November Plans/Rant

So, a lot of things have happened this month. I've been busy with... *sigh*... L0litober... (because I have to spell it like a retard to avoid triggering some automated flagging system), which is part of a greater issue I'll get to in a moment... but also there was the voting, that was way more effort then it was worth...

To put it mildly, this month was full of stuff, both good and bad. I probably had the nicest birthday in over 7 years, but also have had bad news and struggles at least once every 2 days.

My brain is sort of all over the place, so let me tackle one thing at a time.

POLLS:

Next month, and moving forward, I won't be doing voting any longer. The voting system was originally supposed to be for Fans that were supporting me to give them a treat; a fun little activity where I get to see what character they like, and they get a chance to sort of get a "soft commission" if their character won. But since I don't have enough people supporting, (which I'm not complaining about mind you. No one has to support me financially. It's 100% if you feel like it, and I maintain that I'd rather let everyone see my work rather than paywall it), I've never had enough Fans to make suggestions or to vote. That's why I opened it up to everyone and had it be on Twitter. But unfortunately, people like to fudge numbers and troll and I can't trust that if I hold a poll that it won't be compromised in some way. Ultimately it's just not fun for me.

So instead I'm going to try this: Every month will still have a theme, but now I will just ask for suggestions of who to draw withing that theme, and then pick who I like. If I like more than one, I may draw more than one. If I don't like any, I'll make up my own. I know this isn't as fun or interesting for you guys, but this way I don't get stuck doing something I'm really not into and end up stressed out over.

All that said, November's theme will be ROBOT GIRLS. I say girls, and you can suggest any female robot, cyborg or gynoid, but I'd prefer if they were... ugh... of small, diminuative stature. (Again... I'll get to that in a second) So please, if you read this far, comment a small robot girl you'd like to see a pinup of and I'll take it into consideration. (And if you see someone suggest one that you also want, just give the comment a like. Don't write that character yourself in a seperate comment. It will not increase the chances of her getting picked.

Finally, I'd like to address a problem that seems to be getting worse...

THE L◼LI ISSUE:

I'm going to rant here, so if you don't want to read it and just write your suggestion in the comments, go for it. But this is a pressing issue for me and for everyone who likes the cute and funny, and I think it needs more attention.

Recently, the concept, and the very word L-O-L-I, (and YES I have to spell it like that because if I don't, THIS WEBSITE, the one that hosts hundreds of thousands of "child-sized character" drawings, will suspend the post and I'll have to edit it out.) has been under aggressive scrutiny. I'm gonna try something here and see if it works, but from now on, if I want to use the word L-O-L-I, I'll type "ロリ", since that is literally a tag on Pixiv and *SHOULD* be okay. If not I'll have to edit it later...

ロリ, the unedited romanized word has turned into profanity on most social media now, when it's historically simply been a word to describe a drawn female character, typically in an "anime style", that has a small child-like body. But as the years have gone by, more and more it's become synonymous with "sexualized female child". I'm not going to dispute that. What I DO take umbrage with is that people seem to think that's ALL it can mean anymore, to the exclusion of any other meaning.

It has gotten so bad that websites, online games, etc, (again INCLUDING THIS ONE), will censor it's use. This word is not profane. The word is used in anime all the time. In Konosuba, Megumine says it in reference to her NOT being one constantly. (She totally is one though.) So clearly the word isn't seen as bad in Japan, and saying that it is somewhere else is insulting. This policing of language is obviously a growing trend of companies chasing money so hard that they are terrified to offend anyone; investors, customers, whomever. It's obviously impeding freedom of speech, but I won't argue that point because it's the internet, and private companies and websites are just that: private. They can do whatever they want, allow or deny any content they wish. But when there is no consistancy, when with one hand they invite you to enjoy whatever you want on their platform, and with the other they give you a black eye for liking and engaging with something that ISN'T ILLEGAL and they ostensibly allow is something else.

If a website, like Twitter doesn't allow explicit ロリartwork, that's a shame, but again totally within they're rights. The problem I see is it's a sliding scale; from a girl of slightly questionable age in a one piece, full coverage bathing suit, to a toddler with every orriface spread and filled with goo. And I've seen the entire gamut be banned AND allowed. They don't police their content, they allow others on the platform to report it at they're own whim. And there is no appeal process. *Except when there is for some people* I've been banned outright for... SOMETHING, it's never specified, but more likely than not it was a ロリdrawing. But also I've seen other artists given warnings, similar to "You violated our rules. Your post has been deleted. Please be more careful next time." WHY is that something that can happen? Do you need to have enough followers? Do you need to give the company money? Does it have to be that your absense on their platform would mean that they would LOSE money? I don't know. No one knows. Obfuscation and silence are their defenses and you have ZERO recourse. And I know it's not just Twitter, every publically facing company does the same when it involves issues that do not have immediately legal ramifications.

And this situation is not limited to companies. Regular, (and I hesitate to use that word), people on the internet have seen the general squeamishness of social media platforms as confirmation that you are allowed to bully others off of platforms for creating, liking, OR EVEN TALKING ABOUT ロリ. I suppose it stands to reason that if you teach someone that if you cry and whine that you don't like something, even if you shouldn't or didn't have to see it, you can have it removed, then they will carry that mentality with them elsewhere. But private servers, forums, and publically moderated groups now see fit to vilify individuals not just because of creating or using ロリ(the content or word), but just LIKING it. You can even be bullied just because you didn't say you are against something.

All this to say, things are getting bad. And I strongly suggest that if you see people acting this way, if you see people being bullied off platforms, or if you see people getting in trouble for creating or liking something that is completely harmless, ESPECIALLY if you like it too, then say something. Challenge it. Don't let people and companies police your entertainment or your passion or your general opinion. It sets a dangerous precedent. It ALREADY has. But I can't help but hope that if we can call it out and never stop standing up for reason that maybe we can fix it.

ロリis not a bad word. And you are not bad for liking it.

~Poe