#like queer & gnc rights!!!! yeah!!

[freetoflythecrimsonsky]

I’m hoping Billy Porter’s comments were taken out of context because otherwise the guy is out here arguing that only queer people can be gnc which is … a take you can have if you don’t actually want to make things better. And obviously since it’s a print article, it’s SUPER easy for that to be taken out of context to make an attention grabbing “Billy Porter vs Harry Styles” headline because no one can go back and see what he actually said, but he keeps effectively saying it and has for like the past year and i don’t think he’s made a “yeah you’re all taking this out of context” response so it’s a little hard not to take it as “only queer people can be gnc” at all

[emdotcom]

Found a kinda cool d&d survey from 2020, wherein they surveyed about 1,000 players (very small (& skewed) sample size, for the amount of people that play d&d, so take this with a huge grain of salt,) about what classes & races they played & enjoyed, then separated results by male, female, gender neutral, & nonbinary, which I appreciate.

Noteably, Tieflings are favorites, especially amongst nb ppl & lassies. Not surprised -- Tieflings are just cool af.

Also, I really enjoy all the agender people playing warlock. Me too, lmaoo

[justagaycryptid]

Ngl I/Me/Myself is the absolute WORST song that could have gone viral for Will especially on tiktok of all places because it is an incredibly nuanced song and tiktok users are not particularly known for their understandings of nuance

[fabulouslygaybean]

gerard way gender rant in the tags bc this is my blog so i get to talk abt what i want and it's been on my mind for a hot minute

[redditreceipts]

https://www.tumblr.com/genderkoolaid/736795285384216576/

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

The only coherent, non-rabidly misogynist and factually right thing OP say in this whole thing is at the very beginning when she recognized transgenderism as a completely made up modern human concept XDDDDD

Okay, let’s go through this word by word:

you can piss of both because it's just blatantly wrong and stupid. I could also say "the earth is flat" and piss of the catholic church and trans activists. what have I proven? nothing.

correct so far lmao

well yeah, everyone shares common experiences with trans and genderqueer people, because nobody identifies and behaves 100% according to their assigned gender at birth

woah, if I didn’t know that this was a gendie blog, I would think that this is a terf lmao. yes, some women are trans (aka trans men), and some men are trans as well (aka trans women)

I mean yeah, if you define “transphobia” as “opposition to gender nonconformity”, she sure as hell lived through transphobia. it’s just a bullshit definition, because being gender non conforming does not imply being trans. the thing with these definitions (i.e. defining trans as “not identifying with your gender assigned at birth” or defining transphobia as "an opposition to gender non-conformity") is that in this type of analysis, there is simply no space for gender non-conformity. every type of discrimination a gnc person experiences is transphobia, and every gnc person is trans or genderqueer.

yeah, maybe she just wore this type of clothing because she liked it. maybe she thought it looked stylish. maybe it suited her best. maybe she had sensory issues with skirts and dresses. maybe she really got a message from God. maybe she wanted to protect herself from sexual violence. it literally doesn’t matter, because she should be able to wear whatever she likes for whatever reason

good for her that she stood by what she wanted to do and started wearing the clothing she liked (which happened to be associated with the male sex in that time). and yeah, the society of that time was sexist, so they probably wanted to punish her for crossing gender roles

i mean, many gnc women wear clothes that are typically associated with the male sex for very different reasons, not just as a means to an end. women have always seen things that defy the patriarchy as vital to their soul, like loving other women, abortion, wearing certain clothes, doing certain trades etc. all of these things could have gotten them killed at one time or the other. you just pick “wearing masculine clothing”, because for you gender is just about fashion statements. 

also, nobody presents as cisfeminine, because femininity is an unreachable standard imposed by patriarchy, and “cis” would imply a total identification with that absurd standard. everyone is gnc in one sense or the other, some less and some much more, so there is really no inherent transness about Jeanne D’Arc. 

no, I don’t care about what the Catholic Church says, and we also don’t know whether Jeanne D’Arc actually heard some divine commandments or whether she just had mania or schizophrenia or something. It doesn’t matter at last, because “genderqueer” is not a useful analysis of anything. the human condition is one of being “genderqueer”, because at least for women, it is considered genderqueer to not shave - our natural bodies are “genderqueer”. you’re “queering” something that didn’t exist in the first place - a happily gender-conforming woman. Jean D’Arc is "genderqueer" because she did what she wanted, like every woman who does what she wants is "genderqueer". every free woman is “genderqueer”, every happy woman is "genderqueer", every courageous woman is "genderqueer". 

so in conclusion, this is not per se wrong, because gendies will just define any word how they like it and don’t do any analysis in the end, because the definition of things like “genderqueer” or “trans” is constructed in such a way that it always confirms the point the author wants to make. but because of its tautological nature, we don’t learn anything. 

but the huge problem with this type of analysis is that the language of “her gender expression”, “her masculine gender expression as vital to her soul”, and the individualised analysis of an experience that fundamentally, all women share to varying degrees: the inability to remain both a whole human and to submit to patriarchal demands. You can’t be gender-conforming and be a full autonomous member of society. And in that sense, being “trans” or “trans-adjacent” is an emotion that every woman shares, some more and some less. The thing is that gender roles were never meant to produce a woman that fulfils them completely, they were only ever meant to occupy women’s minds enough so they don’t start a revolution. 

But why do we have to call that very natural impulse “genderqueer”, implying that feeling like this distances you from womanhood in any way? Feeling like patriarchy is restrictive is the most female thing anyone could experience, and is a confirmation of Jean D’Arc’s womanhood. 

[cock-holliday]

Listen, I get being excited when people come out, I get speculating people’s genders and sexualities. I get that there are often seemingly so few of us that we are desperate for more community. I get that some people wish someone had nudged them sooner into realizing they were queer/trans. I get it.

AND people also have reasons for not coming out, or sometimes your clocking skills are shit!

The Wachowski sisters, icons of trans egg cracking metaphor, were OUTED against their wills! The kid from Heartstopper was outed against his will. Rebel Wilson came out before someone had the chance to out her. Nathan Lane was nearly outed in an interview he did alongside Robin Williams, and Williams diverted so he could stay closeted. Dozens of celebs and athletes and authors and politicians were outed and sometimes it destroyed their careers, put them in danger, or made a private matter a spectacle.

Of course, outing doesn’t just happen to celebs. My shitty ex-roommate was so sure my GNC friend was an egg and kept badgering him trying to get him to use they/them, constantly invalidating his identity. I know people who were outed among friends, whose parents found out, and got them kicked from home. I know well-meaning Uni advisors who didn’t think of the consequences and sent mail home to a name not recognized by that kid’s family. I’ve had people out me to strangers and immediately put me in difficult positions even though I am relatively open about my identity. The thing is, it is MY fucking choice.

It is their choice.

Sure, nudge someone in private. But if they tell you to fuck off, do. If they get super uncomfortable, lay off. Yeah, they might be in denial, maybe for good fucking reason. Or maybe you are wrong as shit about what their identity is.

Yeah, being forced into the closet sucks, that doesn’t make being forced out of the closet good either, even when you’re right that they’re queer/trans.

Create space for them to come out, let people come to you. Answer questions, drop hints, live your life so fully that people see they have options. I owe so much to queers I saw out and about in public but if each one of them said “hey you look like one of us” publicly I’d have crawled so far back into the closet.

Queers used to use code to ask if we shared kinship for a reason, and while visibility has dramatically increased that doesn’t mean safety always has. And it certainly doesn’t mean the messy grey between straight and gay disappeared, it doesn’t mean the messy grey between cis and trans disappeared. Sometimes you think you are opening someone up to a whole world but they already fucking know it.

Anyway,

[kingofthe-egirls]

LUFFY SMUT: Y/N gets a strap on

☠️🦊💫🫧🌊✨

(CW: nsfw, sex, strap-on, pegging, gnc reader (tit mention, no pronouns used)

A/N: i am a queer, nonbinary survivor who makes a living in sw. i want to write respectful, inclusive stories. if you don’t like it, that’s ok! none of us own these characters anyway :)

Luffy groans, shifting on your dick. It’s silicone, and attached to a leather harness strapped around your hips. But it’s still your dick.

“Fuuuuuuuccckkkk, y/n…,” he moans, voice going pitchy. Black hair is sweaty against his brow, and his eyes are dark and hazy in pleasure. He’s straddling you as you lay on your back in the captain’s messy bed. It’s midnight, long after everyone’s gone to sleep. The ship rocks quietly in the harbor waves.

You squeal, hands tight on his hips as you wait for him to adjust.

“I-is it okay?” You ask, face hot. Luffy nods, but you don’t move yet. You wanna wait for that crease of discomfort between his eyebrows to soften. You stroke your thumb along his hipbone. “Not too big?”

He laughs, shaking his head with his eyes closed. Dark lashes graze his cheeks as he looks down at you, appraising. “What, you don’t think I can take it?”

“I know you can,” you grin, wicked, and buck up a little into him. He gasps, but doesn’t complain. He always loves a challenge. “You’re the captain, aren’t you?”

“Ahhaha!” He moans, head falling back as he rides you, “‘s hot to hear you call me that, princess,” he grins, voice low. You whine, and buck your hips up again. You wanna fuck him now.

The sight of a naked, breathless Luffy trembling over you is enough to ignite your fucking veins. You want to take it slow, but you never realized how hard it must be for him to hold back when he fucks you in bed. You wanna pound into him until his eyes roll back. You want to hear him moan. You want him to go drunk on your cock, begging for more. You wanna make him cum.

Luffy’s cock is hard and dripping above your abdomen, and you start stroking it slow for him as he rides you: trying to match the pace he’s already set. Lamplight flickers above you.

Your proud, darling captain takes your dick slowly, rising up and down the length of it at his own pace. His eyebrows are still drawn together in concentration as he gets used to the new feeling. Lube slips down your thighs from between you.

“It’s hot to say it,” you pant, wanting desperately to move. You tighten your grip on his almond hips. “Can I fuck you, Luffy? Can I fuck my captain?” You peer up at him, flushed and wide-eyed. The sight of him above you is glorious. You feel giddy, powerful, alive.

He nods, and starts bouncing on your dick.

“Oh—!” You gasp, laughing a little as you try to catch up. It feels so good to fuck up into him like this. His pants, his moans, his little “ah-ah!”s of pleasure. You run your palms up his hot, panting chest, tracing the scar on his solar plexus. His muscles flex beneath your fingertips.

“‘m i doin’ good for you?” he whispers, cocking an eyebrow. You thrust up harder, lightning shooting through your core at his words. Every little moan he makes zings through your entire body, electrifying it. It was addicting.

“You’re doing so fucking good for me,” you pant, biting your lip. “Fucking yourself down on my dick like that.” He grins, letting you fuck him, and reaches down to play with your tits. He leans forward, wanting to suck them, which gives you an even better angle to thrust up into him.

“Oh—! Y/N!!!” His raspy voice breaks as you hit that special spot, “R-right there! Ahhhahaha fffuuuck baby you fuck me so good,” he whines into your neck. His breaths come in hot puffs of air that dance along your skin. You wind your fingers through his hair.

“Yeah baby? I fuck you good, huh?” A touch of earnestness colors your voice, and he peeks up at you. His eyes are glittering in the lamplight. You grip the side of his face, hips thrusting like crazy as stars dance in his eyes. “You’re so fucking beautiful like this.”

“Mmmnnnn y/n….,” he trails off, burying his face in the crook of your neck. You wrap your arms around him, holding him to you. You’re nowhere near as athletic as Luffy, but you do your best to keep pace. “Getting close…,” he mumbles, and you think you see God.

You kiss his forehead, grip him harder, and start fucking up into him as hard and as fast as you can. “Please cum for me, Luffy,” you whisper into his ear, “I wanna make my captain cum on my fucking cock—,”

You barely get the words out before he’s cumming, crying out against your collarbone. Long, hot strokes of white cum shoot between you, painting you both in the captain’s pleasure.

“Good boy, baby,” you pant, peppering him in kisses, “That was amazing Luffy that was so fucking hot,” you shower him in praises, wanting to make him feel as good as you possibly can. “That was so, so lovely…”

He croons, tilting his head to kiss you back. His lips are soft and warm against your shoulder. “I liked that,” he giggles, throwing both arms around your neck. “Can we do it again soon?”

He grins up at you with big doe eyes, and you start to feel tears sting at the edges of yours. “Y-yeah Luffy, of course we can.” You both nuzzle into each other, shaky and sweaty and blissed the fuck out. You hum softly, stroking his back. “Let’s go get cleaned up.”

[burning-sol]

I rember yesterday I got shown an image that basically broke down into *cis person complains about being oppressed and its annoying because us, THE TRANS, are being denied rights*. But the problem was that, if I remember correctly, the issue being brought up was the fact that there's GNC cis people that are getting hurt and unfairly treated.. Which is just a real thing??

GNC cis people are getting the brunt of transphobic policy and bigotry too you know, because there's no way to tell the difference between a trans person trying to pass and someone who just enjoys dressing in a GNC way. Do you think when those people ask for their own healthcare, transphobic doctors are going to be anymore friendly towards them than trans people? Get real, now what.

Not to mention the fact that gender nonconformity also has overlap with other forms of queerness, intersexness, neurodivergency, cultures, other things that are slipping my mind.. So like yeah, I understand it's annoying when people are complaining about oppression that's not really oppression, but this is NOT the example to use. You're just shooting the foot of other people who are most likely already facing other forms marginalisation, and/or are going through some of the same things you are.

[gayfertilitygoddess]

Okay but actually the transgender agenda is to encourage living happily in your own body in your own way and the freedom to explore what will make you the most happy, isn’t it?

One of the argument for including trans and gnc students at historically women’s colleges is that their presence gives everyone the freedom to question their gender, to choose or reject womanhood (or manhood!) on their own terms. Having trans friends has encouraged me to examine my relationship with gender to see what combinations of feminine, masculine and androgynous presentations make me feel happiest. Knowing trans people exist helps my students develop a healthier relationship to their genders as well. A world without trans people is a bleak one.

So yeah, to every trans/gnc person reading this, no matter how much you’re struggling or feel like you’re unwanted, your existence makes the world a happier, brighter place. You deserve to thrive as your most authentic self, and I will continue to fight for your right to do so. Not just because your existence makes the world a better place but because you, the trans/gnc/genderqueer/nonbinary/genderfucky/questioning/maybe-trans-but-not-quite-sure person reading this, YOU, deserve to be happy just because you’re you.

And yes, before you ask, this applies to intersex people whether you identify as trans or queer or not.

[daughter-of-sapph0]

I think the main problem I have with finsters fans is that they constantly talk down to trans people. like as if they think that being cis and gender non conforming is somehow more progressive and enlightened than being trans.

like, so many trans people themselves are gender non conforming. I'm gender non conforming. I'm 100% a woman even though my outward appearance is fairly neutral. every single one of my trans friends plays around with gender like it's a chew toy.

even if you're only talking about binary trans people who appear and present as their gender, society still sees them as less appealing than gender non conforming cis people.

to conservatives, the far right, and most of larger society, trans women are seen as men in dresses who deny reality and pretend we're women, and to them at least femboys will admit that they're still men. it's the same deal with trans men and masculine women. have you seen the way people talk about trans men like theyre lost and confused little girls who don't know any better? and the way they talk about non binary and intersex people is absolutely disgusting.

when I was transitioning, multiple people, including cis lgb people, told me that I shouldn't transition because I could just be a feminine boy instead. this is an issue that exists within the queer community itself.

I'm not trying to play oppression olympics, or even say that gender non conforming cis people aren't oppressed at all. I'm not even trying to say "you femboys have it easier. stop complaining".

I'm pointing out to finsters fans (not even finster himself) that the way to idolize cis gnc people while talking down and belittling trans people like we know nothing is ridiculous.

like, I don't watch finster at all. I've seen like maybe two clips from him. all I know is that people pay him to dress up as a girl. and I also know that he donated like $50k to organizations to help trans people. so like, I seriously doubt he's transphobic at all, and I feel like he's trying to redeem himself from the trap content he made in the past. and there's also maybe rumors going around that he's questioning his gender...

like, yeah, right now he's your funny femboy streamer who gets paid to dress up as a girl. but what happens if he transitions and presents how he wants without being paid to? will you still idolize him, or will you cast him aside and find another cis femboy to worship?

you're not being "progressive" by hyping up wealth rich white cis gnc people while dismissing and ridiculing trans people who don't love him. the actual progressive thing to do would be to mind your own business when someone doesn't like something you like, instead of trying to say that they're evil and morally corrupt or stupid for not agreeing with you.

[jasontoddssuper]

It dosen't sit right with me that whenever the Riordanverse fandom potrays Percy being queer it's always focused on masculinity.I'm exactly like Percy-And by that i mean we share the same personality and experiences-and the non-cishet take on them that's always made the most sense to me ever since i was a kid is them being a femme trans woman.I read all the books,found the headcanon and just went 'Oh yeah that makes perfect sense,Percy is a trans girl who's super feminine :D It's canon to me now!!!' and now that i'm older and my bigender and genderfluid transmasc egg has cracked and i've befriended tons of irl trans women,literally all of them have interpreted her the same way but every time i see Percy's queer-coding being awknowledge it's always about how she just loves men so much and can't resist any of them and thrives in being manly and it's just so deeply unserious to me at this point with both the context i've already given and how Percy borderline hates men in canon because of how much they've traumatized her and done jack shit for her.Even in the here and there instances where i can view Percy as a guy,it's always him being a guy in a girl way.I don't mean 'babygirl-coded' or 'malewife' and especially not 'man with eldest daughter syndrome',i mean i make him femme and not strictly in the gender binary unlike y'all cowards.Stop trying to make masc Percy happen,Rick tried and he made her a whole ass dudette

(And on that note,don't get me started on how y'all have the balls to call Piper a pick me for hating racist white girls for bullying her being gnc and being traumatized out of femininity because of it yet pull this shit.Look in a mirror assholes)

[watcherglowcloud]

i'm tired of so-called "leftists" making up exceptions to the rules.

"everyone deserves bodily autonomy except the people i don't think deserve it"

"we should abolish prisons and move towards rehabilitation except for the felons i deem unforgivable"

"everyone deserves food and water and shelter unless they do something i don't like"

"everyone should be able to express themselves how they like unless it's in a way that bigots don't like. yeah the bigots are wrong but you could try to make yourself more palatable to them :|"

Kill the cop in your head. yes, rapists and murderers and pedophiles and nazis are terrible people who do terrible things. you personally may not feel inclined to forgive them and no one can fault you for that. but the second you deny one group of people human rights, that group instantly gets widened so that innocent people get caught in the crossfire. everyone got so excited when florida legalized the death penalty for pedophiles, but everyone turns a blind eye to the queer people and bipoc being falsely accused and convicted of pedophilia. and even for the rightly convicted, rehabilitation should be an option. no, rehabilitation should be necessary. the systemic issues leading to those crimes won't be solved by killing the offenders, that just sweeps it under the rug. people should be required to learn about their impact and do better.

and for the last point, i understand that it's tempting for minority groups to want to present a unified front to oppressors, but this just isn't realistic and hurts a lot of the people you claim you're trying to protect. bullying some kid out of using neopronouns or calling the stereotypical gay accent annoying or enforcing gender roles on gnc trans people do nothing to solve the problems of transphobia and homophobia, they just temporarily shift the hatred off yourself. i don't feel personally qualified to talk about bipoc issues but i know there's similar internalized (and externalized) racism, colorism, etc. in poc online spaces.

resist those "easier paths" that slow down real progress. aim for the heart of the problems. be compassionate when you can and remove yourself from the situation when you can't.

[deltaruminations]

here’s a loosely speculative and rambly queer reading of dess that i sort of accidentally wrote just now. enjoy ?? ?

the more i think on it the more i think like. yeah noelle might very well be canonically a transgirl. as a lot of people have speculated, we might get the subtext when the mayor and dess are revealed to be does without antlers — we have the “horned girl and her sister” line, and it does seem a little odd that the story is so far withholding information on the mayor or dess’s appearances. and aside from the confirmation just being dope as hell on its own merits, i also think it might matter in relation to dess’s possible conflicts as a metaphorically queer person in a small town, maybe specifically with her mother

because the thing is, queerphobia literally doesn’t exist in utdr’s universes as far as we can tell. it doesn’t make sense for their mom to be angry with dess for being trans, gay, or GNC, because being those things isn’t considered rebellious or deviant in this world — it’s perfectly within the range of normal. it fits within her mother’s worldview. noelle is a trans lesbian and as far as we can tell it’s perfectly fine; their mom probably wouldn’t be upset either way if dess continued to be her daughter or came out as her son or as her nonbinary child. the mayor herself is gender-nonconforming ��� a tough, powerful woman in a position of high authority who can punch a man so hard that he blacks out.

but that doesn’t mean there can’t still be queer-flavored conflicts — perhaps a parent upset with her child for pursuing hobbies and passions that she thinks are inappropriate for her, that aren’t in line with what she understands or respects; for not dressing or behaving or growing up in the ways she thinks her children should. a parent angry with her child for not following rules that, in her mind, are in the child’s best interests to follow — rules that she thinks should protect dess from a world that just Wouldn’t Be Kind To Someone Like Her. a parent feeling personally attacked when her child chooses a new name for herself, rejecting the one she gave to her. a parent feeling hurt and abandoned when the person her child chooses to be in the world isn’t the person she expected or wanted.

to very briefly speculate on specifics: consider the possibility that, while rudy and noelle only ever refer to dess by her chosen name, the mayor may insist on calling her “december.” and, while it does make sense in-universe for someone to suspect the worst from dess’s vanishing, consider the imagery of a parent possibly considering her young adult child “dead” after that person made choices for herself that she found frightening and confusing.

noelle, while arguably just as “queer” as dess (see her quiet fascination with the weird and strange, and her desire to be closer with both susie and kris, both characters who, aside from being literally queer, are also very metaphorically queer in their own rights) might be avoiding this conflict by essentially “closeting” herself around her mom — minimizing herself as a form of self-preservation (for example, stifling her emotional outbursts while playing video games so her mom doesn’t know she’s playing them). this is of course oppressive to her, as well — it’s simply that noelle has traditionally prioritized her safety, while dess may have prioritized her liberty. dess, while perhaps not literally queer like noelle, is metaphorically “out,” and while being out has its own rewards, it may have cost her their mom’s sympathy and respect.

none of this is to preemptively demonize the mayor — we haven’t even met her yet — but to speculate on a possible character flaw that could reasonably have driven dess away, and may be redeemed over the course of the story. the mayor may need to redeem herself before dess can, or is willing to, return.

and i don’t think it’s just her mom. i think her mom, as the town’s mayor, might be in part representative of dess’s relationship to the town itself — a small, insular community that dess feels limits her choices and opportunities, especially as a young adult with big dreams. we know she dreamed of taking noelle to the big city someday.

…something i think about a lot is the line about dess wearing asriel’s jacket — how classically Straight and heteronormative that imagery is. to be clear, that’s not in any way meant as a knock on the legitimacy of dess and asriel’s relationship itself (i have some more nuanced thoughts on dessriel, and the value it has thematically or whatever, that i don’t really think are really relevant here. but i don’t think dessriel is in any way bad LOL), nor does it mean that i think asriel or their relationship is necessarily heteronormative in the literal sense (asriel himself is arguably GNC from the little bit we currently know about him).

it’s more that the framing here seems to emphasize how traditional and exceedingly “normal” the relationship was considered to be, something that may have been at odds with dess’s interests and ambitions as a young, “queer” person. asriel is quite literally the boy next door — sweet, nice, non-threatening. they grew up together; their parents and little siblings are close friends. they’re a boy and a girl in a perfect narrative position to date — hiro and mari — so of course they did. who else would she have dated? pizzapants? meangirl bratty? i could see her feeling boxed in to that option, among so many other options she felt she never had a real say in. asriel may be a great boyfriend, healthy and stable and exceedingly normal, but who’s to say she wanted “normal”? what if she wanted something queer?

if we think about why dess might have run away, why she would have wanted to escape, and why she might have found the fantasy of the dark worlds so captivating that she lost herself to them, i think this could be one way to read into it. dess is — at least metaphorically — a young, queer person, lonely and existentially bored in a small town that cares about her but, from her perspective, doesn’t seem to really understand her, doesn’t give her the option to really be who she wants to be. maybe she just wanted to find another queer person like her. and, who knows — maybe she did.

[thrilling-oneway]

whenever people want to hate on d4dj why do they jump straight on "It's queerphobic bc..." as if it doesn't have the best queer rep of any rhythm game out there.

1757 words about queer representation in D4DJ and other rhythm/gacha games below cut

Like there are actual valid reasons to not like d4dj. There's definitely an issue with sexualising the high schoolers, I've made posts talking about it before. But at the same time, if you as someone who plays other of the major gacha/rhythm games is going to say that, you should probably address that SIF, bandori (and maybe enstars? it's been a while since I played) have some dodgy cards as well. Admittedly these cards are mainly old whereas D4DJ is still producing these, but you shouldn't act like your preferred game is perfect either.

But especially saying that D4DJ is queerphobic is so weird. To say that just proves you have no idea what actually happens in the game, and you're just taking screenshots out of context.

Firstly hayakoko. Okay so in the flashback where they get together they said "but we're both girls". Yeah, it's a cliche line that screams 'written by a hetero person', but within the context of the story it's not that bad if a little cringe. Neither Hayate or Kokoa had liked a girl before they started dating, this is literally stated on screen: Hayate says that she was a little surprised to realise that she had a crush on Kokoa. They're baby gay at this point in time. I think Kokoa's an interesting one to point out as well, because she's the one who said the line in the first place, and even after she admits that she likes Kokoa as well and they start dating, the True Love Kiss side story shows her being insecure about PDA in school. It reads a lot like she's had a very heteronormative upbringing, which is very common for queer people. It's probably more common in Japan where they still don't have equal rights for queer people (they don't have marriage equality, same-sex couples can't marry, the exception being if one is trans and hasn't legally changed their gender. and after they're married they can't legally change their gender). Not to mention she goes to catholic school, and as far as I know there's some issues there. So I don't see anything wrong with Kokoa not wanting to be out publicly, and being a bit insecure when she and Hayate confess. You gotta remember they are 15 as well (and ~14 when they started dating). Their relationship isn't going to be perfect, and that's normal.

And then Aoi and her gender presentation. Aoi has always been a very masculine presenting character, and is explicitly GNC, so I can understand that some people were disappointed with her wearing long hair and a ballgown in the Aoi & Haruna Relations event. But the anger some people hold towards this. Come on, how badly can you miss the point? Aoi's gender presentation has been a part of her character since her initial card story. She says she actually used to dress more feminine and have long hair in high school, but decided to change her look because she thought she suited the shorter hair. She also mentions that when she presented fem, she would be told she looked like a cross dresser, which obviously offended her. It's not hard to see that Aoi just wants to be seen as Aoi. It's not about how she presents her gender, she's still Aoi no matter how she dresses - Tsubaki mentions this in the A&H Relations. Nothing was retconned or de-canonised when Aoi wore hair extensions and a dress, it wasn't a sudden unnecessary change. The event explores the fact she wants to try different looks outside of her usual 'princely' one, but she's a bit of a people pleaser and is unsure about it because people associate Aoi with "androgynous good looks". There was no pressure from anyone to be feminine, there was actually pressure the other way. She wore a dress and had long hair for one (1) event, and 2 illustrations. Her most recent card has her in trousers with short hair again. Like you don't have to pounce on it being erasure because Aoi wanted to dress more feminine one time. She doesn't hate being GNC now, she's not permanently feminine now - Aoi being GNC is a part of who she is. Aoi being fluid with her gender expression is a part of her queerness and I don't get how you can miss the point so badly to call it erasure.

D4DJ is genuinely one of if not the best mainstream gacha/rhythm game for queer rep. There's so much more than just this: Tsubaki and Aoi are canonically in love with each other and there was even an attempted confession (they got interrupted), KyoShino have implied romantic feelings, same with NagiHiiro and RinMuni (mainly from Muni's side). Haruna was pretty much confirmed as lesbian during the A&H relations, and has had crushes on two separate characters. Saori's sapphic as well (there's one or two implications that she's bisexual). Having Hayate and Kokoa in a relationship opens the doors to more ships becoming canon in the future. The only negative representation I can think of in this game is Noa, so if you really want to go out of your way to say D4DJ is queerphobic, there you go. Noa likes cute thing, cute girls, and flanderisation took hold quickly to the point of her being creepily obsessed with the ri4 girls and a few others, and literally stalking them. Yikes. Her writing is improving though, especially in All Mix where she just occasionally comments on how cute they are without taking it too far, and they actually let her have other personality traits expressed that had pretty much been forgotten.

My point here is that if you're going to say D4DJ is bad rep or homophobic, you're admitting that your game is worse for representation. I'm not saying that the games in the "Big 3" (proseka/bandori/enstars) are bad by any means (idk about enstars actually I didn't play for very long), but D4DJ has definitely taken some big steps in queer representation that those games are seemingly too scared to make. Having a canon sapphic couple is a game like this is a huge deal, I'm not even sure if it's been done before. And before anyone says "but anhane and minoharu went on a double date in Buddy Funny Spend Time", neither of those pairs are stated or even fucking implied to be in a relationship outside of that event. It kinda just happens in one event, and even then it's still a bit vague on whether either of the couples are actually dating in the event. It's definitely heavily implied that anhane/minoharu have mutual romantic feelings, so they are arguably canon in that sense, just not in an established relationship sense. Bandori has done this as well with PareChu, have them go on dates and be clearly romantically interested in each other, only to never actually be a couple (I know tsumutsumu and reochi have called parechu an official couple, but that's word of saint paul rather than word of god, so take this how you will). Hayakoko is HUGE for this genre, and could mean good things in the future of other rhythm games (especially other Bushiroad ones).

--Break here where I went on a tangent about non-D4DJ queercoding--

Outside of schroedingers dating, both bandori and proseka have characters who are implied/canonically queer. I'll make this short because this is getting really long now and I apologise to anyone who's still reading.

For bandori, Arisa has a crush on Kasumi, Kaoru can be considered as canonically lesbian just from how she's presented, YukiLisa has a lot of implications for romantic feelings, as do MocaRan. Himari is also an interesting case, as she could be read as bisexual or comphet lesbian, it's never really made clear (at least as far as I know, I stopped playing bandori a while ago, and am not up-to-date on story, so anyone who's still reading feel free to add to this or correct me). There's probably some stuff missing here as well.

As for proseka, it actually has quite a lot of queercoding. I already touched on anhane and minoharu earlier, but Kohane and Minori are both heavily implied to be lesbian, An as well (although there's like one or two hints that she could be bi. I can cite them if needed). Mizuki is canonically transfeminine (their gender is unconfirmed), and they have been shown to be attracted to women. ShizuAiri and AkiToya have a lot of romantic implications in their relationships, EmuNene has gradually been getting more and more actually (Amidst a Dream). Ena is implied wlw and Rui is implied mlm okay I think I got everything tangent over.

--End of break--

Regardless of my criticisms, all of the games I've mentioned definitely show how much queer rep has grown and become a lot better in the last decade or so. While not focused on the rhythm game, the first generation of Love Live (2010-16) queerbaited* a fair amount. To give one example, there's an 'interview' with Honoka from 2015 where she heavily implies that she's straight, despite having ship tease with other female characters. Compare that to what we have 8 years later, and you can definitely see improvement. However I think it still needs to be addressed that what we have isn't perfect, and it probably will take while to get to a point where we can have more openly queer characters/couples, especially considering Japan as a country (and american/else localisation teams). But I think more people need to recognise how important D4DJ is for queer representation within this genre. It's really not common to have queer romance and gender presentation be directly addressed and frequently shown, and not just for the sake of making money.

I'm bad at ending essays.

* Queerbaiting - intentionally and maliciously leading a queer audience to believe they will receive representation which is then not provided. Whether the rhythm games mentioned do this or not is... debatable? It's done for the money which ticks the intentionally malicious box, queer people aren't for capitalising on. But a good amount of the time it's done to bait straight people who like yuri/yaoi. I do think it's queerbait though like heavily ship teasing a couple and then throwing in a line to imply one of them is straight definitely queerbaiting. april edit: it took me over a month to realise that there were words missing in that last sentence sorry about that. hi anyone who's reading this in the future

[redditreceipts]

hi, I’m not sure how to word this right…I’m a transmasculine (NOT TRANSMALE) woman, it’s hard to explain exactly what it means but that’s the closest I’ve gotten, gnc works too I guess though doesn’t fully articulate it.

But I’ve identified as a lot of things since a really early age, generally always circling back to a trans man. Im a survivor of sexual abuse/exploitation, and I would always find myself identifying as the “stereotypical feminine woman” when I was in a worse state and wanted to be objectified, then identifying as a trans male when I wanted to be treated like a human. I figured this meant trans-manhood was what was really right for me, that womanhood was something I only went to as self harm, but recently I thought “would I want to be a man if women were treated like people too” and I realized I wouldn’t.

I support transgender and transsexual rights fully, but I really wish that there was more acknowledgment of sexism. Not just misogyny…sexism.

I thought I was above misogyny, but I’m only recently realizing at age 19 that I didn’t view women as human the way I viewed men as human, and I felt this way because of how I’ve been treated as a female all my life. The way people treat you from birth goes beyond anything a male could comprehend, and it’s so engrained that no one even notices it. We’re not allowed to express emotions or opinions because it’s “too much” and we’re “too loud” especially if we’re not white (which I’m not), we have to do so much more work to be considered an equal by men, we’re talked about in society as objects to be obtained rather than living breathing complex humans, we’re not given margin for error like men are, we’re held to higher standards, we’re constantly forced to prove ourselves in every single capacity in a way men never have to, we’re treated as objects and toys and constantly referred to only with degrading misogynist slurs, we’re aborted for our sex and not given the same education as male classmates and shut out of conversations and objectified before we can even walk, When it’s laid out like that, yeah it’s no wonder so many women (myself included) feel like manhood is the key to humanity. Because It is. Because in society there are people and women, and the current queer community is all too comfortable to bulldoze over this oppression and pretend there’s no such thing as sexism because acknowledging that means challenging their “everyone is valid uwu” shit. Im not saying there aren’t just actual trans men, of course there are, but come on.

Hey :) sorry for the late answer, I've been a bit busy so yeah

I think I kinda get what you mean when you say that you are transmasculine, and I personally think that if that's the best word to describe it, you should go for it! Identity is always a personal matter. I would however argue that identity does not override material reality, and in political terms, we are defined by our biological sex, amongst other things :)

And yes, you are so right when you say that there should be more of an acknowledgement of sexism in the trans community! Women are seen as subhuman, and a woman has to do much more than a man to just be considered a person. That is especially true in the intersection with race and sex.

And well, the trans gender community relies on upholding gender. How many transmasculine people do you see being annoyed when they're being called "she", and they say stuff like "You're calling me she? With my short hair? Dressed like this??"

the recognition of a member of one sex as a member of the opposite sex is much, much harder without gender steretoypes. Abolishing gender leaves us with the cold, hard reality of the oppression of the female sex. I feel like gender is all the pretty fluff and mystification of a brutal truth: Women are seen as less than human.

And yes, I also sometimes feel like I have to be super androgynous to be considered human. But I'm not, and trying to change your sex instead of changing the oppressive systems is like trying to be straight instead of challenging homophobia.

Anyways, I'm glad you're here :) Here's a cat with an octopus on it's head for you :)

[cock-holliday]

Re: this post about how radical feminism is still promoted in otherwise "progressive" circles https://www.tumblr.com/cock-holliday/723838078083563520/its-true-terves-are-a-vocal-minority-but-what?source=share

I just had the displeasure of seeing this cross my dash.

Like. It's almost like people think that queer men are incapable of having any depth to their gender at all or even of having any understanding of gender at all. And as a system who has transmasc headmates, I know for a fact that their genders are very deep and nuanced. They're delightful people really, one's a beekeeper actually. But the point is, shit like this is extremely infantilizing. I already had more than enough of cishets saying I don't know what my own gender, I don't need other queer people saying it too.

Yeah, it’s a hot mess. “Nonbinary” to many people means white thin feminine AFAB, but sooo conditionally.

If you’re AMAB you *might* get accepted if you are feminine enough, but being thin and white also helps. Too feminine and you’re “basically a trans woman” and get erased. Feminine in the wrong way and you’re apparently mocking trans women with your existence.

It’s also weird that the “acceptance” of feminine AFABs gets taken to mean that AFAB nbies are accepted wholesale because if they lean into femininity too hard in the “wrong way” and are like femboys then they get torn to shreds for it too. They’re “fakers” or “fetishizing” or “mocking trans men.” Then you’ve got masc transmasc AFABs and they get erased for being “basically” trans men, and if they try to access “women and nb spaces” then they’re predatory men.

Not to mention GNC and cis folks dicking around with gender are often either seen as fakers or in denial, especially when AMAB. Poor F1nnster got treated as an egg cause he couldn’t possibly be GNC or just having fun. Then when he realized there IS something not-cis about his experimentation he gets shit for not “committing” to being a trans woman like that’s his only option.

God forbid you be a masculine AMAB enby then you’re just “being predatory.” People really pull the “cishet man in a dress to get access to women’s spaces” at AMAB enbies like that’s not word for word a weapon against trans women.

You have to be girl-adjacent enough to be nonthreatening, and then your acceptance is conditional on accepting infantilization—you cannot possibly speak out about anything because you don’t know what’s good for you. Be too boy-adjacent and you are a predator. “Masc” and “femme” becomes synonymous with man and woman, but if you do it in a very GNC way then you are in the crosshairs again. Transmasc femboys are the wrong kind of feminine to people, transfemme butches are not being GNC in the “right” way.

Rigidly binary cis AND trans folks are supremely not normal about NBies and GNC folks and end up being as infantilizing and demonizing as any other anti-transmasc and anti-transfemme transphobes out there.