𓆝 cafe 🏳️‍⚧️♿️

i'm sorry, i don't think i'll be able to stream today after all. i'll see you tomorrow instead, please take care & stay safe.

Every trans person who refuses to shrink their identity to fit the room is expanding the world for everyone else.

Per NYT:

"The Department of Defense is calling these strikes 'Operation Epic Fury.'" 😐

Please call your reps. And then scream into a pillow over the fact we have man children creating geopolitical chaos in the Middle East.

-Mount Lebanon
Al Kafaat Organization – Mansourieh
Dar Al Aytam Al Islamiya – Aramoun

- West Bekaa
Joub Jenneen Public School
Al Rowwad High School – Suwairi
Khorbet Qanafar Vocational School
Al Suwairi Public School
Baaloul – Al Qaraoun

Centers Designated to Receive Displaced Disabled People Across Lebanon - From Beirut Guide Website

- South Lebanon
Saida Technical School- Saida

- North Lebanon
Al Qalamoun School for Boys
Al Jarida Official School for Boys- Tripoli
Dahr Al Ain Official School

“I think you meant” no I did not. I know how to turn my thoughts into sentences

It feels like Orientalism has just gotten 10x more aggressive lately

Like, ik that's not the case, nobody gives a shit about Orientalism or ever wants to listen to us when we say shit so it just has constantly been repeating into infinity for centuries atp.

But still. 😒

Sources for why "Middle Eastern" is a Eurocentric term and why SWANA is a more accurate term you should probably change to.

Middle Eastern is Eurocentric: www.eurasiareview.com/14032025-ret...

SWANA is an Anti-Colonial {And honestly just better fitting} Term: swanaalliance.com/about

The best way to learn how to honour a culture is to learn about it first. Learn about its people, their traits and habits, humanise them and respect them. Even with incorporating fantasy elements, you’ll find that each culture is rich in folklore and mythology to draw inspiration from. 🩷

(6/6)

An image (source unknown) depicting the various types of Palestinian dress by region. Top, left to right: Bi’r as-sabaa, Gaza, Ramallah, Nablus Bottom, left to right: Al-Quds, Bethlehem, Al-Khalil, Yaffa

An image by Assas depicting the various types of Saudi Arabian regional dresses. Top, left to right: The Southern Region, The Eastern Region, The Central Region Bottom, left to right: The Western Region, The Western Region (again), The Central Region, the Northern Region

Take, for example, these images. The details of each one are in the alt text, but the main point is that each country has its own countless subcultures. Ignoring these distinctions inherently communicates that they’re not worth learning about because the “Orient” is inferior.

(5/6)

A much better way to honour Middle Eastern culture would be to pick one of them and learn about it specifically. The world recognises readily enough that Sweden and France (for example) have vastly different cultures. The same should apply to everywhere else.

(4/6)

The outfits in XIV do this very blatantly. The top is vaguely like an Indian sari, the sandals look sort of Egyptian, the harem trousers are kinda Persian, and the medallions are either Moroccan or Ottoman with no distinction. This results in them being pure orientalist slop.

(3/6)

Orientalism assumes that “the Orient” (North Africa, the Arabian Gulf, South Asia, Türkiye, and sometimes even SEA and East Asia) are all one big (ignorant) blob. It stems from Eurocentrism and colonialism.

It waters down dozens of cultures by reducing them to vague similarities.

(2/6)

Of course! The sexualisation is, of course, a major issue. Middle Eastern women have been fetishised for centuries (see: harem tropes + the reduction of bellydancing to seduction rather than art).

However, it’s also how Orientalism homogenises entire regions and cultures.

(1/6)

I’m so sick of orientalism in fiction. I’m so sick of the blatantly sexualised and fetishised amalgams of a dozen cultures into one homogenous “exotic” blob. I’m so sick of White people saying I’m “reading too much into it” or “being performative” when it’s MY culture being bastardised.

A screenshot from FFXIV’s patch notes showing a dark-skinned Female Viera (bunny girl, left) wearing a white Sari-inspired top with white harem trousers with cutouts in the thighs. She is wearing gold sandals and her clothes are decorated with gold coins On the right is a male Hrothgar (Tiger? Man?? Wearing white harem pants, black sandals, and a red and gold draped top.

Anyway, the new “Corvosi” outfits look terrible.
“But surely they don’t mean it!” I don’t care.
“But it’s fantasy!” I don’t care.

We don’t live in a vacuum. We’ve had decades of writing and advocacy against Orientalism. Do your homework and do better.

Gift image

hi guppies! this is a scheduled reminder that cafe has a wishlist full of self care items, cute things, & more if you'd ever like to peruse! ♡ https://throne.com/cafeesh/wishlist

#SingingMarch Day 1 - obsessed with recently

🎤 MEGANE by Ultra-Noob

#FrogeSounds ☔🎶

The main people in the trans community who get killed the most are Black trans women.

Yet we only pay attention when a white trans person gets killed.

We really need to do better.

This has been true every day since it got taken over by a nazi and even more true since it became a child porn generator

this is a reminder:
fuck gen-ai, and fuck you if you support it

“For most of us, we are doing what we can with what we currently have. We are all trying to survive, and surviving in a world that is built to break you down is revolutionary in itself." https://twloha.com/blog/what-id-want-her-to-know/

The neurodivergent urge to stop the microwave at one second so you don't have to hear the beep.

A schedule template for my streaming from March 2nd to 8th on a white, rainbow themed background. There are six streams listed in rectangle colored blocks, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On the right side is a commission of my avatar holding her hand to her chest with C7andr7 next to socials and artist/schedule credit

SCHEDULE DROP 📩
March 2nd - 8th

On top of playing some dope games this week with friends, we’ll be co-streaming the @dames4games.org showcase and participating in the Twitch Women’s Guild Cozy Raid Train.

Go say happy birthday to @narikonabi.bsky.social if you get a chance too! 💖

Black hair has always been underrepresented in games, but we want to change that 🙌

So this week we added 20 new black and textured hairstyles into Loftia!

We hand-sculpted each one and built a custom shader to add depth and softness. Quite proud of how they turned out ☺️💛

U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” Return of Jesus Advocacy group reports commanders giving similar messages at more than 30 installations in every branch of the military

EXCLUSIVE: At more than 30 installations, U.S. commanders told troops the war on Iran is a Christian war.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been “inundated” with more than 110 complaints.

One NCO said they were told the U.S. war is to bring about Armageddon and the return of Jesus…

What's scary about this story is the surveillance it hints at. This trans woman had changed her name, legally, but chose not to change her gender marker. She was apparently flagged in the DMV system as trans and her license was invalidated under a law that supposedly only concerned gender markers.

People's Congress for The Hague Group Popular forces from around the world convene for a historic People's Congress for The Hague Group. Join Greta Thunberg, Francesca Albanese, Omar Barghouti, Jeremy Corbyn, Sally Rooney, and special gue...

From São Paulo to London, Kuala Lumpur to Tangier, the peoples of the world have called on their governments to take urgent action to end Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Join us online for the People’s Congress, Sat 7 March, 7pm CET.

loom.ly/_EWSm1M

am currently almost $15 in the red, have been trying to raise $80 total for food and litter for my kitten 🙂‍↕️ we are almost out of my kitten's food so this is time sensitive #BIPOCMA #MAV 💸💕 bsky.app/profile/stem...