he obfuscates, he dances

i. the monster's body is a cultural body

ii. the monster always escapes

iii. the monster is the harbinger of category crisis

iv. the monster dwells at the gates of difference

v. the monster polices the borders of the possible

vi. fear of the monster is really a kind of desire

these are all direct quotes from jeffrey jerome cohen's "monster culture (seven theses)" (full pdf linked) i highly encourage you to read it yourself!

that said, while i think cohen's writing is evocative, it can be a little dense, so while i'm here, here's my capsule summary (you can also hear me talk about this in the first episode of my podcast) (listen to @ghostswerepeopletoo)

i. the monster's body is a cultural body - The monster is a work of fiction to be analyzed through tools of literary and sociological theory.

ii. the monster always escapes - As long as the cultural fear from which the monster stems persists, the monster will reappear in retellings, reimaginings, and sequels.

iii. the monster is the harbinger of category crisis - Monsters defy binaries and challenge easy comprehension or categorization.

iv. the monster dwells at the gates of difference - The monster represents the Other.

v. the monster polices the borders of the possible - Tales of the monster exist to discourage unacceptable or taboo behaviors.

vi. fear of the monster is really a kind of desire - Subjects can vicariously participate in the disruption of the social order through the monster.

I recently participated in this trans heart health study and they urgently need more participants before their funding runs out this summer (in 2026) as they've had less than 10(!!!) so far (it's crazy).

If you're a trans person in the UK who's been on HRT for 2+ years and can reasonably get to Leicester (they reimbourse travel expenses and buy you lunch), consider participating!

You'd be doing a good thing for our community at large, get a heart check-up while you're at it, and if you do the MRI scan you even get to see a video of your heart beating, it's really cool!

The study is run by some lovely people who are trying to establish normal values for trans people's heart health cause apparently heart size varies by sex, and HRT changes it, so cardiologists currently straight up don't know what is normal for trans patients.

Naila, the researcher from the above study, is currently running a short, anonymous survey exploring what stops some transgender people from taking part in research studies.

It takes about 4 minutes to complete, and all responses are confidential!

Dialectical materialist sub: Historical trends in productive forces have produced a moment within the superstructure wherein I derive sexual satisfaction from roleplaying taboo subject matter.

its fun

i can do literally whatever I want

cons of writing

Brooch

early 19th century

gold coloured metal, copper, silvering, mirror glass

England