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athenamariee · 3 years

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A Camren/Fifth Harmony Personal Rant

By me your host, Athen (get ready because it's a lot)

So we all know that the industry is fucking homophobic as fuck and they wanted our girls to sell. How do you get a bunch of teenage girls to sell? Easy. Make them look straight and oversexualize them to no fucking end. They took their formative years away and put them out there for all the world to see but not in a good way. The way they treated those girls was in no way, shape, or form okay and it shows in the way they perform now. What they went through wasn’t okay. Everyone in the group but Dinah Jane (that I know of) dealt with cyberbullying, Normani dealt with tons of racism and death threats, Camila has dealt with and still deals with death threats and major cyberbullying because of past actions, that as a poc, I have personally forgiven and I understand that she was young and didn’t understand the future consequences of her actions, but other people will never get over that and I also understand. Ally was told that she looks like a refrigerator multiple times and she dealt with sexual harassment from a producer and that will absolutely never ever be okay. Lauren was fat shamed and she has admitted that she had a pattern of disordered eating and used drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. Dinah literally had to watch her family member get buried over facetime because they wouldn’t let her go home for the funeral. Why? Because they were in the middle of tour and they wanted all five girls to be at the shows. They were overworked and seriously mistreated. Camila had to be hospitalized multiple times because she was majorly overworked and wasn't eating much due to her working constantly and barley having time to herself or time to eat. She, herself, has said that touring and constantly being on the go had make her anxiety and OCD worse than before. When Camila gets stressed, she gets sick and she's been sick a lot lately and she was sick a lot towards her departure of 5H, which shows you where she was mentally and emotionally.

Camren has always been real. It doesn't matter whether it was just a friendship or something more than that [no pun intended]. Camren shippers believe what we believe because there are too many coincidences. From the tumblr posts to laurens mom posting them by accident and even the music. It all connects and gives us a storyline of what happened. Whether they were really just best friends or they were something more, we may never know. Due to Camila’s label situation, she has been under control of others and we can see that in everything from her posts to the way she acts. As of 10/22/21, I believe that she is trying to leave SYCO/Epic records and I also believe that she is trying to get out of her PR contract. The way the media is playing this out is that Camila is unstable and that that will be the reason that Shawn will leave Camila. Or at least that’s how they’re gonna play it off.

Back to the whole Camren thing, I 1000% believe that they were dating or close to that at one point in time because of all the dots. I’m gonna phrase it like this, they gave us the paint by number canvas but they have only given us some of the paints. They can’t give us all the paints because they’ll get in trouble but sometimes they sneak a color in every now and then. The GP can’t connect the dots and I feel like most of them refuse the thought of Camila being queer even though she has never expicitly said that she was straight. People just assume that she was straight. Have they ever taken a look at her tumblr, instagram or twitter feed? She has cryptically come out multiple times over multiple posts, interviews, and in other ways. She has never had to physically say that she is queer but it’s quite obvious that she is. Lauren on the other hand was kind of made to be the token queer girl of the group. There are obvious issues with this as she was not the only queer girl in the group. Normani and Dinah Jane have also shown an interest in women and so has Camila, but a mostly queer, BIPOC, girl group would not have made as much money as a mostly straight girl group that they could oversexualize and control, since they were so young.

Songs like “Sangria Wine”, “OMG”, “Living Proof” and “My Oh My” (to me) have no real heterosexual explanation and to see people try to give those songs and basically her entire discography a heterosexual explanation that makes absolutely no sense is kind of funny in the way that the songs were never meant to have a heterosexual explanation. They were all meant to be a little queer. She is not straight but she has never had to explicitly say that she isn’t straight.

I, personally, think that Camila was always meant to leave Fifth Harmony. I think that it was in her original contract to leave or that someone (if not Camila, it was gonna be Ally or Normani) was definitely supposed to leave. I don’t believe the whole “oh she left without warning us”. Why don’t you believe that? Because have you heard the 7/27 album?! Almost the entire album is a goodbye. From Squeeze to GGB, Scared of Happy, and No Way, you get the saddest goodbye ever. The rest of the album is a reinforcement of their friendship and the love they have for each other. Someone was gonna leave and they were going to have to disband eventually. The easiest way was for Camila to leave because, sadly, Camila was the main vocalist of 5H and it was the easiest way for them to transition out of being 5H and into being solo artists. They knew they couldn't let her write for the group because if she did write for the group, they would have to keep the girls in longer contracts and the girls didn't want that to happen. You can visibly see their mental health decline while they were in the group and they were more than done with being on tour constantly and they just couldn't do it anymore. And while I'm sad that they split up, I'm happy that they're happy.

and that's it for right now

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intergalactic-zoo · 3 years

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I was almost ready to comment on how this series is using single-word episode titles, just like "Smallville" did, but now we've got this mouthful playing on a book that was roughly contemporary with that show. It's pretty clunky, but whatever.

It's nice that this episode gave us a break from the Luthor story, choosing instead to focus on Lois's investigation and some good character moments for the Kents and Lana's family. The mantra that "life is simpler in Smallville" gets an explicit repudiation, some fences are mended, and some new mysterious antagonists are introduced.

Spoilers ahoy!

If not for the enormous amount of COVID-imposed lead time this series had, and the amount of time it takes to write and record and add special effects to a live-action TV show, this episode would feel like a course correction for a lot of the problems I've had with the last couple of installments.

I'm writing this a little longer after watching the episode than I typically have, so I'm going to go plot-by-plot rather than chronologically through the episode.

Painting the House: a cute scene, and a good way to remind us that, even with all the drama and the teen angst, the Kents are a loving family.

Jonathan & Jordan: Jordan joining the football team is a neat plot point that goes in unexpected directions, given how that kind of thing has typically played out in Superman stories. I like the way that it sets up conflict with Jonathan in the beginning, but eventually he realizes that Jordan's not trying to take away the thing that makes him feel special. Jonathan being the one to convince Clark to let Jordan play—and making the case that Jordan's abilities just even the playing field with respect to his size—is a good moment of solidarity and understanding for him.

And Jordan, for his part, really does seem like he's found what he needed. Being able to take out some aggression on the football field—and having Clark's support—ends up being the key to getting a handle on his anger and being able to solve some problems with kindness rather than sulking and violence. I also appreciate that at least one of our initial antagonists—Sean—has moved out of that role, at least for now.

Coach Clark: There have been lots of attempts over the years to saddle Superman with various character flaws, but I think the one that fits best is being overprotective. On the macro scale, you get "Must There Be a Superman" and "King of the World," and on a micro scale you get stuff like this, being a bit of a helicopter parent and nearly losing Lois early in their relationship by eavesdropping. It rings true in a way that other attempted flaws—being dull-witted or indecisive—haven't. So it's nice here to see him realize it and acknowledge his mistakes, and to realize that he doesn't have to make the same choices his father did in order to keep his kids safe. After all, Jonathan Kent I didn't have superpowers. It'll also be nice for Clark to have a place to be earnest, mild-mannered Clark Kent, since he's outside the Daily Planet environment.

Lana and Sarah: Somewhere in my drafts I have a post about poor Lana Lang, a character made to fill a niche—the Lois Lane analogue for Superboy—and has never had much of a life outside of that niche. Every time Lana is introduced into adult Clark's life, she has a different deal. She's a TV reporter with a British accent, she's married to Pete Ross, she's a successful engineer, but she's almost always the girl whose life fell to pieces in one way or another after Clark Kent left. It's not fair to either character—Clark's presence in a person's life should elevate them, not devastate them—and while I understand the reason for giving her a failing marriage and conflicts with her children, I do want to see Lana have a happy ending in some adaptation or incarnation.

Anyway, I like Sarah as a character, and it's interesting to see how her story parallel's Jordan's, with her mother's overbearing overprotectiveness leading to conflict. It creates a contrast between how Clark and Lana are handling their respective teenage offspring, and gives them a nice bonding moment. It's easy to see how these bonding moments could turn into Lana trying to rekindle the old flame with Clark, and I really hope that doesn't happen, but platonic male-female friendships are rare enough on TV that I can imagine it's hard to set one up without everyone seeing a ship setting sail.

Speaking of ships, I know that Jordan and Sarah are an obvious pairing, but I hope Jordan is smart enough not to try to be her rebound relationship (and ruin his reconciliation with Sean). But honestly, I kind of hope Jordan is gay or bi, giving a way to tie his feelings of being different and search for identity to the struggles queer kids commonly face in an explicit way rather than an allegorical one.

Seriously though, let Clark and Lois have a strong marriage that doesn't need to be threatened by the Other Woman for unnecessary drama. Let the drama build out of normal family conflicts, not tropes that were sexist and outdated when they were common in the Silver Age.

Lois's Story: "The news comes to Lois Lane" seems to be an ongoing theme, as the next lead in her story just walks through the door of the Smallville Gazette. Unsurprisingly for a story involving Lois Lane, this leads to a conspiracy involving disappearing workers and super-powered enforcers. Lois explicitly makes the point I said earlier, that the stories in small towns do matter, and too often get overlooked because there aren't enough reporters covering them.

The action scene where Lois is attacked by someone with Kryptonian-level abilities is pretty good. I always like when Superman enters a confrontation by trying to de-escalate before fighting, and I always like when Lois enters a confrontation by trying to fight before calling in the big guns. The fight between Superman and the assailant (who I think is credited as Subjekt 11, but I assumed that character was going to carry forward and, uh, doesn't look like he is) showcases both a nice escalation as Superman learns what the guy's strength is, and some nice uses of powers. The CW effects teams have gotten pretty creative over the years. The one issue I have is that Superman slams the guy through a cinderblock wall right at the start of the fight, before he's tested those abilities, and I feel like that would have done some real damage if he'd guessed wrong and the guy was a baseline human. The No-Prize Answer would be that either he scanned the guy before hitting him and knew, at baseline, that he was a meta, or that he knew Lois wouldn't call him unless she was dealing with a metahuman threat. Still, it bugs me.

I do hope we learn more about what Subjekt-11 was. Metahuman? Kryptonian? Some kind of experiment? I'm frankly more interested in the Morgan Edge stuff than alt-universe Luthor.

The woman who takes out Subjekt-11—who I guess was also with Edge at the meeting last episode—seems to be named Leslie Larr, no doubt a reference to Lesla-Lar, the Silver Age Kandorian villain who happened to be an exact double for Supergirl, because every major character had a double living in Kandor. Whether that means she's Kryptonian or some other swerve is something, I guess, we'll learn later.

Other: I noticed an Easter Egg that I haven't seen reported anywhere else: The Whitty Banter Show! For those who don't remember, Whitty Banter was the host of a Metropolis talk show in the 80s and 90s; there's ads for it all over the Death of Superman Newstime issue. In trying to remind myself what Easter Egg I remembered catching, I also learned that Kryptonsite still exists! What a blast from the past. There was a time, many moons ago, where that was a daily visit for me, along with the Superman Homepage.

And Blogger.com, for that matter. But those days are clearly far behind us.

#IFTTT #Blogger #TheFortressOfSoliloquy

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bakasara · 6 years

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No but can I make a serious observation about this? Because it’s easy to joke that Fuller failed in his original project but I don’t think he did.

Fuller’s original plan was to explore platonic (as in nonromantic and nonsexual) male friendship in Hannibal, right? The point of this should’ve beent to create a deep and affectionate amical love that was different than the many male friendships you see on TV and in real-life where, especially in the american model, there’s this normalized pretense of detachment. Fuller has unsurprisingly gone on record saying that he thinks bro culture is gross. That’s what he wanted to do different in his show, and that’s also why he cared about heterosexual!Will Graham. Will was supposed to be a straight character that’s far from a dudebro, who isn’t concerned with not looking gay, is emotionally available in a friendship with another man, ok with being vulnerable in it, and displays gestures of tender amical affection.

But, hear me out. Dudebro rituals and affectations are all built around the goal of distancing yourself as much as possible from the concept and the practice of male homosexuality, intended both as sexual intimacy and as same-sex romance. Dudebro culture revolves around creating a false dichotomy in male relationships between amical behaviors on the one hand, and romantic/sexual feelings and behaviors on the other. That’s artificial because in reality the two virtually always mingle, even for people we genuinely only want to be friends with. Holding hands, for example, can be both amical and romantic. But where for women it’s more acceptable to blur the line, for men much less so. In short, dudebro-style friendship is centrally preoccupied with A) exorcising the threat of homosexuality/homoromanticism, B) prevent as many chances as possible for homosxuality/romanticism to happen.

The contrary of this is also true, though. A model of friendship that’s more tender, intimate and full of gentle touch as means of affection, is a model that actively entails the blurring of lines and admits the existence of male/male romance and sexual desire. It’s a model in which those are recognized as possibilities that are not entirely other than the practices found in friendship. Homosociality and homosexuality have lots of contact points and intersections in this model; there’s nowhere near the same complex system designed to make sure one doesn’t tip over into the other as there is in dudebro-style friendship. The ‘risk’ (by dudebro standards) of ‘becoming queer’ is ever-present, but more than that, it’s actually much easier to ‘slip’ into queerness.

That’s the whole point. When you construct a friendship like that, unlike what happens in dudebro culture, it’s a friendship constructed on the premise that it could turn romantic, and it’s a friendship whose practices are much more blurred with typical romantic practices. Nothing is stopping it from happening if not other factors (prefer the person as friend only, no attraction, rational decision, etc.). A factor could also be incompatible orientation, like if say at least one of the people involved were straight, but this slippery model of friendship is still based on the premise that currently identifying as an incompatible orientation doesn’t necessarily dispel the chance of evolving into romance, and still has a mode of displaying affection that easily blurs with romantic. That’s why dudebro culture is so afraid of it, suddenly there’s no safeguard. And with Hannibal and Will’s relationship, Fuller absolutely succeeded in creating a friendship of this type. Hannibal and Will are never concerned with policing each other’s gestures or their own to not ‘look gay’, and long before any realization that they’re in love they show affection in ways that can both be amical and romantic (e.g. covering the other with a blanket for comfort, touching hands tenderly...). And simultaneously they were written as coming quickly to share a deep, layered intimacy that is normally non-existent or mistified in dudebro-style friendships. Theirs is simply a slippery-type friendship that at some unclear point tipped over into romance (and likewise might tip over into sexual intimacy later).

So whether he realizes this or not, it’s not that Fuller failed in his original plan but rather it’s that, exactly like he wanted, he created a friendship that by design entails a certain romantic/sexual fluidity no matter what you identify as at the moment. And that simply happened to carry a previously heterosexual-identifying character into queerness because of how that possibility for fluidity came into being for him.

#hannibal meta #ooh this is meta meta #hannibal #hannigram

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the-marvel-imagines-blog · 5 years

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Depression and Anxiety

Hello, my beautiful followers!

This post is going to be something different than what I usually post. This isn’t a chapter of Madness or a random ficlet/imagine. I just want to open up about what’s going on in my life at this exact moment, something that has plagued this blog a lot since its birth.

***IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO TALKS OF SUICIDE, DEPRESSION, OR ANXIETY, PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER***

***If you are struggling, there are always people who are willing to help. Reach out, find a hand, grab on, and hold tight. You are needed. You are worthy. You are enough. ***

***If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States. The Lifeline is available for everyone. It’s free, and it’s confidential. You can call the Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or chat with them online here.***

I live with major depressive disorder and panic disorder that also morphs into bouts of OCD. Throughout my life, I’ve been treated by various therapists/psychiatrists/doctors, received medication (which never seemed to work), been to therapy, spent time in inpatient care, and spent time in the hospital in connection to my depression and anxiety, which have-in the past-led to attempted suicide and suicidal thoughts. My anxiety and depression feed off of each other at this point in my life. I look at them as a co-dependent couple.

When I’m depressed, my anxiety is sitting in the background with a little voice saying, “people can see you’re depressed! You should hide it! No one likes a debby downer. Be happier. If you don’t play your role as the funny one, people won’t want to be around you.” It progresses from there, and they begin to work in tandem with one another. If I don’t hear from a friend for a day (which is totally normal in my friendships), the anxiety tells me that they probably left me, while the depression tells me that it would be for the better because everyone leaves at some point, right? Those aren’t “normal” thoughts for me most of the time, but depression kicks my ass. I struggle with the anxiety building up the depression...until the depression starts to give way to the anxiety.

When the anxiety hits, it hits hard. I have panic attacks, and it leads to me secluding myself in my house for days on end. I’ve called out of work before because I can’t bear to leave for fear of having another panic attack. It’s embarrassing to have one of those in public, especially at your job. Quick story: my anxiety had started to diminish, and I was heading back into what I call “Eden” which is just the state of being “normal” (for lack of a better word).

Let me say this before I continue: I understand that “Eden” has a religious context, but I was raised Catholic and left the church at a young age (14ish) when I was told (at my church) that “the gays are going to hell.” I understand that not all Catholic churches preach hate, but mine did at the time. As a queer woman, that didn’t support my beliefs, so I left, but that’s an entirely different story. Eden was still, in my mind, a place of peace and tranquility, a place I dreamed of when I was younger. When I was scared as a child, I would try to picture what the Garden of Eden would look like, and it helped calm me. I just wanted to put great stress on the fact that my choice of words for my “normal state” is in no way pushing religion onto anyone. It’s just what I named it.

Anyway, I was on my way out of my anxiety, thinking that it was just about packed away. I hadn’t experienced a panic attack for two or three days at that point, so I was hoping there wouldn’t be anymore of them at all. When I got to work, I clocked in and within 45 minutes, the man who had been sexually harassing and threatening me (he’d often threaten to follow me home and do whatever he wanted with me) came into the store. This man was well known for being a drug addict and an alcoholic, but he made me feel wildly unsafe even when I was far away from work at my own home. He did his usual rambling and made eyes at my chest over and over again, asking for cigarettes and whatnot. In the meantime, I had called my supervisor up to the front to have him deal with the situation. By the time he got there, though, the man noticed and walked out. Still, he had made the same variety of threats he always did, and it sent me over the edge.

I ran to the bathroom, a complete mess. I was sobbing, shaking, and I nearly fainted because my panic attack was causing me to hyperventilate. I cried so hard I had to use the toilet to vomit (probably TMI, but I want to be super real with y’all). I’m a strong person. I’ve been through the wringer time and time again from my mom’s suicide when I was 14 (which I feel an immense guilt over) to the death of my very best friend. We all have our stuff, every single one of us, and these are mine. When my panic attack had subsided, my boss suggested I go home and take it easy for the rest of the day. It was the most embarrassing situation I’d ever experienced because this panic attack happened at my place of work, and my coworkers witnessed part of it. I could barely show my face after that, and my depression started to feed the anxiety. The depression said, “you’re too damaged. No one likes damaged goods. You might as well not be around. You’re a waste of air. This is just a sad existence. Why try? Give up.”

This is just an insight into my life. Recently, I woke up, and I knew it was going to be one of those days. I had a pretty severe panic attack the night before, but I woke up with high anxiety at around 2:30 am. I knew at that moment that it would lead into a depressive episode, and I can never tell how long the episodes will last. I started to have a complete meltdown. I wouldn’t normally wake up around that time, but I did. I drove out to the middle of town and sat in my car until it was light out. I watched passing cars, stared out the window, looked up at the stars, and thought about my own existence. For hours, I was the human embodiment of the Dial-Up internet sound or TV static.

I have a history with self mutilation, which I hate talking about even with my therapist. It brings up the “hot shame” feeling. It’s an activity I haven’t partook in for years (since I watched my grandfather cry when he found out about it) and had no real interest in it since then. For years, those thoughts haven’t really crossed my mind...until that morning. In a desperate attempt to pull myself out of that mindset, I started to partake in other destructive behaviors that I won’t get into detail about here because I NEVER want to endorse these activities. I wanted to feel something else-anything else-and distance myself from potentially hurting myself, so I did.

***I want to make it very clear that these are not activities that are life-threatening (hard drugs, self mutilation, breaking laws, etc.). I want that to be very, very, very clear.***

Because I haven’t taken part in these activities for a long time, it’s hard to remember how to pull myself out of this all-too-familiar rut. I’ve been isolating myself from my friends, hoping that by hunkering down and riding it out, I’ll be able to come out of this episode quickly.

I just wanted to give some clarity as to why I’ve been “absent” on this blog, why I haven’t been posting as often as I would like to be, and why I haven’t been as active as I should be. I hope you’re able to understand why this blog may seem “lifeless” at some points, but I have a lot of ideas as to how I can bring my creativity back to life and maybe breathe life back into this blog that I love so much. Writing is my main creative outlet, and being able to share my creations has given me so much joy.

I cannot explain how phenomenal y’all are for sticking around and staying with me for this long. To those of you who have reached out and have spent time talking to me, fangirling with me, encouraging me, hearing me, more times than one, you’ve pulled me away from a ledge, even if you didn’t know it. I am forever thankful for what you’ve given to me, and I could never thank you enough for that.

With all the love in my heart,

Me.

#depression #anxiety #mental health #suicide #mdd #ocd #mental illness #health #marvel #imagines #self harm #sad #angst #mcu #fanfiction

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go-diane-winchester · 5 years

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5 Reasons why Supernatural is not queer baiting you [and is not stuck in the closet]

This is an edited repost.

Interpretation of any piece of art and literature is one of the fun aspects of being human. You use your imagination to analyze a loved work from every angle so as to increase your pleasure of said work. However, if you present your interpretation as if it is a fact, and it results in harassment, bullying and threats for actors involved in a show, then it becomes a problem. Why do some fans accuse Supernatural of queer baiting, whilst others are vehemently opposed? Why is it not a universal argument in fandom? It is because the former don’t admit that their interpretations are just that: interpretation. Bi Dean arguments have no basis in canon, and proponents of Bi Dean in fact refuse to acknowledge canonical oppositions to their interpretations. The vehement opposers of Bi Dean actually respect canon. Truth is universal and canon is truth.

1. Dean was not born from gratuitously bisexual inspiration

As a fiction writer myself, I know that an original character is not easy to put together. You have to do a character analysis [I believe in using a homemade template, myself], character background [because it should shape what the character becomes in the current canon] and formulation of their physical attributes as well as wardrobe. I, in fact, include things like medical history and diet choices in my own template to get a feel for the character that I want. But every writer is different and chooses a different approach. Eric Kripke had a clear idea of what he wanted his characters to be.

For the character personalities

Kripke wanted them to be like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. Han Solo was a cavalier renegade who had no respect for authority and fits in with Dean’s overall personality. Dean doesn’t care if he is talking to an FBI agent, a priest or even his own father. If you say something wrong, he will correct you and he has done that in canon. If you have given him a reason to hate you, trust Dean to let you know, right to your face. Dean doesn’t kiss up to authority. He is the quintessential bad boy.

Luke Skywalker is the polar opposite of Han. He does things by the book. He wears his heart on his sleeve and shows more empathy and emotion than his counterpart Han. Sam is all of this and, like Luke, gives off an air of innocence, and sporadically the viewer feels the need to protect him because of said innocence. Despite the fact that Sam has grown up and out of his chocolate boy features, he still remains the quintessential good boy.

There are many tropes at play here that fiction writers cling to. The polar opposite trope is favored because it provides room for friction. Imagine how Supernatural would be, if Dean and Sam just agreed with each other all the time. It would make for bland viewing. Sometimes they are on the same page. Some times they aren’t. Polarizing characters make for more vivid story telling and [particularly in our fandom] forces you to pick a side. In other words, it keeps you invested in the characters. The polar opposite trope can also be used for two enemies who are stuck in the same situation. And in some cases, one of them is the overall baddie in the story. It is not just a friendship trope.

Another well known trope that is being used here, is the much-loved buddy formula. The buddy formula is used by a lot by screenwriters, because it is so popular with audiences, and can share similarities with the polar opposite trope. Essentially the buddy formula contains two characters and even though they may be polar opposites, they tend to have a deep affection for each other. Cagney and Lacey, Riggs and Murtaugh, Thelma and Louis and finally, Sam and Dean are example thereof.

At this juncture, I would like to laughingly point out that Bi Dean advocates will cling to Thelma and Louis as proof of bi dean, because of the possible lesbian subtext. Stop right there. I watched Thelma and Louis, and I felt that they were fed up friends, almost sisters who didn’t want to live in the world any more. I didn’t see any subtext. If you did, good for you. It increases your viewing pleasure. However, as a straight woman, I have my own interpretation and it is just as significant as yours. Hilariously, Sam and Dean have referred to themselves as Thelma and Louis. So you cant use that to proof Dean is bi, because essentially you will be proving wincest.

The difference between the buddy formula and the polar opposite trope is the affection that is inherently mixed into the buddy formula. Buddies are more affectionate with each other. In one of the Lethal Weapon movies, Riggs walks into Murtaugh’s kitchen, plants a kiss on Mrs Murtaugh’s cheek, walks up to Murtaugh and nonchalantly plants a kiss on his cheek as well, before going to raid the food storage. Murtaugh doesn’t react negatively. That scene was added for many reasons but there are two important reasons: [1] to show the affection between the two, which is platonic [2] to get a laugh out of the audience by showing how irritatingly unaware Riggs is, that Murtaugh is angry with him.

Murtaugh even “sensed” that Riggs was drowning and saved him, telling Riggs “I heard you, Riggs. I heard you, baby.’‘ Yes, that is an actual line from Lethal Weapon and it proves that they love each other. How you perceive their love is up to you. Affectionate name calling is used in the buddy formula and is also apparent in Sam and Dean’s interaction as well.

Is Cas an affectionate shortening of the name Castiel? Both Dean and Sam call him Cas? Maybe. Or it maybe because the name Castiel doesn’t syllabically roll off the tongue. It’s an ancient name and for modern day Sam and Dean, saying the full name is verbally cumbersome. So they opted for Cas. If the shortening of the name means Dean is in love with Cas, then it easily means Sam is in love with Cas too. Oddly, despite the character name of Samuel being shortened to Sam, by Dean so it will roll of the tongue during a conversation, Dean actually adds a syllable and called him Sammy out of affection. So for Sammy, the ’'name is too long and cumbersome’' excuse flies out the window. Sammy gets used even when Dean is in a hurry, angry or affectionate. It is a part of his personal lexicon.

For the character backdrop

Part of Kripke’s logline for Supernatural and its backdrop included “Star Wars in truck stop America,”. Another trope comes into play here: The fish out of water. In earlier seasons, the studious and preppy Sam clashed with the dustbowl Americana surroundings and its people. Dean fit in. Dean is salt of the earth. Sam is more aware of the world beyond the dustbowl Americana because he is an intellectual. Another part of the logline was ’'X Files meets Route 66”. Route 66 is about two guys [Todd, the Yale graduate good boy and Buz, the street smart fighter bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks] who go on a road trip across North America, encountering and solving social problems along the way, while trying to find a place to settle and find how they themselves fit into their world. Kripke picked very accurate loglines for Supernatural, because Todd and Buz are exactly like Sam and Dean. But they had names that Kripke didn’t like. I don’t blame him.

For the character names

Bi Dean advocates always use the name Dean as being proof of Bi Dean. Kripke chose both the names of his main characters from Jack Kerouac’s Beat Generation classic On the road. it is not an LGBT classic. It was a universal classic that just happened to have a bisexual character. The characters were Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise. That is all he took from the work. He didn’t take the road trip idea from On the road. He took it from Route 66. Even the polarizing characters were taken from Route 66. All he took was the names, and even then, he wasn’t happy with Sam’s previous name so he changed one alphabet. He took nothing else. And that is the one thing Bi Dean advocates cling to. There is no unique similarity between On the road and Supernatural. Or between Dean Winchester and Dean Moriarty, for that matter, other than one character sharing a name with another. I can understand why he stuck with Dean. The name just has an All-American ring to it.

Bi Dean advocates argue that the bisexual Dean Moriarity was inspired by a real bisexual man called Neal Cassidy. What they fail to realize is that Moriarity and Cassidy were not only bisexual but also pedophiles. Dean Winchester is not a pedophile.

Don't dig into Kerouac’s character's backstory to try and prove that Dean from Supernatural is bi, whilst ignoring the backstory of Supernatural own formulation. That is called over reaching, and some fans use this unsteady theory to threaten the leads and plant accusations of bigotry. Jensen has received online abuse for this and his reputation is completely tarnished with accusations of homophobia.

2. Castiel’s wardrobe choice does not reflect on Dean’s sexual orientation

I remember watching a scene from That’s 70’s Show, where Fez confessed to having an erotic dream about Kelso. Kelso is shocked and declares “Do you know what this means? Its means I’m gay”. This fandom is proof, that Kelso is not unique in his stupidity. Our fandom has a rich supply of ignorance, conveniently shrouded in social justice, so that when you successfully contradict them, they can just call you a bigot and quieten you down.

For Castiel, Kripke only took wardrobe inspiration from John Constantine, a famous bisexual character. That is it. He took nothing else. Trenchcoats are wardrobe items and not a sign of an individual’s sexuality. Constantine was bisexual. Columbo was straight but also wore a trenchcoat. There is no unique similarity between Castiel and Constantine. Constantine is a man, an occult detective, a humanitarian and is best known for his sarcasm. Does that sound like Castiel to you? Castiel is an angel [a very useless one], a killer of many innocent people, a displacer of angels and very rarely says something mildly sarcastic. And if the trench coat makes Castiel bi, how does that reflects on Dean?

3. Castiel’s sexual orientation is not complex, neither is it reflective of Dean’s sexuality

Castiel is not human, and therefore is not shackled by human limitations. He is not even a “he”. He doesn’t have any preferences, nor does he canonically have any sexual desire except for Meg, whom he willingly kissed. But that might be borne out of his love for her and her relentless pursuit of him. His bond with Meg was not sexual. When he became human, sexual desire awoken in him and he slept with a woman merely because she hit on him and he was curious. But he doesn’t do that in his angel state. He doesn’t seek out sex in his angel state because he has no human, physical desire. Canonically, he doesn’t even have a soul, so how he and Dean can be seen as soul mates baffles me. Nobody else has relentlessly pursued Castiel accept Meg. Dean hasn’t. Dean kicked him out of the bunker despite the fact that he was vulnerable because Sam’s host Gadreel had a problem with him. Dean doesn’t love Castiel, nor does Dean pursue him. He looks for Sammy when Sammy is missing, but doesn’t do that for Castiel. Dean doesn’t sympathize with Castiel’s pain, even telling Castiel once “nobody cares that you are broken”.

4. Dean cannot, textually, be interpreted as a bisexual unless you relinquish common sense

Most of the canon examples of bi dean can easily be explained away.

Dean is not giving Charlie flirting pointers because he has hit on men before. He is himself a man, and know what he wants to hear from a woman and what would get him interested or distracted. By the end of the scene, both Dean and Charlie who like women and not men, felt dirty. And Sammy laughed through the whole thing because he knew how uncomfortable his brother was. Because Sammy, who was raised by Dean, knows his brother. Dean wont keep his bisexuality from Sam, because he has no reason to. Sam is not narrow-minded.

In the context of this scene, when Castiel just berated Dean, only a true intellectual maverick is going to think that Dean is inviting Castiel to a impromptu session of fellatio. Because that would make sense for the whole vessel scene, wouldn’t it, geniuses. For people, who are not soaked in delusion, Dean is countering Castiel’s berating with disrespect because he is angry. I cant believe this needs to be explained because “blow me” is a popular colloquial slang, used to insult someone. Have none of the bi dean advocates ever heard that term before? Do they think “scr*w yourself” means “Go and masturbate right now”? Which rock to they live under?

Dean is not flirting with the sheriff here. He is drunk. There is a reason, a drunk person’s testimony doesn’t fly in court. You don’t take a drunk person seriously. The deputy isn’t flirting back either. He is just amused by the compliment which he didn’t earn or deserve. He even asks Sam beforehand if the other “agent” is drunk. He is probably amused by a drunk, anxious agent hanging around the station.

The gif is wrong. He didn’t say hi. He said doctor. I am touchy about this one because Jensen got a death threat over it. The idea that a man can only be a fan of a male celebrity because he wants to sleep with the male celebrity, is completely insulting and a failure to understand male psychology. Dean’s flustered facial expression here is used for two reasons. [1] that is how some fans, both male and female behave, and [2] its hilarious to watch Dean fanboying. This is a humor device and nothing else. Even blushing is not a sign of attraction. If your teacher compliments your work in front of the entire class, and you blush, does it mean that you are in love with Mrs Haggerty from Science Lab?

Ah, the birth of Performing!Dean. Performing!Dean doesn’t exist. He has no reason to. Because Dean has no motivation to stay in the closet and hide his supposedly feminine bisexual self behind a toxic masculine façade. Sam is not giving us clues of Dean’s bisexuality. He is taunting his big brother because that is what obnoxious little brothers do. Remember, the hotelier thought that they both were gay. Sam only picked on Dean here, because only Dean has an issue with it. He isn’t a homophobe but a proud straight man.

Dean doesn’t care about the human state of the world. He doesn’t care about human issues like racism, sexism and the lgbt. He will categorize you as a human being and protect you, if you gave him a reason to. He doesn’t care how you look, which way you swing, and how you pray. If you give him a reason to like you, he will like you. If you give him a reason to hate you, he will hate you. Dean will only care if you are useful to him in his hunt. The hunt is his life and his motivation to hunt is Sam and keeping Sam close and safe. Dean is not pro or anti anything. If you are human, you matter. That is why de-graced Castiel is left out of hunts, because without any power, Cas is “basically a baby in a trenchcoat”, in other words, utterly useless to them. But if Sam’s wall breaks, hold the phone.

He doesn’t judge your sexual orientation. He has worked with gay and bi people before, like Charlie and the gay hunting couple. So he is not a bigot. However he isn’t used to men hitting on him. He almost throws up because the Chief from the BDSM club [Criss Angel is a douchebag] describes what he is planning to do to Dean and asks for a safe word, and he is flustered by Aaron because he doesn’t know how to react. He wasn’t expecting Aaron to tell that very clever lie. He didn’t bother telling Aaron he was straight. Of course, bi Dean advocates think that is significant, and how he closed his badge is also significant.

It is. It shows that Dean is compassionate. He was ready to punch Aaron in the face for following him. But when Aaron lies about being attracted to Dean, Dean lets him down easily. What was he supposed to say to a man he thinks he will never meet again: “Look dude, I am not queer. We didn’t have any moment.’' Dean quietly packs away his badge, because he realized that he brandished it at the wrong person. Another reason is that Dean is an arrogant man when it comes to his looks and doesn’t mind a compliment. So he isn’t going to break the heart of the person complimenting him. He is compassionate but he has an ego. That is why he was disappointed that Aaron had successfully fooled him by inflating his ego. Because he did it so easily and Dean must have wanted to kick himself for falling for it.

Dean being born in the Bible Belt of America means nothing. His father was an atheist. He was too, until he came face to face with an angel. He acknowledges the Divine exists, but he believes in free will. He spent most of his life, traipsing around America. Its not like he stuck it out in the Bible belt area. He has no religious reason to be in the closet. He raised Sam and Sam isn’t a bigot, so Sam wont have a problem with him being bisexual. Dean has no motivation to hide himself from Sam because, in many ways, Sam is his child and knows him. If Dean was bi, Sam would have figured it out.

Dean is sexually not a vanilla person when it comes to sex, and despite where he was born, he is a sexually outspoken, kinky, loudmouth who admits to wearing his date’s underwear, not because he is feminine, but because he is a kinky little dirt bag who will do anything the date says, so he can close the deal with her. Wearing her underwear is not proof that he is bisexual, because there are bisexual men who don’t wear women’s clothing and this is insulting to them.

5. Dean and Castiel do not make a better couple than any of their love interests

Castiel had only one genuine love interest. Meg. And this union between two polar opposite characters in human vessels, is certainly more compelling than the blank stares that Dean and Castiel shared until their screen time decreased, much to Jensen’s happiness. Meg took care of Castiel despite being a demon. Dean kicked Castiel out of the bunker for Sam’s benefit. Meg pursued Castiel. Dean let Castiel to swop places mentally with Sam, so Sam could leave the asylum, safe and healthy, whilst Castiel remained in the asylum, broken and damaged. He never pursued Castiel or took care of him.

Dean only had one girlfriend. And she was Cassie. The name Cassie does not foreshadow destiel. Cassie didn’t work out because she was far too involved in worldly things like racism and he cared about the supernatural world. She was an intellectual and he was a high school drop out. She is actually a lot like Sam, and they would actually make sense as a couple. Dean never loved Lisa. Canonically, he only shacked up with her, because Sam forced him. And when Lisa realized that, she let him go.

Castiel and Dean don’t make sense as a couple because Castiel has lied to Dean about many things. There are some things he hasn’t come clean about, to Sam and Dean, e.g. opening up the Panic Room door and letting Sam free. He used the mixed tape to double cross Dean, so the mixed tape is a proof of Castiel’s betrayal. It is not proof of destiel. The whole Leviatian affair is Castiel’s fault. And although Dean does take Castiel like a brother, canonically, he wont sell his soul for Castiel, like he did for Sammy. Using slowed down gifs of Dean and Cas staring blankly at each other, doesn’t proof that Dean is bisexual. Every time Dean stares at a man, its doesn’t mean he is attracted to that person.

The show is not queer baiting you by leaving subtextual easter eggs in the frame. They don’t have time for that. Because they average one episode a week. They are working at a break neck speed. They don’t have the time to indulge fannish nonsense. Everyone associated with the show have said that Dean is not bi. I don’t mind you interpreting, but when you force it on Jensen and threaten him when he doesn’t like it, you are being a vile and disgusting predatory beast. The only person who is reinforcing destiel, claimed at Jaxcon that Dean is bisexual and is queer baiting you is Misha Collins. Go take it up with him.

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2-for-a-penny · 6 years

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A Name or an Apartment Number- Chapter 1

This is my first fic so please be gentle with the criticism. I’m just a smol child that wants to write about her gay children.

Includes: JackxDavey, Newsbians, SpotxRacer, ElmerxAlbert, SpecsxRomeo, and some other assorted pairs

Rated: M for the fact that I might attempt to write some “steamy” stuff. It will not be good though.

Archive

Masterlist

CHAPTER 1

A sudden crash caused Jack to whip his head to the source of the sound. His eyes focused on a group of kids staring at the ground, with one lone child rushing to clean up the spill. Jack casually walked over to the child and the spill. The kid was frantically grabbing paper towels, attempting to wipe up the mess. Jack bent down to eye level of the panicking kid.

“Matthew.” Jack said soothingly. “Matthew, it’s okay buddy. Spills happen. No need to panic little guy.” Jack smiled reassuringly to him.

“Let me help you.” He gently took the paper towel roll, and began to wipe up the paint that had splattered across the tile floor. He swiftly cleaned up the mess and helped the child back to his seat. As he did, the bell rang for the group to leave the class.

“See you next week guys!” Jack called to them. He smiled as he walked around the tables, collecting the materials they had used that day. Jack hummed quietly to himself, as he pursued his task.

Working with kids was something Jack always knew he wanted to do. Being around little kids all the time at Medda’s theater, made him feel like a mentor. It just felt right to be with them, teaching them. After he discovered his aptitude for art, he was convinced he was going to be an art teacher. Here he was now, 26 and living his dream, teaching elementary school kids to love art. He was content with his life, and was scanning the artwork they had created as he heard a cough by the door.

“Jack,” He turned to see Sarah Jacobs, his principal, in the doorway. Sarah was sweet, she was also quite scary when she wanted to be, which was great considering she was a principal. Sarah was also dating his ex girlfriend, Katherine. They had been together senior year of high school, but the flame quickly died out as they realized things about themselves. First, that all they ever did when they were together, was fight. And second, that both of them were queer as hell. This led to the swift ending of their relationship, but allowed a strong friendship to form between the two.

“What’s up Sarah?” He grinned as he leaned against the small art table, getting paint on his arm in the process.

“It’s Ms. Jacob in school Jack.” She stated sternly, but with a smile playing on her lips. “Anyways,” she began. “I need a favor from you.” She strolled into the room, and sat down at his desk with a ‘plop’.

“Anything for a lovely girl like yourself” Jack replied. She shot him an angry look, but let out a small laugh.

“My brother,” She casually stated as she leaned back in his chair, to prop her heeled feet up on a nearby stool. “He’s going to start teaching here.” Jack cocked his head as his brows furrowed in confusion.

“And this has what to do with me?” Jack questioned her.

“Patience child.” Sarah said looking playfully offended. “My brother is going to start teaching here next week, and I want you to help him out a bit. You know?” She looked at Jack hopefully. He rolled his eyes at her puppy dog begging and crossed his arms.

“Come on Sarah.” He replied with a roll of his eyes. “A grown man doesn’t need me to “help him out” around an elementary school. It’s pretty easy to figure out.”

Sarah sighed dramatically as she kicked her feet off the stool so she could lean forward on the small wooden desk.

“You really have to make everything as hard as possible don’t you Kelly.” She sighed again and explained further. “My brother is quite shy. I don’t expect him to make friends with any other teachers any time soon. And contrary to popular belief, you are actually decently easy to talk to, and get along with. I think that if you became friends, it would make his transition easier. So can you stop being a pompous ass for long enough to be nice to him?” She gave him a stern stare and quirked one eyebrow up, daring him to not agree to her wishes.

“Fine!” He groaned as he wiped his face with his palms. “I’ll help your stupid brother, just get out of my classroom.”

“I knew you’d see it my way!” She smiled cheerfully as she rose from the desk, and went to pat him on the shoulder.

“Really, Jack, thank you. He’s really going to appreciate this.” She headed for the doorway, then turned back to Jack before she left. “I’ll introduce you guys on Monday, have a good weekend.” She turned away but called over her shoulder, “By the way, you have paint all over your shirt.” With that she was gone.

Jack looked down to his shirt, that was now splattered with a range of colors due to the paint on his arm.“Damn it.” He muttered under his breath, as he wiped the remaining paint from his arm. His shirt was now stained. It was one of his favorites too, a simple white Henley. Oh well, another ruined shirt. Tis’ the life of an artist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack pulled open the door to his apartment building. He was thinking over what Sarah had said. He really didn’t want to try and be buddy buddy with her brother. He didn’t really have the time, nor did he want to put in the effort. He was friendly with his coworkers, but they weren’t exactly his type of people. They were all too formal with each other, and made the most mundane jokes. Jack would much rather spend time with his real friends. The crazy guys that he has spent his whole life with.

His mind was in his thoughts as he approached the wall of mailboxes in the lobby of his apartment building. He absent mindedly put the key in the lock of his box and opened it to grab the mail. He flipped through the different letters, mostly junk mail. He saw a few bills, utilities, phone, the usual. He cursed under his breath and began to open one until he heard a small laugh come from beside him.

He looked up from the mail and caught the eyes of another man standing a few boxes away. He was smiling at Jack and gesturing to the mail in his hand.

“Bills? Or threatening letters from your mother about how you are acting in the big city? Or is it maybe a death threat? Who did you manage to piss off? The mob? Does the mob send threats by snail mail anymore?” The man spouted out his theories with a bright smile and a laugh. But it wasn’t just his smile that Jack noticed. The man was tall and well built. He wasn’t a bodybuilder, but you could tell he worked out and took care of his body. His muscular arms were propped up against the wall, causing his shirt to stretch and emphasize his biceps. His dark hair fell slightly into his eyes, and framed is sharp, angular face. His bright smile was paired with a set of twinkling green eyes. Jack felt as if he could get lost in them for hours.

Jack was jolted from his thoughts at the sound of the man speaking. “So which is it then? Do I need to be watching the door in case any mobsters try to walk in here with a baseball bat?” He questioned Jack.

Jack finally gathered his thoughts enough to respond to the question he was being asked. “Oh, haha, no.” He rubbed his neck awkwardly and shifted his weight. “Just some bills, you know. The usual.” He smiled, tried to keep from looking at the man. Shuffling the mail in his hands, messing with his key. He glanced back up to meet his eyes, the other man was just watching with a soft smile.

“Well,” The man pushed himself off of the mailboxes and put the mail in his hand into a neat stack. “I gotta go, stuff to do” He began to walk away as Jack got the sense to speak.

“Wait.” Jack turned to the man as he was preparing to walk out the door. “I’ve never seen you before. Did you just move in or something?” Getting over his initial shock, he finally felt like he had control of himself as he flashed the man his signature smirk, and crossed his arms over his chest casually. “Because I know I would remember someone like you.”

The man smiled and color began to creep onto his cheeks. “Moved in yesterday. I’m new to the area.” He pushed the door open and moved to walk out.

“Maybe I could show you around sometime?” Jack said almost more like a statement than a question.

“Maybe you can. See you around.” The man walked out the door and let it shut behind him. Jack smiled to himself and began to walk to the elevator before he realized. He never got the man’s name or which apartment he was in! He wasn’t paying enough attention to see which box he got his mail from, so that was a lost cause. A great opportunity missed by a name, or an apartment number.

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ywhiterain · 7 years

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@anotheralix wrote a post that can be summed up as “how about we ditch the double standards surrounding how we talk about female and male protagonists.” She even admit she does this herself with Clarke Griffin (100) and Elena Gilbert (The Vampire Diaries). It’s not a particularity nuanced post - but it wasn’t meant to be. It was a vent. A vent, in particular, how women are judged differently than men.

This is not a shocking rant. This is a self evident perspective shared by many women across time in different cultures. Look, I could get into the science and cite different articles and meta-analysis that back up the idea women are held to higher standards than men. But not everything is about meeting high standards when creating an argument. Sometimes you want to make short rant on your tumblr about sexism and move on.

But, see, @candyumberella responds to this post. Not a problem in itself. But how and what she says reveals that her issue is not with creating inter sectional spaces for women to talk about feminism. No, I think she hates that female fans sometimes really love female leads.

I’m going to take apart some of her arguments under the cut.

“I think it’s pretty telling that whenever people get uncomfortable with seeing a female character (espically the most privilaged white female character in a ‘verse whose narrative is based on and constructed around her privliage) criticized in any way, they knee-jerk respond with, "You wouldn’t do this with a white man!”

Let’s unpack this. There are two claims in here that I disagree with: female leads are constructed around her privilege and being critical of the knee-jerk response. I’ll with the second first, because it’s easier to address. Yes. Women, particularly women who have been influenced by feminist thought, tend to get frustrated when women are held to a higher standard than men. It happens. It’s annoying. And I believe it’s understandable. The fact that @candyumbrella doesn’t acknowledge that female heroines are held to higher standards is a glaring omission. If she took into account how misogyny and sexism hurts all women, her arguments about how women are treated in fandom would fall apart. I mean, even more so than pointing out the existence of The Golden Girls and its large fandom does.

The second part is that her claim, espically the most privilaged white female character in a 'verse whose narrative is based on and constructed around her privliage is not backed by any evidence at all. Now, @anotheralix doesn’t give powerful evidence herself, but that’s because it was a short vent about sexism. @Candyumberlla takes issues with this vent because of a weird ass Interpretation of All TV Based On One Sitcom. If you’re going to take issue with someone complaining about sexism, and how this post complaining about sexism is a problematic trend in fandom as a whole, you need some convincing arguments. Otherwise you look like a sexist apologist.

But here, I’m going to argue against her claim by pointing to Buffy. White female lead - skinny and blond to boot! But the premise of the worldview of Buffy isn’t that she’s the most privileged character in her world. She spends a good portion of it struggling against the Watchers Council (aka patriarchy) in order to use her own power on her own terms. Buffy being pretty and tiny and girly is the fucking point - because society sees women who look like her as empty shells. Buffy being the undisputed heroine of her own story is and was an attack on that worldview.

Buffy didn’t do great about race. It’s treatment of Kendra Young has not aged well, to put it politely. It’s peek manufactured whiteness. As for queer issues, while Willow/Tara was groundbreaking, but there’s as much to critique as there is celebrate. Fans of Buffy do this all the fucking time. There is nuance to be had and Buffy’s got plenty of academic and fannish work exploring that nuance. It’s failures and it’s successes.

But

It’s not about the injustice of misogyny so much as people wanting their female fave to not be criticized and using her gender as a catch-all reason why she shouldn’t be.

That’s a pretty unfair statement. Loving and being fannish about female characters can be an exercise in frustration in fandom. I don’t know how many times I went in the tags for Elena Gilbert only to see fans calling her a two-faced and manipulative in very gendered ways. Slut. Bitch. Whore. I’m glad a dude is beating her up and putting her in her place. Speak true to that ungrateful bitch, male character I like! This exists in fandom. It puts a lot of people on guard.

Critiquing a character like Elena is not as easy as doing one like Klaus. Because there is baggage there. Misogyny is a thing. It informs how women are framed and treated in the text. It informs audience expectation and reaction. Elena being white didn’t stop her from ending up with her rapist.

So actually, I see plenty of people accusing male characters of making everything about themselves–usually when they want to deflect from criticism directed against their One Special White Girl and do so by perpetuating the lie that ONLY White Men are the REAL Enemy, We Are All Allies Against Them, blah blah.

Because, shockingly, men and women are treated differently in both canon and fandom. I’ve seen @candyumberlla spend more time talking shit about Clarke, Elena, and Donna (Suits) than Oliver (Arrow), Angel (Angel), or Sam or Dean (Supernatural). Even Ted, the privileged white dude who informs all of her meta these days, is not treated with such distaste. She is gleeful about her interpretation of Clarke (she’s being humiliated and dethroned!) She gushes about the Fall of Elena and the Rise of Caroline. She might mock, say, Stefan Salvatore, but she doesn’t the same use belittling and angry language.

Misogyny is informing her meta. Because misogyny is a threat. It’s real. Her attack on female characters is built on centuries of female oppression.

Also: –usually when they want to deflect from criticism directed against their One Special White Girl

Women and girls can’t just be tired as hell of white male dominance in their world? Critiques against male dominance in media are About Protecting That White Women.

MOST privileged woman in a ‘verse appropriating and parasitizing those LESS privileged and LESS institutionally elevated than she–so she’s not the victim in this scenario, she’s the oppressor.

Prove it. When and how did Clarke, Elena, Veronica, Buffy, Rey, or any other white female characters target more vulnerable women. Hard mode: look their stories in context of a male dominated society with white dudes being the ones who generally created their stories. Remember internalized misogyny is not just those Bad Female Fans Who Like The Wrong White Female Leads and how much female creators in Hollywood and TV have to balance to just get women to talk to each other without it being about a dude. Honest mode: take into account how the leads have both built up and torn down the women in their lives. Put the narrative into a cultural and historical context.

so this parasitic stanning impulse is just white male worship transmuted in a different form that ~feels more like ~feminism and thus more morally acceptable ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Tell me more about how Clexa fans just love Finn. Or Xena/Gabe fans just thirsting for that dick. Bias is a thing. It influences how we think, feel, and react to things. There is no story that doesn’t fail on some level when it comes to systems of oppression.

But people finding personal power, meaning, or joy in female lead stories doesn’t mean they just really want the dick. Korra/Asami fans don’t tend think too much of Mako. Buffy/Faith shippers may have an opinion about Angel and Spike, but they’re generally more interested in the charged relationship between Faith and Buffy. Sailor Moon fandom does have a good chunk of het, but lesbian content and focus on friendship between women is one of the reasons it’s still beloved by many people.

Or, hell, maybe actually allow for the idea that maybe a het shipper is more invested in the female half than the male half and it’s not due to her status as a guy who was killed off and the fandom as a whole cheered.

#filed under: what is meta?#feminism #animorphs is about jake getting Cassie #ted structure monkey magic

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relationshipadviser-blog · 5 years

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I Told My Mom I Hire Sex Workers And Her Response Changed Our Relationship

New Post has been published on https://relationshipqia.com/must-see/i-told-my-mom-i-hire-sex-workers-and-her-response-changed-our-relationship/

I Told My Mom I Hire Sex Workers And Her Response Changed Our Relationship

As a disabled queer man who uses a wheelchair and loves sex and getting naked with men, I have had to navigate the coming out process a number of times and in a number of different ways.

I first came out as gay when I was 16. At that time, I was struggling with the fact that I used a wheelchair and I was terrified that by opening up about my sexuality, I would only be adding another burden to my life as a disabled person.

After searching for a term that felt like it fit me more authentically, I came out as “queer” when I was 27. I didn’t feel comfortable using “gay” anymore. Because of my disability, I am not muscular, “masc4masc” or any of the things that are so often culturally associated with that word. Using the term “queer” felt safe. It meant that I didn’t have to subscribe to a narrative that conjured particular images or ideas that my disability didn’t or couldn’t fulfill.

At 30, I came out as a “queer cripple.” This was during my “Fuck you! I‘m disabled and if you can’t deal with it, get the fuck out” phase. I knew what people thought about disabled people and sex, and I wanted to take those misconceptions, turn them inside out and wear them like a badge of honor. If I reclaimed the word “cripple” and said it first, maybe the ableism and prejudice I encountered on a daily basis wouldn’t hurt as much, right?

Throughout my life, I’ve had to reveal my different identities to the personal care workers who help me with daily tasks like showering and using the bathroom. Each time I came out to one of them, I hoped my honesty wouldn’t offend them, as I am dependent upon their help. There were many times I hid who I am from them, so I wouldn’t lose my care.

I had made the decision to employ male sex workers almost two years ago… I was exhausted by being asked if my genitals worked and being sent messages telling me that I looked ‘too cute to be disabled’ or that I ‘looked retarded ― nobody wants you.’

I’ve also had to come out to members of the disability community. To my surprise and dismay, coming out to them has often been the hardest. I’ve been told that all I needed was an able-bodied girl in my life and everything would be all right. Each of these coming out stories has shaped my queer disabled identity in significant ways, but I believe my most recent coming out experience has been the most transformative and powerful in my journey as a queer cripple: I told my mom I hire sex workers.

I had made the decision to employ male sex workers almost two years ago. I was exhausted by the ableism I was dealing with when looking for a hookup. I was exhausted by being asked if my genitals worked and being sent messages telling me that I looked “too cute to be disabled” or that I “looked retarded ― nobody wants you.” The hurt these exchanges caused was having a devastatingly negative effect on me and I didn’t know what to do about it. I was angry that I couldn’t access my body the way I wanted and I was angry that other queer men didn’t see my body as sexually viable.

One day, I visited a gay male escort website and started looking around. I didn’t really have a clue what I was doing, but I knew that I needed to try something new.

I contacted a few of the men on the website and asked if they had ever been with a disabled client before. Some said they had and many others said they hadn’t. I finally found an escort that I really liked ― he had brown hair, beautiful blue eyes and a chest full of hair (my weakness). I reached out to him and said I’d like to book a session. He agreed. We began seeing each other regularly.

Our first session was marked by nervousness as each of us tried to navigate how to approach my disability. He didn’t want to hurt me and he told me later he was worried about not meeting my expectations. I was doing my best to make the disability-related parts ― getting me into bed, putting on my special sling while telling him how to move me ― easy for him. I remember spending that first night terrified that he would tell me he couldn’t do it and he’d leave, just like so many had before him.

He’s stuck around, though, and we have fallen into a comfortable rhythm with each other. We share our bodies, our vulnerabilities and many laughs together. We’ve built a trust that I don’t have with anyone else, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. He’s helped me connect my queerness and my disability in ways that I can’t even describe, and for that I am incredibly thankful.

Courtesy of Andrew Gurza

Gurza and his mom in Paris in 2013

As my adventure in this new world was unfolding, I was hiding these experiences from my mom and it was killing me. She has seen me ― and my body ― at my best and at my worst and we’ve always been incredibly open and honest with each other about everything. But I didn’t dare admit that I had been hiring an escort. Part of me felt a huge shame about what I was doing and I didn’t want her to feel that shame, too. I also didn’t want her to worry that her son ― a physically vulnerable man ― had gone down a dark path or wonder what this choice might mean for me and my future. So, I didn’t tell her about what I had been (very happily) doing… until just a couple of weeks ago.

It was a Tuesday evening and my mom and I were in the middle of one of our daily chats on the phone. I don’t remember what we were talking about ― it was something totally inconsequential ― and suddenly, I just went for it and blurted out, “You know mom, I hire sex workers.”

Terrified of her response, I remember audibly gasping after I said it. She waited about 10 seconds before speaking and in that time I played out every possible response. She would be angry. She would denounce me. She would be ashamed of me. And then, after that brief pause (during which I felt as though 100 years had gone by), she said something I will not ever forget: “I think that’s great.”

I felt a huge wave of relief instantly wash over me. I took a deep breath. When I get scared or excited or have any kind of emotion at all, all of my muscles tense up (thanks, cerebral palsy). But at that moment they immediately relaxed and I sunk comfortably into the crevices of my wheelchair. I suddenly felt freer than I could remember ever feeling before. I could completely be myself with my mom: a wheelchair user; queer; disabled; a man who hires sex workers to get his needs met.

Telling my mom about this part of my life has helped me to embrace and celebrate the agency I have over my body, my time and my money, and it’s allowed me to shift the ways I looked at intimacy, sex and love.

I know now that I can truly share every part of my disabled, queer life with her and that means everything to me. What’s more, we can now build an even stronger friendship as two individuals ― and not just play out our respective ‘mom and son’ roles.

One of the most powerful comments my mom made after our chat was, “Andrew, sex is not bad.”

It is such a simple statement but an incredibly powerful one to hear from someone you respect and love and want to make proud. She also told me, “You can just have sex ― it doesn’t need to be tied to love.” Because so much of the sex and disability narrative is linked to romance ― and to finding someone to love you “past your disability” (ugh!) ― her affirmation and support of me being a purely sexual, queer cripple, when and however I want, felt amazing.

Most importantly, I think coming out to my mom about hiring sex workers has strengthened our relationship. I know now that I can truly share every part of my disabled, queer life with her and that means everything to me. What’s more, we can now build an even stronger friendship as two individuals ― and not just play out our respective “mom and son” roles.

Coming out is never easy. There’s always the very real threat of being rejected and hurt, and if you are disabled, you could lose a whole lot more too. But the more we tell our stories and share what we are going through ― and why we have made the decisions we’ve made ― the more we break down barriers between the people we love and the world at large.

Unfortunately, in 2019, hiring a sex worker is still heavily stigmatized in our society, but it really shouldn’t be. What happens between two consenting adults should be their business ― and their business alone. For people like me ― a queer cripple with a healthy sexual appetite ― it allows me to access my body and sexuality in a way that makes me feel powerful, sexy and important ― all things that we don’t usually associate with disability.

I’m lucky to have a mom who accepts me ― all of me. I know that not everyone is as fortunate as I am in that respect but maybe, just maybe by sharing my story and revealing who I am, I will have given someone else the courage to talk to their loved ones and be more open.

If I was able to do that, it was totally worth it!

Andrew Gurza is a disability awareness consultant and cripple content creator whose writing has been featured in Daily Xtra, Gay Times UK, HuffPost, The Advocate, Everyday Feminism, Mashable, Out.com and several anthologies. He is also the host of the “DisabilityAfterDark: The Podcast Shining a Bright Light on Sex and Disability,” available on all podcast platforms. You can follow the podcast @disaftdarkpod. He is also the creator of the viral hashtag #DisabledPeopleAreHot. You can find out more about Andrew by going to www.andrewgurza.com and connecting with him on Twitter and Instagram @theandrewgurza.

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meeedeee · 5 years

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Black Wings Beating – Review RSS FEED OF POST WRITTEN BY FOZMEADOWS

Trigger warning: referenced child abuse

In the land of Uztar, falconry is everything. From the ruling kyrgs in their castles to the commoners who trap and train birds for a living, Uztari culture is centred on birds of prey. Yet one bird is feared and revered above all others: the legendary ghost eagle, a massive raptor whose strange, psychic cry exposes the worst selves of all who hunt it. Many falconers have died in pursuit of the ghost eagle and the glory it represents – including Yzzat, an abusive drunkard whose cruelty has forever scarred his children. Now free from their father, twins Kylee and Brysen are finally close to escaping out from under the debts he left behind – until Brysen’s boyfriend, Dymian, lands in trouble with the Tamir family. To save him, Brysen makes an impulsive promise: a ghost eagle in exchange for Dymian’s life. As the threat of war between the Uztari and the feared Kartami, extremists who revile all falconry, begins to shape wider events, Brysen and Kylee must negotiate their own troubled relationship in order to save their future. But what chance do two teenagers have against the ghost eagle?

Every so often, I find myself drifting away from YA as a genre, until a book comes along that drags me back in and reminds me what I love about it. Black Wings Beating is such a book: beautifully worldbuilt, exceptionally characterised and deftly written, it packs a lot of feeling into a compact, pacey package. It also hits that (for me) perfect sweet-spot of magic fantasy adventure meets queer romantic feelings: though queerness is normative and accepted within the setting, Brysen is still allowed to struggle with romance and identity along a different axis, neatly paralleling Kylee’s quest to accept and understand her gift for the Hollow Tongue, an ancient magical language that bestows control over birds.

Told with alternating third-person focus on Kylee and Brysen and interspersed with glimpses of wider political happenings, Black Wings Beating is, at its heart, a novel about abuse, autonomy and survival. Since childhood, Kylee and Brysen were pitted against each other by their father, Yzzat, who yearned to exploit his daughter’s gifts while reviling his son’s comparative lack of talent. Though furious with and frustrated by Kylee’s disinterest in falconry and her refusal to use her magic to his advantage, Yzzat still dreamed of winning her to his cause and, through her, obtaining prestige. As such, his physical abuse was reserved for Brysen alone: whippings, beatings and worse that left Brysen desperate to prove himself useful. And so the dichotomy between the twins was set: Kylee, reluctant to use her talents and thereby see her brother further diminished, forced to carry the weight of the world along with the care and management of her family; Brysen, rushing headlong into any opportunity to shine without realistic planning, dreaming big to cover how small he feels and the knowledge that, if he stops to think, he’ll remember to hate himself.

It’s an achingly real dynamic, and one that sees the reader rooting for both siblings despite – or perhaps because of – how often their feelings and shared-yet-different experiences put them at odds. London has a nuanced grasp of psychology and characterisation that makes even his minor characters feel fleshed out, and when combined with his vivid portrayal of falconry and its place in Uztari culture, the effect is powerful. Reading Black Wings Beating, in fact, I was finally able to articulate something I’ve been struggling to pin down in terms of YA novels generally: the distinction between a story in which potentially difficult teenage behaviours are excused, and one in which they are explained.

In the former instance, neither the text itself nor the events it depicts make any real judgement or commentary about the characters’ actions: whether they’re being kind or cruel, sensible or impulsive, hesitant or brash, and if this ultimately has a positive or negative effect on those around them. Rather, we’re shown how their motives are justified to them, such that it’s easy to conflate the character’s feelings with the author’s approval of their actions – sometimes correctly, sometimes not, but in either case due to the lack of textual evidence for a different interpretation. In the latter instance, either the text or the events it depicts, or both, are used to make us think critically about the characters, such that, even when we understand their self-justifications, we’re encouraged by the text – and, by extension, the author – to form our own conclusions.

To be clear: I’m not saying that the former type of story is bad, or that this dichotomy between stories that lack or feature authorial commentary exists only in YA. However, in the specific context of the teenage characters in YA SFF, who are often called upon to act in extraordinary ways or participate in world-altering events, and whose youthful impulsiveness is often used to propel them through their adventures, reading Black Wings Beating has confirmed my preference for the latter type of story. Over and over again, both Brysen and Kylee make terrible choices while only sometimes being aware of it. But while London shows us their rationalisations, he doesn’t present them as being objectively rational. Both Kylee and Brysen are trying their best, but their abusive childhood has twisted their relationship, their judgement and their self-perception in different ways, such that, even when they know they’ve made a bad decision, they don’t always know what the right one would’ve been, or even if there was a better choice to be made at all.

Set over the course of a few days, Black Wings Beating uses Kylee and Brysen as an intimate lens through which to view the incipient struggles of Uztar as a whole. Though we only catch glimpses of the power-hungry kyrgs and the coming Kartami threat, these parts of the story all fit neatly together, so that our focus on the twins looks like a convincing telescopic zoom-in on the localised details of a wider landscape. And throughout it all, the influence of falconry – of the eternally unrequited love of a falconer for their birds – is incorporated into the narrative. Just as Brysen’s existing relationship with Dymian, a falcon master, is contrasted with his newfound bond with Jowyn, a bone-white boy who lives with the mysterious Owl Mothers, so is Kylee’s friendship with Vyvian, a spy for the kyrgs, contrasted with her feelings for Nyall, a long-time friend who loves her despite her indifference to romance.

The love a falconer has for their bird will never be reciprocated, the story tells us, and yet that love – the willingness to care for a creature that may only hurt or disdain you – lies at the heart of falconry. It is this love which the Kartami despise as weak, but it is also central to the strength both Kylee and Brysen show: the courage it takes them to love at all – to love themselves, to love others, and to contemplate being loved – despite the abuse they’ve endured.

Though Black Wings Beating is clearly the first volume in a planned trilogy, it nonetheless ends on an emotionally satisfying note. I can’t wait to see what happens in the rest of the series, and I look forward to reading whatever else London writes in the future.

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ellenlucasonlinedatingblog · 6 years

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Defending Roe

When I saw the announcement that Supreme Court Justice Kennedy was retiring, paving the way for Trump to appoint another conservative extremist to the court, I got the hot, panic-anger feeling in my chest that I’ve come to associate with life under this administration. This adds to the growing threats already undermining reproductive freedoms and LGBQA protections in the U.S. The things that could happen if -- and unfortunately, but most likely, when -- Trump and his enablers in the legislative branch manage to get a new justice appointed make me ill every time I think about it.

In particular, it makes me worry about the future of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973. Trump campaigned on overturning Roe, and the last few years have seen major pushes by anti-choice organizations to restrict abortion access as much as possible. The possibility that we may see Roe overturned in the next few years is terrifying and also very, very real.

Roe was a hard-won and major victory for feminists and reproductive justice advocates. It’s since saved countless lives and given millions of people the chance to make the reproductive choices that were right for them, and it’s not gone yet. We cannot, and will not, let it go without a fight. Here’s what you can do to stop it from disappearing, to fight for our rights and to help protect yourself and others.

A World Before Roe: After about 1880, abortion was banned in the U.S. except in cases where it was needed to save a pregnant person’s life. We can’t be certain how many people died or suffered injury because of unsafe, illegal abortions, because many deaths were never officially attributed to unsafe abortion, but it may have been as high as 1.2 million annually by the 1960s. We know they happened, and we have accounts detailing the stress and danger people who got them faced. There are various accounts you can read, but a quote from this article is lodged in my brain, “It was a kitchen table, coat-hanger abortion. It took maybe six minutes. I got on the kitchen table. I think my stepmother gave me a drink of brandy or something, and she said, “Now this may hurt a little bit.” She held my hand and this woman stuck a piece of coat hanger into my vagina. And then my stepmother said, “Okay, now get dressed.” And what you were supposed to do was leave that in there until you started to abort. I remember walking out with this coat hanger between my legs.”

Read Up

We’ve been here before. As frustrating, aggravating, and disheartening as that may be, it does mean there are lessons we can learn from past struggles of pro-choice activists. A concise history of abortion access and activism can be found at Our Bodies, Ourselves. Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service by Laura Kaplan is also an excellent read for those looking to brush up on feminist abortion activism.

It also helps to familiarize yourself with more recent trends in abortion restriction. If we understand how those trying to criminalize abortion operate, it’s easier to work together to counter those actions. NARAL offers a look at the different ways anti-choice groups and leaders have been working to limit abortion access and how they’ll likely escalate. There is also a legislative tracker produced by Rewire to help you stay informed about anti-choice legislation in your state.

Plan Ahead

Right after Trump was elected, there was a rush of people who could get pregnant getting IUDs or contraceptive implants installed. The thinking is that since these methods are long-acting, they can outlast an administration that would ban abortion and restrict access to contraception. If that option of pregnancy prevention sounds good to you, you’ll want to have that conversation with a healthcare provider sooner rather than later.

Plan B, a form of emergency contraception, has a shelf life of four years. We generally recommend having a pack or two of EC on hand anyway if you or your friends are sexually active, because then it’s right there within easy and fast reach if anyone needs it. If you’re unsure where or how to get EC in your area, this guide can help you find it so you can stock up. If Roe is overturned and abortion is banned in most places, having access to medication that can prevent a pregnancy in the first place will be incredibly useful.

If you’re sexually active (or planning on being so), now is an extra-important time to develop a plan for what to do if you or a partner becomes unintentionally pregnant and abortion is your desired option. A major component of that plan will include developing some kind of savings that can be used to cover medical and transportation costs. Those transportation costs are very important if you live in a state that doesn’t, or isn’t likely to, protect abortion access, because you will probably have to cross state lines in order to access care. Other factors to think about would be: who you could go to for support in this situation (friends, family, etc.); what kind of support you’d need from them (money, emotional support, transportation, help in recovery); and how you’d get to a service that required you to travel. Even if you’re someone who’s in a relationship where pregnancy can’t happen (for instance, if you and your partner both have vaginas), you can still make a plan like this. You may not need it, but if you have friends who might you’ll have a plan in place in case you need to help them get an abortion.

Four Reproductive Rights Under Threat In Addition to Abortion • Birth Control: If Roe falls, or if an anti-choice majority controls the Supreme Court, access to contraception is at stake. The interpretations of privacy laws that informed the original decision on Roe were also used to grant access to contraception in a different court ruling, so whatever logic is used to overturn Roe could be used there as well. The court may also hear challenges to providing or covering contraception by religious hospitals and health care providers. • Parental Rights: Conservative activists and judges have already made decisions stating that “religious rights” trump anti-discrimination status, especially when it comes to queer and trans people. A big fear is that the rights of queer parents (or queer people how want to become parents) will be dismantled under the new court. • Queer and Trans Rights: Justice Kennedy was the deciding vote on the decision to legalize same-sex marriage. If a Trump appointee takes that seat, that decision could be challenged and overturned. Cases involving trans peoples’ rights in workplaces, schools, and healthcare settings are all likely to come before the Supreme Court soon, and a conservative court is likely to rule in ways deeply harmful to trans people. • Parental Separation: The horrific treatment of families trying to enter the U.S has, rightly, already generated several lawsuits attempting to secure humane treatment for refugees and undocumented immigrants. If those cases come before a conservative leaning court, they are likely to uphold the Trump administration’s inhumane, racist policies. Meaning for some people in this country, they will not even have a right to care for their children or even know where their children are.

Show Your Support

If you’re one of the seven out of ten Americans who supports abortion access, now is the time to show it. If there are pro-choice marches or protests targeting the inevitably anti-choice Supreme Court nominee and you are able to attend, I encourage you to do so. There are people in power who are framing abortion as something unpopular, as something the average American wants gone. The more we can demonstrate that’s not the case, the more ability we have to sway people who are on the fence about the issue.

Protesting or marching is one effective form of activism, but it is not one available to everybody for reasons including disability, immigration status, or belonging to a demographic where police contact isn’t a risk you can afford. If marching isn’t an option for you, there are other equally valuable ways you to be involved. For example, you can try having conversations with the people in your life about why you support abortion access. You can find counterpoints to common anti-choice arguments at URGE. You can also get involved with online actions including blogswarms, Twitter chats, and outreach events.

Contacting your senators, who will be casting votes in the confirmation hearings for the new justice, and voicing your opinion about the Supreme Court nominee can be extremely helpful as well. 5calls provides scripts that can be used to call or write your senators, and Resistbot helps people quickly write their senators. Show your senators that you are paying attention to what they do and will hold them accountable if they contribute to the dismantling of Roe.

Shore-Up State Protections

If Roe is overturned, access to abortion will depend on state guidance, as was the case in the decades prior to Roe v Wade. In some states, overturning Roe will actually trigger an abortion ban, while others explicitly protect access to abortion. If the last two years under this administration has taught us anything, it’s that we need to prepare for the worst. That means focusing not only on removing anti-choice politicians at the national level but also at the state level and replacing them with people who understand the importance of reproductive choice. That means supporting and voting for candidates with those values.

Steps to take include: • Register to vote if you haven’t already done so. Then vote every chance you get, in every election you can. • Read up on state and local candidates to see which ones are pro-choice. Both #VoteProChoice and NARAL have guides to help you do just that. • If there’s a candidate running in your area who pledges to protect abortion access and other reproductive rights, see if there is a way you can support their campaign. That said, being pro-choice doesn’t mean a candidate is perfect. For instance, you may find you agree with a candidate about reproductive issues but their stance on racial justice is lackluster. There are ways you can navigate that situation that don’t leave you feeling like you’re forced to choose between two issues that matter to you. If you’re involved in a campaign, you could press the candidate and to explicitly address a race issue or consider ways that they could take intersectional approaches to issues. Or you may find it works best for you to support that candidate while also supporting organizations that excel where that candidate falters.

Support Abortion Access & Advocacy Groups

There are already many grassroots groups on the ground doing the work to ensure that everyone, regardless of location or economic status, has access to abortion. Some do that by helping people fund their abortions. Others work the policy angle, advocating for better reproductive health access and pushing back against anti-choice legislation. If you have a few dollars to spare, you can donate to support the work these organizations do (abortion fund organizations almost always reach their monthly funding limits well before the end of the month, leaving some clients without the funds they need to access care).

If you don’t have funds to donate, or doing so would tip off parents who wouldn’t support your actions, you can still help these organizations out by fundraising. Hosting bowl-a-thons is a popular abortion resource fundraiser, but you can choose an activity that works for you be that bake sales, car washes, or donkey basketball.

You can also volunteer with these organizations. Depending on the needs of the specific organization, that could include driving people to appointments, making phone calls, fundraising, etc. As with funds, every little bit of time you can contribute helps.

Organizations you can support include: • National Network of Abortion Funds (includes links to state resources you can support) • NARAL Pro-Choice America • National Abortion Federation • Center for Reproductive Rights

Even if we each take as many of these steps as we can, it might not be enough. But I believe, deeply and truly, that we must try to save Roe. For the sake of ourselves and the sake of future generations, all of whom deserve a world in which they have full reproductive rights. I have never known a world without Roe. For a long time I saw it as something stable, a protection of my rights and autonomy that couldn’t be taken away. I was wrong about that, but I don’t think it’s wrong to say we aren’t powerless to save it. We will do what we can, and if Roe is overturned we will find new ways to work together to help each other and fight until we have reproductive justice for all.

abortion

roe v. wade

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reproductive rights

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emergency contraception

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