In the middle of a depressive episode and writer’s block, Bitch Magazine commissioned me to write a piece on stan culture for their “Legacy” issue, marking the 25th anniversary of their first publication. The last thing I wanted to do was write about my experience getting harassed by Ariana Grande and her abusively obtuse and obsessed stanbase but I knew it was a story that needed to be told.
Read More#JusticeForJohnnyDepp was a misinformation campaign designed to provoke intense reactions and guilt people into supporting him at the expense of Heard.
Author’s Note, January 2022: Wear Your Voice Magazine has since ceased operation and the website that originally published this piece is no longer available. An archived snapshot is available here.
Read MoreThe misplaced and normalized aggression and the constant popularity contest have given rise to a poisonous subculture of fandom where violence is acceptable if it’s done in the name of a celebrity you love. It’s tragic that what used to be a safe haven for so many has turned into something utterly alarming and sometimes traumatizing.
Read MoreAbusers put on a veneer of kindness, carefully crafting a progressive image to distract from the atrocities they commit behind closed doors. This is intentional and by design; a tool to further gaslight and marginalize the people they victimize.
Read more at Wear Your Voice.
Read MoreConflating constructive criticism with hatred is not only wrong, but extremely dangerous and damaging. Criticism is how we encourage growth and positive change, while shame and hatred serve to stifle both. It’s irresponsible for celebrities to use their platforms to perpetuate the idea that any and all criticism is nothing but a personal attack that serves no value.
Read more at Wear Your Voice.
Read MoreWith Lust For Life, Del Rey demonstrated that she’s capable of self-reflection and critically examining the world around her. Unfortunately, that album was seemingly the beginning and the end of Del Rey’s political engagement. In a recent interview with the New York Times, she said, “I’m not really more of a liberal than I am a Republican—I’m in the middle.” She’s essentially refusing to pick a side between fascists and progressives, a dangerous position to platform in today’s political climate.
Read MoreThe intensely negative reaction to Wu vocalizing her frustration is rooted in her identity as an Asian-American woman. Popular media and social structures still code Asian women as being submissive, delicate, soft-spoken and respectful. As visible Others, we’re faced with nasty consequences when we refuse to conform to the one-dimensional ideals projected onto us.
Read MoreAlthough we may intellectually understand that it’s inappropriate to make fun of people with mental illnesses, we still have this continued knee-jerk reaction to mock Britney Spears for hers. It’s as if the public’s perception of Spears is frozen in time, where we’re unable to see past her breakdown to fully recognize her as a human being.
Read MoreAriana Grande’s reaction to being called out for cultural appropriation was immature and disappointing. Instead of listening to criticism with empathy, Grande reacts from her sensitive ego, reminding us that she is, at the end of the day, a wealthy white woman with a ton of privilege and a deep spray tan.
Read MoreBetween #MeToo and the onslaught of survivors of sexual violence coming forward about being abused by powerful men, social media has been a nightmare for survivors.
Read more at FLARE Magazine.
Read MoreAnother week, another shitty, entitled white dude in the music industry enjoying success after violating a Black woman. If there’s anything that Amerikkka loves more than a bunch of men fighting over a ball made from animal skin, it’s caping for mediocre white men and shaming women and femmes for their sexuality.
Read MoreAs a Filipina woman and survivor of sexual violence, I was hesitant to engage with Taylor Swift’s countersuit alleging sexual assault, especially given her status as Queen Becky of the White Feminists. From her “girlsquad” of thin, able-bodied, cishetero women, to accusing Nicki Minaj of tearing women (read: Swift) down while Minaj called out racism, Swift only ever cries feminism when it benefits her.
Read MoreI could never change the fact that I had been assaulted, or that my heart had been broken. But instead of letting those negative experiences change me for the worse, I pushed myself to channel that energy into creating positive change and into pouring love into my life.
Read MoreSurvivors are expected to conform to an impossible standard of victimhood, and are faced with an impossible choice — speak up now and be deemed a liar, stay silent and/or speak up later and it never happened.
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