Jul 16, 2021
are the veins of his esophagus…. you know…. tender?
seen from Australia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Canada
seen from Brazil
seen from Poland
seen from United States
seen from Colombia
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from Croatia
seen from Sweden
seen from Sweden
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from Lithuania
seen from Malaysia
seen from Sweden
seen from United States
are the veins of his esophagus…. you know…. tender?
Racism and Discrimination exists in Fandom. We need to talk about it.
I haven't seen a lot of people discussing this topic within fandom. As many of you are aware, there is currently a serious movement sweeping through the world right now pertaining to racism, discrimination, an unjust system, political standpoints, and so much more. It has sparked a lot of discussion between many different people, and a lot of people use fandom to escape the weight of the uncomfortable truth. For many different, valid reasons--mental health, seeking out positivity, etc.
However, this needs to be talked about as well. For effective change, there must be discussion. There must be effort.
Fandom is a place that doesn't exist. It's a cultivated space for people with particular interests. In this space, many of us exist only behind screens and usernames. A lot of us don't know each other's real names, what we look like, where we live, the color of our skin, or our age. In short, we have our avatars, our URLs, and that's how we know each other. Of course, there are people who get close and learn those things over time, but for the most part, we have a bit of a hidden identity.
You would think that would mean this is a safe space for all people of any shape, religion, color, gender, etc. Unfortunately, that's just not the case. A friend of mine put it very eloquently by saying this:
"Fandom is made up of people. So it has the same flaws as everywhere else, even if expressed differently."
I didn't realize that these issues even existed until very recently, and it has been weighing on my mind. I've seen people of color recently speak out about the lack of inclusivity in Fandom--including the SPN "Family"--and it crops up in many different forms. In fandom, discrimination and racism shows itself in other ways.
By telling someone of color that they cannot cosplay a character because that character is white. By whitewashing the tragically few POC characters that there is in fanart. By unfairly and incorrectly assuming that fandom is made up of mostly White Women/Men. By telling POC that they only like a ship because one or two of the characters is POC. And, recently, by telling POC how they're allowed to feel about people they idolize/support not reacting or reacting in a certain way in light of this movement.
Unfortunately, it goes much deeper than that. For a lot of POC--especially Black People--their access to fandom is thinned due to many different reasons. People pushing the narrative that Fandom is for White People. People assuming that POC aren't interested in Fandom to begin with, that they're somehow not allowed to be here. People assuming the race of whomever they're talking to, and usually assuming their white, and acting surprised to find out that they're not.
To quote a really good article (and sadly old, because this is not a new thing):
Although one might assume that a fandom identity takes the ultimately salient position in a fandom space, especially an online fandom space created specifically for the development of a particular fandom, what exactly might that fandom identity entail? Who is to determine the salience of a fan's other identities in that fan-expressive space? Not to speak about race, gender, class, sexuality—or being pressured not to speak—in a fandom space ends up creating the image of a "generic" or "normalized" fan. Such a fan identity is not free of race, class, gender, or sexuality but rather is assumed to be the default. The default fanboy has a presumed race, class, and sexuality: white, middle-class, male, heterosexual (with perhaps an overlay or geek or nerd identity, identities that are simultaneously embedded in emphasized whiteness, and increasingly certain kinds of class privilege, often displayed by access to higher education, particularly in scientific and technical fields). We're being disingenuous if we pretend that these social forces do not exist and do not affect fandom interactions, with different effects in off-line and online fandom spaces.
It pains me to know that there are people of color out there who do not feel comfortable expressing that they're POC. That do not feel safe and included. That it IS a privilege to feel comfortable and happy and safe in these spaces when you're not POC.
Even in a space where it is not required to reveal who you are outside of what you enjoy, racism and discrimination still exists. We have to take a stand against it. That requires talking about it. That means we lift up our fellow fandom members who are comfortable sharing that they're POC. We stand with them, especially now and moving forward. We cannot call Fandom a safe space if it isn't safe for all.
I implore you to share this, to talk about it with your friends, to reach out to the POC in fandom and lift them up. Stand with them, speak out for them, encourage them.
To quote the same article above, we need to start--if you haven't already (or continue if you have already started)--to:
work in deconstructing and decentering the dominant element in a number of outworn binaries: deconstructing the concept of white privilege and its dominance even when texts attempt to decenter it; decentering the idea of Western media and (white) Western fans as the sole field of study; deconstructing the idea of boundaries between off-line and online behaviors and attitudes, and between the cultures of fandom and industry
Stand together.
When u ruin ur painting with one wrong move and since it’s physical theres no undo button. Ahahah I’m fine
never fear !! kathie george is here
Unexpected spot of colour in my neighbourhood: a persimmon tree. The fruit is called kaki in Japanese. Its dried version, hoshigaki, is one of my favourite autumn foods.
My Brother’s Husband tells the story of Yaichi, a single father raising his daughter, and Mike Flanagan, a Canadian man who was married to Yaichi’s twin brother Ryoji. Mike travels unannounced to Japan after his husband’s recent passing. Yaichi must face his deceased twin’s sexuality and overcome his own preconceptions, and Mike learns what caused the brothers to drift apart.
The manga by Gengoroh Tagame will debut as a TV drama on NHK’s BS Premium in March 2018 and will star Ryuta Sato as Yaichi and former sumo wrestler Baruto Kaito as Mike.
Read more here: kotaku.com and Wikipedia.
"The trick is to not intervene or change the trajectory of his trip in any way," Yashpal said, looking a little like Merlin with a curly grey beard and a comforting but slightly mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "You don't want to engage him. Be neutral, say as little as possible and simply let the him go through his process. The experience will bring about healing – even if it doesn't look like it in the moment. Trust it. Don't get pulled into his trip, hold your own energy. Give him water if he needs it, take him to the bathroom. Focus on your breath. Your job is to hold space for him to have his experience.”
You add it up; so does she. Each discovery reveals a new piece of knowledge. And knowledge, of course, is power… But you know, as the steerswoman knows, that knowledge is also joy.
- Rosemary Kirstein, We are discoverers
So yesterday I saw a post by tumblr user johnwaters about resources for queer allies and I read the link about 'an interview with a genderqueer person' or something like that and honest to goodness it opened up my little eyeballs because that makes sense to me in a very deep way. It really made me question a lot of things, and rethink about how i view my gender.