#the golden orchid society

[unityrain24]

THIS IS SO COOL!! i did not know about this!!

basically the article is talking about "the golden orchid society", a society of chinese lesbians/wlw who rejected heteronormativity from the 1600s-1900s, also some ace/aro and even cishet women who rejected the standard. very cool read!!

[queerasfact]

Ace awareness week: Golden Orchid Societies

Golden Orchid Societies were communities of women around the 19th and early 20th centuries in southern China who chose not to marry, or not to live with their husbands. Some Golden Orchid sisters had a solo wedding, showing their desire to remain independent from a husband. These women were known as "self-combed women", because they would dress their own hair before the ceremony, rather than having it combed by a married female relative, as was normal in a male-female marriage.

Some Golden Orchid sisters may have been asexual or aromantic. Others may have been women-loving-women, or had other reasons to avoid traditional marriage. Nonetheless, their history provides us with an insight into ace history, and what historical possibilities there have been for asexual people.

Check out our podcast to learn more

[Image: Liang Jieyun, 85, and Huang Li-e, 90, two of the last surviving Golden Orchid sisters. Tania Branigan for the Guardian]

[leniisreallycool]

"History

17th Century

During the Qing dynasty of South China, there was The Golden Orchid Society. For 300 years, beginning in the early 1640s, this order of women stood against marriage. For many women, these heterosexual unions were restrictive, thrust upon them, and abusive. The Golden Orchid Society stood in opposition to society's expectations of the time, welcoming with open arms any woman looking to avoid the normative life.

It was practice for married women in China to comb their hair a certain way to say they were not available, so the Golden Orchid Society created "self-combing women". These women would wear their hair just as married women would, and a ceremony would be held to celebrate this choice. This practice was used by women who did not wish to marry or have romantic/sexual partnerships. It is likely at least some of them held similar feelings about romance and partnerships as many modern day aros."

This brings me an immeasurable amount of joy

[makingqueerhistory]

What article would you recommend to someone just getting into queer history?

It would really depend on the person and what they are looking for in terms of queer history, but how about we do a choose-your-own-adventure type answer!

Are you looking for a look at how we got to where we are today in terms of queer history?

Read: Magnus Hirschfeld or Maryam Khatoon Molkara

Are you looking to find comfort in the fact that queerness has existed throughout history?

Read: Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum or Sir Ewan Forbes 

Are you looking to have some of your preconceived notions about queer history to be challenged?

Read: The Golden Orchid Society or Rotimi Fani-Kayode

Does queer history intimidate you because you are afraid of it being a list of tragedies?

Read: The Ladies of Llangollen or Jackie Shane

Do you want to learn about the intersection of queer and disability history?

Read: Lou Sullivan or Victoria Arellano 

Do you want queerness that resonates with lesser-known/discussed identities?

Read: Kristina King of Sweden or Zinaida Gippius 

Are you looking for more information about names you already recognize?

Read: Sappho or Langston Hughes

Are you looking to be pulled into a rabbit hole of queer history?

Read: Edward Carpenter or Xulhaz Mannan 

Are you looking for someone within your region?

Read: Making Queer History by country

Just searching for an odd little slice of queer history to wet your appetite?

Read: Elmyr de Hory or Salim Halali 

Just want to know something new?

Read: Bajazid Doda or Geoffrey Bawa

Just looking for a story to grip you emotionally?

Read: Emmeline Freda Du Faur or Zdeněk Koubek 

I hope you find something in this list that helps!

[devnmon]

by the lantern light.

Summary: Pining for your bounty partner is manageable most times, but it becomes extremely difficult when the hotel screws up your room choice and you're forced to share a bed.

warnings: smut, fingering, some oral (r!receiving), a cutesy love confession too & a tiny bit of angst

wc: 4.4k

Another long day of riding from West Elizabeth to Annesburg and back had come to pass. An Era of outlaws and gunslingers had come to a close, while Sadie Adler found herself a successfully skilled bounty hunter.

Everything ached; your legs, your back, your heart for the woman you called the other half of your bounty hunting duo.

Sadie Adler continued to be the one constant in a world that showed you anything similar to it. A sickening love for her had grown with it, overtaking you to no end.

In turn, the day was finished with more than enough pay to last you both a while. To treat yourselves, Sadie suggested a night of hearty meals and the nicest rooms in the local town.

Add a bath to your expenses for the sole purpose of relaxation and hot water, your night was simply made.

Your boots were giving you countless blisters, and your thighs ached just standing upright.

Remind me never to suggest this many jobs in one day again...

Her low chuckle at the words you murmured while entering the hotel was almost enough to let her have a chance at the bath before you. But she took one look at you and basically ordered you to get in immediately.

Something about how she bossed you around, enjoying the way it made you feel wanted—no, needed, by her.

In her defense, you looked like shit.

For the meantime, you were to clean yourself while she ran a couple errands in town after booking the room. Most times, you had to pay extra for a specific room with two beds, lest society began to wonder if you were sharing the same bed.

Each muscle ached a bit more trudging up the hotel's steps, spurs clinking with each slow movement.

Shoving the bath's door closed was your next action, followed by peeling each and every item of clothing off of you for the time being.

While the tub filled, your mind floated back to the way Sadie had praised you earlier that day. Her drawl made your knees weak without fail, the thickest you've ever heard but no one else's you would listen to every day.

There you go, you got it... Nice job, honey.

Sunflower colored strands of her hair always remained neatly pulled back in that familiar loose braid of hers, wondering what you lengths you would go to for just a chance at running your fingers through it.

Your palms sweat around her just thinking about it. Other times about how you might look in one of her shirts, aroma of orchids and vanilla intertwined in the fabric.

With the first dip of your body into the steaming water, the outside world ceased to exist in that moment. Goosebumps flooded your skin and pricked up those little hairs along your body.

Upon the lack of sleep you'd received the night before, the warm water had you ready to nod off and rest your eyes. All you wanted to do was stay submerged in the clean water and dream of a certain blonde woman.

Your whole body ached for her; the warmth in her presence, the way she called your name, joked around with you, put every part of her trust in you on jobs. Your heart had held a special place for her ever since the day you two met.

Dreams of yours mainly consisted of her figure, putting you in not-so-safe-for-work positions that arose many confusing feelings in you.

Once the word love crossed your mind regarding her, there was no other way for you to see her. But in that golden light right before dusk and how she smiled when you genuinely made her laugh.

If there was a future for you out there, Sadie was painted in along with all the images you envisioned.

No matter how much being in her presence sparked a flame inside you, there wasn't enough evidence in the world to speak how you felt.

Just the deep thrum of heat flowing from the true center of your body, suffocating you in desire. Your skin under the water managed to be more sensitive, reminding you of the gentle but calloused hands of your partner.

Ease in her touches that had patched you up multiple times had been ingrained into your memory.

Ignoring the heat between your legs to clean your body, you tightened your thighs together in attempt to suppress it.

Sooner than later, a knock at the door pulled you from your daydream and alerted you of how cool the bath water had become. That familiar feminine drawl called out from the other side.

"Y'done in there yet? Our room's 'bout ready an' my feet're killin' me."

Shit.

Having to face the woman you were just daydreaming about— there were more things you'd rather do. She won't notice the blush on your cheeks because the room was hot from the steam. Right?

"Oh- yeah! Just gimme a minute."

Clothes returned to your back, clutching your gun belt and satchel in hand while your boots clicked on the floor once again. Upon opening the door, Sadie stood against the nearby wall, sighing when she noted your refreshed state.

"Well don't you look purdy." She smirked, dragging her eyes up and down your figure, impressed you actually listened to her.

Her comment was met with a roll of your eyes, walking past her and further down the hallway. Because of course you listened to her, you would walk into hell itself if it was what she wanted.

"Hey, it's room 2A, should be unlocked already." she called out to you, giving her a thumbs up wordlessly without turning back to face her.

Your eyes coasted along the wooden walls, finding the door unlocked like Sadie had said.

What she wasn't aware of was the lack of two beds and presence of one. Only one bed possessed this godforsaken room, and somehow that was seeming to be the last straw for you today.

There had to be some mistake, you were sure the hotel's clerk took bribes for preferred rooms. It had worked in the past, why was now the time for that to get thrown out the window?

You couldn't sleep in the same bed as her. You were sure you wouldn’t survive.

You always knew she wouldn't see you as anything more than her best friend and bounty partner. Which should've been enough. It should've been enough to satisfy you in this life. Lucky enough to even be graced with her presence on a day to day basis.

Not many men in this world could say this woman would even look twice in their direction.

But the sickening feeling when she pulled you close in the cold or when she gave you the last of her food. Those moments were when you wanted to break the silence and pull her lips to yours.

Organizing your things around the room was how you passed the time before Sadie eventually came knocking at the door.

One creak of the door opening was enough for her to realize exactly how she'd fucked up.

"What the hell? I could've sworn I paid that jackass at the front desk enough to get us the exact room I specifically requested! I should kick his ass—"

As much as you'd pay to see her cuss out the clerk at the front desk, the two of you couldn't handle all the attention it would bring. When Sadie doesn't get what she asked for, it was never long before hands were thrown.

"No—" you sighed, "we can't afford gettin' kicked out, Sadie. My back cannot take another night on the ground."

"Well, yer right," she drawled, "You ain't gon' make it five feet out them doors before needin' a lie down. Plus, we're both beat."

She took a quick look around the room, then placed her things down on the opposite wall.

"I think we can tough it just one night. Whatchu think?"

Truth be told, you were much too drained to argue or find another reason to protest the situation any longer.

When your figure hit the mattress, feet free of the cowboy boot leather, the comfort of soft sheets was enough to lull you off into a deep sleep.

Though your subconscious dug deep into the layers of your mind, unearthing the most filthy words in Sadie's beckoning voice.

You have no idea how much I want you right now... as her hands pin your wrists to a wall.

God, you look amazing like this, while you're perched kneeling between her thighs.

You're a needy girl, aren't you? Tell me what you want... the minute she gets you undressed.

Her closeness has you sweating and your body is on fire. She reaches for your waist, hands eager and steady; that is, before the vision fades and your eyes jolt open to the low lit room.

Gasping slightly, you're frozen in place upon waking from sleep. Stuck sleeping in a bed with the woman that embodied your dreams just a moment ago.

Quiet breaths filled the room, another reminder you were in such a situation that there was nothing you could do. About these overwhelming sensations, the feelings you bared, an urge to take care of how turned on those dreams had made you.

This situation was beyond impossible to weasel your way out of. Sleeping on the ground was terrible, but at least you could sneak away silently; any slight move or sound could wake her on this mattress.

Though you attempted to drift back off into sleep, your overactive thoughts of Sadie intensified.

How long would it take to kiss every inch of her body?

Which spots would be more sensitive to your touch?

Your eyes shot open again, void of any fatigue you felt a couple hours earlier. Only thing inhabiting you now was the heat radiating from under the covers. Sadie's body heat next to you on the bed contributed to the raised temperature, but you could tell that wasn't the only heat you felt.

Not only were you drenched in sweat, but the overwhelming heat painting your body radiated from between your legs. Aching something awful the second you squeezed your thighs together.

Having to share a bed with her was anxiety inducing enough— add the effect of seeing her laid out for you perfectly behind your eyelids, and you felt helpless to do anything.

Attempting to fall back asleep was out of the question as well, seeing as those thoughts of her positioned so nicely for you lingered distastefully. It just had to be the night you couldn't keep your mind off her that she lay the closest she's ever been to you.

The more you attempted to avoid what was keeping you awake, the more your cunt throbbed and begged to be touched.

At this point you'd become desperate, wanting to be relaxed so bad that the idea was more appealing now than it was five minutes ago.

Anything for you to rest again.

Very delicately, one of your hands moved to slide down the front of your underwear. You were betting on the fact that Sadie was exhausted that night and wouldn't be woken by the slightest movements.

Just as your fingers snuck past the waistband, the woman beside you shuffled slightly. Your movements halted until you were sure she didn't wake easier than you thought. Upon the lack of evidence afterwards, you decided to continue and reach down between your legs.

It was almost surprising how soaked you were upon running your finger over your cunt, holding back a whimper when just the pad ran over your clit. You were clenching around nothing just from it, tempted to go further but knowing someone could hear you.

God— fuck it, right?

Damn Sadie Adler with her hickory colored eyes and sweet southern drawl, with those nimble hands and steady thighs and proportions that could make a grown woman cry—

Pushing two fingers between your folds tests you more than anything in the moment, with filthy sounds threatening to break loose.

Why oh why couldn't you two just have gotten separate rooms like you wanted? What possessed her to make you share a room with her all the time?

A pad of your finger swiped up to your clit, circling ever so slowly and with feather light touches.

What would she think if she caught me? Would she punish me? Or make me worship her to no end?

Either way, you were fucked in the head for thinking any of it.

That cunt of yours throbbed to no end, worsening by the second you begun touching yourself again. Light circles turned to adding more pressure and steadying your breath with each pass of your fingers.

Your body ached for her touch, picturing the image of her above you with those hands of hers outreached for you. It was erotic enough to make you whimper in the silent dark of the hotel room.

"Fuck..." you muttered under your breath.

Wet sounds began to fill the room once your fingers pushed inside your entrance.

Now you were really moving slow, pressing both digits inside just to curl them at the perfect spot that sent your thighs tightening again.

Her sweet saccharine southern drawl was the closest thing to euphoria you'd imagined. Putting the words in your mind to her voice- you were exploding on the inside from imagining it.

To sit at the mountain peak of her thighs and give her everything you had... to have her call out your name out of any others in the world. It was enough to make you—

Oh, Sadie...

Too focused on keeping her image clear in your head, you’d missed the additional shuffling next to you. Eyes squeezed so tight, your blood pumping in your ears was all you could hear.

Any time she filled your mind, the images were always of her splayed out any way your brain could fathom...

One of her completely naked on a couch, another where she's towering over your body, thrusting her hips against yours; one more of her face shoved between your thighs while your fingers ran through her blonde strands, her tongue slowly inching through--

"Havin' trouble over there?"

A raspy voice called out through the dark, belonging to none other than the woman you were fantasizing about to no end.

In a fraction of a second, you were frozen in place... as if you would be any less caught than you were in that moment. Your hand shot out from between your legs faster than light on impulse.

As if doing cartwheels, your stomach dropped over and over again, while you were in the midst of surveying what to do.

Take it on the chin? Face her? Tell her everything you'd been thinking about? Absolutely all of it? None of it?

Before you could even get a chance to realize how fucked you were, she'd switched on her lantern light and sat up on the bed.

"If you needed some stress relief, all you had to do was ask'." Her low drawl rings out in the warm light, blonde hair covering her back as you peek over at her.

Sitting up nervously, you turned to face her, eyes overwhelmed with regret and uncertainty. Guilt had overridden you on another level, not knowing how she'd react to— wait, did she just say...?

"When they told me I could change our room, I decided against it... to see what would happen. To see if my suspicions were right all along."

"You did this...? Why--" you started, meeting her brown eyes for the first time all night.

"Cause I... could tell how you felt. For a while now. Just... didn't know how I felt. Took me some time to. But now I do." she drawled, a look of understanding meeting yours.

"And now?"

Surprisingly, the heat level in your cheeks settled some when she scooched closer to you on the mattress.

"Just... let me try somethin'."

Not only does one of her hands land on top of yours, but cups your cheek with the other and began to lean in to you.

Every atom in your body screamed out for her, similar to the way a firework sparked a bit before its shot into the sky.

Once her lips finally pressed to yours, every moment you shared together flashed through your head. Almost like a vision aligning, where you could see every day she kept you around wasn't just for convenience. Each time she had your back in life, through fights and drunken nights, was because she cared only for you.

Instantly you forgot how to breathe, only wanting to savor the burn of her pillow-esque lips against yours for the rest of eternity.

But when she pulled away, the breath you were holding became overwhelming and caused you to gasp for air.

"Sadie... I-"

"No, I know. I know, honey. But it's the middle of the night, we can't afford to lose any more sleep talkin' about this. We already ain't had enough of that." she chuckled, intertwining her fingers with yours.

"Kiss me again, please..."

Of course she would indulged you over and over, spending minutes frozen in time and trapped in the loving embrace her lips were giving yours. Somehow it was even more perfect than in your dreams.

Wordlessly, she laid you down on the bed, your hair scattering across the pillow while you continued to share the most perfect sounds she'd ever heard. Heartbeat quickening, sighs and small moans of pleasure escaping the both of you until she pulls away for a moment.

"Y'were thinkin' about me, weren't you?" One of her fingers swiped at the excess saliva on her lip from your overeager state.

Reminded of how exactly you'd gotten yourself in this situation, you nodded in confirmation and felt your cheeks pink up.

"You're the only person I would, Sade."

One of the corners of her mouth points upwards, painting a smirk on her face.

"Now what are we gon' do about that, hm?"

"Whatever you want."

Your response tumbles out a split second after her question hits the air, the apples of her cheeks brightening with a bit of a blush.

Instantly, her lips are on yours again as she's pushing you down onto the pillow's soft cover. Sadie's loose strands of hair tickle the sides of your face slightly, but the contact isn't unwelcome.

With her in an image you'd been daydreaming of for god knows how long, you thought this moment might actually be the paradise in her you were searching for.

Another gasp leaves you as her lips separate from yours to leave a trail down your jawline to your neck. Her hands resting on the mattress at your sides were gripping the comforter.

"Can I... touch you here?" Her fingers ghost over your waist, the lightest touches hovering over your skin.

"Yes... god, yes. Please touch me. All over, Sade."

Your voice is barely a whisper, plainly begging for her to run those hands down your body until she was satisfied.

Only after you'd given her the go ahead does she connect her hand to your waist, slipping her fingers under your sleep shirt ever so slightly. That overbearing heat still lingered, only burning hotter with her hands on you.

You can feel her mouth sucking a mark into your collarbone, swallowing your whimpers before she releases with a popping sound.

"Now then, let's make sure you sleep t'night. I ain't doin' this all night with your damn tossin' and turnin'."

You scoffed, because how could you be so careless? Sadie was one to know when gunfire was about to break out-- of course she knew you weren't really sleeping.

Her hands delicately lift your shirt up, fingertips painting goosebumps along your skin. When your chest came into view, you caught her licking her lips before bending down to place a kiss between the valley of your breasts.

"You're prettier than a flower in bloom. Know that?" Her lips ghost up your chest and collarbones with feather light kisses.

"Stop sweet talkin' me..." you replied breathlessly.

Without warning, she takes one of your hardened nipples into her mouth, circling her tongue around it before nipping ever so lightly.

"Shit-- don't tease me... it's been long enough," you whined, pulling a chuckle from her.

"Alright, alright." Her other hand grasped your other breast, playing with your nipple between two of her fingers.

You inhaled sharply when her other hand slipped right past the band of your bottoms and down between your legs, slapping your palm over your mouth in surprise.

"Shh, shh... gotta be quiet for me, m'kay?"

Nodding in reply, she licked her lips and pulled down your bottoms.

"Ah, there she is... my sweet girl." Her drawl had your head spinning, not even realizing her hand was traveling further down your body to push your legs open for her.

"Sadie..." you whispered, perplexed by the entire situation. You pinched your arm to make sure this wasn't a dream while you sensed her palms cupping the soft plush of your thighs.

Sadie's fingers stroke over your heat, unbeknownst to her how badly it burned and pleaded for her touch. As if she could read your mind, two of her fingers opened you up for her, vulnerability washing over you in that moment.

"Y'don't even know how whipped you got me, honey. I'd have walked into hell itself if you were the one askin'..."

God... you were lovesick.

You whimper behind your palm, practically vibrating with how much you were riled up beforehand.

Once her fingers sliver through how soaked you were, the pad of her middle finger traces circles on your most sensitive part. Sadie's eyes catch your flustered state as she continues the slow movements, moving down to your entrance while collecting your slick.

It's cruel how she barely touches your entrance before removing her fingers to taste you for herself. Your hazy eyes catch her licking your arousal off her digits before reaching down to touch you again.

"Sweetest thing I ever did taste, baby."

Please... you whisper, gripping the bed sheets tighter than you can imagine. Sadie only chuckles, before two of her fingers prod at her entrance, pushing in slowly at first. When she realizes you welcome her in with no resistance, she bites her lip and smirks.

Though your overwhelming arousal allowed for her fingers to slip in easily, it felt as if it was your first time. Thin and nimble, they were even more fulfilling than your own. It made a world of a difference not having to pleasure yourself for the first time in ages.

Men tried their best, but you knew Sadie Adler's skills would outperform all of their past attempts.

As if a reflex, your walls clench around her fingers, covering them in your arousal again, and she smiles. Her dirty blonde strands tickle your thighs as she presses a kiss to one of them, feeling you throb while pushing them back inside.

Her unused hand parts your folds for her and her thumb gently rubs your little bundle of nerves, taking pride and joy in being the one to do so.

She adores the way your eyebrows scrunch together while you attempt to remain quiet, the way your breasts sit prettily on your chest and the way your body reacts when she angles her fingers just right.

"Y're so... lucky I'm too tired to scream your name right now..." you pant, taking each tantalizing drag of her fingers with pride. Her fingers curl inside you upon hearing your words, watching you swallow another sound she feels envious to not hear in the moment.

"Sounds like heaven. Maybe when we got a little place of our own someday." Sadie leans down to press a kiss onto your heat, catching more of your slick on her lips and humming with content.

"Shut up... oh-!" You bite your hand to combat the filthy sound you want to emit, just so she can hear how intoxicated by her you've become.

"There ya go, takin' me so well..." the movements of her fingers set a steady pace inside you, observing you breathe heavily above her.

Her tongue against your heat was the closest thing to euphoria you could imagine, saturated in her lust and devotion like a god. In a split second, she hums against you and you can feel the wave of pleasure begin to build like no other type of adrenaline.

"I'm close, Sade... don't stop..." you spoke breathlessly, your entire being feeling connected to hers in that moment. Your toes curled, fingers grasped the cotton sheets until your knuckles turned white.

"Let go for me, sweetheart. Just let it all out, there ya go..." she beckoned, pressing her tongue to your clit as her fingers continued to pump inside you.

The quiet of the room was now filled with your heavy breathing, as though the entire world paused its turning for a moment, high coursing through your body.

Some of the slightest moans you'd been withholding for the sake of people in the hotel slipped past your lips like music to Sadie's ears.

As your high washed over you, she could feel you clenching rhythmically around her fingers and chuckled to herself before pulling away and crawling back up your body.

Her lips trailed kisses up your stomach and neck while your breathing steadied, the contact with your skin warm from your overwhelming orgasm.

"You're so pretty..." she breathed, "when you come for me."

Sadie kissed your cheek and dragged her hands up your body, goosebumps in your afterglow spreading like wildfire. Your hands loosened their grip on the bed sheets and wrapped around Sadie's neck loosely, welcoming each kiss she placed upon your face.

"Feel better now?" she mumbled against your ear, cupping the side of your face with her palm.

"Mhm... thank you, Sade. Feel s'much better now, love you... so much."

The lack of sleep had you delusional, barely registering anything you admitted to her now that you'd finally gotten the one thing you wanted.

"Love you too, honey. More'n you know."

Sadie lay beside you, her arms wrapped around your body to pull you in close while the both of you finally let your mutual tiredness drift you off to sleep.

[our-arospec-experience]

The History of Aromanticism

17th Century: The Golden Orchid Society in South China creates self-combing women- women who would wear their hair they way married women would to say they were not available. The women did not want to have sexual/romantic partners.

1970s: Dorothy Tennov wrote about non-limerent people in her book, Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love. Limerence is a (now) outdated term for feeling romantic attraction. She and other theorists recognized that romantic and sexual love may not be linked.

non-limerent was an early terms for aromantic people.

2005: the term aromantic was coined by the asexual visibility and education network.

2008/9: the term aromantic became more widespread.

The origional flag:

Green, because it is the opposite of red, the most commonly associated romance color.

Yellow, representing platonic love, because yellow roses represent friendship.

Orange, for grayromantics, because it is in between red and yellow.

And black, representing alloromantics that "reject traditional ideas of romance".

This flag was later changed because it closely resembled the Rastafarian flag, and because it had a stripe representing alloromantics

the flag went through a few more stages before settling on the one we use today.

(https://lgbtqia.fandom.com/wiki/Aromantic#History)

[tabby-shieldmaiden]

Living an Aromantic Life

This is my submission for the September 2023 Carnival of Aros prompt: Visions of Aromantic History, hosted by arotechno this month. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for taking the time to read this.

Some time earlier this year, I had decided that I would like to go out and live an aromantic life. Mentally, I had made up a distinction between simply ‘identifying’ under aromanticism as a concept, and actively living a life which is notably aromantic in character. 

Of course, that begs the question: what exactly does it mean to live as an aromantic?

As a concept, being ‘aromantic’ is rather new, evolved from modern ideas of romance, marriage, and relationships. As such, I often feel like I could see myself in a varied multitude of situations. Perhaps I would have been in an arranged marriage, running a shop with a husband I saw more as a business partner than as a lover. Maybe I would have been a nun, unpartnered with anyone. Or maybe I would have been a Golden Orchid Society member, either partnered with another woman, or living independently. All these set-ups and situations are formed inherently by their time and place in history. And I can see bits and pieces of who I am in all these hypotheticals. 

And well, it’s nice to know that there was likely a past for people like me. But what does it say about the present? And how would one like to be remembered in the future? That’s the eternal question. After living my life and meditating on that question, I think… I still don’t quite have a perfect answer. But I do still have an answer, based entirely on where I am presently in my life. 

Society is heteronormative and amatonormative. As it is, marriage to one partner of the opposite sex, followed by the birth of children, is seen as a crucial life goal that everyone should aspire towards. Even if people say that one doesn’t need to be married or have children in order to have a happy life, society is still very much structured with this form of family in mind. Our ideas, laws and systems around housing, elder and childcare, education, healthcare and more are set up with this assumption in mind. It is a societal problem. And it screws over countless individuals who do not lead lives in accordance to this societal ideal, among them including many aromantics. 

For that reason, I feel like with where I am now, ‘living an aromantic life’ would mean trying to fight against these systems. 

I am trying to engage in activist work in my country. Trying to learn some useful skills. Things related to healthcare (my area of work) sure, but also things like learning and improving in different languages, learning to transcribe. All things which will be useful should such a skill be needed. They’re all baby steps now. And someday, I hope that we can abolish all oppressive systems within our societies. Including the heteronormative and the amatonormative. 

And under a society like that, no doubt our ideas on romance and love and aromance would transform as well. I, for one, would love to bring about that future. And I hope that, whatever I do now, I will do it well, do it proudly, and do it such that in the future, if there is someone like me. Someone who internally feels similarly around feelings of romantic love. I hope that this hypothetical person can look back on what I do now, and feel some pride at seeing themselves. 

[makalauriels]

Want to use my knowledge of the history of the silk industry in the Pearl River Delta for chaos, have no story ideas.

Anyway, there were sororities known as Golden Orchid societies amongst the women silk workers of that region (mostly Shunde) and they remained unmarried because employers preferred hiring single women (a trend that still continues amongst the Southern Chinese diaspora actually).

These ladies would band in groups of 2 or more to save money to buy a home for retirement. They could also choose to marry each other, though it wasn't legally binding. They frequently adopted unwanted little girls and raised them collectively.

I'm saying all this because I think it could map really cleanly onto Numenor and a Guild of Textiles of some sort. Unmarried young women could call themselves "Handmaidens of Ancalime" and form their little sororities, a refuge for lesbians and asexuals like Golden Orchid Societies historically were.

Like, the potential!!!!

[wayward-imp]

I'm so excited to learn this?? It's the same excitement I feel about reading English translations of old scholarly texts from China, Korea, and Japan in my history courses, and reading medieval through English Enlightenment era literature. I should... Probably pursue that fascination more.

Meanwhile, I had no idea the Golden Orchid Society was a lesbian group, and I am extremely excited to learn it because Societies were an integral feature of the Qing economy and social structure and how it came to be organized and concentrated, and in some cases included causes like that one group devoted to animal welfare whose name I cannot currently remember and am too tired to go look up. Still, there being an official lesbian alliance is an amazing thing in an era where there were arguments about whether or not women should even get to learn to read!

References and Allusions to Male Same-Sex Relations in Chinese Literature

I am tired at this point of reading and watching Danmei/Dangai and be exposed to the same “cut sleeve” reference to allude to male same-sex attraction and relationships.

Don’t get me wrong, I thank the creative team and the writers for finding such a unique (?) way of bypassing censorship but there are so many more literary and historical references that they could use to allude to same-sex attraction. I’m kinda over the same old “Cut Sleeve” reference. 😖

Here are some of the most popular allusions used by writers in Chinese literature to reference male same-sex desire.

The Four Male Love Icons of Chinese Literature

I’m pretty sure that, if you are into Chinese history, folk, literature, etc, you have heard of the four beauties of ancient and imperial China. You have the four most beautiful Chinese women and the four most handsome Chinese men.

The same thing is true for the tradition of male same-sex love. Those are:

Mizi Xia (彌子瑕) and Duke Ling of Wey (衛靈公)

Lord Longyang (龍陽君) and King Anxi of Wei (魏安僖王）

Prince Zixi, Lord of È (鄂君子皙), and the Yue man (越人)

Emperor Ai of Han (漢哀帝) and Dong Xian (董賢)

Other literary allusions include:

Pan Zhang (潘章) and Wang Zhongxian (王仲先)

Lord Chan of Anling (安陵君) and King Xuan of Chu (楚宣王）

Hu Tian Bao (胡天保) as Tu’er Shen (兔兒神)

The four revered bottoms of Chinese literature and history are:

Mizi Xia (彌子瑕)

Longyang (龍陽君)

Dong Xian (董賢)

Chan (纏), Lord of Anling (安陵君)

If you ever come across a poem or prose that mentions any of those names to refer to a male beauty, just know that it’s an allusion to their stories. They were considered the peak of bottom literary reference.

The Passion of the Half-Eaten Peach (餘桃癖) 🍑

Keep reading

[unlimited-sciuridae]

People in this Fandom forget how queer the past was. I assure you Alastor as a human, has seen various queer folk. All the things we have labels for NOW existed in his time and before but without the labels.

Check out @makingqueerhistoryhere on Tumblr.

And even a-specs have found each other before, the Golden Orchid society in China for Sapphics and a-specs. "Self combing women" they didn't have our terms but we've always existed. And we found each other for safety.

Now you could argue Alastor didn't pay attention because he didn't want community but if he was in bars during prohibition he was familiar with queer people. FFS the French quarter is RIGHT THERE.

Just toss in a line about it or something thats all I'm asking.

[queerasfact]

These two women are Liang Jieyun and Huang Li-e. Photographed in 2014, they were both zìshū nǚ ('self-combed women'), participants in a traditional practice in Guangdong, southern China, where women would declare their independence through a solo marriage ceremony. The term zìshū nǚ refers the way that these women would assert their independence by dressing their own hair before the ceremony, rather than having it combed by a married female relative.

Zìshū nǚ were often part of Golden Orchid Societies, communities of women who chose not to marry, or not to live with their husbands, and instead supported each other socially and financially. Many Golden Orchid groups lived together for their whole lives, and saved up to retire as a community.

We had were joined by Lazou from Nuances: Our Asian Stories to chat about all things queer Asian history, including Golden Orchid Societies, on our podcast this week. Check it out! Or you can listen to our whole episode on Golden Orchid Societies here.

[Image source: Tania Branigan for the Guardian]

[makingqueerhistory]

Hi! Do you have any posts about asexuality and or aromanticism and queerplatonic relationships?

Thanks for running this blog!

Yes! We love asexual, and aromantic history here!

Early Asexual Feminists: The Asexual History of Social Purity Activists and Spinsters

Catherine Bernard: A question in studying asexual history

Redefining the Dandy: The Asexual Man of Fashion

Florence Nightingale

Zinaida Gippius

Charlotte Payne-Townshend

Langston Hughes

The Golden Orchid Society

Kristina King of Sweden

[ultranos]

okay do you have any thoughts on the historical basis of the white lotus society? because I had my mind absolutely blown when I was listening to my history of china podcast and the host casually dropped the name 'white lotus society' and 'millenarian cult' in the same sentence during his episode on the rise of the ming dynasty. the thought of iroh in an ascetic society characterized by their belief that the second buddha was going to destroy the wicked and bring paradise to believers is wild.

It’s kind of wild, especially if you consider how they kind of kept starting rebellions. The Red Turban Rebellion led to the leader founding the Ming dynasty. So that’s...awkward, if Iroh is supposed to be the leader. And then there’s the White Lotus Rebellion, which was started as antitax, of all things.

Actually, no the really awkward part is how the methods used to deal with the White Lotus Rebellion was then used to suppress the Taiping Rebellion, which was the bloodiest civil war in history. And I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to reference the White Lotus Rebellion, since the Qing troops got the nickname “Red Lotus Society”.

But I admit Ming and Qing dynasty history is not my strong suit. I just kinda know that all the social upheaval in the Qing era probably did not help things when European powers decided to show up with their opium.

[hahanimation]

Link to grab yourself a Queer Flora Tank from the Flash Flood Print Creative Supply <-

Promised Flower History below <3

Follow the links for more information & credits Lavender is most common flowers associated with LGBTQ+ and often is used to encompass the whole of Queer culture, with roots in the Lavender Scare discriminations, Lavender Menace activism, and Lavender marriages. Lilies have their usage in China and Japan, as euphemisms for lesbianism. Yuri means Lily in Japanese. Calla Lilies are also a popular Georgia O'Keeffe subject. Trillium, a type of lily, are a lesser known 3-petalled flower that has become a bisexual symbol.   Fun fact: many flowers are actually bisexual- in this context meaning they have both a pistil and stamens. This includes Roses, Tulips, and also Lilies/Trillium! Violets have signaled Lesbian love for centuries, from their use in Ancient Greek poetry by Sappho, the Broadway play The Captive. Carnations, specifically green, were popularized by Oscar Wilde in 1892 as a signal for being gay, not only in written works but by organizing the wearing of them himself. Orchids are another common symbol for love and romance. They also have their history in China through the Qing Dynasty Golden Orchid Society, a social movement which helped place women in marriages with other women. Pansies in their origin referred to male flamboyance but also eventually instances of Drag as well. There are also instances of activism using planting pansies at sites of queer discrimination. Roses are a common symbol for Romantic love, but dyed rainbow roses often make an appearance at Pride celebrations, accepted as a symbol for diversity in the queer community. In Japanese Bara means Rose, as well as indicating a genre for gay men.  Roses are also a nod to Trans Day of Remembrance "Give us our roses while we're still here".  Before designing this, I had known a good few of these were queer symbols but now I have a bit more context around the histories and cultures in which the connections were born.

‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. Queer Flora Tank Presale ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.

I've been ideating this design for a whole year, I'm glad to say it's finally being printed AND by a studio I completely trust to rock it! (I worked in Flash Flood Print Studio's art department for nearly 4 years haha) But Now! Queer Flora is here! Queer Flora showcases an arrangement of flowers that have been historically associated with queer signaling and pride. This design from left to right includes Lavender, Lilies, Trillium, Violets, Carnations, Orchids, Pansies, and Roses. For the first printing we chose a split fountain in Trans colors (light blue, white, and pink), and it's on a soft Bella Canvas Slate Blue Tank top. If the design does well, I am hopeful for more cool things down the line :Oc ! Link to presale in upcoming reblog as well as some history on each flower's relation to queer pride! ❀

[theaceandaroadvocacyproject]

Continuing our discussion for LGBTQ+ History Month, today we are highlighting some historical figures whom modern aspec people may feel connected to.

[ID: All images have the heading “LGBTQ+ History Month.” The first reads “Orientations and identities are complex and have changed through history, and many have and continue to overlap. Many people who identified with other labels historically might have identified with asexuality or aromanticism if those labels had existed at the time. For example, someone who identified as a "stone lesbian" might have also connected with the label asexual. We do not assign labels to people who did not use them, but we can recognize experiences in common.”

The next three images have an intro paragraph that reads “Here are some historical figures that have experiences we might relate to, as asexual and aromantic people.” The second reads “Kristina, King of Sweden: 1626-1689. They performed masculinity. They refused to get married or pregnant. They were known to have a sexual relationship with one woman. After that relationship ended, they appeared not to ever pursue any romantic or sexual relationships. They never described their relationships in romantic terms. They said they were "not suited to marriage."

The third reads “The Golden Orchid Society: South China, 1644-1949. These were groups of women who refused to marry men. Some married each other, and may have been lesbians or bisexual. Others married themselves, and may have been aromantic. Non-sexual marriages were also accepted, and some who were in those may have been asexual.”

The fourth reads “Nikola Tesla: 1856-1943. This inventor was widely known to be celibate. He was not interested in any sexual or romantic relationship. He was always more focused on his scientific work, saying: "I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success." End description.]