#tldr just watch the video at the last link if nothing else its so beautiful and makes me cry and is everything about queer liberation

[statementlou]

would you be willing to elaborate more on this post and your tags? i’m interested to hear your thoughts on this!

OH BOY WOULD I (apparently-- this is so long😭) There are 3 things here: the article quoted in the post, my tags about that, and OPs comments on the article. My tags are about the fact that I honestly felt baffled by what the article of the author was saying, like what the heck do they see as the link between fans saying Harry is gay and Harry playing a gay man in My Policeman, why are they connecting those dots? Are they saying that he chose the role (as it kind of feels like they are) in order to further a sinister agenda of pretending to be queer to keep/gain fans? Or are they simply saying that people who think he's gay will see the role as further evidence of that or something? The OP of the post addresses the fact that the author's weird and confusing takes wouldn't be possible without the idea that a person can queerbait, and disputes that, which I agree with. They point out that this writer (despite being a gay man) apparently believes that closeting is just a personal discomfort issue rather than a necessity for many, rather than something done because systemic discrimination against queer people does in fact still exist. In the next line of the article (not pictured in the post) he speculates that Harry's character in MP "might have thrived in the more permissive era that gave us Styles in a sequined jumpsuit," which seems to confirm that they don't understand that this discrimination still exists (and that the whole point of the movie and Harry's casting in it and just…everything… sailed well over their head), because they apparently simply never considered the possibility that Harry might be doing things associated with being queer because he might, maybe, possibly …be queer?! But instead they go straight to assuming he is "queerbaiting." Which he is not.

Queerbaiting is when the writers of a fictional property lure in queer fans with promises of a product that they have no intention of delivering. Period. But some people see Harry that way! They cast him in the same light as a TV show that can be scripted to fulfill an agenda, saying he's been waving flags, he's dangled promises of a coming out and if he doesn't deliver we have the right to be angry. But unlike a TV show character, his life is REAL and is his own and he owes us only what he actually has sold us; a CD or entry to a show, yes, but not to control the content thereof- he himself IS NOT THE PRODUCT.

But more importantly to me, why do we worry so much about this? Why the panic that someone publicly perceived as straight is "appropriating" queer culture? I do not believe that queerness is a finite commodity to be hoarded, is a territory to be defended or a country club to keep out the rabble; queerness is a gospel to spread. It is a gift that should be freely available to everyone, a door to open, an invitation to liberation to be shared.

As Harry said, we're all a little bit gay aren't we? and as fictional!Louis in one of my favorite fics said, except people who are all the way gay, and as the tumblr post says, wishing you were a lesbian is a symptom of being one; people who are knocking at the doors of gatekept queerness wanting to come in and try out some parts of it… are they straight/cis? Who are we to say so? Seems to me that a desire to act otherwise is in itself enough, is a strong indicator that they are not and the proper response would be to embrace them and celebrate their arrival, to treat them like someone who has escaped oppression and made it across a perilous border to the side of freedom, to join our (demilitarized) ranks. Do we want to be the enforcers of hetereonormativity by insisting that only we special few who have somehow passed the trials and proven ourselves worthy (to who? who gets to decide?) get to occupy the beautiful autonomous zone of queerness, do we want to push everyone else back inside the prison of gender policing and labeling and rules of how they can behave if they show signs of stepping out of line, or do we want to destroy the very idea of that boundary in favor of freedom for everyone? I am not a cop to police the boundaries of queerness, to turn people away at the border, to tell them they aren't enough, to demand they present their most private desires to be judged for validity.

I don't want to mirror the exclusionary scarcity mentality of those who are afraid, I want us to be the ones who show that something else is possible. For there to be more queerness in the world, more freedom, more options than most people in the past or present had and have. Harry has more options and freedom than his MP character had (simply by having money if nothing else), but he still faces difficult choices; the fight is not yet won and if we act like the oppressors, if we choose scarcity over abundance, it never will be. The gates will simply crack to let a few privileged people through and they (like the well off American white cis male writer of that article) will continue to uphold the oppressive norms of a homophobic society, because they are acting from a place of scarcity and gatekeeping. I believe we can do better.

[aquoreus]

( ･ﾟ✧ HEADCANON. )

Music, singing, dancing and theatre.

Lisia enrolled in dance classes when she was around 6 or 7. Her parents wanted to give her something special to do, just for herself in case she felt like her little sister was being favoured. They also hoped Lisia would make some friends, which would help her in school as well.

The good news was…Lisia quickly became great at dancing. She thrived on every aspect of it, and going to her classes was the highlight of her weeks. She became top of the class, and even enrolled in a few different style dance classes in order to have more to do (Ballet on Mondays, Modern/Contemporary on Wednesdays, Hip Hop on Thursdays, even took Tap Dancing on Fridays).

The bad news was…despite how friendly she tried to be, and how she just wanted to have fun and make friends…she was an outsider. The kids in the classes had all grown up together and were close. A few of them tried to welcome her, but the ringleaders of the groups would push her out again. When she did make a friend in her ballet class…it lasted only a few months, ended because the friend had to move away.

Upset with the fact she couldn’t seem to connect with her peers, Lisia focused more on the dancing itself, improving her skills over the years. She stayed at the top of the classes the whole time, which of course only drew resentment towards her. They were annoyed that they couldn’t best her, and they were more annoyed that she offered to help them (she just wanted to be helpful, but they saw her as being condescending towards them).

She was bullied for a while. Lisia struggled with academics, she hated school, but her dance classes were her sanctuary even if her skills in it just brought her more problems in school. The kids would call her stupid and dumb because she would always get such low marks, no matter how much she tried.

Her interest in dance was also linked with her love of music, of course. So, after school, if she wasn’t in dance, or it was after those classes, she would be in her music lessons. She learnt the piano first. To begin with, she struggled with reading music, but she persisted because of her interest and then got the hang of it. After mastering piano, she went on to learn the flute as well.

But, her love of all things music related was not satisfied by dancing and playing instruments…she wanted to sing as well, she wanted to do it all. Singing had always been an interest, and a habit, for her. She had a pretty voice too. 

As she was learning piano, she decided to pursue singing as well. But with all her lessons, as well as trying to juggle schoolwork, she didn’t have time for formal singing classes/tutoring. So she had to train herself during this time. Using whatever time she could, she watched video tutorials and such things, practising on her own.

Eventually she had to decide to cut back some of her dancing in order to make room for other things. She retained her ballet and contemporary classes, along with her piano and flute lessons, and added in a proper singing one. With professional tutoring, she was able to push her voice from ‘pretty’ to ‘beautiful’ and increased her range as well.

Knowing of her love for singing, dancing, and music, her parents took her to a musical, a grand production of The Princess and the Politoed (based on the Disney movie? yes). She loved it. More than that, she was totally enchanted by the stage, skill, energy and seeming magic of it all. The story too, was something she connected to. Working hard despite what others say and think, making your own dreams and wishes come true, always doing your best and remembering what’s important.

And so…Lisia signed up for acting/theatre and became involved in whatever plays and productions were started by her school or nearby companies.

There is no way to properly describe the total joy Lisia got and continues to get from these things she’s involved in, from musicals especially. She adores watching them and she adores being in them. Plays and shows are always going to be one of her true loves, honestly. She loves films as well of course, especially musicals, but nothing truly compares to watching a live show.

For the sake of a timeline…Ages 6/7 - 8, she did all the dance classes she could. 8 - 9 was when she added piano to the mix and later flute as well, while self-teaching singing. 9 - 10, she dropped some dances for singing and became involved in theatre as well.

It may seem a little insane for someone so young to be so busy and talented, but this was her passion! Music (and drama/acting) in all its forms was her solace and she worked hard for it all because she loved it so much and it was an escape from everything else. She could tell herself her disappointing academics weren’t so bad, because at least she was good at other things…

And then…the accident happened and she lost her father. She lost her passion for everything. It was a stark change, an abrupt silence. Music no longer poured through the house. Lisia didn’t dance her way through the rooms or sing any more. She stopped attending all her classes and didn’t touch her instruments or music books.

This went on for about a year, until her Uncle Wallace visited, sending a Swablu with a few cute accessories on to find Lisia. Wallace knew Lisia wouldn’t be able to resist the adorable pokemon, and he knew it would become an Altaria one day, a musical and friendly pokemon, perfect for her.

Ali the Swablu brought the old Lisia back, and music once again entered the house. The girl picked up her instruments again and went back to her classes. 

Even now, Lisia still practices ballet and her other dance styles when she can, as well as her instruments. Some of her love for theatre and acting gets let out through her Contests and such. When she became an Idol, which wasn’t just restricted to Contests, they wanted her to be more ‘pop’ in style, so she adapted to that, but she still has a love of the other genres.

She doesn’t have time to be involved in plays/musicals, as much as she’d love to be, but she makes an effort to go and watch whichever ones she can. She would choose a theatre role over a film one any day.

TLDR: Lisia has been involved with music from a young age. She is very skilled in singing, dancing, and performing. She does ballet and contemporary dancing mostly. She knows piano and flute. Huge music nerd. In love with theatre. doki doki