Idk if this is going to be an unpopular opinion (probably would be in Insta or TikTok but I feel like ppl are a bit more reasonable here), but while goth/punk/grunge/etc are PRIMARILY music and political based subcultures, there is still a fashion element. Fashion is political in today’s world, due to the nature of capitalism and it’s social effects, and the primary hallmark of the fashion side of these subcultures (in their origins) was the DIY clothes that served multiple purposes: reducing your capitalistic footprint, your environmental footprint, and defying social norms of physical presentation. Same thing with makeup, which is weaponized off of women’s insecurities. I respect your right to do whatever you want with yourself but if it happens to be following the exact trends and beauty standards of your current time, it’s not counter-culture.
You can be goth/punk/grunge and dress “normal” because it is primarily musical and political. BUT, you cannot be goth/punk/grunge and wear Shein, Temu, buy into all the latest trends and participate in fast fashion, etc, because that is against the ethics of the subculture. Similarly, we need to stop watering down the look to the point of incomprehension and normalcy and calling it after an alternative counter-cultural group. And I understand being poor, I’ve been low-income for a while now. I thrift what I can but if I really, actually need (not want!) a new pair of jeans and I can’t find one that fits anywhere else, I will go to Walmart and buy a pair from the clearance section. However I then wear and repair that pair of pants until it’s literally tearing apart, and then repurpose the fabric I can salvage into new projects when I can no longer wear it.
“It’s the most punk thing to not care what anyone thinks!!” No it’s not actually. Punk has been defined by it’s almost obsession with politics, ethics, radical empathy with the oppressed, and fighting for change. Ignoring those calling you out on your privilege and your contributions to the capitalistic machine isn’t Punk. And I say all this as someone who’s parents were part of the original alternative scenes back in the 70s-90s, and who’s talked to a lot of people who were in it at the time of its creation.
Y'all know you can draw a butch woman engaged in sex without giving her a penis, right? To REALLY challenge yourself, draw her without a strap, too! It's just important to me that y'all know these are very real possibilities.
It's not your place to dictate anyone's sexuality. Labels are supposed to make people feel more secure, not make them feel unaccepted. This is why so many LGBTQIA members feel like they have no place in the community.
Lesbians and gay men are the main perpetrators of this. This is exclusionary, and the same kind of thinking that labels bi women sluts and erases bi men. Stop it and give people room to figure it out
I was originally going to ignore this bc it’s a pretty insane take, but it kept coming back up in my mind and led me to think about labeling in general and how my generation goes about it (and unfortunately for you anon, I stayed just as radical).
There’s two types of labels: static, or inherent, and active, or chosen, labels. Static/inherent labels are things that you are born with, and are obviously observable to everyone that looks at you. Race and sex, most notably. Those do not require you to do anything to make them true, they just are. These are the labels in which rules and stereotypes are pretty much pointless because the color of your skin or your genitals do not determine anything about you other than the fact you have them. It is medical information and nothing more, and does not influence your personality.
However active/chosen labels DO need rules and regulations or they are completely pointless. Even things such as sexual orientation (which you are born with) need you to actively engage with them, even if it is just thinking “I’m gay”, for them to be realized. You are not born, a naked infant, and the doctor looks at you and pronounces you gay, or anarchist punk, or goth, or feminist, etc etc. And since they require actions to fulfill, then having set requirements for a category is vital for us to accurately communicate information to others. And if you do not fit the criteria for a certain label, the only thing that makes any sense is to choose another label that does fit you.
This conflation of the two types of labels has lead to a lot of nightmare messes for the queer community especially, but also even with people claiming they can be conservative and goth and it’s actually more alternative to be conservative and all that mess. Have requirements to be part of a group is literally the foundation for forming a group outside of just the general public, otherwise there is no point in doing so at all.
Also, Anon honestly seems to have more biphobia than I do, which I feel like I come across a lot. As soon as I mention potential bisexuality in someone people immediately start telling me not to slut shame, that I’m erasing bisexual men (somehow?) etc, when never once did I ever say anything bad about bisexual women. I’m close friends with bi women and I love them dearly whether or not they choose to date men because that’s their prerogative. However when I say “bisexual”, you hear “bad”. I do not think it is bad for women to be attracted to men. My complaint is when you claim lesbianism, a female same-sex only orientation, while constantly expressing attraction to men, because that reinforces the “she hasn’t found the right dick yet” narrative that puts lesbians in danger. I was literally just given that line yesterday and then stalked for 45 minutes by a creepy man.
Lesbians are not attracted to men. If you are attracted to men and women you are bisexual/pansexual/whatever word you want to use to express a polysexual orientation. And if you are bisexual, I love you and thank you for your self-reflection and honesty with yourself. Labels exist to give a name to your lived reality, no label is better or worse or cooler than another, and trying to stretch labels to fit things they aren’t is really pointless when the other label that describes you perfectly is literally right there.
“Menstruate on it” as a synonym for pondering; sounds familiar enough to “ruminate” to immediately signify the meaning, but with an air of female intuition
i’d be in a much better mood if i was kissing a pretty girl right now but okay
lesbianism as shown by @sweatermuppet
Radical feminism, centering women, and worshipping female deities really turned my life around FAST because what do you mean my constant mental health problems are slowly alleviating, I’m making new female friends, I’ve finally left behind the toxic male friends, I’ve applied to and gotten my first management position, I’m gaining weight and muscle, and I’m talking to a lovely beautiful femme all within this year so far. Like I know radical feminism covers very serious issues too and politically life kind of sucks, but life really is beautiful as well when you center women and female-ness among the chaos. I love rad feminism and I love lesbianism.
And yet if you assume pronouns it’s also hurtful towards other people within the trans community?? This was one of my biggest issues when I used to think I was trans because it’s extremely “every man for himself” type ideology.
“I don’t like it when people check with me about how I’d like to be be treated so I’ll complain or even lash out at them.”
“Well I don’t like when people DONT check with me so I’ll complain or lash out at them.”
There’s no compassion for those of us trying to simply be respectful and accommodate you, and definitely no compassion for those within the community who have a different experience than you.
Also what type of work environment is allowing miniskirts? I have never found a job in my life that allows that so far, and never known a woman who wished to wear one to work.
This is in fact what everyone is thinking, yes. And policing language more won’t make it stop.
have you heard of this spray that makes you see hair on your face that is otherwise invisible so you can shave it with a dull plastic razor that comes in a 20 pack which will be on this planet for hundreds of years??? buy. have you heard of this single use sheet masks that does nothing different than a normal mask and you have to wear it overnight (it will come off) and on flights (you look crazy)??? buy. have you heard of this camera that makes you see your greasy scalp (normal) and dead skin (also normal) up close so you can purchase a treatment for hundreds of dollars and/or exfoliating scrub containing particles that are going down your drain and straight into the sea???? buy. have you heard of this special plastic gadget that
Wild how everyone who criticises gender critical feminism just misrepresents it entirely???
They’re like ‘oh TERFs think that gender is a social construct made to oppress women based on their sex and keep them subservient … so naturally they must believe that womanhood is all about giving birth and being feminine’ UGHHHH
Submission is solely a man’s trait and obsession and I will die on this hill.
Men will choose a favorite man in power and then lap at every word from his mouth like a bird eating vomit from it’s parent’s throat. They refuse to read or educate themselves and take pride in the admission they have not read, and therefore not drawn a more independent opinion, since childhood. The patriarchy itself is inherently hierarchical in ways matriarchies never have been, historically. A good soldier, the peak of masculinity to these men, is defined by his ability to obey and submit. You would think boots were flavored like strawberry the way they lick them, but then again, these men do seem to like something big and hard in their mouths.
It mystifies men that women do not take joy in this submission. Why else is it that women are the ones that constantly need to be reminded to submit? It does not come naturally to us the way it does to them. Even the things seem as submission— women cooking and cleaning and doing everything for their male partners— is ultimately submission to the system on the man’s part. Once again, he gives up his agency over his own life to someone else. Once again, he refuses to take responsibility for himself. Once again it is someone else who he is handing himself over to. Men adore submission, both giving and taking it.
20 | Butch lesbian | Feminist | diy enthusiast | Joculatrix | Lovergirl (Ik that contradicts being angry but trust me I have room for love and hatred)
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