I started this one. I’ll stand by it, really. The original threads were full of people ‘ironic’ hornyposting. The artist draws lewd bowser images.
Yeah, alright, it’s not so horny coded that it should be banned - I came down too heavy on one side, probably because I was bored at the time. You would have to be. Clearly I still am.
But hear me out: if you were looking at this image on your phone, and an average woman peered over your shoulder, I think they would think ‘oh, it’s a gross little horny weaboo’. Perhaps take it a step further, what if it was your screensaver, or a poster in your room? People would assume the worst, because images like this are generally created and consumed in such a way.
I’m not just saying that either - I actually asked a bunch of my liberal women friends their general thoughts on the image. Most just said cringe, others said ‘this is absolutely drawn to cater to a male gaze’. I did not get one positive response.
At the end of the day, they are intended to be attractive. The artist has made a choice to give them all conventionally attractive features in the face and body, that particularly cater to a western male gaze. That is all that can be said for it. Alright, the creator was NB or lesbian or something… but they have something to gain from things going viral, and it is pretty clear what qualities of this post drive its engagement.
Regardless, my final thought last time was that making nation states into anime girls is, if nothing else, cringe.
and an average woman peered over your shoulder, I think they would think ‘oh, it’s a gross little horny weaboo’. Perhaps take it a step further, what if it was your screensaver, or a poster in your room? People would assume the worst, because images like this are generally created and consumed in such a way.
Speaking from a handful of personal experiences — not that I am an average woman — I reckon that my first thought would probably be, “…Sorry— Sorry, BRICS…? As in the intergovernmental organization…? That BRICS, personified in yonder picture perhaps a bit problematically, as women in an anime-esque style that evokes a non-binary lesbian who knows what they like yet also aims to cater to the virality-inducing gaze of terminally online cishet male weebs? My eyes do not deceive me, do they? What a peculiar thing! kininarimasu.mp4”
And thus — should the angels bestow upon me the strength to do so — I would ask that person, “Hey, your phone’s lock screen— that’s, that’s BRICS as in the intergovernmental organization, right?”
Should they respond, “Huh? Oh, uh, maybe.” or alternatively, “I don’t… I don’t know what that is, sorry?” or even, “No.”
—Then the conversation is terminated.
Should they respond, “Yup: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.”
—Then follow up with, “Do you have any particular thoughts on those countries, their governments, about BRICS or anything like that?”
Should they respond, “No, not really.” or alternatively, “Dae CCP 1984 and also Putler bad?” or even, “Brazilian chicks are soooo hot.”
—Then the conversation is terminated.
Should they respond instead, “I don’t like to talk about politics with strangers.”
—Then make a mental note that this might be an interesting person, or might be a nincompoop. Further investigation required.
And lastly, should they respond instead, “Hey BRICS is helping dedollarize the world isn’t it, and NATO provoked that war, too. Indeed, as the situation in Ukraine brings us closer to a Third World War, I am reminded of the wise words of Chairman Mao in his 1957 essay On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the Peo—”
At the end of the day, they are intended to be attractive. The artist has made a choice to give them all conventionally attractive features in the face and body, that particularly cater to a western male gaze. That is all that can be said for it. Alright, the creator was NB or lesbian or something… but they have something to gain from things going viral, and it is pretty clear what qualities of this post drive its engagement.
Their investment in designing them like this is because they’re a lesbian who’s attracted to women, they made it horny because it’s horny and that’s ok actually. Well, I kind of agree personifying nation states in a horny way is weird. But it’s the personification of a nation state part and not the horny part that’s the issue there. I must emerge from hibernation sooner than I thought.
You were never wrong that it’s horny tbh. It is. And the strong defence of it that some have is because they enjoy that it is a safe level of horny while not being willing to admit that.
the only one of these characters seeming anything-slighly-less than totally rail-thin body type by proportion to height being South Africa definitely has some things going on tbh (and weirdly only in the torso down, the character’s neck is still rail thin). and even aside from that they’re still all pretty uniformly hyper-conventionally-beautified in the ways that has been being criticized in online art as uninspired if not problematic, for over a decade. There was a whole thing of that same goddamn face style and structure in every “young pretty female” portrait that was all anyone was drawing online for the longest time. I forget if it had a name.
and having pretty young women personified as nations in of itself has a whole lot of really messy history with nationalism and patriarchy’s relationship that it as a whole makes me uneasy. That said this is a profoundly unimportant thing, some random twitter sometimes-porn-sometimes-not-porn artist; I’m almost mad I spent the time and effort to type this.
I started this one. I’ll stand by it, really. The original threads were full of people ‘ironic’ hornyposting. The artist draws lewd bowser images.
Yeah, alright, it’s not so horny coded that it should be banned - I came down too heavy on one side, probably because I was bored at the time. You would have to be. Clearly I still am.
But hear me out: if you were looking at this image on your phone, and an average woman peered over your shoulder, I think they would think ‘oh, it’s a gross little horny weaboo’. Perhaps take it a step further, what if it was your screensaver, or a poster in your room? People would assume the worst, because images like this are generally created and consumed in such a way.
I’m not just saying that either - I actually asked a bunch of my liberal women friends their general thoughts on the image. Most just said cringe, others said ‘this is absolutely drawn to cater to a male gaze’. I did not get one positive response.
At the end of the day, they are intended to be attractive. The artist has made a choice to give them all conventionally attractive features in the face and body, that particularly cater to a western male gaze. That is all that can be said for it. Alright, the creator was NB or lesbian or something… but they have something to gain from things going viral, and it is pretty clear what qualities of this post drive its engagement.
Regardless, my final thought last time was that making nation states into anime girls is, if nothing else, cringe.
–
Speaking from a handful of personal experiences — not that I am an average woman — I reckon that my first thought would probably be, “…Sorry— Sorry, BRICS…? As in the intergovernmental organization…? That BRICS, personified in yonder picture perhaps a bit problematically, as women in an anime-esque style that evokes a non-binary lesbian who knows what they like yet also aims to cater to the virality-inducing gaze of terminally online cishet male weebs? My eyes do not deceive me, do they? What a peculiar thing! kininarimasu.mp4”
And thus — should the angels bestow upon me the strength to do so — I would ask that person, “Hey, your phone’s lock screen— that’s, that’s BRICS as in the intergovernmental organization, right?”
Should they respond, “Huh? Oh, uh, maybe.” or alternatively, “I don’t… I don’t know what that is, sorry?” or even, “No.”
—Then the conversation is terminated.
Should they respond, “Yup: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.”
—Then follow up with, “Do you have any particular thoughts on those countries, their governments, about BRICS or anything like that?”
Should they respond, “No, not really.” or alternatively, “Dae CCP 1984 and also Putler bad?” or even, “Brazilian chicks are soooo hot.”
—Then the conversation is terminated.
Should they respond instead, “I don’t like to talk about politics with strangers.”
—Then make a mental note that this might be an interesting person, or might be a nincompoop. Further investigation required.
And lastly, should they respond instead, “Hey BRICS is helping dedollarize the world isn’t it, and NATO provoked that war, too. Indeed, as the situation in Ukraine brings us closer to a Third World War, I am reminded of the wise words of Chairman Mao in his 1957 essay On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the Peo—”
—“Marry me.” would be my interruption.
Their investment in designing them like this is because they’re a lesbian who’s attracted to women, they made it horny because it’s horny and that’s ok actually. Well, I kind of agree personifying nation states in a horny way is weird. But it’s the personification of a nation state part and not the horny part that’s the issue there. I must emerge from hibernation sooner than I thought.
You were never wrong that it’s horny tbh. It is. And the strong defence of it that some have is because they enjoy that it is a safe level of horny while not being willing to admit that.
trying to find a line between ‘hornyposting’ and ‘puritainism’ and its hard ogey
yeah that’s probably a more well rounded take
dialectics and shit
the only one of these characters seeming anything-slighly-less than totally rail-thin body type by proportion to height being South Africa definitely has some things going on tbh (and weirdly only in the torso down, the character’s neck is still rail thin). and even aside from that they’re still all pretty uniformly hyper-conventionally-beautified in the ways that has been being criticized in online art as uninspired if not problematic, for over a decade. There was a whole thing of that same goddamn face style and structure in every “young pretty female” portrait that was all anyone was drawing online for the longest time. I forget if it had a name.
and having pretty young women personified as nations in of itself has a whole lot of really messy history with nationalism and patriarchy’s relationship that it as a whole makes me uneasy. That said this is a profoundly unimportant thing, some random twitter sometimes-porn-sometimes-not-porn artist; I’m almost mad I spent the time and effort to type this.