#besides even if it is 100% heterosexual i love having queer readings

[utilitycaster]

I would read a post about Ashton’s treatment by fandom, because I’m seeing the signs of another Beau/Jester vs Jester/Fjord explosion with coming if Ashton has and communicates romantic feelings toward Laudna and I wish fandom was self-aware enough to not do that again…

It’s interesting too, I feel like the two characters who have the strongest connections across the party and also the deepest mysteries still unaddressed in their backstories are Ashton and Chetney. For a fandom that loves “found family” and speculating on open ended backstory, they feel weirdly under-appreciated.

So to start I do want to assure everyone that if something's in my tags it's probably fair game to ask about; I have spiked bat proficiency.

Specific to Ashton: what's interesting is that early on, Ashton's queerness was this sacrosanct thing involving a lot of people's projections over their idea of punk (which I discussed at length here; do note this post is 10 months old and characterization marches on). There were also abundant headcanons about Ashton having disabilities due to their injuries long before it was confirmed in 3x35 that they experienced chronic pain. One of the early popular ships was also Ashton/Fearne, given their early thievery from each other and Fearne's interest in Ashton's skull. It continues to be a ship with some degree of fandom support.

Pretty much as soon as Ashton and Laudna started to interact more, Ashton's queerness either was shunted into "actually, he is 100% gay" or was fully ignored, and a masc-presenting nb person was rewritten as someone cis and heterosexual for being interested in a woman. The fact that, as far as I can tell, the first person in the party outside of FCG that Ashton voluntarily let touch them was Laudna (when comforting her following the Taste of Tal'Dorei pot holder purchase in 3x25) - which Ashton encouraged - is generally ignored in favor of Ashton and Orym's first one-on-one conversation in which Orym asks Ashton if it's ok to hug him, a full 15 episodes later, does not go without notice. (As is the fact that Ashton gave, as an example, "You sometimes start making out with someone's sister" in episode 3x9).

Essentially, Ashton's queer identity and personal relationships are conveniently reshaped so as to support ships someone wants and make impossible those they don't want...even if it conflicts with their own previous Ashton ships with women. When, in truth, all we know is that Ashton uses he/they pronouns and has shown some general interest in people of various genders.

The chronic pain, meanwhile, is interesting because after it initially I haven't seen it mentioned much lately except in the context of shipping (and primarily shipping Ashton with Orym, and primarily in the sense of 'Orym's the only one allowed to touch them' which as discussed is patently false). It's actually really interesting you mention Chetney and Ashton being particularly compelling because firstly, I agree, and secondly, it feels like a lot of fans of Ashton...really just use them as a cudgel against Chetney? Like, I do actually go into the main tag with some regularity and sometimes even the Ashton tag, and you may recall that there was extensive discourse about how Ashton should get turmoil...but I really don't recall any discussion about Ashton needing a mobility aid before that, and discussion of them needing a mobility aid pretty much vanished once the matter was settled. (I also think that Ashton/Fearne is a ship with plenty of textual support, but it took off in a particularly weird way once Fearne started to flirt back with Chetney; frankly my feeling on that whole situation is in fact to turn the triangle into a throuple but that's besides the point). Like, people seem to weirdly pit the two against each other in a way that feels wholly out of line with their friendly rivalry in-game. I honestly don't know why that is, and would love to know.

Anyway in summary Ashton is, in fact, a queer disabled lower-class punk, and it's great, but people keep saying how cool that is and then primarily engage with all of it solely to bolster or block ships or knock down other characters, even twisting the character's depiction in ways that are reductive in terms of disability and biphobic/at times transphobic in terms of queer identity to do so, which sucks. It also feels that as things like his chronic pain have been made canonical, people who were into similar headcanons have been less likely to engage, which is a pattern I've seen a lot and always raises red flags for me.

[moonmoonthecrabking]

so lavender haze is a bop and i think it's fascinating

like ofc there's the "straight view" based on the mad men explanation she gave (which is a lil suspicious in and of itself but i'll get to it later): a desire to be in the ambiguity of love and not forced to commit to the extremes of "a one night or a wife". living in the moment, be wise, strain the wine, carpe diem, and trust as little in the future as possible, all that horace stuff. additionally, the "damned if i do give a damn what people say" does play into her public image and mental health and how, even within heterosexuality, she'll be judged regardless

however, there's the queer view. first of all, lavender is a very gay colour, and i knew that even before i knew i was bi (granted, i wanted to be the """"educated ally"""" and liked history and etc but it's not tough information to stumble across). additionally, even though all google searches for "lavender haze" will now link back to taylor, the madmen example that she gave is only really seen there and on urban dictionary. while urban dictionary is fun, i wouldn't exactly call it a reliable source (unless it's bitching about my high school, in which case it's extremely reliable). i think that most people who say "gay pride... things that make me, me" would be more inclined to think it's a queer phrase. "the 1950s shit they want from me" could be about conservative gender roles, but also conservative sexuality ideals (keeping in mind that the lavender scare about homosexuality was in the 50s while madmen was in the 60s). a lavender haze, by the visual in the music video, obscures the truth, and, while hinting at lavender feelings, cannot be made out. "all this shit is new to me", honestly, speaks more to queerness than heterosexuality. being straight is the default in society, but also to ourselves. a lot of women who had gay feelings thought "oh silly me that's just how friends feel!" (it is not, in fact, how friends feel) and that is the only relevant thing to me about mrs dalloway. "creeping up on me" could be a reference to a more-or-less recent discovery of these feelings. plus, "them bringing up my history", while it could totally be due to taylor's reputation as a serial dater rooted in patriarchal ideals, could also be about a) the women taylor has been rumoured to have dated or b) the fact that people tend to invalidate multisexual identities particularly if they haven't dated someone of the same and another gender.

from that second possible reading, taylor could've only realised her queerness while in a relationship with joe, because that does happen. i think that, due to more and more young people coming out (which is great and lovely!!!!), we can sometimes forget that it can take people time to realise their identity. it's possible that, even with all the karlie kloss and dianna agron stuff, taylor presumed it was just "straight fun" (the dianna agron clip of "i've kissed girls before, it's fun!" springs to mind), before a potential solidification of her own feelings c. 2019 with lover.

please keep in mind that this is all speculation, and honestly a lot of projection. i don't claim to know taylor's sexuality, but i do think that it's lovely there's a deeply personal song for taylor that can resonate with both straight and queer folks, speaking to her talents as a songwriter.

tl;dr - stream lavender haze it fucking slaps

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

Let’s talk: Grievances and Cuteness - BTS on You Quiz on the Block

by Admin 1

Today BTS were guests on You Quiz on the Block, a very popular Korean variety show on tvN, and it was a wonderful mix of fun and hilarious, but also serious, vulnerable and honest. Seeing as we don’t have subtitles yet, merely the things our marvelous translator ARMYs managed to translate for us—the episode was 100 minutes long so there was a lot going on and being said—I don’t want to get into detail in this post and instead will wait with that until we have subs and I’ll be able to sit down and watch it properly again, focus on things that stick out to me and I would want to talk about. So that I can do their words justice.

Instead I want to use this post to air some of my grievances, directed at fellow ARMY, “ARMY” and shippers, as well as just gush a little about a few cute moments. The more serious things will be in a different post sometime soon. I hope that’s okay.

Grievances

What is the point of Bangtan going on a show like this, especially one that is broadcast on national TV and very popular with the general public? It’s to share not only their funny side but also their honest and genuine one, share stories that, though some we’ve heard before as ARMY, they’re things the general public doesn’t necessarily know. The point of them sharing vulnerable moments and memories with us is to simply be honest and transparent, something they’ve always highlighted as important to them.

What is the part we play in this, what is it that we should do? We are simply supposed to listen, understand the things they are telling us, put things into perspective so we know what they felt in certain moments and periods of their lives, understand that they’re human too with struggles, fears and sadness, and we should cherish the fact that they tell us any of it at all. They could just as well only show up whenever there’s a new album and comeback and then disappear again, share nothing personal at all and put on entirely fake personas. But they don’t. And we should be grateful for that and happy because of it.

Now, the reason why I even wanted to write this in the first place is this:

Many, and I mean many have decided that instead of doing what I’ve highlighted a moment ago, a far better course of action would be to twist their words, manipulate them, use them to victimize the members (and especially Seokjin), and try to overanalyze them in favor of their desired narratives and especially their ships, even if whatever was being said had absolutely nothing to do with any ship at all.

Before the episode even finished airing, solos/mantis were already up in arms “crying” about mistreatment and victimizing Seokjin because *insert demands they have no right to make at all* and when Seokjin, bless him, was on weverse, he actually replied to a post where he basically said that parts of what he said were too sad/depressing, so he simply asked the You Quiz staff to cut them out, which would explain why he seemed to have “less to say” during his interview section with Yoongi. Did that help? Of course not. Even though it showed not only that he did say more, that he likely said more vulnerable things, but also that he made the decision for himself that he did not want to share that yet, because he’s not ready for it or because he came to the conclusion that he simply doesn’t want to period, and that his wish for them to cut it out was met. Even though it wasn’t BH controlled content, but You Quiz.

More below the cut:

What does this tell us? The members have control over what is aired and what is not. If they feel something is too personal or would come across wrong, they can voice objection and chances are their words will be met and followed. They aren’t victims in need of saving, aren’t helpless boys with no idea what they’re doing. They are serious musicians, respected and treated well. This is a good thing and I’m glad he told us that, even if many don’t want to hear it and immediately claimed that “oh yeah BH told him to shut us up”. The mental gymnastics some are willing to do to make things fit their agenda truly baffles me sometimes.

On the other hand, I’ve seen shippers try to twist words or put others into the members mouths to push their agenda, and we’ve even had one or two asks being sent to us basically sadly wondering if maybe Tae isn’t who we thought he is for Jimin, and neither is Hobi, because of something Jimin said. Even though the thing Jimin said had quite literally nothing to do with either Tae or Hobi. In a way, I get where such vminnies are coming from, as vminnies we would love to just hear vmin talk about each other all day because it’s cute and we love their bond and stories, but it’s not like we didn’t get that. Because we did. Unprompted. Jimin mentioned Tae during their trio interview and told a story, even if we’ve heard it before to a certain degree. And yet it still wasn’t enough? Like come on, please don’t do this. Don’t reduce everything the members do and say to just ship related and non-ship related (thus uninteresting) statements and actions, as though the latter is worth less.

Here is the moment in question:

The way I see it, the only thing we should take away from this is that despite these very human fears and struggles, wonderings if people only care about Jimin because he is BTS Jimin and not Park Jimin, he still had and has good people in his life that’ll remind him that he is appreciated and loved for who he is, and not just for his celebrity status. Friends even outside of Bangtan. Why do we have to take something so incredibly personal, this moment of vulnerability from Jimin, and try to overanalyze it? To twist it to fit a ship? Regardless which one. Or to twist it to fit some kind of narrative, whatever one it may be? Please don’t do that.

Sure, Admin 2 noticed his use of ‘chingu’ when talking about this friend that told him that, and sure it reminded me of what Jimin said to Tae in the FESTA 2020 Rolling Paper, but neither Admin 2 nor I will go and claim that oh he must’ve been talking about Tae but didn’t want to use his name to avoid XYZ because we are not in his head and, at the end of the day, it’s irrelevant who exactly said that to him. That wasn’t the point of that story. Like at all. So why are some people disregarding the point in favor of speculations? Why are some completely ignoring his words, downplaying them as just potential ship material instead of appreciating the fact that he told us that at all?

It’s unfair toward Jimin, and the other members as well when they tell similar stories. Their lives aren’t fictional stories that revolve around romance. They are real people with real lives and more friends than just their fellow members and that’s a good thing since it surely gives them the opportunity to feel less isolated, cut off from the world by nature of their occupation and status. Besides, in the past Tae said something similar as well, how he used to be a social butterfly and make friends easily wherever they went but eventually he understood that people didn’t really care about Kim Taehyung and instead just wanted to know BTS V and be able to use that to brag, so he stopped being so outgoing. And we’ve also seen Jimin talk about cutting out friends in the past if they said something negative about Bangtan, then, a few years later, saying that he’s grown more as a person and learned to not allow these things to affect him as much, to surround himself with genuine people.

So, in light of what he said in that segment, we should be happy for him. And that’s it.

We also saw people use what Tae said about his dad to push the he must be 100% heterosexual because he said he wants to be a dad narrative which, where do I even start. Perhaps with the fact that this statement relies on a mistranslation? Because he didn’t say he wants to be a dad but that he wants to be a person like his dad, that’s his dream. Perhaps with the blatant homophobia this statement is laced in? The disregard for how queer people can also want to have kids, be parents, just like anyone else? Perhaps with how these things oddly seem to just be done to Tae and Namjoon, and especially Tae to use it for ship purposes?

Instead of jumping to conclusions, overanalyzing stories we are not supposed to analyze but instead to simply appreciate, please wait until we’ll have the full episode with subtitles (even though from the past we know that some of it may be simplified so reading what our translators wrote is also a good thing to get the whole picture) and even then, just enjoy their silliness and listen to their words of honesty. Listen to the fact that their fame was and continues to be a heavy weight on their shoulders, how instead of becoming cocky assholes they remained humble and genuine because that’s the kind of people they are and want to be, listen to what they want you to hear and now what you want to hear.

Also, to shippers—this isn’t the place to look for ship content of any kind, for some romantic confessions or whatever, because this was about Bangtan as seven members and their stories of the last ten and a half years since Namjoon joined BH and the idea for BTS was started.

Cute and silly things

Now that that's done, let’s talk about some fun and cute things to lighten the mood, shall we?

One of my favorite moments was when the MIC DROP ARMY came in as a surprise for the members, her confidence was off the charts and the guys looked so genuinely happy. After all it’s been so many months since they’ve last seen ARMY! And I’m so glad she was such a wonderful representative for us all, how she didn’t react with fear or shyness, didn’t scream or cry, but instead did her thing like a Queen. And the way the members reacted when she sent them a finger heart during one of the dances? Absolutely adorable! 

Also, she truly must’ve saved some kind of nation, or maybe two, in her past life since she also was gifted a chicken leg pillow by Tae. He’s just so kind and lovely.

Then we had the members play a game of trying to guess a song merely by the first second (I think) and then having to sing it, though who sang which part didn’t follow the actual order in the song but was chosen by someone off screen which meant that, for example, Tae was doing one of the rap line verses as well as singing Jimin’s part in another, Hobi showed off his vocal skills, and of course, the highlight, Namjoon singing a part from Spring Day. Even though we know Namjoon’s skills when it comes to singing are not the greatest, which I mean in a very loving way, no tea no shade, and yet he still went for it. It was hilarious and cute and showed that he is willing to be silly even if others might laugh at his expense.

Sometime after the episode aired Namjoon actually came onto Weverse to talk about the episode and, among other things, apologized for not singing Seokjin’s guide all that well. One thing I’d like to point out is how, originally, he wrote Jinhyung but then changed it to Seokjinie hyung, which is just a small and precious little detail:

Another cute moment was during ‘dance mafia’ when Tae turned to Jimin to ask him if they did well and Jimin replied that yes, he did well (both using this adorably soft tone with each other), they also hugged for a moment while smiling brightly. See, I said not to look for ship moments, but this is just cute regardless if you ship vmin or not. Admin 2 though would like to comment on how they could’ve given us that hug from a camera that’s a little further away so we could have a more proper look, or a longer shot of it, please?

Honestly that game was hilarious and the members who were mafia did a wonderful job tricking the others, particularly JK was fantastic at it since the second time around no one suspected him at all. Also, the fluffy ear muffs with cat (?) ears on them were adorable. At the end of the segment they were all supposed to strike a pose but Tae didn’t manage to put his ear muffs back on, so they fell to the ground and so Jimin lightly hit/caressed his chest and turned toward the MCs to ask if they could try again so that Tae could look good in it as well.

Actually, speaking of adorable in regard to Jimin, when they were introduced at the beginning of the show as RM-jagi-nim, jagi-nim being the name used for all the guests on the show and also the name on the necklace (given to guests who are fans of the show by the producers) Jimin showed off on weverse in his selcas, Jimin corrected the MC that it’s not Jimin-jagi-nim but Mini-jagi-nim which just…my heart. Too cute.

Lastly, I want to mention how all of them were asked what the first sentence would be if their lives were a book and their answers were just so very…them.

Namjoon: Predictions in life often turn out to be wrong

Tae: I’m a chameleon

Hobi: Dear, people who’ve helped to lead me here

Yoongi: You lived life to the fullest/hard/well

Seokjin: Dope, worldwide class!

Jimin: What kind of life do you want to live?

Jungkook: Hello?

Overall it was an amazing episode that was so fun to watch even without really being able to understand any of what was being said. Still the members genuine personalities shone through brightly and I’m glad they had fun and felt comfortable, especially since it’s been a while since they were last on Korean variety shows and some of their past experiences were…not great. I can’t wait to watch it again once we have subs and to write a more proper post about it then. I hope you didn’t mind this more…serious and “angry” post and understand where I’m coming from with my complaints, but also that you enjoyed the cute moments I highlighted.

[stewy]

The bisexual label didn’t become popular until the 90s, even though it had been around for like 100 years, and I feel like the general public mostly didn’t know wtf it meant. There’s a good quote from David Bowie about telling a reporter he’s bisexual and the reporter got this look on his face that told Bowie that he thought he was intersex (or in Bowie’s words, that he had a “cock and a cunt” lol). The same thing happened with a friend of mine in high school (in the mid 2000s), and when she learned the truth, she swore up and down that a nurse told her that definition. John may not have used the label and he may have never explicitly said “I like dick” but come on, the man was definitely not straight. Imagine if he had come out! It would have been like Paul’s LSD interview plus the bigger than Jesus reaction combined! I mean, John had to hide the fact that he was married for a while, why is it such a reach to accept he was hiding his bisexuality as well?

Yeah, there’s one 1972 interview where Yoko refers to the Beatles’ bisexual image but she meant they weren’t macho and were more “androgynous” or whatever.

What you mentioned is really upsetting because to men raised in Liverpool in the 50s it might’ve been like. You’re queer or you’re not, and if they’re attracted to women it’s like the same-sex attraction is almost an afterthought. It doesn’t matter because you can still fall for a woman and lead a “normal” life, which was what John did. His relationship with Yoko always seems so forced because she wasn’t the only person who could understand and look after him, but she was the only woman who could marry him and love him like a mother (in whatever fucked up way).

Besides, I don’t really think John ever officially considered himself bisexual? Maybe he did, like Yoko said, but he was acting so... strange about it in 1980. But then again, he and Yoko could consider themselves “edgy bisexuals” but they never seemed to encourage or support that part of each other? Like, if you read about his more unsympathetic statements about Mick, or gayness, they’re usually JohnandYoko interviews, and John never seems to relate to these people (unlike when he was away from his wife), always using the f slur as if to separate himself from them (“it’s fine but I’m not one of them” vs. actively wanting to be seen as one of them). It seemed like both of them considered a heterosexual marriage to be the final, correct expression of love.

[frosted-flake-man-blog]

rant ahead, please read because I told you to and as we know I’m in charge here

So as you’ve probably seen from being alive, exclusionists absolutely love to say that heteroromantic aces and heterosexual aros are straight. It’s pretty much their only hobby besides being afraid of the Blue Man Group. One of the things they like to say to try to justify this claim is that they would identify as straight if they didn't know about the terms ace and aro. Well you know what I have to say about that?

Yeah. That’s true.

A lot of heteroromantic aces, if they didn't know that being ace was a defined thing, would think that their experiences were “just normal” and identify as straight. A lot of heterosexual aros would, if they never learned the term aromantic, probably think that everyone else felt the same way they do and call themselves straight. And do you know what that means, kids? It means they’re still valid. They’re still LGBTQ. They still belong with us 100%. Know why? Because the LGBTQ community isn't about hypotheticals. It’s not about “what words you would use if you didn’t know the right ones”. It’s about who you are in reality and the labels you choose for yourself.

But suppose this way of thinking was correct. Let’s pretend a second, for just a millisecond, that it is. By the logic of “if this person didn't know about the word they use for their identity they wouldn’t identify as queer and therefore they aren’t really LGBTQ”, a lot of bi people wouldn’t be included. If they didn't know about bisexuality, they might assume that everyone felt the way they did and just call themselves straight. Same goes for a lot of pan and poly people. In fact, by this logic, even gay men and lesbians aren’t safe from exclusion. Almost every gay person I know had a phase where they thought they were straight because they hadn't heard the other options yet. If this reasoning were correct, there wouldn’t even be a community to exclude aspecs from in the first place.

Seriously fellas. The argument that aces and aros are straight because they might think they were if they didn't know other words is one of the least intelligent things I’ve ever heard, and I went to high school with a bunch of white kids who thought axe body spray counted as a shower and couldn't tell time on a digital clock. Please try harder.

Sincerely, gay

[bioloby]

Gay Animals Part II: Electric Boogaloo, The Science of Gay, and You

Before I start this article off I’d like to lay a disclaimer: The reason behind why people are queer isn’t very well understood, but all science tries to do is understand the “why” of things and passes no judgment, regardless of the cause. If science said the homosexuality was 100% caused by watching too many cartoons (spoilers: it’s probably not) that information makes you no less you and it shouldn’t affect how you feel about yourself. But, as we will see, homosexuality is not only something incredibly prevalent in the animal kingdom, but is as accepted as any other trait an individual can express.

So, with all that being said, this article will deal with homosexuality, genetics, possible environmental factors, and its possible evolutionary benefits in nonhuman animals. Because the human brain is so much more complex than anything we’ve ever seen, and we still don’t know most of its secrets, it’s important to remember that what might be true for rams, penguins, or even our close relatives like bonobos, is not necessarily the case for humans. Nor should we look at other animals in a human-like manner. For instance, it’s entirely likely that gay animal couples pick up the slack for parents who abandoned their children. We can’t and shouldn’t look at them through a human filter, because it would be impossible to tell if they love each other as human couples (hopefully) do, or if their union is purely survival based. Humans might be the only creatures able to feel love, or it might be more prevalent that we are aware. Whatever the answer, it doesn’t matter here. All I will be doing is going over some of the facts that scientists know, and why this would matter to animals in the wild.

So if any of this makes you uncomfortable, then please skip this post. If you feel I’ve offended you somehow then please DM me and I’ll try to amend this the best I can. Otherwise please click the read more below.

Now homosexuality is kind of ambiguous of a term, and many scientists have conflated it with hermaphroditism, so to avoid confusion I am going to define homosexuality in the animal kingdom in two ways.

Same-sex, long-term courtship.

These are same-sex couples that act towards each other as a heterosexual couple would for at least one mating season.

Homosexual intercourse.

This can last for as long as one night of passion, or be a continuous trait in an individual.

I’m also going to consider bisexual animals on the homosexual spectrum.

PART I: The One With the Genes

Arguably one of the most powerful aspects of biology is evolution, and a key principle in evolution is detrimental traits are less likely to get passed down than traits that make it easier to survive and reproduce. So why is it then that homosexuality, a trait that seemingly provides no advantage to reproduction, is so prevalent not only in individuals but throughout the animal kingdom? If we assume that homosexuality is genetic (and there is good cause to believe that) then shouldn’t that gene cease to be passed down?

Most times the answer is yes, but sometimes if a gene benefits a whole population it will continue, even if some individuals are negatively affected by it. According to one study male homosexuality actually persists because of this very reason, not because it benefits the males, but because it benefits the females. According to the authors, homosexuality is more common in lineages with females who have high androphilic tendencies, that is, a high attraction to males. Now in males, this gene will manifest as a what appears to be homosexuality, but in females this heightened androphilia will manifest as an increased sex drive, making up for the male carriers.

This, of course, does not account for female homosexuality. Nor does it take into account possible environmental factors we’ll get into later. But it is important to highlight how evolution and nature look at traits. Under normal circumstances, unless a trait is highly deleterious (deadly to the individual) there won’t be enough pressure to remove it. But are these genes deleterious anyway? We’ve seen that they may play an important role when not being expressed as homosexuality, but it could play an equally as important role in homosexual animals.

PART II: The One With the Homosexual Helper

Animal preference and motivation are not always the same as it is in people. Swans mate for life. But is that because it makes it easier for them to find a mate in the future, or is it because they can feel a complex emotion like love? It’s impossible to say, so it’s impossible to know why animals do a lot of things. “But goddammit we’re going to try”, science said.

Take the humble penguin. In my last post, I wrote about how gay penguins will frequently “adopt” orphaned eggs and raise them as their own performing all of the same functions as a heterosexual couple would. Why then, waste resources raising something that’s not your own child?

According to Darwin, it’s not just individuals who evolve to protect their lineage, but groups that evolve to protect their species. This is largely the basis for theories on why altruism exists and can be applied here as well. Afterall, a homosexual couple is never going to produce a child, and if an egg or a baby is without a parent the option is left to die the population as a whole will have lost a child. But if a couple unable to conceive their own adopts it, then that is a net gain for the population as a whole. Thus, the population that keeps these genes that reciprocate this kind of altruism is more fit to survive than a population that doesn't. And the adoption phenomenon can often be seen in non-homosexual individuals as well, but it demonstrates a good example of how altruistic genes can help a species grow even at the cost of fitness to the individual.

PART III: The One With the Sexual Leverage

Nature is a fickle mistress, and she does not subscribe to one dogma. Sexuality, while predominantly used for creating the next generation, has been appropriated by many species as a form of leverage, bonding, the assertion of dominance, and even used to take the place of an all-out brawl. So it’s no surprise then that homosexual acts are used in a similar fashion. This is also where the motivating factors of homosexuality moves away from a possible genetic or natural cause and towards as more psychological reason. Take, for instance, the bonobo. This species seems to be functionally bisexual, using sexuality for control rather than attraction. In one instance a bonobo might have sex with their opposite gender for the reason most animals would, to make a baby. In the next instance, that same ape might get into a disagreement with an ape of the same gender. These two apes, instead of fighting, will use sex as a way of diffusing and diverting attention from the disagreement. And yet these two acts of sexual intercourse are entirely unrelated, and likely evolved for those specific scenarios.

And this is true in plenty of other animals as well, dogs will mount other dogs regardless of gender to show dominance. Marmots mount other marmots as a form of bonding. Dolphins will have sex with the same gender for fun, and then sex up the opposite gender for reproduction. The common trend it seems is that animals who are more sexually fluid, or bisexual, leverage their sexuality for personal gain, whether it be bonding, pleasure, or something else. While animals who remain uniquely homosexual have a more positive effect on the population’s fitness as a whole.

PART IV: The Scientific Community and Homosexuality: Do They Know Things? What Do They Know? Let’s Find Out.

Finally, I’d like to conclude with some talk about where scientists think homosexuality falls on the nature/nurture spectrum. Studies have shown identical twins are more likely to both be gay than fraternal twins, meaning that sexuality is almost certainly somewhat controlled by genetics, and this, of course, makes sense based on what we’ve seen and I’ve just talked about. Conversely, there are hormonal, as well as environmental, factors that may also contribute to homosexuality.

While most researchers agree that sexuality is innate, something that develops at an early age, possibly before cognition and doesn’t change throughout one’s lifetime, they are still hard pressed to figure out why. While it is unlikely that parenting has any effect on sexuality, parents can still influence sexuality. Several studies have shown that the each child born in a family line has an increased chance of being homosexual. For instance, the 7th son will be more likely to be gay than the 2nd son, etc. This is suggested to be likely due to prenatal hormones, but the exact reason is yet unknown.

And while homosexuality is innate, homophobia is not. In fact, while it’s likely every species has some homosexual members to it, humans are the only species with homophobic members. Much of what we know about homosexuality is stifled by human biases and irrational fears, something we’ll go over in the last part of this series.

CONCLUSION

So why does knowing the cause of homosexuality matter? Well besides intellectual curiosity, something that science is very fond of, it’s important to have facts. Over the past 50 years, we’ve seen huge leaps in rights for minorities, and that is a change that is still happening. As a society, we’re seeing growing pains. Where many embrace the change towards tolerance with opened arms, either because it affects them directly or because they have empathy for their fellow man, many are resistant to change something that they’ve never seen as broken. So it never hurts to have some objective fact reinforcing a new idea, and where better to get that objectivity than science.

[nickireadstfc]

The Raven King, Chapter 5 – Call Me, Beep Me

In which Neil is introduced to the wonders of modern technology, the battle against heteronormativity continues, Andreil have An Interaction™ and Nicky finally reclaims his status as best person alive.

Sounds good? Then it’s time for Nicki to read The Raven King.

We start this chapter off with Neil recapping how he’s super broke, which is already the most fucking relatable thing.

“Broke” here meaning “I am in possession of half a million dollars, however I’ll need it for my entire sad runaway life so I can’t spend it on anything fancy”, not “I’m a poor intern who’s getting paid below minimum wage”, obviously.

The reason we’re evaluating Neil’s financial status is because some unexpected expenses have come up in his life that he is ruthlessly and cruelly forced to :

He’s going shopping with Nicky.

Well, technically the rest of the monsters are there too, but let’s be real, Nicky is the driving force of Operation Let’s Get Neil Into Some Decent Nice Clothes, And Hopefully Also Laid.

The reason they’re venturing into the scary, hostile territory of an American mall is, of course, the fast approach of one particular banquet.

           “I could just not go,”  Neil said.

           “Shut up. You’re going,” Kevin said, like he wasn’t dreading this himself. All fourteen southern Class I teams would be in attendance, and that included Edgar Allan’s Ravens.

Oh, yes. Fun times with That Fucker™ himself. Have I mentioned I’m really, really looking forward to this thing?

           It was a short list of names and numbers in bubbly blue print. Nicky leaned over and made a dismissive noise. “Seriously, Aaron?”

           “Dan asked me to get a list from Katelyn,” Aaron said.

           “Who are these people?” Neil asked.

           “They’re the single Vixens.”

           “They’re all women,” Nicky said. “That doesn’t help us.”

Nicky saying ‘Fuck you’ to heteronormativity will always be my favourite thing <3

Although, as funny as it is, Neil has repeatedly told him he’s not gay. And while I totally understand the frustration of someone insisting they’re not queer while your gaydar shouts otherwise, can Nicky be a little less pushy about it, maybe?

Just a thought.

           “Stop being a bad influence,” Kevin told Nicky. “I am going to make him Court. It’ll be easier if he remains heterosexual. You know more than any of us how prejudiced people can be.”

Guys, he is literally right there.

Neil thinks so too:

           “We aren’t really having this conversation,” Neil said.

           Nicky clapped his hands to either side of Neil’s head as if trying to shield Neil from their argument. It didn’t really work, as he missed Neil’s ears completely.

Bahahaha. I actually had to laugh out at that mental image.

           “Come on, Kevin. Even you have to admit this is really weird.”

           Andrew threw his hands up. “Newsflash, Nicky: Neil isn’t normal!”

           “This is beyond abnormal.”

           “I am standing right here,” Neil said, “and I can hear you.”

You tell ‘em, Neil.

Nicky, has someone explained the concept of demi/asexuality to you? Like, ever?

Deep sigh. Will I have to do it, or does someone enlighten this boy before the series is over?

(Don’t tell me. I want to continue giving sarcastic running commentary to his running commentary on Neil’s sexuality.)

On a more serious note: The subject of Allison is brought up once again.

           “I won’t bring her,” Kevin said, because someone had to break the quiet. “You might have brought Riko’s wrath down on the striker line, but I’m the reason he’s in the south in the first place. Neither of us has the right to speak to Allison now.”

Is that……. Kevin being….. human…….. with a basic scrap of…….. compassion………?

AMAZING. WONDERFUL. WOW.

           “I know Riko was behind this. I know what people like him are like. Be glad you’ll never understand the way they think.”

           Any other time, Neil would be relieved to hear such words from Kevin. It meant Andrew hadn’t told Kevin the truth about Neil’s past and that Kevin had yet to recognize him.

Yeah, and I’m still unsure on whether I’m buying that whole ‘Kevin doesn’t recognize Neil’ act.

Like. It still doesn’t make sense to me that you could play hours and hours of little league, not to mention watch a guy get legit murdered with this kid, and be fooled with a bit of hair dye and some contacts? Unless puberty did Neil Josten really, really well, I’m calling bullshit.

On the other hand, that comment did sound genuine and y’know, it would support that even the mighty Kevin Day’s brain makes a mistake or two sometimes.

On the other other hand, the mighty Kevin Day is an excellent actor, trained by years in front of cameras, who could drop comments like these and sound like he’s being entirely 100% genuine.

On the other other other hand, why pretend to not know Neil? Maybe not in front of the rest of the team, alright, but if it’s just the two alone? Why ignore their important shared history?

My brain hurts. I need to stop going in circles over this. All in due time, Nicki.

This is for real one of the questions I’m most excited to have answered by the end of this series.

           Neil looked at the massive bundle of clothes in Nicky’s arms. (…)

           “I have good taste in clothes, right? If you want to try them on you can, but you don’t have to. I know they’ll fit.”

           “Why would I want to try them on?”

           “Oh, because these are yours.”

Can I have my own personal Nicky who takes me to the nearest Topshop and picks out bomb ass outfits for me??? Please and thank you.

Neil, however, is an ungrateful fashion grouch, not thanking Nicky with one word as he obviously does not understand what a service to everyone’s eyeballs Nicky has probably just done.

However, all that fashion banter pales against what happens next – which is where the chapter gets really good.

           “What is that dinosaur?” Nicky asked, dismayed. “No one put money on a flip phone, Andrew. You just ruined a really good pot.”

           Neil idly wondered if there was anything his teammates wouldn’t bet on.

Oh my GOD. You bet on what sort of phone Andrew had? I love this team so, so much.

Wait. Shouldn’t they know his phone? Why are they betting on that.

Wait. It’s not his, is it.

           “You couldn’t even have found him a qwerty?”

           “What for?” Andrew finished what he was doing, snapped the phone shut, and tossed it at Neil. (…) “Who is Neil going to text?” (…)

           “What.” Neil couldn’t even make it a question.

They got him a PHONE, you guys. A PHONE. THAT THEY CAN CALL. AND TEXT. FOR KEEPING IN TOUCH. FOR INCLUDING NEIL IN GROUP SOCIALIZING.

I am loving the FUCK out of this.

Neil, however, is not.

           He didn’t think a small thing like this could hurt so much, but the grief that punched through him left him in pieces. (…) Every time they moved they got new cell phones, prepaid burners they could ditch at the first hint of trouble. He’d wanted to keep hers. (…) He’d thrown them into the waves before leaving the beach.

Whoops.

Today’s Casually Mentioned, Yet Heartbreakingly Sad Neil Fact is: This.

           He’d never gotten a new one for himself. He’d never seen a point; Neil had no one in the world he could call.

Excuse me while I quickly drown in my own tears.

And although Nicky tries to calmly and gently reason with him (“That’s our just-in-case. You’ll make us all feel better if we know we can find you”, brb crying), Neil refuses to accept the damn phone.

That is, until, of course, until #bestboy Andrew shows up with it at their Late Night Kandreil Training Sesh™.

           Andrew took his phone out of his pocket and set it down beside Neil’s. His was black but otherwise seemed to be the same model.

Do I get emotional over the fact that they have matching phones? Maybe.

Is it totally ridiculous as Andrew probably just bought him what he knew worked? Probably.

Will that stop me? Absolutely fucking not.

           He flicked both open and pressed a couple buttons. A few seconds later Andrew’s phone started to ring. Neil expected a generic ringtone, but a man started singing. It didn’t sound like something Andrew would assign to his phone until Neil listened to the lyrics. It was a song about runaways.

Andrew, you wonderful little shit. <3

Also, that song either Run Boy Run by Woodkid or Ghost Towns by Radical Face and no other headcanons shall be accepted.

(I’m totally kidding. PLEASE do send in any other ideas you have, my TFC playlist still needs filling.)

Andrew bugs him about the phone thing (needing to watch his boy’s back and what have you <3), Neil dishes out some BS about how he used to keep the phone his dead parents gave him in hopes they would miraculously call again, bla bla.

Andrew is not taking that bullshit and supplies us with some sassy times instead.

           “Who am I supposed to call?” [Neil said.]

           “Nicky, Coach, the suicide hotline, I don’t care.”

           “I’m remembering why I don’t like you.”

           “I’m surprised you even forgot in the first place.”

           “Maybe I didn’t.”

What a comeback, bro. This is weak af coming from a guy who tore down Riko on national TV, just sayin.

           “There has to be a better way.”

           “You could occasionally grow a spine,” Andrew suggested. “I know it’s a difficult concept for someone whose kneejerk reaction is to run away at the first sign of trouble, but try it sometime. You might actually like it.”

           “What I’d like is to put this phone through your teeth.”

           “See, that’s more interesting.”

           “I’m not here for you entertainment,” Neil said.

           “But, as expected, you are talented enough to multitask.”

I’m loving this so, so damn much. Andrew is destroying your ass with these comebacks, Neil, and I’m on the back waving a styrofoam finger, hollering at everything he says.

I would like to also add that Andrew is entirely sober for these interactions. This is pure, undiluted Minyard sass.

And as always – never a one-on-one Andreil Interaction™ without some feels at the end:

           “I don’t care if you use this phone tomorrow. I don’t care if you never use it again. But you are going to keep it on you because one day you might need it..” Andrew put a finger to the underside of Neil’s chin and forced Neil’s head up until they were looking at each other.

Hombre…………………….….. das v gay.

           “One day you’re not going to run. You’re going to think about what I promised you and you’re going to make the call. Tell me you understand.”

           Neil’s voice had left him, but he managed a nod.

:’)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) I’m fine I’m fine leave me here to fucking p e r i s h.

Neil takes this brief honesty hour to try and get back on that weird call from the Oakland PD Andrew got at the start of the book, however that ends honesty hour because Andrew just brushes him off:

           “Children’s Services is opening an investigation into one of my foster fathers. Pig Higgins knew I lived with them, so he called me for testimony. (…) Richard Spear is an uninteresting but relatively harmless human being. They won’t find anything to pin on him.”

Bull-fucking-shit. No way. That was much too shocked a reaction for a little thing like that.

Whatever. All in due time, all in due time.

Onto better and funnier subjects: This is the wonderful, wonderful point where our favourite hobo is finally introduced to the wonders of modern technology.

           By the time Neil made it to the athletes’ dining hall for lunch he had twenty messages. Most of them were from Nicky, idle comments about nothing in particular.

Nicky <33333

Also twenty messages, that is hilarious if you consider that Neil jumps out of his skin like an anxious baby rabbit with an orange bandana every time his phone goes off.

           Neil didn’t know what to make of it. The Foxes spent seven hours together at practices every day and roomed with each other at Fox Tower. How they had anything left to say to each other was beyond him.

It’s called having friends, dude, you should try it some time.

           He wanted to turn the messaging off somehow or tell them this wasn’t why he had a phone. Phones were for emergencies, not running commentary on a teacher’s boring lecture.

Nicky continues to spam him with texts the next few days, which, honestly, big mood.

If I like you, especially if our friendship is just being newly established, I will fucking blow up your phone with wholesome memes and weird 3am thoughts. Watch me.

This tactic has made some good ass friendships though, so no regrets.

However, for Nicky it’s not just all fun and friendship-making:

           Halfway through [Nicky’s] rant about a current class project Neil’s phone hummed. Neil answered without thinking. It was a smiley face from Nicky. Neil looked up at Nicky, not understanding.

           “See?” Nicky sounded pleased. “That’s much better. That’s how a normal human being looks when they check their phone, Neil.”

Dude. Did you just………….. blow up his phone all week………… just to make sure he’s comfortable using it…………………. I CRY???????

           “Question,” Nicky said. “If I hadn’t been bothering you would you have touched that phone at all this week?” (…)

           “Question again: Do you honestly think you’d have used it if you had an emergency?”

NICKY WHEN DID YOU BECOME SUCH A GOOD PERSON AGAIN I’M SORRY I BRIEFLY UNSTANNED YOU LET ME FUCKING L O V E Y O U

           “Anyway, you’re welcome. I just saved you at least two hundred dollars in intensive therapy.”

MY DUDE <33333333333

Nicky is a wonderful person, Neil knows what an emoji is, all is good in the world again.

Next chapter: Fun banquet times! Sass! Shade! Fashion! And from all I know, possibly murder yet again! Stay tuned!

---

If you like what I do here and you want to help me continue writing, please consider buying me a coffee! Thank you so much <3

[aikainkauna]

What Ao3 Means to Me: An Essay

I left this as a series of comments on Ao3′s celebration post of them having broken the THREE MILLION fanwork mark. Fucking hell, you guys! They asked what Ao3 meant to you, and I went on a fair bit about the importance of fanfic (and the accessibility thereof) in general, so I thought I’d crosspost it to my blogs for posterity. So here’s the Tumblr edition.

***

Ao3 makes it possible for me to write and read exactly what I want, how I want, and for my works to be as accessible as possible.

-Therefore, Ao3 is the exact opposite of what I don't like about the publishing world and the world of media in general. Here, users are able to exercise an unprecedented amount of control over the sort of content they want to, or don't want to, read--bookstores or Amazon will not be truly able to tell you whether a book contains a rare kink you want to read about, or, conversely, whether there's going to be triggery material you've had enough of for a lifetime.

-You don't have to pay to read anything, which completely removes the painful exclusion suffered by those who want to read certain materials but can never afford to do so, and the frustration of having wasted your already-limited money on a terrible book. While Internet access and language barriers still limit access to even online fiction in various parts of the world, a free-of-charge website is nevertheless the most egalitarian, the most accessible method of distributing reading materials in human history. As someone who grew up in the pre-Internet era in a small town in the middle of the tundra where she had no way of getting in contact with people who shared her tastes or philosophies, I have known what it's like. Still living in the same small town in the middle of the tundra, I continue to know what it's like with no local friends into the same fandoms, and where international postage costs for things I want to buy off international websites limits my access to a great many things. I also saw the end of the zine era and had to deal with the elitism of those fans who thought that if you couldn't afford a $25 zine with $30 postage (more than an average novel), you didn't deserve to read their precious fanfics anyway. (And as was very often the case, the only well-written explicit fics in the fandom were by zine-only elitists, and when only 1 -3 fics in a zine with 12 fics in it were any good, it was incredibly frustrating.) Therefore, I remain grateful--more than grateful; on my knees praising the fact!--for the existence of not only the Internet, but for fanfic archives where I can easily find the things I want to read, for free.

-On Ao3, I can write about taboo subjects that I could never write about in a published novel, without there being an absolute moral panic over such things. On the contrary, Ao3 has readers who--for the most part--understand the difference between enjoying something in fiction and practicing it in real life. While fandom has, indeed, been suffering from a stupid amount of such moral panics ever since fanfic became mainstream, my darkfics have still mostly had positive comments and understanding from readers who get it, even if many now have to preface their comments with "this isn't my kink, but..." or "these characters are crazy and evil, as you yourself admit, but..." disclaimers thanks to the Tumblr antis. Every time I see such a disclaimer, it merely proves the need for such stories--in fact, my most-read story is an entire cavalcade of taboos and wrongnesses and moral darkness, my having deliberately written it as an exercise to understand what makes a pair of very ruthless, very perverse pair of incestuous bastards tick. But society at large would just indulge in knee-jerk condemnations, and think a story of a precocious teenaged girl's sexual awakening with an older man was pandering to paedophiles (again shifting the focus to the male in the relationship, and silencing what might be going on in the girl's head, which was a major point; hers is the story that never gets told, and my readers--many of them girls and young women themselves, none of them dirty old men--have repeatedly pointed out that the adolescent girl's POV was the exact thing what lured them in). So, yeah, I couldn't publish a story like that anywhere else without people completely missing the point. And I'm very grateful to be able to speak about things I couldn't speak about elsewhere on here, and to engage in a truly multilateral discussion about the subjects, too, without flamewars.

-In addition to that, I don't have an editor, I don't have deadlines, I don't have publisher's guidelines telling me what I can do and what I can't do. To a disabled person who can't do deadlines because she never knows what sort of condition she'll be in on a given day, that's a godsend; to someone who enjoys writing about rare types of characters and at times rare kinks, it's another. Having someone tell me to cut down a sex scene when I want to linger in it for maximum sensual pleasure--it'd be like someone standing beside my bed, telling me how to make love! Because in so many ways, the act of writing and reading fanfic *is* lovemaking--it's making love to your beloved characters, it's making love to the world you found so engaging in the original source material. You've had that one intoxicating kiss in the original, but what's this? You mean I couldn't have more? That's not how love works, really--hence, we spin these stories on and on and on, writing tens or even hundreds of stories of our favourite OTPs getting together. Therefore, someone else controlling how you should do it is frankly preposterous, even brutal. I regularly write 7000-word sex scenes and write poetically, Romantically, because that's how I feel and that's how I love, and tend to gravitate towards the sorts of characters who are sexually voracious and Romantic anyway. But an editor would tell me to hack it down to just a couple of pages, tell me to remove an unfashionable (or even unacceptable) kink and to cut out the purple prose. Fanfic, on the other hand, lets me write--meaning, love--as I will.

-I can write about the sorts of characters that wouldn't, publishing-wise, sell. Romance publishers would slap beefy guys with six-packs on the covers, guys exuding heterosexuality; the ladies would most certainly not be curvaceous. But in fanfic, I can write about tall, skinny, androgynous men in relationships with soft, curvaceous women who'd be deemed overweight by today's standards--and I can write them in polyamorous, bisexual BDSM relationships. Likewise, I can write romance that's intelligent and feminist-informed, but without having to make it either heteronormative chick lit about shopaholics--nor do I have to write what seems to be the only other alternative for a story to be considered "serious" by a female writer: horrible, bleak realism with constant abuse and abuse and abuse. I can write about medieval Muslim women having happy, healthy sex lives without modern politics or the neverending oppression stories being brought into it; I can write about queer characters without endless gayngst. I can write strong women who don't sit around being neurotic, or girls gone wrong who've made mistakes and who aren't feminist paragons; I can write emotionally expressive men who respect women and who take their time in the bedroom because it's the natural thing for them to do. I can write sensitive, androgynous, even femme men who aren't 100% gay (!) and who can be dominant as fuck in bed (!), and strong women who dress femme and are attracted to femme women, with no male expectations or normativity entering into it because that's their genuine orientation.

-I know fanfic readers want character-based, emotionally involving porn, and I don't have to suffer any degradation for that, the way modern media sees those things as less valuable. Frankly, as far as I'm concerned, fanfic is the best kind of fiction there is, and Ao3 serves me and other people who feel the same.

-Ao3's policy of accepting everything without any moral judgements is one of the greatest, most important stands for free speech ever made, and touches millions of people worldwide, the vast majority of them women and minorities. I would compare it to the Library of Alexandria if it weren't even more important, because it doesn't touch only our brains but our genitals and our hearts; it's a safe haven for millions of *souls.* Through fanfic, we court again and again the most important matters of all: human relationships and our ways of navigating them, our very ways of being and existing in the world. We don't only write or read here: we live, love, laugh and orgasm here.

But you know what the most important thing of all is? Ao3 allows many of us to live, love, laugh and orgasm in more ways, more expansive ways than what real life would ever allow us because of the way said real life suppresses, polices and violates our bodies and our orientations and our minds. In many ways, only on Ao3 can we fully be our complete human selves--and transcend ourselves, even--far beyond what others would ever allow us: it's only in a world like this in which we can truly live, breathe and be.

Thank you, AO3.

[singereden]

Attention Clexa Fandom!

Dear all of Clexa fandom,

I nearby have a needs to implore you for your help.

As you know, our two fandoms will soon be coming head to head on the Zimbio poll, which is great because both Clexa and Supercorp deserve to be there and to win (as do all the other ships too).

However, as the stupid fates would have it, there can, unfortunately, be only one winner… And I’m kinda trying to gather enough guts to ask you guys to help us win.

I know this will sound silly to you, because I know how much you love Clexa (heck, *I* myself love Clexa too! For being as iconic and game-changing as it has been for *all* of the fandoms and queer people wanting to see themselves positively represented on tv… Plus I do genuinely ship the Clexa babies… though I chose to stop watching the 100 after Lexa’s death), but just before you dismiss this entirely, just hear me out. 



It is important for you too.

Some of you might know about what’s been going on on Supergirl and some of you may not. Basically, to sum up, the Supergirl staff were very wonderful in that they wanted to explore the journey of a beautiful character, Alex Danvers, Supergirl’s sister, as a gay person, to give her a girlfriend and let us watch their journey unfold. Their story started off very strong, even if recently they have been getting less screen-time. More than that, Supergirl as a show in general has been a very positive game-changer too, especially in season 1, where the message of being strong, independent, self-reliant and ambitious, especially as a woman, was proven to be central to the drive of the main character and the narrative. Since the beginning of the second half of season 2, however, this message was slowly but surely beginning to turn more and more warped. I actually don’t know what the writers are thinking right now but basically, our heroic, exemplary Supergirl, Kara Danvers, has become reduced to someone who not only tolerates someone (her boyfriend) that insults her, puts her down, ignores her boundaries and requests, and defies her repeatedly, but to someone who would actually date a person like that. I think we can all agree that this is a wrong and very damaging message to send to the viewers, many who are teenagers, and many who are little girls and boys, and impressionable to such a message. And now, on top of all that, after Kara got fired from her job, which she explicitly said she loved and which we have seen her work SO damn hard for, she concedes that maybe being a superhero and having her (emotionally abusive?) boyfriend will be enough. It’s come to a point where I no longer recognise my favourite character and my favourite tv show.

The thing is, I can easily stop watching (ok, maybe not easily, it’ll be a fricken addiction to break!) but I know that other viewers, especially all the younger, more vulnerable ones, will probably just keep going. And the reason I know that is because at their age, without question, I would be one of them. As a teen and a young adult, I would literally swallow the sickly-sweet trope of a flawed, broken person needing love from a forgiving girl in order to change and become a better person. I subconsciously soaked this message in and then applied it to my own life as I got older, with, unfortunately but not surprisingly, dire repercussions, from which, I have to admit, I’m still recovering. I’m sure that many of you will be able to relate to this. And I’m sure that many of you will know just how wrong and harmful this message is. Especially coming from a show that has built its entire fan-base by portraying a strong, positive role-model for girls and women.

The one good thing that has come out of all of this is another character on Supergirl: Lena Luthor. From the beginning, because of her last name and its connotations, Lena has been portrayed as a possible suspect and villain. The thing is though, she has proven herself time and time again to be better than that, to be a force for good, to be a firm ally to both Kara and Supergirl, and has even taken it upon herself to rebrand her brother’s company and turn it into something positive to make up for all the damage that Lex Luthor had done in the past. She had even gone directly against her own mother when the woman had turned out to be deranged and aligned with Lex’s ideals. Therefore, on the show, Lena Luthor has been portrayed as a prime example of what an independent, ambitious, strong woman is. But what was even more wonderful (and surprising) to watch was the incredible positive dynamic that has developed between Lena and our very own Kara Danvers/Supergirl.

I can honestly say that this dynamic was the greatest surprise to come out of Supergirl season 2, because while some expected Alex to come out as gay, nobody foresaw a Luthor and a Super working together like this. And WOW do they work well together! I mean… Just on every level! On a professional level, the two women are so respectful and supportive of one another. On a personal level, they are so sweet and wonderful to each other. The respect between the two of them is every bit as worthy of Clarke and Lexa’s, because they too, are women powerful in their own right, working together for the benefit of all. And I think if you guys had seen them (and I’m sure most of you have anyway :p), you’d be proud of them and you’d want to see more of them just being awesome together. The only difference between Clexa and Supercorp is that one is a canonical ship and the other is not. Yet. If ever. And the thing is, they so easily could be because their chemistry is off . the . charts . I mean… I could go on for ages here but to spare you the reading time, just look them up on youtube.

If they got together, the internet would explode. They would literally be Korrasami 2.0, except 3D. And they would rule so hard, and it would be the most beautiful thing ever! (Besides Clexa, ofc.)

Unfortunately, because the writers have already presented Supergirl’s sister as gay, the chances of Supercorp actually turning canon dropped significantly. I mean, how many mainstream shows do you know of where there is more than one gay couple included?

Exactly.

But the sad thing is, it actually could work so well. Not only would it be the most organic thing for the characters, where they’d get an outlet for all of that chemistry, but it would take Supergirl to an ICONIC level. More so, it would rescue it from that hole it seems to be heading for with the current storyline, specifically that of the questionable relationship with the questionable boyfriend. (I just want to clarify, I have no problem whatsoever with Supergirl being in a heterosexual relationship. However I *do* have a problem with her being in any kind of relationship with any person who is, frankly, bad for her.)

To sum up and bring all this to the final point: the chances of Supercorp becoming canon are small. The producers and writers so far have not been very acknowledging, let alone supportive, of our fandom or our ship. There’s even been mention of an actor/actress having rolled their eyes when asked whether they ship Supercorp, as if the thought of two women with an amazing dynamic being more than friends is a ridiculous concept. (I do have to say, this in particular really broke my heart, because with all the Sanvers-ness they’ve included in the show, and all the overwhelming feedback they’ve received from the fans and how much it has meant to people, how much it has positively affected everyone, it’s like they’ve actually missed the entire point.)

Other than that (the rolling of the eyes), no one on the production team has made any comment on Supercorp whatsoever, even though this ship is literally one of the best drives they have going for their show right now.

If Supercorp were to win the Zimbio polls, the actresses would be approached for an interview. If Supercorp were to win the Zimbio polls and the actresses approached for an interview, the writers and producers would most likely hear about it. If this positive, beautiful dynamic between these two strong, powerful women were to win, the production team might begin to take Supercorp a little more seriously, where they might acknowledge it in some way or they might just think twice about ruining the story and Lena’s character by turning her evil, while they elevate the questionable boyfriend to the level of hero.

But more than anything, if the production team were to notice just how beloved Supercorp is, they would realise that positive representation doesn’t stop with Sanvers. That representation of  diversity in real life doesn’t end with one, secondary character, gay couple, that we need more, and that when we see palpable chemistry in a positive relationship, who happens to be of the same sex, compared to that of a questionable relationship of a heterosexual couple, we deserve more. Gay or straight. Though to be honest, if Lena Luthor were a man, pretty much all Supergirl fans would have married them off by now because, as I said, their chemistry, and the positivity of their relationship, is unmissable and inspiring.

It’s more than just a ship at stake here, it’s a call for action for positive representation, which I’m sure, you all are for anyway. Clexa won the Zimbio poll last year, and rightfully so. They fully deserve to win this year too, but I don’t think much will change if they did win. Not for you, and not for me. If Supercorp won, we would be one small step towards changing the game once again, in always striving for more… More positive representation, more equality, more fairness. This is exactly what Clexa stood for and still stands for and that is why I think you will understand the importance of this.

So please, I am asking you: Help us get Supercorp to the top. It will be a victory for all of us. And let’s see whether we can begin to change the game for the better once again. If you agree, please vote, share this and help spread the word.

<3

Zimbio poll is here:

http://www.zimbio.com/brackets/TV+Couples+March+Madness+2017

[local-lesbian-news]

I was thinking today about how I would explain to my parents the almost unquestionable support of lesbians for wlw media. I'm trying to do this comic, and I believe I have a passionate and supportive potential audience, simply by including the fact I'm a lesbian in the content. But I don't think they'd understand that support. So I rabbit holed down this tunnel late at night after a glass of wine in the dark after we'd gone to bed, about unconditional lesbian support/solidarity.

I followed the train of lack of representation in the media and thirst for identifying, going to far as reading into non-cannon narratives such as Rizzoli and isles or Supergirl and Lena, to supporting small content creators regardless of the quality of their content, simply because they're lesbian.

I started to ask myself why I support independent creators who are lesbian (or queer, I definitely prefer any queer artist over a het one if I have any indicators) over straight, heteronormative creators. Which brings me to the shared experience of coming out. I don't think being in the closet can be a 100% across the board shared experience any more. Today we are fortunate enough to live in a world where a young girl can be raised by her two fathers and not feel a need to hide a part of herself. However, we do live in a heteronormative world. Heterosexuality is the status quo, it is expected, and anything besides that is a deviation. So, while we all may (thankfully) no longer share the isolation and fear of living in the closet, we all share the experience of having to explicitly outline an aspect of who we are for another person, and wait for a response.

Shy people do not need to tell their parents they are shy, and wait to see what they say. Impatient people do not need to whisper to a best friend under the covers at a sleepover that they don't know how to wait. Extroverts do not need to explain to anyone the fact that they enjoy social interaction. There is no call and response in these character traits. There is no need to call attention to such things, because they simply exist and are accepted and recognized.

Yet, even a young girl with two fathers will, at some point in her life, need to explicitly outline for another human the fact that she loves other girls. And she will have to wait for their response to her statement to determine the genuineness of the relationship from there forth. Be it a boss or a friend, or her parents. Even if she lives without the shame of the closet, even of her father's suspect her queerness and support her without question, she will needs to put herself in the spotlight for even a moment.

And I believe it is this shared experience that brings unquestionable support from the lesbian, or even queer community. We all must do this, and so we all have even a small understanding of one another -- a starting point. I have bought so. many. shitty. ass. books. from fellow queer writers and self publications that I didn't enjoy at all, simply because the author was queer. And I'm not saying they were more deserving of my money, time, attention, support simply for being queer. I'm saying that I felt more personally connected to them and their work -- even if the work wasn't even remotely queer -- simply from knowing we had some semblance of a shared experience in life. I could relate. And I am only looking for things and people to relate to in life.

And so, I believe my niche market of mountain lesbians will have a decent support system as I pursue my own self-publication. Because I am only looking for people to relate to, and to have them relate to me back, even if in just the smallest way of being hairy and loving girls.

[faeuniblog]

Bi-Zine - Script

(Page 2)

My name is Fae-Jinni and I will be your guide through this Zine about the Bisexual community.

So, what is Bisexuality?

Bisexuality is the romantic or sexual attraction toward both males and females. It’s one of the three main classification of sexual orientation along with heterosexuality and homosexuality.

(Cute little drawing of Bi-person, Homo-person and Hete-person with their flag coloured over them)

The term bisexuality, hetero- and homosexuality, were all coined in the 19th century.

(Page 3)

While it’s true that being bisexual, meaning you're attracted to both sexes, these attractions are not always equal to each other.

To help explain this, below I have put the Kinsey Scale and the Purple-Red Scale of Attraction.

The Kinsey scale, also called the Heterosexual–Homosexual Rating Scale, is used to describe a person’s sexual orientation. It was created by the sexologist Alfred Kinsey in 1948. (Picture of Kinsey)

It is a scale that goes from 0, meaning exclusively heterosexual, to 6, meaning exclusively homosexual. (Picture of Kinsey Scale)

In 2016, Langdon Parks created a new scale after learning that he was asexual but still attracted to women. This new scale allows the user to label how they experience that attraction on a scale of A to F. A represents asexuality, while F represents hypersexuality. (Drawing or picture of Langdon Parks) (Picture of Purple and Red Scale)

(Page 4)

The point I’m trying to make is that everyone has a different experiences of being bi as there are different levels of being bi. I myself am a 2 on the Kinsey scale and a D2 on the Red and Purple Scale as I personally seem to fancy men more but I have always found women attractive.

(Page 5)

You know, at this point I was going to give examples of animals that have shown bisexual behaviour in nature however when I typed into Google ‘bisexually animals’ this is what came up… (screenshot)

A few links about the definition of 'bisexually'. Animals that have both sex organs and animals that reproduce bisexually. But nothing about animals showing bisexual behaviour.

And this isn't because it doesn't exist! When I typed in ‘homosexual animals’, google can't seem it get enough of it. (screenshot)

If there are animals that have shown they're gay by fucking the same gender, then there are going to be animals who have fucked both genders. (draw a animal or something)

Which means! = Bisexual! (Draw funny picture of a lion or something fucking both sexes and it = bi)

So, this segues nicely into my next topic, bi-erasure.

(Page 6)

There is this lovely little thing called ‘bisexual erasure’ or ‘bisexual invisibility’. At best, it’s the tendency for people, media or shows to ignore, remove or just not acknowledge bisexuality. At worst, it’s blatant biphobia.

·         It's just a Phase.

·         You'll choose a side

·         Your sexuality isn't real

·         You're just confused

·         So you’re straight

·         You’re invading queer space

·         So you’re gay then

·         Want to have a threesome with me and my boyfriend/girlfriend/friend

·         You're greedy

·         Promiscuous

·         But I thought you were gay/straight!

·         Are you gay or straight?

·         How do you know you're bi if you've never been with someone of the same sex?

·         You're not bi enough

·         You're not a real bisexual

·         You're half gay and half straight!

·         You have straight passing privilege!

·         I can't date you because you've been with guys.

·         You won't stay faithful and hop onto the next straight man you see.

·         You're just doing it for the attention

(Page 7)

For some examples, let’s look at some TV shows!

Friends!

Prior to the start of the series, Ross’s wife Carol came out as lesbian after being married to him for several years and then married Susan their lover. This isn’t particularly unusual in the not so gay-friendly early ‘90s context. However, it’s made clear that she and Ross still enjoyed a sexual relationship together still even after she got involved with Susan. Ross even brings up how they had "some good times before she became a lesbian...and a few afterwards, as well," and Ross’ and Carol’s son was even conceived at three months after she admitted to seeing Susan. Carol however, is only ever referred exclusively as gay, bisexuality is never brought up.

(Page 8)

Glee!

In the TV show Glee, there are two female high school students that appeared to be bisexual, Brittany and Santana. Santana is referred to as a lesbian character despite previously having two ex-boyfriends while Britany identified herself as ‘fluid’ and ‘bi-curiou’.

Blaine is a gay exchange student who becomes confused with is orientation in one episode and is convinced he's bisexual. His friend Kurt dismissed his confused saying that gay teenagers called themselves bi "when they want to hold hands with [the opposite sex] and feel normal for a change" Blaine calls it out as a double-standard. Despite all this, Blaine turns out 100% gay at the end of the episode. Ryan Murphy, one of the show’s creators of the show, defended his decision by saying that the ‘kids need to know he’s one of them’.

Apparently, us bi kids out there don’t need that kind of support!

How about we look at how the media treats celebrities that are bisexual

(Page 9)

Examples from real life aren’t much better.

Freddie Mercury is considered one of the most famous gay icons. Did you know he was Bi? Freddie was openly bisexual, had relationships with both men and women and never formally came out as gay.

Bisexual erasure at its finest my friends.

(Page 10)

Then we get people like Boy George, someone from ‘our’ own community going on a biphobic twitter rant.

His response to his fans who felt hurt and upset “that you’d reduce my valid sexuality to a lie or joke,” was (Example/sceenshots)

(Page 11)

I think some words from dedicated bi leader, Faith Cheltenham and Ph.D., Contributor, Activist and writer, Beth Sherouse would be a nice closes to this zine.

Until bisexuals stop being the unmentionables of the LGBTQIA community we will continue to be the punching bags of both gay and straight, with respite nowhere to be found.

- Faith Cheltenham

Lesbians and gay men, this angry bisexual is tired of being your afterthought.

- Beth Sherouse

(Highly recommend reading Sherouse’s article on growing up bi and the treatment she got from it.)

Do a small personal conclusions talking about 50% 50%, personal expressents of myself and others.

No, I am not 50% gay, 50% straight. No, I’m not saying it for attention and No, I’m not scetatly gay.

I’m bi, and I deserve to be acknowledge and seen for what I am.

Extra shit and notes that I didn’t use

Change title, ‘The Bisexually community’ to ‘Bisexual Culture’

Intro

These are the topic’s all be covering in this zine:

·         What is bisexuality, and to be Bisexual?

·         Queer Theory and Identity

·         LGBT Community & Treatment of bisexuals

·         How the media and celebrities treats bisexuals

I’m going to be talking about

Intro into Bisexuality Specially

Biphobia and the LGBT+ Community

“Being Bi is only something I’ve really come to except recently in my life, self-acceptance is the first hurdle when it come being part of the LGBT+. But, just because I’ve accept this doesn’t mean “

You’d think that being bi would be great, you’ve basically doubled your dating options and if you’re family doesn’t like it, just pretend to be straight right?

Wrong!

Being bi is normal, animals and shit. Give a history lesson, talk about famous people who are bi for something.

There’s a nifty little scale created by Alfred Kinsey around 1948 called Kinsey scale.

(Picture of Kinsey Scale)

Which was later expanded upon by a Southern California dude named Langdon Parks (improvised drawing of Park dude as I don’t know what he looks like) who created the Purple and Red Scale of Attractions!

(Picture of Purple and Red Scale)

It was weird for me growing up as I always thought that everyone was also attracted to everyone else.

One women I spoke to said that because she was in a relationship with a women at the moment, she finds women more attractive and that when she’s dating men, she more attracted to men.

I’ve spoken to some bisexual who say they are more attracted to the sex there current partner is.

A nice metaphor for this is liking both tea and coffee. Coffee is men, Tea is women. Some people prefer Tea but coffee is also fine. Some people like coffee and tea equally. Some people’s prefers can change temporarily and others permanently.

It’s like someone liking both Coffee and Tea (I happen to be a hot chocolate person myself but that’s beside the point).

That’s a simple version of it but being bisexual is a little more complicated.

To help demonstrate what I’m talking about, I present that Kinsey Scale and Purple-Red Scale of Attraction.

It’s really not as simple as that. If you’re a girl coming out as bi, you’re just doing it for attention.

If you’re a boy, you’re secretly gay and are just afraid to ‘come out’ fully.

Bisexuals are called greedy, promiscuous and carrier STDs. They’re untrustworthy and traitors but they’re good for threesomes.

It doesn’t help that on top of that, the treatment we get from that Gay and Lesbian community is just as bad as well.

Some people describe bisexuals as being half-straight and half-gay, this is wrong and thinking this ways leads to segregation from both the straight and gay community. Being bisexual is being 100% bisexual, not half anything.

Okay, I think I’ve hit the required page minimum for this project now so it’s time for some closing words from dedicated bi leader, Faith Cheltenham and Ph.D., Contributor, Activist and writer, Beth Sherouse.

References

(1) http://www.bisexualindex.org.uk/index.php/bisexuality (Page 1, what is Bi)

(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisexuality (Page 1, what is Bi)

(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterosexual%E2%80%93homosexual_continuum

(4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_bisexuality

(5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsey_scale

(6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Kinsey

(7) https://mic.com/articles/126346/what-s-your-true-sexual-orientation-the-purple-red-scale-is-here-to-help-you-find-out#.FsriffCag (Purple and Red)

(8) http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoBisexuals (TV Tropes) (Friends) (Glee)

(9) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisexual_erasure

(10) https://www.advocate.com/news/daily-news/2011/09/23/ending-bi-erasure-tv-and-our-lgbt-worlds

(11) https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/418060777886957446/ (Insults)

(12) https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/564005553310394660/ (insults)

(13) https://www.theodysseyonline.com/15-annoying-phrases-bisexuals-are-tired-of-hearing (Insults)

(14) http://friends.wikia.com/wiki/Ross_Geller

(15) http://friends.wikia.com/wiki/Carol_Willick

(16) http://friends.wikia.com/wiki/Susan_Bunch

(17) http://glee.wikia.com/wiki/Santana_Lopez

(18) http://glee.wikia.com/wiki/Brittany_Pierce

(19) http://glee.wikia.com/wiki/Blaine_Anderson

(20) http://www.youthareawesome.com/freddie-mercury-bisexual-erasure/ (Freddie Mer)

(21) http://www.vulture.com/2017/01/boy-george-accused-of-biphobia.html (Boy George)

(22) http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/01/03/boy-george-posts-erratic-series-of-tweets-after-criticism-for-biphobia/ (Boy George)

(23) http://binetusa.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/finding-the-good-in-goodbi.html (Faith Quote)

(24) https://medium.com/defiant/dear-lesbians-and-gays-im-bisexual-and-you-treated-me-like-crap-1dee4deeaeb8 (Last Page Beth Sher)

https://us.ditchthelabel.org/i-am-a-bisexual-man/

https://www.xojane.com/sex/what-being-bisexual-really-means