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An example of why LGBTQ+ representation in media matters, especially children's media.

As a child I didn't know LGBTQ+ people existed. There were no queer people in my family, or in family friends. (At least, that I was aware of) I remember one time we went to the library and there was an educational table set up outside with information about pride. I asked my mom what all the rainbows were for. I don't remember what she said, other than I remember her mentioning one of my older brother's friends who apparently had two moms. I was very little. I forgot about that conversation and was no more aware of queer people.

I don't remember seeing queer characters in media. The first time I can remember seeing LGBTQ+ people depicted in anything was in the music video for Avichii's "Addicted to You" the plot of the music video follows a pair of female robbers who are explicitly in a romantic relationship. I was absolutely fascinated by this music video when I saw my brother watching it. I was eleven. This music video follows a lot of the common queer TV tropes. The women are criminals, the "bad guys" and they die in the end. But this was the first time I can remember seeing lesbians.

Even as a teenager, I don't remember seeing much LGBTQ+ characters in media. I was intrigued when the token gay side character would show up in a TV show, but that wasn't really representation. I still knew nothing about queer people. A boy in my art class came out to me as trans. The exact words he used were "I'm a trans guy." and I legitimately didn't know if that meant ftm or mtf. I accidentally misgendered him once because of it.

In my early teens, I said some pretty ignorant things. Luckily just to my family, but still. It wasn't until I started questioning my sexuality in my late teens that I actually started to learn anything about the LGBTQ+ community. I did a lot of research, not all related to figuring out my sexuality, just about LGBTQ+ experiences and identities. I watched videos by LGBTQ+ YouTubers, listened to podcasts, read articles, all by queer creators.

I especially made a point of understanding transgender people, because that was something at the time that greatly confused me. So I looked for videos, podcasts, articles etc, made by transgender people themselves where they talked about their feelings and experiences. It made a huge difference. I wasn't confused anymore, I couldn't relate to how they felt, but I had understanding and empathy. I went from confused and unaware, to understanding and supportive. Just from a bit of research.

But even at this point, there was still little to no LGBTQ+ media representation. When I came out at 18 and felt comfortable picking movies focused on queer characters, I had a heck of a time finding any. I did find some, and while a lot of them weren't great, I did find a few really good ones. (Saving Face and Late Bloomers are two of my favourites)

Things are getting better, slowly. We're starting to see more media focused around LGBTQ+ characters, and children's media including the topic. It's long overdue and we're still not quite there yet. You're gonna have a hard time finding media focused on LGBTQ+ characters that aren't white, able bodied gay, lesbian, or bisexual characters. Representation for trans, non binary, asexual and aromantic identifies, queer people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, religious queer people, and disabled queer people, and any combination of the above, is still lacking. We still have more work to do.

Having these kinds of shows and movies would have made a big difference for me growing up, and it will make a big difference for thousands of other kids who are growing up right now.

This isn't a negative post to complain about the lack of media, it's an example of it's importance and optimism for the future. I do believe this will continue to get better, however slow that may be. This is just my little reminder of why it needs to.

I hope anyone who reads this is having a good day. You're valid and loved, no matter who you are. Stay safe.

Shout out to that one time a friendly old lady in the library was really interested in all the pins I have on my purse and pointed at the asexual flag and asked what it was and clearly didn't know what asexual meant but smiled and said it was nice anyway

Space and science based moodboard for my amazing @jdlite

Pastel pink and florals sapphic aesthetic moodboard

@princess-ichigo thought you might appreciate this one

Warm yellows, princess and freckles moodboard by request of a friend.

Dark blue regal book aesthetic moodboard

Dark blue princess aesthetic moodboard

This fictional elf prince casually giving me a sexuality crisis

When I was 17 and trying to figure out what the heck my sexuality was, the main, if not only, piece of advice I found online, even when I directly asked people, was to go out and experiment sexually with various people and see what gender I enjoyed sex with most. And years later, that still seems to be the advice most of us give when someone is trying to figure out their sexuality. And there's nothing wrong with doing that, and if that's what helped you, great. But I do think there's issues with this being the most prevalent advice.

There are a lot of reasons someone may not want to do this, various personal or religious reasons, comfort levels, a lack of interest in sex, not experiencing much or any sexual attraction, or simply being too young for this to be applicable.

I found the advice unhelpful for many of the reasons I just mentioned, and it left me feeling lost on how I was supposed to find out what my orientation was. It also left me with thoughts like how can I be a part of queer culture if I don't want to experiment sexually or be sexually active? Even looking at articles with advice on dating as a queer woman I saw bullet points like "It's okay to have sex on the first date!" there was so much emphasis on how it's okay to have very active sex lives that it left me feeling like if I didn't want that, I'd never be able to have relationships because there'd be an expectation of sex right off the bat. Don't get me wrong, sex positivity is important and we shouldn't shame people for their sex lives. But I feel like we don't don't talk about not being into that kind of thing enough.

I also didn't know at the time that I was asexual, and while I'm sex neutral and open to the idea of sex with a trusted partner, I don't have any desire to seek out sexual relationships. Not experiencing sexual attraction made figuring out my attraction a thousand times harder. I still don't know if I'm bi/pan or lesbian. I do refer to myself as gay or lesbian in some instances, but sometimes I say queer or just shrug and say "I like girls" or "I'm not straight" and some days I'm okay with the vagueness of that, but other days I feel the stress and pressure of having to pick an identity in order to have a community to belong to and be accepted. That stress and pressure doesn't get better when all the advice I can find on the subject just tells me to have sex and that'll clear everything up.

We put a lot of focus on finding out exactly "what" you are. And I don't think sex is the best way to do that. Lots of people have varying interest in sexual or physical intimacy, not just queers. My cishet friend told me she got a boyfriend but she wasn't entirely sure if what she was feeling was romantic, and that the idea of kissing made her uncomfortable. She doesn't identify as ace or aro, and she shouldn't have to. People can have a lack of interest in these things without a lack of attraction.

Another issue with this advice is that sexual and romantic attraction doesn't always line up for everyone. You may enjoy sex with all genders, but find you only have a desire to date one. So sexual experimenting wouldn't necessarily answer the question for you. Orientation is really complicated. I did mostly consider myself lesbian, but I occasionally find men aesthetically attractive, and I'm honestly starting to wonder if I'm actually bi but still feel uncomfortable using the term.

All this needlessly long and ramble-y text to say, this advice is simply useless to a lot of people. And while I can't speak personally for this part, I'd bet at least some people who enjoy sexual experimentation still weren't sure of their orientation at the end of it. This advice shouldn't be presented as the one size fits all solution.

If you're uncomfortable or uninterested in figuring out your identity this way, there's nothing wrong with that. There's also nothing wrong with not knowing. You don't have to know right now, or ever if you'd prefer that. It's okay to use vague terms. It's also okay to use whatever label feels closest even if it's not perfect. And remember, you're not locked into anything. You can always change labels.

There is no right way to determine your orientation. Everyone discovers themself in different ways and at different ages. It's not a race or a checklist. The most important thing is to be kind and patient with yourself and whatever you do to figure yourself out, be safe.

I automatically win every online argument because I have a rabbit snoring in my room and you don't

Sometimes I just feel extra gay and feel like I need to do something to express that but never know what. I can't explain it it's just an intense need to be gay

tag the oc who speaks very softly

My top 10 hottest Disney moms

@princess-ichigo I dare you to reblog with your own top 10

1. Sina - Moana

2. Chief Virana - Raya and the Last Dragon

3. Mother Gothel - Tangled

4. Queen Iduna - Frozen

5. Eudora - Princess and the Frog

6. Pepa - Encanto

7. Mrs. Darling - Peter Pan

8. Tarzan's Mother - Tarzan

9. Queen Athena - Ariel's Beginning

10. Queen Arianna - Tangled

hi! if you’re a nblw or wlw blog that allows nblw interaction could you rb this please? I need some ppl to follow

Like and reblog if your account is a safe space for trans lesbians. It feels like trans lesbians in particular get shamed and ridiculed a lot by people in and out of the community. If you’re reading this I want to let you know you’re valid and I hope your safe and doing well.

The shelter I got my bunny from is having a fundraiser!

The way it works is people enter their pets to be chosen to be used in the yearly calendar they make and people give a donation in order to vote on the pets. I entered my rabbit since I got him from this shelter and wanted to show support for it. All funds raised by voting on him will be going straight to the shelter and supporting more animals like him. I'm very grateful to this shelter for bringing me my wonderful boy and would love if he could help raise some funds for them.

GoGo Photo Contest

Vote for Mocha in "Who Rescued Who?" Calendar Contest.

Show your support for Central Alberta Humane Society by voting for Mocha in "Who Rescued Who?" Calendar Contest

I dont think you guys understand but i was made to be on earth and listen to taylor swift. Putting all of taylor swift's albums on replay is literally my life's purpose.

You get the dragon at the ceremony

important announcement bae

what? when?? how?!? I wasn't told about this! D:

and what about my dragon? I refuse to accept a marriage proposal without a real life dragon 😤

Thank you soooooo much! It's gorgeous! It's my new banner ^-^

Bunny/Coffee/Browns based moodboard (one with the name FluffTail, and the other without!) For @flufftails-corner c: Hope you like this!!

Want one? Send an ask~ -mod Jay

Every day my rabbit wakes up and chooses violence

Japan would be appalled at how I make ramen.

BABIES! BABY KITTIES! PRECIOUS LITTLE POKEY FLUFFBALLS OF LOVE AND JOY

Each one has its own thing going on

Reasons to only have one pet:

Being able to give them a treat without getting harassed by the other five that heard and demand one too