Notices by bailey//rockruff⚪ (ctrlaltdog@chitter.xyz), page 33

making nudity illegal and making bad hygiene socially unacceptable in a society where both have paywalls and are inaccessible to so many, is absolutely disgusting. and anyone making fun of hygiene or shunning nudity should perhaps consider why exactly such things make so many people uncomfortable.

is it because those things are harmful to others that come across them? or because we're upset that other people aren't being how we want them to be for our own benefit?

the obsession with hygiene is also a bad thing, even if smells make other people uncomfortable.

i'm dead serious - it is a class issue. maintaining proper hygiene is a privilege that those with the energy and resources can achieve.

but folks who are poor/homeless, disabled, etc are barred from establishments for not having the right clothes or for being unhygienic, when those exact places are the only sources for them to get clothes, practise hygiene, eat, have shelter

instead we're harming each other by insisting we all need to hide our bodies; that our bodies are something to be ashamed of and are harmful to display when not specifically asked for.

it's like we're not allowed to enjoy our own bodies and appearances unless someone else specifically allows us to, desires us.

see how fucked up that is? it's like we can't even be ourselves unless someone else approves, for no other reason than their preferences, not our own

when we see someone in the nude, for instance, we are generally surprised because it's not typical, we weren't expecting it, and we ourselves aren't allowed to be nude in public

so we lash out. but that's abhorrent, selfish behaviour; we're uncomfortable with something we think is strange, unexpected, that makes us feel slightly uncomfortable. but it isn't harming anyone

not everything has to cater to us or make us feel comfortable. nobody has to make their appearance cater to anyone else. how someone looks, what they wear and what their body looks like, isn't hurting you.

and there's a lot of things that make us uncomfortable that are BAD to not face, like addressing one's own privilege, addressing the bigotry of our friends and others around us, addressing how flawed our society is

avoiding minor discomfort to oppress others is disgusting

that's how it all keeps us down, keeps us from expressing ourselves and breaking free of these restrictions; it creates some sort of standard for which to judge and ridicule others

"if you look a certain way you are objectively bad for making people uncomfortable"

but what we call discomfort is really just...being slightly surprised, not knowing how to react to something, being genuinely confused and maybe even a little put off. but that's not harm, that happens every day.

ideas like professionalism are meant to degrade us and strip us of freedoms so that we can't be ourselves, can't be happy, and thus we assume we can't ever really be ourselves because it will harm our ability to survive and be accepted.

so much of our society forces us to be a specific kind of person that will be obedient and samey and not question why any of these norms even exist. because why bother challenging them if it's supposedly easier and Morally Correct to conform?

professionalism is the idea that we have to leave behind our emotions and personal quirks to deliver some sort of positive corporate experience for those around us. turning ourselves into the product or some sort of walking advertisement so that other people can use us to buy/sell things and get richer.

it's the idea that we need to be whatever the customer and/or boss wants us to be for no other reason than to please them, even if it's degrading and harmful.

professionalism, dignity, pride, etc are all concepts that are hot garbage

the ruling class can do whatever they want, but all of us beneath them have to appear a certain way that they dictate.

we have no freedom in how we look within this system, and there's always some sort of set of rules we have to loosely or even strictly follow for no reason other than other people want us to look that way

@Satsuma ty! i really appreciate feedback like this.

tldr: draw/write trans characters' appearance however you want. the only thing that matters is that you make them out to be normal and accepted and treat them like you would any other character.

ok i'm done

i like to imagine a world where anyone can look any way they want and be accepted.

there's no room in a world like that for people insisting on upholding restrictive and invasive gender norms to invalidate others. how others look is not your business. and not every character who is a trans woman is going to be like you or like what you aspire to be because NOT EVERYONE IS THE SAME and gender has NOTHING to do with appearance.

i want to see myself in media too. that's why i want to see trans women being realistically portrayed as having stubble, not having the energy or desire to shave, not even looking remotely like the disgustingly limited and controlling idea of what a woman "should look like"

a woman can be anyone. not just the specific people who fit a precise list of things detailing exactly how their body should look

men rarely get this shit. think about that.

if you draw a trans woman with stubble, good on your for normalising such a thing, making it easier for trans women with stubble to be accepted by the mainstream.

i don't want media that constantly portrays some unattainable perfect image of what a trans person "should be/look like" even if that's the image i aspire to have

i want something that makes me and others like me feel better about ourselves NOW, outside of shitty bigoted gender norms

i would like to note that you can draw any characters with any "gendered" characteristics as much as you want, so long as you are being respectful and normalising the idea of trans people having those "atypical" features

there are so many trans women out there with stubble, or other features that don't fit the shitty bigoted view of what a woman "should look like", and that's entirely valid.

you can be any gender and have any body features.

imo it's normal for a girl to be very fuzzy. and have pointy ears atop her head, soft bappy paws, and a big fluffy waggily tail following her around :3

@Troasta gl! it can be a great experience but the first time can be a bit strange if you're not accustomed to that kind of brain weirdness

seeing holly manage her instance is cool because i didn't know it was so tricky and it's cool to see her being so resourceful but at the same time it's a little terrifying because i'm having difficulty keeping up. and idk if i'd be able to run my own instance now that i've seen what it takes.

bigots are mindless conformists with no personality beyond what their friends tell them they're allowed/supposed to be