#LGB Non-Fiction

[bookjotter6865]

Winding Up the Week #384

An end of week recap “Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.” – Vladimir Nabokov This is a post in which I summarise books read, reviewed and currently on my TBR shelf. In addition to a variety of literary titbits, I look ahead to forthcoming features, see what’s on the nightstand and keep readers abreast of various book-related happenings. CHATTERBOOKS >>  If…

[deaths]

hello everybody! i am back with the census data for the self shipping community

first off, i want to give everyone who responded a thank you. in a day i have gotten 460 responses, which i think is amazing! secondly, thank you everyone who gave me contact information, i am planning to in the future write a piece on the subculture and community that is self shipping.

a small disclaimer: this census data is only reflective of the community on tumblr, which leans heavily lgbtqia+ and neurodivergent, and may not be reflective of every person that self ships. form was not posted to any social media sites.

now, into the data! :D

ages:

the self shipping community on average is made up of mostly young adults (18-25), taking up 65.6% of people responding. the other two major percents being 25-30, taking up 16.8% of respondents, and under 18 taking 15.8%. only 6 people (1.3%) responded as being 31-35 years old, and only 2 people (0.4%) said they are 36+.

gender identity:

the self shipping community on average is made up mostly of people who are not cisgender. with 84.1% of respondents identifying as not cisgender. 38.6% of respondents are non-binary, 23.5% are transgender males, 12.4% are other, and 9.4% are gender nonconforming. 6 people (1.3%) responded they are cis male. only 1 person (0.2%) responded they are a transgender female.

sexuality:

the self shipping community is very lgb+ in nature as well, with only 22 people (4.8%) saying they are heterosexual. bisexuality dominates in this community, with 34% of respondents being bi. asexuals take up 17.6% of the community, gays 15%, queer 11.1%, other 7.4%, lesbians 5.9%, and pansexuals 4.1%.

romantic orientation:

with romantic orientation, we see a similar trend of biromantics at 35.5%. aromantics at 15.5%, gays at 15.5%, panromantics at 10.4%, queers at 8%, heteroromantics at 7.6%, and lesbians at 7.6%.

disclaimer: this option was added later into the poll after 200 respondents after being mentioned by @/goldenworldsabound (thank you!)

neurodivergency:

i think this is very interesting. 81.4% of respondents fall under the neurodivergent umbrella, 16% saying not sure, and 12 people (2.6%) saying they do not.

after looking over the fill in question if you answered yes, the word autism/autistic are used 256 times (73.14%) out of 350 people who responded. adhd is mentioned 190 times (45.71%).

when did you start self shipping?

a large majority of self shippers have always been self shipping at 38.9%. with early childhood at 20.2%, tween at 17.8%, teen at 17.4%, early adulthood at 4.2%, and adulthood at 1.3%.

one person voted 2020's before i changed the vote from years to age groups.

do you feel self shipping as helped your mental state and general mood?

with a overwhelming majority (82.8%), people said yes. with 16.1% saying maybe, and only 5 (1.1%) of people saying no.

how many fictional others do you have?

this is very interesting to me as well, with 28.5% saying over 20, and 27.8% saying 5-10. 10.8% having 11-16, 8.3% having 1, 8.1% having 3, 5.8% having 4, 5.6% having 2, and 5.2% having 16-19.

do you have platonic or familial fictional others?

a majority have platonic or familial fictional others, at 83.7%. 16.3% saying they do not.

do people in your offline life know you self ship?

while 49.9% of people say people in their offline life don't know they self ship, interestingly 50.1% say at least some person in their life know they self ship. with 41.1% saying close friends/family, 9% saying people know.

do you personally identify as fictosexual/fictoromantic? (i.e. a person who is sexually or romantically attracted to a fictional character.)

a majority (76.5%) of people are not fictosexual/fictoromantic in the self ship community, while 23.5% identify as fictosexual/fictoromantic.

for fun, the average person in the self ship community is between 18-24 years old, non-binary, bisexual and biromantic. falls somewhere on the neurodivergent umbrella, likely with autism. has always self shipped. feels self shipping as improved their mood. has 20% fictional others. has platonic or familial fictional others. only self ships online. and does not identify as fictosexual/fictoromantic.

[xiathiau-myshif]

A being of many forms, many hearthomes, and many names

Full intro below cut

Hi, we're Xiathiau (you can call us Xia or Catharsis) and we're 16. (NSFW blogs that follow us will be blocked)

We are queer, nonbinary, polykin, and fictionkin/fictionflicker. We're also british, posic, and plural.

We use many names, Xiathiau/Xia being just one, but the main ones on this blog. Others include Equinox, Eclipse, and Catharsis, plus we use a different name for each of our kintypes to distinguish between them. Each kintype name is in the description of their respective side blogs.

We're autistic, and our special interests are hypnosis (SFW!!) and space, specifically black holes.

Little note: We are neither antiship nor proship. To be honest, we'd probably lean more towards proship than antiship. As far as this sort of "topic" goes, we go by a "don't like, don't read" rule, and we are of course against anybody getting harassed for fictional scenarios. Proshippers are safe to interact with our blog, as long as they (and everyone else, by extension) are respectful and kind.

Pronouns:

Any pronouns other than he or she are fine, but below are our preferred

Xe/xem/xyr, ae/aer/aers, it/its, star/stars, fae/faer.

Our blog doesn't really have a theme, but we tend to post alterhuman related stuff

We have sideblogs for most kintypes

Sideblog for our Original Work ao3 story: @the-city-edge

If you want to confess your autism-related sins: @unhingedautisticconfessions

For a plural-focused blog, head over to @the-ribombee-collective

For a xenogender/system term coining blog that we run with a friend, go to @blurry-coining

Fandom blogs:

@every-story-needs-a-monster Illuminae Files blog

@in-the-valley-of-the-wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind blog

Type list:

Theriotypes: melanoid axolotl ( @goth-silly-guy ) 💜, ragdoll cat ( @cotton-candy-fur ) 💚, and melanistic red fox ( @fuzzy-fox-kid ) 💚

Kintypes: vampire ( @red-roses-and-fangs ) 💙, sea dragon ( @mariana-creature ) 🤍, angel ( @alien-seraph ) 🤍, haunted doll ( @haunted-aerie ) 💜, nephelae ( @dreams-of-a-nephelae ) 💚

Fictionkin: Ribombee (Pokémon, @i-am-a-ribombee ) 🤍

Fictionflicker: AIDAN (The Illuminae Files, no side blog) 💜 (strong 💙 when active)

Our shifts are confusing, we rarely shift and it's usually phantom shifts

Key:

🤍 Main, strongly felt

💙 Strongly felt

💚 Medium strength

💜 Weakly felt

DNI:

Exclusionists of (almost) any kind, e.g. lgb without the t folks. We strongly believe ace/aro people belong in the LGBTQ community

Homophobes, transphobes, racists, misogynists, ableists, paedos/MAPs, Nazis etc. Basically generally terrible people.

Dream stans

Therian/otherkin/fictionkin/otherlink antis

Neopronoun / xenogender antis

Anti endogenic / non-disordered/traumagenic systems

Anti good-faith contradictory identities, e.g. lesboys, turigirls, he/him lesbians

Radqueers / TransID

Zionists and antisemites

Anti physical therian

Anti self diagnosis

Spam likers/rebloggers are completely welcome, as well as asks, whether you want to show us pictures of an animal or a landscape, anything like that.

Our hobbies include video gaming, reading, and music composing. We like cats and snakes

Tag system:

#xia irl - irl posts

#xia kin stuff - otherkin posts

#xia's hoard - reblogs

#xia's random posts - just random things

#shutterbug xia - pictures we took

#xia's autistic moments - new hyperfixations we develop

#xia replies - replies to asks

#eri's plurality - plural posts

This might be updated if we remember something we missed, or the info becomes outdated.

Thanks for stopping by :3

[witches-come]

(I saw that OOP is 16 so I am keeping her anonymous and only interacting with the content like this.) (For characters I don't know I am going to look up info online)

I can't imagine a fashion designer as a terf. Their entire career is working with gender as a performance. What I think is she is the NLOG to hyper feminine nonbinary person. She hated feminity in highschool and went to uni undecided until she saw GNC people in the Design college(s), then realized she was nonbinary and felt more comfortable with herself afterwards.

As per my initial reply: Literally eschews womanhood and becomes a man. Is constantly in single sex male spaces. TERFs' worst nightmare. Modern AU would probably be a #notallmen person and talking about how most lesbians are chill with trans women. Would definitely be anti terf.

Proshipper who hates TERFs because they're antis. This is probably a hot take but she literally is obsessed with fictional romance and marries a feral who barellllly passed the Harkness test. This girl will DEFINITELY write multiple paragraphs about how A/B/O is based and cool.

(this is not an endorsement of proshippers etc. I'm just describing what the character would be like if super niche online politics would exist)

Went to the wiki and I feel like I need to take a shower. This is not an 18 year old. This child is NOT a year older than me. Is a baby. Probably doesn't even have social media because she's a baby.

Too much of a boomer. Probably doesn't know what non-binary even is.

Only one I agree with. Probably was a rudefem in 2019 but saw like LGB Alliance be Like That™️ and thought "Am I the baddie?" Literal princess of TERF island. DEFINITELY was on radtwt. Probably why she also stopped being a TERF. Has a trans friend™️.

Just because you, a TERF, think someone is cool does not make the person a TERF.

[tastethea-bow]

For

Intersectional Feminism (POC, LGBT+, Men's issues), Men's Liberation Movement, BLM Radinclu / Good Faith Identities, TransRace ADOPTEES, THERIAN / ALTERHUMAN/OTHERKIN / FICTIONKIN / etc TransSpecies, BIID / Xenomelia TransAbled, Arissomei / Arissodic / Novimei, Aldernic Pro-Choice, Sex-Positivity, Pro-Kink, BDSM MOGAI / GSRM / LIOM, Neopronouns, Xenogenders, "It/It's" folk Otherhearted, Furries Self Diagnose, Agere, Copinglink Prison / Jail / Justice System / Police Reform, Anti-War, Anti-Military

🐸🍄🫧🐸🍄🫧🐸🍄🫧🐸🍄🫧🐸🍄🫧

Against

Exclusionists / Gatekeeping (ie "Actually Asexual", "Contradictory Labels", "LG"/"LGB" folk, etc etc) Pro-c / Complex-contact / Neu-c harmful paraphile (MAP/Pedo, Zoophile, Necrophile), Xenosatanism Non-roleplay noncon, Radfem, SWERF, TERF / Gender Critical Truscum / Transmed, Radqueer / Radpara, Transid / Transx (TransAge/TransPlural/etc etc) Anti-Vax MRM / MRA

🐸🍄🫧🐸🍄🫧🐸🍄🫧🐸🍄🫧🐸🍄🫧

Ignoring

Anti / Pro-Ship Discourse & fictional depictions of problematic situations / topics / scenarios / ships / etc etc that are NOT meant to be propaganda. Pretty much any dumb internet / "chronically online" discourse that doesn't have anything to do with my FOR or AGAINST. Certain current big world events for my sanity. This can change but don't expect it to. The endo / trauma discourse. I'm a singlet so my opinion doesn't actually matter, but I'm not gonna tell an Endo that their experiences aren't valid 🤷

[collegeburnoutsuperstar]

2021 Book Recommendations

Way back in March 2020, at the very start of quarantine I did a little quarantine-read book rec list. We are now in 2021 and we are still in quarantine, so here’s an updated book rec post to help you through a socially distanced winter break and holiday season.

Non-Fiction:

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name | Audre Lorde | Adult | Memoir | LGBTQ | Zami provides a detailed look into Lorde’s life growing up in the 30s, 40s, and 50s as a young, poor, lesbian, black woman. Discussion focuses primarily on racism, poverty, and sexuality. | Trigger/Content Warnings: rape, suicide\suicide attempts, death, racism, abortion, mentions of cancer, mentions of abuse, sex.

Redefining Realness | Janet Mock | Adult | Memoir | LGBTQ | “This powerful memoir follows Mock’s quest for identity, from an early, unwavering conviction about her gender to a turbulent adolescence in Honolulu that saw her transitioning during the tender years of high school, self-medicating with hormones at fifteen, and flying across the world alone for sex reassignment surgery at just eighteen. With unflinching honesty, Mock uses her own experiences to impart vital insight about the unique challenges and vulnerabilities of trans youth and brave girls like herself” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: underage prostitution, transphobia, bullying.

An Autobiography | Angela Y. Davis | Adult | Memoir | A story of racism, discrimination, imprisonment, and Communism; “the author, a political activist, reflects upon the people and incidents that have influenced her life and commitment to global liberation of the oppressed” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: racism, murder, violence, police brutality.

Before Night Falls | Reinaldo Arenas | Adult | Memoir | LGBTQ | “Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas describes his poverty-stricken childhood in rural Cuba, his adolescence as a rebel fighting for Fidel Castro, and his life in revolutionary Cuba as a homosexual. Very quickly, the Castro government suppressed his writing and persecuted him for his homosexuality until he was final imprisoned” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: underage sexual experiences with other minors, statutory rape, bestiality, incest, graphic descriptions of sex, suicide attempts, mentions of suicide, mentions of AIDs, homophobia.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | Maya Angelou | Adult | “Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local ‘powhitetrash’. At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age-- and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Year later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned” (Goodreads).

Notes of a Native Son | James Baldwin | Adult | Essay Collection | “Written during the 1940s, when Baldwin was only in his twenties, the essays collected in Notes of a Native Son capture a view of black life and black thought at the dawn of the Civil Rights movement and as the movement slowly gained strength through the words of one of the most captivating essayists and foremost intellectuals of that era. Writing as an artist, activist, and social critic, Baldwin probes the complex condition of being black in America. With a keen eye, he examines everything from the significance of the protest novel to the motives and circumstances of the many black expatriates of the time” (Amazon).

Contemporary Fiction: 

Alex in Wonderland | Simon James Green | Young Adult | Romance | LGBTQ | “ In the town of Newsands, painfully shy Alex is abandoned by his two best friends for the summer. But he unexpectedly lands a part-time job at Wonderland, a run-down amusement arcade on the seafront, where he gets to know the other teen misfits who work there. Alex starts to come out of his shell, and even starts to develop feelings for co-worker Ben... who, as Alex's bad luck would have it, has a girlfriend. Then as debtors close in on Wonderland and mysterious, threatening notes start to appear, Alex and his new friends take it on themselves to save their declining employer. But, like everything in Wonderland, nothing is quite what it seems” (Goodreads). 

Red, White & Royal Blue | Casey McQuiston | New Adult | Romance | LGBTQ | First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of United States President Ellen Claremont, finds himself back in the public eye after a confrontation with his nemesis, His Royal Highness Prince Henry, at a royal wedding. The only way to save American/British relations from crumbling: Create a fake friendship between Alex and Henry. But what happens when this fake friendship becomes something more? How will these two young men go down in history?

Fifty Shames of Earl Gray | Fanny Merkin | Adult | Parody/Humor | Very Heterosexual | “ Young, arrogant, tycoon Earl Grey seduces the naïve coed Anna Steal with his overpowering good looks and staggering amounts of money, but will she be able to get past his fifty shames, including shopping at Walmart on Saturdays, bondage with handcuffs, and his love of BDSM (Bards, Dragons, Sorcery, and Magick)? Or will his dark secrets and constant smirking drive her over the edge?” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: the is a parody of Fifty Shades of Grey...

Historical Fiction:

Water Music | T. Coraghessan Boyle | Adult | Adventure | “Set in the late eighteenth century, Water Music follows the wild adventures of Ned Rise, thief and whoremaster, and Mungo Park, a Scottish explorer, through London’s seamy gutters and Scotland’s scenic highlands to their grand meeting in the heart of darkest Africa. There they join forces and wend their hilarious way to the source of the Niger” (Goodreads).

The Island of the Day Before | Umberto Eco | Adult | Italian Literature | “After a violent storm in the South Pacific in the year 1643, Roberto della Griva finds himself shipwrecked-on a ship. Swept from the Amaryllis, he has managed to pull himself aboard the Daphne, anchored in the bay of a beautiful island. The ship is fully provisioned, he discovers, but the crew is missing. As Roberto explores the different cabinets in the hold, he remembers chapters from his youth: Ferrante, his imaginary evil brother; the siege of Casale, that meaningless chess move in the Thirty Years' War in which he lost his father and his illusions; and the lessons given him on Reasons of State, fencing, the writing of love letters, and blasphemy. In this fascinating, lyrical tale, Umberto Eco tells of a young dreamer searching for love and meaning; and of a most amazing old Jesuit who, with his clocks and maps, has plumbed the secrets of longitudes, the four moons of Jupiter, and the Flood” (Goodreads).

Brethren [Raised by Wolves series 1] | W. A. Hoffman | Adult | Adventure/Buccaneers | LGBTQ | “John Williams, the Viscount of Marsdale, libertine, duelist, dilettante, haphazard philanthropist and philosopher, is asked by his estranged father to start a plantation in Jamaica in 1667. He doesn’t realize that he is going to the right island for the wrong reasons until he meets buccaneers and learns he has for more in common with the wild Brethren of the Coast than he does with the nobility of Christendom. Still, he questions joining them and leaving his title and the plantation behind until her meets Gaston the Ghoul, a mysterious French buccaneer who is purportedly mad. He quickly decides that the freedom of buccaneer life [...] [is] better than anything he could ever inherit” (Goodreads). Trigger/Content Warnings: violence, mentions of rape, mentions of death, mentions of torture, mentions of abuse, mentions of incest, slavery, discussions of mental illness at a time when it is not really understood, descriptions of sex, alcohol use.

Captive Prince [The Captive Prince Trilogy 1] | C. S. Pacat | Adult | Historical-inspired�� Fiction | LGBTQ [more in later books] | Prince Damianos of Akielos finds himself captured and stripped of his true identity when someone close to the Prince makes a move for the throne. Part of the plot: ship the captured Prince to the enemy nation of Vere as a pleasure slave. In Vere, Damianos takes on a new identity, or else he would immediately be put to death by his new master, the Prince of Vere. Damianos quickly discovers that his capture and enslavement is not just an isolated incident, but is in fact part of a much larger plot that will drastically change the futures of both Akielos and Vere. | Trigger/Content Warnings: violence, torture, slavery/pleasure slaves [partially set within a culture that uses slaves], death, pedophilia, mentions of rape, descriptions of sex, suicide [in the second book]. DISCLAIMER: This trilogy has an enemies-to-lovers subplot, but it is in no way romanticizing slavery, rape, or violence. The romance subplot does not start until the characters undergo massive amounts of character growth and development.

11/22/63 | Stephen King | Adult | Time Travel | Thriller | Jake Epping, a thirty-five year old high school teacher English teacher and GED teacher from Maine embarks on a world-changing mission after a trip to the storeroom of his friend Al’s diner. Within the storeroom, Al has been hiding a secret, a secret that is objectively better than anything else that could’ve been hidden in a diner storeroom. Al has a portal to 1958. The mission: try to stop the Kennedy Assassination. Just remember, the current timeline may just be the best one. | Trigger/Content Warnings: death, violence, racism, domestic abuse, political assassination.

Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy:

The Rage of Dragons | Evan Winter | High Fantasy | “The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable fight for almost two hundred years. Their society has been billt around war and only war. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine. Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He is going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn’t get the chance. Those closest to him are brutally murdered and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He’ll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him” (Goodreads).

The Binding | Bridget Collins | Historical Fantasy | LGBTQ | While suffering from a mysterious illness, Emmett Farmer is sent away from his family to apprentice at a bookbinder’s workshop. But Emmett has been taught to hate books his whole life, they are dangerous and shameful. But under the instruction of the book binder, Emmett learns the secrets that books hold and uncovers a past that he didn’t even know he had. | Trigger/Content Warnings: homophobia, death, suicide, allusions to rape.

The House in the Cerulean Sea | T.J. Klune | Suitable for all ages | Urban Fantasy | LGBTQ | Don’t you wish you were here? Forty year old Linus Baker lives a lonesome, drear life. For seventeen years, Mr. Baker has worked as a case worker at the Department In Charge Of Magical Youth where he monitors the treatment of magical children in government-sanctioned orphanages. In a break from his usual routine, Mr. Baker is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management and is assigned a highly classified and possibly dangerous case. He is sent to the Marsyas Island Orphanage where he meets the six dangerous children; a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, a green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist, along with their caretaker Arthur Parnassus. At the the end of his stay, Mr. Baker must make a decision: Should he follow the rules, or protect a family? 

Wolfsong [The Green Creak Series 1] | T.J. Klune | Paranormal/Shifter Romance | LGBTQ | “Ox was twelve when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left. Ox was sixteen when he met a boy on the road, the boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane. Ox was seventeen when he found out they boy’s secret, and it painted the world around him in colors of red  and orange and violet, of Alpha and Beta and Omega. Ox was twenty-three when murder can to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his bloodred eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces. It’s been three years since that fateful day-- and the boy is back. Except now he’s a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: violence, death, age-gap romance.

The City of Dreaming Books | Walter Moers | German Fantasy | Absurd Fantasy | “Optimus Yarnspinner, a young writer, inherits from his beloved godfather an unpublished short story by an unknown author. His search for the author’s identity takes him to Bookholm-- the so-called City of Dreaming Books. On entering its streets, our hero feels as if he opened the door of a gigantic second-hand bookshop. His nostrils are assailed by clouds of book dust, the stimulating sent of ancient leather, and the tang of printer’s ink. Soon, though, Yarnspinner falls into the clutches of the city’s evil genius, Pfistomel Smyke, who treacherously maroons him in the labyrinthine catacombs underneath the city, where reading books can be genuinely dangerous” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: death, largely takes place in underground tunnels, illustrations can be unsettling.

Bored of the Rings: A Parody of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings | The Harvard Lampoon, Henry N. Beard, Douglas C. Kenney | NOT AT ALL FOR CHILDREN | Parody/Humor | Adventure | “A quest, a war, a ring that would be grounds for calling any wedding off, a king without a kingdom, and a little, furry ‘hero’ named Frito, ready-- or maybe just forced by the wizard Goodgulf-- to undertake the one mission which can save Lower Middle Earth from enslavement by the evil Sorhed. Luscious Elfmaidens, a roller-skating dragon, ugly plants that can soul-kiss the unwary to death-- these are just some of the ingredients in the wildest, wackiest, most irreverent excursion into fantasy realms that anyone has ever dared to undertake” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: drug/alcohol use.

Dune | Frank Herbert | Science Fiction/Science Fantasy | “Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the ‘spice’ melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for. When house Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: death, drug use.

The Magicians [The Magicians Trilogy 1] | Lev Grossman | Urban/Portal Fantasy | “Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery. He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin’s fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: drug/alcohol abuse, depression, death, rape [in book 2].

Mo Dao Zu Shi | Mo Xiang Tong Xiu | Wuxia/Chinese Fantasy | LGBTQ | “As the grandmaster who founded demonic cultivation, Wei WuXian roamed the world in his wanton ways, hated by millions for the chaos he created. In the end, he was backstabbed by his dearest shidi and killed by powerful clans that combined to overpower him. He incarnates into the body of a lunatic who was abandoned by his clan and is later, unwillingly, taken away by a famous cultivator among the sects-- Lan WanJi, his archenemy. This marks the start of a thrilling yet hilarious journey of attacking monsters, solving mysteries, and raising children[...] Along the way, Wei WuXian slowly realizes that Lan WanJi, a seemingly haughty and indifferent poker-face, holds more feelings for Wei WuXian than he is letting on” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: suicide, death, murder, violence, incest, rape (I think), abuse, abusive families.

The Eye of the World [The Wheel of Time series 1] | Robert Jordan | Epic Fantasy | Adventure | “The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time. The Wheel of Time Turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. When The Two-Rivers is attacked by Trollocs-- a savage tribe of half-men, half-beasts-- five villagers flee that night into a world they barely imagined, with new dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: death, violence.

The Lies of Locke Lamora [Gentleman Bastard Series 1] | Scott Lynch | Heist Fantasy | “An Orphan’s life is harsh-- and often short-- in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young Locke Lamora dodges death and slavery, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentleman Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game-- or die trying” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: death, violence, torture.

The Name of the Wind [The Kingkiller Chronicle 1] | Patrick Rothfuss | Epic Fantasy | “My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths my moonlight that others fear to speak of during the day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me” (The Name of the Wind). | Trigger/Content Warnings: death, violence, abuse, book three still doesn’t have a release date.

Trick [Foolish Kingdoms 1] | Natalia Jaster | Fantasy Romance | LGBTQ | “There is only one rule amongst his kind: A jester doesn’t lie. In the Kingdom of Spring, Poet is renowned. He’s young and pretty, a lover of men and women, he performs for the court, kisses like a scoundrel, and mocks with a silver tongue. Yet allow him this: It’s only the most cunning, most manipulative soul who can play the fool. For Poet guards a secret. One the Crown would shackle him for. One that he’ll risk everything to protect. Alas, it will take more than clever words to deceive Princess Briar. Convinced that he’s juggling lies as well as verse, this righteous nuisance of a girl is determined to expose him. But not all falsehoods are fiendish. Poet’s secret is delicate, binding the jester to the princess in an unlikely alliance, and kindling a breathless attraction, as alluring as it is forbidden” (Goodreads).

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Philip K. Dick | Science Fiction | “It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill. Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard’s assignment-- find them and then ‘retire’ them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn’t want to be found out” (Goodreads).

Young Adult Science-Fiction & Fantasy:

Cemetery Boys | Aiden Thomas | Urban Fantasy | Romance | LGBTQ | “Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him. When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free. However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school's resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He's determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: transphobia, dead-naming.

In Other Lands | Sarah Rees Brennan | Urban/Portal Fantasy | LGBTQ | “The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border—unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and—best of all as far as Elliot is concerned—mermaids. Elliot? Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands. It turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand, there’s Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then there’s her human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots of interesting books. There’s even the chance Elliot might be able to change the world” (Goodreads).

The Fascinators | Andrew Eliopulos | Urban Fantasy | LGBTQ | “Living in a small town where magic is frowned upon, Sam needs his friends James and Delia—and their time together in their school's magic club—to see him through to graduation. But as soon as senior year starts, little cracks in their group begin to show. Sam may or may not be in love with James. Delia is growing more frustrated with their amateur magic club. And James reveals that he got mixed up with some sketchy magickers over the summer, putting a target on all their backs. With so many fault lines threatening to derail his hopes for the year, Sam is forced to face the fact that the very love of magic that brought his group together is now tearing them apart—and there are some problems that no amount of magic can fix” (Goodreads).

Things Not Seen | Andrew Clements | Science Fiction | Realistic Fiction | “Bobby Philips is an average fifteen-year-old boy. Until the morning he wakes up and can’t see himself in the mirror. Not blind, not dreaming. Bobby is just plain invisible. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobby’s new condition; even his dad the physicist can’t figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, no life. He’s a missing person. Then he meets Alicia. She’s blind, and Bobby can’t resist talking to her, trusting her. But people are starting to wonder where Bobby is. Bobby knows that his invisibility could have dangerous consequences for his family and that time is running out. He has to find out how to be seen again before it’s too late” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: Car accident.

Howl’s Moving Castle [Howl’s Moving Castle series 1] | Diana Wynne Jones | Fantasy | Portal Fantasy | Adventure | “Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl --and herself-- than first meets the eye” (Goodreads).

Castle in the Air [Howl’s Moving Castle series 2] | Diana Wynne Jones | Fantasy | Adventure | “In which a humble young carpet merchant wins, then loses, the princess of his dreams. Far to the south of the land of Ingary, in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, there lived in the city of Zanzib a young and not very prosperous carpet dealer named Abdullah who loved to spend his time daydreaming. He was content with his life and his daydreams until, one day, a stranger sold him a magic carpet. That very night, the carpet flew him to an enchanted garden. There, he met and fell in love with the beauteous princess Flower-in-the-Night, only to have her snatched away, right under his very nose, by a wicked djinn. With only his magic carpet and his wits to help him, Abdullah sets off to rescue his princess” (Goodreads).

A Wizard of Earthsea [Earthsea Cycle 1] | Ursula K. Le Guin | Fantasy | “Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth. Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death’s threshold to restore the balance” (Goodreads).

Middle-Grade/Children’s Fiction:

Island of the Aunts | Eva Ibbotson | Middle-Grade | Fantasy | Adventure | “When the kindly old aunts decide that they need help caring for creatures who live on their hidden island, they know that adults can’t be trusted. What they need are a few special children who can keep a secret-- a secret as big as a magical island. And what better way to get children who can keep really big secrets, than to kidnap them! (After all, some children just plain need to be kidnapped.)” (Goodreads).

Ruby Holler | Sharon Creech | Middle-Grade | Realistic Fiction | Adventure | “Brother and sister Dallas and Florida are the ‘trouble twins.’ In their short thirteen years, they’ve passed through countless foster homes, only to return to their dreary orphanage, Boxton Creek Home. Run by the Trepids, a greedy and strict couple, Boxton Creek seems impossible to escape. When Mr. Trepid informs the twins that they’ll be helping old Tiller and Sairy Morey go on separate adventures, Dallas and Florida are suspicious. As the twins adjust to the natural beauty of the outdoors, help the Tillers prepare for their adventures, and foil a robbery, their ultimate search for freedom leads them home to Ruby Holler” (Goodreads).

The Westing Game | Ellen Raskin | Middle-Grade | Realistic Fiction | Mystery | “A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger --and a possible murderer-- to inherit his vast fortune, one thing’s for sure: Sam Westing may be dead... but that won’t stop him for playing one last game!” (Goodreads).

Midnight for Charlie Bone [The Children of the Red King series 1] | Jenny Nimmo | Middle-Grade | Urban Fantasy | “Charlie Bone has a special gift-- he can hear people in photographs talking! The fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants, after turning up quite unexpectedly, in someone who had no idea where they came from. This is what happened to Charlie Bone, and to some of the children he met behind the grim, gray walls of Bloor’s Academy. His scheming aunts decide to send him to Bloor’s Academy, a school for geniuses where he uses his gifts to discover the truth despite all the dangers that lie ahead” (Goodreads). | Trigger/Content Warnings: abusive family situations (mental and emotional), bullying, some parts can be creepy/spooky.

The Maze of Bones [The 39 Clues series 1 ] | Rick Riordan (the series is written by several different authors) | Middle-Grade | Mystery | Adventure | Action | “When their beloved aunt --matriarch of the world’s most powerful family-- dies, orphaned siblings Amy and Dan Cahill compete with less honorable Cahill descendants in a race around the world to find cryptic clues to a mysterious fortune” (Goodreads). Trigger/Content Warnings: Death, house fire, dead parents, abusive family.

The Doll People | Ann M. Martin | Middle-Grade | Fantasy | Adventure | “Annabelle Doll is 8 years old --and has been for over 100 years. Nothing much has changed in the dollhouse during that time, except for the fact that 45 years ago, Annabelle’s Auntie Sarah disappeared from the dollhouse without a trace. After all this time, restless Annabelle is becoming more and more curious about her aunt’s fate. And when she discovers Auntie Sarah’s old diary, she becomes positively driven. Her cautious family tries to discourage her, but Annabelle won’t be stopped, even though she risks Permanent Doll State, in which she could turn into a regular, nonliving doll. And when the ‘Real Pink Plastic’ Funcraft family moves in next door, the Doll family’s world is turned upside down --in more ways than one!” (Goodreads). | Content Waring: It’s living dolls, this is off-putting to many people.

Bud, Not Buddy | Christopher Paul Curtis | Middle-Grade | Historical Fiction | Realistic Fiction | “It’s 1936, in Flint Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud’s got a few things going for him: He has his own suitcase full of special things. He’s the author of Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: flyers advertising Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!! Bud’s got an idea that those flyers will lead him to his father. Once he decides to hit the road and find this mystery man, nothing can stop him --not hunger, not fear, not vampires, not even Herman E. Calloway himself” (Goodreads).

The Thief Lord | Cornelia Funke | Middle-Grade | Fantasy | Adventure | Mystery | “Two orphaned children are on the run, hiding among the crumbling canals and misty alleyways of the city of Venice. Befriended by a gang of street children and their mysterious leader, the Thief Lord, they shelter in an old, disused cinema. On their trail is a bungling detective, obsessed with disguises and the health of his pet tortoises. But a greater threat to the boys’ new-found freedom is something from a forgotten past --a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself” (Goodreads).

Igraine the Brave | Cornelia Funke | Middle-Grade | Fantasy | Adventure | “Igraine dreams of being a famous knight like her great-grandfather, but castle life is boring. Until the nephew of the baroness-next-door plans to capture the castle for their singing spell books. At the moment of the siege, her parents mistakenly turn themselves into pigs. Aided by a Gentle Giant and a sorrowful Knight, Igraine must by brave, and save the day --and the books” (Goodreads).

Valley of the Dinosaurs [Magic Tree House series 1] | Mary Pope Osborne | Children’s Literature | Science Fiction (time travel) | “Eight-year-old Jack and his little sister, Annie, are playing in the woods during their summer holiday, when they find a mysterious tree house full of books. But these are no ordinary books... And this is no ordinary tree house... Jack and Annie get more than they had bargained for when Jack opens a book about dinosaurs and wishes he could see them for real. They end up in prehistoric times with Pteranodons, Triceratops and a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex! How will they get home again? The race is on!” (Goodreads).

Frindle | Andrew Clements | Middle-Grade | Realistic Fiction | “Is Nick Allen a troublemaker? He really just likes to liven things up at school --and he’s always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he’s got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny this is frindle doesn’t belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there’s nothing Nick can do to stop it” (Goodreads).

Knights of the Kitchen Table [Time Warp Trio series 1] | Jon Scieszka | Children’s Literature | Fantasy | Time Travel | “Magician Uncle Joe’s birthday present entitle ‘The Book’ swirls green mist and grants pal Fred’s wish to ‘see knights and all that stuff for real’, sending Sir Joe the Magnificent, Sir Fred the Awesome, and Sir Same the Unusual to King Arthur’s castle opposing the Black Knight, grossly smelly giant Bleob, and fire-breathing leather-winged iron-clawed green dragon Smaug. Fred plays tag and wields a baseball bat. Sam cleverly politicks. Joseph, Arthur tricks with cards. But Merlin has ‘The Book’ to get home” (Goodreads).

Over Sea, Under Stone [The Dark Is Rising series 1] | Susan Cooper | Middle-Grade | Fantasy | Arthurian Inspired | “On holiday in Cornwall, the three Drew children discover an ancient map in the attic of the house that they are staying in. They know immediately that it is special. It is even more than that --the key to finding a grail, a source of power to fight the forces of evil known as the Dark. And in searching for it themselves, the Drews put their very lives in peril” (Goodreads).

Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery [Bunnicula series 1] | Deborah Howe | Children’s Literature | Fantasy | Mystery | “BEWARE THE HARE! Is he or isn’t he a vampire? Before it’s too late, Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household: a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits...and fangs!” (Goodreads).

Howliday Inn [Bunnicula series 2] | James Howe | Children’s Literature | Fantasy | Mystery | “Not a great place to visit, and you wouldn’t want to live there. The Monroes have gone on vacation, leaving Harold and Chester at Chateau Bow-Wow --not exactly a four-star hotel. On the animals’ very first night there, the silence is pierced by a peculiar wake-up call --an unearthly howl that makes Chester observe that the place should be called Howliday Inn. But the mysterious cries in the night (Chester is convinced there are werewolves afoot) are just the beginning of the frightening goings-on. Soon animals start disappearing, and there are whispers of murder. Is checkout time at Chateau Bow-Wow going to come earlier than Harold and Chester anticipated?” (Goodreads).

Peter Pan | J.M. Barrie | Children’s Literature | Fantasy | Adventure | “The mischievous boy who refuses to grow up, lands in the Darling’s proper middle-class home to look for his shadow. He befriends Wendy, John and Michael and teaches them to fly (with a little help from fairy dust). He and Tinker Bell whisk them off to Never-land where they encounter the Red Indians [Native Never-landers], the Little Lost Boys, pirates and the dastardly Captain Hook” (Goodreads). | Content Warnings: use of the terms “Red Indians” and “Indians” (and probably other racist terms, I can’t remember though).

Owl Moon | Jane Yolen | Picture Book | Realistic Fiction | “Late one winter night a little girl and her father go owling. The trees stand still as statues and the world is silent as a dream. Whoo-whoo-whoo, the father calls to the mysterious nighttime bird. But there is no answer. Wordlessly the two companions walk along, for when you go owling you don’t need words. You don’t need anything but hope. Sometimes there isn’t an owl, but sometimes there is” (Goodreads).

Kiana’s Iditarod | Shelley Gill | Picture Book | Fiction | Educational | “Kiana is no ordinary dog. Born and bred to race, she leads her team of huskies on a journey unlike any other. The Iditarod --known traditionally as Alaska’s ‘Last Great Race’-- spans 1,049 icy miles from Anchorage to Nome. From the treacherous terrain to the bitter, blowing winds, the trail is full of obstacles Kiana and her team must overcome in order to reach the finish line. Along the way, they encounter pacts of wild wolves, a mighty moose, and other dog-sled teams fighting for first place. Can Kiana summon the strength of her team and lead them to victory? Author Shelley Gill brings her firsthand experience as the fifth woman to complete the Iditarod race to this crackling adventure story” (Amazon).

[uncloseted]

So is it problematic if a character in fiction is gay or bi or trans, but that idea is never explored as a part of their character arc or struggle? Like it's just a one off aspect of them? I see some people get upset, especially in the case of Loki or JK Rowling, when characters are revealed as canonically queer but it's not an important part of the story. Does every queer characters arc and backstory specifically have to revolve around their sexuality or gender?

I think whether or not it's problematic depends on the larger context of the piece of media, but I actually think it can be more problematic when their *tragic queer backstory* is the only thing about them (although it's also good to have LGBT stories where that is discussed). For example, I think the [minor spoilers] Korra/Asami reveal in Legend of Korra is okay, despite it not really being part of the story, because it took so much for the writers to be allowed to show them in a romantic relationship at all.

Likewise, I don't actually have a problem with the "Dumbledore is gay" reveal. JKR has a lot of ideologies that I find horribly problematic, but in context, I don't think the Dumbledore reveal is that bad. It was in response to a fan who asked whether Dumbledore had ever found love. Rowling responded that she “always thought of Dumbledore as gay," and that “Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was." I always found it to be an honest answer to an honest question, the same way that she's answered questions about McGonagall's romantic past, especially since none of the teachers have romantic partners in the books at all. I think it's an answer that's relatively well substantiated in the parts of the book that discuss Dumbledore/Grindelwald (or at least, as substantiated as it could be for a children's book released in 2007- gay marriage wasn't even legal in the UK until 2013). I also think it's pretty profound for the most powerful wizard in the world to be a gay man, although it would have been better to have him be the most powerful wizard in the world *while being in an LGBT relationship*. I think the reason people struggle with this reveal is because they feel like JKR "announced" that Dumbledore was gay in order to get "woke points" without having to actually write an LGBT character or risk offending people, but I just don't think that's how this actually came about. I actually think it's more problematic that she wrote an epilogue where all of the characters were suddenly in straight marriages.

In the case of Loki, however, I do think it's problematic. Loki came out this year, when 70% of US Americans support gay marriage and it's legal in all 50 states, their target audience is adults aged 18 to 34, and Marvel constantly queerbaits because they know it will make them money. The reason Loki (and Marvel movies in general) doesn't contain any LGBT content is because they're afraid of losing business in China. They're being cowards, and we shouldn't keep letting that happen.

In general, I don't think an LGBT character's entire personality should revolve around their sexuality/gender, and I don't think their backstory needs to be about the *trauma* of being LGBT. But I do think they need to be allowed to be shown with a same-sex partner, the same way that straight characters are shown with opposite-sex partners. Thirteen in the TV show House is a pretty good example of this; she's bisexual and she's shown with both male and female partners, in both casual and committed contexts, but her storyline never really revolves around being LGBT. It revolves around the trials and tribulations of her being a doctor, her relationship with her own health, and the struggles she has within a relationship (regardless of who that relationship is with).

Jules in Euphoria is another pretty good example- she's trans and she talks about her experience as a trans person trying to understand what that means to her. She's also bisexual and is shown in romantic relationships with men and women. But her gender and sexuality aren't ever the focus of her character arcs; her relationship to herself and to the people around her is. She's pretty much accepted as both a trans person and as someone who's bisexual, which gives room for her stories to be about other things.

GLAAD released an LGBT analog to the Bechdel test called the Vito Russo Test which I think helps to illustrate which portrayals of LGBT people in media are and are not problematic. The criteria for passing the Vito Russo test is as follows:

The film contains a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer.

That character must not be solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity (i.e. they are comprised of the same sort of unique character traits commonly used to differentiate straight/non-transgender characters from one another).

The LGBTQ character must be tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect, meaning they are not there to simply provide colorful commentary, paint urban authenticity, or (perhaps most commonly) set up a punchline. The character must matter.

I would add a fourth criteria to that list about sexuality specifically, which is "The LGBQ character must be shown engaging in an LGB relationship comparable to that of their straight counterparts".

[dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt]

How To Write A Trans Character

for y’all good cis people who genuinely care and want to give good representation!! thank!! love ya!! [please note that this is just the opinion of one trans *man* and that circumstances vary. This isn’t a catch-all, just some general tips.]

-  If you’re an LGB+ person/nurodivergent/etc, try to picture your own identity in the place of your trans character’s. If you wouldn’t like to read about something done to a character with your identity, maybe don’t do that to your trans character.

- Try to avoid adding transphobia without a solid reason for it. Does this person being a transphobic dick advance the plot? Does it create a poignant character moment? Is it truly more than just the Obligatory Transphobic Comment? Remember, people read fiction to escape the real world, being reminded that transphobia exists in my fantasy escapism kind of sucks.

- Don’t make a big deal out of it or draw a lot of attention to it. Personally, the best thing to me is when it is briefly mentioned once that a character is trans, and that is it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine to mention it more than once, but it’s so refreshing to see it not be a big deal.

- Make the character a character first, and trans second. Being trans is not a personality trait, or a hobby, or a lifestyle. We’re just people. Write us like it.

- There’s many different types of dysphoria. (see: this post) Social, mental, physical. Sometimes it’s general, and others it’s very specific. Sometimes it’s weird (I’m dysphoric about my wrists, how weird is that?) And some trans people experience little to no dysphoria, that’s cool too.

- Dysphoria fluctuates and changes a lot, some days it’s not bad, others it is, some days it’s about something, other days it’s about something else.

- Dysphoria feels like your worst insecurity times 100. A lot of the time mine makes me feel physically sick, like I’m gonna chuck. It can also feel almost claustrophobic, like you’re trapped somewhere and can’t get out (... because you are.)

- Gender euphoria is also a thing and it’s like being high.

- Feel free to give your trans baby a supportive family, they do exist and it would be nice to see a well loved trans person (the family doesn’t have to be biological, though, if that’s the way the story goes.)

- Do a bit of research on certain terms/names for things, it won’t take super long and it will make a WORLD of difference.

- Please try not to focus on the character suffering for being trans. I know you mean well, but trust me it won’t come out right. Feel free to throw a bunch of angst at your trans character, just please don’t make that angst around being trans. Make it about their best friend being eaten by a lava sloth squid monster. or whatever.

- Different trans people want/have different transitions. Your character might want to have one surgery, but not another, or maybe they’re on hormones but they’re not interested in any surgeries or vice-versa. Maybe they don’t want to physically transition at all, and that is perfectly normal and okay!

- Non-binary people exist and are cool! (But if your character is a robot or an alien... maybe don’t make them non-binary.)

- Please don’t make your villain the only trans person. Please.

- Please avoid the ‘soft flower boi’ stereotype if you’re writing trans guys please. We are men. Write your trans man character like you would if he was a cis guy. I’m not saying don’t make feminine trans men, but... please be careful of that stereotype.

- Trans women can be tomboys. They can also be super mega ultra girly. Again, character first, trans second.

- Avoid fetishizing trans people. It’s totally fine if your trans person does The Sexytime (it is encouraged, in fact,) but don’t overly focus on the fact that they’re trans. That’s creepy. Some trans people have different boundaries with nakedness/their body, consider that, too.

- Please give your trans character a happy ending and for the love of god don’t kill them off. Let them have a partner, and pets, and friends, the whole unlovable edgy trans stereotype is getting really old really fast.

- Honestly. If you’re really unsure how to write a trans character, just write a character. And then slip in a one sentence about them wearing a trans pride pin. Boom, you just wrote a great trans character, good job!!! 

- Talk to a trans person. And if you’re worried about saying something wrong, talk to me. I promise I won’t get mad at you, no matter what you want to ask. Trust me, we want more trans characters out there, don’t be scared to write one. Representation is good!!

- All trans people are badass, funny, smart, amazing, wonderful and perfect. If you don’t make your character all of these things, it’s transphobia. (Okay this one is a joke... We’re also awesome. *fingerguns*)

[thecooler]

been reading a lot of LGBT YA/Middle-grade fiction this summer and i gotta say, i hope theres more LGB trans people in fiction soon - I see almost exclusively straight trans people which... they obv deserve to exist in media too, but given the majority of trans ppl arent straight we should have more of that?

the only non-straight trans ppl ive tumbled across are Alex from Magnus Chase [genderfluid and ??? idk if they specify im not there yet], and Bells from The Sidekicks Series [bi trans dude]

[transadvice]

hey, my friend thinks it's weird to be trans so I unfriended her. was this a good decision? if so, how do I deal with sitting next to her in math and reading class? and how do I know what people are supportive of trans people so that I don't get close to people who won't support me? thank u!!! - a non-binary lesbob

Yes it was a good decision! You can unfriend whoever you want. You don’t have time for cis nonsense. 

It is possible to keep working with someone you used to be friends with. You can still be cordial, polite, friendly acquaintances. Say hi and everything, complain about class or whatever, just keep it light and superficial. If SHE is rude to you, that is her problem and it will reflect badly on her, not on you. She can dig her own grave and give you grounds to ask for a new seat. 

Being extremely out and visible as a trans person is the most direct way to never make friends with someone who’s not cool with trans people. They’ll opt out! But it’s not what everyone wants to do, can do, or is safe to do. Here are some more sideways options:

1. Be friends with someone who is an extremely out and visible trans person

2. Bring up trans-related topics, such as news stories and story characters, and see how the person reacts

3. Wear a subtly queer or trans-related pin and see who gets it

3. Get involved in LGBT spaces. People in the queer community are more likely to be knowledgeable and positive about trans folks (it’s not a guarantee, because there are still transphobic gays, but it’s way more likely that LGBs will be T-inclusive). For example, if your school has a Gay/Straight Alliance, join it! 

4. Get involved in artsy spaces. Artsy people are often more open-minded than the general population (again, not a guarantee). This includes people in the theater department, people who draw comics, people who write fan fiction, and so on. 

5. Once you have one (1) friend who is cool, make friends with their other friends. 

[anamericangirl]

Lgb feminists want both, more non feminine strong women characters Who dont dress the best and lgb women? We can have and want both, I also want more disabled women in tv shows and movies. Its not that confusing, really.

Yeah but the thing is you’ll are always going on about how gender roles shouldn’t be a thing and about how women don’t need men and there should be more women represented like that, but every time a female character is presented exactly that way, you’ll claim she’s lesbian.

See the issue here? You’ll are the ones stereotyping because if a fictional female character doesn’t end up with a man and doesn’t conform to gender roles then, to you’ll, she’s a lesbian. You claim to want both, but you are guys are the ones enforcing the stereotypes by pretending any female character who isn’t feminine is a lesbian.

[nirah10]

So I got a couple of messages about the “straight ships” post and I feel the need to clarify that I don’t have any issue with people who don’t ship m/f pairings. I wholeheartedly believe in letting people enjoy whatever ships they enjoy, but I have come across some people who berate those for enjoying straight ships. I’ve come across some people who have some kind of superiority complex over the fact that they don’t ship straight ships. I’ve come across people who have acted like shipping a straight ship somehow makes you less accepting of non-straight ships. I’ve come across people who agree certain characters would make a good pairing but still argue against people shipping them simply because they’re straight (which is what I think the OP meant by the first sentence about people who “refuse” to ship m/f pairings), like there’s some kind of rule about it. I’ve even come across people who do like certain m/f pairings but have said that they feel like they shouldn’t because they’re straight and they’ve been pressured by other people.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people who don’t ship straight ships (I ship very few myself) but I do think there’s something wrong with acting like people who do are somehow homophobic or ignorant.

As I said, the wording in that post was much stronger than I would use for expressing that idea, but I still agree with the idea. Shipping is supposed to be fun so, if people ship straight couples, just let them enjoy their ships.

Anyway, I’m going to add the messages I received regarding this here (don’t worry, everyone one was perfectly polite--I just got the feeling that the post had been misunderstood as me saying you should ship straight ships, when it wasn’t).

From Anon,

http://www.ilovetelevisionzines.com/another-boring-straight-couple-why-i-hate-your-canon/

This article has some points. Ross and Rachel are often deemed one of the best and romantic Canon ships on a show of all time. But I always thought even this so called most romantic sitcom trip was very unbalanced.

Tiny extract but the whole entire is worth a read.

’On Friends, Ross loves Rachel. And heshows that love through a jealousy and obsession that should send any flesh and blood woman running for the hills. Ross can’t stand it when Rachel has a male co-worker or - God forbid - friend. His acts possessive of Rachel and marks his territory. He treats Rachel like an object to be fought for. His jealousy causes bitter fights and leads to the first of their many, many break-ups. In real life, a man trying to separate a woman from her friends is the redest of flags. Here, it is a sign of the depth of Ross’s passion. In reality, people are autonomous beings, not objects to be fought over. But on Friends, Ross fights to win Rachel because he loves her.’

I think this article has quite a few good points. I don’t prefer f/f or m/m because I’m hetrophobic, but because m/f have made me numb with it being pushed on me since I was four with romance being added into every kid movie ever. Most 12 years old I know don’t care less about romance. But so many 12 year Olds in films and TV end up invested in a realtionship or whatever. I was like ‘why are they targeting this stuff at is so early?’ and a lot of it just seems unhealthy.

http://www.ilovetelevisionzines.com/another-boring-straight-couple-why-i-hate-your-canon/

Dear Anon,

I actually agree with this quite a lot. There are so many problematic “love” stories out there and Ross and Rachel is one in particular that I always disliked (even though I love the show). Everything about their relationship, mostly due to Ross’s behaviour, was very unhealthy and I don’t think they would work. They only “work” because the writers wanted Ross to get the girl in the end. There is a lot of harmful sexism still present in the writing of TV and movies (mostly involving women being a prize whose own feelings are unimportant) and the traditional boy-likes-girl therefore guy-gets-girl story is lazy and boring, so I totally get the points this article is making. At the same time, Friends created Monica and Chandler, a straight couple who I feel did have a really good story and did have a very healthy relationship. So, while I despise Ross and Rachel, I ship Monica and Chandler to hell and back.

From Anon,

https://www.google.com.au/amp/www.afterellen.com/tv/475459-im-boycotting-straight-white-television/amp

Although I do think this article has a point. I mean, it it is a little blunter than I would say, but I don’t think people are boring for not personally shipping m/f. Even in m/f today there are so many unhealthy gender dymanics that get passed over for being cute. And there is still a crazy huge amount of m/f compared to E everything else.

A study was just published by USC demonstrating how exclusive film and television can really be. Out of the 414 films and television shows they examined, and the 11,194 speaking roles, only 2% were LGB. Out of that number, 72.1% were male. That leaves only 49 lesbian speaking roles and seven transgender roles. And seeing about fiften percent of people identity as none straight, 2 percent of characters (normally side charctersc, not even main characters) is not a lot.

Dear Anon,

I don’t think people are boring for having their own preferences either. I think I interpreted the first sentence of that post differently than others did. My mind focused on the word “refused”, which I took to mean they were talking about people who would ship an m/f pairings because they do think their personalities match up well but, despite how they actually feel, will refuse to ship them just because they’re straight. I have met a few people who are like that and it’s just bizarre to me. Why put a weird set of rules on what things you’re allowed to like and not like? That’s strange enough as it is, but I’ve met a lot of people who also try to impose those same rules on other people (which I think the rest of the post was about) and I’m really not okay with it when people do that.

I understand not shipping m/f pairings just because they aren’t interesting to you anymore because you see them everywhere. I ship very few m/f pairings myself for that exact same reason but, once in a while, I see an m/f pairing that just clicks so well that I ship them anyway despite my usual preferences.

From Anon,

My brother is a straight dude who only dates women but will only read f/f or m/m novels. I get the f/f but I asked him about the m/m and he told me it was because he felt these novels had more room to explore a different dymanic with gender politics thrown out the window in these relationships. He said he grew up on f/m Disney films, movies, books, tv and that he was just wanted a change. So while Tumblr heavily leans towards same sex couples, most of the world of fiction is still the opposite.

Dear Anon,

My response to this post would basically have been the same as the one above so I likely would have posted the two submissions together and responded to them together. The formatting for this is just kind of weird so I thought I should clarify that lol But, yeah, please read above ^_^

From Anon,

So this blog needs for straight ships them. Hmmmmmmm. Rose annoys me so she's out. I like Kevin/Annie. Hmmmmmmm. That is only one though. I shall ship Doug/Celeste to even the numbers out a bit then.

Dear Anon,

lol You don’t have to ship straight ships or invent some just for the sake of balancing out, but I appreciate the effort XD

[eastasiansonwesternscreen]

Katrina stans. Erasure in fandom

When I check the Into the Badlands tag I often see people who are / were watching the show solely for its supporting  white characters and supporting white ships – either they stan the Widow or Jade or Quinn or ship Jade x Ryder. And... Into the Badlands, with all its faults (looking at you s2 finale), is a show lead by two Asian male leads, a show with a central romantic storyline (s1-2) featuring a Black woman and an Asian man.

And it’s not like I want to say that the Widow / Jade / Quinn or Jade x Ryder are not worthy of stanning or that people aren’t allowed to like them, but the thing is that all the above are far from being rarity in media and fiction – you can find those kind of white characters and white ships in almost any given Western book, film, tv show. Whereas MK, Sunny and Veil are the examples of those few representations that we have. Sunny and MK being Asian male leads in a genre show on big US network is unheard of, they are unique. SunnyVeil as a Blasin (AM/BW) couple centering romantic storyline of seasons 1-2 is rarity.

And it reminded me of something – of those Katrina stans from Sleepy Hollow. You know, that show that had a great first season and a disastrous continuation after.

Abbie Mills is not the first Black woman lead on US TV (though she’s shamefully close to it), but she was a main lead on a genre show, and in 2013, that was unheard of. [...] Simply put, The Sleepy Hollow fandom was the first major genre TV fandom that was not explicitly white dominated. - Diversehighfantasy

Abbie Mills as a Black woman lead was important representation, and not just for Black women fans but to all of us. And yet, there still were the part of the audience that watched the show for a supporting white character Katrina Crane and supported the romantic storyline between Katrina and her estranged husband Ichabod (the show’s male lead). These people hated Abbie and wanted her gone off the show or become a supporting character to Katrina’s lead. The thing is that Katrina is a character that you can find by opening any book, by turning on TV and seeing in any show, you can go to a theatre and pick almost any play or a movie and you’ll see a Katrina and Ichabod x Katrina romance. So the defining feature of Katrina stans is that they are people who want the status quo – they watch the diverse films / shows, read the diverse books and latch onto the generic white characters and relationships that one can find in any genre of any piece of Western media / fiction.

You can find Katrina stans in any fandom, really. They are the Westallen / Richonne / Ichabbie haters who ship the white ships with the white men from those respective fandoms. They are the Rey.los, they are the Maggie/Daryl shippers. They are the people who claim that Finn is nothing more than a comic relief character, while Kylo is the “true male lead of the SW”. They are the people who insist that Scott is not the true lead of TW, but Stiles is. They are the people who watch Into the Badlands for its supporting white characters, they are the people who watch Cleverman for Iain Glenn only, they are the people who watch Marco Polo for its white male lead and couldn’t care about anything else in the show, they are the people who will watch Black Panther for M@rtin Freeman only. Katrina stans are people who erase Blade, John Luthor and Luke cage from their own canon narratives.

They are the Cl@lecs and J@lecs. And no, the latter are not “progressive” just because they’re not erasing Alec’s sexuality, like the former homophobes do. Because as rare LGBT representation is even nowadays, the shows featuring white gay lead characters and white gay / LGB relationships are still more represented than the shows featuring non-white gay characters and gay / LGB ships of color. I can name dozen of shows off the top of my head right now that star white gay characters and have central white gay / LGB romance. I can only name two that feature Asian GB characters – Shadowhunters and HTGAWM, and Oliver was a recurring / background character in s1-2.

Katrina stans are the people who erase characters of color from their own canon narratives. A person doesn’t need to be white to be a Katrina stan. They just need to support racist patterns of erasure and prioritize whiteness. “It’s really easy to be a little bit racist.” (c)

And to a point I can see where these Katrina stans are coming from – never having the luxury of racial representation, from my very childhood I’m used to watching shows and films or reading books for one background character of color (not even an Asian character in particular, just the ones they can offer), who rarely has a central storyline, and is lucky enough if they don’t die horribly in the middle of the story. And you learn to cherish even those scrapes of representation they give you.

That’s why it hurts seeing when white fans, or fans with white worldview (not necessarily white themselves) try to erase those little scrapes of representation that we are starting to have.  It’s not about “ship wars”. It’s about racial erasure. Racism hurts and it is always personal to a person of color.

White fans who indignantly ask “why does it matter what color of skin those character have?!” really don’t understand the mere concept of what it’s like never seeing yourself represented on screen / in fiction. They remind me that legend about “Let them eat cake” saying – the rumor states that when French queen Marie Antoinette was informed that the poor country people had no bread, she replied, "Then let them eat pastry!" The moral of the legend is that with all the luxury surrounding her, she didn’t know the mere concept of starving and having nothing but bread to eat.

White fans having the luxury of representation surrounding them everywhere they look, simply don’t get that we don’t have the metaphorical pastry. We barely can afford a loaf of “bread”, we don’t have the luxury of choice. So, basically Katrina stans are the people that come to your home, steal your last and only loaf of bread and then innocently wonder why are you mad.

If we continue the food metaphor, imagine this: you live in a world where all the bakeries offer only one pastry – the jelly bean cake. You like the jelly bean cakes, but you also crave for a raisin cake, after all, you are a raisin person. But you are surrounded with jelly bean people, so you adapt. You eat the jelly bean cakes. And when you’re lucky you see a jelly bean cake with one raisin in it, and you are the luckiest person alive, you buy the jelly bean cake with that single raisin and you eat the whole cake and cherish that one raisin. And then one day the bakery bakes a jelly bean cake with lots of raisins! You’ve never been happier. But then you see how jelly bean people come into the bakery, they buy the raisin cake, they take out the jelly beans and throw away the raisin cake into the trash bin. All in front of the baker, and then they make complaints about the raisin cake to the baker, because there aren’t enough jelly beans in it, even though the shelves of the bakery are full of jelly bean cakes.

That’s how I feel.

And if someone takes this post as a personal attack and “policing the fandom”, congratulations, you’ve missed the whole point.

[habibialkaysani]

5, 23, 26, 28 xx

5. describe the cutest date you’ve ever been on

I’ve actually never been on a date or done anything romantically with anyone ever, lol. but like, if you want a story about the cutest platonic outing with my favourite non-straight person it is hands down @dirkqentlys and that time she took me to a book farm and I had lemon cheesecake which was amazeballs and then meg said that she wouldn’t be defeated by a slice of cake and yet she was in fact defeated by a slice of cake :P

23. have you ever been in love?

not sure! unless fictional characters count, in which case my answer is too damn many times.

26. favourite lgb musician/band

HALSEY. because gasoline and young gods are wonderful songs.

28. are you out? if so how did you come out

to my friends and family? by and large, nope, except for like two people irl, altho online I am out. truthfully I don’t think it’ll ever be safe for me to come out irl unless I want to get disowned and kicked out and cut off from basically every family member maybe bar one or two? 

but I have thought about coming out a lot. it’s usually during reckless moments when I’m pissed at everyone or when my mum is saying how disappointed she is in me, etc. or sometimes when my sister says things like how being me attracted to women is “disturbing” (yes she said that). I can totally imagine it happening during eid. the most important thing if I ever did come out is that - it has to be my choice and I have to have full agency. my worst nightmare is that I’m somehow outed and my family idk find out about my tumblr or my fanfic or something. or, god forbid, my smut. oh lord. tho tbh it’s more my non gay smut that I would be concerned about my mum coming across. :P

gay asks

[jinglyjangly]

In the Fallout world, what are considered Native Americans? Is that what the Tribals are they talk about? If so, does that mean the three families that run the casinos on the strip Native Americans?

Short answer: No. They’re fictional.

but you just pointed out the #1 issue with the Fallout Universe, and in turn the biggest issue with the scifi/fantasy genre and it’s most offending trope in one single question. Something I don’t see a lot of people talking about but I’m guessing it’s because they either don’t think about it because they don’t quite get it or they feel uncomfortable talking about it.Again I don’t feel like it’s my place to say what’s racist/what isn’t in most circumstances because I’m just some White Dude, but I feel like I’ve had a similar discussion with people when it comes to scifi utopias/dystopias where sexuality/gender is treated “equal” so in turn, doesn’t matter which... sounds good, but you’re also erasing the identities if you have everyone not care and never talk about being LGB and/or T and how their lives revolve around that. Obviously you don’t want to stereotype them by making their sole personality trait being a minority but you also can’t just, have it not effect them because it will. theres no way for it to not! whether it’s positive or negative effects depends on the writer and whether it’s offensive depends on how they frame it. How they frame it depends on who they think about when they’re writing it. A good example is how I’ve meet cis people who try and write trans characters and it’s really fucking obvious they were writing it from a cis perspective for the cis perspective, because it was framed for the negative experience to be empathized by cis people. Like gender dysphoria, there’s a difference between writing it as “I feel uncomfortable in this body and I always feel out of place” or “I hate my body and i want to be cis (aka normal)!!1!” Obviously yes, real trans people do have both experiences, so yeah you can write it like the second way, but as a fictional writer/artist/creator I think people always need to be aware that what they’re making is not real and at any instance they can change anything, ever. And the point of fiction is for people to think in a different perspective, for the audience to experience things they never would, something that is unreal...hence fiction. So if you make a trans character that hates themselves just because theyre trans and not hate the systematic oppression and pressure they feel for not being cis, you better have a bomb ass character arc where they learn to accept and love themselves for being trans and have a happy ending, because otherwise you’re just making a pity party for cis people to gawk at and think “oh boy im sure glad that aint me!”

how this ties in is how the tribes is kinda a long reach, but basically a huge chunk of canon fallout lore is written by white americans for white americans. The basis of the nuclear holocaust “restarting” the world back to 0 is interesting in a sense, especially if it’s at the hands of the American gov, and where you can imagine a world where people are trying to piece together their past can really be a awesome thing to explore and why I really love the lore/series. But so far every single tribe has been fictional and there’s barely any talk about anything that isn’t fictional. I headcanon Arcade as Ashkenazi Jewish! Yet there’s no talk about WWII, there are no Jewish characters in the entire series (that i know of), so no one knows how not only Jewish diaspora, but also post nuclear war diaspora would effect someone in this fictional universe, and how those two intertwine! You really don’t get any talk about anything about prewar history that isn’t like... white american. like with Raul, he’s from Hidalgo but he doesn’t mention anything about it outside of the fact that he’s just from there. How has being Mexican effect him both prewar and postwar? Has he had to deal with negative parts like any racism, and how does that intertwine with him being a ghoul? Were there positive parts, like meeting other people who have roots tied to being Latinx and bonding? What about Cait in fo4, she’s Irish, but outside of just saying she is and having the accent, she doesn’t have any cultural ties that they bring in to her story you know? Like... what’s the point of character’s in your series that aren’t white and/or aren’t american, if you’re not bringing in how it matters. Same with LGB and/or T characters, why write them into a series if you don’t make it matter (aka player sexuality).

Obviously based on what I said with the example about a cis person writing a trans person, the only way to write these kind of arcs and issues is to either have a Mexican writer, or have have a Mexican editor/reference. Gabriel is mixed Mexican and Cahuilla, and if I were to ever do anything ever even slightly professional outside of dumb comics and drawings, like fanfiction or a companion mod, I would get references who are real people, not just books. I made him sure, but he’s not for me project into. I made him because I thought it would be cool to play a game where the protagonist isn’t white so outside of that, I really don’t have a place writing him without help. With the Fallout Universe they kinda did this thing where they have more lore about fictional ethnic that kind of... replace real ones? Sort of? Which like, fictional ethnicity and race have a place, but it’s not replacing real ones, you know? Like the Dead Horses have a creole language mixed with Navajo/Diné and German. which is pretty cool, since it has happened so would likely happen ,like with Creole French, so it’s interesting to explore that possibility, but with how it’s framed... having no characters with direct connections to being Navajo/Diné, makes it feel like its erasure in favor for fiction. Hell they aren’t even mentioned in canon, all you really get is Joshua saying “idk their language is probably from the Res".

And then you finally come to where the question kind of points it out: do all the real, actual Indigenous ethnic groups who have to deal with not only non-fictional racism, but also this fictional pseudo-racism where they’re lumped into being “savage tribals who get rehabilitated” all over again, this time just fictionally?? How many of the 87 tribes caesar conquered, were indigenous? same with the NCR? What about before the nuclear war, how were they treated in 2077 if the government was even more obsessed with taking resources, and even more brutal? Basically Fallout Lore is whitewashed and americanized in the sense that the whole series, including bethesdas, prioritize fictional racism and fictional xenophobia over including actual arcs and stories that are written by people who aren’t white american and have to do with issues that aren’t about white americans. Again, it’s a bigger issue that’s not just fnv, and not even just fallout, and wont go away until white cis het dudes stop making the stories.

[aroarolibrary]

I’ve been slowly reading through ‘bi any other name’ in my spare time and I got to this paragraph which hit me /hard/ because /I remember this/. I very very distinctly remember these events as a young teen just starting to ID as bi and just starting to question my gender identity.

I remember, most distinctly, 2007 when I was 17 years old and just starting to look for jobs and trans people were officially dropped from the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA). An event that very directly led to me no longer questioning my gender identity.

/I remember this happening/ and it hit me how many people on here /have no idea that this was what being bi and trans in the early 2000 looked like/.

So I’m sharing this part of history because I think it’s important. It’s important to understand why 'bi’ was shorted to 'bi’ instead of being 'bisexual’. That it wasn’t done out of choice but out of necessity. That bi people being added to the LGB community came with the crux of dropping trans people and trans advocacy.

I recommend this book to any bi person who wants to learn the history of the bi community from the mouths of other bi people. It’s a mix of things, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, etc. but It’s a good read and there is a reason it’s considered 'the bisexual bible’ by a lot of people.