jenben

I super recommend Harvey Beaks! It's really, really cute, and often surprisingly touching. About a bunch of kids running around having adventures close to home. The music is great, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=80&v=l2SI-DoVJNY

A movie watch club would be great!

Funny hair!! AND HATS. I'm going to have to go lie down after listening to this.

IDK about the real semantics of it, but sexualization to me has always meant sexualizing something for (media) consumption. If we're talking broad strokes media/cultural criticism, the landscape that sexualizes women, or incentivizes women sexualizing themselves, was created and propagated largely by men with money, power, etc. who were interested in using sexualized images to make more money and gain more power. I wouldn't put on nice clothes with the goal of going out to flirt and say "man, I'm feeling super sexualized tonight."

Yeah, it's rare that a female character is attractive and not at least partially defined by her sexuality. Sexualization is also usually not for the sexualized character's benefit--we're not seeing the interior of this character, exploring why sex is an important thing for her, staying with her as her choices drive the story forward. Her sexualization is for the audience's titillation, or to create an objective for another (male, narrative-driving) character. Which I guess leads back to objectification!

Don was drinking a lot at the beginning of the episode but yeah, I don't think you see him drinking at work--hungover at the beginning, but not drinking. Didn't really notice that except in hindsight. He was so absent and mechanical in the office (and I guess in most of this episode)! "Respon'stache", I LOL'd. Re: the idea of Ken buying the farm with his wife's money being emasculating, I dunno about that! Historically there've been loads of writers and creatives (v. pinpoint number there) supported by their wives and/or families. I feel like Ken wouldn't have had as big a problem with it, especially if he was separated from the toxicity of that work environment and eventually achieved success with his writing. Buuuut then he got screwed over. His masculine pride always seemed more reactionary than it was preemptively defensive (Don and Pete). He was just... reacting a whole lot, and explosively, over the last season or so. :')

Objectification is to treat a woman, or parts of a woman, like an object, and is often used in consumerism/advertising--a naked pair of legs advertising a cologne, a body draped over a car, etc. It can and is also used, as Gormongous said, to justify abuse and dismissal. There is little or no concept of personhood in objectification. Men can absolutely be objectified, but it's nowhere near as common as it is for women. Miss Representation is a documentary that gives a lot of coverage to this idea, and it's available to stream on Netflix! Eroticization I don't hear too much about--sexualization, I do. Think that's more to do with the habit entertainment has of writing women where one of their most obvious traits (or only trait) is sexiness, sexual desirability, etc. Actually, the article Deadpan linked above looks like it summarizes everything really neatly!

I'd totally listen! (Also just a funny note, a lot of people in the US animation industry I know watch or have watched Shirobako in a constant state of pain because it can get Waaay Too Real.)

I'm lucky and have tomorrow off, so I'm settling in for a night of gaming and laundry. I'm already halfway through a bottle of Banana Bread Beer, which, maybe a year ago I would have been too shamed to admit to liking, but now I'm older and wiser and did you know flavored beers are AMAZING? I mean, some of them.

I've definitely seen a few of them! Denim jackets and tattoos and waiting in line to get on the teacups. The best. (I also love the Cars area of California Adventure, and I still haven't seen any of the movies! One of the best-looking areas in the park, especially at night.)

I hear ya, it can be tough to swim against the tide when it comes to designing characters. For a positive example, Blizzard recently did awesome with their design for one of their Overwatch characters, Zarya: Howard Schatz's photos of female athletes are worth googling too, if you haven't already!

Karol Conka's a Brazilian hip-hop artist and rapper, and I've been listening to her Batuk Freak album a lot (apologies if it's been posted before):

I watched Evangelion in high school and had SUCH a fun time coming up with BS theories on the symbology with my fellow nerd friends. When I found out, way later, that Anno and crew were using Christianity like Americans use Norse mythology, I thought it was hilarious. (Another symbol-heavy anime that was fun to give more credit than it deserved: Utena! I still love Utena.) Regarding Disneyland: LOVE. I grew up going once a year since my family lived about an hour away (and tickets weren't $100+ back then). Now I have an annual pass and mostly go to drink and wander around with friends. Also, I'm doing RunDisney's Infinity Gauntlet Challenge this year. I feel like I'm trying to be SoCal Danielle, only way less fit...

I just had to go through that with my black cat, Little, and getting the eye drops in her eye was torture. If you can get her in your lap, or otherwise facing away from you, a sneak attack coming from behind her head can sometimes work. In my experience, once the cat sees the eyedropper, it's game over. Even when I had her swaddled in a towel I still had the hardest time keeping her head still! Here are my cats Little and Lucy:

There's antisocial, which in extreme cases can be called a disorder because it can be harmful and/or disruptive to the person who has it and the society around them. I think the concept of being aromantic or asexual is pretty far removed from being a disorder. Also: seconding everything Syd said above really hard!