#to be negative for a second

[angstics]

this post about lesbian divas rlly delighted me. it's fun to see this niche topic talked about and expanded on with lots of examples. soooo i compiled all the responses as of 21/09/23 10:30pm EST and put them in a spreadsheet. then ranked them by how much of a diva i consider them lol

first off, the general list. i found 152 unique responses in the replies, tags, and comments. some were only first names so i didnt bother researching into who the poster was talking about. images for ease of viewing:

second... what is a diva?? clarifying where im coming from is important to understand my upcoming opinions. i should make clear that im talking about DIVAS as in DIVA WORSHIP as in LIZA MINNELLI-BARBRA STREISAND-BETTE DAVIS-LADY GAGA etcetera. dykes can see these female celebs as divas as well, but what the original post touches on is the male diva.

this rthko ask explains the diva well. you should also take a look at scholarly articles and books -- divas have been a part of recorded gay culture and esp gay male culture and drag queen culture forever -- the term isnt concrete. rthko says that "there's no real formula" but lists these typical features of a diva:

larger than life -- glam, humor, charisma? would a drag queen impersonate them?

theatrical / proximity to theatre

sexy / horny -- rthko notes here that these arent requirements, citing liza's lack of sexual overtness

strength

niche -- can be popular but not a general crowd-pleaser

gay rights supporter -- before it was cool

now rthko is talking about female divas, even noting the blind spot for bi/lesbian fans and artists. i say you can apply the same features to male celebrities to identify the male divas dykes idolize. i should note that some of the ppl on the list are women or genderqueer. so the list is not entirely male.

another note: im putting so much emphasis on DIVAHOOD because it's SUCH a specific term. not all icons, "weird little guys", "blorbos" are divas. one thing rthko doesn't touch on is how a diva often has a strong sense of self that the devotee can identify and want to emulate -- at the xtreme, leads to drag art. if they dont inspire and amaze, then are they a diva?

lets get into part 3: which of these 152 people / concepts / groups are honest to god divas? you can argue they're all Icons to some extent (the bare minimum being having a lesbian fanbase) but do they have what rthko and i (and gay culture researchers) consider to be the features of a diva?

first thing i did identify those i both recognized and "saw divahood within". ended up with 44:

then i shrunk down the list even further to 18 (again, pure opinion):

then i ranked the 44 more methodically by mapping out the 7 features of the diva:

several important notes:

this ranking is not definite -- though i tried to be fair, considering the limits to what i know, it is subjective

i dont know the histories of some of these people, so i may be missing some things. an inverse example: i know far too much about gerard way, so i had a good idea of how he fit into each feature

some of these i couldnt decide whether i should check or not. al pacino i was esp worried about... couldnt justify checking those boxes the way i can for other people

either way, my findings yielded interesting results! 3 of the most commonly talked about singer-songwriters (bruce, bob, johnny) ranked low. this may indicate that there's other features to the male diva that arent specified or dont apply to females divas / gay male devotees. perhaps defined gender expression, or “voice for lesbians”, or something else.

all of the people with a score of 4 or more can be emulated. "sex" (meaning overt sexuality) is the least common feature, after "theatrical".

though anyone can be a diva to anyone, there's a certain "canon" of who is a diva in gay circles. liza barbra bette gaga. this messy qualitative approach is an attempt to figure that out for dyke divas. i would love to talk about it more.

[batcavescolony]

Katniss is such an unreliable narrator. She says "Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about me" girl you deliver strawberries to the Mayor, you hunt and trade for the district, when you fell at Prim being chosen someone caught you, when you went to Prim people parted for you, when you volunteered EVERYONE stopped. Idk how to tell you but I think you're a pillar of the community.

[giotanner]

Let’s talk about the lack of a kiss? Let’s. For me, it didn’t make a difference. I read some comments here and there like "Oh, they made them less queer, they seem only BESTFRIENDS.” But that’s just not true. NICKY SAID IN ITALIAN "TI AMO" (in Italy, we have two ways to say “I love you,” and this one is deeper—used only in a romantic context with a romantic partner)

We did get scenes that are clearly, undeniably those of a couple. And that scene with Nicky’s monologue "i know your heart and that is immortal", and Joe opening up and admitting he’s afraid- aah...

We see Joe vulnerable. (what i wanted, I needed this. Because The Old Guard is dear to me also for its absence of harmful stereotypes.) Joe, who’s usually sharp, charming, the badass of the group.

Seeing his fragility with Nicky? That’s pure gold!

I know we’re in an era where if there aren’t sex scenes, then the ship supposedly doesn’t count. But this is what I needed. So many directors forget the most powerful part of a couple: love shown through actions, not flashy ones//also through the little things, the promises, the looks, their hands...

[casscainmainly]

Before posting to the Duke Thomas tag, think:

Does the post actually include Duke Thomas?

Does Duke Thomas say more than one throwaway line/question?

Is Duke Thomas more than just a prop for another character?

Is Duke Thomas more than the timid/shy/normal one?

If you answered yes to all these questions, congratulations!!! You can post to the Duke tag. If your answer is no, maybe avoid the Duke tag!

[grim-arcade]

-insert ominous whistle sounds- caught up with chaos theory today and i'm obsessed with the Handler and her microbangs <3

[mipmoth]

Submas VIOLENCE

[tsudratscigam]

TCO and TSC having siblings moments cuz i love them so much you dont understand

headcanon time: before TSC, TDL was TCO's only true friend and brother but after the whole showdown thing TCO was pretty much left alone. For him TSC was just a random stickperson with godly hidden powers until he saw how TSC actually tried to save him during the "wanted" episode when TCO got shot by the merchenaries that left him injured. After that i like to imagine that he actually cares about TSC but doesn't show it (hopefully we get more TCO and TSC interactions in the next episode please alan im begging you please please please)

[trappedinacomputer]

I find it kinda funny how Blue thinks Bad is the one who's leading this war and he's the one with all the big plans when it's actually Tubbo lashing out and Bad is just sitting in a recliner with a pipe, reading a newspaper like "yes princess, that's very good, take my credit card and get whatever you want"

[nando161mando]

The lib stasi is monitoring those with ''negative'' views of health insurance companies

[based-and-rinpilled]

George and Sapnap in the other room

[waywardsunlight]

Hunter and Luz's deaths being reverses of each other is crazy work in so many ways. Hunter is working on his emotional well-being, and beginning to accept himself. He lists the things he wants to do in order to stay focused so he can take himself (and Belos) out. Hunter hasn't been able to fully escape his trauma, in fact it literally overtakes him and he hurts people he loves, and he's holding onto the potential life he won't get due to Belos. Hunter's possession is forced on him, it's out of his control, it's the unfair expectations and history of violence that he could try and recover from but it still a part of him.

Luz has been in the exact opposite mindset. She's been really depressed and doesn't see a future for herself where she doesn't hurt everyone in her life because of her guilt. Luz is planning to sabotage her friendships in order to protect her friends from her perceived "brokeness". But her death is sudden and shocking, her sacrifice isn't made out of guilt but of an inherent impulse to save somebody else. Luz has to choose to come back, and she accepts a "possession", where she's in control. Luz has to accept that she's good, that she is worthy of life because she's here, right now, and she is enough.

They both also deal with the aftermath differently, with Hunter grieving and being angry at himself for what happened (which Luz and their friends perceive as him being angry at them). Hunter wants to get revenge on Belos at first, but then his focus shifts to protecting his friends and fighting for the Isles instead. Luz comes back with a lot of joy and excitement, she's happy to be alive again and its fun and she's more than happy to get revenge. After that fades, Luz is left tired. But they both end the series getting on the same page- they both love their families, and they both choose to live.

[sad-kiersten238]

[ghostbredtt]

doodle dump. don't look at me.I was insane back then

[andreadworkinq]

“Sex-negative” is the current secular reductio-ad-absurdum used to dismiss or discredit ideas, particularly political critiques, that might lead to detumescence [aroused dick deflation]. Critiques of rape, pornography, and prostitution are “sex-negative” without qualification or examination, perhaps because so many men use these ignoble routes of access and domination to get laid, and without them the number of fucks would so significantly decrease that men might nearly be chaste.

Intercourse, Andrea Dworkin

[marzipanandminutiae]

hello, tumblr user Marzipanandminutiae. before you are two sets of symptoms.

one is your seasonal allergies

the other is a mild case of COVID

syke they are exactly the same set of symptoms; have fun with that

[flying-fangirls]

I'm terrified that John is going to die by season's end. And not "oh that would be such a tragic bittersweet ending" terrified, but "dear god please do not ruin 6 seasons' worth of character development" terrified. Because it would not, under any circumstance, be satisfying to take the character whose entire major plot centers around self-discovery, choosing his own path, and forging a new life-- and then end his story in death. A character who repeatedly fantasizes about his future, the kind of joy and confidence that will only come once he's been able to live long enough. A character whose development should naturally conclude in a long, fulfilling, autonomous life.

Except, for some reason, John keeps losing autonomy. He keeps slipping out of Arthur's way and letting him make all the decisions for them instead. He keeps not voicing any independent thoughts, and only talks about things relevant to Arthur specifically. He keeps not using his limbs, and in Part 53 actually completely loses them. I'm not sure where else this is meant to lead John other than an ending in death. Why else would the co-protagonist lose passion and progress on his major motivation and never once complain about it, if this wasn't setting him up to fade out of the picture completely?

I don't know. I don't want to believe that this is where the podcast is heading, but all the evidence that the show has provided for the past several months says that it probably will. I sincerely hope it doesn't, as it would likely ruin the entire show for me personally. I'm just also filled with nothing but anxiety the more I analyze the last season or so