No matter what you say, I will say the opposite

 "Question what the TV tells you

Question what a pop star sells you

Question mum and question dad

Question good and question bad!"

"Sex Yeah" - Marina And The Diamonds

I've always said education is undeniably a form of manipulation. Of course there are some objective things you learn from it, but there are lots of other subjective ideas and opinions parents, teachers and role models tack on us.

That's why I've been thinking and finally came out with this idea: every time you're told something you didn't know, search for arguments against it, even if it actually convinces you, try to refute it. There will always be absurd things being taught as absolute truths, mostly in the Internet (don't get ideologies 100% from the net!) but also in words from celebrities; what you learn in school is mostly an actual truth, but you won't get very far if you assume everything a grownup tells you, and there are always subjective ideas that aren't true for everyone (especially in History and languages classes), so you'll want to find your own truth and, if you're confident enough, share it with your teacher. You'll always learn something new!

"So, how can I be aware if a celebrity or someone in the Internet is actually lying?" First of all, you should understand that there are certain things that are true just for some people: everyone has an opinion, and all opinions are different; that's what makes this world interesting! So you're never sure if what you're being told is actually your truth. If it looks objective, you can always look for information from other sources (including real people outside the Internet!)... actually, you should really do that. Otherwise, just look for other people's opinions and see which one convinces you. Maybe there will be certain points from different opinions that you find convincing... and that's great! That means you can use those points to build your very own opinion!

"What if I see a negative opinion about something I don't really understand?" Well, there will always be facts and collectives you shouldn't really give your opinion about (let's see, if you're a white cisgender straight male, why would you give an opinion about transgenders? Does it have something to do with you? No? Then chill!) since you most probably don't really know anything about it (unless you know someone who lives or lived it and can tell you). Then what you should do is either look for opinions from people who knows about it: for example, if you're trying to build an opinion about the furry fandom, what you should do is look for a furry fandom member's opinion; or just don't opine about it: no one told you to, nobody will blame you if you admit you don't know about it.

So, when it comes to making your own opinion, the solution is quite simple: search for information for yourself and, if the topic doesn't really concern you and/or you can't know about it, just stay away from it.

How to get EQUALITY

[AUDIO COULD NOT BE FOUND]

"FUCK EM
Fuck feminists
Fuck the left
Fuck the right
Fuck anyone in between who feels men don't deserve rights
Fuck everyone who claims men need to be fixed
Fuck everyone who ignores that men suffer right along side women
Fuck anyone who thinks they can define men or masculinity"

"Fuck Feminism" - Jared White

There's quite a lot of people complaining about a problem nobody is moving a finger to solve... As I said in "Time to fight for men's rights" (LINK), what we call 'feminism' is not useful anymore: yeah, if we called it 'equalism' or 'egalitarism' instead of 'feminism', we'd erase all that it historically means... Because that's precisely the point! Feminists WERE fighting against a male chauvinist society... which doesn't exist anymore! What we need now is not feminism, it's egalitarism.

I still hear some people (if it's fair to call them people, which I doubt) saying that "men are already empowered and the fight for equality is only for women"... NO, simply NO. Read the previous entry (the one I linked in the first paragraph) and you'll see how women, instead of getting to the same level of men, are trying to be the crap they complain about. Men are not free of oppression: you can complain about men if you are a girl, but if you complain about women as a boy...! So NO, there is no such thing as male superiority anymore, deal with it: I know some people enjoys being oppressed, because if you are you have something to victimise yourself about, but, no, girls, we're not oppressed anymore, stop crying already.

Do you know how to get the equality you ask for? It's very simple: both males and females should have the right to choose: I have to be able to choose to be a housewife without 'feminists' calling me 'tamed' or 'destroyer of equal rights' and my husband has to be able to choose to be as stereotyped as he wants to without a bunch of crying 'feminists' calling him 'male chauvinist' as well as we have to be able to choose to be the brain-washed 'liberals' 'feminists' want us to be; of course!

So, now, if you really want equality, let me allow my husband to have sex with all the women he wants to and be free while I do whatever I want as well, even if that means doing the cleaning, cooking and staying at home (as long as it's healthy and I really want it... otherwise, see "Why do men cheat on women?"): because it's my decision and you should NOT be able to forbid it legally nor socially, and if it's not right or a mistake I'll end up realising by myself and learning from it.

Thanks.

Valentine's Day Task

 "I’m your carnal flower, I’m your bloody rose
Pick my petals off and make my heart explode
I’m your deadly nightshade, I’m your cherry tree
You’re my one true love, I’m your destiny"

"FROOT" - Marina And The Diamonds

For the task of today, we've had to visit this site and do the exercises of, at least, one of the proposed links. I chose the 'Elllo has a nice listening game about Valentine's Day Gift Hints' and, after listening to a speech full of gender stereotypes and 'things that work for girls' that would honestly work for both genders (men like to feel loved too!), I answered all the questions correctly without any mistake (it wasn't that hard...).

So, here's the screenshot of the result:

"Power And Control"

"Give a little, get a lot,
That’s just how you are with love.
Give a little, get a lot,
Yeah, you may be good looking
But you’re not a piece of art.
   
Power and control,
I’m gonna make you fall.
  

[...]

Women and men we are the same,
But love will always be a game,
We give and take a little more,
Eternal game of tug and war."

"Power And Control" - Marina and The Diamonds

 

For the task of today we had to write about a love song we like, explaining the kind of love it is. I chose "Power And Control", from Marina And The Diamonds' second album Electra Heart (2012), which focuses in dysfunctional love and 'hoolywoodian' female archetypes from the second half of the XX century (especially the '50s and the '70s).

This concrete track is seen from the perspective of a girl engaged in an unhealthy relationship where both her and her pair are trying to get 'power' over each other. Marina said the song was about "the power struggle in relationships [where] there's always one person who wants the upper hand." Love in this ludic and unhealthy relationship is described as "eternal game of tug and war."

The music video illustrates it quite well. Marina is seen in a mansion with her man, with whom she plays mind games. The self-empowering overtaking is represented by a bucket (firstly full of paint, then full of water) thrown at a canvas by him at the first occasion and at him by her at the last chorus.

"Power And Control" is, then, an example of a relationship where the important isn't really love but the power and control one lover can exert on the other, treating it like a game; it is, then, an example of ludic unhealthy love.

Here are the lyrics, translated to Catalan:

ENGLISH CATALAN

(Power and control) (Poder i control)
Give a little, get a lot, Dóna una mica, pren molt,
That’s just how you are with love. És exactament com ets amb l'amor.
Give a little, get a lot, Dóna una mica, pren molt,
Yeah, you may be good looking, Sí, potser ets guapo,
But you’re not a piece of art. Però no ets una obra d'art.

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.

Women and men we are the same, Dones i homes som el mateix,
But love will always be a game, Però l'amor sempre serà un joc,
We give and take a little more, Donem i prenem una mica més,
Eternal game of tug and war. Joc etern de conflicte i guerra.

Think you’re funny, think you’re smart, Penses que ets divertit, penses que ets llest,
Think you’re gonna break my heart. Penses que trencaràs el meu cor.
Think you’re funny, think you’re smart, Penses que ets divertit, penses que ets llest,
Yeah, you may be good looking, Sí, potser ets guapo,
But you’re not a piece of art. Però no ets una obra d'art.

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.

Women and men we are the same, Dones i homes som el mateix,
But love will always be a game, Però l'amor sempre serà un joc,
A human vulnerability... Una vulnerabilitat humana...
Doesn't mean that I am weak? Això no significa que sóc dèbil?

That I am weak, I am weak, Que sóc dèbil, sóc dèbil,
I am weak, I am weak, weak, Sóc dèbil, sóc dèbil, dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.

Women and men we are the same, Dones i homes som el mateix,
But love will always be a game, Però l'amor sempre serà un joc,
We give and take a little more, Donem i prenem una mica més,
Eternal game of tug and war. Joc etern de conflicte i guerra.

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure..
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
I’m gonna make you fall, Et faré caure,

We give and take a little more, Donem i prenem una mica més,
‘Cause all my life I’ve been controlled, Perquè tota la meva vida he estat controlada,
You can’t have peace without a war, No pots tenir pau sense una guerra,
Without a war, without a war. Sense una guerra, sense una guerra.