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nothorses · 2 months

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I think one of the ways that tranandrophobia seems to distinguish itself from the other forms of oppression it is connected to is in the way it attempts to convince you it is indistinguishable and that transmascs are always just collateral damage to everyone else's "real" problems.

One example is the very blatent tirf claim that transphobia on its own isn't real, that it is all misdirected transmisogyny, and that transmascs only experience oppression due to our association with transfemmes.

But there is also the insistence that anti abortion laws and similar things are targeted at cis women and therefore are "women's issues" - transmascs shouldn't complain about being excluded because it "isn't about us". Same with homophobia and butchphobia. Even the terf talking point that they are just protecting "little cis girls" from making irreversible mistakes pretends that actual the transmascs being harmed is just an accident and not the goal.

Trying to talk about transandrophobia is a constant stream of "It's just transphobia. It's just misogyny. No, you can't call your experiences misogyny because that isn't about you. You can't call yourself a lesbian or a butch or compare your oppression to lesbophobia. It isn't about you. Yes, terfs hurt you, but you aren't their main target. This isn't about you. Yes, you need abortions and experience medical misogyny, but you can't talk about it because this isn't about you. You were sexually assaulted because of misdirecred misogyny. Don't make it about you. You've never contributed to the history of gay men, or lesbians, or the trans community. It isn't about you. Those cross dressers weren't trans. Stop trying to make women's history about you. You can't reclaim cunt or faggot or dyke because those words aren't about you. I don't care how many times you've been called a tranny. That word isn't about you. Why must you make everything about you?"

Because sure, transmascs exist, and we might be impacted by everyone else's oppression, but it is always thought of as a theoretical consequence of what is really going on, if it is thought of at all. Transmascs are not considered to be oppressed in our own right.

This idea gives the lawmakers plausible deniability, allies an excuse to ignore us, and feeds into transmasc erasure. If we are never the actual target to begin with, then clearly, we can't be uniquely targeted. The law makers don't need to be held accountable for their transandrophobia because it isn't like they are trying to hurt transmascs, right? We need to let the real victims speak, the ones being targeted on purpose.

Nobody ever sees the way it all piles up, and even if they do, they think "well it's just an accident, right? If we fix the main problem, then this fringe issue will go away on its own" without ever considering that transandrophobia isn't as rare, fringe, or accidental as society wants it to appear and that actual effort needs to be put into dismantling it.

It isn't that they actually believe that transandrophobia isn't real. It's that they just don't believe it is about transmascs. Because even if we are the common denominator, we are still just collateral damage and could not possibly have anything of value to say. Because as collateral damage, our issues are never our own and thus never need to be discussed on our own terms.

100%. And I think this is exactly what this sort of cycle of erasure depends on.

We are erased, our problems are erased, and our oppression is erased, which means it's easy for people to ignore us, our problems, and our oppression. There's so little evidence, so few people talking about it, and they never really see or hear anyone name us in this violence, so surely, it isn't about us at all! It must be about the people they know about already, the problems they know about, and the ones who are always readily named in these conversations.

If we're speaking up, there's no reason to believe us; if anything, we come under scrutiny for trying to talk about these issues nobody else can see. We must be crazy, hysterical, whiny and overdramatic, or perhaps malicious. We're stealing attention, stealing space, and stealing help. We might be victims, but we are incidental and unworthy victims.

And ignoring us, our problems, and our oppression means we continue to be erased. Which makes it easier to ignore us, and erase us, and easier to perpetuate violence against us. And so on.

It's understandable, in a way, for people to ignore us; most people don't know about any of this in the first place, and when they do, they're not inclined to take any of it seriously. Even if they do see convincing evidence that our problems are real and worth talking about, it's easy for that to be a one-off that they eventually forget about. Everyone else is talking about everything else, so we sort of fade away.

It's not their fault; they're not trying to ignore us. They just haven't learned to recognize violence against us, and they just don't seek us out, and can they really be blamed for that? Can they really be blamed for the violence that continues because they and others don't see or try to stop it? We're so hard to find in the first place. You know, because we've been so thoroughly erased.

There are a lot of people who've been fighting this for a long time, and even more we don't-- and probably won't-- ever know about, who've been fighting for even longer. I think it's getting better; the organized backlash against us is, imo, a sign that our reach is getting stronger and wider. But it's a hard cycle to break.

#transandrophobia #anti transmasculinity

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biceratops7 · 1 year

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So here’s the thing,

Being visibly queer to the point of ostracism is historically synonymous with gender nonconformity and I don’t think that’s a conversation some are ready to have.

Gender nonconformity as it pertains to Stede is a hot button topic of debate in the fandom rn, and I love that! So much! Queer theory shit is in right now? Sign me tf up! But I see a lot of posts answering “no” to “does Stede wear feminine clothing?” as if it’s the same question. It’s also being talked about as a binary “to be” or “not to be” as if gender nonconformity is not a concept experienced on a spectrum.

Even if Stede’s clothing can be considered reasonably “masculine” with all the anachronisms, picking flowers, not being able to stomach a “man’s” job, and wearing robes that cause other characters to misgender him are harder sells. The number one thing I see the “Stede is NOT gnc” side say is that these things are only associated with femininity if you’re seeing them from a stereotypical lense. And well… yah. Gender nonconformity is a social construct. That’s what a social construct is. Enjoying bright colors, preferring non-confrontational solutions, wearing a skirt, having long hair, these are all things that are not biologically innate to women. They’re extra characteristics our society uses to construct the idea of a woman. That’s also why gender nonconformity hinges on the cultural context as well. Different societies, different rules.

In order to understand where people are coming from when they say Stede is gnc and use the queerphobia he experiences as evidence, you have to look at the metaphysics. What is homophobia in its original form? What is it made of? I’d argue it’s purest components are the fear that the divides between men and women will break down. It’s considered “an abomination” because sleeping with a man is seen as the natural duty of a woman, and for women, sleeping with a man. Beyond that, all of the baggage that comes with those extra characteristics I mentioned follows suit. Lesbians were by and large excluded from womanhood, in some points of history specifically bottoming was illegal because it was “placing yourself in a woman’s position”, etc.

And that’s not to say masc gay men don’t experience homophobia, they absolutely do. I’m just saying if Stede is experiencing specifically the same bigotry as non-passing queer people do in the form of being excluded from his own gender and even from others in his group, then I don’t think he’s one of those men.

Honestly a thousand kudos to @eluciferate for already bringing Albert from “The Birdcage” to the conversation. Cause he really is the perfect example of not only gender nonconformity beyond the literal surface, but the fact that for many it’s a state of being rather than a conscious choice of queer empowerment. When Albert’s son brings home a girl with very conservative parents, and Albert attempts to “play straight” for his sake… he can’t do it. Even in ultra masculine clothes and trying his best, the nonconformity shines through like toes poking out of old shoes.

Fuck, Stede wasn’t kidding when he said he was “uncomfortable in a married state”. Even the way he carries himself back home looks carefully minded, like his whole life is a play he was horribly miscast for. In other words sometimes you didn’t purposely decide to stick it to the heteronormative man. Sometimes with great gayness comes great responsibility and that’s that.

Jokes aside, we can nickel and dime all his frilly little affects all we want, but at the end of the day Stede is gender nonconforming in a way that goes beyond aesthetic. And I think a lot of people may be hesitant to read him this way because it requires you to acknowledge homophobia in the show, that Stede’s queerness is commented on and something he actively has to mind before even knowing what it is.

#our flag means death #ofmd #stede bonnet #gnc #gender nonconformity #queer theory #meta #analysis #1x04 #1x08 #1x01 #the birdcage #biceratops

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peri · 1 year

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Peridot and Unlearning (Internalized & Externalized) Homophobia

i.e., here's why peridot's redemption arc is partially (a metaphor?) about unlearning homophobia

the title sounds crazy but bear with me here.

let's start off with saying NO, fusion does not = romantic love. that's an age old discourse and it can be so easily solved by stating there are many different forms of love, and sometimes fusion is just for power (which is a form of love in-of itself, albeit fucked; the love for power or toxic love) HOWEVER, in many cases, such as Garnet's, it most certainly is about romantic love. so to keep it as brief as possible, thats what we have in mind in this post. it's gay love okay.

now, let's talk about the scene i just captioned. this is from the episode "too far," which is an episode about developing a crush and accidentally hurting them in the process of trying to impress them. (however you want to look at it, but thats how i interpret it) the fact it starts off with casual homophobia is important, coz it shows peridot still has a lot of prejudices despite recently becoming part of the team, which is full of gay people, undeniably.

peridot's redemption arc is partially about coming to terms with your sexuality, retraining your mind from internalized homophobia after being raised in such a homophobic society/household, and becoming proud of your sexuality / identity.

OBSERVE:

"you dont understand! im protecting a planet i was once trying to destroy! i used to follow every order - every rule!"

"now im a traitor! a rebel!"

"A CRYSTAL QUEEEEEER"

sorry i had that joke stored for this analysis since 2019. anyways

i'm going to try to keep this short, but more under the cut.

IM SO BAD at organizing my words so this post is rly hard to make so im gonna do it like this.

MORE EVIDENCE THAT PERIDOT'S REDEMPTION ARC IS COMING TO TERMS WITH BEING GAY / UNLEARNING HOMOPHOBIA:

being frustrated about joining a lesbian/gay gang

coming from a society where homosexuality is forbidden

telling off your mom by saying youre joining some rebel lesbians/gays to fight her oppressive society

wearing pride flags (stars) everywhere after coming out

looking up to experienced lesbians (Garnet)

the scissoring joke (from "too far." if you know you know)

furthermore, i thought it'd be fair to include peridot learning how to respect how people identify in other ways, such as names / how they prefer to be addressed. this, most of the time, goes hand-in-hand with homophobia.

peridot, narrating: "he also said he wanted me to stop calling him "the" steven." steven: "its just, steven!" peridot: "i told him i'd call him whatever i want!" [hiss] peridot: "he told me that was rude."

(from the episode "log date 7 15 2")

peridot learns how to respect how people identify. lgbt win

i should add she also eventually learns how to respect Garnet's whole deal in the same episode (log date 7 15 2) which was also a huge moment in her unlearning homophobia. which, btw if you dont know or dont remember, Garnet does by comparing herself to peridot's (assuming) gay ship between Percy and Pierre from Camp Pining Hearts, saying she was the optimized version of herself (the reason peridot "ships" them; theyre the best team logically according to her analysis ship chart)

anyways, now the biggest most obvious point is the fact that peridot actually is gay. i've referred to this episode a few times now, but thats becoz it really is a huge point in proving my 'thesis';

in the episode "too far," peridot is shown to get obsessed with impressing amethyst. peridot experiences something they havent yet up until this point: a crush. i mean, you can interpret it as you wish, but thats how i saw it. the butterflies, the obsession with making someone laugh, the fact peridot states amethyst is objectively the best gem of the crystal gems and emphasizes "damaging her standing with the best gem here" with their apology to amethyst after hurting her feelings.

and um, this.

🌈yeag

sorry im losing any professionalism i started this post with. also this is focusing on early-season / redemption arc peridot which is why its kind of short and is missing stuff from later seasons. i hope this was at least somewhat concise and easy to understand, and i hope yall see my point of view here! feel free to add on (theres SO MUCH its easy for it to skip my mind) if you have any other points youd like to make to support my cause and uprising. love you

#peridot #su #steven universe #q slur #idc abt the discourse w tagging it as that im doing it for a friend. love and light #im so sorry for the bad formatting im off my meds #peridot analysis #tagging that for personal ref ok bye

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radfemnotfemme · 7 days

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Hi! I see you're a radblr and a lesbian, which is great, because I'm trying to understand something but I feel like I'm biased (I'm hetero) and can't see the lesbian perspective properly. I'd like to ask this to my irl lesbian friend but I'm too afraid of sounding rude. I hope you can help me understand better!

So. Let's forget about personality (which is the most important thing for sure) for a second and let's talk about physical attraction only. Lesbians like women. Lesbians do not like men. So it's reasonable to assume they are attracted to the female body characteristics which differ from the male body (like breasts, large hips, female genitals, etc) just like hetero men are. Ideally, the more feminine the trait, the more attractive it should be, right?

So, why are many lesbians attracted to the 'butch' type? From my (biased) perspective, butches are like tomboys, so they seem to want to appear less traditionally feminine (example: short hair - not a male characteristic per se, but it is associated to men because most men have short hair; we could discuss this theoretically, but the social bias is undeniable and no one can escape it). Butches share many characteristics (like style, mannerism, etc) with men, to which lesbians should not attracted. But this is disproven by evidence, since many lesbians like butches! Help. I'm terribly confused.

Hi there, thanks for the question! You mentioned that you understand that lesbians are attracted to female body characteristics (such as breasts, wider hips, female genitals.) A woman has these female characteristics regardless if they’re butch or femme. Butch women may be masculine on the outside appearance or through personality, but at the end of the day they have female sex traits that those who are only attracted to males would not find attractive in any capacity. Butches may try to “hide” these bodily female characteristics, but when in a romantic or sexual relationship with someone you’re going to see what their body actually looks like. Short answer is: butches are females, men are males. It’s entirely possible to be attracted to masculinity but find male sex traits (such as no breasts, deep voice, beards, or penis) revolting or not attractive. Straight women who are attracted to feminine men are not homoSEXuals because of this, just as a lesbian isn’t heteroSEXual for liking butches. Same stuff for masculine gay men who attracted to feminine gay men.

You said “Ideally the more feminine the trait, the more attractive it should be?” which I disagree with. Femininity and female have no correlation at its core, as one is of a biological basis and the other is of a societal basis (though they tend to align, I believe masculinity is the natural state of all people anyways and girls are socialized to be very feminine.) ‘The more female a trait, the more attractive it should be to a lesbian’ is a better phrase, but femaleness comes in all sorts of appearance so it doesn’t really indicate anything or make much sense. You brought up short hair as an example of the similarities between men & butches, which i will agree on, but once again, this doesn’t erase the simple biological difference between a man and a butch. I actually happen to be a butch in a relationship with a femme, so i’m going to offer both my viewpoint, and hers:

As a butch who’s generally only attracted to femmes, I used to not be attracted to masculine women or butches. I still am not for the most part. It took a lot of unpacking internalized homophobia & heteronormative social standards for me to understand why. Everyone is raised to believe that the masculine belongs with the feminine as a child, and gay children are not exceptions to this. I think it’s been ingrained in me since a child that the type of person I should be attracted to is a feminine person. I’ve known since childhood that I was not feminine in the way my female peers were, as I’ve always been pretty masculine. When in elementary and early middle school, the boys I “liked” have all turned out to be feminine gay men (lol.) I never really was attracted to these boys of course, but I was attracted to femininity in females and it was the best I thought I could get. I thought that since I had to be with a boy, I would logically just be with a feminine one. When I understood that being lesbian was an option, I never looked back. It’s hard for me to unpack that me being attracted to a masculine woman isn’t me being attracted to a man, and I know this subconsciously is why I say i’m not attracted to butches much at all. I could possibly be attracted to a butch, but i think socialization has its claws gripped into me (and also just a mix of the fact that femininity is my personal preference in a lady.)

I asked my femme girlfriend her thoughts on this, and this is a summarized version of what she had to say (she thought I was asking about myself):

“[A butch] may be mistaken for a man, or be read as a man at first glance, but when you take a closer look it’s undeniable that you’re a woman. Your eyes are beautiful and feminine, you have a gorgeous feminine body & chest. Your hands are soft, small, & delicate (and no i’m not trying to poke fun at your insecurity i’m being serious) When you smile it’s even more obvious that you’re a woman. I am attracted to your masculinity of course, I love that you have muscles, the way you dress, [redacted personal hobbies], your short hair, how in control/dominant you are. I also love your curves, your soft voice, and smooth skin. & you don’t have the personality of a man, you just pick up hobbies and mannerisms most women are afraid will make them appear “manly.” You actually convinced me to start doing [redacted personal hobby] that i never even considered before because I thought of it as something that boys or men do and now I really enjoy it.”

Sorry if this is a bit of a word vomit or not comprehendible, but i wanted to explain as best as I could lol

#rad fem #radical feminism #radblr #female separatism #terfblr #terfsafe #gender critical #radical feminist safe #radical feminists do interact #radical lesbian

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lovingoverwatchguys · 11 months

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Soldier 76 and Tracer [warning: long post]

A lot of this boils down to headcanon, because this storyline is clearly incomplete (and will probably be expanded upon later...hopefully) and also is often implied rather than said aloud, but I really do think Soldier and Tracer have the kind of father-daughter dynamic in canon, the same way people give him and Dva one in fanon.

At this point, I think it’s pretty well-established that Jack wants to look out for Lena’s safety. Consider what he says when you select her in the Uprising event:

(This line truly touches my cold, dead heart.)

And when he sees her get killed in-game: (I believe the ‘seeing teammate get killed’ voicelines were taken out of the game because there’s already so much audio clutter. Which is understandable, but a bummer, because there was so much relationship insight in them)

Plus the iconic:

A lot of the time, people have the idea of the new generation of Overwatch being the ‘kids’. The thing is, while someone like Cassidy might have been Overwatch’s kid, I’d say Lena was Jack’s kid in particular. He quickly takes a liking to her, and she admires him a lot. I think she even still would defend him. In the London Calling comic, despite her polite smile, she doesn’t seem to like the public perception of other Overwatch members:

When you look at someone like Angela, who clearly holds resentment or at least regret towards Overwatch’s fall, versus Lena, who seems to remember it fondly and hate how people perceive it...it’s clear to me that she still believes in it. And not just in the abstract sense of ‘likes its original ideas’; she believes in how it was, including the leadership.

Including the Strike Commander.

As of right now, we haven’t gotten a ton of canon material regarding the relationships between the characters between the time of Retribution and the Zurich explosion. We have the Ana comic where she ‘dies’, but that doesn’t really go very deeply into anyone’s mindset other than Ana herself. The scraps we have at least seem to imply that Lena fit right into the Overwatch ‘family’.

With that thought in mind, I wouldn’t be surprised if she formed a bond with the Strike Commander, even with the bubble he put himself in. She was certainly at least in touch with the people closer to him. She also seems to be quite familiar with Ana.

I think Jack cares about Lena and has a specific protectiveness of her, moreso than the other ‘next generation’. Like some kind of father, if you will. (Also, the gay and lesbian thing might be a coincidence, but it’s still worth considering...)

Now, let’s talk about parallels. (Thank you to @lenaperseveranceoxton for inspiring parts of this post, echoing a lot of how I already felt, but giving a couple new details I hadn’t thought of, in this post )

There are a lot of things about Soldier 76 and Tracer that are similar, and I don’t think this was an accident or excessively basic characterization. And I think Jack picks up on this. (I’m unsure about if Lena does)

Now, I could talk about how he refers to her ‘potential’, but I think the biggest piece of direct evidence here is this part of the Uprising comic. Lena comes to try and convince Jack to put troops in London, despite the fact that many governments are very deadset on not doing that. (When you think about it, that probably does mean he put his surrogate daughter over the law...be gay do crimes moment.)

The thing that informs Jack to make the decision to send troops into London is this after his conversation with her:

The implication I got was that Tracer, with all of her spirit and belief in doing what was right, reminded Jack of himself when he was younger and more idealistic. It reminded him what he originally created all of this for.

And while this is hopeful and all, Jack does eventually lose that type of idealism (well, to some extent, but I already went off about that elsewhere). Meanwhile, Lena is left with it.

Now, there’s also Vincent and Emily. Lena is still with Emily, and her decisions are often influenced by her caring for her girlfriend. Lena will do things to protect her and retain their happy relationship.

Meanwhile, Jack split with Vincent over his job. Unlike some people, I don’t think Jack is still in love with Vincent as a person; Vincent represents the life he gave up for the Commander position, and how sad he is about that. It’s not even about who Vincent is now. Who knows if they’d even still be together? What it’s about is living a life with a family and not constant stress. Something simpler.

So, Lena is someone who hasn’t given up that life yet. But she’s still young enough that she someday could.

But all of that just leads me to the speculation that Jack doesn’t want Lena to go into this, because he fears that she’ll end up the same way he did. The idealistic person getting their dreams crushed by the cruel world of politics. He wouldn’t want her to be part of new Overwatch, because he thinks she’s putting herself in danger.

You know what I think would be cool? If ultimately, that was what pulled him back into this whole fight once and for all. Obviously he has plenty of reasons to want to go back, but I’d love if what pushed him over the edge was protecting Lena and feeling responsible for keeping her from what he went through. It’d be a nice parallel, and a moment where he could show how much he genuinely does care. And most importantly, it would show that he still has something to learn from the younger people. I think that’d be a good growth moment for him, and could even be a nice theme for the audience.

Okay, maybe I also just want them to have cute moments together. Maybe I want him to try and take her fishing or some other lame old man thing. Is that so wrong?

In conclusion: sometimes a family is a gay old man, his lesbian daughter, and her cute girlfriend.

#soldier 76 #tracer #overwatch

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joandraws · 6 months

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Connie Converse

Maybe you've heard of her, maybe you haven't. I'm writing this for those who haven't.

Connie may well be the first American singer-songwriter, though her name remains relatively obscure. I only stumbled upon her music recently and was instantly captivated by it. My fascination with her artistry drove me to delve deeper into her life and the mystery surrounding her disappearance. This exploration took an emotional toll, as I found myself relating to her on a profound level. Her lyrics already resonated with me, but as I delved into her story and read parts of her final letter titled "To Anyone Who Ever Asks," the line, "Let me go, let me be if I can, let me not be if I can't," moved me to tears. I suddenly felt like her disappearance was such a significant loss to the world.

Then a strange thing happened as I was painting this portrait of her. I glanced at my worn-out, old Intuos4 graphic tablet (yes, it still works), its stickers peeling off, and I couldn't help but cry. In a hypothetical scenario (if I also disappeared) where someone as sensitive as me discovered my possessions, viewed my art, and learned about my life, they might feel the same way about me. In that moment, I gained a newfound appreciation for my art, for what I do, and for who I am.

Being proud of my art has always been a challenge for me. Typically, I create and release my work into the world, allowing it to find its own audience. And I have to admit that a lot of the time I even dislike my art. But lately, I've been working on having the same level of appreciation for my own work as I do for others. I'm sharing this because I know there are many artists, like me, who are excessively self-critical. Yes, I struggle with perfectionism, but even more than that, I used to be so self-critical to the extent that I would stop myself from creating at all.

This year, however, through my personal sketchbook project, I've made a conscious effort to change that. I've been focusing more on savoring the process of simply putting pen to paper.

But enough about me for now; let's shift our attention back to Connie Converse, and I'll just leave this sentence that her brother Philip Converse wrote about her:

"Sis was a genius and a polymath. I do not use the terms lightly. Connie was a poet, a writer of scholarly articles, a cartoonist, a painter, a would-be novelist by her own description, an activist, sculptor, and among other things a songwriter."

She wrote most of her songs between 1950 and 1955 when she was in her late 20s, living in New York City. While they do evoke that period, they are also timeless.

There's another intriguing aspect about her, at least from my perspective. Based on my reading and the accounts of those who knew her, it's my personal belief that she may have been on the asexual spectrum. I don't mean to speculate or offend her family, but this is just my personal opinion. Her music often delved into themes of loneliness and isolation, but it also celebrated her independence and contentment with being on her own. It's evident that she grappled with depression and often felt unheard. If she indeed fell within the asexual spectrum, it's highly plausible that she also carried feelings of being different or "broken," a common experience for asexual individuals, including myself.

There has also been speculation that she might have been a lesbian, though it remains just speculation. Ultimately, we'll never truly know, and her personal life remains her own business. I believe there might be a connection between these aspects. She was undeniably brilliant, and while it might be wishful thinking on my part, the fact that she was never found and her family respected her wishes allows me to imagine that she might still be out there somewhere. I hope she senses how much people cherish her music now and realizes how deeply appreciated she is.

Thank you for reading if you did! If you want to know more about Connie Converse you can listen to Spinning On Air's beautiful podcast episodes about her here, here and here.

#connie converse #illustration #art #personal #personal post #I don't know if this is interesting to someone #i felt like sharing #maybe it can help another soul #thank you for reading

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feral-radfem · 1 year

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I don't know why a lot of y'all expect us to forgive the exact same people who were sending death and rape threats, telling us to kill ourselves, and being horribly homophobic, misogynistic, and racist to radfems simply because they renounce association with our political rivals.

I'm not saying they can't change their mind or grow. I'm glad they finally confronted their worldview. I'm still going to hold them accountable for the things they chose to do as a tra/libfems/conservative. They don't get sudden forgiveness because they "switched teams". There's room in our sisterhood for women who have thrown other women under the bus, but it is diminished. Not because we are not allowing people to grow, but because these specific people have damaged our trust in them. They were the ones who caused harm and therefore, they are the ones who need to make the effort to mend that harm. A lot of women are going to hold them at arm's distance, and they will be justified in doing so.

Until these women who chose to attack the very women they're demanding sisterhood from have proven that they don't only feel remorse for what theyve done but they are also actively joining the effort to help undo the harm they help spread, they don't deserve default forgiveness. The expectation for feminist to diminish our own feelings, security and spaces so that they don't feel lonely is entitled, way too entitled for a demographic of women who have chosen to accost us unprompted in the first place.

Some of them were downright horrible to us when they were political rivals with us. I don't know why there's this prevalent idea in these spaces that any woman can treat any radical feminist however she like, find feminist theory, and then we can't criticize any of the actions they committed that did harm. I would go so far to even call this mentality anti-feminist. I'm not going to infantile women by pretending like they are too naive or childlike to understand they did harm to other women. They are fully grown adults with understanding of consequences, to treat them any other way just feels insulting.

The argument I see in defense of this is that we are not allowing people to grow when we hold them accountable for the things they've changed their mind on, but part of growing is holding yourself responsible for the damages you did so you can learn from them. If in order to grow, they never need to be confronted with anything bad they ever did, then they have no interest in growing, just changing locations. Instant forgiveness doesn't create growth or understanding for the people they've hurt. It surely doesn't create understanding from the people they hurt because those of us who had to put up with the mistreatment feel brushed off. Like the harm these women chose to do to us is not as important as us treating them kindly.

I'm not going to assume that she doesnt push the exact same narratives she did when she was actively being anti-feminist or homophobic. Until I can see an actual effort to confront the foundations of why she followed these kind of movements I'm not going to assume she hasnt learned anything. I think a lot of women would hold the same reservations as I do. It does our movement nor ourselves any benefit to be fountains of forgiveness who never looked twice at people's problematic pasts. Who never wants to question what motivates certain people to end up in these spaces and if they're actually here for the right reasons. There's many reasons for people to leave one political side and slide directly into its opposite. Personal hurt, social ostration, learning something new, not liking the political leader, etc. There is no evidence that the reason that they have joined radical feminists spaces online isn't because they didn't get called terf for being a lesbian. Or because tra said black women are close to men. Or one of the other many fucked up things conservatives or libfems have said that would have pushed them into these spaces that has very little to do with what these spaces were actually built for, the organization and fight for women's liberation.

Also, if they never confronted the beliefs that ended up making them comfortable in tra, libfem, or conservative spaces then theyre a fairweather Ally until we piss them off, anyways. Theyre not useful feminist or even feminist allies. Theyre "politically homeless" and want to have a sense of a belonging still. A lot of times that ends up with our spaces being filled with gender critical conservatives, gender supporting conservatives and liberals, or just people who can ignore the feminism aspects just to hang out with other women. We allow this to happen by immediately assuming anyone who is against the trans narrative is for ours. It's why there's pro-lifers calling themselves radfems on here. You have got to stop assuming that displays of people's self-serving behavior in leaving certain social movements is actually a change of heart and them learning from their mistakes. That is not necessarily the case everytime and it doesn't no good to assume so.

TL;DR: Y'all give people way too much benefit of the doubt when they do nothing to earn it. This ends up hurting our social movement. You should want people to do the actual work of confronting their misogynistic or homophobic or racist beliefs before you claim we need to have an unbreakable Bond of sisterhood with them. Because it when it only goes one way, US supporting them, we end up using our political energy to coddle and please people who don't even support radical feminism in the first place. Directly damaging the effectiveness of our social movement and our reputation when they claim to be us.

Radical feminism is the social movement focus on the social, economical, and political liberation of all women. However, that does not mean all women are my friend or deserve my trust. Just that I care enough about them that I wouldn't leave them behind in my fight. I will advocate for policy that doesn't exclude them so that they may gain all the benefits from this social movement and I'll hold them accountable for the things they pushed that harm it. That's part of being a feminist, criticizing ourselves and other womens' behaviors and holding all of us accountable.

#lily responds #radical feminism #radfems please touch #terfs please interact #radical feminists please touch #radical feminist #radical feminist theory #terf #radfem

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keepthisholykiss · 8 months

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i swear to god i am not an alarmist nor do i want to sound like one but time is a circle and history repeats blah blah but i think its important we recognize that the satanic panic IS back and we might be about to face those horrible fucking things all over again (imo satanic panic actually never ended but thats a tumblr essay for another day) researching the satanic panic was a fairly in-depth special interest of mine for a few years and i am seeing a number of very concerning headlines that lead me to believe the current conservative narrative paired with major headline murders will eventually lead to the same issues (or worse) than the 70s and 80s. tw for anything related to true crime/death below the fold im assuming this will get suppressed because of the topic also so feel free to reblog if you are so inclined.

there are two major court cases and one social media movement that lead me to this conclusion currently given their media coverage within a calendar year. i HOPE i am overexaggerating but i AM deeply concerned.

aiden fucci - this teen was recently sentenced after pleading guilty to murdering another teen in 2021. coverage of this case heightened when evidence was shown in the sentencing hearings which included "satanic" drawings. this was the first case i saw to raise my red flags.

the delphi murders which recently (like yesterday) had a major update which is what prompted me to make this post. this is a case of two girls in delphi, indiana who were murdered but managed to capture the potential killer on snapchat. the suspect was recently found and has now released a 100 page affidavit detailing why the girls were killed. this affidavit details sacrificial ceremonies and a cult of odinism. this case has received a large amount of interest over the years as it was long considered an unsolved case, this case will receive much larger attention nationally than cases like aiden fucci and may be the beginning of the panic "properly."

also worth mentioning is bryan kohberger - while this case has not taken the full panic on yet i am not counting it out as trial has not started. this is the idaho four murder suspect out of pellman washington. his case has gained notoriety and he is still awaiting trial as he just waived his speedy trial rights. you may have heard about this case prior to kohberger's arrest when a tiktok psychic claimed a professor committed the murders out of lesbian rage. this was proven to be untrue and kohberger is currently the only suspect on record. but how is this related to satanic panic? this case is currently being devoured by conservative journalists and "lone wolf" media figures who are convinced the entire case is a police cover-up for everything from drug abuse to cp to trafficking itself. major incel groups are flooding to content surrounding the case, littering their videos with dog whistles, to try and change the narrative. this is not currently a major satanic panic foundation to me but this coverage has gone so many different ways and the coverage is so fucked that i have my eye on it. as for social media, recent years have seen a rise in christian influencers. this has been, in-part though not solely because, "cringe" reaction channels or commentary channels have platformed many of these influencers. these influencers have used their newfound holy fame to create videos exposing "satan" in media. we may look at them and laugh but they are spreading true fear that at least some people believe. this is extremely harmful when we consider that real, convicted murder cases are supporting these ideas. we've seen this story before just decades earlier without the internet.

if you're reading this freaking out over the possibility of another widespread campaign to eliminate non-christians, queer people, and poc then i encourage you to read about the satanic panic of the past to better inform yourself. get better at identifying ai-generated articles, images, and conservative fear mongering. here are my personal reading recommendations. if i am afraid for no reason then hey at least you have some reading reccs. again i hope im wrong, i never want to see that shit repeated but fuck if i dont absolutely fear this next election year and what it may bring out. books on the satanic panic and/or its lead-up: unmask alice by rick emerson satan's silence by debbie nathan satanic panic: pop cultural paranoia in the 1980s chaos by tom o'neill books on misinformation or conspiracy: trust the plan by will sommer the midnight kingdom by jared sexton the storm is upon us by mike rothschild

not-books that you can also check out: you're wrong about the satanic panic conviction: american panic shanspeare 'doja cat and the return of the satanic panic'

#satanic panic #current events #misinformation #i dont want to tag this true crime but unfortunately it is #if i tag it with anything else its gonna get flagged so rip #michelle does txt

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katyspersonal · 8 months

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hello again, i'm the anon from the waifu/blorbo thing just checking in. it was quite surprising to see the ask i made when i was feeling sorta petty would spiral in all that lol

to answer why i stay anon, its because I'm just a "filthy lurker" tbh. im not really sociable or talented enough that i feel like interecting directly in the fandom, and i'd rather avoid the headaches that come from exposing myself to its more annoying parts lol. i understand its different for artists tho, you guys do us a great service

but Holy Shit your situation was quite bonkers. it is kind of funny that i might have helped you out with this apparently lmao. all it took was the right ask at the right time, crazy how that works

best of luck to you and thank you for being based lol. it isn't easy with such persistent haters but i hope you keep it up

Thank YOU for being based, the moment I read what you said I knew EXACTLY what you were talking about! And yes, it is a reliably stable way to piss that person off enough to 'act' by poking the holy dogma of "Maria is a masculine lesbian and everyone with a different interpretation is a bigot" with a stick in any way shape or form. Imagine being easily caught just because you can't stand bisexuals or women that can combine badassery and tenderness?

I'll have you know though, that fanart or fanfics are NOT a "rent" you have to pay to be considered a "valid" part of the fandom! You say you don't feel like you belong here... but you do, as long as you love BB and want to interact with other fans and support them. I am not the most fantastic artist either; my anatomy is still a long way to go and I finish my works very slowly, but it is my passion why I am here! :)

As for the annoying parts of the fandom,...

Honestly, you don't need to worry, at least not on Tumblr. Redditbros tend to stay away in their own circles and all you have to do is to not go on Reddit for sharing things like headcanons, drawings, ships etc. As for the bullies (oh, pardon, the completely civil people that are not encouraging harassment but simply spread "awareness" in order to excile people they dislike from the safe wholesome fandom uwu); they will typically do you a favour if they drop your name as "yiiiikes this person is nasty for [reason] block them girlies!", since this way the fake ones will self-isolate from you as a result and YOU won't see THEIR bad takes! And toxic Maria fans usually function by one 'main' guy vs their simps that got easily influenced. Before the current guy (you know who by now) it was someone else spreading bad takes about "misogynist" Gehrman and "violated masculinity" of Maria, boasting about how they ignore all lore and (mis)translation evidence against their One True interpretation. That person matured though, and the simps they influenced dissolved and became nuanced. The current guy is chronically unable to mature, learn and admit mistakes; but at the same time, popular accounts popularised a "compromise" take that portrays Gehrman as missing the mark but having good intentions that get way more traction and toxicity is overshadowed by them 🤔

What I am saying is, you can avoid annoying parts reliably easily! You probably are seeing like same two people starting controversy every time from your "corner"... and it is BECAUSE there are not that many. They are just loud. If you are in the room with 20 people, 19 of which are adults minding their own business and 1 is a screaming baby, who will you pay more attention to? I'd love to see you make an account, tbh, but if you really don't want to.. Well, still feel free to send me asks, gripes or headcanons or questions or whatnot!

#ask replies #personal #fandomry rambles

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aroacesigma · 2 months

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quick rant about fandom shit and the way aroaces and aspecs get treated because im starting to get a tad annoyed sometimes . none of this probably makes much sense but anyway

as an oriented aroace person (for the moots who dont know, fully aromantic and asexual person who experiences a tertiary form of attraction, im bi-alterous personally) , i get the fun experience of watching people weaponise my identity against my own representation . nothing more painful than watching someone treat queerplatonic relationships as an easy way of pretending aromanticism doesnt exist and using it as a gotcha when really its just romance lite and an easy excuse to them.

this probably doesnt make a lot of sense, but i see a lot of people ignoring the aroace part of oriented aroaces or my grey/demi siblings . they dont see the aroace part, they see the bi or the gay or the lesbian part and they ignore the aroace bit . almost as if they expect us, and therefore the fictional characters they use our identities as an excuse for, to prioritise the other part of our orientation over the aroace bit, when many of us … dont. personally, the aroace bit is way more important than the bi bit to me . way more . being bi in that capacity is completely affected by me being aroace when its not the other way round, and im sure many people feel the same .

its invalidating as fuck watching people say 'oh, but aroace people still want relationships !!! i can do this im not doing anything wrong !!!' and cite oriented aroace people as some evidence or whatever . because its so blatantly obvious that they dont see us as really aroace . because thats not what they need, if they saw us as really aroace theyd be repulsed as hell, right ! fandoms hate aspecs !

anyway yeah so if yall couldnt tell this has been prompted by uh . hazbin hotel , though a lot of my feelings are left over from my brief venture into the owl house fandom on twitter . not vague posting anyone on here i just keep getting annoying youtube recommendations and instagram posts .

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100hearteyes · 2 years

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I'm really impressed with the way the show is handling Kate and Lucy, individually and together.

They don't shy away from showing these two women are physically attracted to each other, it's carnal and it's sentimental too. Cause that's so real and many times not shown, the way a woman can physically affect another woman. "hands to ourselves". They also had other lesbians, like Cara and Skyler,.

And maybe for a lot of the audience of this TV show, it could be a first they see such a wholesome lesbian couple. and lesbian characters who are not justifying herselves and who are just being.

Also how everyone else around sees them, sees their love. it's wow I can't explain but it's so good to see.

That feeling when you’ve got a great, long response for a wonderful ask and TUMBLR FUCKING EATS IT UP. *breathe in, breathe out* okay let’s try and do it all over again. Slightly different, now, and slightly worse, because it was LONG and beautiful and I don’t remember every single thing I wrote before.

This ask has been sitting on my inbox for a while because I wanted to give it my undivided attention (*cries*), because it is simply E V E R Y T H I N G. I wholeheartedly agree with every big and small thing you said. It reminds me of a quote by (lesbian) EP Jan Nash to TV Line about Kacy:

“It is not a situation where either of them is a straight woman who was suddenly, magically attracted to somebody else. It’s not that.” (source)

I’ve written about Kate and Lucy having significant (if frustrating haha) romantic interactions/pasts with other women. In a TV scape where it so often feels like series put their characters’ queerness in a box - it comes out for interactions with the love interests and goes back in for every other scene -, what NCIS: Hawai’i has done/is doing with Cara and Skylar gives Kate and Lucy’s sexualities (no labels yet) authenticity and texture. Having one of their main characters date a woman after her breakup with another woman is so significant. Lots of shows would have had Lucy go on a date with a man.

Obviously, we don’t know Lucy’s exact sexuality, so she could be bi or pan, and going on a date with a man would be totally valid - but in this specific situation, in this specific context, having that date with a woman, regardless of whatever label she identifies with, feels like an assurance from the writers themselves.

As for the evident show of physical attraction, I’d like to refer to @bitchesloveswanqueen‘s wonderful post from April 27th when the promo for 1x20 came out:

A woman showing sexual attraction for another woman is so personal to me like I love the lovey dovey looks but they’re not the only ones two women can share. Where there’s love, there’s (often) sexual desire and it’s beautiful too. (x)

And YES, it is so refreshing to see the team be so accepting - no: indifferent (in the best way possible) to Lucy dating other women. That’s normalization. Kate could have been Roger and they would have had the exact same reactions. And that is so important. Of course coming out stories are relevant, too, and there are several great shows that tackle those. But it’s so good and so significant to see a TV show about adults treat one of its characters’ sexuality so naturally.

Thank you for that ask. Thank you for your words. Which is to say, I agree with you 100000000000000000%. And one more thing: KACY IS ENDGAME.

#kacy #kate x lucy #ncis hawaii spoilers #ncis hawaii #kacy spoilers #ask #anon #kacy analysis

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antonballdeluxe · 2 years

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Cookie Runner's Misogyny Problems

As if a fandom full of teenagers and a game of fujoidbait could go any wronger.

I've played this game, or at least Ovenbreak, since 2020. This fandom has grown massive since, bulking up once with the release of Almond, another noticed sharp point of popularity around when Parfait Cookie was released, and since growing. This has its own advantages, of course -- helps make sure the series won't die, and a lot of fan-merchandice to choose from nowadays, which is always appreciated. And, of course, a growing fancontent base in general, because, well, Devsisters can't write their own characters for shit.

But with that popularity, comes the worse of the worse, the Tiktokification of a community, as I've noticed all too well. Insane cosplayer antics, actually having the blorbos from my shows regonized in a convention…but I could go on about that for days. Today I go on with another, more focused, and maybe a bit more subtle way to pick apart every single one of you's. I am going to cover the way women are treated in popular fandoms, but mostly this one. It's obvious that misogyny is real, but the Cookie Run fanbase seems to have a really, really bad problem with it, for god knows what reason. And first, we go onto a more recent example, and a comparison of the reception of two cookies in Kingdom.

Affogato and Pomegranate. They're both evil, long-robed, feminine looking, serving a worse interest, manipluating all over the place, lies, gatekeeping, gaslighting, you know the joke already c'mon. But what I've also noticed is that, with Affogato's release and the rather humorous surprise of Affogato being a dude -- Affogato seemed to instantly rise in popularity once that happened. The leaks were originally more focused on because of Cacao, but with the reveal of a feminine man, here comes in the fan art, the praise, and all for...the gender reveal. All right after. And still going. And then you look at Pomegranate, who does all of the same shit, but because she's a woman and just so happened to attack the masculine (their gender is still unconfirmed in my heart...) Dark Choco Cookie with said manipluation and an added dosage of hallucinatory torture, she's hated almost universally by newer Kingdom fans, either that or just led onto the joke of the girlboss, and never truly analyzed for what she is -- effecient, but a great writing at a morally dark-gray character.

Again, these characters basically do the exact same things in terms of evil villainous shit, but because one is a man, and the other is a woman who attacks another man, the man is praised by the viewers, the woman attacked.

Sure do wonder why.

Of course, the evidence for this wider problem extends past just comparing two randoms. Another great one is on the topic of two characters who just so happen to be women in love, which is everybody's thing to hate nowadays -- Sea Fairy and Moonlight. These two get evidence upon evidence for Sea Fairy's pinning on Moonlight, just as close as they can write without just outright saying it because laws in countries with money and whatnot.

And then Espresso and Madeleine come out, and manage to score four times as many fanfics about their yaoi-abusive relationship within a year, compared to the Sea Fairy and Moonlight tag over more than three or four by now. Espresso wanting nothing to do with the stuck-up Madeleine totally means they're in love, guys! Oh, Sea Fairy's entire reason to live is because she wants to reunite with the woman she is in love with? Ehh, not enough evidence. Put her with Sparking because he looks in her direction in a single splash screen or something. Fuck everybody who did that, by the way.

For every lesbian pairing popular in this fandom, you could probably find a group of people who deny it for reasons basically pulled out of their ass. Chili Pepper and Rye? Abusive to some. Beet and Carrot? Siblings, despite no evidence suggesting such, seeing as Beet literally just wandered into Carrot's property one day and was set to work for ruining her crop. Lime and Orange? Again, I keep seeing them being called siblings for no reason. What the fuck is up with that?

I remember an incident when I was first in the Cookie Run fandom where a certian cutscene where Princess asks Knight to catch something for him and he fails at doing so and ends up hit in the head being used as evidence for Princess somehow being abusive. The person who mostly pedalled this bullshit ended up a bi lesbian proshipper, which is even more reason to discredit it.

And who could forget when Cocoa was rereleased in Kingdom, and tonnes of people, not knowing the sheer amount of evidence for Mint Choco and Cocoa's own relationship, perhaps even stronger than SeaMoon evidence at this point, merely shoved her off to the side? Saw someone call her evidence of queerbaiting once. Fun Tiktok comments section to scroll through, that one.

And speaking of the feminine men thing with Affogato -- You never see this with masculine women. You never see it at all. Aloe was revealed as a woman after over a year of undetermined gender and I saw people joke of her being kicked from the whole acryonym. She lost about half of her fanbase that day, I swear. Same with Sour Belt, Melon Bun, ect.. Tossed to the edge, compared to the worshipping of, perhaps, Whipped Cream.

"Oh, but Nephro! This is all schizophrenic amounts of tiny evidence, pulled out of your head. Are you sure this is enough to say there is a misogyny problem here?" Yes, because it is also in every other fandom populated by the youth of the chronic onlineness of today. Genshin Impact, Identity V, Sekai, all of whatever is most recent? It's mostly because of the men. It's because of whatever they can do with men. I'm so fucking sick and tired of it.

Rant over, time to play Barbies-Kissing-Naked in my room again.

#cookie run #cookie run kingdom #pomegranate cookie #affogato cookie #cocoa cookie #misogyny #misogyny tw #lesbophobia #lesbophobia tw #nephro.txt #nephro.pdf #discourse

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good-beans · 2 years

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Alright here are some of my ramblings about queer Shakespeare interpretations!! I looked at selections of the tragedies and comedies, and found evidence that can be used to read characters as gay, lesbian, bisexual, genderqueer, aromantic, and asexual individuals :)

The basis of my project wasn’t claiming Shakespeare was queer or intended his characters to be so -- I wanted to make a sort of 'starting guide' to reading characters as queer in modern times, since representation in a work as popular and academically praised as his would do wonders for society. (It’s more complex than this, but for the sake of a fun tumblr post I’ll just say that) because we're focusing on current interpretations, it doesn’t matter what friendships/romances/queerness looked like in Shakespeare’s time. Even with moral views aside, our concepts would be completely incomparable to their society’s on a fundamental level. So we can use today’s labels and standards to look at these characters.

There were three main types of evidence I looked for that could help someone read a character as one of these labels: lines/behaviors, story themes*, and stage production elements. (I won’t mention too many production elements on here because they were very specific to performances/actors and not as interesting in this case)

*Most of the themes describe a struggle or danger that a specific community faces. I associate the two together because it’s something that these people can relate to, (and when they look at a character facing the same problems they can go "oh hey just like me") not because it defines their experience or identity in any way

As an overall note, it’s actually not a bad thing that so many examples come from comedies! The written plays never treat homosexuality/gender nonconformance as a joke; characters are never teased or shown disgust. Comedy was the perfect medium to push some barriers while still staying acceptable in society. Any humor around homosexual love or crossdressing is meant to come from the miscommunication and mistaken identity at its core.

I talk about specific characters, but the point was to make a starting point for seeking one's own representation. Aka there's a lot of characters I didn't mention that could Definitely fall under these labels so don't go nuts if you think of someone who should be added.

Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Characters

Genderqueer Characters

Aromantic/asexual Characters

Ahhh thank you @chinchillasinunison @unsuspecting-person and @liquidlikecats for enabling me!! I hope you enjoy 👀

#Shakespeare #literature #pride #aaahh i was so excited to chat about these 👀#i had to do an intro post because theres little specifics that people get caught on that i wanted to address lol #because people kept getting stuck on specifics and i was like no!! the point is imagination!! its supposed to be fun and free!!#this is validation for queer people now who see Shakespeare everywhere!! dont get distracted with finding proof from centuries ago!!#😅#rose posts

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stabby-sheepy-writes · 1 year

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The Pretty Maria

Genre: Horror, 4.4k words

TW: Ocean/Thalassophobia, Horror Themes

Another short story where I simply write about lesbian cryptids and monsters

PDF Host Document Vers.

I had been told tales of horrors under the ocean surface. Of writhing creatures, of monsters full of teeth. My father, a sailor of 40 years, would tell me stories as we rocked in our little dingy, waiting for fish to bite. The Kraken, sea serpents long enough to wrap around the Earth, monsters that lured men overboard to their deaths--the stories swirled and swam loops in my young mind. I would probe my father for more--what did they look like? How did they lure men into the deeps? Would they lure a little girl like me? He would laugh, give my pigtails a tug, and assure me that monsters of the sea would want little to do with a girl like me.

When he died, I got the boat that he had raised me on. A strong vessel despite its age, bottom covered in barnacles and algae. “The Pretty Maria” was its name, after my mother, after my grandmother, after my great grandmother and the women who even came before. It was my name too--the wisps of red lipstick and songs sung by beautiful voices painted into the sea-seasoned wood. The understanding of tradition--of my role in taking care of the beautiful ship Father had taken care of in my mother’s stead.

The Pretty Maria and me, alone with nary a crew member or a cent to our shared names. And so I did as any sailor’s daughter would.

I set out to sea with my ship to see what was under the waves.

»»————-　☠　————-««

I’ve been on this sea for 10 years. I’ve sailed all matters of channels and straits, familiarized myself with every fish market on every coastline, heard every tall tale and every monster story that there was to be heard. The truth was the same--besides sharks and whales and the errant large squid or two, there were no monsters in the ocean.

I don’t blame or begrudge my father--a lonely, single man raising a daughter on just a fishing boat and the money he could scrape together. He had filled my head with ocean tales and a love for the sea, and had taught me to throw the nets and to barter in the markets. His words fill my belly and my pockets to this day--the evidence jingling in a bag secure on my belt as I left the market towards the shipyard.

Stepping out onto the docks, I breathed in deep the familiar smell of salt and fish. Children’s laughter danced with the wind and the waves, little bodies running up and down the pier and marveling at the many ships and nets full of fish. You’d think with every step you’d trample one of them, with how they liked to run between and under your feet, and yet with years of practice I walked through them towards my own vessel in the back. And with said years of practice dancing around little whelps, came the practiced motion of my hand as it caught the wandering fingers that were making their way up to my coin purse.

“Looking for something, kid?” My words bite, nails digging into the flesh of a tanned hand before my eyes move to peer down at the culprit. It’s a little girl, hair messy and clothes dirty as she looks up at me in fear at being caught.

“I…I…” the girl stuttered, the other kids stopping and looking ready to bolt. A typical trick, I figured--get them distracted with dodging the others, and knick the coin purse off the sailor before they made it to their boat. A small chuckle escaped me, and I let the kids hand go.

“Tell you what--” I chuckle, flicking a coin to the girl, “--come back with a bottle of rum from Tony’s on the 3rd and I’ll give you the rest from my purse. Tell ‘em the Pretty Maria sent you.”

The girl looked at the coin with surprise, and then nodded, a wide smile breaking over her face as she gave a “Yes ma’am!” and took off down the dock. I huffed a sigh as I sat down on a shipping crate, lounging back with my eyes closed to wait and count the minutes.

To my amusement, the sound of little shy feet drawing closer bated me to open one eye and stare down at the rest of the little children staring up at me. Their young eyes held wonder, curiosity--I chuckled as I figured that this is what I had looked like, all those years ago, staring up at the adults and the ships with a head full of sailor’s tales.

“And what do you lil’ tykes want?” I pressed, cocking an eyebrow as what looked like the eldest stepped forward with his chin in the air.

“Are you a pirate, miss?” he asked, a small lisp in his voice due to a gap between his two front teeth.

Laughter erupted from my chest as I leaned forward to sit up to face the kids crowding around me, “A pirate? No--I’m a sailor, kiddo. I live on the high seas and sell whatever I happen to catch at the markets.”

“Like fish?” one kid asks, and I nod, and another girl raises her hand in excitement: “What about mermaids?”

Another chuckle, and from the side I see the little girl from before coming back with my bottle of rum--”No mermaids, just fish and the odd octopus or two. Sometimes I see a big squid, but never been able to catch one of ‘em.”

The little girl padded up to me through the growing crowd of children, passing me the bottle of rum. I hummed and dug my teeth into the cork at the top, popping it out with a jerk of my head and spitting it out onto the wood of the dock. As the children gawked as the cork bounced across the dock and into the water, I hummed and took a deep gulp of the rum from the bottle, and then wiped the red droplets from my face.

“Yup, that’s the good stuff kiddo--nice work. Here you go,” I hummed, standing up and tossing her my coin purse. Unsurprisingly however, I found my path blocked by more little feet and wonder-filled eyes.

I took another drink, giving an incredulous look down to the little crowd--”And what is it you all want now? You already bled my pockets dry, lil’ brats.”

“Tell us a story!” They demanded, crowding me back as I let out another loud laugh and crashed back down onto the crates of the dock, children sitting down around my feet with happy little cheers and clapping hands.

“A story? Alright, alright settle down little fish--I’ll tell you a story. What do you want to hear?”

Hands in the air, “A monster story!”

Callouts about the Kraken, the Sea Serpents, the giant sharks and gods of the sea--I took another drink of rum and held a finger up to silence the ever-growing cheers and insistences of the children--”Hate to burst your bubbles, but there ain’t no monsters in the sea.”

Groans met me, “Not a one? Not even a sea monster?”

A sigh, and I set the bottle down and leaned forward to look each child in the eye--”Not even a sea monster--just me and my ship. But I’ll tell you a story alright--a story about me and my Pretty Maria.”

“Is that the name of your boat?” A little girl asked, and I chuckled and took another deep swig of my bottle.

“Yes--and she’s waitin’ for me now, so hold the questions and the comments and let me get on with, alright?”

“Alright, miss sailor.”

A final chuckle, and a sharp-toothed grin, and I sat back and started my story.

“Well, once upon a time…”

»»————-　☠　————-««

I had been out at the seas by myself for a little under a year, and yet this storm had caught me blindsided--the worst I had ever seen. The Pretty Maria bucked and heaved under the waves that pounded against her hull, the ropes burning in my hands as I pulled and tied knots and heaved against the wind. The wind tore at my skin with their freezing teeth of salt, and yet I continued to pull--trying to steer the ship counterclockwise to the winds, trying to pull the Pretty Maria and myself to the land.

A distant speck was my only hope, a pitiful thing with a few trees and barely enough land for a morning walk. There was a small cave, just tall enough to fit us both, and with the blood on my palms and the groan of my muscles, I managed to pull the Pretty Maria in with only a small wince when her main mast scraped against the rock ceiling. The grating of her wood sounded like the crackling of vocal chords, the wood creaking with irritation and anger. With a hiss and a whispered apology, I sunk to sit down on the deck to clutch my bleeding hands.

The cave was dark and damp, the screaming wind just outside the entrance held off by dripping stone. The teeth of the cave dripped water down onto me, the cold biting at my skin as I scrabbled and pulled myself up, supporting myself on the taffrail to get my freezing body up and not slip on the deck and hurt myself further. The blood from my hands dripped off the side and into the water below, and yet I paid no mind as I pulled myself inside my main quarters to bandage my palms and rest.

The night passed fitfully, the wind outside showing no signs of dying down and yet inside the cave, the Pretty Maria and I were safe enough. When I awoke in the morning, I let down my gangplank and carefully tread down to the stone floor. It was uneven, tide pools of water making small, thin paths of stone the only stable walking paths, the little openings sinking deep down into the dark ocean below and showing no sign of a bottom. Against the rock grew barnacles, muscles and anemones, lively and seemingly hidden away from predators in this little haven.

I explored further, picking myself carefully across the rocks. My hands had stopped bleeding over the night--rope burn never cut deeply, in my experience--and yet still burned everytime I used them for balance. They burned bad enough that finally, after exploring the entirety of the cave and finding nothing stranger than fish bones that had probably been washed up during high tide, that I returned back to one of those deep tidal pools and settled myself down on the stone to plunge my hands into the water.

The salt bit at the skin of my hands, but after a second or two the cold water soothed and numbed as my body adjusted to the familiar coldness. I tossed my bandages to the side, the two pieces of bloodied fabric ending up sinking down into the water as my own hands trailed along the life in the pools. Pulling muscles from the water, sharp eyes searching for movement down below the surface that could indicate larger life--debating the worth of grabbing my fishing pole.

From behind me, I heard the sound of a throat clearing, and then a crystal clear voice: “Excuse me? I think you dropped these.”

I glanced over my shoulder, coming eye to eye with a beautiful woman. She had deep black skin and hair, piercing eyes that seemed to almost glow. She was holding my bandages, soaked through with salt water. With a quick glance, my eyes made out clothing of dark cloth that covered her lower half, simple wrappings covering her chest.

“That I did. You come from the island?” I responded, regarding her with a small smile. My hands stayed in the tidal pool, eyes trailing along her as she stared back at me with curiosity and contempt.

“I do. And you?”

“A sailor, taking shelter from this storm. The Pretty Maria don’t like fightin’ against this wind.”

“A sailor? Don’t get many of you in these parts anymore. Shouldn’t you know better than to litter in the ocean? Never know what things may come by to return it to you.” She teases, a closed-mouth smile looking rather pretty on her face.

I scoffed playfully back, pulling my hands from the water with a playful smirk “Oh, believe in mermaids now do you?”

Her eyes traced my face, flowing down my body to the tips of my fingers before raising back to look at me once more, a curious look in her eyes--”I’d be a fool not to. Have you not seen beasts in the waters during your travels, oh sailor?”

I stood to my feet, shaking my head with a chuckle; “No beast bigger than a whale, no monster fiercer than a foul-tempered shark I’m afraid. There ain’t no monsters in the sea--just me and my Pretty Maria.”

A laugh met me, and a pretty, sharp-toothed smile: “Quite the combination, it seems. I am Acuti, you?”

“Maria.”

“It seems the boat’s name matches the owner,” Acuti hummed, stepping alluringly closer. I chuckled and cocked my head, narrowing my eyes at her approach as I leaned back against the side of my ship. A careful incline--an invitation.

“I’d respond to the wit, but with a name like Acuti the bait seems a tad too obvious. Can’t catch myself a pretty fish with fishing line like that.”

“Though isn’t it a pretty lure?”

“Perhaps,” I finally grinned, amusement growing as eyes fell to my teeth before returning to look back up at me, “but mayhaps the fish will bite another day.”

She regards me silently, before stepping backwards--”Would you like to seek shelter with me from the storm, sailor?” She tilts her head, matching my own tilt and her waist and hips dipping to show off the pretty plane of ebony skin.

“Pretty Maria don’ like it when I stray too far. She’s a jealous lover, I’m afraid.”

A look of surprise met me, covered quickly with a small, teasing look of determination--”Then I guess I will have to return tomorrow, and cast my bait again.”

I smiled in return, “Perhaps, little fishy. I’m sure one of us shall catch a bite before the end of this storm.”

Acuti nodded and left, hips swaying as she tread heedlessly out into the storm and around the lip of the cave, any further footsteps or noises of her departure covered by the howling of the storm. After a moment, my hand rubbed soothingly against the hull of the Pretty Maria as I climbed back aboard.

The next day I waited within the cave, the wind that shrieked outside yet to show signs of calming. It bothered me not as I let my bare feet submerge in the freezing water--so dark and black that my vision from the surface was obscured by my mid-calf. My ears caught the sound of something leaving the water at the surface of the cave, and treading footsteps crossing silently across the rock before coming to a stop behind me.

“Doesn’t believe in mermaids, and yet dangles her feet in the darkened water for any fish or beast to bite? Are you not afraid of being dragged under?” Acuti giggled, stepping forward to run a cold hand with sharp nails through the hair that poured down my back, careful to not upset my hat, trailing lines against the skin of my neck.

A small smile broke across my face, my head tilting into the touch--”Maybe drawing in a bite is the point, little fishy.”

She hummed, stepping closer to press against my back--her bare skin and the thin, shimmering fabric whispering and cool against me, “Are you not afraid of what could be beneath? With the storm, the water is dark enough not even the best of eyesight could see far within it.”

I shook my head, leaning back to press against her stomach and look up at glowing, teasing eyes: “Not the slightest--I know of things too big to fit in this cave, and anything smaller can’t get no fear from me.”

She hums, feet padding around until she begins to gingerly step into the water -- “Then perhaps you won’t mind if I continue our conversation from the water?”

“Not at all, go ahead,” I hummed, watching as she sank down into the water, the shimmering of her skirts and her lower body hidden beneath the blackness of the water perfectly as she swam with ease. Her long hair flowed in the water around her, her arms coming to rest between my spread-thighs as she looked up at me and I leaned myself backwards to comfortably look down.

“Comfortable down there?” I teased, a grin baring my teeth as she looked up at me--”Funny, how the water seems to make you glow.”

She smiled up at me in return, “Funny, isn’t it? A trick of the light.”

“Of course.”

“And what brings you out into the waters, sailor?”

“Family tradition, fishy--she was my Grandmother’s ship, my Mother’s ship, and now mine, though my Daddy took care of her for a bit when I was too young to do the work.”

The Pretty Maria dipped when she heard her name, rocking along with the waves. I reached my toes out to brush against her hull, and she calmed herself with my touch--Acuti’s eyes watched the movement with a slight furrow in her brows.

“A temperamental vessel it seems, yet you guide it well. Passed through the family, you said?”

“Indeed,” I hummed, “and there ain’t nothing else like her, for all we’ve looked.”

“Never found a newer vessel that called to you? Never thought about retiring her?” Acuti asked, and I smiled softly and shook my head.

“Never ‘a once. Long as you take care of her, the Pretty Maria can keep sailing on.”

We sat in quiet for a moment, the only sound the lapping of waves at my skin and the howling wind outside, before Acuti tilted her head and fluttered her lashes at me.

“Would you like to join me for a swim, sailor? I promise the water isn’t too deep.”

My eyes trailed along her visible skin, taking in the soft lines and curves before trailing to look out the mouth of the cave at the storm that showed no signs of slowing down today. With a sigh, I realized I would have to wait just a tad longer, and soothingly trailed my foot against the hull of my ship once more before pulling my legs from the water.

“I’m afraid not, fishy. The water is too rough and cold for me today. Maybe tomorrow, when the storm has finally settled a bit?”

A flash of irritation was hidden once more behind an alluring, beautiful smile--”Ah, you continue to tease the line? What if your fishy decides to swim away?”

I stood to my feet, humming to myself and looking down at her in amusement as she started to surge up from the water, a poorly-hidden thrill of hunger in glowing, golden eyes; “I have no worries--a hungry fish will always stick around to bite. Tomorrow, then?”

“Tomorrow, surely,” she responded, her skirts glittering and flowing around her waist smoothly as she stepped past me. Her hand traced against my arm, nails digging slightly and flesh cold as she smoothly walked to the mouth of the cave, stepping around the corner into the wind of the storm with ease.

I smiled, rubbing the hull of the Pretty Maria with a grin on my face: “Tomorrow, pretty girl. Be patient for me now.”

The Pretty Maria bucked once more in the waves, and with a bark of laughter I climbed back aboard.

On the third day, the storm had calmed enough to set sail. In the morning I hummed to myself as I took my time untying the ropes, stroking the sails and the wood and placing my hat to the side as my ears picked up the telltale splash of a body leaving water, and footsteps stepping across the stone. From the side of the deck, I called out.

“Ah! Has my pretty fishy come back again?” I teased, amusement tinging my voice and drawing a smirk across my face as I looked down upon the woman. She had the same pretty smile on her face, and yet the tenseness of her body was obvious to my trained eyes. My eyes picked apart a clenched jaw, anxious tapping of the feet and fidgeting, ears tuned in to the rumbling of a stomach that hasn’t eaten in many days. I trailed my hand against the guardrail of the Pretty Maria--humming a request for patience as I smoothly stepped out onto the gangplank.

“So she has,” Acuti smiled, the teeth grit together and eyes focused as I stepped ever closer, “and will the sailor join me for a swim? I have been looking ever-so-forward to it.”

I chuckled, and took my hat and shoes off to rest on the end of the gangplank, “I think I will--the storm has finally calmed down. A little swim, and then Pretty Maria and I are off.”

Hunger lit Acuti’s eyes ablaze as she reached a hand out to take mine, guiding me to the water and stepping in gingerly, “Hold tight, sailor, don’t let the waters drag you away from me.”

I did as instructed, smiling knowingly at her as I sank into the water beside her, submerging with ease. I watched as her skirts melted into her skin, legs fusing together into a tail and gills flared from her neck. Golden eyes pierced through the water to meet mine as I calmly floated myself backwards towards the entrance of the cave, beneath the hull of my ship.

The mermaid swam closer to me, clawed hands grasping tightly as her voice sang through the water, golden eyes hungrily focused on me: “Still don’t believe in mermaids, sailor?”

Her teeth were sharp, her transformation revealing razer sharp points as she bore down on me, but the smile that broke across my face startled her into pause as I drew breath, relaxing into the water as I finally felt the familiar touch of the Pretty Maria against my back.

“Afraid not Acuti--never seen a one last longer than a few minutes in the water,” I chuckled, gripping onto her tighter as the tendril against my back sunk back into its rightful place in my skin, ready to pull-- “but, I believe I just had my little fishy finally bite.”

The mermaid’s eyes grew wide as my grip tightened and we were suddenly pulled--past the ship, out of the cave, down down down into the deep black of the water where the sun couldn’t penetrate. My eyes adjusted naturally, watching with amusement as the mermaid screamed and tried to break free as my skin lengthened and absorbed, pulling her further in to me and holding her tight as we finally started to reach our destination, near the bottom of the deep, dark ocean.

At the bottom, pulling us ever closer through the dark, was my Pretty Maria. Her white eyes were as large as the cave entrance, her large, scaled body completely still against the sea floor besides the long stalk connecting her to the false ship above the water and her open maw--filled with rows and rows of razor sharp teeth, and her tongue that was pulling us in. My birthplace, my home--my beautiful, beautiful, Pretty Maria.

“Oh, pretty, pretty mermaid--you asked me if I believed sea monsters were real,” I whispered, smiling as we sank further down--further into the massive mouth awaiting us--”you asked me if I feared the things that would pull me under, of fierce monsters that would bite and maim and kill.”

The mermaid screamed and struggled, the fear in her golden eyes so gorgeous in the emptiness of the sea around us. With a smile, I leaned forward to cup her face with my hand, my voice booming around us as it echoed from the mouth of Maria.

“Do you believe in monsters more fierce than I, mermaid?”

I didn’t get to hear her answer, as we were pulled in and the mouth of my Maria snapped down around us. Bones crunched, the wailing of the mermaid dying after a moment, and after a moment I felt myself get pushed up and out through the small hole at the top of Maria’s skull.

“Good girl, Maria--I told you I’d feed you soon, Pretty.” I crooned, my hair floating around me as my skin slowly detached from the scales, freeing me to start swimming back up--nothing could, or would, bother me after the satisfaction of a fresh kill.

After a small bit, I resurfaced at the mouth of the cave, climbing back out and picking my hat and shoes up from the gangplank and slipping them back on. I finished untying the false ropes, gently petting the skin that made up the sails before guiding us back out into the open sea.

»»————-　☠　————-««

The children stared up at me with wide eyes, some of them trailing over to look at the wooden ship that floated gently and calmly next to us, before finally a little boy scoffed.

“There’s no way that’s true! There’s no way a monster can get that big!”

The sentiment seemed to calm the children a tad, and I smiled down at them as I finished the last dregs of my bottle--”Perhaps, but you asked for a sailor’s story, did you not?”

The children protested, but the girl who had gotten my rum finally spoke up: “Well, if it is real, then why did you say you’ve never seen a sea monster? The pretty lady was a mermaid, wasn’t she?”

I hummed, standing and setting the bottle down as I ruffled the girls hair with a laugh: “Does a shark see any other threat in the ocean that’s greater than itself? Or does it only see prey, little fishy?”

And with that, I parted through the children to climb back aboard the Pretty Maria, leaving them to wonder. Leaving them to watch and imagine. My hands traced along the rail, head tilting and humming as I felt the Pretty Maria buck and rock beneath my feet.

With a flick of one of the ropes in my hands, Maria’s sails unfurled and caught the wind, setting us off. Off to explore the vast, vast ocean that we so loved.

Off to find a monster that was bigger than me.

#horror #writing #creative writing #fiction #short story #cryptid #lesbian #lesbian writing #lgbtqia #stabbysheepywrites #complete

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baeddel · 3 years

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Please. Please can you tell me what a baeddel is and why people (terfs?) used it in a derogatory manner on this website for a hot minute but now no one ever uses it at all

you asked for it, fucker

[2k words; philology and drama]

baeddel is an Old English word. i have no idea where it actually occurs in the Old English written corpus, but it occurs in a few placenames. its diminuitive form, baedling, is much better documented. it appears in the (untranslated) Canons of Theodore, a penitential handbook, a sort of guidebook for priests offering advice on what penances should be recommended for which sins. in a passage devoted to sexual transgressions it gives the penances suggested for a man who sleeps with a woman, a man who sleeps with another man, and then a man who sleeps with a baedling. so you have this construction of a baedling as something other than a man or a woman. and then it gives the penance for a baedling who sleeps with another baedling (a ludicrous one-year fast). then, by way of an explaination, Theodore delivers us one of the most enigmatic phrases in the Old English corpus: "for she is soft, like an adulturess."

the -ling suffix in baedling is masculine. but Theodore uses feminine pronouns and suffixes to describe baedlings. as we said, it's also used separately from male and female. but it's also used separately from their words for intersex and it never appears in this context. all of this means that you have this word that denotes a subject who is, as Christopher Monk put it, "of problematic gender." interested historians have typically interpreted it as referring to some category of homosexual male, such as Wayne R. Dines in his two-volume Encyclopedia of Homosexuality who discusses it in the context of an Old English glossary which works a bit like an Old English-Latin dictionary, giving Old English words and their Latin counterparts. the Latin words the Anglo-Saxon lexicographer chose to correspond with baedling were effeminatus and mollis, and Lang concludes that it refers to an "effeminate homosexual" (pg 60, Anglo Saxon). this same glossary gives as an Old English synonym the word waepenwifstere which literally means "woman with a penis," and which Dines gives the approximate translation (hold on tight) male wife.

R. D. Fulk, a philologist and medievalist, made a separate analysis of the term in his study on the Canons of Theodore 'Male Homoeroticism in the Old English Canons of Theodore', collected in Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England, 2004. he analysed it as a 'sexual category' (sexual as in sexuality), owing to the context of sexual transgressions in the Canons. he decides that it refers to a man who bottoms in sexual relationships with another man. i don't have the article on hand so i'm not sure what his reasoning was, but this seems obviously inadequate given what we know from the glossary described by Dines. Latin has a word for bottom, pathica, and the lexicographer did not use this in their translation, preferring words that emphasized the baedling's femininity like effeminatus, and doesn't address the sexual context at all. Dines, however, only reading this glossary, seems to decide that it refers to a type of male homosexual too hastily, considering the Canons explicitly treat them separately. both Dines and Fulk immediately reduce the baedling to a subcategory of homosexual when neither of the sources to hand actually do so themselves.

by now it should be obvious why, seven or so years ago, we interpreted it as an equivalent to trans woman. I mean come on - a woman with a penis! these days I tend to add a bit of a caution to this understanding, which is that trans woman is the translation of baedling which seems most adequate to us, just as baedling was the translation of effeminatus that seemed most adequate to our lexicographer. but the term cannot translate perfectly; its sense was derived from some minimal context; a legal context, a doctrinal context, and so forth... the way Anglo-Saxons understood sex/gender is complicated but it has been argued that they had a 'one sex model' and didn't regard men and women as biologically separate types, which is obviously quite different from the sexual model accepted today; in any case they didn't have access to the karyotype and so on. the basic categories they used to understand gender and sexuality were different from ours. in particular, Hirschfield et al. should be understood as a particularly revolutionary moment in the genealogy of transsexuality; the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft essentially invented the concept of the 'sex change', the 'transition', conceived as a biological passage from one sex to the other. even in other contexts where (forgive me) #girlslikeus changed their bodies in some way, like the castration of the priestesses of Cybele, or those belonging to the various historical societies which we believe used premarin for feminization [disputed; see this post], there is no record that they were ever considered men at any stage or had some kind of male biology that preceded their 'gender identity.' the concept of the trans woman requires the minimal context of the coercive assignment at birth and its subsequent (civil and bio-technological) rejection. i have never encountered evidence that this has ever been true in any previous society. nonetheless, these societies still had gendered relations, and essentially wherever we find these gendered relations we also find some subject which is omitted or for whom it has been necessary to note exceptions. what is of chief interest to us is not so much that there was such a subject here or there in history (and whatever propagandistic uses this fact might have), but understanding why these regularities exist.

a very parsimonious explanation is that gender is a biological reality, and there is some particular biological subject which a whole host of words have been conjured to denote. if this were the case then we would expect that, no matter what gender/sexual system we encounter in a given society, it will inevitably find some linguistic expression. if, like me, you find this idea revolting, then you should busy yourself trying to come up with an alternative explanation which is not just plausible, but more plausible. my best guesses are outside the scope of this answer...

anyway, all of this must be very interesting to the five or six people invested in the confluence of philology and gender studies. but why on earth did it become so widely used, in so many strange and unusual contexts, in the 2010s? we're very sorry, but yes, it's our fault. you see apart from all of this, there is also a little piece of information which goes along with the word baeddel, which is that it's the root of the Modern English word bad. by way of, no less, the word baedan, 'to defile'. how this defiled historical subject came to bear responsibility for everything bad to English-speakers doesn't seem to be known from linguistic evidence. however, it makes for a very pithy little remark on transmisogyny. my dear friend [REDACTED] made a playful little post making this point and, good Lord, had we only known...

it went like this. its such a funny little idea that we all start changing our urls to include the word baeddel. in those days it was common to make puns with your url (we always did halloween and christmas ones); i was baeddelaire, a play on the French poet Baudelaire. while we all still had these urls a series of events which everyone would like to forget happened, and we became Enemies of Everyone in the Whole World. because of the url thing people started to call us "the baeddels." then there was "a cult" called "the baeddels" and so forth. this cult had various infamies attatched to it and a constellation of indefensible political positions. ultimately we faced a metric fucking shit ton of harassment, including, for some of my friends, really serious and bad irl harassment that had long-term bad awful consequences relating to stable housing and physical safety and i basically never want to talk about that part of my life ever again. and i never have to, because i've come to realize that for most people, when they use the word baeddel, they don't know about that stuff. it doesn't mean that anymore.

so what does it mean? you'll see it in a few contexts. TERFs do use it, as you guessed. i am not quite sure what they really mean by it and how it differs from other TERF barbs. i think being a baeddel invovles being politically active or at least having a political consciousness, but in a way thats distinct from just any 'TRA' or trans activist. so perhaps 'militant' trans women, but perhaps also just any trans woman with any opinions at all. how this was transmitted from tumblr/west coast tranny drama to TERF vocabulary i have no idea. but you will also find - or, could have found a few years ago - i would say 'copycat' groups who didn't know us or what we believed but heard the rumours, and established their own (generously) organizations (usually facebook groups) dedicated to putting those principles into practice. they considered themselves trans lesbian separatists and did things like doxx and harass trans women who dated cafabs. if you don't know about this, yes, there really were such groups. they mostly collapsed and disappeared because they were evildoers who based their ideology on a caricature. i knew a black trans woman who was treated very badly by one of these groups, for predictable reasons. so long-time readers: if you see people talking about their bad experiences with 'baeddels', you can't necessarily relate it to the 2014 context and assume they're carrying around old baggage. there are other dreams in the nightmare.

the most common way you'll see it today, in my experience, is in this form: people will say that it was a "slur" for trans women. they might bring up that it's the root of the word bad, and they might even think that you shouldn't use the word bad because of it, or that you shouldn't use the word baeddel because it's a slur. all of this is a silly game of internet telephone and not worth addressing. except to say that it's by no means clear that baeddel, or baedling, were slurs, or even insulting at all. while Theodore doesn't provide us with a description of how we can have sex with a baedling without sinning, and it may be the case that any sexual relations with a baedling was considered sinful, sexuality-based transgressions were not taken all that seriously in those days. there was a period where homosexuality within the Church was almost sanctioned, and it wasn't until much later that homosexuality became so harshly proscribed, to the extent that it was thought to represent a threat to society, etc. and as i mentioned, there are places in England named after baedlings. there is a little parish near Kent which is called Badlesmere, Baeddel's Lake, which was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Domesday Book (as having a lord, a handful of villagers and a few slaves; perhaps only one or two households). it's not unheard of, but i just don't know very many places called Faggot Town or some such. it's possible that baedlings had some role in Anglo-Saxon society which we are not aware of; it could even have been a prestigious one, as it was in other societies. there is just no evidence other than a couple of passing references in the literature and we'll probably never have a complete picture.

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