gizgal Posts

Since when are the two mutually exclusive, nay opposites?

o_o
Wow, that's kinda crazy. That sounds like a poor rule... but I'm just not seeing how it belongs in this thread.

We're talking about women "wanting to kill" men, mostly.

Fixed what I crossed out, added comments to ones I left alone.

Not that I can think of, not intentionally at least.

I have BITTEN someone once... yeah, was a weird kid.

I try to avoid cultural insensitivity whenever I can (I live in the US, and am a plain ol' privileged middle class white female).
However, thanks to an excellent (and privilaged, which I am grateful for) education, I have come into an understanding of what is and is not appropriate to borrow from cultures I am not part of.
What makes me sad is that I am now aware of the many people who do NOT consider their actions in such ventures (fashion trends, decor, language, etc).

Just bumping to keep this in people's minds, if they see anything interesting.

I don't think metalheads are really part of this discussion: they're not taking elements for any existing cultural group, they merely created their own subculture/fashion/music.

But Latin American pride makes sense, if a person is indeed of that decent.
As to "why don't they go back?", they don't have to! One can celebrate heritage without returning to one's place of origin. It just unites a group to have common ground and locale. They're fully within their right to celebrate and keep alive the culture they brought with them to their current home.

Basically, it's when you pick out the parts you like of a culture and just use them as a lifestyle, with no real impact/stigma/social history of injustice towards a minority group attached to your endorsement.
Recent examples have been foreign "inspired" fashion trends, non-English word tattoos, non-"western" religious practices and art, and festivities. A lot of people were calling out a group of predominantly white teens for improperly celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi (without religious basis... http://isumatv.tumblr.com/post/28997624796/so-lets-talk-about-holi-for-one-thing-i-didnt ).

More basic definitions:


TL;DR, a lot of times it comes down to selling a culture as a hobby, fashion, or commodity to be interesting to well, white people (I know I'm not all innocent here either).

Examples from trends in the recent past:
Buddhism (early 2000s Buddha beads trend, Buddha statues, Tibetan items)
Zen (ying yang used improperly, "feng shui" term thrown around improperly, meditation gardens)
Multiple Asian traditions (whitewashed Asian fashion shoots, items, images of geisha/samurai/etc as pop-culture stereotype/icon)
Indian traditions and religions (trend of henna tattoos for fun, bindi spots, belly dancing with no connection to actual practices)
"Black" culture (the fact that hip hop's buying audience is almost 90% suburban white kids and white execs, white rappers, slang and gang signs used by teens)
Arab and Islamic culture (wearing the hijab/chador/burka without understanding its meanings and useage)
Native North/South American traditions (hipsters wearing highly-treasured and important native headdresses, dream catchers as for sale, Aztec/other "style" patterns, "spirit animals" as trendy)
Africa's varied cultures (in trendy clothing prints, art removed from context)
This is not to say that traditionally-white cultures are not appropriated. They are, but there are fewer instances of them being so exotified, more merely admired.

And that's just to name a few. This 30 min. documentary from 2000 also explains a lot, though sadly it seems it's still just as bad today.
http://vimeo.com/3846269

What are your views on cultural appropriation? Have you ever practiced it in any form, wittingly or unwittingly?
If you have, what is your take on it?

I know in the past I have followed some culture-derivative trends (take those damn Buddha beads in the early 2000s) but now I am far more conscious and upset by it when I encounter it.

If someone has commodifed/borrowed/appropriated your own culture/traditions, how has it made you feel as an actual member of the group?

OH! Damn, like THAT! Woah.

...Active means you're currently logged in, pretty damn sure.

Derp, seems to be issues with the way the url is handling usernames with spaces in them.

;-;

There are PLENTY of off-site hentai torrent aggregators.

Fakku wisely took their torrent section out to avoid legal trouble, so it will probably remain that way. The less illegal content linked to the site itself, the fewer problems.
That's not to say you can't request help in finding a torrent in the Requests section, but that sort of action isn't "officially" sanctioned, so it is okay.

I don't think there is a physical soul, nor a real part of a one's mind that constitutes it, but it's a nice way to think about things.

I guess it's just a truly comforting construct. I mean, there's a reason people have held onto the belief in it for so long, no? It's the idea that there's a unique portion of oneself that extends beyond the known.

I love how popular this 2d fujoshi is, but then I remember no love for us 3dpd fujoshi. ;-;

You look SO much better shaven!

Though, I think you could rock a different facial hair style: that first one is a bit 70s porn-stache-y, imo.

But looking good and polished!

Fixed, thank you!

"It's my duty"? Wow, that's sick: the lives of women are not for men to control or dictate, just as the lives of men are not for women to control/dictate.
To say that it's your "duty" to protect female-kind is a backwards, chivalry-based notion. And surely you realize that chivalry, by definition, stems from wanting to care for those "too weak to fend for themselves". Really?

It's not discrimination against the female for a FEMALE to chose her own way to BE FEMALE.

Female is a sex. Nothing more. It does not require femininity, feminine social norms, or feminine stereotypes of behavior.

Feminine =/= exclusive to the female sex, nor should it be forced upon it.

They are all arguments used by people to say that feminism isn't needed/women have no issues that need attention.

I am having to pull this card out more and more these days.



This is not a bingo game anyone should be winning.

Cuteness to end on a happier note.