my thoughts on a variety of topics

my non bizarre rambling tumblr where i reblog memes is athomas2000

[feministism]

[vaguely-problematic]

[lezgem-deactivated20160104]

I lose followers every time I say “trans women are women”

so I’m gonna keep saying it until I weed out all ya

[lezgem-deactivated20160104]

immediately lost two followers

[audscratprophetlilith]

I’d rather see my follower count drop than have anyone following who can’t handle the notion that TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN.

[bumblebeerror]

You can also leave if you can’t handle that trans men are Men.

[tea-and-antlers]

And gtfo if you can’t deal with the fact that trans non-binary people are neither men nor women and that’s entierly and perfectly valid.

[headspace-hotel]

The thing that bothers me most about antivaxxers is that they’re almost never endangering themselves. It’s their children and the people around them. They themselves were usually born before the anti-vaccine scare erupted and are themselves vaccinated, but it’s everyone else’s lives they choose to risk.

[sweetschizo-deactivated20190808]

“Are you saying that murderers are right in the head??”

No there’s definitely something wrong with someone’s way of thinking if they can justify killing innocent people, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they have a mental illness.

Extremist beliefs isn’t a mental illness.

Bigotry isn’t a mental illness.

Entitlement isn’t a mental illness.

Hate isn’t a mental illness.

Having a dysfunctional moral compass isn’t a mental illness.

We need to stop categorizing all these things as some undefinable “mental illness” and start looking at what we do as a society to develop and justify these things to a degree where people use them to justify killing.

[kassmonday]

Yes! 

Dehumanization is something you Have to look for. If the murderer doesn’t see the person they killed as a person, then mental illness is probably not the main factor there. 

Plenty of people murder women, poc, lgbt people, people of other religions etc. because they don’t see them as people.

Think about genocides - they aren’t perpetrated by big group of people/a government who all got mentally ill together the same way at the same time somehow, they just didn’t consider what they did murder because they didn’t see the victims as people.

[ayellowbirds]

I’m probably going to wind up reblogging this more than once because it is really fucking important.

[vortexsophia-deactivated2022110]

[veerletakino]

[pervocracy]

[judgejudyofficial]

thank god Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton came together to make a PSA about the dangers of fake news

[trendersollux]

the whole “but how do I know your identity is real/objective/scientifically proved” thing is so baffling to me.

you don’t! it’s identity! the way people see and position themselves (and others) is not and cannot be objective! the words I choose to describe myself with were not written in the stars the day I was born — they’re the way I navigate this world and make sense of it and my place in it

there’s no real me and no objective perception of who I am and who I am not! there’s no real, objective perception of anyone! we’re human beings, not mathematical models, it’s all subjective as fuck and it’s supposed to be that way!

there’s no science to prove i should use this or that word to describe my experiences; it’s just me looking up definitions, comparing and deciding for and against, and describing myself the way I personally make the best sense of — and there’s nothing else, and there can be nothing else.

[yekkes]

The thing that I hate about atheism as a movement is that it doesn’t just want to critique the hegemony of Western Christianity, it wants to kill spirituality. There is no joy, there is nothing about it that isn’t founded in a pessimism that sees itself as so self-important that it cannot exist outside of destruction. The face of atheism is a white male disgruntled ex-Christian who decided that if he can’t find joy in religion, then nobody else can. There’s a leftover missionary sensibility to “enlighten” people to atheism that exposes itself as racist, antisemitic, and islamophobic, that’s ultimately not unlike the dominance exerted through colonial Christianity

[welcometomythoughtsss]

Glee is bad representation

This last week, I’ve been rewatching Glee because its nostalgic and the music is a fun way to distract from the stress in my life. Through this rewatching, however, I recognized some issues with the “representation” this show presents. Most of the main characters face some sort of oppression. The way they present oppression and overcoming oppression is clearly written by people who have never faced it themselves. I’m white, so I don’t feel qualified to discuss Mercedes. However, I am a part of the LGBT community, so I feel very qualified to discuss the gay, lesbian and bisexual characters in the show. 

First let’s talk about Kurt. Kurt’s storyline in the first two seasons entirely revolves around his sexuality. I don't think there is a single scene in the first two seasons in which Kurt is either preaching about how hard it is to be gay or enforcing every stereotype about gay men. I don't see anything wrong with flamboyant feminine gay guys, but at least let them have some personality and identity beyond their sexuality. Another big issue I have with Kurt is his predatory advances on straight men. In season one, Kurt flirts incessantly with Finn to the point where Finn is obviously uncomfortable and then accuses Finn of being homophobic when he tries to stop the unwarranted advances. He does a similar thing to Sam in season two. This part of the storyline misrepresents gay people and homophobes. First, this whole storyline paints gay people as predatory. In our society there is a long history of portraying gay people as predators. The last thing we need is a show that is supposed to bring LGBT issues to light perpetuating that harmful stereotype. The other thing this does is present people who aren't homophobic as homophobic. In the beginning of the show, Finn is presented as someone who would respect Kurt, but couldn't stand up for him because of his obsession with popularity and self image. But this storyline evolves into accusing Finn of homophobia, instead of calling Kurt out on his predatory ways. Kurt continuously puts Finn in obviously uncomfortable situations and essentially creates the homophobia that he is accusing him of. Finn was never oppressive towards gay people until Kurt pushed him too far. Instead of calling out actual homophobia the show creates homophobia where there is none and ignores the actual homophobia written in the script already. 

I am now going to discuss Sandy. Sandy is minor character and only shows up occasionally, but is incredibly problematic. Sandy is introduced in episode one when Rachel accuses him of do inappropriate sexual things with his male students. It is unfortunate that the show would have the only teacher accused of preying on children be gay. There is even a scene in a later season where Santana has an uncomfortable relationship with an older male teacher that could be considered the same thing and there is only one line that is brushed over about how it could be inappropriate. The next time Sandy appears in the show he is shown to be literally stalking Josh Groban. He stalks him to the point that Josh Groban attends Sandy’s acapella show to tell him to stop and issue a restraining order. It's bad. I haven't seen a gay character on television that plays into as many harmful stereotypes as Sandy. I am not trying to say that all gay people in television have to be great people, but using already strongly held stereotypes as the negative aspect of minority character is not good. 

Next, let’ s talk briefly about Blaine. Overall, I like Blaine and the way he is characterized. Blaine definitely has more of an identity beyond his sexuality and he is much less stereotypical. However, I do have one tiny issue with an aspect of his personality. Blaine repeatedly says that he likes football. He uses this a wonderful, “Oh I’m not like those other gays.” thing and it really annoys me. He can like football, just don't only make him like football to separate him from stereotypes.

Now, I am going to talk about Santana. Santana is great, for the most part. She is a lesbian person of color and her character is very multidimensional. She doesn't lose her personality after she comes out. She just becomes someone who is visibly more comfortable with who she is and it great. However, again I have a tiny problem with her. She probably should have been bisexual. In season one and the beginning of season two, there is no indication that her romantic and sexual relationships with guys are not real. She seems to have real feelings and attraction to them. I think she could have been good bisexual representation. 

Brittany is not good bisexual representation. Her character’s bisexuality is portrayed as a being a side effect of her childish nature and her storyline lacks the depth necessary to truly explore and represent bisexual characters well. Brittany is shown almost exclusively dating guys. Her only exception is Santana. The writers easily could have written in a fling or another relationship with a girl besides Santana. But they don’t. So we get another horribly written Bi character that is childish (and by association confused). 

There are a few other gay characters on this show that are interesting, but too minor to write a whole paragraph on so I will talk only briefly about them. First, There is Sebastian. He a warbler and is generally a bad person. However, I like him and don't think he is bad representation. He actually represents what I believe a good gay villain should look like. His negative personality traits don't come directly from his gayness and when the two do overlap it makes sense and doesn't reinforce stereotypes. Next is Karoffsky, He is overall pretty okay. I am not a huge fan of the whole bullying because he is repressing he gayness, but it does happen. Also (side note) him and Blaine’s relationship was weird and made no sense (but that’s season 6 for ya). I really liked he attempted suicide storyline. It was well done and interesting. Finally, there is the gay character in season 6 who’s name I can’t remember for the life of me (I am going to refer to him as postmodern gay because of Sue’s line “touché postmodern gay” ) I like him overall (despite him being very forgettable). However, I do feel like the whole “I’m gay and play football” thing is stupid. So that’s that about the minor gay characters. I know I left out Santana’s Demi Lovato girlfriend and a few others but I didn't really have anything to say about them. 

My final character analysis strays away from the same sex attracted people and discusses one of the trans characters, Sheldon (Shannon) Beaste. I really liked that they included a trans character, however I take issue with them choosing this specific character to be trans. Mainly, because they undo the previous characterization of this character. (for clarity I will be referring to them as a her pretransition and him post transition. I don't intend to misgender. I just think it makes more sense in the context) In an earlier season, she has a storyline where she is mistreated by the glee boys (they picture her during make out sessions to cool down. its fucked up) and she gives this great speech about how her looks, interests and masculine presentation doesn't make her any less of a woman. It is really interesting and powerful. When he comes out as trans it detracts from the previous characterization that worked really well. It is also unfortunate that they chose the only masculine presenting woman to be a trans man. This paragraph is more of a personal grievance of mine and I am genuinely happy that they tried to represent trans people, they just should have used a different character for the storyline. 

I have two takeaways from this analysis of the LGBT characters in Glee. One: the glee writers don't think bisexuality exists and Two: the glee writers prey on marginalized people by marketing a thing that is supposed to be good representation, but is ultimately badly portrayed minorities meant for the majority.

DON’T LET STRAIGHT WHITE MALES WRITE MINORITIES

[welcometomythoughtsss]

Love It If We Made It

Love It If We Made It by the 1975 is an incredibly important song. I think that is very important for many differnent industries and people in the public eye to comment on the state of the world and politics. The more people that use their platform to make statements about the current situation the better. This song is wonderful because it is a creative way for the 1975 to make that statement in a way that is authentic for them. EVERYONE NEEDS TO LISTEN TO THIS SONG !! (and watch the music video it’s great)

[welcometomythoughtsss]

10 Things I Hate About You and the Nice Guy™️

Cameron, the main character of 10 Things I Hate About You, is the epitome of the Nice Guy™️. Because of his grand gesture of convincing another guy to pay someone to date her sister he expects Bianca to go out with him. He thinks that he is better than the popular kid who he used, when they are literally after the same person. When Bianca won’t give in to him, he has this pity party and makes her feel bad for not giving him what he wants. He thinks Bianca owes him. Bianca doesn’t owe him or any guy anything. Many guys fit this stereotype. They think women owe them just because they are “nice”. But are quick to change demeanor as soon as they are denied.

[welcometomythoughtsss]

The Erasure of History

Earlier this evening, I watched the film The Imitation Game. This film alongside others, like Hidden Figures, is making some headway in exposing parts of history that have been covered because the important historical figure was not a white cishet male. Every time I see a movie like this I feel incredibly moved by the perseverance of these people, but also incredibly sad that our society couldn’t and still in many ways can’t comprehend that some of the great minds and thinkers don’t fit the right mold. Alan Turing was let down by society in so many ways. I am immensely glad that we are finally shedding a light on both his amazing contributions and the horrors he had to endure. 

[welcometomythoughtsss]

Perks of Being A Wallflower

This movie is the reason I started this blog. At the beginning of junior year, I watched this movie for the first time. At the end of the movie, I decided that I was missing out on a lot of high school experiences (mainly involving drugs and alcohol but also friend wise) and had the overwhelming urge to cut all of my hair off with my kitchen scissors. I ended up having lots of interesting experiences that year because of my realization. The movie is super cheesy (”I feel infinite” really?) and very cliché, but I still love it. The characters feel so real. They are all very flawed young people who are for the most part still figuring out who they are. This is important for me because I am still in a place where I don’t quite know who I am. I am on a journey of self-exploration much like the characters. Sam and Patrick are closer to the end of the journey of self-exploration and healing, while Charlie is at the beginning of the journey. I identify with Charlie’s character the most. I wasn’t sexually assaulted as a child, but I do have trouble fitting in. I wish that I had a Sam and Patrick to come and take me in and show me what life has to offer. Going into my senior year, I need to channel their energy and have a fun and exciting time. I feel like I’m in the middle of my journey of self-exploration and hopefully by the end of senior year I will have a better grasp on who I am.