Pelican Hater

Griffin. 22. Bisexual. He/Him. History and Anthropology Student. Formerly iagosisanevillaugh

[audible-smiles]

My memory of The Birdcage (1996) is always that it's more dated and more difficult to watch than it actually is. You hear "drag-themed comedy from the 90s based on a musical from the 80s based on a play from the 70s" and you brace yourself just a little, right? But the film has a strong gay perspective, so the fruity fag jokes mostly come off as warmly affectionate. There is a surprising amount of poignancy in Robin Williams' portrayal of Armand, grudgingly agreeing to his beloved son's request that he go back into the closet for an evening ("do me a favor and don't talk to me for a while"). The drag club's staff attempting to redecorate the apartment with stuff straight people might like (a taxidermy moose head, an enormous crucifix, and Playboy magazine) is extremely funny. Albert's histrionics are a point of tension because he does often come off as a stereotypically pathetic/comic figure, but towards the end of the movie he makes it very clear that he's aware of how people see him, and asserts that trying to copy a stoic masculinity he doesn't possess for the sake of social approval would be more pathetic. In the 1983 musical adaptation, they give "Albert" (Albin) the only good song in the whole show, "I Am What I Am", which Gloria Gaynor covered to the delight of gays everywhere. Apparently Nathan Lane wasn't (publicly) out yet in 1996, which is amazing because it means that at one point in this movie you're watching a gay man playing a straight man playing a gay man playing a straight man, in a movie about how it's important to be yourself, an absurdity that does seem to encapsulate the state of gay America in the 90s.

[silverhand]

I'm seeing a couple of posts circulating about the gay 90s and this movie. The above is a very good summary, and I think it's worth adding a few other points.

This movie got made because Robin Williams said yes to it (and it's important that Gene Hackman did as well). Williams in the 90s was a mega-star of a type that's not present in the current media environment (maybe Tom Cruise, but I personally think that's echo from his salad days). Even his flops made money on the back end in the video rental market, which also doesn't exist anymore (streaming is different). Hackman was on the other side of his A-list career but still Hollywood nobility if not full royalty.

Playing gay was considered career suicide in the 90s. There had been a number of actors who put lie to that belief stretching back decades, but this was Williams and Hackman (yes, being on screen next to a gay character was enough to get you blacklisted) saying "screw that" and doing it anyway.

Being gay and out was career suicide in the 90s.

Nathan Lane had a really nice gig going for himself. The Lion King put him into the Disney rep company with people like Williams, Bette Midler, and Whoopie Goldberg (check their IMBD list from the 90s--they were making bank at Disney).

Lane didn't come out until several years later (nice summary: https://deadline.com/2024/06/nathan-lane-robin-williams-advice-coming-out-birdcage-1235975010/).

I don't want to imply that this was a Sorkinized moment where everything changed because of one thing, but this was a very important movie that caused real movement in the needle on queer acceptance.

It also proved that there was a market for films with gay characters, which had the knock-on effect of gay filmmakers being able to find distributors of their gay-themed films. Which meant that more people than ever (queer and non-queer) got to see representation on-screen.

[sophsun1]

The Birdcage (1996) dir. Mike Nichols

[socialistexan]

French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies of 'sadness' at 56

French-Iranian author and illustrator Marjane Satrapi, best known for the book and film “Persopolis”, has died of "sadness", members of her

This one hurt, her work had such a profound effect on my life, thoughts, and politics.

May her memory be a blessing

[mangled-by-disuse]

in happier pride news i actually found this deeply heartwarming

that's solidarity baybeeee

[lgbtlaughs]

Further context: Durham city council (Reform UK) cut funding and support for Pride. The Durham Miner's Association and other trade unions raised enough money for Durham Pride 2026 to go ahead - a direct call back to when Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) raised money for mining communities when Margaret Thatcher seized union funding during the miner strikes of 1984-85.

At the 1985 Labour party meet, the motion to support LGBT rights as a party was passed due to a block vote from mining unions.

Stephen Guy, the chair of the Durham Miners’ Association, said that when it became apparent Durham Pride was under threat, he took it upon himself to “encourage the trade union movement to step up and do the right thing, and stand shoulder to shoulder with the LGBT+ community […] They not only raised funds for us, but came to our communities, uplifted our spirits when they were down, and showed their solidarity.”

[cathkaesque]

My understanding is that the cut funding from Durham council was £2,500 - the trade union donations raised in response were worth £25,000

[wobblydev]

It is the job of the police to oppress the working class on behalf of the bosses. Do not believe the sanitized rhetoric of the powers that be—all positive social change was fought for, tooth and nail. They will never make concessions without mass action.

Take care of each other out there. Never act alone. Don’t talk to cops.

[theoutcastrogue]

Congress Is Considering Abolishing Your Right to Be Anonymous Online

The bipartisan push to remove anonymity from the internet is ushering in an era of unprecedented mass surveillance and censorship.

"The problem is that there’s no way to reliably verify someone’s age without verifying who they are. A platform cannot magically discern that a user is 16 without collecting identifying information, whether through government documents such as a passport, payment information like a credit card, or other identity-disclosing data. Whether that data is stored by the platform itself or outsourced to a vendor, the result is always the same: A user’s offline identity is forever linked with their online behavior.

Stripping anonymity from the internet would constitute one of the most sweeping rollbacks of civil rights in recent history. It would allow for unprecedented levels of mass surveillance and censorship, endangering the most marginalized members of society. Whistleblowers exposing corporate wrongdoing could be tracked and fired, government employees speaking out about illegal behavior or bad policies could face prosecution, and activists organizing protests could be identified and surveilled before ever setting foot on the street."

[softness-and-shattering]

And this is exactly the kind of thing US lawmakers will decide for US citizens, and it will effect everyone who uses the internet globally. Already any kind of age verification amounts to "hand over your government identification to a private US corporation".

I dont know what solutions might be on a broader scale, but its absurd for one country to have this much power and for their private corporations to be handed this amount of authority from literally world governments demanding "safety for children". This power structure is absurd.

Yall USians have got to shut down all this bullshit, youre the ones who vote these people in and out. Theyre not gonna give a shit what foreigners have to say.

[teomodo]

src

[teomodo]

[obliviousmelon]

headcanon that a ferengi tradition is putting your new baby up for sale at a ridiculous price to show how valuable they are to you (everyone has to be polite and not actually buy them or hands will be thrown, people will be sued, etc etc)

[libraflyter]

I love the idea of Ferengi traditions that are both ha-ha capitalism but also create a functioning culture that’s more than a metaphor.

[thecottageinthedark]

[datasoong47]

So, this is related to a headcanon I have. There's a kind of ritual sale of childhood goods as part of the Ferengi coming-of-age, which was featured in an episode of DS9. The ostensible purpose is to raise capital for the young Ferengi male. But, like, if the Ferengi were approaching this in their usual capitalistic mindset, you wouldn't really get much from what's basically a glorified garage sale

My headcanon is that it is the accepted practice to buy those goods at much higher prices than you would normally pay, serving as a culturally acceptable way of effectively giving financial support

[shiroikabocha]

Oh I love these, especially because of the spoken and unspoken meta-traditions around the tradition! Maybe they work similarly to the “speak now or forever hold your peace” thing in human marriage ceremonies. Everyone at a human wedding understands you’re not actually supposed to say anything at that point, it’s just a formality—but you see characters do it all the time in literature and entertainment, because it makes for such a juicy plot twist.

I bet “newborn gets purchased by evil jealous ex-business partner” is a classic plot hook in Ferengi soap operas. It’s their version of getting sold to One Direction.

[sunderwight]

What if it's more like the evil step-parent trope?

Ferengi dramas where the newborn is purchased by the jealous ex-business partner, only because said ex-partner has become ridiculously good at business and out-competed the sympathetic yet ineffectual bio parents of the baby. So the main character grows up and learns to be a total overpowered financial shark from their bio family's rival, only to turn the tables as they come of age, out-compete the bad guy, and then find out at the end that their bio dad actually WAS great at business all along and anticipated the whole thing and now they can merge their financial interests to be a family again (because actually making the main character's bio family bad at business would be controversial, like actually making the main character's bio family evil in a Disney film).

Imagine this being such a common Ferengi media trope that even the subversions are kind of classic tropes too, like plot twist the baby actually was secretly the bio kid of the ex-partner the whole time, yeah yeah we've all seen that one a million times, or the ex-partner is actually inept at business but just came into a sudden financial windfall so now the kid has to Cinderella their way up from being the impoverished indentured servant of a fiscally incompetent villain to ruling the business world, or the contract to buy the baby wasn't properly filled out so the main character gets to triumphantly sue the pants off of their abuser and get him as an indentured servant to pay off the back debt to them, etc etc.

Bonus if it all goes back to a classic tragedy that was actually, in its day, criticizing the capitalist trends becoming more prevalent in Ferengi society, and in that version the baby gets bought but doesn't triumphantly Succeed at Business or anything but just has a brief and miserable life before dying, and while the play is agreed to be a classic and even a pillar of Ferengi culture from the era (ironically in part because it made a lot of money) it's also a total downer, and hence all the later versions revising it to a "happy" ending that is more in compliance with prevailing Ferengi social values.

[persianmom-deactivated20260602]

the us + israel bombed a girl’s elementary school in the city of minab in iran… absolutely devastating. even more devastating that iranian diaspora were in the streets protesting and begging for this to happen knowing iranian civilians would further pay the ultimate price.

[snoopyisbisexual]

At least 63 girls killed in strike on school in southern Iran

Eyewitness tells MEE girls aged between seven and 12 seen lying dead across their school

[txttletale]

for the most part the epstein files don't demonstrate anything not already demonstrated by the polanski letter or the subsequent elections of donald trump then joe biden then donald trump again. the world is not ruled by a secret organisation of child abusers—the abuse of women and children just isn't a deal-breaker to most people seeking useful social and financial connections in a misogynist society

[txttletale]

you can observe this dynamic at play in microcosm very easily by becoming part of literally any art or hobby scene or getting a job

[wiisagi-maiingan]

Tribal recognition tends to be trwated as such a black and white issue online; a tribe that is federally recognized is real, any tribes that aren't are fraudulent. Tribes that are recognized by state but not federally are rarely included in these conversations.

But when you actually look at the history of federal recognition, so many of the tribes fighting for it today lost their recognition because they were tricked or they thought that assimilation into US citizenship would protect them or because they're made up of a bunch of smaller tribes, brought together through intertribe marriage or relocation or even by pushed into things like praying towns. A lot of tribes' attempts to be federally recognized are actively sabotaged by larger tribes that don't want to deal with split funding or a loss of business to a new tribe's casinos. In many cases, tribes were stripped of their recognition to take their land and parcel it off to private landowners or corporations.

It's just so much more complex than people really want to acknowledge. There ARE fraudulent tribes, but we have to be aware that they aren't as easy to spot as we want them to be in and, in many cases, we can't even trust other tribes' judgements about it because they have their own agendas.

[ryuutchi]

also many Californian tribes were not given federal recognition because they were "Mission Indians"-- they were subject to Spanish/Mexican colonization and didn't have the same treaties with the US government. They aren't treated as having the same sovereignty rights as federally recognized tribes. Other tribes in California were erroneously believed to be extinct and have been fighting to prove their existence for over a century.

[vague-humanoid]

For years, Japan tried to keep their existence a secret. But the Ainu people refuse to disappear

Japan's Ainu people have their own history, languages and culture. But, as the victims of colonialism, assimilation and discrimination, much

As a young boy in school, Masaki Sashima would be dragged out of his classroom and beaten by his fellow students.

Masaki, now 72, was different to the other kids. 

He was Ainu, an Indigenous people from the country's northern regions, most notably the large island of Hokkaido.

"During recess, the hallway door would open, and several guys would yell at me to come out," he said.

"I clung to my desk in the classroom and kept quiet.

"Everyone would surround me and beat me."

Japan has long portrayed itself as culturally and ethnically homogenous, something that some have even argued is a key to its success as a nation.

More than 98 per cent of Japanese people are descendants of the Yamato people. 

But the Ainu are distinct, with their own history, languages, and culture.

But, as the victims of colonialism, assimilation, and discrimination, much of that identity has been lost. 

[andnowanowl-deactivated20260413]

An Ainu woman named Chiri Yukie wrote down some of her people's oral traditions into Japanese because, as a child, her people were being displaced by Japanese settlers in Hokkaido. Her language was disappearing, so she (ironically) saw translating the stories into Japanese as a way to preserve them. She died at age 19.

[rumade]

Some of the objects from the Ainu exhibition at Japan House in London this year, showcasing traditional Ainu skills and culture. There is a campaign to get Ainu recognised as an official language, at least in Hokkaido, and small steps are happening, for example, bilingual bus stops. It reminds me of the struggle for Welsh to be revived after suppression for centuries.

[snow-nose]

second image ID: the cover of The Song The Owl God Sang: The collected Ainu legends of Chiri Yukie, Translated into English by Benjamin Peterson. end ID

[mizoguchi]

Also, this is a good short ~25 minute documentary that shows Ainu people fighting to recover their ancestral bones and bodies from Hokkaido University that's worth a watch.

[mariacallous]

[flintandpyrite]

Here are the 2024 vaccine recommendation schedules. They’ve already been wiped from the cdc site. Save them and share widely, especially to your friends with kids.

[duckbunny]

"Irish doesn't have a word for please, you have to say if it be your will" buddy do I have news for you about "please"

"Irish doesn't have a word for hello you have to use a shorthand religious blessing" buddy do I have news for you about "goodbye"!

"In Polish the word for car is that which walks by itself" BUDDY what do you think an AUTOMOBILE is?

you have got to understand that your mother tongue is not the model of language. all your words have secret histories and layers of meaning just the same as other people's words. the word you think of as just a word has etymology, it wasn't handed down from God as a finished word. English doesn't have a word for movie you have to either refer to the recording medium or use a short version of "moving picture", isn't that cute?

[official-linguistics-post]

official linguistics post

[moderndayklutz]

All words are made up. Don't lament the creation of new words or "slang". Embrace it.

[adverbian]

Prev holy shit, peer review:

#irish speakers online started saying GRMA for go raibh maith agat (thanks) #and now ive heard people say it out loud #wonder if in 1000 years grammá will just be the irish word for Thanks and we'll be making posts on Tumblr2 about where it came from

[themoonforjoy]

I need to set the record straight for queer people who don’t have a transphobic government holding their birth certificate hostage.

In the United States the average native-born citizen can prove their definitive citizenship in terms of eligibility for work through either a birth certificate or a passport. Birth certificates are legally owned and issued by the government of the state you are born in.

I was born in Texas. Texas has banned trans people from changing our birth certificates to match our name and gender. Texas will put me on a list if I reveal I am trans in any legal way, including having ever applied to change my gender marker. I cannot change my birth certificate.

This means the only way I can prove my eligibility for work is with my passport. Without my passport, I can’t legally apply for work.

That is why the executive order banning trans people from changing our passports to match our gender identity is such a huge problem. It’s not boo hoo I can’t leave the country to go on vacation, it’s stripping me of my labor rights and daring me to work in a sweat shop if I want to survive.

And say I did want to cross the border because oh, I don’t know, fleeing to seek asylum in a new country suddenly becomes very important—wouldn’t it be a good idea to have a passport that matches my identification to show local authorities, so they don’t deport me back to America?

I know not everyone can read legalese, but I need the LGBT community to at least try to stay up to date and connect the dots on the legal ramifications of orders like this if we are going to fight back. Because frankly, my passport was recently threatened, and I was not impressed by the ignorance I was met with from cis gays and trans folks who hail from the east/west coast.

[kimreesesdaughter]

I just left a plantation tour in Louisiana. I have a lot to say…

[purplechocolatekisses]

SAY IT!

[kimreesesdaughter]

I honestly thought I knew everything about slavery. Not so.

The owner of this particular plantation had it built by slaves for 3 years. Every brick was handmade. Over 120,000 bricks on 2,000+ acres of land (this place was huge.) The clay used for the bricks came from the Mississippi River. The majority of the slaves are buried under the Levees and water. Some are buried with their Masters. Not allowed to live with them but could be dead with them.

Before you enter the house, there’s a list of slaves who lived here including their age and how much they were purchased for. 124 total. Some slaves were worth as little as $25. As young as 5 years old.

On this particular plantation, the owner was big on punishment…he used noise making neck restraints. Imagine three 4lb balls around your neck with bells inside. Children were restrained by ankle locks that connected between their ankles.

This was a sugar cane plantation, one the worst practices to involve slaves because of its danger. A lot of slaves were decapitated, amputees and killed from the fields and machinery. A lot of kids lost their lives creating sugar. Speaking of children, a child stood in the living room and operated the fan with a string while guests ate dinner. As young as 3 years old.

Here’s what shook me even further: Before the Civil War, a lot of slave owners were going in debt and could not afford their properties and were not producing enough cotton and sugar to maintain their lifestyles. Slaves were used as HUMAN CREDIT CARDS. Slaves were a guaranteed line of credit. You could get HALF of your property’s value depending on how many healthy and able slaves you owned.

My people were human credit cards and lines of credit to BANKS. We were property. We were labeled as equipment and nothing more.

There is no such thing as a good slave owner. They owned my PEOPLE and used them as checks and balances. This cycle continues with prison and brutality. I do not want to hear shit about “Why can only Black people say this or that?” I don’t want to hear shit about “we’re all human.”

And by the way, not one of those slaves are at rest. Those spirits were so alive, you could feel their presence, their pain and someday, their revenge.

[kimreesesdaughter]

The front of the house and yard. This plantation was huge. Just thinking about my ancestors tending to all this land…

SOME of the enslaved names, ages, race and purchase price.

The living room.

Interior.

The dining room. That piece hanging above the table is ORIGINAL to the house. That’s the fan that a slave as young as 3 years old had to operate manually with a string.

The view from the balcony in the main hallway. This is how they looked over the slaves while they worked in the yard.

*sigh* Names of the enslaved that occupied the shacks. Children included. Their names are written inside one of the shacks. I’m not sure if there are other names inside other shacks because I could only handle 2. After I saw the punishment equipment, I left.

Slave Shacks. These are NOT the original shacks. These were built to imitate them.

Slaves for Sale Ads.

The landscape of Slavery throughout the United States in 1860. JUST 1860. Let that sink in.

Note: The last time the home was OWNED by a Louisiana citizen was 1972. This is her original bedroom, her lipstick is STILL on the dresser. This is why the house has been updated since slavery times because it was occupied up until 1972. Regardless, this used to be where house slaves slept.

[yourlocalforeign-deactivated202]

This really fuckin happened, don’t let white people tell you that it’s in the past & to let it go.

[malcolm-reeds-pineapple]

Sesame Street posting techniques for comforting children during traumatic world events feels so fucking dystopian but here are the slides they posted just in case you or a loved one has any little critters at home right now

No one is doing well right now, but being a little critter right now has got to be terrifying. This is such a crushing series of images, especially considering PBS’s funding got slashed. While I’m happy Sesame Street continues to keep the wellbeing and education of children as a major priority, there’s a certain amount of innocence that Sesame Street represents and this is giving me such a visceral feeling rn

[chekhovs-raygun]

sesame street has been meeting kids where they were at since the 70s, and in the 70s, POC kids were in some pretty scary places. what contemporary white parents might perceive as a sudden dystopian horror is, sadly, the level of trauma, violence, insecurity, and fear that a lot of non-white families have had to navigate for generations. it has always been hard and heartbreaking for some families to try to protect their kids from knowing how dangerous the world is and how much some parts of it want them dead. now it's white parents time to join in that important work. i don't meant to scold, but i want to remind: generations of kids have taken much-needed messages of comfort and solace from sesame street, and the people there have always known, since the start, how much we need bravery and compassion. it's not about innocence and it's not about ignorance: it's about love. this is their entire mission, and they're staying strong. we can too.