#not validation

I feel I’ve made this post before, but I’m going to work to answer asks again as a mod here! Revive it, somewhat. However, before that, let me make a slight reintroduction.

Keeping this in mind: I get Harry Potter related asks on this blog all the time. The series is enough of a cultural phenomenon that i don’t feel it’d be helpful to say, “I’m not answering any asks involving hp, go elsewhere for that”- i don’t think it’s even always a conscious association, as houses are popular and understandable enough as a way to talk about one’s identity or personality that the media it comes from can be forgotten. That does not however mean I’m comfortable leaving it unaddressed! Joanne’s actions and beliefs have been incredibly harmful to many, many people, including trans people, who she is now profiting off of demonizing! I am not okay letting her content or influence be present on this blog without being in some way mitigated.

I understand the use of them; in a visual medium like the internet, using symbols to replace a gendered language at first glance makes sense and feels like an improvement on anonymity. I don’t necessarily disagree with this. Emojis replacing pronouns seem fun if used in a close knit group between friends, or on private blogs to reference others you don’t want finding the account. 

Emojipronouns otherwise become nonfunctional when you remember that not everyone uses the internet the same way. I cannot imagine what a nightmare emoji sets are to come across for anyone who relies on text-to-speech. They also don’t translate well to verbal conversation, unless treated as the object it represents, in which case this is what nounself sets already exist for.