→ also see: 「私はレズビアン。」”I’m a Lesbian” mirroring BuzzFeed Yellow’s “I’m ____, But I’m Not” series in English, BuzzFeed Japan has just released two videos in time for Tokyo Rainbow Week debunking various homophobic stereotypes and misconceptions about gay men and lesbians in Japan. for those who can understand Japanese, one thing that’s especially noteworthy about these videos are the differences and similarities between the homophobia mentioned in these videos and homophobia in the US and other western countries. personally, i love what BuzzFeed Japan did with these videos, more so than BuzzFeed Yellow’s. unlike in America, for example, i feel like for Japan, a country severely lacking in any and all LGBTQIA awareness, videos like these hold a lot more weight and mean all the more to the people they help. in America, it’s easier to take videos like BuzzFeed Yellow’s for granted. in Japan, i cannot even begin to convey the…
singular ‘they’: voted word of the year in 2015 by the American Dialect Society, used by English speakers everywhere– even by Shakespeare– and yet today some people insist on claiming that using ‘they’ in the singular is “ungrammatical,” “trendy” or “uneducated.” pull up a chair and have a seat, because if you’re one of those people, this video was made for you. but hold up, there’s no way i’d put so much time and effort into a video just for your pathetic ass. more than anything, this video is dedicated to everyone out there fighting to have their pronouns remembered, used and respected. as hard as it is, don’t give up or feel guilty for asking people to use your pronouns. your comfort is important. your identity is valid. your request to be referred to with specific pronouns is 100% justified and worth fighting for. stay strong. next time someone…
anonymous said: I think I might be anything but straight, and it’s terrifying. I don’t know if I want to label myself but I feel like I have to for the people surrounding me. Let me not have a label if I don’t want to. Let me live. I don’t know where to go from now. anon, you most certainly don’t have to label yourself and there is absolutely nothing wrong with not being sure of your sexuality or anything else in life. even if others are obnoxious enough to try and co-pilot or even hijack it, the fact is that you are in control of your life and identity. you and only you. what you do from here is entirely up to you. hell, you don’t even have to do anything at all if you don’t want to. discovering something new about yourself can certainly be terrifying, especially at…
anonymous said: the thing about defining the community based on oppression is that like, none of us can even really compare our oppression to trans women/transfeminine ppl (and more specifically trans WOC). transmisogyny is significantly more oppressive and violent than any homophobia, biphobia, a-phobia, etc that cis people, regardless of sexuality, face. If a line is going to be drawn based on “how oppressed are you”, then it makes no sense to lump, idk, cis white gay guys in with twoc IMHO. Any non-cishet person who doesnt experience transmisogyny and tries to say that ace people arent oppressed enough to be in ‘the community’ is directly comparing their own oppression to that of trans women of color which is really inappropriate imho. IDK just my two cents on the matter. (re: this post) i get the point you’re making, but i’m not really comfortable with how it’s being made because…
anonymous said: I think opression is a determining factors for the LGBT+ community, isnt the opression we shared what ended up bringing us together (re: this post) …this response started out short, but then it turned into me venting. sorry, anon. sure, for some it is a major– possibly even a determining– factor of their personal identity as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. but like i said, imho, it isn’t the determining factor. even if one person does feel like it is the determining factor of their personal identity, it is a mistake to then assume that that holds true for everyone. not everyone’s identity is determined in part or entirely by their oppression. on top of that, oppression isn’t even something one can measure to determine whether someone is “oppressed enough” to have the right to identify as a part of the community. if someone was to try and measure…
anonymous said: what does sga stand for? SGA stands for same-gender attraction / same-gender attracted. it’s used to talk about the experiences of people who are attracted to people of the same gender as themselves.
anonymous said: On the “you can’t know someone’s genitals just by looking at them” line of thought, isn’t it equally true that you can’t know someone’s gender just by looking at them? I’ve definitely been attracted to people who I later found out were a different gender than I thought they were. indeed, you can’t tell someone’s gender just by looking at them and it can suck for everyone involved when someone is assumed to be a gender that they are not. the same could be said of sexuality; about “gaydar” and other assumptions that people make about someone’s sexuality based on looks (or mannerisms, etc). sadly, society and human interaction in general operates on assumptions, even when it comes to the most everyday of things. to some extent, assumptions are unavoidable. no one is psychic, so one has to venture a guess at things and act based on that guess…
from VICE.com: GAYCATION follows Ellen and Ian as they set off to explore LGBT cultures around the world. From Japan to Brazil to Jamaica to the USA, the two meet some fascinating people during their travels and hear their stories. In the first episode of the series, Ellen and Ian head to Japan, where same-sex marriage is still not legal and same-sex couples often bear a social stigma. However, certain cities have begun to recognize same-sex partnerships and the LGBT community continues to thrive in the country’s vibrant culture and nightlife. Ellen and Ian find out what it’s really like to identify as LGBT in Japan and meet some of the people struggling to find their voice in a country that refuses to give them equal rights under the law. so, episode 1 of GAYCATION can be watched in full (44mins) on YouTube. if you’re interested in what it’s like…
anonymous said: Is there a term for sexuality being constantly fluid? Like the sexual orientation version of genderfluid? hi anon! sorry for not replying sooner. i’m not aware of a specific term for when someone experiences constant sexual fluidity, but that certainly doesn’t mean that one doesn’t exist. perhaps my followers know of such a term and can help you out? i know that some people (multisexual people especially) experience fluctuations in regards to the gender(s) that they are attracted at any given time throughout their life, but i’m guessing that that isn’t what you’re referring to. followers? know of anything that might help anon?