this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2024
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117
Maker Naomi Wu is Silenced by Chinese Authorities (And Why I Blame Elon Musk) (skepchick.org)
submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 28 points 9 months ago (4 children)

The theory is that you can get away with a bit more in China if you have a big western audience. She had a fairly big one and that was protecting her, but the audience is fickle (made more fickle by Musk ruining Twitter) and once her audience declined, she lost that protection.

I guess the real lesson is that if you're Chinese and develop a Western audience, us that to escape China. Don't stay behind in China because your big audience is painting a target on your back, and eventually the Chinese authorities are going to ruin your life.

As an aside, did anybody else find her vibe really offputting? I liked her content, but her enormous fake boobs and skimpy outfits were a distraction from otherwise interesting content. If I found a video of hers interesting, it made me not want to share that with anybody because they'd think I was watching it because of her body. I'm all for women's empowerment, if someone wants to look and feel sexy that's great. But, with her stuff, it was so extreme that it felt like exploitation. Maybe she was exploiting herself, but it still felt icky.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

No, because I'm not a 12 year old boy who freaks out every time he sees a set of tits. She can dress however she wants, it has nothing to do with the quality of her content.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

She released a video at some point explaining WHY she looked and dressed that way. It was an interesting PoV, and totally unrelated to her hobby as maker and influencer.

I guess the real lesson is that if you’re Chinese and develop a Western audience, us that to escape China. Don’t stay behind in China because your big audience is painting a target on your back, and eventually the Chinese authorities are going to ruin your life.

She couldn't, her SO was Uighur and couldn't get permission to leave.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

As an aside, did anybody else find her vibe really offputting? I liked her content, but her enormous fake boobs and skimpy outfits were a distraction from otherwise interesting content.

indeed. I've never heard of her and seeing this I wanted to see what it's all about - one look at her youtube (not even clicking on the video, the thumbnail and the short hover clip was enough) and I decided nope, don't really care.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

She has a video explaining how she became the way she is that address that. Iirc she was raised as a boy by her parents which was one of the major contributing factors.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That might explain the ridiculous boobs, but not why she still chooses to wear incredibly skimpy outfits in her videos.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Because it's her body and she can do whatever she wants with it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Being able isn't a reason to actually do something.
A reason would be "Because I feel like it"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

"because I feel like it" is a good enough reason to give a stranger.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

"Because I feel like it."

So in other words, because she wants to? As in, "because it's her body and she can do whatever she wants with it"?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

HELLO SIR RANDOM INTERNET USER SIR

I AM HERE TO GIVE YOU MY DAILY CLOTHING JUSTIFICATION REPORT

AS WE ALL KNOW WE ALL HAVE TO JUSTIFY OUR CLOTHING CHOICES TO YOU SIR

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Reasons and justifications are different, and largely unrelated.

Nobody was talking about justifying anything, just the reason.

I never actually asked for a reason. I only pointed out that ability isn't a reason.

You might find more productive meaningful exchanges, when you engage with actual people rather than your own straw men.

But maybe meaningful dialogue isn't important to you. In which case I have nothing more to say.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

"I didn't say that I needed a reason I just complained that ability isn't a reason so basically I said fuck all"

You just seem to be mad that people are taking your idiotic contrarianism to it's logical conclusion.

You might find more productive meaningful exchanges, when you stand by what you're saying instead of crying.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago

Authoritarian due to intrinsic insecurities always cut heads that rise a little bit above

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Here is something really bad going on with this person who has their literal freedom threatened, but let me twist this into why this is Elons fault.

IDGAF about Elon or anything he touches, but the mental gymnastics in this are worthy of a Olympic gold medal

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago

The argument is that by making Twitter a far right cesspool, Musk had made it more difficult for non-western dissidents to reach an international audience. Certainly arguable but not entirely wrong.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Elon sucks, but its not his fault that China disappears dissidents

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Yeah, with that headline I am not very inclined to read this.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

We now understand the inherent value of a social media platform. We have yet to figure out how to build a space that doesn't hand control over to a private entity that only has profit in mind.

Sorry, we can't yet place the blame solely on the billionaires who own the platforms. We have to create safe heavens away from moneyed interests than protect and maintain them.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

It's interesting to think that if Wu had more love in the West that the Chinese authorities would have been more slow to crackdown on her...

I think we all remember back in 2017 or so when the Hong Kong protests were at the forefront of everyone's mind and, still, the crackdown continued, and the resistance was crushed.

And what has China's response to the popularity of the Ukraine war been? To question its generally positive relations with Russia? No, not at all. China shores up its own front against Taiwan and its trade with Russia is growing exponentially. BRICS gets stronger.

China will not bow to popular Western opinion no matter what. Blaming Musk for this is pretty asinine.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)
  1. I agree Naomi Wu is a force for good
  2. Elon Musk sucks
  3. This article does not actually establish any meaningful blame for Elon Musk in Naomi Wu's plight.

Sorry, yes Elon Musk is the reason Twitter is shitting itself to death, but that doesn't make Elon the main person responsible for Naomi's problems. It's probably not even top 10. It's weird to call him out in this.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If you can't understand the article: musk is blamed for making twitter shit and abandoned. Wu was on twitter, and she said it was a platform where she could be seen and supported, and this audience was protecting her, because a famous person would not disappear without it making noise.

It is an indirect responsibility, but a big one nonetheless.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Wu’s activity on Twitter declined well before Musk took over ownership.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

I read the whole thing and then saw that she's continuing to prop up the same platform and same platform model she blames. Make it make sense.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

I really hope we'll see her again some time.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I read a Twitter post of hers a few years ago where she was extremely apologetic towards China, saying that Americans listened to a lot of propaganda and so on. Now I'm starting to wonder if it was really her who made that twitter post.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Nah that sounds like her

I’ve been aware of her for a long time, even before she started looking like a freak and she was always a pro-China shitheap who’d shit on the west.

Good riddance frankly. Let her enjoy her better country.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Wow, what a disgusting asshole you are. Though, what do you expect from an Australian.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

You support authoritarians, I don’t support you. It’s that simple. She made her choice years ago, now she can live with the consequences.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I never said I support China, but I also don't blame a lesbian dating a minority woman from a group who is actively being ethnically cleansed by the Chinese government for doing what she has to do to survive. She's been blackbagged multiple times over the years and the government watches what she says very closely. And I also don't blame her for opposing Westerners who apparently often just tried to use her as a tool to support whatever narrative they were trying to spin at the time and then criticize her for bringing up issues she faced that didn't support their narrative.

That would be like me saying that you made your choice when you decided to live in a country founded by a British prison colony, and now you can live with the consequences. Which is where I was sarcastically going originally, but I think the comparison would've been lost on you.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Not you you, you as in her (or anyone else who would). And I've known of her from when her works first popped up on HackADay, before China was clamping down on Uyghurs, before she went into the extreme body modding, etc. I've disliked her longer than the majority of you known she even existed.

But hey make it racist, keep talking about westerners and what not. Show your real colours.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I made it racist because you bodyshamed her, called her a freak, and then said she deserves to be silenced, kidnapped, possibly killed along with her girlfriend, and whatever other horrible things the Chinese government can come up with. All because you don't like her. I fail to see the difference between racism and what you said. Which was my point in going that route.

I'm a trans woman in the US. My life expectancy is 30 years due to suicide rates and how commonly we end up murdered. My colors are supporting minorities against oppression, regardless of whether or not I like them or agree with them.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

You fail to see a difference between hating someone for being born vs hating someone for supporting genocidal regimes?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Iirc MakerMuse mentioned her disappearance in a video quite a while ago. I don't understand the article well, has she resurfaced silenced or is she still missing?

Wasn't a great fan of Naomi's outfits but she made great videos. With the Amber B1 robot arm she was the only one calling out the kickstarter company was a bit sketchy and not just blind advertising it.