He made it with filmmaker and BLM activist Sol Guy and you wouldn’t know from the title, but it’s actually a short film, not a documentary, about Darren Wilson being a fucking liar.
Tumblr completely erasing the work of a Black activist/artist while simultaneously finding ways to slander an LGBTQ Jewish person at the same time due to literally not bothering to find out what the film was about in the first place? I’m shocked.
1600s: most witch-hunts ended in this century. no witches were burned in North America; they were hanged or in one case pressed to death
1700s: the American Revolution. Marie Antoinette. the French Revolution. the crazy King George. most pirate movies
1800-1830: Jane Austen! Pride and Prejudice! those dresses where the waist is right under one’s boobs and men have a crapton of facial hair inside high collars
1830-1900: Victorian. Les Miserables is at the beginning, the Civil War is in the middle, and Dracula is at the end
1900-1920: Edwardian. Titanic, World War I, the Samantha books from American Girl, Art Nouveau
1920s: Great Gatsby. Jazz Age. Flappers and all that. most people get this right but IT IS NOT VICTORIAN. STUFF FROM THIS ERA IS NOT VICTORIAN. DO NOT CALL IT VICTORIAN OR LIST IT ON EBAY AS VICTORIAN. THAT HAPPENS SURPRISINGLY OFTEN GIVEN HOW STAGGERING THE VISUAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ERAS IS. also not 100 years ago yet, glamour.com “100 years of X” videos. you’re lazy, glamour.com. you’re lazy and I demand my late Edwardian styles
I just saw people referencing witch burning and Marie Antoinette on a post about something happening in 1878. 1878. when there were like trains and flush toilets and early plastic and stuff. if you guys learn nothing else about history, you should at least have vague mental images for each era
“Les Miserables is at the beginning, the Civil War is in the middle, and Dracula is at the end” sounds like the longest weirdest worst movie I’d pay to see in theatres five times.
Asushunamir: Mesopotamian/Assyrian intersex goddex of queers, justice and transformation. Said to be the most beautiful being made of light who wore clothes made of stars.
Never heard of a deity’ Asushunamir, so I went looking.
Main sources I found for them via a google search are listed.I did a google search because its what a person on tumblr would do if they wanted more info. So I thought it important to look them up if I’m going to debunk.
Even more retellings, something about psychotherapy, and probably Wikipedia which gets everything on the Ancient Near East so I won’t bother.
[Note on my spelling— Inanna is Inana, Asushunamir is Asušnamir, and Ereshkigal is Ereškigal; unless in quotes. Dingir = a mesopotamia deity]
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1. The origin of Asušunamir.
All the websites claim their origin is connected to Inana and Enki. However, Asušunamir is not Sumerian. Therefore they have nothing to do with Inana, Enki, or Sumerian culture; contrary to those sources.
Asušunamir is very specificly Akkadian. This is important because, like the websites show, their only real appearance is in the Descent Myth. That is to say, Ištar’s Descent not Inana’s Descent.
In Inana’s Descent Enki creates two beings not one.
Here is the excerpt from the direct translation of Inana’s Descent from the ETCSL:
“Then Enki answered Nincubura: “What has my daughter done? She has me worried. What has Inana done? She has me worried. What has the mistress of all the lands done? She has me worried. What has the hierodule of An done? She has me worried.” (1 ms. adds 1 line: Thus father Enki helped her in this matter.) He removed some dirt from the tip of his fingernail and created the kur-jara. He removed some dirt from the tip of his other fingernail and created the gala-tura. To the kur-jara he gave the life-giving plant. To the gala-tura he gave the life-giving water.”
This is the translation given in the book “Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth” by Wolkenstein and Kramer. Which I dislike but it may be the version most Mesopotamian Polytheists are used to sadly so I’ll add it.
“Father Enki said. ‘What has happened? What has my daughter done? Inanna! Queen of all the lands! Holy Priestess of heaven! What has happened? I am troubled. I am grieve. From under his fingernail Father Enki brought forth dirt. He fashioned the dirt into a kurgarra, a creature neither male nor female. From under the fingernail of his other hand he brought forth dirt. He fashioned the dirt into galatur, a creature neither male nor female. He gave the food of life to the kurgarra. He gave the water of life to the galatur.”
The book “Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology” by Assyriologist Gwendolyn Leick gives us this info:
“from the dirt of his finger nails creates two beings. The kur.gar.ra and the gala.tur.ra (persons who formed part of Inanna’s cult personnel, maybe some sort of transvestites) Enki […] gives them the Plant and Water of life”
Expanding on the cult-personnel bit the Assyriologist Thorkild Jacobsen makes this foot note in his translation:
“What Enki creates is two types of professional mourners […] kurgarû was a member of the cult personnel around Inanna at Uruk.”
In Inana’s Descent Myth they sneak their way through cracks in Kur’s (Sumerian Underworld) seven gates. Ereškigal is preforming typical mounring expressions that were common to ANE cultures. They sympathize with her; when she moans “oh my heart,” they join in “You are troubled, oh mistress, oh your heart.” Lamenting with someone was seen as an act of kindness. Thus after they have sympathized with her she offers them a river full of water or a field full of grain. They refuse and request the corpse “hanging on the hook,” which is Inana.
This is vastly different compared to what Ereškigal is doing in Ištar’s Descent; she is not lamenting. It is also very different then the way Asušunamir’s gets Ištar back. Here is a direct-ish translation by E. A. Speiser:
“Ea in his wise heart conceived an image; and created Asushunamir, an enuch: “Up, Asushunamir, set thy face to the gate to the Land of No Return; the seven gates of the Land of No Retuen shall be opened for thee. Ereshkigal shall see thee and be rejoiced at thy presence. When her heart has calmed, her mood is happy, let her utter the oath of the great gods. (Then) lift up thy head, paying mind to the life-water bag: “Pray, Lady, let them give me the life-water bag. That water therefrom I may drink” (89). As soon as Ereshkigal heard this, she smoter her thigh bit her finger: “Thou didst request of me a thing that should not be requested. Come Asushunamir, I will curse thee with a mighty curse! The food of the city’s gutters will be thy food, The sewers of the city shall be thy drink, The shadow of the wall shall be thy station, The threshold shall be thy habitation, the besotted and the thirsty shall smite thy cheek!” Ereshkigal opened her mouth to speak, saying (these) words to Namtar, her vizier: “Up Namtar, knock ar Egaligina, Adorne the thresholds with coral-stone, Bring forth the Annunaki and seat (them) on thrones of gold, sprinkle Ishtar with the water of life and take her from my presence!” [Footnote 89: The scheme evidently suceeds as Ereshkigal, distracted by the beauty of Asušunamir, “His appearance is brilliant,” does not recover until it is too late]”
In this version we see Ea (emphasis that Ea is Akkadian not Sumerian) creates a spirit being of dazzling beauty. They distract Ereškigal long enough that she agrees to a trap that will grant Ištar the water of life and revive her so she can escape Irkalla (Akkadian name for Kur). These two myths are tremendously different, so those sources mixing them up demonstrates there complete lack of reliability.
Leick gives this information on Asušunamir in the “Ishta’s Descent” dictionary entry, which helps clarify:
“…Ea who creates Asušunamir, a handsome, heterosexual, impotent ‘enuch’. Having pleased Ereškigal by his presence, he is to demand the ‘waterskin’ hanging on the wall, a metaphor for Ištar’s corpse. Ereškigal gets very angry at the request and curses Asušunamir, making him a social outcast.”
Asušunamir has little information available compared to the two beings in Inana’s myth.
2. Asušunamir is not deity & Some digging for real sources.
All of the websites’ claims are unfounded.
Asušunamir does not have their own entry in “A Dictionary of Ancient Near East Mythology” by Leick, “Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia” by Leick, or “Illustrated Dictionary Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia” by Jeremy Black and Antony Green. Suggesting they are not even remotely a large figure in any form throughout Mesopotamia.
I checked the indexs of 9 different academically reliable books on Mesopotamia, ANE, or Sumerian. They do not have an index entry in a single one of them.
🔹Books I own which I checked for an index entry.
Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion by Thorkild Jacobsen
Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia by Jean Boretto
The Ancient Gods by E.O. James
Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek
The Ancient Near East Volume 1 by Amėlie Kuhrt
Mesopotamia by Gwendolyn Leick
The Sumerians by Samuel Noah Kramer
A History of the Ancient Near East by Wiley Blackwell
Dictionaries of Civilizations: Mesopotamia, Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians by Enrico Ascalone
I searched google scholar but found them only in relation to Ištar’s Descent Myth.
I searched “Asushunamir” on google books, and also found no reliable source that say they are a God. Only more mention of them solely in relation to Ištar’s Descent Myth.
🔹My Search in Google Books.
Greek Myths and Mesopotamia by Charles Penglase | Author describe as classical scholar in a journal article book review; otherwise mentioned simply as an “author” elsewhere. The author mentions in a footnote that Asušunamir may be a homosexual or male prostitute.
Parallel Myths by J F Beirlein | He is also simply described as “author.” The book gives a retelling that describes him as “making him far more beautiful than any “male” on earth.” Otherwise just a retelling of the myth.
Gay Witchcraft: Empowering the Tribe by Christopher Penczak | Neo-pagan author, I’ve read his books I’m not considering this to be even remotely historical reliable.
Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Mythology and Folklore by Josepha Sherman | Anthropologist and Folklorist claims Asušunamir means “good looking.” I don’t know Akkadian so can’t confirm or deny
Queer Spirits: A Gay Man’s Myth Book by Will Roscoe | Author is LGBT Activist with a PhD in the “History of Consciousness.” I also won’t be considered his theories on the meaning of Asušnamir reliable, unless he has heavy citations. However, I do not have access to the full pages. So I see only a few lines.
Essentially all books are the myth itself in translation in some form or another; with an occasional comment. None claim they are a god or being of high significance except the book in my next point.
Based on Ištar’s myth there is zero indication that Asušnamir is a deity. They are never listed as a son of Ea even though they are his creation; a lack of being listed would be due to Asušunamir not being a deity. There are no depictions of them with a crown. There is no proof that figure shown at the top of link 2, a statue with large hips and holding its breasts, is Asušunamir. Also, as far as I know, no proof it is Inana which is how I usually see it captioned. (I could be wrong about it being Inana, but I’ve never been able to find the statue outside neo-pagan sources)
There is zip outside the Ištar’s descent.
3. All the misinformation seems to come from one place— A modern story written in the 1990s.
NOT Ancient Mesopotamia.
This connects Enki and Inana to Asušunamir which I showed is false. This gives a description not written in the ancient sources. This does not even maintain any ways in which Sumerian or Akkadian literature was written at all.
Its in the book Blossom of the Bone. Amazon description:
This story is a creation of Randy Conner not the ancients. Thus the description, “beautiful being made of light” is completely modern. Inana reversing Ereškigal’s curse is simply false. Asušunamir does not even have a connection to Inanna and Enki; it is Ištar and Ea.
Bottom line?
Asušunamir is not a deity. They are not a part of Ancient Mesopotamian religious cult.
They are in an Akkadian literary myth and that is about it. They are not the most “beautiful being.” Many Dingir were described as being the most beautiful or most powerful or most X, but it changed from settlment to settlement. The God of Justice is beyond a doubt Utu (Sumerian) / Shamash (Akkadian). A Goddess of intersex or LGBT in general could be Inana. A goddess of justice specifically for the disadvantage could be Nanše. As for transformation any Dingir will do, but Enki comes to mind.
Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth by Diana Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer
The Harps that Once: Sumerian Poetry in Translation by Thorkild Jacobsen
The Ancient Near East and Anthology of Texts and Pictures edited by James B. Pritchard
A Dictionary Of Ancient Mesopotamian Mythology by Gwendolyn Leick
As always if you bring me primary literature or solid reliable academic sources (an Assyriologist, Historian, Archeologists, or other individual with ANE credentials, that is in a published book, reliable website, or an article in a reliable peer reviewed journal) I will review and amend my statements.
Over at Salon a few days ago, you wrote an article provocatively entitled “I’m a pedophile, but not a monster.”
Presumably, a lot of people are now asking questions such as “Is
pedophilia natural?” or “Can pedophilia be cured?” But I’m not going to
attempt to answer those particular questions. Rather, I’d like to
further this discourse by filling in some major holes in your article.
Let’s start with this missing piece: the vast majority of pedophiles are men. And the majority of children victimized by those pedophiles who do choose to act on their sexual desires are girls.
This is a rather major detail to withhold from your audience, wouldn’t
you say? Unfortunately, as pervasive and overt as patriarchy is, it is
usually the last detail mentioned in conversations of this nature — if
it is mentioned at all.
That said, pedophilia may seem taboo and despised by the masses, but
an honest appraisal of our culture at large reveals otherwise. I propose
that pedophilia is actually rewarded and celebrated, and that our
entire culture and understanding of sexuality is constructed around what
seem to be pedophilic desires. I call this “pedophile culture.”
In pedophile culture, women are expected to maintain a
near-impossible level of thinness, prepubescent in their
almost-androgynous lack of curvature and body fat. Due to this pressure,
eating disorders abound in young girls, and women in particular are
targeted throughout their lives by a multi-billion dollar weight loss
industry.
In pedophile culture, the top Pornhub category
is “Teen.” “Barely legal” “girls” in schoolgirl outfits play out
everything from “virgin manipulations,” daddy-daughter incest fantasies,
teacher-student make believe… you name it, there’s porn for it, and
it’s been whacked-off to millions and millions and millions of times.
It’s fair to wonder whether the only thing keeping some of these viewers
from watching straight-up child porn is age of consent laws.
Influenced by the porn industry,
labiaplasty, a surgery that carves the labia minora down to porn-sized
slivers, is rapidly gaining popularity. So are other procedures, like
hymenoplasty, which restores virgin-like tightness to women’s vaginas.
In pedophile culture, women are outright pressured to regularly shave
or wax their nether regions and underarms. The cosmetics industry —
again, targeted at women — peddles “anti-aging” creams and lotions that
will make our skin “baby soft!”
In pedophile culture, we casually refer to grown women as “girls.” We have a word specifically for attractive female teenagers: jailbait. Women are sexualized as chicks, kittens, and babes.
In pedophile culture, I often catch men in public checking me out
with eyes full of lust, until they see the hair on my legs — at which
point, they resort to a theatrical display of disgust. I’ve eavesdropped
on groups of college-age guys talking about how they won’t perform oral
sex on a woman if her labia are too prominent. One man who had been
pursuing sex with me for three years, suddenly changed his mind when I
revealed that I do not, and will not, shave off my pubic hair. In other
words, many men stop being attracted to me when reminded that I am a woman, and not a young girl.
Surely all of these men, who have a “preference” for the
aforementioned qualities in women, aren’t pedophiles by the strict
definition of the word. But it seems that a high number of men, likely
as a result of deep cultural conditioning, find many of the same things
attractive in a woman that a pedophile would find attractive in a
girlchild. Small labia, tight vaginas, intact hymens, baby-soft skin,
hairless limbs and vulvas, eternal youthfulness, tiny frail bodies… As
tumblr user reddressalert wrote, “how do we not recognize that this is essentially a description of a baby or a toddler?”
Back to my original point:
I need you, and your sympathetic readers, to understand this grave
truth: pedophilia is not nearly as taboo, or shameful, or repulsive to
society, as you claim it is. I wish it was. Much to the detriment of
females the world over, your desires are reflected back to you
infinitely, mass-produced on a global scale to meet an ever-growing
demand. This male-supremacist world welcomes you with open arms, and
your every wish is its command. I dare say you are safer to be yourself,
than girls are.
You say “I’m a pedophile, but not a monster,” and I wholeheartedly
agree with you. You’re not a monster — you’re a man. A rather common
man. A microcosmic representation of patriarchy’s most prevalent
perversions. You are not special, you are not anomalous, and you are not
alone. Not even close. Your “sexual orientation” is just another
manifestation of the collective desire of males to subjugate females in a
crusade to uphold male supremacy at all costs.
So if being “understanding and supportive” of your pedophilia entails
grooming males to eroticize childlike features in women, and teaching
women to maintain eternal youth as not to aggravate male insecurities,
then you are not asking for our support — you are asking for our
submission. And just as you say “there is no ethical way we can fully
actualize our sexual longings,” there is no ethical way to request
cooperation from those of us actively trying to dismantle the
patriarchal system that your “orientation” represents.”
Death By Catchphrase 