this isnt technically ot3 content but it is in my heart

On Fandoms, Age, and Gender: The Politics of “ Putting Away Childish Things”

Weighing in on yet another round of “fan spaces are youth spaces” (aka “go home and knit, old lady” or “You’re old enough to be my/someone’s mom! gross!” )

Consider these thoughts:

There’s a whole set of interests and behaviors that you might become interested in as you grow from child to adolescent to young adult and take greater interest in the wider world.

You might like horses, or dolls.  Or building models.  You might play soccer, or follow baseball every summer and learn about  box scores.   You might follow the college football draft, or love a pop band.  You might deeply admire a rock band and learn to play the guitar.  You might love superheroes and see all their movies.  You might love space opera and collect paperback books.  Maybe you collect trading cards of your favorite team players – or movie moments.  You probably get t-shirts and posters of teams, or media outlets.  You might get deeply into a social or political cause.

Those are all expressions of interest in the world, all with associated social aspects, many with associated creative actions. 

And then you get older.  And here’s the thing about that list.  The things on that list that are “for boys?”   Are also “for men.”   But the things on that list that are “for girls” or “for nerds?” Are only “for children.”  

Adult men wear brightly colored team clothing and paint their faces without shame.   They join fantasy football leagues and hang out online.   They follow Phish (or continuously talk about how they did when that was a thing).  They spend vast sums on tickets to bowl games.   They get excited all over the internet about Geddy Lee’s greatest hits.  They spend long afternoons on the golf course, playing very bad golf.

No one tells them to grow up 

An adult woman who turns a childhood dollhouse into a beautiful scale model of a real Victorian home is “eccentric.”  An adult man who builds a vast HO train layout in his basement is a “train enthusiast.”   An adult woman who displays her favorite Bryer horses is “odd,” an adult man with a shelf of signed baseballs is “a collector” or even “an investor.” 

Adult women making fanart of attractive movie stars is “creepy,’ while adult men decorating their garages with calendar art of scantily-clad very-young women is “just what guys do.”

Interests and hobbies that were feminine and are taken up by men become acceptable.   When The Beatles were greeted with mobs of fainting teen girls, they were a “boy band.”  When young men discovered them, they became Serious Musicians.  

Over and over, across fields of interest, things that girls like are “toys and games and childish” and should be left behind by adults, while things that boys like are “hobbies and sports” that are lifetime pastimes.  And acceptable “hobbies” for adult women?   Most are things that could be coded as household chores, but generations of women have worked to turn into enjoyable pastimes:  knitting, sewing, quilting.  Home decor.  Baking.   Many adult women (myself included) enjoy doing those things in their free time and have elevated them to art forms.  But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re rooted in utility, while “men’s hobbies” are, by and large, rooted in leisure.

Look around you and follow the pattern.  And then, before you ask “Why are adult women in fan spaces,” maybe ask “why do I feel like adult women don’t get to have fun?” 

This.

(With the addendum; I come of the generation that built fan spaces. I’m not going anywhere. Deal.)

I am BOGGLED that we are still having to discuss this.

Consider also: Most media “for children” is in fact made by… wait for it… adults. So if you think adults who make children’s media shouldn’t be invested in their creations, then I don’t know what to tell you.

There’s so much I could say on this subject because this has given me crises as I’ve grown up and “outgrown” things I genuinely enjoy. It makes me feel guilty about watching certain shows or drawing certain art, and that’s a de-motivator if I ever knew one. I think there a lot of people around my age (which is something I don’t discuss for this very reason) who are somewhat lost in the world. We grew up with expectations of house, family, kids, career by the time we were “adults,” and had to come to the harsh realization that we don’t or can’t have those things. So there isn’t a clear definition on where childhood ended and where adulthood began because the things that defined being an adult for us aren’t there, so we cling to the “childish” things that make us happy because we need something to get us through the day. And what it really comes down to at the end of the day is that no one should feel ashamed of liking something that makes them happy. But it’s a hard mindset to break free of if it’s all around you.

Anyone ever think about how casually BADASS this is?

First of all: yes.

Secondly:

You can see how much smoother Al’s movements are, how he recovers much better from Izumi’s feints and counters–he’s staying relatively low to the ground, playing to his strengths, which makes him quicker to recover. The leg sweep he utilizes? Smooth as Sean Connery’s voice. Al even uses a kick and turn maneuver with both legs where the first kick is a feint and the second one is what lands. Or is supposed to land. Izumi just bats it aside with her hand because she’s much more experienced than they are, but it’s already clear that Al has a more solid foundation that he can then build off of to develop a fighting style.

Whereas Ed is just… all over the place. You can tell he’s using a lot of high attacks and jumping to attack, and he hasn’t quite figured out how to recover from those jump kicks–he’s wasting time in recovering and he keeps landing awkwardly. At least he’s quick to get back to his feet, which suggests he’s gotten used to falling–which is not necessarily a good thing.

Back to Al. Al is clearly less used to falling than Ed is. When he trips, he gets this expression of alarm, while Ed’s look of concentration never breaks, and at one point, Al lands face-first in the grass and has to get his butt out of the air before he can make a comeback.

Both of them clearly have a long way to go, but in different areas–Ed hasn’t really figured out that either a) he should learn how to make his jump kicks more effective and recover from them more quickly, or b) that he should stop using the jump kicks quite so much, because they clearly aren’t working for him like they should. On the other hand, Al needs to learn to take a fall confidently and without breaking stride. Al is clearly the better fighter and has good instincts, but because he’s used to winning, he isn’t nearly as good at taking a fall as Ed is.

At the same time, Ed and Al are synchronized enough that they’re occupying Izumi every second. She isn’t attacking back, just defending–she doesn’t attack until a second after this gif finishes, when she catches Al during another feint kick and spins him on his face–Ed is terrified when he sees Izumi deal with Al, who has probably been protecting him from schoolyard bullies and whatnot for years, so easily. They are clearly not ready to defend from Izumi’s attacks just yet, but what’s happening in this gif is meant to build their confidence.

Finally, Izumi’s movements (all defensive) in this gif follow a circle–she traces a circle in the steps she takes and she redirects their attacks rather than just blocking them. This is strikingly similar to the real-world martial art ba gua, which you’ll sometimes see colloquially referred to as “circle-walking”–an apt discipline for an alchemist.

The lesson about how power circulates in this scene ties in with Izumi’s movements, redirecting the energy of the Elrics’ attacks to the circle. In The Forbidden Kingdom, Jackie Chan’s character states that kung fu is not the attacks but the focus on excellence applied to everything one does. That is just how good of an alchemist Izumi is–she applies the principles in everything she does. By this standard, Izumi is the consummate alchemist in the series–though Ed has more raw genius, Izumi has applied her whole life to excellence in alchemy; which foreshadows Edward’s decision to give up the practical application of alchemy in favor of its cerebral application at the end of the series.

Shiro steals a prototype containing the Atlas from the Garrison. Upon hearing this, Kolivan and Krolia send Keith to make sure Shiro doesn’t lose the prototype to the wrong hands. But it really just gives Shiro a reason to be domestic in space.

Some crossover doodles with Monomon as a M’arrillian (pre-move to Hallownest). Very dull at the bottom of the sea, even when decked to the nines.

thinkin bout…vessel mice….

(they’re based off fancy mice  which are incredibly cute)

long battles, long hugs

Interesting fact: this test was originally ment to look at a kids “willpower” but it actually tests a kids economic status. Poor kids will eat the first marshmallow because they’ve learned that food/resources may not always stick around while richer kids are more willing to trust that they’ll get the two marshmallows later.

Still a good metaphor for the current crisis but it’s not saying that Americans lack the patients for the second marshmallow, it’s saying most of us can’t afford to wait for it.

Casual Saguru~~~~

Baby Hornet, because I wanted to draw something cute and fancy.

hey all, here's a petition to the Honolulu City Council, the Kailua Neighborhood Board, and Kailua and Oahu residents, urging them to support the Kawainui Street Apartments project in Kailua:

this petition only has 310 signatures.

and here's another petition (with 5 signatures at the time of posting this) by a group of volunteers working with the Faith Action for Community Equity group that made the other petition:

if reading the above post bothered you, do something about it!

sign the petitions before August 2nd and share this post.

want to do more?

write an email to a member of the council urging them to support affordable housing for Kailua residents.

here's the contact information for the council members!

do some good today!

He was an activist who inspired millions to fight for their rights. He knew what was wrong with our country and risked his life to help his people achieve equality.  In the society where black were treated like animal he did everything possible to change this. His brave soul, his will and courage changed the history of America , changed the people. He made us believe we can win this war. He payed for it with his life. He will always be remembered.

Respecting his memory also means acknowledging that his fight is far from over, black people are facing the same issues that ha birth to the Black Panthers, and that the FBI is basically trying to launch COINTELPRO 2.0 against BLM and other black activists. Hampton should be more than a history lesson, he should be a rallying point.

And if people say “oh but the police have changed since then”, that’s bullshit.

Wolves React To Gamekeeper Who Had Been Away On Maternity Leave

“WHERE’S YOUR PUPPY! WE WANNA SEE YOUR PUPPY! DID YOU JUST HAVE THE ONE? DO YOU HAVE THEM WITH YOU? ARE THERE PHOTOS?”

I’m not a hundred percent positive but I’m pretty sure this is the wild life center where I visited wolves.

And the safety briefing included the question “So if you’re pregnant, do you want to know or not?”

Turns out there had been a bit of an awkward situation once where the keepers had casually mentioned a woman’s pregnancy in a group, and she herself didn’t even know yet. Turns out the wolves are excellent at telling if you’re pregnant and the keepers can tell based on their body language.  They get all odd and careful around pregnancy. (Even wolves knows that you have to take care of pregnant people.)

So they definitely knew she was pregnant.

And if I remember my BBC documentaries right, a wolf will leave the pack to give birth and introduce the cubs to the pack once she feels ready for it. And maternity leave is flexible but often around 6 months so they’re going “YOU WERE GONE FOREVER! WE WERE SO WORRIED! WHERE ARE THE CUBS?? WE HAVE TO GREET THE CUBS!!“ 

Also the two on her back are fighting over who gets to greet her first. Giving and receiving attention is a commodity that goes by hierarchy and if you don’t accept that there will be scuffles.. The wolf lying down next to her isn’t chill about her coming back, it’s just submissive to the other wolves and waiting for it’s turn to show excitement.

Now I can see why we domesticated these adorable jerks.

Wolf packs have maternity leave?

Wolves: better than American companies.

AKA: the anti-mask argument here in the US