#the original 911 queer rep

[walking-in-the-sun]

I don't really get why people are still so adamant that Buck and Eddie need to end up together. Like Buck is happy?? Buck and Tommy are sweet and loving to each other and this is maybe the happiest Buck has been in a relationship the whole show, and to want the show runners to ruin that just to fulfill a mythical Buddie ship is kinda mean. Like I know they're fictional characters, but can we just be happy for Buck instead of staying stuck on this one relationship idea?

Not to mention it's only been like 2 episodes... give it a minute please

And as always... these cis white men aren't the end-all-be-all of queer representation. Hen has been out the entire show.

[t1gerlilly]

I’ve seen a number of posts dismissing discussions of racism in the new storyline out of hand. To the point where I have no idea what the original criticisms were. And I think that’s really unfortunate. Partly because it feels like there’s a part of our community we’re not listening to and partly because I have some questions on the subject and would really like to hear what people are saying about it, but I’m clearly not following the right people.

I think folks forget how important Eddie is as Hispanic rep. Although 25% of the US population is Hispanic, only 3.3% of lead roles in TV are played by Hispanic actors (source) They’re also only 1.6% of showrunners and 1.9% of directors. And they are also under 5% of executive or management roles in media (source). So there is clearly a systemic problem.

But how does that apply to 911? Well - Carlos on lone star is notorious for having the least screen time of any character, despite the fact that his character is the closest to Athena in terms of role. And Eddie? Well, the latest I could find was season five totals - and Eddie and Chim, the non-white or black men, were bottom of the barrel. To really establish a pattern, you’d want more than two shows, but at least across half a decade of shows, the pattern is pretty consistent. I’m not making an argument about the reasons for that, but those are just the numbers. If I were to speculate, I’d assume it was a combination of who the network exec, showrunner, and executive producer was, since they have the power to make decisions. Just coincidentally, their racial identities mirror the screen time of the characters? Hmmmm

So then let’s look at who does press for the show - making themselves more visible…yeah, that’s largely Oliver. And you can say that’s because he’s a POV character- but you might be surprised to learn that in many seasons either Hen or Athena had more screen time than Buck. Yeah. Really. But you NEVER see Aisha put out to do press the way that Oliver is.

Why is that? Is it because she’s a black woman? Because she plays a queer character? And who is making that decision and why? Because that lack of visibility impacts her personal career. Same thing with Ryan Guzman and Kenneth Choi, who both have less screen time AND less press.

But in particular- and this is the rub - Ryan has CLEARLY been making intentional acting choices FOR YEARS to shape his character and his dynamic with Buck as queer. Oliver played into them, thinking of them as natural chemistry- but it’s clear that other creators on the show - notably the directors and writers, picked up on Ryan’s choices and fan reactions to reframe the dynamics and the characters.

And it’s really clear that Tim originally intended to have Eddie come out, but the poor reaction to Natalia and the fact that the actress was unavailable led him to switch the storyline to Buck. All of which is perfectly understandable.

But if there’s one person most responsible for the reason we ultimately got bi!Buck, it’s Ryan Guzman - for the bravery and perseverance of his choices as an artist. It’s amazing to me that in all the praise for Oliver saying that he “would have” leaned into Buck as queer even without the go ahead…no one has thought to praise the actor who actually DID THAT - for YEARS- when he was in a much more precarious position as a character and an actor. Like really take a minute to look at what that took…he was risking his livelihood with that choice.

And then, when the show DOES finally make it canon…who gets the praise? The buzz? The support? The white guy who was mostly oblivious for the past five years. Like…how is THAT fair?

And OK, the original plan was for the helicopter pilot to be Lucy, and that fell through so they reached out to Lou, because Tommy was a former character- but also quite likely because he looks a good deal like Buck - and the SL was supposed to have that character be a stand-in for the other half of Buddie. When they switched to Buck, they had to make Tommy have similar hobbies to Eddie to establish the similarities, since they couldn’t rely on looks.

But that meant they totally whitewashed the story line. And if you want to talk about firsts - when has a Hispanic lead come out as gay or bi? And how many of them were men? And how many were over 21? And on a mainstream show?

And no, it wasn’t intentional (just a function of having so many more white characters than Hispanic characters), but it was unfortunate. Not to mention the intersectionality of it all.

So…I honestly think there’s a decent basis for critique there. Not a “these people are terrible” critique, but a “not paying attention to diversity systemically” in a way that lets unconscious bias have the same impact as deliberate bias.

And I really wonder at the people who just dismissed the entire discussion - how hard did you listen? How willing were you to hear what people were saying? Because this is an issue that has to do with real people, their careers, their hopes, dreams, and identities. And you should be willing to listen.

[enbymoomin]

Shows I Watched in 2023: Ranked!

Like last year, I'm deciding to keep up the tradition and rank all the shows I watched in 2023 for my own personal recommendations and for fun ;) This year, I watched 23 shows in 2023, by sheer chance, I swear.

I will again be ranking my list by scoring each show out of 5 in three categories: Blorboness (how blorbable the characters are, how much they rotate through my mind), Quality (execution, narrative elements), and Enjoyability (including and especially rewatchability). The three scores will then be totaled for a final score out of 15. Let's go, 2023 list!

1. 3 Will Be Free (2019) - 15 pts

Blorboness: 5

Quality: 5

Enjoyability: 5

Comment: Won a place in my top shows of all time, third only to Black Sails (forever #1) and KinnPorsche in second place. Literally no other shows are on this list. The representation of the fluidity of sexuality and queerness, challenging amatonormativity, the queer m/f friendships, and poly rep in this show gave 3WBF a special place in my heart >>>>>

2. One Piece (2023) - 15 pts

Blorboness: 5

Quality: 5

Enjoyability: 5

Comment: This one snuck up on me out of nowhere! I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did but I wanted to give this pirate show a try, especially since they used the same sets as Black Sails in South Africa. A simply fantastic show all around, and I can't wait to follow the live action as it develops!

3. Shadow and Bone Season 2 (2023) - 14 pts

Blorboness: 5

Quality: 4

Enjoyability: 5

Comment: Fuck Netflix. S&B and the Crows deserved so much better <3333

4. Derry Girls (2018-22) - 14 pts

Blorboness: 4.5

Quality: 5

Enjoyability: 4.5

5. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023) - 14 pts

Blorboness: 4

Quality: 5

Enjoyability: 5

Rest under the cut!

6. Moonlight Chicken (2023) - 13.5 pts

Blorboness: 3.5

Quality: 5

Enjoyability: 5

7. Only Friends (2023) - 13.5 pts

Blorboness: 4

Quality: 4.5

Enjoyability: 5

Comment: I feel like people hated on this show too much for not living up to whatever they had hyped it up to be in their head. There WAS a lot of mess (loved it!) but the characters were also treated like real people rather than nonstop Pretty Little Liars-level drama. This show was actually really good and I had fun watching :))

8. Over the Garden Wall (2014) - 12.5 pts

Blorboness: 3

Quality: 5

Enjoyability: 4.5

Comment: This will become an annual watch for me 🍂

9. The Eclipse (2022) - 12.5 pts

Blorboness: 3

Quality: 5

Enjoyability: 4.5

10. Bed Friend (2023) - 12 pts

Blorboness: 3.5

Quality: 4

Enjoyability: 4.5

11. Bridgerton Season 2 (2022) - 12 pts

Blorboness: 3

Quality: 5

Enjoyability: 4

12. Good Omens Season 2 (2023) - 12 pts

Blorboness: 4

Quality: 4

Enjoyability: 4

13. Shadowhunters (2016-19) (rewatch) - 11.5 pts

Blorboness: 4

Quality: 3.5

Enjoyability: 4

Comment: Okay so I haven't seen this show in like four years so that's why it's on the list even though it's a rewatch since I basically watched with fresh eyes. It's better than I remembered when I was a teen but I think that's because I'm not a book purist anymore and thank fucking god for that. It was fun! I realize in hindsight how revolutionary the queer rep was when it first aired, even though it was still 2016-2019. Some of the plot changes and show-original arcs were a little strange but for the most part I liked them!

14. 911 Lone Star (2020-) - 11.5 pts

Blorboness: 3.5

Quality: 4

Enjoyability: 4

15. Heartstopper Season 2 (2023) - 11 pts

Blorboness: 2

Quality: 5

Enjoyability: 4

16. The Gilded Age Season 2 (2023) - 11 pts

Blorboness: 3

Quality: 4

Enjoyability: 4

17. What We Do In The Shadows Season 5 (2023) - 10.5 pts

Blorboness: 3

Quality: 3.5

Enjoyability: 4

18. Never Have I Ever Season 4 (2023) - 10 pts

Blorboness: 2

Quality: 4

Enjoyability: 4

19. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023) - 10 pts

Blorboness: 2

Quality: 4

Enjoyability: 4

Comment: Okay it was a really good show, but as an American I just can't blorbify any English monarchs, let alone King George the fucking III 💀💀

20. Not Me (2020) - 9 pts

Blorboness: 2.5

Quality: 3.5

Enjoyability: 3

Comment: LMAO so I watched this because two of my friends in the KinnPorsche fandom were giving me feedback on this paper for uni doing a queer theory/film studies analysis of KPTS and both of them independently said that I should watch Not Me because it was relevant to my argument, so this was my assigned reading xD I really liked it, but the second half of the show was much stronger than the first half for me. Also really fascinating in context of the pro-democracy protests happening in Thailand in 2020 and then Not Me airing in 2021; although it wasn't my favorite QL I've seen, I've got mad respect for it 🫡

21. Spartacus (2010-13) (rewatch) - 9 pts

Blorboness: 2

Quality: 4

Enjoyability: 3

Comment: This is another rewatch because I was DEFINITELY too young when I watched this the first time like five years ago since I pretty much dissociated the entire time, and I wanted to see if it was really that bad or if I was just, y'know, too young. In hindsight, it actually really was quite gratuitous with the sex and violence (and sexual violence) which lowered its enjoyability score, but it was a really thought-provoking and otherwise well-executed show in terms of themes and narrative. I'll still have to get around to posting my Spartacus-Black Sails-Hunger Games meta analysis some day 👀

22. Wedding Plan the Series - 8.5 pts

Blorboness: 2

Quality: 3

Enjoyability: 3

Comment: I'm sorry but I just can't stand this type of incompetence/manufactured stupid obstacles. Yiwa and Marine are queens, Nuea is understandable, but Sailom, get it together my guy. However, I did really appreciate the queer commentary and I totally dig the mlm/wlw friendships <3

23. Our Flag Means Death Season 2 - 8 pts

Blorboness: 2

Quality: 3

Enjoyability: 3

Comment: I feel like the show didn't really know what genre it was trying to be anymore. I thought y'all were exaggerating when it first came out, but I kind of see your point now. My enjoyment was also tainted by the pirate battle wars (iykyk) and also more importantly Taika Waititi literally firing pro-Palestine actors. Probably not going to watch S3 :(

And last but not least,

SPECIAL HONORARY MENTION:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023-) - 15 pts

Blorboness: 5

Quality: 5

Enjoyability: 5

Comment: PJO isn't officially ranked in my 2023 list because it's not done airing yet, but it WILL be ranked in 2024 when the season is completed. (I learned my lesson with Gap the Series last year when the second half of the show went sharply downhill after the new year :( but I have strong hopes for PJO!) So far, the show is fucking amazing, and I have faith that Jon Steinberg, Dan Shotz, Bear McCreary, Daphne Olive, Toby Stephens, Jessica Parker Kennedy, and Nick Boraine will continue to serve eat and leave no crumbs in 2024. Black Sails, KPTS, and 3WBF my beloveds may have some new company next year 👀

That's that for my 2023, and making this was just as much fun as last year! Surprisingly, no show this year scored a 1, a 0, or negative points in any categories, so good on them (or for me) xD Shout out to all the Tumblr gif makers who convinced me to watch these shows, y'all are more powerful than any marketing department. And @ anybody please feel free to drop into my ask box or messages about any of these shows or with any recs of your own 🙏💕

Happy new year!

[seeraphina]

and another thing! slightly related to some other things i've said! i don't feel like 911 deserves/deserved to be louded as some lgbtq abundant piece of media, especially since the majority of queer characters listed to prove that 911 was 'really queer' were side characters and even just background characters. like yes, we love michael, we love karen, we love josh, we even love the old dead gay guys, but i feel like shows shouldn't be clapped on the back for having some queer side characters. i feel like that should be BARE minimum. like if a show in 2024 doesn't even have a single queer side character, that's INSANE to me and i would 100% believe that the creators set out to purposefully write an alternate universe where queer people don't exist.

so if we're just talking about main characters then, 911 had ONE queer main character out of like, seven main characters. which isn't super impressive, especially nowadays. lucky for us that one queer character was hen wilson <3 who is black and a lesbian! which is already such a glow up from the usual 'fine here's a white gay man, happy?' queer rep we are so often handed. so like, it was definitely quality over quantity! but i still wouldn't call a show 'queer' if it only had 1/7 queer characters.

and i think that's why buck being bi is such a big milestone, cause it's rare for shows to even have more than one queer main character, and it's like doubley rare for characters who have been presumed straight for so long to get to come out as queer (cause that's another thing that hurts and confuses straight audiences alongside having too many queer characters: characters that they assume are straight simply because they were not announced to be queer right off the bat, coming out as queer at a much later time, in this case, 7 whole seasons into the show!) this upsets straight people because it means that any character could be queer, even if they haven't shown obvious signs of that being the case before.

so basically what i'm saying is that we need to stop applauding shows for having like 1 or 2 gay characters, cause they can definitely have more. i mean, still applaud them cause i love gay people lmao but like. don't be afraid to demand more queer rep!! don't be overly grateful for crumbs! like this originally came up because i was thinking about whether or not i believed that eddie would ever get to be queer, and my answer was all tangled up in the existence of hen and buck. and it shouldn't be! i should be able to wonder if he'll get to be gay without thinking 'oh but there's already 2 queer main characters, and that's already considered too much by most big tv show execs!'

[paperstorm]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for not bringing Buddie or Buddie discourse here. I never watched or cared about 911 and it’s sad to see everyone forgetting about or downsizing Tarlos (and the wlw relationship in the original show) and the representation they’ve been giving us for years in light of a recent ‘coming out’ on the mothership. So its lovely to come here and drown in Tarlos content and discussion

I think there’s a lot of crossover fans between the shows so of course people are talking about a notable thing that happened, and I am happy those fans are happy and more queer rep is never a bad thing! I just have literally never watched the show so I have no feelings about a character from it haha. At least for the forseeable future this is still going to be a Lone Star blog.

[halosluvchild]

What are your other wee woo show wecommendations?

buckle up this is going to be long

Chicago fire/med/PD -was my go to for a long time I stopped watching when fire was on season 5 I think but I've seen bits and pieces of the newer seasons and I would honestly still recommend it

911/911 lone star- 911 is better than lone star in my opinion but I do love both the queer and poc representation in both is amazing and I live for angst so if you do to these shows are for you

NCIS/NCIS LA/NCIS NO/NCIS Hawaii- Hawaii the newest edition to the franchise is my favorite simply for the queer rep but if you have time and want to go back and watch them, all 20 seasons of the original are binge worthy. LA is give or take in it's first few seasons but once it gets going its good, and NO was good except it's last season so all around the NCIS franchise is a must watch in my opinion

FBI/FBI international/FBI most wanted- fairly new FBI is only on it's fifth season international it's second I think and most wanted either 3-4th but I could see all three of these shows lasting for a long time

SWAT- I just really like how the characters were developed and how the crimes are solved but you also see their personal lives.

criminal minds- I mean this one is obvious criminal minds is one of the best wee woo shows that ever aired.

Hawaii Five-0(2010)- also one of my all time favorites it's fun trying to figure out if they are cops or not

Murdoch mysteries- if you like old timey stuff in a modern setting this is the show for you it's based in 1890's Toronto and follows detective and inventor William Murdoch as he tries to solve mysteries

Frankie Drake mysteries- again this one is if you like the old timey stuff but in a modern spin this time set in 1920's Toronto Frankie Drake is a private detective I also enjoy this one because of the topics the show explores like crooked cops, misogyny,and racism.

Will Trent - now I can't give a full extensive review because this is a new show and only two episodes have aired but I like what I see so far. if you have ever seen or heard of the show monk that was around in the early 2000's this show is like the 2020's version of that

Blue Bloods- who doesn't love family drama this show is full of it especially when you put the additional pressure of the father being the police commissioner the oldest son being a detective the youngest son being a beat cop and the only daughter being a prosecutor. (disclaimer out of all the wee woo shows on this list this one is probably the one that tries the hardest with the copaganda, although most if not all these shows are copaganda blue bloods covers topics like unarmed people getting shot,cops being terrorized by the public, cops looking like the bad guys,and most if not all the time they will side with the cop or find the cop did nothing wrong. So if you are a ACAB person like me the way I go into this show each week is reminding myself that it is copaganda and that they are aiming to make cops look good that is their goal and it's most likely their target audience is people who already don't see cops as bastards that it doesn't change the fact that ACAB)

Alert- again just like Will Trent this show just aired so I can't give a solid recommendation but I do like what I have seen from the two day premiere the show basically follows a task force set out to find missing people but with added drama suspense and what appears to be secrets.

Magnum PI(2018)- now my dad will tell you to watch the original but in my honest opinion the reboot is better and although CBS cancelled it NBC picked it up for two seasons. I honestly just love the shows where the "normies" are better at being detectives than actual detectives

CSI- it doesn't matter which one you can pick up one of the older ones and watch every season or you can watch the reboot I will never get tired of CSI

[deni-means-flor]

You know I'm not one to fall for copaganda or support it but my mother LOVES the 911 universe (she's just a ✨🎀True Crime/copaganda/medical emergency tv shows🎀✨ type of cishet gal) and honestly? I'm not seeing nearly enough hype for this show online. Maybe it's because of our collective ACAB sentiment (and I'm proud of us for it) but the show was 100% MANUFACTURED to appeal to Tumblr girlies & the Twitter generation mostly...

We have a trans masc Black firefighter (WHO IS VERY HOT BTW), a Muslim queer-coded influencer girlie who's also a fucking badass but her personality goes beyond "not like other girls" (in fact she's very much like other girls and that's kinda like the whole point), a central gay couple (along with a non canon but definitely queerbaity gay pairing on the original show), positive disability rep on the regular, and some cishet couples who are just happy to be there supporting all the queers lol...

is it because the show is on Fox and we all know they also provide air time to right-wing shitfucks giving the news and retrograde commentary?

I haven't caught much of the show because I honestly prefer to play Stardew or watch videos on my phone but what I've seen is pretty interesting, let me be honest. Too telenovela like for my taste but I'm not as mad at this show as I was to other cop shows tbh

[extasiswings]

Hi just wondering did something happened or is this just people on Twitter being dumb again?

A podcast episode about 911 and “how the show queerbaits and plays into harmful tropes about representation” with quality gems like “with Lonestar it felt like they were like look at all of this representation to distract you from the lack of LGBTQIA representation in the original" (when OG literally by the numbers has more queer rep and at least in S1 more diversity than LS, so they’re really saying that they just think black people don’t count) and claiming that Tim said that "well we have hen and karen so we don't need more" and how that's putting a cap on representation (to my knowledge Tim has literally never said that, and it wouldn’t make sense for him to have said that either since, again, OG has always, from S1, had more queer rep than Hen and Karen alone (although Hen and Karen would still be awesome rep even if they were the only queer rep on the show)). Pure clownery (derogatory).

[coal15]

To those who think it would be pure fanservice if Buddie happened, I have some thoughts:

First off: everything that happens on a scripted show is fan service. Every choice that's made. All shows exist and revolve around maintaining a fanbase and viewers. This is why when a plot or character they thought would be a hit proves to be reeeeeaaaaaalllllly unpopular, they correct the issue as best and fast as they can. Even if it means altering the original plan.

Second: the show is watched by 5 million+ people, the vast majority of whom aren't online buzzing about favorite or least favorite characters or ships. They're casual viewers. If literally every single fan posting about the show on twt and tumbler LOATHED Ana but the general audience really liked her, then guess what? She'd have stayed on the show as a much loved side character (assuming GW wanted the job). We could screech and howl on our twt and tumblers all day every day about our intense anti-ana-ness and it wouldn't change the direction of the show.

Third (related to the point above) : so if Buddie did/does happen, it would be because Tim and the network think the storyline would be a hit with most of their 5 million+ viewers--maybe even attract new viewers. Seriously, even if the creative team wanted to take a big risk and make Buddie canon just cuz so many of us internet dweebs wanna see it, the network execs only care about one thing: ratings and money. Maximum viewers. Expanding and/or maintaining said viewership.

Four: Now, making Buddie canon would be such a huge deal for bisexual representation, particularly for bi MEN, and it would garner a lot of attention in entertainment media, which really could draw in a hell of a lot of new queer and queer ally viewers. With 911 being an ensemble show, like 6 main characters and several popular side characters, making Buddie canon isn't likely to make a huge difference for most casual viewers re: whether they're gonna keep watching the show or not. I'm sure some would be super excited to see the storyline, others really not into it--but mostly I think the average viewer's response would fall in the range of indifferent as long as the show as a whole continued to be solid re: strong acting, well paced, exciting and/or emotional emergencies, etc. For the vast majority, Buddie's relationship (romance vs bromance) is unlikely to be the single detail that perfects or ruins the show.

In short: the small army of shippers on the internet is not going to be the reason Buddie goes canon. If it happens, it'll be because Tim and the network think casual viewers will keep tuning in and maybe bring in new viewers who wanna see the positive bi rep. No show that's raking in millions of dollars in ad revenue is gonna risk that to please a few thousand loudass Super Shippers.

[matan4il]

Meta asks

that thing Eddie does where he tries to get Buck to look him in the eyes when he's trying to comfort him is so soft and it kills me every time

Nonnie, thank you for this ask, this is truth and you should say it! And it’s one of the things that makes it feel different to a regular friendship, good as it may be, because there’s something so intimate about it, so connected and... in need, I’d say, like Eddie doesn’t just want, he needs to know that Buck is okay. Add to that his thumb on Buck’s pulse point, on that very intimate, some might say highly erotic spot (it’s me, I’m ‘some’) and it’s a wonder we didn’t all spontaneously expire after that scene. Buck included.

Hi! I love your Buddie Meta posts! The Buck Begins ep was so so good. I really loved the scene where the team comes to help Buck, and after watching it a couple of times, I noticed how incredible the song lyrics are in that moment. Just before Eddie reaches Buck and is the first one to grab the line, the lyric is literally "the future I just can't touch" !!!!?? Am I nuts for reading too far into this...but Eddie is the only one we get a close-up of, and after that lyric?? HE is Buck's future!

Thank you so much for the kindness, Nonnie! *hearts* Also? Yeees! I actually wanted to do a meta post looking at all the songs playing during Buddie scenes and their lyrics... I will at some point! But because it’s already been on my mind, I can say that I don’t think you’re reading too much into it. BTW, for anyone who doesn’t know: the song is So Far by Ólafur Arnalds. The lyrics are perfect for describing Buck’s mindset in that moment of desperation overall, but there are other songs with similar lyrics. So it feels significant, choosing this one, with its climactic moment that calls attention to itself when it mirrors the climactic moment of the whole ep, while cutting out a small section of the song, so that the last line before the climax is the one you quoted, Nonnie, even though it’s not the original last line before the song’s climax, AND while making the choice that it would be Eddie who comes into view right at that moment and Eddie whose face is visible up close and Eddie who’s the only one to get that treatment during that scene. You couple all that with how many moments we’ve had between Buddie where the lyrics seemed to be significant and it doesn’t feel coincidental.

Hi! I absolutely adore your meta posts! They really lift me up whenever the fandom seems to lose a bit of hope on buddie becoming canon. I feel like parts of the fandom keep going from thinking we are being spoon fed buddie content and surely it'll become canon to "the writers are homophobes and buddie will never be canon because they cut back on their scenes together" and it's giving me whiplash. But you make great analysis and your posts are always consistent, and I'm so glad for them!

Thank you sooo much for this, lovely Nonnie! I’m so happy to know my meta posts help. And TBH, I don’t blame fandom. Because it’s hard to have faith in something happening if there’s very little precedent to it, you know? Though I think that could actually also be a selling point for the executives on the show. They do something groundbreaking like making Buddie canon and 911 will become a part of queer history and talked about even decades after the end of the show. Currently, Henren and Josh and Michael and David are all nice rep (for gay people), but it’s not new in the same way that Buddie would be (especially if they do let them identify as bi).

Back to fandom’s whiplash, especially when other fandoms have let people down, it’s easy to feel despair. After all, it used to be that homoerotic interpretation used to be explicitly unwanted by TV execs. Then they discovered they could have really loyal fans of this without losing homophobic viewers, by using homoerotic subtext and never delivering on it. And at the time, that was progress. Because shows recognized those queer ships fans and started valuing them (though not enough to lose other fans). And then they started getting backlash for not delivering, they started being accused of exploitation of the fans of such ships. The term ‘queerbaiting’ was coined. Sometimes fans are too quick with it, but other times I find using this term as criticism to be fully justified.

Now, a lot of shows where fans had hope, to me they felt like they were consciously queerbaiting and I never expected them to deliver. But 911 strikes me as different. It doesn’t have the same infatuation with toxic masculinity that many of those other shows have, its viewers have already shown that they’re into/cool with diversity (enough for LS to actually use the diversity angle as a main selling point from the get go), the general vibe of the show is that it really does care and wants to make things better (or we wouldn’t have gotten storylines like the one with Michael being stopped and searched because he’s black) and at this point, TV execs have more experience with the fandoms of such ships, they know their value and the possible criticism. So that 911 execs are clearly aware of fandom and presumably, wouldn’t want the backlash, yet they continue to provide so much Buddie fodder with each ep, it makes me have hope in a way I haven’t with a lot of other ships I had, where I had fun in fandom, but I was always conscious canon isn’t happening. That’s not how I feel here. Is my feeling a guarantee of anything? Nope. But as long as you want it, I’ll continue to share it and what makes me feel the way I do. And then we can hope together that what I’m feeling isn’t wrong. ;) Thank you again, Nonnie, sorry this got long and hopefully this was helpful in some way! XD

Hope you’re ALL having a great day! xoxoxox

[reyeslonestar]

Thank you for reblogging that post about how some fans seem to have a problem with other fans wanting wlw relationships and characters on lone star. It is soooo infuriating and invalidating as a wlw woman myself seeing so many fans act like us wanting wlw characters and relationships weird or delusional. I literally just saw a blog call fans who want wlw rep delusional. Like how can you say something like that? Do you know how hurtful that is? And I’m not just the only wlw fan of lone star or fan in general wanting wlw rep. It’s not even asking for much? Like excuse us for wanting wlw representation? How does that make us weird or delusional? What makes mlm relationships the only valid ones and wlw relationships and characters invalid? It’s just so incredibly rude. There’s bias and other things I could talk about but we all know that already- why these fans are saying things like that. I have learned to just tune these fans out because it does no good to see stuff like that. Recently in both the 911 AND lone star fandom I guess you could say, I have seen so many fans try to gatekeep opinions and basically bully and say other incredibly hurtful things to fans who don’t view things the same way. And it’s like nothing is that serious this is a tv show about fictional people. We are all here just meant to be having fun watching a good show on tv. But instead fans wanna act like their opinions are more important or are the only important things. When that’s not true. There’s nothing wrong with wlw fans or just fans in general wanting wlw representation too. Because idk if they realize this but wlw women exist in real life, so it would be nice to see that reflected onscreen. Because it’s nice to see people like you or even if you aren’t wlw yourself, wlw women onscreen....... like why is this so hard for some fans to understand lol they can be so nasty and hurtful when they don’t even have to be

anon youre absolutely right.

I was gonna talk about fandom history here, and how shipping developed and how a lack of canonicity has never been a boundary to shipping, and how crack ships and rare pairs have been a part of fandom pretty much since the word go and why should that change now? and that wlw ships have always been rarer for reasons I kind of went into on the tags on this post, and that the lack of screentime for female characters, particularly with each other, has been yet another boundary to the prevalence of wlw shipping.

then I saw the original posts that I suspect kicked this whole thing off. and im just. so tired.

here's my advice anon.

get friendly with your block button. clear out any blogs that are putting things on your dash/in the tags that are hurting you. filter out any phrases that pop up in posts with that kind of hurtful stuff. curate your Tumblr experience and protect yourself.

other fans have no right to tell you whether or not a ship is ‘valid’ or not. so long as you aren’t hurting anyone (and shipping two adult women certainly isnt doing that) go right ahead. enjoy the dynamic that you find, and explore it to your heart’s content.

there are many many issues with shipping in fandom. white ships get prioritised over interracial ships, queer ships get erased for straight ships,  noncanon mlm ships get prioritised over healthy f/m ships, white mlm ships get prioritised over interracial f/m ships, queer characters get some part or all of their sexuality erased to fit some arbitrary binary. fandom is not exempt from racism, or sexism, or even queerphobia, and these are the issues we should be critical of.

shipping two women together - two women who currently have no other relationships and have unconfirmed sexualities so are literally open to any interpretation, women who are fully capable of being in a consensual relationship - this is not a concept that needs to be criticised.

fuck that blog. fuck those people. wlw ships are just as valid as mlm ships, and you are entitled to an existence of acceptance. 

[buddiewho]

No one can stop me. I’m an idiot who made a sideblog for these two idiots that will probably be just as torturous as that angel and his hunter. Frankly, Evan Buckley is Dean Winchester if he were ten years younger and could’ve had the normal life, you know? The normal life that is still coupled with both mother and father issues, mixed with a little bit of sibling issues too...?

Fight me. It’s probably why I’m so invested in Evan Buckley as a character and by extension why my shipper goggles would go yup, that’s totally going to be more. It’s got all the makings for everyone to dive in and go batshit crazy over it. 

Though, as I keep getting way too invested in this show 911 (with a biased perspective of viewing it), I realize the network will probably ask, so uh you have 911 Lonestar (which I haven’t watched) uh and uh on that show we’ve already “let you make” an explicitly queer couple the focal point of the story (?) so uh why do you need it on the original idea show? 

*rolls eyes* For me, it’s all bout looks and maybe just maybe explicit BISEXUAL rep without calling it a phase please, and thank you:

Also, the mere fact that I can’t get around. My brain goes so it’s two bi firefighters right? Give me the heteronormative goggles or the bromance goggles or something and then perhaps I’d un-see it.

[sevensoulmates]

Yeah!! you're right, also that part of the toxic fandom does not realize that if they continue like this they will achieve the opposite of what they want (that is, Buddie becomes canon) and that Oliver and Ryan feel annoyed with the ship (something that I am sure they are starting to feel or already feel)

So I took some time to ponder over this because I’ve been seeing this general assumption/fear going around not just in the 911 fandom but within other fandoms as well, past and present. And I just became curious as to why we as an audience feel like if we make a wrong step--like being too pushy about something we do/don’t want--that creators will do the opposite to spite us.

In this day and age, it is very easy to access content creators, even ones who exist as part of a larger corporation. I did some research about how fans have generally been able (or unable) to impact how a show or movie has moved forward with any particular story and it seems that those who have (shows like Arrow that changed up storylines/pairings to suit comic book fans or fans of other ships) have been met with backlash and ultimately no satisfaction for anyone. I’ve also read of some shows (example like BBC Sherlock) adding in meta-level “fans” to their show, or writing in “undertones” to please fans, and that backfiring because the show didn’t actually want go forward with it, so when they backtracked (or didn’t make certain plotlines/ships canon) people were upset because of the false hope they were given.

We’ve also seen the rise in fan support saving certain show from cancellation. We watched it happen with One Day at a Time and with Brooklyn Nine-Nine. What was important to realize on that end, was that the shows weren’t “saved” by their original networks, but were instead bought up by other networks who believed the show could fit their brand and wanted to continue it and still felt like they would find those fans shifting to watch wherever the show went. These shows were saved not because of fan support (although that was a big factor) but mostly because the networks that bought them saw potential in continuing the show.

On the flip side, we’ve seen fan petitions to do things such as re-make the entire last season of Game of Thrones, or remake Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Neither of these fan petitions ever even came remotely close to influencing creators. But then we have the negative backlash of things like Sonic the Hedgehog where fans literally bullied the animation team into redesigning (and therefore re-making entirely) their film. But in that case the creators didn’t necessarily change up the story but rather a character design. Still, it showcases that fans DO have some sort of power to influence things that happen higher up. But how much really? In my opinion, way way less than we think we have.

From what I’ve read (and you can google ‘fan impact on tv shows’ if you want to read some older and newer articles), when it comes to the writing of shows, most creators and their writers are not writing to give the audience every little thing they want--but rather, they write to create the story that the writing team wants and the story that they best feel suits the characters. And this might not always line up with what the fans believe best suits the characters. Of course, TV shows WANT fans to enjoy what they make. They want to have fans in the first place. But because of how active people are online, and how easy it is to have your voice and opinion reach someone high up, fan voices are beginning to be drowned out--purposefully. 

When you have large-scale protests, such as the huge backlash The 100 and several other shows received for perpetuating the “bury your gays” trope, these criticisms are not petty complaints about ships or contradictory lore, these criticisms are about socio-cultural level problems that NEED to be addressed due to the harmful and deadly ramifications they can have on real world people. These protests are needed so that going forward, other media are AWARE of what ramifications may come from such decisions and can make better choices when telling their stories. Shows that have failed to comply often face heavy backlash--or are quick to get the boot (looking at you The Magicians). For problems like this, creators absolutely should be listening to their fans. For things like shipping, or other minor disagreements that are based heavily on individual fan preference, creators can very easily let that roll off their backs.   

My point is that with the ever-closing gap between fans and creators, fans voices have grown louder, yes, but creators ability to tune it all out has grown stronger. TV shows want passionate fans. And those who have been in the field for a while know that comes with having obnoxious, disrespectful, and rude fans as well. At the end of the day, unless a show is writing in storylines or character stereotypes that are disrespectful or harmful to groups of real people, they should not have to bend to every will of every faction of fans. And most won’t. Because you can’t please everybody, so the writers and creators are going to choose to do what works best to them. At the end of the day creators/writers are going to do whatever they want and take the storyline wherever they think is the most interesting (and logical) for their characters. (An aside to say I’m talking about shows that actually know what they’re doing in the writers room--not shows like Riverdale (no offense)).

Shows (like Supernatural for example) are always going to choose to do what they want to do above anything the fans say they want. If they want to make a certain ship happen, they’ll do it. If they don’t, they won’t regardless of how vocal fans (or antis) are. What show writers do and don’t want may shift over the course of time. It happens. (Like for example, in my personal opinion, I don’t believe the writers were at all trying or necessarily wanting to write Buddie as a legitimate thing/possibility in s2, but with s3 I feel that has changed). When writing to please fans, you can risk certain decisions coming off as pandering (like in Star Wars:TROS). And when certain decisions feel inauthentic to the show or underdeveloped/OOC for a character (even things that people claim they really wanted) it can feel disappointing even to the most loyal of fans.

For 911 specifically, we’ve seen that the show can and does focus on character’s love lives. It’s not unreasonable to expect that from them like it might with say shows like The 100 where the plot-heavy sci-fi action has always been the priority for the show’s writers, above whatever romantic side-plots they have with their characters. And we’ve seen that 911 is generally positive when it comes to how they represent queer characters (as for other minority rep, 911LS has some issues on the muslim rep, but I am not qualified to speak on that as someone who is not muslim). The show is not perfect in it’s writing, they’ve made mistakes or done things that not all fans have liked, but from my perspective (and I think a lot of other people’s perspectives too) the show does its best to remain true to its characters and tell a genuinely interesting and engaging story. The show (both the writers, producers and actors) seems to care for their characters and the stories they give them a whole lot.

So, tldr, no. I don’t think the writers would simply choose to not make buddie a thing if they genuinely thought it would work for their characters and the story they want to tell. Even if the shippers are obnoxious and annoying. Even if the actors may occasionally get frustrated with shippers online. If it was right for the show, and right for the characters, I do feel like 911 would go for it. Hell, they might feel like buddie is right for the show/characters but not right right now, and that’s where character development, plot development and relationship development comes in. Ladies, gents and non-binary pals, that’s where patience comes in. 

In the meantime, show your enthusiasm! But be respectful, always.

[laurenkmyers]

Hii i follow you and it seems like you watch a lot of shows with lgbt characters. Just wondering if you got any new recs for me? There seems to be nothing good coming out this year

Ooh now this is a tough one as it does seem like we’re going through a bit of a dry patch for good new lgbtq media, so if you follow and have watched all the stuff I reblog about then you probably know a lot of shows already, but I’ll just make a list in case there is something that you haven’t tried. Current/on-going shows with lgbtq rep:

Roswell NM (canon bisexual alien, gay, disabled soldier). Skam (Norway (OG season 3), France (season), Italy (season 2), Beglium (season 3), Spain (season 2) The 100 (Openly bisexual female lead).Killing Eve (Season 3 comes out soon- bisexual(?) serial killer), 911 (lesbian fighter and her wife)911 Lonestar? (Gay firefighter/policeman)Elite (bisexual/gay/poly)Shameless (Gay gay gay gay, married gay)I tried a show called October Faction (Gay male main) but it’s a bit too trashy for me. If you like that you might enjoy it and it’s new?Sex Education (gay/lesbian/pan/bi/asexual)The Umbrella Academy (pansexual disaster Klaus Hargreeves)The Society (gay/deaf rep)Euphoria (trans/possibly pan/bi)Eastenders (lesbian couple, gay couple- not bad for a British Soap). Animal Kingdom (gay couple- only watch if you love heavy angst).Things that aren’t current but you might enjoy:SENSE8- has literally all the LGTBQ+ rep you could possibly need in your life and is the most amazing show ever.  SPARTACUS (gay warriors-AMAZING REP)BLACK SAILS- (I think you get a bit of everything in there-amazing show)The OA- (trans boy, gay male)WENTWORTH (Australian prison drama- many lesbian/bisexual/transexual characters- will break your heart). Wynnona Earp (lesbian/bisexual couple)The Shannara Chronicles (bisexual couple- very LOTRsy)Lucifer (Tom Ellis plays a bisexual Devil what more would you ask for? Also pansexual demon woman called Maze)Runaways- (lesbian alien, bisexual sorcerer)Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Lesbian couple)Daybreak (gay couple)The Originals (If you watch and like Roswell NM then the character Jenna Cameron plays a bisexual witch, gay male). The Night Shift (gay couple, one half is the OG Michael Guerin from Roswell)Arrow/Legends-(bisexual/lesbian/gay characters)Revenge (bisexual male)Years and Years (gay/lesbian rep- will break heart). Shadowhunters (bisexual warlock, gay shadowhunter, lesbian shadowhunters)Queer As Folk -(gay as they come, sexually explicit- OLD SCHOOL). 

And just for the hell of it, here is a list of lgbt shows from 2020 that have lgbt rep, but I haven’t watched many so I can’t recommend personally. 

I hope this has helped. 

[trendingnewsb]

After Pulse attack, gay Latino community seeks strength

ORLANDO, Fla. –  Ricardo Negron never kissed his boyfriend in front of conservative relatives. Carlos Guillermo Smith was once attacked by anti-gay students at a college party. After coming out in high school, Marco Quiroga left his mother’s home and became temporarily homeless.

Many gay Latinos in Orlando have endured indignities, rejection or violence because of their sexual orientation. But in the year since a gunman killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub, these men and others have sought to strengthen their wounded community, forming support groups and community organizations, seeking seats at the tables of power, and creating a foundation to champion gays and Latinos.

“There’s no question that the tragedy at Pulse has created an entire new generation of grassroots leaders who are young, who are queer, people of color, who want to make a difference and affect change,” said Smith, who was elected to Florida’s Legislature last fall.

Most of the dead at Pulse were gay Latinos, and the attack on June 12, 2016, highlighted the gulf between gay people of color and other gays.

Though Orlando’s gay institutions are open to anyone, some gay Latinos did not use them, either because of language barriers or because Orlando’s Latino communities are scattered throughout the metro area and much of Orlando’s gay life is concentrated downtown. There were other obstacles too, including cultural issues of “machismo,” deep Latino connections to the Roman Catholic Church and, for some, concerns about immigration status.

Before Pulse, many gay Latinos felt they could only meet each other in gay bars on Latin or hip-hop nights.

“In our community, there was an absence of spaces for people who were queer and people of color,” said Christopher Cuevas, who founded the support group QLatinx after the Pulse shooting.

Still, many regarded Orlando as a haven, both for its visible gay community and for its thriving Latino population. Of metro Orlando’s 2.3 million people, more than a quarter are Hispanic, with Puerto Ricans making up about half of the Latino population. Smith describes Orlando “as one of the gayest cities in America.”

“Which makes what happened here so shocking because this is already such an inclusive community,” said Smith, who grew up in South Florida and moved to Orlando for college. “This is a city that is very supportive of the LGBTQ community.”

To Javier Nava, Orlando seemed like a gay Magic Kingdom when he visited during a pride weekend three years ago from small-town North Carolina, where he worked in the restaurant business without legal permission to be in the United States.

“When I came here, and I see the gay pride, I just fell in love with Orlando, so full of Latinos,” said Nava, who is originally from Mexico City and moved to Orlando shortly after his visit. He recently became eligible to stay in the U.S. legally. “It just seemed free and open here,” he said.

When the gunshots began at Pulse, Negron at first thought they were coming from the beats of the thumping reggaeton music. Then the music stopped and everyone dropped to the floor.

He managed to run out of an exit as gunman Omar Mateen kept firing. Mateen, a New York-born son of Afghan immigrants who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed hours later in a shootout with police.

Nava was on the dance floor when he heard what sounded like a fight. That’s when everybody got on the floor. A moment later, he felt something hit his abdomen and realized he had been shot.

Debating in his head whether to play dead or try to escape, he stood up, ran through a door behind the bar and found stairs leading up to a second-story office. Five other people followed him and hid under the desks. They called 911, and dispatchers gave them instructions on how to stanch Nava’s bleeding.

They tried to be quiet until police found them about half an hour later. As the officers escorted them out, Nava saw the lifeless body of a friend on the floor.

Smith was in bed at home when his smartphone started beeping furiously before dawn with news about Pulse. Before long, he was standing shoulder to shoulder at a news conference with leaders of Orlando’s Muslim community to show that Orlando “respects inclusivity and diversity.”

In the aftermath of the attack, a joint venture between local governments and nonprofits offered mental health services and other assistance to Pulse victims and their families. But because of language barriers, immigration fears or previous feelings of disconnection, some of the victims and their families did not feel like they could use the services, Cuevas said.

The community had to “create our own because these spaces never catered to us before. They didn’t understand us, and they still don’t,” he said.

Thus was born QLatinx, a community group for Latino gay and lesbians. The Q stands for “queer,” and “Latinx” is a gender-neutral form of “Latino.” The organization holds support-group meetings every week and is starting a storytelling project in which they hope to dismantle stereotypes of what it means to be gay and Latino through the personal stories of its members. They’re also helping more mainstream gay organizations, like the local LGBTQ center, cater to the needs of gay Latinos.

Quiroga has undertaken a similar effort with the Contigo Fund, which was formed after the Pulse tragedy with $1.5 million in funding from several national foundations. The goal was to financially support LGBTQ and social-justice causes in central Florida, with a particular focus on Latino communities. The fund has given grants to QLatinx, as well as Proyecto Somos Orlando, a nonprofit community center run by Negron that offers bilingual mental health counseling, conversational English classes and immigration assistance for free.

Through the center, case managers check in with Pulse survivors at least once a month. Proyecto Somos Orlando soon will start a program helping newly arrived LGBTQ Puerto Ricans adjust to life in central Florida and hold regular seminars on topics like how to use the health care system.

The ultimate goal is to create a safe haven for LGBTQ people of color that can be a model for other cities, said Quiroga, who moved to Orlando as a 2-year-old from Peru. He is part of a program that allows immigrants who entered the United States illegally as children to stay.

Many of the Pulse survivors are in demand to talk to politicians, celebrities and activists about gun violence and gay rights. Nava met Hillary Clinton and talked in Spanish about immigration policy with vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine.

For Nava, the Pulse tragedy forced him to engage with the wider world in ways he never expected. He and his husband, Adrian Lopez, who escaped the nightclub unhurt, have shared their stories about the Pulse massacre with Clinton, Kaine and former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot six years ago during a public appearance, among others.

“At that level, it’s a big step for our community,” Nava said, explaining that his discussion with Kaine about immigration reform represented more than just one person talking with “one of the people who might run this country.”

“It’s me, as a gay Latino, talking to one of those people. In Spanish.”

Read more: http://ift.tt/2spyHp4

from Viral News HQ http://ift.tt/2sQ55ia via Viral News HQ

[trendingnewsb]

After Pulse attack, gay Latino community seeks strength

ORLANDO, Fla. –  Ricardo Negron never kissed his boyfriend in front of conservative relatives. Carlos Guillermo Smith was once attacked by anti-gay students at a college party. After coming out in high school, Marco Quiroga left his mother’s home and became temporarily homeless.

Many gay Latinos in Orlando have endured indignities, rejection or violence because of their sexual orientation. But in the year since a gunman killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub, these men and others have sought to strengthen their wounded community, forming support groups and community organizations, seeking seats at the tables of power, and creating a foundation to champion gays and Latinos.

“There’s no question that the tragedy at Pulse has created an entire new generation of grassroots leaders who are young, who are queer, people of color, who want to make a difference and affect change,” said Smith, who was elected to Florida’s Legislature last fall.

Most of the dead at Pulse were gay Latinos, and the attack on June 12, 2016, highlighted the gulf between gay people of color and other gays.

Though Orlando’s gay institutions are open to anyone, some gay Latinos did not use them, either because of language barriers or because Orlando’s Latino communities are scattered throughout the metro area and much of Orlando’s gay life is concentrated downtown. There were other obstacles too, including cultural issues of “machismo,” deep Latino connections to the Roman Catholic Church and, for some, concerns about immigration status.

Before Pulse, many gay Latinos felt they could only meet each other in gay bars on Latin or hip-hop nights.

“In our community, there was an absence of spaces for people who were queer and people of color,” said Christopher Cuevas, who founded the support group QLatinx after the Pulse shooting.

Still, many regarded Orlando as a haven, both for its visible gay community and for its thriving Latino population. Of metro Orlando’s 2.3 million people, more than a quarter are Hispanic, with Puerto Ricans making up about half of the Latino population. Smith describes Orlando “as one of the gayest cities in America.”

“Which makes what happened here so shocking because this is already such an inclusive community,” said Smith, who grew up in South Florida and moved to Orlando for college. “This is a city that is very supportive of the LGBTQ community.”

To Javier Nava, Orlando seemed like a gay Magic Kingdom when he visited during a pride weekend three years ago from small-town North Carolina, where he worked in the restaurant business without legal permission to be in the United States.

“When I came here, and I see the gay pride, I just fell in love with Orlando, so full of Latinos,” said Nava, who is originally from Mexico City and moved to Orlando shortly after his visit. He recently became eligible to stay in the U.S. legally. “It just seemed free and open here,” he said.

When the gunshots began at Pulse, Negron at first thought they were coming from the beats of the thumping reggaeton music. Then the music stopped and everyone dropped to the floor.

He managed to run out of an exit as gunman Omar Mateen kept firing. Mateen, a New York-born son of Afghan immigrants who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed hours later in a shootout with police.

Nava was on the dance floor when he heard what sounded like a fight. That’s when everybody got on the floor. A moment later, he felt something hit his abdomen and realized he had been shot.

Debating in his head whether to play dead or try to escape, he stood up, ran through a door behind the bar and found stairs leading up to a second-story office. Five other people followed him and hid under the desks. They called 911, and dispatchers gave them instructions on how to stanch Nava’s bleeding.

They tried to be quiet until police found them about half an hour later. As the officers escorted them out, Nava saw the lifeless body of a friend on the floor.

Smith was in bed at home when his smartphone started beeping furiously before dawn with news about Pulse. Before long, he was standing shoulder to shoulder at a news conference with leaders of Orlando’s Muslim community to show that Orlando “respects inclusivity and diversity.”

In the aftermath of the attack, a joint venture between local governments and nonprofits offered mental health services and other assistance to Pulse victims and their families. But because of language barriers, immigration fears or previous feelings of disconnection, some of the victims and their families did not feel like they could use the services, Cuevas said.

The community had to “create our own because these spaces never catered to us before. They didn’t understand us, and they still don’t,” he said.

Thus was born QLatinx, a community group for Latino gay and lesbians. The Q stands for “queer,” and “Latinx” is a gender-neutral form of “Latino.” The organization holds support-group meetings every week and is starting a storytelling project in which they hope to dismantle stereotypes of what it means to be gay and Latino through the personal stories of its members. They’re also helping more mainstream gay organizations, like the local LGBTQ center, cater to the needs of gay Latinos.

Quiroga has undertaken a similar effort with the Contigo Fund, which was formed after the Pulse tragedy with $1.5 million in funding from several national foundations. The goal was to financially support LGBTQ and social-justice causes in central Florida, with a particular focus on Latino communities. The fund has given grants to QLatinx, as well as Proyecto Somos Orlando, a nonprofit community center run by Negron that offers bilingual mental health counseling, conversational English classes and immigration assistance for free.

Through the center, case managers check in with Pulse survivors at least once a month. Proyecto Somos Orlando soon will start a program helping newly arrived LGBTQ Puerto Ricans adjust to life in central Florida and hold regular seminars on topics like how to use the health care system.

The ultimate goal is to create a safe haven for LGBTQ people of color that can be a model for other cities, said Quiroga, who moved to Orlando as a 2-year-old from Peru. He is part of a program that allows immigrants who entered the United States illegally as children to stay.

Many of the Pulse survivors are in demand to talk to politicians, celebrities and activists about gun violence and gay rights. Nava met Hillary Clinton and talked in Spanish about immigration policy with vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine.

For Nava, the Pulse tragedy forced him to engage with the wider world in ways he never expected. He and his husband, Adrian Lopez, who escaped the nightclub unhurt, have shared their stories about the Pulse massacre with Clinton, Kaine and former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot six years ago during a public appearance, among others.

“At that level, it’s a big step for our community,” Nava said, explaining that his discussion with Kaine about immigration reform represented more than just one person talking with “one of the people who might run this country.”

“It’s me, as a gay Latino, talking to one of those people. In Spanish.”

Read more: http://ift.tt/2spyHp4

from Viral News HQ http://ift.tt/2sQ55ia via Viral News HQ