Ending the hiatus, for now...with a cross-post!

I am back, at least for now! I have some thoughts on the whole "Victorientalism" thing, mainly because I just cannot shut up about fannish issues where people are just "having a bit of fun" or using some other redonk justification for proudly flaunting their unearned privilege at the expense of others, but I will save those thoughts for a time when I am less tired. But, to sum things up: Today has been just one of many days in the past few weeks where I have exclaimed out loud, to no one in particular, "JEESUM CROW, PEOPLE, DID WE LEARN NOTHING FROM RACEFAIL '09?"

Also, here is an important post by meloukhia that you should read if you are at all active in online social justice communities--and, come to think of it, fandom could probably stand to have a similar discussion. Because, yeah, this is a conversation that needs to happen, and it needs to happen sooner rather than later or not at all.

NOW: Tori Amos.

So...

I am kind of out of ideas at this point, if the level of discourse we're talking about has now been brought down to going on Australian TV and saying that you've been "crucified" by a bunch of disabled feminists--while playing the "disabled feminists" part for laughs.

I can't do this "civility" and "politeness" thing anymore, at least with certain people who, quite clearly, do not give a rat's ass about displaying either of those things themselves and yet demand that I hold their hands while they continue to rationalize their own (and others') privileged behavior. I've had to explain, over and over again, in various corners of the internet, that I and my fellow feminists with disabilities--and others who have committed to discussing these issues in a mature manner--have the right to not be personally attacked, threatened, and, now, have our very existence so cavalierly made into a joke. I really can't. Apparently, to Amanda Palmer and some of her supporters, neither I nor other disabled feminists are human beings who are worthy of any respect whatsoever (or having our concerns taken seriously, heaven forbid).

I am exhausted.

ETA: I will be on an indefinite blogging HIATUS starting today. I will see you all soon, hopefully.

I Make Things: Cupcake Edition

This is kind of late, but I did not realize until today that I neglected to share a picture of the Heaven's Gate-inspired (cult, NOT movie) cupcakes that I made some time ago after finishing my undergrad thesis on the group and its representation in the U.S. media. Blogger (like Twitter) is being disagreeable today and won't let me insert a cut (?!). So, since these basically look like dead bodies made out of cupcake material--and after reading some very sensible criticism from other blog-friends--I've spaced the image further down the page. If you are at all sensitive to images of dead bodies recreated in sugar, please feel free to skip this post.
















They were delicious. The book Hello, Cupcake! was particularly useful when it came to cooking and crafting techniques.

Stupid White People Tricks

Heidi Montag and Spencer Somethingorother at LAX, after returning from a recent trip to Mexico; picture via Go Fug Yourself.

MAKING A JOKE OUT OF SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ARE PANICKING OVER IS SO TEH FUNNY, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU HAVE THE (white) PRIVILEGE WITH WHICH TO DO SO!

I only know who these brats are because I watch The Soup.

I Can't Be More Articulate Than...

First, read Amandaw's take on this piece of crap "PSA" from the fine folks at Dove:



WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?!

Disabled people are not your fucking "inspiration" to show you that you are pretty, conventionally attractive white middle-class girl, and that you shouldn't have low self-esteem, because you are pretty! We're not your fucking After-School Special.

But thanks for putting us back in our place, Dove.

ETA: Anna has been kind enough to correct me on the origin of this thing; it's actually a student film project and is NOT a real Dove ad.

Still, though--this spot's portrayal of disability pretty much sucks.

Epic Privilege Fail

At first, I was unsure as to what I thought of this blog, in which a guy with (temporary!) underarm crutches takes photos of NYC subway riders who sit in the elderly/PWD seating instead of offering him a seat.

After reading this NY Times blog post on the site, however, I'm inclined to think that this is yet another mostly able-bodied person who claims the "social experiment" defense in order to take advantage of his own privilege, and to claim that he now somehow has insight into what it's like to live with a disability. Observe:

Wednesday morning, he was crossing 42nd Street after a long commute, accompanied by a reporter, when he was asked if he had learned any big lessons from the whole affair.

“Big lessons?” he said, pausing for a moment. “Honestly, no.”

After another moment’s thought, he added that the site and its reaction have given him a new appreciation for the lives of people with permanent disabilities.

“There’s these little struggles and battles going on every day,” he said. “You’d have to have a really good attitude to deal with it and have it not get to you.”

Yay, it's the PWDs as somehow brave and/or inspiring trope! My favorite. Also, note how being on crutches for some time apparently gives him super-special insight into what it's like to be a person with a (visible) disability! Never mind that dealing with a permanent health condition or disability is not just about getting (or not getting) a seat on the subway; there are other things that one must think about, plan around, and negotiate. Plus, there's that whole thing about disabilities that don't have any of the handy visual markers of disability that some able-bodied folks in our culture so strongly rely upon.

The comments to the article, predictably, are full of people who feel the need to share about how they, too, were once on crutches and experienced something similar, so they totally get how difficult it is to live with a physical disability.

This doesn't help.

I Don't Get It.

This photo is from a Vanity Fair feature on "Comedy's New Legends." It is Seth Rogen, dressed as Frida Kahlo:



Could someone explain to me precisely if and/or why this image is supposed to be funny? Frida Kahlo's work is not exactly a barrel o'laughs, and if you look at the rest of the photo set, this image doesn't quite fit in with the other photos. I could see how it makes some sense given that the rest of the photos are of new "legends" dressed as those of yesteryear, but...I'm stuck, and unsure of what this image is trying to convey. Man dressed as woman = automatically hilarious? Frida Kahlo is/was manly? I have no idea.

Also, re the cover image: Is male nudity really so offensive to various delicate sensibilities that all of the "nude" guys on the cover have to wear bodysuits? I get that it's supposed to be a takeoff on VF's ridiculous Tom Ford cover, but there is something about the bodysuits that makes it, at least in my eyes, less satirical and more shaming, as Melissa/Shakes so eloquently puts it. That said, the thing that I do like about this image is Paul Rudd's exact aping of Tom Ford--he's got it down to a t.

Obesity is a Person?

Via Scary Ideas come these weird PSAs from something called the Active Life Movement; the ads suggest that the Obesity Crisis is a thing that parents can keep away from their children (click for big):





THE OBESITY CRISIS, IF IT GETS THE CHANCE, WILL INFECT YOUR CHILDREN AND THEIR TOYS, PARENTS!

Visual interesting-ness aside, these seem pretty problematic. Fatness is not something that is caused only by inactivity or "laziness," and the automatic assumption here seems to be that fat automatically equals unhealthy, unattractive, and/or the worst thing that could ever happen (notice how both Barbie and the superhero are alone, thereby insinuating that fat = alone or lonely).

I do not see how stigmatizing fatness in the name of promoting "health" helps anyone.