, 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔯.

Accepted asks:

Requests about Kino's role in a certain scenario or with a s/o or Yui.

⨳ Headcanons → Ideas or mini scenario in bulletpoint format. ⨳ Scenarios → These may have a drabble-ish or one-shot format, depending on the complexity. ⨳ Reactions → Dialogue and brief description of body language may be included.

Ask meme prompts.

⨳ You're free to send one or more prompt from ask memes! ⨳ To keep things in order, I will do my best not to reblog a new meme if I have prompts yet to answer. ⨳ That being said, please avoid sending prompts from old memes! Try to stick to the current one, or send a individual request if you want a specific scenario from a past one.

Roleplay

⨳ This blog is AU friendly. Canon characters and OCs are free to interact with Kino. Crossovers are welcome, but please contact me first! ⨳ I will not focus his replies on LE plot unless requested otherwise: He won't be out to accomplish any plan of stealing Yui away, killing all vampires or becoming King. His personality stays intact from LE with room for development, and his motive varies from interaction to interaction. ⨳ Interactions will not overlap or mix up without the consent of all involved parties. ⨳ Forming different relationships is fine as long as no one claims Kino outside of their personal interactions. In addition, have in mind that Kino is quite difficult to handle in general, so please don't take it personal if he acts rude, mean or hostile, especially with newcomers. ⨳ My own OC will not unironically participate in any RP thread on this blog, nor will I, the admin.

Explicit or violent content.

⨳ My personal interpretation doesn't consider Kino as lustful as other DL characters, but I can work with explicit requests. Because, in spite of that, might be kinkier than you think. ⨳ Needless to say, this kind of content will be properly tagged and labeled if needed. ⨳ I will not accept anything from or involving minors. ⨳ To avoid unwanted external NSFW tracking, the explicit +18 tag will be [ #;Focus On Me | NSFW ] and the violent, potentially triggering tag will be [ #;Look Away | Triggered? ], with its additional tw if needed [ tagged as #trigger tw. Example: #gore tw ]. ⨳ I personally don't have any hard triggers, but consider that I will refuse to answer if I'm uncomfortable with the ask or request in general.

Questions about Kino in general.

⨳ As the admin, I'd be glad to provide information about Kino's canon content (routes, CDs, etc), such as sources, where to find them, links to translations, and analyses or my personal interpretation to some of his decisions or actions! I love his character. I could ramble all day.

Not Accepted asks:

Anything regarding fandom drama or bashing someone else's blog, character or OC.

Promoting hateful ideas or aiming at a specific community.

Repeatedly sending the same request or ask. You are free to check in, but don't spam. Sometimes I'm busy.

Problematic anons will get blocked.

Taglist

;Zer0th Prince | Kino → General Kino tag

;Self aware NPC | Admin → OOC/Admin talk

;Socializing. . . | IC Interaction → RP Interactions/IC comments

;I want to play a game! | IC Games → Ask and dash memes

;You're it! | Tag game → Self explanatory

;Look at me go! | Art → Kino art and fanart

;Focus on Me | NSFW → Explicit tag +18

;Look away | Triggered? → Violent tag +16

;Who is in control? | Mun vs. Muse → Admin and Kino shenanigans

;Game Over | Saved -> Finished threads and saved replies.

#interaction guide #taglist

[who-is-page]

hey, do you have any posts on the history of the kin community and the origin of the word? I just had an encounter with someone who said that fictionkin and otherkin are somehow different from just kin by itself... :P

I don't have any specific posts on that-- or rather, I'm sure I do, but they're buried in my tags and unfindable.

The standalone word "kin" meaning one's family or relations is, of course, a word that predates the otherkin and related community; but I have a feeling that in this ask, the individual you were involved with was either arguing that the shorthand of otherkin, 'kin, is somehow separate from the community (which it isn't-- it's shorthand for a reason!) or was arguing that people who inly ever use kin as a verb to mean "to stan," "to like," "to relate to," or "to take on the aesthetics of for fun," are separate from the otherkin community, which yes, they are.

For the former, "'kin as shorthand," that one seems pretty self-explanatory: sometimes, you get tired of typing out "otherkin" in a post or essay repetitively, and shorten it to just 'kin. You can even see the shorthand applied to anti-otherkin, who are often just shortened to being called "anti-kin" or "antikin." With that said, here's one older example of an excerpt by ex-Therianthrope Lupa Greenwolf from her A Field Guide to Otherkin, which uses 'kin as a shorthand: A Day in the Life of Otherkin.

For the latter, "kin for fun" or "KFF," as it's sometimes called nowadays, the history is a bit more fraught, but no: people like this are not otherkin, therian, nor fictionkin just for stanning celebrities nor for really liking specific characters. Otherkinity and identities related to it are considered to be about identifying as and on some level recognizing oneself as being something either partially or entirely nonhuman-- most typically through psychological or spiritual explanations or reasoning, but not always limited to just those two. These identities can be silly and fun in their own right, but if someone is just having silly fun in fandom spaces by picking out their annual blorbos or squeeing over the latest pop star RPF then that's a separate phenomena. It's still perfectly valid for people to do! It's just not something that makes people otherkin.

KFF evolved from anti-otherkin shenanigans in the mid-2010's: with anti-otherkin constantly insisting that otherkinity was a choice and a common experience that anyone could have but that people who called themselves otherkin were taking "too far." Some popular bloggers ended up picking up on this rhetoric, believing the anti-kin and spreading it further (usually also alongside the ableism, sanism, and bizarre antisemitism that anti-kin would push with it, which explains a lot of the rhetoric from KFF that's been aimed at otherkin in the past that I've seen).

One particular fictionkin blogger who later ended up being revealed to be a fake--a cis-woman who was revealed to have been lying about her race, her gender identity/status as a transgender person, and other things potentially besides for the sake of Internet Clout--YandereBitchClub, especially caused problems in the community and could even be argued to in some ways be the true founder of the KFF community from 2014~ish. She pushed narratives of kin as a voluntary, social justice/morality-related, fandom concept, saying things such as how queer individuals couldn't have fictotypes with characters who were straight/cis, and that "problematique" fictotypes meant you were actually an evil person IRL. Lots of harassment brigades, lots of being genuinely cruel and awful to actual fictionkin, this person and the resounding ideas that people took from them are in a lot of ways responsible for the fictionkin cultural crash of the mid-to-late 2010's. But she's not the only popular blogger who's spread misinformation, we've also seen it from people like Normal-Horoscopes and popular YouTubers like the Amazing Athiest (yuck).

So KFF aren't otherkin, and are much closer to just a subset of anti-otherkin based on everything. If they were placed on a timeline graph would look more something like...this:

Some sources below.

General Sources:

“Otherkin - People who identify either partially or wholly as one or more non-human beings, entities, or concepts in a psychological or spiritual manner.” (2015, Kinmunity.com, now defunct. RIP)

Otherkin timeline: The recent history of elfin, fae, and animal people, v. 2.0 (Unabridged). by Orion Scribner

Otherkin Lexicon: A multi-lingual dictionary of jargon used in the communities of otherkin, therianthropes, and other similar peoples. by Orion Scribner

Addendums to Scribner’s The Otherkin Timeline. by House of Chimeras

Examples of Otherkin defined as identifying as something nonhuman over the years:

“Otherkin, n. [Coined 1990 by Torin / Darren Stalder in the Elfinkind Digest listserve. E. other additional, or different in kind from the one implied + E. kin family, kind, race. Pl. otherkin. Based on contemporary use of the word elfinkin or elvenkin for people who identify as elves. Spelling note: some authors spell “otherkin” with a capital O, some don’t, and some use either. Syn. otherkind (obsolete).]

1. (elven comm., early otherkin comm.) [1990 in the Elfinkind Digest listserve.] (Never commonly used. Obsolete in mid-1990s.) The below definition, but limited to refer only to people who identify as mythological creatures other than elves. With such usage, a group of people who identified as elves, dragons, and satyrs would be called “elfinkin and otherkin.”

2. (otherkin comm.) [Circa 1992?] (Now commonly used.) Otherkin are real, non-fictional people who identify as other than human. Otherkin identify as creatures from myth and legend, usually elves, faeries, and dragons. This is a sincere identity, not role-play. Many otherkin identify as other than human for spiritual reasons; that is, they classify their identity as otherkin as a personal spiritual belief. Being otherkin is a very individualistic thing: each otherkin reaches his own explanation for how and why he is an otherkin. Some of their common spiritual explanations include that they are other than human in spirit, or they were other than human in past incarnations. Although spiritual belief is often involved, “otherkin” isn’t a religion. As such, each person who identifies as otherkin practices whatever religion he individually wants. It has always been the case that most of the otherkin community practices Neo-Pagan religions, and so that religious perspective shapes the common views and ideas in the otherkin community. Some otherkin don’t use spiritual explanations. Some otherkin believe that they are physically other than human, or that their ancestors were.

3. (otherkin, dragon, and therian communities) [Circa 2006] The above definition, but expanded to also include people who identify as animals (therianthropes). Less often, some people use the word “otherkin” as an even larger umbrella term to include otherkin, therianthropes, and vampires. A more appropriate umbrella term has yet to be made.

4. (fiction, outside of the otherkin comm.) [Circa 2006] Starting around 2006, several novelists later appropriated (or independently coined?) the term “otherkin” to refer to fictional, physically supernatural entities. In those novels, the term “otherkin” doesn’t refer to real kinds of people Otherkin Lexicon O. Scribner 25 who simply feel other-than-human at heart. Those authors include paranormal romance novelists Nina Bangs, Anya Bast, and Delilah Devlin.″ (2013, Orion Scribner’s Otherkin Lexicon)

“Personally I would describe Otherkin as any person who believes that they are, in some way, other than their kin (kin being humans), and kin to the other (the other being non-terrestrial/mythical/religious/etc. entities). This belief is something that can be spiritual or psychological but, at its core, it is a belief and not a physical condition.” (2013, Tumblr Otherkin FAQ from someone who has been in the community for 14+ years, since their description hasn't been updated in the last five years.)

“Otherkin: There are two main definitions of this term, and both are provided here so as to denote the prevalence of both definitions being used often.  One definition is that otherkin is a general, overarching term for those people who feel they are in part or whole [non-physically] non-human, with one or more non-human otherkin types/aspects (also known as a ‘kintype); this is a category that therians are a subsection of, but it also includes a variety of other non-human creatures, including but not limited to mythical creatures.  The other definition is the same except that it is not as generalized of a category and instead only denotes the creatures that are mythical, fantastical, or non-Earth animals.” (2013 or before, Project Shift)

“Otherkin. (uh’ther-kin) n. A person who believes her/his self to be of another species in spirit, or in some other way identifies with a particular creature, usually of myth and legend. For example, a person who accepts that she/he is human in body, but believes herself/himself to be a faery in spirit, or that she/he has elven ancestry, etc. Plural: otherkin. No adjectival form.“ (2009, Otherkin News on Livejournal)

“[…] a person who believes that, through either a nonphysical or (much more rarely) physical means, s/he is not entirely human.” (2007, Lupa’s Field Guide to Otherkin)

#Ask #Anonymous #Long post