“Tell The World Johnny, Tell Them Johnny Depp, I Johnny Depp, A Man, I'm A Victim Too Of Domestic Violence,

Just a reminder that that Warner Bros. Pictures fired Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) while Amber Heard was allowed to kepp working in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023).

#JusticeForJohnnyDepp

Hmmmmm.

Feminism vs Female Empowerment vs Feminist Exemplification

In the past years this thread of labeling anything that’s female positive as feminist has really skyrocketed and it bothers me greatly. Great female representation and female empowerment does not make a thing feminist. Something that illustrates, explains or describes a feminist value or point of view does not make that thing feminist.

What defines something as sexist or empowering or feminist is the context and the message or objective that it wants to convey.

There are men in the industry who are progressive and works towards equality by hiring more women, and actively trying to give us better female representation. There are women who direct women in films about women and who try to maintain a crew or team of mostly women. In both cases, none of this makes their project or them feminists.

The majority of the entertainment industry responds and caters to The Male Gaze – it does so even if there are no men operatively involved in the project, because 99.9% of people in the industry do not make art, they are here to make money.

And although it is based on what we commonly call artistic careers, that does not mean that there is a really artistic background or objective in the things being made – it’s purely commercial in a vast majority.  The ultimate goal of the entertainment industry is to sell. Therefore, much of this "art" is not progressive, thought-provoking or subversive in any way, specially if the person in charge believes that this could cost them money. The main objective is to market to the consumers and they do so at the expense of everything - this includes quality, values, points of view, consciousness and self-awareness. And this is when two very interesting things happen: Faux Feminism & Female Exploitation.

Female Exploitation is when the person in charge believes that what sells is quiet, beautiful and sensual women – this is the main thing, and the character's story is secondary (so much that most end up being just eye candy or as a manic pixie dream girl). In this case they think of subversive and thought-provoking as something that can harm their income. So the actresses talent and creativity doesn’t really matter, as long as they’re pretty and sell.

Faux Feminism is when the person in charge believes that the money is in the feminist pov and they make films that could pass as feminist and with strong female characters that follow closely and/or represent the political climate and feminist discourse of today – but that does not make the product feminist, mainly because in most cases they do this in the most superficial way for a monetary gain. Keep in mind, in this cases they don’t explicitally use the word feminism in attachment to whatever their selling, but it’s very obvious.

And sometimes is neither of these, but instead Casual Feminism - when something could represent, stand for feminism but that wasn’t the intention at all. Feminists saw it and were like HECK YEAH.

Is feminist a project in which mostly or only women participate? Is feminist a project where the main roles are 99% female? Is feminist a project that addresses sexism? Is feminist a project that’s inclusive? Is feminist a project with independent and empowered women? Is feminist a project that criticizes the way in which society treats women? The answer to all this is NO.

What defines whether something is feminist or not, is first and foremost if whether its exhibitors/creators are feminists or if it was written to represent/stand for feminism explicitly and consciously. If I wear a shirt that says I am feminist, that does not make me feminist. Being a fan of Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Emma Watson or any other feminist does not make me a feminist. Reading one feminist book does not make me feminist (it’s the start, if so I decide). I'm just wearing something, following a person, consuming a product. And many artistic products are attributed the term feminist when they are not in the slightest. If you assume that it is feminist because it exemplifies feminism or is potentially empowering for women, that does not make it feminist. Talking about self-love, girl power, sorority and sexism does not make you a feminist - it makes you self-aware of your rights, strengths and weaknesses and that is excellent and encouraged, but it does not make you feminist.

Why? Because Feminism is a philosophical, social, political, economic and artistic current. What makes a feminist person a feminist, above all, is that they identify themselves as such, with all the awareness of what feminism is because they have studied it or are constantly studying it or have the intention of studying it.

We can long and dream for a feminist awakening in the entertainment industry, but precisely because of that we should not label just anything as sfeminist, because labeling something or someone as feminist when it is not is a disrespect to the person or product and misleading; and it is harmful to the people and products that are feminist and that are mostly ignored, criticized, received in a negative way and usually overshadowed by pseudo-feminist products with better marketing, plus it only helps to preserve the misinformation and misunderstanding of what feminism is and superficializes it. Not to mention it can perpetuate some misconceptions.

Something or someone not being feminist does not mean it is sexist and there IS feminism in the entertainment industry, but very little and it usually suffers from detractors from the industry itself; so what we find mostly is female empowerment, in an initial and often diluted facet.

So no, we can't call it feminist but we can call it empowering since many women feel that spark of strength, they feel identified and reflected accurately, maybe they even feel understood - and that is something very valuable. We can also use them as an exemplification of feminism, there are many artistic projects that are not feminist but serve to explain, illustrate or describe a feminist point of view because they showed it excellently.

Let’s see some examples of what I’m talking about:

Mean Girls is a great example of a feminist movie. It represents and portrays feminist points of view and feminist values consciously and with the intention and awareness of doing it directly from a feminist stand. It has the feminist label very big and very visibly. It was written by a feminist (Tina Fey), inspired on the novel of another feminist (Rosalind Wiseman). The director is not a feminist, as far as we know, but that doesn’t take away from its value as a feminist piece of work in any manner.

Legally Blonde is another great example of a feminist film. The writers, Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith are both feminists, Kirsten notably being a Riot Grrrl. It is based on a novel written by a feminist (Amanda Brown). And just as Mean Girls, it represents and portrays feminist points of view and feminist values consciously and with the intention and awareness of doing it directly from a feminist stand. It has the feminist label very big and very visibly. Also, it is very female empowering.

Now let’s talk Harley Quinn, because is a very interesting one.

First, let’s talk about her in the comics. She wasn’t created by feminists. She isn’t coded as feminist. She is not written as a feminist character. She is not female empowering for most of her story. Nor she or her story are an exemplification of feminism. The character is not meant to represent or embody feminism in any way. So is she a feminist character? No.

Now, in the movie Birds of Prey. Again, she wasn’t created by feminists. Was the script written by a woman? Yes, but not a feminist woman. Is the movie directed by a woman? Yes, but again, not a feminist woman – the director even said in an interview that she didn’t want to “sound too much like a diehard bra-burning feminist”. The film had an all women crew. Again, Harley isn’t coded as feminist - she is not written as a feminist. The character is not meant to represent or embody feminism in any way. BUT is it female empowering? HELL YES. And the movie as a whole is a great exemplification of feminism, this is another quote from the director: “a harlequin’s role is to serve, they’re nothing without a master and so the movie is about Harley Quinn becoming her own master. And not just Harley, but the Birds of Prey as well. All these women go through something and they’re all trying to break free from their own chains”. So is the movie feminist? No, and so are not it’s characters. But we can and should embrace and celebrate Harley Quinn from a feminist point of view.

Is Hermione Granger a feminist character? No. But she is female empowering and an exemplification of feminism. The actress who plays her, Emma Watson, is a feminist but that doesn’t magically makes all the characters she portrays feminists or well written female characters.

On the other hand, Lisa Simpson IS a feminist. Is the voice-actress a feminist? I don’t know. Are the creators feminists? I dont know either - but it doesn’t matter because Lisa is a feminist and she is explicitly portrayed and written as such, she voices feminism and is meant to embody and represent a feminist (even if it’s an 8 year old one) – and she does so very well if I might add.

So stop calling everything “feminist” and stop telling people that if they believe in equality they are inherently feminists even if they dont want to use that label themselves, stop this specially towards people (I’ve seen this in comment sectons). In my experience, there are three types of women who refuse the feminist label:

1) The Closeted Feminist: a woman that’s not afraid to speak up about their opinions but doesn’t describe themselves or their povs with the word feminism even though their arguments and discourse has a feminist stand that is based on feminist theory to the point where it’s obvious this person has immersed themselves in feminist books, podcasts, films, documentaries, etc – this could be because labeling oneself as a feminist is dangerous. Either in their house, or in the society they’re a part of – and with this I mean that it could actually lead to abuse or active persecution. Not everyone has the same freedom, background and opportunity you do.

 2) The Double Agent: they say they don’t need feminism and they don’t believe in it but they still stand for equality and justice. Usually this person doesn’t really understand what feminism is because they have never cared to learn about it and yet they go round commenting on feminist blogs about “how feminists are wrong” – this person believes the patriarchy’s version of what feminism is. This person is aware of the injustice and inbalance but thinks feminism is sexism towards men, hatred of men and that is used for women as a women-victimizing campaign to get pity points and advantages. This are the people that said Taylor Swift played the victim for 13 years.

 3) The Free Woman: she doesn’t believe in feminism, she probably voices hate towards feminism and feminists and thinks very low of them because “she doesn’t need feminism” because she loves the men in her life and has “never suffered sexism” first hand so it doesn’t exist. The Free Woman and the Patriarchal Feminist have in common that they feel feminism victimizes women and is sexism towards men. The difference is one thinks inequality is a myth and the other one knows it’s still a thing.

If ya’ll read all of this KUDOS TO YOU and THANK YOU. I’ve been thinking about this for almost a year and it took me a long time and effort to write this and put my thoughts into words cause I’m really bad at expressing myself and lack communication skills. I’d like to write too about the difference between Feminist Icon – Feminist Woman – Iconic Women, just because I’m tired of that mess too.

a good take

The fact that people are boycotting JK Rowling for her blatant transphobia and not mentioning her blatant racism exemplifies why people are white before they are trans or gay.

The Wizarding school North America (Ivermory) is riddled with blatant appropriation of Native American cultures, but no one gave a shit.

Study Breaks

The Blatant Racism of JK Rowling’s Ilvermorny Houses

An in-depth look at cultural appropriation in the American houses from an overly involved Harry Potter fan.

The Geek Anthropologist

Magical Maladies and Injuries: Cultural Appropriation in J. K. Rowling’s Ilvermorny

Although the final book in the Harry Potter saga, The Deathly Hallows, was published almost a decade ago, J. K. Rowling has been quietly bui

But no one gave a shit until she started starting transphobic rhetoric.

She literally takes Native American beliefs and... I don't know what the words are for this bullshit. Misrepresents them to capitalize on them? Appropriates them? Completely ignores the original beliefs in order to make up her own?

the Guardian

JK Rowling under fire for writing about 'Native American wizards'

History of Magic in North America, being serialised on Rowling’s Pottermore website, attacked for using an ancient culture ‘as a convenient

Although the new insights into the universe of Harry Potter were welcomed by many, the author was strongly criticised online by a number of voices from Native American communities, particularly over her writing about skinwalkers, which in Navajo legend are said to be evil witches or wizards who can take on the form of animals.

Rowling writes that the myth “has its basis in fact … A legend grew up around the Native American Animagi, that they had sacrificed close family members to gain their powers of transformation. In fact, the majority of Animagi assumed animal forms to escape persecution or to hunt for the tribe. Such derogatory rumours often originated with No-Maj medicine men, who were sometimes faking magical powers themselves, and fearful of exposure.”

Responding to a question on Twitter, Rowling said that “in my wizarding world, there were no skinwalkers”, with the legend created by those without magic “to demonise wizards”.

But yeah. The transphobia is why we're boycotting her.

(This isn't to say the transphobia is okay or to minimize trans issues. This is to point out that white people only care about issues that effect other white people.)

Look. All I'm saying is if you're going to make a post about why we don't like JK Rowling. Say "we aren't going to support JK Rowling because of her racism and transphobia."

Not to mention. How shitty of a writer must you be if you can't create b your own myths and legends? The fact that she's gotta steal from others completely exemplifies how shitty of an author she is.

-fae

everything that has happened in 2020, in case you forgot

because it’s been a long year. counts up to december 20. i tried to get in as much as i could, but there will still be some things missing, because it’s been a long year.

january (timeframes will be rough)

australian bush fires

persian gulf crisis

taal volcano eruption

impeachment trial of donald trump

covid-19 pandemic what else is there to say?

the united kingdom’s withdrawal from the european union

february

delhi riots

collapse of malaysia’s coalition government

stock market crash

luxembourg made public transport free

conditional peace agreement between the united states and the taliban

march

afghanistan war crimes inquiry authorised to proceed

tokyo summer olympics postponed to 2021

north macedonia joins nato

russia-saudi arabia oil price war

april

united states designates a white supremacist group as a terrorist group for the first time

opec and allies agree to cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels a day

united states suspends funding to the world health organisation

nova scotia attacks

israeli politicians agree to form a unity government

iran deploys first military satellite

king salman declares people will not be executed for crimes committed as minors

the pentagon officially releases three ufo videos

colombia formalises its membership of the oecd

may

venezuelan dissidents and american private military attempt to infiltrate venezuela and remove president maduro from office

scientists discover parasitic microbe blocking mosquitos from carrying malaria

first black hole discovered in a star system visible to the naked eye

styrene gas leak in india

cross-border clash at the nantha lu crossing between chinese and indian soldiers

konarak vessel incident

fossil analysis indicates modern humans may have arrived in europe thousands of years earlier than thought

maternity hospital stormed by gunmen in afghanistan

discovery of millipede fossil as the world’s oldest-known land animal dating c.425 million years

east africa floods

palestine terminates all agreements with israel and the united states after israel plans to annex the jordan valley

cyclone amphan

united states announces withdrawal from open skies treaty

mining company rio tinto destroys sacred aboriginal caves at juukan gorge in australia

george floyd is killed, beginning mass global protests against police racism and brutality

costa rica becomes first central american country to legalise same-sex marriage

chinese government votes for legislation granting powers to suppress democracy movement in hong kong

rwandan court sentences former mayor to life imprisonment for role in rwandan genocide

first crewed spacex flight is launched

june

state of emergency declared by russia after 20 thousand tons of oil leaks into ambarnaya river

libya’s government claims control of tripoli

turkish and iranian forces begin air and artillery strikes against kurdish forces in iraqi kurdistan

north korea demolishes kaesong’s inter-korean liaison office

solar eclipse

7.5 magnitude earthquake in oaxaca, mexico

historic three-party coalition government formed in ireland

china passes hong kong national security law

july

russian voters support constitutional amendment allowing vladimir putin to seek two further six-year terms

landslide at jade mine in myanmar

bulgarian protests against boyko borisov’s government

mass graves uncovered in burkina faso believed to be the result of extrajudicial executions by government forces

turkish president orders the hagia sophia in istanbul to be reverted from a museum to a mosque

china floods

twitter accounts of prominent politicians, ceos and celebrities hacked in bitcoin scam

flooding of the brahmaputra river

nasa launches mars 2020 rover mission

august

barakah nuclear power plant in the uae becomes first commercial nuclear power station in the arab states

beirut explosions

belarusian protests sparked by controversial presidential election

vladimir putin announces russia’s approval of world’s first covid-19 vaccine

israel and uae agree to normalise relations

stranded japanese ship breaks in mauritius and spills one thousand tonnes of oil into the ocean

coup d'état takes place in mali

africa is declared free of wild polio

amazon ceo jeff bezos becomes first person ever with a net worth exceeding us$200 billion

hurricane laura

japanese prime minister shinzo abe resigns after seven years

september

an agreement is signed to transition sudan into a secular state

largest find of mammoth skeletons at construction site for airport in mexico city

pope benedict xvi becomes longest-living pope

kosovo and serbia announce normalisation of economic relations

bahrain and israel agree to normalise relations

typhoon haishen

announcement of detection of phosphine in venus’ atmosphere

first discovery of perfectly preserved cave bear remains in siberia, believed to be 22 thousand - 39 thousand years old

venezuelan government is accused of crimes against humanity by human rights council

france, germany, and the united kingdom reject china’s claims to the south china sea

oldest known copy of any work by william shakespeare, a 1634 edition of the two noble kinsman, is found in spain

documents of the financial crimes enforcement network are released, detailing suspicious transations valued at over us$2 trillion

microsoft buys zenimax media in the biggest and most expensive takover in the video game industry

deadly clashes erupt between armenian and azerbaijani forces in nagorno-karabakh

october

the european union launches legal action against the united kingdom for overriding sections of the brexit withdrawal agreement

new caledonia votes against independence from france

mass protests break out in kyrgyzstan against controversial parliamentary election

thai protests

new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern’s labour party wins second term in office by a landslide, gaining the first parliamentary majority since introduction of new voting system in the early 90s

nasa’s osiris-rex spacecraft becomes their first probe to retrieve samples from an asteroid

geneva consensus declaration on women’s health and strengthening families is signed by 34 countries

falkland islands declared free of land mines

israel and sudan agree to normalise relations

nasa confirms existence of molecular water on the moon

7.0 aegean sea earthquake

typhoon goni

november

amhara women, children and elderly killed in ethiopia

tumblr melts down over supernatural ship “destiel” (dean winchester and castiel), causing this site to crash several times

united states election concludes joe biden as president of the united states, STATES FLIP DATA

hurricane eta

united states exits the paris climate change accord

armenia and azerbaijan sign ceasefire agreement

hong kong pro-democracy lawmakers resign en masse

nasa and spacex launch to the international space station

hurricane iota

brereton report into australian war crimes during the war in afghanistan released

indian farmers’ protest

iranian nuclear scientist mohsen fakhrizadeh is assassinated

koshobe massacre

lunar eclipse

protein folding is solved

december

arecibo telescope collapses

the united kingdom approves covid-19 vaccine

three activists jailed in hong kong for part in democracy protests

united nations commission on narcotic drugs votes to remove cannabis from dangerous drugs list

united states announces withdrawal from somali civil war

russia begins mass vaccination against covid-19

venezuelan parliamentary election

the united kingdom begins mass vaccination against covid-19

report into the christchurch mosque shootings released

nepal and china officially agree on height of mount everest

israel and morocco normalise relations

end of nicolas sarkozy corruption trial in france

the european union agrees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% over the next decade

bhutan and israel normalise relations

the international criminal court accuses the philippines of crimes against humanity in its war on drugs

the united states accuses switzerland and vietnam of currency manipulation

a new, highly-infectious strain of covid-19 begins to spread through the united kingdom and europe

No Context Needed

vs

Get it yet?

Y'all wanna preach about the importance of bi/pan visibility but none of you mean it.

In 2018 two girls on a bachelor show fell in love with each other and quit the show. They were later seen at a Pride event and one of the girls was holding a bi pride flag but everybody still calls her a lesbian

Janelle Monáe came out as bi and everybody celebrated. Cool. She later specified as Pansexual and nobody listened. People still refer to her a bi and ignore fans who say that pansexual is more accurate for her. People even "jokingly" call her song "PYNK" a lesbian anthem.

Recently a "lesbian" wedding photoshoot went viral on Twitter and Tumblr. Both brides were bisexual.

Nobody cares about what bi men have to say unless it's to shit on pansexuals. Nobody even notices nonbinary bi/pansexuals unless it's to validate them as wlw/mlm.

The community revived terms like mlm, wlw and sapphic to be inclusive but it's obvious that nobody actually uses them in practice. It's absolutely exhausting to say this constantly and nobody wants to admit they're guilty of doing this shit.

Do better

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