More Surreal: Sexuality

[azurelunatic]

So Loveless is an animé with ... issues. Some of the issues that are being experienced by the characters include: same-sex relationships, not-quite-platonic-but-nothing-beyond-hugging-and-kissing (so far; I have no idea how far the show goes) relationships between a very much older teen and a very much younger teen (I think it's 12 and 18/19-ish), visible virginity, BDSM, grief, really bad reactions to grief, physical abuse of children as one of same, bullying, Nobody Tells Me Anything (specifically, withholding rather vital information needed to make informed decisions about stuff from a teen), unrequited love, and possibly even budding multiple personalities.

English was mentioning stuff about Japan's society being decadent and All Sorts of Things were out in the open out there, and he used the key word that made my ears cringe a little: "Queers."
Twice wasn't a coincidence.
"Hey, some tact around the bisexual," I said, grinning, indicating myself with a thumb.

English did what Leftover Leftovers Guy didn't, and took the hint, and was more generally sensitive and we agreed that yeah, it did seem that in Japan, stuff that is in subcultures out of the mainstream in the US is very readily media-available and far more accepted, almost embraced in some ways. And. Tentacles.

I don't think that Loveless deals with tentacles.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

There's nothing like the "You are acting like you might become a raving homophobic asshole if allowed to. I shall come out of the closet at you!" for sheer logic.

[azurelunatic]

Not "to". "At."

[godai.livejournal.com]

Umm.

Queer as Folk.
Queer eye for the straight guy.
Queeruption
Queers Without Borders

If you had made it clear to the person before that the word makes you uncomfortable, which you did.

Sorry, one of my buttons is with offensive words.

Where a word is offensive not based on what the word is but who says it.

What I'm trying to say, had it been a bi/gay friend who used the term in the exact same method, would you have had the same problem? You might have, but there are people out there who would have different reactions.

[azurelunatic]

It was the tone in which it was said. Most of my straight friends, I wouldn't have a problem at all, because I know they're OK with it and with me. Him -- he had that tone in which one speaks of something that one really violently dislikes, but society in general happens to be OK with, but you're wondering why they're OK with it. Like I might say "Something Awful," in a tone that indicates that I do in fact think it is something awful.

[pyrogenic.livejournal.com]

Embraced in media is not the same thing as embraced in society. It is very difficult to be openly gay in Japan, and boy-boy love is hardly as accepted as all the female-targeted erotica would make it seem.

[godai.livejournal.com]

I understand that to. It just didn't come accross well to me at least from the post.

I tend to seperate tone and choice of words.

So when I saw "and he used the key word that made my ears cringe" it didn't translate in my head that it was his tone and word choice rather then just the use of the word Queer.

[sithjawa.livejournal.com]

Cardcaptor Sakura is a kids' show that has teh ghay (but not Teh Closet - it's just sort of equal-opportunity crushes), crushes on older people (from "my older brother's age" to "teacher") (and when I say 'my older brother's age' I mean 'the guy my older brother is DATING'), and, erm.... the psychological eernt of thinking you have a crush on someone but you're really just responding to SPOILER. It doesn't deal with most of these things in a serious way but then it is a show for preadolescent kids.

Then there's Sailor Moon (*also* a kids' show) and the Twue Wuv type relationship between little kid and apparently-20s, actually-way-older-and-kinda-not-even-human, totally evil guy. There's some screwed-up.

[azurelunatic]

I was kinda thinking that might be so.

[azurelunatic]

In this case, the tone came first, and already had me on edge, because he was talking around it in That Way, already using the tone, and then came the key word that clinched it.

[azurelunatic]

It's the Totally Evil that squicks me most.

[amberfox.livejournal.com]

Let's not forget the adorable lesbian couple, while we're talking about Sailormoon. They're so sweet!

Drat. Now I want SM icons.