Post B8fGxsmc5EuRJfCwhU by Erato_Heti@social.xenofem.me
(DIR) More posts by Erato_Heti@social.xenofem.me
(DIR) Post #B8cp89c0QJ5i54FCHA by cyb3rm0shp1t@social.xenofem.me
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the fundamental thesis of looksmaxxers has been unchallenged since they first emerged, and i imagine it'll stay that way. i see transgender people (women especially) and looksmaxxers as holding common ground mainly on the fact that our existences are both centered around adaptation and external appearance as necessary to our survival. for the looksmaxxer, looking good allows him to be his authentic socially awkward self without immediately being outcasted. for the transgender woman, looking good keeps her from being written off without even being given the opportunity to express herself in any capacity whatsoever.
(DIR) Post #B8fGxrOTFW0H0Uu9Qm by cyb3rm0shp1t@social.xenofem.me
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it's proven by anecdotal experience and at scale. it's undeniable. you can say it's immoral (whatever that means), that society shouldn't function this way, but it simply does. if you want to get special privileges, if you want to 'rise above' the bare minimum level of treatment people 'like you' can expect, one of the quickest and most immediately visible ways to do this is by having sex appeal and appearing attractive and confident.
(DIR) Post #B8fGxrbwRQmLgHCuQa by winterklaus@social.xenofem.me
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@cyb3rm0shp1t this is a trap and a way to accept things "just so". it's true that people are shallow and looks matter to social existence but applying it reductively is exactly what leads to the current of transfeminine pessimism that is so present. behind the veneer of practical truth that we are asked to coldly accept is fascising body politics, eugenicism, white supremacy and an investment in spectacular society. these things do not reproduce themselves from nowhere.
(DIR) Post #B8fGxrpPdLYQM3VfQO by cyb3rm0shp1t@social.xenofem.me
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@winterklaus im not sure that anyone has a defined blueprint for resisting the allure of the spectacular society, though, especially for people whose quality of life drops dramatically the less spectacle they participate in (down from an already low quality of life compared to the average.) i dont think the path forward looks like a refusal to accept and participate in the fundamental drivers and rules of society. i think if we make ourselves meaningless, if we refuse to appear meaningful, we'll continue to be treated as such forever, and we'll be the ones who suffer most from it
(DIR) Post #B8fGxs16vquawKz0eu by winterklaus@social.xenofem.me
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@cyb3rm0shp1t it's just simply not true that refusing to abide by this bullshit amounts to an unworkable divestment from society. it's falsehoods and truisms that present themselves as utterly necessary. I'm not even saying to so nobly refuse service in favour of some non-extant alternative. I am in favour of approaching appearances constructively for pragmatic means - it's true that it has plenty of benefits in this world. that needn't come with a total submission to the ideological assumptions that go with it. It's a false kind of master morality, seizing a constrained and necessarily limited kind of power or value
(DIR) Post #B8fGxsGhzrO9iiHSyG by Erato_Heti@social.xenofem.me
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@winterklaus @cyb3rm0shp1t i mean you can basically go anywhere you want in your pajamas now. people just dont care. the world got a lot more arbitrary about these things. if a politician wanted to, they could do speechs while wearing their pajamas and nobody would care. its all very *waves my hand in a circle*...you know.
(DIR) Post #B8fGxsY4xHHcaaPL2u by morrigan@social.xenofem.me
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@Erato_Heti @winterklaus @cyb3rm0shp1t the way tattoos have just become acceptable too
(DIR) Post #B8fGxsmc5EuRJfCwhU by Erato_Heti@social.xenofem.me
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@morrigan @cyb3rm0shp1t @winterklaus the ubiquity of tattoos does sorta get to me sometimes since i dont have any tattoos or piercings and that gives me a bit of identity fomo as i approach 30. i just think i dont have a very cosmetic relationship to my body outside of thinking 'yeah i need to style my hair up a bit better and get laser for my face'. as much as i speak from a stance of authority i think in many ways im just very unplugged from all of this. i walk around the house in my boxers and will have full serious thoughtful discussions because it doesnt matter to me at all.
(DIR) Post #B8fGzN4WxHuFXsIYOu by fiore@brain.worm.pink
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@Erato_Heti @cyb3rm0shp1t @morrigan @winterklaus youre so real for this i feel this exact way