I was under the impression that cupcakes were all magical, delicious beings who nobly and benevolently sacrificed themselves for the good of everyone’s tastebuds. I realize now, though, that I was naive. Blind with innocence.
The other day I learned that some cupcakes are evil and pose as regular, delicious cupcakes, but are actually disgusting and awful. This one happened to taste like nail polish remover (or…what I imagine it to taste like, since I’ve never tasted it). Worst of all, this was the first cupcake I’ve had in a while and it was completely and utterly disappointing. It was even more disappointing and deceptive than grapefruits are.
I was looking at the cupcakes again today and thinking, “Man, they sure do look good…maybe it was just that one cupcake and I should have another.” I didn’t, thank goodness. But I guess the lesson in all of this is that if food looks good I’ll probably eat it.
P.S. You may notice that I have my own domain now. Yup, unfortunately Clem had to stop hosting people, which resulted in me finally buying my own domain and hosting again (No hard feelings, by the way! I’ve been thinking about getting my own domain and hosting for a while, but never got around to it. Still <3 Clem). For any of you who have stuck with my blog for a long time, you may remember this domain as the last one I had before being hosted. Anyway, I think I’ve updated internal linking to reflect the new URL, but let me know if I missed anything. Also, please update your blogrolls!
And hopefully I’ll have a new design up soon to reflect the new site name. That’s right, no more Awesome Blog. It’s back to Accidious.
Posted on: August 9, 2011 | 4 Comments
Everything I’m about to say is in response to this video (Warning: Video contains obnoxious cursing so maybe don’t watch it at work). So watch it or you’ll be lost.
I first saw this video weeks ago and my initial reaction was, “Oh god that was irritating.” And I just left it at that. But I kept thinking about the video, and it made me more annoyed every time I thought about it, until finally I had to express why this video is so goddamn annoying to me.
Where to start?
He says that “this is gay pride, not Lady Gaga pride” and that “she isn’t one of us.” Well done, you’ve stated the obvious. No, it isn’t Lady Gaga pride and was never claimed to be. And actually it’s not just gay pride. It’s LGBT pride. And, no, she isn’t a lesbian. But I don’t see why that matters at all. Especially if you consider the fact that she has expressed that she’s bisexual, which, if you look closely, you will see is part of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. Not that it even matters, but let’s assume that he doesn’t know that and that he isn’t excluding the B from LGBT.
So, moving on, he says that self-acceptance songs like Born This Way, Firework and We R Who We R aren’t valid because they’re sung by straight, white women. He says that they “don’t know shit about being bullied” and “don’t know fuck about what we’ve gone through.” He goes on to thank them for writing the songs, but says that a gay man needs to be singing them, or a black man, or “some random ass lesbian with a penis growing out of her forehead.” Evidently just being a lesbian isn’t even enough—you need to be a lesbian with a penis growing out of your forehead.
Here’s where the problem really becomes apparent, and where I just lose it.
He says that they don’t know shit about being bullied. Wow, way to make wildly general assumptions based on sex, skin color and sexual orientation. It’s not like women are discriminated against ever, right? Sexism is 100% dead, right? Only gay guys can experience bullying, right?
Oh wait, wrong. Bullying is something that can happen to anyone. Even straight, white women. And sure, I’ll give it to you that they don’t know exactly what you went through, since none of them are gay men. Though, a straight, black man doesn’t know about being gay, but you seem to think he’d be a valid candidate to sing these songs. So why does it matter if it’s a straight, white woman? Oh, right, because you make idiotic assumptions based on the fact that they fall, mostly, in the majority. But none of that is very relevant, because these are songs about accepting yourself. They’re not songs about experiencing discrimination as a gay man. They’re songs about accepting yourself, no matter what your sexual orientation, gender identity or skin color. The fact that Lady Gaga, Ke$ha and Katy Perry don’t know about being gay has absolutely nothing to do with the message. The message is, love yourself no matter who you are.
I’m willing to concede that that Born This Way seems to be aimed at the LGBT community in particular. However that doesn’t change the fact that Lady Gaga never claims to be a lesbian and it’s still a song about loving yourself. Not your gay self, yourself.
Furthermore, you do not have to actually be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning to support equal rights. The fight for equality is not limited only to members of the LGBT community, the same way that civil rights in the 1960s was not limited to members of the black community. If you believe in a cause, you fight for it, no matter what your affiliation to the cause. The fact of the matter is, Lady Gaga is a supporter of LGBT rights and she uses her celebrity status to help push the movement forward. It doesn’t matter if she’s a straight, white woman. You know what that makes her? A straight, white ally.
Being gay isn’t like being in a club. It’s just one part of who you are as a whole. That’s the whole point of equal rights: everyone is the same.
So if you really want equality, I suggest you accept help, even if it comes from a straight, white woman. However, if you just want something to bitch and moan about, then be my guest.
Posted on: July 31, 2011 | 2 Comments
Hello, my name's Josh and I might be a hipster (you decide!). I've been blogging and designing in some form for the past eight or so years and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it (once again, you decide!). I love indie music, coming of age stories, sarcasm, video games, and aesthetics. At the moment I'm working part-time and going to college with hopes of being a web designer. 
