Tumblr is having an absolute shit fit over this movie. Why? Because the actor portraying the trans male lead is a cis woman.
You know what? I don’t give a shit. It isn’t perfect. I’ll fucking taking it though. It doesn’t end with his death, he isn’t cornered into submission about his identity at all what so ever (he’s a strong character), and most of all: he’s a fucking trans guy.
I have only known one trans male character. Adam Torres.
You know what happened to him? Well, he’s fucking dead. I suppose it isn’t a coincidence that he was also played by a cis woman, Jordan Todosey. Despite this discrepancy, he was my favorite character. This character introduced me to the possibility of, you know, being trans. Even though the actor was a cis woman, I still related tremendously. It was almost like the actor’s actual gender did not effect her ability to act and do the role some justice.
I can almost appreciate the fact that Adam died only because it was meant to send a message: this kind of fatality (texting & driving) can happen to anyone. No one is immune. But as far as I know, this was their first and only trans character… so it was kind of a cheap shot. Maybe they were just too tired of Adam being happy.
I have never, ever seen a movie or show with a trans male character that was important or visible. I would love it if trans actors got to play trans characters in the future. I have no problem with that, I hope that this is the stepping stone to make that a reality.
Boycotting the movie sends the entirely wrong message. It doesn’t say “I have serious criticisms of this film; these problems must be worked on for future productions.” it says, “Don’t ever make a movie about a trans male character or your ship will sink at box office.”
It says, “Your movie failed because it had a trans character.”
Boycotting the movie doesn’t tell anyone in Hollywood anything about the movie, or what could have been done to make it better. It’s just, “People are not willing to invest money to see trans male characters, let’s not do this again.”
And about the whole “[x] is a [x] born in [x] body”/’[x] trapped in [x] body” being transphobic: most trans people relate to that narrative. Those phrases have nuances for each trans person that finds themselves fitting into that narrative. It is obviously transphobic for cis people to describe us this way because it shows a disregard for our safety (since it will undoubtedly trigger dysphoria), but if the main character who’s a fucking trans person is written so they relate to that there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not necessarily inaccurate.
If you boycott this movie, this is where it ends. We will be stuck with “Boys Don’t Cry” and “About Ray” for the rest of our lives. I don’t know about you, but I will see this movie no matter what any asshole on tumblr says because I can see myself on the big screen for the very first time in my life. I will drag my family to see it, I will take my friends for a second screening, I will buy a copy for myself to watch whenever I feel like I’d be better off dead instead of being trans. This is a fucking nitpick, that is something we haven’t earned the right to do yet.
To all my freshman babies who are panicking right now about how much your college textbooks cost: Yeah, you’re right, that’s some highway robbery. No, you don’t have to lie down and take it. You have options. Follow my advice and fly on your own debt free wings.
1. Forgoe the bookstore entirely. Sometimes you can get a good deal on something, usually a rental, but it’s usually going to be considerably more expensive to go through official channels. Outsmart them, babies.
2. Does your syllabus call for edition eight? Get edition seven. Old editions are considered worthless in the buyback trades, so they sell for dirt cheap, no matter how new they are. It’s a gamble, sure; there might be something in edition eight you desperately need, but that never happened to me. However, I’ve only ever pulled this stunt for literature/mass comm/religious studies books, so I don’t know it would work in the sciences.
3. Thriftbooks.com, especially for nonfiction and fiction. Books are usually four or five dollars unless they’re really new, and shipping is 99 cents unless you buy over 10$ in books, in which case shipping is free.
4. Bigwords.com. It will scan every textbook seller on the internet for the lowest price available, and will do the same to find the highest price when you try to sell your books back at the end of term. Timesaver, lifesaver.
5. In all probability, your library offers a service called interlibrary loan which is included in your tuition. This means if your library doesn’t carry a book you can order it for free from any library nationwide in your library’s network and it will be shipped to you in a number of days. Ask a librarian to show you how to search for materials at your library as well as though interlibrary loan; you’ll need to master this skill soon anyway. If you get lucky you can just have your required reading shipped to you a week before you need to start reading, then renew vigorously until you no longer need to item. I’m saving over 100$ on a History of Islam class this way.
You professors might side-eye you for bringing an old edition or a library copy, but you just smile right back honey, because you can pay your rent and go clubbing this month. You came here to win. So go forth and slay.
Can I add to this? 6. Find PDFs of your book to store on your computer. I managed to find an up-to-date edition of my textbook for sociology by doing this, and other books for other classes. It may be risky to have to look high and low for them, but it’s a godsend trust me
1. When we see you after a long day, we might be all irritable and not want to talk
It has nothing to do with you. Outgoing introverts, though still introverts at their core, often need to recharge after a large use of social energy. After a long day of dealing with people, our social batteries are drained and we need to unwind and recover, usually alone.
2. We’re charming creatures and can be the life of the party, but…
You’ll be surprised how much we actually live in our heads. People often confuse us for extroverts, but we’re too introspective and over-think too much to be one.
3. If we like you, we really like you.
We don’t waste our time with people we’re not completely crazy about. If we agreed to go on a date with you, we like you. Take it as a huge compliment.
4. We have times when we’re weird with our phones.
Some days we can talk for hours, but sometimes we’re not so good at replying and talking on the phone. Don’t take it personally - we screen our phone calls, even from our closest friends. Outgoing introverts sometimes hate the phone because it’s all, like, intrusive and tears our minds away from whatever we’re deeply focusing on (and we are always deeply focusing on something). Our mind doesn’t change direction easily. Listening to one thing and seeing something else is a lot of sensory input piled on top of everything that’s already going on in our heads.
5. But don’t worry, in person we’ll listen to you for hours.
We have spectrums of introversion, so we’re good listeners. We’ll always be naturally in tune with how you’re feeling, so we’ll be able to see through any front you put up and make you jump into the deep end.
6. We need to dip our foot in the pool first.
We need time to warm up, so, like, chill. We tend not to outwardly express our feelings and spill our whole life story in the first hour of meeting you. Or the first year.
7. Our energy level depends on our environment.
Yes, we can get annoyed easily. If we vibe with the crowd, we can get our energy from human interactions. But if we don’t, we’ll start to get really introspective and reflective, and tend to withdraw into ourselves. It’s kinda like a hit or miss. We’re very selectively social. But it’s not because we dislike people - it’s actually the opposite. We dislike the barriers like small talk (which often comes with going out) creates between people, and try to avoid it at all costs.
8. You’ll think we are flirty with everyone.
Okay here’s the thing, when we inevitably have to interact with people, we make it seem like there’s nothing in the world we’d rather be doing. It’s ‘cause we’re, like, overly sensitive and so we go out of our way to make other people feel comfortable and happy. We’re intuitive and outgoing at the same time.
Research has found that introverts pay more attention to detail and exhibit increased brain activity when processing visual information. A study shows that the brain of an introvert weighs internal cues more strongly than external motivational and reward cues.
Heyo, so school is fast approaching, and seeing as Tumblr is made up of a lot of younger users who will soon be shipping off to college or university soon, I thought I would take it upon myself to help spread my knowledge of essay-writing. Essay-writing is my thing. I love it. I live for it. It’s how I make up for my shitty test marks, and still get by with an 85 average+ in University classes. I’m a historian by trade, so perhaps this information will seem a bit off from what you’re used to, but hopefully, It’ll help you out. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an ask.
1. Consider your question and find your thesis.
I know, I know. People always say, no! Never start with your thesis/intro paragraph! Go to the body!! Well i’m here to say forget everything you’ve been told. Forget that, forget the stupid hamburger shit they teach you, forget it all and start reading.
I ALWAYS start with my thesis. Why? Because you cannot make good paragraphs without knowing what you’re researching. You need direction, and a thesis is your map.
So, the question we’ll use shall be: What is one way in which the Union won the American Civil War?
Now remember, your thesis is your map. It shows you where to go, what to look for. The thesis is the heart and soul of all your work. You want a good, solid thesis. What does that include, you ask?
An idea
A reason for said idea
Evidence to support said reason, and thus validate the idea.
So, lets do an example. Let’s say I’m writing on the use of media during the American Civil War. I like photography, and wrote a paper on this in my second year, but im gonna be doing this example freehand(idk where I put that essay lol) so lets work with how I got an A+ on that paper. This will be my idea:
“Photography during the American Civil War influenced the war’s outcome in the Norths favour.”
This is VERY vague. This is an example of a thesis in bloom! Let’s take it further. Look at the above. What questions would you have from this thesis?
-Who was taking photos at that time?
-Why did it influence the outcome?
-How did it influence the outcome?
-Who consumed photography as a media at that time?
This is where you STOP, and start the next step.
2. Research
Start your basic research with your idea, and the above questions in mind. Look at libraries, ask your professor or TA or librarian, or just do some basic google searches to get to know the subject(but for the love of god if you include a google link in your citation I will personally hunt you down and castrate you.)
I like to start with the basics of any inquiry: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, HOW. Who was taking photos? Where were they displayed that caused influence? ect…These, in relation to your beginner thesis, will help guide you in what form your thesis will take.
Once you’ve finished that, and have a general feel for the time period, go back to your thesis.
3. THESIS 2.0
Go back to your original question: What is one way in which the Union won the American Civil War? Now look at your thesis again. It’s too vague, isn’t it?
As you can see, our original thesis was too vague to be a real thesis. So, we NARROW IT DOWN using our WWWWWH progress we focused on during early research!
“Photography during the American Civil war influenced the war’s outcome by providing a visual for ordinary citizens about the horrors of war, and thus helping to increase donations and awareness to the cause.”
Great! But once again, too vague! Questions that may arise include:
Who was taking the photos
Evidence for donations?
Evidence for social awareness?
So, we NARROW IT DOWN again. I’m going to use Andrew Gardner’s photography during the Civil war, as he was one of the most famous and influential at the time.
“Andrew Gardner’s photography during the American Civil war influenced the war’s outcome by providing a visual for ordinary citizens about the horrors of war, and thus helping to increase donations and enlistment in the Union through awareness to the cause…”
The above then gives us the following(why and how are sometimes grouped together):
Who: Andrew Gardner
What: Photography helped the north win the war.
Where: Union-aka northern states
When: American Civil War
Why/How: Because Andrew Gardner’s photography raised social awareness through this new and budding medium
Use this sort of outline to guide you in the next step!
4. Now that we have a thesis, you need to do some more research and evidence gathering.
The way I like to do this is to go check out a few books from the library(look for text books in particular), and leaf through the index for matching terms. Our matching terms would be:
Photography, civil war, Andrew Gardner, media
From there, you read over the pages, and see if any of the info relates to your subjects. Copy down quotes, page numbers, book title, author, publishing date and publisher. You need these for your bibliography. Pick and choose relevant information. The filter for relevant information relies entirely on your thesis, because it decides what you need to be looking for—this is why I hate when people tell me to start writing paragraphs before I write a thesis! It’s simply impossible and counter productive, and will cost you hours in revision.
So, gather your information from the library, and cross-reference with peer-reviewed articles and data. For our thesis, we would need data on enlistment numbers in an area after a date of Andrew Gardner’s photography exhibit showcases. No matter what type of essay you’re writing, you can always back up your evidence with data, and it won’t hurt one bit. Don’t be afraid of the numbers, kids!
So, if we were to go back to our thesis, we could now expand on it like this:
“Andrew Gardner’s photography during the American Civil war influenced the war’s outcome by providing a visual for ordinary citizens about the horrors of war, and thus helping to increase donations and enlistment in the Union through awareness to the cause. An increase in donations and enlistment in relation to exposure to Gardners work is seen in data/evidence point A, as well as in data/evidence point B, which will be fully outlined in the points below.”
This gives you an example of how to lead from a thesis, to your opening paragraph.
5. Data and Evidence Justifications—Paragraph making
This is the section where you can branch your essay into your data and evidence points you gathered in steps 2 and 4. You can have as many paragraphs as you like, just make sure your evidence and data is strong and supported. I personally like to work with my thesis copied and pasted onto the top of every page I write on. This keeps you on track, with your clear goal in mind, and will help you from straying. I will give you an example of how a paragraph might sound.
Andrew Gardner’s photography during the American Civil War became heavily influential upon the American population at the time, particularly the north, wherein which his work was showcased. The influence of Gardner’s photographic works is seen in the _____, which shows us that without the influence of Gardner’s media influence, war efforts and awareness may not have been as successful as they had been.
This is an alright opener for you to work with. The ___ is where you could put in your data point or evidence piece. The point of the paragraph is to show your support for your thesis by confirming it with evidence.
Your paragraphs should take this form:
Present, Confirm, Conclude, Lead.
You present your evidence, confirm its relation to the thesis and confirm the validity of the thesis, conclude by brief revision of evidence, and then lead into your next paragraph.
6. Conclusion
Your conclusionary paragraph should be a look-over of the above paragraphs. Restate your thesis, present a summarized version of your paragraphs(one or two sentences only), and perhaps take the time to look at your own views on the subject. An example might look like this:
“Taking a moment to step away from the above mentioned evidence, I believe it to be scholarly acceptable and even necessary to state my own views on the subject presented. In drawing conclusions, I felt that the above information was correct in that it presented a reality of the time period, in which photography was becoming a medium to be embraced by popular society. People were not only astounded by Gardner’s photographs on a social level, but also a technical level. The astonishment people held at seeing the war-torn battle fields spurred them into action, and even today can still present feelings of dread, fear and loss when looking at his photos…blah blah blah”
Why is it scholarly acceptable and perhaps necessary to state your views? Oftentimes, it is to reassure the reader of your own personal bias’, which exist whether you like them or not, to the subject at hand. Having a small tidbit on your own thoughts about your research ect, breaking away from the third-person droning of an essay can be refreshing and welcoming for a prof at the end of his stack of essay reading.
7. In summary
Thesis
WWWWWH
NARROW IT DOWN
Data and Evidence
Present, Confirm, Conclude, Lead
Self opinions/Conclude
All in all, do unique things. Professors love it when they come across something that’s not cookie cutter! Even if they present you with a list of essay topics, take the leap and ask them if you can do your own research topic!! Take risks with your essay writing, talk to your professors about what you want to do, and try to have fun with your research. I’ve written on everything from civil war photography to Disney princesses in american media, to the religious formation of idea of heaven and earth. Remember, so long as there’s credible, documented evidence, it’s possible to write about it.
Every time men talk to women they should be thinking “am I making her uncomfortable? is she OK with this? What does she think? am i invading on her personal space? Does she want me to leave? Does she want to be bothered? Is she afraid? Am I stopping her from going somewhere or expressing something? Would I want to be bothered at this time?” Based on women’s actual responses to these things. Not just “is she into me? wait I don’t actually care I’m gonna stand this close, ignore what she says and her body language, and keep talking and walking with her anyway”.
I have an arsenal of “what could this man do to me? how could he overpower me? how could he continue to make me uncomfortable? Why is he ignoring my body language and discomfort? what is the worst thing he could say” questions whenever men come up to me, and men are literally just thinking about what they want from me..
It’s my business when men are forcing their girlfriends into anal sex. It’s my business when women are getting surgeries on their labia and breasts so they can look like model’s in playboy, its my business because young girls are being forced to act out porn scenes with their first boyfriends in case their boyfriends leave them or stop thinking that they’re hot, it’s my business when men are so gorged on porn they think a woman who doesn’t send nude pictures is weird, its my business when men are taking up-skirt photos and groping women, it’s my business when women are being forced to have sex without condoms so that it will feel better ‘for men’, because there are no condoms in porn scenes, its my business when women are lying and faking their orgasms because porn has taught men that sex is about THEIR pleasure, and that sex is just endlessly pumping their dick into a woman over and over again, it’s my business when I can’t look up anything on the internet without coming across advertisements for porn, its my business when I can’t look up any information on my sexual orientation without being overrun by porn even with the safe search on. Its my business, its my business,its my fucking business.
You wont believe how many messages I’ve recieved from young girls and women saying that they’ve experienced a lot of the things I mentioned above. If I could I’d fight all of your nasty boyfriends and husbands and ex-boyfriends and throw their unconscious bodies in a fucking ditch.
And to you slimy pieces of shit doing this (dont try to do a quick scroll pass) to your girlfriends or have done it to your girlfriends, I hope you choke and die.
