#and she (cishet) was like 'have you heard of being asexual'

[carcinized]

the older & more mature i get the more i kind of settle into being percieved as cishet. this isnt at all shade to people who DO care, because its your identity and you get to care, but like for me there is sooo much power in not caring. and its kind of fucking awesome. im an undercover gay. need to know basis. not everyones business. im chillin

[mogai-sunflowers]

i just binged the whole new season of heartstopper so spoiler warning for below if you haven't watched it yet but...

oh my GOD. like oh my fucking GOD.

first of all, Elle. i love that they don't show her as just the bullied trans girl with no other personality than just that she was bullied. like what i mean is that they let her just be a regular teenaged girl. she's not just The Trans One she's just one of the crew but they're still open about her transness. and i feel like they could've made her relationship with tao about how cishet men are pressured to not date trans girls cuz people think it makes them gay, but that isn't even brought up, their relationship is just natural and genuine and it just is so so so nice to see a mainstream show letting a trans girl just be.... herself. a teenager. they're not denying what she's been through but they're also not making her whole story out to be a tragedy. and when she meets naomi and phoenix, and immediately bonds and naomi immediately opens up about her experiences as a fellow trans girl, i felt sooooooo seen because that's what queer friendships are like. they're so healing because you can just feel safer and that's what most of my queer friendships have been and i felt so seen in the way elle immediately bonded with them.

second of all, ISAAC. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY FUCK!!!!!!! i have never once heard the words aromantic or asexual spoken out loud by someone else. like literally never spoken outloud, i've never even said them to myself, and here they are being spoken about casually on a huge mainstream queer tv show. that person at the art show talking about the pressure of romance and sex and how finding the right labels after so long was so freeing was like- idk how to even describe how it feels to be seen like that for the first time. like, people are going to watch that and they're going to learn about people like me in a positive way!! and i love that Isaac started reading the ACE book and i can't wait for more on his journey to accepting that part of himself

third of all, darcy and tara. as a gendernonconforming lesbian myself, seeing her so happy to wear that suit and then the very real pain of having that shut down by her mom, was very good to see that be represented. it's not just about her lesbianism, it's about her gender presentation too and so many times, lesbian media focuses solely on femme-presenting lesbians (not even actual femmes mind you, just lesbians who look feminine as fuck) and it felt so happy to see darcy dancing around in that suit when she first put it on. and tara talking about how she was afraid to even call herself a lesbian for so long was so real like. there's such a stigma around that word, i still feel that way even though i know i'm lesbian, i feel like this show is one of the first shows i've watched that isn't just a gay show, it's truly a queer show because there's such a diversity of experiences represented like-

there's charlie's experiences being bullied, but also his experiences being loved and appreciated. there's nick's experiences being perceived as straight and having to feel like he has to choose, and also constantly having to tell people he's bi, not gay, but also the positives of euphoria from his attraction to both men and women, the reality of mixed reactions from family. there's elle's parents who are accepting of her transness, and her school who wasn't as much, but also her school showcasing trans artists and her cis girl friends who accept her without question. there's isaac being told by jake that he just "hasn't found the right person yet" but also being told at the art exposition that it's freeing to be relieved from the pressures of romance and sex when you don't feel those kinds of attraction. there's just so much room for nuance and balance of experiences and they're all part of the picture. like, actual good representation.

i'm just so happy right now.

[roxtron]

oh no i'm about to talk about trans representation in a way that might annoy some people. Obviously this discussion should have context, so, within the context of people arguing if Gwen is or isn't trans.. I saw this.

To summarize for people who don't want to/can't read what's in the screenshot, the basic point of this person's argument is that it would actually be better for the LGBT+ community for Gwen to be an ally.. And that it would somehow be worse if she was trans herself. So naturally I'm gonna make an entire post ranting about it for as long as I want to, because this is bullshit. First off, I don't think there is ever going to be a scenario where trans people themselves will be more happy to see a character as a trans ally than to see a trans character. That's just.. no. Second off, even if we're following the logic of the comment, that allies voices and representation are somehow more important than trans people's voices and representation- Simply by the fact that allies are viewed as more 'normal' by society- I can't even write this as one solid sentence, it's just such an awful point. I thought we've gone through this enough times that you're not inherently special for being an ally, you don't need ally representation more than trans people need representation, it's literally just "congrats! you're not a transphobic asshole and are doing the bare minimum to being a decent human being." I think the community has already had enough of cishet allies trying to insert themselves into the community solely because they're allies. (Example, people trying to claim the 'A' in 'LGBTQIA+' is for 'Ally.' Obviously it's not. There's multiple identities that start with A that the acronym is for. Asexual, aromantic, agender, etc.) Either way the point about allies being better voices simply because they're only allies is just making the problem worse. The only reason the community needs allies voices in any way is because transphobes won't listen to trans people themselves. They'll only listen to the voices of allies, if they bother to listen at all. Giving more ally voices isn't going to have the same impact as making trans voices louder. They're not going to stop seeing us as freaks just because you say we're not, they're just going to be annoyed with you too for 'siding' with us. As good as allies may have intentions they can't and shouldn't speak for our experiences. And if only the voices of allies are heard, there's going to be a huge piece missing during discussions like this. But even beyond that, who says representation has to be for getting transphobes to accept us anyway? Why can't we just have representation to make us happy? Why is furthering fighting transphobes more valuable than making trans people feel seen and understood? I just wanna end this by saying: I'm tired of seeing takes like this. You claim to be allies, but if you are, why does the thought of Gwen being trans make you that upset? Why is it such a big deal to some of you if she is?

[hello-im-not-a-possum]

YEEHAW IT’S MIDNIGHT WHICH MEANS IT’S AUGUST 1ST WHICH MEANS INK DEMONTH SO I CAN FINALLY POST THIS NOW:

1. Pride

Diversity win! There is not a single cishet in the hivemind of ink creatures (To their knowledge) that you slaughter on a daily basis to make yourself beautiful! AKA: Possum has a fuck ton of LBGT+ headcanons regarding the BATIM cast and is happy to use this DeMonth prompt to indulge them. (Set before the loop starts, but after Buddy Boris meets/befriends the lost ones.)

Malice flicked through the channels of her cameras, trying to find more prey in her territory, and stopped when she saw a gathering of the lost and the searching (and exactly one Boris, the most perfect one she had ever seen.) in the Heavenly toy’s lobby, their prophet was brazenly sitting on the side of the waterfall as if he did not fear the ink when he should have.

Her ears steamed with anger as she saw that group, it was far too large for her to deal with on her own and too far away from the Projectionist’s grounds for her to manage to lure him to them. But on the bright side, she could learn some important information from them, after all, with how casually the prophet was sitting and gesturing and how the other freaks in the crowd were responding, this was clearly not one of his normal sermons.

(“I still find it rather funny that almost none of us are straight and that the few straight ones among us are trans, it’s like all this time we thought we were sheep hiding away in wolves’ clothing among wolves, unaware that the “wolves” were simply other sheep in hiding as well!”)

[Funnily enough, I’d rather be a sheep than a wolf, I think it makes more sense for me to be an animal that’s helpful to others but also easily scared.] The Boris wrote on a typewriter. [Or at least, I wish I had some kind of input on what I am, but I doubt I’d make myself an animal…]

(“Speaking of which...”) The lost one next to the wolf whispered in his ear as she looked over his typing. (“How are you holding up, Buddy?”)

Instead of typing, the wolf drew himself shrugging and put a bunch of question marks around him, then stuck the drawn-on paper in his typewriter and added to it.

[It’s hard to think most of the time, Boris always seems stronger when I’m alone, but I know the Ink demon will find us if I stay with you, this hunger is driving me crazy, and I just wanna go home. But on the bright side, I don’t have to deal with periods, chest pain from binding, or people condescendingly calling me ‘Miss Lewek’ anymore.]

She turned on the sound in that room, watching them like one would watch a Tv drama, but what she heard caught her off guard.

“So as long as we’re being honest about ourselves with each other…” The lost one stood up and pointed accusingly at Sammy. “Were you and Joey and a thing all along before the machine came into the picture!?”

If she was drinking water, she would’ve spat it right back out. Sammy, with Joey?! In the latter’s dreams, maybe! Even a few of the other lost ones looked shocked at the question, the Boris even gasped loud enough for it to be audible.

“Technically yes, but not by choice, mind you.”

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

What the fuck indeed random lost one. The angel wished that she didn’t hear that, but now that she couldn’t unsee it, at least it made a little bit of sense in hindsight. After all, in her eyes, they were awful enough to deserve each other.

“...Why?”

“It’s just, well... somebody had to keep his eyes from wandering to the lambs- err- younger, more naive, less experienced employees, not children (to my knowledge). And at the time, I really thought that he did at least care about me beyond our work relationships, at least a little bit…  But from what I’ve seen, I believe the only things he had ever truly loved were himself, and the idealized versions he had made of other people. His ‘dream versions’ of them, if you will.”

“And this whole time, I thought he was running off with Susie with all those lunch dates! Or where the three of you all… yaknow, *together* together?”

 “Not knowingly… However I wouldn’t put it past Joey to cheat on people. As for Susie... I did like her, maybe even love her in a way, but I doubt I could ever love her in the way she wanted me to love her, and-or love her carnally. I don’t even think I could fake it like I could for Joey, she was never signing my checks and wasn’t holding that over my head so I’d be too disgusted to even try.”

Malice was almost about to march down there herself and push him into the ink, but she knew this troupe all too well, and knew that sometimes this place worked on story logic, he’s now going to say something that alters the context of that statement enough to not justify her going over there and slam dunking him into the ink.

“Now that I think of it, I don’t think that I’ve ever loved… anyone in that sense. I can’t think of a single person or situation where the idea of doing that is anything other than gross at best. In fact, there was someone who was close to me a long time ago, someone who, while I have long forgotten now, would perhaps even be what one could consider a soulmate. Even then, the mere thought of doing that with them still makes me queasy…” The prophet sighed. “I suppose I am simply meant to remain alone in religious celibacy. A relationship of that kind would interfere too much with my worship anyway.”

"Ahh fahr foehck's sake... I can't believe dat it's dis foehckin stupid..." A more lucid, absolute giant of a searcher in the back of the crowd slapped his forehead.

“It?” Malice repeated curiously. “Huh… maybe it and I had more in common than we thought.”

“You're clearly a sex-repoehlsed asexual, you doehmbass! literally everyahne who's ever been in de dark poehddles at de same time as you figured dis ooeht befahre you ded!” He shouted through cupped hands. “celibate people are people who WANT sex, boeht dahn't poehrsue it fahr variooehs reasahns, dey ARE NAHT people who are desgoehsted wit sex to de point where dey legitimately throw oehp and feel 'ahrreble after doin de nahrmal vanella stoehff! Stahp foehckin foehckin people when you're clearly naht cahmfortable wit it, and you and future partner..s? 'll be 'appier wit yooehr rahmantic poehrsuits!”

The searcher, upon realizing that he had furiously sworn at the Prophet, their leader, the one who does not fear anything within the studio, not even the deepest depths of the dark puddles, and most terrifyingly of all; the former music director, he slinked into a puddle within the crowd in fear of being the target of reawakened ancient wrath. Everybody else looked back and forth to the prophet and back at the searcher who spoke out as they remained in stunned silence, even their eavesdropper was worried for his fate, even if in her case she feared how the show would end rather than his outcome. Surprisingly, and luckily for him, the Prophet broke the tense silence by laughing in that caught-off-guard tone of it.

“While you were rather… crude about it, what you’ve said does make a lot more sense then Joey being so bad at sex that he turned me away from men altogether, even if it is funny to assume that he was.”

“A-aye… and I can't believe dat you wrahte an entire foehckin sahng abooeht it! 'ow ded you naht get fired fahr dat?!”

“Good question, I wish I could remember the answer…”

[Maybe you had blackmail on Drew?] The Boris typed out and handed to Sammy.

“Yeah, maybe because you used to be so close to him, you saw skeletons that Joey would want to keep in the closet” His lost-one friend added.

“Like HIMSELF!” A voice from the back added, making the others in the room burst into laughter.

With the tension in the room gone, the group just went back to talking about either journeys they took to become comfortable with themselves, or the various past relationships that they had, or wished they had or in some peoples’ cases, all three.

Malice continued to watch them bitterly. It was as if they had either forgotten what the outside world was like to people like them or they simply didn’t care, and she wasn’t thinking about the ink that made up their bodies. Part of her envied how freely they had talked about themselves and each other, part of her felt like she had been smacked across the face, and a third part of her felt lonely. All of them seemed so happy telling their stories and building each other up, and here she was hiding away with her own story that she had wished to bury.

However, there was no iron clad law stating that she couldn’t tell them her own story. In fact, maybe if she came out of her own cage, made Sammy understand that big part of why voicing Alice was so important to her, made sure that it understood that as the very first explicitly female character she voiced, that Alice Angel was more than a beloved character to her, that she was a part of her, the biggest symbol of her own femininity, then maybe it would recognize the error of its ways. Maybe it would see how devastating it would be to be shunted aside without notice in favor of someone newer, prettier, ‘more feminine’...

She shut off the camera and thought it over, and she made up her mind. While she still didn’t want to share her story with everyone, Sammy needed to know it. Whether the Prophet liked it or not, she was going to pay it a visit.

[blake-belladonna-defence-force]

Since its national coming out day, I thought that I’d share my journey to where I am now in terms of my orientations.

To start with... I spent a long time thinking that I was alone. I didn’t experience crushes on boys (hell, if you made the suggestion that I did, I’d start crying!) and I didn’t experience crushes on girls (though I freaked out less about being teased about girls. I was way more chill about that.) and I remember feeling very confused and alone, even pretending to like boys in my class and one time, I pretended to have a crush on my best girl friend.

To be fair... it wasn’t entirely a lie because I had the BIGGEST squish on her.

People constantly made up an imaginary boyfriend for me and teased me about it to the point that, as a young child, I would start crying and sobbing because it made me THAT uncomfortable and distressed. It got to the point where my parents had to ban people from making those kinds of jokes because they didn’t like seeing their child so distraught.

Funnily enough... the one time my sister made an imaginary girlfriend for me, I just shrugged it off. The idea of having a girlfriend didn’t distress me, I was just... not interested in it. Guess we should have known just by that that I wasn’t straight.

Cut to years later in high school and everyone is talking about dating and sex and I’m just sitting there like “... um... I like dragons and chocolate?” while they were making plans to seduce their partners or talking about how hot someone was.

Honestly, I remember saying that a girl in our year was absolutely gorgeous. That she was hot. Almost immediately, my group (full of straight people, mind you) turned to me and started asking me if I was gay and making jokes about it. I tried to explain to them that I didn’t want to date her or do anything else with her other than be friends but I didn’t have the tools to explain that I was only aesthetically and platonically attracted to her. Honestly, I don’t think they would have believed me if I did. In the end, I just let it drop and so did they but I never felt comfortable voicing what minimal attraction to women I do experience because they just wouldn’t get it.

Plus... it’s kind of not the best thing to do to question somebody’s sexuality like that in a public setting. You might just be accidentally outing them before they’re ready.

A year or so later, this group’s talking about crushes and they turn to me expectantly and at this point, I’m tired. I’m tired of pretending to know what a crush. I’m tired of pretending to be something I’m not so I tell that I’ve never had a crush. That I don’t even really know what a crush is.

*heavy sigh* y’all, let me tell you the looks they gave me hurt like a mother fucker. “That’s weird.” They said, as they looked at me like I was an alien. “Do you have hormone problem?” They asked before scoffing at me, as though I were a naive child, and turning back to each other...

Turning back to their “normal friends” instead of the weirdo incapable of attraction.

As a 16-17 year old, who had spent their whole life struggling to connect to their peers, that hurt. I wasn’t one of them. I was other and I was weird. So... I never talked about it again. I didnt talk about my experiences and I fell into silence and listened to them talking about a world I didn’t understand.

And honestly? I didn’t want to! I was okay with not having crushes. I didn’t want them and I sure as fuck wasn’t going to try to date just because everyone else did.

But... that doesn’t change the fact that because of their reactions, I felt alone. Like my experiences didn’t matter. Like I was broken or a freak of nature.

So... a year later comes and I’m like 17-18 years old and scrolling through tumblr. I pause when I see a post called “How to know if you’re Asexual and/or Aromantic.”

Heh.

That was the day that it started to fall into the place. That was the day I discovered that I’m not alone or broken or a freak. I discovered that I was okay!

I read the post and rush to my feet. My parents are watching tv in their room and suddenly, their child storms in like a herd of elephants after her, rambling at 20 mp/h about how she found her people.

That’s not a joke. I literally burst into their room yelling “MOTHER! FATHER! I HAVE FOUND MY PEOPLE!” and came out to them straight away because I was just so excited and happy.

I had to explain it to them. That I’m not straight. That I’m queer. What being acearo means.

They were confused but happy to see that I was happy. It took them some time to get it but they understand a little better now.

I came out to my (admittedly cishet) sisters a year later. My oldest sister got my coming out in a “Ah, shit. Even my car’s straighter than me!” and my middle sister got my coming out when I looked her dead in eyes after she was asking me about cute boys and I said “I’m too queer for your heteronormative bullshit, Barb.”

I still don’t know how to explain that I do experience platonic, queer platonic and aesthetic attraction to women. That I’m sapphic orientated. It’s hard to explain the split attraction module to people that don’t use it or have never heard of it so I don’t know how it’ll go.

I still haven’t fully come out as nonbinary/demigirl. They all think I’m just a butch, masculine queer woman. I don’t know if I ever will and that’s okay too.

And it’s worth mentioning that I’ve met people who respect my identity. Who let me talk about my experiences and the attraction I do feel without making me feel like I’m broken or a liar. They’re my comfy crew and honestly... I’d gladly fight anyone for these people 💛

Coming out is scary and I was fortunate enough to be born into a very supportive family that accepts my queerness. But there are so many people that have very different circumstances so let me say this;

You deserve love. You deserve support and acceptance. You deserve to feel safe and comfortable. You are so fucking worthy of all of these things and so much more, no matter what anyone says. It’s hard and scary but it does get better.

Stay safe 💛

[mikami]

are there any lgbtq+ death note characters? i’ve heard rumors about light and L being gay but i never knew if they were true....and if they never say if they are what characters are most likely lgbtq?

There aren’t any canonically LGBTQ+ characters, no. And honestly, considering Ohba’s only foray into writing one is the ultimate offensive predatory lesbian stereotype, we’re probably better off without him making any kind of attempt.

Ohba likely thought of absolutely everyone as cishet in writing and for many characters I do feel that translates into their values and how they carry themselves. That doesn’t make it impossible for them to be LGBT+, of course, but it definitely means their personal self-acceptance journey might be a longer one...

In the end, it’s up to headcanon! I’m not going to tell you which characters can and can’t be LGBT - I just might have personal preferences and opinions on how realistically written I might find an according headcanon (which I tend to keep to myself unless asked because who am I to dictate the LGBT+ experience for everyone, lmao. Personal view is only that, personal).

For characters I think are most LIKELY.... Hm.

Light. Ohba might not have intended anything specific when he wrote his disinterest in porn and such, but he still reads either extremely asexual or not-yet-realized gay (or both, honestly).

Ide. The whole spiel about him not understanding romance with women and ‘I’ve been in love but it wasn’t much of a romance’ makes a gay read incredibly easy.

All of the Wammy kids easily read as any kind of LGBT+, it just always works.

Rem SHOULD be a lesbian, even if Ohba canonically makes her go ‘no homo’.

And then characters we don’t really know much about are an easy grab because like.... I can just SAY ‘Wedy is a lesbian’ and what’s gonna stop me? Certainly not canon attraction to men, because she’s in like 20 panels.

[imaginedigimon]

u got any lgbtq+ hcs for any of the main 12 adventure and 02 kids?

🤔 Hmm...

Now Anon, I’m warning you: I’m probably not going to give you what you want for this. But I’m going to try.

I REALLY HOPE I DON’T FUCK THIS UP, FRIENDS *stressing out a bit I will not lie*

LGBTQ+ Headcanons for 01 + 02 Gang

Tai [Taichi]

Doesn’t know the meaning of the word “straight” except in terms of line segments in math (but even then, he’s a little lost)

He probably saw the pride flag for the first time when he was 14 and because it reminded him of the Crests thought, “I CAN GET BEHIND THAT”

When he learned the real meaning of pride and the LGBTQ+ community, he was even more ecstatic

Has definitely beaten up some homophobes before

And transphobes

He’s beaten up a lot of people in general

Realized after a while that he’s pansexual himself and started painting his face with the pan flag everyday

Will not deny that he has a thing for Matt and Sora at the same time and is happy if they’re happy but would really like to kiss them both pls

Matt [Yamato]

He most certainly questioned his own gender for a while, though he can’t pinpoint when it started

Gabumon told him it didn’t matter what he identified as, they’d always be partners anyway, so that really helped him a lot

It also helped that Tai was willing to beat people’s asses for him

Has also beaten up some homophobes and transphobes (Tai has been the one to drag him away from some fights)

Wears pins of all the pride flags at all times because fuck you haters

Also would like to kiss Tai, just like once or twice or a million times

Identifies as bisexual most likely

Sora

Doesn’t mention it a lot, but Mimi was probably her first kiss (by accident...OR WAS IT?)

She was the type of person who, because she grew up in a very hetero-normative world, wasn’t sure what it meant to like a girl

Probably asked Tai when she was 15 and still thinking about Mimi’s hair and lips when he explained to her that it was perfectly normal

She never forgot that conversation

Has continuously questioned her identity and orientation throughout the years, though only Biyomon has been privy to this struggle

Finally settled on saying she’s queer because she’s not much for labels (especially when she’s in a constant state of questioning)

Definitely asked Mimi to kiss her again just so it wouldn’t be an accident

Izzy [Koshiro]

Always a kid before his time, knew how to explain all aspects of pride to everyone else before they even knew what the LGBTQ+ community was

Has PowerPoints to make things clearer

Around age 17 or 18, he started asking that everyone use he/him or they/them pronouns, and this hasn’t changed since

Everyone said “a’ight” because they love him no matter what

Has always had some kind of romantic feelings for just about everyone in the group, but nothing beyond that

This poor sweetie pie cried the night he realized he was asexual and called Joe, who said in the most intense voice he’d ever heard, “You think that matters to us? We love you, Izzy, and don’t you ever forget that”

Has decided Joe is the coolest guy ever

Started some social media account where it’s nothing but pictures of Tai with various pride symbols painted on his face and it’s blown up

Mimi

Unlike Sora, she didn’t think much about the kiss

She had already accepted that she liked girls by that point

Definitely had a crush on Yolei too, though she played it cool

YOU CANNOT TELL ME SHE DIDN’T CONSIDER MEIKO HER TRUE LOVE

Teases Izzy a lot because she has a bit of a crush on him too, though this confused her because she thought she liked girls

The day she learned the term homoflexible she thought she was dreaming

But she wasn’t

Still, Sora and Yolei and Meiko are her girls and she loves them very dearly

Has the same enthusiasm as Tai and paints the various flags on her face as well (became part of that social media account Izzy started)

You can catch her and Tai at a pride parade screaming at the top of their lungs

Joe [Jou/Jyou]

I’ll admit, he’s probably the token straight? But he’s also one of those guys who’s not afraid to tell Matt he looks handsome today

Has needed to ask Izzy a lot of questions because he’s like me and wants to know and not offend anyone because he’s ignorant or doesn’t know something

Had a moment similar to me where he wondered if he really was straight

Decided he still was, but would support anyone and everyone because that’s just the guy he is

You know how he becomes a doctor? He most CERTAINLY helps with transitioning whenever he can because he’s a GOOD. DOCTOR.

Doesn’t beat up haters, but gives them a death glare that’s just as effective

Wore around a rainbow doctor’s coat because he COULD and no one tried to stop him because they knew he’d quit on the spot

Takeru [T.K.]

Been the guy to say “respect LGBTQ+ rights or die by my sword” or something like that

Lowkey had a crush on Angemon and Angewomon simulanteously and could NOT for the life of him explain why that was

Never told either of them this though

Or Kari

Definitely didn’t tell Kari

Okay yes, Tai is his big brother, but he definitely had a crush on the guy for about 2 weeks before he met Kari and everything changed

Hasn’t told either of them this

Like Sora, has only said he identifies as queer - he’d like to figure it out/delve deeper but is too busy flirting with everyone to care

Brings 5 different dates to his brother’s concerts at the same time and they all have to vie for his attention - it’s usually whoever says the most positive things about his brother

Has done at least 6 drag shows so far and let me tell you - KILLS IT every time

Kari is his forever girl but keeps winking at Ken just to make him blush

Kari [Hikari]

Also had a crush on Angewomon like how could she NOT

Also had crushes on Matt, Izzy, Mimi, and Sora (but not Joe for some reason)

When she realized her feelings for T.K. she got really really nervous (because of all his dates, you see)

Was also confused because she was pretty confused about her range of crushes over the years

Tai came out as pan to her first and she realized that sounded a lot like her

She’s a pan baby and she’s proud of it (and thanks her brother for supporting her)

Gave a rainbow pin to T.K. for his birthday and in return he kissed her

They go to ALL the pride events and nothing can stop them

Occasionally uses they/them pronouns on days she’s questioning

Davis [Daisuke]

Tai was his first love and you cannot change my mind about this

Meeting Kari was like meeting a Tai Who Would Notice Him and that was pretty rad

But he also likes her because of her, too

The world kinda stopped when he met Ken, though

Like damn, look at those soccer skills

I’m gonna be real, I think Davis is soccersexual (or footballsexual for non-Muricans)

Them soccer players be really hot though

Always has questions about the community, but never retains the answers

The PowerPoints, unfortunately, do not help

Eventually gave up and said, “I’M A DUMBASS BUT I SUPPORT YOU ALL”

They tried to tell him he should at least know what he’s talking about

(We’re still working on that)

Wears rainbow shirts with rainbow pants and it’s very atrocious but very appreciated

He is gay. He sometimes does crimes. We accept him anyway.

[T.K. asked him if he wanted to go to a drag show, he said “okay?” and really really loved it now he goes all the time]

Yolei [Miyako]

Mimi is hot, Ken is hot, Kari is hot, Matt’s kinda hot, everyone’s hot

She’s never been able to fully accept this because how is everyone so hot

Mimi was her first love, and Ken was her first boyfriend

She never forgot the firsts

Attracted to any and everyone it seems

She likes to call herself a frying pan and it makes everyone facepalm a little bit

Constantly dresses in the colors on the pan flag because she looks GOOD in them and it’s a way to remind everyone not to mess with her or her community

Tries to pretend she doesn’t know Mimi and Tai when she’s at a pride event and they’re out here acting like fools

But she also loves how unerringly supportive they are

Cody [Iori]

He was the first one everyone came out to, like for some reason he’s that guy

Literally the first person to offer you support

One day he told everyone he was transgender, and while they were surprised, they also didn’t react the way he was expecting

They actually hugged him immediately and said, “But don’t worry we love love love you” and Tai started painting the trans flag on Cody’s face until Cody said, “Guys please fuck off for a sec”

When he becomes a lawyer, he becomes the type of lawyer to defend anyone who was arrested on basis of race/identity/orientation/gender like the boss he is

Suspects he might be ace but hasn’t really delved into it much

He’s too busy scolding Davis for doing dumb things

Ken

Can everyone stop being hot for a sec? -direct quote from Ken himself

He’s in love with all the 02 kids and he’s accepted this

Yolei somehow stole his heart, but T.K.’s winks send it aflutter

He wants them both to stop (but they won’t)

Was completely unaware that Davis also liked him (even though it was really obvious?)

He identifies as bi and, like Izzy, uses they/them pronouns interchangeably with he/him

One of the good detectives on the force. Will bust your ass if you say any offensive slurs about anyone. [Has gotten suspended a few times for doing this BUT IT WAS FUCKING WORTH IT.]

Always the one on duty when Davis gets arrested for his crimes and it’s hecka exhausting

---------

Uhm... did I do good? I’ll admit, I was a little nervous since I myself am straight and cisgender (or cishet, as I’ve learned is the term)  😥  😥

Anon, I really do hope I did a good job!

And if I didn’t you can roast me in the flames of Meramon Hell

[ladyfl4me]

Hi! I've caught the trending page of Tumblr and heard that there's now an ace character, and I want to start listening to the podcast! I don't really know much about how d&d works, but is there a certain podcast that starts the campaign with the ace character? If so, do you know what podcast that starts in? Sorry if that sounds weird, but everyone's been talking about how accurate the ace rep. it is and I want to check it out! :)

Yeah, no problem! Sorry that this got a little long. Any of the thoughts I have on this are mine and mine alone, and are not blanket statements about the character’s asexuality; other people have different readings and rationales of what’s happened so far, and that is okay!

So I’m assuming the character you’ve heard about is Fitzroy Maplecourt. He is one of the player characters of The Adventure Zone: Graduation, the most recent season of the podcast The Adventure Zone. Griffin McElroy, the guy who plays Fitzroy, said in this recent behind-the-scenes special episode (TTAZZ 2020) that he always intended to play Fitzroy as an asexual character. I got so hype while listening that I wrote a transcript of his answer, which you can find here. It can be crosschecked against the official transcript, which will eventually be uploaded here. Very minor spoilers for one element of Fitzroy’s background, but nothing too revealing. 

Basically, Griffin put a hell of a lot of care and attention into his answer, which is really unexpected for a cishet white dude. He’s done his research. He acknowledged asexuality as a spectrum and as something that’s different from aromanticism. He also explained wanting to avoid aphobic stereotypes while making Fitzroy, such as the “too busy with the Real World to think about sex” stereotype or the “being asexual means there MUST be something wrong with you” stereotype (not direct quotes, that’s me paraphrasing). That’s mostly what people are excited about, and for good reason, because that’s a lot more compassion and nuance than we usually get in media.

However, to answer your question about accurate representation, the word “asexual” or a scene in the text confirming Fitzroy as asexual has not happened yet. I think Griffin plays him as an asexual character who’s just minding his own business, though, which I personally think it’s great. Like. That’s me. I’m minding my own business, living my ace life. It’s not something that’s right on one’s sleeve at all times. Starting off knowing that Fitzroy is ace, though, is a great context to have if you’re starting from TAZ Grad episode 1. Fitzroy being ace from the get-go makes a lot of the ace-projecting readings I had of lines - like a line somewhere about “missing the vibe between us” - feel like a more canonical acknowledgement. 

If you’re the kind of person who would prefer a textual acknowledgement of asexuality you can point a finger at, though - like, a “ctrl-f” search for "asexual” in the transcript sort of thing - there aren’t many options. There is subtext, like I said, but nothing direct beyond the offscreen TTAZZ. Fitzroy’s type of asexuality is a little fuzzier, too, and hasn’t been confirmed. As you can see in the transcript, Griffin obviously wrote and played him as asexual, and Travis secondhand-quoted Griffin saying, “Y’know, I don’t think… I don’t think Fitzroy really feels that,” during planning for a recent character-driven episode. This quote could go a couple ways:

Option one: this could be just a blanket acknowledgement of Fitzroy being asexual, with the “that” being sexual attraction. Not feeling sexual attraction is the textbook definition of being ace. This leaves him open to be anywhere on the ace spectrum, from sex-repulsed to sex-indifferent to sex-favorable. 

Option two: “that” could be read as the desire to have sex, which is completely different and points at a more sex-repulsed asexual reading. A lot of people have taken that, too, claiming he’s “not interested” in sex or stuff along those lines. A valid but by no means exclusive reading, re option one and the actual words that Griffin said in reference to Fitzroy.

Until we get more details, maybe in a canon text portrayal, I think it’s kind of up in the air. TAZ tends to be good about getting in-text confirmation, though; in another TTAZZ commentary episode for TAZ Amnesty, the player character Aubrey Little was confirmed as bisexual and Puerto Rican, and we got a scene in the actual podcast that confirmed her as bisexual. (She literally said “I’m bisexual” to another character. In one of the funniest exchanges in that entire arc of Amnesty. They can do it. Still waiting on the Puerto Rican part, though.) So we may get an actual scene in the future where Fitzroy’s asexuality is stated. 

That being said, I know that sexuality and personal preferences are not things that all people discuss openly, so including that scene may not be possible or natural - especially with Fitzroy’s motives/expression/characterization, which you’ll find about if you listen. Writing a realistic scene that gives explicit confirmation is tough, especially in an improv environment like D&D. I personally really, really hope that they give it a shot, though. The McElroys have made characters explicitly gay, bisexual, trans and nonbinary in past seasons of TAZ, and Travis has a whole armada of LGBTQ+ characters in the TAZ Grad universe. It’s possible. They can do it. Griffin’s dialogue/other roleplaying choices, though, do portray him in an asexual-coded way, and that may be all we get.

All I can really say is that things are looking up for ace representation, and the way that Griffin McElroy is coming at this character is really heartwarming to see. If you decide to listen to TAZ: Graduation, I really hope you enjoy it, and maybe consider listening to the other two seasons too! I wouldn’t be too worried about d&d going into this - the most basic explanation is, you got dice with numbers on them, sometimes players roll them, and a high roll means something good will usually happen to their character while a low one means something bad will happen. TAZ can be found on any podcast-streaming website like Spotify, Stitcher or Apple Podcasts, as well as on YouTube and the Maximum Fun Network website.

[la0hu]

the bi/pan debate is so weird. like realistically, if i met someone who id’s as pansexual in real life, i’d be like cool, i’m bi, there are a lot of similarities. i’m too tired and don’t really care enough to pick fights. but the problem is, every time i met a pansexual in real life and told them i’m bi, they immediately sneer at me and let me know that bisexuality is actually transphobic. it’s the worst fucking feeling bc i rarely come out to people, i’m not out to my family, and when i finally do come out to people i thought would understand me, they treat me like i’m some straight faking her sexuality so she can call herself gay, and i see them looking at my long hair and my wardrobe and seeing how i lean femme, they see that i use she/her pronouns, and they just assume i’m just a cishet girl faking attraction to other cis women for brownie points. it’s so callous, i would think they would understand the pressure to present a certain way when you’re not out, but instead they write me off as a transphobic privileged straight girl just because i said i’m bi instead of pan.

like obviously this is just my personal experience and i see a lot of people on here now in the year 2021, saying we need bi/pan solidarity and that they id as pan and they resent the attacks from the bi community and they don’t think bisexuality is inherently transphobic, and like that’s great and all, but that really wasn’t the fucking narrative seven years ago, was it. Seven years ago, we were all impressionable teenagers on tumblr and saw a single post that explained that gay means you’re a man attracted to other men, lesbian means you’re a woman attracted to women, bi means you like both men and women, pan means you are attracted to multiple genders including those outside the binary, and asexual means you don’t have sexual attraction. and immediately we took that as gospel, and then some genius on here was like, oh wait doesn’t that mean bisexuals are transphobic because they don’t include nonbinary people? and everyone was like, YEA that DOES sound transphobic doesn’t it! bisexuals must be transphobic by definition!

but the moment we left the tumblr bubble and tried talking about multiple gender attraction in the real world, it became very obvious that pansexuals don’t have an established history and community the way bisexuals do. and listen, i don’t give a shit about when the word pansexual was technically invented, i’m interested in when it started being used to mean its modern definition on a reasonably widespread scale, and that wasn’t until the 2010s. versus if you look into the history of bisexuality, it’s clear that term built a community with lesbianism back during the wave of LGBT liberation in the 60s and 70s, AND would you look at that, the meaning of bisexual for that community was never trans-exclusive, huh! (that old powerpoint you saw in 2014 about what LGBT means was written by someone who didn’t realize lesbians don’t have to id as women so what were you fucking expecting)

so the question is, what’s the actual difference between being bi versus pan? and now i’m seeing ppl on here popularizing ANOTHER bullshit definition, that bi means attraction based on gender while pan means attraction regardless of gender -- like how long are we gonna play this fucking game? someone actually did their research and history and pointed out how bisexuality has never been transphobic, and yet here’s another fabrication for why pansexuality is different from bisexuality. why are you so reluctant to id as bisexual? why?

because: pansexual is a nice, squeaky clean term that most people haven’t heard of, which means you can make it mean whatever you want it to and have no baggage to carry. but using bisexual is intimidating, because that term has baggage. it has stereotypes and fetishization and so many assumptions attached to it, and hey, you’re also seeing a lot of people who “look straight” coming out as bi nowadays. you see a long-haired femme bisexual woman like me and secretly wonder to yourself if she’s faking it, if she’s just confused, if her attraction is as genuine and valid as yours, and you decide to distance yourself from this perception of the bisexual community, and just call yourself pan. you never stop to remind yourself that bisexuals, like the rest of the lgbt community, face a lot of pressure to stifle the “gay” aspects of their sexuality and appear straight, while they’re simultaneously being fetishized as promiscuous and unfaithful. that bisexuals may actually be confused, not because they “can’t make up their minds”, but because it’s heteronormative society and also people like YOU who tell them their understanding of their own sexuality is wrong. maybe i want to shave my head and never wear makeup again and explore my masculinity, but i’m getting shit from all sides about how i’m not really bi, i’m really just a straight girl looking for attention. you call yourself pan because there’s something that feels off about calling yourself bi (despite the definitions having no meaningful difference) and you never take the time to dig in and realize that feeling is biphobia.

really this whole post is kinda dumb and pointless because it really is kind of a niche debate, but i can’t help getting annoyed. this is obviously just my own individual experience, and these people may be the minority now, but every time i’ve met a pansexual person, they’ve demonstrated so much blatant biphobia, treated me like i’m faking it, i’m really actually straight, repeating everything straight society is already constantly attacking me with -- it’s so fucking infuriating to see that group of ppl acting so innocent now, as if the misconceptions that whole label is founded upon weren’t what fucked me up for the past five years

and anytime this has been pointed out by someone on here, pansexuals have the gall to act like they’re the victims, as if their whole identity doesn’t stigmatize the entire bisexual community. they come up with new special definitions for pansexual and bisexual as if we’re still in the fucking split-attraction model era of tumblr, bring up gold star lesbians to somehow prove that all lesbians and bisexuals have historically been transphobic, and bend over backwards to defend against some perceived attack on their identity, rather than stop and really ask themselves why they are scared of calling themselves bi.

and it should go without saying that i’m not gonna be a freak about this and get mad at every pansexual i meet because unfortunately bisexuality is so stigmatized and i see why people turn to the baggage-free pansexual label, but if you’re faced with entreaties to do your fucking research and do a little soul-searching yet refuse to do so, time and time again, it gets old.

[aspecpplarebeautiful]

thank you! i actually do have a few questions, but please tell me if i make a mistake somewhere! ill break it into parts since it ended up being a big para - i used to be (or am? but that brings me to my question) cishet and use she/her pronouns, but now that i identify as demi, am i still called straight/cishet or have i gotten it mixed up? i was an ally that had a decent general knowledge but now that im actually part of LGBTQ+ and identity as so, i feel lost and unsure about a lot ^^’ pt1 -🎃

pt2! - ive heard that demisexual falls under the asexual spectrum, so sometimes people use the asexual flag/term as an umbrella term? would demiromantic and aromantic have the same case? - from when i was going on a researching spree, i learned that some asexuals like to wear a black ring on their right middle finger as a symbol :0 connecting from my earlier question, do you maybe know of any symbols for demis? or would wearing a black ring be also fine? - 🎃

pt3! i think that’s what i have so far, it’s basically my thoughts compiled into questions so, sorry if they’re a little messy or anything, but thank you once again ^^ - 🎃

It is a personal choice if you want to keep identify as straight or cishet, and if you still connect to those terms. Some demi people who are still het attracted/cis may feel like those terms still describe them/apply to them, while others may feel like their demi identity alienates them too much from them, or just don’t really connect to them much anymore. There’s no wrong choice, it’s all about what feels right or makes the most sense to you.

Yes, demiromantic falls under the aromantic umbrella exactly the same way demisexual does for asexual. So as a demiromantic person you can also call yourself aromantic, use the aro, flag, etc. 

I’m not aware of a specific demi symbol like the ace ring (if anyone is aware of one, please do let me know!), but yes demisexual people can absolutely wear an ace ring since they’re part of the asexual community if you’re interested in that. Anybody who is ace-spectrum can wear an ace ring.

All the best, Anon! And this wasn’t too messy at all, don’t worry.

[cherryscentedstickers]

i can’t believe this still has to be said

cishets please know you’re so fucking lucky

i feel like a disappointment to my parents even though they’ve blatantly told me they accept me, because they were always so happy with their two daughters (i’ve heard them say it) but they don’t have that anymore and i feel like its my fault. i can’t even bring myself to tell them that i’m not comfortable with she/her pronouns anymore, that i’m not comfortable being labeled as a girl, because i feel guilty for feeling how i feel.

now, my cis followers, imagine that, but not being accepted. awful right? that’s what so many lgbtqia+ people feel and go through and it’s not fair, it shouldn’t be like this.

and if you’re a homophobe or a transphobe, and you believe this is a choice, why don’t you demonstrate this gender and sexuality choice by changing yours? oh, you can’t? why? because you can’t choose? then why can we?

tell me that homophobes and transphobes, if we can choose so freely what gender and sexuality we are, why can’t you? that’s all i ask for you to tell me. why can we choose, but you can’t?

cishets, please know how lucky you are, and please use that privilege to help lgbtqia+ people out, especially the ones who aren’t in accepting homes, but also the ones who are. please, talk about pronouns more, talk about sexuality more, go to pride, donate a binder to a trans person who can’t afford one, please i am begging you

normalize lgbtqia+ so we don’t feel like disappointments if we’re trans, gay, lesbian, bi, pan, asexual, aromantic, non-binary, genderfluid, or anything else. please. we shouldn’t have to.

and to people who are saying that we have enough acceptance, let me ask you this,

if we have “enough acceptance” then why is the life expectancy of a trans woman in the united states 35 years old? tell me why it’s dangerous to be out of the closet. because i want to know, how in the fucking world you can possibly believe that this is enough.

flip the script for a second, let’s imagine, that in this universe, if you aren’t lgbtqia+ that your life expectancy was 35. that it’s dangerous to be out on the street if people know you’re a cishet. that it’s not completely surprising if your parents and family verbally and/or physically abuse you for existing. do you understand yet? because if you don’t then i hope you get a brain cell soon, yes, one brain cell, it’s not that hard to comprehend.

“oh but it’s not natural” for the love of god please get brain cells, first of all, look it up, second, if it weren’t for gay couples in nature a lot of abandoned eggs and children of animals would die, please, look it up, i know i’m not wrong. and if it’s not natural why the fuck is it happening? explain that to me because the “not natural” point makes no fucking sense to me, it’s happening, naturally, so how in the fuck is it “unnatural”

“it’s against my religion” ok cool i’m gonna go make a religion against cishets now and scream at and abuse my innocent children because of ‘my religious views’

another point, heteronormativity is everywhere and i fucking hate it. and nobody deny that because it’s true. two people of the opposite sex are close friends? they must be dating. two people of the same sex are close friends? yeah best bros. yes this still happens, i see it all the fucking time.

transphobes and homophobes, i hope i’ve helped you acquire some brain cells, and if you have any more of your stupid hateful arguments, reblog this with them so i can shoot it down with actual logic, then unfollow me, and block me, because fuck you ♥

i really can’t believe this message still needs to be said, its sad, its 2020 and this is still an issue? that’s really fucking sad.

if at least some people share this i will feel like i’ve helped in some way, so please, share it, i hope it can make a difference to this world, even if it’s one closeted person seeing this and knowing they’re supported, or if someone donates a binder to a trans person in need, or if someone shows some support to a friend who is having a hard time with their identity, i just want to make some kind of difference to help with this mess of a society we live in that doesnt accept people for who they are.

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Normally I don't like to ask stuff but I feel distressed. My mom is arguing about a preaching that she heard where it says that the antichrist will be gay. She quotes the book of Daniel, particularly Daniel 11:37. Her argument is that Daniel is a prophecy book therefore it must be true. It just really hurts that she'd say this to me and keeps making remarks about my faith. That I'm not a good enough Christian for not believing like her. Is what Daniel say true or is the interpretation wrong?

Hey there. I’m sorry to hear you’re distressed, and especially that your mom keeps making remarks about your faith. It is not right for any of us to judge another person’s faith like that! 

This is gonna get long, so for a tl;dr, after studying Daniel 11 and its surrounding context I can say pretty confidently that your mom is indeed wrong about how to interpret 11:37. If you want to explore just why with me, read on!

______________

So to start with, I disagree with your mom that everything in the Book of Daniel, or in any “prophecy book” of the Bible, must necessarily be “true” – or “come true” as if it were fortune telling. Biblical prophecy is not fortune telling or future telling. As I say in this post, biblical prophets were actually much more concerned about the present, about how the past had shaped that present, and about how the present could be used to shape the future! This is just a fact of how ancient Israelites viewed prophecy, regardless of how one interprets scripture (whether more fundamentalist / literal as I imagine your mom probably is, or more historical/contextual, etc.). 

Christians who get really into all the biblical visions of “the end times” and the rapture and stuff don’t want to hear this, because they want it to be somehow directly relevant to them and their futures (and that’s understandable), so the following paragraph is just some information for you rather than anything that’s likely to convince your mom:

Most biblical scholars say that most of the biblical prophecies aren’t about “The End Times” the way we conceive of it. The Book of Daniel’s prophecies do include some talk of the actual end of the world, but – like the Book of Revelation in the New Testament – the majority of his prophecies actually refer to kingdoms and intrigue going on in Daniel’s own time (or not so long before or after his own time). 

I have not studied Daniel’s prophecies, like, at all besides reading through them, so I can say more about how the Book of Revelation is less about “the end of the world” and more about “the end of the Roman Empire;” but Daniel follows a similar trajectory of being more about the fall of the empires that have oppressed his people than about the end of the whole world. If you have a Bible that offers footnotes about the historical context going on in any given passage of scripture, it will tell you all about that – that Daniel’s prophecies discuss the sequence of Babylonian, Median, and Persian rulers that oppress his people and criticize those oppressive kings. 

Thus when you go to look at Daniel 11 (and 10), you see that Daniel isn’t talking about “The Antichrist” in this passage – indeed, that title “Antichrist” is not used at all in this Book, or in any book of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) at all! – but rather he is talking about a Persian king who is going to arise and oppress his people. The New Interpreter’s Study Bible suggests in its footnotes for 11:37 that the specific king Daniel’s talking about is Antiochus, who “grew exceedingly arrogant: He abandoned his ancestral gods and imposed the worship of Zeus Olympus” – hence 11:37′s statement that he “shall pay no respect to the God’s of his ancestors.”

Now that we’ve reached the verse itself in our discussion, let’s have a closer look at Daniel 11:37. The New King James Version reads, 

“He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all.”

The part of this verse that is used by some to claim that “the antichrist” (if you interpret this passage as even being about the antichrist, despite the context pointing to it actually being about a Persian king) is gay is, of course, “nor the desire of women.” 

But along with that seeming like a very random tangent for the prophet to mention in a verse that otherwise is about this king abandoning all gods, the issue with biblical Hebrew is that sometimes getting a precise meaning out of it is hard. Thus “nor the desire of women” is not the only translation into English that one can make from the Hebrew. I’ll list some other translations that have been made (and you can see tons more here):

KJV: “nor the desire of women”

NASB: “or for the desire of women”

NIV: “or for the one desired by women”

ESV and NRSV: “or to the one beloved by women”

New Living Translation: “or for the god loved by women”

CEB: “and the god preferred by women”

Now, there are many conservative Christians who believe that the King James Bible is never wrong, and therefore they’ll insist that the translation to “nor the desire of women” is the one “correct” translation. But even if that is the case, what exactly does “the desire of women” mean in English? Does it mean: 

that this guy doesn’t desire / isn’t attracted to women, as your mom believes? 

could it also mean that he doesn’t care if women desire him? aka he might still desire them, and doesn’t give a damn about whether they like him back

or does it mean that he doesn’t care what women desire/want – i.e., that he won’t listen to them about what they want, perhaps in regards to what gods he respects, since that’s what the rest of the verse is about?

Moving to look at those translations that translate it “the god loved/preferred/beloved by women,” some suggest that this meaning: just as the guy has no regard for “the god of his ancestors,” likewise he has no regard for the god[s] of his wives/concubines. There are examples in the Hebrew Bible of women having different gods from their husbands – Jacob’s wife Rachel takes her household gods with her into his house; Solomon’s many foreign wives convince him to worship their gods with them. So if the Hebrew here, hemdath nashiym, is translated something about “the god loved by the women,” that’s what it could be about – this guy won’t be swayed to worship any god, whether his own family’s gods or his wives’ gods. 

That above reasoning makes much more sense within the context of the verse than it being like “So this guy won’t care about his ancestors’ god, oh also by the way he’s gay or whatever, and back to the god thing, he’s gonna exalt himself over all gods.” It would be such a random tangent! 

_______

So that’s all the language and history stuff. Now let’s get hypothetical: 

so…what if your mom is right? So what if the verse is saying “this guy isn’t attracted women”? (and for the purpose of this hypothetical, let’s say the verse is about the antichrist though as I discussed above I do not believe that it is.) 

First off, just because he doesn’t desire women doesn’t necessarily mean he does desire men. He could be asexual and/or aromantic. That wouldn’t be much better, of course, because we’d be moving from homophobia into aphobia. Asexual and aromantic folks get vilified enough with the stigma that “oh you can’t ~~love~~?? you monster!” So I definitely do not like the supposition that the antichrist is ace/aro; that’s just as icky as him being gay.

But again, we’re in hypothetical land: so let’s say the antichrist is gay, or is aroace. ……..So what??

Gay people, aroace people, aren’t all perfect and good people. We can be badguys too, ya know? If the antichrist were cishet, it wouldn’t mean that All Cishet People Are Therefore Like The Antichrist – so if the antichrist were gay, why would it therefore mean that all gay people are like the antichrist? 

He’s just one person. A big bad person – but his sexuality isn’t necessarily a part of that. He’s not evil because of whatever his sexuality is or isn’t. 

I will close by offering some counterbalances to a supposedly gay (or aroace, or otherwise LGBTQA+) antichrist: there are also LGBTQA+ heroes in the Bible.

Daniel himself may well be one of them!!

To start with, Daniel is most likely a eunuch: after all, he has a position in the Babylonian court, and as David Bayliss notes, “it was customary for Mesopotamian kings in the first millennium BC to surround themselves with eunuchs as servants.” The Bible itself attests to this fact, in places like Isaiah 39:7 that talks about youths being taken from Judah to serve Babylon’s king as eunuchs. Along with those two facts, Bayliss continues with more evidence that Daniel was a eunuch:

Third, the fact that Daniel and the other captured Israelite youths were entrusted to the “chief eunuch” suggests that they were to become young eunuchs themselves.

Fourth, boys to be made into eunuchs were usually selected for their beauty, which is mentioned at the top of the list of selecting criteria in Dan 1:4.

Fifth, there is no mention of Daniel or his companions ever marrying (or having children).

Sixth, Daniel showed no interest in returning to Jerusalem after Cyrus the Great came to the throne (who allowed exiles to return to their homelands), which may have to do with his physical humiliation and the Deut 23:1 ban.“

Now, why’s it matter if Daniel’s a eunuch?? What’s that got to do with being LGBTQA?? Many queer scholars, myself included, have argued that biblical eunuchs share many similarities to gay people, or trans people, etc. I talk about the connection between biblical eunuchs and contemporary trans people in the section of this webpage titled “ ‘Better than sons or daughters’: Isaiah 56″.

(For other resources on eunuchs’ link to LGBT folks, see here, here, here, here.)

On top of that, some scholars have suggested a romantic/sexual relationship between David and the head eunuch under which he served, Ashpenaz. According to Daniel 1:9, Daniel enjoyed “the favor and tender love” of Ashpenaz. This could be a totally platonic thing, or it could be physical; the Hebrew is ambiguous. 

You might not be able to stop your mom from making her awful comments, but maybe being able to respond in your head to her “the antichrist is gay!” with “no, Daniel was gay” will help you a little. 

Please keep safe, and do what you can to keep your mom’s crap from getting to you (I know that’s much harder said than done). You are beloved by the God who made you, friend. And scripture is much queerer than hateful Christians want to admit. 

[lesbianologist]

In a piece about Marsha, who’s name is synonymous with the stonewall riots at this point in time, excluding lesbians is just dumb. Asexuals were not a part of that movement, and didn’t even join the community until the 2000s. Where as lesbians played a large role in the riots along side their trans, gay, and bisexual peers. It’s just whack

a large role? no no no. a pivotal, black lesbian role, sweetheart.

stormé delarverie, a black butch lesbian and drag king, as well as highly regarded MC, singer, bouncer, bodyguard, and widely known as the “guardian of the lesbians in the village” did not get beaten by a bunch of cops at stonewall the night of the uprising for y’all to erase her identity because of ApHoBiA. it’s almost as if y’all prioritize non-lgbt people (yes, you heard me fucking correctly) over actual lgbt people in the movement. kudos to people including marsha because she deserves to be recognized because she was influential. but so was sylvia rivera and so was stormé delarverie. stormé is widely accredited with being the person who incited the uprising that night because she was being beaten by cops during the raid and said “why don’t you guys do something?” to the bystanders. who did. she is also widely accredited with having thrown the first punch at a cop during that night.

discourse aside, erasing any symbols of lesbians erases lesbians like stormé delarverie and many other black lesbians who were side-by-side with marsha and sylvia. but erasing symbols for cis aro heterosexuals and cis heteromantic aces is just outright repugnant. those people are not lgbt. they are still not killed for their identity in the 13 countries that persecute SGA and TRANS individuals TO THIS DAY. i can’t go to some of those countries because not only is it illegal, in some, it’s punishable by death. me being me is punishable by death, still. let it sink in.

tldr if you’re prioritizing cishets over lgbt folks you aren’t a fucking ally. you’re homophobic/transphobic and i want nothing to do with you.

[starswallowingsea]

Growing Up Trans and AlloAro

Or whatever the hell this essay turned out to be. Under the cut because this got long (like 1340 words long). 

---

When I was younger, I never quite fit with the word “girl,” but I thought it was just because I didn’t like playing with dolls like other girls my age. I spent my first two years of school playing spies on the playground and sticking my tongue to frozen poles (and yes, it is painful but I somehow managed to not get in trouble for it). 

I would sit in our office--soon to be my baby brother’s room--and build towers out of his foam blocks and make stories for people that lived in cities I built on SimCity on our old desktop. Even with my girl friends, I would get confused about why they were talking about liking boys and getting crushes. 

I remember sitting in my friend’s basement during a freezing winter in North Dakota and she was shocked when I told her I had never seen Drake and Josh before and then grabbing her Magic 8ball and asking it if she would fall in love with Drake. 

I moved to Wisconsin a year later and had a hard time making friends. I thought we would just move again so I only talked with a handful of people in our already small school district. We would play dolls and teacher and I would get bored most days, wanting to play with the boys and make up stories. 

It was around the time that he left that I knew I was different from the other kids. They were starting to date each other as early as 3rd grade. We would tease our friends about who they were dating but I never understood why they dated in the first place. For the first few years, I would deflect questions about crushes by saying I still liked someone from my old school, but that only worked for so long. 

In 8th grade I started questioning my sexuality for the first time. I wasn’t really sure who I liked, because I didn’t really like anyone at that point. There was one kid I thought was attractive and always used him as my scapegoat when asked about crushes so nobody would know. I did like him, but it felt different than I knew my cishet peers thought about their crushes, just based on the way they talked about them. I thought I was asexual, because the internet in 2014 didn’t like to talk about aromanticism, much less than it does now anyway. 

So I joined tumblr in like, 2015, the summer between 8th grade and freshman year of high school and posted about asexuality, being nonbinary, toontown rewritten, all the stuff that 14-15yos are into. For a while I identified as heteroromantic asexual, and then nonbinary asexual quoiromantic, and then aromantic asexual and nonbinary? Or maybe I was really cis? 

And it went like that, back and forth between a few labels. I never felt like I could tell anybody, because I went to a small school and heard all the comments people made about the LGBTQ community and what my parents said about trans people and the messages preached at church. 

When I was about 16, I realized I wasn’t ace at all. I thought maybe I was a nonbinary aro lesbian, or maybe bisexual. Tumblr in 2016/17 was very against having attraction to men at all in the circles I found myself in and I pushed those feelings down so I wouldn’t make people uncomfortable. I forced myself to be attracted to women when I really wasn’t at all. Every other post about bisexuality was talking about how beautiful women were and how disgusting men were. I never felt comfortable talking about my attraction to men in public, or even in private. I felt even more uncomfortable talking about maybe being bisexual and aromantic. At this point, alloaros were practically unheard of and there weren’t a ton of trans aces, so finding someone to talk to about my identity was hard, to say the least. I just simply was alloaro, but that word didn’t exist yet and I couldn’t find anyone else who was aromantic and not asexual. 

That’s how I lived for another 2 years, as a nonbinary aro lesbian (or maybe bisexual). This was around the same time as I got involved in truscum/tucute discourse. I’ve always been minimally dysphoric about my body and got attacked for it by truscum and it would take me another 2 years to realize that I was actually a trans man. Because I started associating trans men with truscum and I didn’t want to be like them because they were always the nastiest people I had ever come across (I’ve obviously since outgrown this view point and am comfortable identifying as a man now). 

Another two years later and I’m outside a Thiesen’s with my parents picking up stuff for my graduation party that was happening later. My feet hit the pavement and I get a thought that said “maybe I’m a guy.” I stopped for a second and kept walking in, thinking about that, trying out he/him pronouns with myself and decided before we checked out that I was a trans guy. 

It took a while to get used to thinking about myself that way and I still use they/them pronouns. A few days after solidifying my gender identity, I realized I was aro and bisexual (or maybe gay). Labeling my sexuality came much easier, realizing I was a man. I’m still aromantic and that’s one thing that’s been pretty constant in my life. I never really got crushes in the typical way and I still don’t, even though you all see me reblogging yearning posts. I think that’s a byproduct of wanting to touch people in non-romantic and non-sexual ways in our society where touches have a lot of baggage with them. 

I came out as bisexual and aromantic to my roommates in September. It came up in casual conversation and I felt comfortable enough to tell them, since they were all from the city and city-folk tend to be more accepting of queer identities (not to rag on rural folk, since I am one, but rural Wisconsin is not the place you want to grow up trans and queer). One of them came out as straight in October on coming out day and I forced myself back into the closet on coming out as trans. We had a falling out with her earlier this semester and she moved out. 

Literally the night she moved out, I came out to the other two roommates as trans and they took it very well! They call me by my preferred name when we’re around people I’m out to and they even bought me a trans flag that we have hanging in the common room of our dorm (and at least one person has told me they say “trans rights!” whenever they pass by as soon as they found out it was mine). I’m still working on being socially out at college and need to call gender inclusive housing at some point, but I keep putting that off. 

And recently I’ve decided I’m trans, aro, and queer. I still use the word bisexual, but really thinking about what genders I’m attracted to is super complicated and the word bisexual doesn’t convey that to most people. And queer just fits better some days. 

I don’t really have a tl;dr for this, but if I had to pick something from this to hammer home, it would be that it’s okay to change labels and question your identity. It’s okay to change labels frequently or once every few years if you feel like they’ve changed! It’s never too late to figure out who you are and there will always be people who will accept you for who you are. 

Also tumblr is the worst place to try and figure out your identity, but sometimes its all people have and I want my blog to be a safe space for people questioning their identities. 

[bunnyblooms]

OKAY FUCKER ALL THE QUESTIONS FROM THAT ASK MEME THE LGBT ONE

1. Identity and pronouns.

I'm agenderfluid and they/them pronouns. My sexuality is aroflux and asexual.

2. How did you discover your sexuality?

Pretty much at 14 was like "idk i don't relate to everyone else i don't find celebrities hot or sex remotely something i want. If i could reproduce without sex i would. Oh. I'll just call myself asexual, like a sponge!" (Which asexual is incidentally what the creators of Spongebob were going for, fun facts. Spongebob is ace rights.)

3. Have you experienced being misgendered? How do you overcome it?

Mmmm I am constantly misgendered bc I'm nonbinary and live in a binary society and the way I compartmentalize it is basically just dressing how I want and not making an attempt to pass as anything tbh. The only time I feel misgendered is when someone knows my pronouns and doesn't use them anymore tbh. So basically. Letting go of how I want to be perceived helped. I will say tho, I refuse to come out to my dad bc he won't respect it and it'll be more painful hearing him misgender me knowing how I identify, but. That's certainly a privilege I have since I'm not transitioning. (ATM at least.)

4. Who was the first person you told? How did they react?

I technically didn't come out as ace. My ex-best friend knew bc I talked about it, but neither of us knew it was an identity. So the transition upon finding the label was virtually nonexistent and all of my friends were LGBTQ as well so it wasn't stressful or shocking. It helps that around the time I discovered the label I'd met two friends who were ace and felt the same way I did. My experience with my asexuality is definitely the model that should be the norm with the community and what we as a society should aim for.

As for my gender I'd made comments in the past that I wished I could just be genderless and it really kind of sat with me when my ex-best friend came out as trans bc I was like "Oh? You don't have to be the gender you are at birth?" Belial from Angel Sanctuary was a character that resonated with me at the time, and this was right around the time I made my ace friends. It wasn't until a year later that I discovered the nb community and one friend who was genderfluid that I decided to start trying different pronouns. And basically I came out as questioning and transitioned to nb without a formal declaration, which I also feel should be the goal for society.

I was at a con with my best friend at the time who was trans and he'd come out with my now ex-best friend while they were dating. And I was really anxious bc I felt like ppl would assume I was a transtrender and shit, and my friend said something about gender and I kind of awkwadly implied I might not identify as female and he was really great about it! He was like "If you wanna talk about it or try different pronouns you can." :D

5. Describe what it was like coming out.

I pretty much did this im question 4 hehehe.

6. If you're out, how did ppl react?

I'm not out to family, that I know of. They found my facebook which has my identity listed in my about, so I'm in limbo with them where none of us talk about it so idk if they register it as an LGBTQ thing or not.

My friends were all supportive! It helps that I have like no cishet friends lmao.

I also came out to my class on TDOV two years ago for a project where we step outside our comfort zone. I'm luckily in the social work program which has social justive built into the tenants of the profession so it was pretty positive! People still misgendered me after and were more concerned with "but i'm scared of ppl getting angry at me what should i do to talk about this with them" which. 9__9 Not surprising. But there was a mom whose kid and her kid's partner are both genderfluid and bigender so it was a good experience and I had an ally which made me comfortable in sharing it in the first place.

7. What is one question you hate ppl asking about your sexuality?

Inevitably when I say I'm ace, non-aces assume I have no interest in dating which. Way to conflate being aroace with ace and ignore that there are aros and aces who want relationships. That's my biggest pet peeve.

8. Describe the style of clothing you often wear.

I wear flannels and ripped jeans or shorts mainly. I basically dress like a butch lesbian. I'll wear dresses and stuff but I do not like dressing femme and prefer to offset softer things with hard things. Like. When I wear dresses I have to wear clunky combat boots with them or have short hair or something.

9. Who are your favorite LGBTQ+ ships?

Hmmm. Depends if you mean canon or not. Canon, it's probably FigAyda from D20 and Catradora from She-ra. Shion/Nezumi from No.6 is also one of my faves. There's also Chie and Ai from Virgin's Empire. Blupjeans from The Adventure Zone and JonMartin from The Magnus Archives.

As for Not Confirmed ships, I like Flick/CJ from Animal Crossing, Tsuna/Enma from Katekyo Hitman Reborn, uhhh. Reigisa from Free!, Kanji/Naoto from Persona and Chihiro/whatever the fuck his name is Mondo? Or the other guy I forget, from Danganronpa. Also RenLaw, RenStrade, and VinceLaw+VinceFarz from BTD.

(I am including straight relationships involving trans ppl obv.)

10. What does makeup mean to you? Do you wear any?

I hate how I look with make up it makes me dysphoric. But to me makeup is a good expressive outlet and bomb as hell, so when I do wanna wear makeup, I prefer wearing eyeliner and lipstick (esp in black or blue or green or purple) and glitter.

11. Do you experience dysphoria? How does it affect you?

I experience what I refer to as Silhouette Dysphoria a lot. I experience chest dysphoria but a lot of times it's less about me having them at all and me not liking how I look with them. The same goes for my hips and overall shape. Hence silhouette. I also experience genital dysphoria to a lesser degree, and when I do it's less hating my genitals bc they should be different but more just having any at all. Luckily I was born with internal genitalia so I don't have to think about it as much. Social dysphoria I also experience, but I've talked about that already.

How I deal with it is binding and stuff.

12. What is the stupidest thing you've heard said about the LGBTQ+ community?

Hmm. The ppl who genuinely argue that accepting the community means you'll be forced to accept pedophilia or beastiality. Like. Lmao no?

13. Favorite thing about the community?

I just love how great it feels to be in it tbh. It can be so positive and loving and just genuinely make you feel good about yourself.

14. Least favorite thing about the community?

Exclusionists.

15. Have you ever been to your city's pride event?

No, but I went to Pride in Des Moines!!! IT WAS GREAT!

16. Favorite LGBTQ+ celebrity?

I don't really follow celebrities, but probably Ian McEllen and Tim Gunn.

17. Have you been in a relationship and how did you meet?

I was in a relationship for a while with a friend of mine and it was wonderful tbh. We met in a server and started talkng more, and started out as qpps then became partners and like we broke up, but I still enjoyed the experience and wouldn't go back in time and stop it from happening. My other qpp tho. That's something I would do lmao.

I also have a bf but that's a secret~

18. Favorite LGBTQ+ book.

I haven't read a lot of books, so I guess I have to say The Raven Cycle bc that's the only one I remember reading.

19. Have you ever faced discrimination?

Mmmm the only time I have experienced direct discrimination I was giving a friend valentines chocolate in high school and some kid called me a d*ke when i walked past him.

The other stuff is like. My therapist telling me to check for a hormone imbalance when I said I was asexual.

20. Favorite LGBTQ+ movie/show?

She-ra, "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything", The Runaways (the movie not the show), No. 6.

21. Favorite LGBTQ+ bloggers?

I don't have any lmao.

22. Which slur do you want to reclaim?

Queer, bc it's already been reclaimed and it fits me.

23. Have you ever gone to a gay bar or drag show? How was it?

Nope. Never, but it'd be fun!!

24. How do you idrntify your gender?

Already answered this lol.

25. Interested in having kids?

Nope. I'd be too scared of screwing them up.

26. What identity service would you give your younger self?

I wish I'd known there was an ace community before I was older tbh. So that, probably.

27. What do you think of gender roles in relationships?

I personally like playing a feminine role, but I also think gender roles are unecessary, so like. As long as I'm an equal I don't care what role I play lmao. If you wanna treat me like the handmaiden, as long as you're not doing it bc you see me as a woman I don't care.

28. Anything else you wanna share about your gender?

Nah. Just. I don't bother trying to pin it down anymore bc the more I analyze it the less I understand it.

29. Something you wish ppl knew about being LGBTQ+?

Hmmmm not really. It's fun outside of the systemic oppression?

30. Why are you proud to be LGBTQ+?

For me it's less about pride in being LGBTQ+ and more being proud to express myself authentically. 🤷

[nerdgul]

Why do you think aces are LGBT? I’m just wondering. I’m ace and I’ve never faced any sort of oppression. I don’t really think pride is for us.

yeah uhhhh…. u know somehow just SOMEHOW i have a feeling your not ace and you’re an aphobe on anon trying to trap me into “the oppression argument”. you want me to say aces are oppressed because XYZ so that you can come back and say “well these people have it worse”. because aphobes trolling saying they are aces is a disgustingly common tactic used to invalidate us and make us look bad and i’ve seen this exact type of anon across countless accounts. 

but sure for arguments sake ill take your word for it and just assume your ignorant on the subject and despite being ace never experienced a single ace related issue or even see how anyone ever could. sure. 

lets start with the short answer: LGBT+ includes everyone who is not cisgender and heterosexual. aces are by definition not heterosexual and thus belong in LGBT community. and being in lgbt means we also belong at pride. 

now the long answer: 

LGBT+ includes everyone who is not cisgender and heterosexual. it is a community brought together through solidarity and due to the shared experiences and to collectively fight for their rights to exist despite being outside of ‘the expected societal norm’ (ie not cis/het).  

Aces are not oppressed in the traditional sense. Ace oppression isn’t systematic, it’s social. meaning that yeah, no ace has ever been fired, thrown in prison, or kicked out of the house for being asexual. but they have had struggle, issues finding themselves, problems with relationships, the constant invalidation, feeling broken, being told that their sexuality is a mental illness, or a phase, or just not real. being traumatized by being put into situations of people trying to ‘fix them’ and not knowing enough about their own identity to know they don't need to take it. 

problems many people in the LGBT community can identify with. I could go into exactly all the ways in detail aces face hardships in society but but frankly this post is long enough and im tired of rewriting it because because all it takes it one thing to be worded badly and aphobes are all over it to discredit everything i and every other actual ace says. 

point is if we start defining the lgbt community by oppression and ‘who has it worse’ then we start dividing the community. and the whole purpose of the community it to stand together. imagine separating trans and gay communities because being gay is more socially acceptable than being trans. 

if by saying “aces dont belong because they don't face these specific types of oppression” we would be excluding all the members of the lgbt community who are also fortunate enough to also not deal with that type of oppression. 

imagine excluding a lesbian from pride because she happened to have a loving accepting family and nothing bad happened to her for coming out and she never personally experienced first hand oppression. or excluding a nonbinary person because they ‘look cis’ and despite their wishes are willing to answer to their assigned pronouns. how about exclude bisexuals who happen to marry someone of the opposite gender because they're ‘basically straight’ .

but you don’t exclude them. because that would be fucking dumb.  

because personal hardship or not the lesbian is still a lesbian. she is not straight. she belongs at pride.

cis passing or not a nonbinary person is not cis, they are trans. they belong at pride.

and heterosexual relationship or not a bisexual is not straight, they are bi. they belong at pride.

so why is it that you think an asexual doesn’t belong at pride?