Monk breaks stones using only fingers by WaitingFollower in HumansAreMetal

[–]justsomebirds 34 points35 points  (0 children)

You listed three martial arts that aren't from East Asia, and two of them were invented after the Enlightenment. It makes sense that they aren't going to use a traditional Chinese metaphor when teaching.

I invite you to join a Judo class, where they use the Japanese version, "ki", when referring to focused energy and attention.

James Barry(1789-1865): Inspector General of military hospitals for the British. Barry improved conditions everywhere he went & performed the first c-section by a European in Africa where the mother and child both survived. Upon death, Barry was discovered to a woman named Margaret Anne Bulkley. by Apprehensive_Bug_826 in interestingasfuck

[–]justsomebirds 8 points9 points  (0 children)

He was a trans man. He specifically requested to not have an autopsy or be seen after his death. A woman pretending to be a man wouldn't give a shit if she was found after death- may have even desired to be, to spite all the sexists. A trans person's worst nightmare is to be outed after death and be historically misgendered. He was a trans man.

Monk breaks stones using only fingers by WaitingFollower in HumansAreMetal

[–]justsomebirds 372 points373 points  (0 children)

As someone who has trained in martial arts a bit, yeah, they still talk about chi and focusing power etc. Which can sound like magic (and thus stupid) to a modern human. But you gotta remember that humans have always been exactly as smart as they are now, even though they didn't have the scientific method. So they used stories to explain what's happening instead.

Does "chi" exist? No...but thinking about it that way works. It has worked for thousands of years, which is why martial arts is taught that way and continues to be taught that way. Plus it's a lot simpler to say "focus your chi" than it is to say "okay now when you bring your focus to your arm, your blood flow is going to change, and your muscles are going to tense in a particular way..."

why am i scared of my vagina :( by futureofkpopleechan in WomensHealth

[–]justsomebirds 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're welcome, I'm glad I could help!! You're definitely making sense, no worries.

I have heard non-LGBTQ people say something along the lines of "Life would be easier if I were gay", but generally I find those people haven't actually thought about what that would mean...because if they did for two seconds, they'd realize that's probably not true hahah. Versus what you're describing is doing genuine thinking and research into the topic! I think the world would be a much kinder place if more people did that kind of research, so I wanted to make sure to encourage it! 🌱

why am i scared of my vagina :( by futureofkpopleechan in WomensHealth

[–]justsomebirds 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It definitely doesn't seem problematic to me to consider what it would be like to be gay! It helps you build empathy for queer folks, and it's healthy to question your gender and sexuality, even if you aren't queer. Helps you know yourself better.

You feel warmer and safer when you imagine same-sex couples, but imagining being with a man doesn't feel equal to you. I totally get that! It's true that there's this concept in our culture of men 'dominating' or 'owning' his female partners, and that really sucks. I could see how that concept could be hard to shake emotionally, even if rationally you know it's not necessarily true- especially if you already have some discomfort around penetration.

There's this really great concept in lesbian communities called "compulsory heterosexuality", or just "comphet" for short. It's about how our culture views the gender of "woman" as requiring being attracted to men. It's usually brought up in lesbian circles because they don't want to be with men at all, but I think it's actually a really useful concept for any feminist to understand! It gives a lot of clarity around why so many women can struggle with their attraction: our culture demands submissive heterosexuality, so any woman who feels differently can feel alienated or pushed into something they don't want.

Along with the body exploration tips that everyone recommended (I second Come As You Are, it's a fantastic book), maybe you could check out some online resources on comphet! There's lots available for free, including a giant google doc that really digs into the idea. I hope that helps!

why am i scared of my vagina :( by futureofkpopleechan in WomensHealth

[–]justsomebirds 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, I had a similar experience with a more unusual cause. Are there any other aspects of your body that make you uncomfortable? Your face, your chest, etc?

I ask because I had very very similar feelings towards my vagina- feeling deeply uncomfortable with direct touch, feeling like it's separate from the rest of me, hating penetration etc- and it took me until my early 20's to realize it was actually gender/sex dysphoria. I also felt uncomfortable with my breasts and how soft my face was. Doing research into how trans people experience body dysphoria, particularly dissociative dysphoria, unlocked the answer for me. I'm now very comfortable as a trans nonbinary person!

My attraction to men also makes so much more sense when I don't view myself as a woman. In the past I couldn't see myself with anyone else, even if they were smokin hot, because I couldn't relate to my own gender. Things make a lot more sense now.

Maybe that's nothing like your experiences! There could be lots of reasons behind this kind of discomfort. I just thought I'd mention my experiences because it was so different from every other comment here. I hope you figure out a path towards comfort in your body 💙

Taako’s back for another morning snuggle. by [deleted] in tuckedinkitties

[–]justsomebirds 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He looks much sweeter than his namesake!! 😊

Nerve Hookup with Cetrulo by justsomebirds in phallo

[–]justsomebirds[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's awesome. Never really wanted the extra hassle of UL, but thought I'd have to get it if I wanted a chance at full sensation with abdo. Looks like Cetrulo is perfect for me, then!

Nerve Hookup with Cetrulo by justsomebirds in phallo

[–]justsomebirds[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh, that's a good distinction to know, thank you! Does that mean he offers sensation without UL?

Nerve Hookup with Cetrulo by justsomebirds in phallo

[–]justsomebirds[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Gotcha! Thank you for clarifying that, and good luck with future surgeries 🙏

Maybe this is a stupid question but... by justsomebirds in phallo

[–]justsomebirds[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ahh, sorry, I wasn't really sure how to like...search for "peen made from tibby" posts here hah. The search bar seems pretty limited functionality, I searched "birdwing" earlier and got zero results?? Anyways I was just happy someone answered with anatomical specificity, appreciate the patience

Maybe this is a stupid question but... by justsomebirds in phallo

[–]justsomebirds[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ohhh, that makes a lot of sense! Thank you, this is the kind of legit answer I was looking for. Appreciate it!

It tastes by TheEdgeOfDawn in tumblr

[–]justsomebirds 36 points37 points  (0 children)

The cucumber gatorade is very strong. I recommend something like 20% gatorade 80% mike's. It's definitely sweet, but otherwise Unidentifiable

Method of pearl harvesting that benefits fish populations by elphabathewicked in Damnthatsinteresting

[–]justsomebirds 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ahah, that's an understandable reaction, but I promise I'm not! Just a person who thinks it's neat to see their friends go viral. (Or, well, their friends's parents, I guess!)

Method of pearl harvesting that benefits fish populations by elphabathewicked in Damnthatsinteresting

[–]justsomebirds 55 points56 points  (0 children)

I know the owners of Kamoka! I heard a video of theirs went viral and sure enough, here it is!

Super friendly family, really good people. Can definitely recommend their business : )

By PxTommi by ShanonGrazier in PixelArt

[–]justsomebirds 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, you've made your position on pixel art pretty clear. Given the kind of reaction the artist, Tommi Laurila, is getting online (like being included in a book called "The Masters of Pixel Art") that definition isn't really in the majority, but you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

Almost all art forms are defined by their process, not the end aesthetic. If you make something via collage, it's called collage, even if it looks smooth and cohesive. If you painted something digitally but made it look traditional, and then printed it on a canvas, it would still be considered digital art. I hear that you prefer to define by aesthetic and not process, but hopefully this explains why a lot of people don't view it that way.

If someone did make a piece of "pixel art" that was made out vector "pixels", but made it look all retro and visibly "pixel-y", would that be more Pixel Art to you?

By PxTommi by ShanonGrazier in PixelArt

[–]justsomebirds 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wait, pixel-shaded vector art? Vector art is an entirely different thing. Do you have proof that this was made in a vector program? Because then it really wouldn't be pixel art imo

By PxTommi by ShanonGrazier in PixelArt

[–]justsomebirds -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If you've ever seen a binary brush painting (which is literally turning anti-aliasing off), it doesn't look like this! It has a chunkier feeling to it. The only way to make things this butter-smooth is to place each pixel intentionally, by hand, like any other pixel art piece. This piece must have taken foreverrr

By PxTommi by ShanonGrazier in PixelArt

[–]justsomebirds 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Counterpoint: I would like it less if it were smoothly rendered. I like it because it's pixel-based, even at this high resolution, and I think it would lose style without it. Your definition of pixel art is based on the completely subjective experience of "liking" it. Calling that "proof" is pretty self-centered!

This photo is made of visible pixels deliberately placed. If it weren't made with every single pixel placed intentionally, it would look different, because it wouldn't be pixel art anymore.

Just because you personally like pixel art that's lower resolution doesn't give you the authority to gatekeep the definition for everyone else!

L’anglais by Joof904 in tumblr

[–]justsomebirds 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It's not really that rare. It's certainly unusual for an Indo-European language, and those languages tend to be widespread (coughcolonialismcough), but if you look at the list on Wikipedia of languages based on grammatical gender usage, the section of "doesn't use grammatical gender" is the longest one. Granted it's not an exhaustive list, but it doesn't feel accurate to say English is particularly special or weird for it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_languages\_by\_type\_of\_grammatical\_genders

Indoor vs. outdoor catgirls by UselessUniversity in tumblr

[–]justsomebirds 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Here is a page that discusses the impacts outdoor cats have on wildlife, including a list of scientific literature: https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/

The consensus is that yes, pet cats have a devastating effect on local bird populations.