We’re All Mad Here.

They/Them - 23 - AFTG multi shipper but Kevjean and Jerejean make me quiver like a chihuahua. Green Creek Obsessed. Regulus Black defender. Athenaastor12 on AO3!

[wizard-email]

I think too often people forget that “they” is as much a pronoun as any of the others, and it isn’t as neutral as you want it to be.

I accept it as a useful default (and I use it that way myself), but once a person has told you their preferences, you GOTTA stop using they/them if it’s not on the list. please. this isn’t me trying to make anyone feel bad but it’s at a point where I’m misgendered more in “inclusive” spaces than literally anywhere else

[innerchildabortionclinic]

i'm so tired of social media users saying "successful people are abusing stimulants". unsuccessful people are too. #WEMATTER

[shigure]

i'm sorry i never did your tag game. i love you

[mossworth]

Guys, queers. Specifically my fellow queers.

I work at a library. We do this thing where, every so often, we weed the collection. It hurts to see books go, but it's necessary to make sure there's room in the library for new materials.

I have seen so much support for the library in text, and I've seen folks pass around those beautiful "queer your library" flyers. Keep doing that. That's great. Nothing wrong with that. But you HAVE to turn your words into action. We MUST remember to actually go to our local organizations and libraries and actually, with our own fucking hands, interact with these materials we want to see more of.

My branch is medium-sized for a library, maybe a little small. We don't have as many materials as I'd like, but we have fundamentals. Tell me why, even with all the verbal support I've gotten from my local community for the library as a resource for our LGBT+ community, every single trans biography and a good chunk of our vaguely queer theory books were on the list. This isn't a scheme to take the books off the shelves, it isn't another bigoted American governmental push. The only thing we look at when we weed is how long it's been since the last time the item was checked out.

Three years.

No one in my community interacted in any meaningful way with the few books on trans life and history we physically had on the shelves for three fucking years.

I promise you the materials you want and need are there, but this isn't a horde. This isn't a static safety net. You have to use them. You MUST use them or, in the future, maybe in three years, they *won't* be there anymore.

This isn't a vague post, there's no one person I'm hinting at or calling out. I'm not even talking directly to anyone who's directly in my line of sight. I just want everyone to hear this. Big library, small library, whatever. Doesn't matter. Please, we cannot be losing our shelf visibility like this.

[alanfromrochester]

I work in a different library and can confirm, it's a decision based on popularity not censorship

we're big enough to have lots of shelf space but still have the problem on a different scale. We do have a back storage room rather than completely getting rid of some things, but having to ask for that might be a barrier for sensitive subject matter and prevent people from casually stumbling across something of interest

[paintedpigeon1]

Yep. Different library worker here, we weeded adult non-fiction recently bc it's most rarely used and we needed to clear a bookshelf of space, and there were a decent number of queer books on the list. Thankfully not all of them, but some (we had a lot lol). Our criteria is also no borrows in 3yrs. I can't borrow the whole list by myself. I do try to get these books in, and the local authority are happy to buy them, but we need space for new books every so often and we can't keep everything forever! If you want them, you have to use them!

(incidentally, the whole list was 35 pages long, which... please borrow the books you want people)

[qbdatabase]

I didn't have time to comment the first time I reblogged, but I can add now:

I'm also a librarian and queer books are almost always cut first when we have to weed for space or prioritize new releases over old items because no one reads them

I will say, when I worked at a large downtown location, we had a "browsing card" that we would check out items we found taken off the shelf and left on a table, as an example of a book that had clearly been read, just not checked out by anyone

it's possible queer books do actually get a bit of unfair treatment in this regard because people may be nervous or outright scared to check them out onto an account with their name on it. so they get browsed at a much higher rate, but if a library doesn't have a specific system in place (or need for it) to count browsed items, then it looks like they aren't being used and they get weeded

for other librarians, a browsing card is a great idea if you have enough staff for the extra work / enough items left out to justify it

for patrons, check out queer books even if you don't read them! you're not lying or committing any type of fraud. you're keeping books on the shelf long enough for pride season when people are interested in checking them out again and for people scared to use their own accounts or who don't have library cards

for anyone nervous about using their library card, libraries do not keep search histories of what you check out!! this means even if the government does come back with a warrant, *wet farting noise* too bad! it doesn't exist!

so please check out queer books!

[vtothefun]

I have to wonder how often they aren't checked out because those in an exploratory period may not feel safe enough for them to go home with them, too. Kids, for example, or folks who have ended up in a het marriage that... Doesn't feel like it's quite right (or may be physically abusive).

[mossworth]

This is most definitely one of the causes of this. That's why it's so important for folks who *can* to *do*.

It feels like such a small thing, but all movements are made up of small things! We have this mindset that in order to get everything done, everyone must be doing their (or *the*) absolute best at all times. But not everyone can do the same things, to the same degree, with the same amount of productivity or success. Not everyone can; sometimes, they're the ones that need help. Sometimes people just need help.

This post is very much so intended for the people who can. I've seen a lot of replies from folks who say they don't have to (or don't think about) checking out or requesting queer books from the library specifically because they *can* buy them, can pirate them, or already have them in their house or on their computers or phones. But in instances like that, keeping these books in circulation is less for you and more for the people who can't. The folks who come to the library, who don't have access to internet--or even electricity--at home and would never--have never--been able to interact with this "ubiquitous queer community" we have here online who has made so many of these. materials so avaliable to the rest of us.

And... if I can be a little frank. Sometimes the hyperaccessibility of these materials online (through pirating, cheap e-book copies, etc) gives people a false sense of security. It implies that these things are an infinate resource, good for "When I get around to it".

And often, you won't. There's so much to read and so much to do. So much to download and so much to sit down and stare at for hours. That kind of mental scope puts books in people's hands (or phones), but never in their heads.

But the moment your favorite document archival site gets knocked offline for breaching copyright or your go-to mega corporate audiobook distributor decides it doesn't want "those" materials anymore, what's left? What did you download? What information did you internalize? Did you ever get around to it? If you did, great, but what good does that do for the person who didn't? Are you going to be the one to redistribute that information? Are you going to communicate it in the place of the author whose words are no longer publically accesible or, mostly avaliable, but only behind hefty paywalls and financial gatekeeping? How would someone else get a hold of it? How could they, if they wanted?

[vtothefun]

This is excellent info.

What are some good books to check out for those who can?

[mossworth]

Gosh... there's so many options. I wouldn't know where to start without knowing who I'm talking to and what they're looking for. What I can recommend is for folks to check out creators like @makingqueerhistory who have spent just a ridiculously beautiful amount of time collecting queer history and book lists! You'll find something in seconds reading their page.

Personal pitch: I liked the books Tar Hollow Trans and Gay Poems for Red States. Both great.

[makingqueerhistory]

I'm glad I was tagged in this because it means I can cosign (and also add a little nugget of info).

I live in a province that is currently trying to ban queer books from libraries, and as a library patron, this is terrifying. 95% of the books I read are from the library and a lot of them are way out of my budget to buy personally.

Making Queer History would not exist without the school library I skipped class in to write articles. It would not exist without my friends with library cards for their universities sharing them and getting me access to rare texts. I would not be able to read as much as I do without Libby and Hoopla. If I have ever given you a book recommendation, know that I likely got it from the library first.

I cannot overstate the importance of protecting libraries and checking out queer books. And I want to say thank you to everyone above for being as passionate as I am about queer books in libraries.

Love y'all <3

[anxietyproblem]

[themaveriqueagenda]

it's weird that "i'm nonbinary, but i have a job" was turned into a "lol, being nonbinary is super unprofessional" meme rather than an actual conversation about nonbinary employment discrimination.

[cottoncandylesbo]

i like it when people compliment me. i like it... when people like me. (looks around to make sure nobody is about to shoot me)

[iwannascreameurekaa]

ao3 author Neil au where his username is literally NeilJosten because the fbi agents said no pseudonyms

[pangur-and-grim]

I'm so close to having a coherent thought about this, but I find it very interesting how violent behaviour is viewed in characters, versus other sorts of antisocial behaviour (-phobias, -isms, etc). maybe it's the perceived separation from reality? because if you're lucky, nobody in your life will ever slit anyone's throat, so you get to view it as an abstract and fantastical action. it's pure play! whereas if a character says something like "you look fat in those jeans", BAM! instant hatred, because now you can link it to painful moments in your own life. even though the people you've heard those words from (moms, aunties, grandmas) are probably people that you still love.

which is why you get all these books that embrace hyper violence but flinch away from any -phobias and -isms, because that would be uncomfortable.

what makes the dissonance especially jarring is that viewing violence as abstract is a privilege. in Canada and the States, we get to sit comfortably in our homes while our governments fund weapons and send troops to inflict violence overseas. and sure, we can watch a genocide live-streamed on social media, but it still feels distant.

don't confuse this as me saying violence shouldn't be written about! everything should be written about! it's more me wondering why violence feels comfortable to write about, when arguably milder social offences do not.

[pangur-and-grim]

[tineiya]

[genderoutlaws]

Never read Baldwin before?

Nonfiction

The Price of The Ticket (borrow from IA)

The Fire Next Time (pdf download)

Notes of A Native Son (pdf download)

Nothing Personal (read on IA - not great quality sorry)

The Last Interview (pdf download) (only 10 pages!)

Fiction

Giovanni's Room (pdf download)

If Beale Street Could Talk (pdf download)

BONUS

Little Man Little Man (read or pdf download on scribd) (Baldwin's only children's book)

Go Tell It On The Mountain (pdf download)

Another Country (pdf and epub download)

Sonny's Blues (pdf download)

Going to Meet the Man (pdf download)

[creatingblackcharacters]

My next Black History Month request:

Pick one of James Baldwin's works and read it!!! The Fire Next Time is an excellent essay, most of us are familiar with the quote on gay white people from The Last Interview but not the rest of it. If Beale Street Could Talk even has a movie!

[luna-azzurra]

Some writing advice I will never give up:

Your characters are allowed to be bad people. Your story is allowed to have no moral lesson.yyour ending is allowed to be sad. The villain can win. The good person can do something unforgivable. The lovers can destroy each other. You are allowed to write the thing that no one asked for and everything that everyone told you doesn’t work and you are allowed to not explain yourself.

It’s your story. Burn it down if you want to.

[jessebloom]

first day of pride month

[redstonedust]

i feel like whenever people discuss hatsune mikus age its always either "hatsune miku is literally 16 you cant treat her like an adult" or "hatsune miku is a piece of software with no thoughts or feelings you can do whatever" but never the imo more interesting "hatsune miku is a marketing mascot designed to be a virtual idol, what does it say about the idol industry that the people involved considered 16 to be the perfect age to assign her. why do so many vtubers played by adult women have 16 on their profile. why are so many idol anime about highschoolers. can we talk about the contexts and implications please please please please-"

[redstonedust]

and this isnt a "japan bad lol" thing theres so many characters out there who are functionally treated as adults but designated to be in their late teens. i think the oldest (official) disney princess is like. 21. its a feature of how society at large treats 16-25 as the only viable window of attractiveness yknow. the dicaprio problem. its everywhere once you look for it unfortunately and even characters i love are not exempt from reflecting the bias.

[there-is-still-some-liquor-left]

a body count not as in homicide nor as in sexuality but as in the trail of people from my childhood and adolescence i should’ve been a better friend to and taken better care of but i was too busy being caught up in my own heartache to recognize their own and therefore our relationship tapered off in an extremely unsatisfying way that continuously manifests itself as a thrumming sense of grief in my chest. anyway which restaurant chains have the best free pre-meal bread?

[wereallcurioushere12]

Do you think Jeremy prefers amusement parks or water parks (you can also add your answer)

Ahhhhhhhh this one is hard. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say he’s definitely a fan of water parks because they’re a little more chill, and tbh he’s kinda impartial to roller coasters? Never really got the whole adrenaline junkie vibe from him. I think he’d adore floating down a lazy river, and I also think as a kid he definitely went to water parks and it was part of his gay awakening. Many fantasies about the lifeguards instructing him on how to not die going down the plastic tube with water.

Now this is before he meets Jean though. Because Jean ADORES amusement parks and for obvious reasons DESPISES water parks. But The floozy line goes one time and Jean is nervous at first, but Cat drags him on all the like death defying, world recordy, feel your heart bottom out on them roller coasters, because Laila doesn’t like them, and Jean LOVES it! It’s like riding a motorcycle without having to be in control. It took some getting used to the way the seat restraints feel heavy on his chest, and he can’t go on the drop from a high point like tower rides, but the general concept of roller coasters he’s a big fan of.

And Jeremy wants nothing more than watch Jean stumble off one with a very small smile on his face before Jeremy teases him by licking their cotton candy.

[wereallcurioushere12]

If you had to replace your feet with hooves or flippers which one would you choose

See. It would be really fucking cool to have an extra set of hands like personally that’s what I would pick but in my current line of work like mountain goat hooves would be an absolute game changer so I’ve gotta go with those.

[segamascott]