Crimea's Attorney-General Inspires Anime-Style Fan-Art

[Wraith]

Also everyone check out this album (not safe for democracy): http://imgur.com/a/UBc8p#0

If we had this shit in history class I may have paid attention more. Now I need to stay hear and "study up" on various countries.

I'll be in my bunk.

OT: Originally, I was a little dismayed by the big boob art, mainly because it's so fucking cliche for that particular drawing style. Then I got a little more upset because none of the art really looks like her, which is another problem I have with that drawing style; take any of those drawings, change the colors around a bit and you can have completely different people because the face is so basic.

But, I do agree she is attractive, so I can't be too mad at the others for showing their adoration. Then after going through the comments and being reminded that this has gone on for years when it came to political figures, well, I bent completely the other way and just dropped it. I'm fine with all of this. Plus, she said she is okay with it, so who am I to be upset for someone else?

Edit: To those who disagree with the artwork and claim they are feminist let me just point this out here. THIS IS SADDAM HUSSEIN AS AN ANIME CHARACTER http://imgur.com/a/UBc8p#28

 

[Gorrath]

That is some reckless and cavalier use of the term top-notch. The only one that even resembles the actual person is a straight up copy job from a screen grab. I really don't understand the fascination, she just looks like some ordinary woman.

At least the author got to be super-patronizing by referring to a sovereign nation's highest legal authority (who happens to be an attractive 33-year old woman)as "a rather attractive young lady."

How is that patronizing? 33 is not old. By the standards of today 33 is quite young. Many people don't settle down until well into their 30's. Some people haven't even launched a career at that age. So yes, she is a "young lady," especially if we consider her position, which is a very high position for a person so young. The US Attorney General is currently 63 - nearly old enough to be this woman's grandfather. Like it or not, she is young. I think the term "young lady" is appropriate considering the type of person one would expect to be in her position.

I feel compelled to disagree with you as I have others. Context matters of course, but a person anywhere near her own age referring to her as "Young Lady" is patronizing. Would you find it acceptable for a 50 year old man at a board meeting to refer to a 33 year old executive as "Young Lady"? It smacks of the dismissiveness one would use when speaking to a child.

I would certainly find it acceptable for a 50ish year old person to refer to a 30ish year old person as young. But I don't consider "you are young" to be an inherent insult.

Now, if the person was talking directly to the younger person that might be insulting, but only in the same way that "hey you" would be insulting. But in the specific case the person is being described, and I find it a perfectly accurate description.

I think you may be projecting what you expect a phrase to mean rather than what it actually means. I noticed that earlier in this thread someone else suggested "young woman" would have been more appropriate. To me that sounds far more patronizing because that is what my parents said to my sisters when they got in trouble. "You are in trouble young woman!" I get the feeling that you might have some history with the phrase "young lady" that is making you interpret it in this way.

It's made worse in this article because he doesn't actually mention her real age. If he were to say that she is young at 33 to hold such a high position of power, that might be acceptable, but just saying she's a "cute young lady" comes off as being patronizing. I don't think doing it is some great sin or anything, but it's totally out of place in a news article.

I don't find it as patronizing or out of place because it is describing the relevant facts about this woman to the readers. She is a rather attractive lady and she is unexpectedly young, which is why all this art of her is being made. Her exact age isn't really important.

The example I offered isn't some 50ish person referring to a 30ish person as young, it was far more specific than that for a reason. Changing half the criteria of the situation and then declaring it fine does not hold water.

But, continuing on to the rest of your argument, you claim that how young she is is relevant to the story, and so the author calling her "young lady" is justified because it offers the readers an accurate description. You then somehow claim that, despite already having stated that her age is relevant, her actual age isn't important. Sorry but no way am I buying into that. Either her age is important and the author should have stated her actual age, or it isn't important and the term "young lady" had no business being used there. This is journalism 101, if a fact is relevant it should be as precise as possible.

Lastly, ignoring connotation in deference to something being technically correct would get you harangued in journalism. The fact that you understand that "young woman" could be seen as patronizing because of how it was used towards your sister but can't see how "young lady' is patronizing given the exact same context is baffling to me. It isn't just me having some history with the phrase, I don't particularly have any history with it, this is simply an issue of common usage and connotation.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

Does no one else think she looks totally dead inside in the photo used for this story? She looks like she's entering a fugue state and is about to seriously fuck some people up.

You know...you're right.

I didn't really see it until I looked at the larger image in the BBC article that Coakle posted, but yeah, that particular shot looks like she's put on an emotionless mask, but there's something about the eyes, like she's secretly planning to murder everyone in the room and is seriously having to restrain herself from leaping on the nearest person and biting their throat out.

 

[viscomica]

She's super adorable by the way, cuter than her anime version.

As someone commented before, she's also siding with Putin and her claims are seriously wrong. Cuteness should not be a factor here.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

She's super adorable by the way, cuter than her anime version.

As someone commented before, she's also siding with Putin and her claims are seriously wrong. Cuteness should not be a factor here.

Says the other super cute woman working for an asshole government!

 

[VanQ]

Meh, I don't care either way about the anime - people have been making political cartoons, tasteful or otherwise, for as long as there have been politicians.

The article though...

a rather attractive young lady

she is a rather attractive young lady

Seriously? Not once, but twice.

She's the highest legal authority in her country. She's also in her mid-thirties. Surely you see how repeatedly describing her as a "young lady" is needlessly patronising?

Geez.

I mean, I know that debate about the word "lady" is still very much ongoing (personally it makes me cringe, but whatever), but I'm always baffled by some writers' resistance to using the word "woman." It's not offensive, it's not somehow less polite than other words, it is in no way controversial.

Wait, please forgive my ignorance but... what debate over the word "lady?" What the hell is wrong with that word?

 

[Eamar]

Wait, please forgive my ignorance but... what debate over the word "lady?" What the hell is wrong with that word?

It's a big, messy subject, and plenty of women have no problem with it at all. I don't like it for the following reasons:

1. It carries all the baggage of what it means (or used to mean) to be a "lady" - quiet, obliging, unobjectionable, always polite, never outspoken, plus all the connotations of being delicate and dainty and needing to be handled with kid gloves. Those things sound outdated, but bear in mind that many, many women were chastised during their childhood for not acting "ladylike." That happened to me a lot, and as someone who continues to act in an apparently "masculine" way I really can't stand the idea of gendering behaviour like that. I am not a "lady" in any way. I do not recognise myself in that word, and I resent the implication that I'll consider it a compliment just because of my gender. I don't want to be ladylike or to be portrayed as such.

2. Unless the person using it would use "gentleman" if they were talking to/about a man, it implies either that there's something wrong with describing someone as a "woman" or that they're going in for the whole chivalrous kid gloves thing mentioned in number 1, or that for some reason this person feels the need to be more polite around women than men. Contrary to popular belief, special treatment based purely on gender is not something most feminists welcome.

3. There's an infantilising element to it - "young lady" is usually used to address children or adolescents, so if that's how someone's encountered it and someone then addresses them as "(young) lady" later in life for no apparent reason, it can feel like they're being treated like a child.

There are other reasons why people dislike it, and as I said, not everyone has a problem with it. However, it has been a hotly debated word for a very long time now, and women who do dislike it are also pretty common. This isn't some new thing someone on tumblr just dreamed up.

I don't feel like I've explained it very well, but I hope that's helped give you an idea of the issue

EDIT: I should also clarify that in most cases people who do dislike it aren't going to go crazy at you or be genuinely offended, but they will probably feel uncomfortable and/or think you're a bit silly. I can't help but cringe every time I see it used casually, but I'm unlikely to make a big scene about it.

 

[Paragon Fury]

While she is cute, I think its the uniform more than anything else.

In that outfit, she is one "ZIG! ZEON!" away from being a Gundam character.

 

[Spartan448]

We already had anime art of this person. Look up Lana Skye from the Ace Attorney series.

 

[DrOswald]

That is some reckless and cavalier use of the term top-notch. The only one that even resembles the actual person is a straight up copy job from a screen grab. I really don't understand the fascination, she just looks like some ordinary woman.

At least the author got to be super-patronizing by referring to a sovereign nation's highest legal authority (who happens to be an attractive 33-year old woman)as "a rather attractive young lady."

How is that patronizing? 33 is not old. By the standards of today 33 is quite young. Many people don't settle down until well into their 30's. Some people haven't even launched a career at that age. So yes, she is a "young lady," especially if we consider her position, which is a very high position for a person so young. The US Attorney General is currently 63 - nearly old enough to be this woman's grandfather. Like it or not, she is young. I think the term "young lady" is appropriate considering the type of person one would expect to be in her position.

I feel compelled to disagree with you as I have others. Context matters of course, but a person anywhere near her own age referring to her as "Young Lady" is patronizing. Would you find it acceptable for a 50 year old man at a board meeting to refer to a 33 year old executive as "Young Lady"? It smacks of the dismissiveness one would use when speaking to a child.

I would certainly find it acceptable for a 50ish year old person to refer to a 30ish year old person as young. But I don't consider "you are young" to be an inherent insult.

Now, if the person was talking directly to the younger person that might be insulting, but only in the same way that "hey you" would be insulting. But in the specific case the person is being described, and I find it a perfectly accurate description.

I think you may be projecting what you expect a phrase to mean rather than what it actually means. I noticed that earlier in this thread someone else suggested "young woman" would have been more appropriate. To me that sounds far more patronizing because that is what my parents said to my sisters when they got in trouble. "You are in trouble young woman!" I get the feeling that you might have some history with the phrase "young lady" that is making you interpret it in this way.

It's made worse in this article because he doesn't actually mention her real age. If he were to say that she is young at 33 to hold such a high position of power, that might be acceptable, but just saying she's a "cute young lady" comes off as being patronizing. I don't think doing it is some great sin or anything, but it's totally out of place in a news article.

I don't find it as patronizing or out of place because it is describing the relevant facts about this woman to the readers. She is a rather attractive lady and she is unexpectedly young, which is why all this art of her is being made. Her exact age isn't really important.

The example I offered isn't some 50ish person referring to a 30ish person as young, it was far more specific than that for a reason. Changing half the criteria of the situation and then declaring it fine does not hold water.

But the situation you specifically made has nothing to do with the situation at hand. Addressing someone directly in a corporate meeting it is so completely removed from describing someone in an article on a gaming website that I naturally assumed you were just speaking in general terms. But sure, in that very specific situation it would be patronizing. As would Young woman, woman, or, in fact, anything but their name or company title. Check that, even just her name would be patronizing. Not at all applicable to the current situation.

But, continuing on to the rest of your argument, you claim that how young she is is relevant to the story, and so the author calling her "young lady" is justified because it offers the readers an accurate description. You then somehow claim that, despite already having stated that her age is relevant, her actual age isn't important. Sorry but no way am I buying into that. Either her age is important and the author should have stated her actual age, or it isn't important and the term "young lady" had no business being used there. This is journalism 101, if a fact is relevant it should be as precise as possible.

Her relative youth is relevant, not her exact age. Which is what I already stated. It would clutter the article for no real improvement.

And the idea that a relevant fact should be as precise as possible is silly. Should he have gone into why she is attractive, for example? Should he have dedicated sentences to blond hair, skin tone and eye color? What about how many people find women in uniforms and in positions of authority highly attractive? All obviously relevant facts. But I somehow think you would have been even more angry if he was precise in this case.

Lastly, ignoring connotation in deference to something being technically correct would get you harangued in journalism. The fact that you understand that "young woman" could be seen as patronizing because of how it was used towards your sister but can't see how "young lady' is patronizing given the exact same context is baffling to me. It isn't just me having some history with the phrase, I don't particularly have any history with it, this is simply an issue of common usage and connotation.

But it is not a common usage. At least not where I am from. I did not know "young lady" is seen as a particularly patronizing term. I have never heard that before in my life, neither has my wife, and apparently neither have any of the other people disagreeing with you in this thread. Are you really sure it is that common?

 

[Eamar]

I did not know "young lady" is seen as a particularly patronizing term. I have never heard that before in my life, neither has my wife, and apparently neither have any of the other people disagreeing with you in this thread. Are you really sure it is that common?

You keep trying to push some numerical advantage in this thread. Being the fun-filled person I am, I read back through the whole thread and made lists and everything.

Number of people who have stated or agreed that they consider "young lady" patronising: 4
Number of people who have said that they disagree with the above: 3

By your logic, you should be the one asking whether you're really sure it's that uncommon.

Of course these things are going to vary from region to region, and across class and race and a million other factors. That's pretty much language's "thing." But just because it's not patronising where you live doesn't mean that it's not a thing.

EDIT: Furthermore, you are the only one engaging in a debate with either myself or Gorrath, so when you talk about "all the people disagreeing with you", you are in fact referring to yourself.

 

[viscomica]

She's super adorable by the way, cuter than her anime version.

As someone commented before, she's also siding with Putin and her claims are seriously wrong. Cuteness should not be a factor here.

Says the other super cute woman working for an asshole government!

I am aware of that, but I don't precisely share their ideology nor am I as important a deal as this woman. Thanks for calling me super cute by the way, that was very much appreciated (and you're very cute yourself). Also, hugs

 

[Gorrath]

But the situation you specifically made has nothing to do with the situation at hand. Addressing someone directly in a corporate meeting it is so completely removed from describing someone in an article on a gaming website that I naturally assumed you were just speaking in general terms. But sure, in that very specific situation it would be patronizing. As would Young woman, woman, or, in fact, anything but their name or company title. Check that, even just her name would be patronizing. Not at all applicable to the current situation.

You think using someone's name in a business setting is patronizing? I work in a business setting, and using people's first names when referring to them is the exact social expectation. Referring to a person as "young woman", "woman" or anything else that brings up a non-relevant factor is not. I used the board meeting example because it is a professional setting, much like one would expect a news article to be professional. Referring to a 13 year old girl as "young lady" at a board meeting would be perfectly acceptable, referring to your 33 year old VP of sales would not be. That's the point I'm making, context matters.

Her relative youth is relevant, not her exact age. Which is what I already stated. It would clutter the article for no real improvement.

And the idea that a relevant fact should be as precise as possible is silly. Should he have gone into why she is attractive, for example? Should he have dedicated sentences to blond hair, skin tone and eye color? What about how many people find women in uniforms and in positions of authority highly attractive? All obviously relevant facts. But I somehow think you would have been even more angry if he was precise in this case.

I find your comparison bizarre and obtuse. Noting that at 33 years of age she would be young for her position is not anything remotely like the author talking in depth about why he thinks she's hot. That should be, I would think, blatantly obvious. I don't mean that to be insulting, I just cannot fathom how in the world you think that being specific about relevant material, such as her age, is anything like injecting a bunch of subjective reasons why the author thinks a girl is cute. It's an absurd comparison. If I read ANY article that said someone was of "relative youth" in comparison to ANYTHING, my very first response would be, "How young are they?" I'm not just going to take the author's word for it and if I'm that writer's editor (something I've done semi-professionally) I'd kick the writer's butt for it.

But it is not a common usage. At least not where I am from. I did not know "young lady" is seen as a particularly patronizing term. I have never heard that before in my life, neither has my wife, and apparently neither have any of the other people disagreeing with you in this thread. Are you really sure it is that common?

I am sure it is common enough to be used in popular media in the form of disciplining a minor. Hell, type "young lady" and "patronizing" into friggin' google if you think I've simply invented this cliche. The very first hit is an article on how to deal with patronizing people, lol. Now I am with the writer of the article that one shouldn't get all bent out of shape over it in the settings described, but it's a far cry from how it's used in a supposedly professional sphere such as journalism. I'll be happy to read any response you have for this, but I'm not sure we're getting anywhere with eachother, if you don't feel the urge to respond to me I'll get why.

 

[Gorrath]

Frickan, frackan double post

 

[VanQ]

Wait, please forgive my ignorance but... what debate over the word "lady?" What the hell is wrong with that word?

It's a big, messy subject, and plenty of women have no problem with it at all. I don't like it for the following reasons:

1. It carries all the baggage of what it means (or used to mean) to be a "lady" - quiet, obliging, unobjectionable, always polite, never outspoken, plus all the connotations of being delicate and dainty and needing to be handled with kid gloves. Those things sound outdated, but bear in mind that many, many women were chastised during their childhood for not acting "ladylike." That happened to me a lot, and as someone who continues to act in an apparently "masculine" way I really can't stand the idea of gendering behaviour like that. I am not a "lady" in any way. I do not recognise myself in that word, and I resent the implication that I'll consider it a compliment just because of my gender. I don't want to be ladylike or to be portrayed as such.

2. Unless the person using it would use "gentleman" if they were talking to/about a man, it implies either that there's something wrong with describing someone as a "woman" or that they're going in for the whole chivalrous kid gloves thing mentioned in number 1, or that for some reason this person feels the need to be more polite around women than men. Contrary to popular belief, special treatment based purely on gender is not something most feminists welcome.

3. There's an infantilising element to it - "young lady" is usually used to address children or adolescents, so if that's how someone's encountered it and someone then addresses them as "(young) lady" later in life for no apparent reason, it can feel like they're being treated like a child.

There are other reasons why people dislike it, and as I said, not everyone has a problem with it. However, it has been a hotly debated word for a very long time now, and women who do dislike it are also pretty common. This isn't some new thing someone on tumblr just dreamed up.

I don't feel like I've explained it very well, but I hope that's helped give you an idea of the issue

EDIT: I should also clarify that in most cases people who do dislike it aren't going to go crazy at you or be genuinely offended, but they will probably feel uncomfortable and/or think you're a bit silly. I can't help but cringe every time I see it used casually, but I'm unlikely to make a big scene about it.

Ah, fair enough. I see your point. Though I think it's one of those words that has different interpretations depending on context. Though you got that across with your "ladies and gentlemen" mention. I'm honestly glad to hear that it's unlikely I have to worry about being taken offense to just for saying that.

I hear "young lady" used in the way you describe it a lot, and have used it on occassion. But I'd say it's something I use when I'm not entirely serious, like if I jokingly hit on a female friend for laughs. Strange question but I just so happened to hear a music video where they used the term "sexy lady" quite a lot. Would you take umbrage if someone referred to you as such, it doesn't feel like "sexy lady" contains the patronizing tone that "young lady" would contain to a grown woman.

I feel like the word lady itself shouldn't be weighed down by outdated views on femininity, and I tend to take umbrage to the fact that some people take umbrage to individual words. Ironic, I know. But after the whole "ban bossy" thing, I've been worrying that we're heading in a direction where just about any word could end up banned because someone found it offensive.

 

[Hammartroll]

"Oh my God there are Russian troops in the Crimea! The Ukraine's sovereignty is threatened! WW3 IS COMING!!!"

"Oh my God you're right! Quick: get the artists together and create a wacky manga based on fan-art of the major players in this crisis! WE'LL MAKE MILLIONS!!!"

I smell a 21st century version of Hentalia Axis Powers taking shape.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

This had a different lead in on my phone, so to address that quickly: Is it sexist or demeaning? Maybe but I couldn't care less (and I would actually say no because attractive young women in official positions in Russia is a statistical anomaly + a phenomenon like this is not a bunch of people independantly doing something but a bunch of people lending their own style to a trend) and yes but that happens to people in the public eye all the time, respectively.

But this is why I love the internet. Those pictures are adorable.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

OT: Originally, I was a little dismayed by the big boob art, mainly because it's so fucking cliche for that particular drawing style. Then I got a little more upset because none of the art really looks like her, which is another problem I have with that drawing style; take any of those drawings, change the colors around a bit and you can have completely different people because the face is so basic.

The pink hair one threw me off a bit and some of them do look like generic anime characters (a fair few in retrospect), but some of them (particularly the fourth one) struck me as pretty spot on. Not helping the matter that she doesn't have any really defining features except slightly wider and larger eyes than usual, which is basically an anime trait to begin with.

 

[Gigano]

Well, for some reason or another, genderbent recreations of dictators and other notable word leaders as young women has been [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0PXvoLNBjQ] a minor thing [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.395843-Dictators-according-to-Japan] in otaku subculture.

Putin's had more explicit treatment [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95937-This-Is-the-Best-Trailer-for-a-Japanese-Porn-Game-Ever], so when an actual attractive young woman dons the uniform, it was bound to spark a meme.

 

[Hammartroll]

She does remind me of all the blonde uniformed female anime characters in positions of power. I think the people drawing the pictures were simply making a joke over that, outrageously prominent breasts being critical to the point.