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renardtrickster · 4 years

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In the wake of SuperStraight, I think it's time to say, once again, that everyone but me is an idiot.

Being attracted to people, attraction, genital preference, is kind of complicated, and everyone likes grinding it down into the simplest, most nuanceless stuff in existence. It's either "genital preference is transphobic" or "there's no possibility of someone being transphobic for not wanting to date/fuck a trans person". Consider the following, print it out, roll it into a tube, and bap other people over the head with it.

If you're a straight dude, and you're walking down the street, and you see a woman, and you think she's hot, and then you boogie down with her, and then discover that she's packing heat, and then you are no longer attracted to her, or don't want to have sex with or date her, that is not transphobic. Nobody is asking you to start liking meat. The people saying this are a minority of a minority, people with no platform and no clout whatsoever, and reactionaries love over-representing them because it furthers the narrative of trans people as predators, forcing innocent cis people to have sex with them, even though no self-respecting person of any stripe genuinely wants to engage in coitus with people who are disgusted by them or want them dead (weird-ass fetishes nonwithstanding).

If you're a straight dude, and you do all the above, but upon finding out that she's got equipment, and you still wanna bang, then that is not only completely fine, but you are still 100% straight. You are attracted exclusively to women, this is a woman, nothing else matters. Your heterosexuality is in safe hands. If someone says that you're actually gay or bi because of this, they are stupid and transphobic.

If you are averse to the idea of dating a trans person because of some thing you find unattractive about their appearance, personality, or other attribute (or their gender, not sex, clashes with your orientation), that is fine and not transphobic. I've seen someone say they wouldn't want to marry a trans woman because they want to have kids. Trans women actually can have kids, because uterus transplants or womb implants are a thing (and technology is always moving forward so more trans girls are going to be able to have kids in the future), but I assume they didn't know. Either way, sort of valid from the perspective of not knowing that womb transplants exist.

HOWEVER, it is important that you recognize that not all trans girls have penises. Bottom surgery is a thing. There are trans girls out there with coochies and 0% dick. And this brings me into my second point. The part where I offend the people who were currently on board with this post. If you are the straight man in this situation, and you discovered that the lady you like is trans, but has had bottom surgery, and there's otherwise nothing that would be a dealbreaker, but you're put off by her being trans specifically. Like, otherwise 10/10 woman but the idea of her being trans puts you off, this is worthy of a sit down and introspection. Become The Thinker. There may be some unconscious bias or other weird hang-up you have, and it is possibly transphobic in origin. You are still not obligated to fucc, because nobody is entitled to being banged, but I am saying that there is a fair amount of room to question your motive here.

If you are the straight man in this above situation, and you're put off because you think her being born a man means she is still a man, or you don't think trans women are women, or any other take of a similar caliber, then you are in fact transphobic. My point about you not being obligated to bang still stands (and to be honest she probably doesn’t want your D at this point and you don’t deserve carnal access to someone you don’t respect). But you are transphobic, and trying to evade by using the "entitled to sex” argument makes you a weasel. And all the Super Straight people out there, as well as Super Gays and Super Lesbians and I don’t know if they exist but I’m covering my bases so Super Bisexuals, are composed almost entirely of weasels and transphobes.

Please apply this argument gender-reversed or to race as you please.

Also if you genuinely believe in Super Straight or its validity as an identity, the only possible thing you can do to further signify your lack of intelligence is identifying as it.

#oh no renardie is posting #infoxicated #superstraight #super straight #genital preference

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flowerflamestars · 4 years

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10, 17, 23?

These are so fun, thank you!

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

This is controversial, so disclaimer: I like Morrigan. I am extremely happy to have queer lady rep on a personal level.

But all rep is not automatically good rep, and in this case, I think the real problem is bad writing.

It is extremely clear in acomaf that sjm had one dynamic planned...and in between books canned it for another, but kept pieces...which further makes EVEN LESS SENSE. Feyre is super interested in how close Mor/Cas/Az are- she doesn’t really get what’s happening, but the focus on closeness is repeated, again and again and again. I’m going to come back to this, but basically, in no version is their history not Complex and not Something Feyre is Probably Getting Wrong for Assuming Straightness.

And then we have queer (and I’m using queer because the books don’t make it clear what her sexuality is- maybe she’s a lesbian. maybe she’s bi but only romantically attracted to women, we don’t know) Morrigan. And it takes what acomaf set up and makes it so much worse?

We go from Morrigan who forged a path and chose a family (a very queer trope, hey I wonder, that whole found family cannot also be straight???) to Morrigan, trapped between her two best friends by several entangled, terrible things. Azriel, who now scares her? Cassian, who she slept with at a cost that was ultimately MegaTrauma for both of them, and literal torture for her. Morrigan who maybe slept with someone she wasn’t even attracted to just for autonomy as a teen....and then definitely slept with Helion when she did not want to..to set a boundary with Az??

Can you hear me screaming?

Okay- so how do we fix this? How do we make this less of a goddamn weird choice? First of all, let’s take out the homophobia at all. High Fae are immortal- they have partners that aren’t the same species, why on earth would gender matter?

Cool, Morrigan is queer, but Morrigan didn’t live in fear of her best friends for five centuries.

But what do we do with the closeness, the rabid protectiveness? High fae don’t care who you bang, but you know who would, if we have to stay in canon’s shitty lil world? Illyrians, who safeguard their bloodlines in horrific ways already.

Azriel hates Illyria so much in the books- so much more than Cassian or Rhysand. Why might that be? Why won’t he go back- hey, maybe Azriel is gay.

Feyre’s Straight Vision, and also the viewpoint of a twentyish woman whose never gotten to see..anything: is that, LOVE? since you a man are looking at Morrigan who is wearing a wild cool dress

Az, watching to make sure no one is bothering Morrigan in the crowd: Solidarity (maybe based on horrific trauma or something)

Let’s compound further. Canon does it for us- Rhysand tells Feyre that Cassian slept with Morrigan as a dumb teen because he was jealous of all the time she was spending with Az. Not- he was jealous over Morrigan, he was jealous of Morrigan.

Bisexual Cassian babes- still figuring it out, but jealous about his hot best friend. And then, hello, terrible plot, totally traumatized by his first sexy exploits with a lady.

This closes the final loop: if Morrigan doesn’t want Az or Cassian, why is she so aggressive with Nesta? Because, after all they’ve been through, they’re all obsessed with protecting each other. I do think a happier, freer Mor would be a lot less terrible about Nesta, but a little shovel-talk bullshit would remain.

Because they all found each other and chose each other and protect each other, because they know being who they are isn’t always safe. Queer solidarity. Not to mention that Nesta is the first woman it’s been clear Cassian is going to absolutely fall for! No one wants him to get hurt again.

In sum: canon queer Mor bad, the possibility that didn’t happen of queer IC good?

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

Okay, I totally went this way for the first question, but I have a different answer!

Instead of the solstice party being the lowest point for Nesta, I would have made it the breaking point for Cassian.

He notices there’s no gift for her in the pile. Assumes kind of tiredly/sadly/bitterly that she isn’t coming- but then watches her show up. Sees the way no one even says hello to her, the resigned, sad face she makes when Elain hands her that glass of wine she didn’t ask for. Further watches Elain uncharacteristically throw back a drink, just to have to deal with peacekeeping.

And Cassian just feels sick. She’s lost so much weight- still beautiful, still so heartbreakingly Nesta, but like she’s going to shatter at any moment. And Cassian whose grieving, who lost so many of his people and in the end couldn’t protect her- Cassian cannot stand to watch that.

He makes it easy for her. Jokingly steals the glass of wine with some aside and drinks it himself. Doesn’t leave her alone. Doesn’t even look up to watch the self-made spectacle of Morrigan unwrapping lingerie- he’s too busy very quietly handing Nesta her single present, from him. She pockets it, wrapped, but Cassian will swear there’s something there to her nod, a softening for just a second.

When Nesta leaves- the second she can, the moment it’s over, Cassian finds her coat, goes with her. His presence stops Feyre from chasing after her. They don’t even talk. He just keeps up with her angry storming across town, lets her rage with her entire body because it’s like all the light suddenly returned- she’s hurt.

Nesta is hurt and he can help. Nesta is alone, and how could she not be? She doesn’t fit in this Court, doesn’t belong playing nice when Rhys hates her, when Feyre is happiest ignoring her- when Cassian himself feels like he’s outside looking in from the icy peaks of Illyria, out of place with the world feysand want now.

Walks her to her door, safe. Doesn’t press to go in, doesn’t overstep. Just tells her good night, tells her, happy solstice Nesta. Returns the next morning with breakfast he won’t mention goes uneaten, the day after and day after, until she’s waiting when he arrives and stomps down to the actually good bakery down the street with him.

Cassian never really leaves her alone again.

But first, behind six locks, under the light of the moon, Nesta will sit in her bed and look at the precisely wrapped beautiful gift Cassian, of everyone- her whole family, her whole world- thought to give her. She won’t open it until she’s ready, but Nesta will keep it.

Nesta will never forget.

23. Unpopular character you love? No one talks about him, but I can only imagine Varian is very, very cool dude. I cannot fathom anything but the complete lack of toxic masculinity that would be needed to look at a monstrous celestial being of a lady and be like, yep, I’m Just A Hot Sailor whose Kind of a Prince but I’ll love her quietly forever anyway.

Cresseida! Like, what, we’re supposed to dislike her for responded to Rhysand’s shitty flirting because she’s lonely because ya know, Amarantha killed the people she loves? Come on. Gimme that difficult woman rep.

He’s from ToG instead, but I love Lorcan. He’s just...such a dweeb. An emo little himbo mess. He’s so massively dumb about all his feelings unless they relate directly to Elide while she’s standing in front of him and even then, is getting them right at about 60% capacity unless it’s life or death and then he abruptly Gets It. Is willing to become Lord Lorcan Lochan for the rest of his days. Ruthless mess. Love it.

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dearheart42regenerated · 5 years

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hoo boy, okay, this is a baaaaad idea and it’s LONG but I’m doing it anyway because I’m genuinely struggling with this, I don’t have an IRL community to turn to, and I want to hear what other lesbians/wlw think about this beyond my own tiny circle. (for the record I’m not a discourse blog, so pleeeease be gentle and don’t drag me into any super messy debates? the most I want to do is get opinions from different people and learn enough to come to my own private conclusions and move on)

I’m a bby lesbian (and a long-time ace) and the “bi-lesbian” thing upsets me too. but I’ve seen an argument brought up that made me stop and think, and I’m kinda stumped about it. the argument is that we're ALREADY using lesbian as an umbrella term, but only get upset about it when bi women do the same.

for example...when we see a wlw couple walking down the street or getting married, or two women kissing in a TV show or pictures shown on twitter (much like the cute “sword lesbians” story that’s been circulating), MOST of the time, everyone (including us!) tends to automatically call them “lesbians” or a "lesbian couple” or a “lesbian wedding”, etc...without thinking about what their actual orientations are.

I saw another person bring up an experience where her lesbian gf would joke about them "doing lesbianism babey!" but when she tried to do the same as a bi woman, her gf would get mad at her and say she couldn't do that. the main point of all of this is that there's hypocrisy in play - when lesbians put the "lesbian" label on other women, whether irl or fiction, most people don’t kick up a fuss. but when bi women use the label themselves, suddenly it's bad and lesbophobic/biphobic.

this troubles me because I DO see it happen all the time, both online and in the few irl experiences I’ve had. and I think it's a valid point to make (especially because "sapphic" is barely used irl at all). it feels unfair to use "lesbian" with the same-ish looseness we use "gay", and then draw the line at bi women using it too. (there’s also a very real problem of bi ppl with same-gender partners turning to “Gay And Lesbian” spaces cos they have nowhere else to turn, and getting kicked out for not being a “real gay”. there are tangible real-life layers to this discourse that I don’t want to brush off.)

but at the same time, "lesbian" is the only modern word we have (particularly our only mainstream word) to describe our full, unique experience as women who are exclusively attracted to other women/women-aligned people. bi women already have “bisexual” as their recognizable mainstream term, and they also have “queer”, “wlw”, “sapphic”, etc as further options to fine-tune their identity...so it feels just as unfair to use "lesbian” too, and that’s the main reason why the term “bi-lesbian” personally upsets me right now.

it’s also upsetting because “bi-lesbian” implies that some lesbians could still be open to men, and we already face so much lesbophobic pressure to create space for men in our identity/attraction because “you never know, you might feel attracted to a man someday! sexuality is always fluid y’know! maybe you’re not really a lesbian!” we get that pressure both from the outside world AND often from the rest of the LGBTQ+ community too. it’s really harmful and painful to deal with, especially for those of us who’ve had to deal with comphet and still do (aka meeeee)

putting the rest under a readmore cos this is getting long lol

I wish "bi lesbians” and their supporters would take that stuff into consideration...and I wish I saw more people caring in general about the lesbians who are hurting from this.

we’re tired of having the worst assumed of us, of being treated as the “bad guys” by other communities every time we speak up about things that hurt us. statistically, we’re one of the smallest groups in the alphabet soup. we barely even have our own flag, and the creator of our most popular one right now is still facing hate, harassment and being unjustly accused of being a TERF/exclusionist/bigot.

it feels like morale and pride are so low among us right now. we just want people to care about us, to be mindful of how we feel and what we go through as lesbians, to give us the same support and benefit-of-a-doubt that you so easily give to our other LGBTQ+ siblings.

aaand now I’m just emotionally venting lol but TL;DR - I want to be fair to both sides of this topic, cos that’s the type of person I am. I want to stick up for my own community, but I also want to be inclusive to questioning/struggling people and a good ally to my bi sisters. so help me figure all this out. how do y’all feel about what I’ve brought up here?

lesbians and bi women: how do you feel about the point that we’re already using “lesbian” as a roughly gay-equivalent umbrella term for the women we see in relationships with other women? why shouldn’t bi women use it that way too? if they shouldn’t, why aren’t we pushing harder for alternatives like “sapphic” to use in those cases and telling each other to stop when one of us uses “lesbian” or “lesbianism” incorrectly for unspecified wlw couples?

pro-bi-lesbian people: asking in genuine confusion here, how is using the term “bi lesbian” any better than using “bihet” or “bi straight”? how is it not feeding into the misconception that bisexuals are just “half-gay half-straight”? and why is it worth holding onto that label when a) “bisexual” is a mainstream term that, by definition, already has room to encompass your experience, b) other more specific words that mean the same/similar thing already exist for you (i.e. “sapphic”), and c) your term of choice hurts lesbians by undermining our definition of ourselves and adding to the cultural pressure we face to make room for hypothetical future men in our sexuality?

also I want to make it very clear that I’m NOT blaming “bi lesbians” for men feeling entitled to seduce/harass us, or insinuating that you contribute to rape culture or anything like that. predatory men will be predatory no matter what words we use, I fully acknowledge that. rather my concern is that anyone can put pressure on us (and all too often do) to make room for men in our orientation, including within the LGBTQ+ community, and “bi lesbian” as a term contributes to that type of lesbophobia.

please be nice, or at least civil, and talk to me. I want to listen and see if your opinions will help me find some clarity in my own. you’re free to message me or reblog this with your takes on these issues, but if you reblog, please focus on talking with me and don’t fight each other. I will delete this if things get ugly or out of hand.

#bi lesbian #bi lesbian discourse #bi discourse #lesbian discourse

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jeannereames · 4 years

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Thinking about Skin and Colors

In my current WIP, I have two main characters, one of whom is extremely fair, almost albino. Even his eyelashes are blond. The other is medium ruddy brown. Trying to describe their skin colors, and do it honestly and without too much romanticism (=exoticism) takes me back to my childhood.

I was born in late 1964, which makes me right on the cusp of being a Boomer or Gen X, pick your chart. I started kindergarten in 1969, the year after MLK was murdered. Woodstock. My much-older brother and his new wife played a lot of Dylan and marched in the streets, his hair and beard long, her hair a pixie. He’s still a radical, sends me articles by Ta-Nehisi Coates. When I saw that 75-year-old protestor pushed over by police in Buffalo? That could have been my brother.

Anyway, despite native ancestry, the only Indians I knew were my own relatives (and we all look pretty white), but being part native was just always something I knew about: family stories, some I’ve learned since were romanticized but held a core of truth, as family stories are wont to do.

My first real encounter with people who had skin colors notably different from mine was kindergarten in 1969. Most of the (admittedly handful) of “non-white” students were Hispanic. After all, it was Florida. But there there was a black student, and there would be black students later, in first grade. They were described as “black” and I was described as “white.” But kids are pretty literal, and I can remember thinking, “He’s not black, he’s brown.” And being confused, because I wasn’t white either, I was pink. When I drew pictures of myself on construction paper, I didn’t pick the white crayola for me. I picked the peach one. Even more confusing was the notion that Hispanic people weren’t white. What? Some were a little browner, but not that much, so when other kids said they weren’t white, I seriously wondered what was wrong with their eyes.

Ergo, with the logic of five, in some sort of bambino rebellion, I started calling myself a “peach person.” It was more honest, after all.

But I was a white person, and part of my white privilege was to GET to call myself a “peach person” and be laughed at for it, instead of scolded (or worse). I was privileged to not understand at a DNA level the history of being Black in America.

Yet I think about that now, when writing a novel set in a world that doesn’t have our terms or history of Colonial slavery, but does have racism and narratives about what’s “civilized.” One of the books’ themes is about how we define civilized and what that says about us. I’ve taught a class called “World Civilizations” for 20 years at UNO, so I’ve had a lot of time to think about what that word means. And how ugly (and imprecise) it is.

What is civilized? And how do our bodies, including our skin, become markers for whether or not we get to claim it?

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” --One of MLK’s more famous quotes.

Some of my ancestors were considered “a wild bunch of Indians,” and their land was stolen from them in the 1830 Indian Removal Act by another SOB of a president (Jackson) who, naturally, Trump admires. Miami (Myaamia) people talk about our history as breaking and mending, as a fragmented people learning to live with the fragments. We’re divided in half, the Federally Recognized tribe in Oklahoma, the “remainder,” the Eastern branch (my ancestors), in Indiana. Western and Eastern Miami. Who got to stay? Those who’d married white or had white ancestry (that included the Brouillettes and Richardvilles). Otherwise...Hit the road, Jack--first Kansas, then Indian Territory. The US gov’t still separates us, denies our historic reservation (Kekionga), and refuses to give Federal Recognition to the Eastern branch.

In any case, when I try to talk about skin colors, I find myself avoiding “white.” Ision is pale, or like milk, frosty pink, rosy...but it’s not always a compliment. Teo has less descriptives. He’s rosewood, or ruddy brown.

One way of reversing racism is to avoid much description of skin color. But another is to reverse the subconscious tendency of white writers to note their non-white characters’ skin color but ignore (as assumed) that of the white characters. Upon rereading the first book I realized I had almost twice as many skin-color descriptors for the pale character (Ision) as for the brown one (Teo).

A brown gaze, not a white gaze, in terms of what we notice. Writers are supposed to do that anyway. It’s called “point of view” (POV). But it can be really easy for the POV of the author to accidentally merge with that of the characters. One example of this in lit-talk is the “male gaze”--even when adopted by women: the description of female characters in ways women don’t necessarily think about each other (especially sexually, unless bi- or lesbian...and even there, I’d suggest a difference between the male gaze and the lesbian gaze).

We can also talk about the “white gaze.” It comes in so MANY, many forms. But when approaching a fantasy world that isn’t Earth, I’m trying to think about it, however imperfectly, in the way I did as a child. And see skin in a rainbow hue.

A Crayola box, 64 colors. Which Crayola color are you?

Ision is Piggy Pink. Teo is Sepia.

Me? I’m probably Melon

What color are you?

#Myaamia #Miami Indians #skin color #civilized #white privilege

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maxgrayarchived · 5 years

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The Walking Dead & Queer Representation

How many horror movies and tv shows can you name with queer protagonists? The Walking Dead has been on air for ten years now, and given its genre, it has a surprising amount of queer characters. The numbers themselves are nice, but when writing any minority, it’s important to have tact.

As an avid fan of The Walking Dead and a member of the queer community, I’ve taken it upon myself to break down how the show chooses to represent queer characters and what they’re doing right and wrong.

First, a few disclaimers:

This post contains spoilers for seasons 1-9, including major character deaths. I won’t go over anything that happens past season 9.

Queer people are going to die. This is a zombie show. People die in every episode. It would be pandering for all the queer characters to stay alive throughout the entire show.

I am a pansexual transboy. The characters I’m talking about are assumed to be gay, cisgender boys and girls. Notice that my experience differs from theirs and if I say something that counteracts something a lesbian or a gay man says about the characters representing their identity, you should listen to them and not me.

I like the word queer. I think it’s a great word and I’ll be using it a lot. Since almost nobody’s sexuality in confirmed in this show I use it a lot to avoid pan/bi/ace erasure. If you don’t like that word, be prepared for it now or accept that this post is not for you.

Finally, this does NOT include things from Fear the Walking Dead. Fear the Walking Dead is… such a different show in so many ways, especially in LGBT+ representation, and that’s going to require a whole ass different post (how did they fuck up that show so bad).

Let’s get down to it!

Introductions & Coming Outs

Tara:

We meet Tara when the Governor wanders into her and her sister’s apartment building after seeing her niece, Meghan, in the window. She immediately puts herself between her family and a potential threat with a gun in her hand. She doesn’t take any of the Governor’s shit, and her first priority is making sure he knows that if he does anything to hurt her family, he’ll pay for it. Once that’s all out of the way, though, she lets a friendlier side of her show and jokes around with him.

Our first introduction to queer characters in the show is done well. There’s nothing about her that would ‘tip off’ to the fact that she’s a lesbian, and she’s her own, fleshed out character.

We find out she’s a lesbian after she and her family leaves with the Govorner. They’re walking down a street with trees lining each side, and she starts to complain about it reminding her of an ex-girlfriend and a date they went on. This is dropped so casually that I didn’t even notice it in the first watch.

It’s later confirmed she’s a lesbian (instead of pan/bi/etc) when Eugene hits on her and she says, “Yeah, I like girls.”

She comes out (the first time) in such a casual way that I’m hesitant to even call it a coming out. If the Governor wasn’t there, and if we weren’t watching, it would just be a girl complaining to her sister about an ex.

Alisha:

This is my only time mentioning Alisha because that’s how minor of a character she is.

We meet her when Tara’s sister, Lily, is stitching up her palm after Alisha “got cute with her knife” and cut herself. Tara is watching from a bit away, and starts flirting with her by talking about weapons. Alisha asks if she’s always this full of shit, and Tara says, “Yes, I am.” It’s a really cute moment. It’s not overtly sexual, it’s not predatory, it’s not weird, it’s just two girls flirting with each other.

This is a great way to casually slide in a gay relationship. It’s not made to be a big deal, it’s just another relationship in the story. Before they mentioned that Tara was gay, now they’re acting on that, instead of pussying out like other shows do.

Aaron & Eric:

I’m putting these two in one category because, when we met them, they were together.

Our first impression of Aaron is when he comes up to Maggie and Sasha, unarmed, when they’re alone. He puts his hands in the air and asks to speak to Rick, saying that he’s a friend and he has good news. When Maggie and Sasha bring him back to the barn they’re holed down in, he tells them about his community, Alexandria, and welcomes them all to come home with him. He gives us no reason to distrust him (despite the very obvious ‘this is a stranger and generally strangers either try to rob, eat, or kill us’) and is, all and all, patient and understanding of the group’s distrust.

We meet Eric approximately twenty five seconds before one of the cutest kisses in the show. He sees the panic on Aaron’s face and quickly tries to calm him down, explain his injury and that it’s not a big deal, and that Maggie fixed him up, and he likes her, and- And then Aaron, in a fit of overwhelming concern and relief, rushes up to him and interrupts him with a kiss.

One of the cutest kisses in the show.

Eric then teases Aaron for being worried about him, we get some domestic goodness when Eric gives Aaron a license plate for his collection, we’re rewarded with this face:

and, all in all, it’s a good scene. It’s cute, it’s realistic, we can see how much these two care about each other, and Rick’s reaction will make me laugh until I die.

Denise:

When we first meet Denise, she is a scared, overwhelmed new doctor. She does her best to lower the bar and expresses concern that she isn’t actually capable of being the doctor of Alexandria.

At one point, Denise almost has a breakdown from stress and tells Tara that her patient’s condition is too fatal, and Denise isn’t capable of saving him. Tara tells her that being afraid if just something she’s going to have to get over. A little while later, after Denise manages to stabilize her patient’s condition and save his life, she goes over to Tara and kisses her. That’s how we learn she likes girls. Her and Tara continue a romantic relationship after that, and it’s all really cute and sweet.

Jesus:

For those of you who don’t watch the show, quick disclaimer… “Jesus” is the nickname of the character Paul Rovia. We are not talking about Jesus Christ. Just to be clear.

Our first impression of Jesus is… Kind of fucking awesome. So far our queer characters have been, by and large, absolute dorks. When we first meet Jesus, he scams Rick and Daryl, snags their keys without them noticing, and steals their truck full of food and supplies. After then he puts up one hell of a fight during his and the duo’s back and forth (unfortunately, none of them are badass enough to save that big truck from sinking to the bottom of the lake. Good job, guys). He even saves Daryl’s life during that very same battle. Jesus continues to do badass things during his introduction, but you probably get the gist.

Jesus’s coming out is so far my favourite in the show. In the season after he’s introduced, he’s having a talk with Maggie, admitting that he’s never really fit in with anyone. He thanks her for making Hilltop feel more like a home. He says, “I’ve always found it hard getting close to anyone- Neighbors, friends… Boyfriends.” Unlike Aaron and Eric, it’s a very casual coming out, mentioned only to someone he’s come to really trust and admire.

I think the way Jesus expresses his sexuality is a very important distinction from the way Aaron and Eric express theirs. Aaron is glad to mention it any time it’s relevant- For example he has a talk with Daryl when they’re alone about being outsiders, telling Daryl (who’s having trouble acclimating to his time in Alexandria) that it does get better. He references his romantic relationship with Eric and how, paraphrasing, some otherwise really lovely boys and girls will say the most hilariously offensive things. Jesus’s sexuality is a much more personal thing to him.

Both of these characters are valid, and there is nothing wrong with the way either of them choose to express their love. There needs to be more pieces of media that have queer characters that differ in this way.

Magna & Yumiko:

Magna and Yumiko are introduced towards the end of the ninth season, so I don’t know very much about them. They’re part of a small group of survivors who are looking for a settlement that’ll take them in. Magna is very distrusting, especially of Michonne. She’s impulsive, and paranoid. Yumiko, as a foil, is calmer and more rational. She’s defensive about Magna (and the rest of her group) and protective. They have the potential to make a really good team- They balance each other out well.

We learn that they’re together when they agree to split up so Magna can help the main group with the current crisis, and Magna kisses Yumiko goodbye. There were times before it was confirmed that they hinted at their relationship, for instance when one of them had their head in the other’s lap in the background of a shot and were talking quietly. When talking to Michonne, Yumiko tells a story about Magna with a fond smile.

I think, so far, they’re in the clear.

Personality Diversity

It seems obvious, but it’s important to make each character different. A lot of cishet people (and even some queer people) when writing queer characters for the first time seem to get fixated on whatever they think are ‘queer qualities.’ Every queer character they write ends up being the same one. Let’s go over the ways each queer character on The Walking Dead are their own, and can’t be lumped into the same.

Levels of capability:

Denise was an objectively weak character. She had been hidden behind the walls of Alexandria the entire apocalypse, had never killed a walker, and didn’t even know how to fight. But she died trying to be better. She asked for Daryl and Rosita’s help, people much more capable and experienced than her, and she risked her life for the good of the community.

The other queer characters are all very capable of taking care of themselves, to various extents. Tara started in a bit of a rough spot. She was better off than Denise, though, in that she knew how to shoot a gun and, being out with the Governor, she quickly grew first hand experience. Eric didn’t have as much experience, but, like Denise, he was ready to step up when they needed him. I would put Aaron on the same combat level as Tara. I mentioned Jesus’s badassery- He’s on par with Rick, Daryl, and Michonne in my opinion. As for Magna and Yumiko, they specialize in teamwork.

Strong suits:

The show also, in my opinion, did a good job at not making them the Token Gay Characters because they each have their own strong suits. Tara is extremely determined and good at giving tough love when someone else is willing to give up. Jesus is clever and savvy (firecrackers in a trashcan?). Denise was a fucking doctor (pretty much). We don’t know much about Yumiko and Magna, but I’m sure they’ll have their own strengths as well. Each character has a specialty that’ll come in handy in different situations.

Nuance:

I mentioned before that a lot of our queer characters have been pretty dorky. In my opinion, they’ve done a good job at leveling that out with Jesus, Magna, and Yumiko.

I’d also just like to take a minute to mention Tara’s fashion. I feel like they HAVE to have a lesbian on costumes, because the way Tara dresses is just a detail that you’d only think of if you’re involved in the queer community.

Look at all those fucking flannels.

Deaths

With any character, killing them is a big decision and should not be taken lightly. Sure, there are some deaths that seem relatively minor (Carter’s death when the hoard from the quarry split into two, for example), and there are deaths that are HUGE (Glenn), but each and every one served a purpose. Killing characters off for shock value or for blood or just to keep things exciting are all signs of a bad or inexperienced writer.

It’s also important to remember what this post is about- How they’ve been representing queer characters. Death is a HUGE part of that, it could make or break their entire score. Death is a sensitive subject in the queer community due to the countless hate crimes that resulted in the deaths of queer people that went unresolved and unacknowledged. In most genres, killing queer people off at all is seen as a no-no (we’re murdered enough in real life). But, as I mentioned earlier, in a show set in the zombie apocalypse, people are going to die, and that includes queer people. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have tact.

Denise:

Denise’s death is the easiest to see why it’s necessary. Let’s break it down.

Denise died the exact same death that Abraham did in the comic books. Why is this important? Because that gave Abraham the opportunity to be there when Negan was introduced, which is when he actually died, which Sasha saw, which pinned all of Sasha’s (and Rosita’s) anger on Negan. That led to a HUGE plot point, and Sasha’s own eventual death and the almost-victory of Rick Grimes and the almost-death of Negan! And even though all didn’t go fully to plan, it still created the distraction that was needed to begin the war, which drastically changed the course of the series. That’s why Denise died. So that Sasha could distract Negan and give Rick and his group the upper hand in the war.

I was SO sad when Denise died, but from a writer’s standpoint, it’s a death I can appreciate.

Eric:

I’m not saying Eric’s death was pointless, because it didn’t feel pointless, but I can’t exactly pinpoint the reason. However, we don’t always get to know that right away or have it be obvious. I’m inclined to do a pass on this one.

Now, onto the death itself. It was… So goddamn sad. In a fight for freedom from the Saviors, Eric was shot. Aaron immediately gets him out of the battle and brings him to a quiet place. Eric convinces him to keep fighting, because he knows that they need Aaron, saying “I can die here just fine on my own.” They say they love each other, and they kiss, and Aaron runs back to the fight. When Aaron gets back, Eric has turned and is wandering off in the distance. Another Alexandrian keeps Aaron from running after him, and comforts him.

And, I’m adding this because I think it’s important, when Aaron gets back to Rick and the group, Rick is holding a little baby named Gracie (let’s not get into how he found this baby). He needs someone to take her back to the Kingdom, so she’ll be safe… And Aaron takes her. He says, please, I have to, let me take her. Aaron adopts a little baby girl.

I personally think the death was done very well. Queerness aside, it was STRONG. It was so emotionally powerful. Aaron’s friend being there to help him and keep him from doing something stupid, him putting his mourning into doing something good (taking care of Gracie), and ESPECIALLY Eric himself telling Aaron to go, that there are more important things to be done. Emotionally speaking, it might be my favorite death in the series. It hurts, but I think it was done so well.

Jesus:

Jesus’s death was fucking stupid.

Like, I know, blahblahblah, it was important to the plot, we need to be mad at the Whisperers, we needed a reason to fight, blah fucking blah I’m still not over it. I fucking hate Jesus’s death. I WASN’T expecting it, and I’m fucking annoyed.

The biggest reason I’m annoyed is because I was waiting for them to reveal Aaron and Jesus’s relationship. I’ll talk more about why that bothered me later, but the reason Jesus’s death was awful, was because it’s inextricable from this fatal flaw.

Tara:

I’m writing this after seeing Tara’s death for the first time pretty recently. I’ve only seen it once, and the problems I have with the death aren’t the death itself at all. In fact, I think, queer-wise, it was done pretty well. I mean, it happened with a whole bunch of straighties, you know? It’s not like they put a bunch of queer kids’ heads on pikes, she was the only queer one. So I hesitantly say it was alright.

Eric, Jesus, & Tara:

This is an important part that bothers me a bit. I’m not sure how serious it is, because I very well could just be being sensitive, but… Jesus’s death happened VERY suddenly, and then right after that we lost Tara. And Eric’s death hadn’t happened too long before, either. Especially when, in comparison to the straighties, we have such a small cast of queer characters, to lose so many of them so fast… It was kind of exhausting. I’d love to hear other queer fans’ thoughts about this and if you think I’m being overdramatic, or if you feel similarly.

What Did They Do Wrong?

Before closing out the post, let’s sum everything up and give some final thoughts.

Jesus’s death and his relationship with Aaron:

I was absolutely devastated when Jesus died, and not in the good way. I accidentally read a “spoiler” that said Aaron was Jesus’s boyfriend, so I was waiting for that to be revealed. Every time Aaron and Jesus were in danger, I wasn’t scared at all, because I thought they can’t die without revealing that first.

And, I mean, after that six year gap SO many straighties were revealing their relationships. Not a single gay relationship? Not a single fucking one? I was waiting for Jesus and Aaron to reveal their relationship and instead, one of them died.

And it wasn’t just the spoiler that did this. My sister didn’t know this spoiler, and she thought they were going to get together, too. But it wasn’t just “oh there are two gay guys in the same room they HAVE to get together.” We’ve both seen scenes with the two of them together in previous seasons, and neither of us had ever thought they were going to get together. After that six year gap, Aaron and Jesus had chemistry. It seemed like they purposefully set them up just to kill one of them.

No trans characters:

It’s been ten fucking years PLEASE give me a trans character. Or, and I know, this is crazy, but maybe a couple. Unless of course the zombies have a particular taste for transies and we were all killed off at the start.

I would KILL for a transguy character who can’t bind and doesn’t pass, but all the good characters are calling him by the correct pronouns anyway and it’s not a big deal.

Please. Add some trans characters.

Missed opportunities:

My best way of explaining this is calling back to a minor character, a man who got bit after the hoard from the quarry split in half. He’s talking about his wife, how he wants to get back to her and say goodbye. He could have easily been talking about his husband.

Some people might disagree, saying that since he’s bit and he’s going to die, that this would be a really bad idea, but… I don’t think so. There’s enough major queer characters in the show to balance this out, and, I mean, come on, it’s a show about zombies. People die every episode. This gay man just happened to be one of them. We don’t even meet his wife! It would be so easy.

I think it’s a weakness that their only queer characters are major characters, because background characters are part of what reminds you that there’s a whole world out there. It’s part of the immersion. If we never meet any queer background characters, it makes the major characters outliers. I realize this is nitpicking, but it’s been ten fucking years. I’m not going to take the time to tally up every single character, major and minor, in The Walking Dead and label them as assumed straight or confirmed queer, but we can all guess what that list would look like.

What Did They Do Right?

They made sure to always have at least one queer character:

We’re missing our queer characters in the first two seasons, but once we have Tara, we have at least one queer character to look up to in every single season. Some cishet people might think this is pandering, but it’s a very important part (NOT the entirety) of avoiding the Bury Your Gays trope.

Every time they killed a queer character, there was a reason:

They’re not just slicing and dicing.

Personality differences:

They’re all their very own character, and there’s not any “queer traits.”

Coming outs:

They were all in character and done realistically.

They didn’t queer-bait or introduce a gay character just to kill them:

Every queer character so far has had a decent shelf life. For major characters, let’s keep it that way.

xxx

Talk to me about this! I want to know what you agree with me on, what you don’t, whether you’re fans of The Walking Dead or not.

Question/s of the month:

My first question is for people of colour, both those of you who are fans of The Walking Dead and who aren’t: How do you feel about how the Walking Dead chooses to represent people of colour? Go crazy, ramble as long as you want, I really want to know!

My second question is a request: Please recommend me movies and tv shows in the horror genre specifically that have queer characters! Whether it’s done well or not, I want to see them all (I’ve already seen It: Chapter 2 and I love American Horror Story).

Let me know what you think about this series, please! I want to do one on the horror genre as a whole and The Good Place, so if this is well received, I’ll get started on that!

Reblogs > Likes

Writing Ramblings

Adding my zombie apocalypse wips tag list:

@nemowritesstuff @sidhewrites

#the walking dead #twd #horror #amwriting #amwriting horror #i love horror #queer #we need diverse books #diversity #blog post

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lgbtqreads · 6 years

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hi! i have 2 requests for recs, 1 is just like non-ya bi/pan women protagonists, i’ve seen a few but would love more. 2 is books by queer women of color. as a white queer person i’m tryna expand my understanding of queer issues and want to read stories from a new perspective. thank you loads :)

Can do! One great place to find #2 is on the @wocinromance site, which has an LGBTQ+ section. It’s run by Rebekah Weatherspoon, whose name you’re about to see a bunch as I answer your questions ;)

OK, so, #1!

So Sweet is the first novella in Rebekah Weatherspoon’s m/f novella series with a bi female protag. She also has a lesbian vampire sorority series, starting with Better Off Red, that has a bunch of bi/pan women. And she’s also a queer woman of color who is an amazing person to support.

Also m/f with a bi protag is A Gentleman in the Street by Alisha Rai, which I love, and the author and MC are both WoC.

For some pan female MCs, try Out on Good Behavior by Dahlia Adler, Double Exposure by Chelsea Cameron, The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis (possibly currently out of print), and Your Heart Will Grow by Chace Verity.

For some bi female MCs, try these:

All Inclusive by Farzana Doctor

Vow of Celibacy by Erin Judge

The First Bad Man by Miranda July

The Mathematics of Change by Amanda Kabak (Amz)

The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka (Amz)

They Call Me Mad Dog!: A Story for Bitter, Lonely People by Erika Lopez

In Case of Emergency by Courtney Moreno

Young God by Katherine Faw Morris

The Life and Death of Sophie Stark by Anna North

Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney

She of the Mountains by Vivek Shraya

The Passion by Jeannette Winterson

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell

and keep an eye out for The Best Bad Thing by Katrina Carrascowhen it comes out in November!

OK, for #2! My top Must-Read for my fellow white queer people is Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera which honestly does some really nice handholding through the issues of queer white feminism and is such an inclusive book. I also strongly suggest Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert; the author is a WoC, and though she’s not queer, I think she really well handles issues of having multiple marginalized identities intersecting, some of which are more visible than others. (The MC is a bi Black Jewish girl.)

Some great QWoC authors to check out (in addition to those mentioned above):

CB Lee, Riley Redgate, and Malinda Lo are all authors of Chinese descent who write great queer YA - superhero sci-fi, contemporary, and a whole bunch of genres, respectively

Anna-Marie McLemore is one of the most beautiful authors writing right now, and all of her books and short stories following her debut are queer magical realism. (Her debut is also amazing magical realism, just not queer.)

Jacqueline Woodson has books in three different age categories and is just amazing. If you’re looking for more adult reads, try Another Brooklyn.

Speaking of adult novels, check out Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn and The Summer We Got Free by Mia McKenzie, both Black female authors.

I’m trying to veer away from YA because I assume from your first question that you’re not so interested in it, but if you are, some more great authors: Sara Farizan, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Candice Montgomery, Rebecca Barrow, Nic Stone, Dhonielle Clayton, Ashley Woodfolk, and I don’t know whether she IDs as a woman but Heidi Heilig. I’m sure I’m forgetting a hundred more (slash I’m not sure how openly some ID as queer) but there are so many and they’re so, so great.

OK I think that’s a lot to start with but if you’re looking for more or something different, please hit me up again!

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wizzard890 · 7 years

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Hi Emily! If you're okay with it, can you explain what femme and butch looks like? Before, I thought femme just meant feminine and butch just means masculine. Reading your post helped me understand what femme is a bit more, but I'm still confused on what butch is. Is it just shaved heads, shorts and t shirts? Or is there a certain Look? And also what is high and the opposite of high? Is high femme/butch just ultra femme/butch? Does that mean you can be low-key femme/butch? Thanks!

DISCLAIMER: WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS RE: LESBIANS. AND PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE LESBIAN COMMUNITY, LIKE BI WOMEN WHO ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF KISSING WOMEN. MY BI GIRLFRIEND AND I CAN’T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING BEYOND THAT.

okay, so it’s hard to define what femme and butch mean for someone else, but considering I’m a megawatt high femme and my girlfriend is somewhere at the intersection of soft and dapper butch (with some punk touches thrown in), she and I should be able to give you a pretty good, if personal, answer.

So, this is @pyrrhiccomedy talking: “Emily’s already talked about how femme isn’t just about dressing ‘feminine;’ there’s something self-aware about it. You know what the expectations are when someone sees a woman dressing in a way that emphasizes her femininity, and you play with that. Either by subverting it somehow, or taking it to an extreme that’s outside the boundaries of ordinary feminine fashion.

“I think being butch is similar. I know what people think when they see a woman who dresses ‘like a man,’ whether that’s with a shaved head or a button-up shirt. When it’s a straight woman, the assumption is that she doesn’t care about how she looks; or that she doesn’t know how to dress herself. A lot of times, unkindly, women who wear ‘menswear’ are assumed to be unattractive. Because if we could be conventionally attractive, why would we choose to be otherwise?

“For me…listen, I just like how I look in men’s clothes. And I feel like an awkward dork in ‘girly’ clothes. But I don’t think that’s what makes me butch. Butch is more considered than that. I think the biggest thing about being butch is that it says flatly to men: “I’m not here for you.” It’s a challenge. I am not dressing to appeal to YOU. I am dressing to appeal to other women. WOMEN find this hot. Anyone who sees me walking down the street can see that I DO care about my appearance and I DO know how to dress myself. I’m wearing punk trousers, chrome oxfords, and a bright red button up shirt. I have blue hair! I’m inviting attention: it’s just not MALE attention. In fact, I am inviting men to look at me and have the conscious, unavoidable thought that I DON’T WANT THEM.

“And that I could steal their girl.

“So a butch look could be a lot of things. It can be a dapper men’s business look. It can be an aggressive tomboy look. There’s the “stone butch” look, where you wear jeans, a wifebeater, great biceps and a scowl. But whatever it is, it’s something that’s visibly associated with men. And taking it, and wearing it, as a woman, is inherently confrontational. You’re saying, “This isn’t yours. I can wear this and look better than you do in it. And if YOU don’t like it, I don’t give a fuck. It’s not for you.”

back to Emily:

Sure you can be low-key femme or butch. I mean, for me, “femme” is something I do extremely intentionally. I have been known to plan outfits literal seasons in advance. But some girls like being feminine and also like sleeping in in the mornings, and to that I say, well played. At the end of the day though, I think the difference between “dressing girly” and femme, or “dressing like a tomboy” and butch is that it’s intentional. More than that, it’s confrontational. You’re consciously considering people’s expectations and how you can subvert or challenge them.

here’s a brief (and incomplete) cultural taxonomy, since you seem a little stymied by the lingo!

femme - a queer woman who purposefully dresses in such a feminine way that it challenges cultural norms.

high femme - that but more. sometimes can even approach costume. the point (for me) is to reach a point of feminine style that actively alienates men.

hard femme - much like high femme, but instead of looking like an untouchable space goddess, you look like you might knife a man with what’s in your very fetching bag. think leather, spikes, studs and dangerously-heeled combat boots.

butch - a queer woman who purposefully dresses in such a masculine way that it challenges cultural norms.

soft butch - this is like “low-key butch”; most of the lesbians you see on television are this. think Ellen DeGeneres, Mel and Sue from The Great British Bakeoff, most of the the cast of the L-Word, you know the type. they wear blazers.

dapper butch - you know what dapper means. like that, but on a woman.

tomboy butch - this is what people usually think of when they think of “butch”. jerseys, snapbacks, cargo shorts. they wear their keys on the outside of their clothes. justin bieber dresses like one of these.

hard butch - it’s hard to pin a specific fashion aesthetic on “hard butch”. this may be because I have a difficult time looking at enough google images to put together a style theory without becoming completely twitterpated, but something I’ve heard from the hard butches I’ve known is that it’s often less about fashion than it is about physique. the fashion choices that you do see are not just about alienating men, they’re about actively repelling them.

bear in mind that these are not hard and fast rules, and that there are as many ways to be femme or butch as there are women, but these are some queer genres that you may wish to peruse.

#welcome to the co-written girlfriend posts #hope this helps #and i bless you: more life #anon #replies #emily: high femme cyborg stylist extraordinaire

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mightbedamian · 8 years

Text

#TMIishTuesday #46 - The Trumpet - But why?

Hey there mighty people of the internet! And welcome to issue #46 of #TMIishTuesday - my weekly Tumblr post about what goes through my weird mind and what you guys want to know more about. It can be something very personal, it can be something political, it can be completely pointless - but in 99.9 % of the cases, it involves opinions. And mine as well. // Last week I talked about make-up. On girls, but more about it on guys: Society's general perception of it, some male YouTubers who look ACE with make-up, and my opinion on whether or not men should or should not wear make-up. Not telling you to read it, but… YOU SHOULD! // Disclaimer: I can't treat certain people the same as everyone else. People who just disrespect of groups of people for one, and only one, reason: Belonging to this group. And by saying this, I do exactly that, I know... And I’m still gonna do it. You know, if they were at least a little bit open-minded or didn't treat people like they're sh*t, I'd respect that. I wouldn't cheer for them, but everyone has different opinions - and that's awesome! But I won't respect people who hate on others for having one attribute that the haters don't like: Gender, sexuality, race, color of skin, this list goes on and on. Okay, so if you're not living on the Moon (and even then), you'll most definitely have noticed that the U. S. have a new president. For the reasons stated above, I will not call him by his name, but rather refer to this person as "the Trumpet". Not much of a difference anyway, right? And now you know who I'm talking about, we can start this post. Did I mention that it's about reasons why this person could even become president? Oh, I didn't? Well… Now you know! There are obviously lots of reasons why the Americans eligible to vote voted like they did. I pick three that seem most important to me. 1. The devil vs. the deep blue sea With the elections coming up one thing that I read a lot in polls and assessments of the candidates is: "I can't possibly choose between two inacceptable candidates." As expected, Democrats and Republicans had voted two extremely opposing candidates to go for president - Clinton: the impersonated establishment who still lives on her father's achievements as president and who is rather conservative for a Democrats candidate. And - the Trumpet: the impersonated American dream: business man, self-made millionaire, the exact opposite of the establishment, who bluntly told his opinions on basically everything, even when not asked about it. And I had the impression that people didn't feel that ANY of the two would be a good president. But given the American political situation, with only these two parties standing a real chance to win the election, most people did choose to distribute their votes between the devil and the deep blue sea - or simply didn't turn up to the polling stations. 2. Jobs vs. trade There is a common misconception that many Europeans might have fallen for: The Trumpet's only focus seemed to be on immigration politics. Constructing a wall at the U. S.-Mexican border and getting rid of TPP* and TTIP* trade agreements, before the latter was even signed. These seemed to be the Trumpet's only political goals. At least if you believed European media. Oh my, were we wrong! The Trumpet actually got lots of votes in the Mid West states promising people to get jobs. Of course that's part of the getting-rid-of-TPP-and-TTIP deal. But that's not what was the most important aspect of this issue. The U. S. still suffer from the global economic crisis that was sparked by the failure of the banking industry in the late 2000s. The most important promise of the Trumpet was jobs. Jobs, jobs, and more jobs. And, please correct me, if I'm wrong, dear Americans, but to me it looks like most Americans don't bother too much about what is going on in the world, if the U. S. is not involved. Am I wrong in assuming that? And to be honest, it's looked to me like that over the last few years/decades. Rather, you guys are more focussed on your own country. You know, I'm not a big fan of overly demonstrated patriotism. But it makes sense that you voted the Trumpet then: He promises to get you all into jobs again. Sure, that will work. But there'll also be massive inflation, if he basically closes down foreign trade and goes back to producing everything domestically. But people don't seem to see that. Or they ignore it. Well, if you don't see it, let me give you a quick tour, okay? The Trumpet wants to put import tariffs into place again against any country out there. Sure, most still have import tariffs - the EU certainly isn’t the norm - but over the last couple decades there has been worldwide understanding that we should thrive for lower tariffs and less trade restrictions. In 1947 32 nations signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which wanted to "reduce tariffs and other trade barriers" among the signing countries. Over the years, with globalisation hitting in more and more, more nations joined the agreement and tariffs and trade restrictions got less and less. Based on the work that had been done under the GATT framework, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was established by 123 nations in 1995. A huge part of this hard work is at stake now that one of the biggest economies of the world threatens to leave the WTO. As I'm typing this, the Trumpet has just announced that the U. S. will not ratify TPP. A small step for a Trumpet, but a huge one for humankind. Anyway, I'm drifting off. And the effects of the U. S. leaving the WTO and other international trade policies could fill another #TMIishTuesday. Let me know, if you are interested in that! * TPP - Trans-Pacific Partnership * TTIP - Transatlatic Trade & Investment Partnership 3. Ego vs. opinions This might even be the most important factor that got him the crucial votes in the swing states* which ultimately led to the Trumpet winning the entire election. All the way during his candidacy - in the internal Rep duels as well - he has been very straightforward about basically anything he represented. He made clear his goals basically on day 1 of the Rep internal campaign and, from what I can tell, he sticked to them. All this "The U. S. don't need any foreign trade" thing, all this "I don't give a f*ck about minorities" hatred, all this "I'm the king of the world" behaviour - it was there from the very beginning. And even if Clinton didn't change her campaign too much, too - just by not letting anyone exert ANY influence on his campaign, the Trumpet really presented the "I am me, I won't change for others" attitude. When most candidates try to take on some viewpoints of the other candidates of their party to rule out competitors, he didn't do that. Cause he didn't need to. The whole "I won't change for others" thing was already bearing fruit. Many Americans are apparently still looking for a father figure to look up to. And that's EXACTLY what they got. ...Although you might argue that someone, who is as bold as the Trumpet, is not exactly a father figure… Granted, but he's definitely "the strong man" the people were looking for. And I guess the Americans just thought Obama didn't take measures drastic enough to cope with the (perceived as well as existing) problems the U. S. were faced with. * swing state = "a state that could reasonably be won be either the Democratic or Republican presidential candidate" Finally: Judging from the younger history, it just made sense that a Republican was elected president: The last three presidents all took two terms in office - and after each 8 year period a president of the other "big" party - Democrats and Republicans - was elected into office. Right, I'll leave you with that. This post turned out way more subjective than I planned to. But I never promised that. And remember how I started this post? "Disclaimer: I can't treat certain people the same as everyone else." I guess, that's exactly what's happened now. Sorry not sorry! :P Before I go, please let me know what you thought of this post and what your thoughts on the new president are. Do you hate him, do you respect him, do you like him? Place a comment, tweet me, dm me, or do anything else you can think of to get to me. Oh and today's TMIish Queer Shoutout goes to: Anyway Köln TV, the queer YouTube channel of youth centre Anyway in Cologne. I stumbled across the their YouTube channel last week and really liked the videos in which the team took to the streets to interview the people of Cologne on queer topics: Can they tell who identifies as straight, lesbian, or bi just by appearance? Does it work better when the choices are straight, gay, and pansexual? What do you imagine gay sex to look like? And the one that I liked best: How do people react when they are asked to film two guys for a minute and suddenly one proposes to the other right in front of the Cologne Dom cathedrale? Their videos are well thought of and, most of the times, involve strangers they meet on the street. If understand German, check them out and drop a sub! As always: Next #TMIishTuesday next Tuesday. If you have any questions in the meantime, just ask away. Whatever you’re curious about - I don’t bite. :) Until then: Stay mighty! Linkage: - Wikipedia on TPP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Partnership - Wikipedia on TTIP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_Trade_and_Investment_Partnership - Wikipedia on swing states: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_state - Anyway Köln TV channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AnywayKoelnTV - Anyway Köln website: http://www.anyway-koeln.de/ Oh, and here’s some self-promo: - Last #TMIishTuesday: http://mightbedamian.tumblr.com/post/156001271441/tmiishtuesday-45-guys-cant-wear-make-up - More #TMIishTuesdays: mightbedamian.tumblr.com/tagged/tmi - Poll to decide next week's topic and more very cool stuff: www.twitter.com/mightbedamian - Even more very cool stuff: mightbedamian.tumblr.com

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