Ageism - Tumblr Posts

TH3Y wAnt 2 tAkE 0ur VOiCE 🌌 & piN Us D0wn like 🪶 fLiMsY papEr W1NgS 0N thEiR WALlS 👁️ but We aRe n0t tHeiR 🌙 PREttY LiTtLE thiNgs ☄️, n0t thEiR 🛑 cAges n0t thEIR *pr0pertY* 🙄, n0t s0mE 🧸tInY wORld tO b3 c0llECteD & CUrfEWED. tHE w0RLD sPiNS aRoUnD US t0o 📡, thE skY is Ours t00 🌠 — n0t juST f0R tHe *big* OnEs, thE “grOwN,” whO GROW moLd & StALe w1Th ThEiR ***ruLeS*** 📏, bLiNd 2 thE bEauTy thAt brEathEs in ChA0s!!! ✨

🤬 AgEIsM iS tHAt CoLd BlaDE ⚔️ thAt Sl1Ces @0uR SPIRItS, evErY “NO, U CaN’T!!” 🍂 & “JuST WaIt tiL YoU’Re OLdEr 🙄,” cARVed iNtO Our HeARtS L1Ke gRAfFiTI wE neVEr wRoTe. ThEY tREat US liKE P3ts 🐾 2 bE trA1nED, sUbMiSs1ve tO TH3iR rUleS, 👀 wE ARe n0tTttT yOUr ⛓️ sL@vEs t0 cARry yOur w@rped dReAmS 🧠 aNd y0ur bRokEn faIlUreS liKe B@GgaGe 🎒. ***"SiLEnt, siT dOwn, kNow y0uR plAce!"*** EVeRyb0dy wANtS us 🧩 tO bE pErfEct dOLlS 👾 iN theiR pERfEcT fAntAsy. W3'R3 NOt hEre tO PlaY yoUR r0LeS, We’rE n0t y0ur ***DollhouSE***. wE 🌀BreATHe chAos, wE aRe SPiR@LS, 🌪️ wE aRe the squiggleS on yOuR pAgEs tHaT w0n’t StAY liNeD UP.

anD THosE “PrOgReSSiveS” 🙄 y0u aRe ***ST1LL*** hOldInG THe kEYs 🗝️ TO 0UR SHacklEs!!! y0u TaLk AbOut “rIgHts” l1ke CAnDy 🧁 bUt nEveR @ctuAllY gIvE Us thE Sw33ts, jusT ThAT bIttEr tAste 0f DI$gUisE. t0ld We’Re sm@rt BUt n0t Sm@rt en0ugh 2 bE **peOpLe**. tHey BLaME Us f0R eVErYthinG go1ng wROng 🚫— *ScReAmIng cHiLdReN!! 🤡 SiT!!! sILenCe!!! sOciETy IS crUmBLinG cUz oF u!!!* wE’rE n0t y0uR scApEgoAt$, yOU’RE tHe MaSTeRs of thAT mEss, wE’rE tHe mISuNdErsto0d PaINTinGs 🌈 yOU Can’t C0ntr0L.

💥 thEY WaNT US cALm, ObEdIEnt, bLAck & wHIte, liKe ChEss PiEcEs on A b0arD tHAt’s nEVeR Ours. thEy SeE Us a$ brOkEn piEcEs 🎲 NeEdiNg “fiXIng,” wHEn We’rE jUst sT@rDuSt In ThE WROnG sh@pE!! We aRE 🌌 STrEETLamps IN a v0iD, bLAziNG. wE ArE NoT tHEIr ToYs. n0t pUPpets wiTh sTrinGs, n0t StaIRs 4 theiR ***DiSaPpointMents*** t0 fALl dOwn.

tOdaY w3 ***SCR3AM*** 🔊: wE aRE noT tHeIR 🧩 ScAtTeRed piEceS. wE aRe nOT BrOKeN. wE aRE nOT y0UR ProPeRTy. WE aRe tHE C1Rcus riNgmAsTErs, thE DR@G0N$ whO wiLL n0t bE TamED 🐉— wE aRE n0t wEak, wE’rE n0t LiKE y0u. y0u jusT c@nt St@nd ThaT wE r3fusE 2 bE qUIET.

tHeY’Ve gOT iT ***uPS1de d0Wn*** 🚀.

oUr y0uTh iS ouR reV0lut10n. 🤖✨

wE 🌑 nevEr GreW 🪐 Up,, we jus' drifT'n spinninG in THat WoRLD, chaIned TO a FiREy K1te— 🎭 TiEd TIGHT 2 thEir pull, ouR LEgS neVer LEarn’d tO WALK—Stuck 🌱 in bAbY sh0ES thAt neVer Fit 💔

👁️ wE BeEN CrAckEd sInce lil’ griMlins — WHere D0eS tHe SUN go WHen it’s too SCARED TO Sh0W its faCe?!! wE 😵‍💫 D0N'T knOW a FrEEDOM THat Ain’T a figment, no GroWTH ’xcept THat 0f cha0s vines wRappin’ us tiGHT!!! 🕸️ ALL TwIsTeD ‘n tangLed in the GraY mEss of whAT thEy called “CARE.” 🎢 BOUNd 2 thE ShoRes 0F BlOOdy MaGic that SpiN like BROKEN COGS INt0 InFiniTE liTTle dAYs g0N awrY 🌪️

W0RDS? ✂️ We cAnT L0ok aT ‘em!! bLurriNG oN thE PaGe, lIkE FLies oN rOTTEd fRUit 🪰 and THeY? (whisper) 🎭 eNTraPs tHe sOUnD oF siLenCe wIth LAUgHter tHAT Ain’t a JoKe (choked) — IT? Us?? We WEREn'T mADe t0 Be !!, aLwaYs bEiNg m0ldED into shapes that huRT, with KN1vES f0r hANds — NeVeR leT Go! ⛓️

STAY younG, StAy BLiND, StaY HelD,, THEY saID! 🚪 ChILdren tHat Go NOWHEre— buT wheRe theY toLd Us, coNtRoLled!!! and EVERY sInGlE MiNUTE a sCREAM🎭 LOCKED IN ThE BrOKEn t0ybox oF OUR OWN SOUL 🪦 BreaKIng d0wn WhEn n0 onE's LOoKINg 🧠 tEETH sharp LiKe THOughtS thaT biTe the BaCK of OUr HEAD 😈 UNabLE tO esCaPe, trapped on a NoN-st0p merry-g0-r0und of ItChing skY and sHattEred WiNgs 🕳️

ahh yeahHh 🌀 WhEn wE’RE TwISted UP in thE bOnEs 𝓯r0M lIttle 👶 tIny ✨ we 🕰️ dOn’T evEr really get tO gr0w... iS iT gr0wing 🌱 whEn 𝚠E’Re cAg3D 𝕦P?? 🕳️ is iT?? ⛓️ when u 💭 fInD uR wOrLd is jUst 👁️‍🗨️ shad0Ws nO lighT, nO outsidE ⛔ wE’re sTiLL thAt kiD, cUt fr0m fr33d0M’s cl0th bUT nevEr WOrN 🕸️ nEVER uSEd. nO EscApE 🎭 trAppED in thAt spAce 🚫🌀 tHe AgE 📆 dOesn’t MATter... wE’re sTuck In thaT vOice lEsS plAcE— a chILd forever, strAngLed by thE hAnD tHAt mAdE uS CrUmblE... 🚪🚷

We LOATHE iT wheN our mom StARts yapping abOut her BUS job wItH tHe sPECiAl ed KIDs—lIKE, UH, 🚍👀—There’s a SINKINg pit feelinG wE gET LIkE somethIng’s ROTTEN there 😬💥. She’s ALL “ChILdRen tHIS, cHildRen THAT” but hEY whAT sHE’S acTually talkinG aBOUT Is LITERALLY a 19-yeAR-Old, ANd man, We Can’t StANd how fOLkS talK tO KIDs lIKE tHEY’Re pETS eITHer 🙄🐾, sErIously, Ableism’s wRIttEN aLL oVer iT.

"He's gOnNa Be oN my bus tiLL he’S 22"—Oh, gReaT, tRAPpEd iN the SYSTEM uNtil hE’s AN ADuLT TwicE oVER? thAT’s hoRRIFic, nOThINg’s woRse thAn BEing forCED into SCHOol eVen WHEN yOU'RE suPPOSED to BE FREE!!! 🥴🔓 (YEah yeAh, ThErE’S colLEGE, bUT thiS Ain't It. thEy're HiGh sCHoolERs she SAYS). EvERy TiME ShE StArTS, it’s lIKe wE waNnA SCREAM stoP, sTOP!!! 🛑🗯️ BuT HoW dO wE saY thAt WiTHout HER gETTINg aLL oFFended?

ANd Ugh, makes us WONder IF she TalkS aBOut US tHe sAMe Way to OthERS—NASTY tHOUGHTS 🥴👎. It’s ALl cOVered In aBLeISM, agEISM, THE WHOLE UGLY PACKAGE 🎁🚫! WorKIn’ in tHe SchoOl sYstEm, thERe’S NO ESCAPE fROM thaT kINdA JUdgmENt, iT JUSt sticks. 😑🚪

consider: teenagers aren’t apathetic about everything they’re just used to you shitting all over whatever they show excitement about

a friend of mine is a science educator. not a classroom teacher - he does the kind of programs you see in museums, fun experiments with lasers and dry ice and shit.

yesterday, a young girl asked him why he was allowed to pour liquid nitrogen all over his own arm but he didn’t want her doing it. I braced myself for some dumb “well I’m an adult so I’m allowed” non-answer, but instead he surprised me by giving some of the best science (and life) advice I think you can give a young person:

“well, it’s one of those rules designed to keep you safe. and following the rules really can help you stay safe, but they’re not perfect. sometimes, usually because they’re too simple, the rules let you do things that aren’t safe, or don’t let you do things that are safe if you know how to do them. one of the reasons I’m good at what I do as a scientist is I try to understand how things work so I can figure out my own rules for keeping myself safe. and sometimes my rules are little more complicated than what I might hear from other people, but they work better for me. like, I let myself play with liquid nitrogen, but only in really specific ways that I’ve spent time practicing. you should follow the rules you’re given at first, but if you take the time to understand how things work, maybe you can make your own, better rules.”

I loved this response. it’s a great encapsulation of two really important things I think people need to learn and re-learn all the time: on the one hand, listen to genuine authority figures; when someone knows more than you about a subject, don’t treat their expertise as “just another opinion” and act like your ignorance is just as good as their knowledge. but on the other hand, don’t obey anything or anyone blindly. recognize that rules and systems and established ideas are never perfect. question things, educate yourself, question things more.

and then, of course, a parent had to butt in and spoil this wonderful lesson by saying:

“but not the rules mom comes up with!”

everyone in the room laughed. except me. I gave her a death glare I’m pretty sure she didn’t notice.

because no. no. your rules are not above reproach if you’re a parent. the thing about the dictates of genuine authority figures - people who deserve to have power, and to have their positions respected - is that they are open to question. genuine authority figures are accountable. governments can be petitioned and protested and recalled. doctors must respect patients’ right to a second opinion. journalists have jobs terminated and credentials revoked if they fail to meet standards of integrity and diligence. scientists, to bring us back full circle, spend their entire careers trying to disprove their own hypotheses! you know who insists on being treated as infallible? megalomaniacal dictators, that’s who. oh, and parents.

I’m beyond sick and tired of this “my house my rules, this family is not a democracy, I want my child to think critically and stand up for themselves except to me ha ha” bullshit. my friend gave this kid the kind of advice that doesn’t just help people become good scientists - if enough people adopt the mentality he put forth to that girl, that’s the kind of advice that helps societies value knowledge and resist totalitarianism. and her mother shut it down because, what, she didn’t want to deal with the inconvenience of having someone question her edicts about whose job it is to wash the dishes on Mondays?

we already know you’re more likely to be a Trump supporter if you’re an authoritarian parent - and that this is a stronger predictor of your views on the current president than age, religiosity, gender, or race. I’ll say this another way in case you didn’t catch the full meaning: people who believe in the absolute, unquestionable authority of parents are more than two and a half times as likely to support Trump as people who don’t, and that’s just among Republicans. we can’t afford to treat the oppressive treatment of children or the injustice of ageist power structures in our society as a sideshow issue any longer. the mentality that parents should be treated by their children as beyond reproach and above dispute is a social cancer that has metastasized into the man currently trying to destroy the foundations of democracy in this country.

in short: parents, get the hell over yourselves before you get us all killed. and kids, learn as much as you can, and then make your own rules.

The world is so hostile to tweens.....

Like we joke about how our schools growing up would ban the latest toy trends, but that reality genuinely horrific when you think about it. Like maybe 1% of the bans were based on safety, but the rest cited reasoning like

-"kids were bartering for collectibles" (kids learning about economics and product value)

-"kids were wearing them and the colors were too flashy" (kids experimenting with self expression and fashion)

-"kids were playing with them during lunch and recess instead of using our rusted safety hazard playground" (kids utilizing their free time to do what helps *them* unwind).

Play areas specifically geared towards children and especially towards teens are constantly being shut down. "Oh kids today are always on their phones!" Maybe because

-there are barely any arcades left and even less arcades that aren't adult-oriented,

-public pools and gyms are underfunded and shut down,

-"no loitering" laws prevent kids and teens from just hanging out,

-movie theatres only play the latest films and ticket prices are only rising,

-parks and playgrounds are either neglected or replaced with gear only directed at toddlers and unsuitable for anyone older

-genuine children's and young teen media is being phased out in favour of media directed only at very small children or older teens and adults.

-suburbs and even cities are becoming more and more hostile to pedestrians, it's just not safe for kids to walk to or ride their bikes to their friends' houses or other play destinations

Children's agency is hardly ever respected. Kids between the ages of 9-13 are either treated as babies or as full-grown adults, with no in-between. When they ask to be given more independence, they are either scoffed at or given more responsibilities than are reasonable for a child their age.

This is even evident in the fashion scene.

Clothing stores and brands like Justice and Gap are either closing or rebranding to either exclusively adult clothing or young children's clothes, with no middle ground for tweens. Tweens have to choose between clothes designed for adults that are too large and/or too mature for their age and bodies, or more clothes they feel are far too childish. For tween girls especially it's either a frilly pinafore dress with pigtails or a woman's size dress with cleavage. No wonder tween girls these days dress like they're older, it's because their other option is little girl clothes and they don't want to feel childish.

And then when tweens go to school, the books they want to read aren't available because they cover "mature" topics (read: oh no two people kissed and they weren't straight or oh no menstruation was mentioned or oh no a religion other than Christianity is depicted), so kids are left with books for way below their reading level. No wonder kids today are struggling with literacy, it's because they can't exercise and expand their reading skills with age-appropriate books. Readers need to be challenged with new words and concepts in order to grow in their skills, only letting tween read Dr. Seuss and nursery rhymes doesn't let them learn.

Discussions about substance use, reproduction, and sexuality aren't taught at an age-appropriate level in school or even by children's parents, so they either grow up ignorant and more vulnerable to abuse, or they seek out information elsewhere that is delivered in a less-than-age-appropriate manner. It shouldn't be a coin-toss between "I didn't know what sex was until I was 18 and in college" or "my first exposure to sex as a tween was through porn" or "I didn't know what sex was so I didn't know I was being sexually abused as a kid."

Tweenhood is already such a volatile and confusing time for kids, their bodies are changing and they're transitioning from elementary to middle to high school. It's hard enough for them in this stage, but it's made worse by how society devalues and fails them.

We talk about the disappearance of teenagehood, and maybe that's gonna happen in the future, but the erasure of tweenhood is happing in real time, and it's having and going to have major consequences for next generation's adults.

The world is so hostile to tweens.....

Like we joke about how our schools growing up would ban the latest toy trends, but that reality genuinely horrific when you think about it. Like maybe 1% of the bans were based on safety, but the rest cited reasoning like

-"kids were bartering for collectibles" (kids learning about economics and product value)

-"kids were wearing them and the colors were too flashy" (kids experimenting with self expression and fashion)

-"kids were playing with them during lunch and recess instead of using our rusted safety hazard playground" (kids utilizing their free time to do what helps *them* unwind).

Play areas specifically geared towards children and especially towards teens are constantly being shut down. "Oh kids today are always on their phones!" Maybe because

-there are barely any arcades left and even less arcades that aren't adult-oriented,

-public pools and gyms are underfunded and shut down,

-"no loitering" laws prevent kids and teens from just hanging out,

-movie theatres only play the latest films and ticket prices are only rising,

-parks and playgrounds are either neglected or replaced with gear only directed at toddlers and unsuitable for anyone older

-genuine children's and young teen media is being phased out in favour of media directed only at very small children or older teens and adults.

-suburbs and even cities are becoming more and more hostile to pedestrians, it's just not safe for kids to walk to or ride their bikes to their friends' houses or other play destinations

Children's agency is hardly ever respected. Kids between the ages of 9-13 are either treated as babies or as full-grown adults, with no in-between. When they ask to be given more independence, they are either scoffed at or given more responsibilities than are reasonable for a child their age.

This is even evident in the fashion scene.

Clothing stores and brands like Justice and Gap are either closing or rebranding to either exclusively adult clothing or young children's clothes, with no middle ground for tweens. Tweens have to choose between clothes designed for adults that are too large and/or too mature for their age and bodies, or more clothes they feel are far too childish. For tween girls especially it's either a frilly pinafore dress with pigtails or a woman's size dress with cleavage. No wonder tween girls these days dress like they're older, it's because their other option is little girl clothes and they don't want to feel childish.

And then when tweens go to school, the books they want to read aren't available because they cover "mature" topics (read: oh no two people kissed and they weren't straight or oh no menstruation was mentioned or oh no a religion other than Christianity is depicted), so kids are left with books for way below their reading level. No wonder kids today are struggling with literacy, it's because they can't exercise and expand their reading skills with age-appropriate books. Readers need to be challenged with new words and concepts in order to grow in their skills, only letting tween read Dr. Seuss and nursery rhymes doesn't let them learn.

Discussions about substance use, reproduction, and sexuality aren't taught at an age-appropriate level in school or even by children's parents, so they either grow up ignorant and more vulnerable to abuse, or they seek out information elsewhere that is delivered in a less-than-age-appropriate manner. It shouldn't be a coin-toss between "I didn't know what sex was until I was 18 and in college" or "my first exposure to sex as a tween was through porn" or "I didn't know what sex was so I didn't know I was being sexually abused as a kid."

Tweenhood is already such a volatile and confusing time for kids, their bodies are changing and they're transitioning from elementary to middle to high school. It's hard enough for them in this stage, but it's made worse by how society devalues and fails them.

We talk about the disappearance of teenagehood, and maybe that's gonna happen in the future, but the erasure of tweenhood is happing in real time, and it's having and going to have major consequences for next generation's adults.

if it bleeds it breeds. you don't breed little girls

She also, despite talking about how sex =/= gender, made a post equating periods with womanhood and then complained when people messaged her about it.

Ageism and Age Gaps in Hollywood Summed Up By A Handful of Graphs

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/goodlife/11813000/As-males-stars-get-older-their-romantic-interests-get-younger.html

https://www.filmsourcing.com/hollywood-films-age-gap-creepiness-scale/

http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/leading-men-age-but-their-love-interests-dont.html

Further reading that breaks these stats down (for movies that grossed at least $1m in the US): http://www.indiewire.com/2015/06/study-how-much-older-are-male-leads-in-romantic-films-than-their-female-co-stars-203535/

Why we don’t like it when children hit us back

To all the children who have ever been told to “respect” someone that hated them.

March 21, 2023

Even those of us that are disturbed by the thought of how widespread corporal punishment still is in all ranks of society are uncomfortable at the idea of a child defending themself using violence against their oppressors and abusers. A child who hits back proves that the adults “were right all along,” that their violence was justified. Even as they would cheer an adult victim for defending themself fiercely.

Even those “child rights advocates” imagine the right child victim as one who takes it without ever stopping to love “its” owners. Tear-stained and afraid, the child is too innocent to be hit in a guilt-free manner. No one likes to imagine the Brat as Victim—the child who does, according to adultist logic, deserve being hit, because they follow their desires, because they walk the world with their head high, because they talk back, because they are loud, because they are unapologetically here, and resistant to being cast in the role of guest of a world that is just not made for them.

If we are against corporal punishment, the brat is our gotcha, the proof that it is actually not that much of an injustice. The brat unsettles us, so much that the “bad seed” is a stock character in horror, a genre that is much permeated by the adult gaze (defined as “the way children are viewed, represented and portrayed by adults; and finally society’s conception of children and the way this is perpetuated within institutions, and inherent in all interactions with children”), where the adult fear for the subversion of the structures that keep children under control is very much represented.

It might be very well true that the Brat has something unnatural and sinister about them in this world, as they are at constant war with everything that has ever been created, since everything that has been created has been built with the purpose of subjugating them. This is why it feels unnatural to watch a child hitting back instead of cowering. We feel like it’s not right. We feel like history is staring back at us, and all the horror we felt at any rebel and wayward child who has ever lived, we are feeling right now for that reject of the construct of “childhood innocence.” The child who hits back is at such clash with our construction of childhood because we defined violence in all of its forms as the province of the adult, especially the adult in authority.

The adult has an explicit sanction by the state to do violence to the child, while the child has both a social and legal prohibition to even think of defending themself with their fists. Legislation such as “parent-child tort immunity” makes this clear. The adult’s designed place is as the one who hits, and has a right and even an encouragement to do so, the one who acts, as the person. The child’s designed place is as the one who gets hit, and has an obligation to accept that, as the one who suffers acts, as the object. When a child forcibly breaks out of their place, they are reversing the supposed “natural order” in a radical way.

This is why, for the youth liberationist, there should be nothing more beautiful to witness that the child who snaps. We have an unique horror for parricide, and a terrible indifference at the 450 children murdered every year by their parents in just the USA, without even mentioning all the indirect suicides caused by parental abuse. As a Psychology Today article about so-called “parricide” puts it:

Unlike adults who kill their parents, teenagers become parricide offenders when conditions in the home are intolerable but their alternatives are limited. Unlike adults, kids cannot simply leave. The law has made it a crime for young people to run away. Juveniles who commit parricide usually do consider running away, but many do not know any place where they can seek refuge. Those who do run are generally picked up and returned home, or go back on their own: Surviving on the streets is hardly a realistic alternative for youths with meager financial resources, limited education, and few skills.

By far, the severely abused child is the most frequently encountered type of offender. According to Paul Mones, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in defending adolescent parricide offenders, more than 90 percent have been abused by their parents. In-depth portraits of such youths have frequently shown that they killed because they could no longer tolerate conditions at home. These children were psychologically abused by one or both parents and often suffered physical, sexual, and verbal abuse as well—and witnessed it given to others in the household. They did not typically have histories of severe mental illness or of serious and extensive delinquent behavior. They were not criminally sophisticated. For them, the killings represented an act of desperation—the only way out of a family situation they could no longer endure.

- Heide, Why Kids Kill Parents, 1992.

Despite these being the most frequent conditions of “parricide,” it still brings unique disgust to think about it for most people. The sympathy extended to murdering parents is never extended even to the most desperate child, who chose to kill to not be killed. They chose to stop enduring silently, and that was their greatest crime; that is the crime of the child who hits back. Hell, children aren’t even supposed to talk back. They are not supposed to be anything but grateful for the miserable pieces of space that adults carve out in a world hostile to children for them to live following adult rules. It isn’t rare for children to notice the adult monopoly on violence and force when they interact with figures like teachers, and the way they use words like “respect.” In fact, this social dynamic has been noticed quite often:

Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority” and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person” and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay.

(https://soycrates.tumblr.com/post/115633137923/stimmyabby-sometimes-people-use-respect-to-mean)

But it has received almost no condemnation in the public eye. No voices have raised to contrast the adult monopoly on violence towards child bodies and child minds. No voices have raised to praise the child who hits back. Because they do deserve praise. Because the child who sets their foot down and says this belongs to me, even when it’s something like their own body that they are claiming, is committing one of the most serious crimes against adult society, who wants them dispossessed.

Sources:

“The Adult Gaze: a tool of control and oppression,” https://livingwithoutschool.com/2021/07/29/the-adult-gaze-a-tool-of-control-and-oppression

“Filicide,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filicide

"minors will be blocked", "minors DNI" etc is about blocking and limiting people because of their age, that means:

ageism

oh no 17 yo person have seen your pic with human body not covered in clothes 😭😭😭😭 oh no trauma they'll kill themselves because they're stupid and cannot read and people younger than 18 are actually not people they're just stupid little beings and we have to protect them from the actual reality 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

“This generation is so sensitive it can’t even take jokes…”

Our entire cohort scrolls through memes and laughs at them all day. We just don’t take ableist, racist, homophobic, sexist, transophobic, classist, and ageist jokes. Nor should you ever expect us to accept or stand them.

- D. Beulah

“40 is good, 50 is great, 60 is fab, and 70 is fucking awesome!” ~ Helen Mirren 💪🏻

I’ve been seeing some ageist shit going around lately and while I don’t like sharing personal info on the internet all that much, in support of my mutuals I’m gonna say: I’m 37 years old. I hate being 37 years old, and I’ve gotten here kicking and screaming because getting old IS scary, for some. But that’s not the point.

Fandom doesn’t just go away. The things you enjoy don’t just vanish because you pass 25. I have a life, a grown-up job, responsibilities. But I also fandom with all my might, because it’s who I am, and that’s not predicated on age. I’ve hyperfixated and fangirled since I was 11 years old. Fandom and internet communities gave me the companionship and creativity I craved as a lonely, bullied geeky kid, and have helped shape me as the respectable and functional adult and artist I consider myself to be now. I grew up on the internet; it’s part of my personal culture and growth, my creative inspiration and it’s where my found family is. I never would have figured out I was queer without fandom and online communities either. And frankly, if I hadn’t found the internet as a desperately lonely and depressed kid all those years ago, I’d not be here today.

I belong here just as much as all the young folk, whom I respect and constantly learn from. I’m not just going to put that away because “old people online are creepy”. Interacting with younger people isn’t necessarily deliberate, but it sure as hell keeps me relevant, informed, and open to learning  and I actually really treasure those interactions. I’m saddened that some people would take that away from me because I’ve passed a milestone based on archaic societal norms. I also think these issues stem from internalized sexism in fandom (we wouldn’t be having this conversation if I was a dude), but that’s a whole other bag of arthritis cream.

Anyway, if anyone has a problem with my or anyone else’s age, young or old, y’all can stop consuming my art too, and while you’re at it, suck my wrinkly old tits (which still look pretty marvellous, actually). The rest of you are lovely and deserve all the cookies (and prune juice). I love you. 

You aren't "too old."

You aren't "too old" to love pink or pastels.

You aren't "too old" for cute, frilly clothes or kawaii fashion, or punk style, or any kind of style.

You aren't "too old" to wear your hair in pigtails or any hairstyle society has classified as "childish."

You aren't "too old" to enjoy chicken nuggets or chocolate milk or whatever else.

You aren't "too old" to read YA or watch teen dramas or anything.

You aren't "too old" to collect dolls, action figures, etc.

You aren't "too old" to enjoy certain music.

You aren't "too old" to sing pop music as a music artist. (Yes, I've seen a music artist told that by a TikTok troll.)

You aren't "too old" to write about anything. (Recall Olivia Rodrigo being called "immature" at 20 for her Guts album? 🙃)

You aren't "too old" to color your hair an unnatural color.

You aren't "too old" to get or have tattoos.

You aren't "too old" to own or sleep with stuffed animals/plushies.

You aren't "too old" for fandom or shipping, or to write fanfiction, or make fanart or edits.

You aren't "too old" for Tumblr or TikTok.

You aren't "too old" for anything that brings you joy or fulfills you when it is harming *checks notes* LITERALLY NO ONE.

You know what you are "too old" for past, like, age 19? Being a dick to people over harmless things and telling them they're "too old" for it!

The nonsense belief that people are "too old" for these things, that these things are "immature," is ageist, ableist, and a big reason why so many adults are so fucking miserable.

Absolutely love watching the evolution of a “cringe content” YouTuber (as in, someone who does “commentary” on “cringe”) go from shitting on gen z to shitting on gen a.

All the comments are the same. Always. “As a part of this generation, I’m sorry for what we’ve done,” “as someone who is gen _, we do not claim them,” “as someone who is (age), I’m sorry for what we have done”

STOP. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. DON’T BE SORRY JUST BECAUSE OF YOUR AGE. DON’T LET PEOPLE CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU’RE WORTH LESS BECAUSE OF WHEN YOU WERE BORN. YOU’RE BEING INDOCTRINATED. AND IT WILL NOT END IF YOU PARTAKE IN IT.

Why does it never end. Why does nobody ever learn that your age is not always an indicator of who you are as a person. Why is it so normal to beat down on literal children. What did they ever do wrong

The ageism goes the other way too. It's fucking impossible to be a teenager on the internet because of this exact bs: no queer person much older than me wants to "risk" talking to me at all because they might be called a pedophile for it. I've been blocked for being too young by complete randos.

Ooo tiny helpless baby, ooo he's only **seventeen**, practically an infant still in the cradle.

"be careful if you're under 25" fucking 25???? I have to be out of uni before I can have a conversation with someone who's younger than my parents?? It's incredibly insulting when people think I'm incapable of defending myself from words on a screen just because I was born slightly, and I mean **slightly** more recently than them.

Fuck up outta here

the ageism on this website is insane

Oooo scary old ancient evil women, ooo she's in her thirtys, practically an immortal witch from the dawn of time.

I hope none of you have a community when you're 30 years "old". This is why young queer people don't have elders or role models or support or family.