ruot’s thoughts
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- a safe space to ask, discuss and overthink about the difficult questions :) tags: LPM: Literature, Philo, Media GFL: Gender, Feminism, LGBT+ EDUPOL: Education and Politics INEQ: Inequality Misc: Other topics
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Channel Posts
(sensitive content ahead)
There is nothing more disturbing to me than what I saw this evening on social media:
Welcome to 2024, where a couple on Tiktok makes the active choice to cosplay a girl and her rapist.
In the video, she even spews fake blood from her mouth to re-enact the scene that haunted many in Perfect Blue.
And they both do this, smiling in front of the cameras, basking in their own glorified attractiveness, rather than they are romanticizing rape.
The worst part was opening the hoard of comments, where I expected many to be chastising their action…To my horror, only two comments criticized the lack of sensitivity displayed, and they received a long string of comments defending the couple, claiming that it’s ‘not that deep’, or that it’s fine because ‘they’re hot’. Along with 100K likes of media illiteracy.
Today, we live in a society where a re-enactment of rape is okay, because hey, we also have people making capcut edits of Ted Bundy.
The reason why I’m sharing this is to question ourselves how we respond to this glorification of crimes. The copious number of people that think this is fine is only testimony to the desensitization of our generation.
It’s not just fiction. It’s not just a costume. It’s not just a crime documentary. It’s the start to a society where violence is the norm (or maybe it has already begun).
But hey, it’s not that deep right?
| 2 |  No text... | 210 |
| 3 | You probably expected a meaningful critique of an issue or some witty observation from this channel.
But instead, I’m just gonna go into personal territory and share anecdotes from my first week of the semester blues. And who knows, maybe it'll be relatable to another Asian burnout this week.
You may think that this week is just like any other dull week. What’s another week without imposter syndrome, am I right?
(And notice that I said imposter syndrome, not smart kid burnout syndrome. Because who are you to call yourself ‘smart’ anyway, you imposter.)
I don’t know about you, but the first week of school is an experience that always terrifies me:
1. The first week of school reminds me that I’m alone.
Contrary to popular belief, I don't have a clue how to make friends...I’m not a people person, not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t know how to.
There are bigger problems out there, but here I am fixating on the fact that everyone in class could find a project partner or group easily, but I had to be the proactive one that goes “hey can I join?”, just to uncomfortably sit within a year’s treasury of inside jokes.
Yesterday, I had this class where a group of people went “oh…this seat is actually reserved for someone else” and glanced at one another. By the end of the class, I noticed that the ‘someone else’ never came.
And sometimes, I pull off the absolute miracle of fitting in. I become a world class actor that successfully auditions for the role of this charismatic semi-likeable ditzy person that makes a group of people laugh, and then the group disperses and everyone walks back with someone, except for me. That's why I always leave the classroom first.
That's not all. I realised that my socially-inept self got married to my crippling self esteem. They produced an overly-sensitive mess that thinks too much about getting left on read by an entire goddamn group chat.
It's way too suffocating to spend every week asking people if you could have lunch with them. I never knew that something so simple could be so difficult, so people like me learnt to eat and study alone.
2. The first week of school always sets expectations that I can't meet.
I think about how if I’m older and I have a daughter exactly like me now, being her mum would make me sad.
My holidays are spent forgetting how school is a place where the shine in my work starts rusting. You see, my problem is that I want to look casual. Like how my URECA mentor dropped the word ‘mukokuseki’ so smoothly into a sentence, but I was so embarrassed that I had to stop him to look it up.
In fact, someone told me last month that he could immediately tell from my vibes that I was a loser. And that stuck with me.
It's worse when I see that people my age are clubbing, going to JB with their friends, getting those fancy internships, but I don’t know what I am doing with my youth.
I want my youth back, but I can’t get back those sleepless nights, and that infinite sky. And most of all, I don’t know if I can get back a heart that beats for a purpose.
To me, school will always be that environment vilifying your self-definition, because digits start defining yourself. And I look into the mirror and see every imperfection etched onto my skin: every patch of breakout, the absence of double lids, and the absence of a perfect grade.
Because in my dreams, I see my primary school self being caned for scoring below 90. And sometimes, I’m the one holding the cane.
This is why the first week of school every single year scares me. Because all I hear is this little kid crying:
“I’m sorry, I’m trying.” | 260 |
| 4 | This has been a draining year. This was a year of genocide, fierce space operations, civil war, political tensions, extreme climate change and the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence….
And the Times’ Person of the Year is TAYLOR SWIFT!!!
What an insane trajectory to go from Zelensky last year to Taylor Swift.
Before the hardcore Swifties come after me, I need to preface that I do enjoy her music as well. But I'm hoping that we grow to become people who can appreciate art, without blinding ourselves to the artist’s moral failings.
Sometimes her diehard fans are so deluded that they don’t see how Taylor Swift, as a billionaire, won’t even fix a ticket-buying system for them.
But hey, I do think she’s a genius businesswoman: She’s a juggernaut with a tectonic impact on the music industry, and managed to reclaim ownership over her music. She spurred economies with her world tour. She’s a skilful lyricist who has penned and produced songs that remain relevant even with the saturation of rising new artists.
But I think there’s something so inherently dystopian about how our year is encapsulated by a narration of a pop star and how she does her performances. An article about how someone made money for themselves. About what kind of diet she went on for her tour.
Why is Times’ ‘Person of the Year’ so important? It’s because it’s an acknowledgement of the year’s events, by highlighting a particular individual or group, the widely-read magazine brings attention to issues, movements, or transformative events that shaped the course of history.
This is why I’m disappointed with the outcome, not because of anything against Taylor Swift, but because there is a genocide happening, and we need public discourse and awareness of critical matters that are getting overlooked.
And even more so, I’m disappointed that her fans are defending that she needs this coverage...It’s times like this I’m wondering if humanity disappeared. We really can’t compare people whose lives were touched, compared to people whose lives were brutally taken.
‘But she gave bonuses to her employees.’ OMG! She paid liveable wages to her employees?
‘But she has a huge influence! She increased NFL ticket and jersey sales just by dating Kelce! Taylor Swift was able to re-ignite democracy by encouraging young people to vote!’
Which is why, contrary to my previous paragraphs, I believe that Taylor Swift completely deserves ‘Person of the Year’.
She represents a growing generation that needs a singer to tell them why it’s important to vote. A society where democracy is saved by a pop star!
She represents the modern capitalist struggle, where everyone condemns billionaires…until it’s their favourite white woman. Then suddenly it’s okay to hoard EIGHT houses and a private jet as long as you WORKED for it and donated some spare pocket change to food banks and call it '#girlboss'.
Taylor Swift definitely deserves the title, because no matter what’s going on in the world, a pop star that stands for nothing will be the hero because they made money.
She represents the deafening silence of people with influence: If she can increase NFL sales by simply dating someone, she can use her platform to speak on injustices, especially when she knows the kind of impact and resource mobilisation she can have. Taylor Swift, what do you stand for?
This is why I argue that Taylor Swift deserves person of the year:
Because suddenly you don’t need to be a role model and raise up issues because you made a song about how you’re an ‘antihero’. Taylor Swift, and her cult of millions of extreme fans embodies exactly what our current generation is heading towards – we love sensationalism, we love self-realisation without accountability, and most of all, we love ignoring travesty from the comforts of our own houses (maybe eight of them, even).
So go ahead and unsubscribe to me, maybe Taylor Swift told you to do so. | 493 |
| 5 | Today, I lied to the caifan uncle:
I was fumbling with my order because I was simply indecisive. But he misinterpreted this as me being a new student here.
Instead of correcting him, something overcame me and I faked a whole story about being an exchange student from Taiwan. We then had a pleasant conversation about caifan choices and what they indicated about a person.
And then he welcomed me so warmly to NTU, something I hardly felt in this place for months.
I think I did it because I didn’t want to be me anymore. And when I pretended I was someone else, it felt like freedom - Because as long as I’m me, I feel like I owe the world something. And that the world expects me to be something.
I’m writing this here because it might be relatable to a lot of other students -
We all have those moments when we take a step back from the hustle of school work, and we forget that we are just an average person pretending to be someone. Sometimes we're not swimming, we're drifting to stay afloat.
The average student skips the late-semester lectures, and laughs it off in that sheepish self-congratulatory tone to disguise dying motivation.
The average student takes too many naps because you just can't do this thing anymore, and being asleep means that you don't have to think.
The average student starts off with hopeful ambition growing up, but now you’re just happy that you even attended something. Or submitted that assignment.
Sometimes, being yourself just feels like having your voice scrutinised so much, and yet feeling so voiceless.
And I feel this everyday when I see things that make me angry - Then I am seething with a rage written off as passion, and a fear written off as rage.
So to the uncle I met today, I'm sorry for lying to you.
I just wanted to be the exchange student that confidently cracks jokes with a kind stranger like you, and then promise to buy caifan again tomorrow and then you’ll tell me “Haha! I’ll hold onto your word!” and then walk away knowing that I’m remembered by a stranger.
And then I’ll forget that I’m a student that fumbles with a simple caifan order and struggles finishing a simple essay.
And then I’ll forget that I’m so irretrievably and irredeemably me. | 605 |
| 6 | Nothing is more representative of today’s society than Selena Gomez, the most followed woman on Instagram, refusing to speak up for Palestine because a ‘post won’t change the world’.
…Before proceeding to be an advocate for ‘mental health’ and advertising for the cause through proceeds from her makeup brand.
The biggest problem with those who claim to be social activists today is the refusal to take a stand on important issues because it will ‘harm their career’.
I decided to coin this phenomena as ‘lukewarm activism’ – people who will only speak up about issues they deem as ‘neutral’:
There is no value in simply posting the most performative volunteering experiences. There is no value in simply going ‘omg save the environment!!’ or ‘youths in politics!!’ on Linkedin or posting the most mediocre conferences, but remaining silent on controversial issues. This is why bringing up issues like slutshaming and Chinese privilege in Singapore even receives backlash – because the large number of lukewarm activists don’t speak up, when they can collectively redefine public discourse.
This is a political world, and an effective voice has to be political.
In Selena Gomez’s Instagram Story (note that it’s an instagram story – something fleeting and performative; rather than a permanent statement), she states that ‘my heart breaks to see the horror, hate and violence. We need to protect ALL...But I’m sorry if my words can’t change the world’
These inane statements have been echoed all across social media lately, with statements such as ‘omg! I’m not going to take a stand because ALL violence is bad!!’ or ‘I’m so saddened to see this, but there’s too much politics and nuance for me to understand’.
What’s the point of posting this? These are all simply glorifications of a lack of education, laziness, and privilege, when there are so many resources easily accessible in today’s day and age. Don't speak up by not speaking up.
While there may be two sides to this political conflict, each side does not carry equal political weight. Historian Howard Zinn terms this as “you can’t be neutral on a moving train,” meaning that “events are already moving in certain deadly directions, and to be neutral means to accept this deadly direction.”
Israel is attacking Gaza to reclaim power. Palestine is attacking to survive. Someone has been punching you for decades, but when you throw a punch back, the rest of the world faults you for it, and calls it ‘equal’.
Do not even attempt to crown yourself as a pilot for social change, if you are afraid of criticism. Controversy is exactly where effective change can be created. Social change is not about serving yourself. | 601 |
| 7 | So...why the sudden poll?
I’ve been thinking a lot about how I've always been an opinionated and outspoken person. When a friend tried to challenge that I actually wasn’t opinionated, I debated with her back. That’s the kind of person I was.
But I noticed towards the end of JC, the moment I started to be quieter, wrote more PC content, and made extremely PC speeches that focused on making people laugh rather than making a point…I noticed that for the first time in my life, I was well-liked.
And this is the kind of feeling that alters your inner workings.
The first time I lost so many friendships at one go was when I called out ‘pick me’ culture in females. I just didn’t understand the need to alter your behaviour for male validation, and I still stand by my words.
The second time was when I made a video and series of posts calling out slutshaming and rape culture. It all happened so drastically: I lost so many male friends and acquaintances during that, and some of my closer friends even advised me to tone down. A grand total of 32 males and 5 females unfollowed/blocked me that day. The Student Union even had their disciplinary committee meet up with me to take down the post, and refrain from further posting about the issue. All I could ask myself was: “Why?”
The third time was when the NTUSU saga happened. If I brought up the facts to a newsletter vested in student issues, and the voters decided the outcome based on the facts, then why did I lose so many people in the process? I bring up one incident that I never received closure from, and all of a sudden, I’m a vehement opportunist seeking to ruin a little boy’s life and ruin an already-corrupt organisation.
And lastly, you’ll be surprised. When I started my project for anti-harassment measures in school, I had sexual assaulters message the account, asking for a “chat” because they were unhappy with what I’m doing.
If this means one simple thing, it’s that: I’m not cut out for public service.
Sometimes I look back and think about my JC council teacher warning me this: “I think it’s a good thing you’re speaking up, but be careful not to burn too many bridges in the process.”
I do miss the people I’ve lost on the way to where I am (well, except the misogynists. ADIOS!). I don’t know if I regret speaking out sometimes. But on days like this, I think about every girl who has messaged me, thanking me for the courage she never had. I think about every person I’m representing and fighting for.
I think about my professor telling the class: “If what you’re saying is not making people uncomfortable, maybe you’re not saying anything meaningful.”
And I’ve decided if my connections are so fragile that a simple “hey, don’t be homophobic!” ruins it, then maybe I’m better off without that connection. Loneliness is better than fitting in with what doesn’t align with me.
Maybe this was what the Singaporean society has trained us for: Self-censorship grants you connections. To put it bluntly, it’s like being the 2nd person in the human centipede - for survival, you can’t use your mouth, and you need to hold in your shit.
If anyone disagrees that there’s a tradeoff between your connections and being opinionated, then I guess…you are wrong too. | 507 |
| 8 | Which do you do on a daily basis? | 423 |
| 9 | This is why I didn't want to do law 2 years back:
Because one day, I might just be the lawyer helping the perpetrator fight a powerless girl, in an industry that favours those with money. If I'm unable to choose my cases, then it's simply betraying my gender and my values in the name of ‘fairness’, in a system that’s not fair.
It reminds me of how greatly everything is empowered by money, counting the dollars and never counting for accountability.
This aside, I’ve also slowly started learning how to tune out the backlash. I’ve realised that the only way for these people to ever understand my struggles, is if they eventually have a daughter who’s put into my situation. A daughter you’ve raised for 20 years and kept away from harm, just passing out in a male dormitory.
I fought for this case in January with my committee. I fought for this case in March with senior exco members. I fought for this case in June with the school management. I fought for this case in August with the school disciplinary committee. And all of a sudden, I’m penalised for bringing this up to the school newsletter in September, with people failing to realise that this whole thing only blew up because perpetrators shamelessly chase leadership roles, and institutions detach themselves from this for months.
In fact, I was only offered counselling and support one week after my incident was released to the press.
The worst part of it all is the contradictions:
1. I was attacked for not standing up for myself. Then when I finally learnt how to stand up for myself, I got attacked for it again.
2. Comments all over the place have been trying to accuse me for kicking up a fuss for a ‘small incident’. But I realised that even if he did something worse to me, people will still blame me for it.
3. Even if I put myself and my name forward like this, the hoards of hatred coming my way, have all ever been anonymous.
All people can do is to redirect the narrative and muddle the movement, but it cannot change the truth, and my months of struggles and futility that came with pursuing this. I’m going to keep pushing - at least I don’t need Daddy’s money to fight my battles. | 1 166 |
| 10 | When court proceedings and disciplinary procedures are too ineffectively slow, the media is the new step towards raising awareness and receiving closure for victims.
Besides putting myself out there in the media, the Q&A during the president elections yesterday was how I sought justice for myself, by raising the following questions:
1. What's worse than misconduct, is the lack of accountability after misconduct. If you can't lead a team of 4 people properly, how can you lead NTU's 33,000?
2. If you sincerely regret the incident, why are you still running for the highest office, knowing this will cause more damage to union?
- His response was that the school disciplinary board decided that the case was closed and warranted no further punishment, so there wasn't any proper misdeeds.
3. To clarify from your response, you need a disciplinary judgment to decide on your personal morality? | 1 578 |
| 11 | (TW: details of harassment/sexual assault)
Hi there,
My name is Xinruo, and I was the victim of misconduct/sexual assault 4 times in my life, all at different ages.
And this is my story.
You know, all four times, the most common comment I’ve gotten was:
“What? She’s too ugly to be a victim of these things.”
See it for yourself. It’s all over reddit. And it’s a comment that has haunted me for years, and impacted my self esteem. I can’t help but to think that that’s the paradoxical double standards given to women: you can’t be too ugly to get assaulted, and you can’t be too pretty, or else you’ll ‘deserve’ the assault. It made me internalise that I was ugly, which was why I never spoke up, because it's so easy to doubt an ugly girl.
I also never went to the police for a simple reason: I didn’t want my parents to be sad.
Even though some may doubt me, which I totally get it, I can't pull out cctv recordings, only my recounts. Today was the day I realised that it doesn’t matter if people believed me or not, because it doesn’t change the fact that it shaped the person I am today. It doesn’t change the fact that the world is a terrible place to be a woman in.
The first time was when I was 18. I worked in a restaurant in Clarke Quay, and the boss made comments on my chest and ‘light-heartedly’ groped my butt. I was so shocked that I called my then-boyfriend and cried about it all night. I was wearing a T-shirt then.
A few months later, my ex (as mentioned above), who already knew I was assaulted before, tried to force me into sex and pinned me down. I couldn’t even cry. I just sat in a corner as he told me how he was going to lose interest in the relationship as I couldn’t offer sex, as it was a source of trauma for me. Then he cheated on me with someone who could give him what he wanted. I was wearing a T-shirt then.
This was the reason why I was so angry about the slutshaming that proceeded, and for my inexcusable rage at the start of this year, upon finding out I was still being slutshamed for these things years later.
When I was 19 and just entered University, a senior I trusted gave me alcohol to the point where I was getting tipsy. Then, I was so dizzy when I requested for water, that I couldn’t even tell he was giving me more alcohol because I kept getting more intoxicated. I threw up and blacked out in his room, but thankfully other seniors kept me company after I passed out. I was wearing a T-shirt then.
And finally, on a school exchange trip this year, I’ve made new friends with international students overseas: When they wanted to go drinking, I made sure I was sober this time so nothing repeats. However, one of my friends got really drunk and I had to carry him back all the way to his room as the other girls couldn’t lift him up. Then when I got to his room, he tried to pull down my pants, and attempted to finger me. I couldn’t even scream. I just froze so hard and gripped his hands that he eventually came to his senses. I was wearing a goddamn T-shirt.
He immediately apologised, and said he was drunk, and that he felt really guilty. I told him not to worry, because I was simply used to it.
My point is, these things happen to people around you more than you realise, men and women both. And there is always a position of trust involved. Then you just get slutshamed on top of that - then ridiculed and criticised when you try to speak up for yourself.
There are some nights where I still think about these moments and cry. I lamented my life for being so shit. And I blamed myself for every single one of those incidents, wondering if I could have done anything different.
I never told people this, but I picked up bartending to get over my fear of alcohol-induced incidents, as an attempt to pick myself up again.
I think I’m ready to share my story, because only when I put my name forward, can I help others going through the same thing, and fight for coverage and justice for their bodies. | 1 953 |
| 12 | Why I personally dislike student organisations: (from experience)
1. Refusal to work with external organisations: this level of self-supremacy puts members in a really difficult position where mocking and putting down other clubs and CCAs makes you the “in-group”. How can you represent the student body when you only represent yourself?
2. Usage of electoral engineering: there is a conflict of interest to set up your own deconflict list but also run for elections, and then “deconflict” for your friends. Not only is this unethical, this is nepotism. Competition is how you see the people’s choice - and removing that for yourself only delegitimises your competency.
3. Wrong emphasis of “union image” and authoritarian rules:
Creating a trustworthy and effectively responsible union is not in silly rules like banning dyed hair and banning your members from social media posting.
Last year, I was made to take down a tiktok video about gender-related issues. Saying “females go through this problem” and calling out misogyny in a strong tone shouldn’t be a problem, unless you personally feel called out by it.
Union “image” is not in passivity and being an on-looker to societal problems. Which is embarrassing when you’re the CCA with the most resources to enact change.
I am free to speak now that no one can come up and offer me therapy for standing up for my gender, monitor my posts everyday, and make me feel like what I’m saying is wrong.
Additionally, a yearly event meant to empower NTU students via social issues was removed simply out of laziness.
These student leaders need to realise that ground-up organisations (student safety, financial aid movements) exist because of their failure to take action.
4. If union image is so important, why are you protecting the wrong people? Deactivating comments, and preventing your own members from speaking up about a REAL incident is not a good look. You cannot blame the backlash on those who have simply brought the truth to light. And it’s unfair to discredit all your members’ efforts just for you to protect one person.
Why should feminism be removed, but not perpetrators of misconduct?
Here’s another harsh truth:
You cannot just give out welfare packs and hold events for an extroverted minority, and call yourself a leadership organisation.
That makes you no better than a performative pre-uni student council.
Student leader organisations are often labelled “useless” because they do not prove themselves capable of leadership in moments where students need it most.
This is why I believe that passivity and leadership can never co-exist. Don’t promise active change that you can’t give. | 1 545 |
| 13 | Let’s talk about our society’s toxic culture of shaming hard work:
This was an interesting phenomenon I observed today, where my friend’s achievement was completely discounted because of a single comment: ‘he worked hard for it’.
How did we get so demanding as a society - that success is not enough, but we need to strive for effortless success.
Don’t get me wrong, I admire people who study smart. But I don’t admire people who don’t study.
How many of us have heard these familiar phrases?
“I barely studied and I still….”
“Oh I didn’t even finish/read…”
“I just bs-ed something and the prof bought it…”
One thing I never understood is why people feel pride in articulating these things. If anything, it shows tardiness, a lack of thirst for knowledge, and most of all, a paper-thin ego - an ego that reeks of the most inaccurate and self-proclaiming projection of intelligence.
The toughest thing to find in society today is sustained hard work. This comes from a society that romanticises talent, prodigies and flawlessness, to the point where we have to hide our effort, giving birth to absurd terms such as ‘closet mugger’.
If we keep viewing effortlessness as an achievement, we cultivate a generation of people that give up when they are not instantly good at something. And worst of all, we become more results-driven than we already are, now that results are measured unrealistically in proportion to effort.
I don’t care that you got an A without studying, because it simply means you learnt nothing -
It’s hard to respect people who are given thousands of sentences, but all they took away was a single letter.
I care about those who fight for their passions, and are driven by the insatiable nature of education:
Like that girl I see everyday at the same bench outside my lesson venue.
Like my roommate who always gets up and studies for an extra hour before getting ready.
Like my classmate who never fails to stay back with the questions she diligently prepared every lesson.
Never be ashamed to be hungry to learn. You look the most effortless when you struggle so tenaciously. | 1 376 |
| 14 | In case anyone's interested in reading a full essay on my thoughts about the repeal.
I was initially quite hesitant to send this here - it'll be damn paiseh if I ended up receiving a shitty grade because apparently this assignment would be graded more harshly HAHA
But yes, thank you profs for the major confidence boost and affirming that I have cohesive thoughts!
As a major supporter of the LGBT+ movement in Singapore, I've never really thought about the political neurons and implications linked to the repeal. To me, LGBT+ rights were simply fundamental social rights that should have never been politicised or debated about.
But writing this term paper made me think about what really makes a civil movement successful in Singapore, and the electoral perspective of such issues. | 1 545 |
| 15 | An NTU student, SMU graduate, and SIT student works at a bar:
And for a whole 30 minutes, they uncomfortably listen to a parent boast about NUS being the BEST University in Singapore, and that other Universities pale in comparison.
As an NTU student, whenever people ask which school we're studying in, my peers and I always have the compulsive urge to add "Oh yeah, I rejected NUS btw". Cue shocked faces! Because the Singaporean mindset is so linear and stubborn and hierarchical, especially when this culture of rankings has dominated our country since Primary school.
Which is so stupid because we don't go around questioning kindergarteners, "What? You go SparkleTots? Isn't that inferior to MyFirstSkool?????", and yet we perpetuate this on Primary 1 students one year later.
We are a country so obsessed with rankings because we need rankings to validate our institutions, instead of assessing the quality of education.
There's a reason why even top institutions like Harvard Law School have pulled out of University ranking systems, believing the system is flawed. There's a reason why Columbia University sends flawed data to QS rankings to boost their rankings. There's a reason why Barnard University wants to leech off Columbia's name to climb.
"Oh but NUS has the most brilliant minds! We produce graduates with the highest GPA"
Yeah I agree. But I don't know... maybe because your students get to S/U their grades after seeing it to manipulate their GPA, without ever being accountable for their learning process?
When the older generation's dated mindsets have failed us, it is up to our generation to change this mentality, and look at people past their education background.
The most eloquent, brightest minds I've met are Poly students. The most humble, but intelligent guy I know is an SUSS student. Pritam Singh, for his sharp wit and visionary brain, was a normal academic student.
And conversely, the most pompous, underachieving people I know need to ride off top school labels just to make a name for their lack of significance.
School rankings are entirely a social construct to perpetuate undeserving elitism, given how there's ample research showing that your skills and experience matter way more than the University you came from.
Do you know what's ironic? Teaching and learning is the principle aim of universities, yet these rankings do not even incorporate quality and innovation in education, or how a University enriches the local community, or fundamentally, how SAFE the learning environment is.
The older generation LOVES numbers. Oh my god! My son got 270 for PSLE! Raffles is the number ONE school in Singapore leh! Isn't that JC a SECOND-tier JC? Oh my god! Tan Jia Hao got 90 Rank Points, 45/45 IB.
And comparison is the root of failed parenting.
This is to the NTU, SUSS, SIT, SMU, and SUTD students out there that we are just as capable of proving our worth.
And this is to the NUS student who chose NUS as a result of social conditioning and parental pressure, when your heart really lies somewhere else. I'm sorry to anyone who has ever been insecure of your University choice because of our society.
Every school is equal, but I guess some are just more equal than others. | 1 486 |
| 16 | [Tags: GFL]
How do OnlyFans creators buy into the patriarchy?
I despise how there are so many people going "SLAYYY" or "at least she is earning easy cash!" the moment a girl succeeds at OnlyFans. This 'easy cash' comes entirely at the cost of the feminist movement.
In this century, women have worked hard to move the definition of females away from youth and beauty. When we talk about what empowers young men, we mention career success, getting an honours degree, and climbing the social ladder.
Let's compare all that to the increasingly normalised success of women selling used underwear, socks, and sex tapes.
If this is how women can be 'empowered', we become no better than the 50s, when the focus of women was to be young and beautiful and land a husband. If this is so 'empowering', men doing OnlyFans would be WAY more normalised.
We only talk about the 'easy money' or 'using beauty to your advantage' aspect, while burying how abhorrent OnlyFans is as an industry: creators getting their boundaries pushed again and again, have their actions defined by perverted payers. It's the only way to stay at the top - you may think it's about taking dumb cleavage photos, but simple research tells you that only extreme content becomes profitable within this industry.
It is an industry that does not even protect creators' copyright: women don't even own their content anymore due to unconsented circulation of their content, where a $10 subscription pay becomes less than 10 cents. They don't own their content, much less own their bodies.
And what's more is that we are now brainwashing younger and younger girls to enter this industry precisely because of creators talking about how 'easy' it is.
I do not respect anyone that believes that it is empowering for young girls to send men custom videos fulfilling every degrading male fantasy, just because these men can't find a woman to manipulate.
Sex work should NOT be the way for women to make her way and carve a name for herself in the world. It's a systemic way to oppress women, and always has been. Theorist Catharine MacKinnon argues that the male viewpoint dominates society and feeding into it only devalues ourselves.
In conclusion, OnlyFans only normalised the idea that women can be bought. Nothing is empowering when you are ultimately still appeasing the male appetite. Even if you are in control by commodifying yourself, you are still a commodity.
Why should men EVER feel that they have the right to pay for our bodies? And why should we enable this right? | 1 188 |
| 17 | [Tags: EDUPOL, INEQ]
WE LOOK AT A HOLISTIC EDUCATION WHEN CONSIDERING SCHOLARSHIP APPLICANTS
…and other lies told by Universities and government sectors:
“If you want a scholarship so bad, go find a private company lah. We give you this Brightsparks pamphlet you go see.”
What have we built from this?
A country dominantly led by leaders of ‘elite school’ backgrounds and the great awe-inspiring PSC scholars.
And what have we given up?
Our lives.
“This is not true. You see, prestigious scholarships are now opening up to poly students!”
And what’s never mentioned is the fact that these poly students need a near-perfect GPA to even have the slim fighting chance, to be seen as the ‘few exceptions’ to these university merit scholarships.
These “exceptions” reflect the failure of a system, not provide examples to forward a false agenda of “meritocracy” and “holistic consideration”.
Come get 90 RP for a guaranteed scholarship and a guaranteed life.
Don’t you dare pursue your passions at the expense of every digit in your grade.
What about the guy who fought tooth and nail in a global coding competition?
What about the girl who balanced internships and led a social movement?
What about the poly student who actively worked with NASA and led national tech conferences?
What about us?
What’s left for us?
We are the leftovers. The imperfect numericals that define us.
You need perfection to be considered 'holistically'. | 1 031 |
| 18 | [Tags: LPM]
Why there will not be a next Harry Potter: a criticism of modern media and entertainment
Modern entertainment is stagnating (or in casual terms, more braindead). Decades ago, media revolution came in rapid waves: Marvel, Pokemon, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Sanrio, and other big franchises stacking one after another like a storm to fascinate our world.
Why is it that our generation lacks the capacity to create the next big title? Instead, we produce cheap consumable rom-coms, a putrid saturation of male-gaze formulaic Isekai Reverse Harem shows, and arguably, less thought-provoking quality Disney movies. It is undeniable that Wednesday and other Netflix productions would have NEVER matched the level of impact that Marvel had.
With the 2020s, we are witnessing a rise in visual sophistication (animation, CGI etc.), but also the harrowing death of ingenuity, a hollow lack of impactful timelessness.
I believe that the main reason is the rise of capitalism, leading to the homogeneity of similar tropes and low-risk taking.
Art has become subsumed by corporations, rather than individual minds. Businessmen take up the role of directors, rather than artists with a voice and vision. This is tragically funny because filmmaking is, and will always be an artistic endeavour.
However, as art and entertainment becomes more and more accessible to the masses, the big problem is that audience influences art, and not the other way around.
The success of big-name franchises indicates tropes that have gained big success and sold out well. Hence, it breeds imitation, instead of coming up with something new.
We are plagued with reboots, remakes and sequels that leech off past success, but this undeniably stales over time.
The big issue is that meaning-making is replaced by profitability. It is easier to produce a brain-dead piece of work that grants easy money, than sit down and think about a revolutionary idea like the unconventionality of Studio Ghibli movies.
When small indie works get less sources of funding in our decade, it further disincentives original ideas, and pushes artists and directors into mainstream executions just to have a fighting chance in this industry. Risk now comes with a huge price tag, more than ever.
To debate with myself, perhaps, it is not fair to say that there is a complete lack of creativity. But rather, we are facing an age of digitalisation and the shifting of mediums:
Books and TV shows have shifted to PC games and tiktok references. It cannot be compared to how we grew up in a time without the pervasiveness of smartphones and social media. Books and television screens and the latest theatre blockbuster were our little windows of escapism from an increasingly competitive world.
Art is dead, because even as it evolves, it will never be expressed for the sole purpose of art itself. There is no next Harry Potter, when everyone is trying to be the next Harry Potter. | 903 |
| 19 | [Tags: GFL, EDUPOL]
The moment I found out about the existence of the language 女书 (nü shu) this morning, I instantly knew I had to pick it up amidst its extinction. I’ve spent the last three hours reading about its history, and learning its specific set of calligraphic strokes.
Exactly like its name, 女书 is the only writing system in the world created and used by women.
The origins of this language came from a feudal society where women not only lacked educational opportunities, but were punished for it:
Even during the Revolution, China’s communist leaders were keen on eradicating anyone found using Nüshu. The birth of this language itself is cultural resistance.
Today, I’ve learnt that the character for 女 (woman), as seen above, is meant to break away from the confines of traditional chinese, into a symbol of a happy girl dancing with joy - I think it’s a motif for freedom, for this secret language was an outlet of expression and emancipation in a deeply patriarchal society.
The content of Nüshu forms the secret folklore of ordinary women. Women use this language to praise and lift one another up, and seek refuge as they send letters detailing their sorrows surrounding marriage and family.
The fact that you and I could access a full dictionary of this language today, is a symbol of the female voice that lasts even when literature and artefacts and historical echoes dissolve in each revolution’s flames. | 855 |
| 20 | No text... | 793 |
