#queer representation is so important

[forgetyoursingalongsandlullabies]

Sometimes I think about how when I was first on Tumblr many years ago my main ships were Johnlock and Destiel and I think about how hard both shows went to try to disprove and dissuade the ships all the while somehow making them what could have been incredible slow burn romances.

There were barely any canon queer romances to ship unless I wanted to start posting about Glee (and I didn’t).

But now my favorite couples to blog are Jon Sims and Martin Blackwood, Melanie King and Georgie Barker, Stede Bonnet and Ed Teach, Aziraphale and Crowley… and they’re all canon!

16 year old me, who actually cried when I heard Macklemore’s Same Love on the radio for the first time just because it acknowledged gay people exist on a public platform, would explode.

[justbackgroundnoise]

Chappell Roan, a lesbian, went on a national broadcast tonight and performed a song about dating a closeted woman who refuses to acknowledge their relationship and denies the fact that she’s a lesbian. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that happening but here we are and it’s amazing.

As a lesbian woman, to have an artist go out and be so entirely herself in every way, to be so proud of her own sexuality and to perform a song like this and have it be broadcasted to millions of people…it makes me so emotional. All I have ever wanted as a queer woman is to have this sort of unabashed representation and we’re finally getting it in such an incredible way. What an era we are living in and all I can say is long may it continue and I am so proud to be a Chappell Roan fan.

[fiona-fififi]

Call me homophobic, but I don't actually think it's great representation to stick a complex, dynamic, newly-realized bisexual character permanently with a flat, boring, underdeveloped love interest just because that was the first guy who showed interest.

[samwinchestermydude]

I think we as Sam fans should be more annoying and loud about the fact that his crossroad demons were men twice.

(This is me being pissed off about how people will say dean is of course bi due to some dumb shit like the siren, which was his brother, and “bi lighting” or something, and then turn around and say Sam is the straightest character. Like what.)

[boyquiet]

i think that we need to get over the narrative that you can’t have gay villains because that’s a harmful stereotype because there’s a huge difference between “this character is gay and a bad person” and “this character was written specifically to equate being gay and being evil/depraved/degenerate”. it’s just such a narrow minded view of fiction that leads to people afraid to write queer characters as anything less than morally perfect and then to a bunch of palatable but bland and boring queer characters that are arguably worse representation than a gay villain because they are not allowed to do anything wrong. while it is important to write all types of gay characters a work isn’t instantly “problematic” because the villain is queer and the hero isn’t. I think this is also related to the idea of subtext vs text in gay media and how I see a lot of people get mad bc the homoerotic subtext isn’t made canon without considering the context of it at all—sometimes creators make artistic decisions for reasons other than that they didn’t want the gay people to kiss because they’re homophobic. well written queer subtext can be better than a canon gay couple with no personality or relevance and a queer villain can be a better queer character than a gay hero because the characters in-universe morality isn’t inherently tied to how much care they are written with and the quality of “queer representation” isn’t determined by the amount of times they kiss on screen.

[royalarchivist]

Eret: I feel so lucky I am able to be in a position where I’m able to help other people -- at the very least -- realize they are not weird, they are not alone, they’ve got someone who will look out for them. Because that’s something I didn’t have when I was growing up [...] I didn’t have any exposure to any gender stuff, or even LGBT stuff. Now, I actually get to be that representation for some people, and that’s f**king amazing for me. I hope I can continue to help people find themselves, and continue to be a positive representation for people, because I remember what it's like not to have that.

Eret discussing the importance of LGBTQIA+ representation.

Full video transcript:

[Responding who a dono who thanked Eret for helping them find and feel comfortable with their gender identity]

I’m so glad I could help you with your journey. I feel so lucky I am able to be in a position where I’m able to help other people — at the very least — realize they are not weird, they are not alone, they’ve got someone who will look out for them. Because that’s something I didn’t have when I was growing up, and I thought I was weird, I thought I was — I don’t know, I didn’t have any exposure to any gender stuff or even LGBT stuff. So I just thought, “Well these things going in my mind are f**king weird stuff.”

Now, I actually get to be that representation for some people, and that’s f**king amazing for me. I’ve gotten so many letters, and so many messages, and so many donations, and so many chat messages going, “Thank you for everything”. Meeting people in person at conventions, people literally shaking and going, “Oh my god, it’s you.” And I’m like, “I’m just me! I’m just a person. I just play games.”

To have people freak out over that is mind-blowing. I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to it. Like, I got recognized at my university, I used to get recognized doing random things, and people would just come up to me and go, “Seriously, thank you.”

I hope I can continue to help people find themselves and continue to be a positive representation for people, because I remember what it's like not to have that.

I want to make sure that anyone who feels alone, or anyone who feels they don’t have anywhere else to find understanding, I want to be there for them. I understand I can’t have that one on one connection, but at least I want a space where you can come to, and you’re surrounded by a big group of people who all go, “Yeah, I understand that! Yeah, we’re all on the same page.”

[bahoreal]

you know youre right im over queer storylines where people figure out that theyre queer. what i want is trans women as an integral part of a cast where its only mentioned offhand that shes trans because other parts of her character (being a meticulous scribe, processing expenses, being dumb of ass) are more important to her storyline. however she IS trans and its always there in her character even if the storyline doesnt focus on it. she got hair plugs bc she wanted long hair and likes her hair plaited cutely. when she got a wish she immediately used it to become a woman. this is a post about scribe elder ho tan from yonderland. i love her.

[bisexualfagdyke]

People only care about character's implied sexualities if they're implied to be lesbian / gay . As soon as a character is implied to be bisexual (e.g. explicitly attracted to / involved with both men and women) suddenly they're "lesbian / gay with comphet" .... what if I killed you with a rock 🩷

[adamnablelittledevil]

I don't see Emma D'Arcy playing Gabrielle because they're too young and on HOTD already, I don't think the schedules would work. Still, they're actually a great actor and one of the few non-binary performers we have AND Gabrielle is a gender nonconforming character, so this is one of the few fancasts of 30yos that have some logic? Yeah, it's not realistic, it will probably never happen and it's okay, but there's nothing crazy in wanting a talented non-binary actor playing a good gnc character.

[simsdaughters]

.OLD MAN YAOI.

And everytime we kiss, I swear I can fly ♪

TOO LATE FOR PRIDE, EARLY FOR WRATH, LETS GO.

[reflectionsofgalaxies]

HOW IS SHE REAL?!?? MA’AM~ ✨

From this interview:

[v7n5]

Sorry can’t talk rn, I’m conjuring up an au that involves fashion designer Jesse and his muse/ famous model boyfriend Nacho.

Ok fine. So a while ago, Jesse’s enthusiasm towards character design and sketching gave me the idea of him having a knack for it ever since he was little and following that passion as he grew up. His story about the wooden box is so dear to me not only because of the hopefulness it brings but also because it reveals that he pays great attention to detail and his craft, meaning he’d be a good tailor (creativity AND meticulousness? he’s a whole package). Despite his parents’ disapproval, he’d go on to receive a scholarship from a prestigious design school in New York - where he would move to to receive a higher education and really flourish.

Nacho, who still lives with his father in ABQ and has a hard time making ends meet, would be really close to going down that drug dealer path. Manuel would talk him out of it like “you’re destined for something great and legal mijo” and he’d actually listen. But he’d insist on moving somewhere else to get away from all the affiliations he had in ABQ and to find a better career opportunity/ himself.

Time skip. They’d meet in NYC in somewhat the same way all the supermodels got discovered. And that’s as far as I could get tbh.

(True story, my socials were bombarded with images and videos from the DSQUARED2 SS 2024 collection at the time, and my immediate thought I was “Yep, Jesse Pinkman would endorse this. And who (else besides Tyler Durden) would have enough cuntential to rock this unapologetically? Nacho Varga obviously.)

[eliounora]

red white and royal blue was so cheesy and predictable I enjoyed it thoroughly. making banal queer romantic comedies is hard but necessary work

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

there are a lot of reasons i'm really, really impressed by how well sdmi portrayed the dynamic of an abusive relationship with pericles and ricky, and one of the big ones is how accurately they show what it looks like when abuse starts to escalate.

the extent of that is yet another thing that'll take a longpost of its own to go into, because it spans like.... the entire arc of their relationship in the show. but one thing that stands out to me in particular is their portrayal of the massive red flag that is a partner trotting out bigoted behavior against a group you're in. especially insults, and especially directed right at you.

this show has a LOT of fatphobia, jesus christ does it ever, and there are certainly some fatphobic tropes going on with ricky; but i've always been surprised and impressed by how many of the nastier ones they avoided, especially considering his role in the story and what his arc is about.

he is a major, nuanced character whose trauma is treated with full weight and sincerity. it's implied that his body type changed the way it did due to the trauma he went through when he was younger, and the ensuing mental illness, which is a pretty realistic experience for a lot of people. the things that happen to him are played for full tragedy and horror, when it would have been so, so easy for them to make light of it because Tee Hee Fat Guy and Tee Hee Male Abuse Victims Funnee. despite how his whole thing involves corporate greed, they don't go the route of portraying him as Gluttonous and Hedonistic; if anything he is very obviously not using all that money for even basic physical self-care, and the only time we ever see him eating anything it's when he's drinking wine grape juice with pericles. which, like, there's issues to be unpacked with that too, but jesus christ it's an improvement over what usually happens with characters like him.

he's a fat queer man who isn't degendered or made feminine in a mocking and/or predatory way. (there's nothing wrong with feminine fat queer men and they need more non-shitty rep, please and thank you god, but there is a lot of nastiness in the tropes they're often used for in mainstream media, and one of those tropes is when people consider 'fat queer man' and 'masc' to be oxymorons.) no one ever once calls him ugly; if anything multiple people in his life think he's attractive and desirable, for better or for worse. no one body-shames him. and no one ever mentions his weight.

except pericles.

'The Horrible Herd' and 'The Devouring' are two halves of a whole here, re: escalation of abuse. 'Devouring' is when the abuser goes full mask off and shit hits the fan; 'Horrible Herd' is the wind-up before the punch. HH is when ricky realizes things are getting Bad and he needs to put a stop to this now, and Devouring shows what happens when he tries, because by the point where it's gotten bad enough to give him a wakeup call it's already too late. it's how abusive relationships tend to go, and it's chillingly accurate.

and what's one of the things pericles says during Horrible Herd when that punch is winding up? something no one's ever said before now, including him? 'you pudding-faced dummkopf.'

he body-shames him. he insults his weight, and that's a major turning point. bigotry is something that's often there to some degree from the start, but not always, because some abusers are good at hiding things like that until they're confident they've got you where they want you. the message with ricky and pericles is loud and clear: when this happens, the walls are dripping blood. get out.

(if you can. and be careful when you try.)

when this show is good, it is really, truly good. god damn.

[sorcave]

I am actually going to get crucified for this take, but here you go. I woke up and felt violence.

Okay, this has been bugging me for a while, and I feel like it’s time to address it: why does the Marauders fandom hate on straight ships so much, and why is there such a push to force ships into being gay for the sake of it? Let me start by saying I fully support LGBTQ+ representation in fandom and love the creativity and inclusivity it brings. But there’s a real issue when canonically straight characters are vilified or erased just because they don’t fit into fanon’s preferred headcanons. It’s honestly exhausting at this point.

The Marauders fandom is notorious for erasing or flat-out hating on canon straight ships. Let’s talk about Jily, for example. They’re literally one of the most significant relationships in the hp universe—their love story is at the heart of so much of what happens in the books. And yet, in so many fan spaces, their relationship is dismissed or treated as unimportant, all so people can focus on Wolfstar or even Jegulus. I mean, I’m all for queer headcanons, but when people start framing Lily as the “bad guy” or making her out to be the third wheel in her own relationship just to boost these ships, it gets a little ridiculous. And don't get me started on the sheer amount of disdain for Tonks and Remus. That pairing gets absolutely destroyed in favor of Wolfstar, and Tonks often gets reduced to an annoying side character or completely written out. It feels so dismissive of the canon relationships that actually matter in the story.

What’s worse is the way certain characters get forced into gay ships without any real basis. Look, I love seeing people explore dynamics between characters in ways the original text didn’t, but there are times when it feels forced, like people are just making characters gay for the sake of ticking a box. Take Pandora and Alice, for example. These two characters have literally never interacted in canon, but suddenly, they’re being shipped together in fanon just because they’re both women. It’s like, are we really doing this? Are we just pairing random women together because the fandom needs more f/f representation and these are the only female characters available? It feels lazy and, honestly, disrespectful to the characters themselves. Why not just develop queer ships that actually make sense or take the time to build a dynamic that works instead of forcing it?

It’s frustrating, too, because this constant push for queer shipping has led to a lot of straight characters being sidelined or vilified. And here’s the thing: canon-compliant straight ships aren’t homophobic. You can still love and create queer headcanons without tearing down the canon relationships that already exist. It’s possible to hold space for both. But right now, it feels like a huge chunk of the fandom is obsessed with making everything gay and aggressively rejecting anyone who dares to enjoy or defend a canon straight ship. And let’s be honest, there’s something to be said about this idea of turning every character queer without any depth—representation shouldn’t just be slapping a “gay” label on a character without any actual nuance or understanding of their personality or narrative role.

This trend of dismissing straight ships or forcing queer ones onto characters who have no canon basis for it is reductive. I’m all for fanon and creative freedom, but there needs to be a balance between that and respecting the canon relationships that have actual weight in the story. Not everything has to be a queer ship just for the sake of diversity, and hating on canon-compliant fans for enjoying straight relationships just feels counterproductive. There’s space for all kinds of ships in fandom—let’s stop acting like queer ships are inherently better or more progressive just because they’re queer.

Representation is about authenticity, not erasure.

[oceanwithinsblog]

yesterday i finally found time to finish watching heartstopper season 3 and, as always, i've adored it! tbh there were some changes from the webtoon that left me a bit speechless (such as the ferris wheel scene with tori and charlie), but it's okay i trust alice and know they've got more wonderful stuff to look forward to in the future season(s) ~

i don't think it's just me but this show sort of feels like a warm hug, even for people like me who aren't teenagers anymore and haven't come out of the closet yet...

i'll always cherish the stories and characters created by alice oseman! sadly they weren't part of my adolescence (i would have loved reading/watching heartstopper in my teenage years, it would have been so immensely helpful), but they're helping me now that i'm in my 20s to better accept myself, among other things 𔓘

hopefully n3tfl1x will renew the show for season 4 soon !!