Blog Why do men hate Greta Thunberg?

The biggest question the world has faced this summer has a simple answer. Why do men hate Greta Thunberg? Why indeed? Is it that she has achieved more in her tiny teenage lifespan than they have in half a century? Is it that she continues to speak, loudly and clearly no matter how many times they shout her down? Is it that she has been raised to value her voice and her contributions to conversations? 

All of those things, yes. Powerful men are often insecure men. Regular men are often insecure too. Men in general tend to build their identity around how much they matter to the world, how much knowledge they have, how much wealth they have, how many women they have. It is an endless pissing contest, and when a teenage girl walks in and makes it clear that she is smarter than they could ever dream of being, it shocks them to their core. They are furious that she isn’t afraid of being the smartest person in the room. They are furious that she will not centre their need to feel clever and important, and instead, focuses on the facts. It is killing them inside to know that she doesn’t care how they feel. They are furious because she is openly telling other young girls that the power she has is something they can have too. She is openly telling young girls that their voices have value, and that they can stand up for the things that matter to them. She is openly telling young girls that the world needs them.

I hope she never stops being the smartest person in the room. I hope she spends the rest of her life driving insecure, petty men insane, by just being her intelligent, unapologetic self. I hope she continues to speak, loudly and clearly, unafraid of doubters and haters, and I hope our next generation of young girls sees her and is inspired to take their place as the smartest people in the room too. 

Nature

Near godforsaken

A black, cunning duck whispers

despite the eagle

Refund

Give my heart back.

You obtained it

with a lie

I cannot get another

I was so careless

Please.

Please.

Please.

I don't know how I still bleed.

Guest Post: Jennifer Chira Needs To Stop Copying Jennifer Juan

Hello world, and welcome back to another gloomy day here on my blog. Today, I have a guest post from my friend Sammy, who curates the beautiful blog BadGirlSadGirlSquad and runs one of the most dedicated Jennifer Juan update accounts on Instagram LoveIsAnExorcism. She reached out after reading my earlier post about the Jennifer Juan and Jennifer Chira podcast drama and wanted to give her perspective, so I gladly offered her a guest spot here on my blog, so without further ado, here are Sammy's thoughts on the matter!

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Hi everyone, I'm Sammy, and I would like to start by thanking April for giving me space to talk about how I'm feeling about this situation. A little introduction, I've been a fan of Jennifer Juan since 2016 after I found her work on Tumblr. Back then, the fandom was very small, and I don't think any of us could have imagined the heights Jennifer would reach in the future. We were just happy to enjoy the mini collections on her website and interacting with her on social media, so the idea of her one day having bestselling books, albums and a podcast were awesome but so far away. As a fan, I am very proud of what Jennifer has achieved, and that's why it hurts to see somebody try to take away her hard work.

I've tried not to let this bother me. I know how talented Jennifer is because she has shown us time and time again, but that doesn't stop me worrying about what this recent situation could mean for her and for our fandom.

Sincerely, Jennifer x started in 2017. When Jennifer announced that she was starting a podcast, I was a little nervous about what it would be like. I was sure she would create something amazing, and I was happy that we were getting something new from her, but I didn't really listen to podcasts or know what they were about, so I didn't know what to expect. On the first listen, all my fears dropped straight away. I absolutely loved it! It was a great way to get a new look at her poetry, and a great way to get to know Jennifer a bit more as a person. I subscribed instantly and listened to every new episode, and as the show went on, so did Jennifer's career, she started touring, releasing books, we got new music, and everything was awesome.

I know that I should be happy, as a Jennifer fan, because she is good to her fans. We get several new pieces of content a week, she's still interactive on social media, even as her fandom grows bigger and bigger, and she is still the beautiful soul we have grown to love, but I am scared. I am scared because someone looked at her hard work and thought they could steal it. Someone looked at what she has built for herself and what she has given to us, and decided that they could take it from her, and take it from us, to fastrack her way to a career.

Jennifer Chira making the choice to not only copy Jennifer Juan, but to do so in such an obvious way is such a disrespectful and hurtful act. She has taken every aspect of Sincerely, Jennifer x and pasted them onto Sincerely, Jen, but it doesn't stop there. If you look at her social media, and compare it with Jennifer Juan's, it becomes clear that not only is she trying to copy her podcast, but also her aesthetic. She types in a similar way, with her captions being pretty obvious attempts to mimic Jennifer Juan's poetry, her instagram has obvious Jennifer Juan influences like soft colour schemes, nostalgic and vintage themes, aquatic and floral imagery. If she took just one of those things, it could be a coincidence, but there are multiple examples of her clearly copying Jennifer Juan, almost like she was trying to steal her identity or her success.

When you watch a creator grow, and you support them for so long, you feel defensive over them, and I know that it might not make sense to some people, but this is just how I feel. Jennifer Chira has not even been subtle about her blatant stealing of Jennifer Juan's hard work, and she deserves to be called out for it. If she wanted to be successful too, she should have made her own way, and put in the work to gain her own audience and find her own identity, but now, I don't know if anybody could look at anything she does and see any original work, even if she rebrands and tries to do things the old fashioned way. She's already tainted as a fraud, and maybe that's what she deserves.

Jennifer Juan hasn't spoken about this, even when people have asked, and I don't think that she will, but sometimes, I wish she would defend herself. I know, deep down, that she will rise above it, and continue to come out on top, but if she knows what is going on here, I think she will be hurting, and part of me wishes she would open up about how she feels, or see how the fandom is trying to raise awareness and protect her, so that she'd know she isn't alone. I can only hope that even if she stays quiet, she will see our support and know that she is loved.

John

John told me he was in a band

that sang love songs about me

crooning the night away

telling the whole world 

about how I was life changing.

John was my life

but he didn't have a clue.

Homesick

Happy.

Lonely.

Homesick.

Down.

Down.

Down into the dark.

I am sick of being sick.

Solitary.

Confined by my mind.

Dejected.

Unfrequented.

I've learned to love it

because maybe it's all there is.

Punk

The boy is a punk.

My boy.

He makes me feel small

when I am in the place where his guitar rests

in his arms

being played

by my punk

brilliant

rocked to death.

Hounded.

Blog Post: Why Can't People Stop Stealing From LGBT Creators?

I am blogging again. I don't think I am much of a blogger but sometimes I just have things to say that burst from my head onto my blog.

Today, I am angry. I am angry because I am watching blatant stealing from another LGBT creator, and I am sick of it.

A little background, one of my favorite creators is Jennifer Juan. She is an LGBT, WOC who is a writer and singer from the UK, and I've been following her work for about two years. (*Excitedly screams* Senpai noticed me) Jennifer Juan has a podcast called Sincerely, Jennifer x, where she recites poetry and talks about her creative work, her perspective on the world and her life so far. Sounds good, right? Well, as is almost always the case, someone saw this LGBT creator speaking her truth and creating something special, and had to try and scoop some of it up for themselves.

Fans of Jennifer will already know the situation, but for those who don't, another creator decided to start a podcast, suspiciously similar to Sincerely, Jennifer x. The podcast is called...wait for it...the blatant thievery will really surprise you...Sincerely, Jen. The content is also suspiciously similar to Sincerely, Jennifer x, with the host presenting a solo podcast, discussing their life and the way they see the world, just without the beautiful poetry in between segments. There are other similarities, like the artwork color schemes, description wording and general details.

Stealing people's ideas is obviously wrong, but there is something even more insidious about the fact that Jennifer Chira, who is, from what we can tell, a straight, cis woman, stealing the ideas and hard work of a LGBT woman who has to work twice as hard as her straight, cis counterparts to get half the praise. Straight, cis creators will always have more space on platforms than LGBT creators, that is just a fact, so when straight, cis creators decide to take up spaces that are occupied by LGBT creators, and try to take credit for their ideas, we have a problem. There is arguably an aspect of LGBTphobia in this. Chira clearly thought that nobody would notice or call her out on borrowing so many aspects of Juan's work to try and build her own success, because, hey, Juan is just a LGBT artist, a niche event, not a big deal, and everyone knows that straight, cis voices matter more, right?

This isn't a new issue by any means, there are countless examples, such as major corporations stealing art from LGBT artists, the constant cultural appropriation of gay culture, straight, cis popstars building their careers off of stolen work from LGBT performers of color. It never ever stops, and this is just another example of the LGBT community finding ways to shine and succeed, only to have straight, cis creators try to pocket some of their hard work, without doing any of their own.

What can we do? I don't have all the answers. For every blogger or journalist calling out appropriation of LGBTculture or concepts, there are a million who will ignore it, because they only care for LGBT people when it's pride month or when they consider them fun. I will continue to call it out when I see it, though, because someone has to, and this is what being an ally should be about. I don't want a shiny badge or thanks and gratitude for standing up to be angrily counted, and neither should you.

Song

Stalking musician.

What am I missing?

Why do you stare?

You dare me to date you.

Maybe I will do.

Let me be your lyrics

I want to explore your throat.

Sneers

I love you.

Calm and nocturnal.

Smiling intensely

You are immensely exciting.

Two exciting eyes too.

When he sneers I feel happy.