Loaded God Complex

Here are a few very significant things that are different from when us Nineties Kidz were in school:

the quarantine proved that virtual schooling and other forms of making classwork less strict and more accessible were logistically possible, but these institutions just did not want to continue to provide those options.

Being forced back into in-person classes in buildings without proper ventilation and or other precautions long before there stopped being a risk of illness proved that the wellbeing of the students was significantly less of a concern than making sure they were out of the way and corralled properly so the adults could get back to work

The job market has significantly worsened in every sector, and the financial security that was supposedly the carrot to the school system's stick now seems almost completely unattainable. There is no real upward mobility associated with getting into good schools anymore.

The recent political gains of conservatism means it is straight up illegal to teach about basic social inequalities in many high school settings now, and kids aren't too stupid to know that that's happening. when you understand that your educational system is barred from teaching you basic facts about the world you live in because it is politically inconvenient to the current regime, it probably doesn't make you highly value the education these institutions can provide you

so basically on top of all of the ways the school system was fucked previously, they now know that the system does not care about their health and safety, is not capable of offering them a path to a financially sustainable life, and will not teach them about the world with a framework based in our current political reality. So with all of that in mind, i ask you, in what possible world can we expect children to still give their all despite that?

see this is the thing. this is part of the point i'm trying to make. in what world is "cheating" something that can be meaningfully said to take place within a system that has no structural integrity. i feel like in its very essence, "cheating" requires a two way street, where all involved parties are held to mutually agreed upon standards of behavior.

in order for it to be possible to Cheat at being a student, it needs to be possible to Cheat at being an educator. but there is no such equivalent power dynamic happening in the other direction whereby the educators are held to standards of behavior set by the students. there is only the unilateral enforcement of standards from an authority onto a marginalized demographic of people who do not have the luxury of opting into or or out of these standards.

The commentary was in relation to Isaac Ranson signing with the Aurora Football (soccer) Club--the women's semi-pro team. His ability to play for women's teams has been contingent upon him not being allowed to go on testosterone. He played for a women's college team--excelled actually--while being prevented from transitioning at all. The NCAA prevents you from being on T in women's college sports. The NWSL prevents you from being on T in women's pro soccer. The ICC prevents you from being on T in the olympics under the women's category.

Transphobes immediately shat themselves about fairness. Like they did for Mack Breggs a decade ago. Very few articles about the trans ban specify how the bans include language about hormones, so not only are trans men barred from competing among men, they are barred from medical transition entirely if they compete among women.

So when transphobes look at a trans man who cannot actually medically transition--his estrogen levels are in line with cis women--they complain, assuming his T levels are high. Then when it's revealed he's not on T, people still have a problem with him being there.

And it is so dangerous as trans people to take fascist tools to try to "gotcha" transphobes who are either motivated by transphobia and will not be happy no matter how trans people compete for as long as we are still there, or misogynists who are so extremely desperate to reinforce the narrative that being a woman means you are a weak frail thing and being a man means you are a thuggish brute. And wouldn't you know it, a huge portion of transphobic rhetoric combines the best of transphobia and misogyny into a neat little package.

It's the same as how the "bearded trans men in women's bathrooms show how silly bathroom bans are" ultimately does more damage than good: A good article about that.

When these selfies showing hyper-feminine or hyper-masculine gender presentations float to the top of social media timelines as they go viral, the images present narratives that have little bearing on the lives of trans people who are most affected. At best, bathroom selfies by cis-passing trans people open up discussion about the pitfalls of anti-trans bathroom legislation. But at worst, they perpetuate the myth that the issue of trans bathroom use can be solved by simply allowing only the people who “look” like the right gender to safely use the bathroom of their choice.

Many transphobes won't be "got" because they actually don't care about "women's safety" or "fairness" or whatever the talking point is, they do not want trans people to exist, OR, the ones you do catch in hypocrisy just tells them "you fool, you forgot to use misogyny!"

"Trans man isn't a threat cause his T levels are like cis women" is not a win! It tells them their measurement tools are right, their execution is just wrong, but the tools aren't right either! And you get people playing coed sports based on weight class smugly asserting that it would be "unfair" to compete against women. That's misogyny, bro!!!

You get trans women insisting they are now frail helpless creatures that pose no threat--I understand the need to appear disarming...but it's still misogyny.

We are just slowly replacing the misogynistic assumptions about birth sex with misogynistic assumptions about hormones and calling it a success, but not only is it not a success but many of the influential people in the discourse--politicians, sports committees, etc--are STILL of the opinion that sex assigned at birth is all there is.

This pivot just gives permission to create litmus tests. How much hormone is too much? Must everyone out themselves? Are we all prevented from medical transition? If we "look" like one thing regardless of what hormones say, how are we categorized? Are nonbinary and intersex people just cursed to to float like ghosts in the background, perpetually ignored by cis and trans people alike?

what would it look like if it was no longer a given, acceptable fact that the entire gender available for you to become romantically and/or sexually involved with had more social, legal, and cultural power than you could ever access? what if the beloved wasn’t on a pedestal towering over the protagonist, challenging her to either drag him down to her level or drag herself up to his?

what would a straight romantic story if every trace of christian complementarianism was scrubbed out of it? or the protestant work ethic? or catholic acceptance of suffering? or evangelical gender norms?

what’s sexy if we aren’t bothering to sexualize the first man who ever recognize the protagonist’s intelligence or skillset? what’s sexy if we aren’t sexualizing the first man who doesn’t act abusively towards the protagonist?

what if the kind of body worship and appreciation for the male form found in gay literature and erotica was commonplace in straight romantic writing? what do gay men see and appreciate and desire in each other’s bodies? what would a woman with gay male desires look for in a man?

what if the male beloved(s) in these stories had an appreciation for women’s bodies that mirrored how lesbians write about each other in their literature and erotica? what does a lesbian see and appreciate and desire about a woman’s body? what would a man with lesbian desires look for in a woman?

So some fanartist drew a “sexy” (read: booby) version of a (cartoon) character who is traditionally very non-sexualised. Fans of the character got mad about it because it’s kind of groundbreaking how that character is written and portrayed and this art totally ignores the entire point of the character. They demanded the art be deleted. In response to that other people said, well what the fanartist did may be distateful but they have every right to draw what they’re into. The two sides fight for days and each starts a harassment campaign and even report their “opponents’” accounts.

So far so typical. But things eventually come to a head and they decide that this will be settled by votes - not through a poll. Through donations to a children’s education charity via each side’s portal. Whoever can get the highest amount of donation wins.

Still in pursuit, we followed the ball toward a small lake in Motor World that had been earmarked for a fleet of tiny bumper boats for children. The area wasn’t open yet, but the empty boats were being tested and floated on the surface. The ball soared over the grass and smashed into several of them, scattering the others with rippling waves from the impact, which launched some of the boats several feet in the air.

Charlie and Ken waded into the water looking for the hatch. After some difficulty, they got it open. Charlie pulled Frank out by grabbing him under his armpits like a baby. Frank crawled up the bank, coughing and sputtering. He splayed across the grass as we all stared at the ball, which bobbed in the water like it was attached to a fishing lure.

We did not ask for the inspector’s report, nor did we ever hear of one being filed. Ken Bailey returned to Canada. The snow-makers cleared away the PVC. Told to dispose of the Bailey Ball, they rolled it into the woods, where it remained for many years."

remember when feminism was about uplifting girls and teaching them that they could achieve anything they set their heart to, that they weren't inherently weaker than the boys just because they were girls. man i fucking miss those days, but what a lovely change to see from BIS. i really hope they don't fold to the idea of there "needing" to be even more segregated divisions, and here's to hoping that we will see their commitment to "making ice skating inclusive and accessible for all" be extended to trans skaters with time, too. 🙏

& here's their statement from insta, if you're curious:

Like 85% of tumblr users hate and loathe embarrassment based comedy with every fiber of their beings, but never in my life have I ever seen an author reassure their audience that the embarrassing scenes are skippable.

Lots of people dislike tragedy but never in my life have I ever seen an author reassure the audience that the death and grieving scenes are skippable.

Stop trying to pass off self-censorship as “accommodation.” Stop trying to pass off pandering as “inclusivity.”

That text post that's been making the rounds that goes something like "Omg you made it to the same red light as everyone else but faster and more dangerously and recklessly, should we call nascar? Do you want a medal?" summarizes exactly what I'm trying to talk about.

It's like when I have to change buses at one of the bigger and busier bus stops, and the people who get off the same bus as me shove and elbow past me to get off before me, and then shove and elbow past anyone even slightly in their way on the way to the bus they're switching, only to end up on the same bus as all the people they shoved and elbowed with several minutes to spare before it leaves and plenty of open seats left.

I think this unnecessary urgency a lot of people feel in their day to day lives drives a lot of bad behavior. I'm not saying I'm innocent of this, I've felt it too in plenty of situations that didn't call for it, and regrettably was less kind than I should have been as a result. But I try to be aware of it, and always try to ask myself it it's really as urgent as my lizard brain is trying to tell me it is, and even if it was that urgent, does that still justify unkind behavior?

Is shoving or elbowing another person aside going to make the difference between whether or not you make it to the bus before it pulls away? (hint: at least where I live, most of the time that's a no because the drivers usually won't leave if they see people from another bus heading towards their bus). Is shoving and elbowing people aside in a crowded grocery store going to make any noticeable difference in how quickly you get your shopping done?

That fully rewired my brain.

Thanks for these tags @disability-etiquette, because this unnecessary urgency (in situations that aren't actually urgent) really is a massive driving factor for ableism, and that needs to be addressed and discussed.

So many strangers have been so cruel to my elderly and disabled family members for being "too slow" in public.