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iwanthermidnightz · 2 years

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Shattering stereotypes is part of this journey, particularly harmful ones that members of this community are transphobic. "I think that it's been really hard to break those stereotypes and stigmas that society has just placed on so many people that have been unwarranted and unwelcome, she says. So we're getting rid of those, hopefully, as more people learn to love themselves and exist and change the way others see one another."

"I think being a lesbian has been such a journey, and I've always known I was a lesbian since I was 5,” she adds. “So I've really grown a wonderful relationship with that word, knowing that being a lesbian is powerful, being a lesbian is beautiful, being a lesbian looks many ways. And it's been exciting to reclaim that word and what that means to me and what it means to the world, truly."

In recent years, the number of other pop artists who are sending the same empowering message has grown exponentially. It used to be that just a few artists among them, Kiyoko, Janelle Monáe, Kehlani, Halsey, and Tegan and Sara — were singing about sapphic love on pop playlists. Today, dozens of singers and bands like Muna, Fletcher, Zolita, Carlie Hanson, Rina Sawayama, Chloe Moriondo, Rebecca Black, the Aces, Sarah Barrios, King Princess, and Dove Cameron are making music that revels in the joy of being queer and loving women.

“It’s been incredible. I think that it’s long overdue. And I’m so grateful that we are normalizing our queerness in mainstream and in pop music,” Kiyoko says. “Growing up, I never could have imagined I’d have the opportunity to sing about women so boldly and still chase my dreams of being a pop star and to be mainstream. And it’s been an incredible journey and ride. And a win for one is a win for us all in just moving the needle forward in representation.”

Kiyoko sees this joyful tone as a welcome shift from the sadder lesbian songs of yesteryear. “It seems as though there is more space for us to celebrate our wins and our joy and our happiness,” she says. She points out that queer artists have always written about joy; it just wasn’t always accepted by the mainstream. “A lot of times in the media, it’s focused on our trauma and how challenging it is to exist. And so it’s finding the happy balance of validating both of those experiences,” she says. “I think we have a long way to go in Hollywood and television and film. But in the music space, I feel like we are able to listen to songs where we can just celebrate ourselves for who we are and celebrate finding love.”

Now that Kiyoko has helped create this freer music landscape, Lesbian Jesus is planning on expanding her queer kingdom. Fans of Kiyoko’s work in projects like Disney Channel’s Lemonade Mouth or The Fosters should know that she’s not giving up on acting. The former softball player even has one show in particular she’d love to be on.

“I watched A League of Their Own on tour, which was so fun,” she says of the new Amazon Prime Video show inspired by the classic 1992 sports film by Penny Marshall. “And that was really exciting to see queer narratives at the forefront…. I feel like that was something that we don’t really get to see.”

To remedy that, Kiyoko is also focusing on directing. She’s already directed most of her music videos and now wants to expand to feature films and television in order to tell queer narratives. The road isn’t easy. “It’s been really interesting to navigate that space as well and how challenging it is for [queer creators],” she observes. “There’s a reason why we don’t get to see a lot of queer narratives in shows because it’s just so hard to get them made.”

She also recently announced that she has written her first novel, a coming-of-age romance based on her breakthrough song “Girls Like Girls.” The novel of the same name is set to come out May 30, 2023 from Wednesday Books. She also has said that her “biggest dream” would be to adapt the novel into a series or movie. Let’s pray to Lesbian Jesus that that happens.

As an artist, Kiyoko says she always has “4,000 things” going on in her head at a time, and that she’s excited to show as many of them to fans as she can. Even as she’s wrapping up her current tour, she’s planning headlining one where she hopes to get to perform every song from Panorama. Lesbian Jesus has worked hard to build her message of self-love and queer joy, and she’s going to spread this gospel as far as she can.

(LINK)

#loved this read

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weareunderthesameskies · 2 years

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watched the new thor!!! wanted to get my thoughts down so um read on for a long, rambly review (first bit is non-spoilery, the last half is more specific about plot things)

first off, it was hilarious, because of course it was. definitely had some strong, loud belly laughs. that's the mark of a waititi movie. entertaining, colorful, no doubt.

secondly, it's worth considering that it's incredibly difficult to top ragnarok. taika has said he used a lot of his bangers of suggestions on ragnarok since he didn't expect to get hired again. so in my view, love and thunder isn't better than ragnarok (since that one did so many new, innovative things in one stride) but it's a different flavour of thor that i definitely enjoyed. it doesn't seem like taika himself thinks this is better than ragnarok (based on how he promotes it and carefully talks about 'topping' ragnarok - he's mentioned that that was scary for him to pursue), but he seems to have made peace with it.

gorr was an incredible villian. bale plays him so sympathetic and creepy, and he has his own humor whilst also being a heavy heart for the emotions of the film.

i enjoyed having more time with valkyrie, and i friggin love that val and jane have some bonding time.

on that note, it seems like an absolute blast to have been on set. like, the entire crew always talks about the mood that taika brings, playing music, improvising, and for this one, having all their kids on set too. waititi's, hemworth's, portman's, bale's - like, it's really unheard of to make a family movie in that way. coming from a film background myself, i feel like most movie sets have this air of "importance" to them, or that actors suffered "bc its worth it if the movie was good in the end" but often times the movie isn't even that good to defend the shitty feeling they might have had meeting on set. it means a lot to me that taika is not only shaking up the content of what we see in hollywood (more queer & indigenous for sure) but also behind the scenes trying to change what it means to work on movies. you dont have to suffer for art he says, it's playful, its joyful, it's ridiculous, it's fun. and i respect him so much for that. so it does bring me a certain happiness thinking of the movie when i know they had so much fun making it, and i feel like that shines through.

love jane as mighty thor, love how she both got more emotional depth, comedic moments and most importantly - agency.

i do wish valkyrie had a more in depth arc - she's probably the only major character of the cast (thor, jane, val and korg) that i was kind of unsure of what changed for her during the movie. i know she had an arc planned that they kind of scrapped again? but from interviews it kind of sounds like that was also tessa's wish? in any case, it was missing.

but still, the ratio of 2:1 with jane, val and thor is not something that goes over my head lightly. do you know how friggin rare it is to have a superhero line up in a final battle with two female characters where it's not like, a gratuitous "look, the women are here" sequence? literally lets just compare it to the first thor movie, where it was only sif as the "one woman in the group of men, look, we're diverse". it felt organic, it feels good that valkyrie is thor's bff and also that he makes space to fight side by side with jane. it just. it feels good man.

more overall iffy things:

the structure is very straightforward. combat, break/talk, combat, break/talk. it gives space for the characters to elaborate their feelings, but it's also very predictable rhythm, especially towards the end.

there's a sequence with thor interacting with heimdall's kid, where thor bickers with axel. the sequence is that the kid is briefly introduced where they say he 'used to be called astrid, now wants to go by axel' and thor uses essentially his deadname, before eventually agreeing to calling him axel, and then uses axel for the rest of the movie. it's a liiiiiittle uncomfy bc of the "this is dumb, thats not your 'real name'" rhetoric, but the humor mostly sticks on a 'dumb thor' moment (think of all the bickering with hulk in ragnarok. he's a really stubborn, dumb character at times) but it cuts a little to close to home for trans people i imagine. on the other hand, canonical trans kid of heimdall? and like, if that's how some people are introduced to the idea of using a new name, the interaction still ends with thor consistently using it and never bringing it up again. so the moral is still, even though thor is dumb and stubborn, he's still respectful enough to use axel's name. but i felt umcomfy and i fully understand if some people overall dislike that sequence.

!!! MORE SPOILER SPECIFC THOUGHTS HERE !!! !!! seriously, spoilers spoilers !!!

going back to gorr, i loved the ending, i cried at the ending. how unbelievable is that, that he lets thor adopt his daughter. also, played by hemsworth's daughter? that's just too sweet.

love and thunder. like that was just. so good. "sweet child o mine" YAH. thor DILF era lets go. i think it's kind of interesting how a lot of MCU characters have started to consider the impact of children more. ever since tony with the "i love you 3000" and recently wanda's quest for her sons. i liked that gorr's mission was never "destroy the world", it felt much more like "i hate the privileged 1%" (which, you know, thor literally agreed with. refusing to be king, sharing the might thor titel with Jane, k i l l i n g Zeus. COMRADE THOR). it was a relatable villian goal, and when he then got the magic wish to bring back his daughter he took it and i just.

i love how thor's major super power is empathy. he cares so much for humans, his friends, even his villain's daughter that he raises as his own. how crazy is that. the biggest muscle is indeed the heart.

going back to jane and her agency. it's sad that she dies at the end, yes. technically, if we wanna put those glasses on, she dies and thor has character development from it, which, you know, could be one of those classic "sigh" moments. this feels different for a few reasons though. one, she choose it. and not in a spur of the moment, she was safe, away from the fighting, and she choose to put herself back in. thor begged her not to, but she said it's my life, i want to decide what happens and that's fucking powerful.

secondly, she had cancer and that was not just something to brush over. her journey was sad and serious, and this is one aspect of taika's filmmaking that shouldn't be ignored. people die in his movies - odin, the planet of asgard, but also in his others - hunt for the wilderpeople, jojo, boy - death is a really important part of the stories he tells. for natalie, getting to play jane with true emotional depth must have been revelatory for her as well. she's not just a brush over love interest, she's a complete character.

if you read all that, you get a gold star, well done. give me a lil exclamation mark in the comments or something and hit me up if u wanna talk or discuss more.

#thor #thor ragnarok #thor: ragnarok #marvel #thor: love and thunder #love and thunder #thor 4 #taika waititi #chris hemsworth #thor love and thunder #jane foster #mighty thor #review #spoilers #love and thunder spoilers #spoiler #love and thunder review

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wolfstar-in-color · 3 years

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June Creator Spotlight: BigBlackDog

Hello, colorful cuties, and welcome to our first creator spotlight!!

Each month, we will highlight a different creator in our lovely fandom who features diverse characterizations. We will invite you to get to know them better through questions and answers, Fandom Discourse(tm), and a featured prompt created by our guest!!!

For our first spotlight, we are more than pleased to highlight the incredible work of bigblackdog!!! See a little snippet of this wonderful interview below, along with bigblackdog’s prompt! Look below the cut for our complete interview. Don’t forget to share and interact with this post, and if you have anyone you’d like to recommend for a spotlight, shoot us an ask! You can find our first guest’s Tumblr here.

“I've experienced ups and downs in the wolfstar fandom. It often feels like the wolfstar fandom is willing to engage in discussion about every political issue but race. And the few people who are trying to talk about race consistently encounter this silence.”

bigblackdog’s prompt: I want to see more latino characters who are not impoverished or criminalized. Give me a joyful latino/e remus!

Hello, I'm bigblackdog! I'm almost 30, and I've been active in fandom on various platforms for about seven years now. I'm latina/e and live in the u.s. with a small white dog.

Q: How did you start creating in the fandom? What did you wish to bring into the fandom?

A: Like a lot of fans I started with self insert fic as a middle schooler. Sometimes the practice of self-insert gets ragged on in fandom, as if you're not doing real character work, but I think it's really cool. And if you're an under represented identity in the traditional western canon of literature, self insert is a radical practice. Making space for yourself in a story that refuses or ignores your identities is a radical act. And that's what i want to bring to fandom-- disruption and self care.

Q: What things about s/r as characters or in their relationship inspire you to create around them?

A: Wolfstar was the first queer ship I was introduced to. I wasn't someone who arrived in fandom with my own robust queer reading skills, I needed other queers to hold my hand and introduce me to queer ships and how to find them and build them. My interest in r/s was simply a clinging to queerness I wasn't finding in other places. I really think it could have been any characters, as long as they were queer.

Q: What things would you like to highlight about the Wolfstar fandom and your experience in it?

A: I've experienced ups and downs in the wolfstar fandom. It often feels like the wolfstar fandom is willing to engage in discussion about every political issue but race. And the few people who are trying to talk about race consistently encounter this silence. It's hard not to feel bitter. But i've also met some amazing people and overall feel that fans really are trying their best to be welcoming and inclusive.

Q: What type of content do you wish you saw more in the fandom?

A: I want to see more discourse that aims at amplifying underrepresented voices like wolfstar-in-color. I want to see more fans of color joyfully and irreverently writing themselves into the magical world!

Q: What is your favourite wolfstar fancontent (fic/fanart/gifset/etc) and how does it inspire you?

A: I love dontthinkonithermione's rp. Not only does she do an amazing nerdy know it all Hermione, she envisions Black characters in every corner of the hp world. Have you seen her Hogwarts p.e. professor rps? i love the space she creates for herself, and the joy she does it with.

Q: Which of your own identities inform your creative processes? How has that process been for you?

A: I started out in fandom really trying to feel out the nooks and crannies of being queer. As i've spent more time in fandom and become more confident in my queerness I've started looking closer at some of my other identities-- Latina, mixed, adhd-- and how i can squeeze them into the hp world. For a long time it was hard, especially with being Latine and mixed, to envision how that identity could belong in a 90s British boarding school in the Scottish wilderness. I also really struggled with the feeling that i would get "diversity" wrong. I’ve also struggled with feeling like I have to write diversity because i'm an underrepresented voice. Brown people are often pressured to do the work of educating white people about racism and in fandom spaces that often means pressure to write the reality of racism instead of the fantasy that white writers get to play with. And sometimes i just want to write a pwp without worrying about the revolution, you know? But i really love fandom for its refusal to play by the rules of capitalism and canon, eventually i started to feel like putting more of myself into my writing was another rule i could break.

Q: What advice do you have for other content creators with diverse backgrounds in the fandom? What would you say to people that might feel they don’t have the “right” history/experience/characteristics to participate in the creation of content related to Wolfstar?

First, there's a lot of content on tumblr that aims to silence your voice, learn how to recognize the difference between cancel culture and encouragement. Sometimes content that seems well meaning still presents writing diversity as a list of black and white rules (and virtue signaling) instead of encouragement for underrepresented voices to share their own messy experience. Set those rules gently aside. Second, fandom is built on the idea that the author isn't the only person who gets to play. we all get to play. It doesn't always feel like we were invited, but the great thing about fandom is there is no barrier to entry, no prior experience or publishing hoops to jump through. This is our playground too. If canon is dead then why can't our stories be brown and queer and neurodivergent? Third, find your people. i've found that having just one other person to talk about race with has made the whole space feel more welcoming.

Q: How could we build a more diverse fandom?

A: We have to stop prioritizing white and cis male voices. We recognize that policing irl is a problem inextricable from whiteness and maleness, but we don't see that fandom policing online is also a problem deeply embedded in whiteness and maleness. White and cis male people frequently use their discomfort with difficult topics to change the subject from a critical discussion to one that prioritizes their white and/or male feelings. The same thing happens online when personal discomfort is used to cancel or undermine content that's challenging to a white or male voice. White and cis male voices are used to having their needs met above others. And we still cater to that in fandom spaces when we privilege 'fetishization' discourse over racial discourse. When we lift up bipoc and women/trans/nb voices and the issues they're concerned with we'll make fandom a more welcoming place for underrepresented voices.

Q: What’s your favourite thing to modify in Sirius’s or Remus’s characterizations to bring new perspectives to them?

A: It really depends on the story i'm writing and what issue i'm trying to figure out. Sometimes i need Sirius to be Adhd to come to terms with my brain, sometimes i need two brown boys to fall in love and be happy against all odds.

Q: What does diversity mean to you? What does that encompass in fannish spaces?

A: This is a hard question! I tend to think of diversity as those voices that are disenfranchised or pushed to the margins. And fannish spaces have all the same hierarchies and blind spots as other spaces. In fannish spaces there's the idea that you can curate your experience to some extent, but for marginalized voices, at least in my experience, no matter how much you curate the marginalization is still there.

Q: What are your ideas about the notions of culture and ethnicity? How do you relate to those notions?

A: There was a time in my life where relating to my ethnicity was largely a process of recognizing larger systems of oppression and how they worked against my various identities. And for a while it was a really helpful way to frame my experiences. Now I feel a little less attached to ethnicity as like, a monolithic concept threaded through my whole life and more attached to the small things that I enjoy about my ethnicity and culture-- making a really good pot of beans, for example.

Q: Leave us with a quote or work of art that always inspires you.

A: "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." Audre Lorde

#creator spotlight #bigblackdog #bigblackdogfic #wolfstar #fandom #diversity

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heloflor · 3 years

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Started watching Wander over Yonder this week and is currently halfway through season 2 (yeah I am VERY late to the party). Unless people start asking me about the show, this is going to be my only post about it because there’s honestly only one thing that I want to comment on :

Given how season 1 is episodic with no real continuity, given the art style of some places, the variety in the characters designs, the smooth animation, the bonus storyboards in the credits and the witty writing, it really feels like the people behind the show are just a group who wanted to have fun with their creativity and used a TV show as a catalyst. And it’s great !

Note that I have no idea how the production of this show went. For all I know, it could have been production hell.

But from the way the show is, it really feels as if the Craig McCracken hired a team of writers, artists, etc, had a meeting with all of them and went “Alright so here’s my idea for a show about a joyful orange furball and his badass Yoshi best friend travelling across space and going on wacky adventures, with a recurring skeleton villain and his eyeballs army. Now, what do you guys want to see these characters do ?”, and then they left the team go haywire.

There are quite a few episodes that gives off this impression. The best examples being “The Void” or that one scene in “The Matchmaker” with a succession of different title cards. There’s even stuff like “The Box” with the dream sequence + all the different aliens we get to see.

Special mention to “The Breakfast” in which they tell two stories in one by splitting the screen and it’s incredibly well done ! The characters saying the same thing at the same time, one character leaving one screen at the same time another enters the other, the music working for both scenes, when a lot is happening on one screen, nothing happens on the other so that we don’t miss a thing, the short reverse at the end…I heard that the show got an Annie for this episode and honestly it truly deserves it !

And if you want my general point of view of the show : it’s really good and fun ! It gives me a bit of a Spongebob vibe at times but I see this as a good thing. Though, if there’s one complains to make, it’s that a lot and I mean a LOT of stories in season 1 start with Wonder disregarding Sylvia, to her annoyance and dismay. And most often than not, Sylvia’s the one who ends up suffering. At the very least, there are also quite a few episodes in which Wander gets hurt as well, so it at least tries a little to balance it out. Though things could definitely be better for that poor girl.

I also really like how it’s one of these shows in which the creator went to Disney executives, asked if he could make queer characters, got no as an answer and so decided to go ahead and make queer characters anyways.

(Side note : the episode “The Nice Guy” is an absolute autistic mood. Like, obviously Wander shows neurodivergent traits in basically every episode but this one in particular really hits home.

I mean : letting people get in before him, trying to find the exact same drink as the one Sylvia asked and not knowing what to do when he doesn’t find it, not wanting to bother the cashier and waiting to be noticed to talk to him, telling the cashier the entire context behind getting a drink instead of immediately going to the point, asking if he can mix drinks in the machine and asking several times just to be absolutely sure, trying to make sure the drink has the exact correct proportions, finding a penny and immediately asking if it belongs to anyone, going to the end of the queue even when he’s the very first because he doesn’t want to bother and likes to help, cleaning one part of the floor and then ending up doing the whole thing because it’s not the same anymore, feeling bad for the kid and giving her the drink.

Like, who am I watching here ? A random cartoon character or 10 years-old me trying to get their shit together ?

I swear the most surprising thing about this episode has to be the fact that not once did Wander try to fix the bumpy mat, especially after seeing someone trip and almost fall because of it.)

#Flor talks #wander over yonder #other works #long post #good show !#really good show !#btw I didn't mention it but I really like how assertive Peepers becomes in season 2 !#also the sorta friendship between him and Sylvia is pretty fun to see #also fun fact :#I discovered this show years ago with the song 'I'm the Bad Guy'#and saw a Dominator compilation #but at that time it felt like I only wanted to watch for her character without caring for the rest #so it took me until the other day when I stumbled across a video about gay moments in the show to remember that I was curious about watching

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aymtellsstories · 3 years

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Why yes, I AM finding the ability to write and share fic again incredibly joyful, and I am going to keep churning them out as long as it makes me happy.

Quite fluffy & introspective fic about Kira Nerys, accepting one's own queerness, managing her unrequited feelings for Jadzia, and falling for Ezri. I did not expect to write this or to ship this, but now it's happening and the heart wants what it wants I guess

#ds9 #deep space nine #star trek deep space 9 #kira nerys #ezri dax #kira and ezri #aym writes fic

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itsthegameilike · 4 years

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Best of 2019 Reads

I didn’t get to read quite as much this year as I usually do, but I wanted to collect my favorites, anyway, because books always deserve more love. The most love. Without further ado...

Call Down the Hawk--Maggie Steifvater (lgbt) While this book works best if you’ve read The Raven Cycle, I do feel as though it stands alone and separate from the series. It’s magical and intense and profound and it was one of the few books this year that I absolutely devoured. The new characters are fabulous, especially Jordan, and Declan absolutely shines. If you read The Raven Cycle and weren’t sure about this one, it’s worth reading just for Declan. The stakes are high, the dreams are marvelous, and the ending leaves you ready for more.

On Earth, We’re Briefly Gorgeous--Ocean Vuong (lgbt) I first discovered Ocean in one of my poetry writing classes in college and I never looked back. The way Ocean sees the world is spectacular. The lowest lows are part of his life experience and he transforms them into sublime beauty. His first novel is no different. While largely plotless, more vignettes than anything else, it transformed how I thought of the world for weeks. And there are more than a few passages I’ll never forget.

The Starless Sea--Erin Morgenstern (lgbt) Like everyone, I could go on and on about The Night Circus, her first novel, and like, I expect, everyone else, I can say with confidence that this book didn’t disappoint. There’s underground libraries, time travel, whimsical romance, an ocean of honey, and secret societies. If I could dream up the perfect novel, more than half of the tropes included in this novel would be in it. It does what the best fantasy does; actually transports you from your living room to a different world, just for a little while.

Small Gods--Terry Pratchett The first of my recs that wasn’t released this year. I read lots of Terry Pratchett this year but this was by far my favorite. There’s nothing quite like a god who’s been transformed into a turtle and only remembers he’s a god because of the belief of one simple-minded but kind person. Organized religion is examined with care and as with all Pratchett novels, hilariously. The novel finished and I felt like I’d learned more about life than I’d learned in six months of actually living.

A Winter’s Promise--Christelle Dabos This novel is complex and the worldbuilding is extensive and complicated, but the rewards of paying attention and being committed are high. The characters are spectacular, though it takes some time to reveal their many motivations, and the world is even more so. The side characters also shine as every single written character has a decided motive. I devoured this one as well and the second in the series is even better. I would argue if you don’t like the first one, you should still try the second, that’s how good it is. All of the work of the first novel pays off in the second.

On A Sunbeam--Tillie Walden (lgbt) A lengthy graphic novel set in space with some excellent queer representation. It’s been awhile since I enjoyed this one, but I read it in one sitting. The drawings were beautiful and the colors were perfect for the tone of the story and writing. The love story between the two main girls is sweet and soft and heartwrenching and it was perfect to be wrapped up in their world for a little while. This book is like briefly being trapped in a snowglobe.

Spinning Silver--Naomi Novik I enjoyed Uprooted more than I enjoyed this particular fairytale retelling, but it was still worth a read. The main character is resourceful and interesting, the way she goes about navigating world and finding love not quite the path you would’ve expected in the beginning. The world is lush and well developed and the court of the fey is one of my favorite locations in a fantasy novel in awhile. What really sells this book is the ending. The middle can be slow, but it was worth it for the way all the threads come together.

Nevernight--Jay Kristoff I could talk about this novel for-fucking-ever. There are footnotes that can be extremely informative and are often laugh out loud funny. The violence and the language and the jokes can often be crude, but there is so much joy written into them that it hardly matters. The twists and turns of the plot are amazing and there was even one or two I didn’t predict. Mia is such a badass and her quest for revenge is the kind of quest I love to see female characters involved. She gets a storyline few women get, especially in fantasy. Godsgrave, the second novel, is also incredible and puts Mia in an awesome queer relationship. The last novel, Darkdawn, came out this year and was actually a bit of a disappointment, but the series overall is still one of my favorite.

Devotions--Mary Oliver Everyone knows Mary Oliver and I’m not going to pretend this recommendation is revelatory in any way, but this collection got me through some of my hardest days. It’s best read a poem at a day with a good five minute think afterward. You’ll start seeing the world in a different and more hopeful way. Nature has lots to teach you, kids, and so does Mary Oliver.

The Trials of Apollo--Rick Riordan (lgbt) This is a whole series and the fourth one came out this year and if you haven’t read any Rick Riordan this probably isn’t the place to start. But if you’ve read some of him and haven’t yet checked out this series it’s a must. It’s more adult than any of his other ones and the stakes feel so high, that when I started reading the fourth one this year, I could barely do it, I was so nervous. They’re hilarious, as can be expected by Riordan, but they’re also profound. There are a couple of emotional moments that I still get lost in while lying in bed at night and Apollo’s character arc is one of the most rewarding in recent memory.

Red, White, and Royal Blue--Casey McQuiston (lgbt) A favorite of the year on tumblr, I think, and definitely worth all of the hype. I read this in one sitting. It was quick and easy and joyful, definitely an alternate universe that I would prefer we were currently living in. Alex and Henry are both delightful and their romance is poignant, something that gave me comfort as a queer woman. If you need a little light in your life, start here.

Little Fish--Casey Plett (lgbt) One of the hardest books I read this year. It’s an intense look into the life of a trans woman and her friends, most of whom are also trans. And when I say intense, I mean intense. It often hurts. But I loved it for the way the author portrayed her main character. There was so much love and sympathy there. Nothing was held back. It was very clear that this book was the heart of this author. It meant everything to them.

Snow & Rose--Emily Winfield Martin A children’s fairytale that world builds so good that none of the rest of the book even matters. The rest is also good, but I could’ve gotten lost into the world forever. As with all fables, it ends with lessons learned and they’re important and earned lessons. It’s been awhile since I’ve read it, but I remember it being spectacular and well worth my time.

Peter Darling--Austin Chant (lgbt) Not the most well-written on this list, but it is a hopeful read. And the most adorable. This book is entirely for the queer representation, but it is very good representation. It also is a retelling of Peter Pan, which is good fun. It’s short and quick and I finished with a huge smile on my face.

#book rec #end of the year #call down the hawk #rwrb #nevernight #these are all definitely worth a read trust me #and a lot of what I read this year was not so

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reluming · 6 years

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Hi Cynthia. I'm about 3/4 of the way through the traitor baru cormorant based on your rec and I'm adoring it, so thank you for blessing me with it. I've also added the broken earth series to my tbr based on your love of it. Your taste in books is excellent/aligns a lot with mine, so I wanted to ask if you have any more recs? Stuff you're enjoying now, all time faves, w/e. I'm interested in anything you've enjoyed. Thanks :)

Hi anon!! :D YES I love books and I love talking about books!!

Since The Traitor Baru Cormorant and The Broken Earth are both adult fantasy, here are some more adult fantasy book recs:

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley: literary historical fantasy with steampunk-y elements and very soft, quiet, slow-burn m/m romance! (standalone books with different main characters, but set in the same universe)

Death by Silver and its sequel Death at the Dionysus Club by Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold: magical murder mysteries set in Victorian London with m/m romance, think Holmes/Watson but magic and canon gay!

The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch: more magical murder mysteries, this time in modern-day London, with a mixed race police officer MC and his v old wizard mentor who survived WW1. Very diverse and loveable cast of characters and just some really enjoyable mysteries

Anything that Catherynne M. Valente has ever written. She’s my fave author, hands down. If you’ve never read any of her books, here’s a guide to some of my faves to help you decide where to start:

Radiance: noir mystery set in space Hollywood, about the disappearance of a female filmmaker, ft. space whales

The Habitation of the Blessed and its sequel The Folded World: medieval fantasy, monsters, angels, Christianity, translation, trees that bear books as their fruit

The Refrigerator Monologues: female characters in superhero comics who’ve been fridged, telling their stories in the afterlife!

Deathless: her most popular one but I read this years ago so I need a reread, but it’s based on Russian folklore & history

Discworld books by Terry Pratchett are forever faves - I’ve not read them all but my fave ones are the books about the Watch because, as you may have discerned from the above, I really love mysteries…

I just finished reading Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey and it’s the first book of a trilogy but in the same universe there are three trilogies. So I can’t say about the rest of the series yet, but I really enjoyed Kushiel’s Dart. Definitely not for everyone as it’s set in a place with a formal system where some children receive an education from a young age to become sex workers (although they don’t begin the actual sex work until they come of age). The main character is a sex worker who is basically magically destined to find pleasure in pain/be the most masochist of masochists and there’s some hardcore BDSM, but like. If you’re into that, f/f, political intrigue, and sprawling epic fantasy with voyages and battles, definitely check it out.

Adult books that aren’t fantasy:

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: a coming-of-age novel about grief and art that many readers have complained about being boring but I somehow found so engrossing that I once not only MISSED MY STOP on a train while reading it but ended up LITERALLY RIGHT BACK AT THE STOP WHERE I STARTED (i.e. I was on that train for double the time that I should’ve and I didn’t even fucking notice)

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry: a queer love story during the Indian wars and the Civil War in 19th-century America, incredibly moving and a prose style that takes some getting used to but then once you’ve got used to it will repeatedly stab you in the heart with its sharp, devastating beauty

I also read a fair bit of YA, so if you’re interested in YA, here’s some fantasy/fantasy-adjacent stuff:

The Conqueror’s Saga trilogy by Kiersten White: I made a rec post for this recently, it’s historical fiction about if Vlad the Impaler was female, and it’s surprisingly queer! (Maybe less of a surprise if you know more about that bit of history but I knew nothing going in, and nobody really talks about this series as a queer series, so…)

The Skyscraper Throne trilogy by Tom Pollock: urban fantasy set in London, one of the main characters is a brown Muslim lesbian who gets a lovely romance and a really powerful narrative about overcoming trauma

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan: if you read a lot of novel-length fanfics you’ll probably love this novel, a very heartfelt and funny slow burn m/m fantasy with an extremely prickly bi MC, it’s wonderful and joyful and snarky and the banter is incredible, and it will have you shrieking in delight constantly, also BEST TRIO since the Golden Trio in the HP books *draws sparkly hearts*

I also have recs for (queer) contemporary realistic YA so if anyone wants those, please hmu! That seemed quite different to what you might be interested in and this post is already quite long so I’m not going to mention them here.

#anon #ask

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whimsicaldragonette · 2 years

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ARC Review: The One True Me and You by Remi K. England

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Publication Date: March 1, 2022

Synopsis:

Up and coming fanfic author Kaylee Beaumont is internally screaming at the chance to finally meet her fandom friends in real life and spend a weekend at GreatCon. She also has a side quest for the weekend: Try out they/them pronouns to see how it feels Wear more masculine-presenting cosplay Kiss a girl for the first time It’s… a lot, and Kay mostly wants to lie face down on the hotel floor. Especially when her hometown bully, Miss North Carolina, shows up in the very same hotel. But there’s this con-sponsored publishing contest, and the chance to meet her fandom idols… and then, there’s Teagan. Pageant queen Teagan Miller (Miss Virginia) has her eye on the much-needed prize: the $25,000 scholarship awarded to the winner of the Miss Cosmic Teen USA pageant. She also has secrets: She loves the dresses but hates the tiaras She’s a giant nerd for everything GreatCon She’s gay af If Teagan can just keep herself wrapped up tight for one more weekend, she can claim the scholarship and go off to college out and proud. If she’s caught, she could lose everything she’s worked for. If her rival, Miss North Carolina, has anything to do with it, that’s exactly how it’ll go down. When Teagan and Kay bump into one another the first night, sparks fly. Their connection is intense—as is their shared enemy. If they’re spotted, the safe space of the con will be shattered, and all their secrets will follow them home. The risks are great… but could the reward of embracing their true selves be worth it?

My Review:

★★★★★

This was such a good, affirming, joyful book! As someone who is active in fandom but has never been to a con, and who spent a lot of years questioning my identity (queer: nonbinary, bi ace), I really identified with Kay and felt very seen. They are like my younger self, and the atmosphere of the con was incredible. While I didn't have much in common with Teagan, she was easy to like and I was still rooting for her breaking away from the strict mold the pageant forced her into. The story had its ups and downs of course but I felt so much queer joy radiating from the pages and wrapping me in this blanket of acceptance and it was so soothing. There are also some great messages about not judging people based on what they look like or enjoy doing. And the fandom representation is so good. Such an accurate portrayal of a03 and tumblr and writing fanfiction. I want to go to a con now. I would recommend this to every teen who is questioning their identity or knows someone who is. Sometimes you just need a dose of joy and affirmation and that's this book in a nutshell. *Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an e-arc for review.

Favorite Quotes:

And yet, it never occurred to me before that any of these people could be considered truly beautiful. And there’s a vast gulf between not judging someone for their appearance and actively appreciating their beauty.

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…but if I can take anything away from this weekend, it’s that I don’t have to look a certain way to be who I am. If I feel nonbinary, I am nonbinary. There’s no right way to dress or act to prove it.

#remi k england #mk england #the one true me and you #queer romance #wednesday books #fandom romance #netgalley #arc review #shilo reads

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femmingway-blog · 7 years

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“I Know You” : On visibility and support for LGBTQIA+ youth and children

Today I want to discuss welcoming spaces, supporting LGBTQIA+ children, and the importance of queer visibility.

My partner and I recently had the pleasure of being invited to speak at two churches in the small village in which I grew up. Long Reach United Church, and its sister congregation Westfield United Church, form part of the Two Rivers Pastoral Charge. They invited us to speak as part of their efforts in becoming an “Affirming with a capital A ministry” (as the minister put it when speaking to us about the invitation). As part of the Affirming Ministry application process, they have accepted the challenge to bring in people from various backgrounds and walks of life to discuss what it feels like to not always belong, and ways that they have felt welcome and belonging, so that the congregation may learn to do it more adeptly.

[Image description: A wooden table outside the Sanctuary of Long Reach United Church. On the table is a cream coloured cloth with floral embroidery in earth tones, a vase, guest book, pamphlets, and in the foreground of the photo is a sheet of cream paper with the words “Entering Guilt-Free Zone” in large, bold capital letters.] This was not only an incredibly admirable and humbling goal to consider, but we could not possibly have felt more welcomed, loved, and appreciated while we were there. The focus of our particular talk was on welcoming transgender people, and I touched on the subject matter of LGBTQIA+ children, particularly trans children. It occurred to me as we spoke that I have a lot to say about finding ways to make sure that young queer people have something positive to look up to or envision for the future. I think it is so important that no matter what, whenever we are discussing issues to do with LGBTQIA+ people, that we be aware that children hear these conversations happening. While children may not currently have the necessary vocabulary, understanding, and self-knowledge it takes to actually put a label to their identities or experiences, LGBTQIA+ adults will remember and look back on the times they were allowed to feel joyful and safe in their ways of expressing attraction and gender identity, rather than ashamed or abnormal. Children may not have the language to identify the problem, but they do still know when something doesn’t feel quite right about themselves - and that feeling is a direct result of a world that has been built without them in mind.

These experiences will shape the ways they engage with those identities later in life, and how safe they will be able to feel in any given situation. In a world that is still so full of hostile stances on queer and trans people, it is difficult to feel secure in trusting that silence could mean quiet support; when one is accustomed to being excluded, they will rarely make the assumption that they are invited in.

In terms of consequences for a lack of support and visibility for queer and trans youth: according to the TransPulse research project done in Ontario , strong family and parental support can account for a 93% reduction in suicide attempts for a trans youth, who are already at an astronomically high risk for attempting suicide:

Consideration of suicide was common [among youth participants], and was reported by 35% of youth whose parents were strongly supportive and 60% of those whose parents were not strongly supportive. Particularly alarming is that among this latter 60%, nearly all (57%) had actually attempted suicide in the past year. In contrast, only 4% of those with strongly supportive parents attempted suicide. While 4% is still far too high, the impact of strong parental support can be clearly seen in the 93% reduction in reported suicide attempts for youth who indicated their parents were strongly supportive of their gender identity and expression.

These numbers show that having a supportive family has an unfathomably deep connection to a desire to continue living for young children facing a scary and unfamiliar existence. They can be compared to the general national average, which shows that over the course of a lifetime, 14.7% of Canadians think about ending their own lives, and 3.5% ever make an attempt.

Something that I mentioned to the Churches’ minister when we spoke to her last week about what to focus on in our talk was the issue of how to address someone who expresses the somewhat common the fear that their child may become gay or trans themselves. I believe that it is important to have honest discussions with people who express this kind of worry, to help them to identify where it may be coming from, and to question its foundations. We must also question any assumptions we hold that this kind of fear is founded in something inherently negative, unsupportive, or harmful, or that it something impossible to change. We must consider whether, for example, it founded on the fear of a hostile world’s effects on a child who grows up to adopt a non cis-heteronormative identity, or if it is a fear that is based in stereotypes and assumptions about what kind of person holds those kinds of identities. It is not enough to answer that question, because that doesn’t help anyone cope with or confront their fear; after naming it, we must consider what can be done to alleviate it. In the examples above, if it is the former, we have a responsibility to make the world safer for the child in question; if it is the latter, we have a responsibility to learn to engage with people as individuals, rather than walking embodiments of something we dislike or with which we are unfamiliar.

Support can come in the form of having conversations, and discussing the basic fact that other kinds of people, other kinds of families, other ways of seeing the world, all exist and can all simultaneously be genuine, beautiful, and worthwhile. When I considered what it meant to me to be given the chance to speak to a group of people about our perspective and experiences, I was struck by the idea that there have more likely than not been times when a young child listening to me - or a friend of mine, or another out and outspoken member of the community - has learned something more about themselves, or has potentially been given, for the first time, an opportunity to see a possible future as a queer person that isn’t frightening or lonely. Consider the way trans people are represented on tv and in the news. As well as bisexual people, and queer people of all kinds. The choices available through the mainstream media are: extremely unstable, tragically lonely, dead, and/or a criminal of some sort. Choose at least one. And it’s usually dead. This ties into some work that my partner did a while back for a queer literary magazine called Vitality - the premise of the magazine was to publish creative content (stories, art, poetry) by and/or about queer people, and the only other criteria was that it had to be happy or positive - no sad endings, no deaths of one partner leaving the other completely alone, no “overcoming harassment” narratives, and no focus on deviance or criminality. The magazine eventually shut down, unfortunately, for lack of funding.

Consider our cultural narratives about LGBTQIA+ people, often the first exposure young LGBTQIA+ children have to a world where these kinds of people exist. Often, they are demonizing, and even when trying to supportive, they often rely on a form of tragedy porn that necessitates the death and sacrifice of a noble queer character who may serve as an example to us of the importance of acceptance. While it may be humbling and inspirational for onlookers, what we teach our children is that queer people can expect to grow up to be freaks or to be dead. We need to expect better for them.

This idea also ties into a number from a musical that is very close to my heart. Based on the illustrated strip-comic-style memoir of prolific lesbian cartoonist Allison Bechdel of the same name, Fun Home the musical is the story of a young girl growing into a woman who is forced to confront the very real effects of queer invisibility in our families and communities. Alison Bechdel is also known for her famous comic strip Dykes to Watch out For and as the creator of the now-familiar “Bechdel Test” used to gauge a given film’s portrayal of women.

Bechdel’s memoir in Fun Home focuses on the reality she knew as a young girl growing up in Pennsylvania, never really feeling that she fit with the role that she was told to strive for - one of femininity, softness, attraction to men, and a desire to fit in. The book spends a good deal of time focusing on her feelings of confusion and alienation with the ideas that she was taught to value, when she felt that the things she liked were perfectly legitimate as well, especially when she saw young boys being encouraged to do the very things she was barred from. When Bechdel finally came out to her parents after going away to university, she was immediately confronted with the revelation that her father was also gay, and had been secretly (and clumsily) concealing his affairs with men (and sometimes young boys) from his family and peers for decades. Not only was this a complete surprise to Alison, but she was thrown into further chaos and confusion when her father took his own life only a few months later, before ever having the chance to truly speak to her about their unique yet similar experiences of living as an LGBTQIA+ person living in a world that denies their very existence.

The musical contains a scene between Allison at 43 and her younger self at age 7 or 8, which I consider to be one of the more powerful and moving vignettes I have ever seen. This scene stuck with me for a good deal of time after first seeing it, and comes to mind for me often. I had to do a good deal of unpacking in order to process the emotions it brought up to me, and I would like to share it. Here is a video copy of the scene being performed at the Tony awards in 2015.

This scene in particular is made up of so many subtle and important details, not the least of which is the strong sense of recognition and joy expressed by Young Al when she sees an adult exhibit a way of existing she hadn’t even known was viable until that moment. This scene is so important to me personally because it perfectly embodies the ideas behind why queer people know that visibility is important. We all know at this point that Allison does not know she is gay yet - she will not know this about herself for more than a decade to come. But she knows that there is something about her that she isn’t able to name, but with which she is familiar enough to recognize when she does see it in another person.

[Image description: two panels from the Fun Home book. The first panel shows a large, butch woman with short curly hair, a plaid button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and tucked into jeans with a belt and a large ring of keys hanging from the belt. She is speaking with a server at a cafe who takes her order with tired, uninterested eyes. The woman stands with her back straight and her hands on her hips. In the background of the first panel, Young Al can be seen in a booth, looking right at the woman with her hands between her knees and a fixed, interested expression. She has a bob that goes to her chin, held out of her face with a barette. She wears a striped long-sleeved cotton shirt and blue jeans. Across from Al, her father looks back over his shoulders at the woman as well. The caption at the top of the panel reads: “I didn’t know there were women who wore men’s clothes and had men’s haircuts.” at the bottom of the panel, the caption reads: “But like a traveler in a foreign country who runs into someone from home -- someone they’ve never spoken to, but know by sight -- i recognized her with a surge of joy.” In the second panel, young Al and her father are facing each other in profile. they are sitting in the booth of the cafe but are shown from the neck up (Young Al) and shoulders up (her father). The Caption at the top reads “Dad recognized her too.” and there is a speech bubble in which her father says “Is THAT what you want to look like?” in a strong suggestion that she should not, in fact, want to look like that. ] Not only is this a charming demonstration of the intangible internal struggle that comes with having experiences that aren’t reflected in the stories and examples given to us in narratives our society tends to produce, but it is also one of a very few LGBT coming-of-age narratives that are not heavily reliant on sex and sexuality. In fact, it is the only one I can personally remember encountering that is not. This small scene, meant to represent just a few seconds’ worth of real time, is able to express a very intangible concept about identity, representation, and innate self-knowledge combined with a profound sense of alienation, all the while not relying on the imagery or act of sex - or even romantic attraction - just because the subject of the story is gay.

Ring of Keys is an excellent reminder to us that children pay attention to the world of adults; they do not live in a world that is separate from our own, nor are they sheltered from the values and prejudices we hold as adults. I think Young Al is an excellent reminder to all of us that we don’t need to have the “right” vocabulary, or any of the answers, in order to make children feel safe and values regardless of how they like to dress or what excites and pleases them. Making an effort to acknowledge and celebrate difference, including exposing children to different ways of being an adult, different ways of shaping a loving family, and different ways of structuring one’s life, can do and incredible amount of good to that child’s own self-esteem. At the end of the day, kids may not know exactly who they will grow up to be, but if they know that the possibilities are only limited by their creativity, and if they know that their families and communities will celebrate them as long as they keep a caring heart and are honest to themselves, they will inevitably be more equipped to handle the world they will travel through.

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[Image Description: The sanctuary at Long Reach United Church. The pews are a warm golden brown colour and sunlight streams through tall windows to the far right. The Church is empty and service has not yet started.]

On Sunday March 26th, a young child walked to the front of Westfield United Church’s sanctuary and helped an adult light a white pillar candle brightly banded by the seven colours of the rainbow. The first point of order in the church bulletin was to acknowledge that the church stands on unceded Wabanaki territory, and the microphone system and electronic display of readings and song selections demonstrated an active effort to include people with disabilities or impairments. From the moment we walked in the door, we were warmly welcomed with smiles, handshakes, and hugs from strangers and family friends alike. We heard from many adults who expressed a desire to find ways to show LGBTQIA+ people that they are welcomed and loved in their community. They spoke of wishing to find ways to show that support, to make it real and tangible to those who otherwise may not even be fully open about their identities. The longer we spent there the clearer it became that this was an example that, while communities may not have as much access to information and resources they can clearly understand about LGBTQIA+ people, the first and most important step is seeking it out in the first place.

#LGBT #LGBT youth #queer kids #queer youth #visibility #LGBT visibility #ring of keys #fun home

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ruraljuror94 · 7 years

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My Top 15 Films of 2016

Since the Oscar nominations were announced this morning, I figure it’s time I get off my ass and compile my personal top 15 movies of the year. And since I’m too indecisive this year to make a Top 10 I’ve decided to expand it to 15. Stay tuned, my 3 followers!!

1. MOONLIGHT

Initially, I had a difficult time choosing between this and La La Land as my #1 of the year, but after letting it sink in, I can confidently put Moonlight in the top spot. A haunting and moving piece of cinema from a perspective that is all too rare in movies in general, featuring the best ensemble of the year. However, I wish Trevante Rhodes and Andre Holland got more attention throughout awards season given how they electrifying they were together in the last 40 minutes. The movie is subtle and tells its story through body language, facial expressions, and glances, and yet still manages to say a lot. Although it is harsh for the most part, Moonlight is ultimately hopeful and an important depiction that needs to be shared.

2. LA LA LAND

Magical is the world I would use for this film. From the stunning opening to that spectacular ending, La La Land proves that Damien Chazelle is one of the best working directors today. It’s joyful and a gorgeous piece of filmmaking. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s chemistry are out of this world; but if I’m to be honest, it’s the former who is the true heart and soul of the story. On top of that, it has managed to snatch 14 Oscar nominations along the way. I have been playing the soundtrack almost everyday and I doubt the songs will leave my head soon.

3. ARRIVAL

OK, let’s get this out of the way first: Amy Adams was goddamn robbed by that overrated Meryl. Sad! But on a more serious note, it was upsetting to see her best performance yet to be overlooked by the Academy. Her subtle performance anchors the movie and makes the entire thing the more effective knowing the outcome of the third act. Possible my favourite sci fi movie, Arrival is a unique entry to the genre, using communication and language as the focus to tell a beautiful and intimate human story at its core.

4. THE HANDMAIDEN

Another outstanding achievement by Park Chan-wook. Adapted from the novel Fingersmith, The Handmaiden brings a fresh take to the story with its settings and time period. Visually striking and engaging from start to finish, the film is a thrill ride with two amazing leading performances by .Kim Min-hee and Kim Tae-ri. It’s the kind of story that will keep you guessing throughout its 140 minute runtime, which passes by as quickly as it came.

5. THE WITCH

It has been a while since I have seen a movie as unsettling as The Witch. Not exactly full of scares like Insidious or The Conjuring, this period piece horror film is a slow burner that is filled with a dreaded atmosphere from its very first shot, and the tension just gradually creeps up throughout the runtime, resulting in an unforgettable and terrifying entry to the genre.

6. CLOSET MONSTER

Described as Xavier Dolan meets David Cronenberg, Closet Monster is a stylish gay coming of age story that follows a teenage boy in a small Canadian town. This premise might not be original, especially within queer cinema, yet Stephen Dunn manages to create a unique voice for this movie, from a talking hamster voiced by Isabella Rosselini to disturbing surrealist imageries presented at unexpected moments. Overall, it’s a well made film with obvious personal touches from the director/ writer himself, making it the more intimate.

7. THE WAILING

Korean cinema has always been a personal favourite of mine, and movies like The Wailing reinforces my love for it. Starting off as a seemingly common murder mystery story, The Wailing slowly builds and hints at something much more sinister, and the result is one of the most original, terrifying, and thought provoking horror films in a while. Although it could use some trimming in the runtime as the middle drags a little bit, the film is still fascinating to follow, and the distinctive cultural lores of a small Korean village is what makes it so unique as a whole, and the last 30 minutes of The Wailing will surely haunt you for a long time.

8. HIDDEN FIGURES

While it follows a pretty typical route for biopic films, Hidden Figures lends a voice to a perspective that we usually don’t get to see, and in this case it’s from 3 brilliant black women working for NASA, whose stories remained untold til now. With 3 ferocious performances from Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae, and Octavia Spencer (congrats on her nod!), Hidden Figures is inspirational as it is important and essential. Unfortunately, Taraji P. Henson didn’t receive a nomination for her incredible performance as Katherine Johnson, but hey, it’s the Oscars. Janelle Monae is proving to be a natural screen presence with her second movie role this year, and Octavia Spencer is always reliably great.

9. GREEN ROOM

Possible one of the most intense cinematic experience of 2016. Green Room is an unnerving thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat throughout its entire run. The suspense is impeccable and the way Jeremy Saulnier lets it build and build to the point of unbearable is simply masterful. It’s violent and brutal and certainly not for the easily squeamish.

10. AMERICAN HONEY

Initially, I was put off by this movie because damn, it’s almost 3 hours. But I’m glad I came around to it. Raw and authentic, American Honey doesn’t feel like it’s as long as it is, and it makes you want to following these youths living their care free lives, even though it’s from motel to motel and they have to share a cramped up van everyday. The standout of the film is Sasha Lane, who is such a natural that it feels like you’re a fly on the wall in this young woman’s life as she searches for herself on the road. Don’t let the runtime intimidate you and miss out on this gem.

11.10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

Another incredibly suspenseful thriller set in a contained space on this list, but instead of Nazis, it’s John Goodman this time. 10 Cloverfield Lane is nailbiting tension as its finest, making you doubt everything and having you nervously waiting for everything to unfold. John Goodman is absolutely menacing in this and Mary Elizabeth Winstead does an amazing job as the intelligent heroine who is constantly 2 steps ahead of the audience.

12. NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

Nocturnal Animals is possibly one of the most polarizing movie of the year. You either love it or hate it and I happen to fall in the love camp. It’s incredibly stylish and unsettling, and the way Tom Ford intertwines the 2 tales is masterful. Amy Adams gives another great performance here, and Michael Shannon and Jake Gyllenhaal are also solid but the biggest surprise is Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the psychopath redneck, who is chilling and so perfectly despicable as the main antagonist.

13. SPA NIGHT

Mostly under the radar (and is now on Netflix!), Spa Night is another gay coming of age story, but this time it’s from the perspective of a young Korean American man. Representing a voice that never seemed to get any attention in queer cinema, Spa Night also depicts a brutally honest reality of what the American dream is for immigrants of colour coming to the country. A confident debut from director Andrew Ahn, who I’m looking forward to see tackling on future projects.

14. KRISHA

Filmed with such a low budget that most of the cast comes from the director’s family, it’s amazing how well craft this little movie is. Krisha Fairchild, hands down, gives my favourite performance of the year. While the role has been done before, Fairchild skillfully injects so much layer to this pained woman who is silently suffering and slowly boiling up throughout the movie, leading to an explosive and absolutely gut wrenching climax.

15. TRAIN TO BUSAN

Every zombie movie that has ever made has been leading up to Train to Busan. This Korean zombie flick is highly entertaining, thrilling, at times scary and surprisingly emotional, and in my opinion, the best that the zombie subgenre has got to offer.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

DON’T BREATHE

After giving us a horrifying bloodbath with the Evil Dead remake, Fede Alvarez and Jane Levy team up again in this anxiety ridden thriller that involves a robbery gone horribly wrong.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

One of the rare trilogy where the sequels improve with the third one being the best, Civil War successfully adapts the iconic comic storyline to the screen, resulting in a critically acclaimed thrilling spectacle.

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repwinpril9y0a1 · 7 years

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To Be A Force of Positivity, To Be Everything Trump Is Not: The #WomensMarch Experience

Seven days since the #WomensMarch shook the world and I still can't get out of my head images of women resisting - joyful and determined. I marched in New York City. I came home that day with a thrill I still haven't shaken. A good thing, because mass mobilization may be our most potent weapon against a new administration that has already shown itself to be grossly incompetent, hateful, and acutely dangerous to our health. As a reported 3.3 to 4.6 million women and men marched on January 21st, I wanted to get a selection of stories - first drafts of history - so we can know what this day was really like for many. I sent out the call and received written narratives from 41 marchers (39 women and two men). Fifteen marches were represented: Washington, DC; New York City, Phoenix, AZ; Stamford, CT; Cincinnati, OH; Montpeiler, VT; Dayton, OH; Winchester, VA; Ithaca, NY; Indianapolis, IN; Houston, TX; Portland, ME; Jacksonsivlle, FL; Austin, TX; Lansing, MI; and Des Moines, IA. Here is what they shared. Getting There Some marchers hired buses. Some flew, some drove, others walked. Megean Weidman journeyed just "a few hundred feet" to the march site from her café job in Portland, Maine. Elisabeth Lehr traveled 500 miles each way. "We drove from Northern Vermont to Washington, DC," wrote Lehr. "Every rest top was filled with happy, excited, pussy-hatted women." Instead of marching in NYC's sister march, several New York-based respondents headed to Washington. "I took a bus to DC from Manhattan with a diverse group of women and one righteous man," wrote Shari Berman. "The bus was arranged by moms from my son's school. We sang freedom songs along the way led by a 70 year-old grandmother who had clearly done this before." "Our bus captains jokingly left Depend diapers on each seat," wrote New Yorker Leslie Cain. "We laughed about our ugly clear backpacks that carried water, granola bars, sharpies, battery packs, and tampons on full display. They had to be clear so we wouldn't be deemed 'dangerous' and detained." Some marchers had a simpler journey. "I had a ten-minute drive," wrote Morgen Bermel in Des Moines. "Then a couple rides around the block to find an open parking space." In Houston and Phoenix Uber-riders reported anxiety that their drivers in might be conservative and against the march, but were pleasantly surprised by their support--or at least, neutrality. "[Our Uber driver] was rather indifferent but we got him talking about music," said Beth Weinstein in Phoenix. "He was a big Lady Gaga fan, so we at least felt non-threatened at that point." In Washington, Melissa Sullivan was struck by the journey through DC itself: "As we drove [in] we could see bands of men and women wearing pink hats and holding signs, on their way to the march. We honked at them in solidarity, waving a sign out of the window and cheering as we passed. The closer we got to the Capitol, the larger these groups became. Dozens of tour buses, filled to capacity, unloaded. Throngs of people ascended from the metro. It was amazing." Obstacles Fear ranked number one. Getting over one's fear that the march might get violent or out-of-control. "We had never protested or marched before," wrote Monica Chylla, an East Lansing mother who marched in DC. "I was nervous about potential violent outbursts at the march. I was so anxious I couldn't sleep the night before. But this experience was completely peaceful and people were courteous." "Winchester (VA) is a fairly conservative place," wrote Tamara Haack. "I was worried about what the repercussions would be as far as counter-protests. While watching the Inauguration I realized I needed to overcome my fear because this just too damn important to stay home." Fear of crowds was a major anxiety to overcome. "I feel incredibly claustrophobic and shy in huge crowds," wrote Addie Tsai, who attended the Houston march. "I have never been to any kind of protest or march such as this one, mainly for these reasons." For Pam Hart, who attended the Stamford, CT, march, it was deciding whether to bring a mildly-feverish child who really wanted to go. They decided to bring her and it was fine. "Tylenol and snacks did the trick," wrote Hart. Other obstacles involved logistics. A Maryland mother who prefers to remain anonymous arrived at the Shady Grove Metro at 8:00am and couldn't board until 9:30am. "It was so packed inside the station," she wrote, "we worried we wouldn't get to DC. But police came and staggered the traffic so people weren't crowded in the tunnel leading to the station. It could have been a disaster." At the DC march, marchers struggled to access WI-FI. Marchers who promised to text and find each other were incommunicado. "My family was trying to reach me but they couldn't" said the Maryland mother. "No Internet seemed to be a problem," wrote Carolyn Ferrell. "But then it wasn't. We communicated with each other, shared stories, and enjoyed the signs." The Kids Are Alright As the mother of a six year-old, I thought about bringing my son to the New York City march. But that thought last two minutes - I feared losing him in a large, unpredictable crowd. I feared bathroom asks at bad times. Many respondents reported worrying whether or not the march would be a safe and good place for their kids. Yet many families brought their children and shared how profound it was to march together--with a little planning. "We had such a smooth, positive experience that could have easily turned difficult due to the children," wrote Dr. Christie Boxer, who attended the Lansing, MI march. "We studied the city layout so that we could move about effectively given any conditions - violent outbreak, road closings - and arrived early enough to get a kid-friendly spot." In New York City, Dana Ostomel was proud of her daughter's poise, as were fellow marchers: "My five year-old stood with me in a two x two radius for almost three hours waiting to march. My daughter received a lot of positive reinforcement for coming out, standing with others, and using her voice." At the same march, Jenn Linstad felt her eleven year-old daughter had a profound consciousness expansion. "Her foundations in social justice have been strong," said Linstad. "But by being there, she was able to see, first-hand, the deafening truth in the Audre Lorde statement: 'I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own." Two respondents noted the children as a highpoint. "Perhaps the most beautiful thing about the march were the children who marched alongside their parents," wrote Matt Jones, who marched in Cincinnati. Addie Tsai thought the most poignant aspect of the march experience was "seeing so many children holding signs." At the Houston march, Robin Reagler's 11 year-old daughter carried a sign that said "I compete in rodeos. Don't tell me how girls should ACT." A daughter in DC held the sign: "If One Man Can Destroy Everything Why Can't One Girl Change It?". And I'll never forget the young afroed teen boy I saw sitting above the crowd on NYC scaffolding with the sign "Thank you Obamas! You made us feel great again!" "I'm not sure if my daughter will remember the actual day," added Ostomel, "but I hope it builds a visceral feeling within her memory bank that she can call upon." The March Experience So how did it feel for the adults? "Transformative," wrote Lucy Vagnerova. "Uplifting and invigorating," wrote Pam Hart. "Empowering and transformative," wrote a Long Island mother. "A top ten highlight of my life," wrote the Maryland mother. This may have been a trip of a lifetime, but it wasn't easy. "Cold, muddy, stuck in a crowd - we didn't really get to march or hear the speakers," wrote Nicole Cooley, who traveled to Washington from New Jersey. "But it was so inspiring! A lesson to girls that activism isn't always comfortable. Ami Novak wrote of the #PortaJohnStruggle. "We exchanged supplies with the ladies around us, because the porta-johns were disgusting and nearly overflowing," wrote Novak. "[The ladies in line] gave my friend's daughter an extra pussy hat. She loved it." In Montpeiler, VT, Lea Belair was stunned by the crowd size - an estimated 20,000 in a town of 7500 - and who made a special appearance. "We had a high vantage point from the capitol steps and could see marchers arriving at the rally for literally hours. When Bernie Sanders showed up unexpectedly, the crowd--including me--went wild. When he told us there were so many cars on the interstate they had to shut it down, the crowd erupted." For a New York mom traveling to Dayton, OH, on business, attending the local march was an "incredible" experience. "At first I felt out of place because I'm Black, and the crowd majority was definitely Caucasian. I was also wearing all-black and tall boots, something extremely common in New York City, but not in Dayton. But I loved my displaced experience. It proved to me how from the beginning this era is strong." "At 62 years, it was my first march," wrote the Maryland mom. "It's the best I've felt this election because I realized that there was a sense of solidarity that day. I wasn't alone. I wasn't crazy. The marchers were predominantly white, but people of every hue participated. People were so nice. And that's not a word I use often. Though I would suggest inviting more women of color. It would have been nice to see more diversity." Despite white majorities, marchers of color reported positive experiences. "Although I've heard valid points regarding issues of white privilege at the marches, that wasn't my experience," wrote Addie Tsai of the Houston march. "I found incredible solidarity among bodies of various positions - white, black queer, Asian, etc. Everyone felt very connected, and kind, and generous with their bodies in the space." Leslie Cain wore a placard that said "What a Patriot Looks Like". "The arrow pointed towards my melanin-skinned, afro-haloed self," wrote Cain. "Older white women in particular stopped to take pictures of me all day. Not in a unicorn siting way (I know that feeling), but possibly in agreement." In New York City, marchers spoke of the thrill of marching up Fifth Avenue towards Trump Tower. "Beyond the barricades, non-marchers were cheering us on and holding their own signs," wrote Sirin Thada. "People were waving down from windows and balconies. We heard the sound of church bells along the breeze. As we got closer, 'We Shall Overcome' rang from the top of St. Thomas Church and we sang along. That was such a beautiful moment, to all be of one voice." Rosie Finizio wrote that the high point of marching was knowing "that we are all the heroes of this story, united against an evil Orange Menace." But Finizio had advice for next time around: "Once people get to Trump Tower, they must MOVE." After many hours waiting for a march to start, marchers want to keep it moving for sure. Speakers captivated many of the marchers. National coverage showed the diverse Washington speaking program, featuring activists from Angela Davis to Linda Sarsour to Melissa Mays. Other marches had speakers, too. At the New York City march, Finizio noted Whoopi Goldberg and Cynthia Nixon. "I went early so I was near the platform and got to hear many of the speeches," wrote Michelle Valladeres. "The most poignant one came from a Latino activist who spoke about his mother's journey crossing the border to give him a chance at an education. He described the running, falling down, and fear, in detail. I felt the pain of all of our stories of immigration, discrimination for whatever difference we possess in that moment. I cried." Star encounters were profound, too. Joan Lipkin had a primo spot next to the stage in DC. There she met Harry Potter film star and UN Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson. Watson is best known for playing girl power heroine Hermione, a character often namedropped on many march signs (ex. "Without Hermione, Harry would have died in book one"). "I told her she was a wonderful actress but that her work as a human rights activist was as important," wrote Lipkin. "She seemed touched. And when I told her that she is the future, she teared up." You can make the case that the real stars of the day were handmade signs--and the handmade hats. "We saw so many creative signs--people actively complimented each other on originality and execution," wrote Lucie Vagnerova, who attended the Washington march. She also met a woman who sculpts medical-grade silicone vaginas for surgical practice, and she had glued a few anatomically-diverse ones to signs staying "Stay out of my vagina," "Grabs back," and "Not Yours to Grab." And so many in the crowd wore hand-knit hats based on a pattern shared before the march. "There were thousands, maybe tens of thousands of pink pussy hats. This is what the patriarchy gets for committing women to arts and crafts for centuries: we really brought it!" At her Phoenix march, Beth Weinstein was moved to see Canadian women marching. "To know that the world is concerned and wants to lend their voices is truly heartfelt," wrote Weinstein. "It also scares me. If they're as concerned as I am, then the administration must be as bad as I anticipate it to be." In Jacksonville, Holly Masturzo simply wanted to listen. Part of their march day was at Suffragette Mary A. Nolan's gravesite. "People were greeted at the gates of the cemetery and given pledge cards for the local Democratic party - a practical gesture, yet not one that felt like the call I wanted to respond to most that moment," wrote Masturzo. "It wasn't a moment to sign for next actions in my view but rather for listening, for tending to the layers, intensely complex ones at that, of the journey of women's suffrage in this part of the world." Photo by Emma-Lee Signs (A Selection) Take your broken heart and make it art! / These are not tears. This is the Sea. /Thinking Women Against Trump (TWAT) / RBG, stay alive!/Black Lives Matter (carried by more than Black people) / Cheeto in Chief / My daughter's more afraid of intolerance than cancer / Women are Literally the Best / Grumpy Cat saying "UGH" / So bad, even introverts are here / Build a wall between church and state / Do the Most Good/ Love trumps hate / They tried to bury us but they didn't know we were seeds / Women's rights are human rights (with the W on Women replaced with a pair of breasts) / RESIST / The revolution starts here (with a diagram of a uterus) / Make America Think Again / Did you assume that I'm wearing my dad's (Navy) hat? Or my brother's maybe? Then YOU are the reason I'm here /Less suffering, more grace / #FreeMelania / Can't believe I have to protest this shit forty years later / Toddlers Against Tyranny / Your guns will have no animals left to kill if you don't take care of the environment / [Signs in Russian] / Show us your taxes / (Caricature of a sad Paul Ryan) Paul Ryan Can't Find the Clit / Excerpt of June Jordan's 'Poem About My Rights' / We Shall Overcomb / America Is Already Great / Don't Forget: White Women Voted for Trump / I'd Call Him a Cunt But He Lacks Depth and Warmth / Never Underestimate the Power of a Fag with a Tambourine / Resistance is Fertile! / Lesbian Moms on Fleek. Stay Woke! / Thou Shalt Not Mess with a Woman's Reproductive Rights. Fallopians 1:21 / Hell hath no fury like 157 million women scorned / Viva la vulva / I will NOT go QUIETLY back into the 1950s / Respect existence or expect resistance / If you build a wall, I will grow up and tear it down / History has its eyes on you / Planned Parenthood saved my life / I'm NASTY AF / Bully Culprit / Oh Hell No What Now? I asked the marchers what they will do next. "What won't I do now is the question," wrote Beth Weinstein. "I'm making calls every day to (Senators) McCain and Flake. Today's calls are regarding (Cabinet nominee) Betsy DeVos." Other marchers pledged phone calls and visits to elected, actions encouraged by the Indivisible guide and congressional staff advising constituents on most effective lobbying techniques. "We must call, email, and write our representatives relentlessly," wrote Dawn Tarney Brunner. "So they never forget what the majority wants." "I'm getting involved with the local Democratic organization," wrote Dr. Boxer, "and using my position as a college professor to educate and guide others to effective actions." Laura Miller Tomaselli, a Brooklyn mother, is busier than ever: "Lots of conversations, social media posts, poster parties, fundraising dinners, rallies, picket lines, voter turnout efforts. Lots of listening, lots of comparing notes." But Miller made a point about current political leadership. "The grassroots certainly showed its stuff last Saturday. Now we are waiting for the Democratic Party to do more than send us daily solicitations. Where are they, I wonder? Is there anything left of that billion we raised for Hillary?" All respondents had some kind of action plan, though some marchers were focused more on personal interactions: "I want to be a force of positivity, to be everything Trump is not," wrote Sirin Thada. "To speak from the heart, but with wisdom, clarity, love and respect. To End with a Beginning When Shari Berman shared her story, she wrote of her group's walk from their parked bus to the Washington march site. I thought it was beautiful. Please allow me to end this piece with a beginning: "Our bus parked three miles from the staging area and, to our surprise, the Metro was at capacity. So we decided to walk the three miles - a sea of pink pussy hats making its way through the streets. And for a day that was filled with inspiration, the three-mile journey was perhaps the most inspiring experience of them all. All along the way we were greeted with lawn signs set in front of private homes not promoting a particular candidate or political agenda but instead featuring spiritually-lifting quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King. The DC police and the National Guard were kind, polite, and welcomed us to their city. A few even applauded us. We passed an African American church where several older people were leaving a religious service. They cheered us on and said that they were with us in spirit. We encountered neighbors handing out free water or playing music to spur us on. A beautiful little girl not more than seven years-old dressed in a Disney Princess stood on her porch and waved to us. It was her future we were marching for and we all waved back! All along the way people took a moment out of their day to thank us for being there and I couldn't have been prouder to be American."

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