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gay-impressionist · 9 months

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Hi! I’m starting to learn French and one thing that’s both cool and weird to me is how everything is gendered in a way (referring to someone/whose saying the statement/etc.) and I was wondering how that relates to people who identity as non-binary or gender fluid in France? Are there equivalents to they/them pronouns or neo pronouns in French?

I do plan on doing my own research about this but I figured since I love your blog and you’re really open about different cultural lgbtq+ communities I’d try here first!

That's an awesome question... with a complicated answer lmao. So buckle up and bear with me !

Basically, you can't be non-binary in French. The community found ways to do it but it's not mainstream. Most of the time, they're going to get misgendered or will have to misgender themselves to get understood.

Some things I'm going to list here are not proper French. Actually, they can even be forbidden in some circumstances, according to the law (the use of inclusive language, and more specifically le point médian, was made illegal in schools in 2021 for ex) or simply because your company etc forbids it. So use this wisely, there is a time and place for inclusive language in France.

That said, things have greatly developed over the last two decades. Which was partly because of the queer community and mainly because of feminists, who are tired of the way French erases women. More and more people are using inclusive language, at least in some circumstances and circles (for ex, i wrote my master's thesis in inclusive language and it was accepted bc i was in a leftist faculty). And inclusive language is debated as a serious issue now, which is saying something.

So, how do you use inclusive language in practice?

There are different ways, as it's informal and mostly new. People are still testing new things and trying out various methods. You can stick to one or alternate or mix them up.

Pronouns

Officially, there isn't a gender neutral pronoun. We don't have an equivalent to they. You're either talking about a man or a woman. If it's both, you use masculine pronouns ("masculine trumps feminine" rule). Same thing if you don't know the gender of the person ("masculin générique").

The most common neopronoun is "iel" (plural : iels), which is obviously a contraction of the masculine pronoun "il" and its feminine equivalent "elle". It works for nb folks or to avoid talking about someone's gender or to refer to a group of men and women. So it's equally used by the queer community and feminists.

I'm pretty sure other neopronouns exist but I can't think of any at the top of my head.

Choosing the right words

Sometimes, inclusive language is just about learning to use alternatives.

Instead of using gendered words, you can choose to use gender-neutral words or words "épicènes", aka words which are identical in their feminine and masculine form. For ex, instead of "homme politique" or "femme politique", you can use "personnalité politique". Personnalité is a feminine word but it's actually gender-neutral as you can use it for women and men alike. "Élève" (student) is épicène, as a female student and a male student are both referred to as "élève". Although épicène words as a gender-neutral option only work in their plural form, as you have to choose either a feminine or masculine article for the singular ("les élèves" is inclusive but it can only be "un" or "une" élève).

As good as this method is, it can be quite limitating. Your vocabulary will be drastically reduced and it can be quite hard to master that kind of speech so you can reach the point where you don't have to think everything over for ages before you open your mouth.

With oral French, you can take it a step further by choosing words that sound the same even if they have a different spelling. Ex, friend is "ami" or "amie" but it's pronounced the same way so if you say it out loud, people can't know how you're gendering it (as long as there isn't a gendered article/word with it ofc).

It avoids misgendering people but the downside is that, as masculine is considered neutral in French, people will often think : no gender specified = masculine. Not even because they're sexist or whatever, it's just so ingrained in our brains that it's a knee-jerk reaction.

That's also why most feminists often prefer to use explicitly feminine words when talking about women. For ex, they prefer the word "autrice" to "auteure" (female writer) because the second one sounds the same as its masculine version "auteur". And as previously mentionned, out loud, people will assume by default you're talking about a man. It's a big debate though, lots of women prefer words that sound masculine - going as far as refusing to use feminine words at all! Which sounds cool and gender-bending as fuck but in reality comes from feminine words traditionally seen as less legitimate and serious. Even today, if you look up the word empress "impératrice" in a French dictionary, the first definition that comes up is "wife of an emperor". "Woman ruling a country" comes second. Using a masculine title to refer to women can also be a way to mock them and show they're not welcome (a french deputy got fined in 2014 because he called the female president of the national assembly "Madame le président" and refused to use the feminine title "Madame la présidente").

Recently the tendency and official guidelines have been to feminize words, so I'd say go with that by default, but respect other people's choice if they specify how they want to be called.

Anyway I'm getting off-track but what I meant was that in French, if you avoid talking about gender, you're automatically erasing women (and nb people). So if you want to include everyone, you need to make it obvious.

Inclusivity as a statement

The most common way to make women and men equally visible is the "point médian" rule, which you can also use to refer to non-binary people as it avoids picking a specific gender.

Basically, it means pasting together the masculine and feminine forms of a word and using dots/middle dots/hyphens/parentheses/capital letters to create an inclusive word. For ex, instead of saying acteur (♂️) or actrice (♀️) for actor, you'll write "acteur.ice". For the plural form, there are two schools of thought : either you separate the feminine and masculine form AND the suffix used to signify the plural, or you don't. Aka, "acteur.ice.s" or "acteur.ices". Personally I prefer the second option because less dots makes it easier to read and faster to write, but it's an individual choice, both work.

There are two major downsides to this method : it only works in writing + it isn't doable for every word, as feminine and masculine words can be quite different and pasting them together that way would be unintelligible. Ex, "copain" and "copine" (friend or boyfriend/girlfriend depending on the context) would give something like "cop.ain.ine"...

You can work around that by choosing alternative words (as previously stated!). And it's still a pretty good method, especially as it works for any type of word (adjectives etc). Some people argue that it's hard to read and ugly but personally I think it's just a matter of habit (although it does pose a problem for people using screen readers). Be aware that it is the most controversial version of inclusive writing, as it's the furthest structure from how languages typically work.

If you don't like dots or want an alternative for oral speech, you can also straight up create new words that sound both feminine and masculine, making them gender-neutral. To use the previous example, "copain" and "copine" become "copaine".

Obviously, this only works if it's obvious which words they're based on. I think it's a great way to make French more inclusive but I'd advise against using it with uninitiated people as it would probably confuse them more than anything. This method is still quite niche.

An inclusive, yet binary language

As you've probably figured out, inclusive language remains quite binary in the way we approach it. It's more about making things both masculine and feminine than transcending gender and creating gender-neutral alternatives. Probably because inclusive language was more often a will to stop women from being erased rather than a non-binary friendly gesture.

Which means, there are also some rules that were created to avoid the "masculine trumps feminine rule" but don't allow room for non-binarity at all. I'll still explain them because they're interesting and you might encounter them at some point.

The proximity rule ("règle de proximité") is one of these. It existed in Ancient Greek and Latin but was dropped in Modern French in favor of the masculine trumps feminine rule. Basically, you gender things according to what's closest in the sentence instead of systematically using masculine words to gender a mixed group. For ex, instead of saying "Les hommes et les femmes sont beaux" you say "Les hommes et les femmes sont belles", as the subject "femmes" is closer to the adjective "beau/belle" than "hommes".

Another method is to systematically use both masculine and feminine words (which I personally find excruciating to write and read). Meaning, instead of writing "Les étudiants mangent à la cantine" (students eat at the cafeteria), you'll write "Les étudiantes et les étudiants mangent à la cantine".

This is mainly for the subject of the sentence : adjectives and such are gendered according to the masculine trumps feminine rule. The point is to explicitly include women, not to make the sentence unintelligible or gender-neutral.

When following this method, you also have to pay attention to whether you put the feminine subject first or the masculine. The rule is to follow alphabetical order. For ex, in "l'égalité entre les femmes et les hommes", "femmes" comes first because F comes before H. But in "Les auteurs et les autrices de roman", "auteurs" comes first because E comes before R. Etc.

This method is common as it's the only inclusive language you can get away with, given that it's a valid way of speaking French. It's even mandatory in some situations now, like in job descriptions for the french administration, in the spirit of gender equality.

So, how do I gender a non-binary person?

In short, you can use the pronoun iel + avoid gendered words and/or use the point médian and/or make up new words.

But keep in mind that if you're not talking to someone familiar with these rules, you'll have some explaining to do. And looots of people are still very anti inclusive language, because they're sexist and/or transphobic, ignorant, language purists, etc. A few years ago it was the thing to be angry about for conservatives and anti-feminists so it's still very controversial. But if you're in a trans inclusive queer space or talking with intersectionnal leftists, go for it !

I hope I covered everything (fellow french, don't hesitate to comment!) and didn't put you to sleep lmao. If you want to see some examples, you can look it up on Wikipedia or check #bagaitte on tumblr (it's the french queer tag) 😉

#it's a slow but steady effort!#the fact that it was accepted by my uni teachers shows how far we've come already #a decade ago it would have probably been dismissed #i don't even know if i was aware this existed a decade ago #😅#anyway THANK YOU for this ask #i hope it was comprehensive and helpful #ask #language inclusif #écriture inclusive #inclusive language #upthebaguette #bagaitte #french #languages

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sissy-mommy · 2 months

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Increased Prevalence of Hetero Men Wearing Lingerie

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of heterosexual men who are wearing lingerie. This shift in behavior has sparked curiosity and debate, as people try to understand the reasons behind this growing trend. In this section, we will explore the various factors contributing to the increased prevalence of heterosexual men wearing lingerie.

Societal Acceptance

One of the primary reasons for the increased acceptance of men wearing lingerie is the growing awareness of gender fluidity and non-conformity. Society is becoming more open and accepting of individuals who challenge traditional gender norms and explore their gender identity. This has led to a more liberal attitude towards men wearing lingerie, as it can be seen as an expression of their personal identity and style.

Another factor contributing to the acceptance of men wearing lingerie is the influence of popular culture and media. With the rise of social media and celebrity culture, we have seen an increase in male celebrities and influencers who openly embrace their interest in lingerie. This has helped to break down societal barriers and normalize the concept of men wearing lingerie, inspiring other men to do the same.

Fashion Influences

Fashion trends also play a significant role in shaping men's lingerie choices. In recent years, the fashion industry has become increasingly inclusive, offering a wider range of options for men to express their personal style. This has led to a rise in the popularity of men's lingerie, as men now have the opportunity to explore and experiment with different aesthetics and styles.

Celebrities and influencers play a significant role in shaping fashion trends. When influential figures in the public eye wear lingerie, it normalizes the practice and makes it more socially acceptable for other men to follow their lead. Additionally, fashion magazines and runway shows often feature male models wearing lingerie, further normalizing the practice and showcasing it as a fashionable choice.

Sexualization

The connection between lingerie and sexuality cannot be denied. Lingerie is often associated with seduction and intimacy, and it is not surprising that some heterosexual men are drawn to the allure of wearing lingerie. It can provide a sense of confidence, empowerment, and sexual attraction.

For some men, wearing lingerie serves as a way to explore and express their sexuality. It allows them to explore their desires and fantasies in a safe and non-threatening way. Lingerie can be a way to enhance their sexual experiences by boosting their self-esteem and increasing their sense of desirability.

In conclusion, the increase in heterosexual men wearing lingerie can be attributed to factors such as societal acceptance, fashion influences, and sexualization. As we continue to embrace diversity and individuality, we can expect to see more men embracing their lingerie preferences and expressing themselves through fashion.

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coochiequeens · 7 months

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They all have he/him on their lanyards and it’s extremely clear they identify as men and are here to take opportunities away from the actual women and [non-binary] attendees.”

By Reduxx Team September 28, 2023

A major networking conference focused on centering women in computing is facing backlash from some participants after a flood of males were allowed to attend, reportedly due to the event’s inclusivity policies.

Created in 1994 and inspired by the legacy of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, the AnitaB.org Grace Hopper Celebration purports to “bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront.” While the conference was historically focused on women, recent developments in its gender inclusivity policy saw its branding open up to “non-binary” participants as well.

In its most recent Press Release on the conference, AnitaB.org deemed it “the world’s largest gathering of women and non-binary technologists.”

But the week-long conference, which costs $650 to attend for students and academics but over $1,200 for the general public, is facing heat this year after some female attendees noticed a “significant number of men” attending the event.

In a now-scrubbed Change.org petition, one female attendee calls on the Grace Hopper Committee (GHC) to provide women who purchased the pricy tickets a full refund, and commit to banning men in the future.

“GHC (2023) is named after our pioneering female programmers, who have paved the way for gender equality within the tech industry. This event was established with the intention of empowering women by creating a safe space where they can connect, learn, and thrive. However, by allowing men to participate, GHC fails to uphold its own mission,” petitioner Agnes Lu wrote in the description.

The petition was uploaded on September 26, but deleted on September 27. A cached version of the page shows that it had collected over 2,700 signatures in the 24 hours it had been active. The reasons for removal are currently unknown.

Similar sentiment was shared on Reddit as a conference attendee posted “why are there so many men at Grace Hopper?”

Posted two days ago, the user wrote: “I’m seeing entire groups of just men, at a conference that’s sole purpose is to give opportunities to WOMEN and non-binary individuals in a male dominated field. I attended last year and did not [see] any male identifying student attendees. This is genuinely infuriating.”

The user goes on to articulate in the replies that there are a limited number of networking slots available and internships are fiercely competitive.

Like in the petition, the user claimed there was an obvious discernible difference between males and “non-binary” individuals, an issue that quickly became a point of contention in the comments.

“They could just be non-binary, gender queer, etc, or that could just be men trying to get a leg up. No way to know,” one user wrote in response, to which the original poster replied: “They all have he/him on their lanyards and it’s extremely clear they identify as men and are here to take opportunities away from the actual women and [non-binary] attendees.”

But the attempted defense was quickly undermined, with some users calling the original poster a “TERF” for failing to include gender-diverse non-binary people.

“Nonbinaries, including he/him nonbinaries, belong at grace hopper and are welcome there. TERFs like you are the ones who shouldn’t be there,” one comment reads.

“Lots of NB go as he/him. The only way you could possibly know is if you asked them,” another claimed.

On X (formerly Twitter), users debated how males could be “gate-kept” from the conference without being exclusionary, to which few solutions were provided.

The conference was held in Orlando this year, in tradition with previous years, but has announced it will relocate for the next iteration due to changes to recent state legislation regarding LGBT people.

In a statement on their site, AnitaB.org claims that Florida has introduced an “onslaught of legislation that not only devalues women and non-binary people and, at the intersections, those who live as members of the LGBTQIA+ community but is also aimed at erasing Black history.” It states that the 2024 conference is being arranged to be held in another location.

One of the featured speakers this year was trans-identified male Sasha Costanza-Chock, who describes himself as a “researcher and designer who works to support community-led processes that build shared power, dismantle the matrix of domination, and advance ecological survival.”

Costanza-Chock spoke on a panel with Alejandra Caraballo, a trans-identified male attorney, on the “Intersection of Tech and Social Justice.” The panel was described as “diving into the critical intersection of technology and social equity and explore how technology can inadvertently become a barrier for underserved groups.”

#Admiral Grace Murray Hopper #AnitaB.org Grace Hooper Celebration #Women censored by Change.org #Grace Hopper Committee (GHC)

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mad-fem-lesbian · 1 year

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We All Know What a Woman is Essay

This is the essay I wrote for an assignment where we were assigned to write an argument of definition. I defended that "woman" "female" and "lesbian" all have clear definitions and that it's offensive to try to change them.

I had to be “civil” in my arguments, so I had to rein myself in a little bit on certain parts.

But I was still able to show a backbone and make my stances very clear.

My professor was extremely impressed. He even said it was one of the best essays he’s read. 💪🏾

I’m new(ish) to the community, so I look forward to interacting with you all!

We are living in a time where the words “women” and “female” have become almost taboo and devoid of meaning. The definitions of these two words, which have always been clear historically, are now up for debate. No longer are the dictionary/medical/historical definitions universally accepted. There is a push for a change in language that’s more “inclusive” or “gender neutral.” The push for this change is mostly due to wanting to legitimize transgender identities. Some examples include no longer referring to pregnancy or menstruation as being female or women’s issues. The point of language, however, isn’t to be inclusive. The point is to be able to describe and categorize things accurately. We need language to explain the similarities and differences between things. In the case of female and male and with woman and man, these words need to be clear because they have historical significance, medical necessity, social implications, and legal ramifications.

The differences between the sexes and how we refer to each group have always been clear. Man has referred to an adult human male and woman has referred to as an adult human female. Biology has always been a part of the definitions and distinctions. Not accounting for disorders of sexual development (DSDs), the sexes are usually accurately observed and categorized in terms of chromosomes and primary sex characteristics. Sex and gender were intrinsically linked terms and concepts in the past. As the Merriam-Webster website explains, the terms sex and gender have been linked since the 14th century (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Meanwhile, the terms gender identity and transgender didn’t have known uses until 1964 (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) and 1974 (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). So, it’s a relatively newer concept that gender exists separately from sex. Sex has a definition based on biology; it’s based on something that’s tangible, measurable, and concrete.

Comparatively, gender identity is based on someone’s internal sense of themself and therefore it is “unverifiable and unfalsifiable” (Griffin L, et al., 2021, p. 292). There are large enough parts of society who support the idea that women are a social category made up of “feminine” traits and characteristics. They want to redefine woman/female based on transgender people’s view of themselves. Even this side of the argument has to admit that since their gender definitions, such as the belief that “gender can be fluid” or that someone is non-binary or agender that it’s not solid enough of a concept to start changing definitions and laws based on an unprovable concept. As Dahlen (2020), explains, “No genetic marker, biochemical test, brain imaging, or objective measurement exists in medical practice for gender identity . . . ” (p. 42).

Historically, women were discriminated against medically and legally. Of course, we still see this practiced in current times by things such as Roe v. Wade being overturned by the United States Supreme Court on June 22, 2022. As a black woman, one of the first things that comes to mind when I think about the medical horrors against women is Dr. J. Marion Simms and his “medical experiments” on enslaved women (Ojanuga, 1993). Dr. J. Marion Simms was considered by many to be the “Father of modern Gynecology.” Ojanuga goes on to explain how during that time period, gynecology didn’t even exist as a medical field yet (Ojanuga, 1993). To make these atrocities against my ancestors even worse, the enslaved women weren’t able to give consent to the medical treatments (Ojanuga, 1993). Unfortunately, black women are still facing problems related to maternal health (Cuénant, 2023). Women have never been able to separate our “gender” from our sex. Our female bodies have always been a target when it comes to medical and political attacks. Male bodies aren’t policed in this same manner and they’re often the ones in charge of women’s autonomy. That’s why the idea that any male (regardless of how feminine he may feel or how he presents himself) can “identify” as a female or as a woman personally offends me.

Our sex is fixed and anything related to undergoing hormone therapy or surgically altering one’s genitalia doesn’t actually change anyone’s sex (Dahlen, 2020). I don’t object to feminine men, only to the fact that they want to shoehorn themselves into womanhood. We are not a nebulous concept that can be erased or redefined. We are not the ‘former planet’ Pluto. Culture is different globally and the gender roles associated with different cultures such as style of dress or responsibilities may differ, but we all have one thing in common that unites us, and that’s our biology. Being the sex that’s capable of giving birth, menstruating, and going through menopause are universal female traits. As such, we deserve our own language and descriptions.

When women weren’t able to vote until the Women’s Suffrage movement successfully fought for those rights in 1920, everyone knew who counted as women. When women needed restrooms in the workplace, when it came to creating women’s schools/colleges, and when it came to owning property, everyone knew who the women were. When women needed their husband’s permission to use birth control and when they were being discriminated against when it came to getting credit cards in the 1970s, it was very clear what segment of the population was being targeted (Eveleth, 2014). It’s always women that have had to fight uphill battles to get our rights and our cries recognized.

Another way that this debate personally affects me is because I’m a lesbian. If one argues that trans women can be women, that means that they can also be lesbians by that same logic. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). The history of the concept of lesbianism goes back even further when considering the term lesbian dates back to Sappho of Lesbos (c. 610-c. 580 b.c.) (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). The concept has always been focused on women loving other women. It still means that, even though there’s a push to make “lesbian” a more inclusive term as well. There was a feminist/lesbian music festival called Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival or Michfest for short that was held from 1976-2015 on private property in the woods of Michigan (Welcome to Michfest, n.d.).

Controversy found the festival when its founder, Lisa Vogel reiterated that the festival’s focus was for “womyn-born-womyn” (Macdonald, 2018). Despite reports that the festival didn’t allow trans women to attend, the owner did know that there were trans women attendees. Other than the incident in 1991 when a trans woman was requested to leave, the festival didn’t ban them (Macdonald, 2018). However, Lisa Vogel never backed down from her vision or mission of the festival which is that it was always focused on women and that it was a female-centric space. There was a group called Camp Trans that picketed the festival for their “exclusionary” practices (Camp Trans, n.d.). The festival being held on private property is the equivalent of if I had a meeting for lesbians in my home and then there were people organizing on my front yard in protest. The spaces for lesbians (or women in general) to meet and connect with each other in-person and online are dwindling because of the idea that female-only or single-sex spaces are exclusionary.

As far as legal situations, Title IX is a hot button issue right now. Title IX is part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex” in educational programs and activities that receive financial assistance from the federal government (Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972). There are different interpretations about if gender identity is/should be protected under Title IX. It varies from issues about what bathrooms transgender students should use and if they should be allowed into locker rooms or play on sports teams in relation to their sex or gender identity. Outside of Title IX, different sporting bodies are also considering the same issues (Brito, 2023). The issue of fairness is often the argument about if males can safely and fairly compete with females in sports regardless of their gender identity. The science generally supports that transgender women have a physical advantage over women (Roberts, et al., 2020). Beyond the physical advantages is the psychological warfare on women that are forced to share locker rooms with males, especially in-tact ones. Former University of Kentucky swimmer, Riley Gaines, and her experiences should be considered. She was uncomfortable having to share a dressing room with and compete against Lia Thomas, a male swimmer who spent his first three years competing against other males (Schlott, 2023).

The radical feminist or gender critical stance is not one that objects to feminine males or masculine females; historically most radical feminists have been gender non-conforming lesbians. We generally don’t shave or wear makeup. So, no, we’re not the pearl-clutching religious or conservative group that believes each sex has to prescribe to a specific gender role. That’s not my argument here at all.

We’re all for believing that people can dress and present themselves exactly as they’d like. We just don’t believe that someone’s inner sense of themself (their gender identity) is the same thing as them actually being the thing they want to be.

Making legislation changes and conceding our language to appeal to someone’s inner sense of self, something that’s not concrete, is not practical. What happens if they change their gender identity again or continuously? What happens if in 10 years the medical community admits that the science behind this movement is flawed and that it should fall out of favor in the same way that lobotomies have? How will all of the female athletes who got injured or lost scholarships/games/medals be compensated? How will they correct official documents like the sex recorded on birth certificates and passports? These are not small, easy things to reverse. These things have to be considered when talking about policies, rules, and laws.

We are not asking for the eradication of trans women despite what a lot from the pro-transgender side are arguing. We are simply asking them to create their own identity and spaces because woman and female are already taken. Asking us to call trans women women isn’t just going against the dictionary/medical/historical definition of the word, but it’s also asking us to erase ourselves in significant ways.

If we don’t have language to describe ourselves, our experiences, our needs, and our rights as a defined and marginalized group, then what do we have? The words man and male are not facing the same kind of scrutiny. Phrases like “menstruator” “bleeders” “uterus haver” “people with vaginas” don’t have male equivalents that medical institutions or well-respected media outlets regularly use (Steinbuch, 2021).

In conclusion, my stance is not one against transgender women, it’s a stance that’s pro-woman. I’m for women not being erased or redefined due to a small group of males that want to “identify” as us. Misogynist attitudes, language, policies, and laws worldwide make it clear that everyone knows exactly what a woman is.

#Radical Feminism #radical feminists do touch #radblr #radical feminists please interact #gender critical

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decolonize-the-left · 4 months

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i was thinking about your whiteness post, and i wanna add how the idea of whiteness has lead to an almost bastardized and commercialized version of christianity

i don't celebrate christmas as a muslim because it's not my religious holiday to celebrate, but the amount of times people have said "you should still celebrate it! christmas is not religious holiday anymore!" is wild. like, that's your saviour? wdym christmas isn't a religious holiday???

it's not like this with other christian dominions, so i find it insane that the countries that scream about jesus all the time also treats his 'birthday' (there's so much debate on his date of birth) is just another holiday. the same thing for easter and i don't hear a word about lent either.

this probably isn't a new thought, but given that it's been another season of peoples pity because i don't celebrate christmas, its been on my mind.

anywho, i hope you're having a wonderful day!! <333

I 100% agree

I think much like a government, Christianity in the West has been co-opted by white supremacists.

I have a whole theory and special interest about it so let me soap box for a second.

Doing research even on the Bible the last few months and the KJV print is where that becomes obvious to me. Some of the wording changed to make obedience and subservience to the king a virtue. It linked holiness to serving someone other than God or yourself.

And that's not to say it didn't have issues before that or that the KJV is the sole cause (it is one of the most popular versions tho). But rather an observable point in history where we can see the Bible being wielded as a tool to make the masses more easily controlled.

It stopped being about God and spirituality a long time ago.

Further, the guy who translated it for King James is now considered the patriarch of puritanism. And that was caused when the King repudiated papal authority and transformed the Church of Rome into a state Church of England.

Yeah. They literally colonized the church.

See also:

The main difference between the Catholic Church and the Church of England is that Anglicans do not recognize the pope as the head of the Christian faith. Instead, the head of the Church of England is the British monarch.

The puritans who showed up on Turtle Island? Those were the same extremist puritans who didn't want to share church with Catholics that the king didn't want to deal with either. They thought the church being inclusive to Catholics was a religious affront and they wanted more reforms about it.

But then

Under Charles I, Calvinist teachings were undermined and bishops became less tolerant of Puritan views and more willing to enforce the use of controversial ceremonies. New controls were placed on Puritan preaching, and some ministers were suspended or removed from their livings. Increasingly, many Puritans concluded that they had no choice but to emigrate

Every time I hear "Starbucks cups are a christians tradition" I'm reminded of puritans screeching about how being inclusive of Catholics was a personal attack on their rights.

And when I see some megachurch doing this

Or when I hear about how Christianity feels more like a cult people want you to join and less like a peace driven religion about Jesus

Or when people have experiences like yours.

...it feels so obvious that focus of Western Christianity is actually about normalizing political ideas and they lure you into that by going "look how fun our parades are" and "aren't chocolate eggs fun?"

Jesus is a Trojan horse.

It's how you end up with so many "religious" people who'd willingly die for their country but shoot their neighbor. Conversely, it's how you end up with so many non-religious people saying it's not religious at all and bring people together actually.

Because its just parades.

Right?

#asked #answered #cultural Christianity #whiteness #colonization #i love asks like these #tysm for sending it

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borntolurk · 9 months

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METATRON: or an explanation about why his inclusion in the S2 and S3 narrative is fascinating and weird, actually

Originally, this was going to be a stupid, unlikely, and mildly cynical theory about what I think is going to happen in S3 and how it might compare to my third least favorite TV show finale.

But while I was writing it I went down a Metatron rabbit hole and honestly? It's pretty crazy. Like, really crazy.

Part 1: Metatron

So who is Metatron, anyway?

(This gets a bit detailed but I promise it pays off!)

I think a lot of people, because Metatron is in the book (which is a Book of Revelation parody), assume that he was also a figure in the New Testament- or barring that, in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. But he wasn't! In fact, Metatron isn't in Christian scripture or early literature at all.

Metatron is really a (very nearly, he's also mentioned in Islamic texts) Jewish figure. The exact origins are a bit fuzzy to me, as while I'm a scholar of Jewish history this isn't my era (it also gets pretty mystical and my worst grades were on mysticism-related papers), but essentially you're not seeing the name until a century or two after the Common Era at the very least. In antiquity, the name is largely found in the 3rd Book of Enoch (and later other Merkabot/Hekhalot literature) and in the Talmud.

The 3rd Book of Enoch is a work whose origins date back to anywhere from the 1st to the 5th century CE and it continues the themes of the 1st and 2nd books which discuss Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam in the Book of Genesis. In Genesis, Enoch is noted as having been taken by God rather than dying, and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Book of Enoch expands on this idea of Enoch being a massively powerful figure in Heaven (keeper of treasures, God's right hand figure, leader of the archangels, etc)- and even potentially being a lesser/dual version of God. In the 3rd book in particular, the word Metatron is used to describe him.

For those who are aware of Jewish theology, it might have occurred to you that the idea of there being a duality of God in any way is a pretty fraught one; Enoch is largely non-canonical in Judaism*, but it was still cited reasonably frequently by Jews in the early Common Era. In the next few centuries, we start to see more mentions of Metatron (at this point, not explicitly identified with Enoch) in Jewish literature, and this becomes a pretty big deal.

We then have three Talmudic mentions of Metatron, and one of them (Avodah Zarah 3b) is relatively minor, but does suggest, importantly, that God deputizes Metatron to do tasks that God would otherwise do. The other two are more interesting here. In Sanhedrin 38b, we see a debate between Rav (Rabbi) Idit and a heretic, who suggests that perhaps Metatron, which Rav Idit has mentioned as a representative of God, should be worshipped on par with God; Rav Idit makes clear that this is not correct.

The most interesting, though, is the story in Chagiga 15a, which tells the story of Rabbi Elisha ben Abuyah, otherwise known as Acher (the Other, signifying that he is a heretic). The story of Acher is a quite famous one, but here it's told with a particular twist that didn't make it into the versions that I learned in Jewish day school- the involvement of Metatron and its influence on the precise nature of Acher's heresy.

Rabbi Elisha ben Abuyah was a 1st century rabbi and teacher who was one of the leaders of his generation who is described as having been one of the four rabbis who entered the "Pardes," or orchard- and he cut down the saplings, becoming a heretic. This is usually interpreted to mean that he was exposed to deep, fundamental understandings of God which caused him to turn away. In this particular version of the story, what he saw was a vision of Heaven in which Metatron was sitting in God's presence. To Elisha ben Abuyah, this was a massive affront to God- surely one should stand in God's presence! This led him to believe that maybe there were two powers in Heaven, and thus led him down the road to heresy and the epithet Acher.

The story continues that as a result, Metatron was beaten with fiery rods to make a statement that he was not parallel to God, contrary to what Acher believed. Metatron was also asked why he hadn't stood up when Acher arrived, to avoid the conclusion. The answer is that the Metatron had permission to sit in order to "write the merits of Israel."

And, because of this heresy by Acher, Metatron is given permission to erase Acher's good deeds. There is a voice from Heaven saying that all sinners may return- except for Acher. This leads to Acher's purposeful slide into heresy more broadly (his first stop is literally to a sex worker, something that would be unacceptable for a rabbi, to PROVE that he's now gone bad).

(Also worth noting- in the Jerusalem Talmud, an entirely different reason is given for Acher's heresy- not that he believed in dualism but that he was angry about unfair human suffering.)

The story of Acher is interesting, in this context, for two reasons:

it's another indication that Jewish tradition is going to absolutely reject any possibility of duality and

it gives a clear indication of what Metatron's power is

So... we know all that. Now what? (You may already have some inkling.)

Part 2: Cosmic Megatron

I've called this section by this name because everything I'm going to say should be foregrounded by my belief that most of this is likely coincidence.

Metatron is a character in the original book of Good Omens, and as far as I can tell is there to fill two functions- to have a heavenly representative and thus avoid having to write dialogue for God, and so that they can have a joke where Pepper confuses him with the Cosmic Megatron, apparently a toy made of plastic, which features laser cannon and can turn into a helicopter.

(He's also called the Metatron- I'm not 100% sure why.)

We know from what Neil Gaiman has been saying that he and Terry Pratchett wrote the book in a pretty casual way. Obviously, the book is written with a certain amount of knowledge about the Bible and Judeo-Christian** religion, which from things that Gaiman has said I think he attributes to their being two bright, well-read men who were educated in a Christian-majority country but which I'm sure also included a decent amount of research- hence the bit in the beginning with different calculations for the year of creation. (Gaiman is of course Jewish but I don't get the impression that he had any formal Jewish education, though I could be wrong.) But it seems to be written largely as satire of some pretty well known Christian concepts, for the most part, though nicely detailed.

That's why my assumption is that Metatron must have been included as an offhand joke, by one of them who had heard of him as a spokesman figure in some other context. Because despite the fact that the Book of Enoch is known within Christianity, that's largely the 1st Book of Enoch, not the 3rd, which is the one where the name Metatron is identified with Enoch. If there are any scholars of Christianity reading this, please correct me if I'm wrong, but- I don't think that Metatron would be a familiar angelic/heavenly figure to the average person given a cursory de facto Christian thinking in purely Christian terms. Therefore, presumably the name was one that either Pratchett or Gaiman had heard in another context and that one of them (possibly Pratchett, as he was apparently the one who mostly wrote the kids) thought would make for an entertaining joke about plastic toys that turn into other plastic toys.

We then know that in a hotel room, after they wrote Good Omens, Pratchett and Gaiman plotted out a potential sequel, tentatively titled 668: Neighbor of the Beast. We know that this was going to feature more of Heaven's side, as Gaiman said in the run up to the expanded S1 (which of course featured the new-to-us characters of Gabriel, Uriel and Michael) that the angel characters were already part of the plan for the sequel. We also know, of course, that S2 is meant as a transition to S3, which is the actual plot to the sequel book.

Obviously, we don't quite know yet what that plot is going to be- but presumably, at some point in it Aziraphale was going to go up to Heaven. But presumably Gabriel, who we can now be quite confident was written out of S3, would have been part of that story in the book! The fact that we AREN'T getting Gabriel in a S3 that's based on a sequel idea that specifically included Gabriel (or so we're told) means that that role must be filled by someone.

It seems very likely that

what would have been Gabriel's role is being filled by Metatron and

Metatron wasn't necessarily supposed to be in the sequel, and thus (in theory) S3, at all.

Now Point 2 is only a guess, and it's entirely possible that it's wrong. But I wonder (and this is a totally separate theory, in some ways) whether the role that Metatron played in S2 is one that would have been played by Gabriel if Jon Hamm had wanted to stay. The casting of Sir Derek Jacobi in S1 was not one that implied to me that this was a character who they had plans for- it was a one-scene role in a show with a decent number of minor cameos for well known actors. His return this season was honestly a pretty big shock to me- and seems to be setting him up as a significant figure in the upcoming season. (Which, incidentally, seems like one that can be pretty easily acted in voiceover/green screen, making it a good role for an actor who may not want a full six episode season of a show.)

So- whether we accept my above hypothesis as true or not- why Metatron?

Part 3: Cosmic Metatron

So mostly these are questions. I obviously don't know the answers any more than anyone else does. I could even be wrong about some of my basic assumptions as far as the timeline.

But regardless, I think that the use of Metatron will be incredibly interesting this season for a few reasons.

First of all, let's discuss the Book of Life. It is, unlike Metatron, actually in the Bible- both Hebrew Bible and Old/New Testament. (In fact, the Book of Life is mentioned in the Book of Revelation- the main source material for the book/S1!) In Judaism, the Book of Life is actually something that is still part of Jewish tradition to this day. On Rosh HaShana, the first day of the year, our prayer for a new year is so that our names can be put in the Book of Life due to our good deeds.

We already know, from Part 1, that Metatron is God's scribe, who writes down people's good deeds- and while the story of Metatron and Acher above is never directly connected to the idea of the Book of Life, the thematic similarities are undeniable and it seems pretty clear that they're talking about the same idea. So we have a potential connection between Metatron as a potential character in Good Omens with the Book of Life as a potential concept in Good Omens- along with the fact that a person can be erased from the Book of Life with eternal ramifications.

It seems pretty clear that, whatever reason Pratchett and Gaiman may have had for including Metatron in the book, he now has a pretty solid reason for being here in the show, based on what we already know.

Also relevant is the status of Metatron. In the 3rd Book of Enoch, we know that he is God's right hand, head of all the archangels, and even is given a title that connotes him as a "lesser God." Which is, as noted, pretty theologically wild for Judaism, and a big reason why Metatron and Enoch don't get a lot of play in contemporary Jewish theology (besides for mysticism). We also know that it's the idea that there can be TWO powers behind the throne that led Acher to be eternally condemned as a heretic.

Someone posted a VERY interesting meta here- I can't find it right this moment- which suggested that God is no longer really around in the world, and that the Job minisode- the final time in the show's chronology when we hear God's voice as anything but narrator- Heaven is bathed in golden light, whereas afterward it has a more sterile and empty white light. I find that to be an fascinating idea- that Metatron is actually serving in some kind of parallel-God role in God's absence.

I'm not going to pretend to know WHY this is. There are lots of interesting potential plot angles- you could have Metatron deposing God, you could have God purposefully withdrawing from humanity/the bureaucracy of religion (maybe something similar to in Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment, which would actually make quite a bit of sense if this was part of the unwritten sequel as he could have recycled the idea), you could have some kind of a power struggle, etc. But it does seem clear- we have Metatron as what is essentially a Godlike figure, with enough power to completely depose Gabriel, shut down the other angels, and elevate Aziraphale (if that's indeed what he does- he is at least able to convince Aziraphale that he has that power, which is something).

We have a Metatron strong enough for someone to, potentially, question whether maybe HE'S the one exercising Godly power. And potentially face the worst of consequences for those questions, consequences that we know Metatron is able to deal out. Consequences which were already threatened in S2.

Now that would certainly fit in VERY well with the kinds of plots we might expect from a Good Omens 3...

It also could lead to a fascinating dynamic if they give Metatron an origin story of being Enoch. Having the big cheese in Heaven be someone who used to be human? That's a fantastic concept, just like how S2 centered a character for whom so much can be explained by the fact that he's a demon who was once an angel.

Basically, I think there is the potential for some interesting stuff here.

Caveat

None of this answers a separate question that I have- why bring in a Jewish angelic figure for a story as intensely Christian as the Second Coming? I have a feeling that the answer is going to be "because it's fun"- regardless of how Metatron is used. That said, if there ends up being a narrative where there's Metatron representing the vengeful God of the Old Testament and Jesus as a nice dude who represents something more forgiving then... Idunno, I'm not gonna be super thrilled.

And also- I'll put it out here now- I didn't love S2. Among other things, I think it was pretty simplistic and I don't think that it developed its ideas to their full potential. I don't know that I trust S3 to be as interested in these details to have ANY of this show up in the plot. It could totally be that Metatron is only there because he's in the book, and the Book of Life is only there because it's in the Book of Revelation. Obviously, I don't know.

But I do think that, whatever Gaiman does write if the show gets renewed, there's a lot of material here for him to work from, if he wants to.

*with the exception of among Ethiopian Jews- in fact, the only extant complete version of the 3rd Book of Enoch is in the Ethiopian religious language Ge'ez

**this is a terrible term and I use it only under protest

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens season 2 #good omens spoilers #good omens 2 spoilers #gos2 spoilers #metatron #neil gaiman #terry pratchett #meta #bible #fan theory #actual scholars of christianity please don't hesitate to correct me #actual scholars of ancient judaism also #i'm a modernist lol #good omens meta #go2 #good omens 3 #good omens 3 speculation

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sixcostumerefs · 7 months

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Happy Hispanic Heritage Month to our Queens!

Hey y'all! Here in the US Sep 15th-Oct 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month! Today I'm taking a moment to spotlight all the Latino/a/e/x queens in global productions of Six. Quick note that Hispanic/Latino identities have quite a bit of complexity that I'm trying to factor in while making this post; for further explanation of which queens were/were not included, check the "read more."

Aragon: Phoenix Jackson Mendoza (Brazilian, 21-23 Australian Tour), Gerianne Pérez (Puerto Rican, Boleyn Tour) Boleyn: Erin Ramirez (Peruana-American, alt B/H/P, Aragon Tour), Analise Rios (Puerto Rican, Breakaway 6.0)

Cleves: Janice Rijssel (Surinamer, Breakaway 4.0), Haley Izurieta (Ecuadorian, formerly rehearsal alt B/C, Bliss 5.0/6.0), Krystal Hernández (Puerto Rican, Canadian Tour)

Howard: Samantha Pauly (Puerto Rican, pre-Broadway tour/Bway), Brianna Mooney (Bliss 3.0), Cassie Silva (Mexican descent, alt A/B/C/H, Aragon Tour/US universal alternate), Didi Romero (Puerto Rican/Boricua, Aragon Tour), Aline Mayagoitia (Mexicana, Boleyn Tour)

Parr: Anna Uzele (Puerto Rican, pre-Broadway tour/Bway), Marilyn Caserta (Cuban, alt A/B/C/P, Bliss 3.0/US universal alternate/Broadway), Gabriela Francesca Carrillo (Mexican-American, Aragon Tour), Sydney Parra (Puerto Rican, Boleyn Tour)

Rehearsal alts: Adrianna Glover (alt A/C/P, Bliss 3.0), Alizé Ke'Aloha Cruz (Mexican, alt B/S/H, Bliss 3.0)

Some stats: - We still have not seen any Latina Seymours who actually got to debut (although Alizé Cruz did cover the role as rehearsal alt). - Howard has been played by the most Latino/a/e/x queens, with four principals as well as two alts and a rehearsal swing. - Meanwhile Cleves and Parr have had three principals as well as two alts and a rehearsal swing; Boleyn has had one principal as well as three alts and two rehearsal swings; and Aragon has had two principals as well as two alts and a rehearsal swing.

A couple notes and definitions: - All information is from this post. There may be additional info or queens missing, as it's only information I specifically have been able to verify. This list also doesn't encompass the full breadth of many queens' identities; many of them are of mixed race and ethnicity, or of several nationalities. For more info on any given queen, that post has everything I know. - The terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" are often conflated within the US, but have different meanings. "Hispanic" refers to someone with heritage from a Spanish-speaking country, such as Spain, Mexico, Chile, and Cuba. "Latino" (or Latina/Latine) refers to someone of Latin American heritage, which by broad definition includes South America, Central America, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and some of the Caribbean, including non-Spanish-speaking countries like Brazil. While the month is called Hispanic Heritage Month, it's typically defined as focusing on celebrating those of Latin American descent. As such, I'm not including queens of Hispanic but non-Latin American descent. - However, there is further debate and difference in identification even beyond that in terms of which countries/people identify as Latin American. For anyone from an area where Latin American identification may differ, such as most of the Caribbean, I generally acquiesced to what the queen themselves identify as. As such, there's very little inclusion of Caribbean queens on this list, because most of them identify themselves as purely Caribbean rather than Latin American. - This debate also comes up with the many Filipino/Pinoy queens. Many identify themselves as being of Hispanic AND Asian heritage due to Spanish colonization in the region, which would make them Hispanic rather than Latino. Of course, there is a possibility that some of the queens could be have mixed Filipina AND Latina background; however, I don't have anything where any of them identified themselves as such, and so in keeping with specifically Latin American queens I did not include them in this post. (You can find them in the Asian American and Pacific Islander post, however!) - Additionally, this post does not include Rhiannon Bacchus as she was part of the cancelled Breakaway 2.0 cast. She is Guyanese.

--------------------------- Photos of Gerianne Pérez, Erin Ramirez, Krystal Hernández, Samantha Pauly, Cassie Silva, Didi Romero, Aline Mayagoitia, Anna Uzele, Gabriela Francesca Carrillo, and Sydney Parra are by Joan Marcus. All other photos: sixthemusicalau, unsure of origin (Phoenix Jackson Mendoza), _animalise (Analise Rios), janice_rijssel (Janice Rijssel), 0haley0 (Haley Izurieta), briannabritomooney (Brianna Mooney), marilyncaserta (Marilyn Caserta), alize.kealoha (Adrianna Glover and Alizé Ke'Aloha Cruz)

#six the musical #phoenix jackson mendoza #gerianne perez #erin ramirez #analise rios #janice rijssel #haley izurieta #krystal hernandez #samantha pauly #brianna mooney #cassie silva #didi romero #aline mayagoitia #anna uzele #marilyn caserta #gabriela francesca carrillo #sydney parra #also thanks to Sofia for helping with this post!

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sophieinwonderland · 6 months

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thought you would appreciate the data in this study, its a small sample size but, its nice to see it among the scientific literature, using the word plural, acknowledging endos leaving behind the structural model of dissociation, and advocating for a better understanding of plurals and dissociative trans people.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S246874992300042X?dgcid=coauthor

thank you for the good work you do citing sources and combatting misinfo towards endos.

im traumagenic, but my partner is a tulpamancer, and i cant get over the hate they suffer.

good luck, and keep going strong ✌️

Thanks!

It's moments like this that I'm sad Sci-Hub doesn't work for articles past 2021. 😢

Even still, the introduction was interesting even if that's basically all that's available.

The first thing I check on a lot of these articles is just the authors.

And I'm happy to see that these look like mostly new names from reputable clinics and universities. As it concerns debates about endogenic plurality, I'm glad to have more people researching this across the field.

More acknowledgement by more people is incredibly vital.

Beyond that, I love that the connection between plurality and gender is being explored here with the goal of helping systems who are seeking gender-affirming care.

For those who identify as both transgender and plural, the likelihood of receiving affirming care is low. Medical and mental health care often does not meet the needs of the transgender community, frequently reinforcing stigma (Noonan et al., 2018; Rees, Crowe & Harris, 2020). People with dissociative symptoms also have trouble accessing mental health care (Nester, Hawkins & Brand, 2022). Providers’ implicit biases regarding both gender identity and plurality may contribute to these disparities, leading to non-affirming treatment (Price et al., 2022). There is movement toward a more inclusive, affirming approach to this population, one which does not start with an underlying assumption of pathology. One transgender and plural mental health care practitioner noted that dissociation for them was not unreal or pathological (Henkin, 1998). Ribáry, László, Demetrovics and Maraz (2017) interviewed six systems and concluded that, in this cohort, “most systems function relatively well in everyday life” (p.1). The 13 participants with DID in Hunter's study (2016) reported they preferred a client directed approach that honored their subjective experience. Yarbrough (2018) observed that many plural systems did not experience distress from the existence of other internal headmates, and recommended shared decision making among headmates when pursuing treatment. Rivera (2002) concluded that transgender clients with dissociation could “make reasoned choices and they could live relatively peacefully” (p. 51) about gender, asserting that while mental health clinicians should assess for DID, clinicians should not presume that dissociation precludes transgender clients from providing adequate informed consent for transition-related treatment.

I hope research like this helps will help better inform healthcare for systems. This is obviously specific to gender-affirming care but other care, but with luck it can impact result in research into other forms as well.

Added it to my new Studies and Research page.

Thanks again for sharing! 😁

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thesituation · 7 months

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u don’t gotta post this at all to avoid a mob forming but i’ve been following u since when u were bisexual and i was bisexual so i still hold a lot of love for the bisexual community and i’m NOT an exclusionist but the pan v. bi debate is so tiring and seeing bu ppl get all these disgusting labels put on them while pan people go “teehee we’re better and more inclusive of trans people 😝” is just mega uber annoying. pansexuals not mention you’re pansexual challenge.

even tho i’m not bisexual and don’t label myself as such anymore it still pisses me offfff how biphobia literally just fucking. won that debate. like good job y’all successfully convinced the community at large that bi people exclude trans and/or non binary people. for no reason other than you wanting a “prettier flag” or whatever stupid ass reasons ppl have. boy does it still annoy me!

#answers

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mariacallous · 1 month

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The United Nations on Thursday adopted a U.S.-led resolution on artificial intelligence, marking what Washington says is a major step toward establishing a global baseline to regulate the rapidly developing technology.

The resolution, which followed more than three months of negotiations among dozens of countries, calls on U.N. member states to ensure “safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems” that are developed responsibly and respect human rights and international law.

While the resolution is non-binding and does not include an enforcement mechanism, U.S. officials in a briefing on Wednesday highlighted the significance of its unanimous adoption as an important step in establishing global AI guardrails.

“This first-ever standalone resolution on AI at the United Nations is a consensus resolution—that means that all 193 member states will agree to it, and trust me, that is no easy feat,” a senior Biden administration official said, adding that as of Wednesday afternoon, 97 countries had also co-sponsored the resolution and that number was growing “literally by the hour.”

Debates on how best to regulate AI have dominated bilateral and multilateral forums for more than a year, ranging from the G-7 summit in Japan to the AI Safety Summit hosted by the United Kingdom last November. Several of the world’s most powerful governments have also established their own paths to regulate AI—the European Union earlier this month passed the EU AI Act after nearly two years of deliberations, while authorities in China have cast an ever-expanding, ever-evolving regulatory net to rein in AI technologies.

The Biden administration took its biggest swing last October with an executive order that echoes many of the goals included in the U.N. resolution. “What we’ve done, essentially, is to make sure that the resolution reflects what the administration is already doing with respect to its domestic AI governance,” another senior administration official told reporters.

The United Nations also has multiple other initiatives, including a new AI advisory body and its global standard-setting organization, the International Telecommunication Union. Those efforts will continue, but this week’s resolution may give the conversation more heft. “We view this as complementing other initiatives happening throughout the U.N. system, but it is different,” the second official said. “We think it’s important when all 193 member states agree to a set of global norms.”

That broad agreement is significant, given the diplomatic battles that have played out in the United Nations between Western democracies and allies on the one hand and autocracies on the other. China and Russia, in particular, have increasingly sought to shape the institution toward their worldview and priorities, stalling deliberations over a proposed treaty on crimes against humanity and attempting to impose a contentious treaty on cybercrime. On AI, however, the discussions appear to have been more productive.

“There were lots of heated conversations; that’s not unusual for the United Nations,” the first administration official said. “The fact that 193 countries that often can’t agree on anything at the U.N. were able to agree on this shows that this issue of AI is so transformative—not only from the technology standpoint but in terms of the potential opportunities that people see—that I think it transcended the usual geopolitical divisions that we have here in the United Nations.”

The inclusion of language ensuring AI systems comply with human rights is a particular bright spot of the resolution, according to Daniel Leufer, a senior policy analyst at the digital rights group Access Now. “I wouldn’t take that for granted as a statement,” he said. “Getting the message across that there are uses of AI that are just incompatible with human rights and cannot be permitted was a battle, and it is good to see that enshrined in something at this level with the level of consensus.”

But achieving that consensus also dilutes the impact that the resolution can have, Leufer added, particularly with a lack of enforcement mechanisms built into the U.N. process. “There’s always a risk that what that means effectively is bringing everyone down to the lowest agreeable bar,” he said. “If we limit ourselves to what we can get every state to agree on, we’re not going to get too far.”

One notable absence from the resolution is the potential military use of AI, and that was largely by design. “In looking across the broad sweep of AI considerations in the world, we made a purposeful choice in pursuing a consensus-based U.N. resolution to not include the military uses discussion in this resolution,” one of the officials said, adding that several diplomatic and multilateral conversations about military applications of AI are already ongoing across the U.N. and other forums. “We believed there was an opportunity to talk about safe, secure, and trustworthy AI in a civilian, non-military context, which was very important and deserved and merited its own attention and focus.”

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soapygummybear · 2 years

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If you’re taking request, could I maybe request this scenario for any of the Genshin men?

Little kid runs up to him shouting “Papa!”

But the kid’s actual father has passed for some time now, according to the kid’s older sibling, who went looking for them.

Highly specific, thank you and have an amazing day <3

Hello hello! Thank you for requesting! I sure can do your request! I apologize for taking a few days to write this. Finals are a pain in my ass. Luckily, finals are almost done! :)

Fandom: •Genshin Impact•

Character(s): Xiao, Zhongli, Venti, Diluc, Childe, and Albedo (all separate)!

Genre: ☁️Fluff☁️

⚠️Warnings⚠️: Mentions of family death (specifically father).

Prompt: Genshin mens reaction to your younger sibling running up to them and calling them “Papa!”

Request?: Yes! Requests are welcomed.

Reader’s Gender: Gender neutral. (Please know all my headcannons will have a gender neutral reader unless said otherwise. As this way, the headcannons are more inclusive to male, female, non-binary, and other readers. :D)

Notes: Reader is the older sibling of the young child that runs up to the Genshin men calling him dad. (S/N) stands for Sibling’s Name. Reader’s sibling is between the ages of 2-6. Mostly 2 or 3. But Albedo’s headcannon (S/N) is about 6. They also call their older sibling, “Baba.” Also a heads up, some headcannons are longer than others.

Xiao

-Xiao was patrolling Liyue. It was pretty late at night.

-He walks around, scanning each area multiple times before moving on to the next.

-He jumps down from a building, landing on the ground. Taking some time to himself, he walks around.

-“Papa!!” He hears someone yell. He quickly turns around, only to see a little child running towards him with their arms spread open.

-Xiao takes a step back, he wasn’t expecting to see a small child. When the little person reaches him, he quickly jumps up into a tree.

-He perches on a branch, staring down at the tiny human being.

-The little child reaches their arms up to him, making grabby hands. “Papa!” The young child says again.

-Xiao makes a strange face, why was there a little mortal being out so late? Were they in danger? Were they lost? Did their family get attacked by monsters?

-He debates on wether or not to run away. This child was so young, if they were even around him, his karmic debt would rub off on them, causing issues.

-But at the same time, this child was alone. There was no one in sight looking for them. And if he didn’t help this kid, what kind of Adeptus would he be? His job was to protect Liyue. And that means protecting the people of Liyue too.

-He slowly jumps down from the tree, keeping a bit of distance from the child. He crouches down, going to the child’s height.

-He tilts his head slightly, still staring at the child.

-A giggle comes from the little human. They clap their hands.

-“Where’s your family?” He asks, trying not to frighten the child. His ears perk up when he hears another voice.

-“(S/N) where are you? You’re going to worry mommy!” You look around before spotting your little sibling and the Adeptus.

-“(S/N)!” You run towards your sibling, picking them up and placing them on your hip. You turn your head, looking at the Adeptus. You bow, “I’m so sorry for disturbing you, Adeptus Xiao. My younger sibling often wanders off when I’m not paying attention to them. They try looking for my father, who has already passed.”

-“It’s fine.” He looks at your sibling and then to you, “Just don’t let it happen again. I would hate to have to save them because you didn’t keep your eyes open.”

-You nod, “Yes sir!”

-Fast Forward a few weeks or so, Xiao had been secretly watching over you.

-Of course though, your little sibling had run off again. This time, into danger.

-Picking them up, you run away from the hilichurls. Jerking to a stop, you look up a small cliff. It was the only way you were going to be able to get to safety.

-Putting your sibling’s life first, you quickly help them up. Placing your hand on their bum, you push them up.

-Almost getting to the top of the small cliff, your foot slips, making you tumble down.

-“Baba!” Your little sibling shouts, wanting to get back down to you.

-You look at the hilichurls speeding towards you before looking up at your sibling, “(S/N), run! Don’t look back, just run!”

-“Baba!” Your sibling says again. A few tears prick at your eyes, “Go! (S/N) just go!” You look up at them, a smile on your face, “Your big sibling will catch up, okay?”

-Taking your word, your little sibling runs.

-A few tears fall down your face, “I’m sorry, (S/N). You’ll be okay.” You face towards the hilichurls again. Leaning your back against the cliff, you slide down to sit.

-You smile.

-Closing your eyes, you wait for your fate.

-“You’re an idiot.” Xiao’s voice says in your ear.

-You open your eyes to see him standing in front of you, blocking you from the hilichurls. Looking to your left, you see your younger sibling next to you, burying their face into your side.

-In just a few seconds, all of the hilichurls were killed. Xiao turns around and looks at you, “What did I tell you?” He raised an eyebrow.

-“I-I’m sorry!” You quickly say, “(S/N) went out looking for dad again. Mother was busy cleaning the house while I was helping her.”

-The Adeptus sighs, “Guess I’ll be watching over you, then.”

-You blink, “What?”

-“You heard me.” He crouches in front of you, staring into your eyes, “I’ll help you protect (S/N).”

(More under the cut!)

Zhongli

-Zhongli was out having lunch with Hu Tao.

-Hu Tao was rambling about a funny little prank she did on someone.

-“And then they were like, ‘Ah!’” She giggles.

-Zhongli raises his eyebrow, he didn’t fancy pranks. But who was he to ruin someone’s fun? As long as someone was directly threatening Liyue, he was fine.

-He takes a sip of his tea, still listening to Hu Tao. Normally he was the one talking, but today the pyro user seemed to be more energetic.

-He calmly stares at her while drinking his tea. Only to stop when he feels something tugging at his pant leg.

-He looks down to see a small child clinging onto him.

-“Papa!” The child says all happily.

-The Geo Archon just stares at the child. Who’s kid was this? And where were they?

-His attention goes back to Hu Tao when he hears her snapping her fingers.

-“Did you even hear what I said?” She raises an eyebrow.

-“Ah, my apologies. I got distracted as I seem to have a young child clinging onto my leg.” He looks back under the table to see the child.

-“WHAT???” Hu Tao’s eyes go wide when she too, looks under the table to see a child. “Wh..What the heck?? Where did this little kid spawn from?”

-Zhongli shrugs, he’s oddly calm about this situation. Maybe it’s because he’s been around human children for many a millennia.

-He gently grabs the young child and sets them on his lap, “Where’s your mother?”

-The child claps their hands before giggling, “Baba!”

-Thinking the child called their mother ‘Baba’, Zhongli rephrases his question, “Where is Baba?”

-The child only giggles.

-Hu Tao looks around, “Hey wait, I think that might be my friend (Y/N)’s younger sibling.” She looks closer at the tiny child.

-“Yeah, that’s gotta be their sibling.” She smiles.

-“You know this child’s family?” Zhongli raised an eyebrow at her.

-“Well yeah, (Y/N) and I used to pull pranks on each other. But then they kinda just….disappeared. I haven’t seen them much for the past few years.” She puts her pointer finger on her chin, thinking. “On the rare occasion, I would see them going out shopping for food. They didn’t look too good, though. They seemed always tired and ready to pass out.”

-Zhongli hummed, “We should return your friend’s sibling. They’re most likely worried sick.”

-Hu Tao nods, “I know where they live. Follow me!”

-The two of them walked together, the child clinging onto Zhongli.

-“Wow, who knew kids liked you?” Hu Tao giggles.

-“(S/N)!” Your voice suddenly shouts. You run over to Zhongli and Hu Tao. “Oh my god there you are you can’t scare me like that! Mom would’ve killed me if I lost you!” You quickly take your sibling from Zhongli’s arms.

-“Hey (Y/N)! Long time no see!”

-You look to Hu Tao, “Oh hey!” You smile, bouncing your sibling on your hip.

-“Haven’t talked to you in a long time! What happened?”

-You blow a strand of hair out of your face, “Yeah uh, a lot has happened in the past few years. Dad passed and (S/B) here goes looking for him every time they have a free chance.”

-“Aw I’m sorry!” Hu Tao frowns.

-“Papa!” Your younger sibling shouts again. They make grabby arms towards Zhongli. “Parents!” They clap their hands.

-You smile, “Yes yes, parent.”

-“You’re a parent?” Zhongli looks at you.

-“No no! (S/N) and I’s mother works full time so she’s never home. I’ve had to take on the parenting role.”

-He nods, understanding what you meant.

-A smirk makes its way to Hu Tao’s face, “Hey Zhongli! You’d make a great father figure! Plus, you have many stories to tell that would be great for a child!” She silently cackles, “And the kid already is calling you Papa.”

-He stares at your baby sibling as they were still smiling and making grabby hands towards him.

-“I suppose I can try and help raise (S/N).” He looks to you, “You do look like you might need some assistance. You look very frail and tired.” He gently takes (S/N) from your arms.

-(S/N) laughs happily.

-You give a tired smile, “Thanks.”

Venti

-Venti was casually playing his harp while sitting on the ledge of the bridge.

-He strums the strings, humming a soft melody.

-Suddenly, he hears a child call out to him.

-“Papa!” The child shouts, arms raised out as they ran towards him.

-He turns around, getting off the ledge of the bridge. He crouched down to the child’s height, “Are you talking to me?” He tilts his head.

-“Papa!” They say again.

-He lets out a giggle, “I’m surprised you’d call me dad. I certainly don’t look old enough to be one.”

-The child jumps up and down, smiling.

-“Alright alright! What do you want to do?” He smiles back at the child.

-The little human twirls around and around.

-Venti smiles, he twirls his finger, causing some wind to pick up. He carefully uses the wind to pick up the child into the air.

-He grabs the child’s small hand and holds onto it while the wind lifted the kid.

-The kid laughs.

-“(S/N)!” You shout, running towards the bard and your sibling. You panic, seeing your sibling floating in the air.

-Venti carefully sets the child back down, making the wind die down.

-You grab your sibling, checking them for any injuries. Once you confirmed they weren’t hurt, you hug them. “Don’t scare me like that!”

-Venti blinks. You looked awfully young to be their mother. But what did he know?

-“Are you their parent?” The bard looks at you curiously.

-“No no! I’m their older sibling, (Y/N).”

-“Venti.” He smiles, “Can I ask why they were calling me their dad?”

-You blink, “Oh, uh, our dad passed away a few years ago. (S/N) was very young at the time. And my mother didn’t want them to see our father at his funeral. So they believe father is just out on a journey.”

-The bard nods, “I see,” He goes into a thinking position, “Are you the only one taking care of (S/N)?”

-“Yeah, our mom is still struggling about the loss of our dad. So until she’s able to heal from it, I’ve been taking care of (S/N).”

-He nods, “I’m sorry.” He gives a sympathetic smile.

-“It’s alright.” You slightly bow, “Thank you for finding (S/N)” You then take your siblings hand and walk away.

-Days went by and each day, (S/N) would run off, looking for the bard.

-And every time, they would find him. They always called him Papa.

-It got to the point where Venti would often hang out with you and (S/N).

-You thought Venti to be a good guy. Though sometimes immature, he was still great with your baby sibling.

-You two would continue to help each other raise your sibling until the time would come they could be on their own.

Diluc

-Diluc was cleaning the Dawn Winery. While it was open and there were guests, he still felt he could clean the counter of the bar area.

-He looks up when he hears the bells on the door jingle. But there was no one.

-He blinks. Did a ghost just decide to say hello?

-“Papa!” He hears a child’s voice.

-Wondering what the hell was going on, he looks over the bars counter, seeing a young child.

-Who the frick let a child in here? While children often came here with their families, it wasn’t usual seeing a child on their own.

-“Papa!” The child calls again. They raise their arms, wanting to be picked up.

-Diluc walks out from behind the counter. He crouches down to the child’s height, “What’s a little kid like you doing here? Especially on your own?”

-“Up up!” The child cheers.

-Standing up, the winery’s owner gently picks the child up.

-The child cheers, they were very happy.

-Diluc checks the child, looking for any injuries. “You seem to be well taken care of.”

-He hums, “Alright kid, I’m gonna keep you in the back room until I find out who your parents are.” He takes the child to the backroom. He looks around, trying to find something the child could play with.

-The bells on the door jingle again, in comes you, frantic and panicking.

-“Has anyone seen a little child? My baby sibling ran away when I wasn’t looking! Please has anyone seen them?” You call out to the people hanging in the winery.

-As the people shake their head or say they hadn’t seen a child, you feel your world start to fall apart.

-Diluc heard the ruckus, he gently grabs the child and brings them out, “Is this who you’re looking for?” He walks towards you with your sibling.

-He sets them down on the ground.

“(S/N)!” You run to your sibling.

-“Baba!” They shout as they run towards you.

-You scoop them up in your arms, giving them a hug like you hadn’t seen them in years.

-You look to Diluc, a smile on your face, “Thank you so much for finding (S/N). I’ve been looking for them for hours.”

-Diluc nods, “No problem. Why were they running from you, though?” He asks, suspecting you may be not taking care of the child as well. What else would cause a child to run away from someone?

-“(S/N) has been looking for our dad. He passed years ago but (S/N) doesn’t know that.”

-“I see. And what’s your name?”

-“(Y/N), a pleasure to meet you.”

-“Diluc, likewise.” He looks to (S/N), “Best you take them home. They look tired.”

-“Oh uh, yes of course. Thank you so much Diluc.” You thank him before walking out of the winery.

-Every now and then, you would see Diluc walking around. Specifically around Monstadt during the night.

-Your baby sibling also saw him. And boy did they get so happy. They would run to him calling him their dad. Even if it was late into the night.

-In the end, Diluc started to help take care of (S/N).

Childe

-Childe smirks, “Man you’re real tougher than I thought!” He says to some mages.

-He laughs as he dodges their attacks, making sure to beat the shit out of the mages.

-“Papa!”

-“What the hell?” He turns his head, eyes widening as he sees a young child.

-He quickly finishes off the mages before running over to the kid.

-“What’re you doing all the way out here?” He looks at them.

-“Papa!” The child says again. They jump up and down.

-A small smile makes its way to his face. The young kid reminded Childe of his younger siblings.

-He picks the kid up, “Let’s go find your parent, I’m sure they’re worried sick.”

-The child giggles.

-Childe walks around for about 30 minutes. He hadn’t spot anyone looking for a kid.

-Until he saw a bit of commotion in town. He quickly made his way over before seeing you frantically running around and asking if anyone had seen a child.

-“Excuse me!” Childe waves towards you, “Is this the kid you’re looking for?”

-Your eyes widen, “Yes! Oh my gods!” You run over to him. You bow, “Thank you thank you for finding my baby sibling! I’ve been looking for them for hours!”

-“It’s no problem.” He sets (S/N) down. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but you look awfully young to be a parent.”

-“Oh no no! I’m (S/N) older sibling! Our father has passed and our mother is often busy so I have to take care of (S/N).” You look up to Childe.

-He frowns, “So you take care of your younger sibling all alone?”

-You nod.

-“That’s a lot of responsibility,” He looks at you, “I have three younger siblings and as much as I love them, I couldn’t imagine raising a kid on my own.”

-You blink. Was he insulting you or impressed?

-“W-well I’ve been doing this for years now. And our mom still provides for us. She’s just always busy and doesn’t have time to take care of (S/N).” You nervously say.

-Childe smiles, “That’s pretty impressive! You gotta have a strong mind for that!”

-You nod, “I’ll take (S/N) now.” You gently grab your siblings small hand and walk away.

-The Fatui member watches as you walk away. A small pit forming in his stomach. Through all the things he’s fought, nothing could be tougher than never seeing your mom and losing your father, only to be left taking care of a child on your own.

-A few days pass, and Childe couldn’t stop thinking about you and (S/N). He sighs as he walks around town.

-His head perks up when he hears you and your sibling. A smile comes to his face as he walks over to you.

-“Hello (S/N)!” He happily says.

-Your younger sibling excitedly smiles, “Papa!”

-He smiles back at them before looking to you, “I never caught your name?”

-“(Y/N).” you say.

-“That’s a lovely name! I’m Tartaglia, but call me Childe.”

-You nod, “Nice to meet you.”

-And from that day on, Childe was always spending his time with you and (S/N). Granted, he always made sure to spend time with his family too.

-But he introduced his younger siblings to (S/N), and now they had someone else to play with besides you.

Albedo

-Albedo doesn’t go out much. He prefers to stay in his own little area.

-Who would’ve thought the day he decides to do some errands, a little child would come running up to him.

-“Papa!” The child bounces up and down.

-He stares at the kid, “Sorry kid, I’m not your dad.” He crouches down, “But you’re very adorable.” He smiles.

-The little human giggles.

-“Now tell me, where are your parents?” He asks.

-The kid only happily smiles.

-He sighs, “I suppose I can’t leave you here.” He gently grabs the kids hand, “Let’s go look for your parents together.”

-Hours pass, Albedo hadn’t found anyone looking for a kid. The sun had set by now, and there was no way he was just gonna leave a kid.

-He sighs, “I’m going to take you back to my place. We’ll continue looking for your guardians tomorrow.” He picks the kid up.

-They happily giggle.

-Fast forward to the next day, you were running around Monstadt looking for your younger sibling. When you went looking for them yesterday, you didn’t think they would disappear.

-As you can’t find your baby sibling, you collapse to the ground. Crying your eyes out as you claw at the ground.

-You mutter apologies, assuming the worst had happened to them.

-“Excuse me.” A voice says.

-You look up, your heart stopping as you see your younger sibling.

-“(S/N)!” You shout. You quickly get up taking your sibling from Albedo’s arms into yours.

-You cry as you hug your baby sibling. “Don’t scare me like that! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry I should’ve been watching you!” You sob.

-Albedo stares at you. He found it sweet how caring you were. “Are you their parent?” He suddenly asks.

-You shake your head no, “No, I’m their older sibling.” You wipe your eyes. “Our father has passed and our mother disappeared after he died.”

-“So you raise them on your own?”

-You nod, “Yeah.” You kiss your sibling, happy to see them.

-A slight pain goes through Albedo’s chest, this poor kid.

-“(Y/N)! I had so much fun at that mans place!” Your sibling says happily.

-You freeze before looking up at Albedo, “W-what?”

-“It’s not like that. I found them yesterday and went looking for their guardian. But I couldn’t find you and it was getting late. So I let them stay at my place for a night.”

-You thank Albedo, talking a bit more before taking your leave.

-For the next few days, Albedo can’t forget about your baby sibling. They were so adorable. And he loved kids.

-So he goes out looking for you and (S/N). He looks for awhile before finding you.

-“(Y/N),” He approaches you.

-You turn to look at him while holding your sibling on your hip. A smile comes to your face, “Hey Albedo.”

-He nods, “Um, this is a bit weird, but would you and (S/N) like to hang out? I know a kid named Klee. I think (S/N) would get along with her.”

-You blink, “Um, sure?”

-Bad idea.

-Kaboom.

-Although Klee was chaotic, (S/N) liked her a lot.

-So every now and then, you, Albedo, Klee, and your sibling would get together and hang out.

-It was great.

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textualviolence · 9 months

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"The anti/pro s/m debates have not, of course, been confined to women's music festivals or to the struggle between leather dykes and lesbian feminists. The sex battles between the dominant culture and its appropriation of feminist principles and an entire community of people who are marked as practitioners of deviant sexualities have been well documented over a decade of struggle. My project is not to rehearse that history but, rather, to focus on a structural mechanism that has informed the possibility of that history having taken place and its continuing effects. Beginnings are always arbitrary. I am selecting one particular exemplary moment that stands out in recent history to begin this analysis - the 1980 passage of the National Organisation for Women's (NOW) resolution that at the same time qualified what could be constituted as feminist supportable expressions of sexuality and linked sadomasochism with gay and lesbian sex. Delineating, and delimiting, lesbian and nonlesbian rights issues as their official position, the organizers of NOW wrote:

Whereas, NOW defines Lesbian rights issues to be those in which the issue is discrimination based on affectional/sexual preference/orientation...Whereas NOW does not support the inclusion of pederasty, pornography, sadomasochism and public sex as Lesbian rights issues, since to do so would violate the feminist principles upon which this organization was founded...Be it resolved that NOW will work in cooperation with groups and organizations which advocate Lesbian rights as defined above.

The only referent "above" with positive content consists of this: "Lesbian rights issues [are] those in which the issue is discrimination based on affectional/sexual preference/orientation." The remainder, and the bulk, of this resolution is comprised of a series of disclaimers, disavowals, displacements.

The historical outcome of this has been that the groups and organizations with which the NOW affiliated unwittingly have come to mean the New Right and the various Christian coalitions. The sexual practices NOW rejected, which it claimed had been mistakenly correlated with lesbian/gay rights, were reinstated by its resolution, through negation. [emphasis mine] As a collective of protesters put it: "by the very fact of its using a gay rights resolution as a platform for condeming 'undesirable' sexual activity, NOW plays into the erroneous but common belief that homosexuals have a special affinity for such behavior." It must be remembered that this was NOW's gay and lesbian rights platform. Thus NOW simultaneously sought to erase any connection between these other "perversions" and lesbian and gay sexualities while it inevitably fused them. The organisation silently evoked a lesbian identity and practice which was presumably consonant with an unspoken, indeed unnecessary to articulate, feminist identity. Again, the same protest letter spelled that out clearly: "in its appeal to 'feminist principles,' the resolution enshrines the political views of one faction of the women's movement as the feminist position. It implies the existence of a non-existent consensus."

- Lynda Hart "Between the Body and the Flesh"

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 2 months

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By: Leo Shane III

Published: Feb 5, 2024

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough is overruling plans to ban the famous Times Square kiss photo marking the end of World War II from all department health care facilities, a move criticized as political correctness run amok.

The ban was announced internally at VA medical facilities late last month in a memo from RimaAnn Nelson, the Veterans Health Administration’s top operations official. Employees were instructed to “promptly” remove any depictions of the famous photo and replace it with imagery deemed more appropriate.

“The photograph, which depicts a non-consensual act, is inconsistent with the VA’s no-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and assault,” the memo stated.

“To foster a more trauma-informed environment that promotes the psychological safety of our employees and the veterans we serve, photographs depicting the ‘V-J Day in Times Square’ should be removed from all Veterans Health Administration facilities.”

The memo garnered public scrutiny after it was posted online by the X account EndWokeness on Tuesday.

Just hours later, McDonough took to social media to reverse the memo.

“This image is not banned from VA facilities — and we will keep it in VA facilities,” said a post from his official X account. Department officials echoed in a separate statement that “VA will NOT be banning this photo from VA facilities.”

Officials said the memo should not have been sent out and was formally rescinded on Tuesday. They did not provide details of whether senior leaders were consulted on the matter ahead of Nelson’s memo.

The photograph was taken by journalist Alfred Eisenstaedt in New York City on Aug. 14, 1945, as Americans celebrated Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II. Other journalists, including military reporters, also captured the moment.

The shot shows a U.S. sailor grabbing and kissing a woman he did not know amid a joyous, party atmosphere in Times Square. The identities of the individuals in the photo have been disputed over the years.

In her memo, Nelson noted that use of the photo in VA facilities “was initially intended to celebrate and commemorate the end of World War II and the triumphant return of American soldiers. However, perspectives on historical events and their representations evolve.”

Nelson wrote that the non-consensual nature of the kiss and “debates on consent and the appropriateness of celebrating such images” led to the decision. Senior leaders did not provide an explanation for the reversal.

VA officials could not provide details on how many facilities are currently displaying the photo and whether veterans have complained about use of the image.

McDonough has made veterans outreach and inclusion key priorities for the department over the last three years, including rewriting the VA motto with gender-neutral language.

Activists always take it upon themselves to make themselves the center of any issue. If they feel offended, then everyone else must feel offended as well. Even - and usually especially - if the activist feels offended on someone else's behalf.

You don't get to pretend you're more offended than the people who were actually there and were actually involved.

#V-J Day in Times Square #Times Square kiss #V-J Day #World War II #victimhood culture #victimhood #DEI bureaucracy #diversity #equity #inclusion #diversity equity and inclusion #religion is a mental illness #DEI apparatchiks

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camp-counselor-life · 3 months

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What does the future hold for GS?

So I've been thinking about what the future is going to look like in Girl Scouting. And, while I imagine this will be a gradual shift, it's already happening. So here are my predictions for the next 10, 20, 50 years, below the cut because it is loooooong:

This is in no particular order because tumblr isn't letting me reorder stuff:

More multilevel troops - we're really seeing this in my council, but in a lot of areas single grade troops are a thing of the past. I don't think I know any in my council right now. I think we'll also see more demand for multilevel badges and Journeys, especially for Cadette and older (yes we miss the IPs).

More demand for progression building badges - GSUSA prides itself in Girl Scouting's progression, which is seen in some places but not in others. For example, it's seen in Safety Activity Checkpoints, with Girl Scouts getting more and more options available, and in travel, where you're supposed to start with an indoor overnight, then a one night activity, etc. However, a lot of the badges do not have that sort of progression. Some, like robotics, sort of do (although often they're super similar to each other OR lack the background needed for older girls they assume already earned the DBJ version and remember it), but others that are in the same series have little to do with each other (looking at you, Science of Happiness going with Home Scientist) and don't really provide the opportunity to build skills the way the Try-its, badges, and IPs I grew up with did. I think there will be more of a demand for all level badge themes, such as horseback riding, paddling, and specific types of arts and crafts.

More diversity in programming - this means programming beyond badges, programming beyond Journeys. I think that we're starting to see this, and some may say that this is the duty of other youth-serving organizations, schools, or parents, but I think that demand will by far outpace this argument. There's already a huge push for more outdoor/camp, so I think that will continue as well.

More demand for accessible outdoor programming - this means two things. One, it means accessible to those with disabilities, from better inclusion of autistic youth to making facilities more physically accessible (this is a huge debate in camping as a whole rn). Two, it means that it needs to be accessible in other ways, such as financially accessible, locally accessible, and ease of use.

Better badge resources - right now, a lot of supplemental badge resources are developed by councils, so they're very hodge-podge. GSUSA has made some starts, but lacks a comprehensive plan for supporting badges, especially more technical or challenging badges, or older GS badges. The VTK is a start, but tbh it sucks in both content and functionality, so GSUSA will need to do some serious overhauls of their resources in order to make things usable.

No more Journeys - Sorry, I do not think that Journeys will last the test of time, especially with the way they're formatted now. Troop leaders hate them, because they are challenging in a lot of ways, so there's a huge demand for council to run them, and like, they are not meant for a one and done Journey in a Day format. There's also the Take Action Project, which I feel is not part of a proper progression with how they dump new Daisy leaders in with similar guidelines as Seniors.

More emphasis on non-troop leader volunteering - this varies a ton between councils, and my council is in the infancy of developing non-troop volunteering (which is actually my job lol). But I think that less and less people are looking for the kind of volunteering required to be a troop or service unit volunteer, so there will be a greater demand from volunteers for short term or low commitment volunteer positions. I see this especially coming from young alums, but honestly for anyone looking for an organization emphasizing female empowerment without devoting hours upon hours to its service.

More emphasis on short term troop volunteering - again, people don't have unlimited time and bandwidth for leading a troop year after year. Having a short term opportunity, especially for young alums, college students, and busy professionals, will be an important way to increase volunteers and have Girl Scouts continue.

More non-parent volunteers - I think that this goes with the whole "millennials" aren't having kids trend. Right now, non-parent volunteers are an outlier, and sometimes treated like they're weird or creepy for wanting to work with kids that aren't their own. Grandparents, aunts, cousins, sure. Young alums without kids are acceptable. But just random adults who want to help? What are your qualifications and who "hired" you? Developing pathways for non-parents to volunteer with GS is definitely needed.

More embracing of gender diversity in Girl Scouting - this does not mean I think they'll allow in boys, but I do think they'll need to at least adapt to nonbinary participants, volunteers, and staff, because troops are already doing it and GSUSA has not caught up. It puts councils in an odd position, because leaders are doing one thing, GSUSA has been putting off commenting on gender stuff since 2020, and councils are in the middle, making up their own guidelines.

What are your predictions?

#GSUSA #Girl Scouts

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