#glittergemrants

Like no, actually we should let the government we don’t trust to do basically anything and which also is notoriously part in maintaining and worsening systems of oppression control human functions like reproduction and judge who should and shouldn’t be a parent.

And although I am aware that people typically know that a law like that couldn’t be executed, it’s still worrying to see them dream about it - because it essentially it would likely translate to marginalized communities being targeted the most.

To be quite honest, I’m even irritated when people talk that way about owning a dog, I don’t even think there should be a license for people to be able to own a pet, especially keeping in mind that pets sometimes are the only stable contacts certain demographics rely on for emotional support and camaraderie and I also don’t think that people of lower income or of certain demographics are worse pet owners in general.

There seem to be ongoing discussions on how, for example, poor people cannot provide xyz for their children, pets etc. so they shouldn’t have them, instead of asking why it is even, in our supposedly advanced society, the case that people aren’t even able to feed their family.

The truth of the matter is that people are going to sweat and eventually people are going to smell a little bit, because they are human.

If you wake up in the morning, go shower, cover yourself in scented lotion, perfume and deodorant and then step out of the door and get hit with 30°C weather you likely will start to sweat, if you do any kind of activity, leisure or work, for more than a few minutes while you’re outside, you’re going to sweat even more; wether you take the bike to ride to work, whether you cram yourself into public transport with 50 other people while the AC in the train isn’t working properly again or wether you do any physically demanding jobs, etc.

And eventually, you will highly likely get into a building where there’s is air-conditioning, where the air is cooler and sweat will dry and it will slowly start to smell; no matter how many 10 step TikTok skin-barrier destroying showers you take or how much deodorant you use to mask it, you are going to smell at least a little bit, even if you smell like sweat and perfume mixed together and other people will likely smell too.

Almost no one has the privilege of only spending a few minutes outside quickly hopping from one place with air-conditioning (especially where I live, where air-conditioning in apartment buildings and houses is unfortunately uncommon) to another or is able to shower every hour; people have stuff to do.

And I know that when I say that someone will respond; “that’s not what or who we mean, we mean people who smell bad, like they haven’t showered in days” and I know that that sucks but we do not know what people are going through.

Some people struggle with basic hygiene due to mental health and disability. Some people may are without the possibility to shower or clean themselves properly because they are without housing. Some people, especially children, are neglected and/or haven’t been taught how to clean themselves properly etc.

Alternative subculture and fashion, has always been heavily influenced by SWs, fetish gear and alike - and a lot of stylistic elements like fishnets, PVC, Chokers, Chains etc. have been purposefully incorporated to rebell against societal norms such as conservatism and purity culture, in order to express one’s, often queer, sexuality and gender expression. They also just naturally established themselves as stable pieces due to the fact that people who live alternative lifestyles, are also more likely to be part of alternative subcultures where uniqueness and being a misfit is celebrated as well.

People who engage in SW for example OF, are often part of marginalized groups and often do so out of socioeconomic pressure and they disproportionately suffer from stigmatization, harassment, digital discrimination such as doxxing, shadow banning, account suspension and alike.

Fansites like OF almost always have no internal advertisement system, creators who want to make income continuously and gain new viewers are reliant on social media to promote their content and if managing and maintaining a following isn’t hard enough already, due to the fact that they are also almost always under threat of loosing their account and therefore the platform they are reliant on to live, gaining views and garnering attention for example through provoking interactions, collaboration with other creators, engagement in trends and also branding different aspects of their identity - and that includes highlighting, certain physical features, or for example, being alternative and playing into a certain stereotype. It is often something they need to do in order to appeal to consumers.

I get that facing comments online being confronted with the same mischaracterization and sexualized clichees of the „hot goth gf“ and alike again and again is frustrating, but I really need people to understand and comprehend that the (mostly) men who leave these comments are not being “tricked” into believing they are acting in a acceptable manner by alt OF creators - these men know what they are doing and they are doing it on purpose and the idea that other women, SWs or not, are at fault for harassment, not the perpetrators themselves, is misogynistic.

I’m so tired of seeing all this pseudo-feminist stuff everywhere when it becomes aparent that a lot of people buy into purposely inflammatory and reactionary rhetoric and it also becomes more and more clear that your open-mindedness and your intersectionality and compassion stops as soon as something isn’t considered largely acceptable within societal conventions and isn’t easily palatable. 

It is so depressing to see how many supposedly progressive people just regurgitate the same arguments and buzzwords repeatedly without knowing where they’re from and it’s also showcasing that they really don’t care and their class awareness and solidarity is very shallow and ends after “ just don’t buy from SHEIN”.

I understand that SW’s are chronically underrepresented within media when discussions about their own livelihood take place but the more I research and read about the topic, the more I become aware that a lot of people have no issue with profiting from the ingenuity and aesthetics of SW’s (that applies to a lot of styles not just alternative people) like pleaser heels, poster girl dresses etc. and simultaneously also showing no solidarity with them.

I love these items and their allure as much as the next person but I think it’s very bitter when you cannot respect the people you took in inspiration from.

Of course, everybody can have their own differing opinion on certain issues but when your outward presentation is completely in opposition with your actual values it seems hypocritical to me.

And as much I want to claim that this is only an online thing I have made the sad realization that that is not the case, I ended friendships over this topic and encountered certain sentiments repeatedly, and in many instances, it wasn’t the case of simple unawareness, but willful ignorance and it’s part of the reason (along with general toxicity) that I’ve distanced myself from alternative subculture in general.

The same people that see no irony with parading around with what used to be fetish gear as fashion items who present themselves as punk and as class conscious etc. also stole the banner of the local counseling/aid center while a panel discussion was taking place where SWs themselves were present and had no interest in actually hearing what they had to say.

People seem to think that not being able to adapt to traditional employment is endless vacation and that I live a worry-less life, when that is not the case, even if I am in a somewhat privileged position (I have housing, I have access to basic necessities, can take care of my pets etc.) it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.

It’s not fun to not have my own money.

It’s not fun to be dependent on someone else’s financial support

It’s not fun when the money is tight, because we live in a single income household.

It’s not fun to feel like you can contribute nothing financially towards a relationship.

It’s not fun to not know how I would pay my rent and buy myself necessities if my partner and I would break up.

It’s not fun to see the welfare state, which is my only security cushion slowly being dismantled with every policy change.

It’s not fun that I don’t have the possibility to accumulate savings for emergencies.

It’s not fun to know that I’m threatened by poverty when I’m old because while being a stay at home girlfriend, no money runs into my government pension fund.

It’s not fun to know that I will probably never attend a university or get a higher education because I barely made it through school.

It’s not fun to not know what to answer when people ask you what you are doing for a job or when others look down on you because you are financially dependent on your boyfriend and that doesn’t match with someone else’s girl boss fantasy.

It’s not fun to know that, even if I am able to work a traditional job some day, I probably have to rely on minimum wage jobs because I have no degree and no viable work experience in the last five years - while the job market expect more and more qualifications.

It’s not fun worrying that doing something self-employed with somewhat low entry barriers, such as social media, streaming and alike might be the only way to make working/earning income, accessible to you, while requiring countless working hours of managing to acquire a following, content creation, and exposing oneself to hate online etc. without guarantee that one will be successful or can handle the resulting workload.