I don't even want to think about how horrible the clothing situation gets as she gets older. I already have to deal with a lot of abuse and harassment (!) from random strangers (!!!!) who freak their fucking shit at me that I've put a little girl in a robot dino t-shirt.

It's a huge, systemic problem, and shit like Ji Firepaw (and all of the horrible, terrible abuse from the fallout now) doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens for the same reasons why strangers at the grocery store think my daughter's appearance should be crafted around THEIR aesthetic preferences, that we should smile when they tell us to, that if I don't agree with their unsolicited advice I'm a stuck-up bitch, that when I get angry when they harass us I'm crazy and hysterical and need to calm down.

THIS is what I think of when this shit comes up in games and movies, and that's why I get so mad about it. :(

I know I'm optimistic, but I honestly believe knuckleheads can still be taught, regardless of knuckleheadery. XD So many of these problems are subconscious and internalized that it sometimes takes pointing them out for people to even be aware of them.

I recommend transparency film instead. That way it can be read both coming and going!

I LOVE STEAK DINNER so I am sure that every single one of these thoughts will ALSO enjoy steak dinner. You are the BEST, thank you. :D

It is so true, the only thing that can combat my crippling terror of introducing confrontation into a community is searing, burning, white-hot rage.

<3 back atcha. :D

Thank you! I appreciate it.

It's like many-layered nacho dip, because there's the need to protect the group members, the group itself, and the natural human defensiveness that kneejerks "hey, you just said something shitty" into "hey, you are shitty" and it's a nightmare. The ONLY way to solve these problems is to get them out in the open and talk about them, but people are resistant to that because it means focusing on misbehavior within the group and just ARRRRGH.

I highly recommend the ME fandom! As a group they are pretty strongly focused on Shepard + Garrus = Babies, which is pretty much my happy place at the moment.

But mostly I'm glad I'm not the only one. XD

Worry not, my blog (probably) isn't going anywhere! Just a lot less WoW and a lot more single-player stuff. XD