~ BugComplex ~

Censorship of sexuality, especially while simultaneously violence, particularly sexual violence, is left uncensored, and the harmful implication this juxtaposition has on our collective sexual wellness, is something I’ve written a lot about, like here and here. Hell, I’ve even written a book about it.

So when I found out there is a new “kid safe” search engine called Kiddle designed to block adult search returns for children, I feared it had sex-is-bad-and-violence-is-normal disaster written all over it. When I learned the results are handpicked by humans and not a computer broadly banning based on keywords, I was extra curious to see if I was still right. I was.

I typed in a bunch of different searches that a child might reasonably want or *need* to anonymously ask the Internet. Well, I’ll let you see the results for yourself:

My girlfriend hits me” is also a bad word.

Inquiries about vaginal discharge are, you guessed it, also bad words.

Related bad words: menstrual care, menstrual pads, menstruation, and uterus.

When avoiding a gay dating website in the search results is considered a higher priority of “safety” for children than their homelessness, and you recommend confronting their abusive parents, we have a tish bit of a problem.

If I was 12, typed this into a search engine, and instead of results got a “bad word” finger wagging, I would take the answer to the “is it ok to be bisexual” question as a big fat NO it’s not OK :(

But the human censors apparently allows kids to search for this one under their “kid safe” censorship policies.

Osomatsu-san S2: Head Icons -Matsuno Todomatsu

Oso | Kara | Choro | Ichi | Jyushi | Todo

Slightly more elaborate head icons. Matsuno Todomatsu series. Based on the second seasons new style. Free to use. Colored Background.

Woaa! Early upload and the final of the Matsuno Brothers series! ahh~ Totty has such a pretty color scheme~ I really like how the first and second icons turned out!

im uploading again in a single long post while i am in anime jail because i realized that one was going to get half of the attention of the another and i got a bit stressed about it bc im a goddamn baby

but there it is, more the ungodly crossover

Here’s a post talking about it WRT interaction badges at cons:

“The Curb-Cutter Effect is when something to fit a specific need is found to create convenience in a broader area than intended.  Curb cuts allowing for wheelchair accessibility to sidewalks proved to also be convenient to anyone who may have trouble with steps or even simply a mother with a baby stroller or maybe a child with a wagon.  This is a desirable outcome with disability rights advocacy as creating convenience for non-disabled people often makes the assistive technology easier to advocate for.”

Or, in a series of examples: 

When moms with strollers use curb cuts, they also start demanding them and supporting them, and the sidewalks become easier to traverse for people in wheelchairs.

When neurotypical people use badges to indicate their interactional boundaries, curb-cutter effect makes it easier for neurodivergent people to do the same.

When a bunch of folks who can tolerate wheat decide they like gluten-free bread, it becomes easier for people with celiac disease to find it at the grocery store.

When asking people to tag their content becomes normalized, it means that people with severe triggers are less likely to encounter confusion or disdain when they ask. 

When able-bodied people understand spoon theory, it becomes easier for those of us who need it to talk about it. 

When people with mild mental health problems see a therapist, it makes it easier for that therapist to stay in practice and see their more vulnerable clients.

When people who aren’t direly affected by dysphoria access trans health care, the increased demand familiarizes more primary care doctors with an area of medicine they should all be able to practice, so that when people with severe dysphoria seek care, it’s less likely to require moving to another city or state.

But since I’ve gotten too disabled to fight anymore, I… find myself coming back to that maiden in a tower. It’s that funny thing, where subverting femininity is powerful for the people who have always been forced into it… but for the people who have always been excluded, the powerful thing can be embracing it.

As I’m disabled, as I say to groups of friends, “I can’t walk that far,” as I’m in too much pain to keep partying, I find myself worrying: I’m boring, too quiet, too stationary, irrelevant. The message sent to the disabled is: You’re out of the narrative, you’re secondary, you’re a burden.

The remarkable thing about the maiden in her tower is not her immobility; it’s common for disabled people to be abandoned, set adrift, waiting at bus stops or watching out the windows, forgotten in institutions or stranded in our houses. The remarkable thing is that she’s like a beacon, turning her tower into a lighthouse; people want to come to her, she’s important, she inspires through her appearance and words and craftwork.  In medieval romances she gives gifts, write letters, sends messengers, and summons lovers; she plays chess, commissions ballads, composes music, commands knights. She is her household’s moral centre in a castle under siege. She is a castle unto herself, and the integrity of her body matters.

Internet, I am a queer researcher of queer health and I have something to say.

A few weeks back, a study went viral about the relationship between marriage equality policy and queer teen suicide rates, and a lot of people reacted thusly: “queer mental health is better when we’re not discriminated against! BREAKING: SKY IS BLUE, WATER IS WET”

This happens a lot. People see research about a thing ~Everyone Already Knows~ and they mock it. Now I want to make two things really clear:

1. Everyone does not already know.

2. This shit can lose these projects their funding.

Did you know that media coverage is a crucial factor in funding allocation? When we submit our application for grant renewal, we have to provide a list of news articles about our research so they can decide whether the public cares enough about us to let us keep doing our work. And most research doesn’t get all that much coverage, so individual reactions can really matter. If the primary reaction to our publications is eyerolling, we legitimately might not be able to continue.

I’ve seen some frustration from people who believe this research funding would be better put to use “actually helping” the affected populations instead of–I don’t know, pinning them under microscopes or whatever it is they think we do. But funding for policy initiatives is driven by research. I know you wish politicians would listen to individual voices telling them where the problems are, but that’s honestly not a smart way to direct limited resources. We need solid evidence. And a lot of the areas that need the most attention aren’t obvious–who knew bisexual people are at a much higher risk for physical and mental health disparities than gay and lesbian people? Who would have guessed that transgender folks are more likely than any other group (including straight people) to be military veterans, but overwhelmingly don’t claim their benefits? I’m sure some people noticed these patterns, but they definitely weren’t common knowledge within the queer communities I’ve grown up around, and those findings are leading to direct action as we speak.