LGBTAitP #28: Come Taste the Rainbow!

[Mina Kobold]

Ah, necromorphs. Few things funnier than watching your friend freak out ecause he's registering the leg shots not working but isn't paying enough attention to notice the leg armor.

I actually never thought of that. The Let's Player I am watching pretty much just keeps shooting until the neccies lose their legs, regardless of how many shots it takes. I myself would probably be too busy apologising for shooting at it, though. ^_^'

It's a kick starter for a company to develop suits for people with particular body troubles, uh, like say a transman who needs a different cut to present the same image but fit the body. Or that was my understanding of it, it's actually kind of difficult to follow from a phone. I remember the idea sounded good but the listed, offered products didn't seem like they would have that much of a niche – admittedly because of how sparse the actual product descriptions were at the time.

Oh, those! I liked that idea, definitively will try to see if I can donate.

Um, a sexual fetish and a fetish object as it relates to spirituality happen to use the same word but aren't connected at all. Was that a topic change? I'm still boggled for why an a— oh. I read atheist as asexual somehow. I was tryin to figure out how you knew both definitions but were crossing them >_<

As far as I can tell (Wikipedia again, sorries!) the word pretty much refers to something given a particular significance beyond its physical attributes. It originally only referred to religious objects, but was used in secular contexts in the 19th century by Karl Marx (commodity fetish) and Alfred Binet (sexual fetish), so they are actually connected to a degree. ^_^

Sorry for confusing you, it was not intentional. m(_ _)m

It would not work for me as a scary movie as Hannibal Lecter is the character I can most relate to & generally root for. I also don't see cannibalism as evil. We bury & burn tons of perfectly usable meat regularly, then complain there's a shortage. I'd most certainly try it if available. Most of his victims are chosen for their transgressions, making him often a hero. Unfortunately some die to prevent his capture and killing a guy so a musical group would sound better is something I disagree with, but on average he's a good guy.

I enjoyed the movies as works of fiction; good stories, not thrillers. It's rare to see an intellectual sadist portrayed so accurately, rather than being a stereotypical obvious villain that monologues instead of killing the obvious hero.

On Hanibal (apologies if I mix up the names. ^_^') as a hero:

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While I have not seen the films or read the books, I personally would classify that as an anti-hero at best. Enforcing your own morality on others (ie. punishing them for acts you consider evil) is questionable and outright murdering them sounds like the Punisher to me. Not the the Punisher is evil, but Frank Castle is the poster-child of grim anti-heroes. X3

I apologise if there is more to it or if the character kills those who escaped punishment*. If that is the case, then I would still call it anti-heroism, but much closer to heroism, and thus merely a small disagreement. ^_^'

*This would be a more gruesome version of the Bat-family vigilantism. Though less justified as the Bat-family tend to leave the criminals to the justice system and merely act as extra law enforcement, but still arguable heroic.

On cannibalism:

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Much agreed there. I believe there are some worrying health risks involved that would make it a bad decision to eat human meat, but I would much agree that it is no more or less moral than eating any other animal's meat, given that one does not cause emotional hurt to the survivors or disrupt science/investigation by doing it. It is so very very very very sad whenever anything autonomous dies and unfathomably so when a human does, but we should not then portray the following acts as evil just because it is against the local tradition. In other places and times, it would be completely opposite, with cannibalism being the only respectful way to let the remains return to the cycle, after all. And I am not just saying that because I am a Kobold, I am borderline vegetarian! Totally!
>_>
<_<

Have to stress that we should respect a dead person's living wishes if we can, we should still care about what they thought and meant in life even after it ends. Everybody deserves that

Sorry if any of that seems creepy, I am trying not to be too analytical about stuff that makes people uneasy. A thousand cookies if I accidentally did that to anyone. ^_^'

I agree with all of this. Also, thank you for the link, I've been looking for some good discussions of portrayals of trans people in the media.

This reminds me, actually, of another internet blow-up, this time comments made a while ago that have surfaced now on the guy who's supposed to direct Guardians of the Galaxy (an upcoming Marvel movie). He ran a poll for the sexiest superhero comic characters, which is fine, and then he put comments on all of them. And the comments were basically "guy women find attractive: this guy must be gay or, worse, a woman himself ew", "woman men find attractive: obviously a slut", "lesbian woman: hope a real man sleeps with her to turn her right", etc. Basically, misogynistic, homophobic and slut-shaming. Here's an article on it. So that was icky and upsetting. There's a theory that it's supposed to be satire, but done really badly.

So then this happened, on my facebook:

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I'm purple, my female feminist nerdy-to-the-highest-degree friend is blue (she messaged saying she wanted to contribute more when they started, but she was intimidated), and these two guys I know through gaming are red and green. They're close friends. With each other, I mean, neither of them is close to me. Bleh.

;_;

I was really looking forward to seeing what Marvel would come up with, but that sounds really scary. Eep. ._.

I find it sad that the idea of a Black Widow film being bad very very confusing, Widow is a very interesting character and I would personally love to know about the backstory and life of someone who does both espionage, secret government work, heroism and may be the only one who could learn what goes on behind SHIELD's closed doors. I am so curious! I know what everybody else on the team does and want to see that too, but Widow was my favourite Avenger! >_<

I really hope it is not because people do not want a female superhero lead, but I am kind of scared that it may be. They still make so few superhero films about people who are not heteronormative light-skinned and cismale. But I really hope Marvel or DC will soon do so and make it greater than everything yet.

And finally: Hugs and/or cookies to both Purple and Blue, stern Kobold stares for Green and Red. Don't be mean because you think a hero is bad, Blue, Purple and all of us probably do not like every hero you follow, but we still want you to get their films! ^_^

[KenderWizard]

*hugs Kender*

Unfortunately I partially agree with Red & Green in that a Black Widow film would be unlikely. People remember the disasters that were Elektra and Catwoman (although from a very personal perspective, I didn't see too much wrong with the idea of Halle Berry in a skin tight suit doing acrobatic stuff...*cough*).

I think if any director were capable of doing a female-lead superhero film, Joss Whedon might make a good job of it. He did fine with Avengers Assemble and he's shown he can write strong female characters such as those in Firefly. He'd probably get a kick out of the challenge I think. Buffy you can either take or leave as you wish.

I don't know why people keep pointing out that it's unlikely! I know it's unlikely! If it were likely, it would have already happened or at least been mooted as a possibility! And I know why too! Probably in a lot more detail than Red and Green do, or any of the other usually-men who are so gracious as to patiently explain why I'm crazy and/or an insufficient nerd for wanting one of my all-time favourite characters to get her own movie the way her male teammates did. (I would also like a Hawkeye movie, but I'm less emotionally invested in that, because I identify with Widow so much more.)

Sorry, Succubus, this isn't really directed at you, I know you don't mean that in a self-satisfied mansplaining way (well, I'm assuming you don't), but I'm a bit frayed by it continually happening.

Also, frayed generally.

Also, Lena, that Natalie post about Ace Ventura was waaaaaay more upsetting than I was expecting! Wow! Again, I cannot imagine how much more upset I would be if I were trans learning about that, or, worse, watching the film.

Edit to add: I love you, Keveak!

[Astrella]

Ugh, that article is awful, Kender. :/
And I really really dislike the whole "it's a joke / it's comedy / it's satire" excuse; that doesn't excuse the harmful effects it has. Especially when the joke is something that actually happens a ton to people. It's not like the whole turning women straight thing hasn't been used as an excuse for (sexual) violence towards queer women. Blandly repeating bigotry is not comedy.

Also that discussion didn't sound very pleasant. :c

Also I'm sorry about the Natalie link! I thought the article itself had a warning at the start but apparently I misremembered. :(

-----

Also intake at my endo and my bloodtests tomorrow! Slightly nervous!

[Absol197]

That whole scene is still really problematic though, with the whole "real transsexual" and "tests" and everything.

But then again, Silence doesn't get even close to how horrible Ace Ventura is. The fact that you can have the humiliation and incredibly violent assault of a trans woman be a joke is just a sign of how incredibly messed up society was and still very much is towards trans* people. Natalie wrote a really interesting article on it by the way.

And you can argue whether or not characters like these are actually trans* but I think what's important is that they are perceived by the audience as being representative of trans* people and the people making this media have in my eyes very much a responsibility with regards to the effects of their work. Trans* people are still pretty invisible even though it's improving and when the most a lot of people know about trans* people is a bunch of negative and harmful stereotypes and memes coming from sensationalist media that does hurt trans* people a lot. Both through negative reactions and how damaging it is to our own identities. I still have to process a lot of self-hatred over being trans because of it being portrayed so often as something incredibly wrong.

Edit: This comment actually sorta repeats my point.

I had completely forgotten about that movie. I now feel dirty that I used to like it when I was a kid (although that was mostly because of the hundreds of animals that he had in his home, and because of how absurd Ace acted; I didn't really get any of the jokes...don't look at me that way! I was just a kid >_< !).

Needless to say, I don't think I would enjoy it any more...

Awesome!

Hannibal, just one quick point:

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We have a fundamental disagreement on what makes someone a hero. Which is interesting, because I also well-written nuanced sadistic characters.

I agree with all of this. Also, thank you for the link, I've been looking for some good discussions of portrayals of trans people in the media.

This reminds me, actually, of another internet blow-up, this time comments made a while ago that have surfaced now on the guy who's supposed to direct Guardians of the Galaxy (an upcoming Marvel movie). He ran a poll for the sexiest superhero comic characters, which is fine, and then he put comments on all of them. And the comments were basically "guy women find attractive: this guy must be gay or, worse, a woman himself ew", "woman men find attractive: obviously a slut", "lesbian woman: hope a real man sleeps with her to turn her right", etc. Basically, misogynistic, homophobic and slut-shaming. Here's an article on it. So that was icky and upsetting. There's a theory that it's supposed to be satire, but done really badly.

That...Is not right either. I agree with the fans in the article that are wanting him to leave the movie. I don't think I'd go see it if someone like that has a major role in its development...


~Phoenix~

EDIT: Also, YAY FOR LENA for endo-progress ! Everything will be great, you'll see! Just ignore the jealousy waves that are emenating in your direction... >_> <_< ...Those aren't mine...

And it looks like we're gonna need a new thread soon. Who wants the honors?

[noparlpf]

I'm half-sleep deprived right now, so my brain is having far too much fun writing spoof Tylenol-like ads for this...

First giggle of the day.

I agree with all of this. Also, thank you for the link, I've been looking for some good discussions of portrayals of trans people in the media.

This reminds me, actually, of another internet blow-up, this time comments made a while ago that have surfaced now on the guy who's supposed to direct Guardians of the Galaxy (an upcoming Marvel movie). He ran a poll for the sexiest superhero comic characters, which is fine, and then he put comments on all of them. And the comments were basically "guy women find attractive: this guy must be gay or, worse, a woman himself ew", "woman men find attractive: obviously a slut", "lesbian woman: hope a real man sleeps with her to turn her right", etc. Basically, misogynistic, homophobic and slut-shaming. Here's an article on it. So that was icky and upsetting. There's a theory that it's supposed to be satire, but done really badly.

So then this happened, on my facebook:

Spoiler

Show

I'm purple, my female feminist nerdy-to-the-highest-degree friend is blue (she messaged saying she wanted to contribute more when they started, but she was intimidated), and these two guys I know through gaming are red and green. They're close friends. With each other, I mean, neither of them is close to me. Bleh.

Lovely. We have either a hugely sexist homophobe or a guy with an awful sense of humor directing a Marvel movie. I can see this working out wonderfully.

Ugh, that article is awful, Kender. :/
And I really really dislike the whole "it's a joke / it's comedy / it's satire" excuse; that doesn't excuse the harmful effects it has. Especially when the joke is something that actually happens a ton to people. It's not like the whole turning women straight thing hasn't been used as an excuse for (sexual) violence towards queer women. Blandly repeating bigotry is not comedy.

Also that discussion didn't sound very pleasant. :c

What I don't get is how people don't seem realise that most satire doesn't work because most satire is indistinguishable from the ridiculous opinions it's satirizing.
That and how people seem to think a cheap explanation makes anything okay. Let's give a simpler analogy for those people who apparently have no concept of empathy. Say I punch you. You say, ow, that hurt, what the hell man. I say, oops, that was only a satire of physical assault. Everything's okay now, right? Except not because somebody was still hurt, regardless of the intent.
Actually that seems like it might be an excellent lesson. I should become a masked vigilante, tracking down internet jerks and explaining that to them like that.

Also intake at my endo and my bloodtests tomorrow! Slightly nervous!

Good luck and congrats.

[Tychris1]

Wait, there was more then one Ace Ventura movie (I only remember the one where he's in Africa and crawls out of a rhino. From what I remember I rather liked it)?

@Black Widow I personally wouldn't watch the movie (Atleast not at first, if people promoted it enough I would. Mainly because I saw Catwomen and Elektra and my expectations for how Hollywood/Marvel could represent her is pitifully low. Not dissing Black Widow of course, she's not my favorite but I definetely enjoyed all her scenes in Avengers (Definetely more then Hawkeye, but not as much as the Captain America Fanboy Agent. Name keeps eluding me, I think it's Coleson).

Oh yeah, "Mansplaining"?

[pffh]

The problem with a Black Widow movie (Note I only know her from the Avengers movie) is that she is not really a very interesting character as she is just a russian femme fatale *Yawn*. I'd much rather see them make a good superhero movie with one of the more interesting and actually super female superheros.

But I also think that the avengers would have been better if it hadn't included her and Hawkeye and instead would have given the rest of the cast more screentime instead. I would have loved to see more of the Hulk/Iron Man Bromance and to see some bits of Captain America adjusting to modern life.

[Irish Musician]

Also, YAY FOR LENA for endo-progress ! Everything will be great, you'll see! Just ignore the jealousy waves that are emenating in your direction... >_> <_< ...Those aren't mine...

Once again, I am going to show my horrible ignorance to you lovely people, but endo?

And it looks like we're gonna need a new thread soon. Who wants the honors?

Oh wow....Didn't even notice the end of it until I saw this. 50 already!

~Matthew~

[Heliomance]

[Fragenstein]

Once again, I am going to show my horrible ignorance to you lovely people, but endo?~Matthew~

I'm putting my money on 'endocrinologist'.

[KenderWizard]

I'm gonna go make a new thread! Cause I want more talking! One sec!

OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!

Everyone grab everything and move on over, last one out turn out the light!