#not so queer media

[charliebugz]

When Izzy first walked out I was worried that he would be made into a joke that the crew would laugh at

but then he started singing and the dancing began and I realized that he wasn’t meant to be a joke at all. This is the most open and happy we’ve ever seen Izzy and the show treated it that way. Not mocking him but instead celebrating this moment.

When we talk about queer representation it’s usually just focused on queer relationships, but what I love about this episode is it shows other sides of being queer. That moment where Izzy saw Wee John doing his makeup and had a realization that he wanted that too? That is what being queer means to me. The crew singing along and cheering for him? That is what being apart of the queer community means to me.

What i love about this show is that it shows queer joy, not in a sanitized way, but in away that is messy, beautiful, and without any mockery or shame.

#the fact i expected him to be made fun of just reflects how queer people are usually presented in media #i was preparing myself for an awkward scene full of secondhand embarrassment for izzy #but then it didn’t happen. And it just made me immediately feel so warm and fuzzy inside. #like he can express the not socially acceptable parts of himself and not be outcast for it #and that’s just so fantastical to me #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #ofmd s2e6 #izzy hands #rambling #i speak!

[kimdokjas]

though the movie might be cancelled, yuri on ice will live forever in our hearts. thank you yoi fandom, it's been real ♡

#yuri on ice #yoiedit #yoi #victuuri #ice adolescence #anime gif #*gifs #animangahive #dailyshounenai #userkarura #usergojoana #userhanyi #useralphonse #usertorichi #usermoonz #usericybtch #userheidi #usergokalp #userartless #homuras #himawaari #this is not goodbye this is still my house!!! #devastated but not surprised tbh but i still wanted to channel my emotions somehow and just. express how much this show means to me so here #this thank you goes out to u guys. the fandom #mappa can eat a brick btw <3 #god i wish i could articulate just how special yoi is to me #it truly resonated with me like very few other pieces of media have (i can count them with one hand in fact) #it was sooooo revolutionary and ahead of its time not just in terms of queerness but also in terms of mental health #it truly changed me as a person and i just. really appreciate how earnest and kind it was above all #thank you yoi. you will be a part of me forever <3

[fruity-phrog]

Okay, I saw someone say that Nimona, while being good representation, “didn’t take the big step forward in queer rep that everyone says it did”.

That is wrong. So wrong, my dude.

Yes, an explicit and open queer relationship in children’s cartoons is not new, per ce. Hell, just this year, two popular kids’ cartoons had the main character in an open, adorable, plot-based queer romance. But this is different for a few reasons.

Reason number one, it isn’t left in suspense. Yes, they had that split for three odd weeks, but they started the film as a couple. One of the very first scenes is them together as a couple, Ambrosius saying he loves Ballister, them holding hands, Ballister leaning on Ambrosius’ shoulder. Ambrosius says he loves Ballister three times during the film, and none of them are any more than halfway in. It’s very clear, from their very first interaction, that they are an established relationship, which isn’t something I’ve seen...at all in other animation.

Secondly, they are the plot. Ambrosius not believing Ballister, Ambrosius cutting off Ballister’s arm, Ballister trying to get the video to Ambrosius - this is what drives the plot. In any other children’s animation with queer relationships, the relationship is not the main focus. Even The Owl House, which is so amazing with its constant representation, would still make sense if Luz and Amity never happened. But Nimona’s plot wouldn’t make sense without Ballister and Ambrosius’ relationship. It, quite simply, can’t be erased. It could work as a friendship, yes, but that’s the point. They could have just been two close friends that fell on opposite sides of a fight, but they weren’t. They were two lovers that fell on opposite sides of a fight. 

Thirdly, they aren’t sanitized for “family viewing”. An emerging trend in children’s animation is to only have mlm relationships as fathers to make them seem more “family friendly”. With the exception of Kipo, there really isn’t many tv shows or films that places light upon an mlm relationship. And if it does, it'll be a teen relationship because teenagers being queer tends to come across as less “dirty” and more “innocent”. But Goldenheart is none of these things. They are adults without the mollifying aspect of having a family. And on top of that, they fight. They wield swords and they get bloody and they shoot at things and get angry and yell. They aren’t “clean” and “innocent”.

As well as this, they are in a film. Films are far more accessible than tv shows. You have to watch twenty seven episodes before Lumity in toh is canon. Troy kisses Benson on the eleventh episode of Kipo. And there are two hundred and eighty three episodes of Adventure Time before Marceline and Bonnie kiss. But with a film, the queerness is much more forward - especially in Nimona, where it’s literally the second scene. Animated films hardly ever display queer relationships, but Nimona did.

Finally - they aren’t perfect. I don’t know about you, but three weeks of thinking your boyfriend/maybe ex is a murderer? Doesn’t sound like a healthy few weeks to me. I have only seen big relationship arguments portrayed in straight relationships in cartoons - think Star Vs The Forces Of Evil - whereas queer relationships either have the massive fight prior to being canonically gay - She Ra - or have conflict, not arguments, that are dealt with quickly - Dead End/The Owl House. But Goldenheart? Goldenheart suffers. Their relationship is pushed to such extreme boundaries as for them to be pretty much exes throughout most of the movie. And yet, they are clearly healthy, happy and very much in love at the end. 

TL;DR - Nimona is amazing with the queer representation, and it is a milestone for LGBTQ+ cartoons. Not only is the relationship romantic for the entire movie, the plot is driven by Ambrosius and Ballister’s sort-of-break-up. In short, they are treated the same way straight people are. They have flaws, they have massive arguments, they have plot importance, they have backstory. They are in love. And that’s what matters more than anything else. 

#cedar crap #wow I didn't mean for this to be so long #nimona #nimona netflix #queer rep in media #queer rep in animation #goldenheart #ballister boldheart #ballister blackheart #ambrosius goldenloin #and I didn't even touch on the blatant queer flags in the background

[whatohitsonfirewelp]

You know what? I don’t WANT an awkward double date. I don’t WANT buck coming out and people having the ‘I know’ reaction or the ‘is it Eddie’ reaction.

You know what I do want?

I want Buck panicking over what to wear for the date. I want Buck flopping on his bed like very teenager after their first kiss all giggly and happy and touching his lips because he kissed a boy

I want Buck smiling every time he says Tommy’s name because maybe it isn’t forever and maybe he’s not even looking for forever anymore but he’s so happy and he’s so light and being with Tommy feels good

I want Tommy to keep calling him Evan, because before Buck was Buck he was Evan and Evan deserves to be happy to be treated so softly and lovingly and Evan deserves to be free.

I want Buck to be happy. To be happy and free and queer in the way we all deserve.

#the other things are nice I guess #buddie would be nice #but honestly I don’t care anymore #I just want to see a happy queer character in media #because we don’t even fully have that with hen and Karen #their journey wasn’t an easy one #and why can’t we get queer characters who have a soft loving kind story #whatoh back at it again #evan buckley #tommy kinard #eddie diaz #911 abc #give me a giddy buck who’s nervous and unsure but so excited #give me a Buck who’s awkward but so determined to make this work and to discover more about himself #give me a Tommy who is so soft with him so gentle so kind #because don’t we all deserve that love? doesn’t Evan Buckley deserve that love? #for once I don’t want the angst for him I just want him to be Happy and Free

[k-wame]

ANDRÉ LAMOGLIA as Iván Carvalho & FERNANDO LÍNDEZ as 'Joel' ÉLITƎ Series 7 · EP02 · dir. Lino Escalera

#crine bc andré's thirst-acting in this scene is so accurate 😂😂bc he has me exact! & joel givin him dat ' u alright?' look is too gud 😂 #elite #elite netflix #joel x iván #lgbtedit #andré lamoglia #fernando líndez #iván carvalho #tvedit #desire #gay #lgbt #queer #queer characters #queer media #beautiful men

[crunchycrystals]

this makes me want to cry

#crunchyposts #pjo #pjotv #guys i also have been obsessed with this series for years it means so much to me that the actors are also fans of the book #it doesnt mention it here but i know leah's said that she was so excited to play annabeth to be 'the girl in her brothers books' #since she got his old copies when he left for college (?) #this means absolutely everything to me rep in media means so much to me bc of how little i understood myself as a kid since i never saw #anyone like me and pjo was the first time i saw someone whse brain was kidna like mine and so many things clicked into place after that #and as a queer girl and someone who's south east asian i rarely saw anyone like me on tv and ive still never seen any demiro char on screen #but now they actually have a non white nd character and its /my/ favorite character and its gonna mean so much to younger black girls #100 #150 #200 #300 #400 #500 #1k #1.5k #2k

[sentientsky]

hmmmmgrhhf thinking bout crowley and childhood trauma and abandonment and rage again

#me (a traumatized queer with mommy issues): wow this show is so fucking relatable. why isn’t it getting more attention in the media?? #sorry for the pixelly quality it is one in the morning and I cannot find better resolution images #good omens #crowley #ineffable husbands #good omens 2 #aziraphale #aziracrow #go2 #ineffable lovers #ineffable wives #good omens season 2 #on childhood trauma #gomens #gomens 2 #tw: mention of trauma #david tennant #aziraphale x crowley #crowley x aziraphale #on rage #angel!crowley #anthony j crowley

[nabulsi]

i keep seeing ppl talking about how theyre ugly sobbing over that shitty pirate show. do you not have shame to care more about a racist antiblack TV show glorifying slave owners, written by a zionist racist supporter of genocide. that you have more tears to shed for that blight on the human race than you do for the millions of palestinians going through horrors unimaginable. where's your ugly sobbing for them?

#white queers fucking do better #paptalk #ofmd #our flag means death #(waving a bat at a hornet's nest lmao) #palestine #zionism #antiblackness #i frankly dont give a shit if you cared about that show at some point #listening to black people and listening to palestinians should have instilled in you some semblance of pain and empathy for us #that it would cause you to become disillusioned towards this media #the difference between ofmd and harry potter is that jkrs transphobia affects white people #but white people cannot bring themselves to give a single shit about black people or palestinians #or frankly any person of color so long as their struggles dont affect white people in any way

[aftgscenes]

Everyday I thank god (Nora) that aftg is set in college and not high school

#as an adult I’m so tired of queer media being set in high school #like no i actually don’t want to see high schoolers have sex and make out #I’m sure I would have still loved aftg as a teen but every year I get older it get harder to like high school centered media #I’m just over it #no saying it shouldn’t exist at all obviously #aftg #andrew minyard #all for the game #neil josten #the foxhole court #tfc

[summerlinenss]

here’s the thing.

if you’re one of the people celebrating our flag means death’s cancellation for whatever reason right now, i need you to realize that this is just a sign that whatever you love is next.

and i’m not saying that out of spite. having your favourite show cancelled is awful, i wouldn’t wish it on anyone. but if our little-gay-pirate-show-that-could can’t get its third and final season, the future of queer media is extremely grim.

ofmd was the definition of a sleeper hit. hbo max had no faith in it when the first season came out. it gained popularity purely through word-of-mouth. but it became one of max’s biggest shows, and it’s since been marketed as their flagship series.

it was the #1 most in-demand series in the world for 8 weeks (7 of those weeks consecutively). it’s currently in the 99.7th percentile of the comedy genre, meaning it’s in higher demand than 99.7% of all comedy series in the u.s. it has a 94% audience and critics score on rotten tomatoes. it’s the most in-demand hbo original series even above euphoria, succession, and the last of us.

it was nominated for 16 awards for the first season alone, including a GLAAD award and a peabody award. the second season was just nominated for an art directors guild award, which it was previously nominated for and won in the same category for season one.

besides awards, ofmd is critically-acclaimed and praised for its representation (including a cast of majority queer, bipoc, and disabled characters) and themes of anti-colonialism, challenging gender norms/toxic masculinity, and self-discovery/acceptance. it also has a diverse team of directors and writers consisting of several bipoc, women, and queer/trans/non-binary people.

on top of all of this, the plan for the show all along was only ever for three seasons. david jenkins only wanted three seasons for the full romcom structure to tell ed and stede’s story. that’s it. nothing more.

this isn’t an attempt to make you care about the show. but ofmd’s cancellation isn’t just a loss for the fanbase and the cast/crew. it’s a sign that it does not matter how successful or profitable shows highlighting lgbtq+ (or otherwise inclusive) narratives are or how many big names are involved. ofmd would not have been cancelled if it were a straight romcom. they would’ve magically found the budget. but corporate greed doesn’t care about us. they have no respect for queer people or queer media. and in the age of streaming, it’s only a matter of time until we lose all of it.

#also if you’re happy that ‘taika waititi’s pirate show got cancelled’ because of baseless accusations against him #1) it’s not taika’s show. it’s david jenkins’ show. #taika is just an actor/director/EP #2) even if you don’t like him celebrating the cancellation of a show because someone was falsely accused of zionism #especially when that person (like it or not) is a huge voice for minorities and is the reason so many of them get to tell their stories #is gross and makes you a gross person! #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd season 3 #save ofmd #renew as a crew #fuck david zaslav #queer media

[sillypenguinwitch]

okay so i'm not trying to make this a ~thing~ or a hot take or whatever, but can we talk about how all the hyped up queer shows still predominantly feature mlm couples? i'm not saying there aren't wlw shows/movies or the mlm-focused shows don't also feature wlw characters/couples, just... they either get nowhere near the same amount of hype, have some other main plot, end with at least one of them dying or experiencing something traumatic, get cancelled after one season in the middle of their arc, or they're not the main couple. And that's not to discount the representation you can get from secondary characters of course but just... ugh I want a heartstopper or rwrb or young royals or skam or love, simon or i don't even know... with girls. And I know I'm not the first person to bring this up and I know it's not that simple, but seeing all the hype for heartstopper and rwrb this week makes my heart ache a little bit so i needed to say this somewhere.

#and tara and darcy are super cute and great but they're not the main couple #and this isn't a dig at heartstopper or rwrn or any of the other things mentioned *at all* #i love them all i promise #i just also have more room to love a cute queer sapphic teen show too #oh and i know they're not teenagers in rwrb but y'all know what i mean #like the cutesy hyped gay media #that could have some angst but ultimately it's cute and about the main couple #so like something like yellowjackets is great but just not what i'm talking about #and i know some skam universes/seasons have had wlw main characters - i love fatou and kieu my on Druck (Skam Germany) #but og evak and some other evak versions clearly got the most hype #heartstopper #young royals #rwrb #skam #druck #gay media #queer media

[intenseperpetualbrainrot]

The casting of Michael Sheen and David Tennant for good omens was artful, and not just in a "they did a real good job" way.

The thing about queer media is that it's not just the film. When an actor does a queer film, regardless of whether they're queer themselves, they're somehow taken as a Representative Of The Alphabetti Spaghetti. So, to star in queer media you have to be morally rock solid, unable to be found fault with, or it seems to set queer people back? Which is ridiculous.

David Tennant is SUCH a household name, literally has been Doctor Who, and doesn't use the internet enough to care about some transphobes on shitter sorry twit sorry xitter. For him to do gomens is wild but also meant that my father, who wasn't homophobic but apathetic, has now watched queer media and vaguely understood queer issues. (This may in part be because of his queer daughter, but regardless.)

Michael Sheen is an actual angel in real life. "I give all my profit to charity" right Sheen, give the rest of us a bit of generosity- oh, and he's sold his house. For him to do queer media means nobody's finding faults in his character. For him to do queer media means it's not just another excuse for people to discriminate against queer people. Also, for him to do so well at it? Like yes, you stare at David Tennant with lovesick eyes (I mean we're all doing it, but none of us TO HIS FACE ON CAMERA WHEN WE STILL HAVE TO WORK WITH HIM-)

Anyway just a few thoughts. They rattled around my brain for a bit like tumbleweeds and I might not have expressed this well but have them.

#tumbleweed thoughts #good omens #good omens season two #good omens season one #david tennant #michael sheen #michael sheen is an angel irl #its gonna suck if hes a terrible persln #queer #queer media #i heart gomens #gomens #neil Gaiman is so wise #what a dudebro mojodojocasahouse kinda standup fella

[midnight-love-song]

“Marry someone you want to annoy forever”

#power couple #i love them so much #rizzoli and isles #jane rizzoli #rizzles #maura isles #Maura and Jane #rizzoli & isles #date idea #meme #quote #text posts #silly #shitpost #wlw #ship #ship dynamics #lesbian #queer #lgbt #lgbtq #lesbian ship #sapphic #wlw ship #wlw post #wlw memes #wlw media #sasha alexander #angie harmon #my post

[aroaceleovaldez]

i still think a lot about how technically, it's implied Anubis and Walt started dating each other before they asked out Sadie, and if Sadie had said she wasn't interested they would have gone "Entirely fair have a nice day" and proceed to just go continue to date each other.

Cause like, that was the entire thing. They decided that themselves. That things would work best if they were together (as in both physically sharing a body and also relationship-wise). The "asking Sadie about it" part was secondary. If she had said no, they would have stayed together, because among other things Walt would kind of die if they didn't. Walt and Anubis are technically the first gay couple in the Riordanverse. AND they're in a polyamorous relationship with Sadie. Why does no one talk about them ever.

#tkc #the kane chronicles #riordanverse #walt stone #anubis tkc #sadie kane #saltnubis #< great ship name btw #and for anyone who says ''i dont think Rick intended that'' mind you this book was released like #six months before HoH came out (and. subsequently also. Nico.) #like. Rick was not ignorant of queer stuff at that time. he was actively writing it into HoO/HoH while writing both simultaneously #if Sadie had said no they wouldn't have just gone ''okay Sadie pick one of us and the other will cease to exist on the mortal plane'' #they would have gone ''okay well good luck we have a coffee date scheduled so we're gonna go do that'' #saltnubis is still probably the most entertaining solution to a love triangle in middle grade media i have ever encountered #even some YA media. just ''yeah so we solved both our major problems by dating but like. we know you like both of us sooooo...?'' #also hilarious that meanwhile Carter's romance arc is ''so turns out my first girlfriend was a clone made of pottery'' #''and the actual girl has never met me and this is kinda awkward''

[whatohitsonfirewelp]

Guys can we please talk about how HUGE buck being bisexual is?

We have more people watching the show because a man was made bi and he hits NONE of the gay stereotypes.

People are doing it because this is so so so rare!!

People are doing it out of SPITE for the homophobic fans!!

People are watching the first season and are in SHOCK because oh?? There’s a lesbian black couple?? With a CHILD??? Oh there’s a gay 911 operator???

Guys it’s just

So many people are discovering this amazing beautiful show and the queer characters and now THEY get to see themselves as well!! THEY get to experience this joy with us!!

Because 911 is so much more than Evan Buckley. It’s so much more than Hen and Karen and Josh. It’s so much more because of them. It’s so much more because we have such a diverse and amazing cast. It’s so much more because they talk about topics of abuse, ptsd, family trauma (for SEVERAL characters), therapy for MEN, the grief of losing a partner or a parent or a child. It’s fully a found family show!!

And it’s so beautiful to see people hear about this show and watch it and feel seen. That Evan Buckley being bisexual opened a door for so many people that never knew it was ever there.

#THIS is what change looks like #THIS is queer media history #THIS is how you get a audience #because I’m seeing SO many people who are so supportive of buck #even if they don’t ship buddie!! or if they never in a million years thought buck was bi!! #they’re OPEN to it they are willing to have someone connect the points for them so they CAN understand!! #whatoh back at it again #going to start SOBBING again #911 abc #evan buckley

[k-wame]

NICHOLAS GALITZINE as George Villiers MARY & GEORGE (2024) · S1·EP4

#i love his 'bitch im not in the mood tf you want' vibe in this scene so much #nicholas galitzine #mary and george #mary & george #george villiers #perioddramaedit #queer #period drama #queer media #queer history #queer characters #bisexual #bi characters #jacobean #scotland #beautiful men