Warning: May cause loss of sanity
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Because I'm feeling thinky. It's short, though.
If there is one reaction I'm so very fucking sick of in fandom, one that will turn me into a raging pile of URGE TO KILL RISING faster than any other form of self-righteous douchebaggery, it's this:
"If you have a gay character, you have to drop hints about their sexuality if the Big Reveal is going to make any sense. Otherwise, it's just lazy/bad writing."
The reasons this pisses me off so much:
1) The implication that sexual orientation is somehow an integral part of overall characterization, when in fact it's the least important thing that defines a human being (which, yanno, characters are based on). We have so many other traits that define us -- neuroses, quirks, individual experiences that have shaped how we think, likes and dislikes, hobbies, etc. -- that the gender we take to the bedroom bears virtually nothing on creating a unique, human, relateable character. It is, contrary to popular opinion, possible to create extremely deep and layered characters without revealing their sexual orientation at all. See: Achren (Prydain Cycle), Prince Ellydir (Prydain Cycle), Treize Khushrenada (Gundam Wing), D (Vampire Hunter D), among many many others. Just like it is very much possible and all too common to know a person well enough to finish their sentences for them, yet have no clue which side they take to bed. It's the reason coming out is especially difficult to the people we're closest to; the ones whom we see as knowing us best and most intimately.
2) The idea that we need not drop hints if a character is straight for their sexuality to "make sense" (assuming that sexuality can make sense at all), but clues must be dropped for any other sexual orientation. If it "comes out of blue," it's stupid, and oftentimes accused of being an afterthought for shock factor (see: Serena Sutherland of Law & Order). The implication, of course, is that in the absence of any clues pointing to what gender the character prefers in bed, the character is automatically assumed to be straight. Because really, that's the only way that a completely un-hinted-at sexuality can "come out of the blue"; if the audience is expecting something else.
Heterosexuality being the default value for sexual orientation is a more widespread by-product of homophobia than even the most liberal straight person (and even a significant portion of the gay community) likes to admit. And when fandom acts personally affronted that a character they assumed was straight -- often because the character's sexuality was simply never brought up before -- is revealed to be gay, it takes a lot of effort for me not to beat them to death with their own Privilege Bats. The fact that you assume that the character is straight until proven otherwise is not the author's problem.
I'm all for more GLBT characters in mainstream media. I'm still waiting for my GLBT Disney protagonist, and I'm likely going to be waiting a very long time (it took them how many decades just to give us a black one?). But if those representations are going to be all about being gay or bi or a tranny rather than being human just like everyone else, then I would infinitely prefer the heteronormative straightwashing to watching yet another psychotic-because-he's-gay man with AIDS murder his promiscuous lover in a jealous rage. If "stereotypically gay" is the whole point of the character, I'll pass.
Which is why when a character being gay or bi "comes out of the blue," I praise the author for doing it right (provided the character in question is fleshed out and unique and awesome already). For not making the character's sexuality a huge goddamned deal, and letting them be well-rounded badasses who just happen to be gay (why hello there, Dumbledore!).
Bottom line: Who We Fuck and Who We Are are two completely different things. Sexuality is weird like that. Life is not required to give you clues as to whether the people around you are gay, and neither should fiction be.
*Entry unlocked so you may whore it out if you please.
cynicalIf you think that:
- Bullying is perfectly okay because anybody who gets upset over being picked on needs to get over themselves anyway
- Bullying online is even more okay because it's just the internet
- It's perfectly all right to treat people like shit as long as they aren't your friends
- There's nothing wrong with trashing people in public forums behind their backs
Then kindly get the fuck off my journal. Or at the very least speak up so I can ban your ass.
This is one of the few things outside of homophobia/racism/sexism/*insert -ism here* that I have absolutely no tolerance for.
URGE TO SMITE...RISING...
creativeIf you can read this, but find that you can't read anything on my journal other than public posts, you've been caught up in a flist-trimming. There are several reasons you might have been cut:
1) You never update
2) You do update, but I don't read it anymore
3) I can't remember who you are because of #1
4) You did/said something to royally annoy the living hell out of me, and I'd rather not waste my time on you any longer.
This is a cut mostly for manageability. There are only a couple of people cut for reason #4. No, I'm not saying who they are, because if they paid attention to ANYTHING I post in this journal, they'd know already why they were cut. My job gives me very little free time lately, and I find I simply can't keep up with a flist of 130-odd people, nor do I want to squander that precious time on people who piss me off. For the most part, no hard feelings. Where there are hard feelings, whatever. It's done.
calmWhy I should never be allowed near Photoshop when nostalgic. 8 icons each of Gargoyles and ExoSquad. Credit is nice but completely optional.
Teaser:
( More below the cut )
creative...Rather than random nonspecific complaints. I know I've been bitching about the ending for the last few days, and I promise this will be the last post I'll make on the matter for a while. Mostly because after thinking about it rather than reacting visceraly, these are really the four major issues I have with how the series ended:
( Cut for the spoilerphobic and the indifferent )
cynical( SPOILERS! BIG HONKING SPOILERS! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED, SKIP THIS POST NOW! )
contemplativeThe person this is truly meant for will most likely never see it. But I'm making it public because I think it's something that should not be locked down.
( Christianity, TEH GHEYZ, and why the former's doctrine is inherently bigoted tripe )
thoughtfulI think a 1.5 year hiatus is long enough, and I intend to break it this year with AWA Pro. All I ask is for your vote on which idea I should do, as I can't really decide at the moment:
Poll #1132108 AWA Po 2008 Submission
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 20
Which of these concepts do you think I should do for my AWA Pro 2008 submission?
Jet profile - Bon Jovi - "It's My Life"
5 (25.0%)
Siege of the North montage - TSO - "Carol of the Bells" 4 (20.0%)
Zuko Alone - Whitesnake - "Here I Go Again" 4 (20.0%)
Aang-Roku profile - David Arkenstone - "Tallis the Messenger" 0 (0.0%)
General Avatar - Pat Benatar - "Invincible" 7 (35.0%)
artisticDisclaimer: I am not trying to prove or disprove any ship's canonicity, because frankly I don't give a rat's ass what happens on screen in regard to what I ship; it will not affect what I like and don't like. Nor am I trying to win any...uh...anti-converts? I frankly don't give a rat's ass if you like Kataang, either. This is my opinion and mine alone on why Kataang in particular bothers me, and why it becoming canon actually would ruin the series' ending plot- and theme-wise for me. It's something I've been meaning to get off my chest for a long while. Also, this rant/thought-post contains spoilers for "The Firebending Masters." Consider yourself warned.
( Whole fucking herd of Teel Deers ahead. Kataang fans, click at your own risk. I mean it. )
thoughtfulInvolves spoilers for 3x12, so I'm cutting it for the spoilerphobic.
( YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED )
pensiveI apologize to anyone who likes how this pairing has been written in canon so far. Skip over this post if you like, these are just my thoughts on why it was written as such. Put it this way: I have to look for a justification somehow, or I'll have to assume M&B have no idea how to write a relationship at all.
( Path of Least Resistance )
contemplativeMaking this one public, because in light of recent events I think it's something anyone involved with mocking communities needs to read.
( Stampede of Teal Deers ahead, click at your own risk )
thoughtfulDear SixApart,
So gay Harry Potter porn, which harms no one, is apparently worthy of the banhammer because it's"obscene," yet you both passively and blatantly endorse communities dedicated to the facilitation of harm and more than occasional death of thousands of children and young women. Porn is bad because sex is filthy and disgusting, but child abuse is perfectly all right as long as it's in the name of God. It's illegal for Harry to get a blowjob from Snape even though they are fictional characters, but it's perfectly all right for real young women to starve and kill themselves.
You want to know what's truly obscene? That attitude. Those assertions. That real people don't matter to you nearly as much as fictional gay porn does.
Were I able to hand out Fate myself, I would have everyone who works for your company made into hamburgers and force-fed to anorexics. Because that is the only spot of good your lives could ever accomplish. This is no longer about fandom or hypocrisy or even lousy customer service. This is about you enabling the harm and deaths of innocent people. This is about you breaking the very laws and ToS terms you are quoting.
This is about accountability, and how you need to be taking some post-haste. If there is anyone in this whole mess who needs to be at the center of a federal investigation, it's your company. To find out what motivates you to endorse pro-anorexia, child abuse, hate crime, and white supremacy, just to name a few of the interests you see fit to do nothing about.
It saddens me that a service I joined four years ago and met most of my online friends through, as well as my girlfriend, has made me feel dirty and disgusting for even using it now that I know the kind of people who are behind it.
If there is a Hell, I can think of few people more deserving to go there than you.
Sincerely,
Rachel
infuriatedReligion: it's like strawberry ice cream, in a way.
( A lot more serious than it sounds )
pensiveDear Twits Who Have No Idea What Transsexualism Actually IS,
Please, for the love of God, stop using being a tranny -- MtF specifically -- as an excuse to be complete motherfucking 'tards. If I have to hear you justify whining and stomping and throwing a post-deleting hissyfit complete with pity-whoring about how you'll go back to drinking over petty bullshit by claiming that you're really a woman so your feelings get hurt easier, I will invent the technology to beat the living shit out of you over DSL.
Seriously. Stop it.
Woman =/= fragile fucking willow who can't take the honest opinion of her friends that her jokes aren't funny and her philosophy and worldview defy all forms of logic. Being unable to take honesty when you specifically ask for it does not make you a woman. Hating football and beer and NASCAR and wrestling doesn't make you a woman. Liking long hair and clean fingernails doesn't make you a woman. Hell, even putting on a dress and liking it does not make you a woman.
Transsexualism isn't about not wanting to do what's expected of your penis. Lots of men don't like WWF, beer, or NASCAR, care about their grooming, wear their hair long, and yes even dress in women's clothing, but are still perfectly happy with their genitals. Just like there are women who like wrestling, beer, and NASCAR, only comb their hair when they feel like it because they keep it cut short, and refuse to wear dresses or skirts or heels but are perfectly fine with their vaginas. Your interests, hobbies, and fashion sense don't determine your gender any more than they do your skin color.
Transsexualism is about not wanting a penis in the first place. It's being physically uncomfortable in your own body. That penis doesn't really feel like it's yours because it's supposed to be a vagina and you know it. The gender of your brain doesn't match the gender of your body, and you literally feel like you're wearing it as a suit. It's not you; you are not really a man, but a woman trapped in the body of one.
By saying "I'm an overemotional, whiny, clingy wimp who can't stand the negative because I'm really a woman," all you're doing is conforming to another harmful gender stereotype. You are doing both trannies and women a severe disservice by making the lot of us look like certified wimps.
In short, you are not trannies. You are clingy, whiny, immature little pieces of emo-shit who are using transsexualism as an excuse not to grow the fuck up.
You're not even in my gender, but I want you out of it just the same.
No Love,
Me
no.Since the D&D references from my last dump went over so well, I decided to make an entire set full of geeky goodness. All icons reference D&D in some way. As always, credit is optional. Just comment on anything you take.
Teaser:
( Click at your own risk )
artisticAs always, stealing is encouraged, credit is optional. All I ask is that you comment on what you take. Enjoy!
Teaser:
( Cut for the funny, and one of them is slashy )
crackedFive icons total, but behind a cut for season finale spoilers. As always, credit is unnecessary. Just comment on anything you take.
( I'm in ur LJ, makin ur iconz! )
creativeNot total spam, I promise.
( Cut for Avatar season finale spoilers )
pensiveAnd here are the requests from the iPod icons post. As always, credit is optional. All I ask is that you comment on what you take. Enjoy!
Teaser:
( Makes you wonder what's on their playlists, doesn't it? )
accomplishedDear Women Who Constantly Blame Men for Their Lacklustre Sex Lives,
Stop it. Seriously, STFU.
Or rather, quit whining and do something. Such as talking to your boyfriend/husband for once about it instead of drowning your sorrows in cellphone minutes to friends who don't even have sex lives, but still have more fun in their bedrooms than you do.
See, his cock isn't psychic. It doesn't know what you want. You can't lie there like a dollar-store blowup toy and expect him to give you the most mindblowing sex you've ever had. Hell, you don't even know what you want half the time, because you're so afraid of being labeled a slut for enjoying the act. Part of me pities you for that. Most of me wants to smack you in the face with a Sparkly Pink Dildo of Justice and hand you a copy of The Joy of Self-Loving.
Seriously. Masturbation is not a hindrance to a good sex life. It's essential. Because Moses on a matzah if you don't know what gets you off, how in the World of Warcraft do you expect him to?
Also? That mouth of yours has other uses in the bedroom besides giving him head. Talk to him. Tell him what you want once you've found out. Because you know what? If he's a decent man at all, he'll appreciate it. He'll appreciate you telling him how to make you as happy in the pants as you make him. He'll appreciate not having to do all the work. He'll appreciate the relief of performance anxiety and omgamidoingthisright? and wrestling with the question of whether you're actually enjoying it or if you secretly work for a 1-900 number. Sex will be better for both of you when there isn't so much goddamn guesswork involved.
And if you do talk to him, and it becomes evident that he isn't a decent man? If he really is a selfish cock-brained fucktard who only cares about getting what he wants in bed and to hell with whether you enjoy yourself or not?
Stop faking that orgasm and drop his ass. Because you. deserve. better. You deserve a man who knows that it isn't all about his Enormous Veiny Cock of Superiority.
Having great sex is no longer an instinct, like it was in the good ol' days when you ran around naked, ate your meat raw, and slept in trees. It's a process of unlearning the puritannical bullshit you've been fed since you took your first breath of air, and learning to be the sexually mature woman that you are.
If that makes you a slut? Fine. Wear that badge and wear it proudly.
Would Pass Out Free Toys in Babeland Coupons If She Had Any,
Me
bitchyAnd it's from the Speshul Hell this time. Stealing is encouraged, credit is optional.
Teaser:
( Because SOMEONE had to )
I'm also taking requests for this theme. Which characters would you want to see with an iPod?
artisticAs always, steal what you want, credit is optional.
Teaser:
( 10 icons )
artisticICON DUMP! All Avatar. Totally stealable, no credit necessary, save any third parties I've indicated:
Teaser:
( Cutting the rest to spare thy flist )
artisticTestament to the power of ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
pinkocracy. I AM NOT IN THIS FANDOM, I SWEAR.
Rotten vegetables may be thrown now. No spinach plz.
PSYCHO!With that in mind...The person this is directed at knows who they are.
When you go picking your political leanings out of a cereal box, don't be surprised to find people who will, in fact, eat them and you for breakfast.
You are not being edgy or rebellious by shifting to the extreme opposite of the environment you were raised in. All you're doing is being a different kind of intolerant, hypocritical, ignorant asshat.
I've had it with you attempting to argue things about which you know nothing with generalizations that make me want to reach through the internet and throttle you until candy comes out.
I've had it with you asking for discussion, then throwing a tantrum worthy of a screaming toddler when you hear things you don't like.
I've had it with you levelling the same kind of prejudices you despise at those who don't agree with you.
I've had it with how much you hate the current administration, but won't vote because you don't like democracy anyway.
I've had it with hearing about how we should all try anarchy again, despite overwhelming historical evidence for why it doesn't work and why we've never gone back to it since.
I've had it with you espousing how much of a genius you are, then pulling ignorant batshittery out of your ass that rivals Ann Coulter, only liberal.
I've had it with every unresearched, unfounded, incredibly stupid line of tripe that comes out of your keyboard and not being able to debate rationally because you take everything so goddamned personal.
I've had it, and I refuse to deal with it anymore. I refuse to read your ravings and be forced to bite my tongue because I might risk you blowing up at me and everyone else in a shower of snot-nosed immaturity.
So I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago: I'm not reading your journal anymore. I'm not adding to my stresses by listening to a frustrated poser who can't come up with a single original thought of his own, but only regurgitates the equally small-minded ignorance he's found comfort in.
Yes, I'm disabling comments. Because I have no more to say on the subject, and I personally don't give a damn what you think anymore.
I'm done.
pissed offDoing a small Friends Cut. Please don't be offended if you get cut. It's nothing personal against you. My flist has just gotten immense and I can't keep up with all of it. So this is a bit of a cleanup.
chipper( Another public religion rant; feel free to link )
contemplativeNot locking this one, either. For the same reason I didn't lock the abortion rant:
( Cut For Length )
fed upNot cutting or locking this, because I think it needs to be heard.
A woman's body is her own. It's not her husband's property, it's not her parents' property, it's not the property of other women, and it's not the government's property. It's hers and hers alone. She has the final word on what to do with it.
Roe v. Wade gave women back their bodies through the right to terminate unwanted pregnancies.
Roe v. Wade makes abortion legal, not mandatory; if you don't agree with it, you don't have to have one. But you have no right to tell other women what they can and can't do. It's not your body. It's hers.
And unless you actually have a uterus, stay out of it. The issue of abortion does not affect those who can never become pregnant. You have no say in the matter because it's not your problem. A wedding ring does not in any way give you control of your wife's reproductive organs.
Go away. It's none of your business.
rantyIf the Christian Right loves Narnia so much for the Jesus allegory, I wonder what they'll have to say when/if The Last Battle ever gets filmed. Because the overall theme at the end of that book was controversial enough when Lewis wrote it; it would be even moreso today, given the climate of our nation's beliefs.
( Cut for those who never finished the series )
thoughtfulDear Nutjobs On All Sides of the Line,
If you're actually getting offended at being issued a greeting during the holidays, then I think you need to start taking life a little less seriously. I don't care if you're an atheist frothing at the mouth about being wished a "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Channukah," a Christian or Jew getting your knickers in a twist over "Happy Holidays," or a white person having a conniption over "Happy Kwanzaa." If you are bitching somebody out for wishing you a nice holiday just because they didn't do so the way you wanted, then I think you have some deep-rooted insecurities that need to be addressed by a professional.
Meppy Christmahannukwanzayule,
Me
x-posted to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
angryletters
snarkyI love Jesus. I think he was a brilliant teacher, if a bit ahead of his day, who had absolutely no idea how loud and long his words would ring throughout history. He had plenty of great ideas, and what could be described as the most ingenious marketing strategy in a time without mass communication or reliable means of travel.
But I'm wary of calling myself a Christian. Because mainstream Christianity has taken it upon itself to completely ignore every last one of Christ's ideals, and turned the very name of the religion itself into a misnomer. Christians don't follow Christ. They've forgotten who he was.
( The Disgruntled Jew )
contemplativeFor those of us who celebrate Christmas/Yule/Channukah/Kwanzaa/etc., we're bound to hear it at some point or another: "Jesus/Freya/Judah Macabee/Maulana Karenga is the reason for the season." It's a nice sentiment, something to give us all a break from the battle for that perfect gift and what to buy for who and the baking and decorating and permanent lower back pain. But even that little "holidays are more than money" ideal doesn't quite hit it on the head, either. Because between the religious connotations and secular celebration, there's one other element that just about everyone forgets. The element that I'd like to think is the REAL reason the season exists at all.
( Long and rambling, skip if you really, really hate sap. )
thoughtfulPublic, because I'm hoping somebody who needs to read it actually does:
Dear Harmo(a)nians,
IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU AND YOUR 'SHIP, YOU NARCISSISTIC CUNTRAGS!
Seriously. If the Puppyshippers finally pulled up their their pants and went back to writing fanfic without giving a whit whether their 'ship is canon or not, WHY CAN'T YOU?
No love but lots of free Zoloft samples,
Me
quixoticwtf_inc......And have dropped that consideration as of today. I came across their mockery of the Myspace Suicide kid, and honest to God I have never been quite so angry at the internet as I am right now. I have an offbeat sense of humor, but there are certain things I think should not be mocked. This is one of them.
Suicide is NOT a laughing matter.
Really, it isn't. If someone says "I'm going to kill myself," whether or not they're actually going to do it is irrelevant because that person needs help. Even if they're only saying it for attention, it means something is wrong somewhere, and such a statement should be seriously looked at, not mocked or ignored.
The cherished myth that people who talk about suicide never mean to do it cost the life of a concert band member in my sister's high school. She was found with her phone in one hand, a gun in the other, and a gaping hole in her temple. Because she talked about suicide and nobody took her seriously.
I also hate the "suicide is so selfish, so I have no sympathy for those who commit it" mentality. Suicide isn't selfish. You want to know what's really selfish? Being so FUCKING SELF-ABSORBED that you refuse to take FIVE FUCKING MINUTES to be a fucking FRIEND.
If the people around the suicidal person can't find it in themselves to give a flying fuck about what that person is feeling, then why should they care who they leave behind? It takes a set of brass balls and a thoroughly empty heart to shrug someone off when they're alive, then accuse THEM of being selfish for choosing not to stick around.
Yes, suicide strikes a chord with me. A rather loud, ugly-sounding one, thanks to personal experience that I would rather not talk about in detail right now. Let's just say that suicidal thoughts aren't always of the "nobody cares about me, there's no point in living" variety. Quite often, they're of the "everyone would be better off without me because I'm nothing but trouble and don't deserve to live" ilk. I don't see how thinking that your death would be a benefit to those around you (even if that thought IS misguided) could be considered selfish. But then, maybe that's the way logic works on the Planet of the Heartless.
In short, when someone acts suicidal, for godsakes TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY. Even if it's just a desperate plea for attention, THEY NEED YOUR HELP.
irateDear Misguided, Misinformed, and/or Willfully Ignorant People,
Homosexuality = "a sexual attraction to (or sexual relations with) persons of the same sex"
P(a)edophilia = "The act or fantasy on the part of an adult of engaging in sexual activity with a child or children."
No love until you pass a fifth-grade vocabulary test,
Me
bitchy( Globalization Good, Bootlegs Bad Mmkay? )
dorkyNavigate: (Previous 40 entries)
