#Openly Straight

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket Tournament: Round 1A

Book summaries below:

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.

And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.

So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret -- not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate break down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben . . . who doesn't even know that love is possible.

This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate feeling different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself.

Contemporary, coming of age, young adult

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She's always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories.

Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he's been cast from home. He's found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.

Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli's best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven't been in centuries.

And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.

Darcie Little Badger introduced herself to the world with Elatsoe. In A Snake Falls to Earth, she draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to weave another unforgettable tale of monsters, magic, and family. It is not to be missed.

Fantasy, Indigenous futurism, young adult

[sleep1ng-w1llow]

i’m probably the only person here who cares about these books but i’m gonna talk about them anyway

the books in question being openly straight and honestly ben by david leviathan.

first, some summaries, with spoilers

openly straight comes first in chronological order, and was also published first. it follows rafe, a gay teenager from colorado, who is sick of being “the gay kid” in his highschool. so he changes schools, and moves to an all-boys boarding school in massachusetts, determined not to tell anyone he’s gay. but while there, he meets ben, a quiet and incredibly buff guy, who he develops a huge crush on. they grow close, moving from friendship to something more. but for ben, this is his first non-hetero experience, and he doesn’t know rafe was openly gay in colorado. once he finds out, his trust is shattered.

honestly ben follows ben during the semester after his experience with rafe. he stays away from rafe, and meets someone from the all-girls boarding school nearby, and begins to fall for her. but eventually, he accepts rafe’s apologies, and they begin as friends, though ben still misses their previous relationship. he also struggles with the fact that he is still heterosexual. rafe is the only exception. throughout the book ben also contemplates labels, misogyny, his identity, and how the people around him view him.

from everything i’ve seen online, it seems that openly straight received much more positive attention than honestly ben, but the main reason for that is confusing to me. many people preferred rafe’s perspective to ben’s, because rafe was more active. he was characterized through his actions rather than feelings. i feel like this is just a reflection on their differing personalities tho. rafe is more outgoing and outspoken, whereas ben takes more time to process his feelings, not one to stir things up, wants to be sure of situations before acting. because of that, he’s characterized through his thoughts and feelings more than his actions.

i read honestly ben first, before i knew openly straight existed. i loved it so much, loved the angst and sensitive topics, and all the delicate relationships ben balanced throughout the semester. his internal monologues were insightful and interesting to me. i was excited to read openly straight for the first time, but a little let down by it. i guess i was also confused how ben could be boring to people. i wished i could be more like him.

anyways that’s my little talk. i probably won’t do many more book review type things, but i doubt y’all have heard the last of ben and rafe from me

[cyangansey]

Is the book you're looking for Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg? I haven't read it, but it sounds like it might be it.

Yes thank you!!!!

[violet-varley]

hell yeah

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

[books1311]

November reads. 😊

[willmarstudios]

Bookworm Will Review 2023 (#33)

Title: 'Openly Straight'

Author: Bill Konigsberg

Rating: 2/5

Review: (MILD SPOILERS)

While I did sort of see how this could be positively impactful for younger audiences, it really felt flat for me. I was even a bit concerned with certain writing choices.

On one hand, I think the idea of a MC having a self-identifying journey is always great and it was really nice to see that internal conflict as they tried to 'fit in'. Especially for the initiating event of being out in a school and suddenly being forced to have a label or be 'the only out gay kid' and having that be the thing you're remembered for. So wanting to start over was an interesting idea for the plot, but it just really could've done better.

This was published in 2015 and yet I was really not enjoying certain phrasing and word choices as they felt really outdated and insensitive. I felt that they negatively influenced my enjoyment because I kept stopping and going 'that made me uncomfortable'. Different time period I guess? Idk.

The idea, not a bad one, especially for younger readers. Execution wise, it did not work.

[respectthepetty]

I know you think having a gf thing is a joke and honestly I don't think it's a problem when bl actors have gfs or bfs, but they do get massive hate for that for real. do you know that new got so much hate for having a girlfriend? he still gets hate comments from toxic shippers that he should die for heart failure because he got heart problem? and that account that was hating on dunk was really pushing for hate. so of course it was the problem. the number one reason bl/gl actors get massive hate and death threats is literally having a gf/bf. it's a sad reality but i don't think you should treat it lightly.

I don't think this situation is a joke.

It -is- a joke.

And to show you how serious I am about this, I'm not even going to include images. This is just a giant wall of text.

Because outside of the BL-sphere, what are the repercussions of Dunk really dating a girl? What issues would he face if he was really straight? I'm going to skip over bisexuality because Lord knows half these fans don't even register that as a thing. So what harm would come his way if he was an actual heterosexual man?

Nothing. None. Nada.

If he was dating a girl, it would hurt his branded pair, but he could pivot. He could still work in other roles outside of the pair which he has done because being straight or being perceived straight isn't an issue. He would still have a job. He could even do something else outside of the industry. He'd be fine.

Because the issue isn't Dunk having a girlfriend. The issue is him stepping out on his branded pair because people are real weird about monogamy, especially when it comes to two boys because queerness actual queer people are scary to them.

So since you wanted to start with Tay and New, let me remind you that New get threats for having a girlfriend, but when Gun and Tay kissed during New's live, people went out of their way to call Gun, who is perceived as the more effeminate one, a straight up fag in the comments of his posts. Tay also got so much hate that he made a video and people's biggest issue was how could he go from such a masculine guy like New to such a twink like Gun who has never stated his sexuality. Because the issue wasn't Tay 'cheating' on his partner (with the partner literally being right next to him), but was the possibility of Tay kissing an actual gay guy.

Milk of MilkLove was rumored to be dating Noeul of BossNoeul and both of them received online hate at the mere thought they were breaking up their ships, but Noeul has received far more online and in-person hate once he started dressing and presenting a bit more effeminate than previously.

Freen of BeckyFreen was dating Seng formerly of BillySeng. The hate was ridiculous and it has followed Seng even after he departed from Idol Factory, which can easily be seen in the comment section of his posts. I genuinely feel bad for the boy, yet he still is working.

So you know who I do feel bad for all of the time? Publicly out queer folks in this industry!

Max of MaxTul dates women. People knew that and hated it because he was 'cheating' on Tul. But he still had work, and he still has work now. Because being straight does not harm people. Online hate is real. Cyberbullying is real. But Max could pivot if he wanted to like Nanon, Bright, and Win. But you know who never said he was dating anyone? The actual gay guy, Tul! And who retired from acting before he announced he was dating a man? Tul.

Cooheart has gone on record stating that being an openly gay man in the BL industry has severely limited his options. He will not be able to play a straight character because people know he is gay, so the online harassment he receives isn't because of not being faithful to a branded pair, but because he is actually gay, and that harassment has translated into him getting less jobs. He cannot pivot. He is essentially stuck.

When Supanut was hanging out with Sailub, he received more online and in-person harassment because he is the openly queer man. Sailub received comments that he was disrespecting Pon per the usual, but Supanut received comments that were directed not at him just trying to break up a ship, but about him being queer. People were equivocating him to being basically a gay hussy, who just wanted to wreck all the ships, which makes me very interested in what fan interactions will look like once I'm the Most Beautiful Count airs.

Daou gets lots of comments about disrespecting Offroad by hanging out with other guys, but the comments that really upset him were the ones saying HE WAS DISGUSTING FOR POSSIBLY BOTTOMING! Offroad stays quiet mostly, but he was bothered by people saying he was BULKING UP TOO MUCH AS A QUEER MAN!

I'm not even touching Mew and Gulf, but only one of them was labeled a predator and it wasn't the straight one!

So just because some of y'all want to take Joong liking a post about Dunk having a girlfriend seriously does not mean I need to. The online harassment is disgusting because people have parasocial relationships with actors who are simply doing their jobs, but I am not going to sit here on Tumblr dot com slash Respect the Petty and entertain this made up drama that stemmed from Joong liking a post about Dunk being perceived as a straight guy when openly gay people are being significantly more harassed, targeted, and limited for being gay in an industry that profits off of gayness.

Take all this energy you have for me and meet me in the My Sweetheart Jom chat on Friday, so every time someone mentions how Saint isn't believable in his role because he is a 'bottom,' you can give them the same lecture you want to give me about the seriousness of online harassment and its real-world repercussions.

Kay? Okay!

[moonjunio]

Yeah fandom does have a way of insisting that there is a specific sexual attraction between characters, which means they are wrong about their own identity.

This is probably because there was so little representation for so long, that pulling the thread of subtext was the only way to see yourself in a story.

However, this narrows the scope of queer relationships much more than necessary. One example I like is Ben and Rafe from “Openly Straight”/“Honestly Ben” - Rafe is the card carrying gay kid who is tired of being reduced to just his rainbow flag, and Ben is the one who thinks they’re both experimenting for the first time.

Spoilers for Openly Straight, Carry On, and Realm of the Elderlings under the gif

Once they are in an honest relationship, Rafe and his family assume that Ben is bi, and some “playfully” suggest he’s just steps away from realizing he’s gay. I admire Ben standing up for himself, he doesn’t consider himself gay or bi, he’s just in love with Rafe. “Gay for Rafe” is as far as it goes for him.

Simon Snow is in the same boat. He wonders if he’s just gay for Baz, but his therapist says it’s not even one of their top things to think about yet.

In a different but semi-related direction, Fitzchivalry Farseer is in love with the Fool but not attracted to him. Fitz is canonically straight but in a stereotypically romantic relationship with an apparently genderfluid individual.

Insisting these characters just need an awakening is erasure of queer complexity.

how would you feel...

if fandoms erased canon queer identities?

if fandom said...

Rosa Diaz (B99) was straight/gay

Alex Claremont-Diaz (RWRB) was straight/gay

Nick Nelson (Heartstopper) was straight/gay

Jesper Fahey (SoC) was straight/gay

Nina Zenik (SoC) was straight/gay

Will Solace (PJO) was straight/gay

David Rose (Schitts Creek) was straight/gay

Loki (Marvel) was straight/gay

Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer) was straight/gay

Mazikeen (Lucifer) was straight/gay

Eve (Lucifer) was straight/gay

Remy "Thirteen" Hadley (House MD) was straight/gay

Jonathan Sims (TMA) was straight/gay

thereby erasing the bi/pan identities of these CANON bisexual/pansexual characters?

if fandom said...

Captain Raymond Holt (B99) was straight

Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor (RWRB) was straight

Charlie Spring (Heartstopper) was straight

Wylan Hendriks/Van Eck (SoC) was straight

Edwin Payne (DBDA) was straight

Nico di Angelo (PJO) was straight

Patrick Brewer (Schitts Creek) was straight

Breanna Casey (Leverage Redemption) was straight

Martin Blackwood (TMA) was straight

thereby erasing the gay/lesbian/queer identities of these CANON gay/lesbian/queer characters?

if fandom said...

Elle Argent (Hearstopper) was a cis man

Darcy Olsson (Heartstopper) was a cis man/woman

Viktor Hargreeves (TUA) was a cis woman

Raine Whispers (TOH) was a cis man/woman

Yadriel (Cemetery Boys) was a cis woman

Alex Fierro (PJO/MCGOA) was a cis man/woman

Loki (Marvel) was a cis man/woman

thereby erasing the trans/enby identities of these CANON transgender/nonbinary characters?

you'd be pretty mad right? but this is exactly what is happening with CANON aspec characters

There are some aspec characters that are respected (ie Jonathan Sims, Breanna Casey) but others are just blatantly ignored (Yelena Belova-Marvel, Jughead-Riverdale). So let me ask you again,

How would you feel if fandom said...

Jonathan Sims (TMA) was allosexual (bisexual but not ace)

Breanna Casey (Leverage Redemption) was allosexual (queer but not ace)

Isaac Henderson (Heartstopper) was alloromantic/allosexual

Yelena Belova (Marvel) was alloromantic/allosexual

Jughead (Archie Comics) was alloromantic/allosexual (this is what happened in the Riverdale show btw, his aroace identity was erased)

thereby erasing the aspec identities of these CANON aspec characters?

*alloromantic/allosexual refers to anyone who isn’t aro/ace-spec (it includes gay, straight, pan, bi, etc but only if they don’t identify as aro/ace-spec)

Think about it. Seriously. What makes aspec identities so different from other queer identities that they can be ignored? (The answer is they're not different, but aphobia is rampant in fandom spaces which sucks.)

Be respectful of aspec identities (and listen to us when we talk about canon aspec characters)

[bunnylives]

I saw ur tag about that mansell and senna pic and im really curious to see them in ur style now (deff not a desperate classic f1 fan)

I adore them so much you have no idea 😭💝 the love triangle was crazy

[freshydip]

“i love complicated female characters” you motherfuckers apparently can’t even handle fucking TORIEL UNDERTALE

i'm seriously baffled by the wave of hate i'm seeing directed at toriel and misogyny is the root cause i keep coming back to. she's an adult woman. an adult woman can go on a date with someone she doesn't know and it doesn't make her a bad person, we all agree on that right? so why does that suddenly become some unforgiveable sin when the adult woman is a mother? it's because in a patriarchal society being a mother supersedes all other aspects of a woman's life and the title is used to further police their behavior! and if you think "well a mom just shouldn't be acting like that" then you are part of the problem!

toriel is not being horribly neglectful by forgetting to tell kris she canceled choir practice. forgetting is not a sin, and she has no reason to think kris is not having a great day. they've got a friend, which she's shown to be overjoyed about, and she knows they're going to be spending the day with that new friend, in a town where the crime is effectively non-existent. did we all just forget all of her previous displays of care and affection? do we all think that toriel getting drunk on a weekend night with a short king completely removes all of that? yes, kris is obviously shown to be unhappy when they stumble onto the scene. most children would be icked out by seeing their parent drunkenly dancing with a new squeeze! we have no reason to believe that toriel regularly gets drunk, no reason to believe she drinks regularly at all, but people are jumping the gun and calling her an alcoholic like it's a fact. but even if this does turn out to be the case, that still doesn't mean she's a terrible mother or a terrible person! she has been repeatedly shown to be sweet and kind and if you think this scene renders all of that inert, if you really think this female character not being a perfect mother and having her own pitfalls makes her deserving of scorn, take a step back and think about why you think that, and if you'd think the same if this were asgore.

you all are so unforgiving to women it's unreal.

[lilacpaperbird]

maybe my most controversial headcanon is that I see dean as a straight man and sam is his only exception

[displayheartcode]

[arrives late with Dunkin’] I think something we can all agree on is that the commodification and monetization of fanfic is icky

[gingerswagfreckles]

How "leftists" react when they hear a 4 year old Jewish toddler and 9 month old Jewish baby were strangled to death by antisemitic terrorists.

[akaneluvr]

i just rlly got into umetsuba and i kinda want to know how the trans community thinks about tsubaki and other people's usage of she/her pronouns as well as hc him as a trans woman for liking traditionally feminine things... i have opinions of course

[worthedging]

I'd joke about how Miles has worked with Payne for years and should probably recognize him, but he's Payne, so who cares.

[yarrowleef-babbles]

been hearing rumors that the "i'm always straight" lines may have been cut from the GN and IF that is true, I expect everyone will be super mad about that--and ngl i'd mourn the loss of it too because it has become iconic to me

But. i can't believe i'm playing devils advocate for this, BUT it is not entirely unreasonable for an adaptation of this work to decide it does not want to reference Ronan's sexuality yet......coming to terms with his sexuality is (one) part of his arc in the 2nd book. Adam Parrish being ~the 2nd secret he doesn't want to admit to himself~ , Ronan's catholic guilt homoerotic nightmares and the like, all characterize his sexuality as something he might vaguely be aware of but seriously struggles to openly admit. I don't think he even uses the word gay or any other word to describe himself in the whole series? (unless I'm forgetting something?)

So, idk, it's not unreasonable to want the (hypothetical) audience to also not be aware of it until Ronan is forced to directly grapple with his identity next book.

i think this is one of those things that has become very dear to the fandom over time, but if i look at it objectively without my feelings, i just.....i do understand why someone could conceivably decide that this off-handed bitchy "he's gay btw" joke is not of dire importance for the sanctity of the story 😭 in the 'pros don't outweigh the cons' sort of way....