Sometimes, when I see gay people (or really any member of the LGBTQ+ Community) I have the instictive urge to say "gay". Neither as praise nor damnation, but simply acknowledging their existance, as though seeing cows on the side of the road. Saying "gay" to simply illucidate that there are, in fact, gays here.

being in your early 20s is crazy bc there’s people who are literally married and people who’ve never even dated and people who are trapped in their childhood bedrooms waiting to get out and people who are trying to live out romanticized dream lives and people who are completely on their own and people with multi tiered support systems and we’re all supposedly peers and none of us think we’re doing it right at all

my life goal is to be able to dress super femininely without the dysphoria and having people look at me and asking 'is that a girl or a boy?'

It was a great, great moment when I discovered that asexual did not necessarily mean sex repulsed.

When I first came across the term asexual, years & years ago, the description I found promptly informed me that asexual people were absolutely repulsed by sex, in all forms, all the time. So, I promptly decided that I couldn’t be asexual.

See, I love sex. I absolutely love reading about it & writing about it & watching it & talking about it, I have a dirty sense of humor, & I have a libido too. What I don’t love is having sex. Simple as that. I don’t experience sexual attraction toward anyone & the actual reality of sex – the physical closeness, the fluids, kissing (oh my God, how I hate kissing!), etc. – make me feel uncomfortable. Knowing that this is a perfectly common, or at least not unheard of, asexual experience would’ve spared me some deeply confusing & hurtful experiences.

So, in case anyone needs to see this today: Asexuality means a lack of sexual attraction. No more, no less. Asexual people generally do not feel sexually attracted to others. This does not mean that they cannot find others aesthetically pleasing or that they are necessarily repulsed by sex, either in theory or in practice.

Sex repulsion means an aversion to sex. Asexual people can be sex repulsed. But not all of them are.

I think this is very nicely written! I do have a comment though.

Sex repulsion is different than sex aversion. It’s the ARC spectrum (averse, repulsed, conflicted). I think sex repulsion goes past sex aversion, like if you’re averse to something it’s where you cringe and wish to avoid it, and repulsion you actively avoid. Maybe that’s not the exact way to word or say it. Maybe someone will have more eloquent words than I do.

My mom in the car today trying to console me: you know, there is a lesbian working at the gardening store. She sells me trees.

Me: noooo, really?? A lesbian in the gardening store? *heavy sarcasm*

My mom: yes, really. I saw she has tattoos and piercings, you like that right?

Me: yeah…. how old is she?

My mom: maybe 35 to 40 years old. She is too old for you anyway.

Me: ….. 👀

The comments and responses on this post are amazing

I’m c r y i n g

Oh my godddd

Nadia Cakes didn’t win Cupcake wars to receive this disrespect, but damn if that ain’t a vagina with teeth.

…

(helpless laughter)

You can order the Vageode™️ cake, FYI. From the original bakery. I saw it on Goldbelly. GIRLS GIRLS GET THAT CASH

As an asexual lesbian I am sometimes very confused. Tiddies are amazing, I love tiddies. We love tiddies, everyone loves tiddies, agree? But why sexulize them? They are warm and comforting girlfriend pillows that you can cuddle. Why make that beauty nasty? Just appreciate them. Don't sexulize them tis, praise them instead! Praise those girlfriend pillows!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid dir. Thor Freudenthal

— Anaïs Nin

i love it when the short kings at my university jump to slap the top of a doorframe or sit on a counter or desk. did that make u feel like a big boy? did u like going uppy? do u wanna go uppy again?

the short kings have spoken

JENNA ORTEGA as VADA and MADDIE ZIEGLER as MIA THE FALLOUT (2021) dir. Megan Park

Do other wlw ever get tired of shitting on butches I don't think they do

Did you get the hetero validation for not being like one of those mean ugly butches :(

@honeygordo Bingo!

One like = one tear 😢😢

me wondering why I have a crush on Kate McKinnon and why she looks so good with these horns

*finds out she’s a capricorn* 🥲

Holy shit.

“Papa was a proven whore” just makes me picture small victorian children talking shit about their dad

this movie is so fucking creepy jesus fuck

It’s by Tim Burton, what did you honestly expect?

Actually, it’s Henry Selick, who was the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas. The book was written by Neil Gaiman, though, and is far…far….worse.

Sorry, I’m about to geek the hell out.

The movie is captivating, but the book is twenty kinds of terrifying, even now, ten years after I first read it. As disturbing as the movie may have been to some, the things Selick added really serve to cushion just how horrific the story really is.

First of all, the character of Wybie does not exist in the book. Coraline is facing all of this nearly alone, with her only help coming from the sly comments of the cat, a warning from the circus mice, and the stone given to her by her neighbor, presented with no comment but that it “makes the unseen seen.”

Second, the Other Parents are never quite as warm (and, dare I say, normal) as they are in the gifs above. They’re described as having paper-white skin and the Other Mother’s hair is said to move on its own, and her long, red, claw-like nails don’t ease any uncertainty that she is absolutely, positively up to no good. The first time Coraline meets them, they (and the rest of the Others) seem to be playing roles (for whatever reason, Coraline does not seem to pick up on this), like they all know what to say and what to do and are simply waiting for Coraline to make her move in their terrifying play world. This is shown to be partly true when the Other Parents tell her they know she’ll be back soon after she refuses the buttons - this time, to stay.

Third, the Other Mother commits atrocities that really should not have been in a book for anyone not fully grown up. She physically deforms the world around Coraline to slow her progress in their game beyond any mild traps the movie portrays, and, instead of turning the Other Father into the wandering pumpkin-thing seen in the film, she simply ceases to use him and throws his body away in the cellar, leaving him to rot with whatever bit of sentience he has left. She begins to lose her touch, as Coraline gains the upper hand. Her world doesn’t just become a nightmare - it falls apart completely. No creepy but oddly cool bug furniture here, just the house that now appears to be a child’s drawing. Whatever the Other Mother is (a beldame, but something tells me she’s much more ancient and powerful than that), she does not give half a hump about what she has to do to ensnare Coraline. Destroy the supporting characters of her twisted creation? Done. Allow herself to be dismembered to ruin Coraline’s life in the normal world? Not even gonna bat an eyelash.

On a final, personal note, imagine eight year-old me, ignored by my parents, absorbed in the story and identifying with Coraline from the start. Imagine me finishing this bloodcurdling book and immediately thinking of my basement, where there is still a locked door that my grandmother swears up and down is nothing more than a storage room, but has not once in my (or my mother’s) lifetime unlocked.

Can you see why this book still scares me?

Fun fact I learned from seeing neil gaiman speak: when he first wanted the book published, his editor said it was too scary. He suggested she read it to her young daughter, and then decide. So she did, and her daughter wasn’t afraid, and it was published. Years later, Gaiman was sitting next to that daughter at an event and told her this story, and she said “oh I was terrified I just didn’t want to tell my mom”.

Coraline WAS too scary to be published, but exists anyway because a girl lied to her mother.

@neil-gaiman, is this true about the publisher’s daughter?

It was my literary agent, Merrilee Heifetz who read it and said “you can’t seriously expect this to be published as a children’s book.” So I suggested she read it to her daughters. And she called me back a week later and said “They love it and they weren’t scared at all. I’ll take it to Harper Children’s.”

A decade later, at the Opening Night of the Coraline musical, I was sitting next to Morgan, Merilee’s youngest daughter, and told her how her not being scared had made the book happen. And she said “I was terrified. But I needed to find out what happened next. So nobody knew.”

So, yes.

This website can be toxic at times, but the fact that people can just tag Neil Gaiman to get his input, like a sorcerer invoking a benevolent spirit, is definitely a bright spot.

pretty obsessed with this one

important images I've discovered:

hello i would like to add

who put this rodent in high heels

these guys are so fucking animal

HOLY SHIT, IT WAS THE ORIGINAL ONE

MAKE A WISH

the first post ever on tumblr

I WAS EXPECTING IT TO BE A REMAKE OF SOME SORT HOLY FUCK

WHO THE FUCK KEEPS BRINGING THIS BACK

World Heritage Post

like actually though. i’m in AWE of the notecount.

My Favorite Underrated WLW Cinema

To keep this as a memory, after a lot of deliberation, I’m creating this list of all my favorite Sapphic movies of all time. Note that it is purely subjective to me, and they aren’t necessarily big-budget, blockbusters, or period dramas. I obviously love films like Carol, the Handmaiden, etc. a lot, but personally, I love indie films. So, these are mostly Indie films and are quite underrated. All of these have beautiful poetic cinematography and heart-touching storylines. In no particular order:

1. The Half of It (2020, USA):

Probably the most famous film on this list, this is Alice Wu’s second directorial venture after a long hiatus post Saving Face. It’s about a seventeen-year-old girl named Ellie Chu who is basically a dark academia Tumblr lesbian. She liked the pastor’s daughter but well the pastor’s daughter is very pretty so many boys like her. One of the boys approach her to write a love letter coz lesbehonest we’ve been there done that (I mean I’m 100% Ellie minus the swag) and a lot of things happen. Just watch the film to know more. It's beautiful, deep, and sweet and has some tidbits about religion and queerness. Oh, and cute platonic friendships.

2. Desert Hearts (1985, USA):

The shots in this film is literally so ahead of its time, it feels like a period film honestly. Plus, the costume, the landscape- if you’re an 80s fashion buff, this is the best thing that could happen to you. Not to mention the leads are extremely beautiful. It was also groundbreaking for being a film of 1980s that didn’t shame lesbians and made them own up their sexualities. Also, if you like older women, I gotchu.

3. Moonlit Winter (2019, South Korea)

This was truly unlike any sapphic film I ever watched. It’s basically about a teenage girl discovering her mom is gay and helping her get back to her lover. Like? Omg? Also gay Asian middle-aged lesbians and repressed emotions? I’m bawling my eyes out. The lingering shots were especially beautiful and the strengthening of the mother-daughter relationship throughout the runtime as the mother gradually got comfortable in acknowledging her sexuality hit home. Like no, my mother isn’t gay but who doesn’t have mommy issues. Right….. Right?

4. Water lilies (2007, France):

Have you had feelings for your senior? Did you have gay panic in your changing rooms? Did you have homoerotic tension with women in tight swimming costumes? Did you have internalized homophobia? This film is all that and Celine Sciamma and Adele Haenel’s first film together so wink wink ultra super gay.

5. Shiva Baby (2020, USA and Canada):

It’s about a miserable bisexual girl who has to deal with her sugar daddy, her ex-girlfriend, her parents and the outcomes of her pathological lying while her sugar daddy’s wife ( Diana Agron I KNOW) poses a threat to her existence. It’s a comedy and it’s very funny. The set ups were hilarious, the plot twists were un anticipated and the horror music score was so unconventional but it fit perfectly.

6. Our love story (2016, South Korea):

It is probably the most realistic portrayal of a queer couple in their twenties on film. The messiness of it, the misunderstandings, having to hide the relationship from disapproving parents. It is very cute and heartwarming at times, with the lingering shots of typical Korean indie films, and at times it gives you a reality check that relationships are very messy.

7. Saving Face (2004, USA):

Alice Wu’s first child, this is the best lesbian rom-com to exist and that’s on period. The situational comedy, the lovely relationship between the two leads, and a happy ending, Happiest Season could never. It also deals with very serious topics like pregnancy at an older age and homophobic parents with so much sensitivity and light humor. A totally feel-good movie.

8. Kajillionaire (2020, USA):

Evan Rachel Wood was my bisexual awakening and the woman is horribly underrated in film. She portrays this odd girl in this film who has been raised by her con man parents to just cheat the system and engage in petty robberies. Her journey of breaking out of her toxic parents and finding someone who cares for her gave me goosebumps. The movie is brilliantly written and directed by Miranda July and its quirky aesthetic and satire of the system makes it one of a kind. Also Gina Rodriguez is so cute.

9. Fire (1996, India and Canada):

This film overcame a lot of hurdles and managed to provide authentic queer representation in the Indian Demographic as early as 1996. It also ends on a positive note which is really commendable. The acting, the scriptwriting, the themes of yearning, confusion, and coming to terms with your sexuality against the dogmatic and patriarchal society of India makes this film a must-watch. Especially if you’re South Asian.

10. I care a lot (2020, USA): This dark comedy portrays the sapphic lead to be a villain but I honestly loved the film for a multitude of reasons. The plot aka Rosamund Pike’s suits and Eiza Gonzalez’s sunglasses were pathbreaking. Jokes aside, the plot was really unique and it treated the sapphic couple like a regular one which was refreshing. On top of that, the age difference in the couple made my heart rate increase a lot so there’s that. The movie in itself is truly brilliant oh yes and Tyrion Lannister did so well I love him.

This list is in no way exhaustive. It doesn’t have enby and trans masc lesbians, and they are still seriously underrepresented in movies. We also need more black and brown women to portray sapphic relationships. I’m Indian and Fire was literally the only queer movie I had watched as a kid. So we mostly grow up with limited to zero representation. I hope it’ll change soon and people will stop making lesbian period dramas where nobody ends up happy.

Tell me how you guys liked these movies