#the LGBT community just claimed him

[battlekidx2]

“Do you like girls?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you like boys?”

“I don’t know. I think I like TV shows.”

I remember when I was in middle school all the other girls were talking about the guys they liked and I said I didn’t like anyone. I just wanted to do my own thing.

I didn’t really get why I would want to date anyone. I understood friendship, companionship— having someone to share my interests and mutually info dump to sounded cool— but I struggled to understand the appeal of spending every day and every night with someone else. Of holding hands and going on dates. 

This led to a lot of homophobic bullying and a few of them would act disgusted that I might be into them. Constantly acting like I was looking at their boobs and sexualizing them (I never made eye contact with anyone and would frequently look at the wall or space out while looking in their general direction). Or make a big show of not being interested and many other things.

I didn’t get this either. I didn’t know why I would be interested in any of them. They treated me poorly and I thought attraction was something people made up and simply just claimed to feel towards other people.

Just like I never understood celebrity crushes. You don’t know the person so how could you possibly know you liked them? And I never understood how people “chose” who they dated. Did they just choose whoever they liked hanging out with the most?

But any time I voiced this it was always met with worse and worse reactions. It led to isolation among peers and my family. My parents made it pretty clear I wasn’t who they wanted me to be. That I wasn’t normal.

I soon learned to fake it. Pretend I understood it.

The idea of not being attracted to anyone seemed like a foreign idea to most people I met. Even when I branched out and moved away, I met a few people in the lgbt community who couldn’t grasp it either and reacted poorly and it made me feel stupid. Like maybe I wasn’t just screwed up to people who fit in the neat little box society wants you to fit in, but to everyone else as well.

Maybe I was wrong. If it’s an impossibility even in this community that champions diversity and acceptance then can that really be my reality?

I kept trying to force it. To date, but every time I did I always felt that same skin crawling discomfort and it always petered out. It didn’t matter who it was or what gender. It always felt wrong. It was suffocating.

I don’t think there’s a movie that better portrays that all consuming, suffocating stagnation of feeling so out of place– knowing you’re out of place compared to those around you– and in response forcing yourself to fit what other people expect of you than I Saw the TV Glow.

Whenever I think back to growing up or whenever I return home that same feeling this movie is centered around always drenches my experiences.

And even now it’s hard to put into words when I talk to other people what I’ve felt when it comes to this aspect of my life.

That comment from Owen about knowing there’s nothing there when talking about romance and attraction, but being too afraid to look and knowing that his parents know something is wrong with him hit harder than any other scene from a movie I’ve watched this year.

It’s that absence of something that is at the heart of asexuality that makes me always question what I choose to identify as when I have to explain it to someone. Because for the most part my explanation boils down to (in broad oversimplified terms): I’ve never felt attraction, I’m more interested in watching a Spider-Man movie than I’ve ever been into even just the idea of dating, every time I’ve attempted to date it’s been uncomfortable and I’ve actively dodged anything beyond friendship while in the “relationship”.

And when I try to voice that to another person it always feels like those experiences don’t hold water. That’s describing the absence of something. There’s no real proof of the identity.

With being bi or gay or lesbian there’s something you can I don’t know—point to?— that can help you know your identity.

And that’s the fact that you’ve experienced attraction towards one or more people of one or more genders.

It’s defined not by the lack of something but the presence of an experience.

And so every time I try and explain it I end up feeling stupid. Like I just haven’t tried hard enough to find someone compatible. That I need to get back into the proverbial saddle and try again. I always in some way feel ashamed and backtrack as a result.

This is in no way to say that it’s harder or easier to be one identity or the another. Everyone’s experiences are different and everyone experiences are valid. This is just a struggle I’ve found that’s unique to asexuality that many people I’ve talked to have also experienced.

I haven’t felt that part of my experience be seen in media until I saw this movie. Maybe I’m latching onto what I can get or maybe that was an intrinsic part of the movie. That’s not important. What’s important is that it’s something I felt seen in even if it was literally just one scene.

This is my really long winded and roundabout way of saying that I really think this movie is going to stick with me much longer than any other thing I’ve seen this year.

Things can be hard to put into words and as a result I tend to keep things inside. I’m fairly certain I’m ace but it might turn out I’m on a different romantic spectrum then I thought or I fall somewhere different than I thought on the ace spectrum. I don’t know what I’ll discover in the future.

I’m likely not going to express my label out loud to anyone but a select few. I still can’t express this particular label out loud to many people. My family is definitely never going to hear it. A friend or two might.

It’s something I struggle with on a regular basis. I’m fine with identifying with the label in my head—in a lot of ways it makes me feel comfortable and happy— but any time I try to voice it the words die in my throat and I can’t help but feel ashamed. It’s easier to just tell people I don’t want to date right now. That there are all these factors in the way (finances, time, jobs, etc) than it is to try and explain what I’ve just rambled about above.

I know many people have felt and understood that experience and I hope people know they’re valid. You can express your identity with your full chest, shout it from the rooftops and let people know, or you can keep it to yourself, identifying as your label solely in your head. Both experiences are valid. And if your label changes at some point in your life that doesn’t make what you chose to identify as at this point any less valid too. People are always learning and growing. You can gain a new understanding of yourself as time move forward.

Sorry for the way too long ramble. This movie made me feel things.

[dailyautophagy]

You know its a complete hoax that anyone is giving children transgender sex change surgery, right? The youngest person to every transition surgically in America was a teen legally entitled to choose it.

When reports claim otherwise, they are talking about "corrective" surgery done on small children who were born intersex. The left wing and the LGBT community are fiercely opposed to this because children cannot consent to that decision. They agree with you. They do not support little kids getting any kind of genital surgery.

You know we’re worried about the brain damage and sterilization caused by puberty blockers right?

Why would anyone think children are convincing their parents to start lopping off breasts or a penis that haven’t even been able to develop yet?

It’s a very similar problem to the adhd medicine (parents just wanting a pill to solve their child’s problems instead of actually parenting them) Cept the side effects of puberty blockers are worse.

And the only “slippery slope” i see is teaching kids with half developed brains that gender identity is a choice. You are what you are, the only choice is how you cope with that. And if parents are enabling their children (with half developed brains) to make a choice to sign up to be a slave to pharmaceutical drugs for literally the rest of their lives, that’s not okay. Because children cannot consent to such an endeavor given their LACK OF PREFRONTAL CORTEX.

That’s why i voted for Trump and it’s why i convinced my boyfriend (neither of us have ever voted before) to vote for him.

[bigfan-fanfic]

The Things I Do For You (Male!Reader x Josh Washington)

@inhumanshadows Josh Washington introduces his bf to his friends and sisters at the lodge.

Set of course in an alternate universe where Josh's therapy went far better and the prank never happened!

His sisters are literally the nicest people in the world, it seems. Hannah's the one with the glasses, you remember.

Both of them were so happy to finally meet you, and instantly treat you like one of the family.

"Josh has been... so much happier lately. So... thank you. For being there for him, cause he tends to clam up around us." Beth smiles.

You grin back at her. "He's been there for me, too. We're a good team."

"That's good."

"You'll need it up here." Hannah says cryptically. Beth just rolls her eyes.

"No drama, Han. This weekend is about Josh and Y/N. Okay?"

Hannah sighs, then smiles. "You're right. I'm sorry."

It feels like some sort of choice has been made, but by then, Josh has returned and mischievously pulled you into a kiss from behind.

He grins at you. "Howdy, pilgrim." He drawls in a terrible cowboy voice.

You push him away lightly. "How dare you. Kissing me the coward's way."

"Well, allow me to try again." He winks, then moves to your front to kiss you again. Hannah mimes a gagging motion, and Beth smacks her arm.

"The others should be arriving soon. Should we just all just hang around and not say anything about Y/N until they freak out?" Hannah asks mischievously.

"You mean gaslight them out of meeting my boyfriend?" Josh laughs. "You up for it, Y/N?"

"Nah, I'm not much for pranks. Besides, you couldn't keep your hands off me for that long."

"Guilty."

Beth chuckles at your easy banter, but then the twins freeze when you look over at Josh. "Did you get your meds yet, babe? I think I heard your alarm go off."

"Oh, shit, you're right!" Josh's eyes widen and he goes to grab them.

Beth looks at you. "Wow. He used to get really sensitive about that."

"He knows I'm looking out for him, and we're just trying to work together on it."

"Well, I'm glad." Hannah grins.

The others arrive, and Josh lets the twins handle the greetings, because he took you down to the boiler to get the hot water working so you could make some tea.

"So, my friends... some of 'em can be a little... hard to handle sometimes. But deep down, we're all in a little love fest." Josh chuckles.

You nod. "They're pranksters, eh?"

"Yeah. I know you don't like em all that much, so I'll try to let em know you're not about practical jokes."

"Thanks." you smile, kissing his cheek.

An impatient text from Hannah recalls you both up from a make-out session in the basement

Emily and her boyfriend Mike are the first to arrive, having given Beth's best friend Sam a ride.

Mike shoots you some finger guns, and Sam offers a hug. Emily seems a little more reserved, but offers you a warm greeting. She makes a little joke about you finally teaching Josh some manners, and offers you some advice.

"Make sure you train them early." She winks. "These boys don't know their heads from a hole in the ground, but they learn quick. First rule: Emily is always right. Second rule, Mike?"

Mike gives her a mock-pout. "Nothing else matters because Emily is always right."

She gives you a little shrug as if to say "See?" before sauntering off.

Jess, Ashley, Matt, and Chris come next, having carpooled, Jess shows off her braided pigtails, claiming she let Ashley braid them in the car. Matt high-fives Josh and lets you know he's "totally supportive of the LGBT community, you know?"

Chris pretends to stand off with you. "So, you're the other man, huh?"

Jess giggles. "I always knew you two had a thing, Chris!"

"What? I meant, like, platonic versus romantic and-"

"Chris is jelly!" She sings, and Chris chases after her as she chants it through the lodge.

"I hope you're doing okay. Lots of meetings all at once - I'd be freaking out." Ashley chuckles, and shakes your hand.

It's lucky you're there - it's one of the last times here at the lodge for them before they all go off to college and start the next phase of their lives.

You suspect that had they not all been on their best behavior out of support to their friend, someone would've caused some huge drama.

But as it is, Josh refuses to drink cause it messes with his meds, so Mike and Chris decide to polish off a bottle in his honor - meaning Mike passes out with Chris halfway into the night and thus instead of Hannah making a move and Emily and Jess starting a retaliatory prank, the group has more of a chill game night vibe.

Josh gets clingy when the sun goes down and demands cuddles.

"The things I do for you," you playfully sigh, and the two of you settle under a blanket in front of the TV.

The gang easily pivots to putting on a movie and falling asleep, the snow falling peacefully outside.

And far across the mountain, the ancient things remain contained, another year kept at bay.

You never do get back up to the lodge. But even if a lot of Josh's friends move on after that, his sisters become your lifelong friends, and you know that Josh and you are gonna be something good...

[eretzyisrael]

by POTKIN AZARMEHR

‘Pro-Palestine’ protests have become a near-weekly occurrence across Britain. Since Hamas’s 7 October massacre, regular marches have been drawing in a growing number of young people, marked by passionate advocacy and fervent slogans. Yet despite their zeal, many of these protesters lack a fundamental understanding of the conflict they are so vociferously decrying.

In the past six months, I have attended many of these marches. Having engaged with numerous protesters, I have noticed a startling disconnect between their strong opinions on the Gaza conflict and their shaky grasp of basic facts about it. Among the most perplexing are the LGBT and feminist groups (the ‘Queers for Palestine’ types) who flirt with justifying Hamas’s atrocities. This is a bewildering alliance, given that Hamas’s Islamist ideology is clearly antithetical to the rights and values these groups claim to champion. Its reactionary agenda is profoundly hostile to women’s rights and LGBT individuals.

Protesters seem eager to make excuses for Hamas, but are conspicuously uninformed about exactly what or who this terrorist group represents. On 18 May, during a protest at Piccadilly Circus in London, I spoke to demonstrators who firmly believed that Hamas represents all Palestinians. When I questioned a well-educated participant about the last Palestinian election, she was unaware that none had occurred since 2006, when Hamas gained power in Gaza.

It wasn’t just young people who were uninformed. An older woman with an American accent, seemingly a veteran protester, admitted she knew that Hamas was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, but had no deeper knowledge of its ideology or history. Others, such as members of revolutionary socialist groups, displayed similar gaps in understanding, unaware of critical events like the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

That revolution gave birth to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a theocratic regime that brutally oppresses its own citizens. It also sponsors Islamist groups like Hamas. I left Iran for the UK not long after that regime began and have spent years resisting its religious extremism and ruthless political intolerance. Protesters were not only unaware of these facts about the Iranian regime, but also ill-informed about the struggle against it, such as the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests against the government that began in 2022.

One particularly telling conversation involved a man advocating for a ‘Global Intifada’ to replace capitalism with socialism. When asked about successful socialist models, he was unfamiliar with the Israeli kibbutzim, one of history’s few successful egalitarian experiments. His ignorance of these communal settlements in Israel, built by socialist Jewish immigrants, was all too typical.

Perhaps the most telling moment was captured by commentator Konstantin Kisin earlier this year, when he encountered a young man holding a ‘Socialist Intifada’ placard. The protester admitted he had no idea what this meant and that he had taken the sign simply because it was handed to him.

Reflecting on past movements, such as the American anti-Vietnam War protests of the 1960s and the British Anti-Apartheid Movement of the 1980s, one can’t help but note a stark contrast. Protesters then were generally well-informed about their causes. Today’s pro-Palestine protests, however, seem to be driven more by unthinking fervour than by an understanding of the issues at hand.

Throughout all these protests, I am yet to encounter a single participant who condemns Hamas or carries a placard denouncing its terrorism. This not only undermines the protesters’ cause, but also risks aligning them with groups whose values fundamentally oppose the very rights and freedoms they claim to support. It appears that today’s young protesters are high on ideology, but woefully thin on facts.

Potkin Azarmehr is an Iranian activist and journalist who left Iran for the UK after the revolution of 1979.

[sanzaibian]

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m still in love. And it made me do some crazy stuff.

Let me talk to you about my first love. Unrequited, of course, but still, first love.

His name was Liam. Skinny, tall, handsome, you know how late middle-school crushes look like. He was sociable, unlike me, but we still did have the kind of deep discussions that I like having, about niche interests, walking back and forth the schoolyard. I was obsessed with him, letting my imagination run wild with scenarios involving him, ranging from seeing him out of school (shock horror ! … it was actually a big deal for me...) to being somehow abducted inside his body and living life as him, with him at the helm and me helping him in daily activities. I also imagined fantastic stories about him being a herald of a magical organization of which I was also part or to which he initiated me. I even wrote them, and hold dear to my heart those worlds I made involving me and Liam.

I even planned on marrying his sister just to be close to him, because I could of course not be in a relationship with him.

Oh, sorry, did I not mention that I was denying I was anything but straight at the time ? Sorry for the misunderstanding. But yes, the whole time I interacted with my first love, I thought he was just a very important friend. How shocking it was to find out just a few years later that I was indeed in love with him.

Sigh.

The problem is that it didn’t stop there, when life drew us to continue school in separate places. After that time, and even now, I see him in anyone looking anything like him. For example, take this guy :

It’s not him.

He’s older, and if I look more closely, I find more and more differences.

However, I look at him, and can only see Liam.

It drove me crazy. Those look-alikes didn’t all look alike, some being buff, some having some stubble, some even being quite short, but all sharing the same short hairstyle, and that unmistakable face.

I just… couldn’t move on, move on from a crush on a straight guy on which I never made any move. I tried finding other people to have crushes on, to fall in love with, perhaps even date, yet I failed at every step. Failed in seeing attractive men as anything more than just that, attractive, failed in meeting men with which to create meaningful relationship, failed in finding any place in the LGBT community.

And punctuating all of that, a slow but steady stream of Liam look-alikes were met in the street.

So don’t blame me if I finished by believing in my own fantasies, that we were in a magical world, with him seeking me to be a part of it, whence all of his appearances in the street. Plus, growing more and more isolated, who was there to bring me back to reality ? Certainly not the internet, as I sought out more and more obscure websites in the quest to understand what was happening to me.

It lead me first of all to psychological knowledge, most of which I have forgotten since then, then to occult, to erotica in a strange turn of events, and then, finally, to that one website that seemed to be the key to all my questions. It was on a weird Weibo post, that kind that leaves links to websites with passwords to open pirated content, that I first encountered. Thankfully, all of my yearning gave me enough frustration to study Chinese enough to read it with a dictionary on the side, so I was able to understand what that post was about.

At first I was skeptical. It was sketchy, plus what it promised was ludicrous… a simple app that would be able to answer any question with 100% accuracy, plus it claimed to use no AI. It also promised to get some “real experience of the answer”, whatever that may mean – assuming my translation of “实际的答案经历” is even correct.

However, at that point, I was desperate to get anything conclusive from this endeavor.

So I entered my question inside the machine, in the best of my poor Chinese, and asked “為什麼我遇到很多像Liam的人？” (Why do I meet a lot of people like Liam ?). Looking back, I should have written my question using simplified characters instead of traditional characters, it might have confused the app…

When I entered the question, it simply answered “谢谢您的问题！请等一下答案经验准备好了！” (Thank you for your question ! Please wait a bit for the experience of the answer to be prepared !). I felt like I was cheated on, even though I didn’t really expect much. At least give me a paywall to be angry at, but no, it was an empty sentence, giving me no catharsis for the long search for any answer to all the Liams I saw. Of why he was still sticking in my mind, of why I couldn’t move on properly.

At that point, it was already late, so, with no catharsis, I decided that this was just not worth it. I uninstalled the app, looking back likely also a mistake, and decided to clock out for the night.

I didn’t sleep well that night, moving a lot, and never able to completely enter the realm of dreams. Instead of plunging in a seemingly instant coma, I was slowly and painfully experiencing all the hallucinations of slumber, tense and sweating.

The next day, when I woke up, nothing felt right.

The bed didn’t feel right, the room didn’t feel right, the weight didn’t feel right, the hair didn’t feel right… even the morning wood didn’t feel right. Yet… there was something undeniably familiar to everything. As if it’s inside the uncanny valley between being what is known to me and what isn’t. I stood up, the height also didn’t feel right… I walked a bit dizzily, and though I could blame my recent waking for that, the way my weight was distributed was too strange to dismiss it on this basis.

So, as any good protagonist in the erotica stories I read in my futile quest, I headed for the bathroom. The house layout wasn’t what I remembered, yet it still felt familiar and easy to navigate, so I found my way to it.

And although I already expected it, all the clues pointing to this very fact, I was still shocked when I saw my reflection.

Let me tell you, nothing, nothing can prepare you for the experience of looking at a stranger in the mirror. Not even dysphoria, I tell you.

Because it was so unsettling, seeing the one thing that is supposed to always be familiar, that is supposed to only change little by little, so slowly enough that the human brain cannot process it changing, be so radically different. To not look like oneself, to not have even the same shape, as I was suddenly buff.

And to look like Liam.

I was unable to do anything but stand, bewildered, in front of the mirror, for quite a long while, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. However, finally, I snapped out of my inaction. I automatically reached for the gel and spiked my hair up, even though I never even touched hair gel in my entire life, before going back to my bedroom to find my computer.

All I found was a laptop, but it sufficed. I go little by little to find back the trace of that Weibo post – installing a Chinese keyboard at the same time – but find little luck. Although I did find some familiar-looking webpages and links, I had a hard time finding anything…

Then, suddenly, it was 10AM, and I remembered that I was supposed to go to the gym. And that I didn’t even take the time to prepare my protein shake… God, I was so taken by my sudden transformation that I didn’t even think about the essential !

It took me until I was greeted by the gym receptionist as “Liam” to notice that I wasn’t actually supposed to work out, only the body I was in was.

It shook me, but not enough to forget to answer the receptionist as I always do. I put away my things in the locker room, and made my way to the machines, performing a well-oiled routine, going from one machine to the other automatically. It was good that everything came to me this naturally, as otherwise I would have found myself silly, standing in front of the machines wondering how they worked.

As I was working out, I was thinking on this whole… experience. Quite clearly, I am not who I used to be, nor where I used to be, yet I was acting perfectly reasonably inside the role of the one who is called Liam – that is not, to my disappointment, the Liam I knew. I only look like him. It seems that, somehow, the Liam I inhabit and I merged, letting me insert myself in the life of that Liam seamlessly, yet still keeping my shock, my interests and my wishes intact. As if I was living the life of the one I had taken the body of, only really acting like myself when the Liam I now am has no obligations.

Coming back “home”, I continued my search, and found the original app that triggered this whole thing. Yet, I couldn’t find a way to reverse what it had done, not within the app, nor inside the documentation, plus the app wouldn’t grand any other answer but “谢谢您使用我们应用，请跟朋友转转！” (Thanks for using our app, please share a bit with friends !).

So I guess I now have to live inside this alien body that is in all manners similar to my first love, even in name. I mean, there are worse fates, especially as this Liam thankfully also seems to be into men, yet I cannot help but feel unhappy about this arrangement. Although I now partly am the Liam I inhabit, I can’t help but feel like I have robbed him of his life, forcing him to sit at the back of my mind, experiencing his life in the third person. Plus, I can’t possibly get used to not being me, and especially not to looking just like the Liam of my memories.

Which lead me to my realization that motivated me to write about this.

The reason why I still find Liam everywhere in the streets (even now, inside the body of one of his look-alikes) isn’t that he has facial features rare enough to be noticeable, yet common enough to be shared by a big number of people. No, it’s the fact that I’m still thinking of him, which makes my brain look for people who look like him, whence seeing the resemblances with the Liam I knew rather than all the differences. And why do I still think of him ? The answer seems to be that I still haven’t moved on, that I’m still in love with my first love.

However, now that his face is the one that is reflected in the mirror...

Am I ever going to be able to move on and find love ?

[cherryg]

The internet censorship is coming..(again)

There are two well known censorship bill known as KOSA and the EarnIt act.

These bills both promised that they will protect children but unfortunately these are misguided bills that says they’ll do something but then they will do the opposite or make things worse.

Both of these bills are serious threat to the LGBT community and will censor a lot of content especially there

the EarnItact will also get rid of NSFW content and deem it as illegal, and will also get rid of section 230

The KOSA act will let attorneys from Florida and Texas take control and decide what people could and could not watch and sue websites and anything they don’t like and will not protect children but mostly put many vulnerable teens and children at risk while going as far as to even censor important information like sex education, health issues, suicide prevention hotlines and many more

We have stopped these bills from passing before but the cofounder Richard Bluemenhal is clearly not giving up and trying hard and hard again to push these bills back on congress

Last year more than 90/100 human rights groups urged lawmakers and congress to not pass KOSA in the omnibus bill and it got shelved and the same then happened to Earn it last year on February/March

But now he is trying a third time,using and manipulating grieving parents and young people into supporting and lobbying his bills, whiles even accepting anti trans and LGBT groups into supporting his legislations. He’s trying to find any type of scandal a platform is currently facing and turn and twist it on behalf of his agendas.

He says he supports abortions and the LGBT community but his bills will censor those things he claims to support. He can’t have it both ways.

But he was stubborn enough to ignore every criticism and scrutiny he gets about the legislations, being childish and all.

Not to mention that they are also both privacy nightmares to everyone and globally too

That’s why it’s important that you call and email your representatives and lawmakers and urge them to drop Kosa and the earn it act

Let any human rights group you trust knows and tell anyone you trust about it weather it be a friend or family member.

For more information, click these links below ⬇️

You can also help us by joining our discord server on how to stop internet censorship

There also a petition made from Fightforfuture recently about the KOSA act

(Update # 2)

Hey guys I’m back to warn everyone about yet again another bad internet bill it’s called the safe tech act

This act is supported by 7 democratic senators including bluemenhal which is never a good sign with him when it comes to internet bills.

This is a misguided 230 reform and when reading it, all it shows is that these people have no understanding of 230 whatsoever.

It’s just another dangerous censorship bill that threatens everyone’s free speech. The creators claim that it’s won’t hurt free speech but it actually does and they do not understand how important 230 is in its current form right now!

Here is a good article explaining the safe tech act really well and why it’s dangerous :

Also talk to your representatives about this and why it’s bad and if you can, try to explain to them about why section 230 is important. Support digital advocacy, human rights and any other groups that supports free internet and expression and let them know about these legislators and their bad ideas!

Update 3

The EarnIt act is sadly coming back after failing two times, now they are trying a 3rd time.

This legislation is dangerous for privacy and free expression and speech. It will bring lots of surveillance and is just as bad as the restrict act.

https://act.eff.org/action/the-earn-it-act-is-back-seeking-to-scan-us-all

Now it’s being reintroduced by two senators and two representatives if you don’t know what this bill actually does there is more information about it here from these links : https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/earn-it-bill-back-again-seeking-scan-our-messages-and-photos

The second one is called KOSA (KidsOnlineSafteyAct),

now this bill has failed to pass last year because a lot of opposition from 90/100 human rights.

It claims it’s would protect kids but it’s actually has a lot of censorship and is very dangerous to lgbt/trans kids and many other kids that are in abusive households. It will actually hurt them instead of protecting them.

If that’s not bad enough it’s tragically gaining momentum and attraction by these child advocacy groups and being sponsored by Dove and Lizzo. And there has been petitions in supporting this unconstitutional bill, One of them having somewhere around 30k signs…

I really wish I could say I’m joking but this is sadly true.

If you want more info on KOSA here they are:

https://www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/censorship-wont-make-kids-safe/

Please everyone call your senators and representatives and tell them to oppose these bills. We really need help into fighting off these bill so we could keep a free opened internet!

[romiswired]

Cara Noir vs. Effy (GCW Live in London 2025)

Yes, I have subjected myself to this.

Effy is the worst cancer that you shall never get rid of. He is what people think a "gay" wrestler is because he has not made any effort in being good and being a good representative of the LGBT+ community in wrestling. In the past I thought he was there for the vibes, you know, as an act rather than a wrestler, but time passed, and he even decided to try and become more than what people perceived him to be. He tried to be taken seriously, but he just couldn't escape his own perception of himself. He couldn't leave the thing that made him famous and infamous for that matter: he couldn't stop *being* Effy.

And what is Effy? Notice I've said "what" and not "who" because to me Effy is no longer an act for the vibes, but the representation of what pushes down LGBT+ wrestlers to a road of mediocrity. He is everything wrong with wrestling, in the sense he's not looking for people to appreciate wrestlers in the community for more than the fetishization he brings to the table.

There are so many great examples of LGBT+ wrestlers that are fantastic or at least try to put the effort. Even if I don't particularly like some of them, in a world where Effy tries to be the norm and the thing people think IS an LGBT+ wrestler, Mike Bailey and Nyla Rose stand out to me as great examples of the opposite. As a proud member of the community, I'm sick and tired of Effy being *our* main representative in the wrestling scene because he does not represent *us* at all but what people think we can give.

When you see Effy, you can't take him seriously because he's just *gay* and that's the joke. He's weird, he's quirky, he's wicked, and he's disgusting because THAT's what gay people should be in wrestling, right? They all shall be freaks of nature, but what Effy fails to understand or does not want to recognize is that WRESTLING is a sport for the freaks. The wrestlers are not normal individuals, so there's no necessity in highlighting your wickedness only because you're a gay man if the sport welcomes even more wicked concepts.

And to be honest, what is *wicked* about a gay man? He's just gay, that's it. We have passed the need for Effy in the wrestling world because he's just a reminder of what LGBT+ wrestlers shouldn't be. They shouldn't be compiled and compressed into one-trick ponies that people can't take seriously. They should strive for more.

The worst thing about Effy is that even when being criticized by members of the community he says he represents, he can't acknowledge the damage he's doing in terms of perception and how the common public views LGBT+ wrestlers. His head is so far to his ass, he stands in the middle of the ring and acts like a moral compass of what wrestling should be.

He proudly claims he's a bold man, but you shouldn't confuse boldness with straight out ego, and an undeserving one. Effy does not understand the reason we criticize him is not because we hate him, but because he should understand the position he's in and should look for ways to make people accept LGBT+ wrestlers for more than the jokes he pulls out.

Enter Cara Noir, a wrestler who even if you don't like him has made the effort to go onto something more special and unique in wrestling. His rivalry with Ilja Dragunov, while extremely melodramatic and silly, tried to be something else than what Effy does. Dragunov and Noir tried to tell you a love story by fighting and highlighting the performative art wrestling can be because of its variety.

Even if you don't stand for that perspective of wrestling, you can at least appreciate the attempt to strive for more, to live as something more than who you may think Noir is. In Noir also lied tragedy, sadness, melancholy. He was not just a Black Swan-inspired gimmick. He was not just a gimmick, or a joke. Noir existed as something else, a manifestation of what the community could strive to be in terms of how they approach wrestling.

Noir vs Dragunov even in his theatrical nature had a brutality and a sense of wickedness not brought by the idea they were kissing or showing signs of love, but because of the battles they went through. My issue with Effy lies in the idea he NEVER treats his identity as something that he should live with, but highlights it over and over and over and over to hide his most obvious mistakes.

Yes, he's gay, and yes, he's a maniac, but the idea of Effy highlights the gay part more than the maniac one, so you sit and think "oh well he's a maniac because he's gay, and gays are weeeeeeird". That's the joke, that's the punchline, there's nothing else hidden or brought by Effy that could awaken something more than cringe and disappointment, AND THAT'S WHERE THE ISSUES LIE.

If the main representative of the LGBT+ community in wrestling brings his contemporaries to a level of mediocrity so high, people constantly said he and his peers shouldn't be included in wrestling, where does that leave all the other members of the community? Why are we stuck doing 2018 Pride Parade bullshit when people of our community around the world continue to be harassed and killed? Why can't wrestling think of the LGBT+ community as more than an accessory? Why can't we have serious and heartfelt stories told by LGBT+ wrestlers?

Who said Monomoth can't be a bloody and beautiful underdog fighting for a world title? What is our end goal in wrestling if the focus of the community continues to be on someone like Effy that not only does not understand the damage he's doing, but surrounds himself around ass-kissers that will NEVER doubt anything he does? Is the LGBT+ community stuck and subject to continue doing jokes with our sexuality, or can we think and dream of a future where our own people stop receiving comments doubting the importance of LGBT+ representation in wrestling?

Because I don't know about you, but I'm tired of celebrating Effy, because I'm not proud and neither I feel represented.

[vague-humanoid]

from 2016

You can count Mitski among the many artists and musicians who are upset over Donald Trump’s presidential victory. At a show in Athens, GA on November 10, the Puberty 2 songwriter reportedly asked all of Trump’s supporters to leave, along with an offer to refund their tickets.

“This is a safe space,” she said according to one attendee’s Twitter. “Voting for him was a violent act.”

Mitski further clarified her point in a series of replies to that original tweet.

“Trump’s platform is violently hateful, he incites violence at his conventions,” she wrote. “His proposed policies will cause death + violence to millions of minorities, so voting for that is to say ‘I wish violence on these people.’ this is not abt difference in beliefs, this is about giving the people at my show, many of them queer/ppl of color, just 1 night of feeling safe + free of harm.”

The move to banish Trump supporters is not the first action that Mitski has taken in regards to the election. She’s offered up her shows in red states as sanctuaries for LGBT people and people of color.

[simnostalgia]

The Pedophile Hunts in Progressive Spaces Were an Alt-Right Operation to Cause a Rift in Our Communities.

So, I need to talk about something for a minute that has been REALLY bothering me even though the drama about it is pretty much over. I'm stirring it back up because it's not sitting right on my soul. I know I'm gonna get flack for this but I don't care.

A few weeks ago someone started referring to an MTS user as a pedophile because he posted a picture of a teen sim in their underwear. However, the problem was that it was pretty much immediately a reason that he was targeted for a harassment campaign against him.

Which, no, we're not going to ruin a man's life over this. If you think I'm a bad person for that- the unfollow button is above. Block me. We Are Not Friends. Goodbye.

This isn't even about The Sims community, or at least not just about it. You've been tricked. I'm sorry but you have. This is obviously bigger than this ONE small drama but it's obvious that this is being used as a manipulation tactic on a macro level to create distrust and a way to break down people easily. And it's specifically henious since it's targeting queer people with propaganda which has historically been used to demonize them.

This sudden fear of pedophiles was a targeted effort by the far right to sow discord in the queer community and I can prove it.

Firstly, 4chan and other online arenas have been doing missions like this for YEARS. Some are successful and others aren't. They were responsible for the discourse surrounding whether or not being "bisexual" made you transphobic.

Second and MOST importantly, I NEED you to know about the alt-right group curiously named Gays Against Groomers. This group was created to undermine the queer community. They've regularly supported anti-lgbt bills and targeted schools. This group is a psyop.

The MO of these sorts of movements has ALWAYS been packaging harmful content in a way which would resonate with queer social media spheres to get them to claim it as their own and the propagate it. This is a MARKETING company. This was a MARKETING STRATEGY.

When you repeat a lot of these things, using the specific verbiage that you do, you're following the plans of people like Jamee Michell.

They specifically targeted areas that had large groups of young impressionable queer people who wouldn't already be familiar with the tactic of equating gays with pedophiles so that they would create a sort of panopticon. This is what has caused this "obsession with pedophiles" this was not an accident.

Hyper-vigilance of groomers, a hatred of pedophiles, was the place to start and then creating a ever-changing definition of what a 'groomer' was is just a long play to make things like 'being a drag queen' a stand in for pedophilia.

For people around you, in your fandom communities who are 'progressive' but seem overly obsessed with grooming. Fandom spaces are often targeted as they're overwhelmingly queer. We know for a fact that the proship debate came specifically from this sort of messaging.

Keep an eye on them. They might not be who you think they are. And if you're mad at me for saying this?

I'm sorry but I'm not afraid to align myself with some potentially terrible people to protect queer people from being falsely accused.

[potions-of-dark-devotion]

Waking up to the news that JKR is going to try to distract from her transphobia by trying to use POC as a sheild to curry favor with the American left is not the take away I was expecting today. It’s not hard to see why she would do this. The show runners have already had to defend her, and this is an easy way to deflect criticism by claiming anyone who disagrees with JKR or this casting is just racist, instead of a nuanced disscussion of class dynamics and race we will get a ham fisted attempt to salvage JKR reputation and cover up the years of cruelty she has inflicted recently on the LGBT community. Please don’t let this slide. I get that we all interact with this media, and that in itself is a controversial risk, but for the love of all that’s holy do not let JKR FOOL YOU into sweeping all her transgressions under the rug because she is casting people in a “diverse” role.

Besides this while Hermione’s race isn’t specified in the books, Severus Snape’s is, and it is really an important aspect of the character since his appearance is referenced unkindly through the series. If they had wanted to race swap him as many have done in this fandom an Asian actor or Pakistani actor could be a good choice. There are other reasons but I won’t go into them here as it isn’t the main point.

Just don’t give JKR a pass on the transphobia because she is definitely trying to distract from it with these choices.

[myfairkatiecat]

I think you're misunderstanding my point a bit, the problem is not "accidentally agreeing with someone when they also disagree with you on other points". I agree that worrying about that is silly. However both my hypothetical post and the actual post, in my opinion, have the problem of presenting a false dichotomy which is indicative of bias. "We need more single mothers in media" is a point which is completely unrelated to the much stupider point of "there are TOO MANY women with jobs in media", and the fact of the matter is that being bothered by seeing women in media who have jobs is, not inherently sexist, but certainly something you would expect more from a misogynist than a non misogynist.

Similarly the original post pairs a point that many agree with - "more fandoms/media should portray close brotherly friendships" - with an unrelated (and in my opinion, very entitled) complaint about fandoms being too gay, as if it's not possible for both gay relationships and brotherly ones to both be respected and given validity without choosing one as the correct or more valid interpretation. Or as if, as the person who responded to that post was alleging, the post was trying to imply that interpreting characters as gay is inherently worse than interpreting them as brotherly. Given that that's a very bold claim, I think supporting that claim with "btw this same person has said this on the topic of gay people irl" is quite normal?

The reason context matters is not because valid points become gross and wrong when said by the wrong person, but because valid sentiments can be used to mask other, less valid sentiments. If you agree with both points, that's one thing, but if you think complaining that fandom is just too gay is indicative of homophobia, "the person who said that has also publicly stated that they don't support the LGBT community" is relevant information in that discussion. And I frankly think that "actually, my friend thinking that fandom is too gay is completely unrelated to that same friend thinking being gay irl is sinful" is a very strange claim that I struggle to believe, in the same way I would not believe it if someone said "the fact that I get mad when I see women on TV with jobs is completely unrelated to me thinking women shouldn't have jobs because then I could sleep with them more easily".

Ok so this is the post in question by @gracefulchristiangirl:

why aren't guys allowed to have strong brotherly friendships anymore without being queer headcannoned anymore. like- not all strong relationships are because of romantic or sexual desire??? some people have life-long friendships with other guys who are literally their brothers???

Reading comprehension check: “NOT ALL strong relationships are because of romantic or sexual desire.” This post is a response to the frequent sexualization of male friendship, which feeds a culture of toxic masculinity. If showing affection is consistently interpreted as inherently gay (like posting a gif of Sam and Frodo with the caption “there is NO heterosexual explanation for this” which does happen quite frequently) then straight men are going to be discouraged from being affectionate with their friends because, understandably, they don’t want people unanimously agreeing that they must therefore be a sexuality that they aren’t.

This post is about people erasing the possibility of friendship between two men when they see a certain type of behavior, usually expressions of care or love. This isn’t a response to “I think it would be cool if Merlin and Arthur were gay so I’m going to write a fic where they’re gay,” it’s a response to “look at the way Merlin is looking at Arthur in this scene with so much love in his eyes. Look at the way he holds him tenderly ad he dies. They’re literally so gay, like wdym they aren’t lovers??” One such statement owns that it is something made up by the person with the headcanon, while the other statement makes affection between two men seem inherently romantic! I used the merlin fandom as an example because I have seen that second statement made, almost word for word, and it’s sentiments like those that make me glad for posts like the one we are discussing.

The post is not about gay people. The post is about viewing close male friendships as inherently romantic or sexual in fandom spaces, which is unfortunately very common.

This post is also not about fandom spaces being “too gay,” as you said in your ask. *wags finger like an aunt* mm-mm-mm, that’s not what OP said! She didn’t say fandom spaces were too gay!

[marzipanandminutiae]

The post about "we need feminism because there's a men's rights movement in LGBT" is from radfems. "Baeddelations" has a pinned post about being a baeddel, "men's rights" in this context pretty much means trans men speaking about being trans men. (I'm not denying issues in the community but I know you've wanted it pointing out when you've missed dogwhistles before, and the post is all very thinly veilled references.)

I did some looking into this, because I was not familiar with the term "baeddel."For anyone else who didn't know: It's an Old English word generally meaning "effeminate or castrated man" as far as I can tell, and some transfem people adopted it primarily back in the 2010s (although some still use it, like the user in question). Baeddels in the modern sense claim to focus on transmisogyny and trans women's issues...but as you say, some can lapse into prejudice against trans men. To the point where, while it doesn't seem like they ALL hold that view, it has become one of the most prominent things about the movement. Kind of like radfems and transphobia. The poster in question seemed, when I looked through their blog, to come down in the middle- there were some comments that raised my eyebrows, but not as extreme as things I saw on other blogs.

I went back and forth about what to do re: the post in question, though. Because I don't want to be associated with hatred of trans men, since. You know. I don't hate trans men. However, I do feel that the modern left, and even the LGBT community, believes misogyny has been fixed and refuses to examine the undercurrents thereof that women in these circles still struggle with.

(Trans men can be misogynistic. NB people can be misogynistic. Anyone can be misogynistic, and the community letting misogynistic people off the hook because they're not cis men, or the expectation thereof, is a real issue that I have witnessed/experienced IRL. Shoutout to the trans guy who insisted I let him do everything for me out in public, and got mad when I didn't want to, because it "made him feel more masculine" so I should apparently just shut up and act helpless, for example.)

(There's also been a lot of "not all men" going around in response to women expressing frustration with the bullshit we face for our gender, which is like. Come on. I thought we all figured out in the 2010s that no-one sensible is talking about LITERALLY all men; we just shouldn't be expected to water down our anger to make men comfortable. Tacking "but what about trans men?" onto that doesn't negate the entire rest of the conversation.)

I disagree that the post is "all thinly veiled references" because it looks like most people reblogging it are like me- folks who aren't familiar with that term but feel that there's a still a misogyny issue in progressive and queer spaces. However, because of the association with a specific movement I am not part of and largely disagree with an apparent key point of, I will be deleting it.

Do not mistake this for me recanting my personal sentiments on the matter. There is a misogyny problem in my community, because the misogyny problem in broader society remains. Trans men and NB people are not exempt from being misogynistic. This needs to be talked about, and it is deeply frustrating to me as a queer woman.

Do I even have to say "this is not for t*rfs?" Well, just in case, it is Not. Fuck off.

[themisinformer]

Donald Trump Admits That His Transphobia Stems from Shameful Post-Nut Clarity He Had During Summer of 1978

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - Looking visibly embarrassed as he tried to explain himself, President-elect Donald Trump would provide an explanation as to why he’s so tough on the LGBT community, particularly trans people, explaining that his “strong feelings” stem from a shameful post-nut clarity he experienced during the summer of 1978.

“I don’t really like talking about it,” Trump admitted during an interview at his own Mar-a-Lago resort. “Let’s just say that I made some stupid decisions when I was younger and a lot more stimulated, so to speak. You know, when you’re a young guy, you tend to think with your freedom fighter more than you do with your actual brain, and that made me do some things that I’ve been deeply ashamed of ever since. I don’t want to give too much details, but what I will say is that I used to throw some of the wildest parties in America, and things would go down at those parties. And before anyone asks, no, I didn’t know.”

When asked for further clarification, Trump would abruptly walk off set, ending the interview early. Trump’s campaign would later go on to release a statement, claiming that Trump’s reelection has brought “newfound stress” onto him and that as a result he “can’t articulate himself as clearly.” According to Trump’s campaign, his seemingly sexual confession about trans people was nothing more than a nonsensical mistake. Many people aren’t taking it that way, though.

“This is actually incredibly common for people who are coming to terms with the fact that they’re queer, especially among older folks,” explained gay politician Pete Buttigieg. “Denial and even self implicated hatred are how many people cope with the fact that they’re queer, until that realization hits… It’ll be interesting to see how Trump deals with this in the long run.”

Indeed, many people are looking at this situation with a sense of optimism. “Even though we were denied our chance at a woman president two different times, maybe we’ll get our first bisexual president soon enough with Trump,” said MSNBC political pundit Rachel Maddow, a lesbian. “This recent confession from Trump makes me hopeful for the future, and I can’t wait to see where his LGBT agenda takes us.”

[feygaleh]

I'm a currently reconnecting reform Jew who was raised completely Secular and Acultural... I was anti-Zionist for a long time and I consider myself to still be but in my journey through reconnection I became more involved in Jumblr and it's hard to not fall prey to the Zionist rhetoric people keep spreading on here. I need to read the words of an actual Jew and not just another goy on why Israel is bad because otherwise I fear I will actually be gaslit. Do you have any recommendations on resources by Jewish people about the topic?? Or even some words you can provide yourself?? Thank you and I'm sorry for bothering you...

hey anon! thank you for being patient with my reply, i was pretty busy the other day and wanted to put real care into getting these resources for you

firstly, if you’re looking to find a better hub of anti zionist jews to unlearn any propaganda with, @stoptheantisemitism is a great place to start. from a former zionist israeli(iirc, correct me if not) jew who unlearned propaganda over time. they are a great inspo in the jewish community.

another great source is the documentary “defamation” by yaov shamir https://youtu.be/CTAjc1OSrmY?si=NsRJLOsxjlFPNSWC

ultimately discussing how zionism, israel, and the IDF preys on the “you’re unsafe anywhere but here. only in israel can you be safe to be freely and fully jewish” which is just textbook. textbook. brainwashing. i mean the amount of zionists in the jewblr tag alone treating any public hate moment as a “see! see! this is why we need israel!!” all of the attempts israel does to go above and beyond is not an actual act of care but an act of public manipulation.

not a source but when i went to gather this link for you i saw a comment that phrased it beautifully. they are so convinced that they are so deeply hated and can only be safe here and it is so strange not to mention, i hate to say this because i know its going to be misconstrued, very identical to cult indoctrination and brainwashing tactics

theodr herzl himself literally said antisemitism will be our greatest ally and he described israel as a colonial project. like the entire foundation of this place is so clearly propaganda

ie the recent “”””pogrom”””” in amsterdam began with zionist jews being publically and loudly racist to a group of people who eventually attacked back. they of course were being antisemitic in their words but the actions would not have happened if they weren’t provoked. but israel of course “comes to aid” these “poor victims” so NOW everyone’s like “see this is why we need israel!!! we aren’t safe anywhere not even europe” which is so exhaustingly ridiculous

it’s all curated. it’s all on purpose. israel wants the people who support them and get shit for it to hit the news. they want these attacks to happen so they can swoop on and “save” them and “prove we need them” but this was NOT a pogrom this was NOT provoked by antisemitism.

not to mention how conservative/orthodox they all are. many orthodox groups won’t even acknowledge us reform jews as jewish. they won’t recognize our interfaith relationships as decent, our kids as actually jewish, our identity as jewish, converts as jewish. etc. i’m not saying this from a place of bias. it is something my rabbi often openly discusses. the first thing he told me when i told him im a lesbian with a catholic girlfriend is “orthodoxy and the local chabad will never recognize your marriage as a jewish marriage. will never recognize your kids as jewish kids. same sex marriage is not legalized in any of the 15 marital courts in israel because of the way the country operates” so on so on. israel claims to be so pro lgbt but can’t even bend any of their rules to allow gay marriage? it’s just insane. this has nothing to do with israeli propaganda it is just a criticism i have on parts of judaism

several kinds of interfaith marriages aren’t recognized in israel.

never again. for anyone. the ISJN (international jewish antiozionist network) https://ijan.org as a very good program they run.

with multiple chapters in multiple countries they also provide a wordpress they compiled on the israeli attemp at worldwide repression

that INCLUDES testimonies against israel predating 2023. in their education programs they detail being anti-racist details the NEED to be anti-zionist

zionism and american politics are very intertwined so i dont understand why nonamerican zionists always attack nonzionist american jews. it’s very odd. much of our government lobbies for israel as often as they can. the veterans at my shul often argue in defense and against israel just depending on where their morals lay. it permiates american political cultures, especially jewish american political cultures. though most of the time im greeted with “bold words from someone who has never been in the middle east.” and that is so odd considering they know nothing about me. no i haven’t. i have absolutely no money to travel. israel offers birthright but why would i ever take them up on the opportunity for indoctrination? that’s what it’s for. the more people who come to israel and like it the more israeli citizens they have. the more citizens they have the more they can make my countries politicians lobby for “antizionism DOES equal antisemitism” which is so factually and morally untrue on so many levels.

israel is still actively killing everyone they need to under the guise of hamas. i implore you to go look at the ceasefire agreements hamas has tried to put out for the IDF by the way and see exactly what terms the IDF disagreed to bc it is VIOLENTLY and BRUTALLY inhumane. this is not in agreement with hamas but in disagreement with the IDF.

for further historical and political resources i encourage you check out this page https://ijan.org/resources-2/ i know im linking them a lot but its a great hub of everything i wouldnt linked you anyways

israel and the IDF are actively killing innocents for no good reason outside of colonization. outside of pure genocide. outside of ethnic cleansing. zionist jews’ recent tactics have been to call any mention of this blood libel which i find insane bc it is factually untrue to the definition of what blood libel is

for some odd reason my iphone won’t open this article anymore but go read on this from the new yorker!

if you ever see a bunch of white supremacists/nazis on tumblr being zionists or friends with zionists btw it’s bc the worlds largest zionist organization is made up of christian’s/catholics. just in case you want to know what side of history these people are on. fascists love being racist together <3

blog from more antizionist jewitches on christian zionism WITH sources cited

the difference between the three israels and why “am yisrael chai” is NOT synonymous to zionism or the existence of the state of israel

again with sources cited in the blog

finally i’d watch enduring roots https://vimeo.com/89376847

this is just the trailer as it is a donation based documentary but i did not pay much to watch this on my own. its a documentary put together by the international jewish antizionist fund about accounts from actual nakba survivors

how the fuck am i going to allow myself to believe a country that says it values the safety of my life. a jewish life. which by the way. in judaism we value all life. you can and should break any jewish law to save a life. so tell me then why are these people so comfortable carpet bombing children? murdering women? using HUMAN SHIELDS to get their way

anyways i will add more sources as i remember them but TLDR israels main line of propaganda and brainwashing IS “you belong here. we will keep you safe. we are the only place that can keep you safe” while actively causing so much harm and being founded on racist ideals while they allow tens of thousands of human souls to die when there are many places safe for us across the world

[vigilantempathy]

Headcanon on Daniel Molloy's Sexual Orientation

TLDR: Bisexual (/pansexual/omnisexual/...) people exist. Spoilers for IWTV Season 2!

HC: Daniel Molloy is a bi guy who was comfortable being openly queer and very active in the queer community in the "Free Love" scene of the 1970s. However, the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the early 1980s led to him effectively re-closeting himself. And his failed marriages and inability to maintain intimate relationships made him choose to be alone, which let him avoid reassessing his sexual orientation/identity.

In the 1970s, Daniel met Louis and Armand for the first time in a gay bar. During the first 1973 scene, in S1E6, the bartender at Polynesian Mary's asks Daniel "Do you have money tonight, Danny?" indicating he's there often enough to have a reputation and be known on a first-name basis, so he's not just there because "it was a good place to score" like he lies to Louis during their present-day interview. (Contrast with the nondescript and anonymous recountings of the blacked-out fragments of memory punctuating the rest of Daniel's drug-fueled escapades.) In S2E5, young!Daniel makes obvious passes at both Louis and Armand, telling Louis "I can cheer you up" and taking his shirt off; offering to Armand, "I could be on my knees in a second".

It's not like Daniel was trying to pass for heterosexual in 1973.

In the ad for Daniel's pay-to-order journalism class at the start of S1E1, the first few news clippings selected to show his journalism cred are about the HIV/AIDS crisis and are oriented towards representing LGBT+ activism in response to it, indicating that this was a focus of Daniel's early journalism. In S2E5, one of 1973!Daniel's interview tapes that Armand grills him on focuses on Kevin, a Vietnam vet and his double-amputee Vietnamese refugee boyfriend who live in the Castro together. (The Castro is the historically gay neighborhood in San Francisco where queer activist Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official in California.)

Daniel, even as early as the 1970s and throughout the increased stigmatization of homosexuality in the 1980s, wanted to tell the stories of the queer community.

But telling the stories of the queer community in the 1980s meant telling the stories of lives and loved ones lost to the AIDS crisis, before research had yielded medical management regimens or any understanding about how to prevent the spread of HIV. AIDS was still seen as "the gay plague". AIDS was still a death sentence.

And Daniel likes women, too. And had the readily available excuse of any of his queer relationships/encounters/community in the 1970s being about the drugs, or a result of them. He could claim he was an addict willing to do anything for drugs rather than a queer man who had an easier time acting on his non-heterosexual attractions while high. And he's the reporter who catches the stories that slip through the cracks, he made a name for himself getting the angle none of the mainstream outlets can see, so he could still engage with the queer community as an "interviewer" and "journalist" and straight-passing "ally". He could likely publish more articles and books at that time as an ally journalist telling the queer perspective than he would have as a stigmatized/blacklisted openly queer journalist. Being an "ally" would give him access to platforms and audiences that would never hear a queer perspective otherwise.

Even though Daniel re-closeted himself and "passed" for decades as a straight ally, he never turned his back on the queer community or stopped trying to tell queer stories or represent queer lives.

But that let him continue to justify his re-closeting to himself as "I can do more good for the queer community as an ally." And even as the AIDS crisis shifted into AZT, then single-pill ART, then PrEP, even as HIV became a manageable chronic illness, even as decades passed and times changed and LGBTQ+ representation changed, Daniel stayed closeted.

And in that time he fell genuinely in love with Alice, who initially refused to marry him even though she wanted to because he'd given her no reason to trust him, eventually agreed to marry him, and later divorced him. Decades later, he still gets emotional talking about Alice. And then he got married, again, and divorced, again. He says he "ruined two marriages" and "fucked up two daughters." All that mattered was his work. It was his lifeline. It was his legacy. Interpersonal relationships were not.

He ruined all his romantic relationships. He ruined his families. And it was easier to be alone after that, and it was an easy excuse for why he continued to choose to be alone. But it was also a continuation of the logic behind his initial intentional re-closeting during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s: "I can do more good this way."

1980s Daniel: "I can do more good telling the queer perspective as an ally than as a member of the queer community. If I'm just an ally, people will actually read these stories."

2020s Daniel: "I can do more good alone. If I try dating again, I'll just wind up ruining someone else. And there are still stories that need to be told; work can keep me busy."

He was openly bisexual/queer in the 1970s, then bisexual/queer but intentionally "straight-passing" and in exclusively heterosexual relationships from the 1980s until the show's present-day, and still bisexual/queer throughout his interviews with Louis and Armand.

Bisexual orientation, attraction to multiple genders, and queer identity don't go away when a bisexual person is in heterosexual relationships/homosexual relationships/single. Daniel in a gay bar in the 1970s was bisexual; Daniel in love with Alice in Paris was still bisexual; Daniel married to women and ultimately divorced from them was still bisexual; Daniel in S2E5 being obviously disappointed to learn that he and Louis didn't get it on in the 1970s and making big vulnerable eyes at him in present-day when he jokes, "do you want to [have sex] now?" is still bisexual.

But now it's 2022 and Daniel's ruined two marriages and estranged from his kids and opted to be alone for a long time and may as well have been married to his work, and he's just been diagnosed with Parkinson's and he's anticipating dying alone.

And instead he flies to Dubai, has a bunch of really long therapy sessions with two absurdly gorgeous openly gay vampires (both of whom he has made passes at, back when he was still openly queer), many of which focus on the vampires' respective sexual orientation journeys of self-discovery and coming out, even more of which focus on stupid-hot queer gothic romances between various configurations of stupid-hot gothic romantic queers , and one of which involves him meeting Louis and Armand in a gay bar in the 1970s back when he was still openly queer. Mortal-ass, Parkinson's-impaired, forever-alone, septuagenarian Daniel Molloy brings his factchecking skills and token snark to a duel with an angelically beautiful 500-year-old master gaslighter with superpowers and Daniel fucking WINS, and if that isn't Viagra for the soul, I don't know what is. And instead of dying alone, Daniel Molloy gets to live forever.

Louis comes to see vampirism as a gift because it allows him time to work through his issues and become someone he can learn to live with.

Daniel might come to see vampirism as a gift because it gives him time (and a community, and motivation in the form of an assortment of really hot vampires who are suddenly all single thanks to Daniel's mad homewrecking/therapy skills) to figure out how to live an openly bisexual/queer life.

So it's 2024, Daniel Molloy is newly immortal and invincible and has the virility of a fledgling and wants to explore his queer identity. The rest of the world better hydrate well and buckle the fuck up.

[fandomhype]

Plagiarism Somerton

I obviously didn't watch the new James Somerton apology video ON his channel because I did not want to give that man the views and you shouldn't either! It has been re-uploaded and summarised elsewhere so that he doesn't benefit if anyone wants to see it.

The original hbomberguy video was wild to me because of all the stealing, I found it highly entertaining, loved all the Memes and it honestly did my imposter syndrome wonders! but then I watched the Todd in the shadows video and it really upset me.

He didn't just steal from other LGBT creators he lied to his mostly young LGBT audiance who were looking to an elder gay for guidance and to learn about their history.

Todd's video starts with a clip of James lies being spread by another person on a podcast, there's clips of people discussing his made up gay nazi fanfic he has presented as hard facts. He actively harmed his own community for cash! There are young gay men bringing that subject up in conversation being laughed at for falling for it and that leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

Now I'm not a part of that community but a lot of people I love are so that angered me a lot.

...and then he comes back with another apology video, conveniently within the three months he would have had to post something on his channel to retain his monetisation status weirdly?! In which he blames both a head injury and his ADHD for his theft - at no point does he address the lying in either apology video or any of the apology posts he made that I could find.

I have combined ADHD, when I was first diagnosed the NHS referred to it as ADD with Hyperactivity element but everyone seems to have gone back to calling it ADHD and that is the term used most commonly online so that is what I refer to it is as.

I am medicated but there has been a world wide shortage of my medication and I was without it for some time over winter, which was HELL! I got nothing done.

I am in no way a big creator, Youtube for me is a fun wee hobby that will hopefully grow and allow me to collaborate with other people with similar interests but ADHD is for sure a large part of my journey as a creator.

I've published like 7 videos and currently have around 10 being worked on because, you know... ADHD! *siren noises*

I know that I am forgetful sometimes, just for the record I also had several head injuries and concussions as a child because Lil undiagnosed at the time me truly had no fear of climbing or other dangerous activities so I have my script (because free talking a subject with this brain would be nearly impossible) open in one google doc and my research open in another. It's not hard.

That's the way it was at school, college and Uni too. James claims he went to Uni to do business. Every university uses anti-plagerism software for essays and has done since like the mid 2000's? so he knows not to copy pasta. He's straight up lying there.

Another thing he's lying about is his ADHD making him forget he copied things. Now if you tell me a joke that I like it'll stick in my head and I will straight up tell it as my own later, I've been called out for this many times! But entire articles? whole sections of other peoples videos? (he also flipped a fan Vid he had ripped off of another YouTube to avoid detection and tried to pass it off as his own) No that's not something you can accidentally do even with a swiss cheese brain like mine.

Weirdly all the the paragraphs James claims he accidentally copied were also edited to remove aspects of the Trans, Bi and Ace experiences that James markedly does not believe exist. Strange considering he accidentally copied them and assumed they were his own words? Imagine going back through a paragraph you think you wrote yesterday in the edit the next day and finding swarths of things you don't agree with there?!

Why am I telling you all this? Well because I wanted to put my two cents in as a creator with this condition, partly because I felt it was somewhat of an attack on us!? He's put it out there that ADHD creators are liable to steal from others and that's not ok by me. Also I just really like the sound of my own typing!

TL;DR : James Sommerton is a suck ass liar and he doesn't get to use his disability as an excuse for what he did! and...

****** ADHD DOES NOT MAKE YOU STEAL SHIT!!! ******

Also watch Todd's Vid, everyone saw the Hbomberguy one but this one goes deeper: