I appreciate you adding a wider social context to this discourse! i do wonder about the idea that we don’t read anymore -- I just read something from the American library association that said gen z and millennials are using libraries at higher rates than older generations that surprised me
also I just fell down a little rabbit hole on that viral ballet dancer video, bc as soon as she said “secular music” I was like wait a minuteee -- that’s a major evangelical Christian red flag. a lot of her other videos reference an “agenda” against children, saving the kids by the blood of Jesus, etc. which sort of reframes her whole point to me. Really surprised something like that went so viral but maybe I am just siloed in my little leftist gay TikTok bubble lmao
ofc!!! okay i saw this ALA report but i didn't know where to put it and you made that connection: beautiful! thank you!!! i...wonder if (to the point of the ballet thing) maybe the "kids aren't reading" discourse from teachers and parents is maybe rooted in 1.) geography, 2.) ideology (which...yes) and or 3.) that Boomer/Gen X/older, etc. leadership are suffocating Millennial/Gen Z desires to practice intellectualism / reading in some form. the obvious elephant in the room are book bans, which seem to hit all of those subjects. this is definitely a part of a larger conversation, while starting another!
as for the ballet video...i caught that dog whistle of secularism too but didn't dig into the account which....yeeps. i think a good portion of people who saw it – myself included, as my TT is v lefty queer too haha – saw reposts from left-leaning people pointing out that this is proof of what the teachers have been saying that the kids now are different, mean, bad, etc. and need help. this said: it feels like the kids-are-bad-and-can't-read discourse is going to crash into a (conservative) respectability politics discourse any second now.
Omg the most wholesome thing in the world is that sweet kid who wanted pop tarts, an album and a crunchyroll sub for xmas!!! Kid knows what they want and who they are!!! Especially your analogy of sh*t rolling downhill, I never want to see the effects of my bad behaviour reflected in youth — that analogy could really snap ppl out of survival mode. Side note: my fave podcast Who? Weekly made a meme of Emerald Fennell by calling her the “Promising young ‘Promising Young Woman’ woman” and it sends me into fits every time I think of it
also it’s tough enough being a kid which...makes it worse that they’re inheriting our shit because, yes, absolutely agreed that our shit shouldn’t be projected on them!! i cannot imagine being a kid today oy 😵💫
One of my friends whose a mom said to me recently "honestly, kids are just better than partners" and as a queer who has been on the fence re: my own children forever, that one really rattled my brain. I can definitely see myself single at 40 adopting a kid. But it will be the hardest thing I've ever done, be responsible for another in a sh*t-rolling-downhill world...it's horrifying! But legacy is so powerful when it comes to change. I really resonated with your personal essay this week, hell I do every week, thank you SO so much for your incredible work. I hope you don't mind I'll be commenting forever <3 lol
omg thankie 😭 and the idea of legacy is...real heavy: i think about it all the time! i'm in the firm none-for-me-camp (unless a fairy tale baby / abandoned child lands on my literal doorstep) but i DO think a lot of these changes and support systems can come from community work and cross-cultural / inter-generational dialoguing, which may not seem "like that" but it absolutely is. some of our best parents are not-our-parents!!
I also think sheet cakes taste better/have better ratios than tall cakes!!!
I appreciate you adding a wider social context to this discourse! i do wonder about the idea that we don’t read anymore -- I just read something from the American library association that said gen z and millennials are using libraries at higher rates than older generations that surprised me
https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/11/new-ala-report-gen-z-millennials-are-visiting-library-prefer-print-books
also I just fell down a little rabbit hole on that viral ballet dancer video, bc as soon as she said “secular music” I was like wait a minuteee -- that’s a major evangelical Christian red flag. a lot of her other videos reference an “agenda” against children, saving the kids by the blood of Jesus, etc. which sort of reframes her whole point to me. Really surprised something like that went so viral but maybe I am just siloed in my little leftist gay TikTok bubble lmao
ofc!!! okay i saw this ALA report but i didn't know where to put it and you made that connection: beautiful! thank you!!! i...wonder if (to the point of the ballet thing) maybe the "kids aren't reading" discourse from teachers and parents is maybe rooted in 1.) geography, 2.) ideology (which...yes) and or 3.) that Boomer/Gen X/older, etc. leadership are suffocating Millennial/Gen Z desires to practice intellectualism / reading in some form. the obvious elephant in the room are book bans, which seem to hit all of those subjects. this is definitely a part of a larger conversation, while starting another!
as for the ballet video...i caught that dog whistle of secularism too but didn't dig into the account which....yeeps. i think a good portion of people who saw it – myself included, as my TT is v lefty queer too haha – saw reposts from left-leaning people pointing out that this is proof of what the teachers have been saying that the kids now are different, mean, bad, etc. and need help. this said: it feels like the kids-are-bad-and-can't-read discourse is going to crash into a (conservative) respectability politics discourse any second now.
All this math (girl, millennial...) but no reading :(
this seems like the thesis of 2023 tbh
only Zoolander can save us now
Omg the most wholesome thing in the world is that sweet kid who wanted pop tarts, an album and a crunchyroll sub for xmas!!! Kid knows what they want and who they are!!! Especially your analogy of sh*t rolling downhill, I never want to see the effects of my bad behaviour reflected in youth — that analogy could really snap ppl out of survival mode. Side note: my fave podcast Who? Weekly made a meme of Emerald Fennell by calling her the “Promising young ‘Promising Young Woman’ woman” and it sends me into fits every time I think of it
also it’s tough enough being a kid which...makes it worse that they’re inheriting our shit because, yes, absolutely agreed that our shit shouldn’t be projected on them!! i cannot imagine being a kid today oy 😵💫
One of my friends whose a mom said to me recently "honestly, kids are just better than partners" and as a queer who has been on the fence re: my own children forever, that one really rattled my brain. I can definitely see myself single at 40 adopting a kid. But it will be the hardest thing I've ever done, be responsible for another in a sh*t-rolling-downhill world...it's horrifying! But legacy is so powerful when it comes to change. I really resonated with your personal essay this week, hell I do every week, thank you SO so much for your incredible work. I hope you don't mind I'll be commenting forever <3 lol
omg thankie 😭 and the idea of legacy is...real heavy: i think about it all the time! i'm in the firm none-for-me-camp (unless a fairy tale baby / abandoned child lands on my literal doorstep) but i DO think a lot of these changes and support systems can come from community work and cross-cultural / inter-generational dialoguing, which may not seem "like that" but it absolutely is. some of our best parents are not-our-parents!!
Who? Weekly really cooked with that one omg