#eruiluvatar

Hello friends,

The blog previously known as eruiluvatar.tumblr.com has changed its name to the-subtle-anarchist.tumblr.com. 

I know changing URLs can confuse people, so I thought I'd let everyone know. 

The reason for the change is that I felt this was a more appropriate name. In case you didn't know Eru Iluvatar is like the God figure of Tolkien's middle-earth. I didn't want to go with aslan.tumblr.com, but I still wanted something that represented that I'm a Christian who loves fantasy literature. 

But that's not really what this blog has turned out to be about. It's still a personal blog, and I'm still going to post whatever I want. But as issues of social justice and systemic oppression are so important to me, I wanted to highlight that with a new blog name. 

I think "anarchist" has become a dirty word. I think people hear the word and think of angry, rude, in-your-face protestors who just want to dismantle organization for the sake of chaos. Anarchists are assumed to be people who just want to watch the world burn. That's not what anarchy is really about. At least, I don't think so. 

For me, anarchy can take many shapes. One such shape is freedom of speech. That's right, if you're against anarchy, you're against freedom of speech. The right to speak up against your government is a huge privilege, the right to anarchy is a right that is essential to freedom. 

I'm not really here to speak up against the Harper government of Canada though. I'm here to dismantle patriarchy, to queer the way we see people, to question whiteness, to call out ableism. I'm not a very angry person, in fact, I try really hard to give people the benefit of the doubt, to find balance, to try and be understanding while I educate. But I won't be silent. If I'm an anarchist, it's not in my fighting of society and the government, but rather in my attempt to change society and how our society is socially constructed to privilege certain groups over others. 

While I may not try and create this change by marching on parliament or protesting on the streets (which I wouldn't be against doing, btw), I'd rather do it in every day subtle ways. Simple ways that make people question dominant discourses and norms. 

So am I going to objectify the male body on this blog? Yes. Am I going to post feminist gifs and comics and such on this blog? Yes. Am I going to post awesome quotes about racism in literature? Yes. Am I going to call all white, straight, able-bodied men bad people? No. I'm just going to encourage anyone that fits any of those categories to feel a little uncomfortable with their position, and offer them a chance to think a little more critically about what they say and do. 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Queer POC romance