post scriptum

Scotland, poetry, and caffeine.

[higgsbison]

happy glorious 25th of may

[tbs-addict]

STAY F***ING CALM

[spacepuffling]

same _and_ the 5% is Arcturus Mesarthim

[ballerina67]

The Royal Ballet - Giselle

[enchanted-keys]

Marianela Nunez as the Queen of the Willis in Giselle (Royal Ballet 2021)

[the-sappho-of-lesbos]

I think something that has heavily shaped lesbian fiction is for so long lesbianism hasn’t been seen as this like real and authentic aspect of someone’s person. It was either seen as a mistake women were too stupid to know they shouldn’t have been making, something women do to cope with abuse and or tied to a feminist movement and done because of men. It removes the larger romantic context from the relationship - plus when it has been depicted as a sexual thing it’s come at the gratification of men. So lesbians get stuck in this limbo where they are both simultaneously trying to prove that genuine love between two women exists while also trying to engage in sex that has been so tainted by fetishisation. I think that’s why so many lesbians have such trouble openly expressing and admitting to the sexual side of their relationship because it’s been so abused by porn and homophobic men that any sexual act between two women gets them the knee jerk response of “this is male gazey” and then it leads to discussions of “oh well this is REAL lesbian sex, not that other stuff” which alienates women who engage in certain activities.

But again they are also trying to prove that romantic love is real.

Romance is so often painted as a “womanly” thing but it’s also painted in a way where it can’t be activated if a man isn’t present. I think that’s why some people have an easier time acknowledging male homosexuality because while they use it to fuel their homophobia it’s seen as a real thing: He IS gay, he is gay because he has romance , he is womanly because he has romance, he is gay because he is womanly.

But with two women it’s more like she did something gay. It’s not seen as a real and fundamental part of us. It’s seen as a reaction.

Because lesbians have to deal with the intersection of sexism and homophobia a lot of lesbian texts will bring up culturally and societal relations with men and how men impact them, even if it’s not in a romantic sense , but that level of detachment always has a way of unintentionally painting men as something our sexuality orbits , even if it’s trying to resist the pull. It’s something I very much dislike about a lot of lesbian media. It can’t just be “I find women hot” there is a feminist analysis so often overlaying the exploration of attraction that taints the experience. It’s not just that she is attracted to women, it’s that she is a attracted to women and thinking of heterosexual dynamics and what she is being liberated from. I do think there is a place for lesbians to explore the joy of not being restrained by straight gender roles and responsibilities but it’s so difficult to relate to at times. Obviously I’ll see some straight people and thing damn, dodge a bullet with that while being gay. But I’m not thinking about men when I think about how hot women are. I’m just thinking women are hot. I’m not thinking I’m choosing this woman because we share the load, unlike if I was with a man, I’m thinking I’m with this woman and we do happen to share the load.

Though I do think sexism has a massive role to play in this because it’s the foundation of what we have. Old stories of brotherhood and male relations could be painted in response to what men did to each other in male dominated areas (ie, war, education, voyaging etc) where they could build homoerotic relations away from the company of women whereas women where often forming company with one another in response to the lives they lived with men. Both are responding to male actions but it means completely different things for them. For men it’s finding good men among men. For women it’s hiding from bad men with other women. The foundation of our historical homoerotic stories are so connected to our lives with men that it’s completely bled over into how our stories are written now and how people emotionally engage with them and what people write about. It’s almost like men or what men have done or what we fear men will do is so important to the way in which women bond and form the connections. I understand WHY it is that way and I’m sure it’s very reflective of a lot of people’s lives experiences and I do relate in some ways but it’s something I have fatigue with reading. Sometimes I just want to experience female homosexuality and I don’t want a comment about how she had to do XYZ because of a man. Not even in a man hating way, just in a way where I wish female homosexuality could be explored fully in its own merits the way I often see gay men explore their homosexuality in fiction.

[spacepuffling]

severely sleep deprived and only got chapter 35 of iron flame to blame for it.

[sappho-favorite-pupil]

being the disappointing gay firstborn daughter is a tough job, but someone got to do it.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[crazy-pages]

Sometimes you try to write one research paper and your subjects inform you that you will be writing an entirely different one.

[thundergrace]

Season 5 is in production. Your marriage will end in two years. Make the most of it.

[romaroygifs]

Bridgerton s5: franchaela

[drithligh]

It all leads back to misogyny

[alicent-florent]

franchaela in bridgerton s03 → s04 → s05

[loveridden1999]

anyways remember when toni morrison said "sometimes you don't survive whole, you just survive in part. but the grandeur of life is that attempt. it's not about that solution. it is about being as fearless as one can, and behaving as beautifully as one can, under completely impossible circumstances."

[loveridden1999]

everyone say thank you toni morrison

[alandrosul]

women in stem. women in root. women in leaf.

[dedolubka]

I finally understood why sjm's attitude towards Tamlin pisses me off so much. I think if this character had a different name, I would be a little calmer about it. But no.

Because it's Tam Lin. Because she took a Scottish legend and just fucking distorted it. Instead of a fairy tale about the strength of a woman who, with her own willpower, pulled her lover back from the dead, we got a story about an "abuser" who is an abuser because the author says so.

Because I hate it when an author drags something into their text to "artistically play with it" and doesn't play with it.

All this makes me want to write my own story and take a character from this fandom. Unfortunately, I'm not a writer. Maybe I'll write a couple of stories for peace of mind, and that's it 😞

[arosetolivefor]