| I'm not updating this journal anymore. It has too much baggage attached to it, and I want to try and move on. I've been on edge the past couple of weeks, and--right now, at least--I only really want to be surrounded with just a few people. I'm sorry.
I'm also undeleting this journal because of a request from Tri. She said that she has posts of this journal saved in her memories. So I'm doing this for her.
I wish you all the best of luck. |   |
| | Current Music: | "Can't Help Falling In Love (cover)" -- Takui | | Security: | | | Time: | 11:40 pm | | Current Mood: |  contemplative |
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| (First of all, this cover is freaking awesome. If anyone wants it, tell me and I'll upload it for you guys. I cried the first time I heard it, and Takui's voice is just so strong and beautiful. ♥)
Secondly: This is not going to be friends-locked because~ a couple of people actually asked for me to let it remain public for linking purposes. Um.... okay. o.o;;
So~ this is a rant. Kinda. More like a Neko-Ramble, but... with rant-ish undertones? o.o;; A smart rant? A general observation? Well, I don't know. I just call it Neko Babble, so you can call it whatever you want. XD;;
I first noticed this when I mentioned that I was planning on watching Wilde for my British Lit movie review paper. The first response (not unexpected) was: OMGYAYAWESOME. The second response (which was totally not expected) was: OMGEWWWSTEPHENFRY. I thought and I thought about this, and I just could NOT figure out why I got the second reaction. I mean, Stephen Fry plays Oscar Wilde in the movie. He's the star. Why get an OMGEWWWW reaction? Thus, I tracked down some of the people who had made that comment and asked them why, exactly, they had commented they way that they did.
Their answers got me thinking, not only about them, but also about myself.
"He's not pretty, like Jude Law is."
I kinda blinked at this, and asked them to repeat themselves: the same response ensued. And that got the clock ticking. (Don't you all love my analogies? I get them from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) luceage. XD) How many times have I flippantly said: "Oh~ I like watching pretty men together. :D" and not even given my statement a second thought?
But, if you think about it, there's something seriously wrong there.
And I'll tell you why.
I think that the slash/shounen-ai/yaoi fandom has started up some major problems. In some ways it's managed to help the gay movement, but... I've begun to notice that it's also begun to at least somewhat hinder it. Most of you guys write shounen-ai for either anime, manga, or J-rock. (Or certain books, in special cases.) Well, think about it: these mediums have bombarded us with images of gorgeous men. Beautiful men. Androgynous men: delicate, effeminate. Pretty.
In little ways, I've noticed that this has begun to become the stereotype for a gay couple. YES, deep down inside, we know that this isn't real and this is fantasy, and real gay couples AREN'T LIKE THIS, but... then why do we sometimes react differently? It seems that, in some cases, the stereotype for the things that we write about, has become the expected standard... even if we do it subconsciously.
I'll use the example of the movie Wilde, as I had mentioned it above. Stephen Fry is NOT a pretty man. Stephen Fry is the man that a person would describe as "book-ish" or "nerdy." He is not noticeably pretty, nor is he overtly masculine. So, right there, he disrupts the expectation of what a "typical" gay couple/man is supposed to look like. (If you're going by the stereotype that anime, manga, J-rock, etc. seems to have been generating lately, anyway.)
So now we'll look at two new examples: Anna-senpai's friend, Mark. Mark does NOT look gay. He is clean-cut, with masculine features. If he had still been in high school, I would have expected him to be the quarter back for the football team. It's not until he sees a cockroach (or so says Anna-senpai~ XD;;) or feels comfortable enough in your presence that he starts makes gay jokes (I still die whenever I remember the "wrong lube" memory XD) that you realize that he is gay. Next example would be my room mate's boyfriend, Seth. Seth is... pretty. Very, very pretty. He's a model and an actor and is absolutely gorgeous. If you go by the anime/manga/J-rock stereotype, Seth would be expected to be gay. But... he's not. Seth likes girls. (A little too much, I think. ^^;;) What does this mean?
This is a look at two real men: what the stereotype expects, and how it's broken.
I think that this is why I enjoyed (what I saw of) Queer As Folk. It has its own set of problems, but--visually--it breaks the expectations that anime/manga/J-rock would generate. The men in the show are men: normal, sometimes chubby, sometimes masculine, just... men. None of them could be really described as "pretty," as most J-rock men can be.
The point of this?
I think that a lot of us (and I'm including myself in that, too~) need to start being a little bit more careful before the stereotype that's already ingrained itself (partially, at least) becomes what's expected. In real life, real gay couples are not anime and manga couples. [Most] Gay couples are not J-rockers. Most gay couples are normal: just men--wanting to be with one another, joking with one another, loving each other. That's the stereotype that should be expected. Nothing else, really.
They're real people, not representations of real people (anime, manga, public image that J-rockers give out, etc.).
...and, um. I'm done. ^^;; I think. o.o;;
*steps down off of the soapbox*
~Owari~ | | comments: 24 comments or Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | "Whisper" -- Evanescence | | Security: | | | Time: | 03:30 am | | Current Mood: |  accomplished |
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| So, yes. Otakon report. Just... a little late. XD
WARNING: Sadly, hugely, GROSSLY picture-heavy. Dial-up users will probably hate me. ...sorry? ^^;;
Highlights: Neko-chan/Lirin fighting off Godzilla, Sanzo sitting in Lirin's lap~~, Sho from Moon Child, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow... DiGiCharat-style, Laruku concert, Chrysta's stolen box of Rice Krispies
Neko-chan Presents...
Otakon 2004
( So, this one time at band camp... )
( THE CONCERT )
( The Rest )
And that was my Otakon experience.
...and it took over four hours to type up. o.o;;
~Owari~ | | comments: 34 comments or Leave a comment |
| | Security: | | | Subject: | Survery | | Time: | 05:20 pm | | Current Mood: |  bored |
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| Stolen from 'Cat, who stole it from Holly, who stole it from Hikari, who probably stole it from either Sallie or Kyuu. XDDD;
( Survey! )
And now I shall go back to reading a ficu that I found on 'Dia-san's favorites page. *nods*
~Owari~ | | comments: 20 comments or Leave a comment |
| | Security: | | | Subject: | Quoth... | | Time: | 03:00 pm | | Current Mood: | XDDD;; |
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| Quote that adequately sums up writers and their profession:
"YUCK! Writers sit around in their underwear all day. They're all perverts."
--Shindou Shuichi, Gravitation: Volume 1, Track 2
XDDD;
~Owari~ | | comments: 29 comments or Leave a comment |
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