#also both of the baldwin quotes are from giovannis room

[fromedennn]

on Home

Suzanne Siegel / Cecilia Rosslee / James Baldwin / Victoria Ryan / Amy Lowell

[rainc0at]

When James Baldwin wrote: "love him and let him love you. Do you really think anything else under heaven really matters?"

[ca-suffit]

Sorry this is long. I'm working through the thought as I write this.

There's a post with kinda a lot of notes going around that idk how jokey it is and it's like here's what you need to have read/seen before watching IWTV so you understand the abusive patriach.

And well, I feel like it's part of the pattern of ppl pushing the show's critique of the abuse family structures enable in a way where they won't have to talk about race. How does Revolutionary Girl Utena relate to IWTV? How does Succession? I've never seen Succession, but their cast is almost completely white, which is racial commentary all its own... In Utena neither race nor colorism ever figures into the narrative iirc. I haven't read the Cairo trilogy since uni but I don't remember race factoring into it either??

Like Lestat was the abusive patriach of their family bcuz he's white! His power is gendered bcuz race is gendered (becuz power is gendered and so on). I think the show is in greater dialogue with James Baldwin and bell hooks than Yoji Enokido and Jesse Armstrong! Baldwin outright, didn't Rolin Jones say in an interview once that Giovanni's Room was a direct inspiration?

It just bothers me. The omission of art by Black creators was so striking I felt like someone slapped me. And maybe if then the tone wasn't so condescending and the idea that you have to have read The Oresteia to understand patriarchal violence so classist, maybe I could shrug it off. But you couple both and I'm like damn we squeezed the Greek and the Japanese in but don't mention even one Black person. I'm not saying the OP did it on purpose cuz I don't know the OP, but it felt so so glaring to me the times I've seen the post. Especially ppl sharing it going yeah exactly!! 😐

Lestat As Patriach to me is just more about white supremacy than the cisheteropatriarchy, and how despite Lestat's promises to Louis (be all the beautiful things you are etc) vampirism could not and does not free Louis (+ Claudia) from anti-Blackness. Altho patriarchy and white supremacy are closely related and both relevant to the show, obvs, it just rubs me wrong when one is ignored in favour of the other. And of course it's always the critique of whiteness that ends up ignored 🤔

Why is everyone so scared of mentioning that Louis is Black? Ugh. Sorry. I'd like your thoughts this fandom makes me feel like I'm off my meds. - 🦁

sry it took me a min to get to this, I wanted to track down the post itself for context. I can't find OP's username now but I remember seeing it before and it not being familiar. so idk otherwise what they've said about this post for the tone and intention.

I can say tho that utena and succession have made rounds here in comparison to iwtv from black fans sometimes. but I've also seen this post otherwise criticized before this ask for not having any black references on it. I tried to find that rolin quote about giovanni's room too, cuz I remember it, but idk where it is or what the whole context was anymore.

from being around the tumblr fandom, what I can say about this kind of stuff is that....from the book ppl to show fandom, both sides usually want to "prove" they're rly smart? it's for diff reasons but sometimes the same references. fandom in general keeps moving towards if u can make ur argument about whatever thing sound deep then that means it is and more ppl will support it. there's a lot of constant misuse of social justice and psychological terms as well as connections to art and literature. look how often ppl never talk about anything critically bcuz "it's gothic romance, sweetie" or "stop looking for morality in stories about vampires" (that was anne rice's whole point tho?? but ok lol). it's a lot of words to say nothing.

ppl will basically always jump thru more hoops than is necessary to look smart in ways that ppl have a broad connection to. a lot of black creators aren't well known to ppl in the first place and mostly only prbly by black ppl too, so referencing anything doesn't get u the points that greek "classics" or pop references get. it also depends on the age range of where anything is posted. this fandom tends to be 20s to 40s but with more emphasis on 20s now, prbly, so lots of focus on proving ur worth and intelligence in the world. this post feeds that type of thing. it's kind of a pat on the head that ur engaging with "smart" stuff.

idk if the post *was* meant as a joke or not bcuz this is the kind of stuff the fandom *will* weaponize in defense of white fandom shit in rly racist ways, so. like u said, it's always kind of about all these other things except the most obvious.....which doesn't take much book smarts to see, u just look at the world around u on any given day. but I've noticed ppl tend to avoid topics that hit too close to home, so this is a way to give distance to things too, I think. If it's all fictional then it can't hurt u fr and also u don't have to care about being vocal about anything or doing any work otherwise.

[gogandmagog]

so what are your favorite books/authors besides lm montgomery...I maybe just maybe am tailoring my goodreads tbr for next year 👀

“I love a book that makes me cry.”

– Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

And apparently me too??? I’m just over here adding this grossly popular quote right at the top of this list after having wrote it up, because when I look back over these all-star books that rushed to be highlighted, I realise that… every last one of these moved me to tears.

But I’ve read them all half-a-dozen of times, at least! 🥺 So, here we go, here we go!

Beloved by Toni Morrison. This one knocked me out, good and proper. It’s such a masterpiece. It starts in the 1870’s of Ohio and follows a former slave and her daughter. It’s got a strong Haunted House vibe (there is a ghost), and it opens up with both something quite Maud-would-appreciate-this-ish and quite chilling; "124 WAS SPITEFUL. Full of a baby's venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the children. For years each put up with the spite in his own way, but by 1873 Sethe and her daughter Denver were its only victims." Mind, some people haaate this book, and feel quite strongly about it — but I like prosey books (this is the top complaint as far as I can tell), and this one is certainly that. Some very harrowing descriptions of the abuse of slaves, to be sure, but I personally have never been one to turn away from that ugliness, because remembering and understanding its weight feels important.

Stoner by John Williams. This is a little bit like ‘life sucks, and then you die’ — hyper precise about mundanities and is frankly a huge red flag to see sitting on a dudes bookshelf but… I loved it so much. 😅 It’s quiet, but poignant, and in its simplest rendering is about a very bored English Professor falling greatly in love with someone who is not his wife. Keep in mind, I’m hardly a girl who thinks infidelity is either cute or excusable… but this book firmly lodged itself in my heart, anyway.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. I’m a HUGE BIG HUGE BIG HUGE Baldwin fan. And this is the book that started it, for me. Like, this novel will fully pull you apart, and give you a wallowing. I’d say it's even a great atmospheric read for winter, and I also even want to go ahead and say this book is considered a classic, but I could be making that up; maybe it’s just a classic to me. The plot surrounds the struggles of a bisexual man in late 1950’s Paris; he’s just proposed to his girlfriend, but he goes on and has a relationship with a male bartender. There’s race, misogyny, and class issues here too, but this book isn’t so heavy that it becomes cumbersome to read. It’s actually quite beautiful. 

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Another prosey book. Maybe the most prosey book I’ve ever read… you don’t really get a break from it. But it’s so lush, and visceral, and the word play is sometimes so genius that you don’t mind getting fully lost in it (at least, I didn't!). This book could be labeled “tragedy” because it’s sometimes rather bleak – it's about fraternal Indian twins, Kerala history, and the lasting impact of childhood traumas, as well as the exploitation of the weak, really. But, there’s high points too!

Elsewhere if you haven’t read Peter Pan as an adult, I urge and beg of you to. J.M. Barrie (that’s James Matthew Barrie, and I will never stop conspiring that this is intentional of Montgomery and James Matthew Blythe) is right up there with Lucy Maud in the realm of exquisite and sweet storytelling that transcends age.

Of course Shirley Jackson, but you’re already a reader there! Fanny Howe has been an obsession of mine lately, too — I think I’ve posted her twice here and here — despite her being a poet, which is something of a fault that I’m being very charitable about overlooking (only half-joking, I really usually don’t care for poetry [except you Mary Oliver], not even LMM’s or by extension Anne or Walter’s either). Eve Babitz and Joan Didion are close personal friends (okay, it’s one-sided).

Anyone else that I read over and over are so classic that it’s almost white noise/nonsense to list them. I think the Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is my all-time never-to-be-defeated, and Lolita (despite its very uncomfortable content) by Vladimir Nabokov is a close second (I once saw Lolita cited as being ‘a love letter to the English language’ and I frankly agreed with my whole chest), and Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell (his essays are things of brilliance too) takes bronze. I also obviously throw myself at the feet of the likes of C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll and Fyodor Dostoevsky and Virginia Woolf and Kafka and Sylvia Plath and Charles Dickens and James Joyce, and all of Those Guys too. Genuinely. I also wholly stan Washington Irving. He’s most famous for Sleepy Hallow, which I’ll link right here because if you tap on it and read even a single line, I think you’ll be like, ‘oh right, he is sensational.’ And this quality continues throughout his catalogue!

Signing off with a true and sincere hope that you’ll consider sharing your TBR list with everyone, and maybe some recommendations of your own, too!!! Your opinion means worlds!!!

[solongllondon]

8, 20, 23, 32, 42, 50 & 71!

sarah!! thank you <33

answers under the read more this is gonna get long lmao

08. A book you finished in one sitting

The last book I finished in one sitting was probably The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

20. a book that got you out of a reading slump

Probably My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. I read it sometime last year and while im still sort of in reading slump rn it really did get me to pick up books again.

More recently, I read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler and that one also really helped get me out of it a bit. I highly recommend both books actually!!

23. a book that is currently on your TBR

some of the books currently on my TBR are Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers, The Latin Deli: Prose and Poetry by Judith Ortiz Cofer (who I adore), and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

32. your favorite nonfiction novel

I’m not sure I have a favorite yet, I don’t read as much nonfiction as I probably should lol (at least outside of uni) but I really loved Winter Journal by Paul Auster and also Jaquira Diaz has a memoir called Ordinary Girls that is absolutely stunning and truly a must read, tbh.

42. a book that made you want to scream by the time you got to the end

scream in frustration? probably Homo Faber by Max Frisch, never have I ever hated a book more and i do not understand why a) some people like it or b) why it’s so WILDLY portrayed as good literature and given to teenagers to read in school or c) why people hold up Max Frisch as some genius when all he really was was a sexist, misogynistic asshole.

50. a book that made you cry a LOT

ahahahaha repeat answer but im still not over the song of achilles. nor will i ever be, i don’t think.

71. your favorite LGBTQ+ fiction

okay. so. one of my absolute favorite books ever is called Hot Milk by Deborah Levy. It’s just an extraordinary book that feels like poetry at times. (my blog title and bio quote are both from the book)

Other than that. um. should we pull out TSoA as a repeat answer again? bc I think I might lmao.

I also really, really love Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin.

AND currently I’m reading Queen of Coins and Whispers by Helen Corcoran and it has so many fantastic tropes I love and it’s just? a really fun read.

✨ send me book recs ✨

[alexanderpearce]

i rewatched kill your darlings after reading and the hippos were boiled in their tanks, and the bloodsong and some of ginsberg’s diary entries, i noticed a lot of little details in the movie: 

‘you always hurt the one you love’ (which was mentioned in both hippos and bloodsong) playing in the bar scene where lucien tells david to leave, and in a later scene 

lucien calling himself arthur rimbaud at the union hall (in hippos, phillip and mike sign a petition there as rimbaud and verlaine respectively) 

the blood smeared lucky strike packet lucien pulls from david’s pocket after stabbing him (mentioned in hippos the day after the murder)

the dean calling ginsberg’s story ‘smutty’ (’today the dean called my novel “smutty”’ - allen ginsberg, 1944, the book of martyrdom + artifice)

quoting ‘another lover hits the universe’ and ‘like all sad people / i am a poet’, from ginsberg’s diary entry the day he found out what had happened

like obviously the movie isn't accurate, u can't make a perfectly accurate account of stuff like this in history, but these little easter eggs and references are so cool. 

ALSO it adds on to this literary tradition of fictionalising kammerer’s murder: and the hippos were boiled in their tanks, the bloodsong, some of kerouac’s unpublished works had characters inspired by him and carr and kammerer (and his first published novel had some that were, and heavily disguised), john hollander wrote an account of it, apparently a whole host of others including james baldwin (who is believed to have used the characters for a an early version of giovanni’s room), and so on!!!! like! what goes on!!!

[teacher-lavin]

Strangers in the Global Village: Baldwin & Joyce (Part One)

Beauford Delaney’s portrait of James Baldwin. 

Jimmy Baldwin’s essays and novels, revisited in the recent Hollywood rage, If Beale Street Could Talk, spell out the blues. That’s beautiful. That’s also sad. Baldwin was an esthete. He knew how to find the beauty in a human story. The realities he revisited, of course, were tragic. Like jazz composers’ treatment of African American tone poem and song, Baldwin’s writing is an emotional conversation with the ancestors that has flood into the present. The tales are tortured. 

Lamentably addressing past practices of lynching, African American communities today face the same threats described by Harlem Renaissance founder, Langston Hughes as “A Dream Deferred” and in the literary innovations that James Baldwin later accomplished. The stories are a dream gone bad. They reach further back to Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass denouncing arbitrary, senseless executions of Black people. In that tradition, the present moment’s Black Lives Matter movement recalls the more recent  accounts by Baldwin of brutality in the 1960s, and both past and present  resonate in Beale Street’s final scene of protagonist, Fonny and his family living with an innocent Black man’s incarceration. 

Both as novelist and historicist, one of Baldwin’s proclaimed ancestors is the Dubliner, another Jimmy, James Joyce. 

Written in Exile, Baldwin’s essay, “Stranger in the Village,” recounts his realization of the African past by way of Joyce’s character, Stephen Dedalus, a young Irish schoolteacher who comments to his British employer on payday that, “History is the nightmare from which I am trying to awake” (Ulysses). Baldwin quotes this sentence and reworks the scene from the Joyce novel in his essay to recall the anger he felt as school children in a Swiss village follow him pointing and calling out the word for black in German which reminds him of another city, other white children jeering and yelling almost the same word, and his feelings for the peculiarly dehumanizing history that is racism in the United States. 

“James Joyce,” Baldwin told an array of interviewers in Paris, London and New York, “is one of my influences.” Of course, Joyce had a style of continually, like a jazz composer, paying homage to the foremothers and forefathers by weaving into his narratives high allusions to Homer’s epic sagas, as well as Irish ballad and verse, and a proto-Indo-European collage of Sanskrit and countless indigenous oral traditions from across the globe. All configured in Joyce’s writing to awaken us to the nightmares of confusion, loss and injustice that humans seek to give meaning in storytelling. 

Like Baldwin, Joyce did most of this writing in exile, escaping the former colony where he and most of his fictional characters were born. Like Baldwin, Joyce devoted a life to confirming contradictions inherent in his early life as a fervent Christian and, ultimately, unveiled inequality and inequity imposed by patriarchal systems in both Church and Government. Joyce’s women contravene gender norms whose liberation resulted in his Ulysses being censored. Joyce’s Molly Bloom recites a soliloquy expressing her sexuality, her rich sense of desire and her complexity. It was ruled pornographic. On a similar note of censorship and erasure, Baldwin's Giovanni’s Room, gave voice to a gay relationship whose intimacy and interracial tone conveyed a humane turning point of understanding and compassion that homophobic,  Anglo-American courts failed to tolerate and flatly barred from publication. 

Stephan James (depicted above) starred as Alfonzo ‘Fonny’ Hunt in the 2018 Academy Award winning film based upon James Baldwin’s 1974 novel, If Beale Street Could Talk.

A Short Story, Much too too Sadly Short

As his teacher, I remember the assignment our class discussed the Friday prior to Latif’s death (name changed to Latif here, and thus a fiction). 

I have to imagine.

Before he left class that Friday, Latif and I spoke about his college applications and about the essay he was writing. I asked, “So, Latif, what are you thinking about?” and he answered with a curious, cryptic nod, “My dreams.”

Was the question in Latif’s mind when he died on Sunday? 

His dreams? Or, was he remembering the nightmare?

That same Friday, reflecting about our semester’s work, Latif and our class and I had talked about James Joyce’s stories, “Eveline,”  “A Little Cloud” and “Counterparts” and James Baldwin’s Novel, Another Country. I had chosen the excerpt from Baldwin’s essay, “Stranger in the Village,”  where he mentions Joyce’s character Stephen conjecturing that “History is the nightmare” from which he was seeking to awaken. I had asked the class to explain in an essay of their own how authors of fiction struggled to awaken from different kinds of nightmares, --political, cultural, historical. Then, I also asked these students to express the history and the nightmares that they had witnessed and wished to recognize or awaken in their minds and hearts. That was Friday. Sunday, Latif was gunned down.

On Sunday, did the nightmare cross Latif’s mind as he passed away? Joyce’s nightmare and Baldwin’s has been at the core of how I, a white teacher in an African heritage community, recognize the empty chairs left by students whose violent deaths jeopardize surviving students’ capacity to endure the trauma, the disorientation and the despair that threaten them. Sociologist, Maria Kefalas, told me that her research showed that African American men were more likely to die in our neighborhood of Philadelphia than if they were  soldiers enlisted in an active war zone such as Afghanistan. 

On Monday, the young man sitting next to Latif’s empty seat in class repeated like a mantra, “I just don’t have anymore feeling left, I’m numb.” 

At the funeral, I stood over Latif’s coffin, thinking, you still owe me an assignment about your dreams.

[zmoats-blog]

Moving Outward by Moving Inward - On My Neighbor Totoro and a Social Media Detox

A few weeks ago, I decided that I was going to commit to a social media detox. Not because of any particular instance, I just wanted some distance from places like Twitter, Facebook, and other sites. For the most part, I have stuck to the detox. I am not here to write about any insight I have gathered from the experience, mostly because I have not discovered anything worth sharing. It’s been nice. I feel less connected, but I also feel less stress. I am not done with the detox, so perhaps I will write about the experience in the future. For this post though, I wanted to break the hiatus. I wrote the outline for this post a few months ago when I was writing regularly. Then I got distracted, stopped writing, and started to get in my own way.

Since my last post, I haven’t written anything. I knew I needed to get back to it, but I just kept finding excuses not to: the timing wasn’t right, what I wrote wasn’t any good, nobody reads it so it is not worth it (shout out the few people who consistently read these, I greatly appreciate you). Ultimately, those were just excuses though. Those are excuses I still tell myself when I do almost anything. I am starting to realize that none of those excuses get to the point though. So what if this isn’t good? You get better by practicing and learning. The biggest revelation was the recognition I am not writing for only people to read. I write for myself. I write as not only a form of art, but also a form of exploration. Since I can remember it has been like that. I used to write ridiculous (and absolutely terrible) fiction when I was young, complete with covers and clip art. Somewhere along the way, I lost some of that zeal for writing. I got spooked and convinced myself none of it was worth it. While I cannot pinpoint a recent moment that changed everything, but I do not want to let that fear dictate whether or not I work at this.

James Baldwin is one of my favorite writers (if you haven’t read The Fire Next Time and Giovanni’s Room, you should absolutely put them next on your list), and I was reading a handful of quotes on his birthday a few weeks back and a few stuck out to me. He has this manner of cutting through the façade and fanciful coating that surrounds most writing (including my own). He said:

“Write. Find a way to keep alive and write. There is nothing else to say. If you are going to be a writer there is nothing I can say to stop you; if you’re not going to be a writer nothing I can say will help you. What you really need at the beginning is somebody to let you know that the effort is real.” (1984 interview with The Paris Review)

Baldwin knew that there was no significant advice he could give about writing beyond you must do it. You must write. So here I am. I am writing to you again. I wanted to do something different this time. This will be my last post for a few months again. I am preparing to pursue this wholeheartedly, but I want to be prepared. I am going to keep working and honing my writing skills, so that when I return with all my ideas and projects and writing series that I will have more to offer than before. I hope you’ll stick around and continue to read. Before I go though, I wanted one last post. I wanted to leave you with a little bit of me.

My Neighbor Totoro is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and it does not feel the least bit hyperbolic to call the film a masterpiece. In fact, there likely is not much I could write about the film that has not already been said. If you are looking for a deep dive into what makes this movie so special, Lauren Wilford’s Bright Wall/Dark Room piece captures its essence in an extraordinary way. In fact, as I thought about the film, I leaned on Lauren’s piece. Admittedly, I do not believe I could write something better or more acutely aware of what makes the film special than her, so that is not what I want to do. I want to write about my experience with My Neighbor Totoro. I want to talk – yet again – about a realization I had both watching the movie and ruminating on it afterward.

My Neighbor Totoro has no discernable plot. A mother gets sick, then she’s healthy and returns home. Granted, that is a simplification, but that adequately expresses the actual events of consequence in the movie. My Neighbor Totoro, in both visual and feeling, is so much more than that though. I continued to ask myself when it finished, “How?” How did Hayao Miyazaki manage to make this movie explode with feeling by forsaking any type of structure historically present in film? I continued to probe this question and realized that Miyazaki creates movement, pace, and a spectacular world by moving inward. For me, this was the very heart of My Neighbor Totoro. The movie is not about looking outward for events to move plot or action forward, it is about looking inward.

The plot of My Neighbor Totoro is stationary, but the movie gets bigger, brighter, deeper, and broader by indulging the imagination of the children within it. The mind of the children is what allows the limitless nature of the film – movement outward through movement inward.

Much of filmmaking and watching is about entertainment, but there is more depth to that relationship. There is a visceral connection between film and moviegoer. Martin Scorsese once said:

“Whenever I hear people dismiss movies as ‘fantasy’ and make a hard distinction between film and life, I think to myself that is just a way of avoiding the power of cinema. Of course it’s not life – it’s the invocation of life, it’s in an ongoing conversation with life.”

This Scorsese quote applies in the case of all movies, but it was especially resonant as I thought about My Neighbor Totoro. In the midst of the conversation Scorsese mentions, it is not always about walking away with lessons learned – sometime its about connection. I have never felt this more clearly than with My Neighbor Totoro. I found myself not particularly caring where the film was going, I just wanted to be there with it.

The idea of movement inward allowing us movement outward seems counterintuitive and confusing, but it is precisely for that reason that it forges that visceral connection with the viewer. Imagination that does not abide by logic evokes memories of childhood for those who have aged past it and represents the best of all children. It is not so much that My Neighbor Totoro connected with me stronger than other films, but it was the unique manner by which it did that struck me. At one point in my notes, I wrote, “Happiness shouldn’t make me cry like this, should it?” The overwhelming sense of connection to film is what caused me to write my undergraduate thesis on the subject, so exploring this is not new for me. How I My Neighbor Totoro forged that connection was new though. The way that Miyazaki lets the imagination of children dictate My Neighbor Totoro nurtures an unbreakable bond with audience – adult and children alike.

The radical act of forsaking traditional structure allowed Miyazaki boundless possibilities and opened my eyes to an entirely different way movies can connect with viewers. I wrote my thesis on this point, actually: why do we watch movies? There are seemingly a million ways to break it down (trust me, that’s what I did for my thesis and had to eventually settle on nine), but Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro gets at the heart of it all. In the midst of this invocation of life – the forging of this visceral bond between movie and viewer – lies this desire to feel, see, and explore outwards from oneself. Sometimes, the only way to move forward is to indulge your senses and feel this beautiful, godforsaken place around you.

Here’s to hoping while I am gone that you all find the time to indulge your senses and especially to enjoy and discover what you love most in this life. I’ll be back here in a few months with my end of year pieces and a writing schedule heading into the next year. I hope you stay with me till then, and as always, thanks for reading.

[alexisbundy1-blog]

#4 When I was in the third grade...

WARNING: some of the things I’ve written here might be offensive to some people. also i used to have a really close minded way of thinking but i don’t anymore so please don’t attach my 10 year old self to my 16 year old self we are different people!!!!!!!

Currently, my native Australia is voting on whether to legalize same-sex marriage. It’s a divided issue with many young liberals in support of legalizing gay marriage, while older conservatives believe that a civil union is enough. At the moment, the country is being run by a conservative party under Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Recently, he admitted he was voting for the legalization, which surprised many. The country will be completing a postal ballot that will be announced on November 12. 

On Sunday night, American rapper Macklemore performed at the National Rugby League grand finals in Sydney. NRL is a big deal in Australia, and many natives gather round the television to watch the final match. Prior to his performance, it was spread that Macklemore would perform his hit “Same Love,” a song about same-sex love that was written to encourage the legalization of marriage equality in the United States (side-note: marriage equality was legalized 3 years after the song was released). More than 18,000 Australians signed a petition prohibiting Macklemore performing the song, citing a discomfort with politicizing a rugby match. However, Channel Nine, the TV station airing the match, ignored the petition and continued to allow Macklemore’s performance.

And boy, were people pissed. Here are a few examples:

Former PM Tony Abbott, another conservative leader, argued, “Footy (rugby) fans shouldn’t be subjected to a politicized grand final.” Channel Nine aired a ‘Vote No’ commercial funded by anti-gay marriage lobbyists. And this is a legitimate quote I found from conservative MP Bob Katter:

"If they take the most sacred day of the year, outside of Christmas, and use it to promote their sexual proclivities, that is an insult and an offense to every single follower of rugby league in this country."

But regardless of the negative comments, many Australians are thrilled with Macklemore’s performance. In fact, “Same Love” has hit number one on the Australian iTunes charts, and Macklemore is being consistently praised online for his performance. 

In my years growing up in Sydney, I was raised in a slightly conservative household. My parents voted for the Liberal party (the conservatives), and this year my extended family were in support of Donald Trump. I was completely unaware of my family’s conservativeness until I moved to the United States, where I found out that my father was actually a lifelong Democrat and I, well, attended Castilleja. I began to have a more open mindset and had a complete 180-degree turn on my initial thoughts on many subjects. 

I was also exposed to a liberal American way of thinking, both through History and reading. 

In fifth grade, I read a portion of Pretty Little Liars, where one of the main characters is gay. At first, I thought this was rather odd, and frankly, it made me uncomfortable. But in moving to California, I re-read the novel and found myself totally supportive. My brain didn’t shut down and gross out when I read about Emily’s discovering of her own sexuality; I was fine with it. What was the point of me caring?

I became more exposed to same-sex relationships as time went on: in Bad Kid by David Crabb, in learning about the Stonewall riots and Harvey Milk in history classes, and Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. The fact that Castilleja pressures one to have a liberal mindset aside, I found myself becoming far more open to the idea of two boys or two girls loving one another, and I slapped myself for thinking too much of it earlier. There truly was nothing wrong with two people in love, no matter their sex, I believed. 

As I continue to delve into more American literature and learn more about this nation’s history, I learn more about how American culture really influences other countries; for the first time, I’m hoping that America will influence Australia in this big decision. 

Sources: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/nrl-grand-final-2017-macklemore-calls-for-equality-after-performance-of-same-love-20171001-gyscn9.html

https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/9/28/16378454/macklemore-nrl-rugby-league-grand-final-same-love-debate-marriage-equality-australia

[gracelessknights]

“I just want to do the right thing and what’s best for you.” “How would you know what’s best for me?” I asked sharply. “You’re not me. You have no right to make decisions for me.”

“Don’t feel sorry for me,” I tell her. “There are millions of people who have had their mother die. You did, as well. I’m not so unique. We all get through it as best we can.”

And yes, his sex life is fairly shallow; he’s admitted as much. But he’s clearly intelligent and kind. Not the soppy sort of kindness that seems to be more about showing off than actual caring, but a quiet, unobtrusive thoughtfulness that’s unexpected and lovely.

“I love you too, baby,” she said. “I really do. I want you to be okay. The rest of your choices are up to you. I hope to God you make the right ones.”

“If you say you’re in love with him, then I believe you. Please understand, however, that at your age very few loves ever last. You don’t know if he’ll just decide to leave you one day. Keep that in mind, okay?”

“You have ten minutes,” he told me. “Ten minutes to think about what you did wrong and how bad you feel right now. Are you ready?”…“There. It’s over now,” he said. “Now you look forward and figure out how you’re going to get better.”

Anything is possible if you give it a chance

“They’re your family.” Hades laughed. “No. Goddess lesson number one: Fear the family.” “My mom—” “Was a wonderful mother to you, I’m sure. But she still lied and deceived you at every turn.” He waved off my protest. “Consider yourself lucky. Our father tried to eat us. We all grouped together and killed our parents. Instead of drawing us closer, we spent the next few millennia ripping each other apart. Families think they know what’s best for you. Your friends let you figure that out for yourself.”

I trust him to be true to his nature, you need to trust those around you will be true to their nature. Even when it may appear that they are betraying who they are.

Aim to be better not bitter.

Some things are out of our control,” he said. “We have to learn to accept and adapt.”

Why drown in love when you can have so much fun swimming around in lust?

Who better to parent you, than people who have had to persevered through their life.

Be a catalyst for change

My aunts said I was dreaming when I said I wanted words to be a career, but my mother kept quoting Picasso’s mother. “Picasso’s mother told him if he got into the army, he’d be a general. If he became a monk, he’d be the pope. Instead he was a painter and became Picasso. That’s exactly how I feel about you. So do, Rachel, what you love.”

Rise and rise again until lambs become lions.

Demographics are destiny.

“Devils don’t come from hell beneath us. No, they come from the sky.”

Goodnight. Travel well.

“It’s not torture. It’s not making things worse. It’s not horrible. It’s not a fucking mistake. Out of everything don’t you dare say it’s a mistake.”

Learn before you burn.

I don’t think it [love] is someone who sweeps you off your feet. I think it’s someone who stays right beside you and let’s you walk on your own.

We can only do want we know.

We can only practice what we understand and he neither understands this nor does he value it.

“…,Im fine.” “Until you’re not. Then what? What am I supposed to do,…? Do you have an answer for that?”

Intentions don’t bloody matter if the end result isn’t what you expected.

I feel like you have the best intentions but you’re just making one mistake after another.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified.”

Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.” ― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

“Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting.” ― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance

“Despite your best efforts, people are going to be hurt when it’s time for them to be hurt.” ― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

Of course it hurt that we could never love each other in a physical way. We would have been far more happy if we had. But that was like the tides, the change of seasons–something immutable, an immovable destiny we could never alter. No matter how cleverly we might shelter it, our delicate friendship wasn’t going to last forever. We were bound to reach a dead end. That was painfully clear.” ― Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart

“I can bear any pain as long as it has meaning.” ― Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

“That’s what the world is , after all: an endless battle of contrasting memories.” ― Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

No truth can cure the sorrow we feel from losing a loved one. No truth, no sincerity, no strength, no kindness can cure that sorrow. All we can do is see it through to the end and learn something from it, but what we learn will be no help in facing the next sorrow that comes to us without warning.” ― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

Most people are not looking for provable truths. As you said, truth is often accompanied by intense pain, and almost no one is looking for painful truths. What people need is beautiful, comforting stories that make them feel as if their lives have some meaning. Which is where religion comes from.” ― Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

“It’s easy to forget things you don’t need anymore.” ― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

Instruction does much, but encouragement everything. ― Letter to A.F. Oeser, Nov. 9, 1768

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. ― Neil Gaiman, Coraline

You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. ― Christopher Columbus

Either you run the day, or the day runs you.                                                         ― Jim Rohn

What you plant today, you can harvest tomorrow.

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.  ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is not about where you impart your views, it is about the message itself. Speeches made on on a table in the cafeteria can sometimes mean more than words said in an arena with roaring crowds.

It’s not just a word. It’s the weight of it.

It’s not a small thing to give up everything you’ve ever known. But it’s not a small thing to give up Emma, either. If there is even a slight possibility he can have them both—Emma and his heritage—then it’s certainly worth fighting for.

“If you ever get caught in the undertow,” he’d said, “just let it take you. Just let it pull you right out. Whatever you do, don’t fight it and waste your energy and oxygen. That’s how people die. The people who don’t die wait it out. The undertow lets go eventually, right when you think you can’t hold your breath any longer. You just have to be patient.”

I wonder if other mothers feel a tug at their insides, watching their children grow up into the people they themselves wanted so badly to be. ― Jodi Picoult, Keeping Faith

You’ll never know your limits until you push yourself to them.

He - and if there is a God, I am convinced he is a he, because no woman could or would ever fuck things up this badly. ― George Carlin

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art – write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself. ― Neil Gaiman

You need to spend time crawling alone through shadows to truly appreciate what it is to stand in the sun. ― Shaun Hick

Neither the sun nor death can be looked at steadily. ― François de La Rochefoucauld

Do not sit still; start moving now. In the beginning, you may not go in the direction you want, but as long as you are moving, you are creating alternatives and possibilities.’ ― Rodolfo Costa, Advice My Parents Gave Me: and Other Lessons I Learned from My Mistakes

It is never too late to be what you might have been. ― George Elliot.

Being there for someone when they need you, that’s all relationships are. ― That Awkward Moment.

Remember: It costs nothing to encourage an artist, and the potential benefits are staggering. A pat on the back to an artist now could one day result in your favorite film, or the cartoon you love to get stoned watching, or the song that saves your life. Discourage an artist, you get absolutely nothing in return, ever. ― Kevin Smith, Tough Shit: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good

Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent. ― Steve Martin, Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life

Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

When you put effort into your self and people will put effort into you

We find comfort in those who agree with us - growth among those who don’t. ― Frank Clark

Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition. ― James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. ― Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. ― Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain. ― Maya Angelou, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now

You wanna make a splash? Part the Red Sea.                                                       ― Harvey Spector

In a gentle way, you can shake the world.                                                            ― Mahatma Gandhi

Silence only perpertuates more silence

“Jesus, you’re so bloody…forward.” “You don’t get anywhere in life by going backward.”

I know that this woman isn’t just a prostitute, she is an heir. I know that this precious woman is a princess and was worth the King of kings to die for her. I know that she is worth more than $20 dollars for 4 hours and that she is treasured beyond belief. I know that she is valued and loved to an extent I will only know in heaven.                                                                                               (A Christian article I read a while back)

I’ve learnt that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel                                               ― Maya Angelou

Name one thing you can’t live without. Emma Stone: Love. In whatever form it takes.

It would make more sense to have birth control for men because .. There’s a better chance to shoot on an empty gun than to shoot a bullet proof vest.

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.

i’m still not sorry but I understand.

Don’t wait for the future. it’s all hit or miss

Do what you can for as long as you can

Visual escapes are crucial only due to the psychological factor it pertains

I love my community so i wanna help it

Education should never have a political agenda.

“She stared into the fire for some time, thinking about what she had in her life, and what she had given up; and whether it would be worse to love someone who was no longer there, or not to love someone who was.”                                  ― Neil Gaiman

As for courage and will- we cannot measure how much of each lies within us; we can only trust there will be sufficient to carry us through the trials which may lie ahead. ― Andre Norton

A lie would have no sense unless the truth were felt as dangerous. ― Alfred Adler

Is the holocaust an aberration or reflection of who we really are. 

I found myself surrounded by people who celebrated intellectualism and engagement and who thought that my ironic oh so cool disengagement wasn’t clever or funny but like it was a simple and unspectacular response to complicated and compelling problems.                                                                   ― John green

Just because you’ve done something throughout your life, it doesn’t let you off the hook for it. If it’s wrong, it’s wrong. Stop using familiarity as an excuse.

You’re doing what you can and that’s all that matters.

Treat yourself like you would treat a small child.

For what it’s worth: it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over again.                                                                                                ― F Scott Fitzgerald

“I don’t know anything with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me dream”

The only thing you need to do anything is the time and motivation

Adjust your sails according to the wind

“Then suck it up, take responsibility for your own mess. And get your head back in the game. ”

Learn something with the intention of teaching it.

You’re the only person who has control over who you become.

Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

‘When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow’

“Need covers itself with love … but need is never love. Always beware of the one who needs you. There is always a want behind a need, you see”   ― J Lynn Armentrout

“If you’re not scared, then you’re not taking a chance. And if you’re not taking a chance, what the hell are you doing anyway!” ― Ted Mosby

This is the problem I have with religion, people do too may things in the name of belief, or worse use it to prevent others from exploring external possibilities.

So here’s my advice study broadly and without fear. Be vigilant in the struggle towards empathy ― John Green

Being afraid isn’t a weakness, Alex. It’s only a sign of something you must overcome.” ― J Lynn Armentrout

“We would all believe in God if he served our every whim. Belief is not about an easy life. Belief is soemthing you have regardless.”

“Sit down, take a deep breath. And let mommy take care of it… just like she always does.”

Small mishaps don’t count a fuckups by the way -me

It’s not a problem, its challenge

Take the game seriously, but remember it’s just a game

“Even when you grow up and move away, its important to come home. Ok?”

It doesn’t get easier… it gets manageable.

Don’t set off running unless you can see the finish line.

Are you strong enough to carry your secrets

Escape-based choices are almost always disastrous, because they solve only half the problem. Target-based decisions at least have a shot at being successful, so keep that in mind every time you have a significant choice to make. Don’t be pushed away from what you don’t want; let yourself be pulled toward what you do want. I’m not saying your end goals can’t change—of course they might. But don’t tell yourself, “So what if this isn’t what I’d hoped for? Heck, it beats what I’ve got.” You deserve better.

Understand that there are no “wrong” decisions.

In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences. ― Robert Green Ingersoll

“The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Clarity and focus doesn’t always come from God or inspirational quotes. Usually, it takes your mother to slap the reality back into you. ― Shannon L. Alder

The mother memories that are closest to my heart are the small gentle ones that I have carried over from the days of my childhood. They are not profound, but they have stayed with me through life, and when I am very old, they will still be near … Memories of mother drying my tears, reading aloud, cutting cookies and singing as she did, listening to prayers I said as I knelt with my forehead pressed against her knee, tucking me in bed and turning down the light. They have carried me through the years and given my life such a firm foundation that it does not rock beneath flood or tempest. ― Margaret Sanger

It really takes the pressure off if you understand that every experience you have, whether you characterize it as “good” or “bad,” is exactly the experience you need to have at that moment. Some choices may lead to more painful lessons than others, but living life in fear of living life is no way to live.

When I was trying to decide whether or not to go on my trip, I had a friend who flipped a coin and made me commit to the outcome. Life involves some risk. Flip the coin and see where it leads you.

William Parrish: I thought I was going to sneak away tonight. What a glorious night. Every face I see is a memory. It may not be a perfectly perfect memory. Sometimes we had our ups and downs. But we’re all together, and you’re mine for a night. And I’m going to break precedent and tell you my one candle wish: that you would have a life as lucky as mine, where you can wake up one morning and say, “I don’t want anything more.” Sixty-five years. Don’t they go by in a blink?”                                                                                                     ―Meet Joe Black

William Parrish: I want you to know how much I love you, that you’ve given a meaning to my life that I had no right to expect, that no one can ever take from me.

Susan Parrish: Dad…

William Parrish: No! I love you so much. And I want you to promise me something. I don’t want you to ever worry about me. And if anything should happen, I’m gonna be okay. And everything’s gonna be all right. And I have no regrets. And I want you to feel the same way.

Susan Parrish: I love you, Daddy.

William Parrish: That’s why it’s okay.

―Meet Joe Black

[Watching the fireworks above the party before they depart]

William Parrish: It’s hard to let go, isn’t it?

Joe Black: Yes it is, Bill.

William Parrish: And that’s life… what can I tell you.

―Meet Joe Black

Joe Black: I don’t care Bill. I love her.

William Parrish: How perfect for you - to take whatever you want because it pleases you. That’s not love.

Joe Black: Then what is it?

William Parrish: Some aimless infatuation which, for the moment, you feel like indulging - it’s missing everything that matters.

Joe Black: Which is what?

William Parrish: Trust, responsibility, taking the weight for your choices and feelings, and spending the rest of your life living up to them. And above all, not hurting the object of your love.

Joe Black: So that’s what love is according to William Parrish?

William Parrish: Multiply it by infinity, and take it to the depth of forever, and you will still have barely a glimpse of what I’m talking about.

Joe Black: Those were my words.

William Parrish: They’re mine now.

―Meet Joe Black 

[thewoesofyaoi]

(1)You've said that men can't sell their stories and that women dominate the field, and while it is certainly true (women dominating the field), you think the reason for this is that women generally write kinky porn for women to enjoy and men do not. Have you taken into consideration the sheer amount of women writing m/m fiction, comparing to man? And that readers of those works are predominantly women? That men are generally not interested in romance genre, which m/m fiction mostly is.

(2)No one is keeping men from writing their stories. They just don't do it much. In the m/m fiction section at least. Or maybe there is some gatekeeping movement going on, where women harass man out of "their field". I have never heard about it, but if it's true than I'll be happy to be proven wrong. Maybe there are some hidden gems written by not women no one's heard about because of that. Can you recommend some?

hi, and thank you for these asks. they pose an interesting question: are men stopped from writing erotica?

i want to say yes. but it might not be the way you think. 

i ran across this thread some weeks ago, and it has stayed with me for quite a while. though i do think the entire thread is important to read, i want to focus on what thebibliosphere is writing:

Oh my gods this. This is everything I try and fail to say when people ask me how to explain fetishization vs storytelling.

Do you know how many books by gay men I edited in my time at the erotica publishing house? One.

Out of literal thousands of manuscripts, there was One gay man writing m/m, the rest were all by women, and I feel safe in saying, the majority of them, not from within the LGBTQA+ community.

And boy howdy did they pitch fits when we turned to them and said “your manuscript does not meet our health and safety requirements please revise” because our house had a strict safe sane consensual rule, along with body positivity, which everyone LOVED when they were writing m/f stories. But when it came to m/m we had so many authors say “ew, but that’s not ~sexy~ :/” to which my reply was often a very politely phrased “literally don’t give a fuck Susan, you know what else isn’t sexy? Bleeding assholes, which coincidentally is what you’re being.”

But y'know, nicer. Because I’m a fucking proffesional.

Anyway. Do you want to know what happened to said singular man writing m/m fiction? He got dropped after a year. Because, and I quote, this is a direct line from our then marketing team, about a gay man writing gay erotica: “that’s not what women want to read”

And if that’s not one of the most precise and fucking infuriating demonstrations of what the fuck is wrong with the “but I write gay slash fic! I can’t be homophobic!” “~allies~” (spoiler: you’re not) in fandom and yes, even in “real” publishing, I dunno what is.

There is a Difference between storytelling and fetishization, and all y'all crying “kinkshaming!” when someone asks you to treat them with respect, need to stop.

emphasis mine

i also found this ask that thebibliosphere got, but i’ll only quote what i found the most important:

Which, there’s nothing wrong with women or people who identify as women, writing m/m stories. But when there’s an entire industry dedicated to gay male suffering aimed as cis straight women, there’s a serious problem. People are not objects, they are not dolls for you to play with. Anyway.

this isn’t some fanfiction, or fanart, or even a free manhwa found online. it’s published books, where the authors get payed for every sold book, and men - man in this case - can’t even get a deal. because women don’t want to read gay stories written by gay men. a respectable erotica house lays off their only male m/m writer, becuase the marketing team doesn’t find that women are interested in it. 

if that isn’t keeping men away from m/m erotica (and romance), i honestly don’t know what else it might be. 

through this blog, i’m also constantly bringing up the fact that non-mlm’s voices are shut down in writing spaces where m/m is prevalent. i’m a fanfic writer myself, writing fanfiction with an mlm audience in mind, and i’ve gotten comments about how my sex scenes are unrealistic (”you don’t need to prepare an asshole that much!”), or boring (”why do you keep adding lube mid sex scene? and condoms?? ugh”), or outright wrong (umm, what?). 

i’ve had non-mlm writing partners tell me that i shouldn’t write for mlm, because i should focus on what women want to read instead. i’ve been told, when i voice my concerns over how the community is treating mlm creators, to “leave the m/m community if you hate it so much”. me, a gay man. leave the m/m community (which entail MY orientation, MY sex life, and MY relationships), becuase some women think their fetishization and objectification of gay men is more important than my comfort

this is why we say that mlm creators of m/m are shut down. and we, as both fans and consumers of published m/m media, needs to change this

to change the subject: i’m constantly looking for good gay books written by men, but it’s a long and hard road. most best-selling m/m books written by gay men are self published, just so you know. 

i don’t have a list i can recommend right now, especially on the happier side. they’re so hard to find that i’m, myself, still looking for more than one or two. a classic lgbt book, though it’s about internalized homophobia which manifests in misogony and abuse, is giovanni’s room (1956) by james baldwin (a gay black man), and it’s a good book to show that mlm should be the ones writing about male-related homophobia, rather than women. 

if anyone wants to add good m/m books written by mlm, send us an ask or reply to this; we’re aiming to keep a list of good representation on our blog in the future

[nebulousboundaries]

Some Picks from the Queer Book List

Hullo folks it’s your friendly neighborhood literary feminist queer here to offer some book suggestions from the ongoing project made possible by all of your recs. So, some highlights from the list:

Children’s:

George (2015) by Alex Gino follows the story of a young trans girl as she comes out to her friend and family. It’s a wonderful story that treats her with nothing but respect, and gives children good examples for both how to come out and how to react to friends coming out.

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun (2009) by Jaqueline Woodson follows the story of a black boy figuring out how to deal with his mother dating a white woman. Excellent for middle schoolers (and also college students. and anyone really).

YA:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2012) by Benjamin Saenz, because it had to be on here someplace. Seriously, if you haven’t read it yet you should. It’s the story of two Latino boys figuring out their place in the world.

Literary:

Giovanni’s Room (1956) by James Baldwin. Something of queer history; I strongly support people reading anything by Baldwin.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde. Okay, yes, we all know that Dorian should have eaten, like, an orange and gone for a walk in nature. But a lot of early queer literature is more like this. It also has many memorable quotes, and then you can quote them at people without them realizing that they were jokes.

Poetry:

Extracting the Stone of Madness Poems: 1962-1972 by Alejandra Pizarnik is the poetry collection I’ve been most obsessed with lately. She is an Argentinian poet whose work is beautiful and weirdly unknown in the US. I was informed by a bilingual friend that Yvette Siegert’s translation is a good one for those of us who do not speak Spanish.

Message me with books you think should be on this list/on the page in general!

[jmlascar]

long tag for the bae

I was planning to work on my fic but then @krasnyzmeya posted this tag and said she’d like to read my answers so obviously this is what my productive brain chose to do! But it was fun haha (also bby your answers cracked me up so much, especially your mom’s quote, she’s a legend) 

1. Coke or Pepsi: oh man I drink way too much diet coke

2: Disney or Dreamworks: I love Disney songs, but i’ll have to go with Dreamworks because you don’t get more brilliant than Shrek. Also How to train your dragon makes me cry and I think the internet needs to thank them for the utter weirdness that was the Bee Movie. It gave birth to some quality memes.

3: Coffee or tea: Tea, because I like just about any type, whereas I’m very specific about my coffee. But I drink a lot of both.

4: Books or movies: Books.

5: Windows or Mac: I was raised by the biggest Mac fanboy this planet ever saw, so that’s what I’m most familiar with, haha.

6: DC or Marvel: DC for the comics, Marvel for the TV shows, both for the movies. (is this cheating?) (whatever that question is cheating) (you can’t just pick one)

7: Xbox or Playstation: Nintendo DS. Tbh I never played the other two. We did have a playstation at home but it effectively became my brother’s.

8: Dragon Age or Mass Effect: I haven’t played either, but from what I’ve heard of it Dragon Age looks really cool.

9: Night owl or early riser: It is currently 2:45am. Definitely night owl. (If only for the owl part.)

10: Cards or chess: I love chess.

11: Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla.

12: Vans or Converse: …I only wear boots? But I’ve owned my fair share of Converses in the past, so that.

13: Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar: Are these Dragon Age characters? Idk. Whoever’s gayest, probably.

14: Fluff or angst: I want fluff in my life and angst in my books.

15: Beach or forest: Forest. ‘I hate sand. It’s coarse and rough and it gets everywhere.’ –> my life

16: Dogs or Cats: …this is just cruel. 

17: Clear skies or rain: Rain rain rain

18: Cooking or eating out: Cooking is pretty nice, even if i’m often too lazy to do it properly. Cooking with friends is especially fun. 

19: Spicy food or mild food: I am so weak. Spice makes me cry. My tastes are boringly mild, lol. 

20: Halloween/Samhain or Solstice/Yule/Christmas: Halloweeen, because candy, scary movies, and cool costumes!

21: Would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot (and no the winter coats and AC’s are not an option): I mean… normally I prefer cold over heat, but that’s because I get to be warm and fuzzy in my blankets. But if that doesn’t warm me up, I’d probably pick hot and drink lots of iced tea? But would the ice tea feel cool or?? idk the physics of that question hurts my brain lol

22: If you could have a superpower, what would it be: Controlling time! Or super memory.

23: Animation or live action: That’s so broad, I’m not even going to begin trying to pick one, man. 

24: Paragon or renegade: I don’t know what this is. But Renegade sounds edgy. So that.

25: Baths or showers: Give me a lavender scented bubble bath and i’ll probably ask you to marry me

26: Team Cap or Team Ironman: OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN 

27: Fantasy or Sci-Fi: Sci-Fi

28: Do you have three or four favourite quotes, if so what are they? If not do you think you will in future? I’ve got sooo many, hahaha. I have a tendency to fall in love with pretty words. Let me pick the ones I can think off the top of my head:

from A Streecar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams: “They told me to take a streetcar named Desire and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at — Elysian Fields!”

from the Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison: “Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another — physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought.”

from Giovanni’s Room, Hames Baldwin: “Touch, but no contact. All touch, but no contact and no light.” I asked him: “Why?” “That you must ask yourself,” he told me, “and perhaps one day this morning will not be ashes in your mouth.”

from The Lake, Alphonse de la Martine: “Mais je demande en vain quelques moments encore, Le temps m'échappe et fuit ; Je dis à cette nuit : Sois plus lente ; et l'aurore Va dissiper la nuit.”

English translation: "But I demand in vain a few moments again Time escapes and runs away from me I tell that night: Be slower; yet the dawn Will dissipate the night.“ 

from salt. by Nayyirah Waheed: ” ‘no’ might make them angry. but it will make you free. — if no one ever told you, your freedom is more important than their anger

29: Youtube or Netflix: Netflix. Their originals are the best of what tv can make, and they’ve never disappointed me so far.

30. Classic Disney, Disney Renaissance, or Modern Disney? Renaissance.

31. What would you tell your younger self? “Don’t listen to them. Keep being you. It’s going to be ok.”

32. If you could change one thing about the world around you, what would it be? I would make us all one hermaphrodite gender.

33. Make music or listen to music? @meta-duckling will tell you I’m off-tune and deprived of rhythmic sense (i’ll never forget nor forgive, nathan. never.) sooo i’ll go with listening, haha. I did play the harpsichord for a couple of years (& if you think it’s a lame outdated instrument just remember that hannibal lecter plays it, so u might wanna be careful, just saying) and used to sing kinda well but now it’s all gone

34. Slow burn or Oneshot?: Definitely slow burns. Big books and 300k word long fics with heaps of subtle character development give me life. That being said, I have a couple of one-shots I really love out there, and I think I’d enjoy writing one.

and I’ll tag @meta-duckling because i know how much you love making decisions ♡

[newfrontierseries]

The Celebrity Cookout: Black Icons + Me (Part 4)

“I’m rooting for everybody Black”

- Issa Rae

All right folx – this is it! We’ve made it to the final post of The Celebrity Cookout: Black Icons + Me (*cue Boyz II Men’s End of the Road*). Thank you so much for sticking with me and supporting this week-long personal project. It was really special to spend the past couple of days engaging with some of my Black friends and sharing stories and memories that they held so dear, and I am incredibly grateful for being given the platform to spotlight some of their voices.

Earlier this week, during the Rough Cut reading of Michael Jackson and the Devil’s Book, an audience member shared that one of the things that they appreciated about the show was the BLACKNESS of it all. I agree - its one of my favorite things about this macabre fantasia that Terry has composed. The invitation this story offers us, as Black people, to be fully and authentically Black, fully and authentically ourselves, and the understanding that Blackness is anything, and everything, we want it to be.

Hearing stories from folx reflecting on impactful Black celebrities in their own lives, I could not help but notice that time and time again, a similar theme emerged: I love this person because they made me feel seen. The fact is that so often, for Black folx, the reason that our idols are our idols, is because they allow us to tap into a certain part of ourselves, because they allow us to see ourselves reflected back, because, as the overeager PA blurts out in Terry’s play, they “make us proud to be Black.”

This play makes me proud to be Black. These stories make me proud to be Black. Thank you for tuning in, and thank you to the folx featured in today’s post! We will be back in the new year with some more hot content for you, so keep close and stay tuned! 

Name: Peter A. Hometown: Mequon, WI

Who is a Black celebrity that has had a major impact on your life? James Baldwin is the Black celebrity who has had the largest impact on me.

Can you talk a bit about what that impact has been? As a Black gay man, Baldwin's identity lines up closely with my own. I remember the first time I read Giovanni's Room and then immediately after Notes on a Native Son. Both books felt like revelations. They profoundly articulated what I had been feeling as a Black queer in the United States.  A few years later I made a commitment to read all of his writings, and I happened to start this 'project' during a particularly difficult period.  His words and thoughts buoyed me during that time in a way no other writer has. 

What is an iconic moment of theirs that has stuck with you (or, as the kids would say, lives in your head, rent free)? There's an interview with Baldwin and Maya Angelou which if you haven't seen.... run don't walk to YouTube and check it out.  At one point she asks him about homosexuality and he starts talking about love.  Eventually he says, "All I know is that if I love you.... I love you.  And, if I love you and dodge it, I die." 

Name: Jarrett K. Hometown: Seale, AL 

Who is a Black celebrity that has had a major impact on your life? Oprah Winfrey

Can you talk a bit about what that impact has been? The diversity of her impact - journalism, media, entertainment, philanthropy, education, world politics!

What is an iconic moment of theirs that has stuck with you (or, as the kids would say, lives in your head, rent free)? YOU GET A CAR YOU GET A CAR YOU GET A CAR

Name: Meagan D. Hometown: Memphis, TN

Who is a Black celebrity that has had a major impact on your life? Tupac. Beyoncé. Viola Davis. Can you talk a bit about what that impact has been? Tupac – His love for young people + storytelling ability + activism Beyoncé – Her love for black people + need to give others opportunities + pushing the envelope artistically Viola Davis – Her love for artists/black stories + ability to articulate the importance of learning about humanity through art + activism

What is an iconic moment of theirs that has stuck with you (or, as the kids would say, lives in your head, rent free)? Tupac - “Dear Mama”, Brenda’s Got A Baby, and his iconic A Different World episode

Beyoncé –  Beychella and performing in the Super Bowl as Black Panthers Viola Davis – Any speech of hers ever ever! Specifically the one with the Harriet Tubman quote regarding opportunities. Triple Threat of Acting. She has done every media for acting: TV, film, theatre (on and off B’way and regional theatre)

Name: Chantel W. Hometown: Long Island, NY / Kansas City, MO

Who is a Black celebrity that has had a major impact on your life? Beyoncé

Can you talk a bit about what that impact has been? I grew up watching Beyoncé in Destiny’s Child. I distinctly remember hearing and watching the “No, No, No (pt. 2)” music video when it came out. I remember “Bills, Bills, Bills,” I remember “Jumpin’ Jumpin’,” I remember “Bug a Boo” – and when she went solo, I remember “Work It Out” and “Crazy in Love” and B-Day and everything I Am...Sasha Fierce. She basically spent the 2010’s turning herself into a true icon – it was a joy to watch.

I loved Michael Jackson, I still love Michael Jackson - he was always around, especially as his lighter self. I remember when I first really watched the older music videos of him during his Thriller heyday and feeling like wow I kind of missed out on experiencing this live, in real life. And I remember when I realized that Beyoncé was the next coming of that, and how excellent of a performer she was, how hard she worked, her growth from 1998 through 2016 and just watching that was remarkable. It’s astounding. And she always tops herself, every single time. She is just so, excellent.

And so the impact for me has been that standard of excellence. Wanting to aspire to work as hard as she does and to put as much effort and care and discipline and excellence and dedication into a craft. I just think she’s fantastic.

 What is an iconic moment of theirs that has stuck with you (or, as the kids would say, lives in your head, rent free)?

I do remember the moment when she dropped Untitled. The drop of the century. I freaked the fuck out. I really did. Honestly, the performance she did at the VMA’s of all of Beyoncé was also definitely a top moment for me. The Super Bowl performance of Formation is definitely a top moment. And Homecoming. Honestly. Ugh. Watching that for the first time was such an experience. In my little studio apartment. Hella late. Screaming at my television. Because it was just so beautiful. And so Black. And so her. It was just her doing her entire legacy of music for white kids at Coachella that were stoned out of their minds. But also it was really not for them. It was for us. And every single Black person really saw themselves. The impact!

Name: Victor Musoni Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

 Who is a Black celebrity that has had a major impact on your life? My favorite Black celebrity/had a major impact on me is Stevie Wonder.

Can you talk a bit about what that impact has been? Stevie Wonder is one of the first musicians I remember listening to as a youngin' and his music just has always made me feel at home. Also he can WRITE WRITE, so I love listening to his songs because of that as well. It transports me back to my mama's arms  

What is an iconic moment of theirs that has stuck with you (or, as the kids would say, lives in your head, rent free)? I just feel like every time I watch that man play his piano it is iconic. Truly.

[justcling]

Standing in 2017, when scientific development has reached wide and far and yet people’s minds are not yet ready to accept natural occurrences like homosexuality of existence of transgender people; we can only imagine how different and difficult things were back in the old times. We do not have to go back much to have a grasp of the situation.

But inspite of that, many of them struggled through the hurdles – some emerged victorious, others not so much.

However, their names and struggles remain hard to forget. Here are some LGBT people who left a mark on their own community as well as society at large.

ALAN TURING

Alan Turing was a scientist, mathematician, cryptologist and visionary ahead of his time. The Turing Machine he created after months of dedication and hard work helped change the course of the Second World War, as the previously unbreakable Enigma code used by the Germans were decoded by his creation.

source: https://goo.gl/WnhwCr

In return, the then British government convicted him on the charges of homosexuality and he was to choose between a lifetime in prison and the sentence of chemical castration. He chose the latter, but the procedure broke himand he committed suicide in 1952, two years later.

However in 2013, the great scientist was granted a riyal pardon posthumously and publicly by a decree signed by the Queen.

In the following year, the movie The Imitation Game won many hearts, accolades and an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for an honest portrayal of the great man’s life for the common people to learn the truth. Benedict Cumberbatch did an outstanding job in the lead role.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game (source: https://goo.gl/n4v2U5)

BARBARA GITTINGS

Barbara Gittings was a prominent American activist for the LGBT community long before the Stonewall incident called or a country-wide protest. She organized the New York division of the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organisation in USA, from 1958 to 1963, edited their national magazine The Ladder from 1963–66, and was actively involved in the protest against the ban on employment of gay people by the United States government.

Barbara Gittings (source: https://goo.gl/fxLRBx)

She was a also a part of the movement that lead to the American Psychiatric Association dropping homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973.

JAMES BALDWIN

In a world full of racism and stigmas, it is difficult to be a person of colour or an LGBT person. American writer James Baldwin was both. Born and brought up in Greenwich, Baldwin left for France, where he began to earn a name and reputation for his work. His most famous novels include Go Tell It on the Mountain, Giovanni’s Room, Tell Me How Long the Train Has Been Gone and Another Country–the ladt two dealing with homosexual and bisexual characters.

James Baldwin (source: https://goo.gl/VA8P9p)

Even after enduring a lot of dismay and resentment from various corners of the society, his words and contribution keep on influencing the homosexual and black communities in both the continents. His quotes are often mentioned in both th LGBT movement and the Black Lives Matter movement.

VIRGINIA WOOLF

Born in a privileged English family in 1882, author Virginia Woolf was raised liberally by free-thinking parents. She is the author of modernist classics like Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse and Orlando, and also wrote pioneering feminist works – A Room of One’s Own and Three Guineas.

Her deep emotional bonding and sexual relationship with fellow writer Vita Sackville-West is known through many letters the two of them exchanged over time. A patient of depression in her own life, Vita turned out to be he muse as well as a huge source of encouragement for life before she committed suicide by drowning.

Vita Sackville-West (left) and Virginia Woolf (right) (source: https://goo.gl/WsuYFM)

Her work gained much attention and widespread popularity in the feminist movement in the 1970s. Back in 1928, she addressed undergraduate women at the ODTAA Society at Girton College, Cambridge and the Arts Society at Newnham College with two papers that eventually became A Room of One’s Own, Woolf’s best-known nonfiction works – where she says:

“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”

There she talked about the difficulties that female writers and women in general faced because men held disproportionate legal, social, political and economic power, as well as the future of women in education and society.

MICHAEL DILLON

Born Laura Maud in 1915, Laurence Michael Dillon (left) is reportedly the first transgender man ever to undergo a Phalloplasty – the surgery of grafting a male genitalia from scratch onto his body. He also wrote a book entitled Self: A Study in Endocrinology and Ethics, which is considered as the first book ever published about transgender identity and gender transitioning.

https://goo.gl/jkMkvi

https://goo.gl/oAYBZX

He also aided in the sex-reassignment surgery of Roberta Cowell (right), Britain’s first male-to-female transgender person to undergo gender transition. Though not yet a licensed physician, he himself performed an Orchidectomy – the stage before Vaginoplasty on Cowell, since British law made the operation illegal at that time.

    In the era of black and white, these people fought to keep the rainbow flying high, #fightforrights #lgbtrights #lgbtindia #justcling Standing in 2017, when scientific development has reached wide and far and yet people’s minds are not yet ready to accept natural occurrences like homosexuality of existence of transgender people; we can only imagine how different and difficult things were back in the old times.