The ephemeral harbinger of lunacy

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hey y'all.

a recent code update from LJ will require new LJ users to specify their gender at sign-up. right now, you can choose "unspecified" -- in the future that will not be an option. (this is apparently so they can use gender-specific ads.)

obviously, this is not okay.

THIS POST by synecdochic explains more, then asks you to set your gender to unspecified and send in feedback about this change.

please do that! and pass this on.

thanks. :)

ETA: someone got a response saying it was not meant to be mandatory, that's a mistake that won't be going live.

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GOLD. NAIL. POLISH.



OMG.

And I have cheek stain that smells like grapes. Speaking of Cheeks, he has an amazing new video. God, I love him. "Your opportunity just so happens to be standing in the way of my civil rights."

One more thing:

In response to this, the fact that apparently some people on my flist agree that it's just a show, and the usual "it's just fic" responses in my criticisms of fanfiction:

Art is a reflection of life, and life is a reflection of art. Our media is influenced by society, and society is influenced by our media. They aren't separate, and it's not just one or the other; the are intrinsically connected. Thus if you want to enjoy something and not think about what it reflections, or what its possible repercussions are, that is your choice. But to say that it's just a television show or just a story and criticize anyone who thinks analytically about it means you are ignoring this very important truth.

Glee, for example, has problems. Yes, that article that caused wank was right: Glee focuses on the white students and pushes students of color to the side. Yes, the comments in response to the article that were critical of Glee were also right. The situation with Puck and Quinn having sex is sketchy, and Glee at best ignores it and at worst puts it all on Quinn. It was rude and potentially offensive when Mr. Schue's Glee Club butted in on the deaf glee club's performance of "Imagine." And Mr. Schue's reaction to finding out about Terri's faked pregnancy was scary and abusive.

There's a fanfiction story about a character who is tired of being called cute, and so he takes an experimental drug (a steroid, I think), and becomes abusive towards his boyfriend. At one point he becomes mad at his boyfriend and the boyfriend's friend, and beats up the friend badly enough that he ends up in the hospital. The boyfriend, however, thinks about how much he loves the abusive character, and how it must not be his fault because something is "off" with him, and stays. It's not done yet, but I can make a good guess at how it will end: the boyfriend will continue to stay through the abuse because he loves the abusive character, and finally that love will lead him to get help and get better. They'll have a happy ending.

There's nothing inherently wrong with showing any of those things. People of color are often ignored. People often are inconsiderate towards the deaf. When a man finds out his wife is faking a pregnancy they wanted, it's very likely he will respond harshly. And all too often, victims of abuse do stay with their abusers. The problem here is that all of these things are unquestioned or presented as okay. It is not the issue that's the problem, it's how it's presented.

The fact that these are presented as okay just as they are, without being questioned in any way, shows that other people, in the real world, think it's okay, too. Other people think that Mr. Schue's response to Terri was not just realistic, but actually proportional. Other people think that it's actually perfectly okay if you stay with someone who's abusive just because they might be influenced by something else and, hey, you love them.

So that's the problem. If in the real world someone said something racist or sexist or homophobic, or otherwise ignorant of those issues, and you believe it's your responsibility to call them on it, it's just as much your responsibility to be aware of how those same things are reflected in our media. At the very least, don't get upset and angry when other people do it. It's not "just entertainment." It's not hating on the show or book or fic (hey, I like Glee). It's important.

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I have completed my paper.

I have no idea what to do without comment notifications.

I am bored but refuse to go to bed at 10:30 when I have no class or finals tomorrow.

Thus, party in this post. Link me to your holiday wishlists (mine are: personal lj, holiday_wishes, ontdai_wishes; there are a couple differences in each one). Tell me what's up. Ask questions for anyone to answer. idc. just make it good!

THIS IS NOW A PANTSLESS PARTY.

NO PANTS ALLOWED.