Tom, are there more than 8 women

steven • he/him • autistic & physically disabled • arospec trans man • white • May 21 '98 • did I mention I'm autistic

[gupdoo3]

i'm on mastodon now https://mastodon.social/@gupdoo3

EDIT: I'm now also on bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/gupdoo3.bsky.social

[pigcatapult]

You’ve heard of competing access needs. Now consider:

Competing representation needs.

[pigcatapult]

But no, seriously. This is one of the biggest things that pits people against each other in fandom spaces.

You’ve got people who need stories where men get to have completely platonic deep friendships with other men, need stories where men can be affectionate and support each other emotionally without it having to be romance. You’ve also got people who need stories about men being romantic with men. Both of these are valid. Whether either is canon doesn’t really matter because transformative works are allowed to be transformative and transformative works are works in their own right. It’s right there in the name.

But because there can only be One True Fanon, instead of acknowledging that different people have different needs and taking a live-and-let-live approach, you usually end up with both groups fighting to throw the other one under the bus first for trying to “steal” their representation.

Please no Oppression Olympics clowning on this post. Everyone needs stories. It’s an immutable part of the human condition.

[alexseanchai]

the only thing I disagree with in this post is “you’ve heard of competing access needs”, because in my experience, approximately nobody has, and most of the people who have are themselves disabled

(so nobody leaves this post without knowing what competing access needs are: the thing where movie subtitles are important for people with hearing loss or auditory processing issues, useless to people with vision loss, and can easily distract other people from the action. the thing where movie descriptive audio is important for people with vision loss, useless to people with hearing loss or auditory processing issues, and can easily distract other people from the action. et cetera and so forth.)

the other thing that worries me about both groups you describe is, zero of these people seem able to enjoy stories that aren’t entirely for them, which is sad, and zero of these people seem to know where to find the back button should they happen upon a fic that turns out to be really not for them, which is aggravating to everyone else and can’t be much fun for them either

and the crowd that first goes “if you want stories with [thing they don’t like], write your own”, then turns up when their addressees do in fact write their own just to say “ew, why is this so [thing they don’t like]”, can fuck altogether the fuck off

[pigcatapult]

akfah;gadj;lkfd you got me there

[farkenshnoffingottom]

Competing access needs are also why it’s important to have a bunch of different kinds of things. Like, a building that only has stairs is going to be inaccessible to a lot of people. But if it has stairs, a ramp, escalators, and an elevator (depending on the size of the building), so many more people will have access. I’ve always had a major fear of elevators, and I often find myself using the stairs even when my body can’t take it, so an escalator would give me better access. However, someone in a wheelchair would likely take the elevator instead of the escalator because it fits their chair better. The more options there are available, the more people are going to be able to access something: our competing needs shouldn’t mean that only one of us gets to exist. It should mean we expand the possibilities so we all get to be in the building, even if we take different paths to move through it.

Why shouldn’t we expect that in media? The answer to “we need representation” shouldn’t be “only perfect representation [which is very subjective, with everyone having a different definition of what that would even be] is allowed. Everything else is offensive.” It should instead be “more representation means more aspects of our experiences are shown.”

The “oh no I definitely can’t be gay, it’s time for some self-loathing” story is real for a lot of people, and can be very important to see represented. But I don’t want it to be all the stories I see. The “I’ve always known I was gay and I’ve never had a problem with it” story is real for a lot of people, and can be very important to see represented. But I don’t want it to be all the stories I see.

The more kinds of stories we let people tell, the more we will be able to find ourselves represented

[imissthembutitwasntadisaster]

And if I said Megamind is one of the few movies that understands Superman.

[imissthembutitwasntadisaster]

And if I said Megamind through its three subversions of Superman shows a deeper understanding that the point of Superman is that he was loved and taught to love by good, present parents, and because of that he is able to return that love to a world even if it doesn't always accept it, and he is not corrupted by his power, than many other films either subverting or playing the superman story straight.

[imissthembutitwasntadisaster]

Megamind has three Superman subversions. One is obviously Megamind himself. He was not raised loved by the world, but rather was loved by those hated by the world. Because he was still raised with love, he does care about other people, hence his character development. But because he didn't receive wider love growing up, his own is misplaced at first.

Metro Man was not loved growing up in a way that mattered. His adopted father was clearly very absent, and while we don't know much about his family, their relationship seems superficial. Because of this, his sense of duty to the world is also superficial, hence his boredom.

Hal wasn't raised with power. He gained it and was shown how to use it by a 'space dad' who only taught him power and not love. Hence, he sees it only as a grasping means to an end.

All three of these subversions, in their negative space, create the silhouette of the superhero that they are parodying. That silhouette is of a space child that came to earth and was cared for very deeply by the world, and taught love through his experience of love, and because of that holds fast to his duty to the world. Which is Superman.

[owlet]

thank you scherz et al. for bringing us the frogs Mini ature, Mini mum and of course, the Mini scule

[owlet]

[anim-ttrpgs]

you must read the rulebook

[j-richmond]

It is ASTOUNDING to me how often this is the answer to any RPG rules question. For any game. It makes me feel like I'm in customer service again. "Did you read the rulebook?" No. of course not.

[phantomrose96]

Personally? I would never deny Hiromu Arakawa her right to a short bratty braided blond character in a kickass red coat

[phantomrose96]

Invent a look this iconic and I think you should get to use it in every series.

[phantomrose96]

[kaban-bang]

It was actually her assistants conspiring lmao

[loreleywrites]

you solve the mystery of what to have for dinner one night and you think "hell yeah case closed forever" WRONG there is a dinner mystery the next night too

[tzikeh]

Maryland to Become First US State to Ban Surveillance Pricing That Charges More After Mining Personal Data

Maryland will become the first US state to ban surveillance pricing in retail stores, after passing Protection from Predatory Pricing Act.

Jesus fucking christ that this exists in the first place

[boyslit]

I WAS FUCKING WONDERING WHAT THOSE DIGITAL PRICE TAGS WERE ABOUT SUDDENLY i had hoped they were so the workers didn't have to finagle those little papers into the slider part anymore 😭

[eclipticasolaris]

Hi, yes, that is the OFFICIAL excuse made to me by the guy replacing the paper tags with digital ones at my local Walmart, but the end goal is to remove the numbers off the shelf entirely, replacing them with QR codes that you have to scan with the app…. Which requires your login information….. and also stores your card information so even if you didn’t use your Walmart account at the physical checkout, if you used a card they recognize, they assign that purchase to your Walmart account purchase history.

I explained very clearly to the manager my issue with the meat section not having the price tags listed, and they claimed it was only going to be for the meat, since meat is by weight, and the price of each item is printed on the packs of each item.

Sure. That’s how they get their foot in the door. Fast forward not even two weeks, and here we are:

Bar codes. No prices, no item descriptions. No price stickers on the individual items. Heck, not even the name of the item that is SUPPOSED to be there.

No. The only way to see the price is to scan it on your phone app, which is also recording what you looked at recently, as a way of gauging what you might be looking for in the future.

So here’s what we’re gonna do gang:

Every time you go into a store that has implemented these price-less tags:

Take 1-3 items up to the cash register. Ask the cashier for the price, or hit the price check item on the self checkout, which will likely call over the attendant.

Express that you didn’t actually want it, you just couldn’t see on the shelf how much it was.

POLITELY, AND WITH A THANK YOU FOR THE PRICE CONFIRMATION, Give the items to the cashier or attendant to put back.

When they inevitably try to push the app, politely decline. If pressed for why not, say you don’t want to have to carry your phone in-hand the whole time you are shopping in order to see how much things cost. (Not having cell service or data to use the app is NOT a valid excuse, as stores already often have complimentary WiFi AND more stores will provide WiFi rather than give up on this push for surveillance pricing)

If it’s a shelf-stable item, the cashier will have to set it aside, taking up room in their limited operating space, and eventually pass it off to someone to put in a holding area to put back later. If it’s a fridge/freezer item, it might have to get tossed due to food product sale regulations.

In either case, you are making it a pain in the ass for them to have these digital bar codes. Tie up the checkouts. Give the employees more busywork that the company has to pay them to do. Hurt their bottom line having to toss the pint of ice cream you carried around in your cart for 20 minutes before giving it back to the cashier.

Yes, call your reps. Yes, push for more legislation like this in more places. But also take an extra minute out of your shopping trip to MAKE IT HURT for companies to pull this shit.

[antisocialxconstruct]

I've seen some people in the notes express (very fair) concern that this is only going to inconvenience already under-paid laborers, and not have any impact on corporate. While I can't speak for every company or every store, I do work in a grocery store and I can tell you this is precisely the kind of thing that would have an impact, especially if people are doing it en masse. Stores absolutely track their shrink numbers, and they do draw distinctions between what gets stolen, damaged, or wasted for other reasons. If people are making it clear that the reason they're bringing things to the cashier is that the prices are not adequately represented on the displays, and rather than improving business it's wasting product, slowing down transactions, and causing confusion and mistrust in customers, that is a language that shareholders speak.

[materassassino]

If there is enough widespread complaint about it at store level, it WILL get back to corporate. You can also make complaints online.

[sanrio-stud]

there should be coming of age stories for people turning 30

[lastoneout]

We gotta do something about ecoableism, guys, I can't keep seeing people confidently assure everyone that their ideal world is one where disabled people with specific needs don't get to be alive.

[lastoneout]

The most insidious thing about eugenics is that society is so ableist the majority of people do actually think eugenics would work and disabled people are better off dead, they just tack on an assumption that while yes eugenics works it's still bad because disabled people dying for being disabled is morally wrong. But they never actually think it's scientifically or medically wrong. We're just civilized enough we've decided to politely pretend the science isn't right because social justice.

It's like how a bunch of celebs were big on body positivity and fat liberation...until Ozempic dropped and it turns out no, none of them ever believed any of that! They just pretended to bcs up until now healthy, long term weight loss was impossible so they had no choice but to cope by learning to love themselves no matter how they looked...but now that it's here we can go back to the truth! Being fat is ugly and gross and unhealthy and you should starve yourself and take experimental meds right now so you can be skinny which is what ALL humans are clearly supposed to be!! Yeah that body positivity stuff was fun, but come on. We know you actually just wanna be skinny and think being fat is a fate worse than death.

That's what it feels like to me. Every single time. Honestly in a lot of other areas too, one of the big issues with the left is that they really do seem to think that Republicans are right about how things work and should work but we just pretend otherwise because it's the right thing to do and it reduces suffering. Which seems fine, but you cannot be an effective leftist like this. You do actually have to deconstruct your beliefs and biases and world systems, you can't go around like "well yeah we aren't gonna kill disabled people that's eugenics and it's wrong" when you clearly don't actually think it's wrong. You think eugenics would work but implementing it would be uncivilized, and it shows. You have to actually understand that racism and ableism and all other forms of bigotry are not just cruel, but entirely incorrect.

Idk if this makes sense but yeah. We gotta do something about this.

[lastoneout]

This is what Into the Woods meant when it said nice is different than good.

[lastoneout]

This is also how you get people being like "I'm not an ableist! I love disabled people!" after making a joke about Trump wearing diapers or not being able to walk down a ramp. They don't think ableism is wrong, they just think it's right but impolite, so only okay aimed at those who deserve to be insulted.

Absolutely part of why shit sucks so much rn.

[lastoneout]

Ngl I'm glad I figured out how to word this, bcs trying to articulate it as "you don't actually think bigotry is wrong you just think the target should be someone else" always felt incomplete! I now know what I meant was "you don't think bigotry is wrong you just think it's impolite and that's different" that's what I needed. You just think bigotry is being mean to a marginalized person who, crucially, has done nothing to deserve it. The second they do tho? Anything is fair game.

Yeesh. What a rancid ass way to view the world.

[elbiotipo]

I wish I could even start how to write about how tropical or even "warm" places are never portrayed as "home" in art (especially in pop culture), if that makes sense. They are always portrayed as wild places, exotic places, or both, but they're never shown as places were people live their lives.

Main characters don't ever come from a tropical country. There aren't sitcoms set in a hot city in the tropics (well, of course there are telenovelas) about the daily lives of normal people. Fantasy and science fiction series often start in places that look suspiciously like medieval Europe, and when they go to a jungle or desert land or planet, it's because something Exotic is about to happen.

Temperate climates (and their cultures) are The Default. Every other place, in real life or in fiction, is judged against them.

To the point that people who live in the tropics are jealous of snowy Christmas. Because that's what we've been raised with with the cultural monopoly of the US/Europe.

It's so weird. Everything has to have snowy winters, orange fall leaves, and pine trees in fiction. I live in a place where winter lasts a month, there are palm trees everywhere, and long, hot summers. I could never relate. Bro I'm j jus existing here.

[zolgo-blog]

Not just this, but also the entire southern hemisphere having seasons flipped is something seen as “weird”

If you live on the opposite side of the planet, you will have tourists call it “weird” and “unnatural” how Christmas is in summer like bestie that’s how the seasons WORK what the fuck are we talking about??????

[rneliflua]

The last play I watched before the pandemic was a Beauty And The Beast adaptation and when Gaston proposed to Belle there was this little boy in the audience who yelled NOOO DON’T SAY YES, so when Belle naturally turned him down Gaston turned to the boy with his hands on his hips and said “well, now look what you’ve done”  

[alkthash]

#no one breaks the fourth wall like gaston

[angelicguy]

just something i whipped up for pride month. youre welcome gay community

[angelicguy]

it was nothing really

[donniehaspronouns]

“what if kids identify with something and it ends up just being a phase-?” good. stop teaching and expecting kids (and adults honestly) to formulate permanent traits and ideas of themselves. everything in life is a phase. that doesn’t make it any less legitimate while you experience it. let people explore themselves and know it’s okay if what you think about yourself changes.

[ratbastarddotfuck]

you have to forgive the printer because it's one of the most machine-ass machines we interact with on a day to day basis. that thing says kerchunk. hardly anything says kerchunk these days. you can't get mad at her when she kerchunks up a little.

[digitalsymbiote]

Crazy that tech has gotten so bad that we're doing printer forgiveness now

[clockworkspider]

The printer was the first subscription model hardware and i hold that against it forever.

[patientno7]

my humor 2016

[patientno7]

happy 3 year anniversary of wheeze man

[rubinaito-inactive]

Finally, the original has crossed my dash.

[lavena]

@strangezeroz welcome to tumblr where the app decides when you can be gifted with the sight of og memes, you cannot look for these yourself via the search engine, you won’t find them, you have to wait to be gifted them

[miss-nerd-alert]

For those of you who might be new here, Tumblr has no algorithm, legendary memes are brought to your dash by mutuals like pet cats bringing you dead birds.

[gaybichon]

not even funny how true this is for me