tibberius:au where everything is the same except this is the...

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tibberius:

au where everything is the same except this is the video of yuuri that goes viral 

reason why bi people are more oppressed than gay people #633

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I was making a rainbow flag filtered grievous icon and a bi flag filtered grievous icon for my Star Wars sideblog and the rainbow filter was by Facebook and the resulting picture was very crispy but the only bi filter I could find with a hasty Google search was from something called “twibbon” which gives very low res results because it’s only mean for Twitter icons. this is bullshit and I demand equal representation

reason why bi people are more oppressed than gay people #633

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hailmaryfullofgrace55675:

I was making a rainbow flag filtered grievous icon and a bi flag filtered grievous icon for my Star Wars sideblog and the rainbow filter was by Facebook and the resulting picture was very crispy but the only bi filter I could find with a hasty Google search was from something called “twibbon” which gives very low res results because it’s only mean for Twitter icons. this is bullshit and I demand equal representation

just realized that I called the rainbow pic “crispy” which has a pretty different meaning from crisp. next icon is deep friend jpeg grievous. hey, new community flag. we just deepfry a picture of the crying emoji into oblivion. anyway, follow my Star Wars sideblog at hailmaryfullofstars55675.tumblr.com and NO I will not change my URL

gaymergoblin: sgaprivilege: scissortailedsaint: missvoltairine: look not that I expect everyone...

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gaymergoblin:

sgaprivilege:

scissortailedsaint:

missvoltairine:

look not that I expect everyone to know this but the word “bisexual” has been in use since 1892, and although it did not always mean “attraction to the same and other genders” it has never meant “not gay but not straight either, including asexuals”. Claiming that it has is actively erasing an entire fucking GLOBAL history of bisexual people and same-gender attraction and redefining an orientation that bisexual activists have fought hard for recognition of as a mere “lack” - an absence of gayness, an absence of straightness, and thereby something that would include het asexuals - instead of as a PRESENCE of a unique sexuality. This is a massive step BACKWARDS in terms of advocacy, in terms of understanding our history, in terms of understanding the forces that marginalize bi people (and lesbian, gay, and trans people), and it’s not fine with me.

I saw somebody say that “the bi community was actively rejecting definitions beyond ‘not gay, not straight’ into the mid-90s.” That is complete bullshit.

First, there is not a unified bi community. (Not even in the U.S. which is what I’m looking at here.) Bisexuals have organized in different spaces, under different banners, with different politics, and potentially different self-understandings. So even if not feeling attraction to anyone was considered “bisexuality” among some early-90s bisexuals (which, i mean, [x]doubt), that doesn’t mean this was standard throughout “the bi community.”

Plus, there clearly were people identifying & organizing under positive definitions of bisexuality.

The Bisexual Center in San Francisco was founded in 1976. At least by 1983 - when "Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality“ [preview available] was being researched -  they spoke of themselves in flyers as:

We are people seeking to love and share intimately with both women and men. Self-defined as bisexuals (although such labels are limiting), we are working to create for ourselves and others a strong sense of community.

and also:

We support relationships between persons of the same and other sex. These relationships may include relating spiritually, socially, emotionally, sensually, sexually, and intellectually. We also support persons choosing a celibate lifestyle. 

There’s a 2000 essay/encyclopedia entry about the “Bisexual Movement” on Robyn Ochs’ site that talks about bisexual organizations in the 70s and 80s. Am I supposed to believe that none of these had any positive understanding of bisexuality? (For the record, you can preview parts of ”Bisexuality in the United States: A Social Science Reader“ by Paula C. Rust, which might include more bi history in the U.S.)

“Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out” was published in 1991. (So still before the mid-90s, when bisexual supposedly didn’t have a definition.) It includes the entry “Myths/realities of bisexuality” by Sharon Forman Sumpter [which can be previewed here, along with other parts of the book], which describes bisexuality like this:

As Boston bisexual activist Robyn Ochs says, bisexuality is the “potential for being sexually and/or romantically involved with members of either sex.

and also: 

Bisexual simply means the potential for involvement wither either gender. This may mean sexually, emotionally, in reality, or in fantasy.

So I think there’s evidence that: 1. positive understandings of bisexual identity existed before the mid-90s (beyond the negative “not gay, not straight”); and 2. sexual interest was not always the exclusive focus of bisexual identity. It is common for bisexuality (and gay & lesbian sexuality) to be discussed in terms of sexual attraction! But that is not the only way it’s been understood.

Ace bi people have every right to identify as “bisexual;” this isn’t paradoxical or ahistorical. However, I want to pre-emptively counter the idea that whenever past bisexuals included non-sexual aspects in bi identity, they must have been referencing asexual experience specifically. As if bi people ~who experience sexual attraction~ would never include non-sexual elements in their bisexual identity, or are never disinterested in sex. 

Clearly bisexual identity doesn’t exclude disinterest in sex or lack of sexual attraction. But claiming any definition of bisexual, which isn’t 100% about sexual attraction, is about asexuality… just reinforces the (evidently ahistorical) idea that bisexuality (as such) is always defined by exclusively sexual attraction.

Furthermore, just as a point of interest, I think bisexuality has often been [uncomfortably] viewed as a hybrid of straight and gay sexualities. Not as a void space where anything not gay or straight - including asexuality as such - can fit. Paula C. Rusts also theorizes bisexual identity in “The Politics of Sexual Identity: Sexual Attraction and Behavior among Lesbian and Bisexual Women” (1992): 

The construction of homosexuality and heterosexuality created the possibility of bisexuality, conceptualized as a hybrid form of sexuality. […] Individuals with bisexual experience found that their homosexual and heterosexual experiences had been created separately and that two different people had emerged from these different experiences. Bisexuals who chose to acknowledge both their heterosexual and homosexual experiences were left with no basis for a holistic sexual identity in a world in which sexual identity politics were becoming increasingly important.

There’s another essay in Bi Any Other Name called “Development of a bisexual identity: Understanding the process” by Ann Fox (a “bisexual feminist psychotherapist”). She says:

Development of a bisexual identity is a very individual process, but one that by definition involves the need to come to terms with, and accept, both the heterosexual and homosexual aspects of one’s feelings, attractions, and desires. Further it requires the ability to integrate homosexuality and heterosexuality oriented aspects of self into a cohesive sexual orientation, which can then be experienced as a congruent, affirmative aspects of one’s self-concept.

These women seem to be theorizing about bisexual identity from a more academic perspective. But I have seen many instances (in books and articles I’ve read) of bi people talking about ‘their gay selves and straight selves’ and being ‘both [fully] gay and [fully] straight.’ I suspect this has been (and still is) a common way bi people think about their sexuality, even though it’s losing popularity in some bi spaces.

I’ve never seen any suggestion that “no attraction [of any kind]” = bisexual.

ETA: There were also lesbians who were disinterested in sex & didn’t feel this challenged their lesbian identity. Here are some quotes from a woman who was interviewed in 1989. So obviously not everybody pre-mid-90s identified (or were identified) as bisexual on the basis of disinterest in sex.

@gaymergoblin !

Thank u!

Disco Appreciation Post

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heyitsxio:

averyl-ongtimeago:

If you go off of how disco is referenced in pop culture today, it’s easy to think that disco was an insignificant fad that had no depth and played obnoxious, repetitive music. I want to tell you all the ways that that is wrong, and show how totally radical and significant disco actually was, especially for women, people of color, and gays. I also want to address the reason that disco isn’t better appreciated today. Get ready to get excited, empowered, mad, and addicted to the boogie.

Music:

In the early 70s, music was changing a lot. The 60s were dominated by Rock n’ Roll, Folk, and Soul. The songs that came out of those genres were designed to be heard live in a concert, either by the artist themselves or a cover band. That means that to listen to the music as it was intended, you have to go out on a specific night that your band is playing, and if you want to dance, it’ll be for maybe an hour or less, depending how long the performers’ set is. 

Disco came out of the urban black populations of cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Detroit. Instead of being played live by bands, it was played on vinyl discs, which could be played indefinitely. As such, the music became focused on keeping people dancing all night. The upbeat rhythm that some people criticize disco for as sounding all the same is actually very intentional: it’s a good, danceable rhythm that is consistent between songs, so instead of having dead noise as you wait for the next song to start, you can just fade out of one song and into the other without stopping the dancing. 

What’s more, since it wasn’t live, you could go to a discotheque any night of the week and know that there would be good music to dance to. This totally changed the culture of nightlife. Instead of going out on a pre-scheduled date with your sweetheart, now you could just get together with your friends at the last minute and head to the disco! Many women at the time found this liberating, because they were no longer tied to a man on a date, but hanging out with their girlfriends. Some even said that disco was better than sex. 

Shifting Sexuality:

That being said, disco and sexuality were closely linked. Sure, singing about sexual desire was nothing new, but the approach as well as the message were pretty different: 

Rock n’ Roll’s focus on fulfilling one’s own sexual satisfaction, without much concern for the (presumed female) partner was being slowly replaced by the more sensual, affectionate attitude presented in soul. Take for example a contrast of the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On”:

“Satisfaction” (1965)

“And I’m tryin’ to make some girl, who tells meBaby, better come back maybe next weekCan’t you see I’m on a losing streak”

:Let’s Get it On” (1973) 

“Don’t you know how sweet and wonderful life can be?I’m askin’ you baby to get it on with me, oh ohI ain’t gonna worry, I ain’t gonna pushI won’t push you baby“

Not only was there a shift in message, but there was a huge shift in who was singing about sexual desire. White women, black men, and especially black women dominated the charts with catchy songs about love, dance, and sexual attraction. 

Donna Summer was a black woman from Boston who became known as the “Queen of Disco,” as she sold over 140 million records and earned 32 hit singles throughout her career. Her songs made it clear that she wouldn’t let anyone define her sexuality for her. On one occasion, her assistant was accosted by a cop because she was wearing sexy clothes and he thought she was a “streetwalker.” She convinced him that she wasn’t, but when Summer heard the story she asked, “Well, what would’ve been so bad if she was?” This prompted her song, “Bad Girls,” in which she is unapologetically sexy and emphasizes that sex workers are “Like everybody else, they come from near and far,” ordinary people who are trying to make money. 

My favorite example of black women owning their sexuality is in the music video of “It’s Raining Men,” by the Weather Girls. The group consisted of two overweight black women, Izora Armstead and Martha Wash, who in a hilariously low-budget video sing about how there’s no need to be lonely when you’re single, you’ve got many men to choose from for your sexual satisfaction:

“I’m gonna go out to run and let myself getAbsolutely soaking wetIt’s raining men, hallelujah” 

Gays and Disco

Disco wasn’t just a place of open sexuality for straight people, it also was huge for the growing gay community. Underground gay discos began as early as 1969, but they became so popular that soon they became regular stops for straight people as well. This led to what the Village Voice refers to as the “mainstreaming of gay”:

“…the straight party world seemed to acknowledge gays as the indispensable ingredient of disco…

Not only did gay men confer instant cachet on straights, but the very ethos of the disco era–the quest for perpetual pleasure–seemed to have pansexual applications. Albert Goldman, a chronicler of disco during the ‘70s, observed that “what differentiates discomania from most of its predecessors is its overt tendency to spill over into orgy, as it has done already in the gay world. All disco is implicitly orgy.” In the course of this overlap, disco became the vector by which gay liberation’s sexual mores penetrated the straight world. 

The rise of disco had brought with it the mainstreaming of gay, possibly the opening salvo in the queering of America. Yet it wasn’t homosexuality per se that disco ushered in but a sustained exploration of the sexual self, including the femme side of the male persona. With its fluid structure of crests and flows, disco music allowed men to imagine the wavelike and recurrent quality of the female orgasm, and to enter a world of psychic plenitude where the spartan injunctions of machismo had been overthrown. Needless to say, this world turned upside down made another, discophobic America very nervous.”

Within 10 years of Stonewall, gays reached unprecedented visibility both on the dancefloor and the records themselves. One of the best known openly gay music groups of disco was Village People, who always wore these costumes:

Their message was that gays are everywhere: we are ordinary people, who do ordinary jobs, like construction or military service. (And, before you get upset by the war bonnet, that’s Felipe Rose, who is actually Native American)

As the Village Voice article suggests, the presence of gays in disco challenged mainstream masculinity. In their song “Macho Man,” Village People lift weights and show off their large muscles, while also being flamboyantly gay, which at the time was stereotyped as being very feminine. 

You’re probably familiar with their song “YMCA,” but you may not know just how gay it is. Answer: very gay. The song addresses the experience of young gay men who wanted to escape the homophobia and isolation of their small towns and move to the big city. With locations in every city, the YMCA was a cheap resource for temporary housing and meals, and it soon saw an abundance of young gay men. This was huge for three reasons: 1) the individual realized that he wasn’t the only one with these kinds of feelings and began feeling much more validated/justified in his sexuality, 2) he was able to make friends and form a proud, gay community, and 3) he was surrounded by horny, sexually available potential partners!

Let’s take a look at some of the lyrics of YMCA:

Young man, there’s no need to feel down.I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.I said, young man, ‘cause you’re in a new townThere’s no need to be unhappy.Young man, there’s a place you can go.I said, young man, when you’re short on your dough.You can stay there, and I’m sure you will findMany ways to have a good time. […]

They have everything for you men to enjoy,You can hang out with all the boys… […]

Young man, I was once in your shoes.I said, I was down and out with the blues.I felt no man cared if I were alive.I felt the whole world was so jive…That’s when someone came up to me,And said, young man, take a walk up the street.There’s a place there called the Y.M.C.A.They can start you back on your way.

Like I said, very gay. 

Discophobia

Unfortunately, as I’m sure you can guess, all of this increased visibility and sexual autonomy by women, people of color, and gays was not universally well-received by mainstream culture, and a new movement began that spread quickly like an anti-disco inferno. 

This movement was called, and I’m not joking, “Disco Sucks.” It was founded by this guy:

This is Steve Dahl. He was a Rock n Roll DJ for a radio station before he was fired when his station transitioned to disco, and as a result he made it his life’s mission to to launch a “war on disco.” When he got a new job at a different radio, he spent all of his time lambasting disco, criticizing it for all sounding the same and having no depth. 

Dahl became widely popular, to the point that the Chicago White Sox invited him to come entertain the crowd during one of their games. On July 12, 1979, White Sox fans paid $.99 if they brought a disco record that could be destroyed as a part of Dahl’s “Disco Demolition Night.” A video of the event can be found here. The event quickly went out of control, as the explosions destroyed part of left field, the crowd ran onto the field, and many people stole bases (no pun intended) and even home plate. 

Why did people become so enraged at disco? The messages in the songs were pretty innocuous (at least on the surface level), mostly dealing with love, attraction, and hopes for world peace. Perhaps a key to understanding it is to look at the demographics of the anti-disco movement, namely: young, straight, white men. Maybe some of them really were just tired of disco music, but for a large number of people disco threatened the cultural landscape that they were familiar with and which favored them. Instead of the Rolling Stones, they were now hearing the Weather Girls, Village People, and Earth, Wind & Fire. 

Disco saw a sharp, painful decline after Disco Demolition Night. it was pretty much gone by 1981. 

To highlight the difference: in 1979, the top 10 Billboard Hits had 6 songs by black women, two songs by black men and women, and one song by an openly gay band, leaving only three songs that were sung by straight white men. Only three years later in 1982, the top 10 only had 2 songs by white women, and one collaboration between Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. The other 7 songs were all straight white men. Whereas in 1978 the charts were “majority minority,” by 1982 it had flipped and being straight, white, and male was once again the default. Some even argue that mainstream music hasn’t been as diverse as disco was since.

tl;dr Disco was a musical movement that gave unprecedented visibility to minority groups, especially women, black people, and gays, giving them a voice and a space to own, explore, and be proud of their sexuality. 

This was very well researched and I hope that people don’t tl;dr their way through this. However, as a quick point of information, disco didn’t really “die” as much as it went underground and took on different names, like house, hi-NRG, no wave (not to be confused with new wave, although there’s some disco influence there too), freestyle, and electro. There were still disco influences in early/mid 80s r&b too, you can’t tell me this isn’t a straight up disco song. Disco may have been “dead” in the eyes of the mainstream music world, but its influence was profound.

queerqueerspawn:Eevee really is the best. That illusion of choice. That irrevocable, untestable...

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queerqueerspawn:

Eevee really is the best. That illusion of choice. That irrevocable, untestable alteration of the self that looms in the inevitable future, threatening to obliterate all but one of the figs on your tree, Sylvia Plath, so stay young, choose nothing, and watch them all spoil.