queer-as-folk-punk

Eternally listening to midwest emo

  • he/they

Queer Adult | POC | Anarchist | Gay Vampire |
They call me a "writer", I guess. Sure.
Multi-Fandom Enjoyer. I have succumbed to the 'tism.
Live fast, die young, punch fascists.
If you see me posting at 2AM when I should be asleep, no you didn't.


dog
@dog

OK so I don't want to call out anyone specific, but I've had something happen in my mentions a few times now.

I feel like there's a lot of people1 who kind of assume that every English-speaking person on here is from the US or from the same cultural background. A few times now I've made a post from my background as a bilingual Canadian, and someone in the replies came in to correct me about how it was a little different - citing American-specific cultural things, different prices in US dollars, etc. I think they meant to be helpful and intended to just start a conversation, but it genuinely didn't seem like there was any realization that maybe - instead of just being wrong - I might have been posting from a different cultural lens and that what I was saying could be accurate in a different place from the US.

And look, I know Americans joke about Canada being the 51st state or whatever, but did you know we have our own local culture, our own media and currency? Even though a lot of things are similar here to the US a lot of things are different too. And that's saying nothing of Australia, the UK, any other place people speak English. There are people from all kinds of different backgrounds here. Please understand that if someone is posting about things in English there, it doesn't mean their background is exactly the same as yours just because they didn't mention a country.


  1. On here, on the internet, etc.


wolf-and-ghostling
@wolf-and-ghostling

plus lots of us are not from english speaking countries - we use english online since it is easier to find community this way. it feels like most of the internet is people from usa. sometimes we convert local currency or use certain terms to make it easier for others (english speakers, predominantly from usa) to understand. usamerican is the dominant culture and if we want to participate and be understood we must put in the work to make our cultures and experiences as relatable as we can for usamericans. when we don't, we are met with silence because no one understands, or with responses that basically amount to 'usa is superior to your culture'. it's very nice when we find people who make a similar effort to understand us too, instead of assuming everyone is like them, or lesser than them.


CalmBrain
@CalmBrain

Relatedly American culture and perspective is so wildly prevalent online and in the art that is shown to us and I'm absolutely sick and tired of it.

I never want to see another photo project showing the downfall of the American West. It's a story that's been told to me so many times that i don't think I can ever take anything new from it. Yet it is so hard to find spotlights on other cultures that it's all I come across.

Give me artists with new perspectives, from different places that don't subscribe to the default pervasive culture that is inescapable in my daily life.


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in reply to @dog's post:

in reply to @wolf-and-ghostling's post:

Yeah, that’s a very good point too. And some people are so harsh on mistakes or phrasing choices by people who speak English as a second or third language and pretty much have to use it online.

agreed
I'm german and while there are spaces where I can find german-speakers online, it's.. not the same? Like, the place I frequent the most is cohost, and I don't even know how to even begin finding other german people here. German tags seem to be mostly from people learning the language, and maybe I don't just want to post about german specifically or something but just, write a dumb post in german that my fellow germans will see
I've had this problem a lot on previous platforms as well and it feels isolating, in a way. Like, nobody can relate to the things I experience, and I can't relate to the things they experience, while the us americans seem to have a LOT of shared experiences even if they're from completely different states and backgrounds.

And more specifically about the adapting to us-american culture, one of the smaller things that stuck with me is that I cannot even talk about one of my favourite foods with my english-speaking friends, because the stuff it's made from is so uncommon in the US that translating it does nothing to help them understand, but the german term makes it sound disgusting because one of the words sounds like grease, and. Idk. Maybe I just want to make a small remark about a childhood food to my friends without having to translate it, or them being disgusted by the name.

yes, i'm with you on all of this. it is very hard to find people who speak your language online because so many of us are just conditioned to speak english as the default. i don't want to make friends because we speak romanian, i want to shitpost and talk fandom in romanian.

i moved to the uk a decade ago and was so excited to discover and understand all the new culture things around me but nowadays i'm just homesick (but can't return) and trying to find ways to connect with everything i left behind. it's not even about the rampant xenophobia, it's just the day to day existence being forced to comply with a strict culture or be ostracised and ridiculed. so i come to the world wide web knowing i can connect with anyone on here ! and i still feel so isolated. sure i can seek out specific websites but this isn't what it is about... i'd love if multilanguage posting was just a common thing on big platforms like it seemed to be when i was younger.

i'm curious about this dish ! will you tell me about it?

The dish is Grießbrei! :) It's like a porridge made from semolina/Grieß and milk, it's very common and very beloved in germany! My favourite way to eat it is with some butter and cinnamon sugar
It's strange to me that semolina is so common in many parts of the world and yet most us-americans just never seem to have heard of it

!!! in romania we have griș cu lapte, 'semolina with milk' ! growing up i had it with dulceață (runny berry preserves) or a slightly bitter caramelised lemon syrup.

i found one singular box of semolina over here but it is much finer in uk than we have at home, so the porridge came out very fine and lacking that grainy texture that is so delightful...

you are right it is an A+ amazing food

also in the version of the goldilocks and three bears fairytale i grew up with, it was this porridge that the little girl found and ate at the bears' house

I've stopped translating a lot of my words. if a word makes more sense in the original language, and translating would lessen its meaning, I just use the original word. I can then explain what it is, but I won't translate it.

You can always spot a US American online by them never saying where they’re from or them giving you unsolicitedadvice” that only relates to the USA, regardless of how clear you make it that you’re not also from the US.

But you are right that it seems to have gotten so much worse in the last few years, and I’ve found a lot more of them so much more affronted when you point out; thank you, but my country is not your and none of that was helpful.

yeahhhh. i feel bad for finding it frustrating but at some point it is so much - not just to myself but how rampant it is in youtube comment replies and on posts of people asking for advice or help. i appreciate taking the time out to respond and try to help. i think it comes from a good place. but when it's over and over and over and over it can really make you feel like your very existence isn't considered as a possibility.

Mmm! I’ve had so many well meaning USAmericans give me medical advice for drugs that aren’t legal in my country, or try to give me legal advice that won’t apply at all.

The realisation that it’s not enough to put your country in an easily accessible bio, you have to write it out in every post that might relate to it at all and even then it’ll probably be ignored.

this reminds me of an anecdote from an etsy seller who would always assume the buyer was from the usa if the country for the shipping address wasn’t filled out

Even as someone who only speaks English and lives in the UK, I get this sometimes. Like, once I made a joke on tumblr along the lines of 'what if doing taxes was my hyperfixation lol', and had someone reply telling me how to file my taxes? Like, I don't even earn enough to pay taxes, and their info was US-centric so it wouldn't be useful anyway. It's just so weird lmao

nod of agreement and also sad handshake i also don't make enough to pay taxes
(but i have perused the hmrc website and it doesn't seem nearly as hellish as in usa at least? it's funny i know everything about usa taxes against my will but not much about the country i live in)