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anti-radqueer-zone · 6 months

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Hlep i just saw the recent post, soo,,, yeah I'm PLURqueer which basically is a radqueer sub-label if you want heres the link : https://archive.is/bKTi9

I understand if you dont trust the link

So mine is pro-para with no contact for harmful paras who cannot be consented like maps n stuff.

Pro-consent for stuff like knifeplay if the people who are doing it are mature enough (or basically an adult who is knowledgeable and knows how to do it)

Pro-transid on things like transscent n transbody stuff and completely neu on transids like transabled trace Transharmful etc and i do not support transition to them. Though im pro-transage if the person acknowledges their chrono age.

N i dont really care about comship or antiship, i personally dont do any ships in general except for selfshipping (f/o x persona)

Ans in general i dont really care for system origins, if someones endo or wtvr. Me harassing them aint gonna stop anyone and not like they 'steal sources' (if they even exist cuz in my country they fucking dont) when they cant even fucking get diagnosed.

Im pro mspec lesbians and gays, even though it's just not my thing in general i cant stop them, thats just who they are and i accept it.

So yeah. Though i am aware the fact fiction can effect reality so i dont think kids should like go into places where they can be actually affected and harmed even if theyre online communities.

Idk if you agree with me or not. I just do not care, i dont think harassment will help.

I rarely ever interact with anti-rqs i believe youre like the third one i interacted with, and even with two before we just kinda got along so idk...

I'm FINALLY getting around to answer this, I am so sorry to the person who posted this for taking so long! So I really do understand the logic behind most of this and do agree with most of it such as being pro-para, "pro-consent" (I'd really just call it pro-kink from how you described it) and pro m-spec. I think my main problem with transID's that aren't things like transabled, harmed, race etc is that they still use the translabel and this still use trans people as a shield for their own community. I also just don't think there needs to be labels for that stuff, a lot of it is just stuff you want to have such as personality traits or freckles so I think the labels are unnecissary but I don't really care about them being labels if they used a different way to ID, associating something that I would say it quite different with another community that is not meant for that thing and has actually been oppressed and made fun of with the concept of "Oh I'll just identify as transjob" and such is still harmful.

There's more I could say about this anonymous ask but I feel like I've already stated it 100 times on this blog.

#anti radqueer #anti transid #anti transabled #antiradqueer #anti radpara #anti contact #anti trace #anti transx #anti transautistic #transid #radqueer

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filmmakerdreamst · 4 years

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Xena: Warrior Princess Review

During Pride Month 2020, I finally got around to watch ‘Xena’. A show that had been in my to-watch list for years, but never got around to start. And when I finally did, I was pleasantly surprised. It was not what I expected and it was everything I think my 11 year old self would have loved.

The one thing that surprised me about the show, was the lack of packaging. Even though it was a fantasy, it also played with different kinds of genres too. I’ve talked about this before in my other review - ‘Xena’ was made at a time when TV had very few rules/rarely had a set audience, since there were parts of the show that were clearly for kids and there were other parts that were clearly for adults (therefore had much more flexibility). I admired how they weren’t afraid to break barriers and touch on deep themes such as religion, morality, redemption, spirituality, motherhood, forgiveness etc - even more than shows of today are able. I also loved how they played into the idea of ‘murder’ and how much it can damage a person - not just the person who commits the act, but the many people affected afterwards. I wasn’t expecting it to be that extreme. It made me think that this must of been the inspiration for ‘Game of Thrones’.

I see a lot of comments here and there, saying how ‘cheesy and terrible’ it was but to just accept it because its part of the fun. And while like any show it does suffer from the occasional spell of bad writing (the whole of season 5) but it was also shown to be very aware of that fact and never took itself too seriously - unlike some shows I could mention.

And regarding the ‘cheese’ factor (what 90s show wasn’t) It definitely can be, but I would call it ‘camp’ and ‘experimental’ more than anything else. (Don’t diss the poor use of CGI - I’m personally sympathetic to what was avaliable to them at the time) The style of humour reminded me of Taika Waititi’s filmmaking. If you’ve watched any of his films such as ‘Hunt for The Wilderpeople’ or ‘Jojo Rabbit’, then you know what I’m talking about. I liked how little they cared about being accurate or logical, which added to the ‘bonkers’ element in the show - which you can see in all of Taika Waititi’s films.

In all seriousness, a show centered around two women in their late twenties, who are realistic sizes (not trying to play teenagers). One of whom is a reformed mass murderer, who has lived a life experience, trying to do good in the world for the first time, picking the other one up who has no life experience prior (after they bugged them until they said ‘ok fine’) in their path to redemption. Just two women who become friends travelling the world together, fighting crime, having a laff, learning from one another without any toxicity - when suddenly when the stakes are raised - they realise ‘oh I'm actually falling in love with this person’ I have watched a lot of badly written shows in my childhood enough to know that, that’s not ‘cheesy’. I’ve never seen a story like that in my entire life. I’m not at all surprised that Russel T Davis was inspired by it while writing the Doctor and Rose’s relationship in ‘Doctor Who’ since he’s gay himself.

What’s more amazing about their love story is how they’re both develop as separate people as well. There was this video essay explaining ‘Why you should watch Angel’ the spin off series to Buffy; how ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer ‘was all about growing up and ‘Angel’ was all about being an adult. With Xena: Warrior Princess, you have both of those stories at the same time.

Xena’s character was such a multifaceted experience to watch. And I can’t imagine anyone else who could play her as well as Lucy Lawless. What planet did they get that actress from? She's flawless! The amount of skill she has to put herself into a very physical role is astonishing. I personally had a love/hate relationship with her character all series long. Not in the way that I hated her, just that I couldn’t trust if she was all good or bad, which I know was intentional on the writers part. I haven’t seen a character quite like her before. She felt very much like a fallen angel; almost like the villain of her own story. Some of my favourite episodes come from fleshing out her character and dark past (‘Locked up and Tied Down’ is one of them) which reminds the audience that's she's not the stereotypical hero everyone expects. I loved her transformation from being this incredibly stoic warrior to being content and happy with who she is in season six, all because of a woman she fell in love with along the way.

I’ve always thought of Gabrielle as the real hero and narrator of ‘Xena’. She’s the prime example of ‘a normal person becoming extrodinary’. Gabrielle’s coming of age story starting out as an innocent girl from a poor village dreaming of adventure, and ending as this vicious warrior who realises the ‘adventure’ wasn’t how she made it out to be is honestly the best character arc that I’ve ever seen. I loved how travelling with Xena made her realise her passion for writing (which was never going to happen in her home town, given the ‘sexist’ and ‘heteronormative’ ideas) and that she became a amazon princess like Xena. In regards to her sexuality, which is more up for debate than Xena’s (which I think we can all agree is bisexual) I personally interpret her as gay, just in terms of how she was written. Theres this moment in season 4 where she's being held up her hair, and Xena “symbolically” cuts it off ‘freeing her’. And she never really gets with a man afterwards, unless she’s being ‘possessed. It reminded me of a moment in one of Hayao Miyasaki’s films ‘Laputa, Castle in the Sky’ where the bad guy Moska shoots Sheeta’s ‘princess hair off’ which symbolises her transition from child to adult.

The cinematography was breathtaking. There was some great utilisation of New Zealand as the scenery. So was the soundtrack. You could tell it was made by experienced filmmakers. One of my favourite things about the show was the domestic elements - moments in the show where time seemed to stop - which made the world around the characters seem very real and magical. Even though it was a show that featured a lot of action/adventure, there was also this gentleness to it as well. For example, you could feel the wetness of the rain, the warmth of the sun and the clashing of the waves. This technique is used in Hayao Miayasaki’s work a lot .

The technique is referred to as ‘MA’ 空虚 meaning emptiness in Japanese. ‘Miyasaki describes this as the time between a clap’

“If you just have non stop action, with no breathing space at all, its just busyness. But if you take a moment, then the tension building in the film can grow into a wider dimension” - Hayao Miyasaki

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The episode ‘A Day in the Life’ in season two is a really good example of this technique being used.

To my understanding, they used a lot of the local actors in New Zealand, which according to Lucy Lawless, consisted of ‘African immigrants and other different ethnicites’. It was so refreshing to see such a diverse show (despite some slip ups) especially in the 90s. I appreciated the idea that if the actors or extras couldn’t do an ‘american accent’ people could just talk in their natural speech which was also very refreshing.

The LGBT representation was surprisingly amazing. I never expected so many queer characters in one show - especially under the censors. There was this one episode where they had a trans woman - played by an actual trans actress - win a beauty contest. It made me cry. Not to mention the actress was an aids activist. It was actually Lucy Lawless’ idea to kiss her which was incredibly controversial at that time considering how everyone thought you could catch aids just by kissing. I can definitey see how it validated people back in the 90s.

When people told me that Xena: Warrior Princess was one of the greatest love stories, I thought they were exaggerating a little. But no, watching the show in context, I found out that it really is. Despite its obvious restrictions, It made me realise (regarding token gay couples today) how often television writers rely on physicality and drama to convey a ‘love story’ and how much of it is actually pandering the audience. One of the reasons why Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship felt so genuine is because it was built on mutual respect/compassion and they were also best friends. I felt like I was witnessing something very real and private. It didn’t need kissing scenes or drama to make it interesting.

It really helped that most of the writers were queer also. There’s this opening scene in season 4, panning over to Gabrielle giving Xena a massage (metaphor for sex - because they weren’t able to show that on screen) which I consider to be one of the most iconic scenes in media - considering how I wanted to sick up my supper when I watched the 10 minute ‘empty’ explicit sex scene in ‘Blue in the Warmest Colour’. The difference when something is written by a queer women vs a straight man.

Because the creators weren’t allowed to write their love story in the normal way, due to the studio forbidding them to, they found creative ways to showcase that love on screen - which made for a very magical/sensual experience. And I can safely say, if anyone has doubts about watching ‘Xena’, whenever I expected to be queer baited at a few points in the show, I was proved wrong time and time again. It’s the most romantical show I’ve ever seen in my life!

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borderline-rat · 4 years

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hi again! i feel like i'm not asking the (exciting?) ones but - 18 | 20 | 27

I answered 20 before but here are for the two others!!

18: my favourite LGBT+ books

When asked that, I've got three that immediately come to my mind, I might have some others but those are the ones I'm thinking about the most right now. The firsts two are both in French in their original version but I think you can find translations and are both graphic novels. I mentioned the first one earlier saying you definitely shouldn't see the movie. That's right, Blue is the Warmest Colour. First time I read it, I literally cried. You know what... Actually... Watch the movie. Then read the book and understand why the movie is shit. Not because it's poorly adapted, once again (because it is, but that's not the point), but because it completely misses the point, the message, the core. BITWC is about coming of age and discovering your sexual orientation as a teen girl in the 90's. It's about a realistic, soft and bittersweet love story as much as growing up. And it's beautiful. Then I'm thinking about - and here I'm giving the French title as I'm a bit too lazy to check out if it's been translated - Appelez moi Nathan, literally Call me Nathan, which is about a trans boy, from his childhood to the accomplishments he intends to reach. It's extremely well depicted, but huge TW on self harm and suicidal tendencies. I think it's based on a true story - I mean... It could be any transmasc story BUT I think the author actually worked with a specific person to write it. Finally, the last(s) one(s) are a book series, graphic novels as well, called Wet Moon, by Sophie Campbell - I'm specific on this because there's another book series called Wet Moon that's absolutely not the same. It's not "about" LBGT+ characters but pretty much all of them are, and the plot partly centers on their relationships. Aside from that, it's a strange story that took YEARS for the author to finish (more than 10 years I believe...), about coming of age, slice of life, but also murders and supernatural stuff occurring. It sounds weird. It's weird. It takes place in Florida. I've never set foot in Florida but to me it's a good explanation enough for it to be so weird. I love it so much. Oh and I forgot to mention that all the authors here are queer! Julie Maroh is a lesbian, Monsieur Q is gay, I think, and Sophie Campbell is a trans woman - and I think she's a lesbian as well!

27: what do I think of gender roles in relationships?

Well, to me... They make no sense... It's hard to explain, here again, how some things just... Don't exist in my mind? I mean, I can't conceptualise them? I know they're real, somewhere out there, I can even understand the dynamics, the questions they create, the debates or the causes and consequences but... I just... Can't... Get them. It's like - and that's gonna be a very stupid example but it gives out a rather clear idea - WHY CAN'T I SIT ON A TABLE WHEN I'M OUT SOMEWHERE? Like in a coffee shop or restaurant? I don't like sitting on a chair and I don't like eating at a table. I like to sit on the floor or on the counter so I can cross my legs and rest my back against the wall. Also, why is it widely socially accepted that it's better to live during daytime and sleep during nighttime? What if I don't wanna? Then I can't really get a job, except a night job, but I don't wanna, either, see my problem? I understand there are common rules, or common ideas, at the very least, and gender roles are one of those common ideas. Now I'm not saying it's a universal truth that everyone applies and that it just inherently exists. I understand why it is, and should be, a topic to be discussed. But when I get to discuss it, I'm quickly lost because I just don't get it. Why should there even be gender roles in the first place? I don't even get how you can put gender and role in a same bag. What's a role anyway? Like... Performing... Something...? Following another set of rules... Depending on what? Then there are those ones saying "depending on what's in your pants" and I'm like... Because I don't have a cock I can't do some things? Ah? Like? There are plenty of things I can't do but certainly not because I don't have a penis. Then others are like "you can do whatever you want no matter your gender!!!" and I'm... Yes? I know? Please don't yell at me, it scares me? I don't want to be a part of this fight. You might have noticed I like calling myself a stray cat. That's because that's how I truly feel!! It's not bragging, not pride, it's just... Me... Doing my own thing. I live, and always lived, in my very own private little world, closed to many things - not close-minded, mind! Some things just don't touch me. I'll gladly fight for them along with my peers to claim rights, equity, respect, or anything, but I don't get why it should even be necessary. Who decided gender roles? Were there a bunch of people, sitting around a table, someday, saying hey, this group of persons will be entitled to do that, and this other group, to do this! Or did it just happen? Why did it happen? I'm very much involved in many political causes and I have lots of convictions. But as for myself and how I apply those... I do it on my own. I don't care if I don't fit, no matter how much it's hurtful and frustrating sometimes. I just can't bend myself to things I don't understand. I take a certain pride in this, or at least I used to, when I was a teen, now I've just come to terms with the fact that there are things I'll never be able to understand or do, but that's okay, because I don't need them. So... Tl;dr, fuck gender roles because it makes no sense at all to me.

#Dan talks #Dan answers #Ask #Answer

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