In this month’s Exploits, I wrote about masculinity in Cavetown’s discography and the anime series Free! (These are two separate pieces, both about masculinity.) I also curated this months playlist as an extension of my essay. I hope you enjoy.

You can probably tell I wrote these pieces together. The initial focuses were on the phenomenon of canonical variations and how much I love all the boys in the swimming anime (respectively), but when I tried to finish my writing on Cavetown I was left wanting. Though I have listened to the artist for years (as I detail), I knew very little about their personal life when I started writing this piece. I even had many assumptions based off the reception of their music that I quickly discovered were - assumptions. In striving to discuss the way Cavetown’s music relates to gender, I set out to separate the artist from their art and turn the focus to my relationship with the art. I do this pointedly, however, because growing up and figuring out identity challenges stable ideas of fame and personality online. Trans people are often held to a standard of maintaining a single, immutable identity after they come out, one that need be intelligible. This sucks, to be clear, though I suspect that it will change in the future as more and more trans people experiment with gender at younger ages and are able to experiment before a non-anonymous account they are stuck with for the rest of their life haunts them.

As for Free!, I just love all the boys.

Esteemed critic and my Twitter friend Grace has a Patreon! Check out her work (like her column at Uppercut) if you haven’t yet and consider supporting her writing.

Some things I have read, listened to, played, or otherwise consumed recently.

Distant Lands: Together Again

The Apocalyptic Renaissance, Ada Palmer (Lecture)

The Anthropocene Reviewed Virtual Tour

Biomutant (My thoughts will be in July’s Bullet Points Monthly)

[Embargoed]

I was very tired and did not give these a proper announcement. We’ll get back to them one day, I’m sure.

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