Something Else

Yo, Social Justice tumblr people? Can we all just get along and disagree with each other civilly?

I’m no stranger to the fact that in the Social Justice corner of tumblr, there are people who are angry and who just fucking love being angry and will take every tiny opportunity to tell you that they are angry and why you are a horribly horrible piece of scum for not being them.  Consider this for a moment:  OMG that Dress! has haters.  No, seriously, a number of haters.  A while ago, I’m sure many of you will remember, I got a request for Korean hanbok from the early 19th century, and I replied that I couldn’t fulfill the request, and that in general I can’t do “ethnic” clothing because “ethnic” clothing isn’t preserved in fashion museums the way western clothing is.  Apparently, the fact that I can’t go back in history and undo White privilege makes me racist.  No, seriously, if you go back in the archive far enough, you will find a huge knot of me answering furious asks.  I am irredeemably racist, I might as well join the Klan.  Sieg heil, bb.

In case you aren’t already in the know, today a popular sex edutainer by the name of Laci Green decided to quit tumblr because someone sent her pictures of her apartment and threatened violence against her in the name of social justice.  

In 2009, when she was starting out making videos, she made a video in which she off-handedly used the word “tr*nny.”  Laci has also made some comments about Islam and fat that don’t sit well with me, and won’t sit well with most other SJ people out there.  

Apparently, these tiny comments completely cancel out the fact that she’s one of the most vocal faces of sex positivity out there, and that her message is overwhelmingly upbeat and loving.  Okay, I will grant that tr*nny is not a good word.  It’s as dehumanizing and vile as any other slur out there.  Unfortunately, not very many people know this, even those in the LGBTQ community.  Three years later, Laci has since apologized for her use of the word and vowed never to use it again.  Her comments about Islam don’t sit well with me, but one has to take in the context that she’s critical of religion in general, and not *just* Islam.  She’s not perfect.  And, unfortunately, for SJ and feminism on tumblr, you have to be fucking superhuman to be acceptable.

This may sound stupid, but for fucks sake have any of you payed any attention at all to Mean Girls?  Society deems that girls have to be vicious bitches towards each other and brutally attack wherever we see weakness.  Women *can’t* just fucking get along.  In fact, we didn’t even get along in Middle School.  And that is how the assholes win.  If Laci Green and OMG! that Dress are the enemy, what the fuck does that make all the Republican men sitting on birth control panels, telling women you can’t say vagina?  

Is Laci Green perfect?  No.  Am I perfect?  No (I’m actually kind of an asshole from time to time).  Does this make us unworthy of the sacred title of feminist?  Should Laci Green just give up providing excellent useful information and start telling us to hold an aspirin between our knees?

You don’t have to give up and stop being critical of things that don’t feel right with you.  But for fucks sake, we have got to stop hating our allies just because we don’t agree with them 100% of the time.