u/Extreme-Bet3115

It caught me off guard. I had told him I was pirating Euphoria S3 since I could not afford to watch it. So for context, I'm a broke college student. An HBO max subscription was not something I could financially pull off by any stretch of the imagination.

I don't use AI art because there is no use for it, and by using ai, I am training the ai to outperform and steal the jobs of creators. Ai would be cheaper, and I see it as a bigger threat than piracy, which has existed for as long as digital media and not caused much harm (at least not that I have noticed). I see AI art usage as a direct contribution to greedy corporations who are already salivating over the replacement of creators.

In my opinion, if I can't afford it, me pirating versus not watching isn't making any difference. In fact, I would argue in a minor way. Pirating is free promotion because I talk about it with people, and it gives the show more popularity. I don't know of any statistics supporting or denouncing this, however.

I haven't found a statistic, but I think most people who have the money for a subscription will buy it for the comfort of not waiting for the new episode to come out later or go through all of the pesky pop ups.

I dislike AI art because I think it not only trains the ai when you put in a prompt but also feeds into the concerning normalization of AI art. Large companies want us to accept it, and if we do, human creators will be replaced by AI. I know it is a fairly pessimistic view, but not entirely unlikely with large companies already using it like the Coca Cola ad (and I think mcdonalds used it too in an ad?)

When I mentioned all of this, he looked at me like an idiot though. He argued that pirating negatively affects wages of creators just like AI art can make creators lose jobs. He said that if a company makes less money on a show BECAUSE of pirating, even if creators were paid, they are subject to pay cuts. I can't help but feel like pirating is more indivualistic, whereas AI art feeds into a larger threat to creators. What do you guys think?

Heteromantic bisexuals are valid. I know this might seem crazy to say, and I'm sure most of you probably think this. I've been seeing tiktok posts pulling over 200k likes saying it's not valid and seeing other biseuxal people hop on the hate train so I needed to get this off my chest.

I'll break up my argument into three parts to be concise. I've seen a lot of biphobia and gatekeeping on tiktok lately of people saying, "You aren't bisexual if you don't date the same sex!"

For context, I am a bisexual women who's romantic preferences lean heavily towards women and sexual preferences lean more towards men. I can't imagine myself dating a man. And so, by the standards of many, that might just peg me as a "lesbian" when that term fails to acknowledge the other aspects of my identity.

(I didn't proofread much, so I apologize for any grammatical errors... hopefully this is readable and people get what im trying to say).

🩷 My argument

Sexual and romantic attractions are separate. How else would asexual and aromatic people exist? I understand that a lack of romantic or sexual attraction is different than feeling a selective sexual or romantic attraction that's split. However, it still resides under the same model. The split attraction model.

For some reason, this model is becoming more controversial. I hear the voices of people who say it "messed them up" (even though I can not understand how, i still respect their experience). It was insermountably crucial in helping me understand my identity, and it is a direct defense for the existence of heteromantic bisexuals. Sexual and romantic attraction are both forms of attraction that can exist separately and exist as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Many people simply ignore or do not believe in the split attraction model. I think it is not only close-minded but homophobic. It does a massive injustice to the community.

Additionally, if we are the label police (which I hate to do, but will), biSEXUAL is the sexual attraction, whereas biROMANTIC is the romantic attraction. So someone saying they are heteromantic bisexual is using the correct labels. Although, I wouldn't flame someone for not.

💜 Common rebuttals

Something I've also seen on tiktok is the specific mention of "dating" or "marrying". It's all about long-term relationships. Romantic attraction is the ATTRACTION, not the ACTION. Same with sexual attraction. Many people do not want marriage or relationships. Although I think it is sweet to view romantic attraction so narrowly, it is more complex than that.

"It's rooted in misogyny and internalized homophobia!" I'm certain it is sometimes, but that is not for us to figure out. Acknowledging that sexual and romantic attraction is separate should be enough to leave these people alone. Instead, creating a safe space and challenging homophobia directly is the most important thing instead of poking at someone's identity with a stick and questioning it. Remember, questioning the validity of someone's identity is EXACTLY what homophobes have done and still do.

"It's setting us back!" It's biphobic to say heteromantic bisexuals don't exist. That's setting us back. Not the mere existence of someone who acknowledges the complexity of their identity and uses labels that make them feel most comfortable.

"Women aren't just sexual conquests." This is something I actually saw. It sort of frames it like they're being conniving, having sex with women, but not wanting a relationship. If it is consensual and discussed beforehand that you don't feel romantic attraction / don't want a relationship, it's perfectly fine. I don't understand why people want to jump to the conclusion that someone who feels sexual but not romantic attraction to a certain gender doesn't feel empathy towards them and will go out of their way to hurt that genders feelings.

On a less professional note, these tiktoks that gather 200k+ likes confuse me. How can they think women wanting to have sex with women is straight?

💙 TLDR

Romantic and sexual attractions are different

Sexuality is a complex subject

Heteromantic bisexuals are valid

Hi! Kind of a specific ask here...Broke unemployed freshman in college. I love doing makeup, and the Sephora mascara I've been using FLAKES. I love how thick it makes my lashes with just a few swipes, but I can't deal with mascara getting in my eyes. I'm dealing with red eyes, and I think most mascara just dries them out more. Dad offered to get me mascara, but he's really specific.

I really wanted to get Maybelline because it's cheap and doesn't flake/lifts lashes, but my dad said no for some reason. Probably cause it's not organic or something. He sent me the thinnest natural mascara product ever, and it's a no-go! I'm goth/alternative. I use thick mascara to compensate for the fact that I cannot do falsies!

Mascara can be expensive! As long as it's super high quality and passes the background check of someone who's obsessed with things being organic, non-toxic and all that stuff and lifting and thick that doesn't flake and irritate skin or dry/sensitive eyes!

I'm kind of broke, and I have an opthomologist appointment coming up later this month, but I can not live like this anymore. My eyes are red, and I'm at my wits end. I have a humidifier on me all night, I do 2-3 perservative free artificial tear drops throughout the day and lubricant eye drops at night. I tried eye ointment, but it's a no-go. It's too thick, and sensory issues made it impossible not to cry it out soon as possible. I also keep my window closed at night.

It's all so random, too. I woke up a month ago after having some inner red eye problems for months, and one eye was sticky and super red on the bottom part of my eyeball. I remember goonig to urgent care and starting antibiotic eye drops for pink eye, but now I'm starting to think I just sleep with my eyes open because I wake up with dry, sticky eyes and redness flares up in one eye every few weeks (it alternates eyes)

It was all just so sudden! I felt fine, and I was a healthy 18 year old Janaury and Febuary, but then my eye redness got more noticeable. No new medications, nothing! I also know it isn't allergies since it wasn't bad last year and it doesn't itch.

Anywayssss if anyone has any recommendations..

I want to try an eye mask, but they're all so expensive! I'm a broke college student. I geniunely can not afford to spend an insane 70 bucks on a piece of molded fabric. I also have the sensory issues too, so anything too tight might just give me a panic attack, but I do understand it needs to be tight-ish in order to fit! And stay on, since I move around a lot in my sleep!

If anyone knows of any brands to try, let me know!

(I'm 18)

I fried my hair with bleach recently, and it's already thin. It quite literally killed the scraps of security I had left. Also, my eyes have been red, and while waiting to see an opthomolgoist, I've been criticizing that too. And I also hate my square face, my smile lines..it changes depending on the day. But my lashes and eyes as well. (Mostly my face shape and hair and also a missing tooth in the front that needs braces to fix, but I can't do braces)

I dont know what to do anymore. So many people just tell me looks dont matter, or just "be neutral" about my body, but it's impossible when looks DO matter. People get treated differently if they're conventionally attractive. The best I pass for is cute, and I hate it. I hate living in a world where guys aren't held to barely any standards, but they get to hold women to these insane standards in this oppressive as shit gender hierarchy. My confidence is ruined, and the worst part is that all I care about is what other people think. And I see everyone with pretty privileges living these great lives, receiving all this external validation and an array of compliments. I'm sure they have their own struggles, but I can't help but want it more than anything. It doesn't help that I feel like I need external (primarily male) validation to feel alright about myself.

I just feel miserable. I don't even want to go outside and be seen. Whenever I am outside, I just look at people and compare my looks to theirs. I barely feel functional, and it's gotten progressively worse these past few months. It's funny because I can't stand the sight of myself, but I spend forever looking at myself in the mirror and taking photos, trying really hard to love the things I hate about myself and failing. It's so bad where the "fake it till you make it" positive affirmations every day just make it worse. I know the obvious answer is therapy, but I'm hesitant after cycling through a dozen therapists since 11 and quitting last year when therapy wasn't useful for me anymore.