#She's a cis lesbian in her late 50s

[sailoreuterpe]

I love my cousin.

#Notes by Nikki #She's a cis lesbian in her late 50s #And living proof that solidarity exists #Lgbt #Lgbtq #Lgbtqia #Lgbt+ #Lgbtq+ #Lgbtqia+ #intersex #intersex rights #intersexuality #intersectionality #intersectional feminism #gender fluidity #genderfluidity

[rrcenic]

i think i might be trans sooo

how did you know for sure ??(( sorry if this question is kinda awkward..))

not an awkward question at all!!

so. i first came out as a lesbian when i was 11. after that, i got to know more queer folks and started playing around with pronouns

i went through. a lot of pronouns in those two years.

i seriously have pins that say she/her, she/they, they/she, any, they/them, they/he, he/they, and finally he/him.

my deadname was bella, and i changed it to bell when i still used some form of she, then to galen for a bit, then finally arsen.

(i go by nic on here not because my actual name is a secret but because i really like being called nic, and even though i’ve asked for people to use both irl they just stick with arsen. which is okay ig but i just wanted a space for that name in my life)

every time i tried a new less fem set of pronouns i felt happier?? and like so much better with myself??

like, i needed to take that time to adjust. being trans is scary and sometimes you gotta ease into it!

i realized i was a binary trans man when i got my first covid shot at age 12. it was one of those drive-up things and the man dealing with the paperwork said to my mom “so your son, is he getting the shot too?” (talking about me)

at the time i used he/they pronouns. but like. not rlly “son” or “boy.” and i’d certainly never been called a guy in public

but it just. it felt so right. and i felt comfortable with myself.

i think i also eased into it to spare my family the large adjustment. it’s so much easier for cis allies to remember they/them pronouns than to change from she to he or he to she or any to neopronouns. it takes time

i had been asking to start t since i started using they/them at age 11. i started t about 7 months ago and it’s been. so fucking amazing

my voice has dropped so much, i’ve started getting a little bit of facial hair, and my jawline is changing. i just feel so much more comfortable in my body and with myself.

so yeah. don’t be afraid to try shit out. you’ll know when you’ve found what feels right as far as it comes to labels, pronouns, and medical treatments. the priority is feeling joyful and comfortable with yourself and your body

and i know how easy it is to feel shame. to doubt yourself because you don’t fit the classic trans narrative.

if you don’t want every surgery, if you don’t mind people using your old pronouns, if you don’t feel like coming out, or if you need to ease yourself into it, then do just that. listen to yourself

one example i use is my aunt’s friend, a trans woman in her late 50s or so. she is still in the transitioning process. her old name was like mike or something and her new name is maddison or something. her goal is to go by maddison, but for now she goes simply by m. it lets her adjust and transition at the pace she wants

sorry this took a couple days to get to, i kept starting it and then forgetting to save it and deleting it 😭😭😭

and to whoever this anon is: please dm me if you have any more questions or just need to talk. i’m happy to be a support <333

#nic answers #trans #anon #lgbtq+ #transgender

[cocolacola]

Omg i love Heinkel she is just a mentally ill gay like me

I would love to see some Heinkel headcanons from you

sure thing!!

most of these are based upon things we can sorta just infer about the series since hirano loooves to leave things open-ended, so some of these are moreof theories/explanations than anything if that's alright.

i put some big organized lists of hcs below the cut :)

to start i'll talk about some general fun stuff! (assuming that's what you're here for):

i always use they/them for pronouns for heinkel. mostly because there's a lot of alternation between he and she in different translations and that doesnt sound very cis to me honestly. but i rock with people who use any pronouns too.

i also see lots of ppl say theyre a lesbian and i feel like that miiight just be a byproduct of The Abridged Effect but i dont really have a label on them. they have their freak shit going on with makube so whatever that is

not a natural blonde and is very diligent about taking care of their hair. only lets their roots grow back in once they start getting older and stop giving af

gets a prosthetic arm and leg after the london attack. we know injuries inflicted before becoming a regenerator still stick around (because of anderson's scar) so walter inflicted permanent damage there.

didnt really listen to mainstream music until they started hearing it from other people like seras and makube. heard classic rock after twenty plus years of exclusively angelic choir music & opera and their brain almost exploded

their dynamics with other characters:

was raised with yumie/yumiko at the orphanage so they have a sibling bond, but they drifted a bit in their teen years/early 20s until enrico made them partners in section 13 again. it was awkward for both of them for a bit but they eventually came into their own as iscariot's dynamic duo of murderers. theyre generally pretty serious with each other but sometimes the cain instinct still kicks in

they view enrico as their boss but still fondly remembers their times together as a kid. mostly just thinks he's pathetic, but in a loving way.

anderson is a very clear father figure to them, and as iscariot's next regenerator after his death they feel like they have impossible shoes to fill; theyre very hard on themselves for that reason. the way he died definitely contributed to heinkel's self destructive habits

they had met integra through enrico before the events of hellsing and just... hated her to death. but in a funny almost homoerotic tension way. if seras was there she would have lost her mind over it and would have been overprotective to some degree

now here's some details on the time skip in general:

heinkel was rushed to the vatican (or maybe some other section 13 base) very soon after the battle of london, not a moment too late. if they were taken anywhere else they would have died of blood loss, but was given the choice to become a regenerator human like anderson for a chance to save their life. heinkel accepts because they believe walter is still out there and wants a chance at revenge. it worked and hence heinkel is now seemingly immortal/doesnt age.

side tangent is that i think becoming a Regenerator ends the aging process at whatever time you take it which explains why anderson's age is unknown and why heinkel looks the same in their supposed 40s/50s

after finding out walter had died and their battle was meaningless they were in a dark place for a long time. they were having trouble properly taking care of themselves after becoming a regenerator (i can imagine it's probably pretty weird!!). while still being a part of iscariot they were sorta benched by enrico's regent (before makube) from entering any of the organization's affairs for the next few decades. they were sort of left to rot in a way, which certainly didnt help with the grief. they considered reaching out to the hellsing organization but couldnt bring themselves to. they still somehow managed to become acquaintances with seras after the battle since they shared the same struggle and losses, but that's about it.

side tangent 2: i think seras and heinkel would genuinely become close after integra's death, but that's very far in the future

enter makube about 15-20 years into the timeskip. makube arrives in section 13 as a bishop and a new caretaker to heinkel, and is hellbent on helping them out, since theyre being "neglected" by the current archbishop, and makube regards heinkel as very important for being one of the few remaining veterans of the war in london. them forming a genuine bond would come afterwards, but that's how it started. overenthusiastic makube and tired heinkel shenanigans ensue and somehow they become tied at the hip. makube would become the archbishop quite a few years after this, and heinkel by extension sorta just becomes their de facto mission buddy.

that's all my heinkel thoughts for now! thanks to everyone who showed interest :)

#I ❤️ HELLSING LORE YIPPEE!!!! #ill do a post for yumie yumiko and makube some other time #all i have for makube rn is that i also use they/them for them and theyre in their 40s #as of the time skip scene at least #hellsing #heinkel wolfe

[marshed-mallows]

Just saying btw;

This blog absolutely 100% supports mspec lesbians, male dykes, non-binary mtfs ftms, genderfluid bi/pans who feel no sexual attraction towards a gender, non-binary who prefer using she/her or he/him only, femme butches, etc, asexuals who like sex, aces who are married and love their life with their platonic partner, people who use neo-pronouns like meow/meows or something like that, straight people who are confused about their gender, lesbians who date men and have a romantic interest in men, people who are still questioning their gender/sexuality even in their late 50s, people who call themselves queer and faggots because they're proud, people who thought they were trans but aren't but support their trans friends and family, cis people who want to have the opposite genitalia because it's more comfortable for them, etc.

#Only putting this on here because I remembed the shitty twitter thread I landed on during Pride #In conclusion: I love every single one of you for being who you are #Keep being you #Period #This is a positive space that shall not judge or discriminate #The shitty thread was shitting on mspec lesbians btw ( it was a terrible thread )

[youareallowedchips]

sexuality/gender headcanons about the sherlock gang

18+ (not really nsfw) content under the cut ♡

post author is bi & nonbinary! these are just my own personal hcs that i keep in mind when i write fic, it's 100% fine if you don't agree c:

sherlock holmes

homosexual, grey-aromantic transmasculine.

sherlock, despite public perceptions, has an absolutely average sex drive, but had never really felt romantic attraction in his life until he met john, and he can't imagine falling in love with anyone else. he spent a fair bit of time on hookup apps prior to meeting john. sherlock is KINKY.

he's known he felt more aligned with masculinity since he was very small, but never felt the need to go on hormones or have surgery, because he finds society's expectations of trans people restrictive and doesn't want surgical recovery to slow him down. he binds (sometimes unsafely, much to john's annoyance), and it does wonders for his dysphoria.

john watson

allo, bi cis man.

dating sherlock from the great game until the fall, and after mary's death. john's romantic attraction STRONGLY leans towards women and femmes, but sherlock is The One for him. he had a purely physical relationship with sholto when he was still in the army.

john's sex drive is actually super high.

mycroft holmes

allo, gay cis man

a lot of people assume mycroft is aro/ace, because he never seems to get himself involved with anyone. mycroft is married to his work, in the truest sense of the word, and simply doesn't have time for sex or relationships.

mycroft is in a bonded pair with his right hand.

greg lestrade

allo, straight cis man. (token cishet white man!)

dating molly, unofficially just after aSiB, officially asked her out in tSoT, when they were tipsy at john & mary's wedding. greg is super comfortable with his sexuality/masculinity and he's experimented plenty. before john & sherlock got together, he kissed john in the pub once, just to see if he'd like it. he had a fling with a bloke in police academy when he was young, but decided in the end that dudes weren't for him. he appreciates beauty in all genders, and isn't afraid to point out an aesthetically pleasing man. he's also VERY much an ally, most of his friends (and his girlfriend,, uwu) are queer. he fiercly protects his queer friends and coworkers.

greg is an absolute HORNDOG. filthy filthy filthy. he'd be doin' it every day if it was up to him. he's a pleasure/service dom and

molly hooper

demisexual, bi, cis woman.

dating greg. is pretty much split 50/50 in her attraction, maybe with a slight lean towards men. even though she's shy, her sexuality is one of the few things she's open and proud about.

mary morstan

haven't really thought about it much, but if there was a gun to my head, i'd say shes a bi cis woman?

mary doesn't like to label anything about herself, much less her sexuality. she goes with the flow.

(i don't think about her much bc i don't like her, also amanda abbington is an unspeakable terf)

irene adler

allo, lesbian cis woman.

irene didn't come out until her late 20s, struggled with A LOT of comphet, explaining what she thought was an "attraction" to sherlock. they're seriously just bros now, though.

irene actually couldnt really care less one way or another about how often she has sex, but she knows she's good at it and can use it to make money.

sally donovan

allo, bi trans woman

sally is t4t, and dating anderson. she lives stealth, almost nobody knows other than

philip anderson

allo, straight trans man

dating sally. anderson is quite insecure in his trans identity and used to be truscum, explaining the animosity between him and sherlock. he blamed himself a lot after the fall, and took a long hard look at himself and his politics, helped along by a kick up the arse from sally.

#sherlock holmes #bbc sherlock #sherlock headcanon #sexuality hcs #gender hcs #c: all

[hermannish]

when i tell you i'm so sick and tired of heterosexual assholes labeling the age gap between lesbians as a disorder for the younger because she clearly has mommy issues-

like FIRST OF ALL to you cunts and horn dogs, if you're sexually attracted to people who remind you of your parents that's secondhand incest. that's not the basis or pretense of the majority of lesbian or gay relationships. i guess "age is just a number" is a joke to you, except when referring to 40 and 50 year old white cis men who have a thing for 20 year olds.

but that's not a surprise is it?

secondly, just because a younger woman prefers an older woman doesn't mean she needs to be fixed. even if she does have childhood trauma. maybe the love of her life came into the world and she showed up a little bit late. did you ever think of that you jungist dorks.

#sarah paulson is really out here walking so we can run

[traceofexistence]

queer things have been happening in my country lately.

my country is very weird, it is both a progressive and conservative mix, that in one moment you think "wow, that's really cool" and then next you want to fucking slap everyone around.

for example reproductive rights, health care, worker rights etc, all the good stuff, are something that everyone agrees on (well except the church but they can go fuck themselves)

when it comes to gay shit, the younger gens (my age and younger) are all in favour of equal rights etc, the older gens are less accepting, especially the manly men 🙄

on TV gay and trans characters were always played for laughs, yet we have the most decorated and accepted trans woman (she's in her 50s now) huge personality, even songs have been written about her, without misgendering, and since she was a model, she's also very attractive, and that is something not even the most conservative of cis guys can deny. she was the face of women's day at some point, when was still in the public eye, and nobody bat an eyelash.

about 15 years ago, the first gay kiss (between two men) played on TV, it was a late night tv series for audiences 16+ , and it was like a peck. the tv channel at the time was forced to pay huge fines for showing the kiss. (we are talking millions of euros)

about the same time, one of the tv channels bought the rights to the L word. it was supposed to broadcast around 23:00 but they didn't allow it, they extended the late night news so much I remember the reporter trying to find more and more irrelevant news to say. finally at 1:30 they started the first ever episode of the L word, with an 18+ rating, that literally only the porno gets. it stayed on air for exactly 15 minutes until the first commercial break and then it was axed forever.

the past 2-3 years humongous steps have been made towards acceptance. for starters there is finally a civil union allowed for same gender couples. but that also is not exactly equal because adoption is not included.

the entertainment world, started coming out, up until few years ago, everyone was "straight" but now more and more people talk about their sexualities openly.

and the current government is in the process of introducing equal marriage law, they have also abolish some outdated laws, that I didnt even know they existed, they also outlawed conversion therapy.

there is even a political party leader who is openly gay and married his husband. his a total tool, but him being gay so openly, truly shifted the perception of the public.

and just last month the first lesbian kiss in a local made tv series was broadcasted on TV. I was actually shook ! that tv show is also very progressive and queer and everything in between in general. it also showed sex between two men. it has a trans girl, played by a trans girl. it centers a 17 year old girl, who gets pregnant, and her very visibly queer friend helps her get an abortion. while everyone around her tells her that it is a blessing that she got preggo, even though her entire life came to a halt. (it also explores the religious indoctrination that happens here) it also explores acceptance, from parental figures.

and while the conservatives scream and yell, they find little support, and the majority of people, say "if you dont like close your eyes" lol

all in all a very weird atmosphere, which I hope it will shift more positively after the marriage equality becomes law.

[bairnsidhe]

"Harold, They're Lesbians: Visual Cryptography in Vintage Cover Art"

I got one of my hyperfocuses pinged, so now everyone gets to experience my TED talk:

In the 1940's a LOT of pulp books were Queer As Shit. Mostly my focus on the coding of Queer Pulps is on Lesbians, but they also did this for guys. Please bear with my femme-focused discussion here.

Anyways, prior to the Hays Code (1938) a lot of these books had obviously romantic cover art and happy endings for our lovely same-sex couples, but the Hays Code and it's industry-imposed restrictions on queer media meant that they couldn't be so blatant. (This also meant you weren't actually supposed to read the last chapter, which has the Gays end up unalived, insane, or "turning straight" to preserve the rule that queer characters can't be rewarded for their non cis-het actions.) The cover artists, however, decided that was some BS and built a set of visual cues to tell you there were, in fact, Lesbians In This Book.

The codes were designed so that a number of different elements could be combined in several ways (maximize that creativity) while being very clear. One big one was the presence of two women with different hair colors. The brunettes and occasional redheads were usually in jewel tones or black while the blonde was often in pastels or bright shades. Often one woman would be looking at her partner, while the other looked in another direction, but sometimes they were making eye contact. This was both for visual contrast and dynamics, and to establish that they were Lesbians. (Please enjoy this instance of the rare Brunette in Pastel! I think she got to wear sage due to the Redhead wearing black.)

Fun fact, if one of them was wearing pants it's probably the brunette because the brunette character was almost always the top, sexually, and that's a lot of what pants wearing indicated. This was also indicated by the brunette sitting on a chair or a bed while the blonde sat on the floor, by standing on stairs with the blonde standing below her on the actual floor, or anything else that put the brunette in a visually dominant position. You did get some exceptions, but it was a general guide.

Sometimes, one of the two women would have a cigarette or a glass of alcohol. These were "masculine" vices, and a woman engaging in them was seen as queer in and of itself, but also established who in the relationship was the "man" (yes, I know that's reductive and toxic, but the stories were pulps, roll with it) and, again, it was usually the brunette. If they both had a "masculine vice", the brunette was usually smoking and the blonde had alcohol because apparently cigarettes are the Most Masc.

During and right after WWII, our ladies being in military uniform - without a man in the frame - was a pretty good sign that it would be an Action Lesbian Story where our lovely ladies kick some Nazi ass together in between falling in love.

You could also get a solo lesbian on a cover! Yes, even absent a partner to look lovingly at, a cover character could still be coded as a lesbian! Sometimes they did this by directing her gaze away from the reader while wearing almost no clothes, but this was a later development (I'm not sure but I think mid to late 50s?)

I'm running out of room for this one, I'll continue in a bit!

[daisyachain]

hi!! i've been reading through your ao no flag liveblogs lately and they're really interesting! i enjoy seeing someone so passionate about this manga and it makes me want to reread it .... i'm really interested in hearing what you have to say about masumi's ending though!! part of me thinks it makes sense but i'm mostly conflicted on it and would love to see it from your perspective ^^

haha well thank you! ah yes, the arc that created as much controversy as you can get in an active readership of like 10 people...

Blue Flag is an imperfect story, but it also gets a lot of flack for things that a) didn't...actually...happen, b) didn't happen in the way people think they did.

Part 1: Is it actually straightwashing?

The most common criticism I see of Masumi's ending is that she was written as a lesbian character and straightwashed at the end. Marrying off a female character as a way to 'fix' her issues is a common and harmful trope, and saying that lesbian women just need to get a man is a widespread homophobic trope and talking point. So, it's not a good look. To have a character angst over interest in a woman and end up happily married to a guy reads like a '50s pulp novel that just uses f/f attraction for marketing.

But, if the intention of the ending was to show that Masumi should give up on women and force herself to date men, then it doesn't. Mitsuyuki's description of her is 'look at my bisexual wife who has dated both women and men and could also have married a woman', which is an odd choice if the intention was straightwashing. It feels more like a clumsy way to make sure that, in a series full of ambiguity, there could be no argument that Masumi was queer. That isn't to say that cisstraight people don't view bisexuality as less/better than/straighter than her being lesbian and that making a previously gay character bisexual isn't still straightwashing (increasing the appearance of straightness).

Part 2: Was it actually a retcon?

So: Masumi's ending reaffirms that she's a WLW. One question is, was she always meant to be bisexual, or was she originally written as lesbian?

Blue Flag doesn't have a lot of straight (no pun intended) answers. Taichi never expresses any explicit attraction to guys, but there is enough subtext to suggest he's attracted to Touma well before the finale. Futaba believes she is attracted to Touma at first and is shown to be attracted to him using the visual shorthand of manga (blushing, etc.), but she later says that it was just misinterpreted admiration. Mami doesn't want to date Touma or any man, but she implies that she is attracted to Touma when she says around him she was 'glad to be a woman.' Within the main romance, Futaba says that it was specifically because Taichi was a friend to her that she grew to like-like him. The lines between friendship and romance are blurred in Blue Flag, and sometimes romance can only grow out of friendship.

Masumi has a tense conversation with Taichi in the first half after she breaks up with her boyfriend that most people (me included) read as her saying that she tried guys and she just isn't and can't be attracted to them. However, it's Blue Flag, so the conversation is unfocused and doesn't paint a complete picture.

"Even if I get a boyfriend, I can never make it work"/"I don't know why [I don't like him anymore]" seem to imply that Masumi realized that she was feeling compulsory heterosexuality and that she will never like men. "[I don't know] why he like someone like me"/"You can be friends with potential sexual partners? With both guys and girls?"/"I just wanted to hear how you men feel about [a girl liking other girls]" seem to imply that Masumi is bisexual and is afraid to date because someone might find out. Maybe she's written as questioning--she knows she likes Futaba, but she's feeling out other possibilities. It's Blue Flag, so it's unclear.

Part 3: How does it work with Masumi's arc?

Diving further into Masumi's story, she acts as a foil to Touma (and Futaba, see later). Touma feels free to show his affection for Taichi as a friend as well as a love interest and almost confesses to him of his own free will, well before he's forced to. Touma tells her that he intends to try and set Taichi up with Futaba (because they would be good for each other), and also that he intends to pursue Taichi in some way. He tells her he's "not like [her]."

For Masumi's part, she tells Touma that she wants to express more affection for Futaba--not necessarily in a romantic way, just to participate more fully in that relationship--but she's afraid to, she doesn't feel confident enough to try, and that she's "the worst" because of it. We see this theme repeated, that Masumi is pessimistic, is afraid to trust people and hates herself for being afraid. Her conversations with Aki and Mami explore this; Aki tells her that it's not bad to be insecure or unready and that it's fine to keep a secret/stay closeted until she's ready, Mami tells her that she does have people she can trust, who care about her and who will do their best to understand her and help out. Why am I typing all this out? Because Masumi is a bitter, insecure wlw and that is an Established Trope, but her twist on it is that her negativity or bitterness isn't over her attraction to women/to Futaba or even over the reaction she might get from others (as Touma's is), it's over her own insecurity. Like Futaba, she's hesitant to act on her feelings, and like Futaba, she gets frustrated and hates herself for her own inaction.

All that is to say--Masumi is never shown to have a problem with her attraction to women. Her angst isn't gayngst, she's not ashamed of her feelings for Futaba bur rather her inability to express them. Her problems are with social attitudes and more with her own personal feelings--she and Touma face similar problems, but Touma is simply aware of the consequences (being roughed up and ostracised by a certain group of people) while Masumi feels a more generalized and ambiguous fear.

If Masumi were shown to have mixed feelings about her queerness/were shown to be in denial/were shown to be trying to move on from Futaba, then her ending would read more as straightwashing. As it is, there's nothing in her character and arc to say that she'd ever want to erase that part of herself or get rid of it, rather, she wishes she could embrace it but she just doesn't feel confident in doing it. Her ending shows her as an openly bisexual woman who is out to her friends and husband at the very least, which is a completion of her arc in the manga (of learning to trust other people and express her feelings honestly).

Part 4: What context clues does the rest of the series give us?

This is branching off a little from the strict text of Parts 1-3. As I've said, as we know, Blue Flag is 50% subtext and interpretation. Characters speak, but they don't say what they mean, characters think, but they're not always honest with themselves or in tune with reality. Mami is an ominous and antagonistic figure in the first half, but then it just turns out that Taichi was jumping to conclusions. Taichi is the main character and narrator, but we get radio silence from him for like 7 chapters after the climax. Taichi is bisexual, but the reader has to guess that from the way the art style shifts between PoVs, the similar panelling between Futaba and Touma's confessions, the things he does and does not think about Touma and how he feels about them. It's safe to say that there is room for speculation.

First, there is no explicit evidence that Taichi could be bisexual before ch 54. It's easy to tell that he is, but again, there's nothing specific. Some people reading Blue Flag have said that him marrying Touma was out of character, unforeshadowed, bizarre, inexplicable, etc. because their experienced is coloured by their own heterosexuality. Masumi is shown to have dated a guy and in saying she didn't like him "anymore," implied that she did like him. Her conflicted feelings over her bf could well have been foreshadowing her liking men as well, and my reading that as comphet could have just been my own experience colouring the text. Who knows! Taichi's bisexuality was intentional from the start but could be read as a last-minute twist, so why not Masumi's?

Second, Mitsuyuki is Futaba 2.0. Same colouring, same personality. This could feel like a way of saying "Masumi just needs to like guys instead," but to me it reads deeper with some of the trans subtext around Futaba. One of my issues with Blue Flag is that it doesn't go further into Futaba's admiration/envy for masculinity and her uncomfortable relationship with femininity. As a cis woman who wants to be buff and mildly masculine, I can understand why she's a cis girl throughout and I don't necessarily think that she was supposed to be a trans guy. However, her relationship with masculinity draws a parallel to Mitsuyuki. Reading Mitsuyuki as a cis man, he is the combination of Futaba's personality and looks with her 'ideal form.' So, Masumi marrying Mitsuyuki can read as Masumi marring Ascended FutabaTM.

Third, Futaba having a faceless prop husband is interesting in the context of Mitsuyuki getting a name and personality. Mitsuyuki = Futaba and Mr. Kuze is a blank space, so the reader is prompted to reduce the scenario and slot Masumi into that blank space. Given Masumi and Touma's history as foils, I'm inclined to think that Mitsuyuki exists to show the road not taken. Back at the fireworks, Touma tells Masumi that he hasn't given up on Taichi, and Masumi says she doesn't intend to pursue Futaba even though the pining is making her miserable. Given that Futaba reacts a lot better to the idea of Masumi liking her than Taichi reacts to the idea of Touma liking him, given that we see Masumi has successfully wooed male!Futaba, I think that Masumi's ending shows that she could have ended up with Futaba if she chose to pursue her. She didn't and she still got a happy ending where she is confident in her sexuality and unafraid to trust, but she could have also had a happy ending where she married Futaba. Mitsuyuki is a man because desire-for-masculinity is a key aspect of Futaba's character, and Mitsuyuki is a named character with a personality because KAITO wanted the reader to know that Masumi could have ended up with Futaba (as Touma ended up with Taichi).

Fourth, KAITO's notes on volume give us a few hints. He comments that there was remarkably little interference with his story and that he was able to tell it as he wanted, and that the ending was meant to be a "question" to the reader. The way I see it, Masumi's ending wasn't meant to say "maybe you'll be fixed if you get a man" but rather was meant to complement Taichi's ending and say "things happen in ways you might not expect, but that doesn't mean they're bad."

Fifth, Touma/Taichi ending up together shows us that the series is willing and able to show queerness as a good thing and a happy ending, so it's unlikely that Masumi was meant to come off as "actually she just needed a man" and more as "life can be unpredictable but you can always find happiness"

Summary

It's unclear whether Masumi was written as a bisexual woman or a lesbian woman or a questioning wlw

I personally read her as a lesbian and I wish that part of her character had gotten more exploration

Masumi's ending wraps up her arc (struggling to trust other people with her feelings in general and her queerness in particular) in a satisfying and logical way

Masumi being bisexual does not in any way negate or lessen her identity and experienes as a wlw, bisexual people still face external and internalized homophobia and all the associated issues

Masumi's bisexuality may well have been foreshadowed, but the execution makes it easier to read her as a lesbian, which makes her ending seem like a homophobic cop-out in the style of the Hays Code

Masumi's ending doesn't straightwash her and goes to unusual lengths to affirm her attraction to women

Masumi's ending seems to be written to contrast Touma's ending, showing that getting or not getting the love interest depends entirely on whether you choose to pursue them

It's unlikely that authorial intent was to straightwash Masumi

#ao no flag #blue flag #itachi masumi #masumi itachi #kelsey liveblogs ao no flag #that 8 volumes of a manga where nothing happens could be so complicated...

[trashbinbackyard]

so many good questions aaaaaa but uhh 1-10, 15-24, 26, 33, 39, 49, 50 for ivana and hecca wadda hell, if you want you can toss in a zoe too for the milf trifecta

bad milf, goth milf and jock milf

How old are they?

Ivana is in her late 40′s, 47-49 

Hecca is quite young, around 90

Zoe is nearing/is in her sixties. I’m bad with specific ages saddvggeqheth

What gender are they?

Trans woman

Trans woman

Cis woman

What is their romantic/sexual orientation?

Demiromantic lesbian

Pansexual

Lesbian

How tall are they?

She’s huge, 195cm

She’s even huge’er, 210cm

Not as tall but still pretty tall: 182

What do they look like?

Like she’s had seven facelifts, very narrow face with noticeable cheekbones, topping off the cinched face look is a tall skinny ponytail, she’s lean, no way skinny noodle but not heavily muscular either

She’s albino, white skin and feathers, quite broad shoulders, she’s had few surgeries, on her chest and hips/butt to get an hourglass shape

She’s got a rectangular body shape, she’s wide as shit and muscular, thighs that can crush a watermelon and biceps the size of rihura’s thigh

What are their defining features?

Tall and narrow

She thicc

Wide smile and cross scar on her forehead

Does their name have a meaning?

Nah

Came across Hecca on alien name generator and thought it sounded close to hecate and thats neat

nah

What family do they have?

Mom and pops somewhere, probably not in talking mood, she visits them like once a year

Mom and dad back in homeworld, cut off, she’s raising her girl on her own

Both parents dead, nothing traumatic, just old age

Do they have a good relationship with their family?

It’s not As Bad as you might first think, but its not great either, she’s a difficult person to be around and she got it from one of her parents, she drops by once in a blue moon just to check they’re all good, no warm family dinners there

She was cut out from the family for running off to outer rim and and then she got a baby, and she just doesn’t want to make contact again, she’s trying to make it on her own

She still talks with her ex Nina and their son. Her relationship with their son is getting better by the month now that she has time to work on it

If not, why not?

She just comes from a weird family

She wanted to do her own thing, didn’t wanna stay and study, nor did she want to marry, got some pressure from her parents and sibling so she just left it all

Ngl she wasn’t that great of a wife or parent for a while, she never had bad intentions but some people just dont have it in them at the moment to be the best

Who is their best friend?

Idk if she even has friends, Hecca once was but now the two barely speak

She’s got a small friend group she hangs around with when she got free time

Reno, for decades, been through thick and thin with him

Do they have any enemies?

Plenty, criminals prolly dont like someone competent leading a force made just for catching them

Not really, she likes minding her own business

The pigs

Who is the person they hate most in the world?

She has special place in her cold dead heart for Ipes

No one really, she doesn’t like Ivana but she doesn’t quite hate her

No special enemies here

Do they have any love/hate relationships?

Every relationship with her is a love/hate one, though the love part is hard to point out

Again, she doesn’t really hate anyone

Ivana, she respects her fellow high rankers but she just makes it so hard

Have they ever fallen in love?

Sure

Few times

Absolutely

Who is the person they love the most in the world?

She and Hecca had their difficulties but she would never wish harm on her or her baby

Her girl, Ineqira, or ini for short

Her son, Malcolm, Reno

Does that person love them back?

Not really

Absolutely

Her son not so much as she loves him but they’re trying, Reno absolutely

Have they ever hurt or lost anyone?

Yes and yes, most of the time by just being inconsiderate and brash, few times seen a comrade kick the bucket

Her family, she didn’t take joy in leaving

Yes, hurt her ex and son, lost comrades and it did hurt her too to see adele gone

Are they a good shoulder to cry on?

No, she would just advice bottling up any feelings and then just throwing them into the ocean, or go start a fight in bar, she dont give a shit

Yes, she puts up a brave face to seem tough but she’s pretty emotionally intelligent

Not really? Like she tries but all she can really offer is a listening ear, but sometimes that’s all you need

Are they well liked?

Respected? Yes. Liked? Not really.

She’s pleasant, though she can be bit brash and not for everyone’s tastes

Kinda? Again it takes a certain type of person to be able to handle her company, but she’s not mean or anything she’s just very loud and a hothead

Are they an affectionate person?

No

Yes

She tries, oh my god does she try

Do they like themselves?

She’s just fine with herself, doesn’t hate or love necessarily, doesn’t spend too much time dwelling on it or else she would have to face the fact that she’s not a good person

Yes, she likes what’s she’s got going on, loves being a mom, after few surgeries she also loves how she looks

Yup, though there’s room for improvement

How do they react to criticism?

Most of the time just brush it off, unless it’s big boss Orion telling her off, then she better listen

If she was open to it she’ll take it in, but otherwise just brush it off, but if it hurt really bad then try to brush it off with a tub of space ben and jerrys

Again, depending on who’s it coming from, but she always makes a point to remember all valid ones, if a cop tells her she’s doing something wrong she’s most likely to just go ask Reno or Very Big Boss Of Bounty Hunters Who I will make someday what they think about it

What is their job?

Bounty hunter commander of Outer rim, still does active duty

She runs a laundromat

Bounty hunter commander, though slightly less important than Reno in the office, she deals with third parties like cops, navy and individuals outside of the force

Do they enjoy their job?

Yup, she gets to boss people around And shoot

Yep, she likes the chill work it is to just watch over the register and help customers choose the right laundry sauce if needed. Her place is also a very much no-tell bc if she sees someone bring a basket of bloody clothes she just wants to stay out of it

Yes, she’s worked had to earn her title and loves working with Reno, also loves telling pigs off and disappointing anyone who wanted to meet just Reno

#fun fact #ivana and hecca met at the laundromat #back when ivana was more hand to hand with bounties and needed to wash some blood off her coat #me writing this: oh my god ivana is bad person #she's got her morals straight but she's just genuinely unpleasant to be around #meanwhile hecca is pretty nice #she's not wholesome bean either but compared to ivana it sure seems that way #space shitstorm #is-that-what-i-think-it-is

[souoes]

    ⌜ SHAY MITCHELL  |  SHE/HER ⌟  ——  ANGEL PASCUAL is a THIRTY THREE year old CIS FEMALE  .  they are located in DISTRICT TWO where they are employed as a RIGHT-HAND  .  they are known to be BOLD & SINCERE  ,  but they can also be TEMPERAMENTAL & POSSESSIVE  .  (  platform pumps ,  faux fur coats  ,  ice cold glares and the roar of an engine  )

hiya  !  i’m deni  ,  she/her pronouns in the gmt+9 section of the world  .  i’m terrible with ooc chats and hoard candles  .  below is one of the characters i’m bringing  ,  ANGEL  ,  everyone’s lesbian aunt  .  again  ,  i have a habit of updating  ,  adding and changing as i go  .  apologies in advance for how messy all this is  .  looking forward to writing with you  <3  !

🌹  𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 .

➤  full name.  angel pascual ➤  date of birth.  april 4th ➤  hometown.  chicago  ,  illinois ➤  gender.  cis female ➤  sexual attraction.  lesbian ➤  romantic attraction.  lesbian ➤  occupations.  right - hand  ,  forger  ,  curator ➤  wants.  validation  ,  friendship ➤  fears.  poverty  ,  betrayal

    universal facts.   hair tossed in slow motion and a million-watt smile  ,  angel is all that and more .  mother’s princess  ,  dad’s darling  ,  the world’s been handed to her on a diamond crusted platter and she wouldn’t trade that for anything  .  that it girl of chicago with the hot girl of the month on her arm  ,  she’s protected by the high positions of her father and older sister in the secret wings of the government  .  once a darling young face of propaganda films  ,  angel’s still recognized every now and then from those early film reel days  ,  but she’s cozy in her position as a curator in the museum above the speakeasy  .  how she wound up trading metal for cold hard cash is a mystery to almost everyone  .  drinks martinis like they’re going out of fashion  ,  wears heels even as slippers in her home  .  doesn’t fuck around with money and you better not either  .  a talented artist  ,  she spends quiet night hours drawing at an easel in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of her penthouse  .  makes rare appearances at the speakeasy for business  ,  but handles her shit  .  hailed as a philanthropist for the fundraisers she does throughout the city  ,  sort of a media darling her family parades her out for whenever public opinion of the government dips  .  a chocolate addict  .  wakes before dawn for daily workouts and is in bed by midnight  .  splurges on clothing so much it’d make your head spin  .  fantastic with money that isn’t her own  .

     personality.  a boss ass bitch who really doesn’t have time for your shit  ------  angel knows what she’s worth and knows what she wants  ,  and she goes for the throat every time  .  learned from her father how to be merciless  ,  learned from her mother how to do it with a smile  .  greedy  ,  greedy  ,  greedy  ,  she takes what she wants and has said the words i’m sorry maybe twice in her whole life  .  a little lazy  ,  a little pedantic  ,  guarantee that she’s not thinking of anyone but herself when she’s not busting her ass on the job  .  the friends she’s kept over the years probably don’t even know she counts them like that  ,  on the outside everyone seems more frenemy than platonic soulmates or whatever  ,  but angel’s loyal as fuck to the people she cares about  .  always ready to fight for the cause  ,  get a little bloody to protect what she loves  (  whether it’s her vintage chanel boots or a childhood friend  )  .  pretty good about hiding her anger behind knifeblade smiles and words dripping with a sick sweetness  .  apart from a random  ,  screamed outbursts  ,  she keeps a level head and is a manic problem solver  .  feeds of frantic energy no matter what she says  .  takes everything personally  .  will hold a grudge  .

     appearance.   stretches up to 5′7  ,  but towers over 5′11 in her everyday shoes  .  long  ,  rich dark hair that’s her pride and joy  ,  big brown eyes  .  freshly tanned and fit from hardcore pilates and yoga  .  full lips painted and cheekbones sharp from careful contouring  .  you’ll never see her not at full glam  .  gold jewelry  ,  hoop earrings  .  slinky dresses and fur draped over her shoulders  .  something goes down at the speakeasy  ?  catch her in skintight leather pants and an alligator skin jacket  .  sometimes she’s ‘50s late hollywood glamour and other days she dominatrix  .   dresses with dangerously high slits and heels sharp enough to use as weapons  .  little purses and a weapon strapped to her thigh  .  at home she likes soft gowns and floor length robes  ,  loose curls and wine-stained lips  .  just a few basic piercings in her ears and no tattoos except for the gang’s mark  ,  but she loves to flash in gold  .  keeps to a thorough skincare routine so she’s glowing and hydrated all of the time  .  primped  ,  but hardly proper  .  her favorite thing to wear is a pretty woman on her arm  .

#nostraintro #. 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐀𝐋 ➤ DEVELOPMENT .

[devilsknotrp]

Congratulations, Jenn! You have been accepted for the role of Wendy Taylor (FC: Mary Louise Parker). Wow. What can we even say? You have brought Wendy a depth that we truly had not even envisaged. There were glimpses in her biography, but you have enhanced them and exampled how complex and nuanced she really is. The fact that she is a closeted lesbian makes a lot of sense, and I think exploring the notion of compulsive heterosexuality and her late relationship with Charlie will be a fantastic writing challenge - one we have no doubt you’ll pull off with aplomb. Your headcanons are extensive and beautifully written. This is a truly fantastic application. Thank you for writing her! Please have a look at this page prior to sending in your account.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Name: Jenn Age: 27 Pronouns: She/her Timezone: EST Activity estimation: I have a full-time job, but I can be around on weeknights and through the weekend! I can confidently approximate my activity at a few replies per week. Triggers: REDACTED

IN CHARACTER

Full name: Wendy Marie Taylor Age (DD/MM/YYY): Fifty years old (09 October 1946) – Libra sun, Cancer moon Gender: Cis female Pronouns: She/her Sexuality: Lesbian, though she will assert she is Straight Occupation: Regional Manager, Great Lakes Cup Company Connection to Victim: Linda Goode is one of the moms. Even if her own daughter has been grown for a decade plus, Wendy feels connected to the other mothers in Devil’s Knot because motherhood is so important to her. When Linda first moved into town, Wendy was drawn to her bright-eyed enthusiasm. They talk after church about their children, and Wendy gives some gentle advice when she can. They’re friendly, if not friends. Linda’s optimism in the face of a mother’s worst nightmare has only bolstered Wendy’s desire to know her better. She remembers what Sandy was like when Pete disappeared. Linda’s going to need all the help she can get. Alibi: Wendy spent the morning at home, going through her closets for things she could sell at her upcoming yard sale. One of the skirts she’d set aside – an old favorite – had a broken zipper, so she brought it to Aisha around 1pm to see if her sister-in-law could mend it. She got so wrapped up in playing with her nephew and talking to her family that she stayed for dinner, and didn’t come home until 7:30pm, at which point she ran a bath, read a few chapters of her book club book, and fell asleep. Faceclaim: I was approved for Mary Louise Parker! :) Other alternate faceclaim ideas (not proposed to y’all) are Winona Ryder and Marisa Tomei.

WRITING SAMPLE

The waiting really wasn’t so bad. At 11:15, the pie went in; by 11:30, the whole downstairs smelled like peaches and cinnamon, even all the way back in the laundry room where the dryer-sheet scent never left. This was what Heaven smelled like, to her. This was her Heaven, right here in Formica and linoleum. She closed her eyes to take it in. Sense is everything. That’s what Pastor Jeff had told her, last time they spoke one-on-one. She’d been struggling to stay grounded, with all the background noise starting up again: another missing boy, another swing to the slumbering hornets’ nest. She could feel the buzzing in her sleep, she said. Thank God for God. He made the world for us, Pastor Jeff told her, and we take it for granted. There are little blessings everywhere. All we have to do is open to receive.

Wendy pressed her shoulders against the back of the chair, imagining a coat hanger strung through her spine and then straightened just so. The birds were quietly tittering in the trees outside. The sky, she imagined, was blue. She wanted to believe that it was.

Her egg timer ticked. She could hear it better with her eyes closed. Sometimes she thought the insides of her eyelids looked like one of those abstract paintings that’re just colors and drips, chaos on a canvas. Like the blood splatter patterns. The photos Charlie pored over. You weren’t supposed to see that, he always said – but what did he know about supposed to? What did he know about her? He had heavy hands and a weak heart, and he–well, he–

Fuck him, she thought.

She opened her eyes. Some words taste sour on your tongue and some don’t taste like anything at all. By the refrigerator, Buddy flattened out on the floor, his head resting on his paws – Wendy hadn’t even noticed him come in. She reached for him with fingers caked in flour and dough. “C’mere, Bud,” she said, softly. “C’mon.” It took him a few seconds to stand; for those couple of breaths, she was sure he’d heard her curse. Then he was walking over, and exhaling, and nudging against her to make room for himself at her feet. “Hey, baby. How you doin’, huh?” She rubbed her hand through the fur at the top of his scalp. He didn’t react. “Oh, you’re mad at me now, ‘s that it?” Buddy was as much Charlie’s as he was hers or Jenny’s, but that’s what happens when you leave: you don’t get to claim ownership anymore.

Wendy let her breath come out her nose in one long stream. She used the heel of her palm to brush loose hair off her forehead; her hands were a mess. “Fine,” she said. She stood. She had Jenny’s number memorized by now, but she still grabbed her contact notebook and double-checked as she dialed. The answering machine picked it up. “Hey, honey, it’s Mom. I’m gonna be taking a pie over to the Goodes in an hour or so. I’d love some company.” She glanced at the hanging clock. 11:50. ”No pressure,” she added. “Just call me back before 1.” Wendy tightened her grip on the phone, readying herself to hang up – but her hand didn’t move. Her sigh went right into the mouthpiece, loud and clear. “And–maybe… if you haven’t yet, maybe call your dad, too. Just to–just to make sure he’s okay.” Okay. “Okay. I love you. Talk soon.” There were still 20 minutes left in the oven. They couldn’t pass quickly enough.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Here is my Pinterest board for Wendy! 

Wendy is a lesbian. Used to be. Wendy used to be a lesbian – and God, even the word is ugly, isn’t it? Lesbian, like the name of another species, something grey-skinned and hairless crawling out of a crater. She outgrew it when she grew up. There were thoughts, and dreams, and wishes and whims, and when she was younger there were girls her age who stopped her breathing just by touching her – but that was frivolity, that’s all. She can be so frivolous sometimes. If it weren’t for her Daddy’s looking out for her, she might’ve lit her life on fire years ago just ‘cause she liked to watch the sparks.

No one’s ever hurt her worse than Charlie Taylor did. Would you believe she really loved that son of a bitch? Being a housewife felt about as natural as waxing her leg hair off, but she did it for him – and, like waxing, it hurt less over time. Sweet, serious Charlie. He’d been impressive to her long before the Sheriff’s badge: just a kid at 20 when they’d first met, and even then there’d been something steady about him. Something safe. And as they got older, they got older together, and they got married together, and they had their daughter together. It didn’t matter who they were in the dark, because they were a family together, a whole of sums, a house united. That’s what kept Wendy from leaving, all those years ago, back when she could’ve left him. They had made something together. Even when things were bad, they were still warm like a burnt-up dinner, bitter but still hearty all the same. She couldn’t spit in the face of a home-cooked home. Guess Charlie wasn’t burdened with the same sense of sacrifice, though, ‘cause he gave it all up to be himself. As if she hadn’t bit her tongue for him. As if she hadn’t swallowed blood.

When she was younger, Wendy’s lifelong dream was to climb the tallest tree in Devil’s Knot. Up by the river, where Ely Street met North State and the water folded over the rocks underneath – right there, that one, the one that stretched bare and empty on top like it was just made for a Christmas tree angel to sit. It didn’t matter that there were taller trees by the Campgrounds; she claimed that one back in elementary school, pointing and shielding her face from the sun. She practiced on the trees in her front yard. Her legs still show the scars where sharp bark and misplaced foot-holds left their marks. Wendy’s mom used to patch her up quietly in the bathroom after she fell off, be it bike or branch, and now when she tries to remember her mother, she thinks of how they’d wince together when the iodine hit her skin. Her mother, watching Wendy’s face and sucking in her own breath through her teeth like she could feel it, too. Like it hurt her to hurt her, no matter how small the pain.

It was never her lifelong dream to work for Great Lakes Cups, that’s for sure – but she really does like it well enough. She’s the franchise’s first female regional manager in Michigan, if you’ll believe that. Her! Wendy Taylor! Sometimes, when she’s feeling particularly scatter-brained and stupid, she’ll remind herself to look at the little name-plate they put on the wall outside her door. If she can run a whole office of a consumer products manufacturing company, then she can do just about anything. And if there’s anything she can’t do – well, she’s got her Daddy to help guide her halfway to home. No one was happier for her than him when she got the promotion. Not even Charlie, who by then was already her ex on barely-speaking terms, divorce papers pending. Her Daddy has been her biggest supporter, coach, and strategist for longer than she cares to remember. She can see that now. No matter how many times she doubts him, it’s only the toughest love that gets people to change. She wouldn’t be who she is without his. 

Wendy always knew she wanted kids. Charlie wanted them too, and when they had Jenny, everything changed all at once. It was like another version of herself had been growing in her, too, right there in the womb next to her daughter. She gave birth to both of them. She saw it. She knows it’s crazy, but she saw it – and it wasn’t a hallucination, either. Pastor Jeff’s on her side. He says that the Creator has His ways of showing people what plans He has in store. After years of fighting and flailing and keeping God out of her heart, Wendy is finally ready to listen.

#dkaccepted #accepted #new rp #original rp #dark rp #wendy taylor

[deluminatorillustrator]

I saw the post you reblogged saying it's okay to ask dumb questions...how did you know you identified as they/them? Bc i am afab and am about a 2 or 3 on the futch scale, 1 being femme and 5 being butch in how i present. I wish i was more masculine though, bc despite how i present, I don't always feel like a woman. Ig id cinsider myself a demigirl? But idk for sure and idk how i feel about pronouns and idk im just a mess and dont get how or when I'll know any of this in terms of myself

  Okay firstly, I’m sorry this answer is so long.

  Honestly, figuring out what I identified as was a long, long process. I spent a lot of my youth just confused about why I had to present a certain way and feeling like I didn’t fit in as well as I should, gender-role wise. But then I was lucky enough to attend a college that was really lgbtqa+ positive! I even took a class called “lgbt history” which was amazing. That, combined with the information I learned through the internet, led me to feel a lot better about myself!

  For the first year/second year of my college experience I was exactly where you’re at. I thought maybe I was a demigirl, because sometimes I felt feminine, sometimes I felt masculine. People around me seemed so sure of their pronouns and I was just... confused. It was super easy for me to label my sexuality, (I’m bi) but difficult for me to label my gender, which only made it even more confusing. I was afraid to talk to people about it. I’m still the type of person where I just don’t care what pronouns people use for me, because I don’t want to have to correct them or make them feel bad.

  In (I think?) 2015, I was first introduced to the term genderfluid. It took a while for me to understand it, honestly, because I had never seen gender as a spectrum. As soon as I did though, it just clicked. I knew that was me. I think the day it really hit me was a day I was out with my partner, and someone mistook me for a cis boy. I realized I was totally happy with being seen as male. Finally my weird feelings about being a girl on some days while it felt right on other days made sense. I didn’t HAVE to be a girl every day if I didn’t want to. FINALLY, finally, I felt better about myself, more confident. I came out to my closest friends and my partner in 2016, once I felt like I had figured it out, and they were both super supportive about it. Both of them said something along the lines of seeing it coming, haha. I started going by “they/them” mostly because I didn’t want it to be difficult for others to have to switch pronouns back and forth for me. After a while, it became sort of my default. Gender is confusing and weird and mostly made up by society anyway, so why bother following rules?

  Fast forward to now- I’ve been identifying as genderfluid for 2 years! Crazy! I’m masculine much more often than I’m feminine, but I do still feel feminine some days. Most of the time, though, I’m just? Me. Which is why I still go by they/them. I know some people use pronouns like xe/xem or ze/zir for that, but for me I just like they/them better. I’m sure this is not how everyone feels about it, but for me, they/them lets me just kind of float free of gender norms and be whatever I want. They/them can be feminine, masculine, androgynous, or neither. Personally I think you should just find something that feels right for you. Don’t worry about how long it takes or what criteria fits best, just find something that feels nice. For me it took most of my life, I was a really late bloomer, I guess, and all of those years were filled with awkward questions and confusion.

  I guess basically my advice is not to put too much pressure on yourself to find the right label. It might take some time, but eventually the right identity will come to you. Just continue to be yourself, let yourself explore and you’ll figure it out. Some people figure it all out when they’re really young, and some don’t. It’s your life and your path, so don’t be so hard on yourself while you’re on the journey! One day when you have it all figured out, you’ll be able to look back and be glad you spent time letting yourself explore the possibilities.

  And if you’re worried about taking too long, idk if this helps, but I have a relative who didn’t figure out she was a trans lesbian until she was in her 50s, and she’s super happy with where she’s at! Sometimes you need a longer journey to figure out who you are. And that’s okay. Keep looking, keep exploring, keep loving yourself no matter what. You’ll figure it out

[clefairytails]

lesbian tag game

thx for sending me this @redcladsheikah <3 all my lesbian friends should do this too, if you want uwu i’m too lazy to tag like 50 ppl hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh @lebians @tiedyked @talaxian @lesbian-mcelroy @ireallylikecameras 

1: did you ever think you were straight?

not really, i knew i liked girls even as a child. but i did go through multiple periods of trying to convince myself i was straight, needless to say it didn’t work out lol.

2: what’s your favorite element of gay culture?

our sense of humor! it’s amazing that we’re all so funny despite putting up with so much bullshit.

3: are you femme, butch, or neither?

femme! i’ve been looking into femme history lately, bcs the idea that femme is just an aesthetic is a misconception c:

4: do you prefer to date femmes or butches?

tbh every time i declare i have a type i immediately fall for someone that’s the complete opposite of that, so i have no idea. lately i’ve been wanting a goth gf, but i just developed a crush on a prep soooo i’m terrible at self-reflection. this bitch don’t know what she want.

5: what’s the worst part about being a lesbian?

the feeling that there’s a part of you that needs to be fixed, but you can’t do anything about it. it’s like seeing a picture on the wall that’s crooked, but it’s stuck like that and you can’t ever straighten it. or having a hair out of place that keeps sticking up no matter how much you try to gel it down.

6: what’s the best part of being a lesbian?

is women too obvious of an answer? girls are angels and i’d die for all of them

7: how long were you questioning for?

pretty much never, i guess. i had crushes on girls since kindergarten, then in 2nd grade i was told girls could only like boys, so i tried my best to be straight even though in my heart i knew i wasn’t. since i couldn’t make myself like boys, i kinda just ignored the idea of liking anyone at all until middle school, when i found out what the word “lesbian” means online. of course, all the stuff i found about lesbians called us disgusting perverts, so i went through many phases of calling myself literally anything else but a lesbian. i’ve only started using the word lesbian specifically in the last few years, especially since i joined an amazing discord group. i love them so much, they’ve helped me feel so proud of being a lesbian <3

8: what’s the most annoying thing straight people do?

exist. 

jk lmao, i’m honestly not annoyed by straight people, but i like making jokes as if i am. it’s hard to annoy me in general, i’ve got a high tolerance for that type of stuff. if i have to answer, i hate it when strangers (usually straight men) pry into my sex life, but i’m not really annoyed by that as much as i am creeped out.

9: what do you look for in a girl?

vampirism is my only requirement.

10: if you had to marry someone you know right now, who would you choose?

@lebians bcs i feel they’d be the most able to put up with my bullshit. everyone else would kill me on sight. if only @ireallylikecameras was still single, then when we got married we could put together our 50% employee discounts at BK and get infinite food for free, ending world hunger. i think that’s how it works, but also im gay and therefore bad at math.

11: do you have a crush right now?

does being in love count as a crush? if so, then i have three.

12: do you fall in love easily?

i crush easily, and i say i’m in love easily bcs i’m a leo (meaning i need to exaggerate to live), but actually feeling love? only once.

13: is there anyone in your life right now you think you’ll date in the future?

fingers crossed.

14: is there anyone you want to be kissing right now?

at the moment i’m feeling very touch repulsed, so no. but i also go through periods of feeling touch starved, and during those times i’d kiss pretty much anyone lmao.

15: do you think you’ve met your future wife yet?

i don’t know if i want to be married. i hate making commitments.

16: top, bottom, or vers?

i suspect i’m a bottom, but i’m also a virgin with no self awareness about what she wants or likes, so who really knows.

17: is there anyone you wish you could fuck right now?

still feeling touch repulsed, so no. also i have issues with actual real life sex. i always think i want to have sex, but when the situation becomes real, i feel disgusted by it and chicken out. i have no idea if this is some sort of asexuality or internalized lesbophobia. i should probably go to therapy lol.

18: rough or gentle?

rough, in theory. like i said, virgin who doesn’t know what she likes. but as a general rule, i don’t like slowness.

19: how many stereotypes do you fit into?

i’m fat, hairy, make lots of jokes about hating men (at least online, not in real life bcs i dont wanna get stabbed), i sometimes look like a guy,

20: what version of the lesbian flag do you like most? (butch, lipstick, original, etc.)

i like the femme one! i have it as my banner, it’s the lipstick lesbian flag without the lip print. the original flag was so fucking good, too bad it got taken by the terfs. the labrys is such a powerful image, and purple is a good color. also i saw a moon lesbian flag going around, that one is so good.

21: do you have a good gaydar?

hhhh i’d like to pretend i do but tbh i’m not very observant and straight up bad at reading people.

22: be honest, would you rather be straight?

yes and no. i’d rather have been born straight, because it would’ve saved me so much pain, but it’s a few years too late for that lol. if there was a magic pill that could make me straight today, i wouldn’t take it. i’ve been through so much as a lesbian, it means something to me now and i wouldn’t trade that for anything.

23: are you cis?

yep.

24: are you a sugar mommy or a sugar baby at heart?

hardcore sugar baby. my dream job is being an older woman’s trophy wife.

25: are you committed to someone at all right now emotionally?

hhhhhhhhhh unfortunately. i don’t want to be.

26: are you looking for a serious relationship currently?

yes, but i shouldn’t be. i don’t think i’m ready to be in one.

27: is there someone you’d like to be in a serious relationship in?

yes, but she’s straight and already married lmao. whoops.

28: do you want children?

no, i’m too selfish and irresponsible.

29: is your family accepting of your sexuality?

my mom and dad are, though they don’t take it very seriously. pretty sure they expect me to grow out of it one day. can’t blame them tho, i’m waiting for the same thing lmao. my extended family is huge, and their opinions range from being extremely homophobic to being gay themselves, but i’m interacting with them less and less as i get older.

30: how confident are you in your sexuality?

very confident, though i don’t want to be. i’m still secretly hoping one day i’ll see a guy i’m attracted to and he’ll fix me, but being realistic, i’m a huge fucking lesbian. women are enchanting.

31: are you polyamorous or monogamous?

monogamous. my insecure ass could not be poly hhhhhh.

32: what advice do you have for your 12 year old self?

be more selfish. you don’t have to put yourself second for the sake of others, especially at your age. nothing you do will matter in a decade, go fucking wild.

33: have you ever been to a gay bar?

nope. i want to go one day, but i have terrible social anxiety.

34: leather jackets or flannel?

both of those are really hot, but i’m gonna go with leather jacket.

35: describe your dream girlfriend

- vampire

- big tiddy goth gf

- nice personality or smthn

- uhhhhhhhhh tiddy

(ok but srsly, i can’t answer this question bcs i NEVER know what i want!! i always thought my type was THICC for sure, but all three of the ladies i have feelings for rn are pretty skinny and flat chested)

36: do you have any lesbian friends?

at least 50 lol.

37: what elements of gay culture do you actively participate in?

air, water, sometimes earth. never fire.

38: do you find straight people irritating?

nope, but i do find straight pda uncomfortable to look at. mostly bcs it reminds me of what i'm supposed to want. but i’d never tell a straight person that, obviously. i’m not rude.

39: would you rather adopt a kid or have a biological kid?

i’ll adopt a tortoise, and feed her any children that cross my path. but if i did ever have a child, i’d want it to be biologically mine and my wife’s. mostly bcs i’d want to know what it would look like, which is a selfish and stupid reason to have kids, and exactly why i’m not gonna lmao.

40: do you love yourself?

i’m a LEO (jokes aside, i don’t know. sometimes i do, sometimes i don’t. but i love myself more as time goes on. definitely more than i did than when i was a teen, at least.)

#tag game #long post #im a LEO

[thatasianthatnevershutsup]

19TH AMENDMENT ANNIVERSARY!!

As you all should know, womxn are oppresed.

womxn were, and are oppressed by men and society. they are portrayed as the dishwasher, the sandwich maker, the baby sitter, the inferior, the submissive (comfort womxn thing back in war times and STILL NOW portrayed against east asian womxn that makes it okay to rape and abuse a womxn because they’re viewed as submissive).

before 1920, womxn could not vote. until the 1970s, have a legal abortion or get a bank account. 1986 was when womxn were able to properly report non-consensual sex as rape. throughout most of history, rape was not viewed as a crime because womxn were considered property, and, therefore, without rights.

however, today we are not talking about rape. that’s a whole another topic for another day. today, august 18th, 100 years ago, congress ratified the 19th amendment, granting womxn the right to vote.

so let me take u luvs on a brief history and the queens of feminism back in the days. this amendment was the first step towards equality between both genders that we have accomplished and is the motivation for today’s feminist movement.

suffrage started in the 1820s, when most states had extended the franchise to all white men, regardless of how much money or property they had. this is also the time when many reform groups and movements were formed.

the suffarage movement is not only limited to america. it has an impact on the whole world. for example, in britain, the first suffrage comittee was founded in 1865. but we’ll be focusing on america.

In 1848, a group of abolitionist activists—mostly womxn, but some men—gathered in Seneca Falls, New York to discuss the problem of womxn’s rights. They were invited there by the reformers Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.

after the civil war, around the 1840s and 50s, the 14th and 15th amendment were passed. granting the voting rights for white men and black men to vote respectively.

between 1850 and 1916, the leaders of this movement such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Fredrick Douglass formed the American Equal Rights Association (AERA), Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to address members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a WHOLEEE lot of events happened. read more here.

by the late 1800s, nearly 50 years of progress afforded womxn advancement in property rights, employment and educational opportunities, divorce and child custody laws, and increased social freedoms.

passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted womxn the right to vote. on November 2 of that year, more than 8 million women across the United States voted in elections for the first time.

although Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton devoted 50 years to the woman’s suffrage movement, neither lived to see women gain the right to vote. but their work and that of many other suffragists contributed to the ultimate passage of the 19th amendment in 1920.

so, what did we learn from this?

first of all, womxn are not and will never be anyone’s property. the power of their unity has won them their civil rights in the past. although this movement has proven that womxn should have rights, many straight white men do not believe so and still think womxn need their validation and that men cannot control sexual urges. here’s my take:

everyone has a certain amount of sexual urges and desires. the fact that you’re horny does not make a man “involuntarily act” or as people say, “boys will be boys”. womxn do have sexual desires and sometimes are stronger than men, but a very small amount of them rapes or violate a guy because of it. i’m not saying guys don’t get raped, but the trend here, from history til now, womxn were (and probably still are) viewed as objects and property so it’s understandable why rape is still such a widespread thing (not that it makes it any less wrong). the point is, your thoughts do not influence the way you act in this context. so it’s about teaching guys to control themselves instead of lashing out on their nearest victim, and instead of teaching girls that they need to cover up so that they don’t get attacked :)

this is what the feminist movement fights for. for men to have the mentality that he should treat a womxn as a human being that has equal rights as them, and to not look down on any womxn or sexualize them out of any reasons that their grape sized brains can come up with. the idea that womxn needs to fit in to what society forces them to do or be a certain way to not get violated or assaulted does not sit right with me (and neither should it sit right with you).

unfortunately, the suffrage movement intended to not include black womxn and trans womxn.

intersectionality is key in being a feminist. every womxn (and man) deserves respect and deserves rights regardless of their sexuality, race, religion, etc. the feminist movement fights for every womxn to have rights, and that includes those who identify themselves as womxn too :)

you are not a feminist or an ally if you do not fight for ALL womxn. that includes those who identify as a womxn (anyone that has she/her pronouns), trans womxn, cis womxn, white black yellow red womxn, lesbian bisexual pansexual asexual womxn, indigenous womxn, womxn of color, etc. the feminist movement fights for equal rights for men and womxn and non-binary, regardless of who they are. it doesn’t intend to put down men or is “anti-men”.

our fight for equality still has a long way, but these womxn of history have proven that we can win.

————————

all sources are cited above.

for more activism content, find me elsewhere :)

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don’t be a silent reader! leave a note and reblog as people might not know :) thanks for your attention! i hope you have a good day/night.

#democrats #feminism #feminist #19th amendment #woman #civil rights #history #women suffrage #history lesson #black woman #trans woman #every woman #and men too #anti rape #u rape u no bro #feminism history #feminist history #civil rights movement

[itsfinancethings]

Recalling the first years of Pride celebrations in the early 1970s, photographer Stanley Stellar remembers how all the energy was concentrated in a small area of Christopher Street in New York City’s West Village. At the time, it was the rare neighborhood where gay people could go and meet in public, and Pride parades operated at a neighborhood-level size too — a far cry from the estimated five million people who attended last July’s World Pride event in New York City, the largest LGBTQ celebration in history.

“It started as a small social thing,” Stellar, now 75, recalls. “There were marchers too — very brave souls with signs, like Marsha P. Johnson, who inspired all of us. When people would taunt us, cars would drive by and spit at us, yell at us constantly, Marsha would be there, looking outrageous and glorious in her own aesthetic, and she would say ‘pay them no mind.’ That’s what the ‘P’ is for, is ‘pay them no mind, don’t let them stop us.’”

That unstoppable spirit is now marking its 50th anniversary: the first Pride parades took place in the U.S. in 1970, a year after the uprising at the Stonewall Inn that many consider to be the catalyst for the modern LGBTQ liberation movement. In a year when large gatherings are prevented by the coronavirus and many Pride events have been cancelled or postponed, over 500 Pride and LGBTQIA+ community organizations from 91 countries will participate in Global Pride on June 27. But, over the decades, Pride parades have evolved in a way that goes beyond the number of participants — and, having photographed five decades worth of them, Stellar has seen that evolution firsthand. “That was the epicenter of the gay world,” he says of the early years of Pride.

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The Stonewall Uprising took place over a series of nights at the end of June 1969. Although the LGBTQ community had pushed back against police discrimination in several other smaller occasions in the late 1960s in cities like San Francisco and L.A., Stonewall cut through in an unprecedented way.

Courtesy of Stanley StellarChristopher Street, NYC, 1980s

“People were ready for an event like Stonewall, and they had the communication and the planning in place to start talking right away,” says Katherine McFarland Bruce, author of Pride Parades: How a Parade Changed the World. Activist groups in L.A. and Chicago, which also held Pride Parades in 1970, immediately made connections with counterparts in New York to plan actions around the anniversary. Where in L.A., the spirit was more about having fun and celebrating, Bruce says, New York was planned more as an action to connect activists. “We have to come out into the open and stop being ashamed, or else people will go on treating us as freaks,” one attendee at the parade in New York City told the New York Times in 1970. “ This march is an affirmation and declaration of our new pride.”

By 1980, Pride parades had taken place around the world in cities like Montreal, London, Mexico City and Sydney. But as that decade got underway, the tone of the events shifted, as the tragedies of the AIDS crisis became central to actions and demonstrations. By this time, Stellar had a large circle of queer friends and started making more photos of the community to document their every day lives. “I really felt like I owed it to us, as in the queer ‘us,’ to start just photographing who I knew and who I thought was worthy of being remembered,” says Stellar, who has an upcoming digital exhibition hosted by Kapp Kapp Gallery, with 10% of proceeds going to support the Marsha P. Johnson Institute.

To Bruce, Pride shows how the LGBTQ community has been able to consistently demand action and visibility around the issues of the day.

Where in the 1980s, groups organized around the AIDS crisis, the 1990s saw greater media visibility for LGBTQ people in public life, leading to more businesses starting to come on board for Pride participation. While the Stonewall anniversary had long provided the timing for annual Pride events, President Bill Clinton issued a proclamation in 1999 that every June would be Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in the U.S. (President Barack Obama broadened the definition in 2008, when he issued a proclamation that the month of June be commemorated as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.)

The early 2000s then saw greater campaigning for same-sex marriage. During the summer of 2010, Bruce did contemporary research for her book, attending six different Pride parades across the U.S., including one in San Diego, home to the nation’s largest concentration of military personnel, where campaigning was concentrated on repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. “I think Pride is a vehicle for LGBT groups to make the issues of the day heard both in their own community and in the wider civic community to which they belong,” Bruce reflects — adding that in recent years, campaigns for racial justice and transgender rights have become more prominent.

Courtesy of Stanley StellarKnights Wrestling Team, Hudson Street, NYC, 1990

Yet as these intersectional injustices have risen to the forefront of public consciousness, several aspects of major, long-running Pride parades have come under greater scrutiny — returning Pride, in some ways, to its protest-driven origins.

Some LBGTQ activists and community organizers have criticized the corporatization of Pride, as parades look to businesses for sponsorship to help with the financial demands of rapidly growing crowds. Others question whether any deep-rooted action is behind the rainbow flags. “What happens on July 1 when our seniors can’t get housing, and kids are being thrown out of their homes, and both trans women and cis women are being murdered in the street? Have that rainbow mean something 365 days out of the year,” Ellen Broidy, a member of the Gay Liberation Front and co-founder of the first annual Gay Pride March in 1970, told TIME last year.

Activists in New York and San Francisco have started their own separate parades to protest police and corporate involvement at the more established parades, given both historic and contemporary levels of disproportionate policing of Black and queer communities. And, responding to the lack of diversity in the biggest pride events, organizers have started events to create a safe space for the more marginalized among the LGBTQ community. In the U.K., support has swelled for U.K. Black Pride, which started in 2005 as a small gathering organized by Black lesbians to come together and share experiences. The event is now Europe’s largest celebration for LGBTQ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and Latin American descent, and is not affiliated with Pride in London, which has been criticized in the past for its lack of diversity.

Courtesy of Stanley StellarPride Parade 2016

For others, living in environments where being gay risks state-sanctioned violence and even death, Pride events perform a function similar to that seen in places like New York in the 1970s, as a vital lifeline. Recent years have seen communities in eSwatini, Trinidad and Tobago, and Nepal organize to hold their first Pride parades. Activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabageser organized the first Pride celebration in Uganda in 2012, after realizing she had been to several Prides around the world but never in her own country, where long-running laws left over from the colonial era criminalize same-sex activity. “For me, it was a time to bring the community together, and for them to know they are not alone, wherever they are hiding,” says Nabageser, adding that people who might not have seen themselves as LGBTQ activists came to the event, and later joined in with advocating for gay rights in the country. At least 180 people showed up to the first event in the city of Entebbe, and while the Ugandan government has attempted to shut subsequent Pride celebrations down, Nabageser sees the retaliation as a sign of the community’s power in its visibility.

“The more [the government] stops us, the more they make the community more angry, and more eager for Pride. For us, that has been a win,” she says, adding that the community is planning ways to celebrate safely in small groups amid the coronavirus pandemic. “One way or another, we will have Pride, and we have to continue the fight.”

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