#queer representation

[fatfatgaybitch]

No one is safe from the woke agenda after byler endgame😈😈😈😈

Once Byler is endgame, no cishet film bro will ever be able to rest comfortably and easily knowing that the main character of his favorite media franchise isn’t gay. Bc wasn’t Mike Wheeler supposed to be a shoutout all the nerdy guys who got bullied in school?? :( And wasn’t he supposed to get the pretty girl with the superpowers in the end??? :(( but no, actually, SURPRISE Mike Wheeler enjoys kissing men on the mouth. And if Mike Wheeler can be gay, then who’s to say the big muscly guy in their favorite action movie won’t be next?? Who’s to say that any traditionally masculine guy main character from any media is safe from homosexuality??? 😈😈😈

[sappho3]

It is weird to me how many people truly believe that Will Byers had a morsel of hope that Mike Wheeler would like him back, and that he would have/could confess to him in Season 4/the upcoming season.

He gives multiple veiled speeches about how terrifying his feelings are to him in Season 4. He outright states in Season 3 that he will never fall in love. This statement introduces and highlights the idea that he does not believe he deserves or will find love, because of who he is. He has been a victim of extreme bigotry, something that was again outright stated in the first episode of the show. Half the town and his own father did not care that he might be dead due to the fact that they believed he was gay. Why would he ever put himself in such a dangerous position, especially when Mike has proven himself to not be a safe person when it comes to his queerness?

It's clear that many viewers of Stranger Things do not understand that sometimes coming of age as a gay person is equally as horrifying as being chased by a beast from an alternate dimension or being possessed by an otherworldly being, and would have been, even more so, at the height of the AIDs crisis.

[victusinveritas]

All from @mattxiv on Instagram.

[peabodysautobodyrepair]

“Nico Di Angelo is a token gay! His coming out scene sucked!” babes I’m BEGGING you to remember 2013 gay characters were not allowed in children’s media.

Lemme say that again: In 2013, it was expected that gay characters would be censored in children’s mass media.

Remember Korra? How she and Asami had to settle for ambiguous handholding rather than a kiss? That was fully a year after House of Hades came out. Nickelodeon said No Gays, the Children™ can’t handle that. Too risky. And people said man that stinks, but that’s how these things go in 2014 America.

Gay marriage was literally still illegal in the vast majority of US states. As of October 8th, 2013 (House of Hades release date) Gay Marriage was only a thing in thirteen fucking states. California had only legalized it that year.

Gay people were still very much on the fringes of society. It was an acceptable political position on both sides of the aisle to be against the existence and equal rights of gay people.

Nico was legitimately a landmark character in queer representation. To my knowledge, there wasn’t before an openly gay main character in a bestselling ya/middle grade fantasy fiction series. It simply was not a thing. They didn’t exist. They weren’t allowed to exist.

I remember people crying. Finally. It was a watershed moment. Kids all across the world finally got someone who represented them. It was such a big fucking deal. And it was controversial!!! Not for the reasons it is today, but because people thought gay kids having representation was inappropriate.

Is Nico’s coming out a great scene? No, these days it leaves a lot to be desired. It’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and I’m sure Rick wishes he could change it. But the fact that’s the case is a wonderful reflection of how far we’ve come.

All of your gay heroes in children’s media have Nico Di Angelo to thank. It was important, and good. It deserves to be celebrated, even if we’ve progressed past it since.

[jkl-fff]

So ... Anybody else enraged but not surprised? Anybody else been experiencing a constant urge to set various politicians ablaze since Novemeber of 2023, but which just felt a sudden spike in intensity? Anybody else ready to bite and rend and spit out the foul flesh and corrupt blood of some conservatives? Because I sure as all 79 Hells am right now.

After Trans People, Trump Now Erasing Bisexual People From Stonewall National Monument

[mime-rodeo]

give me ace characters who are unabashedly sexy and flirtatious.

give me aro characters who are emotional and clingy.

give me bi characters who can't even make eye contact with anyone, let alone flirt with them.

give me pan characters who are deadpan (haha get it) and have black cat energy.

give me non-binary characters who dress completely femme or masc, who don't “look non-binary”.

give me trans characters who don't completely pass as their gender but are still respected and not the butt of a joke.

fuck the stereotypes, give me more variety in queer representation.

[mooredanxieties]

Being asexual is actually just a constant struggle of condemning queer-baiting in media because it's a damaging and predatory practice, while also preferring those same queer-baity relationships over explicitly romance-and-fuck-on-screen couples, because queer relationships that get baited tend to express profound friendship and love in incredibly unique ways that are inherently asexual-coded

[starspangledmoth]

I can see where everyone is coming here, but I'd like to add that Nico, while being kinda problematic queer rep, esp for being the first explicitly gay character, probably had a reason for that at least from an in-universe standpoint. He grew up in 1930s Italy, which to my understanding would have been a rather homophobic environment. It makes sense that he wouldn't be introduced as gay (also note that he was 10 years old)

And for Thalia and esp Reyna, I find them very relatable because as an asexual as it took me forever to figure out my identity (we live in a society)

(I do have opinions about the other characters in the original post, but these ones feel the most important to me)

I know this isn't the case for everyone, but I do feel like it's important to note that we're reading about the characters as they're growing up as teens/preteens, and sometimes even younger. They themselves are often also figuring things out

I do think Rick's representation is problematic to at least some degree, but to me it does make sense and is relatable

Consider Ricks canon queer representation and tell me if its good. (Hint: its not)

Nico: not introduced as queer. He is made gay in the 9th Percy Jackson book. 6 books after his introduction.

Will: not introduced as queer. He is made gay in the 10th Percy Jackson book. 5-10 books after his introduction.

Piper: not introduced as queer. She is made gay in the 13th Percy Jackson book. 8 books after her introduction.

Shel: an extension of Piper at best.

Reyna: not introduced as asexual. She is made ace in the 14th book. 7 books after her introduction.

Thalia: not introduced as asexual. She is made ace in the 14th book. 11/12 books after her introduction.

The ONLY characters who weren’t retconned as queer are, to my knowledge, Jo & Emmie and Lavinia & her dryad gf.

A retcon is not representation. It is an afterthought. Queer people were an afterthought.

[odyscircus]

"all characters are aroace until proven otherwise" nah man

all characters are aroace even if proven otherwise

"aroace people can date too!" works both ways, thank you

[batcavescolony]

This is kinda revolutionary? Just a few years ago destiel was queerbaiting fans to superhell but now? NOW? A show saw the fans HC a character as queer with valid evidence and instead went "you know what? You're right. We didn't originally plan this for them but we see you". Then four episodes into the season, canonized his queerness. Not the last second, Not the last Episode. the BEGINNING of the season, with time to expand AND we know we're getting another season after this. Just look how far we've come.

[gor3sigil]

I’m going to get so much shit but this post but I don’t really care.

We know that transfems and trans women are hypervisible and are often seen as the “default” when people talk about trans people. And I’ve noticed that because of that, transmascs and trans men are not only forgotten from very real issues but also from what is considered as trans culture as a whole.

When people talk about trans people making art, science etc, it’s almost always transfems and trans women only.

And I’d like y’all to reflect on that and remember that transmascs and trans men have also contributed, and to include them when you talk about trans people’s contribution to the world.

A few example:

Music: Hyperpop is a trans subculture, and we love Sophie and 100gecs, but don’t forget about Dorian Electra, and, more recently, Tobre.

Science: there's a lot of names here but pleasd do not forget about Ben Barres, neurobiologist, the first openly trans scientist in the US Academy of Science. Alan L. Hart, who was a pioneer in X-ray photography used for turberculosis detection, and the first trans man to receive an hysterectomy.

And regarding queer history, please, for the love of God, remember Stormé DeLarverie. I still consistently see Marsha P. Johnson named as the one who started the Stonewall Riots when she has said multiple times that it wasn't her. It was most likely Stormé DeLarverie, a genderqueer butch and male impersonator.

I’m not trying to be bitchy, it’s just important that we do the work because cis people sure as hell won’t.

If you have any other names you’d like to add, please, please do !!!

[atomicraft]

the way the last of us shows queer love through touches makes me weep

The way Dina’s hands clasp around Ellie’s shoulders like it’s the easiest thing in the world. The band singing the lyric “oh when shall I see jesus” when Dina decides to slide her hands down Ellie’s shoulders. The clinging to each other in a crowded room like a lifeline. The way Dina rubs Ellie’s back without thinking when they dance. Warmth spreading from cheek to cheek, hand to hand. The way Ellie has to shift and pecks her lips gently at first because neither of them know what they’re doing. Showing queerness under warm, gentle lights.

[worfs-glorious-hair]

Ninejack walked so that Fifteen x Rogue could run

[delightfully-difficult-pirate]

"Hate toward the LGBTQ+ community increased because of the inclusion of a non-binary character (Taash) in the game" is not a solid argument for why non-binary and other LGBTQ+ representing characters should not be included in games.

Seriously. I cannot understand why someone thinks this is a good reason for disliking Taash as a character.

How they cannot see how PROBLEMATIC that reason is.

Taash's existence as a character pissed off closed-minded cis-het straight people? GOOD

Never stop advocating for representation just because it pisses close-minded people off. Use it as a reason to advocate for it more!

[hainethehero]

It is almost heartbreaking the way the toxic buddie stans are completely disregarding how 911 is trying to engage with discourse surrounding homophobia & LGBTQIA+ hate in workplaces in the show, and are crucifying one of the queer characters who is explicitly gay, just because their faves aren't a couple.

Like, this 👆 scene was devastating as much as it was badass because of Chimney. Tommy didn't fight back, and instead shifted his stance a little. He looks visibly uncomfortable and hurt but doesn't respond, alluding to the fact that he doesn't want to cause a scene, and/or doesn't feel empowered enough to stand up for himself and his boyfriend.

The scene could've been such a catalyst for deeper discussions about queer representation in service jobs like firefighting. It could've even led to discourse about intersectionality and how Hen faced her own struggles in the LAFD because in addition to being queer, she is black and a woman.

But no.

Instead, y'all are raving on and on about how Tommy is ugly, Lou is d*sgusting, how the cast and Oliver hate him and his character & how Buck and Eddie should be together and anything other than buddie = queerbaiting.

If you only want Buck to be bisexual with Eddie, then you NEVER cared about bisexual/queer representation in the first place.

[petercushingscheekbones]

neil gaiman and RTD are absolute legends for being the showrunners of 2 mainstream shows funded by large production companies in the year 2023, and proceeding to make the most queer positive episodes ever seen by man

meanwhile david tennant is just vibrating with joy because he gets more opportunities to wear his one-thousand-and-twenty-four pride pins