I live sweat...

wholelottadicks:

ilivesweat:

wholelottadicks:

trailinggalaxies:

kittencoaster:

wholelottadicks:

um
do you people not realize how fucked up this shirt is to people that wish they could but literally cannot have this biology
ie a lot of trans women
no of course you dont girl power is only about cis girls

^^^^^^^^^^ I know it doesn’t mean anything but I regret posting this.

i can see where youre coming from but this isnt against trans women nor is it specifically for cis women. its against the saying in which infers that youve gotta grow balls in order to be courageous/brave/strong dont regret posting this girl, regret that growing a pair is just another way of saying be bold in society

wrong
yes i understand that its a subversion of the usual meaning of grow a pair but it was created with a complete disregard for trans women who literally wish that they COULD grow a pair but are actually UNABLE TO and that is a fucking gross bigoted message to be sending
it is blatantly against trans women, and it IS only for cis women
(i realize people other than cis women have this biology but i REALLY doubt those people were considered either when this was made)

My interpretation of the piece is as follows:
It’s satire. It’s not an instruction, but an attempt at the undermining of a misogynistic association between testicles and the much vaunted ‘testicular fortitude’ valued in our culture. Nobody is being asked to literally grow a pair. It’s a symbolic shorthand for a pretty basic argument against patriarchal language.
That said, I am saddened that some people have found it offensive. I know enough about feminist methodology to appreciate that challenging the accounts of oppressed women is rarely helpful. I don’t find it offensive, but that doesn’t say much, since I’m a bloke born with my preferred plumbing. It’s horrific that many transwomen, and many ciswomen, are not in possession of the fully functional female reproductive organs they desperately want. Nobody is challenging that.
I’m going to talk to Ren, and ask if she wants to post an account of the piece on I Live Sweat. If she feels that deleting the post is the best option, I’ll honour that decision, but I’m loathe to do so, partly because the trans community isn’t monolithic, and there may well be those within it who interpret the piece differently than those who’ve made their feelings known tonight, and partly because I’m loathe to censor someone’s art, especially when I personally believe that it’s meaning was fundamentally anti-patriarchy, as opposed to anti-male or transmisogynist.
I hope I’ve been as clear and even handed as possible, but I’ve had a couple of beers, so I’m not sure. What I do know, is that I welcome this discourse, and it’s definitely made me think hard about points made.
Cheers.
Andy

okay but can you do what i asked and direct me to this ren person because i do not trust you to relay my complaints adequately as a cis man that doesnt believe this is transmisogynist as fuck, which it actually is
or do you need to make a post about how your interpretation matters more than mine and how youre so sad that some people think a t-shirt is less important than actual real women that are hurt by it

I was actually making a post to make I Live Sweat’s followers, many of whom have reblogged this piece without criticism, aware that some people are extremely offended by it, while also clarifying my personal interpretation, and the steps I intend to take to allow Ren to defend her work, if she so chooses.
Ren’s tumblr doesn’t have an ask feature, and I communicate with her via facebook. I’m not about to hand out any information she doesn’t make public by her own volition, and that would include her full name. Sorry.
Nowhere have I said that my interpretation matters more than anybody else’s. If you check out the third paragraph of my prior posting, I actually undermine the validity of my interpretation of the piece to some degree.
Like I said, my prior post was intended to make my readers aware that there is a debate going on about this piece, where they may not have been aware before. I know I check the notes on every post every day, but I sincerely doubt that they do. I’m trying to put your ideas and the ideas of those who agree with you in front of as large an audience as possible in order to have an open and transparent debate about this.
Andy
Edit: Have given the arguments a lot of thought, and I’m extremely uncomfortable with the thought that a post on ILS is causing distress to people already dealing with a lot of unnecessary shit. I honestly don’t know what to do at this point, but I’m leaning toward deleting the original post. I want ILS to be a trans-positive space, and for some trans people at least, it clearly isn’t at this point. I’ll talk to Ren, and go from there.Sorry to those who’ve been offended so far. I’m going to try to resolve this as amicably and fairly as I can.

ilivesweat:

wholelottadicks:

trailinggalaxies:

kittencoaster:

wholelottadicks:

um

do you people not realize how fucked up this shirt is to people that wish they could but literally cannot have this biology

ie a lot of trans women

no of course you dont girl power is only about cis girls

^^^^^^^^^^
I know it doesn’t mean anything but I regret posting this.

i can see where youre coming from but this isnt against trans women nor is it specifically for cis women. its against the saying in which infers that youve gotta grow balls in order to be courageous/brave/strong dont regret posting this girl, regret that growing a pair is just another way of saying be bold in society

wrong

yes i understand that its a subversion of the usual meaning of grow a pair but it was created with a complete disregard for trans women who literally wish that they COULD grow a pair but are actually UNABLE TO and that is a fucking gross bigoted message to be sending

it is blatantly against trans women, and it IS only for cis women

(i realize people other than cis women have this biology but i REALLY doubt those people were considered either when this was made)

My interpretation of the piece is as follows:

It’s satire. It’s not an instruction, but an attempt at the undermining of a misogynistic association between testicles and the much vaunted ‘testicular fortitude’ valued in our culture. Nobody is being asked to literally grow a pair. It’s a symbolic shorthand for a pretty basic argument against patriarchal language.

That said, I am saddened that some people have found it offensive. I know enough about feminist methodology to appreciate that challenging the accounts of oppressed women is rarely helpful. I don’t find it offensive, but that doesn’t say much, since I’m a bloke born with my preferred plumbing. It’s horrific that many transwomen, and many ciswomen, are not in possession of the fully functional female reproductive organs they desperately want. Nobody is challenging that.

I’m going to talk to Ren, and ask if she wants to post an account of the piece on I Live Sweat. If she feels that deleting the post is the best option, I’ll honour that decision, but I’m loathe to do so, partly because the trans community isn’t monolithic, and there may well be those within it who interpret the piece differently than those who’ve made their feelings known tonight, and partly because I’m loathe to censor someone’s art, especially when I personally believe that it’s meaning was fundamentally anti-patriarchy, as opposed to anti-male or transmisogynist.

I hope I’ve been as clear and even handed as possible, but I’ve had a couple of beers, so I’m not sure. What I do know, is that I welcome this discourse, and it’s definitely made me think hard about points made.

Cheers.

Andy

okay but can you do what i asked and direct me to this ren person because i do not trust you to relay my complaints adequately as a cis man that doesnt believe this is transmisogynist as fuck, which it actually is

or do you need to make a post about how your interpretation matters more than mine and how youre so sad that some people think a t-shirt is less important than actual real women that are hurt by it

I was actually making a post to make I Live Sweat’s followers, many of whom have reblogged this piece without criticism, aware that some people are extremely offended by it, while also clarifying my personal interpretation, and the steps I intend to take to allow Ren to defend her work, if she so chooses.

Ren’s tumblr doesn’t have an ask feature, and I communicate with her via facebook. I’m not about to hand out any information she doesn’t make public by her own volition, and that would include her full name. Sorry.

Nowhere have I said that my interpretation matters more than anybody else’s. If you check out the third paragraph of my prior posting, I actually undermine the validity of my interpretation of the piece to some degree.

Like I said, my prior post was intended to make my readers aware that there is a debate going on about this piece, where they may not have been aware before. I know I check the notes on every post every day, but I sincerely doubt that they do. I’m trying to put your ideas and the ideas of those who agree with you in front of as large an audience as possible in order to have an open and transparent debate about this.

Andy

Edit: Have given the arguments a lot of thought, and I’m extremely uncomfortable with the thought that a post on ILS is causing distress to people already dealing with a lot of unnecessary shit. I honestly don’t know what to do at this point, but I’m leaning toward deleting the original post. I want ILS to be a trans-positive space, and for some trans people at least, it clearly isn’t at this point. I’ll talk to Ren, and go from there.

Sorry to those who’ve been offended so far. I’m going to try to resolve this as amicably and fairly as I can.

Source: ilivesweat