#discourse communities

[miriam-heddy]

911: Gay Representation and/or Slash Fandom Shipping: When Audiences/Discourse Communities Intersect and Collide

It’s been interesting to read writing by the many gay and bisexual men who, quite understandably, are thrilled to see 911’s Evan “Buck” Buckley and Tommy Kinard as a canonical, romantic couple (complete with flirting, intimate dinners, onscreen kisses, and sexual innuendo).

The seventh season of showrunner Tim Kinnear’s 911 saw the show move from Fox to ABC. And buzz about the season has largely centered around Buck’s story as he comes to recognize his own bisexuality and comes out to friends and family as, for the first time, he dates a man.

Meanwhile, longtime fans of the show include an audience who, since the second season, have tuned in, in part, to watch Buck and fellow firefighter Eddie Diaz (who was introduced in the first episode of the seventh season) meet and grow closer, becoming best friends, buddies, co-parents, and the subject of a lot of slash fanfiction.

A vocal contingent of those fans have been theorizing that Buck and Eddie’s relationship would be consummated in canon before the series ended. And, while that’s still possible, for fans of “Buddie” (Buck/Eddie), the introduction of Tommy Kinard as Buck’s love interest has not been universally celebrated.

Thus the two audiences have collided online in numerous forums, with interaction getting hostile as enmity between fans turned to the actors.

Those who scoff at so much energy being expended on a tv show might be reminded of professional football.

A large part of the crosstalk between Buddie fans and Tevan (Tommy Kinard/Evan Buckley) fans has come from the way that the groups approach tv—and what they have come demand and expect from it.

Gay and bi men, pleased with visible representation in Tevan, have expressed irritation at what they assume is an audience of homophobic straight women privileging their own desires (for a given fictional m/m couple) over the lives of real, living gay & bi men.

Ironically, lesbian and bisexual women have been important to slash fandom from the beginning, writing, publishing, and reading print zines of fan-authored Kirk/Spock stories in the 70s and onward. And gay and bi men have actually participated as slash writers and readers.

Thus, while fans have long argued that slash fandom isn’t primarily for or about gay men at all, it also hasn’t precluded its members from agitating for LGBTQ representation in television. So the framing of the problem as simply straight, homophobic fans pitted against gay & bi men is inaccurate, and hasn’t led to any peaceful discussion.

I do hope that such discourse is possible, not just within 911 fandom but outside it, as this conflict grows out of subcultures that have been active and, at times, overlapping since the 1970s.

*For more on fandom history and this subject, see: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Slash_vs._Gay

and https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Foresmutter%27s_Bibliography_of_Early,_Early_K/S

[respectissexy]

There are two basic arguments for shutting the fuck up about cishets at Pride.

First: What if a trans kid asks their parents to show their support by attending Pride with them? What if a lesbian can only attend pride if she gets a ride from someone and the only person willing and able to drive her is her straight brother? What if a bi disabled person can't attend a large outdoor event without hands-on assistance from their straight partner? What if someone just wants to bring their fucking friends? What if, contrary to popular tumblr discourse, most queers don't inhabit perfectly pure social bubbles populated only by other queers? What if it's none of your business?

Second and perhaps more important: If you think you can tell that someone is CIS, let alone HET, by LOOKING at them, you are a cop and an idiot.

[lockea]

I've been seeing a lot of Discourse around outdoor cats that talks past one of the biggest problems addressing community cats/outdoor working cats so I thought I'd chime in with my two cents.

Many arguments I see just... don't think about the cats at all? Or don't consider the logistics of actually addressing the feral cat problem in a humane way. It's always about how outdoor cats shouldn't be outdoors, which is neither realistic nor helpful.

I used to volunteer at an municipal animal shelter in the USA that had a TNR program (Trap, Neuter, Return) and also adopted out community cats to local farms and businesses. Here's my side of the story.

"Your cat doesn't need to be outside" -- Yes, correct. Your domesticated (non-feral) house cat does not need to go outside at all. They can have a fully actualized life safely indoors. When I see this argument, proponents of indoor only cats are correct in most or all their arguments regarding this.

"Outdoor cats are the largest invasive species in the world, and decimate bird populations." -- This is also correct, and part of the reason why you can help by bringing your house cat indoors. Cats are the largest invasive species. Spay and Neuter your cats, bring them inside, and socialize them so they don't become feral.

"TNR doesn't work." -- False. Whether we like it or not, feral cats exist. We have two methods by which we can address the feral cat population -- decimating them (humanely euthanizing the whole colony) or TNR. For a long time, euthanasia was the preferred way to address the feral cat problem. Afterall, if the cats aren't there, doesn't that save the local wildlife population?

Except that we found, studying these colonies, that when a colony is wiped out, the cats of another colony will spread into their territory and continue to have kittens and the population of feral cats is neither controlled nor diminished.

Hence, TNR. What we found performing TNR on cat colonies was that this controlled the population of the colonies, allowing them to stay in their territory, which kept other colonies from spreading (especially colonies we hadn't performed TNR on yet). We at the shelter felt this was the most humane way to control the feral cat population and safely deflate their existence without dealing with the population blooms that euthanasia caused.

"What about kittens?" -- Kittens from these colonies were brought into the shelter, socialized, and fostered out until they could be adopted. Some of these semi-feral kittens needed special homes to be adopted into, but this was the best quality of life for these cats.

"What about cats that get missed during TNR?" -- We would return to the colony several times over a period of several years to perform TNR on the same colony. We mark cats that have been neutered by clipping their ear (this is done humanely, but is the most reliable way to tell if a cat has been neutered so the poor thing doesn't have to have surgery 3-4 times in their life). Also, during the TNR process the cats would be vaccinated to ensure disease did not spread from the colony (i.e. rabies). Still, even getting 60% of the colony TNR'd would dramatically reduce the number of kittens being added to the colony each year. This controlled the population by allowing the territory to naturally deflate in size over time, buying us time to address the larger feral cat problem.

"What if the colony was in an unsafe location?" -- There were two ways we addressed unsafe colony locations -- remember, we know that when the colony is removed, a new colony will move into its place, so we tried not to move the colony unless we really felt the cats or the public was unsafe -- one was to move the whole colony to a new location. Preferably someplace like a warehouse where we have an agreement with the owners of the warehouse. Some of the cats were even relocated to shelter grounds as our community cats. If the colony was small enough we would bring them into our Feral Cats room and adopt them out as community cats.

"What is a community cat?" -- The way the program worked, was that anyone who needed a working cat could apply to the program. These were often rural farmers or businesses with warehouses that needed rodent protection. We trained the farmers and businesses on how to acclimatize the cats to their new home, and as part of the agreement, they had to care for the cats (veterinary care, vaccinations, food and water). This gave businesses and farms an alternative to expensive and environmentally unfriendly rodent control, and also gave these feral cats good places to live out their natural lives.

"Can't you just adopt out feral cats?" -- No. Cats that have not been socialized around humans as kittens, or who have several generations of feral cat in them could not interact with humans in a way that did not cause them undue stress. This was not a humane way to handle feral cats. However, when a cat was brought into the feral cat room, they would be monitored for up to a week. If the cat displayed signs of being semi-social or fully social (hanging out outside of their den, allowing staff to pet them, showing interest in staff in the room), then we would either move the cat into the adoption room or place them in foster to be socialized before adoption. Feral cats who displayed signs of being able to live full and healthy lives with human companions were NOT adopted out as community cats. We also observed this behavior during TNRs and would do the same for those cats too.

"But aren't cats bad hunters?" -- Compared to other species, cats are not the most effective form of rodent control. This is true. However, you have to understand that feral cats exist. There is no "undo" button we can push to stop them from existing. We have to deal with the problem we have right now, which is to safely and humanely decrease the number of feral cats in our communities. And yes, we do that by using cats as rodent control in the community.

"What can I do?" -- Stop saying community cats shouldn't exist. That's not helpful and doesn't solve the problem we have. Bring your cat indoors. Spay and neuter your cats. Adopt from shelters. Volunteer with a TNR team. Support TNR efforts in your community. Recognize that those of us actively dealing with the community/feral problem are trying to do what is in the best interest of our communities and the animals we love. We aren't sitting over here saying these cats should exist -- a feral cat will not have the same quality of life as one that is indoors with a family -- but we have to address the problem in practical terms. We don't have the moral high ground to just do nothing while pontificating solutions that have no basis in actuality.

And yes, it's okay to celebrate community cats. If your local farm has a couple of working cats, that means that farm is helping participate in the safe deflation of the feral cat population. Don't shame a farm or business for using community cats. We're all doing the best we can to solve the problem that we have.

[theorangepdf]

2020-2021 was rough time to be alive yes it’s true but it was a great time to be a tumblrina

[solfinite]

extra doodles below

[foone]

If the transmasc artist is canceled for drawing a pregnant trans man, would he get TWICE AS CANCELED if he drew a trans man pregnant with twins?

[xxbl00dsh3dbunnyxx]

I WANT THE LGBT COMMUNITY TO JUST STOP FIGHTING

WE ARE NOT AGAINST EACHOTHER, WE ARE NOT ENEMIES NO MATTER HOW YOU IDENTIFY

TRANS PEOPLE ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY, INTERSEX PEOPLE ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY, BISEXUALS ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY, LESBIANS ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY, ASEXUALS ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY, AROMANTICS ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY, ETC

TERFS ARE YOUR ENEMY, TRANSPHOBES ARE YOUR ENEMY, HOMOPHOBES ARE YOUR ENEMY, ACEPHOBES ARE YOUR ENEMY, AROPHOBES ARE YOUR ENEMY, ETC

STOP PUSHING AT EACHOTHER, START PUSHING FOR EACHOTHER, ANY HATE TOWARDS ANY GROUP OF US IS HATE TOWARDS ALL OF US

TRANS PEOPLE BEING ATTACKED IS AN ATTACK ON ALL OF US, INTERSEX PEOPLE BEING ATTACKED IS AN ATTACK ON ALL OF US, BISEXUALS BEING ATTACKED IS AN ATTACK ON ALL OF US, LESBIANS BEING ATTACKED IS AN ATTACK ON ALL OF US, ASEXUALS BEING ATTACKED IS AN ATTACK ON ALL OF US, AROMANTICS BEING ATTACKED IS AN ATTACK ON ALL OF US, ETC

THERE ARE NO "GOOD" QUEERS IN THEIR EYES, AS LONG AS YOU ARE QUEER YOU WILL BE A TARGET

DISCRIMINATION IS DISCRIMINATION, DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S A PHYSICAL ATTACK, MEDICAL DISCRIMINATION, GOVERNMENTAL, ALL OF IT

STOP TRYING TO ATTACK EACHOTHER, WE ARE ALL EQUAL

[artemx746]

“Other people have it worse—“ there are also other people who have it better and I’m sure those other people would meet both our stories with concern. Think about that before you say I need to be oppressed more to be valid

[myfutureelaclassroom]

The personal sphere, school worlds, and languages of emergent bilinguals cannot and should not be kept separate.

Espinosa & Ascenzi-Moreno, 2021

Espinosa, C. M., & Ascenzi-Moreno, L. (2021). Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers. Scholastic Inc. 

[shoujoboy-restart]

[h1biplvm]

Sit down, minority! This person who knows nothing about your community and is fueled with misinformation is gonna explain to you how your body works!

[oro-junestar]

By cutting out the TQ+, you also cut out:

-Intersex people

-Two-spirit gays and other culturally connected gays

-Gender nonconforming people

-Those who are questioning their sexuality

-Gays, lesbians, and bi's who are supportive of trans people

-Millions of kind, loving, supportive humans who have gone through indescribable, traumatic abuse and wish to build a safe, welcoming community

Why are you so eager to exclude and belittle people? Why do you tell them they 'don't know what real struggle looks like' when their healthcare, their future, and their lives are under attack? Do you truly value 'love', or do you just want to swat away as many people as possible? Why do you continue to hide under a rock and dig yourself deeper into festering hatred, when you can simply come out and support people who can help you?

Wouldn't it be easier to unite with our trans and nonbinary friends to help defeat the growing threat of genuine fascism in our country? Those conservative Christian nationalists and white supremacists who tell you you're "one of the good ones" would gladly turn around and shoot you in a heartbeat, because when they say they're fighting the 'woke gender ideology', they'll mutter in the same breath that you gays are 'degenerates', 'sodomites', and 'animals'. Why would you side with the villains, who see you the same way they see us?

We cannot let oppression continue in any form. We will all be on the winning side of history as we step closer to ending the cycle of hatred and bullying. Open your hearts and minds and you'll find that the everyone around you is just as human as you, and are more similar to you than you'd think. Trans people are people, just like you, and we need your help and support just as much as you need ours.

Isn't it neat how people who are supportive of all LGBTQ+ identities are also kinder, more loving, more empathetic, and more caring towards their friends and loved ones? Just something to think about.

Love wins. Trans rights are human rights.

[bli-o]

ok but the “lgbtq groomers are indoctrinating children” narrative is so strange to me cuz like. i had it hammered into my head so hard that i was a girl that i thought i was, as a uterus haver, obligated to have my ear impaled at eight years old. I was so conditioned into heteronormativity that i thought my only choice in life was to grow up, marry a cisgender christian man, and have his babies. Like the adults in my life practically shipped me with this guy friend i had when i was like 6 to the point where i thought we had to date when we got older. you know who’s never made me feel anything like that? queer people. when conservatives say “indoctrinating” they mean “inspiring dissent that could disrupt the status quo we’ve forced upon everyone”

[gregoriahlover]

anti 1: look at that guy, shipping incest. isn’t that weird? i sure hope he doesn’t have a sibling at home 🤢

anti 2: yeah! i’m so relieved that you agree with me. it seems like everyone condones and glorifies incest these days

anti 1: awesome! i would never even think about participating in the glorification of illegal and immoral actions. ew!

anti 2: you’re cool. let’s go play military propaganda game where you shoot each other with heavy weapons and bombs. modern warfare or black ops?

anti 1: doesn’t matter to me either way! at least neither of them glorifies literal illegal activity which ruins lives and triggers traumatized people :p

[msnihilist]

[thatone-churro]

hang on. there’s no way we’re revitalizing “are [cishet] aro people queer” discourse. it is almost 20-fucking-24. no. say sike right now. you’re all fucking ridiculous. how are we not only not over this, but bringing it up for active discourse again. and acting like the things being said are common discussion and not. blatant aphobia. which is homophobia. it’s queerphobia. did we never fucking learn from the many “they want us to fight amongst ourselves because if we’re divided it’s easier to ruin us” type talks that everyone was making a while ago. or was that a phase too. what happened to “anything not heteronormative is what queer is. anything with romance/sex/gender that’s othered from what society deems the “norm” is what we are. we are a community of outcasts because the greater community doesn’t want us either way.” what the shit.