#gsrm issues

[willowlark369]

Asexuals are queer and belong in queer spaces. Y'all are just idiots.

Magi Silverwolf, an ace who is tired of being told that she’s not queer.

[willowlark369]

[willowlark369]

Today, my Art Appreciation class went to the museum to tour the Egyptian, Roman, and Greek galleries. Because my children were out of school for Good Friday, I took advantage of my professor’s allowance of guests on the museum tours. Several times before we arrived, I explained to my daughters (Bug, age 10, and Bean, age 9) that they had to not be disruptive of the docents and behave while we were there. For the most part, my girls didn’t misbehave.

Unfortunately, I could not say the same.

But I’ll get to that. First, I need to give y’all a bit of background to be able to understand this story and fully appreciate it.

I have been actively pagan for many years—this October will be my 23rd year, in fact. My original patron deity was Bastet so for the better part of a decade, I studied Egyptian mythology and practices extensively before being Called to a different facet of the Goddess that worked better with the practices of my heritage. As an artist (writer) myself, I feel a special connection with the Muses, even if I spend most of my time carefully cursing their fickle & flighty nature. I’m not the only pagan in my Art class—another woman (who studies photography as both hobby and coursework) is a second generation Wiccan and raised her children in an eclectic version of that tradition. Turns out Dr. Pepper [below] is Photographer’s son.

My Art professor is very much a cheerleader for an interdisciplinary approach towards studying art. Knowing the history of a period along with societal aspects of the culture along with their scientific understandings is key to understand the context of a piece along with its meaning. She is also very vocal about Art being a social dialogue that is meant to communicate and/or spark discussions. Bug is an Aspie. I have worked very hard over the years to get her to understand certain social nuances, but even though her ability to interact with others in a positive way has improved, it’s still hit and miss at times. My Art Professor also has a daughter with autism and another classmate has a son. While Professor’s daughter and Bug are around the same age, Photographer’s son is an adult. We’ve all shared stories about knowing that sometimes there’s things they just need to do.

Since this museum is free and Bug has a Special Interest in Art, we go to this museum a lot even though the exhibits rarely change. We even have a list of exhibits that we must see every single visit.

It’s obvious, but I took out direct names, both of people and the pieces. Changing the names to protect the “innocent”?

 Now the story:

The tour started out nice enough. There’s a few new people mixed into the familiar faces of my classmates, but there’s been a few each time since Professor openly encouraged bringing guests so long as they aren’t disruptive. The Docent we got announced first thing that she was excited about give tours to adults as she normally does elementary and middle school tours. Okay, that makes sense because we were supposed to do this tour last week and got bumped because of all the elementary and middle school tours that got scheduled and couldn’t easily be rescheduled like a college class’ tour could. It wasn’t until the first exhibit that I even suspected that this inexperience may be a problem.

Docent: Now you’ve studied the differences between primary and secondary sources of information. Can anyone tell me the difference?

[The students are silent, and even I don’t recognize the terms as they would apply to Art.]

Docent: Does anyone want to guess?

Guy in “I am a Pepper” tee (Dr. Pepper): Primary source would be the source a claim is pulled from and secondary sources would be further reading on the subject which expand upon that claim or offers support of it?

Docent: So close, dear—[completely ignoring the slight bristle of Dr. Pepper at the nickname]—a primary source is the artwork itself while the secondary source would be the placards to the side. Secondary sources cannot always be trusted, because sometimes they contain inaccurate information. For example, this piece here (a “lion” statue that had several obvious divergences from actual lion features which rendered it very close but not really) has a placard which says that the artist had never seen a lion before—which just doesn’t make sense because there was a lot of trading around on around the Mediterranean countries and he would just had to have seen one. It’s not logical.

Dr. Pepper: Actually, it would have been. Lions are not native to Greece, and transporting a live apex predator would have been extremely tricky and rarely worth it. You’d get a few being traded, but you just won’t see a lot of them.

Me: Even hunting them would have difficult and since eating apex predators is almost a culturally universal taboo, it would have been a better use of labor to break a body down in the field and only carry back to be traded those parts which were useful—the fur, the teeth, and the claws. It’s entirely possible for the artist to have never seen a lion in its entirety.

Professor: I think what they’re trying to say is that we’re still increasing our understanding of those time periods and it’s a good idea to question all claims if there’s a chance of a misunderstanding.

 It was an excellent save and we were moved forward on the tour. In the Egyptian section that is dedicated to the artwork rather than our mummy, the Docent strikes again.

 Docent: These two panels were found on either side of the door leading into [Person’s Name]’s tomb. As you can see, they are symmetrical.

Bug [in a confused voice]: But they’re not symmetrical. That means identical. They aren’t identical; they’re mirrored which means they are similar but opposite.

Docent: No, dear, they’re symmetrical.

Bug: But they’re really not—and you shouldn’t call strangers “dear”. It’s not polite. Unless they’re upset. Then you say it while rubbing their back in circles. Circles are symmetrical.

Me [because Bug is starting to get agitated]: Honey, why don’t you go sketch the Djinn? [Bug gives me a confused look before nodding and wandering over the bench before the Sumerian piece in question.]

Professor [trying not to grin]: She did have a point about the symmetry.

 Finally, our group makes it to the Roman section (after a half hour of not moving from the same fifteen square feet and a lecture from the Docent that keeps repeating the same information) and we settle before a tomb piece that has the Muses with Athena and the person whose grave it is on it. It’s truly a lovely piece and even after the centuries of exposure to the sea wind of Athens is still incredibly detailed. It’s also one of Lily’s favorite pieces in the whole museum and definitely her favorite in the Roman section. Thus it’s one of the “must see” pieces for every single visit.

 Docent: We’re going to do ATS.

[Everyone looks at each other in confusion. We have never heard this term. The Docent huffs a breath.]

Docent: Your professor said you know how to do ATS.

Me [thinking that maybe Professor didn’t use the letters]: What do the letters mean?

Docent: “Artistic Thinking Strategy”

 I hear Bug choke on a breath of her own. During Spring Break, we had spent the entire week working on the difference between “noun” and “verb” and so I know that there’s about to be an interjected correction on the usage because Bug is always like that about new information. Luckily, Dr. Pepper comes to the rescue.

 Dr. Pepper: Maybe you can remind us how we do that exactly?

Docent: You look at the piece systematically and break down what you’re seeing into its parts. Then you put the pieces back together to see what is going on in it. [As this is literally the process of aesthetic scanning, something our Professor had repeatedly stressed the importance of, there’s a collective aha moment for our group. Without saying anything, our Professor comes up behind the Docent as she continues in an impatient tone] What do you see here? [silence falls over the group, which just makes Bug’s authoritative whisper to Bean about the definition of a noun seem louder than it actually is]

Me [now desperate to cover up the girls’ whispers]: Okay, I'm going to cheat. It's the Muses.

Dr. Pepper: Oh, if you're cheating, I'm going to as well--it's the Muses but also two others.

Docent [clearly irritated]: Well, someone's been reading the secondary sources and apparently believes them. I bet you didn't even recognize them and probably couldn't identify which one is which.

Me [even knowing that I shouldn’t be raising to the nerd-baiting but too irritated at the woman’s attitude to not answer the challenge]: That one on the end is looking up at the sky and has a hard tablet of the type used in Hellenistic times to record star patterns. She's the muse of astronomy. The one next to her has items associated with games in the same period--she must be Thalia, muse of laughter. The next one on the line has a lyre. She can be either the muse of lyrical poetry which is performed on the lyre or the muse of music but the woman second from the other side has a flute so she is probably music making this one lyrical poetry.

Docent [now scrabbling into her pocket with jerky motions]: Hold on—I have a list. Let me check it.

Me [nodding]: And while you’re digging it out, I can continue. The next one has—

Docent [pointing at Dr. Pepper and abandoning the efforts to pull the list of muses]: You there! You said that there were two figures that weren’t muses. I bet you can’t pinpoint them.

Dr. Pepper: Oh, can’t I? [Behind the Docent, Professor looks like she’s debating interfering, but I can see her working out the scales. This is the most engaged anyone in this group has been the whole visit and really, we’re not being rude so much as slightly antagonistic in response to the Docent’s antagonism. Either way, Dr. Pepper doesn’t hesitate any more than I did in answering the nerd-baiting.] The figure with the spear & helmet is Athena, goddess of war.

Me: Among other things such as wisdom and strategic thinking.

Dr. Pepper: Which is why she's often depicted with the Muses, despite not being one herself and only sketchily related to them.

Docent: So any war done in her name must be just?

Dr. Pepper: Not at all. It just has to be done well.

Me: Athena is just as warlike as Ares, but she's more about strategic planning a war to minimize both risk and the uses of resources whereas Ares is about brute strength and overpowering an enemy. Wisdom doesn't always mean justice or honor.

Dr. Pepper: The other non-Muse is the figure in the exact center holding a scroll.

Docent: And why would that figure be the human? Just because it’s in the center?

Me: They're the plainest. All the figures are the same size, but the muses all have the tool of their domain while Athena looks very intimidating in full armor, but that figure has no extra frills other than the rolled scroll in her hand. She could have been Clio, muse of history, but she's not writing on the scroll, just holding it. She’s acquiring knowledge, not recording it.

Docent: Moving on.

 We’re then herded to the Mummy room on the other side of the Egyptian art section. Since Bug and Bean are growing impatient to begin our after-tour, I pull them a bit away from the group to discuss the pieces in the section. This quickly turns into a discussion with Dr. Pepper about the possibility of unresolved sexual tension between Set and Bastet due to their constant battling in the night. As Dr. Pepper questions how unresolved it might be with the battles taking place at night, I catch sight of the Docent off to his side looking absolutely scandalized while our classmates look fascinated in the same way most twelve-year-olds are with impressive belches. I winced and apologize while Photographer struggles to hide snickers. The Docent reclaims our group’s attention to discuss the myth of Isis and Osiris that was depicted (according to her) on the middle casing of the mummy.

 Docent: So Isis gathered all the pieces and bound them back together.

Me [without really planning to]: Well, almost all.

Dr. Pepper [at the Docent’s confused look]: She missed one part. It’s why he could no longer guarantee the fertility of the Nile.

Me [matter of factually]: She did fashion a replacement out of gold and lapis. It was enough to grant him authority over the Underworld, but he could no longer serve Egypt with the replacement. It didn’t fulfill the same function any more.

Dr. Pepper [with a smirk]: I wonder if she improved upon it any? After all, it did earn him a kingdom.

Me [swatting gently at his arm]: Oh, hush, you.

Dr. Pepper [rolling his eyes]: Yes, Mom. [on the other side of the display, Photographer is less successful at silencing her snickers. It could have been something Bug or Bean said as they play Dots with her, but I have a feeling that it’s really not.]

 The Docent points towards the inner most casing for the mummy along with the chest cartouche. She proceeds to explain how someone had to have made a mistake because while all the artifacts were supposed to be from a single burial, the cartouche on the male mummy had a female name, so “logically” there had to have been a mixup somewhere. Stunned at the implications and the sheer arrogance in her voice, I couldn’t say anything for a moment. Luckily, Dr. Pepper could.

 Dr. Pepper: Maybe we're the ones mistaken and that mummy is actually of a woman.

Docent: There are ways that we can tell just from the bones, dear.

Dr. Pepper [frowning at the return of the “not polite” nickname but clearly channeling it into his tone rather than commenting]: You could tell male or female, but you wouldn't be able to tell man or woman, would you? All the markings indicate a female name, right? "Beloved of her father" is what you said?

Docent: Well, yes—I'm still learning the language but that's the translation they gave me.

Me [after a beat of silence that demonstrates that Docent doesn’t get why this is important]: Egyptian names prior to their being conquered by Rome didn't typically have pronouns. It was considered unlucky, as it would bring the attention of the spirits to a person. There had to be a significant counter to that weight for her to have such a name. A Renaming later in life due to changing gender would have been a worthy reason.

Docent: But if that was true, she would have failed the weighing of her heart because she couldn't say that she never lied!

Me [holding up a hand to keep Dr. Pepper from jumping in as I can tell he wants and speaking flatter in an attempt reign in my temper]: The negative denials would not have unbalanced at that. She was a woman if she had the ceremonies to be buried in this way, under this name. Changing genders through Renaming is not be counted as lying. Besides, if she truly feared it would, she could simply affirmed the claim to save her heart. She would not have been allowed to enter the Underworld, true, but her heart would not be devoured, preventing her from both entering the Underworld and being reincarnated.

Docent [giving a loud sniff before snapping out]: Well, maybe the theology shifted over time because that's not what I read.

Me: The Book of the Dead served as a guide for their beliefs for over three thousand years, until Alexander took the kingdom and infused the underlying culture with the influences of his tiny Greco-Roman country while exporting Egyptian culture out. The 42 negative denials are mentioned in at least 23 different sites throughout all three Kingdoms of Egyptian history. There is at least one confirmed case of a woman being renamed with a male name and depicted as a man from that point onward and three others which are greatly suspected to have switched genders. Moreover, there is a deity in the Egyptian pantheon who is depicted as both male & female and another who is declared as neither. Also, yet another whose sexuality was as fluid as the cats that were her animal.

Dr. Pepper [tone dripping with sarcasm]: But I'm sure they had the same hangups as you.

Professor [clapping her hands as she jumped in front of the Docent]: And we're out of time! I'll be out to talk to you guys in a moment. I'm just going to thank the docent for her time real quick.

 Moral of the Story (01): Do not mess with pagans on our home turf. They aren’t just myths to us—they’re the source of our values and traditions. We study them like Christians study the Bible and probably better than most Christians do that.

Moral of the Story (02): Do not challenge smartasses when unprepared to back up your claims. We get cranky after a while, especially if we’re bored out of our minds.

[willowlark369]

Crazy Ideas 15

Them: I'm uncomfortable with slash pairings.

Me: Okay. That's fair. I'm uncomfortable with some kinds of pairings, too.

Them: I don't like femslash pairings either.

Me: [is getting a bit worried] O-okay. Still fair. Not everyone likes queer ships. I guess it would be worst if you fetishized them rather than just avoided them.

Them: I do really like this pairing over here.

Me: That's...that's a child with an adult. And the child is also the minority that adult is canonically bigoted against. You like this?

Them: She's over the age of consent! And it's romantic because it shows that love conquers all!

Me: [just staring at them without comprehension] And you're comfortable with this ship?

Them: Of course! It's not slash or femslash!

Me: [knows not to trust this person at all]

[willowlark369]

If you believe that aces, aros, or trans people don’t belong in the queer community, can you let me know?

I’m trying to block the ‘phobes.

Thanks~

[tdcyo]

As expected, I'm seeing a lot of islamophobia in light of the Orlando shooting. It's true that Omar Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS around the time of the attack, but we all know how easily religion can be invoked to be weaponized. His father said Mateen did not act out of religious passion, but was very homophobic, and became angry when when he saw two men kissing. Mateen's ex-wife said he was never very religious, but he did have a history of violence and was abusive toward her. Mateen's parents said he did not practice at all, did not pray, did not fast for Ramadan, did not do things that were mandatory for all practicing Muslims.There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack on Jihadi forums.

I'm following the story as it progresses, but at this point, I believe Mateen only invoked ISIS' name to give drama and weight to his crime - he's not really a religious extremist, but he is a hateful anti-LGBT+ terrorist. Do not let islamophobic narratives undermine the validity and importance of other discussions we need to be having right now: on hate crimes, LGBT+ issues, and the ease with which people are able to commit acts of domestic terrorism here in the US.

[kj-likes-dogs]

If your brand of sex positivity includes something like "everyone does it"

then you can kindly fucking stop.