via thebooksmartbimbo on Instagram who is doing AMAZING work

Next person to tell me "uwu don't talk publically about your meds not working for you what if you scare off others from meds?" can come here and pay compensation for my emotional distress.

One psychiatrist worked out well for you? Many congratulations, the system still sucks. One police officer was nice to me too, I still know that entire system is rotten to the core. If you keep shutting down the very people you claim to protect then this isn't about advocacy it's about your need to hold some sort of morally high position backed by "science" and "rationality" (which, btw, has historically been weaponised against mentally ill, and especially psychotic people, to take away their agency).

Wanted to add all the other parts of this wonderful series too and if anyone reading this has engaged in any kind of mental health advocacy at any level I request that you read it and even if your first reaction is to reject it because it's discomforting and challenging your idea of activism, I request that you sit with it a while and think on it and think about the very people whose interests mental health advocacy is supposed to promote:

actually it's worse than that, Biden didn't say that when MLK was in jail in 1963 -- he said it a full 14 years later in 1977, while arguing against integration as a senator in formal hearings

he then had the gall in more recent years to claim he was arrested while "defending civil rights," which I guess he was counting on no one fact checking because there's no record of that and it obviously runs counter to the fact he literally fought against people's civil rights

he even repeated the claim last week, this time changing his story to not an arrest but just being brought home. no record of it, no one left alive to verify any of his very blatant lies

(sorry for using CNN, it popped up first when doing a search to find a report on it)

"we need less sanitized queer stories" yall keep saying fucking she-ra romanticizes abuse. you couldnt possibly handle less sanitized queer stories

"we need less sanitized queer stories" youre the one saying the locked tomb series is bad because you dont like the prose. based off of a quote from goodreads of all places. that was dialogue, not even the actual prose.

people keep reblogging only the first half of the post when the addition was the original post. ok

girl help. 4k notes

"she-ra fumbled its message" no! crucially, it didnt! it had the same message as the original she-ra show, which is "this lady is a superhero and is going to do superhero things like save the planet" and she did do that!

"oh but catra never apologized for what she did and they just let her join the good guys" thats a perfectly normal thing in childrens media, and the only reason yallre calling it out is because its queer and you want the perfect unproblematic queer media to exist. except that even if it did you would all find ways to nitpick it, which is the whole point of this post!

Also, notably, she did apologize. They just think it wasn't good enough.

They absolutely could not handle more nuanced media.

can we please pretty pleasr reblog this version,

people are missing the point again

"i didnt like gideon the ninth, as a book" ok? nobodys forcing you to read it??? the point is that people are far more likely to judge queer books (gideon the ninth is undeniably a queer book) without reading them than they are to do so to a non-queer book

also stop pontificating about "the q slur" or whatever, i literally couldnt care less. get blocked

yes, thank you

About the AO3 "No Guest Comments for a while" warning

If you're not following any of AO3's social media accounts you might be in the dark as to what kind of "spam comments" have engendered this banner at the top of the site:

These spam comments have been posted about a great deal on the AO3 subreddit for the past couple of days. Initially they comprised a bunch of guest (logged out users) bot comments that insulted authors by suggesting they were using AI and not writing their own fics. Some examples, from the subreddit:

But it then escalated to outright graphic porn images and gifs being posted in comments, again by logged out 'Guest' accounts. Obviously, I'm not going to give examples of those, but between these two bot infestations, AO3 has clearly decided to act and has temporarily closed the ability to post comments for users who are not logged in with an AO3 account.

Unfortunately, this means that genuine readers who don't have an AO3 account won't be able to leave comments on fics that they enjoy.

If you are a genuine reader who doesn't yet have an AO3 account, I strongly suggest getting yourself on the waiting list for one. More and more AO3 authors are now locking their fics down to registered users only - either due to these bot comments or concerns about AI scraping their work - which means you're probably missing out on a lot of great stuff.

Hopefully guest commenting will be enabled again at some point soon, but I suggest not waiting until then. Get yourself on that list.

Wait times are going to be longer than usual at the moment, due to the current Wattpad purge [info on Fanlore | Wattpad subreddit thread], but if you're in line, then your invite will come through eventually.

Update: There's now a Megathread about this on the AO3 subreddit.

liberal zionists while the rest of the world is viewing images of mass graves and miles of completely destroyed infrastructure in one of the world's most densely populated areas

3/15/24.

hamas also has not admitted to lying. the health ministry has "admitted' to incomplete records for many deaths (over 10,000) which, even if those deaths were incorrectly tallied, would still leave thousands dead. however, it is difficult to maintain perfect records when nearly everything in your city is destroyed.

https://twitter.com/delaneykingrox/status/1090402436995473408

a great thing about people transitioning is it presents us with scenarios where we have the perfect control variable to undeniably reveal sexism in the workplace. I read about a trans man neuroscientist who was told he was “so much smarter than his sister” (his sister being his pre-transition self)

and damn i knew the gaming industry was notoriously sexist (even more sexist than other stem fields, and that’s saying a lot) but seeing it laid out so clearly like this is so demoralizing.

Ben Barres was that neuroscientist

Barres has been discussed a lot by my peers, and is generally considered an icon for people like me. And his biting statements on sexism are a HUGE part of that. I don’t have much to say other than yes, it’s a big problem and still is.

There is genuinely no such thing as an inappropriate book for a child.

People in the tags who read Clan of the Cave Bear or Flowers in the Attic, but did you fucking die? You are fine like every other kid exposed to Jondalar’s turgid, upright member was fine. These are clearly ideal books for nine year olds because so many very alive and unharmed former nine year olds read the shit out of them and many adults find them boring.

Would you really be such a John Hughes adult kind of hypocrite as to rip the inspiring tale of Ayla, who invented aspirin, knitting and cunnilingus during the last ice age out of an elementary schooler’s hand?

If you don’t want kids to read a book, don’t allow it to portray a child’s actual, relateable anxieties around puberty, sex, adulthood and their parents in the most high gothic way possible. This is like preventing incest by locking your adolescent grandchildren in a small room with no access to non-family members.

I'm pretty sure a decent chunk of people who want to censor stuff tend not to have read what they wish to censor, or else they lack the media literacy of why a writer might include one thing and not another or, like, the point of the thing. Or simply assholes wishing to try to keep as much control over their children as possible to abuse them.

Another thing with 'don't let kids read/engage with certain kinds of media' is also interesting with what they pick for censorship. Aside from blatant bigotry (like all the attempts to label queer anything as pornography), a big thing that shows up is "stories that have sexual abuse/rape/etc. in it." They act like there aren't children who've dealt with stuff like that. Even though the stats absolutely tell a different tale.

The implication being like the attempts to ban sex ed. So that kids don't realize they're being abused by people around them and speak up...

Just because a child can read doesn't mean it's appropriate for them to read every single book that exists. Children can access the internet, but you would agree that a lot of websites are not appropriate for them?

A book that isn't age appropriate for a child can actually turn them away from reading btw. I wouldn't recommend Anna Karénine to an 8yo child or have them read it, obviously.

Serious question: Would you let a 10yo read A Little Life?

Sure it does. Thats exactly what it mean. And as I am beginning A Little Life I cannot help but think that it's exactly the kind of lurid high gothic that many ten year olds would love. Also, I mean what I say when I say that it's a great moral crime to deny kids access to books. It will not hurt a 10 year old to read A Little Life. It will hurt a 10 year old to be around the kind of adult who won't let them do so.

But, forget A Little Life, I think the idea that one should censor Anna Kerenina because it's hard is perhaps the most depressing, anti-intellectual nonsense that I've seen on post full of anti-intellectual nonsense....and also so typical of the kind of twisted anti-literature attitude that I see coming from a lot of educators these days, and I can only assume it's because people who don't like to read have been put in charge of reading. Why are people so convinced that it will harm a child if she encounters a book that's too difficult or too weird or just a book that they don't like? There seems to be this idea that an offputting book will spook a child somehow and I just do not understand this!

Books are not like movies or the internet or TV or the other forms of media that don't require the same kind of concentration and intellectual skill that reading a book does! And again, I think this is just what happens when people who don't read start to have opinions about reading. Again, what if you stopped doing that? What if you stopped thinking of fun new ways to take books away from child bookworms instead of just dealing with your weird jealousy about kids who won more Pizza Hut coupons than you.

I've seen several people mocking this one post on my dash and like. I get that the way it's worded can be funny in a "terminally online sentence" type of way but also like.

If people were mad this woman for supposedly refusing to acknowledge the racism in homestuck only to immediately turn around and mock the idea of her and her book club getting together to discuss the racism in homestuck then it's pretty clear that their idea of "acknowledging the racism in homestuck" actually looked less like "engaging with and discussing the racism in this piece of media" and more like "performatively grovel and self-flagellate in a public display of guilt about having enjoyed this piece of media"

Like

"You're literally ignoring and downplaying the racism in homestuck"

"Actually I'm meeting with my book club to discuss the racism in homestuck today"

"No not like that I meant you're not making enough public displays of catholic guilt about it"

Like you can either think that the racism in a piece of media is worth being acknlowdged and discussed, or think that said piece of media is so lowbrow that getting together to have a serious discussion of its issues with racism is a ridiculous idea for terminally online fandom brain fungus people, but you kinda cannot think both.

before reblogging a post to say “because of capitalism” perhaps consider checking whether 1.) three words instinctively regurgitated counts as meaningful materialist analysis worth contributing to a discussion and if 2.) 4,000 people have already said the same thing

3.) whether the thing you're ascribing to capitalism has demonstrabily happened for thousands of years in feudal and ancient societies long before capitalism even existed

One thing I've been seeing a lot is the implication that patriarchy oppresses both men and women and actually only benefits a small minority.

This position is a fundamental misunderstanding both of how capitalism uses social divides to create division among workers and of basic feminist principles. Proletarian men fail to organize with proletarian women specifically because patriarchy gives them a position of power over women.

Men can find their actions constrained by patriarchy as well, which I've seen many people mistake for genuine oppression, but in reality men who can conform to patriarchal norms and standards are making a small sacrifice of emotional vulnerability in order to gain access to power and privilege women will never be able to attain within patriarchy. By contrast when women conform to patriarchal norms we find ourselves ever more severely limited and endangered, often losing basic bodily autonomy by force.

A woman went viral for being turned down for a next interview for a role, she asks the recruiter what she did wrong, the recruiter tells her they were “concerned about her lack of effort in her appearance.”

She explains she wore a freshly ironed blazer with a collared top. Her nails were painted a professional beige. She got a blowout for her hair, so a professional style. She had on subdued gold earrings.

The only thing she wasn’t wearing was makeup; she states she really doesn’t wear makeup, and only had chapstick on, as her skin is sensitive. Her lawyer mother has already explained she has no legal case against the company for any type of gender-based discrimination.

Just in case anyone wants to ask why feminists still refer to the “pink tax” or rail against more and more elaborate makeup trends being pushed on girls and women.

Women being punished socially for not wearing makeup is still a feminist issue.

Liberals will say shit like "Yeah, well Trump would be doing so much worse right now" while Biden and the Democrats pull shit like this

Fuck you and your lesser-evilism. I refuse to do the math you want me to. The appropriate level of fascism is zero. If you don't believe that, line up with the fascists and follow your leader.

One of my least favourite dialogue tropes is when a man tells a woman, “You can’t do that” or “I wouldn’t do that if I were you” and she says, “Why? Because I’m a woman and therefore too weak to handle this/can’t take care of myself?” or something to that effect and the guy replies with, “No, because everyone who tried that ended up with a bullet in their brain” or something equally reasonable and not gender-specific that paints him as the rational not sexist guy and the woman as an irrational paranoid feminist who searches for sexism in everything. This whole scenario is built on the idea that sexism is over and women’s fears and suspicions don’t have a leg to stand on. It’s also self-congratulatory pseudofeminism bc it’s supposed to make the viewer/reader/listener feel that in this specific work of fiction women are treated respectfully and as equal with men.

huh.. never thought of it like that

But, what if the male character isn’t sexist? I meam…their fictional sure but…I’m not sure how to phrase this

Its not a question of the character themselves- its how the writers are portraying them. The way this trope plays out, the whole moment revolves around the woman looking foolish for assuming that there is sexism happening. She is characterized as being irrational, jumping to conclusions, even insecure. While the dude is characterized as the calm, rational one.

It is a trope that specifically works by taking a woman standing up to sexism and saying “haha it wasnt actually sexist at all! Isnt calling out sexism foolish and silly. Thats what you get for assuming that men are sexist!”

I have the same reaction with homophobic jokes set up like this. Like the whole “you can’t marry a woman”, “why bc you think its wrong” “no we haven’t found you the right dress yet silly!” Or stuff along those lines.

It feels like someone setting up to punch you and then you duck and the person goes “haha, i wasn’t gonna punch you at all, why would you duck? You shouldnt just assume someone’s gonna deck you because they have their fists up.”

saw someone once describe those kinds of “jokes” as winding up they’re going to punch you and then laughing when you flinch.

i dont know who needs to hear this but as a general PSA for those who pay people online for goods and services: KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE BUYING. While it might seem funny to write a clever note along with your transaction, any sort of hint that you're buying something nsfw or even mildly suggestive poses a huge risk that the person you're paying is getting their method of payment shut down permanently. transaction services are stricter than ever. "thanks for the boobs" is a pipe bomb that only needs one pair of eyes to be noticed. loose lips sink ships

hey i know you guys are all the funniest and smartest people in the world but you arent actually required to give any reasons for payment right. you can just say nothing. you know that right

You know what really fucking Annoys Me about internet censorship is stuff like swear words being heavily censored because that's entirely an American cultural hangup being forced on the rest of us. I don't know a single country where swearing is as taboo as it is in America. In fact most languages have swear words that would have the same effect on an American as giving a Victorian chimney sweep a pepsi max cherry.

Demonitizing Irish people's videos for having swear words in them is a kind of hate crime and psychological torture I think.

i hate how liberals just want you to accept horrible anti worker corporate practices and decaying ancient infrastructure as unavoidable unchangeable things that no one is to blame for if something happens as a result, its like a sneak peak of what theyll say as climate change gets worse lol

sorry but i prefer not to live in a world where we normalize things like entire bridges crumbling and subway crashes and people drowning in basement apartments and chemical accidents, and reserve making judgement every time it happens and act like theres nothing that can be done. none of these things are inevitable