[CW: Fetishization on the Basis of Identity (Race, Transness, Etc.)]
I'm mainly talking about this in the context of race, but it applies to other categories such as trans people as well. My main issue with this is that this type of openness to accepting fetishization on the basis of identity enables toxic tendencies.
What I mean is that, for example, I'll sometimes see black men play into disturbing tropes like the "BBC" shit and this idea that they can tie their race into the notion of being some kind of sex god. And it's worse when you get white women who unironically identify as "snow bunnies" as a way to entertain this trope (which is just racist), and these black men who don't realize the problem with this will eat it up.
This isn't pleasant; it's just dehumanizing. This isn't just a problem for straight people either. Gay men, for instance, can have this toxic shit going on too. I understand that, especially when you're a part of a marginalized group, it can seem tempting to celebrate what seems to translate to you being a desirable person, even if it's on the basis of a creepy fetish, but that will ultimately do more harm than good.
I just hope these people come to realize that they're not taken as being a desirable "person" in these circumstances, but rather, a desirable object. These fetishists do not care about their humanity, and it is, first and foremost, their fault that this is a problem to begin with.
It's even worse when an entire community is dedicated to this under the guise of being a safe haven for a minority group.
A prime example of this is Reddit's 196, and its adjacent communities. They built their entire modus operandi around *supporting" trans and GNC people, but in reality that support consists of lots of fetishization. Plenty of trans people will sadly join in on it, because they think they found an environment that isn't hostile to them. But whenever one of them steps out of line and actually points out the blatant fetishization, they get surprised that those who pretend to be their allies will suddenly attack them.
It's the classic mistake of thinking fetishization means that you're being seen as an equal. Fetishization and oppression often go hand in hand. It's been a common theme throughout history.
196 and "genocides are bad when I am not the one doing it". I could tolerate other bullshit but "I will vote for my fuhrer Joe Biden until he comes to kill me" was really bullshit. Does anyone know any other active(extremely online) leftist shitpost places?(I still miss you r/cth my beloved)
/r/gamingcirclejerk has a similar culture and is much more aligned with Hexbear's politics. /r/sharkpark is basically 196 but they never post about politics at all so it's just the same kind of meme with no libs but also no based posts. /r/thedeprogram is also a bit similar but because the community is explicitly political and most of the memes are about economic topics I think it's just inherently less humorous. Not to mention that the demographic is so young that it often devolves into childish things and people posting about getting banned from other subreddits. /r/TrueAnon is the best subreddit left IMO but it's not as active as the others. /r/acidmarxism, /r/blackwolffeed, /r/blackepsteinfeed are out there if you wanna look at the comments for leftist discussion. If you really are a content hog then there's also /r/theadamfriedlandshow and /r/redscarepod but those subreddits are full of straight up chuds and are just generally even worse than 196.
oh no
I should've just recommended /r/tankiethedeprogram
I'll do better next time
/r/acidmarxism is private
Seeing this was perfectly timed with that ruffled person posting the hexbear trans poll and being like "they're not the safe space 196 is the safe space"
https://hexbear.net/post/2663078
I hadn't seen that post yet, but yeah.
That's another aspect of the fetishizing "ally". They think they get to make the call on who is real and who is fake. Because surely the real ones would not only believe in the same things as I do, but they would also be grateful for all this acceptance I'm showering them with!