December 2009
Black Dagger Brotherhood musings
- There are zero black people in these stories. But a lot of rap and hip hop.
- Holy gender tropes, Batm- I mean, JR Ward. Good thing you interspersed all the machismo with some tender moments, because these dudes are totes stalkferrific.
- Phury has a prosthetic leg. And a drug addiction. And these are problems that get mentioned once in a while as a pretty normal fact of life. Of course there’s prejudice and self-shame for not being perfect, but on the whole, at least it’s not completely ignored.
- John can’t speak. Everyone around him learns ASL to cope. Which is neat. But would they have done it for him if he hadn’t been that specific lineage? Doubtful. Still, though, nice to see an environment where people learn to adapt to the disabilities in their midst, rather than ignore the problem.
- Also, really neat to see the women still exist after marriage. Wish we could see more of Beth and Mary (imho the two weakest heroines thus far). Bella is busy being pregnant but she’s still more visible than Beth or Mary (srsly whut D:). Cool to see Marissa and Jane still have careers. Still weirded out by Jane’s fate, though. I mean. Whut? D:
- Can we please please please have more cool female characters? Please please please? Seems like in these stories, there’re always more male characters than female characters.
- While we’re at it, can someone name a novel where the characters aren’t wallowing in self-pity or self-entitlement?
“or to put it another way: white skinny bodies are allowed to be art. you see this all the fucking time in the twee/hipster zones of the world/internet, soft-focus photos in sepia tones with size 2 AT MOST people standing in for melancholy, or wistfulness, or love, or whatever. you don’t see fat girls lying in a field of daisies wearing fishnets and reading haruki murakami next to a picnic spread under a parasol. because then the viewer, it’s assumed, would get distracted by their fatness. skinny bodies (& white bodies) are allowed to turn themselves into things because they are presumed to be blank slates. they’re neutral. fatness already symbolizes things in our culture - laziness, sloth, greed - so it’s not allowed to symbolize other things.
or another way: lady gaga is allowed to play at being grotesque because it’s understood that she is making a choice to be grotesque; fat, non-white, or otherwise atypical bodies already belong to the realm of the grotesque. the choice is made for them. whether it’s as unfuckable (fat women, women with visible disabilities) or inherently sexualized (black and Latina women) or some weird combination of fuckable but not sexual (asian women) or just grotesque and unworthy (trans women).” —
or another way: lady gaga is allowed to play at being grotesque because it’s understood that she is making a choice to be grotesque; fat, non-white, or otherwise atypical bodies already belong to the realm of the grotesque. the choice is made for them. whether it’s as unfuckable (fat women, women with visible disabilities) or inherently sexualized (black and Latina women) or some weird combination of fuckable but not sexual (asian women) or just grotesque and unworthy (trans women).” —
isabelthespy’s response to an LA Times article about Lady Gaga’s “grotesqueness”.
Very, very good read.
(via kittenbear)
There are a bunch of tumblrs that have quirky/pensive/melancholic women in various poses (and sometimes clever/sappy caption) and the vast majority of them are white, thin women. It would be nice to fat and/or nonwhite people in these. I like that this quote points out people’s implicit assumption about fat, nonwhite people and the way it’s influencing US culture
(Before we go too far: I’m not singling out tumblr here.)
(via ilovefat) (via definatalie)
The paragraph about Lady Gaga is exactly what I’ve been trying to get at with my earlier post. At her base she’s neutral, on the end of beautiful, so being grotesque doesn’t affect on her self-image (she’s also purposefully separating her self-image from the Lady Gaga persona). Anyone who at base is already “ugly”, however, would have a hard time not letting that distract from their art. “OMG YOU’RE BROWN/FAT/DISABLED/BALD…oh what, you had an asymmetrical mathematical dress made of glass?”
(via themerchgirlnet)
Bloody hell, Tiara, I'm only doing this for you. After this I'm taking a Fukitol and going to bed
The other problem, esepcially with Asian and Middle Eastern elements, is that the sound is completely alien. Whilst African and South American music is quite rhythmic, and so can quite easily be grafted onto Western music, Asian music is very melodic and based on vastly different scales (for example, the Western scale has 12 notes, certain Indian styles have up to 88). This makes it very hard to take just one small element and work it into whatever it is you’re trying to do.
Seriously? Asian and Middle-Eastern elements are COMPLETELY ALIEN? Maybe to YOU, but I find this distinctively insulting. If it’s alien, it’s not the fault of the music, but the fault of the listener for being sheltered. When you say stupid shit like “Asian music is alien,” you’re basically positing that Asian music is somehow inhuman, simply because you’re not used to it.
Fuck you and the Eurocentric garbage chute you slid in from. And shut your trap before you talk about what’s alien and what’s not, because like it or not, we still live on the same fucking planet, buddy! If our music is so alien to you, it’s not our fault, it’s the fault of the mass media for not giving us more exposure, for treating us like exotic little displays, for ignoring us when we don’t fit their standards enough.
Also, Africa was heavily colonised and adopted a lot of Western music for it’s own needs. Asia and the Middle East on the other hand, remained quite culturally pure. Just look at language. Vast swathes of Africa officially speaks French, and South America speaks a mixture of Portugese and Spanish, whereas Asia and the Middle East still more or less speak their native tongues, learning English as a nod to their colonial past rather than an explicit part of their culture.
What, and Asia wasn’t colonized? The Middle-East wasn’t colonized?
What the hell does “culturally pure” even mean?
Fuck, WIKIPEDIA THIS SHIT ALREADY. You’ll find Asia was very heavily colonized, in particular South Asia and South-East Asia. Even China was fucked over by the British - OPIUM WARS, HELLO?
VAST SWATHES of Asia speak English. Not as a nod to the colonial past (oh, seriously? how fucking condescending can you get assuming this shit about us?), but because if we want to stay on par with the rest of the world, we have to fucking speak English!
Also, when I mentioned you being more aware of racial issues I didn’t just mean that you’re an Asian girl in Australia. Heritage is much more important to Australians (and Americans) than it is to Europeans, because you’re a country of immigrants. Where you’re from is important, because what other identity do you have?
Really? Heritage is so important to Americans? Then why do I have to deal with so much fucking bullshit about how “we’re all Americans! / Canadians! / Australians! Oh we should all totes get along and where we come from isn’t important, what’s important is that we’re all here! Tralala! Oh, what’s that? Aboriginal rights? Racism? Why can’t we all get along?!”
EVERY country is a country of immigrants. There is not a single region on this planet that has not been influenced in some degree by another one. Except Madagascar (ETA: but even then, not really, ‘cos there’re humans on there, right?THEY GOT THERE FROM SOME OTHER PLACE).
But culture and heritage is a bit of a sticky subject over here, mostly because it’s either seen as tacky and something you only bring out for tourists or has far darker and more sinister undertones. For the longest time Patriotism and Nationalism went hand in hand in Europe.
What, and it’s not in the Middle-East and Asia?
England has sort of managed to work through this by blending everything together and creating a new British culture. Whilst Reggae, Yoga and Falafel will never be called English, they’re accepted as being as integral to British culture as fish and chips and football. Just look at MIA. She’s a Sri Lankan girl who raps with a thick (very black) London accent over Brazilian beats intersperced with punk samples. Nobody batted an eyelash at this, it was accepted and embraced as perfectly normal.
So long as something is not called English, it cannot be considered integral to British culture. It is accepted by British culture. Reggae, yoga and falafels are products that can be rendered into mere commodities which are consumable - they can be stripped from their points of origins (and in many cases already have been) and thus appropriated into the lifestyles of the British. In no way are they truly part of British culture.
Leading on from that, this is actually the biggest problem with Islam in Britain (and Europe in general). They don’t join into the general spirit of the thing. They go to their own shops. They attend their own schools. They stick to their own areas. They hang out with their own people. It’s all a bit secret and scary.
Or maybe they’re just totally not impressed by the general spirit of how British do things. Or maybe they feel insecure being in a - ah, let’s trot that word out - ALIEN environment, and so stick with what feels familiar and thus more comfortable for them.
They’re different. Not secret, not scary. If you think that way, maybe you should ask why you think they’re so obligated to behave in a way that makes you comfortable. You shouldn’t feel uncomfortable, because this is your country. Have a care for your johnny-come-latelies. They still live among you, work with you, still pay taxes like you.
I’m not sure if it was a conscious effort, or simply a natural, gradual shift, but England tackled it’s (undeniably huge) problems with racism by destroying these boundaries. Essentially, it’s much easier to separate Ireland from the IRA when you’ve sat in the pub watching football with Mick from down the road. By removing the unknown, and encouraging cultural transparency as it were, you show all the stereotypes and fears for what they are, completely baseless generalisations.
Sorry, but no. Just. no. The Irish and the English, for all their differences, are not so very different at a larger scale. Your analogy fails.
Of course, that’s a little over simplified and utopean. Jamaicans still drive buses, the Polish still clean toilets, the Irish still work in bars and Indians still run the corner shops while the English make all the important decisions in Parliament, we haven’t gone that far. But as a whole people get along alright and no one asks any particularly uncomfortable questions.
Oh hey, Stereotyping! It’s nice to see you again!
This is what the BNP capitalised on, and what they rode into the mainstream with. They didn’t attack foreigners, they attacked Muslims. Because they were secretive and scary. They’re quite clearly not out to turn Britain into little Tehran and blow us all sky high, but as no one can actually prove otherwise, the seed of doubt has been sown.
You know, you talk a lot about this they. They, the secretive and the scary. They, set apart from mainstream British culture. They, the different and the unintegrated.
From my point of view, the BNP didn’t attack the Muslims because they were so different. They did it because it’s easy to manipulate small-hearted, fearful folk who are more willing to listen to their own secret doubts than they are to open themselves to learn about their own neighbours.
Which you know, you can do. There is this wonderful thing called The Internet. I’m quite sure you will find some Muslim people on there.
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favour freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are people who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
—Frederick Douglass, slavery abolitionist (via secrets0ciety, redguard, fyeahsocialism, fuckyeahtheorists, curate, materialworld, tiredofbeingignored, clingtomymouth, bmckinney, katoleary) (via amandaw)
My father is frustrating! He decided to clean my sisters mac with foam and now it wont turn on! I don’t think her warranty covers water spills! She may have to buy a new one or pay for repairs!
FOAM?!?!?!??!?!
“
*sigh*
No matter where I go, I can’t escape automatic knee-jerk defensiveness that comes when other ethnicities point out the problems with white privilege.
Valid points are made. She’s anything, but hostile about it. As a black person, I understand where she’s coming from. I’m not serious enough in this to take a name, perform in public, take a stage-name, or wear jangly costumes…But I know people who do.
I do this, because I like to dance and I love the way it makes me feel. :) And I will keep in mind her criticisms of these practices.
It sucks when your culture is pretty much looked down upon but for the few perceived “cool bits” to be gleaned, glamorized, and exotified without the baggage of being that looked-down-upon ethnicity, that comes with it.
As big as bellydance has become, it has grown to the point where “ownership” and humble origins have been diluted, because of ubiquity, very much like yoga.
So, the challenge to respect it becomes the exception rather than rule, even by the originators.
It’s a natural progression, but that doesn’t mean individuals can’t choose to challenge it. Instead of taking the offense and entitled position of “How dare she harsh anyone’s bellydance squee?”, I think it might be better (though not easier) to really try to figure out why she would feel this way.
” —cleojones, the only person in this mess of an LJ post who doesn’t dive into knee-jerk “OMG PRIVILEGE POKING!!”. (via themerchgirlnet)Tumblr
YES. THIS. Except, I say this from the point of view of someone who is born and bred Asian. In a country where shops are only majority-wise closed for two holidays: Chinese Lunar New Year, and Eid al-Adha. Even then, I can still find malls open. And I, too, sallied forth ON BOXING DAY to partake of BOXING DAY SALES. What happened? Everything. Is. Closed. On Boxing Day. Day AFTER Christmas.
My frigging “Third World Country” / “developing nation” never has any store that caters to the consumerist soul closed on any major holiday. Much less the day AFTER the holiday.
What. The. Hell.
This is what we get for moving to a province that only repealed Sunday Closing Laws about three or four years ago.
But Canada is a fully multicultural society that embraces all cultures equally! I know, because the government tells me so! (Or they would, if I could call them on Christmas Day.)
OK, to be fair, my country does multiculturalism, and that means, government offices are closed on ALL the holidays that we get public holidays for. So, Christmas, and Chinese New Year, and Eid, and Deepavali / Diwali, and others.
Whyever did we make such a choice to move here?
Tumblr
Dear Tumblr,
It is very nice to see you this evening. As you may know, today was supposed to be my favourite day of the holiday season, Boxing Day. I was all geared up to go out and buy that most homey of purchases, a new wumfy blanket for Don. I bundled up in my bested scarf and my favourite mitties and put my wee zebra on my head and went out in quest of Boxing Day Sales.
Tumblr, I forgot that I live in Nova Scotia.
Let me explain something important here. I’m Canadian, and there’s two things that unite all Canadians: We don’t like Toronto, and we all have Regional Differences. I suppose there are three things: We like to listen to songs about why all the other places in Canada are not as cool as wherever we are. [I’m not exaggerating. Listen to “I don’t want to go to Toronto” Listen to “The Toronto Song”. Really, whatever it is: we have a song for that.]
So, as I said, I’m Canadian, but I’m not just “Canadian”, I’m a Western Canadian. Born in Manitoba, lived in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and B.C., and then went back to Alberta for University. My Dad’s from Saskatchewan, and my mom’s from Manitoba, and my brother was born in Alsask, which is an Air Force town on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan. And if there’s one thing that all Westerners share, it’s a distrust of THE EAST.
Sadly, of course, THE EAST is Ontario (specifically Toronto), and there is no EAST beyond Toronto.
[Oh, hey, I had a rant from someone from Newfoundland last week about how bitter he is about us being “beyond the 49th Parallel” because apparently most of Canada is not, except the western provinces, and even not all of them, and wow is he bitter about it. See? Regional differences. It’s what unites us!]
ANYWAY! My pretentious Westerner Point is this:
Nova Scotia is closed on Boxing Day.
Like, the whole province.
Except for Starbucks.
I’m devestated, Tumblr. Truly, I am. I’ve been looking so forward to buying this wumfy blanket and I packed myself up in my bestest winter gear and ended up with my face pressed against the glass of the mall, feeling sad and lonely and bereft, with only my wee zebra hat to comfort me.
Tumblr, I just don’t know what to do now. Obviously the answer is to go out and buy things tomorrow, but it’s just not the same. I feel that my holidays are ruined.
Woe is me, Tumblr.
Woe is me.
YES. THIS. Except, I say this from the point of view of someone who is born and bred Asian. In a country where shops are only majority-wise closed for two holidays: Chinese Lunar New Year, and Eid al-Adha. Even then, I can still find malls open. And I, too, sallied forth ON BOXING DAY to partake of BOXING DAY SALES. What happened? Everything. Is. Closed. On Boxing Day. Day AFTER Christmas.
My frigging “Third World Country” / “developing nation” never has any store that caters to the consumerist soul closed on any major holiday. Much less the day AFTER the holiday.
What. The. Hell.
You know you’re coming from manga fandom when, upon reading your friend’s MSN message that says “Congratulations! It’s a uke!” you immediately think, “who’s the seme?” even though you know he refers to a ukelele.
Why I Like Anna, The Beginnings of a List
Anna is so funny that once I almost peed my pants because of something she said, and I have to be careful about drinking hot drinks when I’m reading something by her or talking to her.
Anna is snarky in a delicious and delightful way which kind of makes my toes curl a little bit.
Whenever something makes me mad or pissy, I know that Anna and I will talk about it and I will be happy again. Or that Anna will write something about it and it will be so spot on that I will feel much better.
Anna has a good…sense of things, I guess I would call it. She generally gives me sound advice when I ask for it and she has a way of suggesting new perspectives which change the way I view things. When I can’t quite figure something out I ask Anna and she usually has the answer.
Anna is also good at finding photos of ponies.
Anna always makes me LOL in RL.
She once posted a picture of herself as The Oppressor, whether staged or because she had it on hand, I am not sure, but it worked.
That peeing the pants thing? Double for me, but the Kid put a significant strain on my bladder’s sphincter when she was born, so maybe it has more to do w/ that…but she is really really funny…
When I can’t describe why I am feeling pissy or sad, Anna is willing to patiently listen/read while I try to write it out/talk it out/make it make sense.
She can make a thesis paper funny. I swear it.
She is also the most sincerely genuine person I know who is also so in love with her beliefs that I am actually jealous of her passion and wonder how she doesn’t burn out. She has inspired me since the day I met her. People thought we knew each other from the first day of FWD, so I guess that says something.
She buys toaster waffles and is trying to understand the sandwiches, or at least pretends she does. OM NOM NOM!
Anna is great, and by proxy, I am greater for knowing her, and all that she has rubbed off on me, even if she is trying to bribe my kid w/ moose and polar bears.
Well, for starters, she is Canadian. And not just Canadian, but Nova Scotian! Being Nova Scotian is difficult at times, but I know if anyone can manage it, it is she. (I was not so good at managing it, hence why I now live in Obnoxious Ontario). She is, as I think has been mentioned, both hilarious and a pony connoisseur, excellent things to be.
And she is phenomenally smart and always gives me things to think about! Hooray!
I like Anna because she is an aardvark.
Also, Anna lives in Halifax. Anybody who lives in the same town as I do must be made of a certain flavour of awesome!
Also, she has a fantastic hat.
Also, she is nifty geeky.
Seriously, people, if you’re going to butt into a conversation and you’re going to start/finish your post with “sorry to interrupt”, JUST SHUT UP AND DON’T POST IT TO START WITH. If you’re really all that sorry to interrupt, JUST DON’T INTERRUPT. Especially if you know the conversation isn’t about you and your points aren’t all that fucking important to start with.
“… even while focusing on “famines that killed” (and killed on a gigantic scale), we must acknowledge that famine is part of a continuum with the silent violence of malnutrition that precedes and conditions it, and with the mortality shadow of debilitation and disease that follows it.”
—Mike David. Late Victorian Holocausts: El Nino Famines and the Making of the Third World. Verso: NY, 2001. Pg. 21.
What To Do When You Meet a Sighted Person
What To Do When You Meet a Sighted Person:
People who use their eyes to acquire information about the world are called sighted people or “people who are sighted”. Legal sight means any visual acuity greater than 20/200 in the better eye without correction or an angle of vision wider than 20 degrees.
Sighted people enjoy rich, full lives working, playing and raising families. They run businesses, hold public offices, get arrested and teach your children!
How do Sighted People get Around? People who are sighted may walk or ride public transportation but most choose to travel long distances by operating their own motor vehicles, usually one passenger to a car. They have gone through many hours of extensive training to learn the rules of the road in order to further their independence. Once that road to freedom has been mastered, sighted people earn a legal classification and a drivers license which allows them to operate a private vehicle relatively safely and independently.
How do you assist a sighted person? Sighted people are accustomed to viewing the world in visual terms. This means that in many situations they will not be able to communicate orally and may resort to stammering, pointing, hand waving or other gesturing. Subtle facial expressions may also be used to convey feelings in social situations. Calmly alert the sighted person to his or her surroundings by speaking slowly in a normal tone of voice. Questions directed at the sighted person help focus attention back on the verbal rather than the merely visual.
How do sighted people remember things? Often they don’t remember things.
In fact this is one of the most painful aspects of the visual affliction, the degree to which sight inhibits detailed memory. Often, the sighted person must reacquire the same information each time it is needed. You can help by being sensitive to their struggle by learning to anticipate their need and providing them with the information they need when it is necessary. Don’t tell them too much too quickly. Be sensitive to the capacities of the individual with whom you are dealing. These limitations vary from person to person and it is deeply upsetting to a sighted person to realize that you recognize their mental short comings.
At times sighted people may need help finding things, especially when operating a motor vehicle. Your advance knowledge of routs and landmarks, bumps in the road, and traffic lights will assist the sighted person in finding their way quickly and easily. Your knowledge of building layouts can also assist the sighted person in navigating complex shopping malls and office buildings. Sighted people tend to be very proud and are reluctant to ask for assistance. Be gentle yet firm.
How do sighted people use computers? The sighted person relies exclusively on visual information. His or her attention span fades quickly when reading long texts so it is best to write in bulleted lists of very brief items. The use of bright colors will help the sighted person stay focused.
Computer information is presented to the sighted in a graphical manner to assist them in comprehending their world. Coordination of hands and eyes is often a preoccupation with sighted people so the computer mouse, a handy device that slides along the desk top, saves confusing keystrokes. With one button the sighted person can move around his or her computer screen quickly and easily, if not necessarily efficiently. People who are sighted are not accustomed to synthetic speech and may have great difficulty understanding even the clearest synthesizer, falling asleep between syllables or becoming distracted by a spot on the carpet. Be patient and prepared to explain many times how your computer works.
How do sighted people read? Reading is accomplished by the sighted person through a system called “print,” which is a series of images drawn in a two dimensional plain. People who are sighted generally have a poorly developed sense of touch. Braille is completely foreign to them and severe bouts of disorientation can sometimes result from over exposure to the use of the higher senses.
Sighted people cannot function well in dimly lit conditions and are generally completely helpless and often devastatingly frightened in total darkness. Their homes are usually very brightly lit at great expense as are businesses that cater to the sighted. Naturally these costs are passed on to the consumer.
How can I support the sighted person? People who are sighted do not want your charity. They want to live, work, and play alongside you on as equal a basis as possible. You must ignore their tendency to display feelings that they are superior to you. Failing to allow them this delusion may promote aberrant and antisocial behavior. The best thing you can do to support sighted people in your community is to simply open yourself to their world and help open their limited world to the bounty of your experience. These citizens are vital contributing members of the community, real people with thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams and a story to tell. Take a sighted person to lunch today and make them feel like you truly care.Above article, Author Unknown.
