“For me, queer theory is the emblematic example of how we say the value of what queer politics brings is a challenge to what is the normal. And it's of course what that whole angst is about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and marriage equality. On the one hand, those are basic citizenship rights, right? You always know that there's some second-class citizenship going on in military policy and marriage policy, right? If you're looking for second-class citizenship, look in those things and you'll often find it. So it's a very reasonable set of political strategies, but the problem is also a very normative set of political strategies, right? It's not about, "We have a right to be queer and create different kinds of communities and different definitions of family." It's about, "Look how much just like you we can be; look how respectable we can be, see; we can have our families look just like your families, and we can serve in the military just like you; and so look how straight we can be!" Rather than, "Look how queer we can be and look at how valuable it is to take queerness and open up the very definition of what constitutes respectable and normal." ”
—Melissa Harris-Perry
Anonymous asked you: They haven’t denied it??They did,like 12588975 times!And they have never confirmed it in any way.
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No, you think they’ve denied it because Louis’ clever with his words. He talks in circles and waves his hands around a lot and says it in a sarcastic tone so it sounds like he’s denying it all, but if you actually listen to what he says, he’s practically confirming it.
“Apparently me and Harry are together and my girlfriend isn’t real.”
“Some people really, genuinely believe we’re together. It’s so funny!”
“They say we’re together when really we just started out saying we’re good friends.”
“We really try not to disclose too much about our relationship to the public.”
^^^ In no way are any of those denials of their relationship. They’re cleverly worded phrases that show he’s clearly been coached on how to carefully answer the question.
On the other hand…
Fan — “Are you and Louis dating?”
Harry — *Instinctive head nod* “Yeah.”
Fan — “When are you going to propose to Harry?”
Louis — “It’s confidential, but we are engaged.”
Harry — “My first real crush was Louis Tomlinson.”
Interviewer — “And how does he feel about you?”
Harry — “It’s mutual. We’ve discussed it.”
^^^ Those are confirmations. Just because you don’t want to believe them, doesn’t mean they didn’t happen, and it doesn’t mean they were joking when they said those things.
And then I’m out.
Y’all.
When a PoC tells you something is racist, they aren’t acting ‘butthurt’. (If I never see that term again, it will be too soon, by the way…)
When a PoC states that something is racist, you should probably take a minute, pay attention, maybe even stop listening to your podcast, and take notice.
Racism isn’t actually casual, although we all like to joke about it. It’s fucking serious. It’s painful and it hurts; it cuts to the quick and kills your soul.
If a PoC has pointed out that something is racist, it’s not just because they like shouting and crying foul at the world. It’s because our race and existences have been defined by history and events and experiences; by others and ourselves. In fact, if you are not a PoC, I ain’t mad if you don’t catch something racist. You have not lived it, ok. But I do expect you to trust me when I point out something IS racist.
This isn’t a hard dialogue. It isn’t. I swear. Take a deep breath.
