en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/10330952 Comments by Tosheroon http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063565154 Warning 110% understood. This was a very large fuckup on my part and I sincerely apologize. When I hit the point where I can't protect my raw spots well enough to keep it together, the right thing to do is go somewhere else until I can. I'm sorry it got to this point before I realized it was time for a hiatus. Wed, 4 Jul 2018 20:54:44 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063565154 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063538405 I'm sorry. I was wrong to post what I did- hasty, unclear and hurtful, and that's not who I want to be. I've tried to clarify things below, although I understand it may only be the start of what I need to do to repair the situation. Wed, 4 Jul 2018 01:57:05 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063538405 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063538389 I've posted a clarification below. I posted in haste when I should have edited (and re-edited) at leisure, and it was the wrong thing to do. Wed, 4 Jul 2018 01:55:15 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063538389 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063538364 I'm sorry. I wrote something that really should have been edited several times before I posted, and I seriously fucked up w/r/t other trans Readers here. I've tried to clarify my thoughts in a longish reply to persiflet, but I understand that this may not be enough to resolve things and I'd like to do what that takes. Wed, 4 Jul 2018 01:53:01 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063538364 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063538314 So, having taken time to organize my thoughts… First of all, my poorly thought-out initial comment notwithstanding, I’m not out to shit on anyone or their headcanons. I fucked up, and I’m not proud of it. Being sorry doesn’t change that. (Vague mentions of future trans content in rot13.) Gur snpg erznvaf gung genaf Qvfpjbeyq snaf unir gurfr urnqpnabaf orpnhfr nyy jr trg va pnaba vf uvagf naq fgrerbglcrf naq onq wbxrf naq pvf crbcyr ernpgvat gb nalbar gurl creprvir nf bhg bs gur beqvanel. Jr trg punenpgref jub pna or vagrecergrq nf genaf, ohg being able to read a character as trans and being able to read a character who IS trans are two different things. I think on a certain level most trans Discworld fans have a strong need to see ourselves reflected on the Disc. We look for people who look like us, just like everybody needs to see people like them in the media they consume. There’s nothing wrong with being desperate for representation as an underrepresented minority… or if there is, it’s not something that’s wrong with *us*. What bothers me- probably more than it should, and for a variety of reasons- is people saying that because a work dances around the idea of trans people and has characters that can be read as trans, it serves as trans representation. ...That's what I meant to say when I went off, anyhow. I hope this clears up a few things. Wed, 4 Jul 2018 01:47:21 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063538314 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063532197 Thank you for saying it. I'm so tired of people using Section 28 like an excuse in this situation. Tue, 3 Jul 2018 20:02:40 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063532197 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063532105 I'm sorry, but I knew that. Tue, 3 Jul 2018 19:59:05 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063532105 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063531607 I realize that I was quite blunt, and I'm sorry that I've offended you. Not my intention, but that's not relevant now that I've done it. I'll be more careful in future. However, I would like to point out that this is the first time that any trans Readers have had any issues with any opinions I've posted, so I'm not basing my views of the community on the responses I've gotten from trans people. And pushback from trans people when I fuck up is vastly different to pushback from cis people when I speak up. Tue, 3 Jul 2018 19:39:09 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063531607 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063531315 Maybe because it's fun to look at the six thousand ways I could have written it better? And it's really hard to find books that *aren't* shitty and cissexist? And I didn't realize how shitty MR is about gender until I'd had to deal with the same bullshit over and over and over in REAL LIFE because cis people think it's funny? Tue, 3 Jul 2018 19:27:18 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063531315 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063524527 Yeah, it was certainly an easier read for me when I was still closeted and didn't know as much about cis people as I've been forced to learn since. Now it's more like eating a dish that normally I like... but which the cook has thoughtfully laced with broken glass because it's the current fashion and every other restaurant that does it is getting great reviews. (Those oversensitive people complaining of internal bleeding just don't appreciate cutting-edge cuisine, after all...) Tue, 3 Jul 2018 14:24:56 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063524527 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063524398 I've read MR upwards of a dozen times, thanks. If anything, I'm cutting Pratchett far more slack than he deserves. Tue, 3 Jul 2018 14:19:17 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063524398 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063524332 'Homosexual' is very dated, as it comes from the intense clinical push to pathologize non-straight people. I personally don't know anyone who uses the word unironically without having at least a bit of antipathy towards us. And if someone refers to me as a homosexual, it's very hard for me not to see that as an attempt at othering and pathologizing me. Tue, 3 Jul 2018 14:16:43 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063524332 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063522056 Subjects Terry Pratchett has portrayed with sensitivity, making the reader aware of their internal lives: werewolves, vampires, orangutans, cats, anthropomorphic personifications, travel accessories. Subjects Terry Pratchett has treated as good only for providing a source of cheap, bigoted jokes and ham-fisted 'commentary': trans people, gay people, trans people, people who don't look sufficiently cis, trans people. (See, if I'd read that 'socks change' joke in a book by Imogen Binnie or Joshua Whitehead or Casey Plett, I'd be laughing my ass off because they're trans authors who know exactly how to make that kind of joke work. Here, I just want to dig Pratchett up and shout at him for 1) having learned sweet fuck-all over the course of the series and 2) deliberately perpetuating stupid outdated cissexist tropes as though they have any bearing on reality. Anyone who claims Pratchett provides any kind of trans representation worth having is either cis or so desperate for representation that they'll take the tiniest crumbs of text that might indicate that a character isn't cis.) (And for those of you wondering, 'sex change' is accepted terminology in about the same sense as 'homosexual' is accepted- at one point that was the language people used, but we've moved on a long way since then.) Tue, 3 Jul 2018 12:45:52 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/07/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-17/#IDComment1063522056 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/06/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-15/#IDComment1063436233 Where exactly did I assume you were a terrible person? Replying to a dismissive comment about my observation about PTerry's consistently awful handling of trans people is a different thing entirely. I don't know what you're like as a human being, all I know is that for some personal reason(s) you felt a pressing need to invalidate a critical trans-centered response to the text. Coincidentally, this is a response I get All. The. Time. despite the best efforts of Mark and the mod team, and it's why my patience is short when it happens yet *again*. If I can't even say "Hey, this is kinda fucked up from a trans person's perspective" without at least one person trying to make like it's no big deal and there are lots of inoffensive interpretations, etc., etc... what's the point? The whole reason my participation here is so spotty is because being jumped on every time I point out PTerry's trans-related fuckups is very much not the Mark Reads Discworld experience I was hoping to have (although apparently it's the one I'm getting anyway). Sat, 30 Jun 2018 22:38:14 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/06/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-15/#IDComment1063436233 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/06/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-15/#IDComment1063428874 At the risk of being rude, so what? How does the precise choice of instruments make this 'joke' any more acceptable to you? Sat, 30 Jun 2018 17:01:57 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/06/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-15/#IDComment1063428874 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/06/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-15/#IDComment1063397729 I don't see how "OMG that freaky surgery" contributes to the story in any way. And it's especially ridiculous because it breaks Mal's characterization as a far more educated and broadminded person than the rest of the squad (with the possible exception of Igorina). Of course, I may just be 'oversensitive' because this field of surgery is something very relevant to my health and I'm fucking tired of hearing it bashed EVERYWHERE, including Discworld. Fri, 29 Jun 2018 18:17:55 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/06/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-15/#IDComment1063397729 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/06/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-9/#IDComment1062829392 'Igorina' sounds like a name a TERF would call a trans woman. Like 'Haroldette', or 'Tomella'. Tue, 12 Jun 2018 23:09:49 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/06/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-9/#IDComment1062829392 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/05/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-2/#IDComment1062373683 Yeah. On the one hand, there's so much I'd like to talk about, but on the other hand, is it worth the reaction? Some stuff I probably won't be able to help but address- sort of like how I swear when I get stung by a wasp- although I can already predict quite a few of the responses it'll get... :/ Mon, 28 May 2018 14:49:22 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/05/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-2/#IDComment1062373683 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/05/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-2/#IDComment1062298244 Tbh, I don't know that I'll be hanging around. I mean, I follow Mark's videos and reviews pretty much religiously- and there's a lot about MR that I have Very Definite Opinions about- but participating in the comments is a whole other ball of wax. For all that I have a ton of feelings and opinions about MR that I'd love to talk about, I'll probably end up fading back into the woodwork. When I express my views, mostly it just causes a ton of extra work for the mods and Mark, and I'd rather not. Fri, 25 May 2018 20:53:47 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/05/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-2/#IDComment1062298244 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/05/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-2/#IDComment1062292959 As a trans man, I don't get anything out of Polly's dilemmas or experiences any more. When I was much younger and terribly desperate for any representation that looked enough like me if I looked at it through linoleum with my eyes closed, it was slightly different, which just goes to show how much representation matters. Polly may have a lot riding on the success of her fakery; her personal identity, though, is not at risk/up for debate. If she gets found out, the consequences aren't going to include a systematic campaign to undermine who she really is. At the end of the day, it's just a costume. And as glad as I am that PTerry didn't decide to make her a trans guy (seriously, what a clusterfuck THAT would have been), I can't help noticing that the 'costume' aspect of these sorts of stories heavily play into cis attitudes towards trans people: that we're "just dressing up", for example, or that our genders are artificial things that can be put on or taken off at will, like Mary Walsh's character 'Marg, Princess Warrior' (except that we don't get to be loud and bombastic and run around threatening random jerks with swords, which would be seriously great). Fri, 25 May 2018 17:14:55 +0000 http://markreads.net/reviews/2018/05/mark-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-2/#IDComment1062292959