A Tumblr Book

This tumblr is the online extension of a tumblr book by its editors. Our book is a peer-reviewed 2020 collection of essays by scholars, activists, industry people and a variety of tumblr users that offers analysis and testimony regarding the significance and impact of tumblr. The book is freely available in Open Access format from the University of Michigan Press , as well as in hard/paper copy. This site provides readers with additional resources, updates, and spaces for further discussion of the book’s subjects and concerns within our ever-changing cultural, political and media environment. We also offer original online-only content in “Coming of Age on tumblr,” an ongoing archive where users can submit stories to us of their own experience, which we will help them shape and share. Please Ask and/or Submit above! Contributors Coming of Age Further Resources:

[arkadykoshka]

From someone who’s survived MySpace, livejournal, deviantart, and fanfiction.nets’ content purges and bad policy updates, here’s some advice on how to get through tumblr’s recent bullshit:

- don’t knee jerk delete. I know it’s tempting to peace out immediately but hang on and do the other steps first. Out right ghosting and erasing everything is how fandoms die.

- archive everything on your blog you want to keep

- tell your followers how they can archive and keep your work too. A lot of fic and art were only saved from ff.net and lj because other people saved it first. If you’re cool with other people saving your work for them to personally keep, let them know this. You can absolutely discourage reposting but I really do highly recommend you allow people to personally save fic and art they like and are worried will disappear forever. Digital Dark Ages are a real thing.

- tell people where you’re jumping ship to. Give links. Keep that info up, even if you’ve left the site.

- go through who you follow and find out where else you can follow them. Save their work if they’ll allow it. It’s tedious as hell but if you want to keep up with people on here clicking on their page to check in is the best way to do it.

- support places like ao3. This is exactly why ao3 asks for donations a few times a year. They are a 100% anti-purging, judgement free, ad free non profit run by an elected board and protected by lawyers. Places like ao3 literally save fandom so please continue to support them and other similar archives. This is exactly why ao3 is so important.

[a-tmblr-book1]

More good advice!

[adulthoodisokay]

Export your blog

You can export of all of the content you’ve created for your blog, and we’ll package it up into a convenient ZIP file for you to download. To start the process, go to your account settings on the w...

if you run a NSFW blog or post NSFW content, here’s how to export your blog 

[kaseyno]

even if you dont do sex work or post nsfw art and just use this website to sell sfw art (especially art of couples, it seems like) this is a good idea right now

[a-tmblr-book1]

Always a good idea to archive your blog, especially now! Here’s how--it’s very easy.

[recentgooglesearches]

how to determine the gender of my nipples

[salamandorange]

You dont understand officer, my nipples are “male presenting.”

[a-tmblr-book1]

uh-huh

[ommanyte]

Truth coming out of her well (with female-presenting nipples) to shame everyone

[rinasaurusrex]

oh sweet irony

[a-tmblr-book1]

This seems appopriate

[a-tmblr-book1]

Tumblr will ban all adult content on December 17th

The ban includes explicit sexual content and nudity with some exceptions.

So, in things Tumblr is banning today, the exclusion of adult content seems like pretty fundamental change to the platform, not only for porn communities but all of those who interact with pornographic or nude imagery, which is a pretty large chunk of Tumblr. There’s a lot to say here...

[a-tmblr-book1]

How a UT-Dallas student became an illustrator for children's book celebrating Muslim women

Aaliya Jaleel was recruited to illustrate Under My Hijab as a freshman at UT-Dallas, and she hopes readers will see themselves or people they know in the book's characters.

Heartening that chlldren’s book editors are looking for Tumblr artists to illustrate their books, especially those whose art celebrates otherwise marginalized/devalued populations.

[a-tmblr-book1]

Tumblr is explicitly banning hate speech, posts that celebrate school shootings, and revenge porn

"Our community guidelines need to reflect the reality of the internet and social media today."

This is a big deal, being covered everywhere--anxious to see how it gets applied. 

[lesbianelsas]

Lena Waithe Explains the Significance of Cutting Her Hair (video)

[batmanisagatewaydrug-deactivate]

highlights from the medieval scholars that took over my workplace today

so my campus is currently hosting an ENORMOUS conference of scholars who study medieval history. they’ve been completely flooding the tiny cafe where I work and drinking our coffee faster than we can make it, but the good news is that they provide some PRIME people watching, including: 

the fact that all of their name tags include pronouns so that I won’t feel bad assuming anyone’s gender in this post

the woman RANTING about one of her colleagues on the following grounds: “he thinks he understands it from some class he took in 1996! FUCK OFF, TOM.”

the man who was loudly and earnestly discussing the “influence of the Harry Potter fandom on our modern political discourse” while he got a soda 

before he was out the door he’d switched topics to his preferred methods for teaching students about elves 

the two nice extremely polite young British lads who I could not tell apart to save my life. their name tags indicated that they were apparently not twins, but cloning does not seem impossible.

the sheer number of people graciously volunteering to buy lunch for people they’ve just met 

an unexpected number of very handsome soft butch women involved in medieval studies. I am bisexual and weak.

the guy in the flannel shirt who had the coldest, softest, most feminine hands I’ve ever encountered. I fell in love with him for a good 60 seconds. I am bisexual and weak.

people who aren’t from America being cheerfully confused by our money, including my favorite, a Canadian woman who told me “I’m slow with American money because it’s all the same color.”

I’ve learned that people who aren’t going to be in the country for more than a few days don’t give a SHIT about their change and will toss all of it in the take a penny/leave a penny jar. I collected so many quarters, y’all.

also a nice British woman called it the penny pot, which is the cutest shit I’ve ever heard and absolutely its new name.

just in general the EXTREMELY good grace and patience with which everyone accepted that we only have 2 cashiers and that it takes about seven minutes to make more coffee.

SEVERAL times after I apologized for the coffee wait (because this is customer service and minor inconveniences mean we have to grovel) the response was ‘lmao no worries this just means I get a fresh pot’

a woman approached me to day with a fucking enamel pin of that old illustration of a nun gathering dicks from a tree (you know the one) and I said immediately “oh my god, is that a pin of the penis tree?” and she looked stoked and said “yes it is the penis tree! you’re only the second person to recognize it!” what kind of boring ass medieval scholars has she been hanging with???? she was probably so fucking excited to finally have company where she could wear that pin and nobody said anything??? rude.

you know, this one

[batmanisagatewaydrug-deactivate]

I have more:

every single person who said “cheers” when I gave them their change.

the painfully hip young man who was dressed entirely in standard academic business casual EXCEPT FOR his shiny silver doc martens. 

me: “you boots are amazing.”

him: “!!!! thank you!”

the man who walked in, spotted the selection of high octane energy drinks, and nearly cried with relief. when he came to the register to pay for what was probably enough caffeine to kill a horse he looked me dead in the eye and said cheerfully “thanks, I’m jet lagged as shit and I can’t be expected to function right now.”

the dude who overheard my friend Austin listening to Florence and the Machine, started chatting with him about it, and asked him out on a date

I sold a hot dog to An Actual Nun

[mediaeval-muse]

I love my fellow medievalists so much <3

[brunhiddensmusings]

theres not one of them who picked that major for any reason other then they wanted to have fun and be cool

[jumpingjacktrash]

reblogging this so i have it in my ‘for later’ tag in case i can dig up my aunt’s email to send it to her. she is a history professor specializing in medieval stuffs and will Understand.

[lunarriviera]

this better have been Kzoo 2018, please confirm @bamfinacuddlyjumper

[a-tmblr-book1]

If only all academic conferences were like this!

[amesantiagos]

okay it definitely hasn’t been easy, but here’s to another season full of laughs, wholesome friendships, great storylines and just pure happiness, NINE NINE! 🍻💖✨🎉🎉

[a-tmblr-book1]

Love it when fandom uses its immense powers for good. 

[a-tmblr-book1]

Ally Sheedy on Her Experience With Hollywood Sexism and Why It Will Never Change

“I hope it changes. I hope I’m wrong. I’m not holding my breath.”

Great testimony here by the other female star of The Breakfast Club. Very revealing discussion of how the acting students she works with today are treated at auditions -- exactly the same way since #metoo as they were before. From a new compilation of testimonials called Not That Bad, ed. by Roxane Gay. 

On why she loves playing deranged characters: “no make up” and “no men”

[101katten-deactivated20191203]

[cglmrfreeman]

omg the tag isn’t even off the bed yet! ;w;

[zzazu]

This cat looks and sounds like a very very tiny mountain lion

[lifecrystals]

CAN WE TALK ABOUT ITS LITTLE TONGUE STICKING OUT

[drtanner]

I will never not reblog this happy baby.

[sapphire-crimson-claw-archive-d]

always reblog

[haunted-hideaway]

I love how they stick their tongues out when they knead. 

[a-tmblr-book1]

Can’t resists a kneading cat.

[jihyo-x]

Peter Cushing Interview (1973) ½

[a-tmblr-book1]

agreed--although horror is generally a metaphor for RL -- but, of course, so is all fantasy. 

[pocblog]

Black Panther (2018)

[a-tmblr-book1]

Smile for the day. 

[writterings]

im the adoptive father of like 14 different kids because im the only out and proud trans dude at my school and all the lgbt underclassmen subconsciously flock to me

[writterings]

me in the hallways at school: [hugs a freshmen trans girl, high fives a young butch lesbian, platonically kisses a bi dude on the forehead]

my straight friends: wow nate u have so many friends! how long have you know them all?

me: first of all these are my children and i love them and second i met two of them this morning and one last week

[introvertunites]

If you’re an introvert, follow us @introvertunites. 

[jehovahhthickness]

[a-tmblr-book1]

Well put