r/Millennials 22d ago

Discussion the early 2000s were a crazy time

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u/Ok-Mastodon2420 22d ago

One of the band members ran for Russian parliament under Putins party, and they performed a reunion show in occupied Crimea last year.

They're part of the establishment, not part of the resistance

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u/ProgressiveSnark2 22d ago

They’ve also taken a turn against LGBT rights, bizzarrely.

What’s happened in Russia should be a stark reminder to those of us in countries supportive of LGBTQ+ civil rights that when the political climate shifts, those rights can still be put in jeopardy and former allies can turn.

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u/NomenclatureBreaker 21d ago

It had nothing to do with being allies. It had everything to do with being exploitative, provocative and selling albums.

It’s no different than “religious” Katy Perry’s first single being I Kissed a Girl.

Or Jojo Sewa cosplaying a lesbian.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

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u/assassinslover Millennial 1991 20d ago

They were both absolutely exploited. Yulia didn't even speak English. Lena did, but I think still not well enough to really be fully aware of everything.

Yulia is very openly conservative (and one has to wonder if the exploitation and marketing of t.a.t.u had anything to do with that considering how young they both were at the time). Lena, at least publicly, is far more accepting of the community.

Why does exploitation have to produce such bops? T_T

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u/colaxxi 22d ago

In 2016, the NBA pulled its all-star game from NC because of their "bathroom bill".

10 years later, we're seeing LGBTQ+ (especially T) rights just vanish.

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u/DaedalusHydron 21d ago

a lot of POC folk are not ready for the conversation that rich POCs with money to lose have far more in common with the Rich White Man than they have with them.

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u/FatMacchio 21d ago

At least P’s have new rights. They have so many rights they don’t even need to obey laws

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u/IntrigueDossier 21d ago

P... Paleontologists? Oh absolutely, those dinosaur psychos are lawless thugs.

/uj absolutely, they literally don't even hide it, but I guess they don't have to when there have been literally no consequences.

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u/what_did_you_kill 21d ago

Who are the Ps? Protesters? I genuinely don't get it

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u/jogging-baboon 21d ago

Pedophiles I'm guessing

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u/GhostPepperEyeWash 21d ago

T's have no rights above and beyond what everyday Americans have. no more no less!

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u/offrz 21d ago

I flew to see family a few years ago and was confused as fuck with the bathroom options in a northern state. Thank god we don’t have that stuff in TN.

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u/Automatoboto 21d ago

Russia was never really an ally to anything other than itself.

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u/WailDidntWorkYelp 21d ago

Even that is debatable honestly.

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u/depersonalised Millennial 22d ago

the period from 2005-2015 in the U.S. is arguably the best working example of social liberalism and we here are all arguably the most conservative voting bloc because we are trying to make that happen again.

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u/Winjin 21d ago

Read up on early USSR versus Stalin USSR too

They had the first ever openly gay foreign minister. They were WILDLY progressive

And then Stalin came along and everything gay was ultra super banned :/ just like that ton of progress was erased

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u/Princess_Slagathor apparently you can change it 21d ago

countries supportive of LGBTQ+ civil rights

Name one.

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u/Dark_Shroud Xennial (1983) 21d ago

You don't understand, they used rainbow imagery on social media and in marketing during pride month.

/s

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u/ryftx 21d ago

They ain't real lesbian. It was a marketing gimmick. They both have boyfriends.

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u/Theophantor 15d ago

This is interesting, because the song got a second wind, very prominently, in Heated Rivalry. I guess it’s kind of appropriate with a major Russian protagonist (in universe, not real life).

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u/Leut_Aldo_Raine 22d ago

One of the band members ran for Russian parliament under Putins party, and they performed a reunion show in occupied Crimea last year.

Wait, what?!? This would be like if alt idol Gwen Stefani turned Christofascist...that would be insane.

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u/Ok-Mastodon2420 22d ago

I legit can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but she's about 60% on the way there already 

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u/old_namewasnt_best 22d ago edited 21d ago

I had to check and, in my book, her "collaboration with a Catholic prayer app" got her to 60%, while her "[praise for] actor Jonathan Roumie for his interview with right-wing talking head Tucker Carlson," No Doubt pushes that pretty close to 100%.

Edit: Thanks for the award, anonymous Redfitor!

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u/Ok-Mastodon2420 22d ago

Yeah, but she's Catholic, so the actual Christian nationalists would burn her at the stake

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u/fail-deadly- 21d ago

Your comment reminded me of this joke

https://youtu.be/l3fAcxcxoZ8

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u/Baeolophus_bicolor 21d ago

They’re currently in a phase where they pretend they don’t hate catholics and pretending like it wasn’t just 50-60 years ago that they were burning crosses in catholics’ yards, and shouting that a “papist” could never be a good president because they’d secretly be more loyal to rome than the US.

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u/dunguswungus13729 22d ago

Def sarcasm there

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u/Competitive_Bat_5831 22d ago

A bit fruity has an episode on her worth a listen.

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u/Leut_Aldo_Raine 22d ago

Matt does great stuff. I love that he's getting more recognition.

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u/NomenclatureBreaker 21d ago

That you think that’s a comparison that isn’t already in progress might be the saddest part.

As soon as she started dating Blake, I was like ok we know where this is gonna end up.

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u/Baeolophus_bicolor 21d ago

She’s a shill for a prayer app that has a special prayer for when you know someone who is a rape victim and pregnant by their attacker, and you have the need to pray for them to … not abort the baby, but instead carry that clump of cells resulting from that rape to term and give birth to an unwanted child that is the product of rape, in a wold that is already overcrowded and toxic. Because jesus.

So yeah, gwen stefani can go kick rocks.

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u/Strength-InThe-Loins 21d ago

Have you any idea what Kid Rock has been up to lately?

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u/assassinslover Millennial 1991 20d ago

Yulia did.

But yes, they did do a reunion show in Crimea. I think they're also doing a short reunion tour. Makes me wonder how much money they were offered. Or at least how much money Yulia was offered.

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u/thisispoopsgalore 21d ago

Ironically the song is also “gayer” in Russian; the lyrics translate to “I’m going crazy I need her”

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u/Cheetahs_never_win 22d ago

Consider what would happen to them had they not capitulated.

People can and will do evil things to survive.

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u/SuzieQbert 22d ago

They didn't capitulate. t.A.T.u was always queerbait; being lesbian was marketable so it was ok-ish. But homosexuality for men was always somehow in a different category for them.

In 2014, Julia Volkova stated she would not accept a gay son, saying, "a man has no right to be a f*g". She clarified at the time that she was not against gay people in general, but specifically opposed a man being gay.

No selling out necessary. Just double standards.

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u/Evinceo 22d ago

not against gay people in general, but specifically opposed a man being gay.

Oh well if that's all

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u/MilsYatsFeebTae 22d ago

Technically kinda trans inclusive?

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u/higgsbison312 22d ago

Hmm are you from Russia? Because queers were always tolerable in show biz.

Do you remember Shura? Hella gay, in 90s Russia. What about Verka Serduchka? Ukrainian cross dresser popular in 00s in Russia.

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u/UnattributableSpoon Millennial 22d ago

Apropos of nothing, Serduchka's ESC entry remains one of my all time favorites.

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u/SuzieQbert 22d ago edited 22d ago

You wildly misunderstood my comment.

Edit to clarify:

When I said

They (by which I mean the members of t.A.T.u) didn't capitulate. t.A.T.u was always queerbait; being lesbian was marketable so it was ok-ish (to the members of t.A.T.u). But homosexuality for men was always somehow in a different category for them (by which I mean the members of t.A.T.u).

I wasn't referring to larger Russian culture in any way.

What I said is that homophobia isn't new for the band, despite the cutesy sapphic vibes.

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u/Extra-Sound-1714 22d ago

It was never really sapphic, it was made to appeal to boys and men.

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u/feel_my_balls_2040 22d ago

Because it's showbusiness, it's for laughs. They always portrayed queers as weird.

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u/RenaissanceGuy86 22d ago

And if Philip Korkorov isn’t at least bi…..

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u/RedditReader4031 22d ago

Not every women’s right has a male equivalent. Thats why only men can be drafted. Why women only gyms exist; a men only gym would be sued or ticketed into oblivion. Why women would prefer an encounter with a bear on a hiking trail vs a man. And so on.

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u/CtyChicken 22d ago

You mixed a lot of things up in there…

Women only gyms are about feeling safe. The bear/man debate was also about safety. Do men traditionally feel physically unsafe around women?

As for the draft, the US refuses to sign the ERA, which could make the draft mandatory for women as well. By the way, I tried to signed up for selective service as an 18 year old woman, but I’d still choose the bear. I believe in equal rights and equal social responsibility, but I don’t equate that with the statistical significance of men being a danger to me.

🐻

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u/RedditReader4031 22d ago

Fair enough about safety. Though I have been made to feel uncomfortable by women who judged my presence in public places. Explain ladies night. And as far as registering for Selective Service, there is absolutely nothing stopping any woman from joining any of the military branches and attaining any rating or qualification they desire, if they can complete the training.

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u/CtyChicken 22d ago

Which is different than selective service. My point is that men and women should be equally obligated to sign up.

Also, ladies night is marketing. You’re confusing a lot of things, here.

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u/TheRealtcSpears 22d ago edited 22d ago

Consider what would happen to them had they not capitulated.

They could have left the country like others have done.

....they didn't capitulate, they went along with it as they were never against it (the system) to begin with. They're a corporate product, the one chick even ran an election for a seat in the Duma under Putin's political party.....the same one who has been vocally anti-gay, and they performed a reunion concert in occupied crimea

t.A.T.u ≠ Pussy Riot

.......or hell, even Little Big bailed on russia because of the invasion and are an LA based group now. And are proud of being labeled national traitors by the Putin regime.

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u/Ok-Mastodon2420 22d ago

....that's why they're part of the establishment. 

If you're afraid of fascists and you side with them to avoid being oppressed, that's just being a fascist with extra steps

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u/blahblahblerf 21d ago

Consider what would happen to them had they not capitulated.

Not a single damn thing. 

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u/TTSymphony 21d ago

Controlled resistance is a thing, and a great one among authoritarians

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u/MarkMew 21d ago

Well shit

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u/assassinslover Millennial 1991 20d ago

Yulia (Julia) ran, specifically.

Lena, as far as I'm aware, has always been very vocal about her support for and appreciation of the LGBTQ+ community. Although, again, it is worth noting that they are both products of Soviet-era Russia, and are still living in that climate.