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@qddintwd
Use #QueerDarylDixon tonight!
use the hashtag #QueerDarylDixon on your public social media posts (especially Twitter) during and around the episode tonight to show your support for and spread awareness of #QueerDarylDixon as positive representation in canon that fans stand by!
Everyone who is tweeting or liveblogging tonight, remember that #QueerDarylDixon is the hashtag for the QDD campaign. If you're excited by the idea of or supportive of a queer Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead, then use this hashtag in some of your tweeting tonight and throughout the season!
I am totally up for queer!Daryl, but (given my past experiences) I'm pretty doubtful this will ever happen. What makes you think that the writers are, er, capable of making one of their characters explicitly queer/not-straight? I mean AMC doesn't exactly have a track record of compelling LGBT characters, does it? I'm not an expert on AMC shows and I haven't got a lot of experience in the fandom so I don't know what the attitude of the writers/producers is like, could you enlighten me?
hey, thanks for the ask~
i’m overdue for bed but i thought I’d answer so I’m sorry if it sounds inarticulate lmao, but since you’re not very familiar with the latest I’ll bring you up to speed.
the writers have actually, especially recently, been explicitly forthright that queer Daryl is a possibility that has been discussed by the writers and would be supported by AMC (Kirkman replied to a fan letter about this in a recent issue of TWD, and was supported by Gimple, the current show-runner, in a follow-up interviewer, which you can find by googling- I am avoiding those articles after my initial read through because the comments sections have taken a very nasty turn and I have an inability to not-look. However, you can read the #QueerDarylDixon campaign’s reply to Kirkman’s welcoming queer Daryl response here.)
as to AMC’s track record- I only watch a few AMC programs so I’ll only speak to those. I’m not sure how up to date you are on TWD, but in the comics there are multiple queer characters including gay male characters who can be seen as parallels to Daryl’s role in the show whom they have made no move to introduce (since Daryl is present, these characters are not needed in this role). The show also introduced their first out explicitly queer supportive character this season, and she’s included in the large cast pictures for the season upcoming and everything- Tara Chambler, who talked about past girlfriends, was briefly shown in a relationship, and also out and out stated “yeah, I like girls” as a rebuttal to a male character’s advances in case anyone else hadn’t picked up on that yet. She’s wonderfully written and well-rounded and one of the most realistic additions to the cast in recent years and I adore her; I’m holding on to hope that she isn’t going to be a token gay but instead a warm-up gay, leading up to Daryl coming out in S5 or S6.
AMC also this past summer released a show that was just renewed for a second season called Halt and Catch Fire. Halt and Catch Fire is a show completely unrelated to queer issues at large- it’s about the development of PCs in the early 80s- and stars as its biggest name and lead actor Lee Pace, who plays in the show a bisexual man. This is, to my knowledge- and I do a HELL of a lot of queer media blogging- the first bisexual male protagonist on American basic cable. Usually bisexual characters are young and female, white or mixed race, and in relationships with men while their past relationships or occasional flirtations with female characters are fetishized; Lee Pace’s Joe character has an on screen romantic relationship with a woman, on screen sexual relationships with men and women, and an on screen past romantic relationship with a man, all without falling into the traps of promiscuous bisexuals or fetishizing one over the other, or depicting one as more sexual or more romantic than the other. It’s truly a groundbreaking show, an AMC original, and one that AMC has put money on for a second season, so we should be looking at this network right now as one that is at the forefront of queer representation in media, not falling behind.
This is all not even getting into the fact that Norman Reedus himself has always addressed the possibility of love interests for Daryl without gender-specifics; he’s constantly in interviews countered the suggestion of relationships with female co-stars by bringing up the idea of Daryl being with a male character instead; and in a recent interview, he responded as thinking they were fairly platonic to both of the dominant Daryl-related heterosexual ships in the fandom right now and then proceeded to go out of his way when talking about relationships to articulate not just “when a guy meets a girl, or a girl meets a girl, or a guy meets a guy”- without a punchline or any other endgame, which is not often done. This could just be because of NR’s sexuality, whatever it may or may not be, or it could be because he is aware of other things in the works. He’s also been quoted as saying that Daryl “is not going to love who you expect” and that he “feels pretty strongly about it”- which is an exceedingly specific statement and very suggestive of far more than a woman you wouldn’t have thought of previously as a potential love interest.
When all of this is tied in to the existing reading for Daryl as queer, which predates but is affirmed in Chupacabra when he has his hallucination of Merle, all the way through his falling in love with Rick and showing his attraction to men in S3, and then was made extra EXTRA EXTRA gay this entire last season by all but outright stating his feelings for Rick out loud, it feels cumulative. It’s become, at this point, an introduced plot point. I don’t think they’re going to pull a Dumbledore on us. They’re proud of saying that nobody on this show is safe and that they aren’t afraid to kill Daryl- they shouldn’t be afraid to out him, either, and I don’t think they are. I’m just waiting for it to happen :3
"When asked if the possibility of Daryl being gay had been considered, Kirkman answered, “All I can say is that it’s been discussed. We have very specific ideas about Daryl’s sexuality (or the seeming lack thereof), and if there’s ever a quiet period in the show where he’s not consistently distracted by crossbowing… we’ll tackle it in the show.”
When also asked if AMC would let the possibility of Daryl Dixon being gay fly, Kirkman responded, “For the record, they absolutely would.”
Well darlins, I'm back from Otakon, and this is like coming home to a piece of strawberry cheesecake dripping in syrup and covered in berries waiting for me to dig right the fuck in.
Because this? This is MONUMENTAL.
Regardless of if Daryl's sexuality is ever revealed in the show, or what it might ever be revealed to be, this statement right here is showing that Daryl as queer has been taken seriously as a possibility. Not just by queer fans- not just by shippers of queer ships- not just by people starved and grasping and clutching at the crumbs we're given- but by the people who are creating this show.
That it has been taken seriously enough to be discussed, that it has been taken seriously enough to not be dismissed outright but to be kept under wraps and thus treated as JUST AS LEGITIMATE A POSSIBILITY AS DARYL BEING STRAIGHT.
(and you all know me, so you KNOW that I've long thought that I think Daryl as queer is much more likely than Daryl as straight, but that's another conversation entirely)
Daryl as queer is no longer something that other fans can dismiss as ludicrous, not only because we were ALWAYS legitimate and if you EVER dismissed us you should feel bad-- but because we have now been officially legitimized. It's not just fan conjecture; it's a possibility and it's been an official one. It's a possibility that AMC would stand behind and support. It's a possibility that the show creators and that we know Norman Reedus would stand behind and support. It's a possibility that queer fans and straight fans alike DESERVE to have treated as worthwhile.
If you ever told us we were being ridiculous- if you ever told us they would never, AMC would never, TWD's showrunners would never, if you ever told us we were being delusional- if you ever told us Daryl couldn't be because he didn't fit enough of your stereotypes- if you ever told us it was impossible-- you need to realize how very wrong you were and why what you said was wrong on a moral level and not just on a factual level.
I'm celebrating. Whatever happens- and you can bet your ass this gives me real, concrete hope, because anyone who takes it seriously enough to talk about it this much is more likely to to maybe even do it- we've been treated like we, and the idea of a queer Daryl- the idea that the most bad-ass character on television, the brooding sex symbol, the gorgeous moody protagonist, the idol of the South, the break from every stereotype-- we've been treated like stereotypes don't exist and queer Daryl could possibly BE, and that means the world.
Thanks.
Someone tell me where to send Robert Kirkman a #QueerDarylDixon teeshirt :) he's earned it.
darlings! after much wait, you can now have #QUEERDARYLDIXON shirts of your very very own!
For now they come in “men’s” and “women’s” styles and sizes.
They can be purchased from the QueerDarylDixon.Spreadshirt.Com store here.
Spreadshirt does ship internationally, though it costs a little bit more money than shipping to the US. The shirts themselves aren’t very expensive, because I currently have it set so there is zero profit being made off of these whatsoever, so if you’d like to buy them while they’re less than $20 please jump now!
What I would like to do is to find an LGBT charity to donate future proceeds from these shirts to. If you know of one, especially one that relates in some way to either Norman, TWD, or LGBT representation in media, please let me know.
EDIT for the time being, all shirts are priced at $24.90, so that with each sale $5.00 will go to GLAAD, an organization that works to ensure accurate and diverse representations of LGBT people on the big and small screens. If you would like to suggest other charities relating to LGBT in media please send me a message.
I haven’t yet gotten my own shirt in the mail yet so if you have any problems relating to how the design looks, I’d like to know. If you have any problems with this relating to spreadshirt, please contact them.
If you have any problems relating to not agreeing about Daryl being queer, please keep them to yourself, and respect fans who are trying to show their support for LGBT representation and maybe one day raise money for a good cause while they’re doing it.
Thank you and I hope a lot of us get to wear these as time goes on! If you ever get the chance to take a picture with the cast wearing your #QUEERDARYLDIXON shirt, please submit it to us!
darlings! after much wait, you can now have #QUEERDARYLDIXON shirts of your very very own!
For now they come in "men's" and "women's" styles and sizes.
They can be purchased from the QueerDarylDixon.Spreadshirt.Com store here.
Spreadshirt does ship internationally, though it costs a little bit more money than shipping to the US. The shirts themselves aren't very expensive, because I currently have it set so there is zero profit being made off of these whatsoever, so if you'd like to buy them while they're less than $20 please jump now!
What I would like to do is to find an LGBT charity to donate future proceeds from these shirts to. If you know of one, especially one that relates in some way to either Norman, TWD, or LGBT representation in media, please let me know.
I haven't yet gotten my own shirt in the mail yet so if you have any problems relating to how the design looks, I'd like to know. If you have any problems with this relating to spreadshirt, please contact them.
If you have any problems relating to not agreeing about Daryl being queer, please keep them to yourself, and respect fans who are trying to show their support for LGBT representation and maybe one day raise money for a good cause while they're doing it.
Thank you and I hope a lot of us get to wear these as time goes on! If you ever get the chance to take a picture with the cast wearing your #QUEERDARYLDIXON shirt, please submit it to us!
queers being complacent is so ten years ago.
Tumblr doesn’t seem to want to let me post more than one photo per post, so here is a continuation of the last one.
Tiny Daryl joining in Pride!
… we’re all unreasonable people, and progress depends on our changing the world to fit us. Not the other way around.
Joe in Halt and Catch Fire 1x02, paraphrasing George Bernard Shaw “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
Halt and Catch Fire is an AMC show with a queer male protagonist. I'm only two episodes in, but this quote stood out to me for obvious reasons.
We refuse to be passive in our media consumption.
I encourage #QueerDarylDixon fans to check it out and show AMC support if they enjoy the program. :)
Thank you to all the fabulous supporters I met at AnimeNEXT this past weekend! I hope I see more of you at future events and online.
I have plans to organize a lot of my personal meta and post it over on here, but in the meantime, I'm posting some links to temporarily find some of the meta on Daryl's sexuality from my personal blog.
This meta is unedited and in some cases v inappropriate- most of it was written late at night and it is all on my personal blog, so it's full of swearing and not as finished as I'd like it to be before I put it on here officially. But until I re-edit it, if people checking out this blog want to read some of the reasoning behind it, here are the links to my personal meta on the subject. Please excuse all of its typos and errors, and enjoy!!
I met a lot of cool and supportive people talking about #QueerDarylDixon at AnimeNEXT this past weekend and I gave a few of you my personal blog so you could check out my meta, which isn’t edited or up on qddintwd yet. Until it is, here are links below to some of my main meta on Daryl and his sexuality as presented in the show. This is by no means comprehensive so feel free to click around my blog and look for more:
Main Meta: Why I Think Daryl Dixon is Intended to be Gay (in need of updating but still very right)
"But he could be asexual or have trust issues/Men are able to have close friendships without being gay" and my response
"What makes you think Daryl just didn’t have time to get laid?" and my response
Daryl and Emotional Intimacy, and why Daryl’s queerness fits with his character arc, as a response to an ask
Yes I’m So Fucking Serious I Seriously Think This IS HAPPENING
Lazy half-meta on Daryl’s hallucination of Merle in 2x05
Lazy half-meta on how Daryl and Martinez totally wanted to bone in 3x13
My LGBT in media tag (not just TWD)
qddintwd the official campaign tumblr
@queerdaryldixon the official campaign twitter
An Open Letter to AMC and TPTB on The Walking Dead (a copy of my letter to AMC, please feel free to send it around and share it on social media)
and just a part of why this is SO important to me
In Summary!!!
The fun stuff:
my fics
my fan art
fic recs
rickyl tag
happy family delusion
JOIN THE PEOPLE'S REVOLUTION
oops I slipped and made a button!
An Open Letter to AMC and TPTB on The Walking Dead
I am writing in regard to AMC's spectacular television phenomenon, The Walking Dead. I suppose this could be construed as fan mail of sorts, one of countless you'll probably sift through today. I doubt it will stand out among the lot, but I feel an overwhelming urge to express myself in the vain hope that it will be read by someone—that someone will see where I'm coming from and understand my gratitude and my hopes.  How many letters do you get espousing their love for Daryl Dixon? Dozens, hundreds—thousands, probably. I can't blame them, since I'm doing much the same. You've accidentally stumbled into one of the character gems of a generation; among an already-excellent cast of compelling and powerful actors—Andrew Lincoln, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, to name just a few—Norman Reedus' Daryl catches the eye and the viewer's unexpected affections. So much is made of him in articles as the redneck with a heart of gold, etc. But he's so much more complicated than that; he's so subtly built that it'd be hard to pin Daryl down to just one characteristic when he's defined by much more—which leads me to my intent in writing this letter to you.  I love, more than I can probably articulate, that Daryl Dixon could very easily be or is intended to be gay.  I am a queer woman watching this show weekly—on the edge of my seat at every cliffhanger, dying a little over the entire summer until it comes back to herald the fall—and in Daryl I see a towering powerhouse of a queer character who has the ability to change the way LGBT individuals are perceived and represented in media. Not a lot of characters are given this ability—though bisexual invisibility means that there's an assumption of straightness made anytime someone is shown to be romantically interested in someone of the opposite gender, Daryl is unique in that he has never been derailed from this with a female love interest, never even mentioned one in his past, never had one propped in front of him or made any indication of a sexual interest in women. This has allowed his character to bloom independently, to be about his own awakening and acceptance of himself with the love and respect of Rick and the other people around him. A huge part of Daryl's progression as a character has been this acceptance of self, and I'm not alone in thinking that includes an acceptance of his homosexuality. A queer reading of Daryl Dixon's character is one that blows my mind with its obviousness and its simple effectiveness. It makes sense to me and to many other fans, especially queer fans, who, before the wonderful addition of Tara Chambler this season, viewed Daryl Dixon as our representative on the show and still do. Simply, clearly, wholeheartedly—why not?  Daryl accepting this part of himself with the audience's awareness—something many fans already have but many more are oblivious to, as they're approaching it from a default assumption of straightness—would be nothing less than monumental for queer representation in television. Daryl defies every paraded stereotype of a gay man. A fifth-or-sixth season reveal of his sexuality would mean that every viewer who has been with Daryl since the beginning will have seen him as a person first, by his sexuality second, as so few queer characters in television are ever allowed to be. The importance this has to viewers around the world cannot be overstated. I've cried at this show before—I've cried many times—but never would it have been because I was seeing right before my eyes the simple and moving destruction of every stereotype of my people that media so commonly perpetuates and derides.  This isn't about Daryl Dixon being in a relationship by any means- I love his discovering this much and growing this much independently, through the love and care of Rick and the rest of his chosen family. This is about Daryl Dixon as a character—as a wonderful, three-dimensional, and heartbreakingly human character—and carrying through on that to make him more real than I ever dreamed I would get to see on my television.  Even if this story is never told—if Daryl is left ambiguous and distant, if Daryl's potential remains blessedly unhindered by romantic entanglements with female characters—I want to say an overwhelming thank you for giving the queer community and fans everywhere a character that they could see themselves in, a real person and a real gay man who defies expectations in more ways than one. Daryl Dixon is a phenomenal character, and I'm elated that I can read him as a queer character. I pray that you will use this power wisely and in such a way that viewers are challenged to let go of their prejudices and preconceptions, as you have before.  And while this is The Walking Dead so undoubtedly there is suffering ahead, I hope truly that this is one area in which you will continue to move hearts, minds, and hopes.
