Friday, June 7, 2013

Different Shapes, Different Colors, Different Perspectives

The Moon Whispers My Name

Swiped with gratitude from Vaki on Plurk, I'm keeping this here both for future reference and to share with a wider audience.

1. It's really nice that you, personally, are not offended by [racism] [cultural misappropriation] [privilege] [offensive humor]. Thanks for letting us know!

2. You're right, nobody gets to tell you that you have to be offended by [racism] [cultural misappropriation] [privilege] [offensive humor]. Follow your bliss, but read down.

3. I'm not offended either, but nobody asked me my opinion. Because my opinion doesn't matter. Let's see why it doesn't!

4. My lack of offense means absolutely nothing to someone who actually is offended by [racism] [cultural misappropriation] [privilege] [offensive humor]. Their offense hurts them.

5. The fact that they are offended does not have to change my course of action (or yours). What I am doing may have enough social or personal value that I don't mind offending some.

6. Some people are thin-skinned. I factor this in when deciding whether to allow other people's offense to change my course of action. The number of people who are merely thin-skinned is low.

7. Most people are not thin-skinned. Most people have legitimate reasons for taking offense to [racism] [cultural misappropriation] [privilege] [offensive humor]. If I choose to ignore them, I should be able to enumerate my reasons: my reasons should not be grounded in ignorance. For example, there is a difference between Lenny Bruce's use of "nigger" and Michael Richards' use of "nigger."

8. When I am no longer ignorant of offense, if I choose to ignore legitimate offense to [racism] [cultural misappropriation] [privilege] [offensive humor] without reason, I am probably an asshole.

9. The fact that I, personally, may not be offended by [racism] [cultural misappropriation] [privilege] [offensive humor] is irrelevant to whether or not I am an asshole.

10. The only thing worse than being an asshole by ignoring legitimate offense without reason is turning around and attacking those who are offended for bothering you with their offense.

Reflecting on Words

I made a few changes to Deoridhe's basic shape for this set of pictures, a wider nose and slightly wider lips that weren't quite as broad across the face. I didn't want to change my appearance too much, but it seemed wrong to not alter it at least slightly; between this and my last set of pictures I've been exploring minor alterations to my face - usually the sacrosanct part of my shape - in order to match a mood and a look inspired by a skin. We usually associated darker skin with a broader nose and larger lips, so that we register skin as darker even when it isn't if those features are in place [source]. Even within a cultural group, skin tone often correlates with status and the ability to get better jobs and even paler spouses [source]. The majority of this operates below the level of our consciousness; in fact, the Project Implicit  at Harvard has been studying bias and prejudice with the assumption that the majority of people they were studying would consider themselves unbiased.

One of the big advantages to the internet is that we can learn about others more easily than ever, but part of the learning has to be to value the opinions of others on their lives more than our options of their lives - to assume they are the expert, and we the beginner. This can be difficult - I know I have a marked tendency to be the expert on everything - but I've found being able to set myself aside and just experience another person's life through their eyes is an amazing thing, and a real gift.

Some places to start:

Accessibility Fail
Alas, A Blog
Angry Black Bitch
Colorlines
Freethought Blogs
Geek Feminism
Global Voices
Questioning Transphobia
Womanist Musing

Arise and Dance

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Fallen Gods, Akna Skin (We love RP Event, promotional)
Hair: Discord Designs, Ohna
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Jewelry: Virtual Impressions, Abigail
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Gloves: Adam n Eve, Opera Gloves
Glove Tops: Eclectica, "Swoon"
Dress: Purple Moon, Aquarelle Gown (Group Gift)
Shoes: G Field, Bow Strap Shoes "Kate"

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Mysterious Wave
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

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