(no subject)

Originally posted in response to an argument about whether Ghosts of Tsushima supports Japanese nationalism:

I feel like there has to be a win condition. Often there’s something interesting that I think should be discussed, and there’s a way that discussion could possibly be interpreted to be racist, sexist, transphobic, etc. if you were willfully ignorant to what the story was actually saying, and then surprise surprise, someone comes along and says yes it is racist, sexist, transphobic, etc. It seems like the desired endpoint is supposed to be “never discuss anything at all if it could be possibly be interpreted badly,” and that wipes out everything from Lolita to M. Butterfly.

(The last time I brought up Lolita, I was informed that it’s pedophile porn, and I’m a “stupid [expletive]” for thinking there’s any value in it.)

(no subject)

There's this argument people make sometimes that goes "Some random person's incest fanfiction isn't going to brainwash people into thinking incest is okay, because it has a much smaller cultural impact than popular media." How about approaching that from the other direction? I remember when people were arguing that Twilight would brainwash teenage girls into entering abusive relationships. Then all these feminists came out of nowhere and said that teenage girls aren't stupid enough to be brainwashed into abusive relationships, and if you think they are, you must be sexist. So if you think Twilight won't brainwash people, then some rando's incest fanfiction won't brainwash people. (And if you think Twilight will brainwash people, then YOU get to argue with the feminists, because I am not picking that fight.)