Ah Yes The Three Genders

ah yes the three genders

-big boy

-big girl

-large mountain

I woke up and had a moment of brilliancy

I think a lot of abled people get confused about ableism because they fail to recognize how diverse a category disability is. There are so many kinds of disabilities - intellectual, sensory, motor, chronic illness, neurodivergence, limb differences, to name a few - and people in these categories will have different needs.

Which is why you often end up with disability advocates saying seemingly "contradictory" things. One group may be advocating for more support while another wants increased independence. People with a terminal illness will fight for a cure and more research whereas some ND/sensory disabilities want to stop having their experience medicalized, and so on. The kinds of ableism that people experience will also vary for that reason.

And having one kind of disability doesn't make you an expert on all of them! Which is why it's important to have diverse disability rep within organizations and groups. I've encountered organizations in the past that claim to be accessible/disability friendly because they have one disabled person on their board, only to find them woefully unequipped to deal with my very different disabilities.

This disability pride month I really encourage abled "allies" to examine the ways they try to flatten disability into a monolith and to make an effort to listen to and uplift diverse disabled voices.

Facts.

(disclaimer: this is me complimenting things Techno does that i specifically enjoy, not that other streamers don’t manage the same thing. support content creators! also i’m not begrudging Techno wanting to keep out of more competitive events like non-charity MCCs, that’s part of what makes me like him so much) 

watching lots of other perspectives for MCC15 has really made me appreciate Techno’s streaming style. it feels so low key but with the edge of competitiveness that keeps me invested. 

he is so dedicated to good content (thinking about when he spoke about not wanting to become a “tournament andy”) and that's always what is produced. while i love and appreciate all the streamers i’m watching today, none of them give the same level of satisfaction as watching a Techno Tournament TM. it’s not just to do with skill, which certainly adds to something like battle box which gets harder to watch when someone  isn’t doing as well as you know they can, but everything else he brings to a stream makes it even better. the (sometimes comically unrelated) commentary, the support and advice he gives to his teammates, interaction with chat, and the balance of competitiveness and avoiding toxicity. 

also more niche, there’s a specific way he moves his cursor to make it an incredibly smooth viewing experience. i can’t explain it entirely, but it just feels like getting in a car with great suspension, i’m sure there’s no particularly different graphics or settings he uses but it makes it so easy for me to remain involved. similarly, something that has been mentioned a lot that i think comes hand in hand with not having a facecam, is great awareness of his character’s body language. the far away technogaze, and the way he turns his head to look at other people is the height of humour in my mind and none one can convince me otherwise. 

Asexual labels explained using cereal

You are in a kitchen, opening a pantry door. It contains every brand of cereal in existence.

Libido- How hungry you are

Sexual Attraction- How appealing each cereal is to you

Sex-Repulsed- The mere act of eating cereal disturbs you. You flee the kitchen to watch Netflix instead.

Sex-Indifferent- Someone brings you a bowl of cereal. Even though you don’t crave cereal, you decide to eat some anyway. Maybe because you want the person to feel happy you’re eating something they provided you. Maybe you’re just that hungry. Regardless, you’re fine with eating it since it’s already there. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t care either.

Sex-favorable- Though you don’t particularly crave cereal, the act of eating cereal is enjoyable. So enjoyable, you go through the trouble of picking a brand to eat.

Asexual with low/no libido- You are rarely hungry, and none of the cereal appeals to you.

Asexual with average/high libido- You are often hungry, but none of the cereal appeals to you.

Aegosexual-  Eating cereal sounds fun in theory but not in practice. You certainly have no interest in eating cereal yourself. You’d rather fantasize about other people eating cereal, thankyouverymuch. 

Gray Asexual- You only like Lucky Charms and Apple Jacks. And maybe Fruity Pebbles but you’re not quite sure.

Demisexual- You see a box of Trix. You are familiar with the rabbit on the box, due to the commercials you’ve seen. You always sympathized with the rabbit for never getting any Trix. There are things in life you’ve wanted but have never gotten. You feel a bond with the rabbit. Suddenly that box of Trix looks tasty.

Fraysexual- You see a box of Cocoa Puffs. You have never heard of Cocoa Puffs in your life. But something about it is oh-so-appealing. You pour yourself a bowl. As you start to eat, you catch a commercial for Cocoa Puffs on TV. You now know what the mascot on the box is like. You lose interest in Cocoa Puffs for reasons you cannot explain.

Lithosexual- You notice a box of Fruit Loops. You feel an urge to eat it. Toucan Sam comes to life and asks you to eat them. This makes you uncomfortable, so you leave to watch Netflix with the sex-repulsed ace.

Reciprosexual- You have no interest in any of the cereal. Not even that box of Frosted Flakes. But Tony the Tiger shows up wanting you to eat the Frosted Flakes. Now that he wants you to eat Frosted Flakes, you want to eat Frosted Flakes. 

Cupiosexual- You want to eat cereal, but none of the cereal looks appealing. Maybe if you grab that box of Corn Flakes, it’ll become appealing to you later? It’s happened to other people. You consider grabbing that box of Corn Flakes, just in case.

Orchidsexual- Some of the cereal looks appealing, but you have no interest in eating cereal.

Aceflux- None of the cereal looks good, so you close the pantry. A few days later, you decide to open the pantry again. Now, some of those brands look appetizing. You check the pantry again the next day. None of the cereal looks good anymore.

Quoisexual- You have no idea if you like a cereal because you want to eat it, or if you just think the box art is pretty. Does liking the box art count as wanting to eat it? Do you just like the mascot? Does liking the mascot count as wanting to eat the cereal? After reading everything I’ve written, you are still confused. You bang your head against the pantry in frustration.