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hollowwhisperings · 10 months

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VLD Retrospective: My POV as a Queer Biracial Asian Aspie

I don't generally enjoy listing my demographics in public spaces but for a Voltron Retrospective, I find it Quite Necessary to better convey how much VLD meant to me personally. This is one fan reconciling with a work I enjoyed for years, remain saddened for, and felt betrayed by. lf I'm good for anything, it's my being a Living Statistical Outlier.

VLD gave me explicit representation within its main cast: it gave me Shiro, who I clocked as chronically ill well before it was confirmed (Like Knows Like) & struggled with mental illness too (I'm not a war vet but Shiro's implicit Medical Trauma was Also There). Shiro is also, very obviously, an Asian &, as later revealed, a Queer Asian. There are few Queer Asians in western media who are Actual Characters: Shiro was (& remains) fun to have on board. It was, primarily, his struggles with his physical & mental health that most resonated with me.

Pidge is someone a lot of fans identified with, being a quirky genderbender maligned for her relative youth: I'm an autistic female who is gender "meh" so Pidge was "Representation" but she wasn't New nor Almost Unprecedented like Shiro or, as I'll elaborate further on, Keith. Every AFAB, every youth has felt undermined by their assumed gender & their youth: this is Not New. Pidge is fun but she wasn't Groundbreaking, not to me.

Keith and, to a lesser degree (as in assocoation with him), the "Half-Galra" Misfits were who I most identified with. Even before Keith was having Existential Crises over being Half-Galra, Keith read as someone biracial: his name, "Keith Kogane", makes him a white-passing Asian . I think current consensus is that Keith's Dad was "Mixed Asian*" but Keith's "orphan" (& secret alien) status prevented him from engaging with his heritage.

I am Not Galran (so far as I know) but I am a white-passing Asian & someone of "Two Worlds" (half white, half east asian). Star Trek's Spock established how most subsequent works of the sci-fi genre depicts half-human aliens: all the vibes of being Biracial, existential crises about Passing & feeling Disconnected ("rejected") by either/both halves of one's identity. Keith checks those boxes and Lotor's Halfsie Squad are similarly Coded (to lesser degrees).

Aliens, half-human ones especially, are very easily read as Neurodivergent as in "has ADHD &/or ASD": Keith continued this tradition & it further isolated him from his peers, especially because (like many of us on The Spectrum) he grew up "Undiagnosed". Keith knew he was Different but no one had the correct Context for his "Difference": this lead him to feeling Wrong, Rejected and Alien. This is an experience Familiar to anyone belatedly recognised as having ASD and also to Literally Any Queer Person.

To summarize the above: Shiro meant A Lot to me because he struggled with his health in silence (& was Asian); Keith meant a lot because his Human Demographics & Coding match almost entirely with my own. Shiro became "more" Important to me through his being Keith's Most Important Person (KH fans: you see where this is going): I was already Attached to Shiro, Keith made me invested in him.

KH fans knew from my invoking of "Taihetsu no Hito" [JP for "Most Important Person"] that, through being Invested in Keith & thus Shiro, I quickly Recognised that Keith? Desperately in love with Shiro. I did not, however, consider Shiro likely to Act on any Reciprocating of such feelings (which he did show signs of developing, as early on as that Stranded From Everyone Else and "when I die, you be Black Paladin" episode) due to the implied age gap between them. I knew Shiro was Younger Than Assumed (very early 20's at oldest, I figured from Contextual Clues), that Lance & Hunk were about 17 & that Keith was Older than Lance (so, 18). The age gap between Shiro & Keith was never that much of an issue: it was their difference in Rank & the ages they were at their First Meeting that were the "real" obstscles, to my mind. Season 6 or 7 did a Flashback that made Keith 14 when he first met Shiro: that very much explains why Shiro was reluctant to acknowledge attraction to Keith & unlikely to act on it. Keith did, however, read as Crushing On Shiro pretty much from their first encounter (Keith stealing Shiro's car was a very obvious effort to gain Shiro's attention & respect: something Keith was unlikely to recognise as Crush Evidence but Shiro definitely did).

And then Shiro lost 3 years to Time Dilation while Keith gained 2: their Reunion post-Space Whale was very telling. For the first time, Sheith actually seemed genuinely plausible to me. Keith had had a Glow Up that allowed Shiro to stop thinking of Keith as the kid he'd been when they first met & actually admit that his excuses to not act on any attraction had stopped holding weight. I remain completely convinced that "Kuron" had fallen, equally & just as desperately, in love with Keith over the series and that the Aggression Kuron exhibited toward Keith was as much caused by That (Gay Pining he refused to act on, even as Keith ran around in his Infamous Blades Uniform) as it was by Haggar (& Kuron's growing suspicions on his "true" nature).

Then there was the "You're my brother... I love you!" scene. Initially, given The Current Events of the time, I was irritated by the Abrupt Brother-Zoning from the Very Obviously Pining Keith to Shiro.

Then I noticed the order of these sentences: first, "you're my brother" (neither Shiro nor Keith have any siblings: in asia, there's MLM equivalent to "they were Roommates" in "they're sword/sworn brothers") and THEN, more desperately and while at the cusp of death... "I love you".

VERY ON BRAND, KEITH. It's also the "I love you" that gets through Kuron's programming enough for Keith to save them both. From my observations of VLD, the sole remaining obstacles to Sheith sailing were "will Shiro retain Kuron's memories and, if so, will he accept Kuron as being another Him" and "will the writers be able to get the execs to sign off on TWO queer paladins being queer with EACH OTHER"?

and then... the love confession was never addressed & Shiro stopped interacting with any of the Paladins beyond a professional setting.

By then, a lot of the show was looking Off and I actually looked at the online Voltron fandom to see if other people were Connecting Dots: some Meddling had happened, Shiro was being OOC as all heck, Allura and Keith seemed pretty miserable, Romelle was Sus as Heck, why was Allurance happening, where the heck is Lotor (etc)....

I was, like everyone else, greatly upset by Allura's needlessly being Killed Off and by Shiro's Stock Photo husband. I was also Not Impressed by the alleged "happiness" found by any of the Paladins: Shiro retiring his greatest dream, of flying and exploring the galaxy when he had just found out he Wasn't Going To Die from his Chronic Illness? Jim Kirk, another charismatic spaceship captain who loved to explore the universe, had a similar "retirement" ending for its Heroic Captain.

The first Star Trek film, set post-series, conveyed exactly how Shiro's "happy" ending played out for a character Shiro was almost certainly inspred by: Captain James "Jim" Tiberius Kirk.

Captain Kirk's "happy ending" was introduced in TMP as being: a promotion/retirement, marriage, & settling on Earth. Sound familiar, Shiro? TMP then shows how that "happy ending" plays out for someone like Jim (or Shiro): barely a handful of years later, Jim is miserable in his "retirement" (he was Promoted to a desk job); his Very Sudden marriage to a Previously Unknown Character is crumbling (& is even implied as being arranged by Starfleet's Brass to keep their Poster Boy on earth!); he clearly misses his Team (his Found Family) & at his first "valid" opportunity to get his Team together to fly into space again? That's exactly what Jim does.

Star Trek: TMP also, incidentally, features Jim living out some kind of Space Divorce Drama with his Right-Hand Man, the Half-Human Alien Spock. The two had apparently spent all those years apart and Spocks's "logical response" to [everything post-TOS] was... becoming a Vulcan Monk in order to Purge All His Emotions. (Krolia, please tell me that the Galra do not have an Equivalent to Vulcan's kolinahr & that, if it DOES, you Forbade Keith From Doing It).

Jim & Kirk saved each other, often very impossibly, in every other episode of TOS. They were also so widely shipped by fans that the "founding" of modern fandom cukture is often attributed to those first K/S shippers.

The easy Parallels between Spock/Kirk to Keith/Shiro were something that seemed to increase as VLD continued, likely as its creative team started recognising how naturally Keith & Shiro played out that epic space romance. The relationship between the Black Paladins was consistently emphasized within the series (until it abruptly Wasn't) and their bond was considered the strongest shared by any two paladins. A Sheith required very little effort from VLD's creative team and, given the Time Dilation plot point, that effort WAS made: Keith shows up Older & Blade-ier, Shiro Visibly Reacts and seems perfectly set up to Reevaluate his relationship with Keith, both of them visibly Adult and already established as "Equals".

Reading the research done by Team Purple Lion helped me understand the many degrees of unpleasantness caused by the Forced Removal of Lotor from VLD's endgame: the series' overall plot, key themes and multiple character arcs were contingent to the ugly consequences of Voltron's [murdering] him, the emotional effects Lotor had on Allura, the ways Lotor was integral to the show's themes of Redemption & Recovery & Love (of all forms). Just about every main character (and the imexplicable presence of several other characters) had their Arc underminded by Lotor's staying [murdered]: Lotor (obvs), Allura (VLD's Actual Main Character), Lance (who suddenly became Every Creepy "Nice" Guy), Pidge, Axca, Romelle, Merla, Yzor & her girlfriend, Honnerva...

I was invested in the plot, characters and themes of VLD: its ending wasn't just upsetting, it was contradictory to its own story. Though I am not invested in any VLD ships other than Sheith (for the way the characters are individually Important to me, the ways Shiro is important to Keith, the ways their relationship parallels K/S down to the syllables), the series had set certain ships up through its Themes and within its plot: Allura/Lotor, a reclamation of Allura's agency & a thematic resolution to the major conflicts of the series; Shiro/Keith, a love story the series spent 7 seasons telling; the tentative beginnings of Lance/Pidge, a Chekhov's Gun that would round their individual character development through better understanding each other; Hunk & Recognition of his Ingenuity, Bravery, Compassion (which would, incidentally, feature Hunk/Shay and Hunk's central role in the intergalactic Recovery proces). All of these ships serve a Purpose within VLD's plot, aid individual character development, reinforce the series' overarching themes, and have a solid basis within the text of VLD (as well as outside of it, in interviews and statements from the creative team).

I was able to "recover" from the betrayal of how VLD ended, largely through the detective work of fans like Team Purple Lion and reading many "fix-fic" wherein Allura Lives and Shiro is not OOC as all heck. VLD was one of many series, at the time, whose Betrayal of its themes & characters made Waves all over Fandom. It was, however, one of the Betrayals that hurt me more "personally". It was also a fantastic example of Creatives having horrid working conditions, Corporate Interests actively Hurting their consumers, of Fans being forced to Play Detective due to the modern Media Landscape: the culture of creatives being under strict NDAs, of their being without Unions, of how abruptly Projects can be undermined by the Whims of singular entities (creating additional work on an already overworked labour force, often in ways that betray their own work).

So, uh, surprise: this was a Retrospective inspired by the current Writers Strike & growing awareness (that we have known & ignored for years) of how unethical the working standards of animators are. There are Actual Americans and Actual Artists who can speak on these issues more specifically, as well as the best ways to help the affected: this was a more individual Take, from One Fan, and the ways that media has affected That Fan emotionally (though, being an Aspie, i'm pretty distanced from articulating any Specifics beyond "upset" because "this is narratively inconsistent"). The purpose of writing this was personal catharsis, a means of discovering how I feel about VLD all these years later, and perhaps as an act of microcosm within a greater fandom macrosm RE: engagement with media & correctly identifying how the faults of its business structure sabotage excellent works of fiction from staying "excellent" or becoming "magnificent".

*"Korean-Japanese" seems to ne the current consensus but as Sourced outside the text of the series. It is not his "exact amounts of Asian" that Keith is "relevant" to me but his being both Mixed & disconnected from his asian Heritage.

#hollow whispers #vld meta #sheith meta #asian representation #queer asian representation #aspie things #half-human aliens #spirk meta #vld retrospective #go check out the purple lion project #i have not the spoons to do hyperlinks today #fandom things

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queerism1969 · 11 months

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bigbeanbear · 10 months

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Nimona is also a milestone in western queer animation history because Ballister (South Asian) and Ambrosius (East Asian) are both of Asian descent in the movie, the same as their voice actors. They are a canon gay Asian couple.

#Ballister is disabled Asian gay #nimona #nimona movie #ballister x ambrosius #goldenheart #ballister boldheart #ambrosius goldenloin #voice actors #lgbtq representation #queer representation #my posts #asian representation

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madeleineengland · 3 months

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This dialogue collects all the beautiful meaning of the movie but let's focus for a moment on Yori's "sorry I lied".

That child dared to disobey his own father and incur his punishment, again, just for Minato! These kids want so much to be together, freely and simply. They just want to be themselves with someone who truly understands them and to express their care. They want to never have to ask permission again. Why the social stigma shouldn't have let them experience their first love, their true identity?

And finally in the end they both let go of the shame. They no longer ask permission and accept themselves as they are.

- MONSTER (2023), dir. by Hirokazu Kore'eda

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the-bi-library · 10 days

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Here are bisexual books out in April!

Books listed:

In Universes by Emet North Dear Bi Men: A Black Man's Perspective on Power, Consent, Breaking Down Binaries, and Combating Erasure by J.R. Yussuf Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur Of Blood and Aether (Harbingers, #1) by Harper Hawthorne Saint-Seducing Gold (The Forge & Fracture Saga #2) by Brittany N. Williams Darker by Four (Darker by Four, #1) by June C.L. Tan Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco The Last Love Song by Kalie Holford Moon Dust in My Hairnet by J.R. Creaden What Is Love? by Jen Comfort Finally Fitz by Marisa Kanter The Boyfriend Fix by Lee Pini Playing for Keeps by Jennifer Dugan She Came for Blood (Dreamers & Demons: Sapphic Monsters Book 3) by Darva Green Call Forth a Fox by Markelle Grabo I'm The Same by James Ungurait Something Kindred by Ciera Burch Calling of Light (Shamanborn, #3) by Lori M. Lee Off With Their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta Even If We're Broken by A.M. Weald Harley Quinn: Redemption (DC Icons Series Book 3) by Rachael Allen Rainbow Overalls by Maggie Fortuna Smile and Be a Villain by Yves Donlon Lights, Camera, Passion by Isabel Lucero Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer Aubrey McFadden Is Never Getting Married by Georgia Beers Court of Wanderers (Silver Under Nightfall, #2) by Rin Chupeco Good Mourning, Darling (Darling Disposition, #1) by Azalea Crowley All the Hype (Oak Haven Romance) by S. Bolanos The Devil to Pay by Katie Daysh Every Time You Hear That Song by Jenna Voris

You can find these books in this list on goodreads

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heretherebedork · 2 months

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Have you ever see a character love themselves and also just be perfect? I have.

#deep night #thai bl #thai drama #bl drama #thaibl #asianlgbtqdramas #asian lgbtq dramas #thai series #thai bl series #thai bl drama #bl series #queer representation #love i here

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purpleyin · 4 months

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Shadow and Bone is such an important show for representation, making people of many types feel seen and like they too could fit in a fantasy setting. For example, nuanced South Asian and East Asian representation that's important to both the actors and the fans. Multiple disabled characters where their disability is only one part of them. Queer characters where their queerness isn't used for tragedy + a rare setting free of homophobia. That's just what I can think of off the top of my head, there's other rep too I'm sure. Also, see this article on queer representation in fantasy for a quote by one of the actors, Jack Wolfe, about how he felt to have a queer role on such a show. Of course, as with many shows including diversity, Netflix cancelled it despite the data showing it was doing well. But we don't want to accept that, we want our rep back! So if you're reading this and haven't seen the show, please please consider signing to help us out (and/or watching the show, new viewers show demand for it to Netflix). We're at nearly 187,000 signatures so far and trying to get to 200,000 signatures this month, ideally by the time the billboard our fandom fundraised for goes up on January 22nd. We want to send a message to Netflix that shows like this are wanted, that they matter to people, and that we won't simply accept cancellation after cancellation of diverse shows

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superlintball · 1 year

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Okay so a friend of mine was getting rid of some books and she offered up a book called The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

I had never heard of it, so I looked it up, and discovered that it was a fantasy book written by an Indian author which heavily draws from South Asia for its worldbuilding

Needless to say, as an Indian, my interest was piqued, so I told my friend I would indeed like to have it

When I picked it up from her, she mentioned that it wasn't all that great of a book but that she really liked the worldbuilding, and so I went into it with pretty low expectations

What I didn't consider was that my friend is white.

To be fair, I'm not saying she doesn't have a point. Maybe this isn't the most beautiful prose or most intricate plot I've ever read

To be perfectly honest, I don't really care

You see, to her, the cool worldbuilding that she liked was just that: worldbuilding. (No hate to her whatsoever I adore her)

But this is my culture. I didn't even know how much it meant to me to see my culture in my favorite genre of book until it was right in front of me

I couldn't get enough of it

At every chance I got, I was reading

I was in the middle of a vacation and all I wanted to do was keep reading

And then

This happened (mild spoilers for the book):

And I was like ",,, oh??"

I read it again

Then I kept reading

And then a few pages later, this:

OH??????

I just kind of sat there and I processed what I'd just read

And then I took pictures

And then I read it again

And again

And again and again and again

And now I'm just sitting here

I can't

I can't handle this

I'm just sitting here, in the middle of a hotel room, unable to read another page of this book or look away or do anything at all other than stare in wonder

Because it's GAY

I can't handle this

I don't know what to do

I want to cry

I want to scream

I want to curl up into a ball

I want to track down the author and,,, I don't know? Hug her? Kiss her? Thank her? Ask for her autograph? Stand there grinning like an idiot? Offer her my services as a court jester? Kneel at her feet and swear fealty? Those last two probably go hand in hand tbh

Regardless, it doesn't matter what I want to do

Because I can't do anything at all

It's not just South Asian fantasy

It's GAY South Asian fantasy

This,,,

This means so much to me

Thank you, Tasha Suri.

From the bottom of my heart,

Thank you.

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reflectionsofgalaxies · 1 year

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HOW IS SHE REAL?!?? MA’AM~ ✨

From this interview:

#Kristina Tonteri-Young #KTY #Sister Beatrice #Warrior Nun #Avatrice #I love herrrrrrr #read the article #it’s worth it #she’s so eloquent and her answers are so well thought out #she’s passionate and caring and knows she’s always still learning and it’s so freaking incredible to see #Save Warrior Nun #representation matters #in this case they specifically discuss #Asian representation #as well as #queer representation #amoung other important aspects of identity

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yourlocalfairygothparent · 8 months

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Looking at you with my big autistic eyes

#2021 movie Liu Kang looks like tbh creature to me HELP #His mala beads are his stim tool- change my mind #His somewhat eccentric and matter-of-fact way of speaking reminds me so much of my childhood autistic self it's both uncanny and funny #Either the writers made him queer and neurodivergent-coded on accident or Ludi Lin did it on purpose #at least it feels like that's what happened #Or am I just desperately grabbing for any representation I can get my Asian queer auDHD hands on? Possibly ¯\_(ツ)_/¯#mortal kombat movie 2021 #liu kang #ludi lin #mortal kombat

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hussyknee · 30 days

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Fiction (and sometimes real life) has this tendency to frame a character's stubborn belief in people's goodness in the teeth of all evidence as a virtue. As in, not when the person being judged acts seemingly out of character. It's wise to give aberrant behaviour the benefit of doubt. But consistently apologizing for and ascribing good intent to actions that clearly show a bad character, and then refusing to accept that this person is exactly as bad as the trail of victims they've left behind prove them to be— this is not a mark of goodness and kindness.

Wilful blindness and stupidity don't showcase a generosity of spirit. That's simply the need to cling to your own preconceptions for the sake of your own comfort. It's not kind or fair to defend perpetrators at the expense of the people suffering because of them; and infantilizing and finding excuses for people isn't mercy, it's apologia. ("He was a good boy who fell under bad influence" "Ma'am, he's 28 and sold out his own family to pay his gambling debts.") In both fiction and real life, you should be able to look at the situation and choose to safeguard and defend the victimized and vulnerable first and foremost. To accept that you might be wrong, your faith might be misplaced, and prioritise safety, justice and accountability for all the people who are or might be suffering at your friend or family's hands. Because not doing that— not believing victims, apologizing for and defending abusers, centering the perpetrator's interiority instead of the impacted victim's reality— that's just the default evil of real life.

If you being a pure, loyal little cinnamon roll throws other people under the bus, then you aren't actually a cinnamon roll. You're just complicit, enabling and endangering.

#this rant was inspired by KJ Charles's An Unseen Attraction #i had to DNF because the urge to throttle the idiot protagonist got to be too much #i love everything KJ Charles writes usually and her representation game is usually on point #but her making an autistic Asian character that kind of naïve 'oh golly gosh' idiot felt really bad #stop infantilizing autistic people and Asian men #it's sad because she's one of the queer writers who usually writes diverse characters organically and authentically #i suppose everyone has at least one misfire #fiction #tropes #storytelling #abuse apologia #relationships #character dynamics #writing #character writing #knee of huss

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itgetsbetterproject · 1 year

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NEW on the guest blog for #AAPIHeritageMonth:

Joanna talks what it was like trying to live up to the standards of the "model minority" while also coming to terms with their queerness - and shares some amazing tips for helping you define your own community, find culturally-competent care, and be kind to yourself!

Amazing art is by their sister, IG: @hellohaupia.

"Growing up Asian, I had to keep secrets, including my queer identity and my emotional struggles. I had to keep these secrets from my family and my social circles because of the pressures enforced by the model minority myth and intergenerational trauma. The concept of the “model minority” defines Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) as groups that owe their socioeconomic and academic success to a stronger work ethic, as compared to other minority groups. This myth holds up systems of white supremacy by placing AAPI in a higher position than Black Americans based on microaggressions that one’s intelligence should be ascribed to race.

Model minority myth harms AAPI people. It is impossible to adhere to every standard that it sets. Model minority myth can bar individuals with emotional struggles from asking for support. If you have to uphold others’ unrealistic standards of you, it can impact how you view your own mental health. When I was attending school..."

Read the rest here!

#it gets better #aapi #aapi heritage #aapi heritage month #model minority #aapi and queer #asian and queer #blog #growing up asian #aapi representation

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queerism1969 · 1 year

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Some of the organizations that work to support the LGBT community in Bangladesh include:

Bandhu Social Welfare Society: Bandhu is a leading organization that works to support the health and well-being of the LGBT community in Bangladesh. It provides a range of services, including counseling, legal support, and health services, and it works to raise awareness about LGBT rights and issues.

Roopbaan: Roopbaan is Bangladesh's first and only LGBT magazine, and it is a leading voice for the LGBT community in the country. It provides a platform for LGBT individuals to share their experiences and to raise awareness about LGBT rights and issues.

BOOM: BOOM is a youth-led organization that works to support the rights and well-being of the LGBT community in Bangladesh. It provides a range of services, including counseling, legal support, and health services, and it works to raise awareness about LGBT rights and issues.

The Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR): BSEHR is a human rights organization that works to support the rights of marginalized communities in Bangladesh, including the LGBT community. It provides legal support and advocacy for LGBT individuals, and it works to raise awareness about LGBT rights and issues.

The Rainbow Alliance of Bangladesh (RAB): RAB is a coalition of LGBT organizations in Bangladesh that works to promote LGBT rights and to raise awareness about LGBT issues. It provides support and advocacy for the LGBT community, and it works to build a network of allies and supporters.

The Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BKF): BKF is a farmer's organization that works to support the rights and well-being of marginalized communities in Bangladesh, including the LGBT community. It provides a range of services, including counseling, legal support, and health services, and it works to raise awareness about LGBT rights and issues

The Bangladesh Transgender Network (BTN): BTN is a network of transgender individuals and organizations in Bangladesh that works to promote transgender rights and to raise awareness about transgender issues. It provides support and advocacy for the transgender community, and it works to build a network of allies and supporters.

The Bangladesh Jatri: Bangladesh Jatri is an organization that works to support the rights and well-being of the hijra community in Bangladesh. Hijra is a term used in South Asia to refer to individuals who are assigned male at birth but who identify as female or as having a non-binary gender identity. Bangladesh Jatri provides support and advocacy for the hijra community, and it works to raise awareness about hijra rights and issues.

The Bangladesh Sexual and Gender Minorities Network (SAGE): SAGE is a network of organizations and individuals in Bangladesh that work to support the rights and well-being of sexual and gender minorities. It provides a range of services, including counseling, legal support, and health services, and it works to raise awareness about LGBT rights and issues.

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