#TW:Holocaust mention

[totonafrica]

I don’t understand why

my white, christian acuaintances always want to bring up the argument that “Hitler was actually a good leader/talented politician.” I mean sure, it is true, but you are not bringing up a new, or fresh point, so you are just throwing around the name in order to seem... I don’t know, controversial?

Like everyone knows Hitler was a shit bag, and your point is not revolutionary, and I didn’t ask for this, I was having a chat about leadership in general/roadwork/fucking baby bunnies, and now I need to play edge-lorde-intellectual with you? No thanks

[ishouldhaveaspellforthis-blog]

On writing about Billy’s sexuality in the ‘80s.

Things that are important to note about LGBT+ issues in the ‘80s.

1. Differentiation of romantic and sexual orientation was not as commonly used. The term “demisexual” simply wasn’t used until relatively recently. Thus, despite the fact that my version of him might identify as homoromantic demisexual in a modern setting, he simply identifies as gay in the RP.

2. “Queer” was still generally considered a slur so I may refer to Billy (and myself) as queer, but he wouldn’t have reclaimed the term the ‘80s. “Homosexual” was also considered a less-than-positive term as well because it had pathological connotations until relatively recently, so I would imagine that Billy wouldn’t use it. RE: my Billy’s Filipino heritage, he would not identify with the term “bakla” because the term is generally associated with feminine-presenting AMAB people, even if it is used to describe gay men too. Billy is also very Americanized in the way that many first-generation Americans were during that time were so the term might not even be on his radar.

3. Billy is very lucky to have been born and raised in New York and to have the parents he does. In the ‘80s, New York had one of the most visible gay scenes in the world “A Chorus Line” debuted on Broadway in 1975 and I would imagine that Billy’s seen it. Even if the representation was relatively one-dimensional, representation was there. I based Rebecca’s story and personality on my Bubbe’s and my Bubbe’s experience as a holocaust survivor made her very very sensitive and opposed to any kind of profiling or bigotry. Even in the ‘80s, my Bubbe was very  accepting of any and all sexualities, so I’ve decided that Rebecca is too. The research I’ve done on the Manila Jewish community suggests that aside from American influence, there wasn’t particularly overt homophobia (read: what homophobia there is in the Philippines as a whole exists mostly because colonizers ruin everything) so I can’t imagine that Jeff would be too opposed. 

4. And finally, the elephant in the room here: AIDS. This was an era where if you were HIV+, you died and there was very little information about it. Some people were still calling it GRID. I play Billy as knowing that HIV is sexually and intravenously transmitted and that it’s common among gay men, but little else. That said, Billy is hopeless sweaty virgin nerd who has more of a wistful puppy-love approach to finding potential partners and he feels a personal responsibility to his parents not to do drugs (Rebecca probably had the “I didn’t survive the Nazis so that you could could waste your life with heroin!” talk with him before he even knew what heroin was) so he doesn’t consider himself to be someone who’s at risk. What few other gay people he might know probably were though, so he may have some trauma-by-association.