Queer Representation - Tumblr Posts

Stranger Things, season 3, episode 7 (2019)

Rewatching and need to vent

Robin Buckley gave me and so many other people, I'm sure, a scene that was so completely unexpected and amazing to watch.

As a fan of the show since it first released, I grew up with these characters, since age 10/11. I always loved their dynamics, the show itself, and god do I love a found family trope.

But Season 3, through Robin, I thought she was a lot like me in certain aspects. Different, alternative, a nerd, sarcastic and queer coded as soon as she was placed on screen. Of course I thought so, I'm queer, I grasp at what I can get. And, as an "advocate" for the lgbtqia+ community (I did not know and accept my bisexuality until months later, a good while after turning 13), I was rooting for it to be true.

As soon as her and Steve's bathroom scene happened, as soon as she came out to him, I was amazed. The Duffers put it together so wonderfully and carefully, it's a relatable story of hers - being envious of a popular guy, liking a girl she can't have and... Hiding.

Even today we have to admit, we often hide, at least for a short while. Many of us aren't accepted by families, colleagues, acquaintances or society all together. In her society, in the 1980's where the f slur is frequently thrown around and the derogatory terms many of us have reclaimed is used wildly, that must be absolutely terrifying. She is visibly struggling to tell Steve and is clearly, and understandably, afraid but he accepts her without thought and mocks her taste.

I'm so glad they have their platonic opposite sex friendship and that, despite his crush, he instantaneously accepted her not only as his colleague still but a true and genuine friend.

This representation was amazing to me, unexpected and brought a tear to my eye. Still does sometimes. I think it was handled delicately and with understanding from the directors and Maya Hawke. She is a lesbian in the 1980's USA, she has walls built up, she's a person first and foremost. Her sexuality was never her main attribute, it wasn't a case of needing the diversity. She was already a character, strong and intelligent. She is also gay. There are no poor, distasteful jokes that she is at the end of and, while this is admittedly the bare minimum, I think we can all say it was slightly unexpected, comforting and touching to see someone queer portrayed well in such a popular piece of media in a time when so many are being bashed for similar things. The Duffers did not cower in fear and I sincerely hope they continue not to even in the midst of what is currently happening in the States.

currently reading WataOshi vol. 3 bonus stories for the first time (SPOILERS AHEAD), and i gotta say:

somehow, this books take on queer representation is a perfect blend of "Everyone is Gay" escapist fantasy, and the depiction of how harsh and cruel reality can be for LGBT people

Yes, Claire and Rae get to have a wedding and their own kids, with fully supportive parents/in-laws. And Yes, everyone from thier friend group (except for like, two dudes) ends up being incredibly queer

But also...

the story does not pretend this world is all rainbows and sunshines for LGBT people, just becuase its a yuri romance. The world at large is still either ignorant, or openly hostile towards non-cishet people. The state and the church dont legally recognize Rae & Claire as married, even though everyone who knows them does.

Inori's depiction of LGBT issues manages to simultaneously be realistic, AND incredibly optimistic, and i absolutely love her for it

as a polyamorous person myself, this is pretty accurate unfortunately...

Shoutout to aromantic, transgender, intersex, and polyamorous people. Gotta be the some of the most underrepresented queer identities I've ever seen.

I designed some characters for homework and I’m in love with them look at how gay they are!!

Their working turtle is the forgotten knight and the crying queen there lesbians your honour!

Androgyny isn’t just in appearance but also in self-presentation. Aspects like style or behavior or personality traits can also give a character (or even someone irl) an androgynous air.

Dick Grayson, therefore, is androgynous.

it’s not a dick grayson blog without this panel posted at least once

give me ace characters who are unabashedly sexy and flirtatious.

give me aro characters who are emotional and clingy.

give me bi characters who can't even make eye contact with anyone, let alone flirt with them.

give me pan characters who are deadpan (haha get it) and have black cat energy.

give me non-binary characters who dress completely femme or masc, who don't “look non-binary”.

give me trans characters who don't completely pass as their gender but are still respected and not the butt of a joke.

fuck the stereotypes, give me more variety in queer representation.

Happy Pride month gaymers! Just found out today after just finding out 7 years later that Bolson was almost going to be a bear. Also the sumo version of Bolson looks a lot like he could be Kahuna Hala's cousin

I was rewatching Nimona just today.

That movie had no right to be that good.

The animation? The soundtrack with metal songs?! And the Story with all it's not so subtle queer metaphors?! Everything about it is just perfect.

Just watched Nimona.

Cried a lot.

I am now feral over this incredibly queer movie.

I read icebreaker and WOW this book deserves SO MUCH CREDIT! There’s drama, romance, tough choices, mental health problems, family problems, and OF COURSE 𝓣𝓗𝓨 𝓖𝓐𝓨. Please, I’m begging tumblr to read this book about a hockey rivalry that turns into a love strong enough to possibly challenge Nick and Charlie. I cried at the realism in the discussion about depression and I’m in love with Mickey jaysen’s ship❤️❤️❤️❤️

Shoutout to aromantic, transgender, intersex, and polyamorous people. Gotta be the some of the most underrepresented queer identities I've ever seen.

In honor of pride month, here are some of my favorite pieces of media with canon queer representation (and not just, like, random people in the background, significant characters)

- The Owl House (Cartoon show on Disney+)

- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Cartoon show on Netflix)

- Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Cartoon show on Netflix)

- Dead End Paranormal Park (Cartoon show on Netflix)

- Helluva Boss (Adult cartoon show on YouTube)

- Hazbin Hotel (Adult cartoon show on YouTube)

- Steven Universe (Cartoon show on Hulu)

- What We do in the Shadows (TV show on Hulu)

- Our Flag Means Death (TV show on HBO)

- Umbrella Academy (TV show on Netflix)

- Stranger Things (TV show on Netflix)

- Haunting of Bly Manor (TV show on Netflix)

- Rise of the Pink Ladies (TV show on Paramount+)

- Severance (TV show on AppleTV+)

- Nightmare Time (Show on YouTube)

- Night in the Woods (Video game)

- Last of Us (Video game)

- Life is Strange (Video game)

- Spies are Forever (Musical free to watch on YouTube)

- Firebringer (Musical free to watch on YouTube)

- Love in Hate Nation (Musical)

- Ride the Cyclone (Musical)

- The Prom (Musical)

- She Kills Monsters (Play)

- The Magnus Archives (Fiction podcast)

- Welcome to Nightvale (Fiction podcast)

- The Penumbra Podcast (Fiction podcast)

Reblog or comment if you have more or more places to find these!!!

(You don't know for how long I've been thinking on doing this)

LGBTQIA+ representation on media be like:

I absolutely love Katherine Isabelle’s portrayal of Margot Verger in the Hannibal tv show, I do. However, I recently read “Hannibal” by Thomas Harris. In the book, Margot was a body builder who could have twisted me into a pretzel if she had wanted to. Throughout the book, Margot cracks walnuts with her bare hands.

She also developed a friendship with Barney, where the two actually became workout buddies. The camaraderie and understanding between the two of them is beautiful. It’s also something that straight and queer folk should strive toward.

I read an article written by Michael Kennedy on Screen Rant, which provides a wonderful explanation for why Bryan Fuller changed Margot’s character in the show adaptation.

In the book, Harris suggests that Margot “turned” lesbian, struggled with her gender identity, and abused testosterone because of the horrible atrocities Mason committed against her. Fuller didn’t want to suggest any of these things, because his interpretation of Margot was that she was born queer. He wanted to show that being queer is a natural occurrence that people are born into.

My only complaint is that Margot didn’t get to crack Mason like a walnut in the book nor in the tv show. That would’ve been a sight to behold for all Fannibals! Mason Verger is the most universally despised character in the Hannibal universe and rightfully so.

watched Mitchells vs. The Machines with my dad and little sister today, cried a lot more than i thought i would

i’m going to college in a few years and my dad i used to be really close but he loves the little kid i was and doesn’t seem to want to get to know who i am now

this movie hit a little close to home and gave us space to have that conversation

it’s also an amazing movie and the animation is unique and the fact that it has queer representation without being all about how the family reacts to it

katie (the mc) is out to her family and has a crush on someone she’ll go to school with and her family clearly is accepting and it’s so refreshing to see that

my sister loved the little brother character bc she has some issues making friends (going into middle school is hard but a pandemic makes it harder) it makes me feel better knowing that she gets to see a character with a kinda strange special interest that gets a friend and a happy ending

it’s an absolute amazing movie and i can’t wait to watch it again

Today I'm thinking about biphobia.

It started with an interviewer assuming a character's sexuality to be straight, which is not the first nor last time this will happen.

But it reminded me of how I have been seeing bisexuality in media over the years. It reminded me of watching Queer as Folk (the old US one) when I was young, how it impacted me, how it was important to have that on television. I mean, I was too young at the time it was airing (2000-2005), but even watching it years later at 2010/2011, it was still something I had never seen.

And do you know how they treated bisexuality in it? Bad. It was bad.

For the most part, bi just wasn't a thing. Five seasons and everyone was either gay or straight. A character started showing signs they was into a different gender? Oh my god they were straight all along!

But there were two moments where bi was a thing, and it was even worse. Once, a very quick scene where a major character finds out he slept with a bi man and feels disgusted. He says it out loud, he's disgusted. Yeah.

Then very later on in the series, a woman cheats on her wife with a man, and it's terrible, because it's cheating, but can you guess what the wife focused on? Yeah. How could she do it with a man? And the woman cried and desperately didn't know how to explain why she felt the attraction and it broke my heart. I'm not even saying she was bi, but the whole way it was treated was terrible.

Now, for the most part, that show was still very important and it discussed so many big topics. I still hold it very dearly in my heart. But you see, a major queer show, and it treated bi people like that. It was a long time ago, at least, so things are definitely better.

But I still need more bisexuality to be nicely represented on screen. I still crave it, even while I love the gay stories we're getting, and I do love them so so much. I'll just love it more when bi folks are also a big part of this, and explicitly so. We're getting there, for sure, but we still have to keep it running, we still have to be annoying about it.

Because people will assume a character is either straight or gay and we need to shut them up more.

Make their comment section about Dead Boy Detectives

Netflix has dropped its official Geeked Week trailer on Youtube. I don't know about you, but I'm about to be in the comments section telling them what I'd have REALLY liked to see for Geeked Week.

rocky horror is the worst and is also transmisogynistic can we please finally get over this shit movie

The fact that Good Omens S2 was SO QUEER.

Not Just Maggie and Nina (and Lindsey)

Not just Aziraphale and Crowley

Not even just Gabriel and Beelzebub (who is NB)

But the magician shopkeeper and his trans/NB spouse who wore a fancy early 19th century dress to the ball.

Job's son who was flirting with Aziraphale (hilariously played by Ty Tennant giving Michael Sheen heart eyes in front of his dad lmao)

Even the tough macho man in Scotland that Aziraphale borrows the phone from - using it for "Grindr".

Plus of course Michael, Uriel, Muriel, and Dagon also all being non binary/gender queer characters.

With all this, there was no homophobia, no one batted an eyelid at any characters sexualities, sexuality wasn't even brought up, characters just are who they are and like who they like. Its a non issue in the GO universe.

AKA my favourite type of queer representation. The same type found in The Sandman (show not comic).

And whilst there was plenty of drama and not everyone gets a happy queer ending (YET) there was no queer trauma to be seen. No hate crimes, no "bury your gays", no stupid discussions about how HARD it is to be out of the closet in a bigoted world, because the GO world isn't bigoted.

Its SUCH a BREATH OF FRESH AIR.

I know we have similar experiences in The Sandman, In OFMD, and even in WWDITS, but each time a new show takes this very new approach towards queer representation I feel like I'm once again sinking into a comforting hug from someone I love, who loves me back.

Its just really fucking wonderful to see. I hope we keep seeing it more and more often.

hannibal who kills a person, not noticing a witness watching him idly.

tw(s) for: gore, death, violence, transphobia

reader/inserted character is a trans man.

hannibal is meticulously carving the body apart, putting it on a crimson display, which was white before the blood splattered on it. he decides to castrate the body, piling the genitals into the corpse’s mouth. he picks the flowers he bought earlier, placing the black dahlias and black roses on where his genitals used to be. he’s mocking him, angels have no genitals, but angels aren’t covered in bad omens and a sliced penis in their mouth.

when he’s done, he wipes his hands on a hankerchief, despite being in his plastic sheet. it takes him a second to notice the figure sitting on a chair in the next room, they almost seem complacent. “i knew he’d get himself killed one day, what a relief” they said with lips slowly upturning, “i was actually days away from doing it myself.”

hannibal turns, unknowingly circling his prey, it’s a form of habit now. “ah, what a surprise. i didn’t notice you.” he almost lets a frown slip, he’s never this inconsiderate of the environment as he ends another’s life. the silence is loud, but hannibal is used to all sorts of noise. the unidentified stranger is still quite unfazed, even by the wafting stench of blood floating through the house. “i’m afraid i’m unfamiliar with you who are.” hannibal settled with, he was curious after all, he loved being curious.

“that’s alright, most people are unaware of my existence, im the estranged son of that, fuck.” they pointed to the presented corpse, who even displayed, looked ugly.

“estranged?” hannibal pressed, you couldn’t leave dr lecter on a cliffhanger.

“i came out as trans years ago, he kicked me out and disowned me. i came back for my stuff through the window, he never let me come back here. imagine my surprise when i find the very man i hate to be killed as i climb through, it was, a gift.” the other man spoke, he was calm and collected even with the knowledge hannibal was most likely to murder him too.

“i’ve never been a fan of politicians, he was very distasteful.” hannibal said absentmindedly, pulling out a chair to sit opposite the younger man, the table was cleared, apart from a cream table cloth and candles adorning each end. “you know what i have to do now don’t you?“

the younger man leant forward, “i have a favour to ask of you, chesapeake ripper.” he wasn’t afraid, he seemed more at peace than anything.

“oh? do enlighten me.” hannibal tilted his head in questioning, his lips lifting in interest, he was finally having a conversation with someone intriguing, someone morally grey

“do my top surgery before killing me. slice open this god awful chest and let me see who i really am” he started removing his shirt, unfastening the buttons with nimble fingers, and then came the binder, which had freed him but reminded him he was trapped too. when his bare chest laid before hannibal, he sighed.

hannibal was stunned, truly stunned. that he debated on not killing the man before him with scared breasts from when he tried to possibly cut them off himself. “of course.” he reached into the box he brought with him, previously filled with flowers, and pulled out a sedative. “can you lay on the table for me?”

wordlessly the other male did so, closing his eyes gently. hannibal thought it to be quite beautiful that he was willing for his life to be taken, by the man who’d set him free from dysphoria.

“you’ll feel a sharp sting, and then you’ll feel nothing, feel free to sleep while i perform the surgery.”

the other man smiled.

follow and like for a part 2 :)

The two types of queer representation in media: